News to Know Archives

San Francisco Is (Probably) Getting More Monkeypox Vaccines Ahead of Folsom Weekend

9Sep

By Matt Charnock2 Comments

San Francisco Is (Probably) Getting More Monkeypox Vaccines Ahead of Folsom Weekend

California will receive 10,000 monkeypox shots from the federal stockpile soon. All in all, it seems like the worst of SF’s monkeypox outbreak is behind us. Since August 9th, the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) has seen a downward trend in MPX — the newly adopted name for “monkeypox” by health organizations to help bypass stigma and prejudice around the zoonotic disease — due to increased vaccine availability and public awareness around the disease. San Francisco also now allows second-dose vaccine appointments for anyone 28 days past their initial vaccination or those with compromised immune systems. (Anecdotally, the hours-long wait times at Zuckerberg SF General's vaccine clinic that became Twitter fodder are long gone. About three weeks ago, my first MPX dose ...

5 Ways to Keep Chill-As-Fuck During This Bay Area Heat Wave

5Sep

By Matt Charnock1 Comment

Nature + Climate Crisis, News to Know

5 Ways to Keep Chill-As-Fuck During This Bay Area Heat Wave

We don’t need to suffer any more than we have to — especially in this economy. Is it hot? Yes. Why? It’s the heat. And if recent weather projections are to be taken seriously, it appears this Bay Area heat wave, which exists as part of the larger heat dome that’s bowled California, will linger longer than expected. Bay Area locals can now expect to sweat through record-high temperatures until at least the middle of the week. The Bay Area chapter of the National Weather Service extended its Excessive Warning and Heat Advisory today until at least Thursday, September 8th. Worse? We may not hit the hottest of temperatures until tomorrow. So… the thick film of sweat currently glossing our eyebrows is expected to only get dewier (in a bad way). However, that’s not to say we can’t ...

Y’all Know BART Is Slashing 50% Off Fares This Month, Right?

2Sep

By Matt CharnockNo Comments

Hyperlocal News + Stories, News to Know

Y’all Know BART Is Slashing 50% Off Fares This Month, Right?

It’s in honor of the rapid transit agency’s 50th birthday. BART has been even more on a roll recently. On August 30th, the public transit — which suffered 90% drops in ridership amid shelter-in-place order and general unease during the pandemic’s infancy in 2020 — recorded its second busiest day since COVID-19 entered our collective lexicon. A ridership figure of 161,236 was recorded; it was only second to the 2022 Warriors Championship Parade in June. Now that we’re officially in September, BART riders can (automatically!) get 50% off their fares in honor of the rapid transit agency’s 50th birthday. The fare slash is also honored with existing “Youth/Senior/Gator Pass/Clipper Start/RTC” discounts. “No promo code needed,” BART tweeted earlier this week, before mentioning t...

Millions of Workers Now Report to an AI Algorithm — Not a Boss

1Sep

By Thomas SmithNo Comments

News to Know

Millions of Workers Now Report to an AI Algorithm — Not a Boss

Complaining about your boss is an office tradition as old as work itself But what if you don’t work for a human boss? What if your boss is an algorithm whose internal workings are totally opaque–and yet that boss is able to control everything about your life, and even determine if you’ll be able to put food on your table? According to a new report from the Mozilla Foundation, a non-profit research organization based in Mountain View, that precarious position is increasingly common for gig workers around the world. Many toils in potentially dangerous conditions, with their every move dictated by black-box algorithms that even the algorithms’ creators don’t understand. These algorithms determine their pay, have the power to furlough them or lay them off, and can dramatically change t...

Monarch Butterflies Are Now Endangered. Here’s Where to See Them Near San Francisco

1Sep

By Matt CharnockNo Comments

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

Monarch Butterflies Are Now Endangered. Here’s Where to See Them Near San Francisco

Insects are like the canaries in the coal mine in regards to how we can assess the health of ecosystems. When these invertebrates are in healthy, balanced numbers, it’s a sign that said environment is chugging along nicely; conversely, if their numbers are declining rapidly or are ballooning uncontrolled, something’s out of whack. And something is indeed not right with the migratory monarch butterfly as its population counts continue their downward trend. It’s why the species was declared “endangered” back in July by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the global leading authority on the status of biological diversity. Why? Well, populations of the butterfly— which is famous for its twice-yearly, 2,500-mile journey across the continent between its summer and wi...