SF News Saturday Links: Thousands Walk Out of Work, School During May Day Protests The NWS issued a hazard warning, alerting beach-goers to potential sneaker waves and rip currents; Oakland police arrested two people suspected of organizing sideshows; and thousands of students and workers took part in May Day events Friday.
SF News Day Around the Bay: AI Company Flies Rage-Baiting 'Stop Hiring Humans' Ad Through the Sky Someone brought a humanoid robot on a plane in Oakland; researchers calculated that a third of new websites since last May were created with AI; and a local company's rage-baiting campaign was taken to the sky.
SF News Thieves Steal Band’s U-Haul Full of Gear In Oakland In Under Two Minutes LA-based band Moonchild, who were scheduled to play in Berkeley Wednesday, said they were aware of the Bay Area’s reputation for car break-ins but didn’t anticipate thieves would make off with their entire U-Haul of gear.
Arts & Entertainment SF Fighting Robot Company to Open Gym, Storefront on Van Ness This Summer A local company that makes and sells fighting humanoid robots is opening a permanent location in SF’s Nob Hill in July. While the company's robots are strictly used for entertainment purposes, recent close-calls involving humanoids have raised safety concerns.
SF News Waymo Drives Off With South Bay Man’s Luggage After Trunk Fails to Open A Sunnyvale man says the Waymo that took him to the airport neglected to open the trunk for him to retrieve his luggage before driving off. The company wants him to pay for shipping, or take two complimentary Waymo rides to the depot in SF to retrieve it.
SF News Day Around the Bay: SF Extends Subsidized Child Care to 750 Families Supervisor Alan Wong shares some submissions for the city’s “dumb law” contest; over 2,700 PG&E customers were without power in the Mission Thursday; and SF extended subsidized childcare to the families of 750 additional children.
SF News Lurie’s Decision to Open Market to Waymo Prompts Influx of Illegal Private Drivers City leaders held a meeting Monday on the status of Market Street following Lurie's decision to give Waymo, Uber, and Lyft access to the restricted thoroughfare. They found an uptick in illegal private drivers and very few authorized ride-hailing cars.
SF News Catholic Diocese of Oakland to Close 13 East Bay Churches Amid Lawsuits As the Catholic Diocese of Oakland faces mounting debt over the hundreds of child sexual assault lawsuits filed against its clergy members in recent years, the diocese announced the closure of over a dozen locations in the East Bay.
Business & Tech Uber to Begin Offering Hotel Room Listings, Edging More Toward Being an 'Everything App' Uber announced plans to offer in-app hotel listings and other “travel mode” features, while offering enhanced perks through its Uber One subscription. Meanwhile there's a pending lawsuit from the FTC alleging the company used deceptive billing practices tied to the membership.
SF News Suspect 'Late for Work' Takes CHP on High-Speed Chase, Crashes on Active Railroad Track A speeding driver took the CHP on a 120-mph police chase through Redwood City, which culminated in the driver slamming into a car on an active railroad track — because he said he was “running late for work.”
Business & Tech Insurance Startup Launches FiDi Cafe That's Open 24/7 to Serve as Tech Hub An insurance startup recently opened an all-hours cafe and workspace on the edge of SF's Financial District — where most businesses go dark by 5 pm.
Business & Tech Scientists Say AI Chatbots Gave Them Advice on Creating Biological Weapons A small group of biosecurity experts who consult with AI companies to stress-test their products are reporting that several chatbots on the market offered them detailed information on turning pathogens into potential weapons.
SF News Driverless Cars Will Start Getting Tickets In California Starting July 1 New regulations go into effect July 1 giving officials authority over driverless vehicle companies, including ticketing for traffic violations, stipulating fleet sizes, and utilizing geofencing in emergencies — while also paving the way for driverless trucks.
SF News Over 200 Angry Donors Demand $1.5 Million In Refunds From Swalwell Campaign As legal expenses mount from multiple criminal investigations into the sexual assault allegations against former Representative Eric Swalwell, dozens of people who donated to his campaign for governor are pushing to get their money back.
SF News Day Around the Bay: Crews Begin Disassembling Vaillancourt Fountain The State Department will be providing citizens the option to put Trump’s face on their passports; a suspect was arrested in the 34-year-old unsolved murder of a woman found in the Sierra Foothills; and the controversial Vaillancourt Fountain is being taken down.
SF News SF Resident Contracts New Strain of ‘Mpox,’ But Risk Still Low Health officials recently alerted the public to the first case of mpox Clade I in San Francisco, a newer strain of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, which showed up in a resident linked to an international traveler.
Arts & Entertainment Lurie Appoints SF’s First Arts Director, Forges Arts Partnerships In Shanghai Mayor Daniel Lurie appointed the city’s first arts and culture director Monday, an announcement that followed his recent trip to Asia, where he finalized partnerships with arts organizations Shanghai.
Business & Tech Mill Valley Homeowner Offers 13-Acre Estate In Exchange For Anthropic Stock A Mill Valley property owner and investment banker hoping to get into the AI market recently took to LinkedIn with the hopes of handing over his sprawling estate to an interested Anthropic shareholder in exchange for stock in the company.
SF Politics Republican-Backed California Voter ID Measure Makes It On November Ballot A proposed measure backed by two Southern California Republicans would require voters to use identification at the polls and by mail, and local election officials would be expected to regularly verify voter rolls.
SF Politics ‘Billionaire Tax’ Qualifies For November Ballot, and One Local Billionaire Says He Supports It Proponents of the controversial “billionaire tax” measure have collected almost double the required signatures to qualify it for the November ballot. While there are many Bay Area billionaires who oppose the tax, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says he’s “perfectly fine with it.”
Bay Area Sports Firm Owned By Jared Kushner’s Brother to Buy Minority Stake In SF Giants A third private equity firm is set to own a small portion of the SF Giants, as Joshua Kushner, brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, announced that his firm Thrive Eternal has agreed to purchase a minority, non-controlling stake in the team.
SF News Ex-IDF Soldier Visiting Stanford With Miss Israel Accused of Putting Student In Chokehold Stanford authorities are investigating an incident in which an ex-IDF soldier, who was visiting the campus last week with Miss Israel, is accused of tackling and restraining a student who took a paper sign from the booth.
SF News Sunday Links: Two Earthquakes Strike Off Coast Near San Francisco Zoo BART’s Red line and a portion of its Green line are out of service through Sunday; the pledge to have a single, Democratic caretaker candidate run to fill Swalwell’s seat fell through; and two earthquakes struck off the coast near the SF Zoo.
SF News SF Officials Warn of Counterfeit Opioids Stronger Than Fentanyl Following First Overdose The Department of Public Health issued a warning about two highly potent synthetic opioids that recently hit the streets of San Francisco, which were detected in the blood of a recent overdose victim earlier this month.
SF News Police Bodycam Footage Shows Antioch Officer Trapped With Suspect In Moving SUV Newly released bodycam and surveillance footage shows a tense incident from February when an Antioch police officer became trapped in a moving car with a robbery suspect.
