A proposed research and development biotech campus at 101 Gull Drive has received approval from the South San Francisco Planning Commission to add building height and parking to plans.

The changes call for increasing the building from seven to nine stories and adding two levels to the parking garage, according to a staff report. The site is on 3.8 acres of property in the city’s East Side neighborhood and proposes the building go from around 166,000 square feet to 281,000 square feet. The proposal now calls for 574 spots instead of 419, going from the minimum standards required in a project to the maximum. According to a staff report, the project will reach around 160 feet tall. Developer Sanfo Group asked the Planning Commission to amend its 2022 approved entitlements at an April 20 meeting. The commission agreed to the changes without any criticism.

“I do like the project, and I will approve it,” Vice Chair Norm Faria said.

The proposal would develop what is now a vacant 3.7-acre lot surrounded by industrial uses into a research and development site not far from Oyster Point Marina and Genentech. The lot was sold in 2020 for $14.9 million. The project developers received the first approval in 2022. Commissioner John Baker asked that the developer and tenants try to promote alternative transportation for people using the site. He noted that while he wanted to reduce parking, inconsistent developmental planning on the city’s east side makes it necessary. Chair Alex Tzang applauded the designs that made the massing look much smaller than it actually is.

“It’s quite easily an approvable project,” Tzang said.

The post Biotech website growth goes greater in South San Francisco | Native Information appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

New York — Companies have long embraced Pride Month in June as an uncomplicated way to market to members of the LGBTQ+ community while telegraphing progressive values. But this year won’t be nearly so straightforward.

In recent weeks, two major brands, Target (TGT) and Bud Light, were targeted by right-wing media and on social platforms for relatively small LGBTQ+ initiatives: Bud Light’s Instagram partnership with a trans influencer, and a subset of Target (TGT)’s line of goods marketed to trans customers and allies.

Right-wing commentators, politicians and others called for boycotts, and the brands’ employees were threatened with violence. In both cases, the companies seemed cowed: The CEO of Bud Light owner Anheuser-Busch (BUD) released a vague statement calling for unity and Target pulled items from shelves. Both brands say they continue to support the LGBTQ+ community: Bud Light on Tuesday announced a donation to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce in support of LGBTQ+ owned small businesses, and Target has continued selling much of its Pride merchandise in stores.

Pride month merchandise is displayed at a Target store in New Jersey on May 24.

Seth Wenig/AP

But the backtracking shows that backlash and threats could create a chilling effect for companies, and leave them without a clear path forward.

Executives “are becoming much more skittish about taking these stands and making strong statements,” said Daniel Korschun, associate professor of marketing at Drexel University. “The pendulum is swinging a bit back … toward a more conservative approach, where they’ll be less vocal.”

Although support for gay rights has increased over the years, gaining acceptance among most Americans, trans acceptance is a more contentious issue. About 43% of adults said society had “gone too far” when it comes to accepting people who are transgender, according to a March survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal and Norc. About 33% said society “has not gone far enough,” with 23% saying society has reacted “about right.” When it comes to accepting people who are lesbian, gay or bisexual, a smaller percentage — 29% — said society had “gone too far.”

Campaigns that may have been considered low-risk are now drawing ire from public figures who oppose trans rights along with their supporters, creating a PR mess that may hurt sales. Backing away — rather than quelling the negative reactions — has dismayed the very demographic the campaigns were supposed to reach and may close avenues for future inclusive marketing efforts.

“Allyship is sometimes uncomfortable,” and businesses are learning that, said Jared Todd, press secretary of the Foundation at the Human Rights Campaign, which maintains the Corporate Equality Index, a measure of companies’ LGBTQ+ practices. “I don’t think people realize that quite enough.”

They might realize it now. Anheuser-Busch lost its spot on the HRC Foundation’s Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality in 2022 list over its response, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom called out Target’s CEO for “selling out the LGBTQ+ community to extremists.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom (left) and Senator J. D. Vance are pictured here in a split image.

Justin Sullivan/Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The current landscape “is alarming,” Todd said. “It’s alarming to businesses, it’s alarming to executives — and it should be.”

Staying quiet may once have been an antidote to potential boycotts, but “there’s not as much of a neutral space anymore,” Korschun said. “That middle ground is going away.”

So this year, companies that want to participate in Pride have to be prepared to take a real stance.

A new phase

The conventional wisdom about boycotts was once simple, Korschun noted: Angry customers will likely lose interest or get distracted by another perceived corporate transgression.

But it “feels that we are moving into a new phase now, where politicians are getting much more involved,” Korschun said. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) tweeted that Target “decided to wage war on a large share of its customer base,” adding “I no longer shop at Target.”

That involvement from politicians is “mobilizing consumers in a way that they might not have mobilized otherwise,” Korschun said.

Some of those lashing out have described a campaign against Pride itself, rather than Bud Light or Target (TGT) specifically. “The goal is to make ‘pride’ toxic for brands,” right-wing commentator Matt Walsh said on Twitter. “If they decide to shove this garbage in our face, they should know that they’ll pay a price. It won’t be worth whatever they think they’ll gain.”

It’s no coincidence that the anti-trans assault comes as trans rights are under legal attack across the nation. More than 200 bills have been introduced targeting transgender and non-binary people this year, HumanRights Campaigns reported in late May. Transgender people are more than four times as likely to be victims of violent crime than cisgender people, according to a study from the UCLA School of Law.

“This has been a well-funded and a coordinated effort to silence the LGBTQ community,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, which aims to build acceptance for the queer community through media. “It’s an all-out assault.”

Yet groups like GLAAD have seen this reaction before — and it ended up turning around.

Reviving an old playbook

Though Pride has been mainstream for years, there was a time not long ago when featuring gay and lesbian people in ads could spark negative response, noted Ellis.

“Ten years ago, we used to have war rooms behind when a company would have a new ad that included LGBTQ people,” she said. “There were a couple of years it was a little rough going.”

Eventually, sentiment turned toward mainstream acceptance. Now, “I think we’re at that inflection point again,” she said.

A 2022 poll conducted by Morning Consult for the Trevor Project found that about 29% of US adults personally know someone who is trans. The remaining population, said Ellis, is “being filled with misinformation … and hate and discrimination.”

Demystifying trans lives for more Americans will lead to greater acceptance, she said, noting that this is a “critical” moment for trans rights and acceptance. “We need corporate America and we need these powerful CEOs to help.”

This year, Pride is different for companies.

Eric Thayer/Bloomberg/Getty Images

GLAAD has organized a “corporate rapid response team for Pride,” Ellis explained, designed for brands to prepare for and address possible outrage. The goal is to prevent “quick decisions that end up hurting our community, ceding space to bullies and violent folks,” she noted, adding none of the companies that partner with GLAAD have backed away from LGBTQ+ initiatives.

The Human Rights Campaign is taking a similar approach, said Todd: “We are in the business of sitting down with these companies and making sure that they have a clear pathway for inclusion and supporting diversity.”

It’s not just about goodwill, advocates say. Companies that have remained committed to polarizing positions are often rewarded financially. Nike (NKE), for example, didn’t waver from its campaign with football player and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick. The ad was supported by the coveted young consumers demographic and won Nike (NKE) an Emmy. In the years since the campaign, Nike (NKE)’s share price has increased.

Most Americans “believe that representation matters,” Todd said. “When companies lean into that, and prove that through what they do and say, they come out on top.”

Plus, noted Drexel’s Korschun, customers tend to punish companies when they go back on their word.

The dangers of corporate hypocrisy

Shoppers are willing to overlook certain changes in stores, noted Korschun, like price increases or temporary shortages. But customers bristle at what they see as hypocrisy.

“Consumers react very poorly when companies say one thing and do another,” Korschun said. “Inconsistency is very disconcerting to many consumers.”

That’s partly because when companies walk back decisions, customers wonder whether they’ll do the same in business dealings — like return policies, for example.

As Korschun put it, “If I come to the store with a problem in the future, related to just a regular purchase … are they going to walk back promises there, too?”

These days, companies that want to benefit from marketing to marginalized groups have to be ready to back those decisions, agreed Jared Watson, assistant professor of marketing at New York University.

“When brands are deciding to participate in advocacy in any format, they need to think about what that long-term advocacy looks like,” Watson said. “Whether they’re willing to internalize that support as a value for their brand, or not. And if they aren’t, then it’s maybe not something that they should be championing.”

Ultimately, Watson suspects the higher stakes will have a polarizing impact on brands.

Some might decide to play it safe. But others, he said, will lean in. North Face this year moved forward with a Pride marketing campaign that features Pattie Gonia, a drag queen and environmentalist — and the company isn’t backing away despite calls for a boycott from some Republicans.

Some brands will think, “‘What’s happening to Target is an attack, not just on the LGBTQIA+ community, but all of us,’” Watson said. “’We need to show we’re not afraid.’”

___

From Stonewall to today: 50+ years of modern LGBTQ+ history

From Stonewall to today: 50+ years of modern LGBTQ+ history

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

In the early hours of June 28, 1969, the New York Police Department unwittingly helped start the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. At the time, clubs with gay or lesbian patrons weren’t allowed to serve alcohol, but the Stonewall Inn still served booze to their customers, which gave police cause to raid the bar. The clientele pushed back, and 13 people were arrested. LGBTQ+ people and their allies protested for days. Among the crowd was transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson, who later founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), an organization that provided resources for LGBTQ+ youth and sex workers.

After the events at Stonewall—which the NYPD eventually apologized for in 2019—more and more people pushed for LGBTQ+ equality. Activists organized the first LGBTQ+ marches in the United States and around the world, giving rise to annual Pride parades. In 1973, the American Psychological Association no longer considered being gay or lesbian a mental illness, and the first openly lesbian politicians were elected in the following year. Currently, openly gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer candidates occupy political offices at most levels of government, including in the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate, and state governorships. 

There is still more to be done, but since Stonewall, the government has passed laws banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage legal. More than two dozen countries have passed legislation giving marriage rights to everyone.

In the military, it took decades for gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members to win the right to enlist. And it wasn’t until 2011 that LGBTQ+ troops could openly serve in the United States armed forces. While the Obama administration repealed the ban on transgender troops in 2016, former President Donald Trump effectively reinstated it in 2019 (though the ban was overturned by the Biden administration in 2021).

To find out more about LGBTQ+ history, Stacker combed through news reports and used data from GLSEN to compile over 50 years of LGBTQ+ progress. Read on to see the evolution of this movement, from then to now.

You may also like: Looking back at 50 years of pride festivals

JOHANNES EISELE/AFP // Getty Images

1969: Stonewall Riots

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Anger erupted after New York City police arrested 13 people during a raid at the Stonewall Inn, a bar and safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. Advocates protested for days, even though police took action—even turning fire hoses onto the crowd. Many say the event catalyzed the modern LGBTQ+ civil rights movement.

Drew Angerer // Getty Images

1969: Gay Liberation Front forms

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

The events of Stonewall led to the creation of the GLF, a group that organized the Christopher Street Liberation Day in New York in 1970—now considered the first Pride parade. It started with only a few hundred people, but by the time the group reached Central Park, thousands were marching for LGBTQ+ equality.

Evening Standard // Getty Images

1972: Sweden allows people to legally change gender

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

In 1972, Sweden became the first country to give people the right to legally change their gender on identifying documents. However, people needed to be over 18 years old, unmarried, and sterilized; the country didn’t remove the mandatory sterilization law until 2013. In some U.S. states, people still need to undergo gender-reassignment surgery to legally change their gender.

rbkomar // Shutterstock

1972: UK has first Pride parade

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

The United Kingdom held the country’s first LGBTQ+ Pride parade on July 1, 1972. Britain’s GLF organized the event, and about 700 people showed up to march. Their slogan was simple: “Gay is good.”

LSE Library // Flickr

1973: Homosexuality is no longer classified as a mental illness

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Until the early ’70s, physicians could diagnose someone in a same-sex relationship as mentally ill. But in 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed “homosexuality” from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (or the DSM-II).

US Department of Labor // Wikimedia Commons

1974: First openly lesbian officials elected

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Kathy Kozachenko and Elaine Noble became the nation’s first openly lesbian or gay elected officials in 1974. Kozachenko won a seat on the Ann Arbor City Council in Michigan, while Noble held a position in the Massachusetts General Assembly.

Jiaqian AirplaneFan // Wikimedia Commons

1977: First openly gay man elected

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Harvey Milk made history when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay male politician elected in a major city. Before he was assassinated a year later, Milk helped pass city ordinances to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation.

JIM WATSON/AFP // Getty Images

1978: The rainbow flag is created

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

In 1978, Harvey Milk’s friend Gilbert Baker brought his 30-by-60-foot rainbow flag to an LGBTQ+ rights rally in San Francisco. Afterward, it became an enduring symbol of pride for the LGBTQ+ community. According to The Washington Post, Baker sometimes referred to himself as “the Betsy Ross of gay liberation.” He died in 2017 at the age of 65.

Spencer Platt // Getty Images

1981: Norway enacts anti-discrimination laws

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

In 1981, Norway amended its laws to include protections for LGBTQ+ people. The legislation stated that business owners couldn’t discriminate against customers based on sexual orientation nor deny them access to public events. Hate speech was also prohibited.

Andrzej Wójtowicz // Wikimedia Commons

1981: Gay men affected with ‘rare cancer’

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

In 1981, the New York Times reported 41 gay men had been afflicted with a “rare cancer.” Doctors originally thought HIV/AIDS was a skin cancer known as Kaposi’s sarcoma. A year later, though, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) started calling the illness “acquired immune deficiency syndrome,” or AIDS.

felipe caparros // Shutterstock

1982: Wisconsin passes LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination law

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

In 1981, Rep. David Clarenbach (D-Wis.) brought forth a measure to protect LGBTQ+ people from employment discrimination in public and private sectors, making Wisconsin the first in the U.S. to pass a statewide law against such discrimination. The law also banned landlords from denying housing based on sexual orientation.

Pixabay

1983: BiPOL forms

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

BiPOL, the first bisexual political group, started in San Francisco in 1983. They helped put on the Bisexual Rights Rally a year later, which took place outside the Democratic National Convention.

AlisonW // Wikimedia Commons

1986: Bowers v. Hardwick

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

After Michael Hardwick failed to show up for a court summons for public drinking, a police officer went to his house. That’s when he and a male friend were arrested for having consensual sex, which was illegal between two people of the same gender. The case, Bowers v. Hardwick, went to the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the state. The Court didn’t strike down sodomy laws until 2003.

Pixabay

1986: New York passes anti-discrimination bill

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

After more than a decade of debate, New York City passed an anti-discrimination bill in 1986: Sexual orientation couldn’t be the basis of discrimination in employment, housing, or public accommodations.

Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock

1987: UK opens first HIV/AIDS clinic

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

The HIV/AIDS crisis continued into the late ’80s. In 1987, Princess Diana dispelled the myth that the disease could be transmitted by touch: without gloves, she shook the hand of an infected man at the opening of the United Kingdom’s first HIV/AIDS unit at the London Middlesex Hospital.

Rick // Wikimedia Commons

1987: Barney Frank comes out as gay

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Although his straight allies and colleagues cautioned him against it, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) revealed his sexual orientation in 1987, making him the second openly gay congressman. Rep. Gerry Studds (D-Mass.) reluctantly came out in 1983. Frank announced his retirement in 2011.

Tasos Katopodis // Getty Images

1987: ACT UP

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) helped change the way people thought about the disease. Their slogan was simple but effective: “Silence = death.” Many say that the group jump-started a movement that led to the creation of HIV/AIDS drugs.

You may also like: Defining historical moments from the year you were born

Elvert Barnes // Wikimedia Commons

1988: National Coming Out Day starts

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

A year after the second March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, a group of activists founded National Coming Out Day (October 11), which aims to help LGBTQ+ people live openly.

Elvert Barnes // Wikimedia Commons

1989: Denmark legalizes same-sex unions

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Demark recognized same-sex domestic partnerships in 1989, which extended the rights of marriage to gay and lesbians couples. In 2010, same-sex couples in the country could register for adoptions, and by 2012, they could legally get married.

KELD NAVNTOFT/AFP // Getty Images

1990: First Pride parade in South Africa

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Activist Simon Nkoli helped start the Gay and Lesbian Organisation of the Witwatersrand. GLOW organized the first Pride parade in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1990, where people also marched against apartheid. Some LGBTQ+ marchers were so scared of exposing themselves that they marched with bags over their faces. Only about 800 people gathered for the first parade; by 2018, that number swelled to 22,000.

Lois GoBe // Shutterstock

1994: ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ enacted

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Then-President Bill Clinton signed “don’t ask, don’t tell” as a compromise with Republicans: gay and lesbian service members could join the military, but they could not tell anyone about their sexual orientation. Some officials—including Colin Powell, who was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time—voiced concerns about AIDS and whether gay and straight soldiers would have to live in the same quarters.

Mark Wilson // Getty Images

1994: American Medical Association opposes conversion therapy

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

As the mid-’90s approached, the AMA told doctors to have “nonjudgmental recognition” of their gay, lesbian, and bisexual patients, and also stopped recommending that physicians try to “reverse” a patient’s sexual orientation. As of May 2022, Washington D.C. and 20 states have banned this type of conversion therapy.

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Shawn Goldberg // Shutterstock

1995: Gay and lesbian workers can get government security clearance

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Until 1995, someone who was gay or lesbian might not get a federal security clearance because government officials considered sexual orientation a security risk, the rationale being that gay and lesbian people who kept their lives secret could be subject to blackmail. Then-President Bill Clinton signed an executive order ending the regulation.

US Federal Government // Wikimedia Commons

1996: President Bill Clinton signs Defense of Marriage Act

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

In 1996, Clinton signed a law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. In 2013, he wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post asking the Supreme Court to overturn DOMA. In the piece, Clinton wrote he believed the law to be “incompatible with our constitution,” and the Court agreed with him.

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP // Getty Images

1996: High schooler starts Gay-Straight Alliance

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

After she started the Gay-Straight Alliance at her Utah high school, Kelli Peterson—a 17-year-old lesbian senior—made national news. The administration didn’t want to allow her LGBTQ+ group but the Equal Access Act meant the school couldn’t legally prevent them from meeting. Instead, Salt Lake City’s Board of Education banned all high school clubs. Students sued the school, and a federal judge ruled in their favor.

Denin Lawley // Unsplash

1997: Ellen DeGeneres comes out

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Ellen DeGeneres told the world she was a lesbian on the cover of Time magazine. Then, her television character, Ellen Morgan, became the first openly LGBTQ+ lead in a sitcom. DeGeneres won an Emmy for writing the series, but her show was canceled a year later. In 2003, she started her long-running eponymous talk show and later received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from then-President Barack Obama.

SAUL LOEB/AFP // Getty Images

2000: Vermont recognizes same-sex unions

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

A 1997 lawsuit led Vermont to pass a bill guaranteeing same-sex partners the same legal rights as married people. The Vermont Supreme Court held that the state was unconstitutionally discriminating against gay and lesbian couples. In 2009, Vermont became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage.

Jordan Silverman // Getty Images

2000: Netherlands recognizes same-sex marriage

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

After changing one sentence in their legislation, gay and lesbian couples in the Netherlands were given the right to marry, divorce, and adopt. The Dutch country was the first in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.

ROBIN UTRECHT/AFP // Getty Images

2003: US legalizes consensual same-sex acts

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

The Supreme Court legalized all consensual sex acts between same-sex adults after the ruling in Lawrence v. Texas. “Their right to liberty under the Due Process Clause gives them the full right to engage in their conduct without intervention of the government,” wrote Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.

Alex Wong // Getty Images

2004: Massachusetts performs first same-sex marriage

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

On May 17, 2004, Marcia Kadish and Tanya McCloskey became the first same-sex couple to get married in the U.S. A year earlier, the Massachusetts Supreme Court had ruled that the ban on marriage for gay and lesbian couples was illegal. It took until 2008 for another state (Connecticut) to follow.

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Angela Jimenez // Getty Images

2009: Hate Crimes Prevention Act

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Then-President Barack Obama enacted the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act to give the U.S. Department of Justice additional funding to investigate and prosecute hate crimes. This includes crimes committed based on a victim’s race, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Some activists, however, feel the law did not do enough to increase prosecution of crimes against LGBTQ+ people.

Chip Somodevilla // Getty Images

2010: Same-sex marriage legal in Iceland

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

After same-sex marriage became legal in Iceland, the country’s openly lesbian prime minister wed her long-time partner. Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir and Jónína Leósdóttir were previously in a civil union. That same year, same-sex marriage became legal in Portugal and Argentina.

OLIVIER MORIN/AFP // Getty Images

2011: ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ repealed

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

At 12:01 a.m. on September 20, 2011, “don’t ask, don’t tell” was no longer in effect. Then-President Barack Obama signed a law repealing the policy in December 2010. The decision allowed gay and lesbian troops to serve openly in the military.

Mark Wilson // Getty Images

2012: First openly LGBTQ+ senator

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay or lesbian senator in 2012. Before heading to the Senate, Baldwin served as one of only four openly gay members of the House at the time.

Scott Olson // Getty Images

2013: Supreme Court recognizes same-sex marriage

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court held that the Defense of Marriage Act—which stated that marriage could only be between a man and a woman—was unconstitutional. They also decided not to hear a case about Proposition 8, the California ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage. This paved the way for nationwide marriage equality, which would come two years later.

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Alex Wong // Getty Images

2014: Transgender students get federal protection

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Under the Obama administration, the Department of Education extended Title IX coverage to transgender students. The civil rights law bans sex discrimination in schools or activities that are funded by the federal government. The Trump administration aimed to roll back trans protections and include only people who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth in the legislation.

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP // Getty Images

2014: First transgender person nominated for Emmy

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Transgender actress Laverne Cox became the first openly trans person nominated for an Emmy when she received the nod for her role in “Orange Is the New Black.” She also appeared on the cover of Time the same year. Cox made history again in 2018 when she became the first openly trans person on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine.

Jason Merritt // Getty Images

2015: US legalizes same-sex marriage

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court historically ruled to legalize same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Justice Anthony Kennedy reasoned that the Constitution grants all couples “equal dignity in the eyes of the law.”

Ted Eytan // Wikimedia Commons

2016: Ban lifted on transgender troops

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

In June 2016, the military lifted the ban on transgender troops. That same month, the Obama administration dedicated the Stonewall Inn as a national monument, the first LGBTQ+ site added to the National Parks System.

Alex Wong // Getty Images

2017: First openly transgender state legislator elected

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Virginia voters made history in 2017 when they elected transgender candidate Danica Roem to their state legislature. That same year, then-President Donald Trump announced that the military would no longer accept transgender troops because of “tremendous medical costs and disruption.”

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PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP // Getty Images

2018: ‘Rainbow wave’ in politics

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Voters elected more than 150 LGBTQ+ politicians to office in 2018. Among the history-makers at the time were Jared Polis, the openly gay governor of Colorado; U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Native American lesbian representing Kansas; and Malcolm Kenyatta, the first gay Black man elected to the Pennsylvania legislature.

Whitney Curtis // Getty Images

2019: Taiwan passes same-sex marriage

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Taiwan became the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage. Only a year before, lawmakers voted to deny the right to same-sex couples.

SAM YEH/AFP // Getty Images

2019: Transgender troops banned from military

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Then-President Donald Trump’s restrictions on transgender people in the military went into effect on April 12, 2019. While the administration claimed there was no ban, transgender troops were required to serve as the gender they were assigned at birth under this regulation.

Alex Wong // Getty Images

2019: Mayor Pete runs for president

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Democrat Pete Buttigieg is the second openly gay man to run for president of the United States. (In 2012, Fred Karger, a lesser-known Republican, became the first.) Buttigieg—who entered the Navy Reserves under “don’t ask, don’t tell”—dropped out of the Democratic primary in March 2020 and endorsed Joe Biden. In 2021, he became the first openly gay Cabinet member in U.S. history, serving as Secretary of Transportation in the Biden administration.

John Gress Media Inc // Shutterstock.

2019: Being transgender no longer a ‘disorder’

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

The World Health Organization no longer considers being transgender a mental illness. The WHO removed “gender identity disorder” from the International Classification of Diseases, which is a global manual for diagnosing mental illness. The update may help put an end to the practice of forcing transgender people to get surgery and forced sterilization in order to legally change their gender.

DEREK R. HENKLE/AFP // Getty Images

2020: NYC Pride March canceled by coronavirus

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

For the first time since its inception, the NYC Pride March was canceled out of an abundance of safety and due to social distancing guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic. Other events around the globe were similarly canceled. But that hardly means Pride Month was called off—instead, virtual events have since become common during the month of June to celebrate the historic milestones of the LGBTQ+ movement and to observe the battles still being fought for equal rights today.

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Gotham // Getty Images

2021: Biden reverses Trump-era ban on transgender people in the military

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

Just five days after taking office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that overturned the previous administration’s ban on transgender people in the military. Before the ban in 2017, it was estimated 2,450 service members were transgender, with about 0.1% of the total force seeking gender-related treatments. The Trump administration deemed gender-affirming care too expensive for the military to budget when in actuality it would only increase military spending by 0.04% to 0.13%.

Doug Mills-Pool // Getty Images

2021: Gender-affirming care for minors is blocked—then overturned

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

A law passed in Arkansas banned physicians in the state from providing gender-affirming health care to minors—even with parental consent. Trans children in the state were immediately unable to access trans-related health care, health care which has been proven to lower the risk of suicide among transgender youth. In July 2021, following a court case filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) spurred by protests and activists, the bill was overturned and gender-affirming care was once again accessible for minors.

Across the pond, in December 2020, the U.K.’s High Court ruled transgender children under the age of 16 could not consent to receive trans-affirming health care. Trans youth seeking medical treatment needed to consult a judge before receiving care. The National Health Service (NHS) appealed the decision and won in September 2021. Roughly 2,400 children a year in the U.K. seek gender-affirming health care through the NHS, making this overturned case paramount for a significant number of minors.

Alina Kruk // Shutterstock

2021: Switzerland and Japan make strides toward marriage equality

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

In September 2021, a two-thirds majority in Switzerland voted to legalize gay marriage in a referendum vote. This referendum also extended family rights for same-gender couples, allowing them to adopt children and permitting couples of two women to have children through sperm donation. The new ruling will be enforced in July 2022. Switzerland is one of the last Western European countries to legalize same-sex marriage.

In Japan, the country inched closer to marriage equality in a ruling which claimed to bar same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Gay marriage is not yet legal in Japan, but this ruling will likely set a precedent for future legislation.

FABRICE COFFRINIAFP // Getty Images

2022: Hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in US states

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

As of May 2022, over 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in 36 states across the U.S. in 2022, some of which have become law in eight states. In Florida, one such measure—dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by critics—prohibits elementary school teachers from educating students in grades K-3 about sexual orientation or gender identity. Another law in Alabama that criminalizes gender-affirming medical care for trans youth was partially blocked by a judge in May. A significant number of these bills specifically target transgender people.

Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

2022: First openly lesbian women elected governor

Updated
Apr 26, 2023

The U.S. has never had an openly lesbian woman hold the office of governor; however, during the November 2022 midterms, not one but two openly lesbian women won gubernatorial elections in their respective states.

Maura Healey of Massachusetts is both the first woman as well as the first openly lesbian woman to be elected governor in Massachusetts. Healey, who has been her state’s attorney general for the last eight years, defeated Republican candidate Geoff Diehl by a wide margin to secure her spot as the next governor of the New England state. 

Tina Kotek of Oregon was right behind Healey, becoming the second openly lesbian governor elected in the U.S. Kotek’s race against Republican Christine Drazan was extremely close; however, her win continues a decades-long democratic hold on the governorship. Kotek is also the first openly lesbian woman to hold the position of Speaker of the Oregon House.

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Expect changes when you visit wine country this year. Like the rest of us, wineries are adjusting to a post-pandemic world and are unsure to what extent things will go back in time or what temporary measures taken over the last three years could become permanent. For us consumers, it’s a time to be adventurous but also be patient and let wineries know what’s working and what we’d like to see on our next visit.

Here are a few things to expect. Some of these predictions are contradictory and reflect the post-pandemic market uncertainty.

Tasting bars are back, so to speak.

The Covid restrictions ushered in an era – or at least an interregnum – of socially distanced seated tastings, where flights were ordered off the menu and brought to our table. It was like a restaurant with no food. Some wineries welcomed this change as it placed more emphasis on the wine and less on visiting the winery as a drinking pleasure. But it also meant less interaction between consumers and winery staff. That’s why wineries are now returning to the wine tastings of yesteryear, as they believe consumers want to learn more about the wines they’re tasting through interaction at the bar.

Unless, of course, they don’t.

“Some people want reservations, some people want things to go back to how they were,” says George Hodson, executive director of Veritas Vineyard and Winery west of Charlottesville, Virginia, and current president of the Virginia Wineries Association. So the reserved tastings can stay in place, and customers looking to enjoy a contemplative hour of vinous fun cast a sideways glance at the rowdy, super-spreader crowd at the bar.

In an email exchange, Hodson said the wineries want visitors to expand their knowledge and appreciation of Virginia wine. But apparently consumers have other things on their minds.

“Guests have changed and want experiences instead of just wine tasting,” Hodson said. That means food, music and entertainment. “They consume what they buy locally instead of taking it home,” he added. That means they’re also buying less wine and not building extensive wine collections.

Fees for tastings are likely to increase.

Tasting fees are nothing new, but Covid has accelerated the trend and inflation has increased price pressure on wineries. “Prices of all products are going up, so the tasting fee is pretty much universal,” says Hodson. He hopes this will shrink the market for coaches, which ferry large groups from one winery to the next in an all-day drinking spree.

In California, fees have skyrocketed in the Napa Valley. An “upscale” wine tasting there averages more than $82 per person, down from $30 just six years ago, according to Esther Mobley in the San Francisco Chronicle. Save and plan ahead.

Earlier this year, Tablas Creek Winery in Paso Robles, California, announced that it had converted its tasting room to casks and would no longer be serving bottled samples. The switch to kegs supports the winery’s ongoing efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and also improves the winery’s bottom line by saving up to 9,000 bottles per year that no longer need to be purchased, bottled and labeled, the general manager said Jason Hass.

“What’s the most useless glass bottle?” Haas asked rhetorically. “One who never leaves the winery.”

Meanwhile, in Darnestown, Maryland on the East Coast, Windridge Vineyards began experimenting with casks in its tasting room late last year and now has three wines on tap.

“We sell most of our wine locally and while we recycle our glass, we feel it’s best never to bottle the wine in the first place,” said winery owner Robert Butz.

Butz added that Windridge would like to get visitors to enjoy seated tastings that they can enjoy at their leisure, rather than crowded with strangers at the bar.

“We’re debating whether our approach is the right one, because a tasting is a great way to showcase to customers,” Butz told me. However, “a rushed or unprofessional tasting can be worse than none at all, and at least on the wine flights, the customer can enjoy the wine tastings at their own pace.”

At Black Ankle Vineyards in Mt. Airy, Maryland, a cask facility allows customers to taste an unfinished wine or component of a blend while it is still in the cask. On my last visit, the cask featured a tasting of Sauvignon Blanc from Live Edge Vineyard, Black Ankle’s new venture in northern Montgomery County.

“When we taste wine from a cask or cask, we can experiment a bit with what we let the customer taste,” says Sarah O’Herron, co-owner and winemaker at Black Ankle. “We’ve tasted red wines that have only been in cask for six months, single varietals that we would never bottle ourselves, and pure wine wines – basically giving customers a look behind the winemaking process in a way we couldn’t do with bottled wines .” She adds.

So plan ahead if you visit wine country this year. Check out winery websites to see what experiences they offer. Be patient and flexible with your time. And be on the lookout for something new.

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A San Francisco lawmaker is pushing ahead with a bill to increase criminal jury salaries.

Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) plans to expand a pilot program by the City of San Francisco that will increase criminal jury wages from $15 to $100 per day.

Ting believes the move would ensure all Californians have access to a jury of their own kind, as promised by the US Constitution. He said the bill would make juries across the state “fairer and a more accurate reflection of their communities.”

“Unfortunately, if you look at who’s coming through the criminal justice system, they’re disproportionately people of color … they’re disproportionately low-income, working families … and that doesn’t reflect on our jury,” Ting said during a news conference Wednesday in San Francisco.

Under the Be The Jury Act (AB 881), jurors qualify for the $100 daily stipend if their household income is less than 80% of their regional median income and they meet any of the following additional criteria:

• Your employer does not pay for jury service
• Your employer will not compensate for the estimated length of the process
• You are self-employed
• You are unemployed

Both prosecutors and public defenders support the proposal.

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Colossal wildfire plumes that can be spotted from space have erupted on several California wildfires in the past months.

The Mosquito Fire burning in Placer and El Dorado counties produced torrents of smoke that soared tens of thousands of feet into the air. The cloud of soot and debris could be seen 60 miles away. Smoke from the blaze blanketed large swaths of Northern California and western Nevada, resulting in hazardous-level air quality.

Wildfire plumes in the western US are reaching greater heights than ever, a recent study reports — especially in California’s Sierra Nevada.

“The higher the plume reaches, the more likely it is to be transported rapidly over large distances,” said David Peterson, a meteorologist with the US Naval Research Laboratory-Monterey who was not part of the new study.

That means smoke, carrying a hodgepodge of chemical compounds, wafts farther distances and impacts more people. Wildfire smoke can irritate lungs and even cause wider health issues, especially for vulnerable populations like older adults, children and those with underlying health conditions.

A pyrocumulonimbus cloud from mosquito fire as seen from the air of a commercial airline flight over Sacramento, September 8, 2022. Video: Courtesy Gregory Van Acker

“Once these particles enter our bloodstream they can pretty much affect our entire bodies,” said Rosana Aguilera Becker, an environmental health scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

The study, out of the University of Utah, used mathematical models to simulate plume heights for about 4.6 million wildfires. The analyzes examined burned areas detected by satellite in the western US and Canada from 2003 through 2020, during August and September. The researchers found that over those years, plume top heights increased hundreds of feet across much of the mountainous western US

But not all areas saw the same amount of growth.

“Sierra Nevada definitely stands out,” said study author John Lin, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Utah. In the Sierra, the researchers found that plumes grew about an additional 750 feet per year. On wildfires like the Mosquito, that’s meant intense plumes have soared to some 40,000 feet.

Firefighters watch a smoke column from a distance during the Mosquito Fire in unincorporated Placer County.

Stephen Lam/The Chronicle

Other regions, like the Southern Rockies and Eastern Cascades, increased by over 300 feet per year.

This upward trend increased even more after 2015, although the results weren’t statistically significant.

This uptick in plume top height was accompanied by increases in wildfire emissions that cause poor air quality, especially in the Sierra Nevada region. As the plumes explode in height, smoke can surge above the planetary boundary layer, the layer of the atmosphere closest to the ground.

You’ve encountered this boundary any time you’ve been on a plane descending to land.

“If you’re going into SFO, you probably are familiar with the times when it suddenly gets really rocky,” Lin said, “That’s a pretty good indication of where the (planetary boundary layer) starts.”

Smoke that makes it to these altitudes — about 3,000 feet above the ground — disperses more readily due to strong winds.

The researchers propose that the increase in wildfire plume height is due in part to climate change: Drier conditions and warmer temperatures enable fires at higher elevations. This vertical shift gives wildfire plumes a head start toward sending smoke particles higher into the atmosphere, above the planetary boundary layer.

Some plumes make it even farther, past the boundary between the troposphere and stratosphere. These are pyrocumulonimbus clouds, also known as pyroCbs.

“A pyroCb generally reaches the typical cruising altitudes of jet aircraft and beyond,” Peterson said. “So we’re talking 30,000 feet or higher.”

PyroCbs are similar in appearance to thunderstorm-producing cumulonimbus clouds: puffy and towering. A recent example is the immense plume produced by the Mosquito Fire, which soared to heights observed from airspace.

These clouds act like chimneys, funneling smoke up into the stratosphere.

“It’s a thunderstorm that’s ingesting smoke at the cloud base,” Peterson said. “And then it gets accelerated through that thunderstorm cloud and ejected through the top of it.”

The researchers identified increasing pyroCb activity within the Colorado Plateau over the study period. They also found a slight uptick in pyroCbs in the Sierra Nevada in recent years. Additional research is needed to get a clear picture of what’s happening with these extreme plumes, which are still a developing research area.

What is known, however, is that smoke that makes it to these altitudes can linger for months and spread over vast distances, potentially causing health issues for many.

“There is a great concern that wildfires will be — and are already — a major source of air pollution,” Aguilera Becker said.

Jack Lee (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jack.lee@sfchronicle.com

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Hundreds of workers at the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, the largest operator of single-room occupancy buildings in San Francisco, said they were planning a one-day strike expected to commence on Wednesday.

The employees overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike in May, with 99% in support. Since then, the union and THC have continued meeting for bargaining talks that have now been grinding on for nearly eight months.

While the two sides made progress addressing worker fatigue — agreeing to allot three mental health days for each employee — they remain at odds over wages, the key issue driving the strike.

“Wages pay rent, they pay rising gas bills, they pay for groceries,” said Evan Oravec, a THC community organizer and president of its union, which is affiliated with Service Employees International Union Local 1021.

So far, THC’s position on wages increases “is not satisfactory for workers,” Oravec said. “It doesn’t raise everyone enough,” he said, referring to the proposed scale of $19 to $21 an hour for desk clerks, $20 to $22 for janitors and $22 to $24 for maintenance workers.

That range is too low, Oravec said, and has triggered fears of pay compression, which occurs when employees with different levels of experience earn roughly the same amount. A desk clerk with one or two years of experience already makes $18.40 an hour, Oravec said, fearing the new rates would effectively lock these employees in at a salary barely better than their current earnings.

Tenderloin Housing Clinic’s executive director, Randy Shaw, said he shares the union’s concerns about setting the bottom of the pay scale too low. Though Shaw believes that Wednesday’s action will have little impact on SRO residents — given its short anticipated duration — he and other managers have pressed the city to raise the proposed bar as contract negotiations wear on.

“We know it’s disruptive to not go in for a day,” clinical case manager Marissa Roarty said, indicating that without janitors, toilets might get clogged and trash might not get taken out, and without desk clerks, guests might not be able to come and go.

She said the workers “feel like this is a last resort.”

Union organizers were threatening to strike for several days, even as they continued bargaining with management. Though the talks appear amicable, workers sent a strong message when they held a picket sign-making party last Wednesday.

Mayor London Breed and the Board of Supervisors boosted funding in San Francisco’s budget this year for city-contracted nonprofits — and specifically those that oversee permanent supportive housing — with an eye toward increasing wages. The budget includes a 5.25% pay increase for all employees of nonprofits funded by the city, plus a 2.5% increase for all nonprofit contracts, which could also go to worker earnings.

Additionally, the city is providing $3 million annually to nonprofits in the permanent supportive housing sector, to bring case manager salaries up to $28 an hour, according to the mayor’s office.

However, Shaw said he’s been assured only that case managers’ salaries would rise to $25 an hour.

Another item in the budget allocates $12 million annually to raise wages of other frontline workers in the permanently supportive housing sphere.

Shaw said he agrees with the union that the minimums established in the current proposed pay scales for desk clerks, janitors and maintenance workers are all too low. He said the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing set those ranges, and the Tenderloin Housing Clinic has emphatically pushed to increase them.

A representative of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing said officials have prioritized “wage equity” in this year’s budget.

“We’ve been pounding HSH as hard as we can,” Shaw said, adding that clinic management also tried lobbying members of the Board of Supervisors’ Budget and Appropriations Committee, but could not persuade the majority of its five members to mandate that the department set pay at the higher end of the scale.

Robert Crockett, a custodian at THC who currently makes $17.37 an hour, said he’s confident his union will negotiate a better wage.

“The cost of living in San Francisco is very high: telephone bills, washing clothes and then I have grandkids,” Crockett said during a phone interview Thursday afternoon from the Raman Hotel, one of the clinic’s buildings on Howard Street.

Crockett lives in the Galvin Apartments, a separate Tenderloin Housing Clinic property in SoMa.

Chronicle staff writer Sabrina Pascua contributed to this report.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan

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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – BART officials said Wednesday climate change and sea level rise will pose a growing threat to the transit system in the coming decades.

The ailing transport company is trying to find money to combat the long-term but looming threat.

CONTINUE READING: Study: Avalanche of pandemic garbage will pollute oceans and beaches

“One of the predictions is that by mid-century we might see tides a foot higher than they are now. So that’s 2050, ”said BART spokesman Jim Allison.

BART engineers say sea level rise could have a number of potential effects. For example, the Embarcadero train station in San Francisco could occasionally be inundated by floods.

Other stations could be threatened by rising groundwater, which would strain the existing pumps and the aging infrastructure of the system.

“The thing for me is that we’re at the height of technology and innovation in the Bay Area, but this is an old system that is really shabby,” said BART driver Jason Caballero.

CONTINUE READING: The slain Campbell Tech Exec’s family and friends struggle to make sense of the shooting

BART has identified many of the potential problem areas, but the agency relies on injections of money from the federal government just to keep trains running.

“The devastating effects of the pandemic and the dramatic decrease in the number of passengers paying for their tickets have really turned our funding plan upside down,” Allison said.

BART drivers say they understand the transportation company’s financial plight but are concerned about the long-term costs of inaction.

“It might be better to say, ‘Let’s pretend it’ll happen in 10 years.’ And what could the BART system do in 10 years to avoid being caught wading in the BART system with pants down and knee-deep water? ”Asked rider Bianca Espinoza.

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BART officials noted that several vulnerable stations are connected to other important pieces of infrastructure in the Bay Area, such as the airports in San Francisco and Oakland. Any plan to mitigate this impact would necessarily have to be regional and collaborative.

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Facility Manager Cost Savings / Best Practice Quick Reads RSS Feed

July 21, 2021 – Contact FacilitiesNet editorial team »

Higher education institutions plan to welcome students and faculty back in the fall as the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be easing. What the returning residents will find in these facilities remains to be seen, but it is clear that maintenance and engineering managers and their staff are implementing a range of HVAC tactics and strategies to create safe spaces and keep residents healthy guarantee.

At the University of San Francisco, facility management staff evaluated more than 600 ventilation, air conditioning and filtering devices, replacing 76 non-standard devices. Facility management staff checked for heating and cooling-related issues and checked the quality of ventilation for each unit to prevent airborne transmission of the coronavirus.

At the University of Virginia, facility management has set up a task force that advocates energy savings and at the same time implements measures to ensure a safe indoor climate. The group focused on identifying and evaluating existing HVAC mitigation measures and ranking them for implementation. One area the group focused on is the use of high efficiency filters and increased ventilation rates to create an extra layer of airborne reduction in buildings.

At Simon Frasier University, facility services examined campus ventilation, room entry, measuring airflow, and verifying that the systems met the best indoor air quality standards. The audit covers approximately 1,000 rooms and includes the review of plans and diagrams that are reviewed on site by energy specialists, air conditioning mechanics and HVAC balancing service providers.

Dan Hounsell is the Senior Editor of Facility Market.

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Remarks

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The leaders of San Francisco, known for their cautious stance during the COVID-19 pandemic, applaud the advances that enabled the city to move to the third of four levels of California on Tuesday to reopen.

San Francisco, Marin, and Santa Clara counties have joined San Mateo County in the state’s orange tier, which poses a moderate risk for the virus. Progress means companies can serve more people indoors, reopen bowling alleys, breweries and bars can offer drinks outdoors, and movie theaters can sell popcorn again.

“San Francisco is coming alive,” said Mayor London Breed, who appeared at a press conference Tuesday in an orange dress to mark the city’s new status. She was supported by managing directors to welcome the new relaxed demands.

Even Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco’s director of public health, known for making dire assessments during the pandemic, was bullish.

“We are close to the goal,” he said.

San Francisco is ahead of Los Angeles and Orange counties when it comes to the less restrictive Orange tier, but both counties are confident they will hit that designation next week.

“It is certainly good news that we are making progress and reducing transmission across the county,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of public health for Los Angeles county, on Tuesday. “However, we remain concerned about the potential risks that can hinder our progress.”

Some experts continue to warn of another possible wave of coronavirus cases in late April, triggered by a highly infectious variant first discovered in the UK. The availability of vaccines is also a wild card.

In the Bay Area, two counties, Contra Costa and Solano, have extended eligibility to those aged 50 and over despite Solano facing a vaccine shortage.

Dr. John Swartzberg, an infectious disease expert at UC Berkeley, was dismayed by the optimism of officials in San Francisco.

“What worries me is that we’re opening up pretty quickly while the storm is still on the horizon,” he said in an interview after the press conference.

Swartzberg said the likelihood of another “spike” in California cases by the end of April was 60%. He noted that infections have already plateaued in the state and are increasing in other parts of the country. The British variant could be the dominant strain of the virus in California by the end of the month, he said.

California “should move in small steps, not big steps,” he said, adding that many people misunderstand what a finish line will look like.

“It won’t mean we’re COVID-free,” he said. “Like influenza, COVID will be background noise and we will learn to live with it. We will be dealing with COVID indefinitely. “

Last year, public health experts praised San Francisco and the Bay Area for being more cautious than the state allows. The area saw a spike in COVID-19 cases over the winter, but not to the extent that LA County was hit by hospitalizations and coronavirus deaths.

At the press conference, both Breed and Colfax softened their cheers with advice that residents continue to wear masks, keep their distance, wash their hands frequently and get vaccinated when allowed.

“We all need to double our security measures,” said Colfax.

According to Breed, nearly 40% of San Franciscans ages 16+ have been vaccinated, and nearly 80% of those over 65 have received at least one dose.

Offices can now be opened with a capacity of 25%. Breed said she understood that some companies would still allow employees to work remotely, but she hoped employees would “want to come back to work and be with other people.”

“Working at home is boring,” she said. “I want to be with people.”

Colfax found hospital admissions for COVID-19 are at their lowest level in more than four months. In San Francisco, an average of only 35 patients are treated each day. New infections have dropped to around 31 per day, compared to 374 during the winter flood, he said.

Colfax even suggested that the city could soon move to the least restrictive yellow tier to allow hotels, restaurants, fitness centers, and other indoor facilities to reopen fully.

“Let’s hope we can see the color yellow in just a few weeks,” said Colfax.

As part of the state’s reopening strategy, the counties are divided into four color-coded levels. purple, which is considered to have widespread coronavirus transmission and has severely restricted or completely suspended indoor operations in a variety of business areas; red, with fewer restrictions; orange, with even less; and finally yellow, which most businesses can open with changes indoors.

Animal assignments are based on three factors: coronavirus fall rates adjusted based on the number of tests performed; the rate of positive test results; and a health equity metric designed to ensure that the positive test rate in poorer communities is not significantly higher than the county’s total.

While California has made tremendous strides after a fall and winter COVID-19 surge, the Orange and Yellow Plains remain a pretty exclusive club.

According to state data released Tuesday, three more counties – Trinity, Lassen and Yolo – will join the orange row this week along with San Francisco, Santa Clara and Marin. The districts of Mariposa, Plumas and San Mateo are already at this stage. Only two counties, Alpine and Sierra, made it yellow.

Officials from San Francisco said they intend to allow outdoor art, theater, and music performances for audiences of up to 50 who stared on April 1, noting they have guidelines for outdoor and audience returns great outdoor entertainment options. These locations can also reopen in April with approved health and safety plans, assigned seating and capacity restrictions.

With a few exceptions, most indoor businesses are allowed to operate at 50% capacity. Indoor dining is expanded to 50% capacity or 200 guests, and indoor gyms are expanded to 25% capacity or 100 guests. Group fitness classes can also be resumed with a capacity of 25% or 100 people, whichever is lower.

Indoor museums, zoos and aquariums with an approved safety plan can be expanded to 50% of customer capacity. Attendance at places of worship and indoor funerals can reach up to 50%, with masked congregations allowing singing and singing. Indoor cinemas can also be expanded to 50% capacity, up to 200 people.

Childcare and pre-kindergarten programs can be expanded from 16 participants in stable groups to the number permitted by license requirements.

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