• ICYMI: City Hall in San Francisco was glowing the same colors as Ukraine's flag last night. Following Thursday's rally at 1 Dr. Carlton B Goodlett Place, the facade outside City Hall was lit up blue and yellow in support of the Eastern European country Friday night as they go into the third day of war against Russia; City Hall is expected to show the same colors tonight and tomorrow, as well. [Twitter]
  • Illegal dumping continues to be a major problem in Oakland — a problem that the City plans to tackle using at least ten new surveillance cameras throughout the city to deter and catch dumpers. [Chronicle]
  • Millions of people accidentally downloaded "Wordle!" thinking that it was, in fact, the popular word puzzle game “Wordle," but the creator of the former app has now paid out about $50K in unexpected royalties; the funds were donated to Boost! West Oakland, a no-cost mentoring and tutoring nonprofit. [Oaklandside]
  • Surf conditions along Bay Area coastlines are quite dangerous today as a "potent storm front" that's been battering the Aleutian Islands makes its way into the region. [KPIX]
  • A 16-year-old male pedestrian was struck and killed by a vehicle on Concord Friday around 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon. [KRON4]
  • What's known as "Africa's unicorn," the okapi — a near-relative of the giraffe —faces ongoing threats like deforestation, mining, and illegal poaching for the black market that have decimated populations of the rare mammal. [Mongabay]
  • Russian military forces continue their advancement into Kyiv, but the city has remained in the hands of the Ukrainian people after another night of gunfire and explosions, many of the attacks now coming to the streets; thousands of civilians have taken up arms to defend Ukraine's capital city and other cities as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains in the city to fight alongside other Ukrainians. [Associated Press]
  • The BA.2 mutation of the Omicron variant has proven to be about 30% more infectious than the original strain — but the mutation still remains less extreme than other studied SARS-CoV-2 variants, and the existing roster of COVID-19 vaccines remain effective in mitigating severe illness. [NYT]

Photo: Courtesy of Twitter via @BlueWest18