We all know BART has a well-earned reputation as a grimepit, from the skin-infection hosting seats to their infamous poop escalators. And the problem seems to be getting worse, as a study from last year revealed that passengers think stations are filthier than ever. (It certainly doesn't help that as recently as 2014, only one person was tasked with keeping each downtown SF station clean during hours of operation.) Today the Chron has a nice breakdown of the whole mess — much of which, it appears, comes down to homeless folks and money. Let's look at the numbers!

• $400,000: the cost to erect two "temporary 3½-foot-high “no trespassing” gates... to keep homeless people from using the stairwells and escalators as overnight bathrooms at San Francisco’s Embarcadero, Montgomery Street, Powell Street and Civic Center stations"
• $100,000: The annual salary for a new city Homeless Outreach Team manager (BART will pay half) who will work to get homeless people out of stations and into shelters
• $111,000: The annual salary for BART's civilian “crisis intervention and community outreach specialist” who is already "roaming the system to keep an eye on the homeless"
• 15: The number of “special projects” workers who "scrub the four downtown San Francisco stations from top to bottom in six-week cycles"
• 3: The number of crew members dedicated to cleaning SF's 16th Street and 24th Street stations
• $1.1 million: The total cost of those workers
• 122: The number of regular, old, non-special project full-time maintenance workers BART employs
• 32: The number of groundskeepers BART employs (none of whom, apparently, handle rats)
• $9 million: the approximate combined annual salary for those 169 different people who work to keep BART stations clean
• $700,000: The annual payment BART makes to three companies that deal with any station dirt that's higher than seven feet ("the job is considered too dangerous for the transit system’s employees," the Chron says)
• $700,000: The cost of the annual contract BART has with a company that manages pigeons in stations
• $400,000: The cost of the two annual contracts BART has with a company that inspects for and removes graffiti
• $91,000: The amount BART spends a year on a special team that cleans up biohazards — for example, used needles or what's left behind after a BART train hits someone (though it appears that they are not always successful)

All facts and figures: BART’s multimillion-dollar ‘big problem’ is fighting grime, from the March 9, 2016 SF Chronicle.

Previously: Study: BART Cars Host Bacteria Behind Skin Infections, Pneumonia

Those who admire Rihanna's fiercely independent attitude and music — while harboring understandable disdain for the delusional Rachel Dolezal mostly self-serving appropriation of blackness — found themselves locked in a deep internal struggle today. As many caught wind of on Twitter, Vanity Fair profiled the 27-year-old singer (not pictured: baller photos by Annie Leibovitz) which included a defense of Dolezal.

Here's what could be called the "money quote," in that it's driving clicks and conversations.

“I think she was a bit of a hero, because she kind of flipped on society a little bit. Is it such a horrible thing that she pretended to be black? Black is a great thing, and I think she legit changed people’s perspective a bit and woke people up.”

Speaking of woke: That is a thing which Rihanna is apparently not. At best, and very hypothetically here, Dolezal drew attention to the ways a white-dominated culture writ large borrows — when convenient — wholesale elements and identities from black culture. But that's not even an argument Rihanna seems to be making so I'm definitely not going to voice it further.

Look though, this is Rihanna. We should know her well enough. She's gonna say some shit, like this very, truly sad, self-deprecating business about her abusive former boyfriend Chris Brown, also from the interview.

“I was that girl,” she says, “that girl who felt that as much pain as this relationship is, maybe some people are built stronger than others. Maybe I’m one of those people built to handle shit like this... I don’t hate him. I will care about him until the day I die."

Ri Ri noooo.

Previously: Rachel Dolezal Is Pregnant

After two service trucks inside the BART tunnel collided and damaged the electric third rail, BART service has been dramatically reduced by a third Friday morning. Which is to say, avoid BART this morning if you can. (And let's face it, many of you just can't.)

"BART was forced to run all trains through the tube on a single track while crews replaced the damaged section of third rail for the other track," reports The Chronicle. "Only eight of the 23 trains that normally travel through the tube were running, Salavar said. The result was major delays on all four transbay lines."

For their part, BART suggests "using other forms of transportation." Silver lining-wise, AC Transit has offered extra bus service from downtown Oakland to San Francisco. this morning. But still, not a great way to kickoff a weekend. Sorry, folks.

BART goes on to say that train service will be back to normal by noon. Ish. Maybe these newfangled corporate-run shuttles aren't so crazy after all?

SFist will update throughout the day. Good luck, public transit riders.

UPDATE: BART says that full service should be restored by 11:30 am.

Indeed, it can't be good when even BART recommends playing hooky:

UPDATE II: Muni will provide extra trains between Embarcadero and West Portal. Also, extra ferry service is now in effect.

Pics from those on the front lines of BART Meltdown 2013! KRON Assignment Editor Ryan Quintana snapped these two shots en route this morning:

... And this woman speaks for all BART riders this morning:

UPDATE III: BART will reopen the transbay tube at 9 am in BOTH DIRECTIONS. Tube will later shut down to single-track service at 11:30 am in order for further repairs.

UPDATE IV: Well played, BART. Trains are now running on all tracks in the tunnel after this morning's accident that sent your morning commute into a tailspin. According to BART, "No more single-tracking expected during Friday service. Final repairs to be done overnight."

Super sharp CHOW editor John Birdsall tweeting the following item late Thursday afternoon: "Holy Crap! Bank next to our shop in Oakland got robbed today, guys tossed the cash out of their car when the dye pack exploded!"

And, voila, check out that mess.

Birdsall's shop, the wonderful Lot 49, is located at 49th and Telegraph in the Temescal neighborhood. Quite the scene. We're glad that no one was hurt. And we'll update you as soon as we know more about the crooks.

Anyway, as far as we can tell, if you live in Marin and work in Contra Costa, or vice versa, you can't get home because

1) The Richmond Bridge is blocked by a semi
2) 101 is closed in both directions right where it intersects with 580
3) Park Presidio is closed at Lake because of falling trees
4) Doyle is flooded

Unless, of course, you take the windy Napa road. Might as well stock up on vending machine food, commuters! Be safe out there...