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Saturday Links: SF-Based Captain the First Woman to be Named United Airlines’ Most Senior Pilot

Leanne Maxwell — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 16:30:00 GMT

President Donald Trump said US forces “obliterated” military targets on Kharg Island off the coast of Iran in the Persian Gulf where 90% of Iran’s oil is believed to be exported. Iran later confirmed there was no damage to its oil infrastructure, as the country had said it would strike US allies in the region if there had been any damage. [BBC]
San Francisco-based pilot, Captain Chresten Wilson, who’s been with United Airlines for 42 years, is the first woman to be named the airline’s most senior pilot in its 100-year history. [KGO]

Around 200 UCSF workers and 2,000 UC workers statewide voted this week to form a new union with United Auto Workers — the third group of UC employees to unionize in the past year. [Mission Local]
With the average price of gas in California at $5.42 per gallon, San Jose Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Matt Mahan is asking state leaders to temporarily suspend the state gas tax. [NBC Bay Area]

The latest trend for gig workers involves wearing cameras on one’s hands and head while doing daily tasks to help the AI learn human movements. [LA Times]
San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties have the highest rates of tuberculosis in the state and three times the national average due to the high frequency of international travelers entering the country through the Bay Area. [Bay Area News Group]
Memes have taken over social media in China mocking a March 6 video of President Donald Trump praying with faith leaders inside the White House, with one satirical caption reportedly saying, “A Chinese boss leads his team to pray for huge sales.”

Meanwhile in China, the viral White House prayer scene has turned into a full-blown social media trend. Bosses at small businesses and factories are rounding up their employees to make fun of the stunt—forming a circle, placing hands on shoulders or heads, and praying in a… https://t.co/07sc5W7rfq pic.twitter.com/VOFD2TNq0o
— Eivor (@Eivor_Koy) March 11, 2026

The current allergy season is going to be especially long this year — and agonizing, as this year’s bloom came early due to California having the second warmest winter on record, along with the intermittent rain and dry spells drawing out the pollen and then scattering it through the air. [Chronicle]

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

Day Around the Bay: Yolo County Casino Suffers Tuberculosis Exposure

Joe Kukura — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 03:37:05 GMT

Local:

As SF gets set to rezone much of the city, particularly on the west side, the city is starting to send notices to residents by mail. Though as 48 Hills notes, these notices do not mention the strong likelihood of small businesses being displaced as a result of their buildings being demolished to build taller housing. [48 Hills]
Cache Creek casino in Yolo County had a tuberculosis exposure, and is warning patrons that they may have been exposed. The casino did not say how many patrons who were there had the airborne disease tuberculosis, nor when the exposure may have occurred. [KTVU]
The sale of Philz Coffee to a private equity firm has closed, and while employees who owned stock have seen it rendered worthless, all employees will be getting some sort of “thank you bonus.” The company has not indicated the size of these bonuses, but they will vary by employee rank. [Mission Local]

National:

Meta says that WhatsApp has taken down 6.8 million accounts linked to “criminal scam centers” that they suspect were affiliated with organized crime. [NBC Bay Area]
The Israeli government is barreling forward with plans for a full military takeover of Gaza, and well, so much for that supposed ceasefire. [NY Times]
A federal judge ordered a two-week pause on construction at Trump’s so-called Alligator Alcatraz detention center, but mostly just for environmental reasons. [Politico]

Video:

Little baby elephant frolicking in the bath? Little baby elephant frolicking in the bath.

What a little darling enjoying his bath 😍🐘 pic.twitter.com/vvsgoL7z2r
— Nature is Phenomenal (@AnimalGeoLife) August 6, 2025

Image: Joe Kukura, SFist

Hundreds Of Bay Area Babies May Have Been Exposed To Tuberculosis

Devon McReynolds — Sun, 13 Dec 2015 13:18:00 GMT

After a nurse at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose was diagnosed with tuberculosis, hospital officials said Friday that they believe more than 1,000 people, including 350 newborns, may have also been exposed to the disease.

The nurse, who works in the Mother and Infant Care Center of the hospital, according to ABC, was treated for an unrelated illness in mid-November, and was concurrently screened for tuberculosis, for which she tested positive (a routine test for TB in September was negative). She was immediately placed on a paid leave of absence.

CBS S.F. reports that officials have accounted for 1,056 people who are at greatest risk of contracting TB, a number made up of 350 infants, 368 mothers and 338 employees, said Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Chair of Pediatrics Dr. Stephen Harris. According to Harris, tuberculosis can be "life-threatening" for infants; unlike with adults, the disease can get into the bloodstream and effect other parts of the baby's body.

TB is typically spread through the air, by either coughing or sneezing. Harris said that the nurse "is not a very contagious individual" and that she "was not coughing up tuberculosis during the time she was working." Way to look on the bright side, I guess?

As a precaution against potentially devastating consequences of TB, the Mercury News reports that all 350 infants born during mid-August and mid-November will be required to take an oral antibiotic treatment for six to nine months, even if they test negative for the disease.

But Dr. Lisa Winston, a UC San Francisco professor of medicine and hospital epidemiologist told the Mercury News that various TB tests might not be accurate; both tuberculosis skin testing and blood tests can be negative in people who have latent TB and people who have active TB.

"It is also possible the nurse contracted TB between September and November," Winston said. "But given the short time frame, one might guess that a false negative test is more likely."

Harris said the hospital is working to notify those who might have been exposed by mail, and phone, and that screening and treatment visits begin Monday. Hospital officials said that anyone who believes they were potentially exposed can call (408) 885-3444 to make an appointment.

California Tuberculosis Patient Jailed For Being Contagious Threat

Andrew Dalton — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:35:56 GMT

In Stockton, California a meth-addled tuberculosis patient has been tossed in lockup after refusing to take the medications that would keep his active pulmonary TB from becoming contagious. 34-year-old Armando Rodriguez apparently missed one of his self-administered treatments because he went on a meth-fueled alcohol binge and, as he told a nurse, he didn't want to hurt his liver.

Rodriguez's worry for his liver didn't concern the health officials in San Joaquin County tasked with preventing a widespread TB outbreak, however. He was diagnosed with the disease and ordered to take the medication back in March, but after he missed or refused treatment on five other occasions, the county hit him with two counts refusing to comply with the doctor's orders. Each count carries a penalty of up to a year in jail and Rodriguez will need at least another nine months of treatment according to a public health official.

San Joaquin County's current TB problem goes hand-in-hand with their meth problem, apparently. The county has prosecuted over 30 tuberculosis patients since 1984. The criminal charges are a necessary measure for patients whose street drug use interferes with the medication, making them unfit for outpatient treatment.

[AP]

Tuberculosis-Infected Man On 'Do Not Board' List Flies Into SFO

Brock Keeling — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:54:22 GMT

Over the weekend, a man on the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention's "do not board" list, with a steaming case of tuberculosis, managed to fly from Philadelphia to SFO. Should his fellow passengers be worried? Not so, says US Airways spokesman Morgan Durant.

"We're pleased to hear from CDC that there is little to no risk of exposure on flights less than eight hours," Durant told KCBS. "The flight from Philadelphia to San Francisco is a little bit less than six hours."

Hmm. We recommend mainlining a few Emergen-Cs for good measure.

Anyway, federal health and aviation security officials are currently investigating how he managed to board the plane. After the unidentified man was already en route, CDC officials discovered he was on the plane. Oops. San Mateo County health officials met him at SFO, isolated him, and whisked him off to a nearby hospital.

Smatting of Tuberculosis Hits Castro Bars

Brock Keeling — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:09:53 GMT

Get ready to panic, gays. Bars in Bevan Dufty's district are brimming with tuberculosis. Or so alarmist reports tell us. But according to the esteemed Bay Area Reporter, San Francisco health officials have traced "several cases of tuberculosis to patrons of Castro gay bars, with one of the people infected a bartender in the area." Over 140 employees in the homosexually-inclined neighborhood are being asked to test for TB. However, Gay men's health outreach center Magnet is saying that you don't have to worry unless you're a bartender. (Speaking of which, did anybody see that line coming out of Lime the other day? It wasn't a velvet rope line; it was a line of unemployed people looking for a service industry gig. Oy.) TB is most harmful, we're told, to HIV-positive ilk HIV who are "the biggest risk factor for not only contracting TB but for perpetuating and amplifying transmission," according to Dr. Masae Kawamura, director of the health department's tuberculosis control section.

Tuberculosis Scare Hits Kaiser Permanente In SF

Brock Keeling — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:38:33 GMT

Hey, did you give birth at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco between March 10 to Aug. 10? Well, you might want to get tested for TB. See, Kaiser is in the process of contacting 960 new mothers about possible exposure after a part-time postpartum unit employee, who no longer works for the hospital, tested positive for tuberculosis. (Read more about it here.) For more info on getting tested, call Kaiser at 800-464-4000,or visit kp.org/newscenter. (SFGate)