July 6, 2023

50-story S.F. condo tower: Drawings reveal new details of what Sunset skyscraper would look like

New, detailed plans and renderings have been filed with the city for a proposed 50-story residential tower overlooking Ocean Beach in San Francisco’s Sunset District — a project that has prompted backlash from city officials and debate among residents.

The 680-unit building, proposed for a site across from the San Francisco Zoo, would rise more than 580 feet in a neighborhood currently defined largely by low-rise buildings and single-family homes. City officials have said that, while they encourage density and residential development in the area, the proposed project is several times taller than what regulations allow in the neighborhood.

The latest details come as the city is faced with carrying out its state-mandated plan to build 82,000 new units over the next eight years. Some housing advocates have pointed to this requirement as a reason to approve the project.

The new plans, submitted by architectural firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz, show a thin, tall tower wrapped in glass, with floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies on each floor, surrounded by mostly two- and three-story buildings, with the beach a few blocks away.

Paywall link: https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/san-francisco-condo-sunset-tower-renderings-18185475.php#photo-24003159

Count on lawsuits up the wazoo. This 50-story tower will never be built.

July 4, 2023

How do watch/stream sports these days?

I cut the cord years ago to save money but recent increases in alternative live TV (Hulu, YouTubeTV, etc.) plus the cost for high speed broadband have negated a lot of those savings.

One solution I took was to drop live Major League Baseball. The only way in the Bay Area to watch the S.F. Giants is via NBC Sports Bay Area, at a cost of $72.99 a month*. My savings April through August is $364.95. Add March (goodbye Madness) and it totals $437.94.

Baseball is just as good on radio as on TV IMO, and local radio is free.

I will probably re-up the live subscription in September for the NFL, college football, and a taste of the NBA, but I won't subscribe to Prime for Thursday night NFL nor another streaming service like Peacock to see just one NFL playoff game.

I'm curious ... how is everybody handling sports streaming? What do you give up? What's sacrosanct? What do you consider the best deals?

*YouTubeTV: there are other options, but I've found this service to stream the most reliably. Plus the DVR storage is unlimited and it comes with MSNBC ... and ESPN. By streaming only six months of live TV, the "yearly" fee drops to $36.50 a month.

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Related: ESPN is moving towards a streaming service.

USA Today / May 18, 2023

An ESPN-specific subscription-based streaming service is in the works, according to the Wall Street Journal. ESPN would continue to offer its TV channels for cable subscribers, even after the debut of its stand-alone streaming service geared toward cable cord-cutters, the Wall Street Journal reported. There is no timetable for the launch of the ESPN streaming service, a project that has been internally code-named as "Flagship."

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, ESPN collects more than $9 per cable bill. Comparatively, other cable networks average $0.49.

LINK: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/media/2023/05/18/espn-plans-to-launch-subscription-streaming-service/70233888007/

Old news, but the first I've heard of it.

July 3, 2023

Just 9 Bay Area cities still allow 'safe and sane' fireworks this July Fourth holiday

San Francisco Chronicle / June 30, 2023

As the Fourth of July holiday approaches and California prepares for what could be an intense wildfire season, fire officials in the Bay Area are warning of the danger of even “safe and sane” fireworks — and reminding residents that they are illegal region-wide, except in a handful of cities.

SNIP

The use and sale of “safe and sane” fireworks are permitted in only a handful of Bay Area cities, according to Cal Fire and local officials. They are: Dublin, Newark and Union City in Alameda County; Pacifica and San Bruno in San Mateo County; Gilroy in Santa Clara County; Rio Vista and Suisun City in Solano County; and Cloverdale in Sonoma County.

They are banned entirely in San Francisco, Contra Costa, Napa and Marin counties.

“Safe and sane” fireworks generally include “the ones that don’t basically go up in the air,” said Erica Ray of the Santa Clara County Fire Department.

Link (paywall): https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/fireworks-illegal-july-fourth-18178280.php

Safe and sane ... who thought of this gem?

Statewide ban. Huge penalties and jail time for offenders. There’s just too much risk this time of year.

July 3, 2023

Bay Area lawmakers oppose raising bridge toll fees to bail out BART, transit.

San Francisco Chronicle / July 2, 2023

Several Bay Area lawmakers say they don’t support a bill that would temporarily raise tolls on seven state-owned bridges to give BART and other transit agencies more money to avoid service cuts.

That’s the main aim of Senate Bill 532 by San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener, unveiled June 23. The proposal, if passed by two-thirds of the Legislature and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, would increase bridge tolls by $1.50 — resulting in $9.50 tolls through 2028 — to raise $900 million for regional transit agencies struggling to recover riders after the pandemic.

SNIP

Seven Bay Area legislators signed on as coauthors to Wiener’s bill, including Assembly Members Phil Ting and Matt Haney of San Francisco and Buffy Wicks and Mia Bonta of Oakland.

However, at least six Bay Area lawmakers representing constituents who would be most affected by the toll increases told The Chronicle they oppose SB532.

LINK (paywall): https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/bay-area-lawmakers-oppose-raising-bridge-tolls-18176112.php

Six Bay Area Democrats opposed (I'm sure there will be more) representing districts outside the Bay Area’s urban core:

- Assembly Member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda
- State Senator Bill Dodd of Napa
- State Senator Steve Glazer of Orinda
- Assembly Member Timothy Grayson of Concord
- Damon Connolly of San Rafael
- Lori Wilson of Suisun City.

According to the link, nine other Bay Area lawmakers did not respond to The Chronicle’s inquiries.

$9.50?

Maybe service cuts are a better idea?

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More from the link: most automobile tolls would increase to $8.50 by 2024. Add $1.00 in 2025 for the already approved Regional Measure 3 (from 2018), which pays for transit and highway infrastructure projects. There's our $9.50.

July 9, 2015

People have no idea how strong an 8.0 can be ...

because they've never experienced one -- especially if they're relatively close to the epicenter. I live 5 miles from the Napa August 2015 quake that registered 6.0. Blew me away how powerful it was.