Twitter owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk gave a non-committal answer towards Twitters future in San Francisco on Tuesday, creating growing concern that the social media company could be moving out of San Francisco soon.

Since the beginning of the decade, many prominent companies in the Bay Area, including Oracle, have left the city to relocate elsewhere in the state or move out, largely due to the growing number of significant problems besieging the Bay Area. However, few saw Musk or his companies doing the same. Originally highly praised for Space X opening in the Los Angeles area and Tesla in the Bay Area, he proceeded to amaze Californians by bringing car manufacturing back to the state by reopening the Fremont Assembly Plant in 2010. Tesla proceeded to grow exponentially throughout the 2010s, aided both by the tech boom and the rising popularity of electric cars.

However, only a few years later, relations grew strained, as California tax rates and business laws began affecting the company to such a degree that Musk looked elsewhere. Threats of unionization and the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down his factory for months proved to be final straws for Tesla and Musk.

In late 2020, Musk moved out of California to tax-friendly Texas. Only a year later, Musk moved the Tesla HQ from Palo Alto to Austin. While many Tesla positions ultimately stayed in California, with the car plant staying and a new factory opening up in Lathrop, Tesla continued to defocus California, opening up other factories in Nevada and Texas, as well as laying off hundreds of workers in California. While he did bring the Global Engineering and AI HQ of Tesla back to Palo Alto in February, both Tesla and Musk himself are now far removed from California.

Last year, Musk set out to buy Twitter, but went back and forth on plans. But, with pressure mounting, Musk finally bought the company last April for $44 billion. Problems plagued the company, with Twitter immediately losing users, Musk firing around 80% of employees, and numerous issues surrounding setting up living spaces in their San Francisco headquarters to let workers sleep during long work days. The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection is currently investigating the latter for violations, including allegations from employees that the company disabled lights and added locks that wouldn’t open during an emergency.

With so many issues, the question of Twitter leaving has been a constant question since Musk’s acquisition in October. On Tuesday, during the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit in London, Musk gave an unusually non-committal statement on if Twitter would be staying in San Francisco. This led to worry on Wednesday for many in the city that San Francisco would be losing a large employer and a huge tax-paying company.

“San Francisco currently is facing a budget deficit of $780 million in the next few years. They can’t afford to lose even more big companies,” explained Charlotte Welsh, a budget analyst who has worked for cities in California, Oregon, and Idaho, to the Globe on Wednesday. “Musk and Twitter are holding a huge card right now for San Francisco’s future. And, as we saw with the Tesla move, we know that he is willing to play it. There could be a backlash from employees, like when Disney employees refused to move to Florida from California until that was fully cancelled last week. The city could also try to block the move as Twitter is currently being investigated.

“We still don’t know for certain though what exactly will happen. But it is up in the air now. If you told the city 5 years ago Twitter was planning to move to Florida or Texas, they’d just laugh at you. Today, it’s a big threat.”

As of Wednesday, Musk has not followed up on a possible Twitter move.

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Twitter owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk issued a non-binding response on the future of Twitter in San Francisco on Tuesday, prompting growing fears that the social media company may soon be leaving San Francisco.

Since the beginning of the decade, many well-known Bay Area companies, including Oracle, have left the city to relocate or relocate elsewhere in the state, largely due to the growing number of significant problems in the Bay Area. However, few saw Musk or his companies do the same. He was originally credited with launching Space, helped by the technology boom and the increasing popularity of electric cars.

But just a few years later, relations became strained as California’s tax rates and business laws affected the company so badly that Musk looked elsewhere. Threats of unionization and the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down his factory for months were the last straw that broke the camel’s back for Tesla and Musk.

In late 2020, Musk moved from California to tax-friendly Texas. Just a year later, Musk moved Tesla headquarters from Palo Alto to Austin. While many Tesla positions ultimately stayed in California as the automobile plant stayed and opened a new factory in Lathrop, Tesla continued to focus on California, opening more factories in Nevada and Texas and laying off hundreds of California workers. While he brought Tesla’s global engineering and AI headquarters back to Palo Alto in February, both Tesla and Musk themselves are now a long way from California.

Last year, Musk wanted to buy Twitter but was hesitant about his plans. But as pressure mounted, Musk eventually bought the company for $44 billion last April. The company suffered problems: Twitter immediately lost users, Musk laid off about 80% of its employees, and there were numerous problems setting up living quarters at its San Francisco headquarters so employees could sleep during long workdays. The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection is currently investigating the latter for violations, including allegations by employees that the company disabled lights and installed locks that would not open in an emergency.

With so many issues, the question of leaving Twitter has been a constant question since Musk acquired it in October. On Tuesday, during the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit in London, Musk made an unusually non-binding statement on whether Twitter would stay in San Francisco. This led to concern among many in the city Wednesday that San Francisco would lose a major employer and a huge tax-paying corporation.

“San Francisco is currently facing a budget deficit of $780 million over the next few years. They can’t afford to lose any more big companies,” Charlotte Welsh, a budget analyst who has worked for cities in California, Oregon and Idaho, told the Globe on Wednesday. “Musk and Twitter have great odds in San Francisco’s future right now. And as we saw with the Tesla switch, we know he’s ready to embrace it. There could be backlash from employees, such as when Disney employees refused to move from California to Florida until it was canceled entirely last week. The city could also try to block the move as Twitter is under investigation.

“However, we don’t know exactly what will happen yet. But it’s in the air now. If you told the city five years ago that Twitter was planning to move to Florida or Texas, they would just laugh at you. Today it is a big threat.”

As of Wednesday, Musk has not taken any further action on a possible Twitter move.

The post Elon Musk Hints At Potential Twitter Transfer Out Of San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Twitter headquarters in San Francisco. Andrei Sokolov/Picture Alliance via Getty Images

Twitter might not keep its San Francisco headquarters forever, its owner Elon Musk hinted Tuesday.

In his virtual speech at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit in London, Musk provided a noncommittal response to an interviewer’s question about whether the company would remain in the California city.

San Francisco officials announced last week that they were investigating Twitter after six former employees alleged that Musk’s team broke the law by turning the company’s headquarters into a “Twitter hotel.” The idea was to create dormitories for workers who were forced to stay up late and work on the social media platform after Musk fired or fired nearly 80% of Twitter employees.

The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection said it will conduct an investigation into the new allegations.

The former Twitter employees allege that Musk’s team ordered numerous changes to the company’s headquarters in a 1930s Art Deco building in downtown San Francisco that violated building codes. Those changes included disabling lights and adding locks that wouldn’t open in an emergency, according to the lawsuit.

In 2021, Musk relocated the headquarters of Tesla, the electric car and solar panel company he runs, from California to Texas. The move followed a dispute with health officials in California’s Alameda County over whether to reopen a Tesla factory early in the coronavirus pandemic.

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Breadcrumb Trail Links

1. Opinion
2. Split

Released April 18, 2023 • Last updated on April 19, 2023 • 3 minutes reading time

Photo by Rawf8 /Getty Images/iStockphoto

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Feeling kind of blasé these days? Has your favorite NHL hockey team’s failure to make the playoffs again made you gorge on popcorn while watching the Oscar-nominated movies you missed out on at the cinema?

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Well my friend, I think you’re just the type who could benefit from the inspirational power of an accent wall.

What exactly is an accent wall?

Basically, as the name suggests, it’s a whiff of something else. An alternative color or texture that makes a powerful statement, but doesn’t overwhelm the room because it only needs to take up about 10 percent of the wall space.

It’s like a polka dot bow tie or a fuchsia pocket square tucked into the breast pocket of an otherwise plain black suit jacket.

The accent adds a touch of individuality and, in our case, a little pizzazz to a normal-looking wall space.

What creates an accent wall?

Basically all you would have to do is take a liter of red, blue or any other primary color and throw it at the wall. And there’s your accent. Because the accent generally takes up limited space but is still eye-catching, it’s often used to transform a drab area or wall space in need of help into something special.

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So you wouldn’t normally turn that wall that supports your big-screen TV, which is mostly covered by a bookshelf or has a large window, into an accent wall. Busy walls don’t really need the attention of a pop of color or raised texture.

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In general, look for a smaller space – the wall, which is always the last chosen for the dodge ball, the underdog. This is the wall that will benefit from an accent.

How do I create an accent? As mentioned, all you really need is a vibrant color. However, it’s always nice to add structure as well, in the form of a natural slate tile or an MDF board with an overlap. The practical thing about accenting with slate or MDF is that you’re essentially creating a picture and either covering part of the wall, usually a central strip six to eight feet wide, or if it’s a smaller one space acts, the entire wall .

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Regardless, you should not use your miter saw to make corners, angles, or anything other than a straight 90-degree cut. Therefore, the accent wall can be a good first try with a natural slate product, as cutting the slate to size can sometimes seem intimidating for first-time installers.

However, as with anything else that requires a cut, it’s important to have the right blade on your chop saw. So make sure your chop saw blade is rated for cutting slate, and be sure to make those cuts outdoors or there will be a dust storm of debris. Or rent a wet saw that will remove most of the dust and allow you to do your cuts indoors.

The only other recommendation for a slate product is that you buy a stackable model that simply glues to your drywall. So no mortar joints have to be filled.

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Unless you want an accent wall to be slate or some sort of tapestry or woven fabric, it needs to be painted. Not that stained oak or knotty pine planks don’t draw a lot of attention, but in most cases a vibrant color or interesting texture makes for a great accent.

There is hardly a better way to create structure than with a primed MDF board. Installed horizontally, diagonally or simply vertically, an MDF board will give you lines, closely spaced lines, more widely spaced lines, bumpy lines – when it comes to decorating, you can’t invite too many lines to the party.

The easiest way to frame your chosen slate or MDF board, or to create a frame, is to use a 1×3 or 1×4 board of MDF. The .75″ plank is slightly thicker than the slate and MDF, creating the perfect shadow line and solid start and end points.

Good accentuation.

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The post Handyman Hints: Pondering your accent wall appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Breadcrumb Trail Links

1. Opinion
2. Split

Published on March 21, 2023 • 3 minutes reading time

Sidney Crosby #87 of Canada celebrates with teammate Scott Niedermayer #27 after Crosby scored the deciding goal in overtime in the ice hockey men’s gold medal game between the USA and Canada on day 17 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at Canada Hockey Place in February scored February 28, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. Photo by ALEX LIVESEY /Postmedia Network

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One of the greatest goals in Canada’s Olympic history was that of Sydney Crosby at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

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In a 2-2 draw against an equally top-flight American team, the game went into overtime and at 7:40 Crosby scored what was considered the golden goal from that point onwards – the goal that Canada posted yet again the pinnacle of ice hockey supremacy.

It was a great goal and the photo of Crosby celebrating moments later is instantly recognizable to most hockey fans. But the man who won the battle for the puck in the corner, the workhorse who made the goal possible and who passed the puck to Crosby, who stood at the side of the net, was Jarome Iginla. A great goal for sure, but a really great assist.

Which brings us to today’s topic: the value of using products like Glue Assist when installing parquet and solid wood floors and more generally glues and the recommended adhesives for all your flooring needs. Basically, I’ve come to realize that the only way to install a floor is to nail it down, glue it down or, like ceramic tile, cement it in place.

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Floating floors of the “Click” type should be easy to install and the planks must not detach from one another. Realistically, the click mechanisms are often a frustrating exercise with the planks eventually coming loose.

How about a luxury vinyl plank that claims to be able to be installed and positioned directly onto a subfloor without the use of glue and is simply held in place with two-way tape around the perimeter? Well, this type of install might do the trick for a while, until you actually start moving things around and generating a bit of traffic.

All we can tell you as a flooring retailer is that 95 percent of the complaints come from those who have installed the thinner economy class floating floors. So, whenever possible, take the support and tape it in place.

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Traditionally, hardwood floors are nailed down. Traditionally, however, hardwood flooring consisted of simple planks 2.25 or 3.25 inches wide. In general, the narrower the piece of wood, the less likely that hardwood plank will shrink or buckle (where the center or sides of the plank stick up).

Today, most new build homeowners choose solid and/or engineered planks between 4.25 inches and 8.25 inches wide. This is a wide surface that can be held in a stable position by simply inserting a clamp about every 20 to 10 inches on either side of the board.

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As humidity levels in a home fluctuate from season to season, and room temperature fluctuates because windows let in too much sunlight, or even because a wood or gas stove is on, these wider planks will be stressed. When wood is stressed, it wants to move, even if they are engineered materials.

So, for solid or engineered hardwood floors that are 4.25″ wide and 4.25″ wide, look for the Glue Assist product or an equivalent floor adhesive as recommended by your hardwood floor vendor.

How is the glue applied? As with most wood glue methods, you draw a no-frills line down the back of the hardwood board, press it into place with your full body weight, and then insert the staples. For the luxury vinyl planks, you must first apply the adhesive to the subfloor and wait for the adhesive to become tacky (about 20 minutes). Then you have to position the planks.

The great advantage of luxury vinyl floors is that the tiles have a square edge, so there is no clicking. The fact that it’s glued gives it a huge advantage.

We installed it in our showroom, taped down of course, and we cart over it and wipe it down all day with no problem. So we’re pretty confident that the glued down version of this vinyl floor will stand up to any domestic environment you can throw at it.

Therefore, if you want to install it on your floor, stick it on.

good building

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