San Francisco Mobilizes Storm Drain Adopters as Valkyries Parade

San Francisco officials are calling on residents to clear leaves and debris from neighborhood storm grates ahead of a wetter El Niño winter, capping a busy stretch of civic and sporting moments across the city that included the Golden State Valkyries' championship ferry crossing and parade along the Embarcadero and a viral Pride Night national anthem performance at Chase Center.

According to The San Francisco Standard, San Francisco has 25,000 storm drains across the city, and approximately 17,000 unclaimed drains remain available for residents to adopt while nearly 8,000 have been claimed since the program began in 2016. With the tropical Pacific warming and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasting a stronger El Niño that is expected to bring a wetter winter to California, Mayor Daniel Lurie declared a citywide state of emergency in October to prepare for the rains. Because city crews cannot reach every grate before each storm, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission advises that the best time to clean a drain is right before a storm hits to prevent flooding, and again after the rain stops to clear clogging debris while wearing a reflective vest and staying close to the sidewalk rather than working during a storm.

Residents can adopt a storm drain for free, receive email notifications before large storms, and name their grates—producing neighborhood fixtures such as "Drain 'The Rock' Johnson," "Sir Drains-a-Lot," "Drainiel Day Lewis" and "Pinky & the Drain" in the Mission, "Serge Drainsbourg" in the Lower Haight, "It's Draining Men" in the Castro, and "Bill Grates" in SoMa. Mayor Lurie has been filmed broom in hand clearing a puddle, and District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey recently claimed a drain that his office named "Sewervisor Dorsey."

Valkyries Celebrate First WNBA Championship Across the Bay

Along the waterfront, NBC Bay Area reported that the Bay Area turned into "Ballhalla" on Wednesday to celebrate the Golden State Valkyries' first-ever WNBA championship. Following a celebration held in Oakland to honor the team, the Valkyries boarded a ferry to cross the Bay from Oakland into San Francisco, where fans from across the region gathered and turned the parade route along the Embarcadero into a sea of violet.

Chase Center Pride Night Anthem Performance

At Chase Center, KTVU FOX 2 reported that San Francisco singer Jason Brock faced hundreds of negative messages online after waving a Pride flag while performing the national anthem on Thursday night during the Golden State Warriors' designated Pride Night celebration. Brock said the gesture was planned and rehearsed ahead of time after the team invited him to reprise a concept he previously performed during the San Francisco Giants' Pride celebration in 2024, which had drawn no negative feedback at the time.

"I didn't mean any disrespect to the anthem. I only meant to embrace everyone," Brock told KTVU reporter Amber Lee, noting that he has also performed the national anthem at a Valkyries game and does not always wave a Pride flag during his appearances. Addressing online speculation regarding player reactions during the Thursday performance, Brock said he had no reason to believe any members of the team disrespected him and described the moment on the court as natural and empowering. A spokesperson for the Warriors declined to comment on the situation.