The grand opening of a new wellness center in San Francisco's Castro District is being touted as a success story of the city's First Year Free Program. The program, which was extended earlier this year, waives permit fees for small businesses."It helps you to, to get like a base," said Ismel Deluna, the owner of the newly-opened Taboo on Market Street, which specializes in providing haircuts and wellness services for the disabled and LGBTQ+ communities.
"This is why, as a city, we have to stop telling people no. We say we support our small businesses, but we’ve made it hard for them to do business," said San Francisco Mayor London Breed at the opening. "My office of economic and workforce development has been an important part of making the investments necessary to get to yes.