Part 1 of a 2-part article on the high-performance attributes of 350 Mission in San Francisco.

A very high level of sustainable design characterizes 350 Mission, a 30-story office tower on Mission Street in San Francisco. The building is certified LEED Platinum under LEED v2.2, and it also meets the 2011 California Green Building Code (CALGreen) and the San Francisco Green Building Code. To get to that point, the owner, Kilroy Realty Corp., and the design team explored a wide range of innovative high-performance MEP solutions.

The mechanical and lighting systems incorporate numerous energy conservation measures. As in all mechanical design, the primary drivers of the design were occupant comfort, space, resource efficiency, and cost. All occupied spaces must meet the thermal comfort criteria of ASHRAE Standard 55, which sets forth guidelines on temperature and air speed under various installation conditions, and acknowledges the benefits of users’ control over their local thermal environment.  

The high-performance HVAC solution is an underfloor air delivery (UFAD) strategy. The primary drivers for this decision were reduced operating energy, improved indoor air quality (IAQ), individual occupant comfort and controllability, increased air economizer hours, and tenant space flexibility. The UFAD system, when coupled with a high-efficiency chiller plant and air-side economizer, provides a superior HVAC solution. In addition to air distribution, the UFAD plenum also provides for power, voice, and data distribution.

While other high-performance HVAC alternatives were considered, the project drivers pointed to UFAD. Some system alternatives provided even higher levels of energy savings, such as chilled beams with a dedicated outside air system (DOAS). Another option studied was an optimized overhead VAV system.

Ultimately, the comparative studies showed that the UFAD system achieved all the project goals, including the owner’s vision for a flexible office space, improved IAQ, and energy savings. The system also achieved the required cooling capacity output needed to offset the envelope thermal loads.

The building’s direct digital control (DDC) building management system is fully interoperable, controlling both the base building core-and-shell plant systems and the tenant systems. This includes the underfloor fan-powered boxes, chilled water temperature sensors, lighting system, carbon dioxide occupancy sensors, and demand control ventilation.

The HVAC system maximizes energy efficiency, providing conditioned air directly to the occupants at floor level, where it then stratifies and is returned above the occupied zone (via a ceiling plenum or open ceiling) back to the floor-by-floor unit.

The supply air can be warmer (60 to 62 F) with floor distribution than with an overhead distribution (55 F) because the intent is to cool only the zone that people occupy, not the entire volume of space up to the ceiling. Air temperature is allowed to rise closer to the ceiling as it leaves the occupied space. The reduced demand for cooling the supply air translates into a reduced energy demand on the chiller, which doesn’t have to make cooler chilled water.

What’s more, the UFAD is a low-pressure system. Because air is not forced through a network of ductwork and dampers, the system can achieve considerable fan energy savings. The interior zone of every space is one big open plenum. Only perimeter fan-powered boxes in exterior zones are required for UFAD.

In terms of IAQ, delivering air at the floor and returning at the ceiling takes advantage of the natural tendency of air to rise as it warms, drawing it through the occupants’ breathing zone in the process. This is the most effective ventilation distribution strategy under ASHRAE Standard 62.1. Manually adjustable floor diffusers are also provided, allowing the occupants to adjust the amount of air they receive and fine-tune their individual thermal comfort.

Other key energy conservation measures include low-energy LED lighting, daylighting controls, lighting occupancy sensors, and a high-efficiency domestic water heater. In addition to its use in the cooling tower, reclaimed storm water is also used for toilet flushing. 

Lead photo caption: 350 Mission is a LEED Platinum-certified, 30-story office tower on Mission Street in San Francisco, directly across from the new Transbay Transit Center in the city’s rapidly evolving South of Market district. • Completed in 2015, the $250 million project is sited on a tight 19,000-square-foot lot. The 420,000-square-foot building is Type 1 construction with a concrete structure and a total height of about 420 feet. • The tower is clad with a high-performance unitized curtain wall with alternating inward- and outward-tipping panels, giving the facade a “woven” appearance as light reflects off the surface. • The tower features a 50-foot tall lobby that also functions as a free-flowing open public space. The space uses a unique folding glass wall system that opens the lobby to the street while maintaining the interior climate with an energy-efficient radiant floor heating and cooling system. A real-time digital video canvas displays art. • All of the building’s Class A office space was pre-leased to Salesforce, a global cloud computing company.

Photo credit: © Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP | AJSNY, 2016. All rights reserved.

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BERKELEY — Blame it on the pandemic or the rising cost of inflation, but whatever the cause Bay Area animal shelters are in crisis. 

And across the region, people are stepping up to help like the workers at  L.J. Kruse Plumbing in Berkeley.

Every Thursday morning, Marie McLean, who works at the century old-plumbing company, walks a few blocks to the Berkeley Humane Society shelter.  

 “It’s a joy to everyone in the office,” said McLean, who has worked at the plumbing company for 15 years. “We love the dogs. You feed a dog, you walk a dog, you play with it a little bit and then you go on a break and it’s at the gate crying for you. That’s amazing.” 

 Berkeley Humane has been in partnership with Kruse for a while. On this day, McLean picked up a 1-year-old terroir mix named Hugo, who was found abandoned in Oakland. 

The sweet-natured pup spends a few hours in the plumbing company offices, winning over the hearts of all who work there.

“The hope is that this dog will find a loving home,” McLean told KPIX. 

 Will Kruse is the vice president and service manager. He loves having dogs like Hugo in the office.   

 “We care about animals and recusing animals here,” said Kruse.  “Berkeley Humane is just a couple blocks away so it’s a natural partnership” 

 Over the last decade. Kruse says some of his workers and even customers have adopted dogs that they’ve brought into the office.  

 This is special because Will grew up down the street and actually volunteered at Berkeley Humane when he was a kid.  

 “Means a lot for me as an adult and businessowners to give back to the community that I grew up in,” said Kruse. 

 Kruse Plumbing has a donation program going right now.  Every $3 of every service call will be donated to Berkeley Humane. 

More from CBS News

Justin Andrews

Justin Andrews joined the KPIX 5 news team in May 2021. You can catch his reports on the morning and noon newscasts.

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AI has allowed experts to read ancient Roman scrolls that were covered in volcanic ash from an eruption from Mount Vesuvius 2,000 years ago.

Bang Showbiz – Tech

Luke Farritor is one of those guys who thinks about the Roman Empire a lot.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln student isn’t spending his time contemplating how the Romans built an extensive network of roads, or why the calendar set by the Romans is still widely used to this day.

Rather, the computer science major often finds himself pondering how to hone the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to read papyrus scrolls buried under volcanic ash and mud from Mount Vesuvius nearly two millennia ago.

Luke Farritor

Courtesy photo

In August, the 21-year-old was announced as the winner of a global contest to uncover the secrets once thought lost to time when his algorithm detected several letters on the scrolls, which led researchers to translating them into a word.

“I’ve been into programming for as long as I can remember,” Farritor told the Journal Star. “And I’ve also always been into history. I knew combining those two things into one could be really helpful.”

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Farritor, a Lincoln native, said he learned about the Vesuvius Challenge during an internship with SpaceX in Texas that ran between March and July this year.

Listening to Nat Friedman, a former Microsoft executive who runs and invests in technology companies, describe the Vesuvius Challenge on a podcast, Farritor said he became consumed with joining in and trying to solve the mystery.

The Herculaneum scrolls, charred and buried in a library near Pompeii during the eruption in 79 A.D., were uncovered in the 1750s but have remained unopened due to their brittle nature.

Two decades ago, Brent Seales, a computer science professor at the University of Kentucky, and a team of researchers developed a process that allowed them to scan the scrolls with X-rays layer-by-layer.

But because the ink used by whoever had written the scrolls — historians have postulated they belonged to a relative of Julius Caesar — was charcoal and water, the messages they contained remained nearly invisible.

A Herculaneum scroll, charred and buried in a library near Pompeii, is scanned with red laser lines at Institut de France by Brent Seales, a computer science professor at the University of Kentucky.

EduceLab, University of Kentucky

Seales eventually developed a program that could detect the presence of ink on the charred documents, and with funding from science and arts organizations and with backing from Silicon Valley sought help from the broader public in developing a method for reading them.

Farritor, the son of UNL mechanical engineering professor, inventor and start-up founder Shane Farritor, was one of about 1,500 people who answered the call after hearing Friedman describe the problem and offer the prize money.

“(Friedman) said ‘if you’re listening right now, you might win the challenge,'” Farritor said. “I was like ‘holy cow, I have to give this a go.’ This project just had a lot of potential.”

Farritor said he worked the problem on nights and weekends for most of the summer, looking at attempts taken by others working to solve the problem and iterating on his own code little by little.

There were two big breakthroughs that came after Farritor joined the Vesuvius Challenge.

The first came when another contestant, Casey Handmer, an entrepreneur from California, found a pattern that corresponded to what he believed was writing on the papyrus parchment.

The Greek characters, πορφύραc, revealed as the word “purple,” are among the multiple characters and lines of text that have been extracted by Vesuvius Challenge winner Luke Farritor.

Vesuvius Challenge

Farritor and others begin focusing their algorithms to look for other patterns on the scrolls, comparing his own results with potential solutions put forward by other contestants, and looking at the original scans.

The second breakthrough happened at an Omaha house party for a friend’s birthday in August.

Farritor said he received a text notifying him of a new scan, and using his phone, logged into his computer remotely, uploaded the photo, and set his algorithm to work.

Hours later, when he parked his car in the garage of his Lincoln apartment, Farritor checked the progress on his phone and saw three Greek letters — two O’s and a P — staring back at him on his phone screen. 

Farritor broke out in a one-person riot, celebrating the monumental discovery, as his friends stood by confused: “I was jumping around, yelling and screaming.”

“There was kind of this moment late at night after that party where I realized ‘oh my goodness, we’re probably going to read the scrolls,'” he added.

He quickly sent a text to his mom and to the organizers of the Vesuvius Challenge to confirm his findings, and over the next week, refined his AI program to uncover about 10 more letters on the scroll.

Researchers later combined the Greek letters into the word “porphyras,” which translates into an ancient Greek word for “purple.”

The monumental discovery made Farritor the winner of the First Letters Prize, which came with $40,000 cash, and gave him celebrity status among papyrologists and entrepreneurs. Mark Cuban, the billionaire investor, sent Farritor a message of congratulations, as did Tyler Cowen, an economist, professor and podcaster, he said.

Farritor’s social media following also increased tenfold quickly after news broke of his discovery, he said, and put him on a whirlwind tour that took him to the University of Kentucky, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“It was all really cool,” he said.

The UNL senior said he’s not stopping at the First Letters Prize. The Vesuvius Challenge is offering $700,000 to the first person who can read four paragraphs inside the scroll, something Farritor said he’s optimistic he can make happen by the Dec. 31 deadline.

From there, Farritor said it could theoretically be possible for researchers to delve into the hundreds of scrolls that have been recovered from Pompeii but never opened.

“The possibilities are really exciting,” he said.

Top Journal Star photos for October 2023

(from left) Aksel Bartles, 5, his sister Rexa, 2, and mother Missy trick or treat during the Boo at the Zoo at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo, on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Lincoln Pius X players react after Keeleigh Knobbe (7) scores match point of the A-7 district championship against Papillion-La Vista  on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, at Pius X High School.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Sara Madsen and her husband, Brady Clark, shoot pool at Madsen’s Bowling & Billiards on Wednesday. Sara Madsen has taken over management Madsen’s Bowling & Billiards from her cousin Benjamin Madsen.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

St. Teresa Catholic School second-grade student Nicholas Bauman makes a field goal attempt from the hold of University of Nebraska-Lincoln sophomore Tyler Aldredge during Memorial Stadium birthday party on Monday. The stadium celebrates its 100th anniversary this season.

JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star

Nebraska’s Laney Choboy makes a diving save in the fifth set at the Devaney Sports Center, on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, in Lincoln.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Nebraska players celebrate the victory against Wisconsin on Saturday at the Devaney Sports Center. Laney Choboy (right) went to the ground and slapped the floor.

JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star

Northwestern’s Garnett Hollis, Jr. successfully defends a throw intended for Nebraska’s Jaidyn Doss in the third quarter at Memorial Stadium, on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Northwestern’s Devin Turner (9) intercepts a pass intended for Nebraska’s Thomas Fidone (24) on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023 during a match at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. Nebraska was up 10-6 going into the half.

ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE Journal Star

Halyna Chekushkina (from Ukraine) serves traditional Ukrainian food to guests during an appreciation dinner on Friday hosted by House of Prayer in Lincoln. Chekushkina, a member at House of Prayer, immigrated to Lincoln from Ukraine three years ago.

ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE, Journal Star

Lincoln Southeast’s band members return to the bleachers before a high school football game against South Sioux City, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, at Union Bank Stadium.

JUSTIN WAN Journal Star

Lincoln East players stand for the pledge of allegiance before taking on Gretna at Seacrest Field, on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, in Lincoln.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Jaye-Lynne Meyer of Plattsmouth browses a selection of native plants on Friday during a plant sale at the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum (NSA) Greenhouse on the UNL East Campus. All proceeds from sales go toward funding statewide arboretum programs.

ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE, Journal Star

Lincoln East’s Mallorie Meyer (right) celebrates after a kill by her teammates in the second set during the HAC tournament championship match at Lincoln Southeast High School, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Traffic flows steadily east along K street as the sun sets behind the Nebraska State Capitol on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Lincoln.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Norris’ Alivia Hausmann reaches out as she attempts to save the ball in the third set at Lincoln Lutheran High School, on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Hastings’ Moritz Kaufmann falls to his knees as he celebrates winning the Class B No. 2 singles title Tuesday at Woods Tennis Center.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Christian’s Andrew Penrod celebrates after he and partner Benjamin Mooss won the Class B No. 2 doubles state title Tuesday at Woods Tennis Center. 

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Nebraska players stand ready as the starting lineup is announced before taking on Penn State at the Devaney Sports Center, on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in Lincoln.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Nebraska’s Laney Choboy celebrates after a point in the second set at the Devaney Sports Center, on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in Lincoln.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Lincoln East’s Hunter Nelson returns the ball in the No. 1 singles championship match at the Class A state tennis tournament, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, at the Woods Tennis Center.

JUSTIN WAN Journal Star

Nebraska’s Bekka Allick hits the ball as Michigan State’s Julia Bishop attempts to block it in the third set on Friday at the Devaney Sports Center.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Nebraska’s Lexi Rodriguez dives for the ball against Michigan State in the first set on Friday at the Devaney Sports Center.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Ashland-Greenwood’s senior centerfielder Bree Schefdore (11, center) and junior second-base Joslyn Sargent (9) wait out a tornado warning with several other teams in a warehouse on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023 during the state softball championships at Bill Smith Softball Complex in Hastings.

ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE Journal Star

Kearney’s Maddox Miller (10) runs the ball while pursued by Lincoln Northeast’s Trystin Mahoney (16) Devin Fenster (84) and Jacian Brown during the first quarter at Seacrest Field, on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in Lincoln.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Beatrice’s Delanie Roeder attempts to make a diving catch at the center field fence during the sixth inning at Bill Smith Softball Complex, on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, in Hastings.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Waverly’s Olivia Grube celebrates after scoring in the first inning at Bill Smith Softball Complex, on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, in Hastings.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Pius X’s Abbigail Just (first left) looks back teammate Tatum Heimes as she and her teammates interlock pinky fingers during the national anthem at at Bill Smith Softball Complex, on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, in Hastings.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Lincoln Southwest’s Hadley Madson (first left) celebrates with her teammates after hitting a two-run home run against Lincoln East during the Class A state softball tournament Wednesday in Hastings.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Waverly’s Hallie Lauenstein lays out to save the ball from hitting the ground against Omaha Duchesne on Tuesday in Waverly.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln East golfers celebrate after winning their first-ever Class A girls golf team title on Tuesday at Riverside Golf Club in Grand Island.

ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE, Journal Star

Lily Golden, who turned 5 on Monday, plays on a ropes course at Roca Berry Farm. The farm features a number of tourist attractions available to guests throughout the fall season.

ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE, Journal Star

Lincoln activist Renee Sans Souci (from left), Steve Laravie Jr., executive director of the Indian Center, Kylesse Walker of Omaha and University of Nebraska-Lincoln students Sophie James and Anastasia Pitts hold hands and dance as they gather in front of the Nebraska state Capitol to honor Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday.

JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star

Nebraska’s pitcher Jordy Bahl (98) reacts to her strikeout to end the final inning  against Creighton on Sunday at Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln. Nebraska won the match, 12-4.

ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE Journal Star

Nebraska’s Reese Borer (8, left) celebrates her goal against Iowa with teammate Abbey Schwarz on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, at Hibner Stadium. Nebraska won the match 4-2.

ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE Journal Star

Illinois’ Nicario Harper (0) brings down Nebraska’s Anthony Grant (23) with in the third quarter on Friday at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Nebraska fans celebrate with Ethan Nation (28) after the game against Illinois on Friday at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Nebraska players walk out of the visitors’ tunnel before taking on Illinois on Friday at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Nebraska’s Phalen Sanford (37) and Chief Borders (14) celebrate with Grant Tagge (56) after he comes up with the ball following a fumble on a kickoff to Illinois during the second quarter on Friday in Champaign, Ill.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

College View Barbers’ Gary Francisco cuts the hair of longtime customer John Gustafson on Friday.

JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star

Lincoln Southwest softball players celebrate after winning the A-5 district championship against Lincoln North Star on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, at Doris Bair Complex.

JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star

Claire Cude, a kindergartner at Fairbury Public Schools, laughs as she feeds lettuce to a giraffe on Wednesday during Sensory Safari at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo.

ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE, Journal Star

Lincoln Pius X’s Kami Wemhoff is late for the dig against Fremont in the first set, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, in Lincoln.

JUSTIN WAN Journal Star

Lincoln High School student Alexianna Lathan, 14, walks home from school on Monday. wearing a dinosaur onesie. “It’s pajama day,” she said, part of Lincoln High’s homecoming week that culminates Friday with the Links’ football game against Lincoln East at 4:30 p.m. at Seacrest Field, followed by the homecoming dance that night.

ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE Journal Star

Alex Lee, 9, holds a sign on the steps of the state Capitol on Sunday during a trans-rights rally. Beside him sits his brother, 4, whose parents requested not be named. “For the past few years, we’ve been advocating for trans kids’ rights,” said Alex’s mother, Jennifer Lee. “Alex wanted to share his story because a lot of kids don’t have both of their parents supporting them,” Jennifer said. “Most people assume it’s ‘woke’ moms with green hair making their kids be trans, and that’s not what’s going on. You can either support your trans kid or you can bury them,” she said.

ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE, Journal Star

University of Nebraska-Lincoln students Abby Steffen (center) and Gina Gage (right) laugh as they stand together under a red and white tarp over the student fan section before the match against Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.

ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE Journal Star

Michigan’s Kalel Mullings carries the ball against Nebraska in the fourth quarter, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, at Memorial Stadium.

JUSTIN WAN Journal Star

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule wipes his head as he watches the action against Michigan. 

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Nebraska’s Marcus Washington fends off Michigan’s Josh Wallace as he returns the ball in the third quarter at Memorial Stadium, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Nebraska’s Javin Wright (right) walks off the field following the Huskers loss to Michigan at Memorial Stadium, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. The Huskers lost to Michigan, 45-7.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Nebraska’s Billy Kemp (1) is brought down by Michigan’s Josaiah Stewart (5) during the game on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.

ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE Journal Star

Michigan’s Roman Wilson (left) scores a touchdown by pinning the ball on Nebraska’s Isaac Gifford’s helmet in the first quarter Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star

York native Hunter Hadenfeldt, 11, plays games on a phone in the back of a car at a tailgate lot underneath the Highway 34 bridge outside of Memorial Stadium, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Auburn’s Nixon Ligouri (8) scores a touchdown against Lincoln Christian on Friday at Lincoln Christian.

ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE Journal Star

Lincoln Southeast’s Kadin Logan is brought down on a run by Lincoln Southwest’s Landon McDaniel in the second quarter Friday at Seacrest Field.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Southwest parent Tiffany Kafka (right) helps the runners cool down, including her daughter Mya Kafka (266) and teammate Silvy Munn during Lincoln Public Schools Championship, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, at Pioneers Park.

JUSTIN WAN Journal Star

Vincent “Big Red” Foster hoists the hand of his new bride, Teresa Taylor, on Friday during their wedding at SPORTS FANtastic on Havelock Avenue. 

ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE, Journal Star

A pass intended for Lincoln East’s Noah Burhoop is broken up by Millard South’s Javonte Walker in the third quarter at Seacrest Field, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in Lincoln.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

The stands that rise above Seacrest field are reflected in the helmet visor of Lincoln East’s Luke Lindquist, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in Lincoln.

KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star

Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or cdunker@journalstar.com.

On Twitter @ChrisDunkerLJS

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The post UNL scholar’s AI code helps decipher 2,000-year-old scroll appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

As good as it is, Montana State’s explosive offense isn’t immune to being tweaked from time to time. MSU coaches have stayed on step ahead of opposing defenses and recently the Bobcats have moved starting quarterback Sean Chambers under center more frequently to help spark an offense that’s been slow getting out of the gate.

Although MSU (2-0 Big Sky, 4-1 overall) leads the Big Sky Conference in total offense, yards per play, rushing offense and is second in offensive pass efficiency, it has managed touchdowns on its first possession just twice in five games this season and three times the past seven games dating back to last season. While that isn’t bad, it followed a streak of four straight games with touchdowns on the first drive and six of the previous eight.

Montana State junior Justus Perkins/ by Jason Bacaj

“We get to be in a little bit more of that outside zone combined with the naked rollout, get out of the pocket play-action game” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said of having his quarterback under center. “Any coach would say that’s a harder piece to defend.

“I think, in particular, when we looked at that Weber gameplan, the things we did against them last year to get out on the edge, (we asked ourselves) how can we replicate it but make it look different to them. That was that transformational stage and I know we joked about it a little bit with the (San Francisco) 49ers (style of offense), but as a coach you pay attention whether it’s the 49ers, (Miami) Dolphins or (Buffalo) Bills. They’re all under center more now.

“I think it makes you re-think some things in wanting to build more of a down-the-field, play-action game, you want to be able to draw that defense up. That second and third level of defenders. I think it all goes together, I don’t think there was any particular ‘a-ha’ moment but it’s something offseason-wise we talked about, and that Weber game was kind of the time and place to implement it.”

In the Weber State matchup to open Big Sky Conference play, the Bobcats ran the ball into the teeth of the Weber State defense five straight times to start the game and the result was a three-and-out, followed by a 3rd-and-14 situation.

The next play saw Chambers execute a play-action fake that worked to perfection as it freed up wide receiver Clevan Thomas, Jr., who caught the ball short of the first down marker but managed to find his way to a 20-yard gain and a give birth to a new toy for the Bobcat’ offense.

Chambers would start the game 4 of 5 for 101 yards and a touchdown pass to tight end Treyton Pickering before the Wildcats were able to adjust. He would win finish with two touchdown passes and two touchdown runs to earn Big Sky Conference player of the week honors for his performance in the resounding 40-0 win.

The senior would pick up right where he left off a week later back in Bobcat Stadium completing 7 of his first 11 passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-22 win over Portland State. He’s now 22 for 38 for 315 yards and five TD passes over the last two games. MSU’s passer rating was 147.0 before the switch and is 170.9 since.

The move, in turn, has helped open up the run game which is not only averaging an incredible 7.6 yards per carry on the season, but 8.8 since moving Chambers under center and incorporating play-action into the offensive system. Throw out the five carries for nine yards start against WSU and the average is 9.3 Take out the Victory Formation kneel downs and it becomes a staggering 9.9.

“I do think that sometimes there’s a real advantage to the running back in how he gets the ball,” Vigen said. “His vision can be a little bit different, certainly the way the second level of defense, in particular, view it and what they see. We can do a lot of things differently and give defenders quite a few different looks. We’ll continue to mix it in, but it’s not this crazy departure. We didn’t say a couple weeks ago that we’re going to completely shift gears here. It’s been part of our fundamental base.”

Just a bigger part of that base the past two weeks and now with Montana State you never know if that will continue, or if the offense will morph back to its standard look or if the offensive staff will find yet another new way to approach and confuse opposing defenses.

“We’re not exclusively in the gun or in the pistol, we work under center at times,” Vigen said. “Certainly, the volume grew (the past two weeks). Center Justus (Perkins) is perfectly fine with it. In some sense snapping the ball to a guy under center takes a load off. It’s a more natural skill for those guys as far as firing off the ball.”

During his time at Bozeman High, Justus Perkins primarily snapped out of the shotgun. He used to employ a “dead snap” where the center holds the top of the football. Now he holds it with the laces instead.

“In high school, I was primary from the gun but goal line, it was under center,” Perkins said. “And I used to snap different, too. I used to dead snap it. I grabbed it from the top of the ball and now I grab it like a normal football. That makes it more complicated when it comes to under center but I’ve switched to this way in college. And I’ve had plenty of reps at it now so I’m not too worried about it.”

Montana State senior QB Sean Chambers/ by Brooks Nuanez

Perkins said when Chambers is under center, it helps him get off the ball a bit faster and drive defensive linemen back. It also makes defenses have one more element to worry about when game-planning for one of the highest scoring offenses in the country.

Being under center is nothing new to Chambers, who functioned in that capacity for much of his time when he was at the University of Wyoming when Vigen was the offensive coordinator there.

“Sean had a lot of experience from his time in Wyoming,” Vigen said. “We’ve tried to build up (quarterback) Tommy’s (Mellott) time under center too. He was almost exclusively a (shot)gun guy at Butte High. We don’t want to be limited to Sean’s the only guy that will be under center.”

Mellott is back on the MSU depth chart this week after missing the Stetson, Weber State and Portland State games. Just adding the athletic junior back into the mix could be enough to catch upcoming opponents off guard.

“I would hate to be a DC trying to game plan us,” Perkins said.

The Bobcats entertain Cal Poly this Saturday with game time set at 6. 

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When Lana Kostenko came to California from her native Kyiv, Ukraine, over a decade ago, she wanted to create a career in the center of the American tech industry. 

She worked for Apple and education tech firm Study.com and built a life for herself in San Francisco. Then, last year, everything changed. 

On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, razing cities, killing civilians and displacing millions of people.  

“It was weird doing market research for tech clients when I knew that bombs were exploding in Ukraine and I felt like I could actually do something,” Kostenko said. 

She began looking for ways to help her native country. This May, that impulse led Kostenko to become the managing director of ENGin—pronounced like “engine”—a nonprofit that has taken an unusual approach to shaping the future of Ukraine.

As the U.S. and European Union deliver military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, ENGin wants to equip the country on another front: Preparing the next generation of Ukrainians to communicate in English.

Most Americans may never have heard of ENGin, but according to Kostenko, the organization is growing exponentially. It has 16,000 volunteers, including around 500 in the Bay Area and around 3,000 in California.

And, in a time of extreme stress for Ukrainians, it has become a lifeline of normalcy during the war.

Something Other Than War

The idea for ENGin came about in 2020 when founder Ukrainian American Katerina Manoff was tutoring a Ukrainian high school student. 

She discovered that, although the girl had good grades in English, she struggled to speak it. Most of her instruction had focused on grammar and vocabulary but offered few opportunities to practice the language in real life.

According to the EF English Proficiency Index, Ukraine ranks near the bottom of the European region in terms of English abilities. So Manoff created ENGin to address that problem. 

The nonprofit matches young Ukrainians with fluent English speakers who are willing to donate an hour of their time per week to help their student partner improve their English.

Lana Kostenko displays a presentation that reads ‘Helping Ukraine Speak to the World’ at her home in San Francisco. | Source: Benjamin Fanjoy for The Standard

Last year, when Russia launched its invasion, the organization briefly halted operations and dedicated itself to raising money for refugees. 

But in April 2022, ENGin relaunched its tutoring program, reemerging in a world where many people were learning about Ukraine for the first time and wanted to help.

ENGin also found that, amid great uncertainty, its Ukrainian participants were looking forward to that one hour a week when they could talk with someone about something other than war.

“It’s now a safe haven,” Kostenko said.

Building Bridges—in Several Directions

Two of the people ENGin connected are Oleh Kandyba and Nandini Jayakumar. He’s a web designer based in Kyiv. She’s an immigrant from India who moved to the Bay Area in 2018. 

Kandyba had studied English in school and at college. But, without practice, he said, “it was like a dead skill.” 

Jayakumar was looking for places to volunteer when she stumbled on ENGin. She started out communicating with one Ukrainian. Now, she is tutoring five people.

Nandini Jayakumar, a volunteer with ENGin, poses for a photograph. | Source: Courtesy Nandini Jayakumar

“I have held several jobs, but this has been the most fulfilling and rewarding experience for me,” Jayakumar said.

Kandyba is equally happy with the experience.

“Nandini is so supportive [a] person,” he said in deliberate English. “It’s so interesting for me and gives me the power to learn English.”

Kandyba is also trying to teach Jayakumar about aspects of Ukrainian culture—the traditional cuisine, the acrobatic hopak folk dance and the Zaporizhian Sich, a Cossack proto-state that played an important role in Ukrainian history.

In turn, he has enjoyed learning about Jayakumar’s Indian culture and features of California, like its giant sequoias.

Oleh Kandyba, a participant in ENGin, wears a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt called a ‘vyshyvanka.’ | Source: Courtest Oleh Kandyba

Like most Ukrainians, the war has weighed heavily on Kandyba.

During the early days of Russia’s invasion, he packed food for Ukrainian defenders. An avid hiker, Kandyba also donated his sleeping bag and warm clothing to help soldiers weather the frost. 

He says many of his friends are fighting on the front line. Some have died in the war.

For now, life in Kyiv feels relatively normal. But with winter approaching, it’s not clear whether that will continue. 

This past winter, Russia launched missile and drone strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, causing widespread power outages and cutting the population off from heating amid freezing temperatures.

“I already told Nandini that maybe in the autumn or winter, it will be difficult to schedule our sessions,” Kandyba said.

Looking to the Future

Currently, ENGin serves around 35,000 people. But the organization has big goals for the future.

In the next five years, its aim is to increase that number to 100,000. It is also looking to create other programs that will connect Ukrainian doctors with other doctors or allow employees from major tech companies to share their experience with young Ukrainians. It already sells Ukrainian language lessons to fund its main operation.

For Kostenko, the organization’s managing director, the war has imbued the task of teaching English with new meaning.

In the past, teaching English meant correcting mistakes common to Ukrainian speakers: misused articles, “How do you think?” as opposed to “What do you think?” and oddball plurals like “many good news” or “many good advices.” And English was critical to helping Ukrainians build careers in the country’s much-feted tech industry. 

All that remains, but ENGin believes English will also be key to building Ukraine’s future after the war.

When the fighting eventually ends, international investment and financing will play a central role in rebuilding the country. 

Kostenko believes that young Ukrainians will need to be the ones making strategic decisions about its future and explaining them to the international community.

“We are not there yet,” Kosteno said, “but right now, ENGin is teaching this new generation of young Ukrainians to speak confidently in English.”

The post San Francisco Lady Helps Ukraine’s Youth Study English appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

By Dan Ashley and Tim Didion

Click here for updates on this story

    SAN FRANCISCO, California (KGO) — It takes a lot of paddling to reach the fjords of Norway from a small bathtub on San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill. But for Bay Area entrepreneur Bryton Shang, all it took was the thought of artificial intelligence and fish to make him dove right in.

“And one of the ideas I was looking into was fish and fish farming. And so had a friend of mine tell me about that. And started off with a prototype literally in my apartment bathtub, explains Shang.

He says his background includes helping develop A.I. for cancer detection and his early experiments with the bathtub fish camera convinced him that similar A.I. technology could also help make one of the largest food industries on the planet more sustainable.

“The idea being that if you could measure the size and growth of the fish and figure out how much food turned into how much fish, you could use that to optimize the production of the fish farms,” he adds.

The result is Aquabyte, a startup with R&D headquartered in a pier on San Francisco’s Embarcadero. Executive VP of Engineering Darryl Weatherspoon says their dual-lens camera design works to monitor the fish with amazing precision.

“We allow the farmer to position the camera either horizontally or vertically in the pan to the ideal location. And we use that location to sample fish,” says Weatherspoon.

The work has now taken the team and their technology to commercial fish farms near Bergen, Norway. Besides monitoring growth, they say the camera system is taught to recognize everything from parasites to abnormal changes in how the fish are swimming. And they see the benefits driving a new, healthier era of A.I. driven farming.

“You look at the earth being covered by 70% water, we only produce about 5% of our protein from the oceans. And that represents a tremendous opportunity for us to produce a lot more healthy, sustainable fish,” says Shang.

Aquabyte is currently working in five different countries, including Chile, the U.K., Iceland, and the Faroe Islands. Hoping to make a global splash with a technology that started in a humble bathtub on San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

The post Digital camera born in San Francisco bathtub helps to optimize fish farming appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

This article is adapted from an episode of our podcast “Civic.” Click the audio player below to hear the full story.  

Walk into Animal Care and Control’s bright and clean new facility on Bryant Street and you might be greeted by a human volunteer or an adoptable dog. But behind the scenes, officers are investigating alerts about possible abuse, errant wildlife and distressed animals. Animal Care and Control is an emergency service, and officers have been on the job throughout the pandemic, even having to cut hours temporarily as employees fell ill. Though call volume dropped dramatically with the first shelter-in-place order, as workers in many other sectors return to the job and are out and about more, and as kitten season approaches, the facility could see an increase in activity. For the staff on duty, each day can bring surprises.  

“That’s what makes the job so exciting, is that you have no idea what the day holds,” Lieutenant Eleanor Sadler said. “So you’re responding to all these calls. And it’s, you know, a sick pigeon that just looks sad on somebody’s doorstep or a raccoon hanging by its foot from a fence or hit-by-a-car possum, or squirrel in a chimney. There’s just a million variations of the trouble the animals can get into that they just needed a little bit of help with.” 

Sadler has decades of experience as an officer responding to calls, but she also works with the public in a less tactile way. She is the voice behind the widely popular Officer Edith Twitter account. With the likeness of a former resident Amazon parrot as its avatar, the account posts photos and insights that range from comedic to heartwarming to insightful.  

When Sadler first took over the account, “it was me and, like, 100 people, and it was just nonsense. And then I got retweeted by a local journalist,” she said. “And then suddenly, there was a massive input of followers, and things started getting really fun. And I started trying to figure out what works, what represents the agency well or is also interesting to people.” 

Neither the Twitter account nor the parts of the facility that are open to the public capture the entirety of what animal control officers do day to day.  

“You can’t ever really know what we do until you have this kind of conversation. It’s like, people have no idea that we arrest for animal cruelty,” Sadler said. “But they also don’t see the officer that picks up the 2-week-old kitten and it’s in bad condition but they’re like, ‘we’re on the fence about euthanizing this guy, we don’t think he’s gonna make it,’ and then the officer is like, ‘I’m going to take him home.’ They spend every two hours waking up making formula, warming them up, feeding them, peeing them. You know, it’s not just a job. It’s like a vocation for the people that are here.” 

Yesica Prado

Lt. Eleanor Sadler visits the bird room on the second floor of San Francisco Animal Care and Control’s facility on Bryant Street. The facility provides temporary shelter to birds, cats, dogs, fish, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits and reptiles.

Animals can end up at the shelter many different ways. They can be surrendered by an owner or found loose. Wildlife may need to be removed from an unsafe situation. Sometimes pets need a temporary home, like when the owner goes to the hospital, dies or is incarcerated. Some pet owners find themselves overwhelmed by multiplying animals. Officers also investigate allegations of animal abuse and may seize an animal in a welfare investigation. 

“We have hundreds of complaints a year. The majority are either a misunderstanding or just false. And then periodically, we get one that’s really serious. And we have to investigate it thoroughly and put all the pieces together,” Sadler said. “Our main goal is to make sure these people cannot have animals again.” 

Last year, a suspect in such a case was arrested after a lengthy investigation found he had inflicted multiple broken bones on his golden retriever puppy. The man pleaded guilty to misdemeanor animal cruelty and neglect.  

In many cases, however, officers play less of a law enforcement role and more of an educational one. They teach residents why it’s detrimental to feed wildlife, and how to handle an unexpected animal.  

“The general rule of thumb is to move slower than you think you have to be, quieter than you think you have to be. And don’t panic,” Sadler said. “If it’s an animal that we need to deal with, call us. And we will help you. But don’t put yourself in danger.” 

Yesica Prado / San Francisco Public Press

A 5-month-old stray female cat named Butters, who was found on the streets, meows at visitors. She was spayed five days after her intake at San Francisco Animal Care and Control.

Where domestic animals are concerned, the Animal Care and Control center on Bryant Street could be the place prospective pet owners find a new companion. But domestic or no, pets can also be too much to handle. Animal Control is equipped to help in both situations. 

“If you’re interested in adopting an animal, go to a shelter or rescue group. If you’re overwhelmed in the animal you have, there is no shame in surrendering them. Doing what’s right is most important. And if you are unable to take care of an animal properly, there are people who will do that and they won’t shame you or judge you,” Sadler said. “We are a resource for people and we want people to use this resource.” 

For animal-related emergencies, Animal Care and Control can be reached 6 a.m. to midnight at 415-554-9400.  

A segment from our radio show and podcast, “Civic.” Listen at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 102.5 FM in San Francisco, or online at ksfp.fm, and subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify or Stitcher. 

The post SF Animal Management Enforces the Regulation, Educates, Helps Wildlife appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

People in traditional Polynesian clothing at the Holiday Inn at San Francisco International Airport. Photo: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

As you walk through Visitacion Valley and Sunnydale, you’ll immediately recognize the communities that have established themselves in these neighborhoods.

• On one corner you’ll find the Polynesian Island Luau shop with its colorful mosaic of island clothing. A few blocks away is the Samoan Community Development Center, which is showing a documentary about local mental health initiatives.

Why it matters: Pacific Islanders have played a pivotal role in the city’s development since they first arrived on the California coast in the 19th century. San Francisco’s new effort to establish a cultural district for Pacific Islanders aims to recognize their contributions over the past 150 years.

Context: Today, Pacific Islanders make up less than 1% of the city’s 808,400 residents, according to census data. But it wasn’t always like this — by the mid-1700s, Native Hawaiians made up 10% of the population.

• San Francisco experienced a surge in Pacific Islander migration after World War II, when colonization allowed the US military to recruit Pacific Islanders into their ranks.
• When the war ended, they looked for opportunities at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, the Mormon Church, local farms and more.
• In recent years, increasing climate threats have also forced many Pacific Islanders to relocate to the United States

Yes but: “Decades of neglect” have led to high rates of poverty and health inequalities, community leader Faauuga Moliga told Axios.

• Lack of access to sustainable employment, housing and quality education has forced many to leave the city, said Moliga, a former school board member and San Francisco’s first elected Pacific Islander official.
• These inequalities have been exacerbated during the pandemic — as of May 2020, Pacific Islanders had the highest COVID-19 death rate of any racial/ethnic group in California.

Game Status: The goal of the cultural district is to help reverse these trends and “contribute to the fabric of the city,” Moliga said.

• Grassroots founding efforts began in 2017, but getting the community to recognize this opportunity has been a major challenge, noted Gaynor Siataga, director of Pacific Islander Community Resource Hub The Hut.

• “They felt like we’ve never gotten anything from the city before,” she told Axios, “because we never have.”
• After the Board of Directors approved the move last winter, local officials convened a task force to gather data on priorities and needs, which was lacking in the past due to the Pacific Islanders’ AAPI category.
• They are now working to put together an advisory board, award more grants annually, and hold meetings to hear from community members.

What you say: “It feels good to be seen and recognized,” said Moliga.

• “We used to not even sit at the table,” he remarked. The district will “be instrumental in moving the needle,” but the city must commit to making it a long-term investment.
• “Look at our ancestors — this work took years and years and decades and centuries before us,” Siataga added. “It’s about ensuring this longevity for future generations.”

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The post Pacific Islanders in San Francisco hope cultural district helps finish inequities appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

This article is adapted from an episode of our podcast “Civic.” Click the audio player below to hear the full story.

Walk into Animal Care and Control’s bright and clean new facility on Bryant Street and you might be greeted by a human volunteer or an adoptable dog. But behind the scenes, officers are investigating alerts about possible abuse, errant wildlife and distressed animals. Animal Care and Control is an emergency service, and officers have been on the job throughout the pandemic, even having to cut hours temporarily as employees fell ill. Though call volume dropped dramatically with the first shelter-in-place order, as workers in many other sectors return to the job and are out and about more, and as kitten season approaches, the facility could see an increase in activity. For the staff on duty, each day can bring surprises.

“That’s what makes the job so exciting, is that you have no idea what the day holds,” Lieutenant Eleanor Sadler said. “So you’re responding to all these calls. And it’s, you know, a sick pigeon that just looks sad on somebody’s doorstep, or a raccoon hanging by its foot from a fence, or hit-by-a-car possum, or squirrel in a chimney. There’s just a million variations of the trouble the animals can get into that they just needed a little bit of help with.”

Sadler has decades of experience as an officer responding to calls, but she also works with the public in a less tactile way. She is the voice behind the widely popular Officer Edith Twitter account. With the likeness of a former resident Amazon parrot as its avatar, the account posts photos and insights that range from comedic to heartwarming to insightful.

When Sadler first took over the account, “It was me and, like, 100 people, and it was just nonsense. And then I got retweeted by a local journalist,” she said. “And then suddenly, there was a massive input of followers, and things started getting really fun. And I started trying to figure out what works, what represents the agency well or is also interesting to people.”

Neither the Twitter account nor the parts of the facility that are open to the public capture the entirety of what animal control officers do day to day.

“You can’t ever really know what we do until you have this kind of conversation. It’s like, people have no idea that we arrest for animal cruelty,” Sadler said. “But they also don’t see the officer that picks up the 2-week-old kitten and it’s in bad condition but they’re like, ‘we’re on the fence about euthanizing this guy, we don’t think he’s gonna make it,’ and then the officer is like, ‘I’m going to take him home.’ They spend every two hours waking up making formula, warming them up, feeding them, peeing them. You know, it’s not just a job. It’s like a vocation for the people that are here.”

Yesica Prado

Lt. Eleanor Sadler visits the bird room on the second floor of San Francisco Animal Care and Control’s facility on Bryant Street. The facility provides temporary shelter to birds, cats, dogs, fish, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits and reptiles.

Animals can end up at the shelter many different ways. They can be surrendered by an owner or found loose. Wildlife may need to be removed from an unsafe situation. Sometimes pets need a temporary home, like when the owner goes to the hospital, dies or is incarcerated. Some pet owners find themselves overwhelmed by multiplying animals. Officers also investigate allegations of animal abuse and may seize an animal in a welfare investigation.

“We have hundreds of complaints a year. The majority are either a misunderstanding or just false. And then periodically, we get one that’s really serious. And we have to investigate it thoroughly and put all the pieces together,” Sadler said. “Our main goal is to make sure these people cannot have animals again.”

Last year, a suspect in such a case was arrested after a lengthy investigation found he had inflicted multiple broken bones on his golden retriever puppy. The man pleaded guilty to misdemeanor animal cruelty and neglect.

In many cases, however, officers play less of a law enforcement role and more of an educational one. They teach residents why it’s detrimental to feed wildlife, and how to handle an unexpected animal.

“The general rule of thumb is to move slower than you think you have to be, quieter than you think you have to be. And don’t panic,” Sadler said. “If it’s an animal that we need to deal with, call us. And we will help you. But don’t put yourself in danger.”

Yesica Prado/San Francisco Public Press

A 5-month-old stray female cat named Butters, who was found on the streets, meows at visitors. She was spayed five days after her intake at San Francisco Animal Care and Control.

Where domestic animals are concerned, the Animal Care and Control center on Bryant Street could be the place prospective pet owners find a new companion. But domestic or no, pets can also be too much to handle. Animal Control is equipped to help in both situations.

“If you’re interested in adopting an animal, go to a shelter or rescue group. If you’re overwhelmed in the animal you have, there is no shame in surrendering them. Doing what’s right is most important. And if you are unable to take care of an animal properly, there are people who will do that and they won’t shame you or judge you,” Sadler said. “We are a resource for people and we want people to use this resource.”

For animal-related emergencies, Animal Care and Control can be reached 6 am to midnight at 415-554-9400.

A segment from our radio show and podcast, “Civic.” Listen at 8 am and 6 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays at 102.5 FM in San Francisco, or online at ksfp.fm, and subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify or Stitcher.

The post SF Animal Management Enforces the Regulation, Educates, Helps Wildlife appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

BERKELEY — Blame it on the pandemic or the rising cost of inflation, but whatever the cause Bay Area animal shelters are in crisis.

And across the region, people are stepping up to help like the workers at LJ Kruse Plumbing in Berkeley.

Every Thursday morning, Marie McLean, who works at the century old-plumbing company, walks a few blocks to the Berkeley Humane Society shelter.

It’s a joy to everyone in the office,” said McLean, who has worked at the plumbing company for 15 years. “We love the dogs. You feed a dog, you walk a dog, you play with it a little bit and then you go on a break and it’s at the gate crying for you. That’s amazing.”

Berkeley Humane has been in partnership with Kruse for a while. On this day, McLean picked up a 1-year-old terroir mix named Hugo, who was found abandoned in Oakland.

The sweet-natured pup spends a few hours in the plumbing company offices, winning over the hearts of all who work there.

“The hope is that this dog will find a loving home,” McLean told KPIX.

Will Kruse is the vice president and service manager. He loves having dogs like Hugo in the office.

“We care about animals and recusing animals here,” said Kruse. “Berkeley Humane is just a couple blocks away so it’s a natural partnership”

Over the last decade. Kruse says some of his workers and even customers have adopted dogs that they’ve brought into the office.

This is special because Will grew up down the street and actually volunteered at Berkeley Humane when he was a kid.

“Means a lot for me as an adult and business owner to give back to the community that I grew up in,” said Kruse.

Kruse Plumbing has a donation program going right now. Every $3 of every service call will be donated to Berkeley Humane.

Justin Andrews

Justin Andrews joined the KPIX 5 news team in May 2021. You can catch his reports on the morning and noon newscasts.

The post Century-old Berkeley plumbing firm helps discover pets a without end dwelling appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.