Posted on January 14, 2021 by kcubas
Bay Area’s MLB, NFL and NHL teams have offered up their stadiums and arenas to potentially become mass vaccination sites
California is expanding its vaccination efforts, and Bay Area teams including the A’s, Giants, 49ers and Sharks have proposed the possibility that their stadiums become mass vaccination centers.
San Francisco Chronicle noted that the A’s and 49ers’ stadiums have large parking lots which could work well to handle a large turnout. The A’s have been in conversations with state and local officials to transform their parking lot at the Coliseum into a drive-through vaccination site.
Also, the 49ers’ team President Al Guido has also offered Levi’s Stadium as a vaccination site in a letter to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. His letter notes, “In collaboration with our partners, Levi’s Stadium offers a facility with the requisite technology to store vaccines, world-class security, and the capability to partner with public health professionals to administer vaccines.”
The Giants, as well, has offered to make its “ballpark facilities available in whatever way is needed” to help with the vaccination efforts. The Sharks joins fellow Bay Area teams in offering up the SAP Center as vaccine site.
Our stadiums would join Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and Petco Park in San Diego which have already been approved for mass vaccination centers and are slated to open as early as next week. The hope is that these sites will help speed up California’s vaccination rate.
Posted on January 14, 2021 by kcubas
NHL finally released a rendering of the new ice rink on the 18th hole at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort golf course in Lake Tahoe.
The League announced the two-game series, NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe, which will feature two regular-season games against the backdrop of the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains.
Although there will be no fans present, the opportunity to play without a crowd led the league to choose a unique setting that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.
The game won’t be played actually on the lake, but on a regulation rink that will be built on the 18th fairway on the shoreline. They’ll even be locker rooms that feel like wooden cabins and a retro scoreboard.
On Saturday, February 20, Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights will face off, and on Sunday, February 21, the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers will take the ice.
Read more on NHL.com.
Posted on January 8, 2021 by kcubas
The three-week “Stay at Home” order that was triggered for the Bay Area on December 18 after ICU capacity for the region fell below 15% was originally supposed to be revisited starting January 8th, but there has been no official word from the State of California.
A region is supposed to be able to exit the stay at home order when a 4-week projection is above or equal to 15%. To our knowledge, the state has not shared any of these projections, or exact methodology as to how these projections are made.
The city of San Francisco proactively extended their order “indefinitely” on December 31st, but we’re not aware of any other county making any official statement on the original deadline of January 8th.
Number of ICU Beds Currently “Available” in Bay Area
as of 1/6/21 – see data source
- Bay Area Total – 267 (lowest number since at least March)
- Alameda – 69
- Contra Costa – 27
- Marin – 14
- Monterey – 33
- Napa – 3
- San Francisco – 46
- San Mateo – 12
- Santa Clara – 27
- Santa Cruz – 4
- Solano – 8
- Sonoma – 24
Why a Drop in Available ICU Beds Doesn’t Always Mean More Hospitalizations
In general, it’s safe to assume that a drop in available ICU beds correlates with more more ICU beds being occupied, but not always. Please note that maximum number of potential ICU beds on a per region or county basis is not shared by the state of California and that potential ICU bed numbers can change depending on staffing and the ability to convert “normal” beds into ICU beds which is a common practice when overflow is needed. So without the state providing more detailed statistics and data on what it considers an “available” bed to be, in some cases it’s unclear if a drop in the number ICU beds available is the result of more hospitalizations, temporary ICU beds being converted back into regular beds and taken “offline,” or a combination of both.
In addition the Bay Area has 375 potential hospital beds not included in the above numbers that are considered “warm” and ready to be activated quickly in case of an emergency surge (125 in San Francisco in The Presidio and 250 in Richmond at the Craneway Pavilion)
When is a Regional “Stay at Home” Order Supposed to End?
Here’s what the state of California says are the criteria for determining when a region can exit the stay-at-home order, but to our knowledge the state has not provided any specific stats or backup to determine the numbers below or to understand exactly how the projections are made.
After three weeks from the start of the Regional Stay Home Order in the region, one of two situations would occur:
- The order will end in a region if the region’s ICU capacity projected out four weeks (from day 22 after the Regional Stay Home Order started in the region) is above or equal to 15%. Each county in the region will then be assigned to a tier based on the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and the rules of the Blueprint will apply again.
- The order will remain in effect in a region if its ICU capacity projected out four weeks (from day 22 after the Regional Stay Home Order started in the region) is less than 15%. The order will remain in effect until the region’s projected ICU capacity is equal or greater than 15%. This would be assessed approximately twice a week.
According to the state of California’s COVID dashboard, as of 1/5/21 the Bay Area has ICU availability of 3.5%, but the state has not provided actual data backup for exactly how this number is calculated or the exact county-by-county breakdown, or the total number of ICU beds a county is considered having which can change daily depending on staffing and the ability to convert normal beds into ICU beds.
As of 1/5/21 San Francisco reports its ICU capacity 33%.
Posted on January 8, 2021 by kcubas
Delivery of shiny new “Fleet of the Future” trains on hold for at least 12 weeks while BART works out software & wheel issues.
Thanks to the Mercury News for letting us know that BART has paused their delivery of new “Fleet of the Future” trains due to software glitches and reliability issues putting it’s $2.6 billion effort to swap out a decades-old fleet of trains on hold.
Thanks to glitches in the on-board automatic train control system, the “new” cars routinely stop while in service and can’t move again until the train operator reboots the systems. This results in a 5-10 minute delay.
As of January 8, 2021, BART is expected to have 290 “Fleet of the Future” trains in service and 618 “legacy” cars.
Additionally, in wet weather the train’s wheels can develop “flat” spots when stopping, so the cars need to be removed from service so that the wheels can be resurfaced.
The pause in delivery of new trains will begin on January 8 and is expected to last at least 12 weeks.
This doesn’t appear to have any impact on the number of trains in service, only that older “legacy” cars will be decommissioned at a slower rate.
BART will temporarily stop accepting new cars
Read more at BART
BART will temporarily stop accepting delivery of new Fleet of the Future (FOTF) rail cars beginning January 8, 2021 to allow the manufacturer, Bombardier Transportation, the time to take steps to improve the cars’ reliability and availability, and to alleviate rail car storage constraints at BART’s maintenance yards.
One of the issues to be resolved is related to software in the on-board automatic train control system. The new cars routinely stop while in service and will not move until after the Train Operator reboots the system, resulting in a five-to-ten-minute delay.
In addition, when trains are stopping under wet or rainy conditions, the cars’ wheels can develop flat spots. When this occurs, the cars need to be removed from service so that the wheels can be resurfaced.
While neither issue impacts the safety of existing FOTF cars currently in service, they can impact service reliability and car availability.
BART is expected to have 290 FOTF cars by January 8th and, combined with 618 legacy cars, BART will be required to retire legacy cars to create room for additional FOTF cars. Given the pause in delivery of new cars, which is expected to last a minimum of twelve weeks, BART will decommission legacy cars at a slower rate.
BART is committed to supporting Bombardier Transportation as they work to address issues that impact the reliability and availability of the FOTF, and to implement pragmatic solutions that will provide the highest levels of performance for the new cars.
Posted on December 28, 2020 by kcubas
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (BCN) – City officials on Saturday reminded residents that San Francisco’s curbside pickup of holiday trees will take place in early January.
Last year, the city chipped more than 500 tons of Christmas trees into mulch.
“Not only does this ensure that discarded holiday trees will be put to good use as earth-friendly mulch, but disposing of them properly also helps keep our neighborhoods clean and safe and reduces fire hazards,” said Acting Public Works Director Alaric Degrafinried.
After removing tinsel, decorations, nails, plastic bags, stands, and lights from the trees, residents can place them next to blue recycling bins the night before their scheduled collection day, between Jan. 4 and Jan. 15.
Any tree more than 6 feet tall should be cut it in half. Trees should not be put into plastic bags.
The trees will be chipped in San Francisco and turned into mulch at a Recology composting facility.
The holiday collection schedule is available on www.Recology.com.
For more information, email Recology at CustomerServiceRecologySF.com or call the company at (415) 330-1300.
Posted on December 24, 2020 by kcubas
Every evening at sunset, over 220 state-of-the-art LED lighting fixtures illuminate City Hall’s exterior. Normally, a soft white glow shows off the play of light and shadow on the full façade and dome. Frequently, special plaza façade lighting schemes honor or celebrate events, seasons, and holidays.
City Hall will be lit up in green and red most nights in the lead up to Christmas and immediately afterward.
City Hall Holiday Lighting Schedule
- December 13-25: Red/green – Holiday Season
- December 26: Red/green/black – 1st Night of Kwanzaa
- December 27-30: Red/green – Holiday Season
- December 31: Gold – Happy New Year!
The schedule is always tentative for the holiday lights and subject to change when there are special events and the building is lit in honor of those.
Be safe!
Posted on December 24, 2020 by kcubas
Christmas Day – Friday, December 25, 2020
The following parking regulations will not be enforced anywhere in the city:
- Parking meters (including Port meters)
- Seven-day street sweeping
- Residential parking permits
- Monday-Friday daytime street sweeping
- Commuter towaway
Safety Violations (No Stopping, No Parking, Red Zones, Blue Zones): Enforced
In the Mission Bay and China Basin areas, SFMTA parking rates change for special events and gamedays at Oracle Park and Chase Center.
Source: SFMTA Holiday Enforcement, SFMTA Color Curb Program Details
Stay safe!
Posted on December 24, 2020 by kcubas
Yes, COVID sucks and most everything is shut down or gone virtual. But there are still a few socially-distant things you can do on Christmas Eve and Christmas.
If you choose to go out, just make sure to mask up, stay socially distant and don’t mix with other groups outside your household.
Thursday, December 24, 2020 – 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Ferry Building | The Embarcadero and Ferry Plaza, San Francisco
Satisfy your last-minute holiday needs and warm up with some free hot apple cider Thursday, December 24. You’ll find our regular Thursday farms along with pop-ups like Hog Island Oyster Co., Delightful Foods (pie), Root Down Farm (pastured meat), and more to make for a unique, delicious, and truly local feast.
Thursday, December 24, 2020
Mel’s Drive In (Lombard + Geary)
Outdoor dining might be officially banned, but Mel’s carhop service is technically “delivery” since they bring it to your car so they are allowed to be open. It’s a fun date night as long as you don’t mind your car smelling like patty melts and milkshakes. Mel’s first opened on December 23, 1947 in San Francisco so this week is their 73rd anniversary.
Thursday, December 24, 2020 – 7:30 am to 4:00 pm | Cost: FREE
24th Street BART | 24th Street and Mission, San Francisco, CA
OK, this isn’t “fun” by any stretch. But it is cheap. This free and no appointment necessary testing site has popped up to serve the Latinx community for just two days (December 23-24). This isn’t meant for if you are being frivolous and are traveling or gathering with friends and want to make sure you’re ok. This is for essential workers, the Mission community and if you’re experience symptoms or recently had exposure.
December 24-25 starting at 5:30p
Tickets $8.50 for adults / $2 kids
Yes, the Bay’s two drive-in movie theaters – one in Concord and one in San Jose – are still open and showing movies nightly. San Jose is larger and has more screens and is showing a bunch of xmas movies on xmas eve. On Christmas night it’s normal films including Wonder Woman 1984 at both locations.
One of the rare days in SF where parking meters throughout the city are completely free (the other free days are Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day). Plus there’s no street sweeping or residential permit parking tickets. But just remember, tickets can start again at 12:01am on Christmas night. Plus red zones, no stopping, no parking zones are still enforced even in Christmas.
Friday, December 25, 2020 – 7:30 am to 4:00 pm | Cost: FREE
San Francisco Botanical Garden | 1199 9th Avenue, San Francisco
The San Francisco Botanical Garden is one of the most diverse gardens in the world. A unique urban oasis, the garden is a living museum within Golden Gate Park, offering 55 acres of both landscaped gardens and open spaces, and showcasing over 9,000 different kinds of plants from around the world. The gardens (normally $9 for adults) is free for all on Christmas Day.
Friday, December 25, 2020 – 9:30 am | Cost: FREE
Safeway Parking Lot (Outer Richmond) | 850 La Playa St., San Francisco
If you want to make a ruckus, this anti-ICE and defund the police protest will be meeting up in the Outer Richmond at 9:30am and then driving out at 10am with noisemakers and horns blazing through some of the richest neighborhoods in SF because “injustice never takes a holiday.”
Take a drive and see some of SF’s and the Bay Area’s most holiday-rific light shows including the Tom & Jerry House in San Francisco, the Entwined lighted forest in Golden Gate Park and Fremont’s “Crippsmas Place” Festive Neighborhood Lights.
Thursday, December 24, 2020 – 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm | Cost: FREE
Tripp Distillery | 1121 Palmetto Ave., Pacifica, Ca
Tripp Distillery in Pacifica is giving away free Whisky tastings to go (due to COVID no onsite consumption). Enjoy a walk at the beach and pick up last minute Christmas gifts, great location with hiking trails and fun restaurants.
Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change
Posted on December 17, 2020 by kcubas
Go on a self-guided tour to see all of the amazing light sculptures in 17 neighborhoods by 30+ artists
Get your glow on during this two-month celebration during the longest nights of the year. In past years, the city has hosted nighttime neighborhood walks, artist talks and participatory experiences. Since this is a unique year with special precautions and restrictions, there aren’t scheduled activities. Just map your own route and take a fun self-guided tour with your own household.
2020 Light Art Installations – 45+ different light sculptures (both permanent and temporary) in 17 neighborhoods by 30+ artists.
2020 Illuminate SF Festival of Light
November 26, 2020 – January 23, 2021
All over San Francisco – Map
FREE
Read more at Illuminate SF.
The eighth annual light fantastic includes several dramatic, eco-friendly light art installations accessible by public transit and admission-free.
Many of San Francisco’s intimate neighborhoods will also light up shopping districts and streets. Read more in our Winter Holidays Lights Guide.
Happy Holidays!
Posted on December 17, 2020 by kcubas
BART finally completes systemwide conversion. Refunds for paper tickets only for values over $1
BART has successfully transitioned all stations to offer Clipper as the only fare product available for purchase. BART began eliminating the sales of paper tickets in August of 2019 when a 4-station pilot program was launched.
The conversion was accelerated during the pandemic with one or more stations transitioned each week throughout 2020. Systemwide conversion was fully completed the week of December 7th.
This effort is part of BART’s 15-Step Plan to welcome riders back to a more contactless experience in the era of COVID-19.
Still have paper tickets? You can get a refund for any paper tickets by taking it to a station agent, but only if the remaining value is greater than $1.00.
Touchless Experience
BART is working to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Using Clipper helps this effort by allowing riders to avoid direct contact with fare gates, as the card only needs to be held over the fare gate card reader without touching. Riders can further protect themselves from contact with fare machines by loading funds onto their Clipper card online, allowing up to one day for the balance to post. For registered users, the Autoload feature will automatically replenish their Clipper balance.
While paper tickets will no longer be available for purchase at these stations, riders are still be able to use paper tickets to enter or exit through fare gates. Riders are also able to add enough fare to a paper ticket to exit the station using add fare machines located inside the paid area.
