An endangered young female red panda named Little Mebo was welcomed to the San Francisco Zoo & Gardens, officials said Friday.

Little Mebo's name was chosen by Kevin Xu, board member of the San Francisco Zoological Society, in honor of his mother and is intended to complement the animal's playful and curious nature.

An endangered young female red panda named Little Mebo was welcomed to the San Francisco Zoo.

San Francisco Zoo

The cub was flown from Memphis to San Francisco as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' red panda conservation plan, said Tanya Peterson, the zoo's board chair and executive director.

Zoological experts “consider several factors before relocating an animal to ensure the genetic diversity of a species,” she said. “The SF Zoo has provided a safe haven for the endangered red panda for several years, and we are honored to be able to offer Little Mebo a home.”

Andrew Poole, the San Francisco Zoo's assistant curator who accompanied Little Mebo on his Southwest Airlines flight from Memphis, said many travelers were able to see the red panda as he rolled his crate through the airport.

“It was hard to keep a low profile as Little Mebo peeked over the bars of the cage door every 30 seconds. Everyone was overjoyed to see her,” Poole said in a statement.

“As the plane climbed to 35,000 feet, I looked into the crate to check on her and saw that she was fine and quietly chewing on some bamboo, enjoying her flight.”

Little Mebo joins the zoo's male cub, Tenzing, and an older female, Hunter, at the red panda treehouse in the zoo's Youth Exploration Area.

Last month, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted for Mayor London Breed’s plan Bringing pandas to the San Francisco Zoo was approved by a vote of 9-2.

The Mayor pushes for panda diplomacy needed the support of the Board of Directors to begin raising the private funds necessary to prepare the panda for the San Francisco Zoo, at an estimated cost of $25 million.

In April last year, the San Diego Zoo announced that it would be getting two new pandas from China after almost all of the giant pandas that had been loaned to US zoos were brought back to the country.

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SAN FRANCISCO – President Biden’s welcome reception brought all the leaders for the APEC Summit to San Francisco’s Exploratorium on the waterfront on Wednesday night.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed greeted the delegations, and other VIPs, including city, state, and local politicians, community leaders, CEO’s and celebrities such as singer Gwen Stefani who was a featured performer.

“A state, like the city of San Francisco, that prides itself on being on the leading and cutting edge of new ideas,” said Governor Gavin Newsom.

“Together, through APEC we can grow our economies, unlock industries of the future and ensure that all people prosper,” said Vice-President Kamala Harris.

A welcome video included Bay Area sports stars, Warriors coach Steve Kerr, Steph Curry, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Brandy Chastain.

“Welcome to San Francisco APEC,” they said on the video.

Kerr then appeared in person on stage to introduce President Biden, who gave brief remarks noting that APEC leaders face big challenges with artificial intelligence concerns and climate change.

“Connection, cooperation, collective action, and common purpose. That’s why we’re all here. I’m looking forward to seeing all the progress we’re going to make,” said Biden.

“Ceasefire now, Ceasefire now,” protestors chanted outside the entrance gate on the Embarcadero.

As rain poured down, police brought in reinforcements, maintaining a line outside high security barriers. Earlier, several protesters were arrested.

Protesters criticized President Biden for not doing more to stop civilian deaths in the Israel-Hamas war. Overall, the protest was peaceful and dispersed without major clashes with police.

Some who attended the APEC welcome reception said they are glad San Francisco is getting a chance to show the world the diversity and beauty of the city by the Bay.

“This is one of our greatest moments as a city and just as an entire community coming together,” said Anna Marie Presutti, Vice-President of Hotel Nikko and Board Chair of SF Travel.

“I’m also glad that she also included non-profits, community leaders and people who work in the community,” said Anni Chung, President and CEO of Self-Help for the Elderly, a community group that helps seniors.

“To be a part of this, it says a lot to young leaders that we can be in certain spaces as well,” said Hoang Dao of Hayward who took video and photos to remember the evening of meeting top leaders from around the world.

The reception ended with a big fireworks display over the bay, wrapping up after 8:30 p.m.

The APEC leaders are scheduled to hold a series of meetings Thursday and Friday, with additional receptions scheduled at various locations including the Palace of the Legion of Honor.

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“Your new employer, Lao Ting, welcomes you to America!” says the charismatic Wang Chao to a group of Chinese immigrants arriving in 1878 San Francisco. But if first impressions were anything to judge by, the Land of Opportunity doesn’t seem very welcoming at all.

Ah Sahm has little interest staying in America longer than he needs to. He’s only arrived in order to find his sister, Xiaojing, and bring her back home to China. He brings good news—her abusive husband is finally dead.

But just moments after stepping off the boat, Ah Sahm gets into a fight with three angry Irishmen picking on another Chinese immigrant—and Ah Sahm easily beats them, gaining the attention of Wang Chao, a powerful black-market businessman. Chao takes him to be sold to the Hop Wei tong, a Chinese gang that’s hoping to reclaim control of the opium trade from a rival tong, the Long Zii.

According to a report by Pluggedin.com, it’s not long before Ah Sahm confronts the Long Zii while on his search for his sister. And he finds her there—her name voluntarily changed to Mai Ling. But Mai Ling’s not being held captive—she’s a willing member of the Long Zii, and she’s got a secret plan to take the whole tong over.

Realizing his sister has no plans of leaving, Ah Sahm asks Chao to get him a boat back to China, but Chao just shakes his head. Because like it or not, Ah Sahm is part of the Hop Wei tong now, and he’s never allowed to leave.

But let’s expand our scope a bit because San Francisco isn’t struggling with crime just because the Chinese tongs have turf wars with each other. No, the whole city is filled with crime and debauchery. After all, the turf wars are being partially orchestrated by Deputy Mayor Walter Buckley, and gangs of Irishmen are starting to turn their distaste of the Chinese violent.

It’s bad news for Mayor Samuel Blake, since re-election is coming up, and no one wants to vote for the guy whose term saw crime get worse. He’s trying to appease influential Irishmen to get their votes, but they’ll never really be happy so long as they have to work alongside the growing influx of Chinese (and the feeling’s mutual among the Chinese).

The best Samuel can do is commission the police to start patrolling Chinatown, where crime is most rampant. To that end, he’s initiated a Chinatown squad, led by Sergeant Bill O’Hara, a man with a gambling problem who was just asking to be taken out of the district.

But even with a police presence in Chinatown, there’s not much change to be had. Compared to the Chinese tongs and Irish gangs, they have little power, something that new recruit Richard Lee has trouble accepting. And despite the fact that Richard ranks among the most racially tolerant in San Francisco, his own colleagues have trouble accepting him because his family fought on the Confederate side of the Civil War.

Come Season Three of Warrior, and San Francisco is no saintlier than it was two seasons prior. In fact, it’s gotten a lot worse.

Ah Sahm and Mai Ling have climbed the respective ranks of their tongs, with Mai Ling the de facto leader of the Long Zii. And since they’ve joined the brawl, lots of people have met their demise in a variety of gruesome and gory ways.

And that’s where we must extend an extreme word of caution for prospective viewers of Warrior. When Warrior deals with an issue, it jumps in the deep end. That means that the violence is bloody, the sex is explicit, and the language is frequent.

Allow me to explain what that means: when gangs go to war, we’ll see heads decapitated and entrails spilled. Most disturbingly, we’ll see a group of female sex slaves being raped in the seventh episode of Season Two. When people get naked, we’ll see full-frontal nudity (with the exception of male genitalia), and we’ll sit through many sex scenes, both hetero- and homosexual. And as for the language, if you can think it, someone’s probably said it.

Despite an admittedly engaging plot and interesting characters, Warrior ultimately remains a battlefield for viewers who understand how such content can harm our hearts.

Worried about Mai Ling’s push for power and the Hop Wei tong’s tense decline, Ah Sahm goes to Wang Chao for advice—and what Chao gives him is much more useful than mere words.

A woman’s breasts are visible. Two women kiss. We see them laying naked in bed, their critical parts covered by the sheets after presumed sex. A man and woman kiss. Someone crassly alludes to sex.

In an extended fight scene, Ah Sahm fights dozens of members of another tong; in this fight, someone takes a hatchet to the neck and dies, various arms and legs are snapped, a man has his hand cut off, and another has his fingers gruesomely cut off. Another man is impaled with a knife, and someone is splattered with pig entrails. In other scenes, a man’s head is slammed against the wall, and another is smashed against a window. Someone takes a throwing knife to the chest and is stabbed many times before being tossed into the ocean. Another man is pushed so that his head is impaled by a large spike in the wall. A gun misfires, burning the face of the user, who is then hit with a throwing knife.

Someone says that cause and effect is “very Buddhist.” People drink alcohol. A man smokes.

The f-word is used more than 30 times, including two instances that are preceded by “mother.” The s-word is used twice, and the c-word is used once. We also hear “a–,” “d–n,” “h—,” “b–tard,” and “p-ss.” God’s name is abused twice.

Ah Sahm arrives in San Francisco hoping to locate his sister. But when he finds her, his life changes forever.

In this episode alone, viewers will see nearly a dozen naked women—and the full-frontal nudity of about half of those women. We see the rears of a couple of men. A prominent character runs a brothel, and we’ll often see women dressed in revealing clothing (if they’re not already naked). Sex is also prevalent on the screen, including a threesome, in which we’ll hear and see everything (except for the man’s genitals). A man brings in a man and a woman so he can have (offscreen) sex with both of them. There’s an extended scene of a man and woman kissing as they move toward having sex. Someone makes a joke about orgasms, and someone else talks about a man’s genitals. A man engages in crude conversation about going to a brothel.

A man’s head is gruesomely smashed in with a hammer, while another man’s body is beaten with a metal pipe. Two men are urinating on the street when they’re attacked, and the decapitated head of one man falls into the urine stream of the other. The other man is violently stabbed multiple times, and blood spills from the wound in his neck. A blood-covered man falls to the ground, dead. A woman admits how her husband beat and raped her many times. We see several fistfights; in one of them, a man’s arm is audibly and visibly snapped. As initiation into a tong, Ah Sahm is branded. A chicken’s head is cut off. Someone talks about stringing someone up by his genitals.

We hear some racist comments; an

Credit: pluggedin.com

ENND

Happy New Month

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SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Zoo is celebrating a new resident when a male mandrill infant was born at the zoo on February 1. The infant, born to 20-year-old woman “Lulu” and 12-year-old man “Big Joe,” is doing well and can already be seen in the zoo’s outdoor mandrill habitat.

“We are excited about this recent birth as mandrills are considered an endangered species in the wild,” said Tanya M. Peterson, CEO and executive director of the San Francisco Zoological Society. “It’s important to us to share the story of this charismatic primate species whose populations have declined by 30% in the last 30 years and what better way than to highlight great news like this rare birth.”

SF Zoo’s Mandrill group is a family affair, with Lulu and Big Joe living amongst their other youngest offspring, four-year-old male “Kiburi”, two-year-old “Benny” and the current male offspring, who has not yet been named. Two unrelated older female siblings, “Pandora” and “Angie”, make up the rest of the group.

Mandrills are the world’s largest monkeys and are found in the subtropical forests of southwestern Cameroon, western Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and southwestern Congo. They are characterized by light facial coloring and a colorful rump. Similar to a baboon, male mandrills have stocky, powerful bodies and muscular arms, and are significantly larger than females.

The new child was born after a gestation period of 167-176 days. Guests will no doubt see the new baby snuggled up against his mother’s tummy and pulled onto her back after a few months. Cubs achieve independence around 18 months, which usually coincides with the mother’s next birth.

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• campus news

• October 24, 2022

Supporting Victims of Violence Leads to Safer Communities, Says Justice Reform Champion

By Suzanne Leigh

Ashley Biden, MSW, attended a site visit to UCSF Trauma Recovery Center in San Francisco. The visit included a tour of the facility, presentations and panel discussions. She is introduced to Mary Burke, (left) MD, Professor, UCSF Psychiatry, by Alicia Boccellari, (right) UCSF TRC Director of Special Programs and NATRC Executive Director.

Ashley Biden, MSW, social worker and justice reform advocate, was welcomed to UC San Francisco by colleagues and representatives from organizations supporting victims of violent crime.

Biden, a consultant to the National Alliance of Trauma Recovery Centers, which was pioneered at UCSF, participated in a roundtable on the role of trauma recovery centers at the Nancy Friend Pritzker Psychiatry Building. She told the audience that people who were victimized by violent crime were themselves at risk of becoming perpetrators of crime.

Everyone has faced trauma in their lives, but many marginalized people do not have access to the mental health services that would best serve their needs.

Ashley Biden, MSW

Trauma recovery centers may assist victims in applying for compensation, moving to a safer neighborhood or upgrading home security, acquiring job training, and getting therapy in their own homes if they are too traumatized to leave home or even get out of bed, said Biden, whose work also includes leading a trauma support group for 20 women who have been released from prison, and consulting for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

“It’s known that hurt people hurt people,” she said. “Disproportionately high numbers of victims of violent crime are low-income, have lower levels of education, face systemic racism and deal with untreated mental health conditions. The most harmed are frequently the least helped.

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trauma recovery centers

The first trauma recovery center was piloted at UCSF in 2001 as a state-funded program, and is now a national model with trauma recovery centers growing across the US. Centers can assist victims in:

• applying for compensation

• moving to a safer neighborhood

• upgrading home security

• acquiring job training

• getting therapy in their own homes

“When they get restitution and support to handle their anger and triggers, and receive treatment for depression, they heal. We create a network in which everyone has the resources to heal, at no cost to them, using evidence-based treatments,” she said, noting that her first taste of societal inequities came from campaigning for re-election with “my dad” when he served in the United States Senate, and noticing that some residents “lived in nice homes and others did not.”

The flagship trauma recovery center at UCSF was founded in 2001 by roundtable co-participant Alicia Boccellari, PhD, professor emeritus at the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and director of the National Alliance of Trauma Recovery Centers. The program has subsequently evolved from a small state-funded program to a national model with 39 branches in eight states and growing.

Data shows that the impact of trauma recovery centers has resulted in 71% of sexual assault survivors receiving mental health care, versus 6% for usual care. Access to mental health service has jumped from 38% to 72%, cooperation with police has improved with a 69% increase in the number of police reports filed, and there has been a 41% drop in homelessness. Other data shows a decrease in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, a drop in alcohol use and improvements in both mental and physical health.

Biden and Boccellari were joined at the roundtable by Lenore Anderson, JD, president of the Alliance for Safety and Justice, and Tinisch Hollins, executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice. The event was moderated by Sarah Metz, PsyD, health sciences associate clinical professor in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, and director of the Division of Trauma Recovery Services.

“Everyone has faced trauma in their lives, but many marginalized people do not have access to the mental health services that would best serve their needs,” said Biden. “The trauma recovery center model just makes sense. It’s a one-stop shop that offers survivor-centered care.”

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“Everybody should have access to a beautiful place, good music, good food, good wine,” said Arcana founder and curator Naz Khorram. “Basically, an extended version of my own living room in my own personal home was what I was really striving for.”

Whether you’d like to become a plant parent or add to your existing collection, Arcana offers hundreds of carefully selected options to fill your space.

“We handpick every single plant, choosing plants and pots that go together to create some sort of vibe that you can kind of imagine in your space,” explained Plant Specialist & Interiorscaper Anna Trautman. “It’s a place where you actually get to see living things as a form of art. It’s also a place for community.”

A plant shop and teahouse by day and wine bar-restaurant by night, Arcana serves as an oasis that connects the community through sustainable offerings.

“From our plant-based food to our natural wine to the tea, everything is pretty environmentally focused and inspired,” said Operations Coordinator Andy Garcia.

For Arcana founder Khorram, the shop’s location and welcoming vibe hits close to home.

“It’s a very immigrant-dominated neighborhood, that’s why I really connected with it,” they said. “I’m queer, I moved here when I was 18, and I specifically wanted to come to San Francisco because as a very young Iranian came out of that culture, people didn’t have an open mind about it.”

Khorram displays the Rainbow Flag inside Arcana as a symbol of the love and community they feel in San Francisco, with the intention of sharing positivity and light with all who visit.

“I just wanted to have a big flag raised as a sign for all the other 18-year-olds that are moving into this city from their own countries and their own backgrounds to feel what I felt, ‘Oh, that’s a safe place to go,'” said Khorram.

For more information about Arcana, visit here.

For the latest updates about workshops, design services, and more, follow Arcana on Instagram.

The post Arcana welcomes you to a neighborhood lounge within the coronary heart of San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

“Everybody should have access to a beautiful place, good music, good food, good wine,” said Arcana founder and curator Naz Khorram. “Basically, an extended version of my own living room in my own personal home was what I was really striving for.”

Whether you’d like to become a plant parent or add to your existing collection, Arcana offers hundreds of carefully selected options to fill your space.

“We handpick every single plant, choosing plants and pots that go together to create some sort of vibe that you can kind of imagine in your space,” explained Plant Specialist & Interiorscaper Anna Trautman. “It’s a place where you actually get to see living things as a form of art. It’s also a place for community.”

A plant shop and teahouse by day and wine bar-restaurant by night, Arcana serves as an oasis that connects the community through sustainable offerings.

“From our plant-based food to our natural wine to the tea, everything is pretty environmentally focused and inspired,” said Operations Coordinator Andy Garcia.

For Arcana founder Khorram, the shop’s location and welcoming vibe hits close to home.

“It’s a very immigrant-dominated neighborhood, that’s why I really connected with it,” they said. “I’m queer, I moved here when I was 18, and I specifically wanted to come to San Francisco because as a very young Iranian came out of that culture, people didn’t have an open mind about it.”

Khorram displays the Rainbow Flag inside Arcana as a symbol of the love and community they feel in San Francisco, with the intention of sharing positivity and light with all who visit.

“I just wanted to have a big flag raised as a sign for all the other 18-year-olds that are moving into this city from their own countries and their own backgrounds to feel what I felt, ‘Oh, that’s a safe place to go,'” said Khorram.

For more information about Arcana, visit here.

For the latest updates about workshops, design services, and more, follow Arcana on Instagram.

The post Arcana welcomes you to a neighborhood front room within the coronary heart of San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

“Everybody should have access to a beautiful place, good music, good food, good wine,” said Arcana founder and curator Naz Khorram. “Basically, an extended version of my own living room in my own personal home was what I was really striving for.”

Whether you’d like to become a plant parent or add to your existing collection, Arcana offers hundreds of carefully selected options to fill your space.

“We handpick every single plant, choosing plants and pots that go together to create some sort of vibe that you can kind of imagine in your space,” explained Plant Specialist & Interiorscaper Anna Trautman. “It’s a place where you actually get to see living things as a form of art. It’s also a place for community.”

A plant shop and teahouse by day and wine bar-restaurant by night, Arcana serves as an oasis that connects the community through sustainable offerings.

“From our plant-based food to our natural wine to the tea, everything is pretty environmentally focused and inspired,” said Operations Coordinator Andy Garcia.

For Arcana founder Khorram, the shop’s location and welcoming vibe hits close to home.

“It’s a very immigrant-dominated neighborhood, that’s why I really connected with it,” they said. “I’m queer, I moved here when I was 18, and I specifically wanted to come to San Francisco because as a very young Iranian came out of that culture, people didn’t have an open mind about it.”

Khorram displays the Rainbow Flag inside Arcana as a symbol of the love and community they feel in San Francisco, with the intention of sharing positivity and light with all who visit.

“I just wanted to have a big flag raised as a sign for all the other 18-year-olds that are moving into this city from their own countries and their own backgrounds to feel what I felt, ‘Oh, that’s a safe place to go,'” said Khorram.

For more information about Arcana, visit here.

For the latest updates about workshops, design services, and more, follow Arcana on Instagram.

The post Arcana welcomes you to a neighborhood lounge within the coronary heart of San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

“Everybody should have access to a beautiful place, good music, good food, good wine,” said Arcana founder and curator Naz Khorram. “Basically, an extended version of my own living room in my own personal home was what I was really striving for.”

Whether you’d like to become a plant parent or add to your existing collection, Arcana offers hundreds of carefully selected options to fill your space.

“We handpick every single plant, choosing plants and pots that go together to create some sort of vibe that you can kind of imagine in your space,” explained Plant Specialist & Interiorscaper Anna Trautman. “It’s a place where you actually get to see living things as a form of art. It’s also a place for community.”

A plant shop and teahouse by day and wine bar-restaurant by night, Arcana serves as an oasis that connects the community through sustainable offerings.

“From our plant-based food to our natural wine to the tea, everything is pretty environmentally focused and inspired,” said Operations Coordinator Andy Garcia.

For Arcana founder Khorram, the shop’s location and welcoming vibe hits close to home.

“It’s a very immigrant-dominated neighborhood, that’s why I really connected with it,” they said. “I’m queer, I moved here when I was 18, and I specifically wanted to come to San Francisco because as a very young Iranian came out of that culture, people didn’t have an open mind about it.”

Khorram displays the Rainbow Flag inside Arcana as a symbol of the love and community they feel in San Francisco, with the intention of sharing positivity and light with all who visit.

“I just wanted to have a big flag raised as a sign for all the other 18-year-olds that are moving into this city from their own countries and their own backgrounds to feel what I felt, ‘Oh, that’s a safe place to go,'” said Khorram.

For more information about Arcana, visit here.

For the latest updates about workshops, design services, and more, follow Arcana on Instagram.

The post Arcana welcomes you to a group lounge within the coronary heart of San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

“Everybody should have access to a beautiful place, good music, good food, good wine,” said Arcana founder and curator Naz Khorram. “Basically, an extended version of my own living room in my own personal home was what I was really striving for.”

Whether you’d like to become a plant parent or add to your existing collection, Arcana offers hundreds of carefully selected options to fill your space.

“We handpick every single plant, choosing plants and pots that go together to create some sort of vibe that you can kind of imagine in your space,” explained Plant Specialist & Interiorscaper Anna Trautman. “It’s a place where you actually get to see living things as a form of art. It’s also a place for community.”

A plant shop and teahouse by day and wine bar-restaurant by night, Arcana serves as an oasis that connects the community through sustainable offerings.

“From our plant-based food to our natural wine to the tea, everything is pretty environmentally focused and inspired,” said Operations Coordinator Andy Garcia.

For Arcana founder Khorram, the shop’s location and welcoming vibe hits close to home.

“It’s a very immigrant-dominated neighborhood, that’s why I really connected with it,” they said. “I’m queer, I moved here when I was 18, and I specifically wanted to come to San Francisco because as a very young Iranian came out of that culture, people didn’t have an open mind about it.”

Khorram displays the Rainbow Flag inside Arcana as a symbol of the love and community they feel in San Francisco, with the intention of sharing positivity and light with all who visit.

“I just wanted to have a big flag raised as a sign for all the other 18-year-olds that are moving into this city from their own countries and their own backgrounds to feel what I felt, ‘Oh, that’s a safe place to go,'” said Khorram.

For more information about Arcana, visit here.

For the latest updates about workshops, design services, and more, follow Arcana on Instagram.

The post Arcana welcomes you to a group lounge within the coronary heart of San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.