Summary

• SFO has the largest base-isolated building in the world, built to withstand earthquakes up to a Richter Magnitude 8.
• The airport has a runway layout that allows for parallel take-offs and landings.
• Harvey Milk Terminal 1 at SFO is the first US terminal to implement an Independent Carrier System for baggage handling.

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is the second-busiest airport in the state of California, behind Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The airport has been operational for over 90 years and has undergone significant renovations. This evolution has resulted in a fascinating history and innovative infrastructure as the facility has grown to meet travel demand.

Here are some highlights of facts you may not know about SFO.

1 The largest base-isolated building in the world

The San Francisco Bay Area lies along the San Andreas Fault, making the region especially vulnerable to significant earthquakes. When it came time to build a new terminal at SFO to accommodate increasing international travel, safeguarding against seismic activity was top-of-mind.

In 1995, SFO broke ground on its new International Terminal. At the time, the $2.6 billion project was the largest construction project in North America at 1.8 million square feet. According to the American Institute of Steel Construction, the facility was built with 267 friction pendulum seismic isolators at the base of the building columns.

The structure is glass and aluminum clad, with glass panels that are 700 feet long and 80 feet tall. The seismic isolation measures allow the building to withstand a Richter Magnitude 8 earthquake. The International Terminal opened for service in December 2000.

2 Parallel take-offs and landings

SFO is one of several airports in the United States with a runway layout that allows for parallel take-offs and landings. The airfield features two parallel runways oriented in an east-west direction intersected by two additional runways oriented north-to-south. According to SFO, the standard runway flow configuration—the West Plan—is utilized about 80% of the time. Runways 28L and 28R are the primary arrival runways, and 1L and 1R are the primary departure runways.

When weather conditions provide good visibility, aircraft can land side-by-side on runways 28L and 28R with adequate space between the next set of arrivals to permit parallel departures. Interestingly, runways 28L and 28R are only 748.9 feet apart, so parallel take-offs and landings are not approved for instrument flight conditions.

In conditions of reduced visibility, aircraft arrive using only one runway.

Please take a look at our review of US airports where you can catch simultaneous take-offs and landings.

3 Harvey Milk Terminal 1 was the first US terminal to implement an Independent Carrier System

SFO’s Terminal 1 was originally constructed in the early 1960s but has recently undergone significant renovation. As part of the changes to the terminal, SFO instituted a new, tote-based Independent Carrier System (ICS), making Harvey Milk Terminal 1 the first in the United States to implement such a system.

Each piece of baggage is individually placed into a tote carrier when it is received at the check-in area, and it remains in its carrier all the way to its destination aircraft. This system enhances airlines’ ability to track passenger luggage accurately. Because the tote carriers are a uniform shape and size, ICS reduces the potential for system jams that often occur in the conventional baggage handling system in which wheels and straps can get caught on conveyor belts.

Additionally, the conventional model of baggage handling consists of one-directional routing. In contrast, the ICS model can facilitate transfers to the arrival claim area or other destinations as the empty tote heads back to the check-in area.

4 Helicopter service

SFO was once home to the San Francisco and Oakland Helicopter Airlines operation, known as SFO Helicopter Airlines. The airline began serving passengers in 1961, using SFO as its hub. In 1962, the airline was also awarded a contract to carry US mail.

SFO Helicopter Airlines flew from the airport to downtown San Francisco and Oakland, as well as Oakland International Airport and a heliport close to the Berkeley Marina. In the late 1960s, there were also routes to the San Francisco Ferry Building and Marin.

The airline operated Sikorsky turbine engine helicopters, which could accommodate 10 passengers. Sightseeing tours were offered on weekends during the summer and on holidays. The fare was $4.50 for adults and $3.50 for children, making it an economical option for families to get an aerial view of attractions like Fisherman’s Wharf. At the height of its operations, SFO Helicopter Airlines was running about 68 flights per day.

Unfortunately, the airline experienced financial difficulty and ceased operations in 1985.

5 Health and wellbeing at Harvey Milk Terminal 1 Boarding Area B

According to an SFO news release, Harvey Milk Terminal 1 Boarding Area B was the first airport terminal in the world to achieve WELL certification, a building standard developed by the International WELL Building Institute that includes over 100 features related to enhancing human health and wellbeing.

The standard is intended to serve as a method for organizations to intentionally develop buildings that factor in considerations such as air quality and energy efficiency when designing the built environment.

Harvey Milk Terminal 1 Boarding Area B incorporated numerous features in its construction that helped the building reach the WELL certification. Some of these included acoustic management through sound-reducing surfaces to cut down on noise, radiant heating and cooling that complements displacement ventilation for energy efficiency, and an efficient outdoor air filtration system to reduce pollutants and odors coming inside the building. The latter effort is verified through third-party air quality testing.

Sources: AISC; SFO-International Terminal News Release; SFO; SFO Terminal 1 Redevelopment; SFO- WELL Certification News Release

The post 5 Issues You Did not Know About San Francisco Worldwide Airport appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Dear Ms. Manners: We have a handyman, George, with whom we have been working for several years. He was originally recommended to us by a close friend and a small group of us employs him fairly well.

My husband and I trust George to be a dependable and trustworthy helper as we no longer have to do many chores ourselves as we get older and we reward him generously. We also got to know George’s strengths and weaknesses: for example, he is a terrible painter and a mediocre landscaper, but a great plumber and a good electrician.

On two occasions various neighbors approached George when he was outside our home and asked if he would be willing to do any work for them. I find this to be 1. a little rude and 2. potentially unwise. Instead, I think they should ask my husband and I if we would mind if they “poach” our employee. If they are wise, they should seek our opinion on his abilities as well.

I would add that on both occasions the neighbors hired him and were disappointed with the painting work he did for them which led to minor disputes over what he was charging them.

Am I wrong in thinking that a neighbor should do us the courtesy of asking before trying to hire our handyman?

GOOD READER: Your neighbors are rightfully forbidden to help themselves during the time you are paying for. The time you don’t pay for still belongs to George.

In theory, this means that it’s acceptable to ask a gardener for his card while walking past him and sowing the lawn, provided the exchange is quick. In practice, such requests usually result in a lengthy discussion which, if visible to George’s current employer, will be resented if he is paid by the hour.

For that reason – and to avoid the resulting problem with George’s painting skills – it would have been wiser if your neighbor had asked you for a recommendation. But you’ve been spared the discomfort of admitting that George forgets to paint the wall behind the couch – and you’ve retaliated without seeming too rude by pointing out that you could have saved them some trouble.

Dear Ms. Manners: Growing up, I was always taught to set the table by placing the fork and knife on the right side of the plate, on the napkin. Placing it on the napkin prevented the fork and knife from touching the empty table.

Now I know it’s napkin, fork, plate, knife – all in a row. Is it okay to have the fork and knife right on the table, or does it require a placemat or tablecloth?

GOOD READER: Etiquette does not object to the direct contact of forks or knives with the table. And Miss Manners points out that unless the meal takes place at a picnic table, it is just as hygienic as a placemat or tablecloth, since hosts who forget to keep the table clean are likely to be just as absent-minded about it cutlery goes.

Please send your questions to Miss Manners on her website www.missmanners.com; to her email, Dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or by mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

The post They poached my handyman and it did not go effectively appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Rush hour traffic crawls along Highway 101 into San Francisco, California on Thursday morning, March 30, 2023. (Photo: Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

There’s a new mystery thousands of Bay Area commuters are trying to solve. Downtown offices that were once teeming with techies and lawyers are deserted. BART’s ridership is down 60% after many passengers fled the system three years ago and never returned.

So why are the freeways full again?

Radio stations ping with morning traffic jam updates: The MacArthur Maze is a mess, I-880 a nuisance, and the 101 a zoo — though remote working has led to a colossal shift in travel patterns and taxpayers have spent billions of dollars providing buses, Trains and other alternatives to driving. Ultimately, the long-term solution to resurgent congestion is perhaps the least-common idea yet: making it even more expensive to commute by car.

“It’s a paradox, isn’t it?” said Alexandre Bayen, an engineering professor at UC Berkeley who studies traffic patterns. “We’re busy. It may not be the exact same times, under the same circumstances. But we are working at full capacity.”

Commuters travel across the Bay Bridge towards San Francisco on Thursday, March 30, 2023 during the morning commute in San Francisco, California. (Photo: Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Perhaps nowhere is this more visible than at the Bay Bridge. While overall bridge traffic is still down about 10% compared to 2019, morning commutes from Oakland to San Francisco are often worse than before the pandemic. Riders fill the bridge during rush hour, and morning travel speeds are 32% slower than four years ago, according to congestion data tracking speeds from Treasure Island to the Fremont Street exit in San Francisco. But the afternoon commute is still easier for many — speeds at the Bay Bridge average 34% faster exiting San Francisco.

Even reverse commuters feel some pain. Ian Brown, 47, is driving from San Francisco to Los Gatos for a job at Netflix. “You kind of got used to putting it in cruise control and going 75 mph,” he said. “Maybe three or four months ago you’ll turn the corner and the traffic will stop. It’s all about reactive driving again.”

RELATED: Bay Area drivers face DMV registration bans amid mounting express lane debt

Regional data shows the return to traffic chaos. INRIX, a traffic analysis company, found that Bay Area congestion has fully returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2022. The region ranks 15th in the world for traffic congestion, with drivers spending an average of 97 hours in traffic last year. There is a caveat to the study’s conclusion: congestion on the city’s roads remains low, while the freeways have filled.

Increasing highway congestion is particularly confusing when you consider not only remote work but also historically high gas prices and recently increased bridge tolls, factors expected to discourage driving.

“I think traffic will only get worse,” said Bob Pishue, author of the INRIX study. “There’s a lot of demand and not enough street supply.”

Rush hour traffic crawls along Highway 101 into San Francisco, California on Thursday morning, March 30, 2023. (Photo: Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

Traffic patterns also underscore a new system of winners and losers – at least when it comes to road transport – brought on by the pandemic. People who work from home, more often employees who can shop at lunchtime or hit the gym, see far less congestion. Workers who have to do their jobs in person — like plumbers, nurses and teachers — are back on congested roads.

But why do autobahns fill up so quickly?

Michael Manville, a professor of urban planning at UCLA, said Californians find many reasons to keep driving even as they commute less. One reason is that driving became even easier when COVID-19 and remote working emptied the streets. That only enticed drivers to fill the freeways until the congestion returned.

“Traffic jams aren’t just annoying — they’re a deterrent,” Manville said. “When the traffic eases, people will see that the freeway is empty and they will get in their cars and go somewhere else.”

At the region’s most notorious bottleneck, the Bay Bridge, commuters pack their journey into too few hours, exacerbating congestion. East Bay drivers driving down the peninsula from the Bay Bridge witness some of the region’s worst morning commutes, with westbound I-80 speeds dropping 44% compared to 2019 as they approach Highway 101 .

If upside-down work patterns can’t end traffic congestion, is there an answer to the region’s traffic woes?

Rush hour traffic crawls along Interstate 280 into San Francisco, Calif. Thursday morning, March 30, 2023. (Photo by Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

One solution to highway congestion is to get people out of their solo driving habits and into trains and buses, or carpooling. In 2018, voters across the Bay Area voted to increase their bridge tolls to now $7 on promises of freeing highways from congestion. Funds are flowing to send BART trains to San Jose, expand ferry service, and build a network of express lanes. These measures are intended to make the region’s ailing local transport system a viable alternative to car travel.

But changing driver behavior is a difficult task. A common refrain, supported by research, is that voters often approve public transit funding in the hope that others will use the system and make their commute easier.

Some public transport advocates say commuters’ reliance on one-person vehicles and aversion to public transit has hardened over the past three years. They point to concerns about the reliability and safety of BART, as well as an ongoing stigma that riding public transit poses a health risk. For others, commuting to work a few times a week means they’re more likely to grit their teeth in traffic, even as congestion mounts.

“People still commute,” said Emily Loper, vice president of the Bay Area Council, which tracks return-to-office trends. “You just choose to drive more than before.”

Now, transit planners in the Bay Area are landing with a controversial idea: Really reducing congestion is less about encouraging transit ridership and more about making it more expensive to drive.

At the heart of the plan is a two-year study commissioned by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission into imposing a per-mile charge for driving on freeways in the Bay Area. Some plans under study also include charging on roads adjacent to freeways or a toll for downtown access in San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland. The study should pave the way for the implementation of a new motorway toll system in 2035.

Without a new “stick” to add to the “carrot” of improved public transport, drivers will stay on the streets and the collective misery of congestion will only worsen, Anup Tapase, chief planner of the MTC, said during a meeting at the MTC Month.

It is a method of reducing traffic congestion that has gained traction among many experts.

But in the Bay Area, there are deep concerns about the potential impact of congestion charges on the region’s low-income communities. The move could also spark an uprising among voters who are already paying the highest gas prices in the country.

“The word freeway has a very deep meaning in Californian culture. People believe that driving on these roads is a right,” MTC committee member Frank Welte said at a meeting earlier this month. “Any motorist who now drives for free on a freeway, who starts paying a toll, will see it as treason and theft.”

The post Bay Space drivers spend 97 hours a 12 months in visitors. Why didn’t distant work finish commute nightmares? – Purple Bluff Day by day Information appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) – While high prices and inflated bids have become the norm in the Bay Area real estate market, eyebrows rise when a house in San Francisco sold for $ 1 million more.

It’s a newly renovated 2,400 square foot home with 4 bedrooms, a two car garage, and incredible views. The house is in a quiet area of ​​San Francisco near Mt. Davidson, west of Twin Peaks.

CONTINUE READING: Newson will present the budget for 2022; COVID, Law Enforcement, Road Improvement Among the Top Positions

The interior of a house in San Francisco near Mount Davidson that grossed more than $ 1 million. (Lunghi Media Group)

Real estate agents Richard Woo and Holly Phan listed the house for just under $ 2.5 million. Three days later, they would put the sale at $ 3.5 million.

“We were all very surprised because they weren’t just over – they were way over,” said Woo.

“We expected more, a little more, but we weren’t expecting a million dollars,” Phan said.

In current market conditions, it is quite typical for homes in the Bay Area to be sold at or slightly above list price.

A house that sold $ 1 million in San Francisco. (CBS)

CONTINUE READING: Newsom signs executive order to ban price gouging for COVID test kits

“It was one of the wildest markets in history last year,” said Patrick Carlisle, Compass chief market analyst. “We saw some very spectacular overbids, not just in town but across the Bay Area.”

The housing stock available is still incredibly low across the Bay Area. This creates more competition among buyers, which can drive up sales prices.

“While a slew of new entries have hit the market, they’re being caught faster than ever – perhaps at the fastest rate in history,” Carlisle told KPIX 5. “Virtually every segment in the Bay Area has gone insane. ”

In San Francisco in particular, there has been a huge surge in home sales, according to Carlisle.

“Of course, it involves some people leaving. But the other side of it is that there are still many people who are very eager to live in the city, to own a home in the city, and are willing to pay higher prices than they have ever paid before ” , he said. “Sooner or later, upcycles end. What history has taught us, however, is that it is extremely difficult to predict when upward cycles will end. “

Potential buyers should all have their ducks in a row, according to Woo.

As for sellers?

MORE NEWS: Milpitas schools offer online learning amid Omicron Surge

“It’s a seller’s market,” said Woo. “Of course the timing is important, the location is important. But the most important thing is to properly prepare the house. “

The post ‘We Didn’t Count on A Million {Dollars} Extra’ – San Francisco House’s Astronomical Overbid Stuns Brokers – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

1a. I believe in second chances. And third and fourth chances. Folks will argue that playing in the NFL is a privilege and not a right, but for some players it is their only marketable skill; taking it away indefinitely is draconian (not to mention, the kind of power Roger Goodell should not—and, legally, cannot—exercise). People change, especially in their 20s and 30s, and every one of them deserves a pathway to redemption.

However, the pathway must involve some baseline effort at rehabilitation. Right? A hint of contrition? Even just a show that he is making the slightest effort to maybe think about possibly making amends for his actions? With that in mind: Did Antonio Brown do that?

You could do some mental gymnastics and convince yourself he did the absolute bare minimum. There were some apologies—under a markedly different writing style than we usually get from him—posted on his social media accounts. He took cuts at a few softballs last winter and dispensed the type of reflexive, mealy-mouthed, non-specific apology I wouldn’t accept from my preschooler. And when it came to his abhorrent treatment of women, he played the victim card. I mean, this is an actual quote from February:

“I feel like I never really got in a conflict with no woman. I just feel like I’m a target so, anybody can come against me and say anything and I’m going to have to face it. There’s no support, there’s no egos, there’s no rules in it, anyone can come after me for anything. No proof or whatever. ‘He said, she’s saying.’ The media will run with it, so even if I’m not guilty, I already guilty because they already wrote it, put it on TV and put that in people minds. So for me to have to sit here and hear those the allegations of me is just unfair to me every time.”

Brown’s mistreatment of women has been chronicled in police reports, sometimes on his own social media accounts and in the accounts of accusers. If he was referring to our source who, in September 2019, accused Brown of sexual misconduct, a quick refresher: She did not come to us—we found her. Her story and her background held up against exhaustive vetting by our team. And despite what you might have heard on sports radio or seen on social media from the kind of people who have yet to realize you can breathe through your nose, at no point did she ever give an indication that there was financial motivation.

Each of us are, in the simplest terms, the sum of our actions, and our actions are shaped by our circumstances. After spending the summer of 2019 researching Brown’s behavior, I write this with a fair amount of confidence: Superstardom on the football field shaped Antonio Brown, and not in a good way. It made him feel like others—viewed as being beneath his station as a star athlete—could be treated however he saw fit, without consequence. Brown was surrounded by the typical variety of toadies and stooges who encouraged that kind of behavior, but he has also been enabled by coaches and teammates as well. Tom Brady is now chief among them.

Over the past 13 months, Tom Brady has floated the notion that he and his football team’s culture is what Brown needs—apparently ignoring the fact that, while a teammate of Brady’s, Brown saw fit to send threatening texts to a credible accuser. For Brown, football isn’t the solution, it’s part of the problem.

This isn’t about rehabilitating Antonio Brown as a man, because he’s never shown even the slightest interest in being rehabilitated. (And if Brady is interested in helping troubled players, there are many who are more deserving than Brown.) No, this is the opposite of rehabilitation: It reinforces that as long as the greatest receiver of this generation is still in his prime, there are no consequences, especially when it comes to people who don’t have a role in winning football games. And Brady will always be there to fight those consequences—every single one—because there is no greater calling in life than maximizing your chance to win football games.

We can only hope we’ve arrived at the final act of this farce. It will further cement the legacy of Tom Brady the player as a guy who won a lot of football games. And it will further cement the legacy of Tom Brady the man as a guy who won a lot of football games.

1b. Also, congratulations to Russell Wilson, Pete Carroll and the Seahawks organization for lowering themselves into the sewer and not even coming away with their man.

* * *

Whatever. Here’s some analysis of the week’s games and news interspersed with poop jokes…

USA Today Photos (5)

2. Anyone with optic nerves that transmit images to their brain knows that the Steelers defense poses a stiff test for the Titans. But what’s even more worrisome for Tennessee is that this Steelers defense is almost custom-built to deal with their offense.

Pittsburgh has the best run defense in football by just about any metric, but I want to focus in on its defensive line Stuff Percentage (a league-leading 32% according to Football Outsiders) and the fact that Vince Williams—maybe the closest thing to a “weak link” in its defensive front—leads the NFL in tackles for loss (10) while T.J. Watt is tied for second (9) and even slot corner Mike Hilton (5) is top-20. The book on Derrick Henry is that, while he’s superhuman once he gets to the second level, he’s a mere mortal around and behind the line of scrimmage. The Steelers often don’t allow backs to get to the second level, and while I don’t like touting the vague notion of “physicality,” there’s no doubt that the Steelers’ cast of front-seven characters are capable of handling Henry. And, yes, Devin Bush is out, but so is Taylor Lewan, which means Bud Dupree will get to pick on Ty Sambrailo, for whom “functional strength” has been an issue throughout his career (I write while struggling to summon the strength to get off my couch and get more candy corn).

Play-action is the other staple of the Titans offense—one very much aided by the fact that linebackers often get sucked up more than they normally would because everyone is trying to get to Henry before he gets a head of steam. But playing behind-schedule is an issue for anyone’s play-action offense. The average second-down distance for Pittsburgh’s opponents this year has been 9.22 yards, which is a number that has no right existing outside a science-fiction short story about a dystopian future where footballs have been replaced by 600-pound anvils. If the Titans find themselves in a lot of second- or third-and-long, that play-action game becomes less effective. (And we haven’t mentioned the steady diet of Minkah Fitzpatrick in disguised robber coverages the Titans are likely to see.)

Look at what happened to Cleveland against the Steelers last week. The Browns’ system is loosely similar to Tennessee’s (zone running and play-action off it). But with the Steelers’ dominant run defense mitigating that play-action game, Cleveland was utterly doomed. And you could argue that the Browns are better than Tennessee at every offensive position—except quarterback.

And with that, I arrive at the core point of this meandering take. Ryan Tannehill might not be an MVP-type quarterback (yes, I’ve seen the stats). But since arriving in Nashville, he has been an exceptionally good system quarterback who’s an exceptionally good fit in an exceptionally good system. What he hasn’t been is a guy who’s going to make plays off-schedule and have a lot of success on third-and-long. So far this season, the Titans rank 26th in third-and-long (defined as 6-plus yards to gain) at 21.7%. They were 22nd (26.5%) after Tannehill took over as the starter last year.

Carson Wentz and Mayfield are the last two quarterbacks Pittsburgh faced. Wentz, for all the Josh Allen-esque mistakes he’ll make late in the down, also has the ability to create Josh Allen-esque magic. The Eagles went 5-for-7 on third-and-long in Pittsburgh, which is how they put up 29 points and hung around, and it’s a big reason why the Steelers still rank near the bottom of the league in third-and-long defense (28th, at 38.9% allowed). Mayfield, on the other hand, hasn’t shown the ability to make out-of-structure plays this season, and didn’t do so in Pittsburgh, which is why that game was not competitive.

When Tannehill played in Miami, the later in the down it got, the worse off he was. In Tennessee, he’s rarely had to make plays out-of-structure. He’s a 57.0% passer on third-and-long since becoming the Titans starter, which is actually slightly lower than the mark he posted in Miami (57.4%). Sunday is shaping up to be a week where he’s going to have to make a handful of plays outside of the system. Whether or not he rises to the occasion will determine which of these teams stays undefeated.

* * *

3. It seems the Dolphins had circled the bye week for promoting Tua Tagovailoa all along, but doing it now makes plenty of sense. The biggest deterrent to throwing a young quarterback into the fire is an offensive line that can’t protect him—Miami couldn’t do this a year ago. But their young offensive line has improved immensely, to the point that it’s league-average and trending up.

The other factor is that, as good as Ryan Fitzpatrick has been in 2020, they know it’s not going to last for 16 games. Because it’s never lasted for 16 games. Sometimes when you get on a hot streak at the craps table, you just have to walk away.

You likely already know Fitzpatrick’s origin story—no formal education, worked as a chimney sweep, radioactive squirrel bites him and he gains the power to ace the Wonderlic, Rams draft him, etc. etc. etc. He took the demotion as graciously as possible, and mentioned he might have made his final start, which might be true. But, while he’s 38 in November, he has for the most part maintained the physical traits he had when he entered the league. He can move an offense as well as any backup in football, and it seems he did just fine in the mentor role with Tua. Most likely, he bought himself at least one more chance to be someone’s bridge quarterback.

* * *

4. Not sure why, but I’ve been thinking about this clip a lot this weekend:

* * *

5. We’re all furrowing our brows in a vain attempt to understand the Bears’ 5–1 record. We know luck—the same kind of pure, stupid luck that shines on a team or two every season—has something to do with it, and the Vaudevillian nature of their opponents’ fourth-quarter gaffes draws the eye to late-game scenarios. But hey, the points in the first three quarters count the same as the ones in the fourth quarter.

If you really want to understand the one fluke constant with Chicago, look at its outlier defensive performance in the red zone. Red-zone performance on both sides of the ball tends to fluctuate wildly year to year, due to the small sample size and the unique nature of the tight field. To credit the Bears’ red-zone success to some kind of otherworldly situational football play, you’d also be arguing that the Ravens (fourth-worst red-zone defense in 2020) and Titans (third-worst) are bad situational defenses. Or that the Packers were a great situational defense last year (fourth-best red-zone defense) but, with the same staff and roster, forgot how to play situational defense this year (second-worst red-zone defense).

The Bears are allowing a league-leading 36.4% touchdown percentage—they allowed a TD rate over 50% each of the past two seasons, and were 48% or higher each of the last eight years. Only the Cardinals are allowing fewer points per red-zone trip (4.0). And since they’ve played 22 red-zone possessions, if Chicago’s 4.14 number were closer to the league-average (5.13), you’d be talking about a three-point increase in points-per-game allowed.

However, last week’s win in Carolina was at least a blueprint of how they should be expected to win games: They had constant pressure on Teddy Bridgewater, resulting in four sacks and three takeaways (though one was when Panthers RB Mike Davis forgot he was carrying a football in the open field).

The difference between the 2018 and ’19 Bears was takeaways. They led the league in ’18 (36) but fell to 22nd last season, as the number was almost halved (19). Part of that is luck. Part of it was a down year for Khalil Mack, who very much looks like his all-world self again in 2020. The takeaways weren’t coming during the 4-1 start—just five over those first five games—but pressure creates turnovers, and the pressure has been there this season. A multi-takeaway outing like the one in Charlotte shouldn’t be an outlier.

No matter how good your defense is, you’re walking a tightrope when your offense is this level of inept. However, the Bears could go 4–6 from here on out and still make the playoffs—a 5–5 finish would virtually guarantee postseason football. And once they’re in the tournament, with this defense and with a quarterback with a history of getting very hot in January, anything goes.

* * *

6a. The funny thing about Yannick Ngakoue joining the Ravens is that Baltimore has consistently used overload, fire-zone blitzes to generate pressure in order to make up for the fact that they don’t have a truly dominant edge rusher. And now, in Ngakoue, they’re adding a dominant edge rusher. Though now that I read it I guess that’s not as funny as I originally thought.

Defensive coordinator Don Martindale (or, as many call him, “Mink” Martindale, due to his fondness for the semiaquatic, carnivorous animal) now has a chance to be a little more flexible in his approach. With Ngakoue capable of creating pressure independent of scheme, they could take an approach more along the lines of what the Steelers do: blitz-happy on early downs, four-man rush in front of coverage on third down.

6b. From the Vikings’ perspective, clearly they thought they were going to make a run this year. That just isn’t the case as long as the NFL insists on setting the playoff field based on win-loss record. And considering the fact that they’re in cap heck the next two seasons, it didn’t make sense to commit to Ngakoue long-term—not only would they be paying a premium to Ngakoue, but they’d surely have to adjust Danielle Hunter’s below-market deal if they did. They didn’t get caught up in sunk-cost fallacy, so good on them.

6c. The move also suggests this might be fellow pending free agent Matt Judon’s last year in Baltimore. He’s a very good player, but probably a half-step below Ngakoue talent-wise (not to mention three years older). If Ngakoue works out—and there’s no reason to think he won’t—and gets a long-term deal, the Ravens can play their comp pick game when Judon signs elsewhere this offseason.

* * *

7. Ladies and gentlemen . . . Pixies!

• Question or comment? Email us.

The post NFL Week 7 Preview: Antonio Brown will get the second probability he did not even attempt to earn appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

When I stare down at the painted ladies in my favorite seat in Alamo Square Park, it’s hard to imagine.

These San Francisco landmarks are engraved on my brain as they are today, colorful, stately homes gracefully sloping down the hill. But there’s one thing these houses, built in the 1890s, have today that weren’t there originally, which completely upsets that image – none of them originally had a garage.

It’s not surprising when you think about it. Of course not. They were built years before the automobile became common and affordable, so architects didn’t think of having a large underground space to store cars. Instead, the ground floor of these houses mostly served as a storage or laundry room or simply housed additional rooms in the house. Some particularly stately homes, such as the 1886 Haas-Lilienthal House in Pacific Heights, had a ballroom that spanned the ground floor.

When wealthy San Francisco residents finally began buying cars in large numbers, they had to figure out where to keep them. “When the automobile emerged in the early 20th century, garages were generally free-standing sheds for new lots and developments. In more established areas like Nob Hill, Pacific Heights and Russian Hill, people kept their “machines” in commercial garages, many of which were former stables, “said Woody LaBounty, CEO and president of San Francisco Heritage. “In the early 1920s, integrated garages on the first floor of new buildings were common, and the business of carving garages into the skin of older homes was booming.”

San Francisco homes on Page Street in 1906.

OpenSFHistory / wnp27.3466

Before the automobile hit the market as a reliable and affordable means of transportation, San Franciscans seeking private transportation kept horses in communal stables that were centralized in the neighborhoods. These residents were already used to walking at least a few blocks to get to their horse, so putting their new car in a neighborhood garage instead of at home seemed a sensible option in the short term. Also, like many new inventions, early automobiles might be picky and people worried they might catch fire and therefore wouldn’t want them right under their house if they could avoid it.

When the residents of San Francisco stored their horses at home, they kept them in a carriage house. “Some houses had coach houses or coach places; The problem was that the carriage spaces tended to be cramped and low. Cars had a hard time fitting into them, ”said Bonnie Spindler, a real estate agent and“ the Victorian specialist ”of San Francisco. “They should also have been made wider and longer.”

When the 1920s dawned and car sales were booming, houses with garages were built in the largely underdeveloped western part of the city. “Especially with the new homes with built-in garages, it has become a lot more fashionable to put your car on-site,” said Bounty. “Then they either raised the building to accommodate a garage – a lot of moving companies got into this business – or they dug to make room. That’s why you have these really steep driveways in some places. “

Another option is the snout garage, which meant building the garage to face the house. These garages rarely have an internal connection to the house itself and often have an additional terrace.

San Francisco Homes in 1906, shortly after the earthquake. These Victorians don’t have garages.

OpenSFHistory / wnp27.1892

There was a huge boom in adding garages to homes in the 1920s until the Depression broke out. Even then, only the wealthy could afford to have the garages built in, and for those who did, it wasn’t always the best addition in the long run. Early cars were much smaller than the cars of the 1950s and today’s SUVs. So if the garage was added too early it was likely very small and cramped making it difficult to park.

The next garage boom came in the 1950s when American auto culture began to flourish after World War II. “People who were wealthy and could afford cars added garages in the 1920s. There was a lot of money in the roaring 20s, so wealthy people built a garage back then, ”said Spindler. “Then in the 1950s when the suburbs were booming and everyone had a car, a lot of people added garages.”

Eddy near Franklin, San Francisco in 1925. None of the houses shown here has a garage.

OpenSFHistory / wnp30.0012

But adding a garage to your home wasn’t easy then and is no longer easy. It’s expensive (obviously), there’s a lengthy permit and permit process, and there are structural considerations for the house itself. To Raymond Zablotny, who owns a Queen Anne from 1894 on Page Street and added a garage in 2007, that meant that the foundation was renewed, costing about $ 350,000 for the entire project – almost double what he and his wife paid for the house in 1977.

Fortunately, many houses had added garages on his street so an architect could come up with a plan that even included keeping the very old Moreton Bay fig tree in their front yard. Zablotny wanted to match the style of the garage with the house, so he chose a carriage-style garage door and painted it to match the house.

Raymond Zablotny’s 1894 Queen Anne house on Page Street before adding a garage.

Raymond Zablotny

The garage was added to Raymond Zablotny’s Queen Anne from 1894.

Raymond Zablotny

Retrofitting is often done as part of adding a garage, as are other safety considerations like adding sprinkler systems. It could also include re-pouring the floor to support the weight of a car, or even adding electricity to support today’s rise of electric vehicles.

While the popularity of automobiles in major cities has declined in recent years, having a garage increases a home’s worth at least $ 100,000 in San Francisco, said Ian Berke, a real estate agent who specializes in older buildings. “It’s still a must have for buyers,” he said. “If you don’t have a garage, you’ve lost 75% of potential buyers.”

The post Why San Francisco Victorians did not initially have garages appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

What other praise can possibly be said for Mary Poppins that has not been widely known for decades? Often viewed as Walt Disney’s magnum opus, it has been a favorite of fans young and old around the world since it premiered in 1964. But on closer inspection, is the film practically perfect in every way?

RELATED: Mary Poppins’ Most Memorable Quotes

The modern viewer has changed a lot since the 1960s, and certain elements, creative choices, and techniques of film have a tendency to leave them hanging in the era. Besides that, how much of everyone’s favorite nanny has really stood the test of time?

10 Dated: Dick Van Dyke’s accent

If there’s one thing everyone and their mom are going to mention in this movie, it’s Dick Van Dyke’s terrible attempt at a Cockney accent.

The guy is still an incredible talent and was reportedly a delight during production, but at times a distinctively American actor with a British accent comes across as forced and untrained. However, since Bert is more of a weird character, it’s a more forgivable sin.

9 Timeless: Bert and the chimney sweep

As for Bert, it cannot be denied that he and his chimney sweep friends are one of the highlights of the movie. His accent may be bad, but his person is so warm, charming, and welcoming that audiences can’t help but be drawn to his positive energy.

RELATED: 10 Hidden Gems On Disney + You Totally Missed

Bert alone is one thing, but team him up with his legion of chimney sweeps on the rooftops of London and it becomes one of Disney’s biggest party scenes that will keep everyone busy.

8th Dated: (some) special effects

To be fair, a lot of the special effects in this film were revolutionary for the time thanks to Walt Disney and his team at Imagineers. The floating effects, moving furniture, and dancing toys look pretty decent by today’s standards, but some have lost their novelty.

However, the robin, the stair illusion, and the letter in the fireplace are all obvious mechanics, illusions, or camera tricks. It’s not incredibly noticeable, but it is noticeable nonetheless.

7th Timeless: the music

Mary Poppins has won several Academy Awards, including Best Picture, but one of his crowning achievements is that she won for her music. “Chim-Chim-Cher-Ee”, “A spoonful of sugar” and “Let’s fly a kite” are just some of the classics featured in this music film.

RELATED: Disney +: 10 Other Documentaries You Should Watch If You Like The Imagineering Story

There isn’t a Disney fan out there who doesn’t know at least one song from the movie. The Sherman Brothers really outdid themselves on this one, resulting in a soundtrack that is absolutely supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

6th Dated: Jane and Michaels Performances

Child actors have some sort of stigma, and unfortunately, Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber, who played Jane and Michale, were no exception.

It’s not that her acting was bad in any way, but at times her appearances for characters in a Walt Disney production were a little dull. But since Mary Poppins and Bert are more in focus than they are, their shortcomings are easily dismissed.

5 Timeless: the animated characters

Disney is responsible for creating some of the most popular cartoon characters in the history of the medium, and they in no way skipped the comic book antics for Mary Poppins.

RELATED: 10 Most Underrated Disney Songs

The penguin waiters in particular are some of the most memorable characters to pull out of the inkwell, and even the band at the horse racing celebration is familiar to the average Disney fanatic. It’s a simple case of Disney doing what they do best.

4th Dated: Animated interactions

Given the previous statement, some of the animated interactions are a little (and literally) flat compared to the animation techniques that are updated today.

For example, the piece in which Bert dances with the penguins is adorable and hysterical, but when they stand next to him the penguins still look like two-dimensional characters. It was impressive for the time, but it’s not Roger Rabbit. Kudos to the continuation to improve the technology.

3rd Timeless: Mary Poppins herself

Mary Poppins is one of the most magically charming people to ever find their feet in a Disney movie, and to this day she is considered “practically perfect in every way”. She’s cute but occasionally sarcastic, she’s nice but firm, she’s happy and yet knows when to hold the cards.

RELATED: Soundtrack Characters Sorted into Their Hogwarts Homes

There is a laundry list of reasons why she makes for a fun and entertaining character, but both Disney and actress Julie Andrews share responsibility for this.

2 Dated: The Forced Platonic Relationship

Anyone who knows anything about the development of this film knows that Mary Poppins’ writer, PL Travers, had many provisions regarding the filming of her book, including the fact that there is no hint of romance between Mary Poppins and Bert.

That being said, Disney followed the directions, but the chemistry between Mary Poppins and Bert is incredibly adorable, and the platonic nature of their friendship feels incredibly forced. Just listen to her verse “Jolly Holiday” for more evidence.

1 Timeless: the message

Mary Poppins’ message and overarching themes play like no other with the emotional vulnerability of the audience. Childhood and family are not items that should be regulated and planned, there is always time to be kind, and there is such a thing as too much investment in your work.

These are just some of the movie’s tenets / morals, but they are timeless messages that shouldn’t be forgotten regardless of the movie’s flaws.

NEXT: Disney + films for fans of Disney history

Next
Harry Potter & Wizards of Waverly Place: 5 Ways They’re Similar (& 5 Ways They Are Different)

The post 5 Issues That Did not Age Effectively (& 5 That Are Timeless) appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

A San Francisco district is planning to rename a school named after Abraham Lincoln because the former president did not demonstrate that ‘black lives mattered to him’.

The president, who is often held up as an American hero for abolishing slavery, is just one of 44 historical figures soon to have their names scratched off schools within the San Francisco Unified School District.

Other names include George Washington, Herbert Hoover and Senator Dianne Feinstein, whose name will be stripped from the Dianne Feinstein Elementary School for allowing the Confederate flag to fly outside City Hall back in 1984 when she was mayor.  

The renaming of the schools comes as part of a nationwide reckoning around racial justice that has seen Confederate flags banned, military bases renamed and statues toppled of racist and Confederate figures across America in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.  

A San Francisco district is planning to rename a school named after Abraham Lincoln because of his treatment of Native Americans. Pictured Abraham Lincoln High School

The district’s renaming committee decided Lincoln is not worthy of keeping his name on Abraham Lincoln High School because ‘the majority of his policies proved to be detrimental to [Native Americans].’  

‘Abraham Lincoln is not seen as much of a hero at all among many American Indian Nations and Native peoples of the United States, as the majority of his policies proved to be detrimental to them,’ the committee meeting notes state. 

Under his watch, Indigenous peoples had much of their land taken away from them.

In 1862, the Homestead Act, where citizens could claim ownership 160 acres of land, and the Pacific Railway Act, which gave railroad companies permission to build a transcontinental railroad through America ‘led to the significant loss of land and natural resources, as well as the loss of lifestyle and culture, for many Indigneous peoples’, the committee said. 

In 1864, the Lincoln administration then oversaw the deportation of the Navajo tribe from their land in what is now Arizona.

The tribe was forced to march a brutal 450 mile journey to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico.

The president, who is often held up as an American hero for abolishing slavery, is just one of 44 historical figures soon to have their names scratched off schools within the San Francisco Unified School District

Jeremiah Jeffries, the man in charge of school renaming, whose Nation of Islam parents inspired him

Jeremiah Jeffries, chairman of the renaming committee and a first grade teacher

The man behind the renaming of 44 of San Francisco’s schools is a first grade teacher who was influenced by his parents – both prominent members of the Nation of Islam – who set up their own Islamic school.    

Jeremiah Jeffries, chairman of the renaming committee, revealed in an interview his mother told him ‘There’s nothing mysterious about progression. It’s working instead of wishing.’  

She and her husband set up the  Sister Clara Muhammad School that serve a predominately African-American Muslim population.

The Nation of Islam, which is defined as an organized hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its racist, anti-Semitic and anti-gay teachings and rhetoric of black superiority over whites.  

Jeffries also led San Francisco’s largest school boycott when he encouraged 200 families to send their children to protest the closure of a school, rather then to lessons in 2006.  

In 1999, Jeffries hit headlines nationwide when he held a protest against teachers spending their own money on school supplies. 

The San Francisco School District increased the school supply budget for the first time in decades as a result. 

He has also carved out a reputation as a power-broker for the district’s Board of Education, using his influence to get at least four candidates – teaching professionals – appointed. 

Jeffries grew up in Philadelphia as one of seven children.  

At the age of 12, after his sister was shot dead, Jeffries had his first taste of working in education as a janitor at a childcare center.  

He later went to the University of Virginia, where he first got involved in racial justice activism with the Black Student Alliance including getting the first black woman into student office.  

When he moved to San Francisco he cofounded Teachers 4 Change and, later, Teachers 4 Social Justice activism groups alongside Mark Sanchez – who is also on the renaming committee.  

Teachers 4 Social Justice was set up to ‘help teachers build their practice and become better teachers’, holding annual conferences and social justice workshops each year and pushing for education policy reforms.  

Currently, he is overseeing the name change for 44 of the district’s schools after the renaming committee ruled the namesakes are inappropriate or racist.      

The walk became know as the ‘Long Walk of the Navajo’, with at least 200 dying on route and over 2,000 dying during conflict before a treaty was signed in 1868 granting the Navajo permission to set up a reservation.

Lincoln was also behind the largest mass hanging in US history, where 38 Dakota men were condemned to death in Minnesota in 1862 for their part in the Dakota War. 

He did, however, commute the sentences of 264 others, preventing them meeting the same fate. 

Other reasons for the president’s ousting include ‘rampant corruption in the Indian Office, the precursor of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, continued unabated throughout Lincoln’s term and well beyond’ where government-appointed Indian agents stole resources meant for tribes.  

‘The history of Lincoln and Native Americans is complicated, not nearly as well known as that of the Civil War and slavery,’ Jeremiah Jeffries, chairman of the renaming committee and a first grade teacher, told the San Francisco Chronicle. 

‘Lincoln, like the presidents before him and most after, did not show through policy or rhetoric that black lives ever mattered to them outside of human capital and as casualties of wealth building.’ 

Jeffries said the committee decided on the renaming once they discussed Lincoln’s treatment of Native Americans, and that the positive parts of his record cannot discount the negatives. 

‘The discussion for Lincoln centered around his treatment of First Nation peoples, because that was offered first,’ he said. 

‘Once he met criteria in that way, we did not belabor the point.’ 

The move has become the source of some debate, however, as – to many – Lincoln is one of the greatest presidents America has seen with his leadership during the Civil War and abolition of slavery a critical and progressive moment in the move toward racial equality across the nation.  

In 1854 in Peoria, Illinois, he said: ‘My ancient faith teaches me that ‘all men are created equal’; and that there can be no moral right in connection with one man’s making a slave of another.’  

In 1863, he then issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring ‘that all persons held as slaves’ within the rebellious states ‘are, and henceforward shall be free.’   

Yet, he also made a number of racist comments, such as arguing that there is a physical difference between black and white races and that he favored the ‘superior’ position assigned to the white race in 1858.

‘There is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races from living together on terms of social and political equality,’ Lincoln is quoted as saying. 

Harold Holzer, a Lincoln scholar and director of the Hunter College’s Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute, said he disagrees with the renaming of Abraham Lincoln High School. 

‘He saved the country from dividing and ruin,’ he told the San Francisco Chronicle. 

‘He should be honored for it.’  

Measuring the worth of historical figures by modern standards is problematic, he said. 

‘Nobody is going to pass 21st century mores if you’re looking at the 18th and 19th centuries,’ he said.  

Senator Diane Feinstein (left) will have her name removed from Dianne Feinstein Elementary (right) because she allowed the Confederate flag to fly in front of San Francisco City Hall in the 1980s

Roosevelt Middle School (left) faces a rebranding over President Theodore Roosevelt’s (right) opposition of civil rights and black suffrage for black people

Labor leader César Chávez (above) can keep his name on César Chávez Elementary despite his derogatory comments about undocumented immigrants

ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S RACIAL LEGACY

• Lincoln was born in 1809 in Kentucky
• He was president from 1861-65
• He was shot dead in April 1865 in DC  

In 1854 in Peoria, Illinois, he declared his opposition to slavery, saying: ‘My ancient faith teaches me that ‘all men are created equal’; and that there can be no moral right in connection with one man’s making a slave of another.’ 

Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the country moved into the third year of the Civil War. 

Lincoln’s proclamation had declared ‘that all persons held as slaves’ within the rebellious states ‘are, and henceforward shall be free.’ 

***  

In 1852 Lincoln said he rejected ‘both extremes’ on the slavery debate. 

Lincoln said in 1858 he was against racial equality: ‘There is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races from living together on terms of social and political equality.’

In 1862 Lincoln told black leaders during a visit to the White House that they were to blame for the Civil War, saying: ‘But for your presence amongst us, there would be no war.’ 

Lincoln told journalist Horace Greeley his priority was saving the union, saying: ‘If I could save the union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.’

Frederick Douglass in 1876 said Lincoln was ‘preeminently the white man’s president, entirely devoted to the welfare of white men’. Douglass continued: ‘He was ready and willing at any time during the first years of his administration to deny, postpone, and sacrifice the rights of humanity in the colored people to promote the welfare of the white people of this country.’

All eight presidents whose names currently adorn schools in the district will soon be erased. 

The decision to remove many of these is less controversial than Lincoln’s, however. 

Herbert Hoover Middle School is to be renamed over the namesake’s role in redlining – the segregation of black families – when he was secretary of commerce.

And Roosevelt Middle School faces a rebranding over President Theodore Roosevelt’s opposition of civil rights and black suffrage for black people. 

Modern figures haven’t been spared from the cut either.

Feinstein, who was Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988 and has since served as a Democrat California Senator since 1992, will have her name removed from Dianne Feinstein Elementary because she allowed the Confederate flag to fly in front of San Francisco City Hall.

During her time as mayor, she also oversaw the eviction of the Filipino neighborhood Manilatown and ‘allowed police dogs to attack Filipino veteran elders’, the committee ruled. 

Jeffries said Feinstein has never made amends for these failings.  

‘On a local level Dianne Feinstein chose to fly a flag that is the iconography of domestic terrorism, racism, white avarice and inhumanity towards black and indigenous people at the City Hall,’ Jeffries said. 

‘She is one of the few living examples on our list, so she still has time to dedicate the rest of her life to the upliftment of black, First Nations and other people of color. She hasn’t thus far, so her apology simply wasn’t convincing.’ 

Meanwhile, the committee ruled that legendary labor leader, community organizer, and Latino American civil rights activist César Chávez can keep his name on César Chávez Elementary school.

Chávez founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962 which then merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee to become the United Farm Workers.  

The union helped improve working conditions and pay for Latino farm workers in California, Texas, Arizona and Florida. 

However, Chávez also made repeated derogatory comments about undocumented immigrants and called for their deportation.   

How Lincoln had 38 Sioux fighters hanged and saved 265 others 

In 1862, the Sioux went to war because they believed their land and homes were being stolen by white settlers in Minnesota, and were aggrieved by late payments from the government. 

The uprising, known as the Dakota War, lasted six weeks and killed hundreds of soldiers, settlers and Native Americans before the Sioux surrendered to Lincoln’s forces.   

In the aftermath, a military commission sentenced 303 Sioux people to death after trials in English with no defense attorneys which lasted only three to five minutes and which the Sioux people did not understand. 

Lincoln reviewed ‘every one of these capital cases’, his biographer Harold Holzer says, and said there was evidence 39 were guilty of murder or rape and ordered their execution. 

The remaining 264 sentences were commuted, while one of the 39 condemned men was later reprieved. 

The other 38 were hanged in Mankato on December 26, 1862, in the largest mass execution in US history – just days before the Emancipation Proclamation. 

The remaining Dakota people were driven out of Minnesota after the war. Most ended up in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and Canada.  

He encouraged members of his union to join what he called ‘wet lines’ to stop undocumented immigrants crossing the border from Mexico to Arizona. 

He later changed stance and pledged that United Farm Workers would support legalization for undocumented ‘brothers and sisters’.

Meanwhile, Thomas Edison will be scratched off Thomas Edison Charter Academy due to his ‘fondness for electrocuting animals’. 

In total, the committee has decided to rename a third of the district’s 125 schools.

The new names have not yet been revealed and any final decision on renaming – and the choice of names – will have to be voted upon and approved by school boards.

The committee is next expected to meet in early January. 

As well as the controversy surrounding some of the historical figures, the district has also faced a backlash over its timing when teachers, students and parents are grappling with the pandemic and a switch to virtual learning. 

Back in October, San Francisco Mayor London Breed slammed the district for focusing on school names when it ‘should be focused on getting our kids back in the classroom.’ 

‘In the midst of this once-in-a-century challenge, to hear that the district is focusing energy and resources on renaming schools – schools that they haven’t even opened – is offensive,’ Breed said. 

The renaming committee was set up in 2018 by the Board of Education to consider whether the school names were appropriate and to recommend action.    

Also on the renaming committee is Board President Mark Sanchez who previously set up teachers’ activist group Teachers 4 Change with Jeffries.  

The post San Francisco to rename Abraham Lincoln Excessive Faculty as he did not present ‘black lives mattered to him’ appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

LOVE MISS MANNERS: We have a handyman, George, who we’ve been using for several years. He was originally recommended to us by a close friend and a small group of us keeps him quite busy.

My husband and I rely on George as a reliable and trustworthy helper, as we no longer have done many tasks ourselves and pay him generously. We also learned George’s strengths and weaknesses: for example, he’s a terrible painter and a mediocre landscaper, but a great plumber and a good electrician.

On two occasions, various neighbors have reached out to George while he is outside our house and asked about his availability in order to work for them. I find this to be 1. a little rude and 2. possibly unwise. Instead, I think you should ask my husband and me if we mind if you “poach” our employees. If they are wise, they should also seek our opinion on his abilities.

I might add that the neighbors hired him on both occasions and were disappointed with the painting he was doing for them, resulting in minor disputes over what he charged them.

Am I wrong to believe that a neighbor should politely ask us before attempting to hire our handyman?

GENTLE READER: Your neighbors are rightly prohibited from helping themselves if you pay to do so. The time you don’t pay for is still George’s.

In theory, this means that if the exchange is quick, it is acceptable to ask a gardener for their card while you are walking past them and sowing the lawn. In practice, such requests usually lead to lengthy discussion which, if visible to George’s current employer, will be denied if he is paid by the hour.

For this reason – and to avoid the subsequent problem with George’s painting skills – your neighbor would have been smarter to come to you with a referral. But you have been spared the discomfort of admitting George forgot to paint the wall behind the couch – and, without looking too rude, you took revenge on the fact that you could spare them trouble.

LOVE MISS MANNERS: Growing up, I was always taught to set the table by placing a fork and knife on the right side of the plate on the napkin. Placing it on the napkin prevented the fork and knife from touching the bare table.

Now I know it’s a napkin, a fork, a plate, a knife – all in a row. Is it okay to have a fork and knife right on the table, or does that make a placemat or tablecloth necessary?

GENTLE READER: Etiquette has no objection to forks or knives that come into direct contact with the table. And Miss Manners notes that, unless it’s at a picnic table, eating is just as hygienic as a placemat or tablecloth, as hosts who forget to keep the table clean are just as absent from the cutlery.

Please send your questions to Miss Manners on her website www.missmanners.com. to her email: Dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or by mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

The post They poached my handyman and it did not go effectively appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.