Many San Franciscans know the feeling, that moment when it hits you: “I live here, and I’m lucky.”

I had one of those moments the other night at an outdoor dance class in Dolores Park. The class, “Roryography,” led by the choreographer Rory Davis, used to take place in a traditional dance studio but moved to the park during the coronavirus pandemic. It has stayed there ever since.

As we danced to “Jump” by the Pointer Sisters, guys playing basketball joined in. So did families with little kids. A colorful streetcar rumbled past as the setting sun cast a golden glow on the clouds in front of Sutro Tower.

As a longtime reporter and columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle, I wrote a lot about the city’s crises: fentanyl overdoses, homelessness, property crime, a hollowed-out downtown and exorbitant housing costs that have squeezed out the middle class. But I also wrote and recorded podcasts about the city’s beauty, parks, hikes, independent bookstores and movie houses, and incredibly creative people.

Now, as the new San Francisco bureau chief for The New York Times, I plan to continue shining a light on both sides of the city — the good and the bad. I’m excited to bring the full picture of San Francisco to a national audience and, hopefully, cover the beginnings of a recovery for the city I’ve called home for 24 years.

My dance friends were abuzz about my first byline in The Times. I had written about how frustrating, and just plain silly, it was to be constantly asked by outsiders: “You live in San Francisco? Are you OK?” One dancer said she had just returned from the Czech Republic where she was asked the same.

My story about San Francisco’s increasingly terrible reputation received plenty of other responses. One San Franciscan said she had just called a New Jersey flower shop to order a bouquet for a friend there, and the florist, upon hearing where she lived, asked if she was safe. Another recently traveled to Santa Barbara, where people reacted to his living in San Francisco as if he had told them that his dog died.

Since moving with her wife to Portland, Maine, over the summer, Ashley Kirzinger said she had been quizzed about San Francisco from just about everyone she encountered.

“They’re like: ‘Oh, San Francisco! I can see why you left there,’” she told me over the phone, mimicking the sound of disgust. “Everyone’s like: ‘The homelessness! The drugs! The crime!’”

All that is there, Kirzinger said — but so is the walkability, the beautiful parks, the great restaurant scene, the acceptance of L.G.B.T.Q. couples and the fun of swimming in the bay with the South End Rowing Club.

“I even liked taking BART!” she said with a laugh, referring to the region’s love-it-or-hate-it public transit system.

She and her wife moved to Maine because they could afford a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house there near the beach. In the Bay Area, they would have remained renters forever.

Still, she misses San Francisco. “I just think it’s magic,” she said.

I do, too, and I look forward to telling you its story.

For more:

The rest of the news

• The state’s education chief, Tony Thurmond, has announced that he is running for governor in 2026, The Associated Press reports.

• After a drop during the pandemic, community college enrollment in California is up — but students between 20 and 30 are lagging behind, CalMatters reports.

Southern California

• An Orange County doctor who specializes in treating L.G.B.T.Q. people has been charged with sexually assaulting nine patients, The Los Angeles Times reports.

• Dexter White, who was shot by Los Angeles police officers after they mistook his cellphone for a gun, was awarded $2.35 million in damages, The Los Angeles Times reports.

Central California

• Employees at Yosemite National Park worry that a government shutdown could threaten the tourism business that keeps them afloat, The Fresno Bee reports.

Northern California

• Mayor London Breed of San Francisco wants the city to require all recipients of county-funded welfare to undergo drug screening in order to be eligible for cash assistance, Politico reports.

• Four people were arrested for allegedly stealing $1,400 in contraceptive pills, medicine and other merchandise from a Target in San Mateo, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

• Cities across Northern California are turning to A.I. chatbots to answer residents’ questions and take in service requests about issues like potholes and graffiti, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Where we’re traveling

Today’s tip comes from Carolyn Coleman, who lives in Santa Cruz. Carolyn recommends seeing mosaic murals in Watsonville, along the Central Coast:

“The small agricultural community of Watsonville is becoming the ‘Barcelona of California’ thanks to an amazing mosaic art installation, led by the visionary creative Kathleen Crocetti of Community Arts & Empowerment, covering a downtown six-story parking garage adjacent to the courthouse, library and City Hall.

There are four 60-feet-tall vertical mosaic murals designed by the San Francisco artist and social activist Juan R. Fuentes, who grew up in the agricultural labor camps outside of Watsonville and was the first in his family to go to college.

Now the horizontal sections of the garage are being covered by smaller mosaic pieces with symbols and designs representing the various heritages of Watsonville’s people; 120 have been identified, including Indigenous, Latino, Asian, European, African and Polynesian.

The project involves the community in generating ideas for the pieces, with young people working as interns and volunteers to create the mosaics. The project is expected to be completed by the end of next year.”

Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We’ll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter.

Tell us

Our California playlist is ever evolving, based on your recommendations of songs that best represent the Golden State.

You can email us your choices at CAtoday@nytimes.com. Please include your full name, the city where you live and a few sentences about why your song deserves inclusion.

And before you go, some good news

Though the Disneyland park in Anaheim is best known for its kid-friendly amusements, in 1961 — six years after it opened its gilded gates — the theme park dreamed up a new kind of Disney experience for its older patrons: an all-night prom.

The prom received little coverage and many details of the evening are not widely known. But a series of never-published photographs from Life magazine’s archives gives viewers a window into the evening’s antics. Replete with poodle skirts and trolley rides, the images, now available online as part of the magazine’s tribute issue to Disney parks, tell the story of romance, adolescence and that singular Disneyland magic.

See the photographs and read more about the evening here.

Thanks for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow.

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword.

Soumya Karlamangla, Maia Coleman and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com.

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Robotaxis keep running into battles with firefighters on the streets of San Francisco, and the fire chief is fed up.

“They’re not ready for prime time,” said boss Jeanine Nicholson.

Nicholson talks about Waymo and Cruise driverless taxis that pick up passengers and drop them off in certain neighborhoods. Now these companies want to quickly expand their service to the entire city in unlimited numbers and in any weather, day or night. And state regulators seem poised to approve their request.

City leaders are concerned — not just in San Francisco, but also in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, where Waymo and another robotaxi company, Motional, say they are ready to deploy their AI-powered robotaxi service once state regulators this report green light.

The robo-taxis industry is allowing itself to move too fast and break things, these officials say, and are putting more robo-taxis on public roads despite proving inept at dealing with fire engines, ambulances, and police cars. And they say that California authorities set the rules, so cities have little leverage over how autonomous vehicles are regulated.

“I’m not against the technology. I understand that it’s important and that it’s the way the industry is evolving,” Nicholson said. “But we need to fix what’s not working right now before they impact the rest of the city.”

State regulators track robo-taxis collisions, but do not collect data on traffic flow issues such as roadblocks or fire truck obstructions.

But the fire department does. Since January 1, the fire service has logged at least 39 robotaxi incidents.

Although robotic cars don’t get tired, don’t drive drunk or high, and don’t get distracted by their iPhones, as the self-driving car industry is realizing, they often get stuck in traffic for no apparent reason. Sometimes these robo-roadblocks are short-lived, but other times the roadblocks last so long that a robotaxi company employee has to drive to the scene of the accident and move the car out of the way.

Fire Department incidents include reports of robotaxis:

• I run through yellow police tape and ignore warning signs to emerge onto a road littered with storm-damaged electrical cords, then pass emergency vehicles with some of those cords threaded around lidar sensors on the roof.
• Two times the access roads to the fire station were blocked, causing another fire station to send an ambulance to a medical emergency.
• Sits motionless on a one-way street, forcing a fire engine to reverse and take a different route to a burning building.
• I pulled up behind a fire truck whose emergency lights were on, parked there, and interfered with firefighters unloading ladders.
• Enter an active fire location, then park a tire on a fire hose.

Two cruise robotic taxis drive through police cordons into an emergency scene where electrical wires got caught on lidar sensors on the roof.

(John Phillip Bettencourt)

After a mass shooting on June 9 that left nine people injured, a robotic taxi blocked a lane in front of emergency responders in the city’s Mission District. Another lane was open, but in a press release, the fire department said the blockage could have been “catastrophic” on a narrower street.

To deal with a troubled Robotaxi, firefighters try to communicate with a remote-controlled Robotaxi operator, who can sometimes move the car out of the way.

Should this prove impossible, the Robotaxi company will have to send a human to the scene of the accident. In one instance, a firefighter had to smash a window to get a robotic taxi to move out of the way.

“Dealing with Life and Death”

The fire chief said every Robotaxi company offers training on how to deal with “bricked” vehicles.

“We have 160,000 calls a year. “We don’t have the time to personally attend to a car that’s in the way when we’re going to an emergency,” she said.

Cruise spokeswoman Hannah Lindow said the company is “proud of our publicly reported safety record, which includes driving millions of miles in an extremely complex urban environment.” Dealing properly with emergency response personnel is important to us. As such, we maintain an open line of communication with first responders to receive feedback and discuss specific incidents to improve our response.”

Waymo issued a prepared statement: “Safety is at the core of our mission and we’ve consistently shared more details than anyone.” [autonomous vehicle] companies regarding our methods and insights into our performance. We believe this transparency will benefit our riders – who enjoy a safe, accessible and enjoyable mobility option tens of thousands of times a week – and stimulate more discussion about safety in the industry.”

Nicholson acknowledged that no one has ever been killed or injured as a result of Robotaxi misconduct. “But I don’t want anything bad to happen because we can’t get to the crime scene. A fire can double its size in a minute. It’s a matter of life and death, and I’m not saying that dramatically.”

The robotaxi industry in California is under the jurisdiction of two state agencies — the Department of Motor Vehicles, which issues permits and is responsible for safety, and the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates commercial passenger transportation, including buses, taxis, and limousines.

The supply commission is scheduled to vote on the expansion of the robotaxis on June 29. The resolutions she will vote on make it clear that under the agency’s own rules, problems such as traffic flow and disruption to rescue workers cannot be used to deny expansion permits. The resolutions identify four “goals” to consider: inclusion of people with disabilities; improved transportation for the disadvantaged; reduction of greenhouse gases; and passenger safety.

Critics point out that while the Commission takes care of the safety of Robotaxi passengers, it leaves other safety issues to the DMV. The DMV collects data on collisions and has the power to suspend permits, but so far has not taken any action or commented on Robotaxi disruption to firefighters.

The DMV declined to make its director Steve Gordon available for an interview, but issued a statement saying its four-year-old rules could be changed at some point: “The DMV has its regulations on autonomous vehicles developed through a public process with stakeholders (e.g. local, state, federal agencies, academics, interest groups, industry representatives) providing input to the development. Comments made during this process were considered and incorporated into the final rationale as part of the rulemaking process. The DMV implemented the first set of regulations in 2014, the second in 2018 and the third in 2019. Future regulations will use a similar process, inviting members of the public and other stakeholders to participate and provide comments .”

Robotaxi regulation issues go beyond robotaxi expansion: The entire way California regulates autonomous technology is being called into question.

The DMV has come under fire in the state assembly, which passed a bill in May that would strip the agency of some of its powers to regulate driverless heavy-duty trucks. Several lawmakers said they voted in part because they felt the DMV had done a poor job of regulating self-driving cars.

Security data censored

In 2021, the DMV entered into a court-approved agreement with Waymo that allows self-driving car makers to censor not only trade secrets but also basic safety performance information, including most details of collision reports as well as information about how the company handles emergencies self-driving cars bypasses .

The industry is strict about the information it makes available to the public about its operations on public roads.

Waymo won’t say how many cars it operates in San Francisco. Cruise said the company operates 150 to 300 cars, but declined to be more specific. Neither company will say how big and how fast its fleet will grow. Neither Waymo nor Motional will say how many robo-taxis they are testing in Santa Monica and LA

San Francisco city officials, a notoriously fractious group, agree that they will oppose the expansion plan, from Mayor London Breed onwards, until a solution is found to address traffic flow, job site issues and better communications between the companies and the city .

“Typically, the mayor is on the side of the corporations and the supervisors are on the other side,” said board member Aaron Peskin. “We say: don’t give them everything they want until these things are proven. Don’t make us guinea pigs.”

The fire chief wonders why the ability to handle emergency situations hasn’t been given a high priority.

“If they can do all of this with AI, I’m sure they can figure it out,” Nicholson said.

The Services Commission has collected statements of support from dozens of groups, including business groups like the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and disability advocates like the American Council for the Blind. The former argue that the development of robotaxi is essential to keep California at the forefront of innovation, the latter argue that easy and equitable transportation for all people is a social good that benefits everyone. No one on either side of the debate has disputed either claim.

But authorities including the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and the City of Santa Monica have submitted statements to the commission, arguing that the Robotaxi service should be rolled out gradually as problems are identified and fixed. Both also called for significantly more data transparency on security issues at Robotaxi.

Industry countered with motions opposing any kind of gradual introduction.

Why the rush? Robotaxi companies have poured huge sums into developing expensive artificial intelligence technologies and are looking to get a return on their investment.

Cruise, owned by General Motors, has big pockets. Waymo, owned by Google’s Alphabet, goes even deeper. But the pressure is great. In October, Ford and Volkswagen closed their robotaxi joint venture, Argo, after concluding they would get a better return if they invested the money in electric cars and driver assistance and safety systems.

The Supply Commission’s robotaxi expansion measure should be considered as part of a June 29 “approval agenda” package that will include 50 orders and resolutions on a variety of issues to be adopted by the agency’s five commissioners with a single vote or are to be rejected. After this story was published, the vote was moved to July 13th.

One of those commissioners, Attorney John Reynolds, was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021. At the time, he was serving as General Counsel for Cruise.

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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has appointed a former US bank executive to head the central bank…

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday appointed a former U.S. bank executive to head the central bank, sending the strongest signal yet that the newly re-elected leader may be backing away from his unusual economic policies that many advocate blame the worsening cost of living crisis.

Hafize Gaye Erkan, 41, has a Princeton education and will be the first woman to head Turkey’s central bank. In 2021, she briefly served as co-chief executive officer of First Republic Bank, which became the second-largest US bank to fail last month as its wealthy customers pulled out their money during the broader industry turmoil.

Her nomination follows last week’s appointment of Mehmet Simsek, an internationally renowned former banker, as finance and finance minister. He was a former finance minister and deputy prime minister under Erdogan, returning from politics after a five-year hiatus.

The selection of two key financial positions has raised hopes that Erdogan, who was re-elected to a third term last month, is backing down from his insistence that lower interest rates will combat Turkey’s soaring inflation. The rate peaked at 85% in October and people are struggling to afford food, housing and other necessities.

Critics blame the cost-of-living crisis on Erdogan’s unorthodox approach that runs counter to conventional economic thinking – that raising interest rates would fight inflation. Central banks like the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and others around the world are raising the cost of borrowing to curb consumer price inflation.

Erkan’s appointment “is an important step towards more credible economic policy and encourages President Erdogan to relax his grip on the central bank,” said Liam Peach, chief emerging market economist at Capital Economics.

“Recent political appointments must now be translated into policy action so investors can be confident that this shift towards orthodoxy is the real deal,” he said.

The next steps are crucial as the economy grapples with a plummeting currency and still-high inflation at 39.5%. The central bank will meet later this month to decide on interest rates – a key indicator of the course of Turkey’s economy.

In recent years, Erdogan has sacked three central bank governors for failing to comply with his rate-cutting policy.

“Erkan needs to be given the freedom to raise interest rates a lot,” Peach said. “A sharp rate hike from about 8.5% to about 20% would send a very strong signal that a credible policy shift is at hand.”

It must also show that it is important to keep interest rates high in order to curb inflation. While higher borrowing costs are meant to fight inflation, they can slow economic growth as borrowing becomes more expensive.

This could be another pain point for households and businesses whose food and energy costs have skyrocketed in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and whose currency has hit record lows against the US dollar.

Erkan was CEO of investment banking firm Goldman Sachs and worked at San Francisco-based First Republic Bank, where he served as co-CEO for six months in 2021. JPMorgan Chase took over the failed bank after US regulators seized it in May.

She replaces Sahap Kavcioglu, who has overseen a series of rate cuts since 2021. Kavcioglu will now head the Turkish banking supervisory authority BBDK.

“The appointment of Kavcioglu – a proponent of Erdogan’s ‘new economic model’ – as head of banking supervision is a powerful reminder that Erdonomics can retaliate at any time,” said Wolfango Piccoli, co-president of London-based risk consultancy Teneo.

Erkan will have to rebuild the central bank “after years of mismanagement, purges and demotions,” Piccoli wrote in a note.

“Like most other important institutions, the (central bank) has lost its independence and has been undermined by Erdogan’s drive to centralize power, with key tasks being given to loyalists and cronies,” he said.

Copyright © 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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Tessa Durand reflects on college life and the friends who influenced her

Senior Tessa Durand was following her dreams and career when she came to WSU.

Tessa has attended WSU for the past four years. She is being honored by WSU as she will be graduating on Saturday.

Tessa wasn’t sure if she would attend WSU during her senior year of high school. With Portland State University being her other ideal school, she eventually decided that WSU would be her school as she liked the idea of ​​moving from California to Washington.

“When I spoke to my girlfriend at home, I was told to do what makes me happiest,” Tessa said. “I’ve never been to Washington state before and wanted to explore a new area, especially if it would help me follow my dreams and find a career.”

Tessa has done so much in her life to get her to where she is today. Tessa was born in Chicago and eventually moved to San Francisco with her parents, Brian and Jeanette, and her brother, Winston. She would meet some of her best friends, Iona and Claire, while still returning to Chicago to visit some of her other best friends, Mary and Annie.

Tessa’s family moved around California a few times but eventually settled in Moraga, which is adjacent to Oakland and San Francisco.

When Tessa turned 15, she received the greatest gift she’s ever had. Tessa became the owner of her very first dog, Maisey the Chihuahua.

“Maisey is one of the most important pieces in my life,” Tessa said. “I want her to feel loved and supported by me.”

Tessa would eventually graduate from Miramonte High School with her friends and decided to attend WSU. Upon arriving at WSU in the fall of 2019, Tessa declared a philosophy major with minors in English, ethics, and psychology.

In her early college years, Tessa met another of her dear friends, Autumn. The two would spend a lot of time together and share a lot of fun moments, whether with groups of friends or just together, Tessa said.

During her studies, Tessa met so many people and made many friends. Only one thing was missing, she wanted to see Maisey. Maisey still lived in California with Tessa’s parents, but that was about to change. At this point, Maisey would eventually move to Pullman to live with Tessa to this day. The two love to spend time together, play and visit some of the dog parks around town. Maisey is even rumored to have helped Tessa with her graduation homework.

“Having Maisey join me at Pullman was one of the best things that happened to me in my entire college life,” Tessa said. “Although it comes with a lot of responsibility to take care of her, if she comes to me I wouldn’t change her at all.”

Tessa has worked many jobs throughout her college career. The first place she was hired was the Daily Evergreen. Her second college job was at the Flix Café & Market, located on the south side of campus. She worked here from fall 2021 to spring 2022, she said.

While still working as an editor for the evergreen, Tessa finished her job at Flix Café & Market and decided to apply to Ferdinand. It was one of her best decisions as she always wanted to work in an ice cream shop, She said. It was here that she met many of her friends, including Trinity Cobb, Senior Special Education Major.

“I’ve always found Tessa to be such a kind hearted soul and someone I’ve always enjoyed spending my time with,” Trinity said.

Tessa is looking forward to graduating as she enjoyed her four years at WSU, especially her senior year as she made the most of her time with it. This will be another exciting moment in her life that will make her family and friends even more proud of her.

After graduation, Tessa plans to stay at Pullman for at least another year. She wants to work as an editor for a news agency where she can make a bigger name for herself. She credits the evergreen with making him want to continue being an editor once she learned how much she really likes it.

“I’ve definitely found what I want in a future job,” Tessa said. “The Daily Evergreen helped me with this because I want to be an editor at a major news company. I’m grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had since coming to WSU, and I’m really excited to graduate this Saturday.”

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The San Francisco Unified School District is at it again, and this time they’re rescuing the Native American population from the horrors of employees who have “Chief” in their job titles.

That’s right, “Chief” is being dropped from SFUSD’s vocabulary so as not to trigger Indians who have lived all their years living with the horrors of SFUSD, which has 13 chiefs on its staff, according to the Division Chiefs site. The district includes 12 female chiefs and Labor Relations Director Daniel Menezes, who holds the position for biological males.

Seriously, they’re removing “chiefs” from job titles. This isn’t a Babylon Bee story. It is real.

The word “Chief” comes from the French word “chief” which has nothing to do with Native Americans, but aggressive ignorance is the main ingredient of Awakening https://t.co/hvdCSUZ2Wm

— Buck Sexton (@BuckSexton) May 26, 2022

“While there are many opinions on the subject, our leadership team agreed that we will no longer use it due to concerns raised by Native American members of our community about the use of the title,” SFUSD spokesman Gentle Blythe told the SF Timeline.

This is just another in a series of awakening moments for the San Francisco School District as it continues to lead the way in making the world so much better.

You may remember some of SFUSD’s biggest hits, like noting that Abraham Lincoln was too racist to name a school after him, so the district tore his name off a school building.

BOOM… society was saved.

You may recall how the district tried for months to rename schools while keeping them closed due to COVID, only to then cancel renaming committee meetings.

BOOM… the world was once again saved by the SF school system.

Then there was the all-timer where the SFUSD Arts Department dropped their acronym because “acronyms are a symptom of white supremacy culture,” only to find out that the guy demanding the end of acronyms had acronyms in his Instagram posts used.

Double BOOM BOOM… the world was saved from its evil self by SFUSD.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, does more to save the world than the San Francisco school system. Just think how many brilliant bright minds it pumps into the world to spread the wisdom garnered from teachers like the one who said Bernie Sanders wearing mittens was a “white male privilege.”

Triple BOOM BOOM BOOOOOOOM… the SFUSD not only saved you from yourself, it officially saved your unborn grandchildren from yourself, awake and aware as they are.

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SAN FRANCISCO, September 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The san francisco-based LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired announced today that it has been named Sharon Giovinazzo as the new chief executive officer.

Founded in 1902, the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired is one of the nation’s largest and most established organizations for the blind, providing comprehensive education, training and advocacy for the community.

Sharon Giovinazzo brings more than two decades of experience leading organizations that advocate for and meet the needs of the blind and visually impaired. She will join LightHouse after serving as President and CEO of World Services for the Blind.

“I am honored to join the LightHouse leadership team as the new CEO,” he said Sharon Giovinazzo. “This organization has a long and successful track record of advancing and achieving independence, equality and self-reliance for the community. This commitment to focused mission, impact and success reflects my own values, and I look forward to working with a dynamic team to advance the organization’s priorities and expand its reach.”

In her new role as CEO of LightHouse, Giovinazzo will be responsible for leading the organization’s dedicated team of blindness advocates, educators and professionals, while increasing the organization’s value for its members, donors, sponsors, partners and other stakeholders. She will advance efforts to promote community independence and equality while strengthening the organization and its programs.

“We are pleased to have Sharon join us as CEO of LightHouse,” said Dr Sharon Sacks, CEO of LightHouse. “Her strategic drive and long, distinguished career as an advocate and community leader make her the perfect choice to lead the LightHouse into the next phase of its evolution. We are very happy to welcome them on board.”

Giovinazzo brings extensive experience in organizational management, strategic planning, community impact, public policy and advocacy. Prior to her role as President and CEO of World Services for the Blind, she served in various capacities for the Raleigh Lions Clinic for the Blind (RLCB) for nearly a decade, assisting in the development and implementation of the agencies $34 million Budget, including determining staffing and operational needs and expenses.

Previously, during her tenure at National Industries for the Blind (NIB), Giovinazzo is credited with leading the cultivation and understanding of AbilityOne programs with Congress, federal agencies of the executive branch, consumer and trade organizations concerned with disability policy , to take over. Throughout her career, Sharon has been an advocate for public order in matters of legislation and regulation. Prior to NIB, she held positions at the Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CABVI). Utica, New York; was appointed Chairman of the State Rehabilitation Council in 2006 and oversaw the operation of a US Army DEPMEDS training facility.

Sharon Giovinazzo holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Services Management from SUNY Empire State College and a dual master’s as MSW and MBA. In addition, she holds a Certificate of Management in Business Administration Those of the University of Virginia Darden school of business.

Giovinazzo will take up her position as CEO October 25.

About the lighthouse for the blind and visually impaired

Founded in 1902, the LightHouse has a long history of promoting the independence, equality and self-reliance of people who are blind or visually impaired California and around the world. It is one of the nation’s largest and most established organizations for the blind, providing comprehensive education, training and advocacy for the community. For more on the organization’s history and innovative programs, visit https://lighthouse-sf.org/.

# # #

Media contact: Lee Kumutat: [email protected]

SOURCE San Francisco LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired

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SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The san francisco-based LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired announced today that it has named Sharon Giovinazzo as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Founded in 1902, the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired is one of the nation’s largest and most established blindness organizations, providing comprehensive education, training, and advocacy for the community.

Sharon Giovinazzo brings more than two decades of experience to leading organizations dedicated to advocating for and serving the needs of the blind and visually impaired. She will join LightHouse after serving as President and CEO of the World Services for the Blind.

“I am honored to join the leadership team at LightHouse as its new CEO,” said Sharon Giovinazzo. “This organization has a long and successful track record of driving and achieving independence, equality and self-reliance for the community. This commitment to a focused driven mission, impact and success mirrors my own values, and I look forward to working with a dynamic team to advance the organization’s priorities and expand its reach.”

In her new role as CEO of LightHouse, Giovinazzo will be responsible for leading the organization’s dedicated team of blindness advocates, educators, and professionals while growing the value of the organization to its members, donors, sponsors, partners, and other stakeholders. She will drive efforts to promote the independence and equality of the community while strengthening the organization and its programs.

“We’re pleased that Sharon wants to join us as CEO of LightHouse,” said Dr Sharon Sacks, LightHouse Board Chair. “Her strategic drive and her long, distinguished career advocating for and guiding the community make her the perfect choice to lead the LightHouse into the next phase of its development. We’re thrilled to welcome her aboard.”

Giovinazzo brings extensive experience in organizational management, strategic planning, community impact, public policy and advocacy. Prior to her role as President and CEO of the World Services for the Blind, she served for nearly a decade in various roles for the Raleigh Lions Clinic for the Blind (RLCB) where she assisted in the development and implementation of the agency’s $34 million budget, including determining staffing and operational needs and expenditures.

Prior to that, during her tenure with National Industries for the Blind (NIB), Giovinazzo is credited with providing the leadership for cultivating and understanding the AbilityOne programs with Congress, Federal Executive Branch Agencies, consumer and commercial organizations concerned with disability policy. Throughout her career, Sharon has been an advocate for public policy in legislative affairs and regulations. Prior to the NIB, she held positions with the Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CABVI) in Utica, NY; was appointed Chair to the State Rehabilitation Council in 2006 and supervised the operations of a DEPMEDS training facility with the US Army.

Sharon Giovinazzo holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Services Management from SUNY Empire State College and a dual master’s as an MSW and an MBA. Additionally, she holds a Certificate of Management in Business Administration from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

Giovinazzo will begin her position as CEO on October 25.

About the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Founded in 1902, the LightHouse has a long history of promoting the independence, equality and self-reliance of people who are blind or have low vision in California and around the world. It is one of the nation’s largest and most established blindness organizations, providing comprehensive education, training, and advocacy for the community. More on the organization’s history and innovative programs can be found at https://lighthouse-sf.org/.

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Media Contact: Lee Kumutat: [email protected]

SOURCE San Francisco LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired

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SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Unified School District will no longer use the word “chief” in job titles because of concerns from Native Americans.

District officials said they haven’t decided what they will use instead of “chief.” The San Francisco Chronicle first reported the ban on Wednesday.

“While there are many opinions on the matter, our leadership team agreed that, given that Native American members of our community have expressed concerns about the use of the title, we are no longer going to use it,” the district statement said.

“With nearly 10,000 employees, SFUSD is one of the largest employers in San Francisco and in addition to site leaders, we need central leaders who serve all of our 119 schools,” it said.

The statement acknowledged that those positions require significant responsibility and specific expertise.

“By changing how we refer to our division heads we are in no way diminishing the indispensable contributions of our district central service leaders,” it said.

The district’s decision follows such moves as the recent renaming of Northern California’s former Squaw Valley Ski Resort. The word “squaw,” derived from the Algonquin language, has morphed over generations to a misogynist and racist term to disparage Indigenous women.

Thursday, lawmakers in the state Assembly passed a bill that would remove “squaw” from all geographic features and place names in the state. Lawmakers would not say the word while debating the bill. Democratic Assembly member James Ramos, a member of the Serrano/Cahuilla tribe, referred to it as the “s word.”

“This word that is still being used in well over 100 geographical areas in California,” Ramos said. “This word is very derogatory toward Native American women.”

The word “chief,” however, is commonly used to connote leadership and authority — from fire and police chiefs to chief executives, chief scientists and engineers, and a host of other jobs.

According to Webster’s New World dictionary, the origin and development of the word “chief” runs back through Middle English and Old French to Latin.

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CNN, KGO

By Travis Caldwell, CNN

San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said Tuesday that an incident last week when police officers were refused service at a local restaurant was “upsetting” and a disappointment.

Scott praised the officers’ professionalism at the Hilda and Jesse restaurant in the city’s North Beach neighborhood Friday when three uniformed, on-duty officers were asked to leave because employees were uneasy about their service weapons.

“We wear uniforms but we’re all humans,” Scott told CNN’s Michael Smerconish. “We get things done to us and said to us that are hurtful, but we have to rise above it and be professional. That’s what these officers did.”

In a since-deleted post reported by local media, the restaurant’s social media account stated that staff felt “uncomfortable with the presence of their multiple weapons” and the officers were asked to leave.

“We respect the San Francisco Police Department and are grateful for the work they do. We welcome them into the restaurant when they are off duty, out of uniform, and without their weapons,” the post said.

The restaurant’s stance sparked a fierce reaction online and it was subsequently inundated with negative comments on review sites such as Yelp.

The owners, Rachel Sillcocks and Kristina Liedags Compton, later apologized in another social media post, stating “We are grateful to all members of the force who work hard to keep us safe, especially during these challenging times. We hope this will be a teachable moment for us as we repair and continue to build bridges with the SFPD.

“These are stressful times, and we handled this badly,” they said.

Scott said he spoke with the owners over the phone on Tuesday and has accepted their apology.

“One of the things that we have to do, and this was said by the owners of the restaurant, is we have to sit down and have conversations,” Scott said. “We know that there are sometimes opposite sides of conversations about police officers and policing. But we sit down, we have conversations, and we can agree to disagree, but there has to be some civility in this process.”

The CNN Wire
& © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.

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