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16 Nov 2011 10:55

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U.S.: Bay Area Occupy movement starts anew with Berkeley encampment

  • This despite threats by officials to shut it down. In what might be a good example for the New York movement as it attempts to regroup, members of Occupy Oakland have joined with the Occupy Cal movement to start a fresh encampment. This isn’t without controversy, however: Occupy Cal had its camp torn down November 9, and the university isn’t exactly taking so kindly to having a new one. “We will not allow encampments equivalent to what has occurred in Oakland and San Francisco,” said Chancellor Robert Birgeneau. The move could potentially lead to a conflict with police. Meanwhile, the San Francisco encampment is staying strong, and plans to meet with Mayor Ed Lee today. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Aug 2011 22:20

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U.S.: Anonymous BART hack: Thousands of users hit in retaliatory attack

  • 2,000+ people affected by MyBART hack source
  • » Were the right people affected? While members of the group Anonymous claimed that the hack was intended to draw attention to a recent attempt by BART to quell a planned protest by blocking cell-phone signals, users affected by the hack felt that the attack hit the wrong target. One MyBART user on the list, Owen Rubin, put it like so: “I understand the reason why they’re protesting, but they’re hurting the wrong people. They’re hurting the commuters, and they’re hurting the consumers like me who have nothing to do with BART other than having to ride it as a way to get to and from work.” For what it’s worth, those who leaked the data claim that the site was very insecure — “Any 8 year old with a internet connection could have done what we did to find it,” the note accompanying the data breach says — but the frustration is something that users affected by many recent hacks will understand. These victims suffer indirectly, exploited as something of a third party to the real target in question, be it Sony, BART, or the federal government.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Mar 2011 00:38

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U.S.: Earthquake preparedness: Bay Area bridges in bad shape

  • 34% of bridges in San Francisco are structurally deficient source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Mar 2011 10:31

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U.S.: Tsunami may hit Californian shores in a couple of minutes

  • yes A tsunami warning has been issued to Northern California; Crescent City’s shores could be hit any minute now, with San Francisco and Santa Barbara following within the hour.
  • however…It’s probably not a big deal; the estimated wave heights in California are only around 4ft, and none of San Francisco has been evacuated. Still, steer clear of any beaches. source
  • » Two of us at ShortFormBlog live in California, and despite the fact that four feet waves don’t sound too intimidating, we’re going to resist the temptation (however minimal) to go to any of our beaches today. To our fellow Californians, please play it safe, because with Mother Nature, you never know. Officials say the north end of Monterey Bay is expected to be hit the hardest, and these things can continue for up to twelve hours after the initial hit.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Nov 2009 09:35

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U.S.: Medical Marijuana: Teens like it too! Especially Bay Area teens!

  • 50 teens have been given medical marijuana in the Bay Area
  • 18 the age of consent for getting medical marijuana in California without a parent source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Oct 2009 15:15

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U.S.: The 1989 Bay Area quake, 20 years later: A live-on-TV disaster

Loma Prieta Earthquake, 1989

Twenty years ago today, one of the scariest events to hit the West Coast in the 20th century – the Loma Prieta Earthquake – hit the Bay Area. It was in the midst of a World Series that pitted the Oakland A's against the San Francisco Giants, so it literally happened live. (Al Michaels called the play-by-play on the incident. Or at least he tried.)
  • What happened? The quake was an iconic piece of the late ’80s. Among other things, it took out the Oakland Bay Bridge, a heavily trafficked bridge, at a time it was being heavily used. Despite the incident’s $7 billion in damage, only 63 people died. That’s because it hit in the less-densely-populated Santa Clara County, away from major urban areas. In a way, they got lucky. source
  • What happened? The quake was an iconic piece of the late ’80s. Among other things, it took out the Oakland Bay Bridge, a heavily trafficked bridge, at a time it was being heavily used. Despite the incident’s $7 billion in damage, only 63 people died. That’s because it hit in the less-densely-populated Santa Clara County, away from major urban areas. In a way, they got lucky.
  • What to learn Many lessons were taken from the incident – new buildings have to be made to code, for example, and much work is being done to inform people ahead of time – though the technology isn’t there yet. But many in-danger areas that haven’t had quakes in hundreds of years – St. Louis and Seattle, most notably – haven’t done enough to prepare. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Sep 2009 09:55

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Offbeat: Do you hear that? That’s rage over cat declawing.

  • San Francisco is trying to ban cat declawing. The SPCA isn’t happy. A fight for feline rights is turning into a bit of a brawl between Bay Area politicians and animal cruelty experts. San Francisco wants to ban declawing, saying it’s a simple animal cruelty issue. (It’s kinda like a concealed weapons law, really.) The local SPCA, while against declawing in general, says that it shouldn’t be regulated politically. If only cats had their own Harvey Milk to fight for them … source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
 
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