SF’s downtown IKEA store is getting around-the-clock security, stay the fuck away from those hella sketchy and free Covid-19 testing sites in the TL, and a lil’ more from this past weekend.
The middle of April is big for numerical celebrations in San Francisco. Obviously, we have 4/20 — a day perfumed with the musky aroma of singed cannabis, punctuated by takeout food and Old Spice body spray worn by cis-white men in Dolores Park. But outside of everyone’s favorite excuse to get hella stoned before noon, there’s also “415 Day.”
Check out my reel of SF’s mosaic and painted stairs.!#totalsf pic.twitter.com/3tkLF8pUnY
— Urban Hiker SF (@UrbanHikerSF) January 7, 2023
Celebrated on April 15th (04/15), which also represents the day San Francisco became an official U.S. city — Happy 173 birthday, btw, SF! — the day coincides with a citywide celebration of all things uniquely San Francisco. It also serves as a day to reconvene with all the splendors Mother Nature has bestowed on the seven-by-seven… jewels present far before humans claimed this slice of Northern California.
Granted, the planet’s most influential mammal species have crisscrossed San Francisco in a network of public staircases; some might even call SF the stair capital of the world. And over the weekend, I took the opportunity to climb a few staircases around Nob Hill and Telegraph Hill.
Obviously, Filbert Steps was on my list.
“It’s such a pretty day to get out on the steps,” a kind stranger says to me, striking up a conversation as I walk a friend’s dog. “I’ve lived here for over thirty years now, and this city feels like home. There’s something beautiful around every corner.”
San Francisco truly is a stair city. I love that for me — for you, for us, for everyone.
What else transpired over the weekend? Let’s take a look.
- IKEA is going to have “non-stop” security for its downtown location when it opens later this year. “We strive to have excellent partnerships with all local, state, and federal authorities, including law enforcement, and work in tandem with them as any situation requires,” said an Ikea spokesperson to the SF Standard, the news coming just a week. “While we are energetically moving forward with construction, we remain committed to the site and will be sharing our exciting plans for the grand opening celebration of IKEA San Francisco in the coming months.” More info.
- Don’t forget that you, too, can get money from Meta’s class-action lawsuit. The company formerly known as Facebook has agreed to pay out $725 million to settle a long-contested lawsuit over personal data privacy on Facebook; users of the Bay Area-based who had active profiles anytime between May 2007 to December 2022 will be entitled to compensation paid out from the settlement; the payouts will be determined at a later date, which will take in consideration time on the platform and the lawsuit’s net allocation. More info.
- It’s unclear as fuck just what those “free” Covid-19 pop-up testing sites are in the Tenderloin. But they can’t be good — and could very well be stealing personal data from vulnerable seniors; “We’ve reached out to DPH, City Attorney, and SFPD regarding investigation/enforcement,” tweeted District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston. “We urge folks not to engage with these sites until the city is able to determine whether they are legitimate.” More info.
