middle is a sharply pointed sword, a weapon that Valkyries are often represented with because it symbolizes courage, power, and authority. Within the sword (minus the tip) is a tower of the Bay Bridge, a symbol of the Valkyries’ presence across the Bay, linking their homes in San Francisco, where they play home games, and Oakland, where they are headquartered. This Bay Bridge reference is reminiscent of the Golden State Warriors, in that it features an image of the Bay Bridge as its centerpiece, but that’s about all the Bay’s WNBA and NBA teams have in common.

Fanning out from the tower are bridge cables forming five separate triangles in each wing, symbolizing the five players competing on the court at any given time. The cables fan out to invoke wings, a strong, telegraphic symbol of Valkyries in many historical illustrations. 13 lines inside the “V” represent the Valkyries becoming the 13th team to join the WNBA.

Being the 13th WNBA team somehow suits the name’s origins. In Old Norse, Valkyrie means “chooser of the slain.” These fierce females guided the souls of dead and dying male warriors off the battlefield and brought them to the god Odin’s hall, Valhalla.

The violet color scheme invokes nobility, power, a regal bearing, and women’s empowerment, as shades of purple have long been associated with royalty due to the rarity of purple dye in the ancient world. This means we need to work new fan colors into the rotation we’ll see crowds wearing as they stream into our neighborhood: Orange and Black; Blue and Gold; Violet and Black. Imagine ’em all descending upon us on the same night!

Season ticket deposits had eclipsed 7,000 by the end of April.

Pelican Landing
Last Saturday marked a first at Oracle Park. A brown pelican flew over the top of the grandstand and landed on the outfield during the fifth inning of an SF Giants home game. Astonished announcers referred to it as a bird, until fans on social media informed them it was a pelican. The crowd erupted into cheers when the pelican took off from Oracle’s outfield and circled the ballpark before flapping its long wings and flying away. Check out the video in this link.

Different Kind of Splash Hit
Pelicans were spotted circling and diving on Mission Creek near the Fourth Street Bridge in the late afternoons for several days leading up to the pelican landing on the outfield during a game. Their appearance here coincided with an anchovy run.

A pelican high dive is dramatic to behold. They hover above the water briefly before diving straight down beak first, plunging below the surface with a mighty SPLASH! 

Mission Creek Birders email group gets active whenever pelicans are sighted here. This week, the group exchanged concerning news about California’s brown pelicans.

Mystery Ailment

California brown pelicans are large seabirds, known for their big beak and the large throat pouch beneath it. Both male and female brown pelicans vary from 39 to 54 inches long, with a wingspan of six and a half feet. They typically weigh up to 11 pounds, or may be as light as 71 ounces. Their beak is nine inches long. They have exceptional eyesight and can see small fish from 22 yards above the water.

A fully protected species, California brown pelicans are becoming emaciated and succumbing to starvation-related ailments. The California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW) began receiving increased reports of pelicans in distress in late April. Incidences were first reported along the Central and Southern California coasts, from Santa Cruz County south to San Diego County, and are now being observed in the Bay Area. Most birds are coming in cold, emaciated, dehydrated, and anemic. Some of the pelicans have secondary injuries. SF Gate reported on May 12 that some birds “have recently been spotted dive-bombing city streets, getting their wings lodged in fishing hooks, and even crashing Saturday’s Giants game at Oracle Park – but the reason why continues to be shrouded in mystery.”

Notably, “Diseases like bird flu have been ruled out in preliminary diagnostic testing, officials with the International Bird League said.”

CDFW, along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), wildlife rehabilitation facilities and other state partners, are coordinating to assess the situation. Officials ask the public not to touch, harass, attempt to feed or take photographs with pelicans, nor attempt to remove any fishing lines or embedded fishing hooks from entangled birds. To report an injured or sick pelican, call the International Bird Rescue’s Bird HelpLine at 866-SOS-BIRD or WildCare’s hotline at 415-456-7283. After-hours reports can be made to your local animal control office: find it here. Dead pelicans can be reported to the CDFW’s wildlife health laboratory using its mortality reporting form.

Social Capital

Robert Putnam was the intellectual father of the concept of “Social Capital.” The phrase has been used to describe relationships between individuals that facilitate the kind of social trust that can strengthen communities. Social capital is not held by an individual, but instead appears in the potential between social network connections between individuals. It’s the sum total of interpersonal relationships. A July 2020 report from the Brookings Institution observed, “Social capital leads to neighbors helping neighbors with everything from minor repairs, to dog walking or watching out for each other’s children.”

In the spirit of fostering positive interpersonal relationships in our little corner of San Francisco, 626 Mission Bay Boulevard, managed by Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, is offering their community room as a gathering place for Mission Bay Neighbors. We’ll hold our June 18 gathering in 626 MB Blvd. We hope you’ll attend, and add to the growth of hyper-local social capital.

Digital Outlets Win Pulitzer Prizes for LOCAL Journalism

A couple of new digital outlets, operating with just a handful of reporters covering stories in their local communities, walked off with Pulitzer Prizes this year. Lookout Santa Cruz in California won for their breaking news coverage of devastating floods. Invisible Institute in Chicago took home two Pulitzers for reports related to race and policing. A Pulitzer Prize is one of journalism’s most prestigious rewards.

Why is this significant? Local journalism is the backbone of a healthy democracy and a staple of a well-connected community. Due to print journalism’s high production and distribution costs, coupled with competition from national news chains and social media, local news outlets in communities across the United States have been shuttering at an alarming rate, leaving a void. PBS News Hour reported on Tuesday that, “Across the country, fewer and fewer Americans have access to high-quality local news coverage. Last year, an average of 2.5 local papers closed up shop each week. And, today, more than half of U.S. counties have either no local news source or only one remaining outlet.”

New, digital-only enterprises are filling the gap. The outlets that won Pulitzers this year are less than 5 years old and almost 3.5 years old. They’re delivering content with a dozen total staffers in a one-room office at one outlet, and 10 reporters in the newsroom at the other.

MB News is a humble newsletter produced by a single volunteer with a journalism background, dedicated to delivering accurate, quality coverage of issues affecting Mission Bay — with a twist of nonfiction storytelling on the side.  

What’s New with MB News

MB News is now a subscription newsletter. Frequency of publication is changing to biweekly.

MB News is a community resource available to spread the word about neighborhood meetings, workshops, classes, activities, volunteer opportunities, discussion groups, social gatherings, and cultural events that are free admission and open to the public in Mission Bay. Content is intended to inform readers and foster community spirit and culture.

Publication will continue to be on Saturdays. Deadlines are the Thursday prior to publication. Planned publication dates for the remainder of 2024 are:

June 1, 15, 29

July 13, 27

August 10, 24

September 7, 21

October 12, 26

November 9, 23

December 7, 21

Subtract by 2 to get the deadline for posting materials and calendar notices. Send flyers and announcements to Bettina, at bettina.cohen@sonic.net.

Feel free to circulate MB News to your building network. To subscribe, please click on the link below. 

Many thanks to my volunteer IT guy for his help creating this subscription list!

In Community,

Bettina
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To reply to Bettina send an email to: bettina.cohen@sonic.net