Gary Barlow has declared this year's X Factor finalists the “best ever” as 16-year-old Ella Henderson and chimney sweep Kye Sones easily progressed to the live shows.

Barlow was pleased with the selection of all the judges, saying: “This year we really got the crème de la crème with our finalists and it was difficult for all of us to choose our three acts.”

He continued: “The level of talent has increased this year and I think it is the best finalist line-up ever.”

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“The level of talent has increased this year”: Gary Barlow and his X-Factor colleagues have selected their candidates for this year’s live shows

THE BOYS – Mentor: Nicole Scherzinger

WHO: James Arthur, 24, from Middlesbrough.

Did you know? After running away from home, he often slept outdoors and says music was his coping mechanism.

Why he thinks he should win: “I will bring versatility, passion and pure emotion to the competition and when given the chance to showcase my songwriting skills, I will hopefully show exactly why I should win the competition.”

What Nicole says: “He is so brilliant, he is a modern poet. He is really something special. He is a real artist and I am very happy to work with him.”

James Arthur: “I will bring versatility, passion and pure emotion to the competition”

WHO: Rylan Clark, 23, from Essex.

Did you know? When he reached boot camp, he was stripped naked and dragged through a bar before passing out in a hotel elevator.

Why he thinks he should win: “I'm going to perform on The X Factor that no contestant has ever done before. I want to be the first dance artist to come out of the show. I just hope people pick up the phone.”

What Nicole says: “He's full of spikes and glitter, we need diva music and powerful diva anthems for him. He would definitely have his own audience.”

Rylan Clark: “I want to be the first dance artist to come out of this show. I hope people pick up the phone.”

WHO: Jahmene Douglas, 22, from Swindon.

Did you know? Before wowing the judges at his audition in London with his rendition of Etta James’ “At Last,” he worked at Asda.

Why he thinks he should win: “I am not confident in any way, but I express myself through singing because speaking is not my strong point at all.”

What Nicole says: “He has an incredible voice – he needs a lot of support and love and I'm definitely ready to give it to him.”

Jahmene Douglas: “Singing is my way of expressing myself because speaking is not my strong point at all.”

THE GIRLS – Mentor: Tulisa Contostavlos

WHO: Jade Ellis, 25, from London.

Did you know? She worked as a bicycle mechanic and has a six-year-old daughter named Cayden.

Why she thinks she should win: “There is a gap in the market for young British female urban singers. From the beginning I have taken every opportunity to learn more about myself as an artist and I will continue to take steps to improve and grow.”

What Tulisa says: “She's amazing – when you hear a voice like that, you just can't let go.”

Jade Ellis: “From the beginning, I have taken every opportunity to learn more about myself as an artist and I will continue to take steps to improve and develop myself.”

WHO: Ella Henderson, 16, from Grimsby.

Did you know? Grammy-winning singer Cher recently expressed her joy over Ella's cover of her song “Believe” on Twitter.

Why she thinks she should win: “I believe I have a lot to give and I am fully dedicated to my music. I know that through this show I will grow as an artist and my confidence will grow every week.”

What Tulisa says: “She's so incredible. She just radiates this innocence when she sings and loses herself in the moment. It's beautiful, really.”

Ella Henderson: “I will grow as an artist and my confidence will grow every week.”

WHO: Lucy Spraggan, 20, from Sheffield.

Did you know? When she's not performing in shows, she sells baby portraits to earn some extra money. She used to work as a demolition expert.

Why she thinks she should win: “I want the public to see how hard I have worked, to share my experiences with them, to entertain them and to succeed in the music industry. If I could do that by winning this year's show, I would be over the moon.”

What Tulisa says: “I love her more than anything. As a mentor, you like the music your artists play and what they sing, but it's rare that you can be a fan of the contestants, and I'm a fan of Lucy.”

Lucy Spraggan: “I want the public to see how hard I have worked. I want to share my experiences with the public, entertain them and be successful in the music industry.”

OVER 28 YEARS – Mentor: Gary Barlow

WHO: Melanie Masson, 44, from North London.

Did you know? She has collaborated with the likes of Kasabian, Stereophonics, Fatboy Slim and Happy Mondays, released a single in 2007 and signed a deal with industry heavyweight EMI.

Why she thinks she should win: “It would be so positive to show that no matter where you are in your life, what you've done before or how old you are, you can still achieve your goals, achieve your dreams, be taken seriously and continue to be relevant.”

What Gary says: “She is an incredible talent. She is a true soul singer.”

Melanie Masson: “It would be so positive to show that you can still achieve your goals, realize your dreams, be taken seriously and still be relevant, no matter where you are in life.”

WHO: Carolynne Poole, 32, from Huddersfield.

Did you know? Her dreams of fame were shattered when Louis Walsh sent her home after the Judge's House stage of The X Factor in 2011.

Why she thinks she should win: “I think The X Factor needs to realise that country is more than just line dancing and cowboy boots!! It would be so great to show the world that the great country voices don't just come from America!”

What Gary says: “She has an incredible voice, she knows who she is and where she is going, and to top it all off, she is beautiful.”

Carolynne Poole: “I think The X Factor needs to realise that country isn’t just line dancing and cowboy boots!!”

WHO: Kye Sones, 30, from London.

Did you know? He makes his living sweeping chimneys for other people.

Why he thinks he should win: “If I won The X Factor, it would be a victory for anyone who has never given up on anything. It would show people that you should never give up on your dreams, no matter how many setbacks you experience.”

What Gary says: “I'm looking forward to learning from him because I think he's someone who knows a lot about music and I think he'll be a great candidate.”

He's through: Kye Sones has made it to live performances

THE GROUPS – Mentor: Louis Walsh

WHO: GMD3 – Greg, 18, Dan, 19, Mickey, 18 – from Windsor.

Did you know? They met at school and enjoy watching the Inbetweeners, going to the gym and playing football.

Why they believe they should win: “We hope to show people something new and exciting that they haven’t seen before in this great show.”

What Louis says: “I love them. These guys can sing, they have a great harmony sound, they are nice guys, they work hard and they tick all the boxes.”

Cheeky guys: GMD3 will undoubtedly have many female fans on the show

WHO: MK1 – Charlotte Rundle, 19, and Simeon Dixon, 24 – from London.

Did you know? Before their trip to Las Vegas to see Judges Houses, Simeon broke his ankle and Charlie had to push him around in a wheelchair the whole trip. Now his cast has been removed and Simeon is getting physical therapy to make sure he is in top shape for the first live show.

Why they believe they should win: “The thought of being the first duo to win is really exciting. We're also a niche band that hopefully works in our current market.”

What Louis says: “They are so current and relevant to today's charts and Charlie has an amazing, original and brilliant voice.”

Double trouble: Duo MK1 also takes part in the next stage of the competition

WHO: Union J – Jamie Hamblett (JJ), 24, George Shelley, 19, Josh Cuthbert, 20, and Jaymi Hensley, 22 – from Ascot, Bristol, Luton and Newmarket.

Did you know? Jaymi is a part-time singing and dance teacher, Josh works in IT sales, JJ works with horses and George works part-time in a café.

Why they believe they should win: “We are new and fresh. We haven't been together long, but I hope the public sees the potential in us. We are four normal, down-to-earth guys who love to sing.”

What Louis says: “The guys have a great, young image, the girls will love them, they have everything – great energy, looks and the singing to match.”

They are overjoyed: The boy band Union J jumped for joy when they found out that they had made it through

And of course they are all on Twitter…

The young

James Arthur @jamesarthur23

Rylan Clark @RylanClark

Jahmene Douglas @JahmeneDouglas

The girls

Jade Ellis @jadaface101

Ella Henderson @ella_henderson

Lucy Spraggan @lspraggan

Those over 28 years old

Melanie Masson @MelanieMasson1

Carolynne Poole @CarolynnePoole

Kye Sones @Kyesones1

The groups

GMD3 @GMD3music

MK1 @mk1official

Union J @UnionJworld

Bookmakers’ odds

Ella Henderson 5/4

James Arthur 6/1

Carolynne Poole 12/1

GMD3 14/1

Melanie Masson20/1

Christopher Maloney 28/1

Amy Mottram 40/1

Adam Burridge 50/1

Jahmene Douglas 6/1

Kynes Sones 8/1

Lucy Spraggan12/1

Jade Ellis 20/1

Union J 20/1

MK1 33/1

Ryan Clark 40/1

Times Red 50/1 (William Hill)

VIDEO: Tears at X Factor. The selection of the final 12 was more than just emotional…

The post Ella Henderson, chimney sweep Kye Sones and single mom Jade Ellis make it appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Evidently no longer content to flush public money down just any old toilet, the city of San Francisco is upping its toilet game and is prepared to spend up to $1.7 million to build a single commode in one neighborhood plaza.

City leaders are slated to gather Wednesday afternoon at the Noe Valley Town Square to officially announce a “$1.7 Million state budget win” to build a toilet there, according to an online event schedule. The proposed facility would include just one toilet in a 150-foot space, according to a new report by San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight.

The city’s Recreation and Parks Department and the Department of Public Works, which will work together to build the pricey potty, expect it will take three years to complete.

San Francisco tops the list of the world’s most expensive cities to build in, and the proposed million-dollar toilet helps explain why. While construction costs everywhere have risen over the past couple of years due to inflation and supply-chain challenges, the process to install a single toilet in a San Francisco plaza that already has plumbing includes a maze of planning, permitting, reviews, and public outreach, according to the Chronicle report.

First, an architect needs to draw plans for the toilet, which will then be presented to the public for feedback. The Arts Commission’s Civic Design Review committee will be responsible for conducting a “multi-phase review” of the project, like it does for all projects on public lands. According to the Arts Commission’s website, “the committee evaluates each project’s design, scale and massing for accessibility, safety and aesthetic merit.” The review process “ensures that each project’s design is appropriate to its context in the urban environment, and that structures of the highest design quality reflect their civic stature.”

Before the project is put out for bid, it will be subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act, according to the Chronicle. The public toilet will be built by union workers who will “earn a living wage and benefits,” according to a joint statement from Rec and Parks Department and the Department of Public Works, which added that, “While this isn’t the cheapest way to build, it reflects San Francisco’s values.”

California Assemblyman Matt Haney, who secured the $1.7 million funding from the state to install the toilet, told the Chronicle he requested that sum because that’s what the Rec and Parks Department told him the going rate for a public bathroom was. The city said the $1.7 million estimate “is extremely rough.”

“They told me $1.7 million, and I got $1.7 million,” Haney told the paper. “I didn’t have the option of bringing home less of the bacon when it comes to building a toilet. A half a toilet or a toilet-maybe-someday is not much use to anyone.”

In an email to National Review Wednesday, the Recreation and Parks Department said it will consider various options for constructing the toilet, including installing a pre-fabricated restroom. The department said it budgets for the worst-case scenario, so it estimates high. “In the end, the project may well be delivered for far less [than $1.7 million], with leftover funding put toward further improvements or maintenance,” the email stated.

San Francisco, which is struggling with a troubling homelessness and public-defecation crisis, needs more public toilets. A 2018 report in the Guardian questioned “Why is San Francisco … covered in human feces?” One city non-profit has turned old municipal buses into rolling showers and toilets to help with the problem.

San Francisco also has a history of overspending on seemingly mundane items. Last year, the city spent nearly a half-million dollars to develop new trash can prototypes because city leaders “weren’t happy with the look” of off-the-shelf cans.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include additional details from a Recreation and Parks Department email received early Wednesday evening.

The post Flushing Cash: San Francisco to Spend $1.7 Million to Construct a Single Public Bathroom appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Michael Volk was walking through his Oak Meadow neighborhood one day about four years ago when he saw a house in the middle of what he recalled as a “really cool” renovation.

“It looked like a California beach house,” recalled Volk, an attorney and single father. “So I sent a note to the house asking, ‘Hey, who did your remodel?’”

About a week later, he got a return note saying it was the work of designer Mary Beth Edgerton, who, along with her husband, was also the home’s owner.

With two young daughters, currently ages 6 and 9, Volk hired Edgerton to freshen and upgrade his own three-bedroom, two-bath home, with its outdated 1970s and ’80s design: small rooms, no kitchen pantry, a dilapidated backyard deck and — horrors! — salmon-colored walls.

“I wanted to make it a comfortable home for the girls to live,” he said. “We finished in April and they say it’s like living in a hotel now.”

The renovation was done in stages, beginning in 2019, with the most dramatic change being the removal of several walls to open up what had been a series of smaller rooms.

“The openness was all Michael,” said Edgerton. “That was the look that was in his heart, and Peter Stainken, the general contractor, and I just went for it.” 

For example, to the right of the front entryway there had been a solid wall with only a case opening into the dining room. Removing that wall, as well as another between the dining room and living area, gave the home a more modern, light-filled look. 

$1 MILLION LANDSCAPE: Design turns Canyon Lake yard into a Palm Springs-like oasis

After removing several walls to open up the space, several clever tricks were used to visually delineate the different rooms, such as installing a slatted wooden screen that partially blocks the view into the back of the house from the front door. 

Richard A. Marini/Staff

Still, they used several clever tricks to visually delineate the different rooms. Between the dining and living areas, for example, they installed a partial, slatted wooden screen that helps obscure the view into the back of the house from the front door. 

“When Peter designed the screen I was, like, we don’t need that,” Volk said. “And then he put it up and I saw how it makes sense. Now, when you open the front door, you don’t just see directly into the living room or the kitchen. It breaks things up a bit and gives you a little bit of privacy.”

The screen also had the utilitarian benefit of allowing them to bring power into the middle of the room by running the electric wiring through the screen.

Another way they broke up the space was by building a standalone, U-shaped coffee and wine bar between the kitchen and the dining room/music room. But the structure doesn’t reach all the way to the ceiling, so it still helps emphasize the room’s openness. 

Because several of the now-missing walls were load-bearing, they had to install a steel I-beam to provide support — and it was left exposed rather than being covered up.

Several of the walls that were removed during the renovation were load-bearing, so they installed an exposed steel I-beam to provide needed support — and it was left exposed rather than being covered up.

Richard A. Marini/Staff

“We had talked about giving the house a kind of semi-industrial look,” Volk said. “So keeping the beam visible was a part of that.”

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Michael Volk’s three-bedroom, two-bathroom home has been modernized.

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The outside of Michael Volk’s Oak Meadow home is shown prior to the recently completed renovation.

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Michael Volk’s three-bedroom, two-bathroom home has been updated from the inside out.

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The living area of Michael Volk’s three-bedroom, two-bath home in the Oak Meadow neighborhood has a modern open-concept feel.

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At the kitchen’s center is a large island topped with quartz in a swirled, black-and-white pattern.

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Removing several walls opened up the space between the living area and the kitchen.

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Because several of the now-missing walls were load-bearing, they had to install a steel I-beam to provide support.

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Volk uses the large, six-burner stove to cook for his young daughters, often making pancakes for breakfast and pizza for dinner.

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The living area of Michael Volk’s three bedroom, two bathroom single family home in San Antonio has a modern, open-concept feel.

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Removing walls truly opened up the home, while the standalone coffee and wine bar, visible to the left, visually delineates the dining area from the music niche and the kitchen. 

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Another way they broke up the space was by building a standalone, U-shaped coffee and wine bar between the kitchen and the dining room/music room. But the structure doesn’t reach all the way to the ceiling, so it still helps emphasize the room’s openness. 

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A built-in coffee bar offers extra storage space for drinks, appliances and bread-making supplies.

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The primary bedroom has a vaulted ceiling.

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By stealing space from the attic above, they were able to turn the primary bedroom’s flat ceiling  into a vaulted ceiling and give the room a more appealing, airy and open feel.

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The primary bathroom has a single, elongated trough sink and granite countertops.

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The girls’ bedrooms, located side by side, each have a wall covered in beautifully designed, floral-patterned wallpaper.

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Both the girls’ bedrooms have one wall covered in beautifully designed, floral-patterned wallpaper. 

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The girls’ bedrooms were designed to stand the test of time, so they can work both with toys and childlike things, while also feeling sophisticated.

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Although he’s a single dad, Volk is a fairly serious cook, so the kitchen is outfitted with that in mind, including a large, six-burner stove. 

“I do steaks on there, pancakes for breakfast,” he said. “And during COVID, like everyone else, I learned how to bake bread. I have a friend who got some sort of pizza certification from some bakery in San Francisco, and he taught me how to make pizza.”

At the kitchen’s center, the large island is topped with quartz in a swirled, black-and-white pattern Volk said reminds him of the cover design of the Radiohead album “A Moon Shaped Pool.” The granite waterfalls down the sides because, according to Edgerton, the kitchen called for it.

“We needed that because, when you’re doing a neutral color scheme like we did here, it’s all about texture and pattern,” she explained. “So we needed this energy running down the sides. Plus, with little kids, granite is more durable than, say, just painting the sides.”

The semi-industrial vibe Volk spoke of can also be seen in the pair of tubular kitchen exhaust fans above the stove.

“They look like the bottoms of a pair of rocket ships,” he said. 

HELOTES KITCHEN REDO: $74K adds dual islands, drawer microwave, keeps the parties going

Outside the primary suite, located to one side of the house, there’s a small foyer space that has a built-in shelving unit filled with books and knickknacks and adds a bracing splash of color to the otherwise mostly neutral house. 

“It breaks up the space nicely,” Volk said. “I didn’t really have a bookshelf, and I like that it’s not just another piece of furniture. I’m still organizing it.”

Previously, the bedroom had its original, flat ceiling. But during the renovation, they were able to steal space from the attic above and now, like in the living room, the bedroom ceiling is also vaulted, giving the room a more appealing, airy and open feel.

In the bathroom, they installed a single, elongated trough sink instead of the more traditional his-and-hers sinks. They finished the space with marble countertops above and walnut cabinets beneath.

“Wood is more masculine and timeless and it make the room feel more organic as opposed to just adding more painted surfaces,” Edgerton explained.

The girls’ bathroom is stylishly designed so they won’t outgrow it, and it can serve as a powder room for guests.

Sam Owens/Staff photographer

In the girls’ part of the house, they redid the bathroom, replacing the too-small tub with a walk-in shower and clunky, outdated cabinets with more modern fixtures. The result is a stylish bathroom that will grow with the girls and not put off guests, since the house doesn’t have a traditional powder room. 

The same can be said for their bedrooms, which sit side by side. One wall in each bedroom is covered in beautifully designed, floral-patterned wallpaper. 

“I love doing kids’ rooms,” Edgerton said. “But I don’t do kids rooms that look like a kid’s room. They need to stand the test of time. They need to be able to work with toys and childlike things, but they have to feel more sophisticated.”

For Volk, the renovated home has made his life easier.

“It flows better,” he said. “Even something as simple as dirty clothes on the floor, it feels easier to clean up. Just the daily minutia of everyday life is just a little bit improved.”

The post Single dad modernizes drained, Seventies residence for his 2 younger daughters appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Anthony Womack says he reeled with emotion after his ice cream shop in Bayview was broken into twice that same morning.

Womack told The Standard that he woke up on Friday morning and was told by a clerk that the What’s The Scoop store had been searched and all stock had been confiscated. Also, when the clerk arrived at around 10:45 am to open at 11:00 am, she found that the cash register and point-of-sale terminal were missing

Reviewing the store’s security footage confirmed Womack’s worst fears and more.

“Unfortunately, it happened twice on the same day, between 3am and 3:40am. The burglars were here about 40 minutes and just loaded up their car, lots of stuff,” he said. “Since the first group broke in and left the door unlocked, the second group marched right in and took what they wanted because no one was there yet.”

The black-owned, music-inspired ice cream parlor opened in November 2022.

Womack estimates his losses at around $12,000 to $13,000, excluding the loss of revenue from the weekend shutdown. It plans to reopen Tuesday after the cleanup.

Anthony Womack, owner of What’s The Scoop ice cream shop, poses in front of the store. | Camille Cohen/The Standard

“The part that kind of hurts the most [is the] POS system and our register, because there was about $500 in the register. The first group took the cash drawer where all the money was.

The San Francisco Police Department did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication. As of June 4 this year, residents reported 178 burglaries to police in Bayview, according to the ministry. That’s a nearly 30% drop from the same period in 2022, when police documented 251 burglaries.

“Scoop ice cream with your hands”

Surveillance video: still of a woman scooping ice cream with her hands after allegedly breaking into the store in June 2023. | Image courtesy

The suspect, who arrived at 10 a.m., may have taken over $2,000 worth of equipment but wasn’t done yet.

“Then she treated herself to some ice cream, too,” Womack said. “That’s the part that really hurt us because she was scooping ice cream with her hands. I’m really proud of the cleanliness of our store and the integrity of our ice cream.”

Womack was forced to discard about 24 gallons of ice that may have been contaminated from the unsanitary hand scooping.

“Some of these were really brand new and full, and some were halfway through,” Womack said. “It was just thousands of dollars wasted right there. I’ve replenished our supplies and things like that, but by and large that’s how I spent the weekend.”

Security still image shows an alleged burglary at What’s the Scoop ice cream parlor in Bayview in early June 2023. | Image courtesy

A Bayview native, Womack grew up near the store’s Third Street and Armstrong Avenues and believes the burglaries were a personal attack.

“Who would do such a thing?” he asked. “I think it’s a personal attack because everyone who comes here knows me. I grew up around here.”

Womack even wondered if he should keep the store open at all or move to another location.

“Every day, I take it day by day and I take a few nice moments throughout the day,” he said. “But there are a lot of bad moments that I feel outweigh the good ones.”

Ice Cream Social

Anthony Womack (center), owner of What’s The Scoop ice cream shop, cuts the ribbon at the grand opening at 5668 Third St. in Bayview on November 17, 2022. | Camille Cohen/The Standard

Womack has dealt with petty crime at his shop before – albeit in a gentle way, by asking two boys who tried to steal tips from his jar to return them before fulfilling their order.

“I tried to use it as a lesson for him,” he said. “I grew up here. I feel like this is my community. I want to do it right the best I can.”

To that end, Womack is hosting an ice cream social to welcome the community back indoors and invites other business members to visit and promote their own ventures.

Stop by Saturday from 12pm to 7pm for treats like milkshakes, root beer floats, banana splits and freshly baked cookies, plus assorted flavors for just $2 a scoop.

What’s the scoop?

5668 Third St.

whatsthescoop415.com

The post San Francisco Ice Cream Store Damaged Into Twice in a Single Day appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SANTEE, Calif. — Jessa Smith is trying to figure out where her husband may have contracted Legionnaires’ disease after the death of the father of three.

“No one knows exactly where they got it from. They assume it’s coming from (his work), like plumbing, because we didn’t have it at our house and he was going to work and home most of the time,” Smith said.

Smith’s husband Benjamin, 42, died March 1 after spending weeks in intensive care. The plumber was hospitalized on February 16 with a high fever, fatigue and shortness of breath.

His death came just days before a beloved San Diego State University professor died of Legionella pneumonia.

Benjamin’s death certificate listed legionella pneumonia, severe sepsis, and COVID-19 pneumonia as the causes of death.

His wife said he was immunocompromised and had overcome COVID a few months earlier but was otherwise doing well before contracting Legionella.

According to the CDC, people can contract it if they breathe in small droplets of water or accidentally swallow water that contains legionella bacteria.

San Diego County says it has 15 known cases of the disease and three deaths so far this year. On Monday, a state building in Mission Valley was closed out of “extreme caution” after it was reported that someone associated with the building had Legionnaires’ disease.

Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at UC San Francisco, said it was important that patients were treated early.

“If you treat too late, the body’s immune system is already active and just like with COVID, it may be too late for the drugs to take effect.”

Chin-Hong said patients usually have signs of phenomena such as fever, cough and shortness of breath.

He said the bacteria can be found in cooling towers, water supply systems, fountains, hot tubs, supermarkets and smoke machines.

Chin-Hong said the public should not panic about the legionnaires. It doesn’t spread from person to person and he stressed that most patients can be treated if caught early.

However, he said people with weakened immune systems, people over 50 and smokers were at an increased risk of contracting the disease.

Smith tries to stay strong for her children, spreading the word about the disease while cherishing the memory of her late husband.

“He just put a smile on everyone’s face, he was a big prankster, a big prankster and everyone loved him.”

A GoFundMe was set up to support Smith, who is now raising her children alone.

The post Santee man dies after getting Legionella, leaving single mother to boost children appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SANTEE, Calif. — Jessa Smith is trying to figure out where her husband may have contracted Legionnaires’ disease after the death of the father of three.

“No one knows exactly where they got it from. They assume it’s coming from (his work), like plumbing, because we didn’t have it at our house and he was going to work and home most of the time,” Smith said.

Smith’s husband Benjamin, 42, died March 1 after spending weeks in intensive care. The plumber was hospitalized on February 16 with a high fever, fatigue and shortness of breath.

His death came just days before a beloved San Diego State University professor died of Legionella pneumonia.

Benjamin’s death certificate listed legionella pneumonia, severe sepsis, and COVID-19 pneumonia as the causes of death.

His wife said he was immunocompromised and had overcome COVID a few months earlier but was otherwise doing well before contracting Legionella.

According to the CDC, people can contract it if they breathe in small droplets of water or accidentally swallow water that contains legionella bacteria.

San Diego County says it has 15 known cases of the disease and three deaths so far this year. On Monday, a state building in Mission Valley was closed out of “extreme caution” after it was reported that someone associated with the building had Legionnaires’ disease.

Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at UC San Francisco, said it was important that patients were treated early.

“If you treat too late, the body’s immune system is already active and just like with COVID, it may be too late for the drugs to take effect.”

Chin-Hong said patients usually have signs of phenomena such as fever, cough and shortness of breath.

He said the bacteria can be found in cooling towers, water supply systems, fountains, hot tubs, supermarkets and smoke machines.

Chin-Hong said the public should not panic about the legionnaires. It doesn’t spread from person to person and he stressed that most patients can be treated if caught early.

However, he said people with weakened immune systems, people over 50 and smokers were at an increased risk of contracting the disease.

Smith tries to stay strong for her children, spreading the word about the disease while cherishing the memory of her late husband.

“He just put a smile on everyone’s face, he was a big prankster, a big prankster and everyone loved him.”

A GoFundMe was set up to support Smith, who is now raising her children alone.

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The latest construction project straining San Francisco’s city budget? A single-stall public restroom that’s expected to cost an eye-popping $1.7 million to build.

Last Wednesday, the San Francisco Chronicles reported that a new, 150-square-foot public restroom in central San Francisco’s Noe Valley was expected to cost $1.7 million by its completion in 2025. The story sparked outrage from local citizens other state officials alike who balked at the high price tag. While city officials have attempted to chalk up the price to high construction costs, the shockingly expensive budget estimate for one restroom shows the pitfalls of a city where construction is nigh impossible—and the local government is more than willing to overspend.

How did the $1.7 million figure get estimated? Well, according to San Francisco Assembly member Matt Haney (D–San Francisco), who secured the funding, he went with the figure that the Recreation and Parks Department gave him. “They told me $1.7 million, and I got $1.7 million,” Haney told the Chronicle. “I didn’t have the option of bringing home less of the bacon when it comes to building a toilet. A half a toilet or a toilet-maybe-someday is not much use to anyone.”

But why such a steep price tag on something as simple as a single-stall restroom—especially considering that the plaza on which the restroom will be built already has the necessary plumbing for a bathroom? A statement from the San Francisco Department of Recreation and Parks and the Department of Public Works argued the bathroom’s exorbitant price tag is driven by the high cost of construction in San Francisco—the highest in the world—as well as increases in construction costs due to inflation and supply chain issues.

“It’s important to note that public projects and their overall cost estimates don’t just reflect the price of erecting structures,” officials wrote in the statement. “They include planning, drawing, permits, reviews and public outreach.” Officials also stressed that their estimate is deliberately high in order to account “for the worst-case scenario due to the onerous demands and unpredictable costs levied by PG&E.”

Further, actually building the bathroom will involve a dizzying number of roadblocks, notably “community feedback,” to ensure that the bathroom’s “design is appropriate to its context in the urban environment.” After passing community patterns, the design will head to local officials for approval, as well as review under the California Environmental Quality Act. Only then can construction start.

While the city government is convinced that their $1.7-million figure is a reasonable, if deliberately high, estimate for a public restroom, other experts disagree. the San Francisco Chronicles spoke with Tom Hardiman, the executive director of the Modular Building Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia. When asked to guess San Francisco’s budget for the bathroom, he told the Chronicle, “I’m going to guess high, I think, and say $200,000.” When told the real cost, he replied “What are they making it out of—gold and fine Italian marble? It would be comical if it wasn’t so tragically flawed.”

While Hardiman told the Chronicle that a prefabricated bathroom would be much cheaper, San Francisco law might stand in the way of a much more sensitive option. Why? In 2019, the city supervisors reached a Project Labor Agreement, which required union labor for all “covered projects.” According to the ChronicleNoe Valley’s single-stall bathroom shouldn’t apply under this agreement “because it’s not worth $10 million and it didn’t come from bond funding.”

However, Haney seems to believe that the bathroom project is constrained by the agreement, thus ruling out cheaper, prefabricated options. the Chronicle reports that “he’d be open to modular bathrooms if they didn’t violate the Public Labor Agreement.” Unfortunately, even if this bathroom is exempt from the law, mistaken city officials are more than enough to effectively rule out this cheaper option made by non-union labor. Another fact making a prefabricated option less likely: The city of San Francisco is barred from doing business with 30 states, due to anti-abortion, anti-LGBT rights, or “voter suppression” laws.

Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has even waded into the controversy. “A single, small bathroom should not cost $1.7 million,” a Newsom spokesperson wrote in a statements to the Chronicle. “The state will hold funding until San Francisco delivers a plan to use this public money more efficiently. If they cannot, we will go back to the legislature to revoke this appropriation.” However, Newsom’s office hasn’t seemed to have had trouble approving such expensive projects before. According to the Chronicletwo other single-stall bathrooms were recently constructed in San Francisco, costing $1.6 and $1.7 million respectively.

The price tag for Noe Valley’s single-stall public restroom is outrageous. However, so is San Francisco’s needlessly complicated process for approving new construction—and its laws restricting who and where this construction can come from. It simply should not be this complicated to build a public bathroom—or just about anything, for that matter. San Francisco’s city government has a long and storied history of erecting bureaucratic roadblocks to new construction—from much-needed apartments buildings to a trash can. Blame for such a ludicrously expensive bathroom should thus primarily lay at the feet of an incompetent, regulation-happy city government.

A $1.7 million toilet is a uniquely San Franciscan tale. It’s a story of fiscal irresponsibility, yes, but also a story of government ineptitude—and it shows what can happen when bureaucracy and regulation clouds common sense.

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Evidently no longer content to flush public money down just any old toilet, the city of San Francisco is upping its toilet game and is prepared to spend up to $1.7 million to build a single commode in one neighborhood plaza.

City leaders are slated to gather Wednesday afternoon at the Noe Valley Town Square to officially announce a “$1.7 Million state budget win” to build a toilet there, according to an online event schedule. The proposed facility would include just one toilet in a 150-foot space, according to a new report by San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight.

The city’s Recreation and Parks Department and the Department of Public Works, which will work together to build the pricey potty, expect it will take three years to complete.

San Francisco tops the list of the world’s most expensive cities to build in, and the proposed million-dollar toilet helps explain why. While construction costs everywhere have risen over the past couple of years due to inflation and supply-chain challenges, the process to install a single toilet in a San Francisco plaza that already has plumbing includes a maze of planning, permitting, reviews, and public outreach , according to the Chronicle report.

First, an architect needs to draw plans for the toilet, which will then be presented to the public for feedback. The Arts Commission’s Civic Design Review committee will be responsible for conducting a “multi-phase review” of the project, like it does for all projects on public lands. According to the Arts Commission’s website, “the committee evaluates each project’s design, scale and massing for accessibility, safety and aesthetic merit.” The review process “ensures that each project’s design is appropriate to its context in the urban environment, and that structures of the highest design quality reflect their civic stature.”

Before the project is put out for bid, it will be subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act, according to the Chronicle. The public toilet will be built by union workers who will “earn a living wage and benefits,” according to a joint statement from Rec and Parks Department and the Department of Public Works, which added that, “While this isn’t the cheapest way to build, it reflects San Francisco’s values.”

Story continues

California Assemblyman Matt Haney, who secured the $1.7 million funding from the state to install the toilet, told the Chronicle he requested that sum because that’s what the Rec and Parks Department told him the going rate for a public bathroom was. The city said the $1.7 million estimate “is extremely rough.”

“They told me $1.7 million, and I got $1.7 million,” Haney told the paper. “I didn’t have the option of bringing home less of the bacon when it comes to building a toilet. A half a toilet or a toilet-maybe-someday is not much use to anyone.”

In an email to National Review Wednesday, the Recreation and Parks Department said it will consider various options for constructing the toilet, including installing a pre-fabricated restroom. The department said it budgets for the worst-case scenario, so it estimates high. “In the end, the project may well be delivered for far less [than $1.7 million]with leftover funding put toward further improvements or maintenance,” the email stated.

San Francisco, which is struggling with a troubling homelessness and public-defecation crisis, needs more public toilets. A 2018 report in the Guardian questioned “Why is San Francisco … covered in human feces?” One city non-profit has turned old municipal buses into rolling showers and toilets to help with the problem.

San Francisco also has a history of overspending on seemingly mundane items. Last year, the city spent nearly a half-million dollars to develop new trash can prototypes because city leaders “weren’t happy with the look” of off-the-shelf cans.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include additional details from a Recreation and Parks Department email received early Wednesday evening.

More from National Review

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San Francisco plans to spend an “inexplicable” $1.7 million for a single public toilet that will not be finished until 2025, an assemblyman said.

The lavatory is being built in the town square of the city’s Noe Valley neighborhood. The plumbing infrastructure for the toilet already exists, but funding for the restroom had not been allocated when the town square was constructed in 2016.

When Assemblymember Matt Haney, who represents the Noe Valley neighborhood, secured the funding after the urging of residents, he asked for and received $1.7 million.

He did not question the price tag given to him by the city’s Recreation and Parks Department.

“They told me $1.7 million, and I got $1.7 million. I didn’t have the option of bringing home less of the bacon when it comes to building a toilet,” Mr. Haney told the San Francisco Chronicle, but added he now considers the price “inexplicable.”

The city’s bureaucrats defended the price tag.

“It’s important to note that public projects and their overall cost estimates don’t just reflect the price of erecting structures. They include planning, drawing, permits, reviews and public outreach,” a joint statement from the San Francisco Department of Public Works and the Recreation and Parks Department read, according to Fox News.

Other cost factors include the city’s Public Labor Agreement that mandates hiring unionized workers and paying them benefits, as well as “onerous demands and unpredictable costs levied by [Pacific Gas & Electric],” city officials explained to Fox News.

City officials have also noted that the eventual final cost of the toilet may be less than $1.7 million.

“In the end, the project may well be delivered for far less, with leftover funding put toward further improvements or maintenance,” the Recreation and Parks Department told KPIX-TV, a San Francisco CBS affiliate.

Private experts, on the other hand, were perplexed by the city’s cost calculation.

“This is to build one public restroom? What are they making it out of — gold and fine Italian marble? It would be comical if it wasn’t so tragically flawed,” Tom Hardiman, executive director of the Modular Building Institute, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Prefabricated, modular bathrooms, which are made of concrete and have plumbing, are one cheaper option the city could have used, Mr. Hardiman explained.

Residents are also baffled.

“It shouldn’t cost that much, that’s ridiculous. I mean it just seems exorbitant. Ten times exorbitant,” said Richard Andronaco, who also told KPIX-TV that he enjoys spending time at Noe Valley Town Square.

When Mr. Haney learned of the reasoning for the toilet’s cost from the aforementioned San Francisco Chronicle article, he canceled a press conference intended to celebrate its planned construction.

Mr. Haney also plans to send a formal letter to Recreation and Parks Director Phil Ginsburg asking why the toilet costs so much and why it would not be completed until 2025.

“I’m glad that Noe Valley will at some point get a bathroom, but it shouldn’t cost this much and it shouldn’t take this long, and I’m angry about it. It’s not something I want to celebrate right now,” Mr. Haney told the San Francisco Chronicle.

The post San Francisco spending $1.7 million on single public bathroom that won’t be open till 2025 appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Evidently no longer content to flush public money down just any old toilet, the city of San Francisco is upping its toilet game and is prepared to spend up to $1.7 million to build a single commode in one neighborhood plaza.

City leaders are slated to gather Wednesday afternoon at the Noe Valley Town Square to officially announce a “$1.7 Million state budget win” to build a toilet there, according to an online event schedule. The proposed facility would include just one toilet in a 150-foot space, according to a new report by San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight.

The city’s Recreation and Parks Department and the Department of Public Works, which will work together to build the pricey potty, expect it will take three years to complete.

San Francisco tops the list of the world’s most expensive cities to build in, and the proposed million-dollar toilet helps explain why. While construction costs everywhere have risen over the past couple of years due to inflation and supply-chain challenges, the process to install a single toilet in a San Francisco plaza that already has plumbing includes a maze of planning, permitting, reviews, and public outreach , according to the Chronicle report.

First, an architect needs to draw plans for the toilet, which will then be presented to the public for feedback. The Arts Commission’s Civic Design Review committee will be responsible for conducting a “multi-phase review” of the project, like it does for all projects on public lands. According to the Arts Commission’s website, “the committee evaluates each project’s design, scale and massing for accessibility, safety and aesthetic merit.” The review process “ensures that each project’s design is appropriate to its context in the urban environment, and that structures of the highest design quality reflect their civic stature.”

Before the project is put out for bid, it will be subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act, according to the Chronicle. The public toilet will be built by union workers who will “earn a living wage and benefits,” according to a joint statement from Rec and Parks Department and the Department of Public Works, which added that, “While this isn’t the cheapest way to build, it reflects San Francisco’s values.”

Story continues

California Assemblyman Matt Haney, who secured the $1.7 million funding from the state to install the toilet, told the Chronicle he requested that sum because that’s what the Rec and Parks Department told him the going rate for a public bathroom was. The city said the $1.7 million estimate “is extremely rough.”

“They told me $1.7 million, and I got $1.7 million,” Haney told the paper. “I didn’t have the option of bringing home less of the bacon when it comes to building a toilet. A half a toilet or a toilet-maybe-someday is not much use to anyone.”

In an email to National Review Wednesday, the Recreation and Parks Department said it will consider various options for constructing the toilet, including installing a pre-fabricated restroom. The department said it budgets for the worst-case scenario, so it estimates high. “In the end, the project may well be delivered for far less [than $1.7 million]with leftover funding put toward further improvements or maintenance,” the email stated.

San Francisco, which is struggling with a troubling homelessness and public-defecation crisis, needs more public toilets. A 2018 report in the Guardian questioned “Why is San Francisco … covered in human feces?” One city non-profit has turned old municipal buses into rolling showers and toilets to help with the problem.

San Francisco also has a history of overspending on seemingly mundane items. Last year, the city spent nearly a half-million dollars to develop new trash can prototypes because city leaders “weren’t happy with the look” of off-the-shelf cans.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include additional details from a Recreation and Parks Department email received early Wednesday evening.

More from National Review

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