Author: Alfredo Casuso

SAN FRANCISCO, March 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The return of Spring and Summer in San Francisco’s Union Square will officially arrive on Saturday, March 22, when the Union Square Alliance hosts San Francisco Tulip Day 2025, an event that will transform Union Square into a tulip garden with 80,000 colorful American-produced flowers grown from Dutch bulbs.

“Union Square is the beating heart of downtown. Events like Tulip Day, that kicks off Union Square in Bloom, give people an opportunity to experience one of the unique annual community gatherings our city has to offer. I am pleased to have this beautiful event return for another year, so that we can continue to show the world what makes San Francisco so special,” said Mayor Daniel Lurie.

Held traditionally in honor of International Women’s Day, San Francisco Tulip Day kicks off San Francisco’s annual Union Square in Bloom initiative, in which businesses celebrate the arrival of Spring and Summer with floral displays, food, cocktails, and events, to celebrate Union Square’s rich floral tradition. A full list of Union Square in Bloom events can be found here.

“With the arrival of Tulip Day in Union Square, we are welcoming the changing seasons and celebrating San Francisco’s continued growth and revitalization at the heart of the city,” said Marisa Rodriguez, CEO of Union Square Alliance. “These flowers represent vitality and growth, and with Spring now here, we can look forward to the future with confidence and positivity. We are honored to host this event once again with our partners from the Netherlands, and we can’t wait to showcase another beautiful Tulip Day in Union Square.”

Tulips handed out in honor of International Women’s Day are grown in the United States but originate in the Netherlands. On Tulip Day, the public is invited to pick a free bouquet of tulips (eight tulips per person) for themselves or as a gift to a woman who inspires them. 

San Francisco Tulip Day 2025 is presented by the Union Square Foundation, Union Square Alliance, the Office of Mayor Daniel Lurie, the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, Amazon, JPMorganChase, United Airlines, van Hoekelen Greenhouses, Inc., and the Consulate General of the Netherlands in San Francisco.

Spark SF Public Schools and SFUSD Release 2023-24 Annual Report: Showcasing the Transformative Power of Public-Private Partnerships

Media contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc / (415) 676-7007 /news@davidperry.com 

6 March 2025 — San Francisco, CA: The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and Spark SF Public Schools, SFUSD’s official nonprofit partner, today announced the release of the 2023-24 Annual Report for Spark SF Public Schools, highlighting the impactful role of philanthropy and community partnerships in advancing student success. Since its founding in 2015, Spark SF Public Schools has mobilized over $138 million to support the district’s highest-priority initiatives—investing $14.7 million in Fiscal Year 2024 alone.

Entering its 10th anniversary year, Spark SF Public Schools continues to work in close collaboration with SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Maria Su to ensure every student has access to an excellent education. The report showcases how Spark’s strategic public-private partnerships have helped drive measurable student success and improve SFUSD’s public school system.

FY24 Highlights of Impact:

Advancing Excellence in Teaching and Learning:

• Provided access to digital math tutoring platform to 6,211 students. 
• 1,262 students participated in paid internships or career exploration programs.
• 3x increase in student enrollment at the Mission Bay Hub, expanding STEM access.

Uplifting Equity:

• 64% increase in reading scores for students in the Mastering Cultural Identity program.
• 160% increase in students reporting a positive “sense of belonging” after participating in Black Star Rising.

Serving the Whole Child:

• 23,554 unique mental health services provided to middle school students.
• 3,043 unhoused students received essential support services.
• 82 cafeterias redesigned, 4 kitchen renovations completed, and a 200%+ increase in breakfast and lunch participation following the opening of the McAteer Culinary Center.

“The partnership between SFUSD and Spark SF Public Schools has been instrumental in expanding educational opportunities for all our students,” said Dr. Maria Su, SFUSD Superintendent. “We deeply appreciate the unwavering support from the Spark community and call on the broader San Francisco community to continue investing in our schools. Together, we can create lasting, systemic change.”

“As we look ahead to the next decade, our vision is one of even greater impact,” said Ginny Fang, President of Spark SF Public Schools. “By strengthening public-private partnerships, we can unlock new opportunities for SFUSD students to succeed and thrive.”

The 2023-24 Annual Report reinforces the pivotal role of philanthropy and cross-sector collaboration in shaping a brighter future for San Francisco’s students. Spark SF Public Schools remains committed to fostering community engagement, securing essential resources, and driving initiatives that support SFUSD’s mission.

For more details, view the full 2023-24 Annual Report here.

About SFUSD:
Serving approximately 50,000 students across 119 schools, SFUSD’s mission is to provide every student the quality instruction and equitable support required to thrive in the 21st century. The district is committed to helping all students develop strong academic knowledge and skills, as well as the dispositions and behaviors to increase their curiosity and engagement, activate their full potential for learning, and prepare them for life, work, and study beyond their secondary school years. 

About Spark SF Public Schools:
Spark SF Public Schools is the only non-profit 501(c)3 organization in formal partnership with the San Francisco Unified School District to receive and mobilize philanthropic and community funds on behalf of the district, working to ensure every SFUSD student has access to an excellent public education. In partnership with SFUSD’s Superintendent of Schools, Spark identifies pivotal opportunities within SFUSD’s highest priority student outcome initiatives where philanthropic dollars can act as a catalyst to exponentially amplify success in driving significantly better student outcomes across San Francisco’s public school system.

Un momento para los patriotas

— por David Eugene Perry

Cuando era niño, daba recorridos por el Capitolio del Estado de Virginia en Richmond. Me sentaba frente al televisor con mi grabadora de casetes y registraba el audio de los Bicentennial Minutes de Walter Cronkite en 1976. Mi madre y mi abuela alimentaron mi curiosidad y mis ansias de conocimiento llevándome a tantos sitios de la Revolución Americana, la Guerra Civil y la historia indígena en el estado que terminé con ampollas en los pies y una estantería repleta de libros y direcciones de conservadores de museos. De niño, fui un patriota precoz.

Mi primera carta al editor fue en defensa de la entrevista de Betty Ford en 60 Minutes, en agosto de 1975, en la que hablaba abiertamente sobre temas como el sexo prematrimonial, el consumo de marihuana, el derecho al aborto y su propia batalla contra el cáncer de mama. Llamé “mentes superficiales” a quienes se oponían a su franqueza. El editor del Richmond Times-Dispatch llamó a mi madre (quien no sabía que yo había enviado algo al periódico) para preguntarle: “¿Está segura de que esto lo escribió un niño de 13 años?”

— “Sí.”

Soy lo que en el Sur llaman un Yella’ Dog Democrat: alguien que votaría por un perro amarillo antes que por un republicano. Y sin embargo, aunque nunca obtuvieron mi voto, Ronald Reagan, Bush padre y Bush hijo se ganaron mi respeto por la manera en que representaron a los Estados Unidos en la escena internacional, aunque eso me llevó a escribir muchos artículos de opinión y a participar en muchas marchas de protesta contra sus políticas.

Siempre me he considerado primero un estadounidense y, en segundo lugar, un demócrata.

— Hasta hoy.

Fui objeto de burlas despiadadas en la escuela primaria — “Fairy Perry” — así que sé reconocer a un matón cuando lo veo. Ver a Donald Trump transformar sistemáticamente — y con gran éxito — la política exterior de EE.UU. en un ejercicio de extorsión, negligencia e información falsa me ha convertido, antes que nada, en un ciudadano del mundo, oponiéndome con horror y repulsión al carácter y la crueldad del 47.º presidente de los Estados Unidos y sus secuaces. No es un republicano. Es un mafioso en busca de una corte medieval y una corona. La corte, ya la tiene. La corona: aún no.

¿Hay mérito en algunas de las políticas de Donald Trump? Posiblemente. ¿Hay mérito en desmantelar en menos de 100 días el orden mundial por el que lucharon mi padre, mi tío y mi hermano? No. Para citar a Patrick Henry: “Dios Todopoderoso, no lo permitas.”

Soy ciudadano del mundo. Soy ciudadano de EE.UU. Soy demócrata.

Soy miembro de la Resistencia.

Exhorto a todos los estadounidenses a marcar dos fechas: el 3 de noviembre de 2026 y el 7 de noviembre de 2028.

Hasta entonces, debemos seguir adelante y asegurarnos de poder votar con seguridad en esas fechas. Lamentablemente, en este caso, el consejo de FDR no aplica. Hay mucho, muchísimo más que temer que solo el miedo mismo.

David Eugene Perry nació y creció en Richmond, Virginia. Se graduó de St. Paul’s Parochial y del Benedictine Military Institute. Ahora vive en California con su esposo. Trabaja a nivel internacional y ha visitado más de 70 países.

A Time for Patriots
by David Eugene Perry

When I was a boy, I would give tours of the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond. I sat in front of the TV with my cassette player and recorded the audio to Walter Cronkite’s “Bicentennial Minutes” in 1976. My mother and grandmother fed my wide eyes and horizons by traipsing through enough Revolutionary and Civil War and Native American sites in the Commonwealth to generate blisters and a bookshelf groaning with books and curators’ addresses. As a child, I was a precocious patriot.

My first letter to the editor was in defense of Betty Ford’s 60 Minutes interview in August 1975 in which she candidly discussed topics such as premarital sex, marijuana use, abortion rights, and her own breast cancer battle. I called those who opposed her openness as “shallow minded.” The editor of the Richmond Times Dispatch called my mother (who didn’t know I had submitted something to the paper) to inquire: “Are you sure a 13 year old wrote this?”

“Yes.”

I’m what is referred to in The South as a “Yella’ Dog Democrat”: someone who’d vote for a yellow dog before voting for a Republican. And yet, although they didn’t earn my vote, Ronald Reagan, Bush I & II earned my respect for the way in which they represented the United States of America on the international stage, albeit with many more opeds and protest marches along the way against their policies.

I have always been first an American; secondly a Democrat.  — until today.

I was mercilessly teased during grade school — “Fairy Perry” — so I know a bully when I see one. Watching Donald Trump systematically — and to great effect — turn U.S. foreign policy into a bully’s exercise of extortion, malfeasance and misinformation — has made me firstly a citizen of the world in opposition and sickening horror to the demeanor and meanness of the 47th President of the United States and his minions. He is not a Republican. He’s mafioso in search of a Medieval court and crown. The court, he has. The crown: not yet.

Is there merit in some of Donald Trump’s policies? Likely. Is there merit in single handedly dismantling in less than 100 days the world order for which my father, uncle and brother fought? No. To quote Patrick Henry: “Forbid it Almighty God.”

I am a citizen of the world. I am a US Citizen. I am a Democrat. 

I am a member of The Resistance. 

I urge all Americans to mark two dates: November 3, 2026 and November 7, 2028.

Until then, we need to keep on keeping on to make sure we can safely cast a vote on those dates. Sadly, in this instance, FDR’s advice does not serve. There is much, much more to fear than fear itself.

David Eugene Perry was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia: a graduate of St. Paul’s Parochial and Benedictine Military Institute. He now lives in California with his husband. Working internationally, he has visited more than 70 countries.