Author: Matt Charnock

Here’s Your Reminder That It’s Tarantula Szn in the SF Bay Area
Hyperlocal News + Stories, Nature + Climate Crisis

Here’s Your Reminder That It’s Tarantula Szn in the SF Bay Area

Though SF is generally tarantula-free due to its climate and topography, thousands of these massive spiders are currently on the move in the Bay Area. Tarantulas are creatures that you either love or hate; there’s little room for ambivalence when one's exoskeleton serves as inspiration for Halloween decor. But regardless of what feelings you hold for them, the California tarantula, which is the SF Bay Area’s only endemic tarantula, plays a major role in our region’s ecosystems. Aside from being highly effective insectivores — they’re masters of eating hearty amounts of the crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, and caterpillars that could otherwise reproduce in overwhelming numbers — their burrows can serve as homes for other small creatures, once vacated. The tarantulas native to North ...
San Francisco Will Smell Like a Campfire for a Few More Days
Hyperlocal News + Stories, Nature + Climate Crisis

San Francisco Will Smell Like a Campfire for a Few More Days

Residents of the NorCal city experienced an uncomfortable fit of déjà vu Tuesday when a thick, smoky haze swallowed San Franciso and much of the Bay Area. On Tuesday, September 19th, San Franciscans and other Bay Area locals smelled a familiar, unsettling scent: wildfire smoke. Still-growing wildfires in Northern California and Oregon have filled the skies above them with smoke — and that very same smoke has worked its way down to our slice of California, hazing our skies. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued an Air Quality Advisory Tuesday that will remain in effect Wednesday, though it could stretch into Thursday and potentially Friday; the fires responsible for San Francisco (and the greater Bay Area) smelling like a campfire are still burning. Thankfully, air qua...
We Now Know the Whale’s Name Behind That Viral Golden Gate Bridge Picture
Hyperlocal News + Stories, Nature + Climate Crisis

We Now Know the Whale’s Name Behind That Viral Golden Gate Bridge Picture

Its name couldn’t be more perfect: Pogo. San Francisco sits on an important migration route for many cetaceans (e.g. whales, dolphins, and porpoises) as they travel to and from breeding and feeding grounds. It’s this very reason why whale tours in the San Francisco Bay Area are among the most fruitful anywhere in the country.  At times, a jaw-dropping aerial breach done by a traveling humpback whale aligns with someone nearby who’s able to capture that moment in gorgeous detail. That’s exactly what transpired when photographer Pilar Rordquiez was out on a boat near SF’s Golden Gate Bridge in July and just so happened to capture the moment when a then-unknown humpback whale leaped from the ocean — right in front of the famous structure. Fast forward a few months later, and resear...
Cruise’s New Self-Driving Car Is a Slap in the Face to San Francisco 
Editors' Picks, Hyperlocal News + Stories

Cruise’s New Self-Driving Car Is a Slap in the Face to San Francisco 

Despite growing public criticism around its fleet of robotaxis, SF-headquartered Cruise recently debuted its new autonomous vehicle — which is designed to transport the most vulnerable among us. 2023 has been a contentious year for self-driving automobiles. They’ve been a topic of discourse around pedestrian safety; they’ve evolved from a quirky tech novelty to a terrifying driverless product that has hindered first responders and caused traffic delays.  People have taken hammers to them. Others placed cones on these AVs, effectively rendering them listless — “bricking,” as it’s become commonly known around San Francisco. Yet, despite public pushback and a reduction in autonomous-vehicle (AV) fleet size, these driverless Chevy Bolts are still combing SF’s hilly topography. In fa...
The Weekend Catch-Up: Another Day, Another Cruise Traffic Jam
Hyperlocal News + Stories

The Weekend Catch-Up: Another Day, Another Cruise Traffic Jam

Plus: SF's Sunset Night Market was a very, very (v) big hit... and brb crying over rising SF Bay Area gas prices. Y’all know how we feel/stand/vibe with San Francisco’s self-driving car revolution. (Read: We’re not exactly keen on doubling as human guinea pigs for new-age tech that's still extremely in its infancy.) It seems that with each passing day, these autonomous vehicles (AVs) are on the road, the more reason we have to throw our hands toward the sky in frustration.  Case and point: A gaggle of self-driving Cruise cars allegedly piled up in Austin, Texas — one of the dozen-plus cities in America where the AV company has expanded its self-driving services —over the weekend, causing confusion, hilarity, and frustration. “Crying rn,” self-described public transit fan and civ...
Here’s a Rare Glimpse of the Old Neon Signs at SF’s Cliff House
Culture + Travel, Editors' Picks, Hyperlocal News + Stories

Here’s a Rare Glimpse of the Old Neon Signs at SF’s Cliff House

"Hey Siri, Play ‘Neon Lights (Rock Version)' by Demi Lovato." Earlier this week, it was joyfully announced that San Francisco’s beloved now-closed, iconoclastic Cliff House diner — which sits near Lands End, sacred acreage owned by the National Parks Service (NPS) — will reopen in 2024, courtesy of a newly granted 20-year lease to Sutro Lands End Partners, LLC.  Though the structure is expected to go through a major renovation, whatever inevitably will replace SF’s Cliff House must honor the building’s historic usefulness; such mandated services include the operation of a restaurant, cafe, retail store, and event space; NPS is requiring Sutro Lands Ends Partners to commit to these uses. “San Francisco has been good to me and to my family ever since my grandparents arrived here d...
On the Soft, Supple Joy of San Francisco’s Flower Piano Festival
Culture + Travel, Essays

On the Soft, Supple Joy of San Francisco’s Flower Piano Festival

Now in its eighth iteration — the COVID-19 pandemic having stolen a season from our 2020 calendars — San Franciscos' Flower Piano concert series returned this past weekend, filling Golden Gate Park with consoling, cushiony recitals. I'm someone who struggles with the concept of satisfaction. Or rather: I’m an almost thirtysomething manic depressive that continues to oscillate between varying degrees of mental soundness. Happiness has always seemed fleeting and ephemeral — a yet-dry watercolor painting thrown into a rainstorm that’s left to bleed toward randomness. On this basis alone, I view happiness with a sideways glance. An emotion to acknowledge in a moment, but one to not chase after it inevitably evaporates. Joy, on the other hand, I’ve come to imply with more permanence;...
That San Francisco Sinkhole Was Our ‘War of the Worlds’ Moment
Hyperlocal News + Stories, News to Know

That San Francisco Sinkhole Was Our ‘War of the Worlds’ Moment

On Monday, September 11th, passersby and drivers in SF’s Pacific Heights neighborhood were presented with an ominous, downright dangerous sight: a massive sinkhole. Between Fillmore and Green streets in San Francisco this week, a 74-year-old water main broke causing the earth around it to balloon with water. Eventually, the pressure and unmoored land around the pipes caused the area to “pop,” leaving nothing but a truly massive sinkhole in the absence of solid ground. Nearby homes in the neighborhood were affected; not surprisingly, Muni lines were redirected and traffic came to a near standstill until it was rerouted. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a gas line was also impacted; the flooding caused major damage to the Cameron James Salon — a basement-level beauty shop...
The Weekend Catch-Up: Viral Vanessa Carlton Robot Performs in SF’s Golden Gate Park
Hyperlocal News + Stories

The Weekend Catch-Up: Viral Vanessa Carlton Robot Performs in SF’s Golden Gate Park

Plus: Don't let your land doggos anywhere near ocean doggos (read: sea lion), because they could contract a fatal disease. ‘Tis that particular time of the year where summer and autumn exist in a liminal space. We’re less than two weeks away from the official fall equinox, and signs of the looming, cooler season are all around us. Over the weekend, San Francisco’s Flower Piano began for the 2023 season, kicking off its days-long extravaganza of outdoor music concerts — many of which come by way of impromptu play. (Now in its eighth season, twelve outdoor pianos are sprinkled throughout the San Francisco Botanical Garden, each open for public use outside of designated concert times.) Saturday, the SF’s Vanessa The Robot, which went viral after it played “Thousand Miles” by Vanessa C...
Sometimes… You Rent a Crane to Plant a Palm Tree in San Francisco
Hyperlocal News + Stories, Nature + Climate Crisis

Sometimes… You Rent a Crane to Plant a Palm Tree in San Francisco

If you've ever wondered how large trees are planted in San Francisco courtyards bordered by tall residential buildings... well, here you go. San Francisco is the second most dense city in the United States, with New York City claiming the Big W. Because of this, urban landscaping and gardening can pose a few hurdles. Unlike suburbia — where metropolitan walkability and public transport surrender to large backyards, front yards, and painted fence lines — sowing large trees in a cityscape comes with its own set of problems. Most San Franciscans can’t uninstall a wooden gate to bring in a mature, hefty plant into a courtyard. No, much more creative and ostensibly over-the-top (pun intended) measures must be enacted to perform such feats. At the corner of Webster Street and Pacific ...