Hyperlocal News + Stories Archives

California Condor Population Soars to Over 600 Individuals, First Wild Egg Laid in NorCal Over 100 Years Doing Well

1Apr

By Matt CharnockNo Comments

California Condor Population Soars to Over 600 Individuals, First Wild Egg Laid in NorCal Over 100 Years Doing Well

Back from the literal brink of extinction, California Condors continue to exist as a triumph of human conservation efforts — soaring even amid hostile urbanization. The conservation success story of the California condor is one, quite literally, for the history books. Brought back from the brink of extinction, a population that once numbered less than 22 individuals has, through means of careful habitat restoration and captive rearing initiatives, grown into a population now estimated to be over 600 birds strong — an over 20% increase from previous estimates. A recent report published by the United States FIsh and Wildlife Service (USFWS) confirmed 607 California condors now fly through the skies, which seems like an impossible figure; 40 years ago, only 22 of these birds — the largest...

It Really Did ‘Snow’ in San Francisco Last Week

23Feb

By Matt CharnockNo Comments

Hyperlocal News + Stories, Nature + Climate Crisis

It Really Did ‘Snow’ in San Francisco Last Week

A smattering of wet weather mixed with unusually cold temperatures brought an anomaly to San Francisco: hail (that was cosplaying as “snow"). For many San Franciscans, it was the first time they’d seen any frozen precipitation grace their stoops and outside staircases. February 17th’s chilly weather saw evening citywide lows averaging about 43 degrees Fahrenheit — a far cry from normally freezing temperatures. However, in SF neighborhoods further from downtown and situated in higher elevations, the weather proved fruitful for producing hail. Unlike snow, hail forms further up in the atmosphere, with precipitation carried up from low-lying rainstorms into high-pressure storm clouds where it's met with sub-zero temperatures, crystallizing into dense, usually pea-sized ice formations befo...

SF Bay Area’s Highest Peak Sees Heavy Snow for First Time in Years

18Feb

By Matt CharnockNo Comments

Hyperlocal News + Stories, Nature + Climate Crisis

SF Bay Area’s Highest Peak Sees Heavy Snow for First Time in Years

Unusually frigid weather has brought a host of wintry lows across San Francisco this week, including snowfall in higher elevations elsewhere in the SF Bay Area. Locals shouldering Mount Diablo woke up to a rare sight this morning: snow capping its peak. The San Francisco Bay Area was inundated with surprisingly cold, wet, and windy weather yesterday, particularly in the evening, when temperatures dropped into the high-30s across much of the region. Parts of the North Bay and South Bay saw freezing temperatures; elevations above 2,500 feet reported snowfall and hail last night. For Mount Diablo, the region’s highest summit, it meant the otherwise brown peak transformed into a winter wonderland with snow. And it’s not just a little bit of fluff, either. Various reports estimate...

San Francisco’s Speed Cameras Are, Indeed, Working

6Feb

By Matt CharnockNo Comments

Hyperlocal News + Stories, News to Know

San Francisco’s Speed Cameras Are, Indeed, Working

Since speed cameras were first installed in San Francisco last February, an average of 40,000 speeding cars have been taken off the road each day. The survival odds between a 20mph car crash and a 40mph car crash are unnervingly stark. A pedestrian or cyclist struck by a vehicle traveling at school zone speeds has about a 90% chance of surviving that crash, with the odds of walking away without major injuries at about a coin toss. But doubling that speed sends those favorable odds on a perpetual nose dive; pedestrians and cyclists involved in car crashes at those speeds have just a 20% of surviving, and, if they do, it’s almost certain they’ll suffer life-altering major injuries as a result of their flesh meeting metal. San Francisco’s pedestrian deaths exist well within the understood...

Martha Stewart Visits Favorite SF Plant Shop

6Feb

By Matt CharnockNo Comments

Hyperlocal News + Stories, Nature + Climate Crisis

Martha Stewart Visits Favorite SF Plant Shop

ICYMI, the undisputed queen of all things lifestyle, Martha Stewart, was weaving around San Francisco this weekend, dining and checking out her favorite local spots. As it so happens, Martha Stewart’s favorite SF plant shop, Flora Grubb Gardens, is world-renowned for its plant selection, aesthetic, and gardening courses — a greenhouse Stewart, herself, picked as one of the "American-made " winners for Martha Stewart Living Magazine. “I spent part of this afternoon at [Flora Grubb Gardens] visiting Flora in her plant emporium in San Francisco. Flora was one of our chosen ‘American made’ winners for Martha Stewart Living Magazine,” reads an Instagram caption. “[I] love seeing what our winners are up to. Flora has a growing farm in Southern California, a big nursery in San Francisc...

Two People Just Rode Bay Wheels Ebikes From San Francisco to San Jose for First Time Ever

5Feb

By Matt CharnockNo Comments

Editors' Picks, Hyperlocal News + Stories, Nature + Climate Crisis, News to Know

Two People Just Rode Bay Wheels Ebikes From San Francisco to San Jose for First Time Ever

With 35 miles of estimated range, a pair of pro-transit enthusiasts tested the limits of Bay Wheels ebikes, taking two from SF to SJ ... with at least a 16-mile range discrepancy in tow. San Francisco is an epicenter for the nation’s micromobility movement — set inside a region that’s changing and defining the future of car-free travel. Cargo bikes are becoming the new minivans across the seven-by-seven; ebike sales continue skyrocketing in the San Francisco Bay Area as people shift their primary means of transportation away from steering wheels and onto handlebars; Bay Wheels, the region’s primary bikeshare force, is growing more popular every year, with new stations coming online at a welcome pace. For those already privy to the Lyf-owned bikeshare, its most recent ebike model, r...

Dystopian $20,000 Per Night Hotel Booking Pops Up in SF for Super Bowl Weekend

4Feb

By Matt CharnockNo Comments

Editors' Picks, Hyperlocal News + Stories

Dystopian $20,000 Per Night Hotel Booking Pops Up in SF for Super Bowl Weekend

Who needs to save for a down payment when you could, instead, stay three nights at a three-star hotel in the heart of San Francisco — breakfast not included. Airbnb and hotel bookings in the San Francisco Bay Area are truly, utterly insane at the moment. NFL Media Week is in full swing, and tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of football fans are flooding into the regions ahead of Sunday’s 60th Super Bowl. Business is booming. Utterances of “San Fran” by visitors are at nauseating highs. Foot traffic is, indeed, stomping. And, predictably, Airbnb hosts and major hotel companies — particularly the latter — are taking advantage of the demand, price gouging in deep and visceral and gross ways. KTVU and NBC Bay Area have covered the economic boom echoing ahead of the Se...

Two Morning Fires Smoke San Francisco, Cause Traffic Delays and Damage Beloved SF Dinner

3Feb

By Matt CharnockNo Comments

Hyperlocal News + Stories, News to Know

Two Morning Fires Smoke San Francisco, Cause Traffic Delays and Damage Beloved SF Dinner

San Francisco firefighters were busy Tuesday morning, contending with two one-alarm fires, the earliest at 2165 Lombard Street and the other on Pier 28. Tuesday’s first one-alarm fire erupted before sunrise, with the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) posting on social media just before 5 a.m. that first-responders were working on containing the blaze. Unfortunately, I started inside a beloved San Francisco institution: Mel’s Dinner. *****Working Fire***** 1 alarm fire at 2165 Lombard St at Mel’s Drive In. Firefighters are on scene working to extinguish a fire that started in the flu area of the kitchen. Lombard St. between Fillmore and Steiner St is closed. Please Avon’s the area. #SFFD pic.twitter.com/sruzovRHLn — SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) February 3, 202...

Strong SF Bay Area Earthquake Creates ‘Swarm’ of 20+ Smaller Quakes

3Feb

By Matt CharnockNo Comments

Hyperlocal News + Stories, Nature + Climate Crisis, News to Know

Strong SF Bay Area Earthquake Creates ‘Swarm’ of 20+ Smaller Quakes

Monday morning's M4.2 earthquake in San Ramon is still producing registerable aftershocks as of Tuesday afternoon. More than 4,000 people felt the ground shake beneath them around 7 a.m. Monday morning, after a 4.2 magnitude earthquake struck the East Bay city of San Ramon, according to information published by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). (The earthquake was even strong enough to be felt in eastern parts of San Francisco, most noticeably in the Marina and Embarcadero, two areas infamous for their liquefaction.) Good morning Northern California! Did you feel the magnitude 4.3 earthquake about 2.5 miles southeast of San Ramon at 7:01 am PT. The #ShakeAlert system was activated. See: https://t.co/rj03jGPInq@Cal_OES @CalConservation pic.twitter.com/zpL1OrpKOV — USGS ShakeA...

Rare ‘Nuke-Sniffing’ Helicopter Spotted Flying Over San Francisco Ahead of Super Bowl Weekend

3Feb

By Matt CharnockNo Comments

Hyperlocal News + Stories, Nature + Climate Crisis, News to Know

Rare ‘Nuke-Sniffing’ Helicopter Spotted Flying Over San Francisco Ahead of Super Bowl Weekend

Low-flying helicopter passes will continue over SF for the next few days as nuclear safety surveys are conducted before Sunday's big football game. San Francisco has a long history of nuclear warfare and radiation. Of the 300 designated host sites for nuclear missiles developed by the United States during the Cold War, twelve of them are in the San Francisco Bay Area. (Most, like the Nike Missile Site in Marin, are decommissioned and remain open for tours.) The San Francisco neighborhoods of Bayview-Hunters Point and Treasure Island are infamous for their radioactive pollutants; the former location made international headlines in late 2024 after elevated levels of radioactive materials were discovered by the U.S. Navy — an observation found ahead of housing development at Hunters Point Sh...