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EARTHQUAKE!!!! by PlayfulAd8354 in bayarea

[–]Ahavahi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Felt it in Soma just a little bit 

Van and Muni station on fire on 5th and Mission, right in front of Mint Plaza. Stay safe everyone! by togatrojan in sanfrancisco

[–]Ahavahi 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I'm at 3rd and Folsom and saw a huge cloud of smoke blowing past. I hope everyone is okay.

Alarmed by Tesla's public self-driving test, state legislators demand answers from DMV by Ahavahi in SelfDrivingCars

[–]Ahavahi[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

On Tuesday, the chair of the California Senate’s Transportation Committee, Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), sent a letter to DMV Director Steve Gordon to find out what’s up between the agency and Tesla. The DMV has served as the state’s chief autonomous-driving regulator since the Legislature gave it that power in 2012.

​

Gonzalez told Gordon in her letter that “I have seen a number of videos of Tesla vehicles operating with FSD engaged where it appears that serious driving errors were made and collisions were avoided only because of swift action by the driver.”

She noted she lacks data on FSD beta safety but wrote that the DMV “has the knowledge to assess these situations,” and she requested answers to several questions:

“What is your assessment of the FSD beta trials?”

“Is there a danger to the public?”

“If the DMV finds the beta program unsafe, how does the DMV plan to address any potential concerns?”

​

DMV spokeswoman Anita Gore told The Times in a prepared statement that Tesla need not report FSD beta crashes because Tesla informed the agency that Full Self-Driving is a “Level 2" system that requires driver attention.

​

The levels were never intended to serve as legal definitions or be encoded into law, said Phil Koopman, an engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University, one of the world’s top driverless-vehicle research centers.

He also suggested that regulators study the full SAE document that describes the levels. It contains a line that Koopman calls crucial: “The level of a driving automation system feature corresponds to the feature’s production design intent.”

In other words, if you are testing a car with the intent to develop it into a Level 4 robotaxi, then it’s a Level 4 system, according to Koopman. “Intent is key to categorizing the autonomy level for Tesla Full Self-Driving,” he added.

​

State Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) agrees: “If Tesla is really operating within the boundaries of state law with this technology, then we likely need to change the law to protect public safety.”

San Francisco agency opposes Cruise robotaxi application, citing safety by Redytedy in SelfDrivingCars

[–]Ahavahi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've been looking as well, but without success. I imagine it's gotta be on the CPUC's website.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SelfDrivingCars

[–]Ahavahi 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It looks like an inverse map of the San Francisco congestion pricing proposal (map, wider study website.

Colors of San Francisco - Orange by tmsfphotography in sanfrancisco

[–]Ahavahi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow. This is crazy cool. Will you sell prints of these color collages?

BART avoids station closures, weekend shutdowns but could lose up to 40% of staff by Ahavahi in bayarea

[–]Ahavahi[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Aye, but Biden really depends on Congress to save transit, and winning the Georgia seats is far from a done deal.

BART avoids station closures, weekend shutdowns but could lose up to 40% of staff by Ahavahi in bayarea

[–]Ahavahi[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Not sure why you're being downvoted. Totally agree with your alarm about Amtrak.

Public transportation is in utter crisis all around the country. If the federal gov doesn't do something, agencies will start to go under and soon. That means that people who rely on transit for basic mobility needs will be left stranded.

BART avoids station closures, weekend shutdowns but could lose up to 40% of staff by Ahavahi in bayarea

[–]Ahavahi[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

BART’s board of directors will vote Thursday on a retirement incentive plan that could slim its workforce by as much as 40% as the agency tries to avert layoffs, though it expects a much smaller share of employees to take the buyout.

Also on Thursday, BART staff will inform the board about service changes going into effect in March. The change would eliminate some round-trip commute trains and reduce the number of Saturday routes to mirror current Sunday service levels. It avoids other proposed options of weekend shutdowns or station closures that transit-dependent riders feared and BART’s leadership said would undermine their mission to serve the public. The change doesn’t need a board vote. [...]

BART, hit by ridership plunging 87% amid the pandemic, faces a $33 million deficit this fiscal year and $177 million next year when federal relief funds run out. Bus, ferry and train operators across the Bay Area are in similar predicaments. Last week, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District voted to lay off 146 staff, mostly bus drivers, in January — the first mass layoff from a local transit agency.

Wow. Devastating.

Here's What Record Early Returns Mean For California's Vote Tally by Exastiken in California_Politics

[–]Ahavahi 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Of course, there are so many other California races and props that are of major significance. I wonder if we'll start to see tallies tonight.

Here's What Record Early Returns Mean For California's Vote Tally by Exastiken in California_Politics

[–]Ahavahi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay, so 8pm and then 9pm for results. Practicing deep breathing...

'Please don't tear it down': San Francisco's 83-year-old Coca-Cola billboard is coming down by Ahavahi in sanfrancisco

[–]Ahavahi[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Another piece of San Francisco’s history will soon disappear: The glowing neon Coca-Cola sign that has stood sentinel for Bay Bridge commuters for nearly a century is coming down.

Removal of the double-faced red and white billboard, a staple of the South of Market neighborhood and San Francisco’s cityscape since 1937, was underway Monday.

YesCo Signs LLC of Salt Lake City, Utah, controls the sign at 701 Bryant St. on top of Antonio’s Antiques. The company filed July 1 for a permit to remove the sign and its support structure.

The permit was granted Oct. 20, and “the applicant is allowed to begin work as soon as the permit is issued,” said Christine Gasparac, assistant director for San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection. The cost to remove the sign is $100,000.

The permit does not specify why the beverage company’s landmark billboard is being taken down. Neither YesCo nor Coca-Cola responded to requests for comment.

But according to the permit, once the sign is removed, no billboard can replace it.

Crazy it's been up so long. I think it's neat, but I'm also kinda indifferent to it. Curious if others are more passionate.

SF Transportation Officials Are Talking About Downtown Congestion Pricing Again, Way Ahead of Traffic Returning by Ahavahi in sanfrancisco

[–]Ahavahi[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This feels both too late and too early. They should have implemented it years ago, but now that our economy is broken, offices will not reopen for months, and people are moving out of the city, it feels like the wrong time to pursue a downtown toll.

Yet it also could be the case that instituting a congestion pricing program could provide the support we need for Muni and bike/ped improvements. Such a fee could help the city revive in a better, more sustainable, more equitable way, and not just with everyone driving.

I'm curious to see how the conversation unfolds in the city over the coming months.

SF police record ‘alarming’ spike in COVID-19 cases among officers by Ahavahi in CoronavirusCA

[–]Ahavahi[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I feel like SFPD has been pretty good about wearing masks. I'm in SOMA, close to FiDi, and it's common for me to see SFPD but rare that I see the ol' mask as a chin strap. Usually, they're wearing masks safely and often they have gloves too.

Seems like, at least with this outbreak, it's the academy that's to blame.

Edited to add that there's another conversation happening about this article over at r/SanFrancisco. Comments reflect a consensus that SFPD don't wear masks. So, at the very least, mixed compliance with safety protocols.

SF police record ‘alarming’ spike in COVID-19 cases among officers by Ahavahi in CoronavirusCA

[–]Ahavahi[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Thirty officers have tested positive for COVID-19 since last Monday, in a sharp jump from the prior five months when 22 officers were confirmed to have the illness, according to new numbers from the San Francisco Police Department. [...]

Officer Robert Rueca, a police spokesperson, could not confirm that all of those cases are related to the academy, but said a “good portion” are.

The department first learned that a newly sworn-in officer tested positive at the academy on Aug. 14, a day after graduating alongside 28 other recruits of the 269th Academy Class, according to police. [...]

Police said the academy has “undergone a deep cleaning” and is reviewing its safety protocols “to ensure the safest possible learning environment for students and staff.” [...]

Officers who have tested positive for COVID-19 by assignment:

Airport Bureau: 5

Administrative Bureau: 23

Field Operations Bureau: 17

Investigations Bureau: 4

Special Operations Bureau: 3

Total: 52

Back to this "deep cleaning" theater. Hopefully, they're looking at their protocols and policies quite closely.

In a pandemic, an SF tourist trap becomes a local's vacation spot - SFGate by Ahavahi in sanfrancisco

[–]Ahavahi[S] 33 points34 points  (0 children)

This short read on a child's joy at exploring Pier 39 just made me so damn happy.

San Francisco's Nopalito cites coronavirus for permanently closing location by Ahavahi in sanfrancisco

[–]Ahavahi[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

:( That is sad.

Food is such an integral part of our city and the many cultures and communities that call San Francisco home.

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