San francisco to san jose

Good morning, Bay Area. It’s Thursday, June 30, and we may finally find out today if the Oakland Athletics will be approved to move forward with their ballpark at Howard Terminal. Here’s what you need to know to start your day. Surge upon a surge? Before the current COVID surge, the Bay Area had been accustomed to the pandemic pattern where a rise in cases over several weeks was then followed by a short plateau and rapid drop. It’s now very clear: that isn’t playing out this time. Cases continue to rise in the Bay Area and across the nation, as two new highly infectious and immune-evasive coronavirus variants, BA.4 and BA.5, become dominant. These new variants could prolong the current surge or cause a fresh spike in cases, and they could apply pressure on health care systems frayed from nearly three years of pandemic stress. Just how bad could things get this time — and would mask mandates and other restrictions return? Erin Allday looks at what we know now . How to … [Read more...] about Bay Briefing: Will new COVID variants make the surge even worse?

About 2.7 million or 9.1% of Californians identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender — the largest share of any highly populated state and one that is “considerably higher” than the national figure of 7.9%, according to a census data analysis published by the Public Policy Institute of California. Even the national figure is higher than estimates derived from other surveys. In February Gallup reported 7.1% of U.S. adults identify as LGBT — about double the percentage from 2012 when the firm first measured it. One possible reason for the difference, senior fellow Hans Johnson wrote in a post outlining his findings, was survey type. Gallup and others rely on phone calls, whereas the census used an online format, which may help survey takers feel more at ease when answering potentially sensitive questions. For his analysis, Johnson drew from the Census Bureau’s ongoing Household Pulse Survey, designed to measure household experiences with the pandemic. “In July 2021, for … [Read more...] about Analysis: California has the highest share of residents who identify as LGBT

Throughout the month of June, several Bay Area business owners announced the permanent closure of their cherished restaurants and bars after decades in service. Among the shuttered businesses was Buffalo Bill’s Brewery in Hayward, which closed its doors after nearly four decades. Owner and master brewer Geoff Harries first shared the news of Buffalo Bill’s Brewery’s closure on Instagram and later told SFGATE that his decision to close was based on a lengthy closure during the pandemic. The historic bar will be remembered for putting pumpkin ale on the map back in 1986 when its former owner, Bill Owens, revamped the polarizing brew and turned it into a seasonal classic. In San Francisco, Ramon Oropeza Sr., the owner of Villa D'Este, also announced the closure of his cherished Italian restaurant after 44 years. It’s unclear whether the pandemic motivated Oropeza in his decision to permanently close, but in a goodbye message, he told his longtime customers that he was looking … [Read more...] about Villa D’Este, Buffalo Bill’s Brewery and more Bay Area restaurants, bars that closed in June

0 Crime & Safety "Essentially, these activists basically said, 'If you don't do this, we are no longer going to participate with the Pride Center.'" Michigan Advance , News Partner Posted Reply Michigan Advance June 19, 2022 Two years ago, as calls for racial justice were ignited across the country in the wake of a white Minneapolis police officer murdering George Floyd, a group of activists called on the Grand Rapids Pride Center to take a hard look at itself. “The group of BIPOC [Black, Indigenous and people of color] activists called out the Pride Center and said, ‘We want to support you, but you have a history of not listening to minority voices in general and specifically Black and trans voices,” said Jazz McKinney, who at that time was the center’s only Black board member and is now its executive director. “So they gave us a list of demands as a center and said, ‘Hey, if you want to say you’re serving all … [Read more...] about In An Effort To Make Pride Safer, Grand Rapids Pride Center Announces No Police Will Be At Festival

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 4 At some point, if the moral outrage subsides (it shouldn’t) and the eye-popping payouts fade into the background, this will become mostly about golf. The players. The actual competition. And that doesn’t shape up as especially appetizing, either. The LIV Golf Invitational Series makes its United States debut Thursday outside Portland, Ore. Three weeks ago, when the inaugural event was held near London, Charl Schwartzel held off Hennie du Plessis to win. Boy, that was riveting. Oh, wait, you don’t remember? Greg Norman and his rogue tour obviously can’t claim the ethical high ground. Not when its funding comes from Saudi Arabia, widely known for rampant human-rights abuses. Not when this looks, feels and smells like a blatant attempt at “sportswashing.” Norman’s bold, distasteful venture also can’t claim any sort of golf high ground. Not when its highest-profile player … [Read more...] about LIV Golf comes to U.S., but it’s not compelling sports theater on any level

(CNN) — The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has raised fears that it could have “far-reaching ramifications” on people looking to get pregnant and the clinics providing services to help them. Experts have previously told CNN that a high court ruling could open up the legal terrain for states to interfere with the fertility process known as in vitro fertilization, in which a sperm fertilizes an egg outside the body. READ MORE: Maryland Weather: Sunny & Warm Fertility doctors and academics who study the legal landscape around fertility told CNN there is grave uncertainty — both about how abortion laws already on the books will be interpreted and about how lawmakers and local prosecutors may seek to push the envelope, freed from the precedents that have effectively shielded the fertility process from government meddling. That lack of clarity, it is feared, will affect the treatments doctors are willing to offer IVF patients and the decisions people will … [Read more...] about How The Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade Ruling Could Affect The Fertility Industry