Q: I’m a regular reader of your column and was hoping you could help me. I live in a two-unit building built in San Francisco in 1941. It still has the original galvanized plumbing.

My upstairs neighbor and I have been told that our water pressure problems (we can’t shower when anything else using water is running) would be solved if we replaced the galvanized plumbing with copper. Also, we would like to remodel our kitchens (we don’t have dishwashers) and have been told that we wouldn’t get the full benefit of new appliances with old plumbing. Is what we’ve been told true?

We’ve had several contractors and plumbers talk to us about replacing the plumbing. The latest contractor told us we’d basically have to replace our kitchens and bathrooms because they’d have to tear into so many walls to replace the plumbing. Do you think that’s true and would it be worth it?

Any suggestions as to who else we could talk to about this and get good feedback?

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A: In short: Yes, the old pipes need replacing. We don’t see why the kitchens and baths need to be gutted to do it. And yes, it is worth doing.

Galvanized water piping was the state of the plumbing art in 1941. Galvanizing is a metallurgical process used over the past 150 years to coat steel or iron with zinc to inhibit corrosion. The life span of galvanized pipe used for water delivery is about 40 years. You’ve got a 20-year bonus, but now it’s time for the old pipe to go to the recycler.

We agree with the plumbers and contractors you’ve consulted – up to a point.

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The low water pressure is the main clue that your pipes need to be replaced. But we wouldn’t be surprised if you have seen some discolored water when you turn on a faucet you’ve not used in awhile. Or, worse, that there is an undetected pinhole leak somewhere in the system. Leaks usually show themselves at threaded joints because when pipes are threaded the galvanized coating is compromised, leaving the steel or iron exposed.

Low water pressure, discolored water and leaks are symptoms of a failing galvanized water system. Over time, corrosion builds up on the interior of the pipes and reduces the flow of water by more than half. This is the source of the reduced water pressure you’re experiencing.

We’ve removed water pipes where corrosion reduced the 1/2-inch diameter to less than 1/4 inch. While replacing the galvanized pipes with copper is the way to go, we don’t necessarily agree that your house will look like a war zone during the job.

It’s fortunate that both you and your neighbor are considering kitchen remodels. Since you are tearing into the kitchen anyway, this is the ideal time to repipe the whole house. When it’s done, make sure to inquire about the condition of the main line between the water meter and the interior of the house. It may well need replacing also. Check the city building department to see if and when the main line may have been replaced in the past.

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Usually water piping in 1940s-era homes was confined to one or two walls in the kitchen and bathroom to conserve the amount of time and materials plumbers had to take to run the pipes. Typical is one “wet” wall in the kitchen for the sink and, at most, two wet walls in the bath for the commode, lavatory and tub/shower enclosure. It will limit the number of walls that must be opened to repipe.

Access can be had through the crawlspace and the attic to cut down on holes in your walls. Over the years we’ve repiped most of our houses. The last one we did was a rental Bill owned in Boise. We put a new kitchen and bath in a single-story house. Access to all the plumbing was from the open floor joists in the basement.

Getting copper to the hot and cold water supplies in the kitchen and bath was simply a matter of removing the lath and plaster from a stud bay, dropping the pipe into the basement and soldering them up. In your two-story duplex, repiping the ground floor unit can be accomplished in much the same manner.

Your upstairs neighbor should consider running hot and cold feeds into the attic and dropping the supplies down to the fixtures. In both cases disruption should be minimal.

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While repiping can be a do-it-yourself job, it’s a big one requiring a fairly high degree of skill. Proficiency in soldering pipe and patching walls is a necessity.

As far as suggestions as to who to contact in addition to the contractors you’ve already seen, check out the following Web pages: links.sfgate.com/ZDOJ and links.sfgate.com/ZDOL. This company claims to specialize in replacing old pipes with copper at a reasonable price. They offer free estimates, discounts and a deferred financing plan.

When hiring a contactor, always confirm the status of their license by going to www.cslb.ca.gov, then get competitive bids and check out the references.

The post Do not get hosed on plumbing alternative appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

I vividly remember that late Friday afternoon when my eye pressure spiked and I staggered on foot to my ophthalmologist’s office as the rapidly thickening fog in my field of vision shrouded passing cars and traffic lights.

The office was already closed, but the whole eye care team was there waiting for me. One of them pricked my eyeballs with a sharp instrument, allowing the ocular fluid that had built up to drain. That relieved the pressure and restored my vision.

But it was the fourth vision-impairing pressure spike in nine days, and they feared it would happen again — heading into a weekend. So off I went to the emergency room, where I spent the night hooked up to an intravenous tube that delivered a powerful anti-swelling agent.

Later, when I told this story to friends and colleagues, some of them didn’t understand the importance of eye pressure, or even what it was. “I didn’t know they could measure blood pressure in your eyes,” one of them told me.

Most people consider their vision to be vitally important, yet many lack an understanding of some of the most serious eye diseases. A 2016 study published in JAMA Ophthalmology, based on an online national poll, showed that nearly half of respondents feared losing their eyesight more than their memory, speech, hearing, or limbs. Yet many “were unaware of important eye diseases,” it found.

A study released this month, conducted by Wakefield Research for the nonprofit Prevent Blindness and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, showed that one-quarter of adults deemed at risk for diseases of the retina, such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, had delayed seeking care for vision problems.

“There is significantly less of an emphasis placed on eye health than there is on general health,” says Rohit Varma, founding director of the Southern California Eye Institute at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center.

Because eye diseases can be painless and progress slowly, Varma says, “people get used to it, and as they age, they begin to feel, ‘Oh, this is a normal part of aging and it’s OK.’” If people felt severe pain, he says, they would go get care.

For many people, though, it’s not easy to get an eye exam or eye treatment. Millions are uninsured, others can’t afford their share of the cost, and many live in communities where eye doctors are scarce.

“Just because people know they need the care doesn’t necessarily mean they can afford it or that they have the access to it,” says Jeff Todd, CEO and president of Prevent Blindness.

Another challenge, reflecting the divide between eye care and general health care, is that medical insurance, except for children, often covers only eye care aimed at diagnosing or treating diseases. More health plans are covering routine eye exams these days, but that generally does not include the type of test used to determine eyeglass and contact lens prescriptions — or the cost of the lenses. You may need separate vision insurance for that. Ask your health plan what’s covered.

Since being diagnosed with glaucoma 15 years ago, I’ve had more pressure checks, eye exams, eyedrops, and laser surgeries than I can remember. I should know not to take my eyesight for granted. And yet, when my peepers were filling with that vision-threatening fog last March, I felt oddly sanguine.

It turned out that those serial pressure spikes were triggered by an adverse reaction to steroid-based eyedrops prescribed to me following cataract surgery. My ophthalmologist told me later that I had come “within hours” of losing my eyesight.

I hope my brush with blindness can help inspire people to be more conscious of their eyes.

Eyeglasses or contact lenses can make a huge difference in one’s quality of life by correcting refractive errors, which affect 150 million Americans. But don’t ignore the risk of far more serious eye conditions that can sneak up on you. They are often manageable if caught early enough.

Glaucoma, which affects about 3 million people in the U.S., attacks peripheral vision first and can cause irreversible damage to the optic nerve. It runs in families and is five times as prevalent among African Americans as in the general population.

Nearly 10 million in this country have diabetic retinopathy, a complication of diabetes in which blood vessels in the retina are damaged. And some 20 million people age 40 and up have macular degeneration, a disease of the retina associated with aging that diminishes central vision over time.

The formation of cataracts, which cause cloudiness in the eye’s natural lens, is very common as people age: Half of people 75 and older have them. Cataracts can cause blindness, but they are eminently treatable with surgery.

If you are over 40 and haven’t had a comprehensive eye exam in a while, or ever, put that on your to-do list. And get an exam at a younger age if you have diabetes, a family history of glaucoma, or if you are African American or part of another racial or ethnic group at high risk for certain eye diseases.

And don’t forget children. Multiple eye conditions can affect kids. Refractive errors, treatable with corrective lenses, can cause impairment later in life if they are not addressed early enough.

Healthful lifestyle choices also benefit your eyes. “Anything that helps your general health helps your vision,” says Andrew Iwach, a clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and executive director of the Glaucoma Center of San Francisco.

Minimize stress, get regular exercise, and eat a healthy diet. Also, quit smoking. It increases the risk of major eye diseases.

And consider adopting habits that protect your eyes from injury: Wear sunglasses when you go outside, take regular breaks from your computer screen and cellphone, and wear goggles when working around the house or playing sports.

The Prevent Blindness website offers information on virtually everything related to eye health, including insurance.

Other good sources include the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s “EyeSmart” site and the National Eye Institute.

So read up and share what you’ve learned.

“When you get together for the holidays,” says Iwach, “if you aren’t sure what to talk about, talk about your eyes.”

The post When You Assume About Your Well being, Don’t Overlook Your Eyes | appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: The following program was taped in front of an audience of real, live people.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

BILL KURTIS: From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is WAIT WAIT… DON’T TELL ME, the NPR news quiz. I’m the disembodied voice with a disembody that just won’t quit…

(LAUGHTER)

KURTIS: …Bill Kurtis. And here is your host at the Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, Ill., Peter Sagal.

PETER SAGAL, HOST:

Thank you, Bill.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: Thanks, everybody. Thank you all so much. We really do – you are not going to be disappointed. We have a great show for you today. Later on, we’re going to be joined by Golda Rosheuvel, who plays Queen Charlotte in “Bridgerton” and the new prequel show “Queen Charlotte.” Now, if you’re not familiar with it, “Bridgerton” is the show famous for showing British aristocrats having steamy sex after spending 45 minutes unbuttoning their costumes.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: But it just takes a second to give us a call and play our games. The number is 1-888-WAIT-WAIT. That’s 1-888-924-8924. Now let’s welcome our first listener contestant.

Hi. You are on WAIT WAIT… DON’T TELL ME.

JENNY: Hi. My name is Jenny (ph). I’m calling from Rutland, Vt.

SAGAL: Rutland, Vt. I know I always say this, but I’ve been to Rutland, and it’s really nice. What do you do there?

JENNY: Oh, well, thank you. I’m actually – I work in refugee resettlement. I – so we’re in an office in Rutland, and we have an office in Colchester, but our headquarters is in Virginia.

SAGAL: In Virginia. OK. And so you get refugees from…

JENNY: Yeah.

SAGAL: …Around the world, I assume, places that are in trouble, and you resettle them. How do they deal with Vermont winters?

(LAUGHTER)

JENNY: It’s really funny you should say that. One of the requirements that we have when we pick people up at the airport is, please bring winter jackets. And in fact, over the last couple days, we went from 80 one day to 35 last night, and it happened to be the day one of our furnaces kicked off in one of the homes of our families. So I was pretending that I knew how to fix the furnace at 7:30 last night because, you know, middle of May, 30 degrees – that makes sense for Vermont.

SAGAL: Right. And do you ever get a call at times like that where somebody says, I’d like to go back to my war-torn land?

(LAUGHTER)

JENNY: No, but they do say, wow, we probably should have just gone to California.

SAGAL: Yeah, I know.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Jenny, welcome to our show. Let me introduce you to our panel this week. First up, a comedian you can see at McGuire’s in Bohemia, N.Y., on May 26 – it’s Adam Burke.

ADAM BURKE: Hi, Jenny.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: Next, the host of the podcast “Fake The Nation,” where you can now get “Succession” recaps – oh, it’s fun. It’s Negin Farsad.

NEGIN FARSAD: Hello.

(APPLAUSE)

JENNY: Hey, Negin.

SAGAL: And the host of the daily podcast “TBTL” and the public radio variety show “Live Wire,” which will be live back at the Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland, Ore., on June 8, it’s Luke Burbank.

LUKE BURBANK: Hey, Jenny.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: Jenny, welcome to the show. Of course, you know this. You’re going to play Who’s Bill This Time. As always, Bill will start us off with three quotations from the week’s news. Your job – correctly identify or explain just two of them – 2 out of 3. Do that – you win any voice from our show you might choose for your voicemail. Ready to do it?

JENNY: Let’s go.

SAGAL: Let’s go. All right. Here’s your first quote.

KURTIS: “I’m not a hairy person, but I got a complete body wax.”

SAGAL: That was somebody talking about how she got ready to be the cover model for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue out this week. Who was it?

JENNY: She looked good, by the way.

(LAUGHTER)

JENNY: Martha Stewart.

SAGAL: Martha Stewart.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: Yes.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: Isn’t it great that there is an 81-year-old woman, Martha Stewart, on the cover of the swimsuit issue?

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: Now octogenarian women have an unrealistic body image they have to aspire to.

(LAUGHTER)

FARSAD: I know. Peter, you’re like, isn’t it great? And, like, it’s not great. I was looking forward to letting it all go.

SAGAL: I know.

(LAUGHTER)

FARSAD: I don’t want to do – I don’t want to look hot. I mean, this is – I’m so upset. She literally looks hot.

SAGAL: I have to say, I agree with you. Ms. Stewart looked great with her sly come-hither and help-me-get-up look.

(LAUGHTER)

BURKE: With her come-to-stairlift eyes.

SAGAL: Yes, exactly.

(LAUGHTER)

BURKE: Well, there’s two things. There’s – first of all, clearly, this is – Sports Illustrated have done this because 81-year-olds are the only people who know what a magazine is…

SAGAL: Exactly right.

BURKE: …Anymore.

(LAUGHTER)

FARSAD: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

BURKE: And secondly, everyone started talking – she is a role model. And I think she is a role model for – partially for this but mainly because she’s the CEO of a company who committed malfeasance and actually did her time.

SAGAL: Right.

BURKE: You know what I mean? It’s like…

SAGAL: She’s the first 80-year-old and the first felon…

(APPLAUSE)

BURKE: Yeah.

SAGAL: …To appear.

FARSAD: Well, and that’s why…

SAGAL: Although…

FARSAD: She’s got that prison body. That’s why she’s…

BURKE: Yeah.

FARSAD: …So hot.

(LAUGHTER)

BURKE: Her tats – she’s all tatted up.

FARSAD: Yeah.

SAGAL: I’m just imagining her in the yard, you know, doing the pull-ups on the bars.

BURBANK: I noticed she did have one teardrop.

(LAUGHTER)

FARSAD: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. She had to pick sides. Yeah.

SAGAL: Yeah. All right, Jenny. Your next quote is from an office worker who told NPR this week how he’s going to play hooky from his job.

KURTIS: “I just got to play it cool and say I’ve got a stomach ache or something.”

SAGAL: He was one of many, many people who took time off work and other obligations this week just to play what new video game?

JENNY: Oh, Zelda.

SAGAL: Yes, Zelda.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

JENNY: Yeah.

SAGAL: The new video game Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a massive hit. It sold 10 million copies in just three days. That many people haven’t stayed home from work since that game COVID-19 dropped.

(LAUGHTER)

BURKE: It’s one of those games, too – isn’t it? – where, like, there’s, like, lots – there’s loads of side quests.

SAGAL: Yes.

BURKE: You have to – crafting…

SAGAL: Open world.

BURKE: …And – it’s such the perfect game for now because everyone’s got a main task they want to do and 17 side hustles where it’s just like…

SAGAL: Right. Exactly. It’s, like, you’re trying to save the princess, slay the dragon and also drive Uber at night.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: You know, it’s – I don’t know. Maybe people don’t know it, even – it’s very popular. It’s this very popular, 30-year-old by now game franchise where you, the player, are Link, an elf whose mission is to save Princess Zelda. And you have to complete a long series of quests while spending hundreds of hours of time working to acquire resources and skills. It’s very involving. A lot of people like to take relaxing breaks from the game by going back to their actual jobs.

(LAUGHTER)

BURKE: It is…

FARSAD: Is Princess Elf, like, 80 now?

SAGAL: Princess Zelda.

FARSAD: Or Princess Zelda.

BURKE: And she looks amazing.

FARSAD: Is she…

SAGAL: She looks amazing.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Sometimes, people are like, well, you know, video games – what’s the big deal? They’re just, like, video games for nerds. No, it sold 10 million copies in less than a week. For comparison, Prince Harry’s memoir, which is one of the best-selling books of all time, sold 3 million copies in its first week. And he was trying to destroy a kingdom. So…

(LAUGHTER)

BURKE: This one’s called Tears of the Kingdom. The last one was called Breath of the Wild.

SAGAL: Yeah.

BURKE: They’re clearly meant for stoners.

SAGAL: Yes.

BURKE: I mean, if you guys are real quiet, you can hear the wild breathing…

BURBANK: Right.

BURKE: …Man.

BURBANK: Right.

FARSAD: Is it one of those games – ’cause my – I have somewhere in my memory the notion that people get so into them that they just keep jars of urine, like, next to them so they don’t have to go to the bathroom.

BURKE: It’s called Mountain Dew.

FARSAD: OK.

(LAUGHTER)

BURKE: It’s called, you better hope that’s Mountain Dew.

SAGAL: Negin, I don’t know. But I’m guessing that somebody just really didn’t want you to come over while they were playing video games.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Oh, no, Negin. Yeah. You don’t want to be around us. We pee in jars. Really, it’s…

BURKE: Hey.

FARSAD: I know.

BURKE: Hey. What’s that in the jar? Oh, that’s just the tears of the kingdom.

SAGAL: Yeah.

BURKE: That’s what that is.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: All right, Jenny. Here is your last quote.

KURTIS: “People in winter coats were standing next to people in shorts.”

SAGAL: That was from a New York Times style reporter talking about how this year, just like every year at this time, people have no idea how to dress for what?

JENNY: Every single day I wake up.

(LAUGHTER)

JENNY: Spring.

SAGAL: Yes, spring, of course.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: The New York Times, paper of record…

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: …Gray Lady – they finally said out loud what we’re all thinking – spring is just impossible to dress for. This is what we get for trusting a groundhog to tell us what to wear.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: The reporter said that in the streets of New York, he saw people on the same day, same time, wearing anything from shorts to winter coats, some carrying umbrellas while others carried their own broken pieces of furniture to burn for heat.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Is this something that resonates with you guys? Is this a problem you have?

BURKE: I wear what I wear every spring, just a tub full of Benadryl over my head.

SAGAL: Yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Why do people worry about this? I mean, it’s not like spring will hurt you. Nobody dies of mild bite. Nobody passes out from breeze stroke.

FARSAD: All right.

SAGAL: All right.

(LAUGHTER)

BURBANK: There had to be a third one.

BURKE: Yeah. Yeah. The – I will say one of my favorite phrases about the weather is – like, is an Irish phrase – you know the Irish phrase. We’ll talk about it being fierce mild.

SAGAL: No, is that a thing?

BURKE: Yeah, like, how is it out there? Oh, it’s fierce mild.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: I – you could look me in the eye and tell me anything about, like…

BURKE: (Laughter).

SAGAL: The Irish or their sayings…

FARSAD: Yeah.

SAGAL: …And I would believe it.

BURKE: Yeah.

SAGAL: You know – oh yeah, you know what they say in Ireland – a day like this, the flying bananas are out.

BURBANK: Right.

BURKE: Hey…

FARSAD: What…

BURKE: …You leave the flying bananas out of this.

BURBANK: Speaking of flying bananas, fierce mild is how my lovemaking has been described.

(LAUGHTER)

BURKE: That’s a – it’s a great name for a cologne, isn’t it?

SAGAL: Bill, how did Jenny do on our quiz?

KURTIS: Jenny, you can warm up with a perfect score.

SAGAL: Congratulations, Jenny.

FARSAD: Yeah.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: And thank you for the good work that you do.

JENNY: Thank you.

SAGAL: Take care. Bye-bye.

JENNY: Bye.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SAGAL: Right now, panel, it is time, of course, for you to answer some questions about this week’s news. Adam, according to a story in The Guardian, members of Gen Z are now relieving their daily stress simply by doing what?

BURKE: Gen Z has daily stress?

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: And by the way, I should – I know.

FARSAD: They don’t know what to wear. It’s spring.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Yeah. I should specify, by the way, these are American members of Gen Z.

BURKE: Can I get a clue?

SAGAL: Yeah. Oh, just going to pop round the chip shop, guv’nor.

BURBANK: Father?

(LAUGHTER)

BURKE: Don’t make me homesick. Do they put on accents?

SAGAL: Yes. They put on a fake British accent…

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: …To feel better.

BURKE: Really?

SAGAL: Yeah. This started as a TikTok trend, became a big deal – all these young Americans demonstrating how they use fake British accents in moments of stress.

FARSAD: What?

SAGAL: One person told The Guardian that she had to ask her boss for help with dealing with stress on the job by saying to him – and I quote her, “It’s affecting me mental health, innit.”

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: And then she said…

BURBANK: In fairness, she was working as a chimney sweep.

SAGAL: There you are.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: And then she said, quote, “The tougher the conversation, the more Cockney I become,” unquote.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Which, by the way, happens to be a great way to guarantee you will get help for your mental health.

(LAUGHTER)

BURKE: Is this why Dick Van Dyke is consistently the most relaxed man on the planet?

SAGAL: Exactly.

FARSAD: (Laughter).

SAGAL: It does make perfect sense because the one thing you know about the people with real British accents – they’re one laid-back group of people, right?

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Adam, you’re Irish. I’m sure you’re soothed by the sound of a British accent.

BURKE: (Laughter) Yeah, I use it to go to sleep. It’s the whitest noise.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “CHIM CHIM CHER-EE”)

DICK VAN DYKE: (As Bert, singing) Chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim cher-ee.

SAGAL: Coming up, your next binge watch may surprise you. It’s our Bluff the Listener game. Call 1-888-WAIT-WAIT to play. We’ll be back in a minute with more of WAIT WAIT… DON’T TELL ME from NPR.

KURTIS: From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is WAIT WAIT… DON’T TELL ME, the NPR news quiz. I’m Bill Kurtis. We are playing this week with Negin Farsad, Luke Burbank and Adam Burke. And here again is your host at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Ill., Peter Sagal.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: Thank you so much, Bill. Right now, it is time for the WAIT WAIT… DON’T TELL ME Bluff the Listener game. Call 1-888-WAIT-WAIT to play our game on the air. Hi. You are on WAIT WAIT… DON’T TELL ME.

JACK WALSH: Hello. This is Jack Walsh (ph) from Farmingdale, N.J.

SAGAL: Hey, how are things in my home state of New Jersey?

WALSH: Um, you know…

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Now, hold on. That is the official answer.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: In fact, that is the state motto of New Jersey.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Ready? Here it goes. New Jersey – um.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Jack, welcome to the show. You’re going to play the game in which you have to tell truth from fiction. Bill, what is Jack’s topic?

KURTIS: Must-see TV.

SAGAL: With the strike of television writers going on without an end, it’s quite possible that soon, all your favorite TV shows will just be very attractive people grunting at each other. So we were excited this week when we found out about a really amazing hit TV show coming from an unexpected place. Each of our panelists are going to tell you about that show. Only one of them is telling the truth. Your job – figure that out. Ready to go?

WALSH: All righty. Let’s get moving.

SAGAL: All right. First, let’s hear from Adam Burke.

BURKE: Britain’s Open University has offered free televised college lectures on the BBC since 1969. They basically walked so that Phoenix Online could run. And these old educational shows were a fixture of U.K. daytime TV for decades. However, these dusty courses from the ’70s are experiencing a brand-new lease of life thanks to a fervent Gen Z fandom in South Korea, where some of these teachers are becoming fashion icons, cult figures and, in some cases, sex symbols. I first heard about this from my granddaughter, said Malcolm Branforth (ph), a retired physics lecturer from Barnsley. She said, Grandad, you’re blowing up on TikTok. Well, once I had deciphered most of the words in that sentence, I was quite surprised to see what a big deal we all were. The hushed, measured tones of the programs combined with the far-out threads of the era seems to have made the videos a hit for different reasons. My friends like to use Introduction to Trigonometry: Level 4 as ASMR, explained Suh Young Boon (ph) a 20-year-old from Daegu. But I just find professor Brian Pilkington (ph) to be dreamy. And those sideburns.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: Old BBC college lectures from the ’70s becoming a cult hit in Korea. Your next story of television with vision comes from Negin Farsad.

FARSAD: Marley Trenton (ph) was a happily married homemaker in Wilmette, Ill., a suburb of Skokie, a town that does not require a suburb.

(LAUGHTER)

FARSAD: Marley had a side hustle as a seamstress who loved and collected buttons. In fact, she had a YouTube show all about buttons – two-hole, four-hole, shank, toggle and even the occasional snap. Her tens of viewers could only be described…

(LAUGHTER)

FARSAD: …As retired home ec teachers from the 1960s and sociopaths that YouTube’s algorithm can’t figure out.

(LAUGHTER)

FARSAD: Nevertheless, she continued her deeply unpopular show until one day, she announced that she was getting a divorce because, yes, Harry had cheated with the pediatric dentist they used to take the kids to in Skokie, a town that barely merits a pediatric dentist.

(LAUGHTER)

FARSAD: What ensued was a YouTube series in which she talked revenge, set up a Hinge dating profile and let viewers choose who she would date. Viewers were addicted to the voting power. She was changed by it all, too. You would find her saying things like, I’d like him to put a needle through my button hole.

(LAUGHTER)

FARSAD: And oh, yeah, no matter how saucy her dating life gets, she still talks about buttons. Needless to say, this is the No. 1 button-based divorcee audience-voted dating show on YouTube.

(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: A seamstress becomes a romantic heroine on YouTube. And your last story of something new to watch comes from Luke Burbank.

BURBANK: Move over, “Succession.” There’s a new hit show that’s become mandatory viewing for its fans. And we mean that literally because it’s actually mandatory viewing if you’re one of the 220,000 people who work for Microsoft. We’re talking, of course, of the employee training video series “Trust Code.” As the Wall Street Journal recently explained, the series follows a character named Nelson, played by Devin Badoo, who gets up to all kinds of non-Microsoft-approved hijinks, such as feeding customer data into AI and stealing intellectual property. There are watch parties and T-shirts with Nelson’s face on them. Here is a real tweet featured in the Wall Street Journal article. Current status – #sobbing while watching #MicrosoftStandardsOfBusinessConduct.”

(LAUGHTER)

BURBANK: Badoo says he gets one of two reactions when he sets foot on Microsoft’s Redmond, Wash., campus – employees either freaking out upon meeting their version of Brad Pitt or people saying, hi, Nelson; what building do you work in? – showing their deep misunderstanding of how acting works…

(LAUGHTER)

BURBANK: …And indicating they should really go back and retake the training videos.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: All right.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: So one of these surprise hits created their own little mini golden age of television. Was it from Adam Burke, old BBC college lectures becoming a cult hit in South Korea; from Negin, a seamstress from the lovely town of Skokie becomes a romantic heroine as viewers enjoy her dating life; or from Luke, a Microsoft training video series becomes a huge hit with Microsoft employees? Which of these is the real story of a television hit?

WALSH: You know, my choice is the wonderful story that came out of Microsoft’s training videos.

SAGAL: All right. You’re going to choose Luke’s story.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: We – to bring you the correct answer, we spoke to the reporter who broke this story, at least for us.

DYLAN TOKAR: Microsoft wanted to sort of revamp their compliance training and make it more entertaining, and it turned into such a huge thing that they’re now going into their seventh season.

SAGAL: That’s true. That was Dylan Tokar, the reporter for The Wall Street Journal who brought us this story of Microsoft’s “Trust Code,” which, I guess if they don’t resolve the strike, you’ll be able to see on HBO next year?

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Congratulations, Jack. You got it right. Well done.

(APPLAUSE)

WALSH: Thank you. Take care.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN’ ON)”)

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: (Singing) Well, now, home entertainment was my baby’s wish, so I hopped into town for a satellite dish.

SAGAL: And now the game where we ask accomplished people to accomplish one more little thing. It’s called Not My Job. The Netflix show “Bridgerton” debuted in 2020 and became an immediate sensation, depicting a version of Regency England populated by incredibly attractive and often naked people of all races and backgrounds. The most beloved character on that show quickly became Queen Charlotte, played by the veteran theater actress Golda Rosheuvel – so much so that that character now has her own spinoff, “Queen Charlotte,” the name of the show. Golda Rosheuvel, welcome to WAIT WAIT… DON’T TELL ME.

(APPLAUSE)

GOLDA ROSHEUVEL: Thank you. Thank you.

SAGAL: We’re so delighted to talk to you. And I’ve been watching your shows all week. Now, out of all the characters in “Bridgerton” – and there are a lot of wonderful characters, why do you think that it was your character, played by you the whole three seasons, who got the spinoff show?

ROSHEUVEL: I have no idea. It’s a puzzlement. But the fans have really loved this character and have really kind of connected with her, which is fabulous. And it’s really great that Shonda and Netflix kind of wanted to do a deeper dive and find out a little bit more about her.

SAGAL: She is an amazing character, but I think we all need to say that one of the reasons the people love you are the wigs, which are…

ROSHEUVEL: Yes, the wigs and the costumes. They’re iconic, aren’t they?

SAGAL: Oh, they’re amazing. And for those who haven’t seen it, your first entrance in Episode 1 is not, in fact, an entrance – your first appearance – and you’re there in this magnificent gown and a hairpiece, a wig that must be two feet wide by three feet high. This is an astonishing thing.

ROSHEUVEL: (Laughter) Yes.

SAGAL: And I’m like, of course, people are coming to her because she is the regal queen. And also…

ROSHEUVEL: And she cannot move.

SAGAL: …She cannot move. Right.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Is that true? I imagine that a lot of times, you’re sort of staged, certainly in “Bridgerton,” in that regal way because you literally can’t move wearing that getup. Is that true?

ROSHEUVEL: It is difficult on occasions, yeah, the kind of balance. Balancing and walking and talking and sitting can be quite difficult. But it’s real fun. I love it. I love it. I love the challenge.

SAGAL: The first time they showed you one of those wigs, were you like, am I supposed to wear that on my head or climb inside it?

ROSHEUVEL: (Laughter) Yeah, exactly. Is there a little house in there for me to reside in?

(LAUGHTER)

ROSHEUVEL: Yeah.

SAGAL: Do the other actors who are also dressed, but they don’t have those amazing wigs – do they all, like, make fun of you, like, between takes? Like, oh, we’re going to walk around and go to the bathroom with no problem. You’re just going to have to sit there.

ROSHEUVEL: Yeah, exactly. I – yes, I have a helper that takes me to the bathroom.

SAGAL: Yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: I imagine, like, you have to have a retinue like the real Queen Charlotte just to hold your head up.

ROSHEUVEL: Yeah, well, the lovely, lovely crew members made me a brace – a neck brace.

SAGAL: Oh, wow. Really?

FARSAD: Oh, my God.

SAGAL: So you can hold up your head.

ROSHEUVEL: Yeah. True story. True story. So I can, yeah, hold my head and balance my chin on the neck brace to kind of keep the weight off the back of my neck.

SAGAL: Yeah.

BURKE: Can I ask, do the wigs get larger as the character ages? Like, does it start off with a small wig? And are the neck braces…

ROSHEUVEL: Yeah, I don’t know whether it’s aging, but they did certainly age me, Golda.

(LAUGHTER)

ROSHEUVEL: But they do get bigger and bigger. Yeah. I think in “Queen Charlotte,” there’s a record-breaking wig, so – I’m ashamed to say I never weighed it.

SAGAL: I imagine, though – I haven’t gotten it to yet, but I imagine in “Queen Charlotte” when she gets her first enormous wig, it’s like Luke getting his lightsaber. Everybody’s like, oh.

ROSHEUVEL: Yeah (laughter).

SAGAL: He comes into his own. We were wondering – people talk about the Shondaverse, which is the world of all her TV shows. Is “Bridgerton” part of it? Like, is it possible that one of the Featherington girls might marry McSteamy?

(LAUGHTER)

ROSHEUVEL: Ooh, I’m sure one of the Feathering girls would love that. That would be a cool crossover.

SAGAL: It would be.

ROSHEUVEL: We should do that. We should pitch that, Peter.

SAGAL: Yeah.

ROSHEUVEL: We should pitch that to Shonda.

SAGAL: Let’s do it.

ROSHEUVEL: I think she’d be up for that, mate.

SAGAL: Yeah. Suck on that, “Infinity War.” The greatest crossover event of all time.

(LAUGHTER)

ROSHEUVEL: Yeah.

SAGAL: I have to ask this one last question before we move on to the game, which is – “Bridgerton” is famous for a lot of things and beloved for a lot of things, but it is also known for its sex scenes, which happen quite a bit. When you least expect it…

ROSHEUVEL: Yes.

SAGAL: …You’re thinking, oh, it’s a Jane Austen novel, and the next thing you know, the corsets are flying, and…

ROSHEUVEL: Yes.

SAGAL: …Everybody’s naked. Are – how relieved are you that you haven’t had to do one of those?

ROSHEUVEL: Listen.

(LAUGHTER)

ROSHEUVEL: Listen. So…

(LAUGHTER)

ROSHEUVEL: So there is a world where I’m slightly jealous. You know, you kind of think, why not me?

SAGAL: Right.

(LAUGHTER)

ROSHEUVEL: And…

SAGAL: When it comes to – speaking of…

ROSHEUVEL: …Then you kind of – then you actually see the show, and you go, oh, that’s why not me.

(LAUGHTER)

FARSAD: Wait. Can I say, Golda, that I watched Season 1 of “Bridgerton” with my parents…

ROSHEUVEL: Ooh.

FARSAD: …Not knowing?

SAGAL: Yeah, you were like, oh, it’s a costume drama. How lovely. What’s the worst they can do?

FARSAD: Literally just thought they were going to have corsets on the whole time.

ROSHEUVEL: Yeah.

FARSAD: Is…

ROSHEUVEL: Were you making lots of coffee or lots of tea – going out to make lots of – yeah.

FARSAD: Oh, I constantly had to go pee.

ROSHEUVEL: (Laughter).

FARSAD: It was a nightmare. They seemed completely fine and super into it. And I was like…

(LAUGHTER)

FARSAD: …I want to kill myself. But…

SAGAL: That makes it worse, of course.

FARSAD: I haven’t dipped into “Queen Charlotte” yet. I’m assuming this is an also no-parent-in-the-room show.

SAGAL: Yes.

FARSAD: Yes, OK.

SAGAL: That would be true.

ROSHEUVEL: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

FARSAD: Just checking.

ROSHEUVEL: Yes.

SAGAL: That would be true.

ROSHEUVEL: Yeah. Well, Golda Rosheuvel, it’s a joy to watch you on TV, but it’s also a pleasure to have you here. And we have invited you here to play a game that we’re calling…

KURTIS: Queen Charlotte, meet Dairy Queen.

SAGAL: You play…

ROSHEUVEL: Oh.

SAGAL: …The English monarch, the English queen.

ROSHEUVEL: Yes.

SAGAL: So we thought we’d ask you about Dairy Queen. That is a chain…

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: …Of restaurants here in America and else…

ROSHEUVEL: Yes.

SAGAL: …And other places around the world that specialize in soft serve ice cream. Answer two out of 3 questions and you will win our prize for one of our contestants, the voice of anyone they might choose. Bill, who is Golda playing for?

KURTIS: Kyle Evans (ph) of Cleveland, Ohio.

SAGAL: All right.

ROSHEUVEL: OK, Kyle. Let’s do it, bro.

SAGAL: There you go, man.

ROSHEUVEL: I’m going to do it. Come on, Kyle. I’m doing it for Kyle.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: First question – people love Dairy Queen. They do. But you can, in fact, love it too much as when a man in Canada did what in 2021? A, he remodeled his home into an exact replica of a Dairy Queen franchise, forcing him to move out to avoid all the frustrated customers, B, he landed a helicopter in a Dairy Queen parking lot just to pick up an ice cream cake, or C, blew up his house trying to recreate the secret DQ recipe in his basement?

ROSHEUVEL: Let’s say B, helicopter.

SAGAL: That’s right, Golda.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: That’s what he did.

(APPLAUSE)

ROSHEUVEL: We’re getting it, Kyle. We’re doing it, Kyle.

SAGAL: He got one charge of illegal operation of an aircraft and, of course, one ice cream cake. All right. Next question. Dairy Queen tells its employees to show off how thick their blizzard milkshakes are by flipping the cup upside down before handing it to the customer. That practice, as charming as it is, has caused some problems like what? Is it A, Some customers think they have to eat it while holding it upside down…

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: …Resulting in neck strain, B, every 1,000th or so time it’s done, the ice cream does drop out and break someone’s toe, or C, one employee couldn’t shake that habit when they moved on to another fast food job and kept dumping things onto the floor.

(LAUGHTER)

ROSHEUVEL: (Laughter) Oh, I want it to be C, please.

SAGAL: It is C. This was…

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

ROSHEUVEL: Yeah.

SAGAL: …Of course…

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: …Captured on social media like everything is these days. The employee in question handed a soda to a customer in her new job. But of course, before, as she had always done at Dairy Queen, turned it over and dumped the entire thing.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: All right. If you get this, you will be as perfect in real life as you are on your television shows. Last question – there was a Dairy Queen in Atlanta with a celebrated regular customer. Who was it? A, the actor, director and producer Tyler Perry, who paid Dairy Queen the equivalent of a day’s worth of sales every day just so that he could be the only customer and not wait in line, B, an orangutan who loved their food and knew how to get there from the zoo, or C, a bank robber who came by every day, finally got arrested, and then broke out of prison to come by one more time.

ROSHEUVEL: Ah, Tyler Perry.

SAGAL: You’re going to go with Tyler Perry. I believe Tyler Perry would do that. But to my knowledge, he hasn’t. It was the orangutan.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: His name was Chantek the orangutan. He lived at the Atlanta Zoo for many years, and he loved outings. He loved Dairy Queen, and he knew how to get there. You could get in the car with him, and he’d point that way. Dairy Queen.

ROSHEUVEL: Wow. Cool. Good. Good boy.

SAGAL: Yeah.

ROSHEUVEL: I like it.

SAGAL: Good…

BURKE: What?

SAGAL: It’s true.

BURKE: What do you mean you could get in the car with him?

SAGAL: Yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

BURKE: What? You just breezed by that…

SAGAL: Yeah.

BURKE: …Like we all know about orangutan field trips from the zoo.

SAGAL: Exactly. Well, how do you think they get to…

ROSHEUVEL: Was he driving?

BURKE: (Laughter).

SAGAL: How do you think – Adam, how do you think they get to the zoo from home?

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Bill, how did Golda do on our quiz?

KURTIS: My Queen…

(LAUGHTER)

KURTIS: …You won two out of three, which is a win. That means you can still have the jewels.

(APPLAUSE)

ROSHEUVEL: Thank you. Thank you. Tipping my bowler. Thank you.

SAGAL: Oh, no, ma’am. We do that for you. Golda Rosheuvel is the titular queen in Netflix’s “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.” It’s streaming now. Golda Rosheuvel, what a joy to talk to you in real life.

ROSHEUVEL: Mwah.

SAGAL: Thank you so much for joining us…

(APPLAUSE)

ROSHEUVEL: Thank you.

SAGAL: …On WAIT WAIT… DON’T TELL ME. Take care.

ROSHEUVEL: Much love. Bye.

SAGAL: Bye-bye.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SAGAL: In just a minute, why you just can’t seem to burp. It’s our Listener Limerick challenge. Call 1-888-WAIT-WAIT to join us on the air. We’ll be back in a minute with more of WAIT WAIT… DON’T TELL ME from NPR.

KURTIS: From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is WAIT WAIT… DON’T TELL ME! the NPR news quiz. I’m Bill Kurtis. We are playing this week with Negin Farsad, Luke Burbank and Adam Burke.

(APPLAUSE)

KURTIS: And here again is your host at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Ill., Peter Sagal.

SAGAL: Thank you so much, Bill.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: In just a minute, Bill asks, have you rhymed with us before? Well, we do things a little bit differently here. If you’d like to play, give us a call at 1-888-WAIT-WAIT. That’s 1-888-924-8924. Right now, panel, time for some more questions for you from the week’s news. Luke, a self-styled anti-capitalist cafe in Toronto that let customers pay what they can for their coffee has closed. Why?

(LAUGHTER)

BURBANK: I mean, a few theories come to mind.

SAGAL: Yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

BURBANK: I’m guessing it was not profitable enough to continue.

SAGAL: Yes. They didn’t make enough money.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: It was called the Anarchist Coffee Shop. They described itself as, quote, “an anti-capitalist, anti-colonial cafe shop and radical community space on stolen land.” I guess there wasn’t enough space on the sign for polyamorous, but you know they tried.

(LAUGHTER)

BURBANK: If I ever ran for president, it would be on this platform. If there’s more than four people in line at the coffee shop, your new order is black coffee, right?

SAGAL: Right.

BURBANK: Like, I just feel there should be a separate line – I would have gone to this cafe if they would have let you pay – like, you know those tolls where it’s just, like, electronic? – if you could just skip to the front of the line and get your black coffee, ’cause that’s all I drink.

SAGAL: Yeah.

BURKE: Well, surely you should be allowed to jump to the head of the line ’cause it’s an anarchist…

SAGAL: Yeah, exactly.

BURKE: …Coffee shop.

SAGAL: There’s no order.

FARSAD: Yeah, there’s no…

SAGAL: It’s self-organizing.

BURKE: Maybe it’s so anarchic that what’s in the cup isn’t coffee. Like, I just open up, and it’s bees. And it’s like, well…

(LAUGHTER)

BURKE: …Read the sign.

SAGAL: Negin, question for you – Taco Bell and the less well-known chain Taco John’s are in a heated legal dispute right now over who gets to use what phrase?

FARSAD: Something at the border. What is – what was it?

(LAUGHTER)

FARSAD: First of all, never heard of Taco John’s. I need a hint.

SAGAL: Right. Well, it’s something you’d expect Taco Bell to want to say once a week.

FARSAD: Once a week…

SAGAL: For example, on Tuesdays.

(LAUGHTER)

FARSAD: Right. Like, OK, Taco Bell, because it’s Taco Tuesdays.

SAGAL: Yes. Taco Tuesday is the phrase.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: It turns out that the restaurant Taco John’s trademarked the phrase Taco Tuesday back in 1989. But Taco Bell has filed to get that trademark lifted so they can use it, too, right? Taco Tuesday – it’s a natural. They’re just mad because all of their trademark days never caught on. What were they thinking with Taco Holocaust Remembrance Day?

(LAUGHTER)

BURKE: I got to say, if I’m going to put a man’s name after the word taco to let people know I make really good tacos, I’m not going with John.

SAGAL: Yeah, I – like you…

BURKE: Was Taco Clarence taken?

(LAUGHTER)

BURBANK: Where’d you get food from? Taco Eugene’s.

SAGAL: No, Taco John’s – I have never heard of it either. It doesn’t sound like a different restaurant than Taco Bell. It sounds like something you say as you are leaving Taco Bell. Hey, guys, be right with you. I got to hit the taco john.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Adam, this week CNBC reported on the travel agency Discover Africa – do a lot of African trips and safaris. They repeatedly have to tell clients that no, they cannot do what while they’re on safari?

BURKE: Take an orangutan to Dairy Queen.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Even if the orangutan wants to go, you can’t do it.

BURKE: You can’t recreate the opening to “The Lion King.” You can’t hold a cub over the thing…

(LAUGHTER)

BURKE: …While a bunch of people sing. I was so – I was actually kind of sure that was going to be the right answer.

FARSAD: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that sounds right.

BURKE: Can I get a clue?

SAGAL: It does involve a lion. They’re like, do you see any saddles?

BURKE: Oh, you can’t – oh, yeah. You can’t ride a lion.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: They have to tell people you cannot ride a lion while on safari. This week, Discover Africa revealed some of the most ridiculous questions they get asked by clients, with the No. 1 being, hey, can my kid go ride a lion?

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: The answer is obviously no, which is a shame, because the No. 1 question the lions have been asking is, hey, can we go eat that kid?

(LAUGHTER)

BURKE: To be clear, riding a lion should only ever be used as a euphemism for snorting Adderall.

SAGAL: Exactly.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: They say they get a lot of ridiculous requests from clients, which they blame partially on social media influencers who make everything on their trips seem perfect, and also on the fact that people are terrible.

BURKE: (Laughter).

SAGAL: This is true. One person who goes on an African safari demanded that on their bed – on his bed, that he has a foam pillow on the left side and a feather pillow on the right. And one night in the middle of the night, he called the company and said, the pillows are on the wrong sides.

BURBANK: Sir, can we offer you a free lion ride?

SAGAL: Exactly.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT”)

THE TOKENS: (Vocalizing).

SAGAL: Coming up, it’s Lightning Fill in the Blank. But first, it’s the game where you have to listen for the rhyme. If you’d like to play on air, call or leave a message at 1-888-WAIT-WAIT. That’s 1-888-924-8924. Or you can catch us live here most weeks at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago. And we will be in New Orleans with special guest John Goodman next week on May 25. We’ll be in Portland, Ore., on July 20 and in Ann Arbor, Mich., on August 31. Hi. You’re on WAIT WAIT… DON’T TELL ME.

LYNN: Hi, my name is Lynn (ph). And I’m calling from Bellingham, Wash.

SAGAL: Bellingham, Wash. That’s great. Right near Seattle, right?

LYNN: It’s about an hour and a half up the 5, but yeah, close enough.

SAGAL: Close enough.

(LAUGHTER)

BURBANK: Lynn, I used to live in Bellingham.

LYNN: Yeah, I believe I’ve heard that before.

BURBANK: OK, sorry. I’ll get a new story.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Well, Lynn, welcome to the show. Bill Kurtis is going to read you three news-related limericks with the last word or phrase missing from each. If you can fill in that last word or phrase correctly in two of the limericks, you’ll be a winner. You ready to play?

LYNN: Absolutely.

SAGAL: Here is your first limerick.

KURTIS: When I drink fizzy drinks or I slurp, my gut is an unhelpful twerp. The gases increase, but I get no release because I’m simply unable to…

LYNN: Burp?

SAGAL: Yes. Very good.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL, APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: A Reddit forum is bringing together sufferers of so-called no burp syndrome, the complete inability to burp. It is a real medical condition known as retrograde cricopharyngeus dysfunction, or RCPD. Basically, if you think it’s embarrassing to burp in public, try an awkward silence that lasts your whole life.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: And here’s the thing. There’s now a cure. Doctors inject Botox into a muscle in your throat that allows the muscle to relax and work properly. Plus, your esophagus looks years younger.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: All right. Here is your next limerick.

KURTIS: The open front sweater’s a star again. The love for this look is bipartisan. Brad Pitt knows it’s better. Wear Fred Rogers’ sweater. Yes, everyone’s loving a…

LYNN: Cardigan?

SAGAL: Cardigan. Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: You are good at this.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: The cardigan sweater, originally, you know, known from Mr. Rogers and your grandma in case it gets chilly, is now a cozy status symbol for the rich and famous. According to The Guardian, cardigan sales have skyrocketed after main characters in TV shows like “Beef” and “Succession” have worn them. Some think that these cardigans make these people look, quote, “unthreatening” and, quote, “relatable” because there’s nothing like seeing somebody in a $400 cashmere cardigan that makes you say, huh. All of a sudden, I want Rupert Murdoch to read me a bedtime story.

(LAUGHTER)

BURKE: Do you think this is Putin’s next move? Just, like…

(LAUGHTER)

BURKE: …Bare-chested with a little…

SAGAL: Cardigan. Everybody likes him again.

BURBANK: Riding a lion.

SAGAL: No, it’s all part…

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Also wearing a cardigan. Here is your last limerick, Lynn.

KURTIS: The crab walks and bear crawls look funny. They pack quite a punch for my money. Animal flow is the new way to go. To get fit, I will hop like a…

LYNN: Bunny?

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: The latest look in fitness circles is jacked bunny rabbit. Gyms and teachers around the country are now offering, quote, “animal flow” workouts based on the movements of animals, like bunny hopping, crab crawling, clam digging and being eaten by a fox.

(LAUGHTER)

FARSAD: This is the demise of empire that we are witnessing.

SAGAL: It really is.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: I mean, at this point, we’re so into our latter days. Why can’t it just end? It’s true.

BURBANK: I’m moving like a 14-year-old dachshund.

(LAUGHTER)

BURBANK: That’s the animal flow that I choose…

SAGAL: Yeah.

BURBANK: …To follow for my personal path. Put a cardigan on, lay down and stare at my belly.

FARSAD: And take a nap.

SAGAL: If all of those animal workouts sound too taxing, you can start with the opossum, where you fall over and pretend to be dead until they carry you out of the gym.

BURKE: Wait. Did they say one of the – you’re supposed to look like a jacked bunny? Is that what they say?

SAGAL: Yeah. Well, the idea is you’re supposed – the…

BURKE: But jacked rabbit is right there.

SAGAL: Dang.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Bill, how did Lynn do on our quiz?

KURTIS: Lynn did us proud. She got every one right.

SAGAL: Congratulations, Lynn.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: Lynn, thank you so much for playing. Take care.

LYNN: Bye.

SAGAL: Bye-bye.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “TITI ME PREGUNTO”)

BAD BUNNY: (Singing in Spanish).

SAGAL: It’s now time for our final game, Lightning Fill in the Blank. Each of our players will have 60 seconds in which to answer as many fill-in-the-blank questions as they can – each correct answer now worth two points. Bill, can you give us the score?

KURTIS: We have a three-way tie.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: Three-way tie. All right. We’re just going to go down the table. I’m going to pick Adam to go first. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank, Adam. On Wednesday, President Biden said that a deal on the blank could happen as early as next week.

BURKE: Debt ceiling.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: On Wednesday, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said they had gotten in a near-catastrophic car chase with blank.

BURKE: Paparazzi.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: As the G-7 summit begins, the U.S. announced plans to expand sanctions on blank.

BURKE: Russia?

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: On Tuesday, Colorado Congressperson Blank filed for divorce from her husband.

BURKE: Is that Marjorie Taylor Greene?

SAGAL: No, she’s from Georgia. This is Lauren Boebert. Although I understand why you confused them.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: On Wednesday, clinical trials of a universal blank vaccine began.

BURKE: COVID?

SAGAL: Flu, actually. This week, a man in Colorado who was pulled over for reckless driving…

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

SAGAL: …Attempted to avoid arrest by blanking.

BURKE: Would it be, by any chance, Peter…

SAGAL: Yes, Adam.

BURKE: …Did he try to switch places with his dog and make it look like the dog was driving the car?

SAGAL: Why, Adam, it was that.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: That’s what happened.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: Police said they could clearly see the man put his dog in the driver’s seat and jump over to the passenger seat…

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: …As they approached the car.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Would’ve worked, though, except the dog was also totally smashed.

BURKE: Yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

FARSAD: Oh, I love that story.

SAGAL: Bill, how did Adam do in our quiz?

KURTIS: Four right. Eight more points, 11, and he enjoys the lead.

SAGAL: There you are. All right. Next up is Negin. Negin, please fill in the blank. On Wednesday, the governor of Montana signed a law banning social media site blank.

FARSAD: TikTok.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: On Thursday, Russia launched its ninth wave of missile attacks against blank.

FARSAD: Ukraine?

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: This week, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay over $75 million to the victims of blank.

FARSAD: Donald Trump.

SAGAL: Ah, no.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Jeffrey Epstein. According to new data, blank prices have dropped to their lowest point in 11 years.

FARSAD: Gas?

SAGAL: Home prices. Proving that people can change their ways, a Chicago man on probation for selling fake White Sox tickets blanked this week.

FARSAD: Sold more fake White Sox tickets.

SAGAL: No. He got busted for selling fake Cubs hats.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: On Tuesday, two poultry workers in England tested positive for the new strain of blank flu.

FARSAD: Bird flu?

SAGAL: Yes. On Thursday…

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: YouTube announced plans to add 30-second unskippable blank to its app.

FARSAD: Unskippable ads.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: This week, sports legend Bo Jackson revealed…

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

SAGAL: …He’d recently tried to get rid of his chronic hiccups by blanking.

FARSAD: Farting.

SAGAL: No, by smelling a porcupine’s butt.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Bo Jackson, who was famously an all-star in football, baseball and porcupine intimacy, has been suffering…

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: …From hiccups for over a year and has tried everything to cure them, and we mean everything. While sniffing a porcupine’s butt did not stop his hiccups, it did lead to the Lincoln Park Zoo getting the weirdest five-star review of all time.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Bill, how did Negin do on our quiz?

KURTIS: Pretty good. Four right, eight more points, and her 11 ties her right now with Adam. Very close.

SAGAL: Wow. So that means that Luke needs how many to win?

KURTIS: Five to win.

SAGAL: All right, Luke, this is for the game. Fill in the blank. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that blank was not liable for terror-related content on the site.

BURBANK: Social media sites?

SAGAL: I’ll give it to you. It’s Twitter.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: According to a whistleblower report, the blank church has a secret $100 billion hedge fund.

BURBANK: The Mormon church.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: This week, a key defense attorney stepped down from blank’s classified documents case.

BURBANK: Trump’s.

SAGAL: Yes. On Thursday…

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: …It was reported that Senator Blank suffered from additional complications following her shingles diagnosis.

BURBANK: Feinstein.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: This week, a man in Chicago attempting to rob a subway left empty-handed after he demanded the cashier give him blank.

BURBANK: Soft power.

SAGAL: No. Give him…

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: …Quote, “all the bread.”

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: So they did. On Wednesday, a judge ruled that Theranos founder blank must report to prison on May 30.

BURBANK: Elizabeth Holmes.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: According to a new study, before their extinction, 1.7 billion blanks walked the earth.

BURBANK: Platypus.

SAGAL: T. rexes. Platypuses are still here.

BURBANK: Oh.

(LAUGHTER)

BURBANK: You learn something new every week on the show.

SAGAL: This week, two people in Texas who hid from police…

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

SAGAL: …In the attic of a restaurant were caught when one of them blanked.

BURBANK: Fell through the ceiling.

SAGAL: Exactly right, into the men’s bathroom.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: The couple were fleeing the scene of an accident. They looked for a place to hide from police and also a place to be caught in the most embarrassing way possible. Sure, falling through a floor into a toilet stall was tough on the fugitives. But can you imagine being in line at the restaurant to get your food and then hearing that noise from the bathroom?

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: They’re all like, yeah, you know, maybe we’ll just go to Sweetgreen.

BURBANK: This isn’t Taco John’s.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Bill, did Luke do well enough to win?

KURTIS: They’re not going to boo him anymore – six right, 12 more points. Fifteen is the winner.

SAGAL: Well, congratulations, Luuuke.

BURBANK: Thank you. Go ride a lion.

SAGAL: Now, panel, who will grace the cover of a major magazine next? Adam Burke.

BURKE: You will be on the cover of Narcissists Monthly, as next issue will be, as every issue is, just a mirror on the front cover.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Negin Farsad.

FARSAD: Steve Buscemi is going to go all stars in pickleball, and he’s going to appear wearing hot shorts.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: And Luke Burbank.

BURBANK: Kyrie Irving on the cover of Round Earth Believers Monthly.

(LAUGHTER)

KURTIS: Well, if any of that happens, we’re going to ask you about it on WAIT WAIT… DON’T TELL ME.

SAGAL: Thank you, Bill Kurtis. Thanks also to Adam Burke, Negin Farsad, Luke Burbank.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: Thanks to our fabulous audience here at the Studebaker. And thanks to all of you for listening. I am Peter Sagal. We’ll see you next week.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SAGAL: This is NPR.

Copyright © 2023 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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Reverse osmosis, a step in the water purification process, eliminates more than 99% of all impurities at the Pure Water Southern California Demonstration Plant in Carson. On the left is the filter, and on the right are samples before and after reverse osmosis. (Lauren Justice for CalMatters)

Californians could drink highly purified sewage water that is piped directly into drinking water supplies for the first time under proposed rules unveiled by state water officials.

The drought-prone state has turned to recycled water for more than 60 years to bolster its scarce supplies, but the current regulations require it to first make a pit stop in a reservoir or an aquifer before it can flow to taps.

The new rules, mandated by state law, would require extensive treatment and monitoring before wastewater can be piped to taps or mingled with raw water upstream of a drinking water treatment plant.

“Toilet-to-tap” this is not.

Between flush and faucet, a slew of steps are designed to remove chemicals and pathogens that remain in sewage after it has already undergone traditional primary, secondary and sometimes tertiary treatment.

It is bubbled with ozone, chewed by bacteria, filtered through activated carbon, pushed at high pressures through reverse osmosis membranes multiple times, cleansed with an oxidizer like hydrogen peroxide and beamed with high-intensity UV light. Valuable minerals, such as calcium, that were filtered out are restored. And then, finally, the wastewater is subjected to the regular treatment that all drinking water currently undergoes.

RELATED: This beer is made from recycled San Francisco shower water

“Quite honestly, it’ll be the cleanest drinking water around,” said Darrin Polhemus, deputy director of the state’s Division of Drinking Water.

The 62 pages of proposed rules, more than a decade in the making, are not triggering much, if any, debate among health or water experts. A panel of engineering and water quality scientists deemed an earlier version of the regulations protective of public health, although they raised concerns that the treatment process would be energy-intensive.

“I would have no hesitation drinking this water my whole life,” said Daniel McCurry, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Southern California.

This water is expected to be more expensive than imported water, but also provide a more renewable and reliable supply for California as climate change continues. Most treated sewage — about 400 million gallons a day in Los Angeles County alone — is released into rivers, streams and the deep ocean.

Luis Canela, a water quality technician, injects chemicals to chlorinate water at the Pure Water Southern California Demonstration Plant in Carson. Photo by Lauren Justice for CalMatters

The draft rules, released on July 21st, still face a gauntlet of public comment, a hearing and peer review by another panel of experts before being finalized. The State Water Resources Control Board is required by law to vote on them by the end of December, though they can extend the deadline if necessary. They would likely go into effect next April and it will take many years to reach people’s taps.

Heather Collins, water treatment manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said the regulations will give the district more certainty about how to design a massive, multi-billion dollar water recycling project with the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts. The district imports water that is provided to 19 million Southern Californians.

The joint effort, called Pure Water Southern California, has already received $80 million from the state. The first phase of the project, which could be completed by 2032, is expected to produce about 115 million gallons of recycled water a day, enough for 385,000 Southern California households.

Most is planned to go towards recharging local water agencies’ groundwater stores, but about 20% could be added to drinking water supplies upstream of Metropolitan’s existing treatment plant for imported water.

“We’re excited,” Collins said. “It helps better inform us on what our project needs to include, so that we can have a climate-resistant supply for our agencies in Southern California.”

The new rules come as endless cycles of drought leave California’s water suppliers scrabbling for new sources of water, like purified sewage. In 2021, Californians used about 732,000 acre feet of recycled water, equivalent to the amount used by roughly 2.6 million households, though much of it goes to non-drinking purposes, like irrigating landscapes, golf courses and crops.

Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom called for increasing recycled water use in California roughly 9% by 2030 and more than doubling it by 2040.

“Water recycling is about finding new water, not just accepting the scarcity mindset — being more resourceful in terms of our approach,” Newsom said last May in front of Metropolitan’s Pure Water Southern California demonstration plant.

Some recycled water is already used to refill underground stores that provide drinking water, a process called indirect potable reuse, employed beginning in the 1960s in Los Angeles and Orange counties. But a water agency must have a clean and convenient place to store the expensive, highly-purified water. “You don’t want to inject this recycled wastewater that you’ve spent all this effort cleaning into a dirty, polluted aquifer just to ruin it again,” McCurry said.

To expand these uses, state lawmakers in 2010 tasked the water board with investigating the possibility of adding recycled water either directly into a public water system or just upstream of a water treatment plant. In 2017, they set a deadline to develop the regulations by the end of 2023.

California won’t be the first; Colorado already has regulations and the nation’s first direct potable reuse plant was built  in Texas in 2013. Florida and Arizona have rules in the works.

California’s statewide rules, however, are expected to be the most stringent, said Andrew Salveson, water reuse chief technologist at Carollo Engineers, an environmental engineering consulting firm that specializes in water treatment.

“They are more conservative than anywhere else,” he said. “And I’m not being critical. In the state of California, because we’re in the early days of (direct potable reuse) implementation, they’re taking measured and conservative steps.”

Removing viruses and chemicals

The water that flushes down toilets, whirls down sinks, runs from industrial facilities and flows off agricultural fields is teeming with viruses, parasites and other pathogens that can make people sick. Chemicals also contaminate this sewage, everything from industrial perfluorinated “forever chemicals” to drugs excreted in urine. Bypassing groundwater stores or reservoirs to funnel purified sewage directly into pipes means that there’s less room for error.

The new regulations would ramp up restrictions on pathogens, calling for scrubbing away more than  99.9999% of diarrhea-causing viruses and certain parasites. Also a series of treatments are designed to break down chemical contaminants like anti-seizure drugs, pain relievers, antidepressants and other pharmaceuticals. Medications can bypass traditional sewage treatment so they are found in low concentrations in recycled sewage and groundwater.

Water makes its way to the first step of the water purification process, membrane bioreactors, at the demonstration plant in Carson. Photo by Lauren Justice for CalMatters

The added technologies are good at washing away pharmaceuticals, McCurry said, so having them “back-to-back introduces a ton of redundancy,” he said. “Any pharmaceutical you could think of, if you tried to measure it in the product water of one of these plants, is going to be below the detection limit.”

The new rules call for extensive monitoring to ensure the treatment is working. Some harmful chemicals, such as lead and nitrates, which are dangerous to babies and young children, will be tested for weekly; others, monthly. And water providers must also monitor the sewage itself before it even reaches treatment for any chemical spikes that could indicate illegal dumping or spills.

“We think we’ve got the chemical classes covered in the treatment processes, so that we’re removing materials that we don’t even know are there,” the water board’s Polhemus said.

Jennifer West, managing director of WateReuse California, a trade association for water recycling, said she was happy to finally see California’s regulations, though she hopes the state will build in more flexibility for water providers to alter the suite of treatments as technologies change.

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Richard Gersberg, San Diego State University professor emeritus of environmental health, said he supports using highly treated waste for drinking water. But he suggests that the state fund long-term studies comparing health effects in people who drink it to those whose drinking water comes from another source, such as rivers, “which might end up being worse. Probably is,” he said.

Given the vast and changing cocktail of chemicals constantly in use, “we don’t know what we don’t know,” Gersberg said. “If this becomes huge in California, and it will, I believe … we should at least spend a little money.”

Who will be first?

All this treatment and monitoring is likely to be pricey, which is why Polhemus expects to see it largely limited to large urban areas that produce a lot of wastewater, such as Los Angeles County. The Metropolitan Water District’s $3.4 billion estimate for building the project dates back to 2018, and has likely increased since then, according to spokesperson Rebecca Kimitch.

For small and medium communities, Polhemus said, “it doesn’t pencil out in a small scale type of arrangement.”

The Orange County Water District, which has long been a leader in purifying recycled water, has concluded that piping it directly to customers doesn’t pencil out for them, either, because they’ve already invested so heavily in refilling their carefully tended aquifer.

It would “require adding more treatment processes and increasing operating expenses,” board president Cathy Green said in a statement. “Local water agencies are currently well-equipped to continue to supply drinking water to customers in our service area at a low cost using the Orange County Groundwater Basin.”

For other regions like Silicon Valley, though, the costs may be worth it as climate change continues to shrink state supplies.

“At this point, it’s more expensive than water we might import during a drought. But who knows what will happen in the future,” said Kirsten Struve, assistant officer in the water supply division at the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which serves approximately 2 million people.

“That’s why we need to get prepared.”

The Pure Water Southern California Demonstration Plant showcases technology that may provide drinking water to Southern Californians by 2032. Photo by Lauren Justice for CalMatters

The Santa Clara water agency, known as Valley Water, is planning a $1.2 billion project in Palo Alto to produce about 10 million gallons a day of water for groundwater recharge, but Struve said she hopes the plant also will be used for direct potable reuse in the future.

The timing of the regulations has butted up against the realities of planning for Monterey One Water on the Monterey Peninsula as well. The utility has been injecting purified wastewater into the seaside aquifer for three years, producing about a third of the local supply, said General Manager Paul Sciuto. It is working on expanding the project by 2025, Sciuto said.

“I get that question of, ‘This water is so pure, why do you put it in the ground? Why can’t you just serve it?’ ” he said. “And I always fall back on, well, there’s no regulations that allow us to do that at this point.”

Now that the state is closer to finalizing them, he said, “there’s a point on the horizon to shoot for.”

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In April, the SoMa West Community Benefit District collected more than 35 tons of trash, or nearly 71,000 pounds of trash. In 2021, Tenderloin Community Benefit District cleaners collected a whopping 146 tons or 292,600 pounds of waste.

San Francisco is home to 17 of these organizations, most of which are concentrated in the city’s densely populated downtown core. It sounds like a lot of political jargon, and that’s because it is.

But community benefit districts (CBDs) play a critical role in the city, cleaning streets — sometimes faster than the Department of Public Works (DPW) — and connecting community members in SF’s often chaotic commercial and mixed-use neighborhoods.

You might even pay to have a CBD operating in your neighborhood, but you’ll only know about this if you’re a homeowner and pay close attention to your property tax bill, which lists a special tax bill that covers the cost of the CBD.

A member of the Tenderloin Community Benefit District cleans a sidewalk in the Tenderloin neighborhood on June 2, 2023 in San Francisco. | Jason Henry for The Standard

Some downtown CBDs say they are growing rapidly as cleanliness issues worsen across the city. Some even offer homeless services, while others have established safety programs for children and the elderly.

The Tenderloin CBD started in 2005 with a strong focus on cleaning up the streets; It now does much more than just bagging rubbish.

“Our goals have expanded, and our mission has expanded beyond just cleanliness,” said Kate Robinson, Managing Director of Tenderloin CBD. “It’s part of what we’re focused on, but our roots in residential home leadership and community engagement haven’t changed.”

This is how these groups work.

“98% of the 311 calls in the tenderloin”

Founded as stopgap groups to support entrepreneurs in busy litter-heavy areas, groups have become important safety nets and are increasingly taking on city responsibilities.

“We are the last resort and the first responder and safety net for broken city policies — or state policies, not just the city,” said Christian Martin, executive director of SoMa West CBD.

A member of the SoMa West Community Benefit District calls outside the organization’s Howard Street office in San Francisco on June 1, 2023. | Benjamin Fanjoy for The Standard

“The city shouldn’t do less in your neighborhood because you have a CBD — they shouldn’t penalize areas that put these things in place that are meant to complement city services,” he added.

The city’s overdose crisis and its cleanliness concerns worsened during the pandemic, but a 2012 city report shows that CBDs have long outpaced other San Francisco agencies in providing cleaning, public safety, and community-based services. Recent data shows that this remains the case.

CONTINUE READING: San Francisco’s streets are dirty. A new poll shows just how dirty it is

“Public Works still offers the basic service, but the CBDs are intended to go beyond that basic service,” said Rachel Gordon, spokeswoman for Public Works. “If they can make a call faster than us and they have local support in the neighborhoods, then that’s helpful.”

Some CBDs say they have given up requesting certain city services and have taken matters into their own hands: SoMa West has developed its own app to track 311 cleaning calls and initiate service requests, and the cleaning crew captains say that reporting incidents to city authorities would take too long.

“We currently respond to 98% of 311 calls in the tenderloin,” said Robinson. “Our response time is within hours, while DPW’s response time is significantly faster. But we view our relationship with DPW as a partnership: they really focus on issues that we cannot solve.”

A SoMa West Community Benefit District street sweeper stands on Howard Street in San Francisco on June 1, 2023. | Benjamin Fanjoy for The Standard

In neighborhoods like Tenderloin or SoMa, rampant drug use and streetside camps have increased CBD workloads.

In the three years that Hanif Hakeem has served as West SoMa Group’s sole homeless worker, he has helped numerous homeless people find beds, food and other resources.

Although Hakeem says some residents in shelters may have misconceptions or stigma towards their homeless neighbors, “we’re finding out their names,” Hakeem said.

“We build a relationship with them because who knows, they might want help later. Because we’ve been nice and cool to them, they’ll be more willing to work with us,” Hakeem added.

Street ambassadors like Hakeem, who was formerly homeless, believe the efforts of local CBDs on the ground are vital to helping strained city authorities. But some Downtown CBD officials worry the city may be relying too heavily on them to solve all of San Francisco’s worsening problems.

“It’s gotten worse. It’s become more of a business,” Hakeem said. “They keep making band-aids – they keep giving people band-aids when they clearly need surgery. And that kind of hurts.

“No, that minimizes it. “This shit hurts,” Hakeem added.

ASK THE STANDARD: 6 of the most common questions about homelessness in San Francisco answered

Members of San Francisco’s Homeless Outreach Team conduct health screenings and distribute food to people lying in the tenderloin on Jones Street on December 17, 2021. | James Wyatt

What is a CBD?

What is believed to be the first CBD was established in Canada in 1969. About 20 years later, California passed legislation allowing these organizations to form in the state.

San Francisco is now home to 17 different CBDs, or Business Improvement Districts, which act as non-profit liaison points between city officials and residents. Most are focused on cleanliness, but some — like the SF Tourism Improvement District — are designed to encourage business and travel opportunities in select neighborhoods.

Any community can choose to set up a CBD – just gather and organize enough property owners to agree to pay the valuation fees. Once a community receives approval from the property owners, the neighborhood establishes the CBD as a non-profit organization and the organization distributes taxpayer money for various improvements.

“So if there is a CBD, the property owners are basically paying the CBD to take their responsibility for keeping their sidewalk clean,” said Andrea Aiello, director of the Castro CBD. Aiello noted that city and state regulations require property owners to clean the area around their property. According to Aiello, CBDs are stepping in to take some of the strain off busy residents.

These cleaning operations range from graffiti removal to removing bulky items from the streets and are in addition to the routine services of the Department of Public Works and Ecology.

“When I started it was a lot more chaotic than it is now. I think on one of my first days I was able to get hold of 30, almost 40 bags at one point [of trash]– a spot!” said Enrique Cervantes, a cleanup ambassador at the SoMa West CBD. “Now I hardly ever do that.”

Enrique Cervantes, a member of the SoMa West Community Benefit District, pushes his walking cart used for cleanups in San Francisco on June 1, 2023. | Benjamin Fanjoy for The Standard

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Of more than 40 types of clocks, warnings and advisories issued by the National Weather Service, one stands out. The severe thunderstorm warning is issued more often than any other warning, but it could also be the most misunderstood.

Most people don’t know it, but the presence of frequent lightning or heavy rain does not affect whether a thunderstorm is classified as severe. The weather service only issues a severe thunderstorm warning if it produces winds of at least 90 km/h or hail at least 2.5 cm in diameter.

How well the public understands severe thunderstorms plays a big role now as they begin to progress from their winter lull to a summer peak. According to consumer research firm ValuePenguin, many states conduct severe weather awareness weeks in March to educate people about these storms and their warnings, which are issued more than 80,000 times a year on average across the United States.

To better understand what the public knows about severe thunderstorm warnings, researchers from the University of Oklahoma surveyed more than 1,400 U.S. adults about the hazards considered by the Weather Service when issuing severe thunderstorm warnings. Eighty percent of respondents correctly identified wind, but only 58 percent correctly identified hail. Perhaps more worryingly, 77 percent identified lightning, 76 percent rain and 67 percent flooding, none of which form part of the criteria for a severe thunderstorm warning.

Understanding Storm Warning Confusion

The confusion surrounding severe thunderstorm warnings “isn’t particularly surprising,” said Makenzie Krocak, a researcher at the University of Oklahoma, during a presentation at the American Meteorological Society’s annual meeting in January. “If you see [forecasts] Speaking of severe thunderstorms, what symbols do you see often? A lightning bolt and a raindrop. So it is not surprising that people associate these warnings with lightning and water.”

To add to the confusion, severe thunderstorm warnings are sometimes issued for showers that produce strong winds but no lightning or thunder, like the warning issued Wednesday by the San Francisco and Monterey Bay Area Weather Service Office for winds up to 80 km/h.

Despite misunderstandings about what hazards play into severe thunderstorm warnings, Krocak isn’t necessarily proposing a name change.

“In general, I would say that we do not yet have evidence that changing the name of the alert would affect understanding or response,” Krocak said in an email. “There’s also a lot of accumulated knowledge with the current name, so we would need to understand if and how a name change would affect people with that institutional knowledge and their intended response.”

How to choose the best weather app

Chris Wirz, who studies weather risk communications at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, notes that the alerts include descriptions of expected impacts and recommended safety precautions.

“Even if people are confused about what hazards are covered, the alert tells them what to expect and what they can do to stay safe,” Wirz said in an email. “There is also a lot of other communication that is taking place before these warnings are ever issued. So if warnings are needed at all, many people have an idea of ​​what to expect and how to respond.”

Barring misunderstandings, about 80 percent of survey respondents said the weather service issues “the right amount” of severe thunderstorm warnings, and most said they plan to take action to protect themselves if they receive a warning.

Why lightning isn’t among the criteria for a severe thunderstorm warning, meteorologist Jim Duncan explained in a story he wrote for the Washington Post last year that it only takes lightning to kill or to hurt, and lightning strikes may or may not a storm is considered violent. That’s why the weather service and security experts advise: “Go indoors when there’s thunder” and stay there for 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder. Lightning has killed an average of 23 Americans and injured hundreds each year for the past 10 years.

Because severe weather is not just severe weather, the Weather Service has introduced “damage risk” categories for severe weather warnings starting in 2021, with the aim of better communicating the strength and potential impact of thunderstorms and hail. The three categories are defined as:

• Base – Thunderstorms expected to meet only the minimum criteria of winds of at least 58 miles per hour or hail one inch (about as much as a quarter) in diameter. Expected impacts include damage to vehicles, trees, roofs and sidings.
• Significant – Thunderstorms expected to generate winds of at least 70 miles per hour or hail at least 1.75 inches in diameter (about the size of a golf ball) causing injury to people and wildlife outdoors. Other anticipated impacts include damage to roofs, sidewalls, windows, vehicles, trees, RVs, and outbuildings.
• Destructive – Thunderstorms expected to produce winds of at least 80 mph or hail at least 2.75 inches in diameter (about the size of a baseball), creating life-threatening situations and seriously injuring people and wildlife outdoors . Other expected impacts include power outages, broken windows, and extensive damage to trees, roofs, siding, vehicles, and RVs.

Only severe thunderstorm alerts marked as destructive will now trigger emergency weather alerts, which are delivered via cellular carriers.

The introduction of severe thunderstorm damage threat categories is part of a larger effort by the Weather Service to simplify and clarify its monitors, alerts and advisories by reducing the number of alert types and refining the alert language.

For example, the Weather Service is preparing to replace alerts such as “wind alert” or “coastal flood alert” with “plain language” headlines that convey the threat more clearly and quickly. Planned for no earlier than 2025, the change is based on social science research pointing to a public misunderstanding of warnings issued when hazardous weather is occurring or imminent, but the expected impact is less severe than a warning.

What to do if there is a severe thunderstorm warning?

Social science research has found that not only do people not understand the criteria for a severe thunderstorm warning, but they often confuse a storm warning with a gale warning, two very different things.

A severe weather warning is issued when severe weather is possible but not certain. If your area is under surveillance, experts advise sticking to trusted sources for weather information and being ready to act when an alert is issued. This is usually a good time to secure outdoor objects that could be blown away or cause damage or injury, transport light objects inside, and consider postponing outdoor activities.

A severe weather warning is issued when severe weather is imminent or is already occurring. If you receive an alert for your area, stay in a sturdy building or shelter and stay away from windows and doors, bring pets, pull shades and blinds over windows, and avoid electrical appliances and plumbing. It’s also a good idea to turn off the air conditioner and unplug appliances, computers, and other electronic devices to prevent damage from power surges.

The Gulf of Mexico is very warm. That could mean a bad tornado season.

If you can’t make it safely to a stable building or shelter, a hard-top (non-convertible) vehicle can offer you some protection with the windows closed. (However, in the event of a tornado, cars are not at all safe.) Avoid open spaces, high ground, water, picnic shelters, shelters and bleachers, and tall, pointed objects such as trees and flagpoles.

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From the moment they arrive on campus, today’s high school students are inundated with messages about the importance of receiving a college education. They hear it from their guidance counselors, teachers, parents, family members, neighbors, and coaches. While graduation from a four-year college can certainly work wonders for students’ future careers, it’s not necessary for all fields — something admissions officers and guidance counselors sometimes fail to mention.

To find the highest paying jobs in Shreveport that don’t require a college degree, Stacker consulted the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook to compile a list of all jobs that don’t require higher education. All professions that listed a high school diploma, some college education (without a degree conferred), postsecondary nondegree award, or no formal education requirements for entry-level positions were considered. Jobs that didn’t list any entry-level education requirement were excluded, as were job titles that grouped several positions together. Jobs are ranked by 2021 annual mean wage.

Keep reading to discover the highest paying jobs in Shreveport-Bossier City, LA that don’t require a college degree.

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#50. Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $47,770
– #173 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 460

National
– Annual mean salary: $51,010
– Employment: 112,130
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Huntsville, AL ($55,830)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($55,260)
— Wausau, WI ($55,060)

#49. Logging equipment operators

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $47,820
– #33 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 70

National
– Annual mean salary: $43,960
– Employment: 25,510
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Santa Rosa, CA ($64,000)
— Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA ($62,910)
— Longview, WA ($62,780)

#48. Electric motor, power tool, and related repairers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $47,910
– #34 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 50

National
– Annual mean salary: $48,740
– Employment: 15,880
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI ($78,200)
— Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT ($69,720)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($69,320)

#47. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $48,060
– #274 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 2,600

National
– Annual mean salary: $50,340
– Employment: 1,903,420
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Cape Girardeau, MO-IL ($62,600)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($62,290)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($61,540)

#46. Chefs and head cooks

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $48,560
– #286 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 100

National
– Annual mean salary: $56,920
– Employment: 129,810
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Leominster-Gardner, MA ($81,020)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($79,600)
— Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($79,430)

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#45. Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $48,960
– #84 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 640

National
– Annual mean salary: $44,810
– Employment: 551,380
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Odessa, TX ($70,950)
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($66,260)
— Bismarck, ND ($64,940)

#44. Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $49,010
– #132 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 770

National
– Annual mean salary: $48,290
– Employment: 397,600
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Fairbanks, AK ($72,500)
— Anchorage, AK ($71,840)
— Urban Honolulu, HI ($66,920)

#43. Production, planning, and expediting clerks

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $49,110
– #275 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 130

National
– Annual mean salary: $52,220
– Employment: 367,200
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Idaho Falls, ID ($74,970)
— Norwich-New London-Westerly, CT-RI ($71,160)
— Bremerton-Silverdale, WA ($67,140)

#42. Electricians

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $49,220
– #417 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 770

National
– Annual mean salary: $63,310
– Employment: 650,580
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($93,900)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($91,090)
— Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI ($86,600)

#41. Computer user support specialists

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $49,310
– #322 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 370

National
– Annual mean salary: $57,650
– Employment: 654,310
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA ($90,480)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($76,920)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($76,510)

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#40. Maintenance workers, machinery

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $49,750
– #181 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 140

National
– Annual mean salary: $53,570
– Employment: 57,660
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Savannah, GA ($76,260)
— Cedar Rapids, IA ($70,980)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($69,980)

#39. Electrical and electronics installers and repairers, transportation equipment

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $50,000
– #23 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 30

National
– Annual mean salary: $70,650
– Employment: 10,710
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($89,080)
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($87,130)
— Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($86,160)

#38. Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $50,510
– #18 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 30

National
– Annual mean salary: $42,490
– Employment: 108,440
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ($60,690)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($59,040)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($57,940)

#37. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $50,670
– #453 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 2,060

National
– Annual mean salary: $63,380
– Employment: 1,443,630
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($82,050)
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($79,520)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($78,430)

#36. Machinists

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $51,110
– #102 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 350

National
– Annual mean salary: $49,020
– Employment: 333,220
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Urban Honolulu, HI ($71,070)
— Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($69,300)
— Monroe, MI ($66,560)

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#35. Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $51,270
– #233 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 460

National
– Annual mean salary: $54,690
– Employment: 356,960
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($78,020)
— Fairbanks, AK ($76,750)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($71,710)

#34. Real estate sales agents

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $51,320
– #228 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 120

National
– Annual mean salary: $61,480
– Employment: 175,920
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Midland, TX ($100,060)
— Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($99,880)
— Worcester, MA-CT ($93,400)

#33. Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $53,040
– #269 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 180

National
– Annual mean salary: $57,280
– Employment: 145,230
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Fairbanks, AK ($86,740)
— Urban Honolulu, HI ($82,520)
— New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($79,470)

#32. Advertising sales agents

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $53,080
– #172 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 80

National
– Annual mean salary: $66,540
– Employment: 96,660
– Metros with highest average pay:
— New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($97,840)
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($97,720)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($83,050)

#31. Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $53,170
– #278 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 550

National
– Annual mean salary: $63,350
– Employment: 417,620
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($94,580)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($89,500)
— Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI ($89,190)

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#30. Postal service mail carriers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $53,530
– #280 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 460

National
– Annual mean salary: $54,370
– Employment: 335,540
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Modesto, CA ($57,160)
— Bismarck, ND ($57,090)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($56,820)

#29. Property, real estate, and community association managers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $53,630
– #321 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 360

National
– Annual mean salary: $70,030
– Employment: 234,680
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($109,540)
— Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO ($106,420)
— New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($103,610)

#28. Postal service clerks

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $54,210
– #119 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 110

National
– Annual mean salary: $53,210
– Employment: 79,320
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Houma-Thibodaux, LA ($59,410)
— Florence, SC ($59,360)
— Monroe, MI ($59,320)

#27. Construction and building inspectors

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $54,230
– #318 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40

National
– Annual mean salary: $68,480
– Employment: 117,830
– Metros with highest average pay:
— New Haven, CT ($121,510)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($107,330)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($106,190)

#26. Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $54,550
– #429 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 430

National
– Annual mean salary: $71,110
– Employment: 1,026,390
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($103,810)
— Boulder, CO ($101,630)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($97,360)

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#25. First-line supervisors of correctional officers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $54,920
– #163 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40

National
– Annual mean salary: $69,750
– Employment: 54,470
– Metros with highest average pay:
— New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($114,400)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($113,220)
— Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA ($112,950)

#24. Insurance sales agents

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $55,360
– #339 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 450

National
– Annual mean salary: $69,340
– Employment: 422,600
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($104,230)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($103,470)
— Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA ($95,620)

#23. Millwrights

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $56,900
– #106 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 50

National
– Annual mean salary: $61,260
– Employment: 39,240
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Kennewick-Richland, WA ($91,590)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($90,580)
— Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI ($80,780)

#22. Control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $57,160
– #174 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 110

National
– Annual mean salary: $67,310
– Employment: 44,870
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA ($98,380)
— Salt Lake City, UT ($94,070)
— Santa Rosa, CA ($92,800)

#21. Chemical plant and system operators

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $57,270
– #28 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 140

National
– Annual mean salary: $69,020
– Employment: 21,740
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Lima, OH ($92,450)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($91,210)
— New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($90,170)

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#20. Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $58,140
– #223 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 260

National
– Annual mean salary: $60,350
– Employment: 172,830
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Anchorage, AK ($88,140)
— Fairbanks, AK ($84,690)
— Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($80,570)

#19. Industrial machinery mechanics

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $58,850
– #177 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 490

National
– Annual mean salary: $58,780
– Employment: 373,090
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Fairbanks, AK ($85,900)
— Lake Charles, LA ($85,360)
— Anchorage, AK ($82,890)

#18. Chemical equipment operators and tenders

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $60,840
– #23 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 160

National
– Annual mean salary: $52,450
– Employment: 106,170
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Billings, MT ($88,420)
— Baton Rouge, LA ($76,050)
— Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX ($71,340)

#17. Food service managers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $61,950
– #162 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 100

National
– Annual mean salary: $63,970
– Employment: 210,680
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Trenton, NJ ($91,320)
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($89,860)
— Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($87,750)

#16. Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $62,760
– #121 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 80

National
– Annual mean salary: $64,230
– Employment: 50,780
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ($87,890)
— Fresno, CA ($86,230)
— Fairbanks, AK ($85,640)

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#15. First-line supervisors of police and detectives

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $63,570
– #405 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 360

National
– Annual mean salary: $98,760
– Employment: 128,230
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($182,700)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($170,740)
— Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA ($164,600)

#14. Aircraft mechanics and service technicians

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $65,250
– #107 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 190

National
– Annual mean salary: $69,470
– Employment: 125,440
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($86,470)
— Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD ($86,370)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($85,860)

#13. Lodging managers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $66,310
– #79 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 50

National
– Annual mean salary: $67,770
– Employment: 35,920
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($121,090)
— Urban Honolulu, HI ($111,410)
— New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($99,600)

#12. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $67,230
– #282 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 700

National
– Annual mean salary: $75,060
– Employment: 665,870
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($112,020)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($103,820)
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($101,210)

#11. Detectives and criminal investigators

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $68,270
– #251 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 90

National
– Annual mean salary: $90,370
– Employment: 107,890
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($132,210)
— Anchorage, AK ($127,070)
— Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($123,460)

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#10. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $68,360
– #300 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 860

National
– Annual mean salary: $73,590
– Employment: 526,240
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Bremerton-Silverdale, WA ($93,830)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($93,030)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($92,870)

#9. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $68,530
– #212 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 300

National
– Annual mean salary: $83,270
– Employment: 80,890
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($171,060)
— Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA ($145,740)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($135,860)

#8. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $69,700
– #111 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 700

National
– Annual mean salary: $67,330
– Employment: 629,420
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Baton Rouge, LA ($98,170)
— Lake Charles, LA ($97,910)
— Norwich-New London-Westerly, CT-RI ($90,410)

#7. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $71,180
– #143 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 110

National
– Annual mean salary: $70,960
– Employment: 278,140
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Kennewick-Richland, WA ($104,350)
— Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($95,200)
— Salinas, CA ($90,800)

#6. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $71,440
– #132 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 1,890

National
– Annual mean salary: $72,390
– Employment: 1,242,490
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($102,280)
— Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($92,660)
— Napa, CA ($92,620)

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#5. Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $75,210
– #46 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 280

National
– Annual mean salary: $80,500
– Employment: 34,230
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($105,090)
— St. Louis, MO-IL ($97,860)
— Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ($96,520)

#4. Electrical power-line installers and repairers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $77,230
– #199 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 130

National
– Annual mean salary: $79,060
– Employment: 123,940
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA ($117,700)
— Salinas, CA ($110,180)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($109,490)

#3. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $80,790
– #386 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 70

National
– Annual mean salary: $105,580
– Employment: 144,640
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($159,890)
— Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($154,170)
— Trenton, NJ ($144,620)

#2. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $81,240
– #207 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 160

National
– Annual mean salary: $92,320
– Employment: 243,920
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Portland-South Portland, ME ($129,860)
— Durham-Chapel Hill, NC ($121,360)
— New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($121,250)

#1. Commercial pilots

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
– Annual mean salary: $86,160
– #156 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 80

National
– Annual mean salary: $115,080
– Employment: 42,770
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($185,920)
— Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA ($184,260)
— Savannah, GA ($177,450)

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The post Listed below are the highest 50 highest paying jobs in Shreveport that do not require a university diploma appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

What’s all the fuss about tips lately?

Do we really need a public discussion about paying a little more so we can offer greater compensation to the employees who have been taking our orders and processing our payments without a tip?

Actually yes, we do.

For years in Ripon, we’ve been tipping our servers at Mr. and Mrs. P’s Eatery and the Ripon Family Restaurant, leaving a snack on the bedside table for hotel staff at Cobblestone Suites and Boarders, and digging through our wallets for Domino’s and Roadhouse pizza Delivery people and others, not because we had to, but because we wanted to.

We recognize that these people’s livelihoods depend on more than the meager hourly wage they are paid, so we were happy to give them an extra percentage of our purchase. And we didn’t flinch as the traditional tip rate slowly went up, from 10% to 15% and now 20%.

We did this for a reason other than tradition. We really appreciated their efforts to take care of us; A tip allowed us to say “thank you” in the most meaningful way.

So there’s no problem.

But an employee? One who stands at a counter and takes an order and then hands us a payment processing system that when we slide in our credit card asks if we want to add a 15%, 20% or 25% tip?

Hmmm. Brings up some questions, doesn’t it?

1. Who actually gets the tip? The employee or the business?

2. How much should the tip be? A 20% surcharge because that’s the current recommended amount? Or a “custom tip” of 5%, because that’s more like a meager minute of service compared to the greater time and attention of a waitress who keeps returning to a table to take and deliver customer orders, or a pizza delivery boy of the Five Driving miles through the snow to deliver a cake, or a hotel maid removing, washing, and replacing linens when she’s not emptying wastebaskets and cleaning toilets?

3. Why do we tip people that companies should already be paying enough (and passing such fixed costs on to consumers via increased prices) even in times of labor shortages, so that their employees do not have to depend on the generosity of a capricious public? ?

4. Who decided it was time to tip employees?

The answer to that question is why all this hype about tips has arisen.

This wasn’t a decision you or I made as we huddled together in a quiet interlude of our busy lives to decide, “How can we brighten the days of those who care for us?”

No, if that had happened, we would tip those who do the dishes after we leave the restaurant, those who check us into our hotel, and those who put pepperoni on our pizzas. We would also tip auto mechanics, manufacturers, medical staff, teachers, plumbers, police officers and anyone else who makes our lives a little bit easier.

The answer to the “Who decided?” question lies in San Francisco.

In this town are the people who sell Square point-of-sale payment processing. Square, owned by Block Inc., is a mobile application that enables small businesses to accept debit and credit card payments through connected iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Android devices.

Square was co-invented and developed in 2009 by Jack Dorsey, the $5 billionaire who also brought us Twitter, and Jim McKelvey, a $4 billionaire who is now an independent director of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis designed to make it easier for small business owners to collect payments while freeing consumers from their hard-earned dollars with new tipping opportunities.

When a customer swipes her card, Square asks her to select an amount to transfer to the recipient and then sign her name to confirm. So, while waiting in line with friends and family, a shopper is asked to tip the innocent but expectant salesperson who just smiled at him as he was handed his seat.

What’s a few cents more to not feel petty? A few coins to clear your conscience? A dollar or three to make a transaction without guilt?

At that very moment, as the Square is handed over to the consumer, the public encounters what the New York Times has dubbed “tip creep,” where people end up giving a little extra, not out of gratitude, but out of shame that someone might see you doing your Scroogiest, dare you click “don’t tip”.

This is a technological imperative in which a machine directs consumer behavior, in this case appealing to their benevolence. That doesn’t make it a moral imperative, as they probably wouldn’t tip the employee unless they first learn that the person is underpaid or has for some reason provided exceptional service.

Technological imperatives are double-edged swords.

The best example is social media. The same tools that unite us as communities have divided us politically in ways we could not have foreseen but over which we now have little control.

The same man who encouraged us to tweet now wants us to tip.

Call them Luddites if you will, but glory to those who say they’ll keep their hands on their wallets and their watchful eyes on the machines trying to run their lives, thank you very much.

No tweet.

No tip.

No thank you.

– Tim Lyke

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The majority of people who work for the city of San Francisco don’t actually live there, according to data provided by the city.

In fact, 58% of San Francisco’s public workers live outside of the city as of 2022, a slight increase from where it was a decade ago. SF workers commuting into the city most often live in San Mateo County (19%), but that number is also decreasing.

Meanwhile, East Bay counties Alameda and Contra Costa are seeing more San Francisco public workers move into their areas. As of 2022, 14% and 12% of San Francisco city employees live in Alameda and Contra Costa counties – 10% and 15% percent increases since 2013, respectively.

In particular, Stockton is attracting lots more San Francisco city workers these days than it used to, despite the significant commute. Nowadays, 311 city workers reside in San Joaquin county — still only about 1% of all workers, a 46% increase from 191 in 2013.

While the lack of affordable housing is likely one of the main factors driving city workers out of San Francisco, other factors could also be at play, according to Enrique Lopezlira, Director at the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education.

For example, improvements to public transportation — like a BART extension to San Jose — could be making people more comfortable commuting longer distances.

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“It’s hard to definitely say it’s all housing [costs] that’s causing this. Those other areas, if they’re also getting more residents and they start building more amenities, better schools and so forth, that might also cause people to want to live outside the city,” Lopezlira said. Still, Lopezlira thinks that it’s “a bit high” for a city like San Francisco to have six of every 10 municipal employees living out-of-city.

San Francisco’s public safety departments have the highest shares of workers living outside SF In 2022, just 25% of San Francisco Police Department employees lived in the city proper, the lowest share of any department.

SF Police Department spokesperson Adam Lobsinger said some officers choose to live outside of the city to have separation of their work and home lives.

“I live outside of San Francisco … it’s really important for us to have some downtime and get away from work because of the toll that this job can take on you both physically and emotionally,” Lobsinger said.

Only 28% of SF Fire Department employees live in the city. According to Fire Department spokesperson Jonathan Baxter, many workers who do live in town can do so because they inherited homes from their parents, still live with their families or work second jobs.

“Rent is extremely high in San Francisco and most of the firefighters that I’ve spoken to who rent in San Francisco have [two to five] roommates so that they can have a decent living standard, [and be] able to continue to educate themselves to progress in their careers such as going to college and taking trade classes,” Baxter said.

Despite having the highest median income out of all the city’s departments at over $200,000, the San Francisco Fire Department has one of the lowest portions of employees that live in the city.

Many city departments prefer to have their staff live in San Francisco and recruit locally to make that happen. For example, the Fire Department offers youth outreach programs like CITY EMT, a four month program that offers Emergency Medical Technician training to at-risk young adults in San Francisco.

The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development offers affordable housing programs that give preference to people who work in the city, like the San Francisco Affordable Housing Lottery — the city’s system for allocating “Below Market Rate” properties. San Francisco workers have an advantage when applying to this program because every lottery has a “live or work in San Francisco” preference that improves an applicant’s chances at being awarded housing.

Some housing programs are more targeted to specific departments. The First Responders Downpayment Assistance Loan Program helps members of the San Francisco Police Department, Fire Department and Sheriff’s Department buy their first home in San Francisco. The loan covers a downpayment of up to $375,000.

But with already-high median home values ​​rising even higher in recent years, Baxter questions if this is enough support.

“I myself could not afford my driveway at the home that I live in right now if I were to buy my home again and that’s a factor in seeing the rise in the cost of housing that we have here in San Francisco,” he said.

Not all of the city’s departments are seeing the same patterns. Even though Public Library employees have a median income of $102,000 – over $100,000 less than Fire Department’s median income — six out of ten Public Library employees are city residents.

One explanation could be age-related: Public Library employees have a higher median age than most other city departments, according to City Librarian Michael Lambert.

“We have employees who are still in their late 60s and 70s working for us. In the past, we’ve even had 1 employee in their early 80s,” Lambert said. “If our employees are older and stay longer, they have a greater likelihood of having put down roots in their younger years here, and perhaps have had a relatively easier time staying in the city and navigating the housing market.”

Labor Center researcher Lopezlira said his organization is beginning research on why the public sector has seen slow recovery in employment staffing since the pandemic. He said the city’s lack of affordable housing could be one of the causes of the high number of vacancies in government positions.

“We realize that there’s a lot of talk about [public sector] labor shortage in general, but maybe part of the reason for those hiring vacancies is the fact that it’s really expensive to live in the city and county,” he said.

Adriana Rezal and Harsha Devulapalli are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: adriana.rezal@sfchronicle.com

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