- A brushfire on Yerba Buena Island, aka the south end of Treasure Island, stopped traffic on the Bay Bridge for over two hours on Saturday afternoon. At around 2:30 p.m., firefighters responded to a grass fire in an uninhabited part of the island that was burning “uncontrolled” and inaccessible by foot, so they sent a fireboat and were able to get the fire under control and reopen some lanes by 4:45 pm. [Chronicle]
Firefighters are encountering heavy smoke and steep terrain. pic.twitter.com/RJJ6JvzHlg
— SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) May 18, 2024
- The San Francisco Public Library is hosting an exhibition to celebrate the Bay Area artist Ralph Chessé, who’s best known for his mural on the second floor of Coit Tower. But he was also a successful puppeteer who created the children's TV puppet show "Brother Buzz,” and you will be able to see his plethora of puppets. [KPIX]
- Registered nurses with the SF Department of Public Health voted last week to authorize a strike, with 99.5% approval. While the bargaining team is still negotiating with the city to address staffing shortages and working conditions, the authorization allows the nurses to call a strike after their contract expires on June 30 if negotiations don’t progress. [Mercury News]
- Nearly the entire staff of the Bay Institute, a 43-year-old Bay Area environmental group that advocates for the local environment, resigned over a dispute with the CEO. Six out of seven staff members, including four senior and two junior staff, recently announced their resignations due to Bay.org CEO George Jacob's decision to publish their book before final revisions and peer review. [Chronicle]
- A Bay Area grandmother and fetal cardiology nurse at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, Amy Appelhans Gubser, 55, completed a 29.6-mile swim through frigid, shark-infested waters from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Farallon Islands. On May 11, Gubser became the sixth person ever to swim from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Farallon Islands, a feat she accomplished in 17 hours, while suffering jellyfish stings and running into sea lions and seals. [NY Post]
- The new budget airline, Breeze Airways, is starting a new flight out of SFO next week to Grand Junction, Colorado. The seasonal twice-weekly flights (Wednesdays and Saturdays) will take you near Arches National Park in Utah. [SFGATE]
Feature image via SFFD on X.