• Rachel Pohl and her husband left San Francisco and traveled around the USA for about a year.

• When Pohl became pregnant, they finally began looking for a place to settle down.

• They thought Durham, North Carolina, would be the answer, but Chattanooga, Tennessee, ultimately became their home.

San Francisco is home to the Golden Gate Bridge, has been the setting for the television series “Raven's Adventure” and “Full House,” and is home to a strong professional and business services workforce.

It's also an expensive city, with more people moving away from it than moving to other parts of the United States.

Rachel Pohl, 34, who lived in San Francisco for several years, and her husband Jesse Rosenthal are just two of the people who left. After traveling around the U.S. for about a year, they are happy to have settled in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Pohl said that although she was also happy in San Francisco and enjoyed life there, at her current stage of life she is “grateful to be able to call Chattanooga home.” She and her husband moved to the city of more than 180,000 residents in late 2021.

They had been considering moving away from California for some time before leaving San Francisco in the fall of 2020.

“Obviously, it's very expensive and difficult to buy a home and raise a family,” she said. Pohl said they also wanted to live closer to family and be somewhere where life was “slower” than the more hectic big city of San Francisco, which is home to over 800,000 people.

“I think the overall situation and quality of life there is more difficult than in smaller or medium-sized cities because of the cost of living,” said Pohl.

The California wildfires in August 2020 were another reason for the couple's decision to leave the country. “It was around that time that we thought, let's leave California. It's time,” Pohl said.

“A great nomad tour through the USA”

During the pandemic, the pair were able to leave San Francisco thanks to flexible remote work and decided to explore the country, see the sights and decide where they would settle. “We went on a big nomadic tour of the USA,” Pohl said.

They packed up their things and moved some items to storage. Pohl said goodbye to the city she had called home for years and where she had met her husband. The two set off for Airbnb accommodations across the US.

Montana was one of the states they visited. Chattanooga was another place they saw on their trip and she found it “very beautiful and lovely.”

“It was spring and the flowers were blooming and I thought, 'This is a beautiful place,'” she added. She and her husband moved on, but after about a year of traveling, they finally moved there because they were looking for a permanent place after learning Pohl was pregnant. Pohl said she and her husband liked the size and energy of Chattanooga.

“It seemed to me that for the size of the city there was enough and plenty going on, but not overwhelming,” she said.

In the summer of 2021, they landed in Durham, North Carolina, before leaving Chattanooga, in part because of the potential job opportunities there. But Pohl said the place just didn't appeal to them.

“We thought if we could choose any place in the U.S., we just wanted to love it and feel comfortable with our decision,” Pohl said. “So we decided then to return to Chattanooga. We hadn't been there since the spring.”

The family-friendly location and other advantages of Chattanooga

Pohl likes the access to nature in Chattanooga.

“We like to hike, go river walking and paddle,” she said. “We like to take our son to playgrounds and parks. It's all very accessible.”

Pohl said people in Chattanooga are also friendly and she considers it a family-friendly place. She has also found that people are more diverse when it comes to jobs, in contrast to the dominance of the tech industry in the San Francisco area.

“I met entrepreneurs in the food and beverage industry and people doing all kinds of things,” Pohl said of Chattanooga. “It felt approachable and accessible here to do that.”

Chattanooga is also much more affordable for homebuyers than San Francisco. According to Realtor.com, both San Francisco and Chattanooga are currently buyers' markets where “the supply of homes exceeds the demand for homes.” While that may be the case, Realtor.com also shows that the median sales price for homes in Chattanooga is well below the national price in San Francisco – $347,500, or about $1.1 million.

“It's just a lot easier to buy a nice, bigger house in Tennessee and Chattanooga,” she said. “You can go a lot further with your money here. We thought about buying a house in California, but in the end we thought it didn't make sense because of the cost, because of the distance from family and just the whole situation. We thought let's move there.”

Although Pohl is happy in Tennessee, she misses the cuisine in San Francisco and access to some of the national parks nearby. Pohl told BI that she has visited San Francisco since moving away, mostly for work. And while she loves the energy in Chattanooga, there's something special about the energy in California, too.

“It's such a beautiful state,” Pohl said of California. “Sometimes I miss the energy a little bit, but I feel like that was an active part of my decision to move away from the big city, but there's so much innovation there around technology and AI. From a professional perspective, I miss that sometimes.”

Have you moved from San Francisco or anywhere else in the U.S.? Contact this reporter at mhoff@businessinsider.com to share your moving experience.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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PRESS RELEASE

Published October 2, 2023

Burnham Nationwide, a leading building code consultant and permit expeditor, shares its insights on the role of artificial intelligence in the real estate and construction industry. The company has been helping clients for over 30 years with city licenses, ROW/encroachment permits, site plan reviews, and zoning process compliance.

Burnham Nationwide

Several real estate companies are redefining the industry by using AI in investing, selling, and buying properties. It has undoubtedly transformed how businesses operate and forever changed how appraisers, developers, and even lenders work. Artificial intelligence in real estate can take many forms, including providing real-time analytics to help make investment decisions, automating processes for enhanced customer experience, and other mission critical tasks.

When it comes to building performance and construction, AI is being used to analyze data available from the building system to optimize indoor air quality, improve energy efficiency, and more. Construction teams use this innovative technology in project planning, design and engineering, cost estimation, budgeting, resource allocation, document management, communication, performance analytics, and project execution. The technology provides them with data-driven insights, helps automate repetitive tasks, and, most importantly, helps project managers makedata-driven decisions for the project.

So how can a building code consulting firm like Burnham Nationwide leverage AI technology? During the pandemic, the firm has witnessed many companies transition to virtual platforms. Using an office or getting workers to come to the workplace became unnecessary. They started using online video conferencing software to communicate and collaborate over the internet. This provided an opportunity for companies to shut down their offices and save on rent. While this looked like a problem in itself, it also helped several construction companies take advantage of the situation.

Construction firms started converting abandoned office spaces into condos and apartments. One such company was Gensler. It had to evaluate whether the buildings were worth converting into residential spaces. The company used algorithms to test various factors such as building shape, ability to divide the floors into units, elevators present, parking, loading, plumbing and electrical, ventilation, easy accessibility, exposure to natural light, etc. Only if the building meets all these criteria would it be converted into a residential unit. Thus, the future of AI and data in the construction industry looks very bright and here to stay.

Burnham Nationwide is constantly looking for opportunities to improve customer experience. With the help of AI, the firm can analyze thousands of emails in a matter of seconds. AI can also comprehend the language in the emails and determine if the clients are satisfied with the services of the firm. ——–

On the work front, Burnham has been helping clients with city licenses, ROW/encroachment permits, site plan reviews, and zoning process compliance, among many others, for nearly three decades. It caters to building owners, architects, engineers, contractors, and municipalities. Its team of dedicated permit expeditors and building code consultants offer a wealth of knowledge and expertise to ensure the successful completion of projects.

To learn more, visit https://www.burnhamnationwide.com/final-review-blog/ai.

About Burnham Nationwide

Burnham Nationwide is a team of professional permit expediters and code consultants with extensive experience working on iconic buildings and complex projects over the past three decades, including skyscrapers, retail outlets, and historic landmarks. This building code consulting firm has the expertise to seamlessly navigate through the permit and code compliance process on behalf of MNCS, development firms, architects, and major corporations. They have offices nationwide, including Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, San Francisco, San Jose.

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From Checking on Google and Reading Reviews to Looking at the Company’s Social Media Website and More, this Helpful Advice Will Help Homeowners Stay Warm in the Winter and Cool in the Summer

MOORESVILLE, N.C., July 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Brian Pysz, co-owner of the HVAC repair company Peace Heating and Air Conditioning based in Mooresville, North Carolina, is pleased to announce that he has just posted a new blog to the company’s website that discusses an important topic: how to quickly find the best local air conditioner contractor.

To read the new blog in its entirety, please visit https://peaceheatingandairconditioning.com/2023/03/08/when-searching-for-air-conditioner-contractor-near-me-remember-peace-heating-and-air-conditioning/

As the blog notes, it is stressful for homeowners to realize that their heater or air conditioner is no longer functioning properly. In these cases, homeowners want to find reputable contractors quickly who are affordable and will correctly diagnose and fix the issue.

The first step to find a local heating and air conditioning contractor is to use a search engine.

“Type ‘air conditioner contractor near me’ into the search bar and press enter. The search engine will provide you with a list of local contractors in your area,” the blog notes, adding that first, homeowners should look for a licensed and certified contractor.

Once the list of potential contractors has been made, homeowners should visit their company websites and social media pages to learn more about their services.

Next, the blog advises, research each contractor’s online reviews.

“Check online reviews to see what other customers have said about the contractor’s service. Look for reviews on websites like Google, Yelp, the Better Business Bureau, and HomeAdvisor,” the blog notes.

“If a contractor has a lot of positive reviews, it is a good sign that they provide quality service.”

About Peace Heating and Air Conditioning:

Story continues

At Peace Heating And Air Conditioning, they are proud to be the local heating and AC & Heat Service experts, and they have the tools and expertise to install, repair and maintain all the climate control systems people need to breathe easily. Their highly qualified technicians provide only the best service, and they always work with each family’s needs and long-term comfort in mind. For more information, please visit https://peaceheatingandairconditioning.com/

Peace Heating And Air Conditioning

Cision

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SOURCE Peace Heating and Air Conditioning

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History really came alive for Natalye Pass Harpin in college, where she saw herself reflected in the stories and events they were learning about in class, and was also learning about other groups of people. It was in that environment where history wasn’t just about what happened in the past, but its relationship to the present.

“I wanted to be able to create that environment for others, so that they could feel more connected to it,” says Harpin, a continuing lecturer at UC San Diego, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history. She’s also an associate professor at Grossmont College. “Also … to be able to connect it to the things that are happening today and how many of these communities are still affected by the legacies of the histories that we’re learning about.”

She’s heard people describe history as “boring,” but she wants to make it accessible and meaningful. Part of that effort will be in her upcoming lecture at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Central Library in downtown San Diego, “Afro-Descendants in Nazi Germany.” To close out Black History Month, Harpin will share the history of the Nazi’s racial policies toward Black Germans during the 1930s and ‘40s, and how they were inspired by the racism of America’s Jim Crow-era South. (This interview has been edited for length and clarity. )

Q: Can you talk about what initially brought Black people to Germany before World War I? Where did they arrive from? What were their circumstances in Germany before the Nazi party came to power?

A: I’m not saying this is the definitive history, but from the research that I’ve done, it looks as if some of the people emigrated from the continent of Africa, in the different areas that had German occupation, to Germany to do things like go to school. Some of these people were children of dignitaries or other important people in their home countries. Around the time period of World War I, there were talks about if and how they would restrict people based on the fact that they were a different race. If they could be German citizens, what would it look like for children who were mixed race? Oftentimes, it would have been African men having children with German women. Sometimes, in the colonies, you’d have German men who would have marriages to African women. If those children [from those relationships] would be “legitimized” and have German citizenship, there were concerns about giving people access to citizenship because of this racialized aspect. From what I understand, there wasn’t a set of rules, like we had in the American South, because there wasn’t a very large population of Afro-Germans and they weren’t all segregated to one area. They were more spread out, so when you see some of the primary sources of people who did grow up then — like Theodor Michael and Hans Massaquoi, who were biracial and had German mothers and African fathers — they describe how they stood out because they were darker than their peers, but it wasn’t as hostile, with regard to them not being able to go to formal school, until the Nazis came to power.

Q: From what I’ve read, Black people in Germany were already dealing with anti-Black racism in Germany, so what was different once Adolf Hitler was leading the country?

A: There was a lot more push to forcibly sterilize, for example. So, because these people were non-Aryans [by Nazi ideology] — there were terms like “mischling kinder” (mixed children) or “Rheinlandbastarde” (Rhineland bastard)— and were considered to be a result of colonization within continental Africa, a lot of them were forcibly sterilized because [the Nazis] didn’t want them to be able to have their own children who would be German citizens because of where they were born, sort of like in the United States. If you’re born here, on the soil, generally, you’re regarded as an American citizen.

There was also the delegitimization of a lot of these people’s relationships, so they weren’t allowed to be in public spaces with their non-Black partners anymore. It sort of became a Jim Crow situation, like in the U.S. The Nazis borrowed a lot from the Jim Crow South and applied it to their populations of non-Aryans in Germany, so that included people who weren’t Black. [There were rules like] not being able to go to parks or other public spaces on certain days and only having a certain time where you could go to those places if you wanted to. A lot of anti-Blackness had already been a thing, but now there was more of an incentivized push to encourage people to do that type of anti-Black violence, even with adults doing it to children just to prove that they were part of the Aryan group, part of the Nazis.

I was reading in Hans Massaquoi’s book, “Destined to Witness,” and he was talking about how, often, the principal would organize a day where the students would document their Aryan status, or there would be Hitler Youth drills, but he would specifically single out Hans and not allow him to showcase anything. Hans talked about how he, of course, is a German boy because nationality and race are two different things. So, he’s a German boy and his friends are doing these types of exercises and he wants to be involved, but he’s never given the chance to show that he’s just as good as, or better than, everybody else around him. The principal would do things like publicly call him out or stop him from doing something and make it very clear to all of the other children that he was not like the rest of them.

I’m not saying it didn’t happen before, but you also had instances where people were more encouraged to say racist chants or sayings to Black people they would encounter in public spaces. There’s one that he referenced where the translation is basically calling someone “nigger, nigger, chimney sweep.” There were more of those types of displays where it was no longer considered rude to do those kinds of things; it became encouraged that you should do it because you’re Aryan and they’re not. In that hyper-nationalist state, that fascist state, where everybody is supposed to try to outdo each other to prove that they’re more Aryan than their counterparts, that became something that was even more aggressive toward non-Aryans, in general, and to Afro-Germans in particular. [Afro-Germans] had to constantly worry about people harassing them in public spaces.

Hans also mentions that when he was a child, an SS officer tried to grab him and pull him into a pub as an example of the shame of Germany that they’d allowed all of this diversity to happen in the first place. That there were Black people living there, mixed-race people living there. His mom had seen him and she intervened, but he was about 6 or 7 years old when this pack of adults decided they could assault and torment a child. It’s interesting the things that people have to learn to survive, like always having to be hyper-aware of your surroundings.

Q: Can you talk about the role that German citizenship, or the denial of it, played in the lived experiences of Black people in the country during this time?

A: In the earlier part of the 1900s, they had determined that they would give German citizenship to children who were born in the colonies who had a German parent and a non-German parent. That citizenship was really called into question in the late ‘30s as Hitler rose to power and the Nazis had taken over politically. That’s not unlike different times in American history where you had a lot of people classified as “mixed race” having their citizenship questioned or potentially revoked. I think a lot of people at that time who were benefitting from what the Nazis were doing (as far as having access to employment and leisure activities, how life was for the average, German citizen), made excuses for treating people who were non-Aryans this way because they felt like the benefits outweighed the risks. It was easier to go along when you can now take care of your family and inflation isn’t through the roof, so you had a lot of people who felt like they were personally benefitting and that their families were prospering under this. There was a huge propaganda machine that was discussing how people who weren’t Aryan weren’t even full humans, couldn’t be trusted, and they shouldn’t be seen as national brothers and sisters. Since the Nazis owned all of the forms of media, there was nothing to counter that narrative. Even Hans Massaquoi talked about how even he bought into the antisemitism that was disseminated at that time. Again, we have someone who’s from one marginalized group buying into things about another marginalized group, but because he’s a child at the time, he’s not really making all of those connections to say, ‘Well, if I’m not the way that they’re depicting, maybe these people aren’t like that either.’

Q: What is the legacy of these racist policies for Black people in Germany, and in Europe, today?

A: That, I’m not familiar with. I mentioned that Germany had pulled a lot of the similar barriers that were in practice, de facto and de jure, in the Jim Crow South. The Nazis thought that the Jim Crow system took things too far, like the one-drop rule, for example. [The one-drop rule is the idea that any kind of Black ancestry — one drop — makes a person racially Black.] The Nazis thought that the one-drop rule was too far because they also recognized that a lot of people had technically been mixed in at some point; but the Nazis were really in awe of the fact that the United States maintained this innocence and this whole public image around the world as being a place of liberty and freedom, but never having anyone sort of confront that, ‘How are you the country of freedom and liberty when you’re restricting people and what they can and can’t do, where they can and can’t eat, and these are your own citizens?’ So, the Nazis thought that it was too far to try and implement everything, but they liked the fact that the United States sort of got away with having a sterling reputation of freedom and liberty on its public face, but behind the scenes were really practicing a lot of the same ideologies among the marginalized communities here. [The Nazis] didn’t organically come up with that themselves, they pulled a lot of that from the Southern states’ de jure segregation laws.

Q: The Nazis were known for destroying documents connected to concentration camps and their sterilization programs, making it very difficult to retrace the experiences of the victims of their regime. Currently, we continue to be confronted with things like the rejection of African American studies in schools, or the banning of books and discussions of the racism and bigotry in American history. As a historian, what happens when societies are successful in altering and erasing history in this way? What is the danger here?

A: As a historian, I would say the danger is that we open ourselves up to having to repeat it because I find that when people don’t know the things that actually happened, they can’t analyze how they may be participating in the early stages of it, modern day. When you don’t learn about the things that have happened to other people, even today, you can’t understand why their descendants are still upset. So, it’s very easy to say things like, ‘Well, you know, everyone has freedom. That’s what they fought for in the 1960s.’ But, if you don’t know that redlining continued, that sundown towns continued, into the 1970s in California, you’re not going to really think about, ‘Why are there no Black people who live in this neighborhood?’ Or, ‘Why is everyone homogenized in these pockets of San Diego?’ All of this is by design, so when you ban those perspectives and histories, it makes people potentially doomed to repeat it because they don’t know what happened and how to stop it from happening again. It makes it so that they can’t understand different perspectives, or what different families are going through currently, as a legacy of those time periods.

I also think that it leaves open other histories to now be potentially excluded because we’ve seen throughout history that when negative things happen to Black people, they also happen for other groups down the road. That has always, historically, happened. So, if we’re talking about banning Black history, or different cultural things, it then opens the door to ban Asian history and women’s history and Latinx/Hispanic history. When society has allowed Black people to be excluded, and rules that have restricted us throughout our time in this country for the last 400 years, it makes other people have to deal with a lot of the same things we do, it’s just tailored differently to their population. You see that with regard to the Black lynchings, and in the southwest people were lynching Mexicans at the same time, for different reasons. The point is that if it’s OK to do it to this group, then now it’s OK to do it to another group because it’s still part of this whole idea that “these people are not really Americans like us.” The thing that I don’t think enough people appreciate is that, even if they don’t see themselves reflected in this and they think that, ‘This doesn’t personally affect me or my culture,’ it will eventually affect them because it’s never just stopped at Black people.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Elon Musk’s big bet that Tesla price cuts could boost sales and profits amid increased competition and poor economic sentiment appears to be yielding mixed results. Sales soared and the company beat analysts’ expectations for net income in the April-June quarter, even as the company’s profit margins declined. Tesla shares followed suit in after-hours trading.

The Austin, Texas-based maker of electric vehicles, solar panels and batteries reported net income of $2.7 billion in the quarter, up 20% year over year. Earnings per share also rose 20% to 78 cents as measured using generally accepted accounting principles. Total revenue increased 47% to $24.93 billion.

However, analysts tend to focus on Tesla’s own earnings measure, which excludes stock-based compensation expense. Using that metric, Tesla’s net income rose to $3.15 billion, or 91 cents a share, comfortably beating the average analyst estimate of 80 cents a share, according to FactSet. Some analysts had expected falling profits due to the price cuts.

However, Tesla shares initially remained flat around $292 in after-hours trading immediately following the release of the earnings report, climbing slightly above its close of $291.26. As Tesla executives spoke to analysts on a conference call, shares plunged more than 4%.

Tesla reported strong vehicle shipment numbers on July 2, saying they were up 83% from the year-ago quarter after the company repeatedly slashed prices on its four electric vehicle models. Tesla sold a record 466,140 vehicles worldwide from April to June, almost double the same period last year (254,695).

The vast majority of these sales were for Tesla’s popular Model 3 sedans and Model Y crossover SUVs.

However, the earnings report delivered mixed messages on one of the larger questions facing Tesla: whether the automaker’s rebate strategy can increase sales while preserving its profit margins. Tesla’s operating margin, which measures how efficiently it converts sales into pre-tax profits, fell to 9.6% in the April-June quarter, a notable decline from 14.6% a year earlier. The key figure also fell sharply in the January-March quarter.

While profitability and pricing pressures continue to weigh on Tesla, Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau said he found some comments from management on cost controls optimistic and said the company’s overall performance remains solid.

“The long-term drivers of growth remain and there will only be short-term headwinds in the current environment that we are in,” he said.

On the company’s conference call with analysts, Musk praised the company’s performance despite high interest rates and what he called significant economic uncertainty, then quickly switched to the topic of Tesla’s advanced projects like its so-called “full self-driving” software.

Despite the name, software-enabled Tesla cars can’t drive themselves, and the company warns drivers to be ready to intervene at all times. Musk praised Tesla’s work on a new machine learning system called Dojo, which the company plans to use to improve its self-driving software.

Musk also said Tesla should deliver its long-promised Cybertruck — an unusual-looking pickup truck with an angular design that couldn’t look out of place in a Mad Max movie — by the end of the year. Tesla announced on Saturday that the first Cybertruck had rolled off the assembly line.

However, analysts aren’t convinced the vehicle will be widely available anytime soon, not least because other automakers have already unveiled conventional-looking electric pickups like the Ford F-150 Lightning.

“I don’t think we’re going to see significant volume, especially this year,” said Seth Goldstein, an analyst at Morningstar Research. “Not even next year. Maybe we’ll be looking more to 2025, 26, 27 until we see them.”

(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, transcribed, or redistributed without permission.)

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WALMART is shutting 21 stores nationwide this year, including four in Chicago, due to poor financial results at each site.

The most recent store closings continue a pattern in which Walmart shuts down a number of locations in various states each year, claiming that the locations are “underperforming” but not giving any further details.

Most recently, the chain has announced closures in 12 states, including Arkansas, Washington DC, Georgia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Washington State, and Wisconsin.

A spokeswoman cited store performance as one of the reasons for the closure.

The business said that four of its eight Chicago locations will be shutting down in April and claimed that these locations “lose tens of millions of dollars a year.”

The chain’s store closures come after Walmart CEO Doug McMillion issued a warning to shoppers.

“Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been,” McMillon told CNBC in December. If this issue isn’t addressed, “prices will be higher, and/or stores will close,” McMillon warned.

Follow our store closures blog for news and updates…

More on CVS closures

The Mobile, Alabama, store joins a growing list of CVS locations permanently shuttering.

The chain closed three locations in March and two more in April.

“It’s stressful for a lot of patients. The thought of switching pharmacies can be very daunting, especially when you have patients that have a lot of medication,” Sarah Walton, the company’s director of pharmacy operations, told WNYT as the company announced a closure in New York earlier this year.

“But we’ve done our best with estimating the number of patients that we think we can be getting with this closing.”

The company revealed plans in January to shutter 300 stores per year – the goal was to close 900 locations by 2026.

There are more than 9,600 CVS locations nationwide.

Pharmacy set to shut down

Customers in Mobile, Alabama, are preparing to lose a CVS location.

In a statement to 15 News, the local NBC affiliate, the company said it is working to help customers find new locations to fill their prescriptions.

“All prescriptions will be transferred to the nearby CVS Pharmacy at 4645 Airport Boulevard to ensure that patients continue to have uninterrupted access to the pharmacy care, programs and services they currently receive from CVS,” the company said.

“Patients can always choose to fill their prescriptions at any CVS Pharmacy, or the pharmacy of their choice, if another is more convenient.”

CVS didn’t specify why the store was closing but pointed to multiple factors leading to closures.

Retailer closes after a six-month run

Furniture retailer Coco Republic opened its doors in San Francisco’s Union Square with high hopes in the fall of 2022.

But now the chain is saying goodbye to its new shoppers, announcing the store will be completely shut down by the end of July — or whenever its inventory is completely sold out.

The closure is just one of many as downtown San Francisco continues to fare poorly in its ability to retain retailers over the past several months.

As crime picked up in the area, other stores such as Nordstrom, Whole Foods, and Office Depot also announced their departure from the area, partly attributed to high theft and crime as well as low foot traffic.

“It was a difficult decision and one that was not taken lightly,” a company spokesperson told SFGate.

7/11 rival closes its doors

Health Beat Natural Foods, which rivals convenience store chan 7-Eleven, is shutting down in Johnson City, New York.

This is because the owner of the store, Michele Moelder, is retiring.

She said in a Facebook post: “Thank you so much for 40 years of support! I’m onto the next chapter of life!”

“My goal when I opened was to educate and help people enjoy a healthier life by providing healthier food – vitamins and guidance! Continue on – please keep in touch!”

‘Retail apocalypse’

A variety of brick-and-mortar stores have struggled in recent years due to the rise of online sales.

This has been a leading cause of store closures in general.

Some have dubbed this trend as the retail apocalypse.

In particular, it has affected many stores that have a big presence in the malls including Macy’s, which has announced plans to close more than 100 locations by the end of this year.

And Foot Locker announced it would be shutting down 400 “underperforming” locations, all of which are mall-based stores

Dollar General rival closes

Dollar Tree at 1099 Route 46 in the Troy-Hills shopping center in New Jersey has closed.

A picture of a sign taken by local news outlet Parsippany Focus read: “This location has been permanently closed. Thank you to our customers.”

Another photo on the store that suddenly closed shows that the sign and facade have been removed.

The exact reason for and when exactly it closed is unclear.

But Dollar Tree is encouraging customers to shop at other local stores including one at 1440 US-46 in Parsippany and another at 461 US-46 in Fairfield.

Other retailers leaving San Francisco

Williams-Sonoma joins a long list of companies vacating their San Francisco dwellings.

Coco Republic, Nordstrom, and Whole Foods Market all announced their departure from the California city.

None of the companies have pointed directly to a rise in theft as the main cause of their departure.

Workers and police data suggests that theft has been a big reason for the exits.

“We invested extraordinary time and capital in our initial US flagship store in Union Square,” Coco Republic’s creative director and founder, Anthony Spon-Smith, said in a statement.

“But, ultimately, the safety and well-being of our customers and employees is our highest priority.”

Iconic kitchenware store shuts down

The popular kitchenware store Williams-Sonoma has been the only location in downtown San Francisco.

The company, well known for its gourmet-quality cookware, is closing after 30 years in the bay area city.

The four-floor, nearly 20,000-square-foot location, has been a Williams-Sonoma since 1993.

The store’s top floor featured a full-working kitchen.

Williams-Sonoma contracted professional chefs to teach cooking classes in the custom kitchen.

According to The San Francisco Standard, employees at the kitchenware brand said the location is expected to turn into a Chanel store.

Hooters rival closes doors for good

The Buffalo Wild Wings bar in northeast Columbia abruptly closed its doors just one week after announcing several other closures.

Last week a spokesperson for the chicken wing chain told CTV News Toronto that the “difficult decision” was made to close “a few” of its locations in Ontario.

The spokesperson did not specify the reasoning behind the closures, but said it “routinely evaluates locations to serve out guests best.”

Those that were axed included bars in Oakville, London, Ajax, Stoney Creek, and Vaughan.

Retailers who filed for bankruptcy: JCPenney

The popular department store declared bankruptcy in May 2020 and announced it would close over 800 stores.

Unfortunately, the company had acquired $4.5billion in net losses since 2010.

Only 670 JCPenney locations exist today, and more stores are slated to close this spring, including those in Oswego, New York, and Elkhart, Indiana.

Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Group have agreed to acquire the chain for $1.75billion.

Retailers who filed for bankruptcy: Party City

Party supply store Party City may have flourished pre-pandemic, but the coronavirus outbreak put a hit on both in-person events and the store’s financial performance.

Since filing for bankruptcy, the store has placed 12 locations up for auction so far.

Under a $150 bankruptcy loan, the chain said it will continue operating while restructuring its debt load.

In September 2022, Party City held $1.7billion in debt but was working to achieve a smaller and more successful fleet of stores.

Burger King closures: Michigan

EYM King of Michigan stated in a WARN notice it would also be closing 26 Burger King restaurants in Michigan in April.

The locations include:

• Dearborn Heights: 20401 W. Warren (16)
• Detroit: 2155 Gratiot Ave. (8)
• Detroit: 9871 Livernois (13)
• Detroit: 8201 Woodward Ave. (14)
• Detroit: 18021 Kelly Rd. (20)
• Detroit: 20200 Grand River Ave. (22)
• Detroit: 13600 W. McNichols Rd. (22)
• Detroit: 15500 W. Seven Mile (21)
• Detroit: 20240 Plymouth Rd. (25)
• Detroit: 12661 Mack Ave. (11)
• Detroit: 9239 Gratiot Ave. (9)
• Detroit: 17440 E. Warren (30)
• Detroit: 16245 Livernois Ave. (14)
• Ecorse: 3863 W. Jefferson Ave. (11)
• Ferndale: 10336 W. 8 Mile Rd. (26)
• Flint: 3625 South Dort Hwy. (25)
• Flint: 3801 Clio Rd. (18)
• Highland Park: 13324 Woodward Ave. (13)
• Livonia: 28203 Plymouth Rd. (10)
• Livonia: 34835 Plymouth Ave. (19)
• Royal Oak: 31456 Woodward Ave. (17)
• Southfield: 23660 Telegraph Rd. (19)
• Southfield: 30711 Southfield Rd. (7)
• Walled Lake: 1113 E. West Maple Rd. (8)
• Warren: 2411 E. 8 Mile Rd. (13)
• Whitmore Lake: 9774 E. M-36 (13)

Burger King closures: Utah

Utah is closing nine stores as Burger King plans to close 400 locations this year, they include:

• 171 East Gateway Dr, Heber
• 7810 South 1300 E, Sandy
• 10235 South State Street, Sandy
• 729 North Main St, Clearfield
• 1466 East 3500 North, Lehi
• 119 East Crossroads Blvd, Saratoga Springs
• 147 East Bangerter Highway, Draper
• 5390 South 1900 West, Roy
• 1660 West North Temple St, Salt Lake City

Burger King closures: Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota

The popular fast-food chain plans to close 5 locations throughout Kansas, Nebraska, and North Dakota.

The locations closing in Kansas include:

• 2201 East Kansas Ave, McPherson

The locations closing in Nebraska include:

• 3627 South Lincoln Avenue, York
• 2504 O St, Lincoln
• 4230 North 27th Street, Lincoln

The locations closing in North Dakota include:

• 3765 Gateway Drive, Grand Forks

Burger King closures: Montana

Montana has made the list of stores Burger King plans to close this upcoming year, they include:

• 1422 West Main Street, Lewistown
• 520 North 27th St, Billings
• 1211 9th Street West, Columbia Falls

Burger King closures: Minnesota

Burger King has announced that mass closures are being planned to protect the brand from further damage.

Here are the closures set to take place in Minnesota:

• 209 Nokomis Street, Alexandria
• 926 Central Avenue Northeast, East Grand Forks
• 528 Western Ave, Fergus Falls
• 21 Depot Street, Litchfield
• 205 Lake Street, Long Prairie
• 586 Southwest 1st Street, Montevideo
• 516 East Bridge Street, Redwood Falls
• 100 21st Street North, Moorhead
• 1611 US-12, Willmar

Burger King dealing with massive closures this year

Joshua Kobza of Restaurant Brands International, Burger King’s parent company, said that mass closures are being planned to protect the brand from further damage.

The fast-food giant surprised analysts with a 12.3 percent increase in global same-store sales in the first quarter of the year and an 8.7 percent increase in same-store sales in the U.S. after launching a $400million “Reclaim the Flame” campaign.

However, RBI chairman Patrick Doyle said that stores unable to meet sales goals will be asked to shut down in the coming months.

Additional Starbucks closures

This year, in total, Starbucks has permanently closed three locations in DuPage, Illinois, Detroit, Michigan, and Fresno, California.

Meanwhile, Starbucks has targeted other union stores too.

This includes another in Ithaca on College Avenue, which shuttered in June 2022.

Additionally, Starbucks shut down a union store in Boston’s Cleveland Circle. Massachusetts.

The company said it would close in March temporarily due to “plumbing issues.

Starbucks to close locations next week

The coffee chain is planning to close its remaining locations in Ithaca, New York on Friday, May 26.

The stores affected are on East Seneca Street and South Meadow Street.

While Starbucks has denied this was the case for the closure, these locations all voted to unionize.

The company told The U.S. Sun that it is a part of the closures are a part of its so-called Reinvention Plan, which involves transforming its store portfolio.

“We’ve gone to extraordinary efforts to staff, hire and support these stores so that our partners and customers are able to have the Starbucks experience they deserve,” Starbucks said.

Nike rival closes down after more than 40 years of business

SMS Sportsworld, which has been located in South Carolina’s Orangeburg Mall Circle for more than 40 years, plans to shutter forever following the sale of all of its merchandise.

The men who founded the sports equipment retailer 41 years ago, Dick Sheridan, Melicue Metts, and Richard Salley named it SMS after their own last names, The Times and Democrat reported.

Bobby Sheridan, Dick Sheridan’s son, is handling the store’s closeout as both Metts and Salley got out of the business over a decade ago, leaving Sheridan as the sole owner.

“My father, Mr. Metts, and Mr. Salley thank you for half a century of shopping here,” Bobby said.

He added: “We wish we could have stayed longer but it is time to go.”

Target closes struggling stores

Target announced it would be closing down four stores that couldn’t keep up with the chain’s financial expectations.

The areas affected include:

Bed Bath & Beyond closing its doors for good

Company leaders at Bed Bath & Beyond also announced the home goods giant is closing all 360 stores after filing for bankruptcy in April.

In addition, all the company’s 120 buybuyBABY locations will be going under as well.

Up to 30,000 jobs could be lost due to the store closures.

Tuesday Morning having struggles

With consumer spending being cramped by high inflation, many other brick-and-mortar shops are feeling the pressure.

Home goods store Tuesday Morning filed for bankruptcy in February and shortly after announced the closure of half of its retail locations.

At least 860 stores have reported their upcoming closures in 2023.

Stores in states including but not limited to California, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Nevada, and Nebraska will be shuttering this year.

Best Buy cuts down on employees

After closing multiple locations, Best Buy has also released thousands of employees.

Overall, Best Buy cut down its employee base in the US and Canada from 125,000 in early 2020 to just 90,000 at the start of the year.

Best Buy is leaning into its digital growth as e-commerce sales now make up 33 percent of its revenue in the United States, up from just 19 percent three years ago.

Best Buy closings revealed

Best Buy has decided to close multiple stores in different locations after the company predicted overall sales to fall this year during its prior earnings call.

The shuttered stores include the following:

1. Farragut, Tennessee
2. Hixson, Tennessee
3. St. Joseph, Missouri
4. Two stores in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota
5. Shakopee, Minnesota
6. Blaine, Minnesota
7. Temecula, California
8. Pflugerville, Texas
9. Algonquin, Illinois

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Spring Summer is the recording project of San Francisco-based musician Jennifer Furches, who spent a large part of her career in the aughts making a name for herself by touring and playing with musicians like Cass McCombs, Coconut Records, and Ben Lee. About a year ago, in 2021, she finally launched her own solo career and released a couple of delicate, folksy guitar songs on Dangerbird Records. Now, Furches announces the arrival of her forthcoming debut album, TEARS, out July 15 and produced closely by friend Jenny lee Lindberg of Warpaint.

Below, NYLON exclusively premieres the video of the album’s lead single, “Mountaineer,” a sturdier and more robust version of the indie rock first previewed by the musician and multi-instrumentalist. Over shuffling guitar and drums infused with a crisp and clean feeling, Furches works through overcoming life’s obstacles with a partner while maintaining self-preservation through writerly, graceful lyricism. “I’m tough as nails/ I am a mountaineer/ I will climb these jagged peaks and leave the valleys for you dear,” she sings. Any hint of tension in its lyrics is tempered by the song’s grand and sweeping sound, like you’re also perched on the mountain peak next to her.

Of the song, Furches writes in an email: “There’s a running theme on the album of losing yourself in another person, and this song is about the push-and-pull between the feeling of ‘I would do anything for you’ and ‘ I can’t do anything for you, I need to be strong and do things for me.’”

In its miniature-filled music video directed by Jon Sortland, she captures that feeling of towering above everything else quite literally, recreating a haunting but cozy world through dollhouse sets and beautifully illustrated natural landscapes. Furches herself is seen interacting with the world through clever editing that makes it look like she’s inhabiting the sets, but is simultaneously caught setting them up in the first place — adding another meaningful layer to the song’s contemplation.

Watch “Mountaineer” below, and read on to learn a bit more about Furches. And be sure to catch her record TEARS when it drops on July 15.

What are you up to right now — describe your surroundings.

I’m sitting in my practice space in our garage in San Francisco. There’s nothing soundproof about it and I live on an echo-y alley, but luckily the neighbors don’t seem to mind that the kids and I have started a 90’s cover band.

What’s the story behind your new song, “Mountaineer”?

I wrote the first incarnation of Mountaineer before I had kids. I was 4 years into a relationship, and kind of passing that puppy-love stage where you want to just do everything for someone and be with them all the time… and starting to feel like I had lost — or forgotten — about myself. Then after kids, many more years into the same relationship, the same feelings were hitting me. It’s so easy in life and love to give yourself away. I had to make a very conscious effort to find some balance.

I had never done anything with that song, but it was suddenly resonating heavily with me again. I played it for my cousin Jason and he had all these great suggestions to make it something new which appealed to me. I loved the feeling of it having lived so long as one song, and then getting to transform it into another version of itself. As I guess I wished to do. (Thanks to Jen we recorded the old version, too — we’ll put that out one day!)

How did you land on the idea of ​​using miniatures for your “Mountaineer” video; they’re really having a moment right now.

I feel like miniatures have been heavily utilized forever! But I guess you mean maybe they’re being used in a more obvious way, as we did, rather than the old-school Hollywood trickery?

You know — I just loved Jon Sortland’s work so much! He made all these great videos for his band The Shins (a few of which use miniatures) and he is just constantly making things that make me laugh and reel me in. I feel like he finds a wonderful way of mixing the magical world and real life. So the miniatures came from his experience with them… but in the end when COVID hit and we ultimately had to call on my husband Roman to shoot my part of the video, I thought it was kind of a fun twist of fate because Roman has shot a lot of second unit and special effects work through his career which often involves miniatures — so I felt like there was a nice connection there between the two of them.

After spending a large part of your career playing with other artists, how does it feel to be releasing music of your own?

Great! For so many years I was scared to record my own music. It was so much easier to be a sort of hired gun (and of course also get to play with musicians I admired). But now I just want to do hard things. I want to learn and challenge myself. It’s all one big puzzle… and I love puzzles!

In the spirit of the song, what’s the last mountain you climbed and do you have a favorite?

Last summer: Chimney Rock outside of Asheville, NC with my dad and my sister Amanda. I’m from North Carolina and spent my life in those mountains. They hold a special place in my heart.

The post Spring Summer time Declares Debut Album ‘T.E.A.R.S,’ Shares “Mountaineer” Video appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

South San Francisco, CA June 28, 2022 by Ms. Dale (Brown) Amann (daughter)

Russell is pictured here with his Kindergarten Class in front of what we now call Spruce Elementary. Russell is in the top row, 3rd from the left. Who else might you recognize from this photo?

My Dad, Russell Dale Brown, was born in Grand Rapids MN. on 17 June 1925 When he was a little over a year old the family, (Dad-Albert, Mom-Margaret, and 2 years older sister, Allegra), moved to California and bought a home at 1609 B Street in San Mateo.

At that time my grandfather sold insurance. In early 1930, my grandfather changed jobs and became a Prohibition Agent. Unfortunately, in June 1930, he was murdered while trying to close down an illegal bar. Within a couple of months, my grandmother sold the home and they moved into a rental at 657 Baden Ave. in South City, just blocks from my grandmother’s sister, Anna St. Louis, and her husband, Frank. (They lived at 209 Acacia Ave.)

So, my dad went all through school in South San Francisco, and his sister, who was 2 years older, started 2nd grade in South City and graduated with the class of ’41 there. SSF high school was called a junior-senior school when my dad attended. It was grades 7 & 8 in one part, and grades 9 through 12 in another part of the building. Dad was with the class of ’43.

Charles Sellick was the bank instructor. His brother was a barber. His sister was an opera singer who was murdered. Charles was killed when his boat exploded at Sausalito harbor in 1965.

Some of Dad’s high school classmates were Florabele Nelson Powers, Ray Angeli, Jim Franklin, Robert Arrendiell, Emilio Petrocchi, John Noonan, Dante Lombardi, and Mary Louise Newton Bloom. and Dorothy Gabbani Elliott.

The South San Francisco High School basketball team, 1941

DePrado was a teacher in grammar school. Charles Zipfel was one of his teachers. They called him “Zip”. Guthrie was his gym teacher. Laverne __?_ was his 1st-grade teacher, Mr. Gavin in 2nd grade. O’Malley was his Latin teacher. (*Russell attended the 60th reunion of SSFHS Class on 1945 years ago)

Dad couldn’t remember his kindergarten teacher but remembered she was related to my Welte family and was married to a McMills (Al Welte’s daughter, Evelyn, married Wallace McMills; Uncle Al’s first wife, Gladys, was the step-daughter of Dan McSweeney, who was mayor of SSF and an inspector for the Western Meat Company).

When in the 8th or 9th grade a new kid, George Ramsell, moved to SSF from San Jose and he and his family became friends with dad, and then our families were friends as well.

SSFHS Basketball Team photo 1939 –

Elbert “Whitey” Smith was 2 years older than dad but he and dad and our families became lifelong friends. They hunted all over the San Bruno hills as kids. When Whitey married Jane Adler, they and their 2 boys used to go camping and hunting with us. Probably his best friend was Aldo Padreddii. Aldo was a year behind dad in school. They would go fishing and hunting together and just hang out doing what boys did in the late thirties and early forties.

{Dad recently was in touch with Laura Padreddi, who’s 99 and living in Fremont. It was good for both of them to be able to remember about the “old days”, and especially about Aldo. He had to have been a very special person in my Dad’s life because I grew up hearing stories about him, how he was killed in the war, how they hung out as kids, drove around in my Dad’s car, that kind of thing}

Aldo joined the army in Aug. 1944; he was with the 411th infantry and was killed in action in march 1945. His brother, Leo was also a friend of the family as I was growing up. Dad and Aldo used to go across the bay to Niles (Fremont) and shovel manure on the Pessagno property. Aldo and Leo’s sister, Laura, married Gene Pessagno in 1940. Laura is living in Fremont. She was in my Aunt Allegra’s high school class of 1941.

When Dad moved to Baden Ave. a kid down the block on the corner of Orange Ave. and Baden Ave. (123 Orange Ave) that became good friends with dad was Roy Parenti. Roy and his wife Mary were lifelong friends. Another friend was Julio Malone.

Russell pictured in 1939. He played clarinet and was in the SSFHS Marching Band.

My dad played the clarinet in grammar school and was in the band throughout his schooling. He played basketball in school. He bought a 1929 Model A when he was 16 for $49; he turned around and sold it for $50 and bought a 1938 Buick straight 8, which he says was a beautiful vehicle.

He worked at the Associated Gas Station, which was located down by the Bayshore Highway and Baden Ave. He also worked at the California Golf and Country Club cleaning the swimming pool. When old enough his sister, Allegra, worked at the Sanitary Bakery on Grand Ave. (Sad to see they sold after so many decades. I stop there any time I’m in the Bay Area).

South City was a town of about 5000 people when my dad was growing up there. It was a close-knit community and like all small towns, everyone knew everyone else. It’s probably still that way for the core part of town. Many were Italian immigrants who took advantage of the fertile soil and raised various crops on what was called truck farms.

There were also the Swift Western Meat packing plants, a steel plant, and a lumber company where people were employed. The month before Dad was to graduate high school he quit and joined the Army Air Corps. That was in May 1943. He did go back and finish his schooling and got his diploma from South City High in 1947.

Russell is pictured here with SSFHS friends in 1939.
Who can identify this group?

Because it was the depression and my family was in perilous circumstances, what with my grandfather being killed, my grandmother went to work as a domestic for the Henry Haaker family for a while. Henry was VP at the local bank (Bank of South San Francisco I believe) and later had an insurance agency.

Henry Haaker’s son Lee was a friend of my Dad’s and the family insurance agent (Lee’s son lives in Gilroy I believe). Henry’s brother, George, worked in the meat packing industry and he and his wife Maude were best friends with my mother’s parents. My grandfather worked in the meat packing industry with George for years. George’s son, George Jr. was a friend of my mother’s. He died of a stroke in 1963.

Ross and Jack Meyer were related to the Haaker family. Ross was older than dad, was a navy pilot and instructor. After the war he flew for Pan Am. His brother Jack, who was a year older than my dad, was a medic in the service. He died of cancer years ago. He owned a cement business and had 2 daughters..

Other family names that my dad knew, his sister and mother were: Ted Pretzer, Aldo Minucciani, and Robin Castonia married my dad’s cousin Anna Rose St. Louis. Ted was a very dear friend of the family and is very missed.

The South San Francisco High School basketball team, 1941

Ed Kaufman was head of the bank. She then worked at the Tasty Bakery on Grand Ave. The hospital was located on Grand Ave. Pete Linn had a meat market on Grand Avenue and used to deliver meat in a wagon to people’s homes.

There was also a fish monger who used to honk his horn and sell fish up and down the streets in his cart. And there were fruit and vegetable trucks who sold that way also. It was like having Amazon Fresh without the internet.

The dentist they used was Bacigalupi. He knew the Hickey family, WL Hickey & son Jack had a plumbing shop at 369 Grand Ave. There was an Inks Company and a paint company in town too.

The Valencia family were friends of ours. Tony dated my Aunt Allegra at one time, and she became best friends with his sister, Isabel, who was also my mother’s best friend.

After the war, my dad was working at a Shell gas station where my mother always got gas. Mom’s cousin, Homer Gibbs, set up a blind date for my dad at the Claremont Hotel in Oakland and it turned out to be my mother. After 6 weeks he proposed and 6 weeks later they married in South City (Mom was 5 years older than dad and said she wouldn’t marry him until he was 21. He had to get his mother’s permission to marry because in those days you had to be 21 without permission).

My mother was related to the Welte Family; her mother, Marie was sister to Al Welte, the Fire Chief, and Carl “Jazz” Welte, the owner of Welte’s Bar downtown.) After they married they moved to 5th Ave in San Mateo, where we lived until 1964.

###

Today Russell calls Nampa Idaho home and celebrated his 97th birthday on June 17th

We greatly appreciate Russell’s daughter, Ms. Dale L Amann, for the email conversations and her compiling this incredible wealth of the lives and times of her father, and those who lived in South City, in the 30’s and 40’s.

The post Russell Dale Brown Shares 1930-40’s Reminiscences of South San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Spring Summer is the recording project of San Francisco-based musician Jennifer Furches, who spent a large part of her career in the aughts making a name for herself by touring and playing with musicians like Cass McCombs, Coconut Records, and Ben Lee. About a year ago, in 2021, she finally launched her own solo career and released a couple of delicate, folksy guitar songs on Dangerbird Records. Now, Furches announces the arrival of her forthcoming debut album, TEARS, out July 15 and produced closely by friend Jenny lee Lindberg of Warpaint.

Below, NYLON exclusively premieres the video of the album’s lead single, “Mountaineer,” a sturdier and more robust version of the indie rock first previewed by the musician and multi-instrumentalist. Over shuffling guitar and drums infused with a crisp and clean feeling, Furches works through overcoming life’s obstacles with a partner while maintaining self-preservation through writerly, graceful lyricism. “I’m tough as nails/ I am a mountaineer/ I will climb these jagged peaks and leave the valleys for you dear,” she sings. Any hint of tension in its lyrics is tempered by the song’s grand and sweeping sound, like you’re also perched on the mountain peak next to her.

Of the song, Furches writes in an email: “There’s a running theme on the album of losing yourself in another person, and this song is about the push-and-pull between the feeling of ‘I would do anything for you’ and ‘ I can’t do anything for you, I need to be strong and do things for me.’”

In its miniature-filled music video directed by Jon Sortland, she captures that feeling of towering above everything else quite literally, recreating a haunting but cozy world through dollhouse sets and beautifully illustrated natural landscapes. Furches herself is seen interacting with the world through clever editing that makes it look like she’s inhabiting the sets, but is simultaneously caught setting them up in the first place — adding another meaningful layer to the song’s contemplation.

Watch “Mountaineer” below, and read on to learn a bit more about Furches. And be sure to catch her record TEARS when it drops on July 15.

What are you up to right now — describe your surroundings.

I’m sitting in my practice space in our garage in San Francisco. There’s nothing soundproof about it and I live on an echo-y alley, but luckily the neighbors don’t seem to mind that the kids and I have started a 90’s cover band.

What’s the story behind your new song, “Mountaineer”?

I wrote the first incarnation of Mountaineer before I had kids. I was 4 years into a relationship, and kind of passing that puppy-love stage where you want to just do everything for someone and be with them all the time… and starting to feel like I had lost — or forgotten — about myself. Then after kids, many more years into the same relationship, the same feelings were hitting me. It’s so easy in life and love to give yourself away. I had to make a very conscious effort to find some balance.

I had never done anything with that song, but it was suddenly resonating heavily with me again. I played it for my cousin Jason and he had all these great suggestions to make it something new which appealed to me. I loved the feeling of it having lived so long as one song, and then getting to transform it into another version of itself. As I guess I wished to do. (Thanks to Jen we recorded the old version, too — we’ll put that out one day!)

How did you land on the idea of ​​using miniatures for your “Mountaineer” video; they’re really having a moment right now.

I feel like miniatures have been heavily utilized forever! But I guess you mean maybe they’re being used in a more obvious way, as we did, rather than the old-school Hollywood trickery?

You know — I just loved Jon Sortland’s work so much! He made all these great videos for his band The Shins (a few of which use miniatures) and he is just constantly making things that make me laugh and reel me in. I feel like he finds a wonderful way of mixing the magical world and real life. So the miniatures came from his experience with them… but in the end when COVID hit and we ultimately had to call on my husband Roman to shoot my part of the video, I thought it was kind of a fun twist of fate because Roman has shot a lot of second unit and special effects work through his career which often involves miniatures — so I felt like there was a nice connection there between the two of them.

After spending a large part of your career playing with other artists, how does it feel to be releasing music of your own?

Great! For so many years I was scared to record my own music. It was so much easier to be a sort of hired gun (and of course also get to play with musicians I admired). But now I just want to do hard things. I want to learn and challenge myself. It’s all one big puzzle… and I love puzzles!

In the spirit of the song, what’s the last mountain you climbed and do you have a favorite?

Last summer: Chimney Rock outside of Asheville, NC with my dad and my sister Amanda. I’m from North Carolina and spent my life in those mountains. They hold a special place in my heart.

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The post Spring Summer time Broadcasts Debut Album ‘T.E.A.R.S,’ Shares “Mountaineer” Video appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.