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"content": "\u003cp>Portugal has transformed into a tourism hot spot in recent years, and many Bay Area visitors have noticed something familiar in the capital city of Lisbon: There is a bridge that looks \u003cem>quite\u003c/em> similar to our own Golden Gate Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Victoria Turner is a student at UCSF, and she wrote to Bay Curious asking: “How did we get the twin bridge of the Golden Gate Bridge in Lisbon? Why did they pick a similar color and style to the Golden Gate?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriouspodcastinfo]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a trickier question to answer than you might imagine, but here goes …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bridge in Lisbon opened in 1966, nearly 30 years after construction finished on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. It was originally called the Salazar Bridge, after Portugal’s prime minister and dictator at the time. When a revolution overthrew the government in 1974, the name of the bridge was changed to the new independence date — Ponte 25 de Abril.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bridges are actually quite different once you look closely, says Bart Ney, chief of public affairs for Caltrans District 4, but there are three big similarities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First off, the color! Both bridges are a specific hue called international orange. It’s not a common color choice for bridges, and it’s been a distinguishing feature of the Golden Gate Bridge since it opened.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How international orange was chosen\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When the steel for the Golden Gate Bridge was brought on-site, it was coated in a red lead primer. The consulting architect, Irving F. Morrow, was weighing whether the color of the bridge should be as inconspicuous as possible — something like black or gray — or whether its color should call attention to it as a feature in the landscape. Ultimately, Morrow took inspiration from that red primer and how well it interacted with the green colors of the surrounding hills. He choose to paint the bridge international orange.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was an unusual color choice for a bridge, but not a totally obscure color in the general scheme of things. International orange shows up often in the aerospace industry to set objects apart from their surroundings. NASA astronauts have worn international orange flight suits; the first airplane to break the sound barrier was colored international orange; and the color is often seen on tall antennae.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One question we haven’t been able to fully answer is \u003cem>how\u003c/em> the Ponte 25 de Abril in Lisbon came to be painted international orange. Some speculate it was to match the color of the tile rooftops in town. Architects also may have taken the lead from the aerospace industry, and chosen international orange to keep the bridge safe from airplane or ship strikes. Or, just maybe, they were inspired by the Golden Gate Bridge, and how its color made the structure iconic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The second similarity between the Golden Gate Bridge and the Ponte 25 de Abril: They’re both suspension bridges. Though that almost wasn’t the case! The design for the Golden Gate Bridge was originally a cantilever bridge that everyone thought was pretty ugly. An engineer named Leon Moisseiff proposed a suspension bridge instead. At that time steel was becoming a more popular choice for infrastructure projects, and suspension bridges don’t require as much material, so it keeps costs down.[emailsignup newslettername=\"baycurious\" align=\"right\"]“In the case of, especially, suspension bridges, they’re very elegant structures,” said Ney. “Beauty and function all at once.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The final similarity? Both bridges have been in James Bond films. The Ponte 25 de Abril was in \u003cem>On Her Majesty’s Secret Service\u003c/em> from 1969. (We couldn’t find the full clip online, but \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/rEyPwsz2j_k?t=401\">a snippet from the Bond film appears in this YouTube video\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Golden Gate was a location for \u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">A View to a Kill\u003c/i>\u003cem>, \u003c/em>a 1985 James Bond movie with Roger Moore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsEKClO8Xyk\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The stealthy twin\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“There’s probably structurally and architecturally a better comparison with the Lisbon bridge and \u003cem>another bridge\u003c/em> that we have in the Bay Area,” said Ney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that’s the San Francisco Bay Bridge! Both the Bay Bridge and the Ponte 25 de Abril were built by American Bridge Company. (The Golden Gate Bridge was built by a subsidiary of Bethlehem Steel Corporation.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The [Ponte 25 de Abril] structure mirrors the Bay Bridge in the cross supports that you see in the towers to keep it strong. Both the Bay Bridge and the Lisbon bridge have crosses, and they also both have dual decks,” said Ney. The Golden Gate, meanwhile, has more square-shaped supports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11951841\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-11951841 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/BridgesComparison.jpg\" alt='Close up views of the towers of three suspension bridges. The left two bridges have \"X\" shaped cross supports, while the Golden Gate Bridge, on the right, has square supports.' width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/BridgesComparison.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/BridgesComparison-800x450.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/BridgesComparison-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/BridgesComparison-160x90.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/BridgesComparison-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Take a closer look at the cross supports and you’ll see how the Ponte 25 de Abril (left) and the Bay Bridge (center) have more in common than the Golden Gate Bridge (right). \u003ccite>(Martin Zwick/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images and Giovanni Mereghetti/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lisbon added a lower deck to the Ponte 25 de Abril in 1999 that carries 157 trains across it every day. Ney said that when the eastern span of the Bay Bridge needed to be replaced, it was important to work with American Bridge Company because of their experience adding that lower deck to the Lisbon bridge without closing the bridge to traffic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Bridges are very special for the communities that they serve, not just getting people around, which is their primary function, but in their identity,” said Ney. “They make it possible for us to move goods and services, get where we need to go.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the structural similarities between the Bay Bridge and the Ponte 25 de Abril, Ney doesn’t expect people to stop comparing Portugal’s bridge to the Golden Gate Bridge anytime soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think just about any bridge gets compared to the Golden Gate,” he said. “It’s one of the most beautiful bridges on the planet Earth. It’s arguably one of the few times man has improved on nature.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Portugal has transformed into a tourism hot spot in recent years, and many Bay Area visitors have noticed something familiar in the capital city of Lisbon: There is a bridge that looks \u003cem>quite\u003c/em> similar to our own Golden Gate Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Victoria Turner is a student at UCSF, and she wrote to Bay Curious asking: “How did we get the twin bridge of the Golden Gate Bridge in Lisbon? Why did they pick a similar color and style to the Golden Gate?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Bay Curious\u003c/a> is a podcast that answers your questions about the Bay Area.\n Subscribe on \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>,\n \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR One\u003c/a> or your favorite podcast platform.\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a trickier question to answer than you might imagine, but here goes …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bridge in Lisbon opened in 1966, nearly 30 years after construction finished on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. It was originally called the Salazar Bridge, after Portugal’s prime minister and dictator at the time. When a revolution overthrew the government in 1974, the name of the bridge was changed to the new independence date — Ponte 25 de Abril.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bridges are actually quite different once you look closely, says Bart Ney, chief of public affairs for Caltrans District 4, but there are three big similarities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First off, the color! Both bridges are a specific hue called international orange. It’s not a common color choice for bridges, and it’s been a distinguishing feature of the Golden Gate Bridge since it opened.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How international orange was chosen\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When the steel for the Golden Gate Bridge was brought on-site, it was coated in a red lead primer. The consulting architect, Irving F. Morrow, was weighing whether the color of the bridge should be as inconspicuous as possible — something like black or gray — or whether its color should call attention to it as a feature in the landscape. Ultimately, Morrow took inspiration from that red primer and how well it interacted with the green colors of the surrounding hills. He choose to paint the bridge international orange.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was an unusual color choice for a bridge, but not a totally obscure color in the general scheme of things. International orange shows up often in the aerospace industry to set objects apart from their surroundings. NASA astronauts have worn international orange flight suits; the first airplane to break the sound barrier was colored international orange; and the color is often seen on tall antennae.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One question we haven’t been able to fully answer is \u003cem>how\u003c/em> the Ponte 25 de Abril in Lisbon came to be painted international orange. Some speculate it was to match the color of the tile rooftops in town. Architects also may have taken the lead from the aerospace industry, and chosen international orange to keep the bridge safe from airplane or ship strikes. Or, just maybe, they were inspired by the Golden Gate Bridge, and how its color made the structure iconic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The second similarity between the Golden Gate Bridge and the Ponte 25 de Abril: They’re both suspension bridges. Though that almost wasn’t the case! The design for the Golden Gate Bridge was originally a cantilever bridge that everyone thought was pretty ugly. An engineer named Leon Moisseiff proposed a suspension bridge instead. At that time steel was becoming a more popular choice for infrastructure projects, and suspension bridges don’t require as much material, so it keeps costs down.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“In the case of, especially, suspension bridges, they’re very elegant structures,” said Ney. “Beauty and function all at once.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The final similarity? Both bridges have been in James Bond films. The Ponte 25 de Abril was in \u003cem>On Her Majesty’s Secret Service\u003c/em> from 1969. (We couldn’t find the full clip online, but \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/rEyPwsz2j_k?t=401\">a snippet from the Bond film appears in this YouTube video\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Golden Gate was a location for \u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">A View to a Kill\u003c/i>\u003cem>, \u003c/em>a 1985 James Bond movie with Roger Moore.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/gsEKClO8Xyk'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/gsEKClO8Xyk'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003ch2>The stealthy twin\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“There’s probably structurally and architecturally a better comparison with the Lisbon bridge and \u003cem>another bridge\u003c/em> that we have in the Bay Area,” said Ney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that’s the San Francisco Bay Bridge! Both the Bay Bridge and the Ponte 25 de Abril were built by American Bridge Company. (The Golden Gate Bridge was built by a subsidiary of Bethlehem Steel Corporation.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The [Ponte 25 de Abril] structure mirrors the Bay Bridge in the cross supports that you see in the towers to keep it strong. Both the Bay Bridge and the Lisbon bridge have crosses, and they also both have dual decks,” said Ney. The Golden Gate, meanwhile, has more square-shaped supports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11951841\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-11951841 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/BridgesComparison.jpg\" alt='Close up views of the towers of three suspension bridges. The left two bridges have \"X\" shaped cross supports, while the Golden Gate Bridge, on the right, has square supports.' width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/BridgesComparison.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/BridgesComparison-800x450.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/BridgesComparison-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/BridgesComparison-160x90.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/BridgesComparison-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Take a closer look at the cross supports and you’ll see how the Ponte 25 de Abril (left) and the Bay Bridge (center) have more in common than the Golden Gate Bridge (right). \u003ccite>(Martin Zwick/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images and Giovanni Mereghetti/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lisbon added a lower deck to the Ponte 25 de Abril in 1999 that carries 157 trains across it every day. Ney said that when the eastern span of the Bay Bridge needed to be replaced, it was important to work with American Bridge Company because of their experience adding that lower deck to the Lisbon bridge without closing the bridge to traffic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Bridges are very special for the communities that they serve, not just getting people around, which is their primary function, but in their identity,” said Ney. “They make it possible for us to move goods and services, get where we need to go.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the structural similarities between the Bay Bridge and the Ponte 25 de Abril, Ney doesn’t expect people to stop comparing Portugal’s bridge to the Golden Gate Bridge anytime soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think just about any bridge gets compared to the Golden Gate,” he said. “It’s one of the most beautiful bridges on the planet Earth. It’s arguably one of the few times man has improved on nature.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/3MDo218\">Read a transcript of this episode.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last October, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/baycurious\">Bay Curious\u003c/a> listener Scott Mitchell got his first electric vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was exciting for him — not just because he got a shiny new car, but because he now felt part of the bigger social project of creating a fleet of zero-emission vehicles on the roads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I equate it to when we switched from horse-drawn carriages to internal combustion engine cars. It’s that big of a revolution and it’s happening,” said Mitchell, a chemist living in San Carlos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But simultaneously, Mitchell, an outdoorsy kind of guy, says he regularly gets grossed out looking at the air quality on hot summer days. He runs a trail in the Rancho San Antonio hills near Los Altos, and says the view from the top can be brown and smoggy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You get to the very top of the ridge, and you’re thinking you’ll see the skyline of San José. Instead, you see this smudgy view of the city that’s kind of blurry, and just looks gross,” said Mitchell. [baycuriouspodcastinfo]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mitchell wants to know just how quickly California has absorbed zero-emission cars, and whether it’s significant enough to make a tangible difference in air quality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We should take some pride in that and celebrate it if we’re doing good,” said Mitchell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As far as the fossil fuel-free car trend, there’s no question there’s been exponential growth in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2010, there were fewer than 800 zero-emission consumer vehicles on California roads, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/zero-emission-vehicle-and-infrastructure-statistics/light-duty-vehicle\">this dashboard put out by the California Energy Commission\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the end of last year, the number of zero-emission vehicles Californians used in their everyday lives shot up to more than 1.1 million. And that’s not even counting gasoline hybrid cars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not surprisingly, the counties with the highest number of zero-emission cars are the more urban ones; Los Angeles County has the most, then Orange County, then San Diego and the Bay Area counties of Santa Clara and Alameda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now time for a little math. There are about 29 million cars on California roads right now, and only 1.1 million of them are zero-emission vehicles. Is that enough to clean up the air?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“From a big-picture perspective, yes,” said Michael Benjamin, chief of air quality planning and science at the California Air Resources Board, or CARB, the state agency that tracks these things. “The sale of electric vehicles in California, which is increasing, is contributing to improvements in air quality that we’re seeing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the past 20 years, the air quality in the Bay Area and statewide has improved. CARB data shows a clear downward trend in the number of days where air quality has exceeded limits set by the federal Clean Air Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you ask people in Southern California who have lived there for 20 or 30 years or longer, ‘Could you see the mountains 20 years ago?,’ the answer would be no. Now it’s very common to see the mountains. And that’s a really good indicator of air pollution,” said Benjamin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to CARB, the improvements are in the two main kinds of pollution: ozone and particulate matter. Ozone is a main component in smog, and it can cause respiratory problems in people who live where pollution is high. Small-particle pollution comes from dust, soot and smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, in the year 2000 in the Bay Area, there were 29 days where particle pollution exceeded standards. In 2021, there were just two days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On average, the improvements in the Bay Area have been more significant than in the state as a whole.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to how much zero-emission cars have contributed to those air improvements, CARB says it’s hard to quantify, but in the Bay Area, it could be about 3% to 4%. Those numbers may sound low, but Benjamin says they’re sure to grow as more people phase out combustion engines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vehicle emissions are just one piece of a larger air-quality puzzle. There are hundreds of sources of air pollution, such as lawnmowers, factories and trucks — and they’re also much cleaner than they used to be, according to the state air resources agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as usual with science, air quality is complex, and there’s a lot of variability year to year, so that downward trend in bad air days is not a straight line. With recent large wildfires in California, the number of bad air days has crept back up in certain years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, in 2020 in the Bay Area, there were 25 days where particle pollution exceeded standards, and that year, according to CARB, was the worst wildfire year in California history. Those levels put us right back to the pollution we were seeing 20 years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11951886\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS44792_006_KQED_SanFrancisco_OrangeSky_09092020-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11951886\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS44792_006_KQED_SanFrancisco_OrangeSky_09092020-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"The deep, dark orange glow of thick smoke surrounds an urban skyline. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS44792_006_KQED_SanFrancisco_OrangeSky_09092020-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS44792_006_KQED_SanFrancisco_OrangeSky_09092020-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS44792_006_KQED_SanFrancisco_OrangeSky_09092020-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS44792_006_KQED_SanFrancisco_OrangeSky_09092020-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS44792_006_KQED_SanFrancisco_OrangeSky_09092020-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the San Francisco skyline from Dolores Park in San Francisco on Sept. 9, 2020. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Air quality is also very much related to where we are in space on a particular day, and to meteorological conditions. The air we breathe is different if we are standing near a highway or in a park. And weather conditions such as wind, rain and sunlight affect air quality, not just sources of pollution like car exhaust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Benjamin said there is reason to celebrate ways clean air efforts have been successful, but there’s still a lot more work to do to address the inequalities people experience with pollution on a neighborhood level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he says wildfires, which have been getting bigger and more frequent, really put us in danger of reversing the air quality improvements we’ve made in recent decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are very happy with the improvements that we’ve seen over time in regional air pollution. But our job is only half done,” he said. “We need to transition again away from fossil fuel combustion as quickly as we can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/3MDo218\">Read a transcript of this episode.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last October, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/baycurious\">Bay Curious\u003c/a> listener Scott Mitchell got his first electric vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was exciting for him — not just because he got a shiny new car, but because he now felt part of the bigger social project of creating a fleet of zero-emission vehicles on the roads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I equate it to when we switched from horse-drawn carriages to internal combustion engine cars. It’s that big of a revolution and it’s happening,” said Mitchell, a chemist living in San Carlos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But simultaneously, Mitchell, an outdoorsy kind of guy, says he regularly gets grossed out looking at the air quality on hot summer days. He runs a trail in the Rancho San Antonio hills near Los Altos, and says the view from the top can be brown and smoggy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You get to the very top of the ridge, and you’re thinking you’ll see the skyline of San José. Instead, you see this smudgy view of the city that’s kind of blurry, and just looks gross,” said Mitchell. \u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Bay Curious\u003c/a> is a podcast that answers your questions about the Bay Area.\n Subscribe on \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>,\n \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR One\u003c/a> or your favorite podcast platform.\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mitchell wants to know just how quickly California has absorbed zero-emission cars, and whether it’s significant enough to make a tangible difference in air quality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We should take some pride in that and celebrate it if we’re doing good,” said Mitchell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As far as the fossil fuel-free car trend, there’s no question there’s been exponential growth in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2010, there were fewer than 800 zero-emission consumer vehicles on California roads, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/zero-emission-vehicle-and-infrastructure-statistics/light-duty-vehicle\">this dashboard put out by the California Energy Commission\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the end of last year, the number of zero-emission vehicles Californians used in their everyday lives shot up to more than 1.1 million. And that’s not even counting gasoline hybrid cars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not surprisingly, the counties with the highest number of zero-emission cars are the more urban ones; Los Angeles County has the most, then Orange County, then San Diego and the Bay Area counties of Santa Clara and Alameda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now time for a little math. There are about 29 million cars on California roads right now, and only 1.1 million of them are zero-emission vehicles. Is that enough to clean up the air?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“From a big-picture perspective, yes,” said Michael Benjamin, chief of air quality planning and science at the California Air Resources Board, or CARB, the state agency that tracks these things. “The sale of electric vehicles in California, which is increasing, is contributing to improvements in air quality that we’re seeing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the past 20 years, the air quality in the Bay Area and statewide has improved. CARB data shows a clear downward trend in the number of days where air quality has exceeded limits set by the federal Clean Air Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you ask people in Southern California who have lived there for 20 or 30 years or longer, ‘Could you see the mountains 20 years ago?,’ the answer would be no. Now it’s very common to see the mountains. And that’s a really good indicator of air pollution,” said Benjamin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to CARB, the improvements are in the two main kinds of pollution: ozone and particulate matter. Ozone is a main component in smog, and it can cause respiratory problems in people who live where pollution is high. Small-particle pollution comes from dust, soot and smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, in the year 2000 in the Bay Area, there were 29 days where particle pollution exceeded standards. In 2021, there were just two days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On average, the improvements in the Bay Area have been more significant than in the state as a whole.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to how much zero-emission cars have contributed to those air improvements, CARB says it’s hard to quantify, but in the Bay Area, it could be about 3% to 4%. Those numbers may sound low, but Benjamin says they’re sure to grow as more people phase out combustion engines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vehicle emissions are just one piece of a larger air-quality puzzle. There are hundreds of sources of air pollution, such as lawnmowers, factories and trucks — and they’re also much cleaner than they used to be, according to the state air resources agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as usual with science, air quality is complex, and there’s a lot of variability year to year, so that downward trend in bad air days is not a straight line. With recent large wildfires in California, the number of bad air days has crept back up in certain years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, in 2020 in the Bay Area, there were 25 days where particle pollution exceeded standards, and that year, according to CARB, was the worst wildfire year in California history. Those levels put us right back to the pollution we were seeing 20 years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11951886\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS44792_006_KQED_SanFrancisco_OrangeSky_09092020-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11951886\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS44792_006_KQED_SanFrancisco_OrangeSky_09092020-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"The deep, dark orange glow of thick smoke surrounds an urban skyline. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS44792_006_KQED_SanFrancisco_OrangeSky_09092020-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS44792_006_KQED_SanFrancisco_OrangeSky_09092020-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS44792_006_KQED_SanFrancisco_OrangeSky_09092020-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS44792_006_KQED_SanFrancisco_OrangeSky_09092020-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS44792_006_KQED_SanFrancisco_OrangeSky_09092020-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the San Francisco skyline from Dolores Park in San Francisco on Sept. 9, 2020. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Air quality is also very much related to where we are in space on a particular day, and to meteorological conditions. The air we breathe is different if we are standing near a highway or in a park. And weather conditions such as wind, rain and sunlight affect air quality, not just sources of pollution like car exhaust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Benjamin said there is reason to celebrate ways clean air efforts have been successful, but there’s still a lot more work to do to address the inequalities people experience with pollution on a neighborhood level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he says wildfires, which have been getting bigger and more frequent, really put us in danger of reversing the air quality improvements we’ve made in recent decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are very happy with the improvements that we’ve seen over time in regional air pollution. But our job is only half done,” he said. “We need to transition again away from fossil fuel combustion as quickly as we can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Bay to Breakers Is Part Race, Part Parade and Classic San Francisco",
"headTitle": "Bay to Breakers Is Part Race, Part Parade and Classic San Francisco | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/3qcysNw\">Read a transcript of this episode.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To many, running 7.5 miles is a loathsome task, much less a cause for celebration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But each year on the third Sunday of May, thousands of people turn what would otherwise be just your average San Francisco footrace into a moving block party complete with costumes, house parties and plenty of refreshments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s one-quarter Mardi Gras, one-quarter Boston Marathon, one quarter Pride and a little bit of Halloween thrown in there, too,” said Kyle Meyers, who owns Silverback, the events company that runs Bay to Breakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since it started in 1912, Bay to Breakers has changed from a run-of-the-mill footrace across the city into a one-of-a-kind event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the starting line you’ll see people throwing tortillas around like frisbees. People run in groups connected by a bungee cord in the “centipede” category. Some people run naked. Others, dressed like salmon, run the course backward, like a salmon swimming upstream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The person I was next to lined up at the start of the race and got completely nude with no shoes on,” recalled Bay Curious listener Andrew Thomas of the time he ran the race in 2019. “I was like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna smoke this person.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not at this race. [baycuriouspodcastinfo]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They took off and I couldn’t even keep up with them for a quarter mile and they did really well,” said Thomas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Running in the race got Thomas thinking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just want to know more about the history of Bay to Breakers. When did it get so wacky? When did costumes start getting introduced? There’s many races all over the country, why did this one get so uniquely San Franciscan?” he asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The story begins with one of the most infamous days in San Francisco history.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Rallying a city’s spirits\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The earthquake of April 18, 1906, ignited a fire that burned for three days and destroyed nearly 500 city blocks. An estimated 3,000 people died and half of the city’s residents were left unhoused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the years that followed, city leaders planned events to boost the civic pride and morale of San Franciscans. It’s reported that Hillard L. Baggerly, sports editor for \u003cem>The San Francisco Bulletin\u003c/em>, proposed a cross-city footrace to do just that. On New Year’s Day in 1912, 140 people lined up on the Embarcadero for the first running of the aptly named “Cross City Race.” This is the race that would eventually become known as Bay to Breakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The course has changed several times throughout the 100-plus years it’s been run, but it has always started near the Ferry Building — by the bay — and ended at the beach— aka, the breakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11950716\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Bay_to_Breakers_1912_newspaper.png\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11950716\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Bay_to_Breakers_1912_newspaper-800x498.png\" alt='Black and white copy of an old newspaper featuring the headline, \"WONDERFUL TIME MADE BY THE WINNER OF RACE.\" One image shows a large crowd of race participants running, and another shows men in suits holding trophies.' width=\"800\" height=\"498\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Bay_to_Breakers_1912_newspaper-800x498.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Bay_to_Breakers_1912_newspaper-1020x636.png 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Bay_to_Breakers_1912_newspaper-160x100.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Bay_to_Breakers_1912_newspaper.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Front page of ‘The San Francisco Bulletin’ on Jan. 2, 1912, reporting on the first ‘Cross City Race,’ since renamed Bay to Breakers \u003ccite>(Public domain)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to author Len Wallach, who wrote a comprehensive history of Bay to Breakers in 1978 called \u003ca href=\"https://sfpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S93C1269916\">\u003cem>The Human Race\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, the original Bay to Breakers route “proceeded up Golden Gate Avenue after leaving Market Street, crossing over Van Ness, the edge of the fire line of the 1906 earthquake.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Notable milestones of the present-day racecourse include weaving through the wide streets of SoMa and downtown San Francisco, surmounting the challenging Hayes Street hill at Alamo Square, and passing through Golden Gate Park, starting at its panhandle before ultimately finishing at Ocean Beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There isn’t a specific time when costumes, or the lack of clothes altogether, became typical for Bay to Breakers, but there were a few notable moments in the race history that hinted that San Franciscans weren’t going to let it be just any normal race.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Dressed for the occasion\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The first mention of someone running the race in a costume dates to 1940. A participant dressed up as Captain Kidd, the famed Scottish privateer, and tried to enter the race, but was denied by officials. They ended up walking two blocks down Market Street and starting the race anyway, running it holding a pirate sword and finishing last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That same year, another person also joined the race somewhere on Market Street, after taking a $5 bet that they wouldn’t run down the city’s main thoroughfare dressed only in their nightshirt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>1940 was also the first time that a woman is known to have finished the race, although women weren’t allowed to officially run the full course until 1971. A young woman named Bobbie Burke, who lived in the Sunset District, disguised herself as a man, apparently well enough to fool race officials. She received a Cross City Race diploma after finishing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the mid-’70s, Wallach writes, a “carnival atmosphere” had begun to form at the race, no doubt affected by the recent Summer of Love and pop culture happenings in San Francisco. Wallach describes the scene at the 1975 race: “There were runners dressed as clowns, horses, cowboys, riverboat gamblers. There were women in long dresses and parasols, gays in drag, gentlemen in tuxedos, and band masters in uniform.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11950741\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65588_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-012-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11950741\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65588_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-012-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Motion blurred image of a running man with a large model of an atom strapped to his chest.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65588_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-012-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65588_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-012-qut-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65588_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-012-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65588_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-012-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65588_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-012-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Bay to Breakers runner dressed as an atom jogs through downtown San Francisco on May 21, 2023. The annual race is billed as a celebration of San Francisco’s personality. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The ‘Cross City Race’ gets a new name\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This renewed enthusiasm for the race was a dramatic change from just a decade before. In 1963, the Cross City Race appeared near collapse, with just 15 people registering to run. It was the culmination of a long decline. Claire M. Williams writes in her essay “\u003ca href=\"https://sfpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S93C3324736\">Bay to Breakers: The Original Fun Run\u003c/a>” that “from 1937 until 1963, the average number of Cross City Race finishers per race was just thirty-five.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Williams says this decline was due to a revolving door of sponsors that failed to adequately promote the event. But 1964 marked the beginning of a long upswing in popularity for the race. That year, \u003cem>The News-Call Bulletin\u003c/em> took over sponsorship and changed the name to Bay to Breakers. Then, in 1966, \u003cem>The San Francisco Examiner\u003c/em> bought \u003cem>The Bulletin\u003c/em> and took over sponsorship of the race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By 1975, the acceptance of women running in the race and the running boom of the 1970s greatly drove up attendance, along with improved coverage and promotion by the \u003cem>Examiner\u003c/em>. That year 8,000 people raced in what became known as “The Great Stampede.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attendance grew dramatically through the next decade, a time when a new racing category would also be added to the race.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The centipedes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The UC Davis Aggies Running Club ran as a centipede for the first time in 1978. The centipedes are basically a train of 13 to 15 runners connected by a bungee cord, fabric, tape or anything else that works with the centipede costume theme.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Centipede costumes have varied from a train of people dressed as tissue boxes, a literal centipede or a deck of cards, to name a few.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1979, the Aggies declared that Bay to Breakers was to be the site of the “National Club Centipede Championships,” and demanded that participants keep to the strict rules set by the imaginary “International Council on Centipede Racing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The first time I did a centipede, we were dressed up as Wonder Woman,” said Angie Longworth, a member of the San Francisco-based Impala Racing Team, a running team for women. “And people would be running by us and they were just so excited to see that costume. They said, ‘Wonder Woman, this is my dream come true!’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11950714\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/DiFi-Racing-1-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11950714\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/DiFi-Racing-1-800x636.jpg\" alt=\"A dozen women wear knee length business skits, white blouses, and identical large red bowties. They are each holding a paper cutout of Dianne Feinstein's face in front of their own, like a mask.\" width=\"800\" height=\"636\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/DiFi-Racing-1-800x636.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/DiFi-Racing-1-1020x810.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/DiFi-Racing-1-160x127.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/DiFi-Racing-1-1536x1220.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/DiFi-Racing-1-2048x1627.jpg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/DiFi-Racing-1-1920x1525.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of Impala, an all-women running club in San Francisco, dressed up as Dianne Feinstein for the 1988 Bay to Breakers race. \u003ccite>(Robin Kutner)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Impala team uses the theme of strong women to dress up every year, picking costumes like Mrs. Incredible, Ruth Bader Ginsburg or the Statue of Liberty. Impala racer Nelda Williams recalls when the group dressed up as former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were shaking hands with people running down the street like we were politicians, and they were booing us. We got a lot of press out of that, and she loved it,” recalled Williams.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A little too much fun\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The booing was possibly because in 1977, Feinstein, then a city supervisor, called the race “out of control” and publicly lambasted race organizers after an unofficial runner collapsed and died, despite a quick medical response. Ultimately a resolution proposed by Feinstein to investigate race procedures was vetoed by then-mayor George Moscone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This was also a time when the race was undergoing even more exponential growth. In 1977, the race went from just over 8,000 registered runners to 110,000 by its 75th anniversary in 1986, earning it the Guinness World Record for largest footrace in the world. Adding to the fanfare that year, KPIX Channel 5 covered the race live, stationing reporters throughout the course and following the lead runners on motorcycles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay to Breakers was entering its heyday, enjoying widespread popularity and fierce competition from some of the greatest legends in the running world, like the winner of the first-ever women’s Olympic marathon, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Norwegian athlete Grete Waitz, who won the New York City Marathon nine times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as popularity increased, there was a sense that things were getting a little too wild.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By 2009 the race and city leaders banned alcohol and unsuccessfully tried to ban nudity. Then-Mayor Gavin Newsom complained that the race failed to clean up after itself, leaving behind 35 tons of trash one year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11950727\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65611_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-856-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11950727\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65611_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-856-qut-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"Low angle image taken from the grass. A red plastic cup lays in the foreground, while a piles of cans and beer boxes lay at the feet of a group of people further away.\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65611_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-856-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65611_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-856-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65611_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-856-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65611_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-856-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65611_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-856-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Beer cans and plastic cups rest on the grass at the east end of Golden Gate Park as Bay to Breakers participants celebrate after the race on May 21, 2023. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 2012, the 100th anniversary of the event, a participant died after getting into a fight at the race, and in 2013 another man died when he fell off a roof at a house party. That same year, another person is believed to have jumped into the ocean and drowned after finishing the race. People in the neighborhoods next to Golden Gate Park complained of trash and lots of public urination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s hard to be enthusiastic about something when it results on people peeing on your door, but it’s really easy to prevent that and the race organizers do a good job of that most years,” said Jason Cauthen, a board member of the NOPA Neighborhood Association. “The years when the neighbors have had the most complaints and when it’s been the biggest problem for the neighborhood is years when the race organizers have scaled back the number of Porta Potties.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many people try to run the full course from the bay to the ocean, many just walk or simply head straight to the panhandle of Golden Gate Park to party. This means that in order to fully prepare for the race, organizers must take into account not only the number of people registered, but also the tens of thousands more who come to watch or participate in the more celebratory aspects of the day.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Bay to Breakers keeps running\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Balancing the needs of racers, partiers, spectators, neighbors and everyone else in the city is Kyle Meyers, who owns Silverback, the company that runs Bay to Breakers. He says this year’s event had around 17,000 paid participants — with another 30,000 just joining in for the fun. That means a lot of Porta Potties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just shy of 900. Which is a substantial amount for a race that’s only 7 miles long,” said Meyers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11950718\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65593_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-284-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11950718\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65593_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-284-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Several people in athletic clothing wait in line to use portable toilets. One man waits completely naked, except for a small backpack.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65593_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-284-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65593_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-284-qut-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65593_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-284-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65593_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-284-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65593_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-284-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bay to Breakers participants wait to use the restroom on Howard Street in downtown San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Meyers says putting on the event means working with just about every department the city has. But despite the monumental undertaking and a certain measure of dread some locals experience when they hear of the impending traffic and crowds that come with the race, he says it’s their flagship event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether some locals either lock themselves up or get out of town that weekend, I think deep down everybody appreciates what it means for this city to hold one of the longest-standing races in the world,” said Meyers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay to Breakers has survived two World Wars, near-zero participation, the scrutiny of politicians and even the COVID-19 pandemic. It has its detractors, but Cauthen of the NOPA Neighborhood Association says it’s an important event to protect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Bay to Breakers is a super-unique event because it combines the aspect of celebration with the aspect of a running race,” he said. “I think expressing whimsy, celebrating and having a good time with your community, and having that tie to a fitness goal and activity is a very San Francisco thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coming out of the pandemic, race attendance is much less than what it was at its peak, and the race doesn’t attract the same elite runners it once did. As Bay to Breakers continues well past its 100th birthday, Cauthen says it’s important for people to recognize that this is both a race, and a party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11950719\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65608_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-812-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11950719\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65608_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-812-qut-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"A group of people partying while in costume. They are wearing inflatable innertubes designed to look like car tires, with small fake steering wheels attached.\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65608_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-812-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65608_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-812-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65608_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-812-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65608_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-812-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65608_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-812-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bay to Breakers participants celebrate after the race at the east end of Golden Gate Park. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“When it’s treated as purely a running race or when it’s treated as purely a festival, I think that’s when it’s at the greatest risk or has the greatest problems,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Bay to Breakers has run its course through San Francisco’s history, it might be fitting to say that the event has left its mark on the city. But seeing what started as a men-only fitness competition turn into the spectacle of joy, inclusivity and athleticism it is today — from the ashes of the 1906 earthquake through the Summer of Love and other highs and lows — it’s more appropriate to say that San Francisco has left its mark on Bay to Breakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Bay to Breakers has become notorious for its party-like atmosphere, with thousands of people running the route in wild costumes, or wearing absolutely nothing at all. When did it get so wild?",
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"description": "Bay to Breakers has become notorious for its party-like atmosphere, with thousands of people running the route in wild costumes, or wearing absolutely nothing at all. When did it get so wild?",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/3qcysNw\">Read a transcript of this episode.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To many, running 7.5 miles is a loathsome task, much less a cause for celebration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But each year on the third Sunday of May, thousands of people turn what would otherwise be just your average San Francisco footrace into a moving block party complete with costumes, house parties and plenty of refreshments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s one-quarter Mardi Gras, one-quarter Boston Marathon, one quarter Pride and a little bit of Halloween thrown in there, too,” said Kyle Meyers, who owns Silverback, the events company that runs Bay to Breakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since it started in 1912, Bay to Breakers has changed from a run-of-the-mill footrace across the city into a one-of-a-kind event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the starting line you’ll see people throwing tortillas around like frisbees. People run in groups connected by a bungee cord in the “centipede” category. Some people run naked. Others, dressed like salmon, run the course backward, like a salmon swimming upstream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The person I was next to lined up at the start of the race and got completely nude with no shoes on,” recalled Bay Curious listener Andrew Thomas of the time he ran the race in 2019. “I was like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna smoke this person.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not at this race. \u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Bay Curious\u003c/a> is a podcast that answers your questions about the Bay Area.\n Subscribe on \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>,\n \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR One\u003c/a> or your favorite podcast platform.\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They took off and I couldn’t even keep up with them for a quarter mile and they did really well,” said Thomas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Running in the race got Thomas thinking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just want to know more about the history of Bay to Breakers. When did it get so wacky? When did costumes start getting introduced? There’s many races all over the country, why did this one get so uniquely San Franciscan?” he asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The story begins with one of the most infamous days in San Francisco history.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Rallying a city’s spirits\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The earthquake of April 18, 1906, ignited a fire that burned for three days and destroyed nearly 500 city blocks. An estimated 3,000 people died and half of the city’s residents were left unhoused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the years that followed, city leaders planned events to boost the civic pride and morale of San Franciscans. It’s reported that Hillard L. Baggerly, sports editor for \u003cem>The San Francisco Bulletin\u003c/em>, proposed a cross-city footrace to do just that. On New Year’s Day in 1912, 140 people lined up on the Embarcadero for the first running of the aptly named “Cross City Race.” This is the race that would eventually become known as Bay to Breakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The course has changed several times throughout the 100-plus years it’s been run, but it has always started near the Ferry Building — by the bay — and ended at the beach— aka, the breakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11950716\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Bay_to_Breakers_1912_newspaper.png\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11950716\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Bay_to_Breakers_1912_newspaper-800x498.png\" alt='Black and white copy of an old newspaper featuring the headline, \"WONDERFUL TIME MADE BY THE WINNER OF RACE.\" One image shows a large crowd of race participants running, and another shows men in suits holding trophies.' width=\"800\" height=\"498\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Bay_to_Breakers_1912_newspaper-800x498.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Bay_to_Breakers_1912_newspaper-1020x636.png 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Bay_to_Breakers_1912_newspaper-160x100.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Bay_to_Breakers_1912_newspaper.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Front page of ‘The San Francisco Bulletin’ on Jan. 2, 1912, reporting on the first ‘Cross City Race,’ since renamed Bay to Breakers \u003ccite>(Public domain)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to author Len Wallach, who wrote a comprehensive history of Bay to Breakers in 1978 called \u003ca href=\"https://sfpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S93C1269916\">\u003cem>The Human Race\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, the original Bay to Breakers route “proceeded up Golden Gate Avenue after leaving Market Street, crossing over Van Ness, the edge of the fire line of the 1906 earthquake.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Notable milestones of the present-day racecourse include weaving through the wide streets of SoMa and downtown San Francisco, surmounting the challenging Hayes Street hill at Alamo Square, and passing through Golden Gate Park, starting at its panhandle before ultimately finishing at Ocean Beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There isn’t a specific time when costumes, or the lack of clothes altogether, became typical for Bay to Breakers, but there were a few notable moments in the race history that hinted that San Franciscans weren’t going to let it be just any normal race.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Dressed for the occasion\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The first mention of someone running the race in a costume dates to 1940. A participant dressed up as Captain Kidd, the famed Scottish privateer, and tried to enter the race, but was denied by officials. They ended up walking two blocks down Market Street and starting the race anyway, running it holding a pirate sword and finishing last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That same year, another person also joined the race somewhere on Market Street, after taking a $5 bet that they wouldn’t run down the city’s main thoroughfare dressed only in their nightshirt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>1940 was also the first time that a woman is known to have finished the race, although women weren’t allowed to officially run the full course until 1971. A young woman named Bobbie Burke, who lived in the Sunset District, disguised herself as a man, apparently well enough to fool race officials. She received a Cross City Race diploma after finishing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the mid-’70s, Wallach writes, a “carnival atmosphere” had begun to form at the race, no doubt affected by the recent Summer of Love and pop culture happenings in San Francisco. Wallach describes the scene at the 1975 race: “There were runners dressed as clowns, horses, cowboys, riverboat gamblers. There were women in long dresses and parasols, gays in drag, gentlemen in tuxedos, and band masters in uniform.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11950741\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65588_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-012-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11950741\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65588_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-012-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Motion blurred image of a running man with a large model of an atom strapped to his chest.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65588_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-012-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65588_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-012-qut-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65588_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-012-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65588_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-012-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65588_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-012-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Bay to Breakers runner dressed as an atom jogs through downtown San Francisco on May 21, 2023. The annual race is billed as a celebration of San Francisco’s personality. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The ‘Cross City Race’ gets a new name\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This renewed enthusiasm for the race was a dramatic change from just a decade before. In 1963, the Cross City Race appeared near collapse, with just 15 people registering to run. It was the culmination of a long decline. Claire M. Williams writes in her essay “\u003ca href=\"https://sfpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S93C3324736\">Bay to Breakers: The Original Fun Run\u003c/a>” that “from 1937 until 1963, the average number of Cross City Race finishers per race was just thirty-five.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Williams says this decline was due to a revolving door of sponsors that failed to adequately promote the event. But 1964 marked the beginning of a long upswing in popularity for the race. That year, \u003cem>The News-Call Bulletin\u003c/em> took over sponsorship and changed the name to Bay to Breakers. Then, in 1966, \u003cem>The San Francisco Examiner\u003c/em> bought \u003cem>The Bulletin\u003c/em> and took over sponsorship of the race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By 1975, the acceptance of women running in the race and the running boom of the 1970s greatly drove up attendance, along with improved coverage and promotion by the \u003cem>Examiner\u003c/em>. That year 8,000 people raced in what became known as “The Great Stampede.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attendance grew dramatically through the next decade, a time when a new racing category would also be added to the race.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The centipedes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The UC Davis Aggies Running Club ran as a centipede for the first time in 1978. The centipedes are basically a train of 13 to 15 runners connected by a bungee cord, fabric, tape or anything else that works with the centipede costume theme.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Centipede costumes have varied from a train of people dressed as tissue boxes, a literal centipede or a deck of cards, to name a few.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1979, the Aggies declared that Bay to Breakers was to be the site of the “National Club Centipede Championships,” and demanded that participants keep to the strict rules set by the imaginary “International Council on Centipede Racing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The first time I did a centipede, we were dressed up as Wonder Woman,” said Angie Longworth, a member of the San Francisco-based Impala Racing Team, a running team for women. “And people would be running by us and they were just so excited to see that costume. They said, ‘Wonder Woman, this is my dream come true!’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11950714\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/DiFi-Racing-1-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11950714\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/DiFi-Racing-1-800x636.jpg\" alt=\"A dozen women wear knee length business skits, white blouses, and identical large red bowties. They are each holding a paper cutout of Dianne Feinstein's face in front of their own, like a mask.\" width=\"800\" height=\"636\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/DiFi-Racing-1-800x636.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/DiFi-Racing-1-1020x810.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/DiFi-Racing-1-160x127.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/DiFi-Racing-1-1536x1220.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/DiFi-Racing-1-2048x1627.jpg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/DiFi-Racing-1-1920x1525.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of Impala, an all-women running club in San Francisco, dressed up as Dianne Feinstein for the 1988 Bay to Breakers race. \u003ccite>(Robin Kutner)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Impala team uses the theme of strong women to dress up every year, picking costumes like Mrs. Incredible, Ruth Bader Ginsburg or the Statue of Liberty. Impala racer Nelda Williams recalls when the group dressed up as former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were shaking hands with people running down the street like we were politicians, and they were booing us. We got a lot of press out of that, and she loved it,” recalled Williams.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A little too much fun\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The booing was possibly because in 1977, Feinstein, then a city supervisor, called the race “out of control” and publicly lambasted race organizers after an unofficial runner collapsed and died, despite a quick medical response. Ultimately a resolution proposed by Feinstein to investigate race procedures was vetoed by then-mayor George Moscone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This was also a time when the race was undergoing even more exponential growth. In 1977, the race went from just over 8,000 registered runners to 110,000 by its 75th anniversary in 1986, earning it the Guinness World Record for largest footrace in the world. Adding to the fanfare that year, KPIX Channel 5 covered the race live, stationing reporters throughout the course and following the lead runners on motorcycles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay to Breakers was entering its heyday, enjoying widespread popularity and fierce competition from some of the greatest legends in the running world, like the winner of the first-ever women’s Olympic marathon, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Norwegian athlete Grete Waitz, who won the New York City Marathon nine times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as popularity increased, there was a sense that things were getting a little too wild.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By 2009 the race and city leaders banned alcohol and unsuccessfully tried to ban nudity. Then-Mayor Gavin Newsom complained that the race failed to clean up after itself, leaving behind 35 tons of trash one year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11950727\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65611_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-856-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11950727\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65611_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-856-qut-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"Low angle image taken from the grass. A red plastic cup lays in the foreground, while a piles of cans and beer boxes lay at the feet of a group of people further away.\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65611_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-856-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65611_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-856-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65611_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-856-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65611_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-856-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65611_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-856-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Beer cans and plastic cups rest on the grass at the east end of Golden Gate Park as Bay to Breakers participants celebrate after the race on May 21, 2023. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 2012, the 100th anniversary of the event, a participant died after getting into a fight at the race, and in 2013 another man died when he fell off a roof at a house party. That same year, another person is believed to have jumped into the ocean and drowned after finishing the race. People in the neighborhoods next to Golden Gate Park complained of trash and lots of public urination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s hard to be enthusiastic about something when it results on people peeing on your door, but it’s really easy to prevent that and the race organizers do a good job of that most years,” said Jason Cauthen, a board member of the NOPA Neighborhood Association. “The years when the neighbors have had the most complaints and when it’s been the biggest problem for the neighborhood is years when the race organizers have scaled back the number of Porta Potties.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many people try to run the full course from the bay to the ocean, many just walk or simply head straight to the panhandle of Golden Gate Park to party. This means that in order to fully prepare for the race, organizers must take into account not only the number of people registered, but also the tens of thousands more who come to watch or participate in the more celebratory aspects of the day.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Bay to Breakers keeps running\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Balancing the needs of racers, partiers, spectators, neighbors and everyone else in the city is Kyle Meyers, who owns Silverback, the company that runs Bay to Breakers. He says this year’s event had around 17,000 paid participants — with another 30,000 just joining in for the fun. That means a lot of Porta Potties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just shy of 900. Which is a substantial amount for a race that’s only 7 miles long,” said Meyers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11950718\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65593_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-284-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11950718\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65593_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-284-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Several people in athletic clothing wait in line to use portable toilets. One man waits completely naked, except for a small backpack.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65593_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-284-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65593_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-284-qut-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65593_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-284-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65593_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-284-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65593_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-284-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bay to Breakers participants wait to use the restroom on Howard Street in downtown San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Meyers says putting on the event means working with just about every department the city has. But despite the monumental undertaking and a certain measure of dread some locals experience when they hear of the impending traffic and crowds that come with the race, he says it’s their flagship event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether some locals either lock themselves up or get out of town that weekend, I think deep down everybody appreciates what it means for this city to hold one of the longest-standing races in the world,” said Meyers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay to Breakers has survived two World Wars, near-zero participation, the scrutiny of politicians and even the COVID-19 pandemic. It has its detractors, but Cauthen of the NOPA Neighborhood Association says it’s an important event to protect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Bay to Breakers is a super-unique event because it combines the aspect of celebration with the aspect of a running race,” he said. “I think expressing whimsy, celebrating and having a good time with your community, and having that tie to a fitness goal and activity is a very San Francisco thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coming out of the pandemic, race attendance is much less than what it was at its peak, and the race doesn’t attract the same elite runners it once did. As Bay to Breakers continues well past its 100th birthday, Cauthen says it’s important for people to recognize that this is both a race, and a party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11950719\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65608_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-812-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11950719\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65608_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-812-qut-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"A group of people partying while in costume. They are wearing inflatable innertubes designed to look like car tires, with small fake steering wheels attached.\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65608_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-812-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65608_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-812-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65608_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-812-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65608_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-812-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65608_20230521_ksuzuki_baytobreakers-812-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bay to Breakers participants celebrate after the race at the east end of Golden Gate Park. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“When it’s treated as purely a running race or when it’s treated as purely a festival, I think that’s when it’s at the greatest risk or has the greatest problems,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Bay to Breakers has run its course through San Francisco’s history, it might be fitting to say that the event has left its mark on the city. But seeing what started as a men-only fitness competition turn into the spectacle of joy, inclusivity and athleticism it is today — from the ashes of the 1906 earthquake through the Summer of Love and other highs and lows — it’s more appropriate to say that San Francisco has left its mark on Bay to Breakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/42ppGKB\">\u003cem>Read a transcript of this episode.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Hmm! Is there any kind of button to call someone?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Noam Shimon and I are at the Emeryville Target, peering at a plexiglass case, trying to figure out how to buy the Advil locked inside of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oh, here. ‘Need team member assistance. Please place hand below the sensor to activate,’” Shimon says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriouspodcastinfo]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He waves his hand below a little plastic square sticking out of the case, and then we stand there. For a while.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eventually an employee comes along with a key, and hands us the Advil. We walk through the aisles, noticing what else is in the cases. All the pain relievers are locked up, as are the sleep aids. So are vitamins, toothpaste, toothbrushes and lotions. Laundry soap is locked. And condoms. Baby formula, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why are these things locked up?” Shimon asked Bay Curious. “Is it a reflection of the larger economy in my neighborhood?”\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A last resort’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Target representatives say the items in the cases vary city by city. They’re aware they lose some money when customers just leave impatiently instead of waiting around, but they don’t know exactly how much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No retailer wants to lock up product,” said Jason Brewer, executive vice president with the Retail Industry Leaders Association. “It is a last resort. But it’s only done when it’s impossible to keep a specific product on the shelf.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said people are stealing stuff that’s easy to carry out of the store, and easy to sell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11949038\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11949038 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/GettyImages-1346413394.jpg\" alt=\"An entire aisle of goods locked behind plexiglass cabinets. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/GettyImages-1346413394.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/GettyImages-1346413394-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/GettyImages-1346413394-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/GettyImages-1346413394-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/GettyImages-1346413394-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Household goods are easier for people to steal and sell and so have been a target. Stores are now locking more things up. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When you think about it, basic necessities have a guaranteed market. A luxury item like jewelry might fetch a higher price, but everybody needs laundry detergent. So if you see it for half-price online … do you stop to wonder whether it might be stolen? How would you know?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, it’s way too easy to use a fake business address, made up a screen name, and essentially fence stolen product from an online marketplace,” said Brewer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, you don’t have to verify your identity to sell online. But you will starting this summer, when the \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr5502/BILLS-117hr5502ih.pdf\">INFORM Act (PDF)\u003c/a> goes into effect. That’s after \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebaymainstreet.com/news-events/new-inform-consumers-act-bill-introduced\">years of back and forth\u003c/a> between retailers, who wanted stricter regulation of online sales, and online marketplaces, who didn’t but eventually came around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousbug]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Retail stores are losing money due to external theft — about \u003ca href=\"https://www.acams.org/en/media/document/29436\">$35 billion\u003c/a> in 2021, which represents less than 1% of their total revenue nationally. That percentage has held steady over the last half-decade. But what has increased, retailers say, is the proportion of that loss that’s due to organized retail crime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Organized retail crime is when groups of people steal, not for personal use, but to resell the items on a large scale — often online.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brewer said there are interstate and even international networks involved. A recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.acams.org/en/media/document/29436\">federal report\u003c/a> is full of complex diagrams, showing that the people who steal, the people who sell, and the organizers can be several groups in several locations. It even cites cases in which Central and South American organizations send people to the U.S. to sell stolen goods on the street, working as indentured servants to pay off the cost of their transport.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11949034\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11949034 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_1113.jpg\" alt=\"A blanket laid out on Market Street in San Francisco has shampoos, soaps, and other toiletries neatly lined up.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_1113.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_1113-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_1113-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_1113-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_1113-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Organized retail theft moves stolen goods in such a way that even those selling sometimes don’t know they’re stolen. \u003ccite>(Katherine Monahan/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘A no-win situation’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A store employee, asking to remain anonymous, brought up another reason for the locked cases. She recently worked in a major Bay Area chain, where employees aren’t allowed to try to stop anyone from shoplifting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re just supposed to customer service them,” she said. “You can’t accuse them and you can’t call the cops but you can be like, ‘Oh, are you finding everything OK?,’ and basically just annoy them into wanting to leave.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the policy changed after the store was sued for racially profiling a shopper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would witness my managers just totally profile someone who wasn’t stealing. And a lot of those people were Black people or other people of color,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it’s not only store employees who can’t intervene with shoplifters. Security guards usually can’t, either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their weaponry is mostly to act as a deterrent, said one guard, who asked to remain anonymous. “It’s not so much for the box of cupcakes walking out the door,” he said.[emailsignup newslettername=\"baycurious\" align=\"right\"]He said he’s not permitted to follow customers, or get in their way while they’re leaving, unless they’re being violent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Andre Godwin, an armed security guard at another local store, said he can’t intervene at all. “I’ll get sued and lose my job,” he said, adding that shoplifters know about these restrictions and take advantage of them. “Like I told you, we’re in a no-win situation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guards have killed shoplifters, or vice versa, in several cases across the nation — \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/sf-walgreens-fatal-shooting-da-drops-charges-18000633.php\">including one just a few weeks ago in San Francisco\u003c/a> — when stops have escalated out of control. And that’s part of why stores are starting to rely more on devices, rather than people, to protect their goods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Godwin said people are finding ways around those devices, though.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said once employees unlock the cases and hand over the items, people still just walk right out the door with them. And he frequently sees people going through the self-checkouts scanning only a few of their items.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He described one tactic in which people take a picture of a barcode of one thing, print it, cut it out and then put it over the barcode of something else before scanning it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It will blow your mind,” he said. “It just doesn’t stop.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A sign of the times’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Given the rate of inflation, it’s a tough economy these days — that is undeniable. And one of the places people find a way through is at the Laney College Flea Market in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hundreds of people are strolling around a big parking lot, some with their kids. There are food trucks, and a man pushing a little ice cream cart around. Covered stalls are selling things you might expect to find at a flea market: Tibetan jewelry, records, slightly beat-up leather coats. But there are also entire stalls full of really basic items, like toothbrushes and shaving cream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That says that people can’t necessarily afford to buy it in the stores,” said Faule Fields, who’s working at the gate. “So it’s finding ways out of major department stores and finding its way here, or people are buying online also, too, because I don’t want to say that everybody’s a criminal down here. But people find ways to supplement their income.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf\">Inflation has been especially high (PDF)\u003c/a> over the last year for personal care products and household goods. But here, laundry detergent sells for $5. Deodorant is $2 for five. The same size of Advil that Shimon paid almost $30 for at the Target is sitting on a foldout table, selling for $10.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked why people choose to shop here, Fields noted that everything is tax-free. “It’s a no-brainer,” he said. “It’s a sign of the times.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, do the locked cases mean that the economy has gotten so bad that people have to steal basic necessities? Not necessarily. But it does mean that there is a market for cheaper goods. In economic terms, there is a demand. And people might be buying or selling stolen goods without knowing it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does that mean we’ll be seeing more of those locked cases? Probably. And it’s likely that more technology (and fewer people) will be employed by stores as they look to reduce their costs and liability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/42ppGKB\">\u003cem>Read a transcript of this episode.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Hmm! Is there any kind of button to call someone?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Noam Shimon and I are at the Emeryville Target, peering at a plexiglass case, trying to figure out how to buy the Advil locked inside of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oh, here. ‘Need team member assistance. Please place hand below the sensor to activate,’” Shimon says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Bay Curious\u003c/a> is a podcast that answers your questions about the Bay Area.\n Subscribe on \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>,\n \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR One\u003c/a> or your favorite podcast platform.\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He waves his hand below a little plastic square sticking out of the case, and then we stand there. For a while.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eventually an employee comes along with a key, and hands us the Advil. We walk through the aisles, noticing what else is in the cases. All the pain relievers are locked up, as are the sleep aids. So are vitamins, toothpaste, toothbrushes and lotions. Laundry soap is locked. And condoms. Baby formula, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why are these things locked up?” Shimon asked Bay Curious. “Is it a reflection of the larger economy in my neighborhood?”\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A last resort’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Target representatives say the items in the cases vary city by city. They’re aware they lose some money when customers just leave impatiently instead of waiting around, but they don’t know exactly how much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No retailer wants to lock up product,” said Jason Brewer, executive vice president with the Retail Industry Leaders Association. “It is a last resort. But it’s only done when it’s impossible to keep a specific product on the shelf.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said people are stealing stuff that’s easy to carry out of the store, and easy to sell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11949038\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11949038 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/GettyImages-1346413394.jpg\" alt=\"An entire aisle of goods locked behind plexiglass cabinets. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/GettyImages-1346413394.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/GettyImages-1346413394-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/GettyImages-1346413394-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/GettyImages-1346413394-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/GettyImages-1346413394-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Household goods are easier for people to steal and sell and so have been a target. Stores are now locking more things up. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When you think about it, basic necessities have a guaranteed market. A luxury item like jewelry might fetch a higher price, but everybody needs laundry detergent. So if you see it for half-price online … do you stop to wonder whether it might be stolen? How would you know?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, it’s way too easy to use a fake business address, made up a screen name, and essentially fence stolen product from an online marketplace,” said Brewer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, you don’t have to verify your identity to sell online. But you will starting this summer, when the \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr5502/BILLS-117hr5502ih.pdf\">INFORM Act (PDF)\u003c/a> goes into effect. That’s after \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebaymainstreet.com/news-events/new-inform-consumers-act-bill-introduced\">years of back and forth\u003c/a> between retailers, who wanted stricter regulation of online sales, and online marketplaces, who didn’t but eventually came around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n What do you wonder about the Bay Area, its culture or people that you want KQED to investigate?\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Ask Bay Curious.\u003c/a>\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Retail stores are losing money due to external theft — about \u003ca href=\"https://www.acams.org/en/media/document/29436\">$35 billion\u003c/a> in 2021, which represents less than 1% of their total revenue nationally. That percentage has held steady over the last half-decade. But what has increased, retailers say, is the proportion of that loss that’s due to organized retail crime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Organized retail crime is when groups of people steal, not for personal use, but to resell the items on a large scale — often online.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brewer said there are interstate and even international networks involved. A recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.acams.org/en/media/document/29436\">federal report\u003c/a> is full of complex diagrams, showing that the people who steal, the people who sell, and the organizers can be several groups in several locations. It even cites cases in which Central and South American organizations send people to the U.S. to sell stolen goods on the street, working as indentured servants to pay off the cost of their transport.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11949034\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11949034 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_1113.jpg\" alt=\"A blanket laid out on Market Street in San Francisco has shampoos, soaps, and other toiletries neatly lined up.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_1113.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_1113-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_1113-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_1113-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_1113-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Organized retail theft moves stolen goods in such a way that even those selling sometimes don’t know they’re stolen. \u003ccite>(Katherine Monahan/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘A no-win situation’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A store employee, asking to remain anonymous, brought up another reason for the locked cases. She recently worked in a major Bay Area chain, where employees aren’t allowed to try to stop anyone from shoplifting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re just supposed to customer service them,” she said. “You can’t accuse them and you can’t call the cops but you can be like, ‘Oh, are you finding everything OK?,’ and basically just annoy them into wanting to leave.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the policy changed after the store was sued for racially profiling a shopper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would witness my managers just totally profile someone who wasn’t stealing. And a lot of those people were Black people or other people of color,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it’s not only store employees who can’t intervene with shoplifters. Security guards usually can’t, either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their weaponry is mostly to act as a deterrent, said one guard, who asked to remain anonymous. “It’s not so much for the box of cupcakes walking out the door,” he said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>He said he’s not permitted to follow customers, or get in their way while they’re leaving, unless they’re being violent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Andre Godwin, an armed security guard at another local store, said he can’t intervene at all. “I’ll get sued and lose my job,” he said, adding that shoplifters know about these restrictions and take advantage of them. “Like I told you, we’re in a no-win situation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guards have killed shoplifters, or vice versa, in several cases across the nation — \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/sf-walgreens-fatal-shooting-da-drops-charges-18000633.php\">including one just a few weeks ago in San Francisco\u003c/a> — when stops have escalated out of control. And that’s part of why stores are starting to rely more on devices, rather than people, to protect their goods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Godwin said people are finding ways around those devices, though.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said once employees unlock the cases and hand over the items, people still just walk right out the door with them. And he frequently sees people going through the self-checkouts scanning only a few of their items.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He described one tactic in which people take a picture of a barcode of one thing, print it, cut it out and then put it over the barcode of something else before scanning it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It will blow your mind,” he said. “It just doesn’t stop.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A sign of the times’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Given the rate of inflation, it’s a tough economy these days — that is undeniable. And one of the places people find a way through is at the Laney College Flea Market in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hundreds of people are strolling around a big parking lot, some with their kids. There are food trucks, and a man pushing a little ice cream cart around. Covered stalls are selling things you might expect to find at a flea market: Tibetan jewelry, records, slightly beat-up leather coats. But there are also entire stalls full of really basic items, like toothbrushes and shaving cream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That says that people can’t necessarily afford to buy it in the stores,” said Faule Fields, who’s working at the gate. “So it’s finding ways out of major department stores and finding its way here, or people are buying online also, too, because I don’t want to say that everybody’s a criminal down here. But people find ways to supplement their income.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf\">Inflation has been especially high (PDF)\u003c/a> over the last year for personal care products and household goods. But here, laundry detergent sells for $5. Deodorant is $2 for five. The same size of Advil that Shimon paid almost $30 for at the Target is sitting on a foldout table, selling for $10.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked why people choose to shop here, Fields noted that everything is tax-free. “It’s a no-brainer,” he said. “It’s a sign of the times.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, do the locked cases mean that the economy has gotten so bad that people have to steal basic necessities? Not necessarily. But it does mean that there is a market for cheaper goods. In economic terms, there is a demand. And people might be buying or selling stolen goods without knowing it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does that mean we’ll be seeing more of those locked cases? Probably. And it’s likely that more technology (and fewer people) will be employed by stores as they look to reduce their costs and liability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "The Future Looks Bright for Children's Fairyland, as It Seeks to Better Reflect Oakland's Cultural Rainbow",
"headTitle": "The Future Looks Bright for Children’s Fairyland, as It Seeks to Better Reflect Oakland’s Cultural Rainbow | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/3Lw8Y51\">\u003cem>Read a transcript of this episode here. \u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To Rose Gelfand, Children’s Fairyland exists “outside of the bounds of time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gelfand grew up in Richmond and as a kid went regularly to the 10-acre storybook-themed amusement park on the north side of Oakland’s Lake Merritt. But even as a teenager, when Gelfand attended high school at Oakland School for the Arts, Fairyland’s rainbow-colored sign remained a destination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oftentimes I would meet friends at the Fairyland sign facing the water and sit in the sun and, you know, have long chats and make art together,” said Gelfand, who now lives in Portland, Oregon.[baycuriouspodcastinfo]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[It] sort of always had this presence in our lives, even past the point where I was going as a kid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gelfand is certainly not the only person who grew up in the Bay Area, or currently lives here, who considers Fairyland an iconic East Bay institution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The park’s timeless charm may come from its elaborate play sets based on classic fairy tales — most of which were made in the 1950s and ’60s and have changed little since then.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as the park approaches its 75th anniversary, in 2025, its leadership is pondering how to update it to better reflect Oakland’s ever-growing diversity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948448\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948448 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6084-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A three little piggies-themed play set, with a small brick house with a low doorway, and a cut-out cartoon pig next to it. A couple high-rise buildings in downtown Oakland are visible in the background.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6084-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6084-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6084-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6084-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6084-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6084-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6084-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Children’s Fairyland has dozens of interactive play installations based on popular stories for kids. \u003ccite>(Pauline Bartolone/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gelfand has been wondering something similar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m kind of curious what their plan is moving into the future and if it will continue to exist as it is,” she told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Kiddy tech’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you’ve already been to Children’s Fairyland, you’ll know it’s nothing like a Disney theme park. There are no extravagant light shows, no giant castles and no Donald Duck mascots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The park is a unique landscape of dozens of interactive play installations — ideal for kids 8 years old and under — to climb on or into or run through. The play sets are all based on popular kids’ stories: nursery rhymes like “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” classic children’s books like\u003cem> Peter Rabbit\u003c/em>, and folktales like those about Johnny Appleseed and Anansi the Spider.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A “magic” key — bought for a few bucks — unlocks the story of each scene through a colorful speaker box next to each story station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948449\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948449 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6061-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A little kid, around age 6, with poofy, coily hair and a blue puffer jacket turns a key in a light-blue wooden box. Beyond the box, which sits atop a turquoise-painted fence, is a little, light-pink house and flowers blooming amid paving stones.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6061-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6061-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6061-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6061-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6061-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6061-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6061-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Story boxes with speakers are next to each play set at Children’s Fairyland. Kids can unlock the story with a ‘magic key.’ \u003ccite>(Pauline Bartolone/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The park’s structures are kid-size and slightly crooked, as if they were sprinkled with a bit of surrealist fairy dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Everything looks vintage, which makes sense because of when most sets were built. Many of the play areas could use a coat of paint or even an extra nail. But the veneer of the play areas is not the point, says Randal Metz, who has worked at the park for more than 50 years. It’s about the imagination the spaces provoke, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fairyland is a place for kids to lose themselves and to create their own fairytale fantasies,” said Metz, who was once the park’s artistic director, and is now a puppeteer and park historian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948450\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948450 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6073-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A tall, light blue clock tower has a set of stairs to the left, with a dark green banister, and an opening at the bottom where the end of a slide empties. The ground around the clock tower is paved.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6073-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6073-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6073-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6073-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6073-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6073-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6073-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Children’s Fairyland has dozens of interactive play installations based on popular stories for kids. \u003ccite>(Pauline Bartolone/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Metz says the park’s style is intentionally “quiet” so that kids use their own creativity to add depth and detail to the stories through play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re low tech. We call it kiddy tech. We like to keep it simple, and so that things turn and they move for the children. But also they can understand how it happens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Parks within parks\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Children’s Fairyland was born out of Oakland’s post-World War II period. Young soldiers returning from war were starting families and wanted a place to escape, Metz writes in his book \u003cem>Creating a Fairyland\u003c/em>, which he co-authored with Tony Jonick. At the same time, a landscape architect named William Penn Mott Jr. became the Oakland parks superintendent, with grand visions for expanding the city’s public green spaces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were approximately 950 acres of Oakland city parks in 1946, which was really low for a city of Oakland’s population and size,” said Mitchell Schwarzer, professor emeritus at California College of the Arts, and author of \u003cem>Hella Town: Oakland’s History of Development and Disruption\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948454\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948454 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6037-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Three seemingly life-size statues of smiling little girls in white-and-blue pinafores. The girl on the far left appears Asian and has long black hair. The two girls to the right embrace happily; the girl on the left appears Black, with Black hair, and the third girl appears white, with red hair. They all stand in dappled sunlight beneath trees.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6037-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6037-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6037-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6037-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6037-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6037-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6037-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Children’s Fairyland has dozens of interactive play installations based on popular stories for kids. \u003ccite>(Pauline Bartolone/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Mott wanted to build more, and he came up with all these ideas to increase the acreage of the park system,” Schwarzer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Mott hit some roadblocks. He couldn’t create new parks because Oakland taxpayers didn’t have an appetite to pay more for them, according to Schwarzer, and Mott’s other idea, to create a fantasy-themed park for teenagers — with a mini train, boat and auto course — failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He had a kind of crisis of spirit in the late ’40s and thought, ‘Well, I’ve got to go a different direction,’” said Schwarzer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His new approach? Create parks \u003cem>within\u003c/em> parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>If you can’t have lots of space, you can create space in people’s minds,” said Schwarzer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Mott didn’t launch Fairyland on his own. In fact, the idea to create the park was fueled by Arthur Navlet, a local business investor who had run a large plant nursery in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Navlet and his wife had no children, but still had a deep love for children, according to Metz. While in retirement, the couple visited a children’s zoo in Detroit and were inspired by the bright colors and “festive” environment for the animals, who were not confined to the industrial cages that were customary at the time. Navlet came back to the East Bay determined to create something similar in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948455\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948455 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6040-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A view of the anthropomorphic playing cards from Alice in Wonderland, arranged side-by-side to form a maze. Each red or black playing card has a flat head at the top, with various skin tones and facial expressions (although most look surprised).\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6040-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6040-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6040-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6040-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6040-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6040-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6040-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Over the years, Children’s Fairyland has tried to be more racially representative by diversifying the skin tones of characters in the storybook playsets. Now, leadership wants to diversify the actual stories featured at the park. \u003ccite>(Pauline Bartolone/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Navlet was a member of the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club, a civic-minded group of businessmen who were interested in development. He drummed up their support and, along with Mott, raised seed money to develop a plan for the new park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They hired local artist and industrial designer William Russell Everett, who sketched out the first 17 sets of the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Children’s Fairyland officially opened in September 1950, presenting stories such as\u003cem> The Little Red Hen\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Three Billy Goats Gruff\u003c/em>, and the story of Noah’s ark, to nearly half a million people in the first year of operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fairyland soon inspired other cities, like Sacramento, to open their own children’s storybook parks. Metz says Walt Disney himself visited the park and was deeply inspired by it when he opened Disneyland in 1955.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Walt Disney Company says there’s no concrete evidence of Disney’s visit to the park, but records show that he did fly to San Francisco in 1954.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company also went on to hire Fairyland’s first executive director, Dorothy Manes, to head up youth activities for Disneyland in the 1950s, according to \u003ca href=\"https://d23.com/ask-dave/chris-alameda-california/\">former Disney archivist Dave Smith\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Children’s Fairyland started as a public park, and is now an independent nonprofit, operating with the financial help of memberships, donations and $16 entrance fees. It has endured over the decades, much like the timeless stories it recounts, says Schwarzer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948456\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 603px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948456 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Oaklandpubliclibrary1955-e1683168812227.jpg\" alt=\"A black-and-white photo of dozens of children sitting on the ground, looking past the camera toward an unseen stage, and laughing really hard. The four boys in the foreground are dressed in cowboy gear, with Western shirts and one wearing a cowboy hat. Most of the children appear Latino and white.\" width=\"603\" height=\"454\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Oaklandpubliclibrary1955-e1683168812227.jpg 603w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Oaklandpubliclibrary1955-e1683168812227-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 603px) 100vw, 603px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Children being entertained at Fairyland in Oakland, California circa 1955. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Center)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This is one of Oakland’s most innovative and lasting contributions to the whole country,” he said, about Fairyland’s ability to inspire other fantasy-themed storybook parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott Lukas, a cultural anthropologist and author of the book \u003cem>Theme Park\u003c/em>, says Fairyland incorporates stories, fostering play and creativity, in a way that is pretty distinct from most other kids’ entertainment nowadays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In contrast to Fairyland, “they’re not maybe being used for imagination and development of important skills in children, but they’re being used as properties, as brands, as commodities,” Lukas said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, he says, Fairyland is not trying to sell you anything or tell you what to think.[emailsignup newslettername=\"baycurious\" align=\"right\"]“Children get to complete the stories. It’s not about something preset,” said Lukas.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Controversy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While Children’s Fairyland may be a point of pride for Bay Area residents, its history isn’t without controversy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the park first opened, its creators wanted to hammer home the idea that it was for all small people, including adult little people. So they hired Victor and Edna Wetter as host guides. The married couple, who starred as little people (or “munchkins”) in \u003cem>The Wizard of Oz\u003c/em>, were not much taller than the children who visited the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The couple would show groups of kids throughout the park and tell them the stories that they were seeing,” Metz said. “Unfortunately, the park decided that the job for getting a host guide in Fairyland had to be at a certain height.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City rules dictated that Fairyland hosts had to be of “small stature,” according to Metz. When another employee of average height contested the rule, the controversy got the attention of the mayor and parks director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Wetters just said, you know, we’re not going to be involved with that. So they moved on to something better. And Fairyland took that out of the job description,” Metz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The future of Children’s Fairyland\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Despite Fairyland’s very multiethnic, multiracial clientele, about 90% of the play sets at the park highlight European folktales, according to the park’s leadership. Over the decades, the park has taken small steps to diversify: There is a Chinese dragon slide, a Japanese “party area,” and a mini Ferris wheel based on Anansi the Spider, the protagonist in folktales from Ghana in West Africa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The puppet theater, which presents daily shows, has featured more international stories over the years, including a Vietnamese Cinderella story, a Mexican folktale called “Perez and Mondinga,” and Baba Yaga from Slavic folklore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948451\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948451 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6030-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"The narrow backstage of a puppet theater, with two people standing behind a curtain operating marionettes below them. The right side of the frame shows a strip of bright sunlight, where we assume the audience is sitting; behind the curtain are ordinary objects, such as books, a lamp and a painting.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6030-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6030-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6030-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6030-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6030-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6030-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6030-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The puppet theater at Children’s Fairyland has daily shows when the park is open. \u003ccite>(Pauline Bartolone/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The skin tones of characters in story sets have also been painted various shades of brown in recent years. Little Miss Muffet and the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe, for example, are now portrayed as Latina and Black, respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as Fairyland prepares for its 75th anniversary, the park wants to tell more stories that better reflect and celebrate the diverse community it serves, says Executive Director Kymberly Miller.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The park has always tried to be intentional to represent where it sits in Oakland,” Miller said. “I think what we’re looking for is a much deeper, wider intention now around that, because what it is right now is a little bit narrow.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948452\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948452 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6078-scaled.jpg\" alt='We see the backs of parents and children sitting on green, pink and yellow benches under yellow shade umbrellas, facing the front of the puppet theater, which has a blue awning and an ochre-colored arch lettered with \"Storybook Puppet Theater.\"' width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6078-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6078-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6078-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6078-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6078-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6078-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6078-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The puppet theater at Children’s Fairyland has daily shows when the park is open. \u003ccite>(Pauline Bartolone/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Miller says the stories should reflect what kids of different cultural backgrounds hear as they grow up, both in Oakland and throughout the world. The park wants to install several more international sets and make stories accessible in more languages, she says. It’s even considering rotating out some installations, much like conventional museums do with their exhibits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the fundamental character of the park that families love — the low-tech, vintage experience that offers a departure from everyday life — won’t change, says Miller. Fairyland goers can look forward to some updated storytelling, though.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948453\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948453 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6028-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A view of six marionettes arranged on a high shelf, with varying styles, including a multicolored jester and a white-faced mime.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6028-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6028-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6028-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6028-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6028-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6028-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6028-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Puppets from the folktales and mythologies of different cultures at Children’s Fairyland. \u003ccite>(Pauline Bartolone/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s about being able to be representative enough as the world changes,” said Miller. Paola Lopez, who recently took her two youngest children to Fairyland, says it would be great to see the park present stories from more places and cultures around the world, like from Peru, where she grew up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Well, yeah, it’s Oakland … I mean, look around,” said Lopez one recent Saturday afternoon at the park. In addition to European tales, visitors could see “South American stories about the jungle,” she said, or just one other play set that makes more people say, “‘Hey, I grew up listening or reading this story.”’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Listener Rose Gelfand asked: 'What's the history of Children's Fairyland? It's such an iconic East Bay institution and I have no clue how it came to be.'",
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"description": "Listener Rose Gelfand asked: 'What's the history of Children's Fairyland? It's such an iconic East Bay institution and I have no clue how it came to be.'",
"title": "The Future Looks Bright for Children's Fairyland, as It Seeks to Better Reflect Oakland's Cultural Rainbow | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/3Lw8Y51\">\u003cem>Read a transcript of this episode here. \u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To Rose Gelfand, Children’s Fairyland exists “outside of the bounds of time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gelfand grew up in Richmond and as a kid went regularly to the 10-acre storybook-themed amusement park on the north side of Oakland’s Lake Merritt. But even as a teenager, when Gelfand attended high school at Oakland School for the Arts, Fairyland’s rainbow-colored sign remained a destination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oftentimes I would meet friends at the Fairyland sign facing the water and sit in the sun and, you know, have long chats and make art together,” said Gelfand, who now lives in Portland, Oregon.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Bay Curious\u003c/a> is a podcast that answers your questions about the Bay Area.\n Subscribe on \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>,\n \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR One\u003c/a> or your favorite podcast platform.\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[It] sort of always had this presence in our lives, even past the point where I was going as a kid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gelfand is certainly not the only person who grew up in the Bay Area, or currently lives here, who considers Fairyland an iconic East Bay institution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The park’s timeless charm may come from its elaborate play sets based on classic fairy tales — most of which were made in the 1950s and ’60s and have changed little since then.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as the park approaches its 75th anniversary, in 2025, its leadership is pondering how to update it to better reflect Oakland’s ever-growing diversity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948448\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948448 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6084-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A three little piggies-themed play set, with a small brick house with a low doorway, and a cut-out cartoon pig next to it. A couple high-rise buildings in downtown Oakland are visible in the background.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6084-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6084-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6084-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6084-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6084-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6084-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6084-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Children’s Fairyland has dozens of interactive play installations based on popular stories for kids. \u003ccite>(Pauline Bartolone/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gelfand has been wondering something similar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m kind of curious what their plan is moving into the future and if it will continue to exist as it is,” she told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Kiddy tech’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you’ve already been to Children’s Fairyland, you’ll know it’s nothing like a Disney theme park. There are no extravagant light shows, no giant castles and no Donald Duck mascots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The park is a unique landscape of dozens of interactive play installations — ideal for kids 8 years old and under — to climb on or into or run through. The play sets are all based on popular kids’ stories: nursery rhymes like “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” classic children’s books like\u003cem> Peter Rabbit\u003c/em>, and folktales like those about Johnny Appleseed and Anansi the Spider.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A “magic” key — bought for a few bucks — unlocks the story of each scene through a colorful speaker box next to each story station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948449\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948449 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6061-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A little kid, around age 6, with poofy, coily hair and a blue puffer jacket turns a key in a light-blue wooden box. Beyond the box, which sits atop a turquoise-painted fence, is a little, light-pink house and flowers blooming amid paving stones.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6061-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6061-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6061-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6061-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6061-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6061-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6061-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Story boxes with speakers are next to each play set at Children’s Fairyland. Kids can unlock the story with a ‘magic key.’ \u003ccite>(Pauline Bartolone/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The park’s structures are kid-size and slightly crooked, as if they were sprinkled with a bit of surrealist fairy dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Everything looks vintage, which makes sense because of when most sets were built. Many of the play areas could use a coat of paint or even an extra nail. But the veneer of the play areas is not the point, says Randal Metz, who has worked at the park for more than 50 years. It’s about the imagination the spaces provoke, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fairyland is a place for kids to lose themselves and to create their own fairytale fantasies,” said Metz, who was once the park’s artistic director, and is now a puppeteer and park historian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948450\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948450 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6073-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A tall, light blue clock tower has a set of stairs to the left, with a dark green banister, and an opening at the bottom where the end of a slide empties. The ground around the clock tower is paved.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6073-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6073-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6073-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6073-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6073-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6073-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6073-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Children’s Fairyland has dozens of interactive play installations based on popular stories for kids. \u003ccite>(Pauline Bartolone/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Metz says the park’s style is intentionally “quiet” so that kids use their own creativity to add depth and detail to the stories through play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re low tech. We call it kiddy tech. We like to keep it simple, and so that things turn and they move for the children. But also they can understand how it happens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Parks within parks\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Children’s Fairyland was born out of Oakland’s post-World War II period. Young soldiers returning from war were starting families and wanted a place to escape, Metz writes in his book \u003cem>Creating a Fairyland\u003c/em>, which he co-authored with Tony Jonick. At the same time, a landscape architect named William Penn Mott Jr. became the Oakland parks superintendent, with grand visions for expanding the city’s public green spaces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were approximately 950 acres of Oakland city parks in 1946, which was really low for a city of Oakland’s population and size,” said Mitchell Schwarzer, professor emeritus at California College of the Arts, and author of \u003cem>Hella Town: Oakland’s History of Development and Disruption\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948454\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948454 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6037-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Three seemingly life-size statues of smiling little girls in white-and-blue pinafores. The girl on the far left appears Asian and has long black hair. The two girls to the right embrace happily; the girl on the left appears Black, with Black hair, and the third girl appears white, with red hair. They all stand in dappled sunlight beneath trees.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6037-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6037-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6037-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6037-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6037-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6037-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6037-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Children’s Fairyland has dozens of interactive play installations based on popular stories for kids. \u003ccite>(Pauline Bartolone/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Mott wanted to build more, and he came up with all these ideas to increase the acreage of the park system,” Schwarzer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Mott hit some roadblocks. He couldn’t create new parks because Oakland taxpayers didn’t have an appetite to pay more for them, according to Schwarzer, and Mott’s other idea, to create a fantasy-themed park for teenagers — with a mini train, boat and auto course — failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He had a kind of crisis of spirit in the late ’40s and thought, ‘Well, I’ve got to go a different direction,’” said Schwarzer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His new approach? Create parks \u003cem>within\u003c/em> parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>If you can’t have lots of space, you can create space in people’s minds,” said Schwarzer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Mott didn’t launch Fairyland on his own. In fact, the idea to create the park was fueled by Arthur Navlet, a local business investor who had run a large plant nursery in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Navlet and his wife had no children, but still had a deep love for children, according to Metz. While in retirement, the couple visited a children’s zoo in Detroit and were inspired by the bright colors and “festive” environment for the animals, who were not confined to the industrial cages that were customary at the time. Navlet came back to the East Bay determined to create something similar in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948455\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948455 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6040-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A view of the anthropomorphic playing cards from Alice in Wonderland, arranged side-by-side to form a maze. Each red or black playing card has a flat head at the top, with various skin tones and facial expressions (although most look surprised).\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6040-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6040-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6040-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6040-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6040-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6040-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6040-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Over the years, Children’s Fairyland has tried to be more racially representative by diversifying the skin tones of characters in the storybook playsets. Now, leadership wants to diversify the actual stories featured at the park. \u003ccite>(Pauline Bartolone/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Navlet was a member of the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club, a civic-minded group of businessmen who were interested in development. He drummed up their support and, along with Mott, raised seed money to develop a plan for the new park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They hired local artist and industrial designer William Russell Everett, who sketched out the first 17 sets of the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Children’s Fairyland officially opened in September 1950, presenting stories such as\u003cem> The Little Red Hen\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Three Billy Goats Gruff\u003c/em>, and the story of Noah’s ark, to nearly half a million people in the first year of operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fairyland soon inspired other cities, like Sacramento, to open their own children’s storybook parks. Metz says Walt Disney himself visited the park and was deeply inspired by it when he opened Disneyland in 1955.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Walt Disney Company says there’s no concrete evidence of Disney’s visit to the park, but records show that he did fly to San Francisco in 1954.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company also went on to hire Fairyland’s first executive director, Dorothy Manes, to head up youth activities for Disneyland in the 1950s, according to \u003ca href=\"https://d23.com/ask-dave/chris-alameda-california/\">former Disney archivist Dave Smith\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Children’s Fairyland started as a public park, and is now an independent nonprofit, operating with the financial help of memberships, donations and $16 entrance fees. It has endured over the decades, much like the timeless stories it recounts, says Schwarzer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948456\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 603px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948456 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Oaklandpubliclibrary1955-e1683168812227.jpg\" alt=\"A black-and-white photo of dozens of children sitting on the ground, looking past the camera toward an unseen stage, and laughing really hard. The four boys in the foreground are dressed in cowboy gear, with Western shirts and one wearing a cowboy hat. Most of the children appear Latino and white.\" width=\"603\" height=\"454\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Oaklandpubliclibrary1955-e1683168812227.jpg 603w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/Oaklandpubliclibrary1955-e1683168812227-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 603px) 100vw, 603px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Children being entertained at Fairyland in Oakland, California circa 1955. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Center)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This is one of Oakland’s most innovative and lasting contributions to the whole country,” he said, about Fairyland’s ability to inspire other fantasy-themed storybook parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott Lukas, a cultural anthropologist and author of the book \u003cem>Theme Park\u003c/em>, says Fairyland incorporates stories, fostering play and creativity, in a way that is pretty distinct from most other kids’ entertainment nowadays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In contrast to Fairyland, “they’re not maybe being used for imagination and development of important skills in children, but they’re being used as properties, as brands, as commodities,” Lukas said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, he says, Fairyland is not trying to sell you anything or tell you what to think.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Children get to complete the stories. It’s not about something preset,” said Lukas.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Controversy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While Children’s Fairyland may be a point of pride for Bay Area residents, its history isn’t without controversy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the park first opened, its creators wanted to hammer home the idea that it was for all small people, including adult little people. So they hired Victor and Edna Wetter as host guides. The married couple, who starred as little people (or “munchkins”) in \u003cem>The Wizard of Oz\u003c/em>, were not much taller than the children who visited the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The couple would show groups of kids throughout the park and tell them the stories that they were seeing,” Metz said. “Unfortunately, the park decided that the job for getting a host guide in Fairyland had to be at a certain height.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City rules dictated that Fairyland hosts had to be of “small stature,” according to Metz. When another employee of average height contested the rule, the controversy got the attention of the mayor and parks director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Wetters just said, you know, we’re not going to be involved with that. So they moved on to something better. And Fairyland took that out of the job description,” Metz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The future of Children’s Fairyland\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Despite Fairyland’s very multiethnic, multiracial clientele, about 90% of the play sets at the park highlight European folktales, according to the park’s leadership. Over the decades, the park has taken small steps to diversify: There is a Chinese dragon slide, a Japanese “party area,” and a mini Ferris wheel based on Anansi the Spider, the protagonist in folktales from Ghana in West Africa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The puppet theater, which presents daily shows, has featured more international stories over the years, including a Vietnamese Cinderella story, a Mexican folktale called “Perez and Mondinga,” and Baba Yaga from Slavic folklore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948451\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948451 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6030-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"The narrow backstage of a puppet theater, with two people standing behind a curtain operating marionettes below them. The right side of the frame shows a strip of bright sunlight, where we assume the audience is sitting; behind the curtain are ordinary objects, such as books, a lamp and a painting.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6030-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6030-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6030-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6030-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6030-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6030-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6030-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The puppet theater at Children’s Fairyland has daily shows when the park is open. \u003ccite>(Pauline Bartolone/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The skin tones of characters in story sets have also been painted various shades of brown in recent years. Little Miss Muffet and the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe, for example, are now portrayed as Latina and Black, respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as Fairyland prepares for its 75th anniversary, the park wants to tell more stories that better reflect and celebrate the diverse community it serves, says Executive Director Kymberly Miller.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The park has always tried to be intentional to represent where it sits in Oakland,” Miller said. “I think what we’re looking for is a much deeper, wider intention now around that, because what it is right now is a little bit narrow.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948452\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948452 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6078-scaled.jpg\" alt='We see the backs of parents and children sitting on green, pink and yellow benches under yellow shade umbrellas, facing the front of the puppet theater, which has a blue awning and an ochre-colored arch lettered with \"Storybook Puppet Theater.\"' width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6078-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6078-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6078-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6078-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6078-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6078-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6078-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The puppet theater at Children’s Fairyland has daily shows when the park is open. \u003ccite>(Pauline Bartolone/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Miller says the stories should reflect what kids of different cultural backgrounds hear as they grow up, both in Oakland and throughout the world. The park wants to install several more international sets and make stories accessible in more languages, she says. It’s even considering rotating out some installations, much like conventional museums do with their exhibits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the fundamental character of the park that families love — the low-tech, vintage experience that offers a departure from everyday life — won’t change, says Miller. Fairyland goers can look forward to some updated storytelling, though.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948453\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948453 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6028-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A view of six marionettes arranged on a high shelf, with varying styles, including a multicolored jester and a white-faced mime.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6028-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6028-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6028-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6028-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6028-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6028-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/IMG_6028-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Puppets from the folktales and mythologies of different cultures at Children’s Fairyland. \u003ccite>(Pauline Bartolone/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s about being able to be representative enough as the world changes,” said Miller. Paola Lopez, who recently took her two youngest children to Fairyland, says it would be great to see the park present stories from more places and cultures around the world, like from Peru, where she grew up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Well, yeah, it’s Oakland … I mean, look around,” said Lopez one recent Saturday afternoon at the park. In addition to European tales, visitors could see “South American stories about the jungle,” she said, or just one other play set that makes more people say, “‘Hey, I grew up listening or reading this story.”’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Inside the Lives of Four Bay Area Teens",
"headTitle": "Inside the Lives of Four Bay Area Teens | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/44anibF\">Read a transcript of this episode here.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adolescence is one of the most fascinating and confusing times in our lives. You’re figuring out who you are and who you want to become, navigating friendships and schoolwork, having responsibilities heaped on you while also not being totally in control of your own life — all while being catapulted toward adulthood. It’s a lot. [baycuriouspodcastinfo]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each spring, KQED works with high school students from around the Bay Area to help them produce their own stories across multiple platforms. This year, Bay Curious teamed up with four teens who’ve spent the last few months recording audio diaries to give us a look into this tumultuous time in their lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Emiliano Mejia\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11947799\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Emiliano-Mejia.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11947799\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Emiliano-Mejia.jpg\" alt=\"A teenage boy with shoulder length black hair, wearing an orange sweatshirt. He stands on a small bridge over a creek, holding a camera. Blooming trees are visible in the background.\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Emiliano-Mejia.jpg 600w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Emiliano-Mejia-160x213.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Emiliano Mejia, on a trip to Japan in spring 2023. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Emiliano Mejia)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I am a senior. I go to Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School. I think something that might surprise some people is how much I have to say. Because I am actually really quiet. I also kind of like put up like I guess a front of being like kind of stoic, even though there’s a lot of things that bother me, a lot of things that make me feel. I might not show emotions all the time, but like, I feel them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My top choice for university is UCLA, which is quite a long ways away from home. Yeah, I am a little nervous, you know, kind of being in a new situation like away from family. But I’m also kind of excited for it because, like, this is kind of like a new start for me. I kind of get to leave my high school self behind and just like, find a new person kind of.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Carlos Escala\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11947805\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Carlos-Escala-1-scaled-e1682544907110.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11947805\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Carlos-Escala-1-scaled-e1682544907110-800x984.jpg\" alt=\"A teenage boy in a tan jacket with dark wavy hair stands on a beach, looking off in the distance as a brilliant orange sun sets over the ocean behind him.\" width=\"800\" height=\"984\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Carlos-Escala-1-scaled-e1682544907110-800x984.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Carlos-Escala-1-scaled-e1682544907110-1020x1255.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Carlos-Escala-1-scaled-e1682544907110-160x197.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Carlos-Escala-1-scaled-e1682544907110-1249x1536.jpg 1249w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Carlos-Escala-1-scaled-e1682544907110-1665x2048.jpg 1665w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Carlos-Escala-1-scaled-e1682544907110.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carlos Escala, taking in a sunset. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Carlos Escala)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My name is Carlos Escala. I’m a junior at Jefferson High School. I [recently got] a new job because I’m going to be getting my license, and I want to have enough money to get a car. I started working when I was 15, and that made me realize that I don’t ever want to be in a situation where money is a struggle. I want to be financially free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So if I start early now, rather than waiting till the summer to get another job, I could get a head start with getting my car so I can do more stuff, which will make transportation a lot easier. I was talking about this today — about how, like, I hated public transportation. I always feel unsafe there because … one time I got assaulted on the bus and, like, it really changed my perspective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Yulieth Aguilar\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11947849\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Yulieth-Aguilar.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11947849\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Yulieth-Aguilar-800x1067.jpg\" alt=\"A teenage girl wearing a soccer uniform stands on the field next to a poster of herself. She is holding balloons, including a large number 9, the number on her jersey.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Yulieth-Aguilar-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Yulieth-Aguilar-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Yulieth-Aguilar-160x213.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Yulieth-Aguilar-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Yulieth-Aguilar.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yulieth Aguilar just finished her final year of varsity soccer. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Yulieth Aguilar)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m a senior at Leadership Public Schools, and I live in Hayward. I started playing soccer when I was 6. My dad, he’s always been kind of like into soccer. And I guess since he never had like a son, I was the closest thing that he was going to get for someone to follow in his footsteps with soccer. And since my house is, like, very close to a park, then we started practicing together, just me and him. I guess in a way he was my first coach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Soccer taught me that you had to do it yourself if you want things to be done. Soccer taught me that without hard work, nothing comes to you. Because in soccer you have to run for the ball. In life, you’ve got to run for things in order to get them. This year I’m a senior in high school and it’s my last year playing with my high school soccer team. We’re playing for the state championship and we have made it to the finals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Finn McDonald\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11947798\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Finn-and-Wells.png\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11947798\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Finn-and-Wells-800x1068.png\" alt='A teen boy with shaggy brown hair stands with his arm on the shoulder of a girl with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. They are cousins. The teens hold a sign that reads, \"Wells, Welcome to West Coast fun.\"' width=\"800\" height=\"1068\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Finn-and-Wells-800x1068.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Finn-and-Wells-1020x1361.png 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Finn-and-Wells-160x214.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Finn-and-Wells.png 1070w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Finn McDonald welcoming his cousin Wells at San Francisco airport. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Finn McDonald)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m a freshman at Lick-Wilmerding High School. One of the dreams I’ve had since I started playing basketball at age 4 was playing in college. And I’ve been really homing in on that goal and kind of turning a dream into a goal. I just finished my first year of high school basketball. I play on the varsity team as a freshman. My brother was a senior this year, so I got to play with him on the varsity team, which was super cool. And now it’s over and that’s super sad. But I’ve been thinking about the idea of instead of being angry and sad that it’s over and that’s gone, kind of appreciate what we had. And I did that. I feel like I’m doing that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/44anibF\">Read a transcript of this episode here.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adolescence is one of the most fascinating and confusing times in our lives. You’re figuring out who you are and who you want to become, navigating friendships and schoolwork, having responsibilities heaped on you while also not being totally in control of your own life — all while being catapulted toward adulthood. It’s a lot. \u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Bay Curious\u003c/a> is a podcast that answers your questions about the Bay Area.\n Subscribe on \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>,\n \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR One\u003c/a> or your favorite podcast platform.\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each spring, KQED works with high school students from around the Bay Area to help them produce their own stories across multiple platforms. This year, Bay Curious teamed up with four teens who’ve spent the last few months recording audio diaries to give us a look into this tumultuous time in their lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Emiliano Mejia\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11947799\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Emiliano-Mejia.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11947799\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Emiliano-Mejia.jpg\" alt=\"A teenage boy with shoulder length black hair, wearing an orange sweatshirt. He stands on a small bridge over a creek, holding a camera. Blooming trees are visible in the background.\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Emiliano-Mejia.jpg 600w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Emiliano-Mejia-160x213.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Emiliano Mejia, on a trip to Japan in spring 2023. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Emiliano Mejia)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I am a senior. I go to Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School. I think something that might surprise some people is how much I have to say. Because I am actually really quiet. I also kind of like put up like I guess a front of being like kind of stoic, even though there’s a lot of things that bother me, a lot of things that make me feel. I might not show emotions all the time, but like, I feel them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My top choice for university is UCLA, which is quite a long ways away from home. Yeah, I am a little nervous, you know, kind of being in a new situation like away from family. But I’m also kind of excited for it because, like, this is kind of like a new start for me. I kind of get to leave my high school self behind and just like, find a new person kind of.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Carlos Escala\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11947805\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Carlos-Escala-1-scaled-e1682544907110.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11947805\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Carlos-Escala-1-scaled-e1682544907110-800x984.jpg\" alt=\"A teenage boy in a tan jacket with dark wavy hair stands on a beach, looking off in the distance as a brilliant orange sun sets over the ocean behind him.\" width=\"800\" height=\"984\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Carlos-Escala-1-scaled-e1682544907110-800x984.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Carlos-Escala-1-scaled-e1682544907110-1020x1255.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Carlos-Escala-1-scaled-e1682544907110-160x197.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Carlos-Escala-1-scaled-e1682544907110-1249x1536.jpg 1249w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Carlos-Escala-1-scaled-e1682544907110-1665x2048.jpg 1665w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Carlos-Escala-1-scaled-e1682544907110.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carlos Escala, taking in a sunset. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Carlos Escala)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My name is Carlos Escala. I’m a junior at Jefferson High School. I [recently got] a new job because I’m going to be getting my license, and I want to have enough money to get a car. I started working when I was 15, and that made me realize that I don’t ever want to be in a situation where money is a struggle. I want to be financially free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So if I start early now, rather than waiting till the summer to get another job, I could get a head start with getting my car so I can do more stuff, which will make transportation a lot easier. I was talking about this today — about how, like, I hated public transportation. I always feel unsafe there because … one time I got assaulted on the bus and, like, it really changed my perspective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Yulieth Aguilar\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11947849\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Yulieth-Aguilar.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11947849\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Yulieth-Aguilar-800x1067.jpg\" alt=\"A teenage girl wearing a soccer uniform stands on the field next to a poster of herself. She is holding balloons, including a large number 9, the number on her jersey.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Yulieth-Aguilar-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Yulieth-Aguilar-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Yulieth-Aguilar-160x213.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Yulieth-Aguilar-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Yulieth-Aguilar.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yulieth Aguilar just finished her final year of varsity soccer. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Yulieth Aguilar)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m a senior at Leadership Public Schools, and I live in Hayward. I started playing soccer when I was 6. My dad, he’s always been kind of like into soccer. And I guess since he never had like a son, I was the closest thing that he was going to get for someone to follow in his footsteps with soccer. And since my house is, like, very close to a park, then we started practicing together, just me and him. I guess in a way he was my first coach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Soccer taught me that you had to do it yourself if you want things to be done. Soccer taught me that without hard work, nothing comes to you. Because in soccer you have to run for the ball. In life, you’ve got to run for things in order to get them. This year I’m a senior in high school and it’s my last year playing with my high school soccer team. We’re playing for the state championship and we have made it to the finals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Finn McDonald\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11947798\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Finn-and-Wells.png\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11947798\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Finn-and-Wells-800x1068.png\" alt='A teen boy with shaggy brown hair stands with his arm on the shoulder of a girl with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. They are cousins. The teens hold a sign that reads, \"Wells, Welcome to West Coast fun.\"' width=\"800\" height=\"1068\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Finn-and-Wells-800x1068.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Finn-and-Wells-1020x1361.png 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Finn-and-Wells-160x214.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/Finn-and-Wells.png 1070w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Finn McDonald welcoming his cousin Wells at San Francisco airport. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Finn McDonald)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m a freshman at Lick-Wilmerding High School. One of the dreams I’ve had since I started playing basketball at age 4 was playing in college. And I’ve been really homing in on that goal and kind of turning a dream into a goal. I just finished my first year of high school basketball. I play on the varsity team as a freshman. My brother was a senior this year, so I got to play with him on the varsity team, which was super cool. And now it’s over and that’s super sad. But I’ve been thinking about the idea of instead of being angry and sad that it’s over and that’s gone, kind of appreciate what we had. And I did that. I feel like I’m doing that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "How the City of Paris Department Store Once Embodied 'All Things French' for San Franciscans",
"headTitle": "How the City of Paris Department Store Once Embodied ‘All Things French’ for San Franciscans | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/3mwyG0w\">\u003cem>Read a transcript of this episode. \u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps it was the original location, at the corner of Stockton & Geary, that made City of Paris an icon. Or it might have been their unique approach to customer service, fine imported products, and over-the-top environments and celebrations. City of Paris was one of the earliest residents on Union Square, and a piece of their store remains there more than 40 years after its closure.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>La Ville De Paris\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When California struck gold, word spread across the planet with lightning speed. From far off places travelers arrived in the new US state of California in search of wealth, and opportunity. What they found was a San Francisco at the very infancy of a population boom that would continue, with little interruption, for the next 170 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two French brothers, Emile & Félix Verdier, ran a silk stocking business in France, and when they heard of this new emerging market in San Francisco, they had an idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The people who made real money made it off the miners,” said Anne Evers Hitz, author of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52674478-lost-department-stores-of-san-francisco\">Lost Department Stores of San Francisco\u003c/a>,\u003c/em> “not by finding gold.” The nouveau riche residents of San Francisco were who the Verdiers had in mind when they loaded up La Ville De Paris, a three-masted schooner, and set sail for San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Verdiers arrived in a crowded San Francisco Bay in 1850. Having completed the arduous Isthmus of Panama crossing, the brothers were eager to unload their precious cargo and find a place to open up shop. As the legend goes, they were unable to get a berth to dock, but the Verdiers were soon greeted by rowboats full of paying customers ready to purchase their fine French clothing, liqueurs, and wines, directly from the boat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They never had to unload the ship, as these eager customers cleaned out their stock before the even made landfall. The Verdiers immediately sent back for a restock, and opened City of Paris Dry Goods Co. in 1850.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Center of Everything\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s downtown has moved around over the years, as did City of Paris. But in 1850 the store was located right in the heart of the bustling gold rush town near Portsmouth Square. The market enthusiasm the Verdiers experienced upon arriving in San Francisco would continue as the new crop of wealthy San Franciscans kept fine French goods in fashion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Anything French was considered higher class,” said Evers Hitz. “It was kind of aimed above the middle class,” she added, “but suddenly [San Francisco] was just one ship’s length away from Paris. It was a growing city, so their goods were in demand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In those earliest days, the store would have specialized in fine imported French goods. Things like lingerie, liqueurs, and wine. As success found the Verdiers and their business partners, the store moved a number of times until settling on its final home in 1896.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11946513\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 650px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/City_of_paris_after_reconstruction.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11946513\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/City_of_paris_after_reconstruction.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white image of the corner of an ornate city building, six stories high.\" width=\"650\" height=\"443\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/City_of_paris_after_reconstruction.jpg 650w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/City_of_paris_after_reconstruction-160x109.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A postcard featuring the City of Paris department store in 1909. \u003ccite>(Unknown)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Union Square Beckons\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Union Square began its life as a large sand dune, and became a place where San Franciscans gathered for pro-Union rallies during the American Civil War. That earned Union Square its nickname, but it was retail that solidified its long standing reputation. One of the earliest stores to open on Union Square was City of Paris Dry Goods Co.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1890, the Verdiers hired San Francisco architect Clinton Day to design the company a flagship store on the newly trendy Union Square. The store Day designed would open in 1896, just 10 years before the largest earthquake in San Francisco history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On April 18, 1906 just before dawn, the ground began to shake in San Francisco. For almost a minute the city shook as a massive earthquake rocked the region. The quake, and subsequent fire destroyed more than 28,000 buildings in the city and left more than half of all San Franciscans homeless. Union Square was reduced to rubble.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the Verdiers were able to move some of their more rare goods out of the store before the fire, much of their merchandise and infrastructure was lost. Only the street facing facades survived, and while the store moved to the Hobart Mansion on Van Ness Avenue at Washington Street, crews set to work building a modified store inside the original walls of City of Paris.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Rebirth of City Of Paris\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Verdiers hired noted San Francisco architect Arthur Brown Jr, whose firm Bakewell & Brown was behind City Hall, the Opera House, Coit Tower and others to redesign their now destroyed store.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biggest change that would come to City of Paris when it reopened in 1909 was the addition of a grand, four-story rotunda topped with a stained glass dome. The stained glass depicts the ship the Verdiers sailed in on, Le Ville De Paris, with the store’s motto below in Latin “Fluctuat nec mergitur.” This is also the motto of the actual city of Paris, France, and translates to “She is rocked, but never sunk.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the ornate Beaux-Arts décor, and stained glass of the main store, the basement level was designed to look as if shoppers had been transported to a Parisian street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They had uneven floors, and booths and awnings,” said Evers Hitz of Normandy Lane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were shops dedicated to glassware, wine, appetizers, Champagne, a bar, buffet, book shop and photo studio all located in an immersive, themed atmosphere right below street level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11946516\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 498px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/City-of-Paris-window-display.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11946516\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/City-of-Paris-window-display.jpg\" alt=\"Mannequins in a window display dressed in sleek black dresses, heels and elbow length gloves. Also in the display is a large painting of French can-can dancers.\" width=\"498\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/City-of-Paris-window-display.jpg 498w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/City-of-Paris-window-display-160x129.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A window display at the City of Paris department store in Union Square. \u003ccite>(San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Holiday Magic\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Generations of San Franciscans passed underneath the City of Paris dome. But never more than at Christmas time. Starting in 1909, City of Paris was best known for it’s 35-foot Christmas tree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was decorated with everything from little Santa clauses to sleds and all sorts of things.” said Hitz, saying it was really the environment that made City of Paris so memorable during the holiday season, adding, “I don’t think people remember the goods so much.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Putting up the tree was fun,” recalls former City of Paris employee Ken Sturmer, “as soon as the store closed, they took out the doors on Geary Street.” The live tree would be trucked in, Sturmer said, “and was shoved through the door, hooked up to the pulleys and lifted up.” Crews would make a party out of decorating the tree Sturmer recalls, “By one in the morning everybody was either drunk or stoned.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11946550\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11946550\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-800x1216.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white image of two people decorating a 35-foot Christmas tree. Every part of the tree is covered in glittering lights and ornaments, with an enormous star on top. \" width=\"800\" height=\"1216\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-800x1216.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-1020x1550.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-160x243.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-1011x1536.jpg 1011w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-1347x2048.jpg 1347w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-1920x2918.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-scaled.jpg 1684w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers on scaffolding put the finishing touches on the City of Paris Christmas tree in 1970. \u003ccite>(Photo by Jerry Telfer/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Changing Times\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>City of Paris would open satellite stores around the Bay Area in places like Stonestown, Vallejo, San Mateo and Marin but the flagship store remained in Union Square. Over time, white flight, women moving into the workforce, and the rise of the shopping mall would change things for the retail world in San Francisco and beyond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Independent department stores began failing and closing up shop. By 1972 the Verdier family had seen the writing on the wall, and released a letter that read:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>January 25, 1972\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>A message to the many good customers, friends, and business associates of City of Paris and to all its devoted employees.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>The descendants of Felix Verdier, the founder of City of Paris, sadly announce that after 122 years of catering to the good tastes and elegant requirements of San Franciscans, City of Paris will close its doors in the early spring of 1972.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>The time has now come when this Verdier-Family-owned quality store must leave the San Francisco scene, which it dominated for more than a century.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>We are solvent. No one can force us to go out of business, we are doing it voluntarily. There will be no bankruptcy or receivership. We shall honor all of our obligations, as we have in the past, and bow out in a dignified and honorable manner befitting our San Francisco tradition.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Just like the motto on our crest, just beneath the original City of Paris sailing ship–”Fluctuat nec Mergitur” (it may rock but it never sinks)–City of Paris will not sink but will retire with grace, leaving in it’s wave 122 years of San Francisco tradition and memories.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Thank you, and Au Revoir.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City of Paris closed its doors in 1972 and the building was soon acquired by Dallas-based luxury brand Neiman Marcus. When Neiman Marcus decided to construct a flagship store inside the City of Paris building, they quickly discovered that the building needed substantial earthquake upgrades, and more sales space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A plan was announced to replace the building with a modernist structure designed by architect Phillip Johnson. Preservationists gathered more that 60,000 signatures, but ultimately Neiman Marcus and their attorney — future San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown — won the right to have the building taken down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11946556\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1268499495-1-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11946556\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1268499495-1-800x926.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white aerial photo of a half demolished department store.\" width=\"800\" height=\"926\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1268499495-1-800x926.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1268499495-1-1020x1180.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1268499495-1-160x185.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1268499495-1-1327x1536.jpg 1327w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1268499495-1-1770x2048.jpg 1770w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1268499495-1-1920x2222.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aug. 18, 1980: The City of Paris department store in San Francisco gets demolished. Neiman Marcus opened two years later. \u003ccite>(Photo by Eric Luse/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 1980 the City of Paris department store was officially demolished, with one beautiful exception. City of Paris’ iconic four-story rotunda, and its stained glass dome depicting La Ville De Paris are now encased in glass as the centerpiece of the Neiman Marcus store, a glowing tribute to an early department store pioneer. You can visit the rotunda to this day, at the corner of Stockton and Geary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City of Paris was all things French to San Franciscans for 122 years, helping to establish, and maintain an era when the beauty, wealth and culture of this booming new city earned her the reputation, “The Paris of the Pacific.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "A business that grew out of the Gold Rush became a historic Union Square department store that brought a taste of French finery to those San Franciscans who could afford it. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/3mwyG0w\">\u003cem>Read a transcript of this episode. \u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps it was the original location, at the corner of Stockton & Geary, that made City of Paris an icon. Or it might have been their unique approach to customer service, fine imported products, and over-the-top environments and celebrations. City of Paris was one of the earliest residents on Union Square, and a piece of their store remains there more than 40 years after its closure.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>La Ville De Paris\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When California struck gold, word spread across the planet with lightning speed. From far off places travelers arrived in the new US state of California in search of wealth, and opportunity. What they found was a San Francisco at the very infancy of a population boom that would continue, with little interruption, for the next 170 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two French brothers, Emile & Félix Verdier, ran a silk stocking business in France, and when they heard of this new emerging market in San Francisco, they had an idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The people who made real money made it off the miners,” said Anne Evers Hitz, author of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52674478-lost-department-stores-of-san-francisco\">Lost Department Stores of San Francisco\u003c/a>,\u003c/em> “not by finding gold.” The nouveau riche residents of San Francisco were who the Verdiers had in mind when they loaded up La Ville De Paris, a three-masted schooner, and set sail for San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Verdiers arrived in a crowded San Francisco Bay in 1850. Having completed the arduous Isthmus of Panama crossing, the brothers were eager to unload their precious cargo and find a place to open up shop. As the legend goes, they were unable to get a berth to dock, but the Verdiers were soon greeted by rowboats full of paying customers ready to purchase their fine French clothing, liqueurs, and wines, directly from the boat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They never had to unload the ship, as these eager customers cleaned out their stock before the even made landfall. The Verdiers immediately sent back for a restock, and opened City of Paris Dry Goods Co. in 1850.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Center of Everything\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s downtown has moved around over the years, as did City of Paris. But in 1850 the store was located right in the heart of the bustling gold rush town near Portsmouth Square. The market enthusiasm the Verdiers experienced upon arriving in San Francisco would continue as the new crop of wealthy San Franciscans kept fine French goods in fashion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Anything French was considered higher class,” said Evers Hitz. “It was kind of aimed above the middle class,” she added, “but suddenly [San Francisco] was just one ship’s length away from Paris. It was a growing city, so their goods were in demand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In those earliest days, the store would have specialized in fine imported French goods. Things like lingerie, liqueurs, and wine. As success found the Verdiers and their business partners, the store moved a number of times until settling on its final home in 1896.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11946513\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 650px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/City_of_paris_after_reconstruction.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11946513\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/City_of_paris_after_reconstruction.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white image of the corner of an ornate city building, six stories high.\" width=\"650\" height=\"443\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/City_of_paris_after_reconstruction.jpg 650w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/City_of_paris_after_reconstruction-160x109.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A postcard featuring the City of Paris department store in 1909. \u003ccite>(Unknown)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Union Square Beckons\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Union Square began its life as a large sand dune, and became a place where San Franciscans gathered for pro-Union rallies during the American Civil War. That earned Union Square its nickname, but it was retail that solidified its long standing reputation. One of the earliest stores to open on Union Square was City of Paris Dry Goods Co.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1890, the Verdiers hired San Francisco architect Clinton Day to design the company a flagship store on the newly trendy Union Square. The store Day designed would open in 1896, just 10 years before the largest earthquake in San Francisco history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On April 18, 1906 just before dawn, the ground began to shake in San Francisco. For almost a minute the city shook as a massive earthquake rocked the region. The quake, and subsequent fire destroyed more than 28,000 buildings in the city and left more than half of all San Franciscans homeless. Union Square was reduced to rubble.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the Verdiers were able to move some of their more rare goods out of the store before the fire, much of their merchandise and infrastructure was lost. Only the street facing facades survived, and while the store moved to the Hobart Mansion on Van Ness Avenue at Washington Street, crews set to work building a modified store inside the original walls of City of Paris.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Rebirth of City Of Paris\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Verdiers hired noted San Francisco architect Arthur Brown Jr, whose firm Bakewell & Brown was behind City Hall, the Opera House, Coit Tower and others to redesign their now destroyed store.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biggest change that would come to City of Paris when it reopened in 1909 was the addition of a grand, four-story rotunda topped with a stained glass dome. The stained glass depicts the ship the Verdiers sailed in on, Le Ville De Paris, with the store’s motto below in Latin “Fluctuat nec mergitur.” This is also the motto of the actual city of Paris, France, and translates to “She is rocked, but never sunk.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the ornate Beaux-Arts décor, and stained glass of the main store, the basement level was designed to look as if shoppers had been transported to a Parisian street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They had uneven floors, and booths and awnings,” said Evers Hitz of Normandy Lane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were shops dedicated to glassware, wine, appetizers, Champagne, a bar, buffet, book shop and photo studio all located in an immersive, themed atmosphere right below street level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11946516\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 498px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/City-of-Paris-window-display.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11946516\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/City-of-Paris-window-display.jpg\" alt=\"Mannequins in a window display dressed in sleek black dresses, heels and elbow length gloves. Also in the display is a large painting of French can-can dancers.\" width=\"498\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/City-of-Paris-window-display.jpg 498w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/City-of-Paris-window-display-160x129.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A window display at the City of Paris department store in Union Square. \u003ccite>(San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Holiday Magic\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Generations of San Franciscans passed underneath the City of Paris dome. But never more than at Christmas time. Starting in 1909, City of Paris was best known for it’s 35-foot Christmas tree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was decorated with everything from little Santa clauses to sleds and all sorts of things.” said Hitz, saying it was really the environment that made City of Paris so memorable during the holiday season, adding, “I don’t think people remember the goods so much.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Putting up the tree was fun,” recalls former City of Paris employee Ken Sturmer, “as soon as the store closed, they took out the doors on Geary Street.” The live tree would be trucked in, Sturmer said, “and was shoved through the door, hooked up to the pulleys and lifted up.” Crews would make a party out of decorating the tree Sturmer recalls, “By one in the morning everybody was either drunk or stoned.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11946550\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11946550\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-800x1216.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white image of two people decorating a 35-foot Christmas tree. Every part of the tree is covered in glittering lights and ornaments, with an enormous star on top. \" width=\"800\" height=\"1216\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-800x1216.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-1020x1550.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-160x243.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-1011x1536.jpg 1011w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-1347x2048.jpg 1347w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-1920x2918.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1298947092-1-scaled.jpg 1684w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers on scaffolding put the finishing touches on the City of Paris Christmas tree in 1970. \u003ccite>(Photo by Jerry Telfer/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Changing Times\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>City of Paris would open satellite stores around the Bay Area in places like Stonestown, Vallejo, San Mateo and Marin but the flagship store remained in Union Square. Over time, white flight, women moving into the workforce, and the rise of the shopping mall would change things for the retail world in San Francisco and beyond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Independent department stores began failing and closing up shop. By 1972 the Verdier family had seen the writing on the wall, and released a letter that read:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>January 25, 1972\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>A message to the many good customers, friends, and business associates of City of Paris and to all its devoted employees.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>The descendants of Felix Verdier, the founder of City of Paris, sadly announce that after 122 years of catering to the good tastes and elegant requirements of San Franciscans, City of Paris will close its doors in the early spring of 1972.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>The time has now come when this Verdier-Family-owned quality store must leave the San Francisco scene, which it dominated for more than a century.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>We are solvent. No one can force us to go out of business, we are doing it voluntarily. There will be no bankruptcy or receivership. We shall honor all of our obligations, as we have in the past, and bow out in a dignified and honorable manner befitting our San Francisco tradition.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Just like the motto on our crest, just beneath the original City of Paris sailing ship–”Fluctuat nec Mergitur” (it may rock but it never sinks)–City of Paris will not sink but will retire with grace, leaving in it’s wave 122 years of San Francisco tradition and memories.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Thank you, and Au Revoir.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City of Paris closed its doors in 1972 and the building was soon acquired by Dallas-based luxury brand Neiman Marcus. When Neiman Marcus decided to construct a flagship store inside the City of Paris building, they quickly discovered that the building needed substantial earthquake upgrades, and more sales space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A plan was announced to replace the building with a modernist structure designed by architect Phillip Johnson. Preservationists gathered more that 60,000 signatures, but ultimately Neiman Marcus and their attorney — future San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown — won the right to have the building taken down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11946556\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1268499495-1-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11946556\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1268499495-1-800x926.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white aerial photo of a half demolished department store.\" width=\"800\" height=\"926\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1268499495-1-800x926.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1268499495-1-1020x1180.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1268499495-1-160x185.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1268499495-1-1327x1536.jpg 1327w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1268499495-1-1770x2048.jpg 1770w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1268499495-1-1920x2222.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aug. 18, 1980: The City of Paris department store in San Francisco gets demolished. Neiman Marcus opened two years later. \u003ccite>(Photo by Eric Luse/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 1980 the City of Paris department store was officially demolished, with one beautiful exception. City of Paris’ iconic four-story rotunda, and its stained glass dome depicting La Ville De Paris are now encased in glass as the centerpiece of the Neiman Marcus store, a glowing tribute to an early department store pioneer. You can visit the rotunda to this day, at the corner of Stockton and Geary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City of Paris was all things French to San Franciscans for 122 years, helping to establish, and maintain an era when the beauty, wealth and culture of this booming new city earned her the reputation, “The Paris of the Pacific.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "In Search of Bright Stars: Can the Bay Area Reduce Its Worsening Light Pollution?",
"headTitle": "In Search of Bright Stars: Can the Bay Area Reduce Its Worsening Light Pollution? | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/3zkej9C\">Read a transcript of this episode here.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a clear night, the greater Bay Area has some amazing dark skies with a chance to see glittering stars, constellations and planets — if you know where to look. But if you live in one of the area’s many dense urban centers, chances are that light pollution is blocking your view.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious listener Bruce Wismer remembers what it was like to see the sky filled with stars when he was growing up in the small town of Forestville, in Sonoma County. “It’s just a sense of wonder to look at everything,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, from his home in Oakland, that once-majestic night sky view is filled with the glow of artificial lighting. What stands out the most to Wismer are the bright white lights on the eastern span of the Bay Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some lights point straight up, significantly increasing light pollution. Can they be easily redirected to reduce impact on the night sky?” asked Wismer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriouspodcastinfo]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Lighting the Bay Bridge\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The eastern span of the Bay Bridge, rebuilt in 2013, is lit by 48,000 high-performing LEDs. Most of the fixtures point downward, focusing light directly onto the roadway. According to the \u003ca href=\"https://mtc.ca.gov/sites/default/files/SFOBB_lighting_fact_sheet.pdf\">California Transportation Commission (PDF)\u003c/a> the design is intended to create “an even wash of white light across the roadway to provide safer driving conditions for motorists.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some of the light does reflect sideways and upward, adding to what’s called “skyglow,” one aspect of light pollution. The bridge also has decorative lighting that points upward, illuminating the suspender cables and the bottom of the main cable. So that might add to the bridge’s skyglow contributions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that when you don’t have that connection to the sky, you might not have as many opportunities to ask, you know, ‘What is this universe we live in?'” said Ben Burress, staff astronomer at Chabot Science and Space Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though some of the lights on the Bay Bridge can be redirected, a representative from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission says that while the agency is not indifferent to the interests of stargazers, the lighting on either span of the Bay Bridge is essential to the safety of the many thousands of drivers who cross the bridge each night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, it’s safe to say that we might not be able to see any change in the lighting on the Bay Bridge anytime soon. But of course, the bridge is not the only source of light pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A brightening sky\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/light-pollution-is-dimming-our-view-of-the-sky-and-its-getting-worse/\">Light pollution is getting worse every year.\u003c/a> Typically, we rely on satellite data to measure brightness in the night sky. But new research suggests satellites may have been significantly underestimating the brightening of our urban light bubbles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a study published earlier this year in the journal \u003cem>Science\u003c/em>, researchers found that \u003ca href=\"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abq7781\">the brightness of the night sky globally increased by about 10% every year between 2011 and 2022\u003c/a>. The authors of the study analyzed data from over 50,000 naked-eye night sky observations from a citizen science project called \u003ca href=\"https://www.globeatnight.org/\">Globe at Night.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By contrast, \u003ca href=\"https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/976947\">satellite measurements\u003c/a> during the same time period found that nighttime glow from global light pollution increased by only 2%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousbug]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What could cause this discrepancy? In the past decade or so, there’s been growing popularity of the use of more energy-efficient LEDs. LEDs emit more blue light, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/homepage/title_877183_en.html\">satellites aren’t able to detect\u003c/a>. Additionally, satellites are more sensitive to light that is directed upward toward the sky, but researchers of the \u003cem>Science\u003c/em> study found that it’s light directed sideways that accounts for most of the skyglow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to John Barentine, scientist, astronomer and principal consultant at Dark Sky Consulting, the study contains a caveat: He says it best represents areas with the most citizen-science participation — namely, places like North America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barentine noted that according to Globe at Night, from 2011 to 2022 the brightness of the night sky in the Bay Area increased by approximately 7% each year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945134\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/ISS037-E-002604_lrg.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11945134\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/ISS037-E-002604_lrg-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A night time aerial image taken from space shows brightly glowing urban areas around San Francisco Bay.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/ISS037-E-002604_lrg-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/ISS037-E-002604_lrg-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/ISS037-E-002604_lrg-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/ISS037-E-002604_lrg.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This photograph taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station in 2013 highlights Northern California from the city of San Francisco and San Francisco Bay along the coast to the cities of Stockton, Modesto and the Sierra Nevada to the east. \u003ccite>(ISS Expedition 37 Crew/NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Turning down the lights\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Increases in light pollution have been linked to a host of problems, including a detrimental effect on our \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2627884/\">circadian rhythms\u003c/a>, and on ecosystems more broadly, by \u003ca href=\"https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/global-light-pollution-affecting-ecosystems-what-can-we-do\">disrupting animal behavior\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s bad for people’s health, and it’s bad for fish, and it’s bad for nocturnal animals because these species have evolved over millions of years to have darkness at night and all of a sudden we’re lighting up the night,” said Mark Buxbaum, an amateur astronomer and member of the Santa Cruz chapter of the International Dark-Sky Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There have been some recent attempts to rein in light pollution. In fact, California legislators passed a bill in September 2022 that would have required any buildings or facilities on state-owned land to make changes to reduce light pollution. But \u003ca href=\"https://lightedmag.com/newsom-vetoes-california-light-pollution-bill/\">Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it\u003c/a>, saying the costs were “unfunded and potentially significant.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same Assembly member who drafted that first bill introduced an almost identical one, \u003ca href=\"https://a24.asmdc.org/press-releases/20221209-bill-tackle-harmful-impacts-light-pollution-reintroduced\">AB 38\u003c/a>, in December 2022. That one is working its way through the Legislature, but it could be years before we see any statewide change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Buxbaum says his organization is pushing for change locally. He hopes Santa Cruz will implement an outdoor lighting ordinance to help curtail extraneous light from businesses and residences that add to light pollution. LEDs, he says, are also a culprit in the problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, because they’re cheaper, people think that they can install excessively bright light at night under the mistaken assumption that more light is better,” said Buxbaum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Individuals can help curb light pollution by making changes to their own homes. Anthony Barreiro from \u003ca href=\"https://sfaa-astronomy.org/\">San Francisco Amateur Astronomers\u003c/a> suggests turning off your outdoor lights when you’re not using them, closing your blinds when you have lights on inside at night, and getting the right light fixtures:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You want light fixtures that are fully shielded so all the light is shining down on the ground where you need it, not sideways into people’s eyes or up into the sky. Warm-spectrum lights, meaning more amber, not so blue. Blue light scatters much more, [and] causes much more glare,” Barreiro said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Hoping for a better view?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you don’t want to wait for your town’s lights to dim to see the sky, there are places you can go to see the wonders of the cosmos. The general advice for success in stargazing is to find a dark spot, away from city lights. Once you’ve found it, give your eyes a chance to get adapted, and then look all over the sky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Places like Henry W. Coe State Park in the South Bay, Mount Diablo in the East Bay, Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, and Sonoma and Napa counties in the North Bay are good for stargazing. On the Peninsula, the Santa Cruz mountains are a good spot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re willing to drive a bit further out of the Bay Area, you can head over to places like Pinnacles National Park, Death Valley, Yosemite or other national parks that usually have less light pollution. Or, refer to a \u003ca href=\"https://darksitefinder.com/dark-sites/list-of-dark-sites/\">dark sky map\u003c/a> to find out where you’ll have the best view.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945125\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63099_02172023_chabotastronomy-057-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11945125\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63099_02172023_chabotastronomy-057-qut-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"A young boy in a blue sweater closes one eye as he looks through a large telescope inside an observatory\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63099_02172023_chabotastronomy-057-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63099_02172023_chabotastronomy-057-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63099_02172023_chabotastronomy-057-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63099_02172023_chabotastronomy-057-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63099_02172023_chabotastronomy-057-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Frankie Alonso, 8, peers at Venus through the 8-inch refractor telescope, nicknamed Leah, at Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland on Feb. 17, 2023. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If you live in a light-polluted area, you can join a \u003ca href=\"https://chabotspace.org/events/free-telescope-viewings/\">free telescope viewing\u003c/a> at Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland. On the Peninsula, there’s the Foothill College Observatory in Los Altos Hills, and in the North Bay you can go to the Ferguson Observatory in Sonoma County, which regularly has \u003ca href=\"https://rfo.org/index.php/solar-and-star-parties/\">telescope viewings\u003c/a> available to the public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or, you could join an astronomy club.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are actually hundreds of clubs of astronomy enthusiasts around the country. And in the Bay Area, we have a very rich collection of astronomy clubs,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.fraknoi.com/\">Andrew Fraknoi\u003c/a>, an astronomer and board member of the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can find other fellow astronomy enthusiasts on \u003ca href=\"https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm\">NASA’s Night Sky Network\u003c/a>, many of whom host star parties and astronomy events, including camping trips.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Human connection to the stars extends far back in history, when our ancestors used them to create stories, measure time or navigate across vast swaths of land and sea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Astronomy is the science of our origins, because the material of which we’re made and everything that the Earth has produced has its ultimate origins in space,” said Fraknoi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/3zkej9C\">Read a transcript of this episode here.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a clear night, the greater Bay Area has some amazing dark skies with a chance to see glittering stars, constellations and planets — if you know where to look. But if you live in one of the area’s many dense urban centers, chances are that light pollution is blocking your view.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious listener Bruce Wismer remembers what it was like to see the sky filled with stars when he was growing up in the small town of Forestville, in Sonoma County. “It’s just a sense of wonder to look at everything,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, from his home in Oakland, that once-majestic night sky view is filled with the glow of artificial lighting. What stands out the most to Wismer are the bright white lights on the eastern span of the Bay Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some lights point straight up, significantly increasing light pollution. Can they be easily redirected to reduce impact on the night sky?” asked Wismer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Bay Curious\u003c/a> is a podcast that answers your questions about the Bay Area.\n Subscribe on \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>,\n \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR One\u003c/a> or your favorite podcast platform.\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Lighting the Bay Bridge\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The eastern span of the Bay Bridge, rebuilt in 2013, is lit by 48,000 high-performing LEDs. Most of the fixtures point downward, focusing light directly onto the roadway. According to the \u003ca href=\"https://mtc.ca.gov/sites/default/files/SFOBB_lighting_fact_sheet.pdf\">California Transportation Commission (PDF)\u003c/a> the design is intended to create “an even wash of white light across the roadway to provide safer driving conditions for motorists.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some of the light does reflect sideways and upward, adding to what’s called “skyglow,” one aspect of light pollution. The bridge also has decorative lighting that points upward, illuminating the suspender cables and the bottom of the main cable. So that might add to the bridge’s skyglow contributions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that when you don’t have that connection to the sky, you might not have as many opportunities to ask, you know, ‘What is this universe we live in?'” said Ben Burress, staff astronomer at Chabot Science and Space Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though some of the lights on the Bay Bridge can be redirected, a representative from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission says that while the agency is not indifferent to the interests of stargazers, the lighting on either span of the Bay Bridge is essential to the safety of the many thousands of drivers who cross the bridge each night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, it’s safe to say that we might not be able to see any change in the lighting on the Bay Bridge anytime soon. But of course, the bridge is not the only source of light pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A brightening sky\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/light-pollution-is-dimming-our-view-of-the-sky-and-its-getting-worse/\">Light pollution is getting worse every year.\u003c/a> Typically, we rely on satellite data to measure brightness in the night sky. But new research suggests satellites may have been significantly underestimating the brightening of our urban light bubbles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a study published earlier this year in the journal \u003cem>Science\u003c/em>, researchers found that \u003ca href=\"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abq7781\">the brightness of the night sky globally increased by about 10% every year between 2011 and 2022\u003c/a>. The authors of the study analyzed data from over 50,000 naked-eye night sky observations from a citizen science project called \u003ca href=\"https://www.globeatnight.org/\">Globe at Night.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By contrast, \u003ca href=\"https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/976947\">satellite measurements\u003c/a> during the same time period found that nighttime glow from global light pollution increased by only 2%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n What do you wonder about the Bay Area, its culture or people that you want KQED to investigate?\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Ask Bay Curious.\u003c/a>\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What could cause this discrepancy? In the past decade or so, there’s been growing popularity of the use of more energy-efficient LEDs. LEDs emit more blue light, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/homepage/title_877183_en.html\">satellites aren’t able to detect\u003c/a>. Additionally, satellites are more sensitive to light that is directed upward toward the sky, but researchers of the \u003cem>Science\u003c/em> study found that it’s light directed sideways that accounts for most of the skyglow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to John Barentine, scientist, astronomer and principal consultant at Dark Sky Consulting, the study contains a caveat: He says it best represents areas with the most citizen-science participation — namely, places like North America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barentine noted that according to Globe at Night, from 2011 to 2022 the brightness of the night sky in the Bay Area increased by approximately 7% each year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945134\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/ISS037-E-002604_lrg.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11945134\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/ISS037-E-002604_lrg-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A night time aerial image taken from space shows brightly glowing urban areas around San Francisco Bay.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/ISS037-E-002604_lrg-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/ISS037-E-002604_lrg-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/ISS037-E-002604_lrg-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/ISS037-E-002604_lrg.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This photograph taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station in 2013 highlights Northern California from the city of San Francisco and San Francisco Bay along the coast to the cities of Stockton, Modesto and the Sierra Nevada to the east. \u003ccite>(ISS Expedition 37 Crew/NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Turning down the lights\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Increases in light pollution have been linked to a host of problems, including a detrimental effect on our \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2627884/\">circadian rhythms\u003c/a>, and on ecosystems more broadly, by \u003ca href=\"https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/global-light-pollution-affecting-ecosystems-what-can-we-do\">disrupting animal behavior\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s bad for people’s health, and it’s bad for fish, and it’s bad for nocturnal animals because these species have evolved over millions of years to have darkness at night and all of a sudden we’re lighting up the night,” said Mark Buxbaum, an amateur astronomer and member of the Santa Cruz chapter of the International Dark-Sky Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There have been some recent attempts to rein in light pollution. In fact, California legislators passed a bill in September 2022 that would have required any buildings or facilities on state-owned land to make changes to reduce light pollution. But \u003ca href=\"https://lightedmag.com/newsom-vetoes-california-light-pollution-bill/\">Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it\u003c/a>, saying the costs were “unfunded and potentially significant.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same Assembly member who drafted that first bill introduced an almost identical one, \u003ca href=\"https://a24.asmdc.org/press-releases/20221209-bill-tackle-harmful-impacts-light-pollution-reintroduced\">AB 38\u003c/a>, in December 2022. That one is working its way through the Legislature, but it could be years before we see any statewide change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Buxbaum says his organization is pushing for change locally. He hopes Santa Cruz will implement an outdoor lighting ordinance to help curtail extraneous light from businesses and residences that add to light pollution. LEDs, he says, are also a culprit in the problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, because they’re cheaper, people think that they can install excessively bright light at night under the mistaken assumption that more light is better,” said Buxbaum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Individuals can help curb light pollution by making changes to their own homes. Anthony Barreiro from \u003ca href=\"https://sfaa-astronomy.org/\">San Francisco Amateur Astronomers\u003c/a> suggests turning off your outdoor lights when you’re not using them, closing your blinds when you have lights on inside at night, and getting the right light fixtures:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You want light fixtures that are fully shielded so all the light is shining down on the ground where you need it, not sideways into people’s eyes or up into the sky. Warm-spectrum lights, meaning more amber, not so blue. Blue light scatters much more, [and] causes much more glare,” Barreiro said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Hoping for a better view?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you don’t want to wait for your town’s lights to dim to see the sky, there are places you can go to see the wonders of the cosmos. The general advice for success in stargazing is to find a dark spot, away from city lights. Once you’ve found it, give your eyes a chance to get adapted, and then look all over the sky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Places like Henry W. Coe State Park in the South Bay, Mount Diablo in the East Bay, Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, and Sonoma and Napa counties in the North Bay are good for stargazing. On the Peninsula, the Santa Cruz mountains are a good spot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re willing to drive a bit further out of the Bay Area, you can head over to places like Pinnacles National Park, Death Valley, Yosemite or other national parks that usually have less light pollution. Or, refer to a \u003ca href=\"https://darksitefinder.com/dark-sites/list-of-dark-sites/\">dark sky map\u003c/a> to find out where you’ll have the best view.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945125\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63099_02172023_chabotastronomy-057-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11945125\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63099_02172023_chabotastronomy-057-qut-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"A young boy in a blue sweater closes one eye as he looks through a large telescope inside an observatory\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63099_02172023_chabotastronomy-057-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63099_02172023_chabotastronomy-057-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63099_02172023_chabotastronomy-057-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63099_02172023_chabotastronomy-057-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63099_02172023_chabotastronomy-057-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Frankie Alonso, 8, peers at Venus through the 8-inch refractor telescope, nicknamed Leah, at Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland on Feb. 17, 2023. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If you live in a light-polluted area, you can join a \u003ca href=\"https://chabotspace.org/events/free-telescope-viewings/\">free telescope viewing\u003c/a> at Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland. On the Peninsula, there’s the Foothill College Observatory in Los Altos Hills, and in the North Bay you can go to the Ferguson Observatory in Sonoma County, which regularly has \u003ca href=\"https://rfo.org/index.php/solar-and-star-parties/\">telescope viewings\u003c/a> available to the public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or, you could join an astronomy club.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are actually hundreds of clubs of astronomy enthusiasts around the country. And in the Bay Area, we have a very rich collection of astronomy clubs,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.fraknoi.com/\">Andrew Fraknoi\u003c/a>, an astronomer and board member of the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can find other fellow astronomy enthusiasts on \u003ca href=\"https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm\">NASA’s Night Sky Network\u003c/a>, many of whom host star parties and astronomy events, including camping trips.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Human connection to the stars extends far back in history, when our ancestors used them to create stories, measure time or navigate across vast swaths of land and sea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Astronomy is the science of our origins, because the material of which we’re made and everything that the Earth has produced has its ultimate origins in space,” said Fraknoi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Why Do People Fish off Highway 101 Near Brisbane?",
"headTitle": "Why Do People Fish off Highway 101 Near Brisbane? | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/3TDw90P\">\u003cem>Read the transcript of this episode here.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As you drive on Highway 101 between South San Francisco and Candlestick Park, there’s a stretch of road that gets very straight and runs right next to the bay. The road has a big shoulder in this section, including a wide section of dirt with “No Parking” signs placed every 50 feet or so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious listener Eyra Dordi drives this stretch of highway almost every day on her commute to work. She often sees cars parked along the side of the road, despite the signs and the hazardous conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousbug]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I realized there are people out there fishing really frequently,” Dordi said. “And I was really curious as to why anyone would decide that was the spot in the bay that they wanted to have a nice, relaxing fish.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dordi also wondered why fishermen and women would risk getting a parking ticket to fish here. It’s illegal to park on the side of any freeway due to safety concerns. The fine starts at $238, but could be more for repeat offenses, according to the California Highway Patrol.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Fishing ‘the tubes’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It turns out there’s a very good reason fisherfolk are willing to risk the hazards of traffic and CHP officers at this spot along 101 — the fishing can be \u003cem>great.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We call it \u003ca href=\"https://goo.gl/maps/aZUWvFzT5ct2jbC38\">the tubes\u003c/a>,” said Anthony Spears Sr., an avid fisherman who happens to also be the facility services supervisor at KQED. “For years we’ve fished there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s the deal: There are two concrete viaducts — “the tubes” — that connect the bay to \u003ca href=\"https://goo.gl/maps/MuTVTBfL33vHQjbW8\">Brisbane Lagoon\u003c/a>, located on the inland side of the freeway. The tubes run under the freeway, allowing water to flow back and forth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As the tide’s coming up, the water is flowing into the small pond on the other side. And then as the tide is going out, that same flow is going out into the bay,” Spears said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11944378\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-11944378 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_1698.jpeg\" alt=\"Two square tubes coming horizontally out of an embankment open up to the Brisbane Lagoon.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_1698.jpeg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_1698-800x450.jpeg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_1698-1020x574.jpeg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_1698-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_1698-1536x864.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Water in ‘the tubes’ flows from Brisbane Lagoon, under an access road and Highway 101, before reaching the San Francisco Bay. \u003ccite>(Olivia Allen-Price/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Smaller fish, like herring, swim into the lagoon to spawn in quieter waters that are more protected. But when the tide flows out, they are washed back out into the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Larger fish like halibut and striped bass, as well as stingrays, wait near the bayside opening of the tubes for an easy meal. And human fisherfolk wait there, too, eager to snag some delicious halibut or striped bass. It’s the whole food chain, concentrated in one spot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the parking is illegal, people can still fish from boats, or walk to accessible points nearby legally. Or they can fish on the lagoon side of the tubes, where there’s a small park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spears remembers fishing the tubes as a kid with his dad, and then later with his best friend, Tony. They’re both still avid fishermen, although Spears lives further from the tubes now and so doesn’t stop to fish there as often.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I only fish there once a year,” said Albert Chu, a fisherman I met along Ocean Beach. “That is when the herring are there. Usually around January or February. It’s a good eating fish. Very healthy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Fishing around the Bay\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While some Bay Area residents, like Spears and Chu, have been fishing for a long time, others are just getting into it. Popular fishing YouTube channels like \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC7WFw42VnywQRvewSq29eg\">Fisherman’s Life\u003c/a>, as well as Facebook groups dedicated to crabbing or fishing off the Pacifica pier, have made fishing feel more accessible. During the coronavirus pandemic when people were looking for socially distant activities, fishing suddenly became appealing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98y8FV7Pe20\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s water everywhere and it’s all different,” Spears said. “There’s freshwater, there’s brackish water, there’s saltwater, there’s the bay, there’s the ocean. There’s a great variety of fish and a great variety of styles of fishing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That may be why it’s easy to spot fisherfolk spaced out every 20 feet all along San Francisco’s Ocean Beach snaring for crabs. Snaring means they use a fishing pole with bait in a little wire box at the end of the line that has wire hooks coming off it. The fisher casts the line into the waves and hopes the bait will attract a crab that will then get caught in the loops. When the fisher sees the line strain, he hauls in the crab, measures it to make sure it’s big enough to keep and then stores it in a cooler with some seawater to keep it alive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11944388\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-11944388 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_2482-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A man, woman and child smiling for the camera on a beach. They are wearing waders for fishing.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_2482-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_2482-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_2482-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_2482-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_2482-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_2482-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_2482-1920x1440.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">April Kennedy (center) on Ocean Beach with her husband and grandson, who were snaring crabs. Kennedy has been fishing for 30 years. \u003ccite>(Katrina Schwartz/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other people prefer to take crab pots out on kayaks, stand-up paddle boards or boats to try for a bigger haul. The important thing is to have a fishing license (unless you are fishing from a pier — then you don’t need one) and to be on the ocean side of the Golden Gate Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re interested in trying your hand at fishing, stop and talk to one of the many folks fishing around the Bay on any day. Most of them are very nice and willing to give pointers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Why do people love this popular fishing spot, right next to an eight-lane highway?",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/3TDw90P\">\u003cem>Read the transcript of this episode here.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As you drive on Highway 101 between South San Francisco and Candlestick Park, there’s a stretch of road that gets very straight and runs right next to the bay. The road has a big shoulder in this section, including a wide section of dirt with “No Parking” signs placed every 50 feet or so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious listener Eyra Dordi drives this stretch of highway almost every day on her commute to work. She often sees cars parked along the side of the road, despite the signs and the hazardous conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n What do you wonder about the Bay Area, its culture or people that you want KQED to investigate?\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Ask Bay Curious.\u003c/a>\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I realized there are people out there fishing really frequently,” Dordi said. “And I was really curious as to why anyone would decide that was the spot in the bay that they wanted to have a nice, relaxing fish.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dordi also wondered why fishermen and women would risk getting a parking ticket to fish here. It’s illegal to park on the side of any freeway due to safety concerns. The fine starts at $238, but could be more for repeat offenses, according to the California Highway Patrol.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Fishing ‘the tubes’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It turns out there’s a very good reason fisherfolk are willing to risk the hazards of traffic and CHP officers at this spot along 101 — the fishing can be \u003cem>great.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We call it \u003ca href=\"https://goo.gl/maps/aZUWvFzT5ct2jbC38\">the tubes\u003c/a>,” said Anthony Spears Sr., an avid fisherman who happens to also be the facility services supervisor at KQED. “For years we’ve fished there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s the deal: There are two concrete viaducts — “the tubes” — that connect the bay to \u003ca href=\"https://goo.gl/maps/MuTVTBfL33vHQjbW8\">Brisbane Lagoon\u003c/a>, located on the inland side of the freeway. The tubes run under the freeway, allowing water to flow back and forth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As the tide’s coming up, the water is flowing into the small pond on the other side. And then as the tide is going out, that same flow is going out into the bay,” Spears said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11944378\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-11944378 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_1698.jpeg\" alt=\"Two square tubes coming horizontally out of an embankment open up to the Brisbane Lagoon.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_1698.jpeg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_1698-800x450.jpeg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_1698-1020x574.jpeg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_1698-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_1698-1536x864.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Water in ‘the tubes’ flows from Brisbane Lagoon, under an access road and Highway 101, before reaching the San Francisco Bay. \u003ccite>(Olivia Allen-Price/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Smaller fish, like herring, swim into the lagoon to spawn in quieter waters that are more protected. But when the tide flows out, they are washed back out into the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Larger fish like halibut and striped bass, as well as stingrays, wait near the bayside opening of the tubes for an easy meal. And human fisherfolk wait there, too, eager to snag some delicious halibut or striped bass. It’s the whole food chain, concentrated in one spot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the parking is illegal, people can still fish from boats, or walk to accessible points nearby legally. Or they can fish on the lagoon side of the tubes, where there’s a small park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spears remembers fishing the tubes as a kid with his dad, and then later with his best friend, Tony. They’re both still avid fishermen, although Spears lives further from the tubes now and so doesn’t stop to fish there as often.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I only fish there once a year,” said Albert Chu, a fisherman I met along Ocean Beach. “That is when the herring are there. Usually around January or February. It’s a good eating fish. Very healthy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Fishing around the Bay\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While some Bay Area residents, like Spears and Chu, have been fishing for a long time, others are just getting into it. Popular fishing YouTube channels like \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC7WFw42VnywQRvewSq29eg\">Fisherman’s Life\u003c/a>, as well as Facebook groups dedicated to crabbing or fishing off the Pacifica pier, have made fishing feel more accessible. During the coronavirus pandemic when people were looking for socially distant activities, fishing suddenly became appealing.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/98y8FV7Pe20'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/98y8FV7Pe20'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>“There’s water everywhere and it’s all different,” Spears said. “There’s freshwater, there’s brackish water, there’s saltwater, there’s the bay, there’s the ocean. There’s a great variety of fish and a great variety of styles of fishing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That may be why it’s easy to spot fisherfolk spaced out every 20 feet all along San Francisco’s Ocean Beach snaring for crabs. Snaring means they use a fishing pole with bait in a little wire box at the end of the line that has wire hooks coming off it. The fisher casts the line into the waves and hopes the bait will attract a crab that will then get caught in the loops. When the fisher sees the line strain, he hauls in the crab, measures it to make sure it’s big enough to keep and then stores it in a cooler with some seawater to keep it alive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11944388\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-11944388 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_2482-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A man, woman and child smiling for the camera on a beach. They are wearing waders for fishing.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_2482-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_2482-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_2482-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_2482-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_2482-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_2482-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/IMG_2482-1920x1440.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">April Kennedy (center) on Ocean Beach with her husband and grandson, who were snaring crabs. Kennedy has been fishing for 30 years. \u003ccite>(Katrina Schwartz/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other people prefer to take crab pots out on kayaks, stand-up paddle boards or boats to try for a bigger haul. The important thing is to have a fishing license (unless you are fishing from a pier — then you don’t need one) and to be on the ocean side of the Golden Gate Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re interested in trying your hand at fishing, stop and talk to one of the many folks fishing around the Bay on any day. Most of them are very nice and willing to give pointers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "bay-area-land-is-so-expensive-how-do-urban-farms-survive",
"title": "Bay Area Land Is So Expensive. How Do Urban Farms Survive?",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/3Ltoxfg\">\u003cem>Read a transcript of this episode here.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carlos Urbina used to ride the San José light rail every day to work. As he looked out the train window, he’d pass by big buildings, busy intersections, offices and apartment complexes. But there was one part of his daily commute that always caught his attention. Amid all that urban infrastructure, the train would pass by a sprawling orange orchard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriouspodcastinfo]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This orchard was striking. It took up a whole block with rows and rows of big, bushy orange trees. It looked like a green-and-orange haven amid the North San José suburban sprawl. People would often stop and take photos of the farm, wondering what it was doing in the middle of Silicon Valley. Carlos would spot tractors on the property and farmworkers tending to the trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was weird to me to see a farm in the middle of what seems like super-valuable real estate and, you know, like they’re just doing their farming stuff,” said Carlos. “I found it very curious.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The orchard struck Carlos for another reason. It reminded him of his favorite place to visit as a child: his grandma’s house. Carlos grew up in Mexico City, and his grandma lived in a small agricultural community in a neighboring state called Tlaxcala. With its bountiful fruit trees and mountains in the distance, the orange orchard bore a striking resemblance to that place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I got a little nostalgic for that,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Carlos also wondered how a scene like that could exist in the middle of Silicon Valley, with its notoriously high land prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I’d like to know is, who owns it? What kind of products do they grow there? And, finally, how come they are still the owners of that piece of farm?” he asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The orchard\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The orange orchard is located in north San José, right across from the River Oaks light-rail station. It’s in a fairly suburban area, sitting amid a sea of tech company headquarters, school campuses and manufacturing facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After some sleuthing, we tracked down one of the current owners of the property: Alice Moitozo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moitozo is 93 years old and co-owns the orchard with her sister-in-law. She’s lived in a house in the middle of the orchard for 72 years. Her father-in-law, a Portuguese immigrant, bought the property in 1915 and established a dairy operation on-site. Eventually, with the influx of canneries in the region, the Moitozos switched to growing fruit, specifically pears.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This whole area here, north San José, was all pear orchards,” said Moitozo. The canneries eventually all moved away, many to the San Joaquin Valley. “So my husband and his brother planted the orange trees.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was around the 1960s. At a time when property values in Santa Clara Valley were skyrocketing — convincing many farmers to sell their land — the Moitozos stayed and planted the orange trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11943645\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11943645\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63268_029_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut.jpg\" alt=\"An orange tree with dozens of large oranges on its branches that look ready to be picked. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63268_029_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63268_029_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63268_029_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63268_029_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63268_029_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">When canning was a larger industry in San José, pears were grown on this land. In the 1960s, as canneries were moving away, the owners turned it into an orange orchard. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Moitozo’s husband has since passed away, but their son now manages the orchard, which remains fully operational. They used to sell the oranges, but now they \u003ca href=\"https://www.shfb.org/impact/blog/one-of-the-last-surviving-orchards-in-silicon-valley-donates-92843-pounds-of-oranges/\">donate them\u003c/a> to a local food bank. At this point, it’s essentially an extravagant garden.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the years, Moitozo said she’s had many buyers express interest in her approximately 15-acre property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had a fellow come to my door one time … and he offered me a million dollars an acre,” she said. “I said, ‘No, I’m not selling. I’m going to die here.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Urban farming today\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While Silicon Valley has largely converted from farmland to techland, there are still hundreds of urban farms all over the Bay Area. From small-scale vegetables to rooftop flowers, urban farmers are growing all different kinds of things.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What they all have in common is that it’s hard to make it work financially here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s incredibly difficult to be a commercially viable urban farm,” said Eli Zigas, food and agriculture policy director at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To understand how they survive, Zigas divides Bay Area urban farms into two general categories: commercial and noncommercial. Commercial farms are ones that make a living on what they grow.\u003cbr>\n“They are in it for the business of agriculture,” said Zigas. Perhaps they sell at a local farmers market or have an online shop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Noncommercial farms, on the other hand, tend to focus more on education.[emailsignup newslettername=\"baycurious\" align=\"right\"]“Those projects are things like community gardens, school gardens and teaching farms,” Zigas said. “In the Bay Area and most of the country, those are the most common forms of urban farming.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonprofit farms are incredibly important to urban communities, said Zigas, because they help people connect with the land and learn about ecology, seasons and how to grow their own food. Even the U.S. Department of Agriculture has an advisory committee and various grant opportunities targeted specifically at urban farms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While not all urban farms fall squarely into these two categories, Zigas said it’s a helpful framework for understanding how they survive here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To understand it even better, we visited some farms.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A skill for life’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At Valley Verde, a nonprofit farm in downtown San José, the mission is simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want people to learn how to grow their own food,” said Lovepreet Kaur, the farm’s executive director. “We want to teach them a skill for life. We don’t want to just provide a vegetable and say, ‘OK, here you go,’ and that’s it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valley Verde was founded in 2012 and currently offers a handful of educational gardening programs specifically for lower-income community members in San José. For example, their Shared Garden program provides participants with the tools and know-how for gardening at home, including a class and materials such as raised beds, soil and seedlings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11943648\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11943648\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63252_008_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A raised garden bed with several small green plants growing. A small greenhouse is in the background.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63252_008_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63252_008_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63252_008_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63252_008_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63252_008_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Native pollinator plants grow at Valley Verde. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Those skills can help alleviate food insecurity — a significant issue in Silicon Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The farm also grows food that is culturally relevant to its participants, including okra, bitter melon and Thai chili peppers. That’s important to Kaur, who immigrated to the U.S. from India when she was 11 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I came here to the U.S., there were a lot of vegetables that I grew up eating that were no longer accessible to me,” she said. “I didn’t see them at any stores, or if you did, they were very, very expensive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11943650\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11943650 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63248_010_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A bespectacled Indian woman with her head completely covered in a black scarf knotted at the nape of her neck, bends over and holds the tip of a leaf of a purple and green plant, growing in a raised bed, between her first finger and thumb. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63248_010_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63248_010_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63248_010_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63248_010_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63248_010_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lovepreet Kaur looks at a Japanese red mustard plant at Valley Verde. The farm is intentional about growing plants that are culturally relevant to community members and may be hard to find. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But running these programs for free isn’t easy. Like most nonprofits, Valley Verde survives on grants, including from the Health Trust and the Lucile Packard Foundation. But according to Kaur, the biggest challenge is accessing land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to stay either downtown or on the east side,” said Kaur. “Wherever we serve the community, we want to be in our community. We don’t want to be far away from them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s plenty of land available in more rural areas or in the hills surrounding Silicon Valley, but Kaur said they need to be accessible to their program participants to maintain their mission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valley Verde has moved multiple times over the last few years. Right now, they’re leasing their lot from Google, which is charging them only $1 per month. But with only two years left on that lease, Kaur’s already starting to think about what comes next. She hopes the next move will be permanent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is extremely stressful to be moving from one place to another, especially when you have plants. There’s a high mortality every time we try to move the plants while they’re still in their growing stages,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11943651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11943651 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63243_004_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A bespectacled Indian woman with her head completely covered in a black scarf knotted at the nape of her neck touches soil in a small container with a just-sprouted plant. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63243_004_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63243_004_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63243_004_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63243_004_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63243_004_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kaur checks on seedlings in a greenhouse at Valley Verde. She says moving plants to a new location is a tricky process, and not all plants survive. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Farming in the sky\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As opposed to nonprofit farms like Valley Verde, commercial operations in the Bay Area are harder to come by, which makes Bluma Farm, a commercial flower farm based in Berkeley, a rarity. In fact, founder and owner Joanna Letz doesn’t know anyone else in the Bay Area operating a for-profit farm in such an urban environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bluma’s situation is unique; the farm is spread across 15 modular apartment rooftops near downtown Berkeley and boasts a spectacular 360-degree view stretching from the Berkeley hills to downtown San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Letz started growing flowers here in 2019, just a couple years after the building was built. She grows all kinds of flowers: godetia, nigella, violas, larkspur. The farm looks like a mosaic of raised beds in the sky, punctuated with a rainbow of flowers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11943660\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11943660\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1406.jpg\" alt=\"A woman walking through a rooftop garden, holding a gathering of flowers, with apartments and a mountain in the distance. \" width=\"1980\" height=\"1238\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1406.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1406-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1406-1020x638.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1406-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1406-1536x960.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1406-1920x1200.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bluma Farm founder and owner Joanna Letz runs her business on 15 modular apartment rooftops. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Nicola Parisi)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At first, Letz said it was hard transitioning from farming on the ground to the roof. But now that she’s more used to it, she sees “all the really important benefits of farming on a roof and also just the ability to be growing in the city and showing other people what’s possible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a for-profit business, Bluma has various revenue streams. About half their income comes from weddings, though that changed somewhat during the pandemic, said Letz. She sells some flowers wholesale and some retail, and she has a flower-subscription service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Cut flowers are higher profit per square foot than just about any other crop I can think of,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, it’s hard to make it work financially — especially in such a high-priced area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I try to keep my prices as high as I can because I want myself and my employees to be able to make enough money to live here,” she said. “And that’s still hard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11943663\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11943663 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1146-1020x1428.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling white woman with long brown hair in a bun, a white-and-gray striped sweater, a tool belt, and brown boots pulls back some opaque plastic to reveal seedlings underneath.\" width=\"640\" height=\"896\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1146-1020x1428.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1146-800x1120.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1146-160x224.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1146-1097x1536.jpg 1097w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1146.jpg 1414w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Letz says flowers earn a high return per square foot. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Nicola Parisi)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But it’s important to her to stay in the city, where she hopes more rooftop farms will start to emerge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of buildings that have gone up just in the time that I’ve been farming here,” she said, pointing to some buildings in the distance that don’t have rooftop farms. “What could we be doing with them that we’re not?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Letz said she’s especially passionate about teaching youth about farming and the power of growing your own produce. She currently works with a handful of interns from local high schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That makes me excited … that we can get people up here and experience this,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why, despite the challenges, we should be fighting to keep urban farms here in the Bay Area, said SPUR’s Zigas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[It’s] not about the number of people we can feed, but the number of people we can reach or touch through education and awareness,” he said. “And for that reason we should try and have more spaces where people can learn about food and how it’s grown.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "Bay Area Land Is So Expensive. How Do Urban Farms Survive? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/3Ltoxfg\">\u003cem>Read a transcript of this episode here.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carlos Urbina used to ride the San José light rail every day to work. As he looked out the train window, he’d pass by big buildings, busy intersections, offices and apartment complexes. But there was one part of his daily commute that always caught his attention. Amid all that urban infrastructure, the train would pass by a sprawling orange orchard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Bay Curious\u003c/a> is a podcast that answers your questions about the Bay Area.\n Subscribe on \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>,\n \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR One\u003c/a> or your favorite podcast platform.\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This orchard was striking. It took up a whole block with rows and rows of big, bushy orange trees. It looked like a green-and-orange haven amid the North San José suburban sprawl. People would often stop and take photos of the farm, wondering what it was doing in the middle of Silicon Valley. Carlos would spot tractors on the property and farmworkers tending to the trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was weird to me to see a farm in the middle of what seems like super-valuable real estate and, you know, like they’re just doing their farming stuff,” said Carlos. “I found it very curious.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The orchard struck Carlos for another reason. It reminded him of his favorite place to visit as a child: his grandma’s house. Carlos grew up in Mexico City, and his grandma lived in a small agricultural community in a neighboring state called Tlaxcala. With its bountiful fruit trees and mountains in the distance, the orange orchard bore a striking resemblance to that place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I got a little nostalgic for that,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Carlos also wondered how a scene like that could exist in the middle of Silicon Valley, with its notoriously high land prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I’d like to know is, who owns it? What kind of products do they grow there? And, finally, how come they are still the owners of that piece of farm?” he asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The orchard\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The orange orchard is located in north San José, right across from the River Oaks light-rail station. It’s in a fairly suburban area, sitting amid a sea of tech company headquarters, school campuses and manufacturing facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After some sleuthing, we tracked down one of the current owners of the property: Alice Moitozo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moitozo is 93 years old and co-owns the orchard with her sister-in-law. She’s lived in a house in the middle of the orchard for 72 years. Her father-in-law, a Portuguese immigrant, bought the property in 1915 and established a dairy operation on-site. Eventually, with the influx of canneries in the region, the Moitozos switched to growing fruit, specifically pears.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This whole area here, north San José, was all pear orchards,” said Moitozo. The canneries eventually all moved away, many to the San Joaquin Valley. “So my husband and his brother planted the orange trees.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was around the 1960s. At a time when property values in Santa Clara Valley were skyrocketing — convincing many farmers to sell their land — the Moitozos stayed and planted the orange trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11943645\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11943645\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63268_029_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut.jpg\" alt=\"An orange tree with dozens of large oranges on its branches that look ready to be picked. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63268_029_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63268_029_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63268_029_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63268_029_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63268_029_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">When canning was a larger industry in San José, pears were grown on this land. In the 1960s, as canneries were moving away, the owners turned it into an orange orchard. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Moitozo’s husband has since passed away, but their son now manages the orchard, which remains fully operational. They used to sell the oranges, but now they \u003ca href=\"https://www.shfb.org/impact/blog/one-of-the-last-surviving-orchards-in-silicon-valley-donates-92843-pounds-of-oranges/\">donate them\u003c/a> to a local food bank. At this point, it’s essentially an extravagant garden.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the years, Moitozo said she’s had many buyers express interest in her approximately 15-acre property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had a fellow come to my door one time … and he offered me a million dollars an acre,” she said. “I said, ‘No, I’m not selling. I’m going to die here.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Urban farming today\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While Silicon Valley has largely converted from farmland to techland, there are still hundreds of urban farms all over the Bay Area. From small-scale vegetables to rooftop flowers, urban farmers are growing all different kinds of things.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What they all have in common is that it’s hard to make it work financially here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s incredibly difficult to be a commercially viable urban farm,” said Eli Zigas, food and agriculture policy director at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To understand how they survive, Zigas divides Bay Area urban farms into two general categories: commercial and noncommercial. Commercial farms are ones that make a living on what they grow.\u003cbr>\n“They are in it for the business of agriculture,” said Zigas. Perhaps they sell at a local farmers market or have an online shop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Noncommercial farms, on the other hand, tend to focus more on education.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Those projects are things like community gardens, school gardens and teaching farms,” Zigas said. “In the Bay Area and most of the country, those are the most common forms of urban farming.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonprofit farms are incredibly important to urban communities, said Zigas, because they help people connect with the land and learn about ecology, seasons and how to grow their own food. Even the U.S. Department of Agriculture has an advisory committee and various grant opportunities targeted specifically at urban farms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While not all urban farms fall squarely into these two categories, Zigas said it’s a helpful framework for understanding how they survive here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To understand it even better, we visited some farms.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A skill for life’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At Valley Verde, a nonprofit farm in downtown San José, the mission is simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want people to learn how to grow their own food,” said Lovepreet Kaur, the farm’s executive director. “We want to teach them a skill for life. We don’t want to just provide a vegetable and say, ‘OK, here you go,’ and that’s it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valley Verde was founded in 2012 and currently offers a handful of educational gardening programs specifically for lower-income community members in San José. For example, their Shared Garden program provides participants with the tools and know-how for gardening at home, including a class and materials such as raised beds, soil and seedlings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11943648\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11943648\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63252_008_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A raised garden bed with several small green plants growing. A small greenhouse is in the background.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63252_008_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63252_008_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63252_008_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63252_008_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63252_008_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Native pollinator plants grow at Valley Verde. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Those skills can help alleviate food insecurity — a significant issue in Silicon Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The farm also grows food that is culturally relevant to its participants, including okra, bitter melon and Thai chili peppers. That’s important to Kaur, who immigrated to the U.S. from India when she was 11 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I came here to the U.S., there were a lot of vegetables that I grew up eating that were no longer accessible to me,” she said. “I didn’t see them at any stores, or if you did, they were very, very expensive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11943650\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11943650 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63248_010_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A bespectacled Indian woman with her head completely covered in a black scarf knotted at the nape of her neck, bends over and holds the tip of a leaf of a purple and green plant, growing in a raised bed, between her first finger and thumb. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63248_010_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63248_010_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63248_010_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63248_010_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63248_010_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lovepreet Kaur looks at a Japanese red mustard plant at Valley Verde. The farm is intentional about growing plants that are culturally relevant to community members and may be hard to find. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But running these programs for free isn’t easy. Like most nonprofits, Valley Verde survives on grants, including from the Health Trust and the Lucile Packard Foundation. But according to Kaur, the biggest challenge is accessing land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to stay either downtown or on the east side,” said Kaur. “Wherever we serve the community, we want to be in our community. We don’t want to be far away from them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s plenty of land available in more rural areas or in the hills surrounding Silicon Valley, but Kaur said they need to be accessible to their program participants to maintain their mission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valley Verde has moved multiple times over the last few years. Right now, they’re leasing their lot from Google, which is charging them only $1 per month. But with only two years left on that lease, Kaur’s already starting to think about what comes next. She hopes the next move will be permanent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is extremely stressful to be moving from one place to another, especially when you have plants. There’s a high mortality every time we try to move the plants while they’re still in their growing stages,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11943651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11943651 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63243_004_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A bespectacled Indian woman with her head completely covered in a black scarf knotted at the nape of her neck touches soil in a small container with a just-sprouted plant. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63243_004_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63243_004_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63243_004_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63243_004_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63243_004_KQED_ValleyVerdeFarmSJ_02282023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kaur checks on seedlings in a greenhouse at Valley Verde. She says moving plants to a new location is a tricky process, and not all plants survive. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Farming in the sky\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As opposed to nonprofit farms like Valley Verde, commercial operations in the Bay Area are harder to come by, which makes Bluma Farm, a commercial flower farm based in Berkeley, a rarity. In fact, founder and owner Joanna Letz doesn’t know anyone else in the Bay Area operating a for-profit farm in such an urban environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bluma’s situation is unique; the farm is spread across 15 modular apartment rooftops near downtown Berkeley and boasts a spectacular 360-degree view stretching from the Berkeley hills to downtown San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Letz started growing flowers here in 2019, just a couple years after the building was built. She grows all kinds of flowers: godetia, nigella, violas, larkspur. The farm looks like a mosaic of raised beds in the sky, punctuated with a rainbow of flowers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11943660\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11943660\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1406.jpg\" alt=\"A woman walking through a rooftop garden, holding a gathering of flowers, with apartments and a mountain in the distance. \" width=\"1980\" height=\"1238\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1406.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1406-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1406-1020x638.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1406-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1406-1536x960.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1406-1920x1200.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bluma Farm founder and owner Joanna Letz runs her business on 15 modular apartment rooftops. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Nicola Parisi)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At first, Letz said it was hard transitioning from farming on the ground to the roof. But now that she’s more used to it, she sees “all the really important benefits of farming on a roof and also just the ability to be growing in the city and showing other people what’s possible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a for-profit business, Bluma has various revenue streams. About half their income comes from weddings, though that changed somewhat during the pandemic, said Letz. She sells some flowers wholesale and some retail, and she has a flower-subscription service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Cut flowers are higher profit per square foot than just about any other crop I can think of,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, it’s hard to make it work financially — especially in such a high-priced area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I try to keep my prices as high as I can because I want myself and my employees to be able to make enough money to live here,” she said. “And that’s still hard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11943663\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11943663 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1146-1020x1428.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling white woman with long brown hair in a bun, a white-and-gray striped sweater, a tool belt, and brown boots pulls back some opaque plastic to reveal seedlings underneath.\" width=\"640\" height=\"896\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1146-1020x1428.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1146-800x1120.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1146-160x224.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1146-1097x1536.jpg 1097w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/nicola-parisi_kitchen-table-advisors_bluma-farm_1146.jpg 1414w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Letz says flowers earn a high return per square foot. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Nicola Parisi)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But it’s important to her to stay in the city, where she hopes more rooftop farms will start to emerge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of buildings that have gone up just in the time that I’ve been farming here,” she said, pointing to some buildings in the distance that don’t have rooftop farms. “What could we be doing with them that we’re not?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Letz said she’s especially passionate about teaching youth about farming and the power of growing your own produce. She currently works with a handful of interns from local high schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That makes me excited … that we can get people up here and experience this,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why, despite the challenges, we should be fighting to keep urban farms here in the Bay Area, said SPUR’s Zigas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[It’s] not about the number of people we can feed, but the number of people we can reach or touch through education and awareness,” he said. “And for that reason we should try and have more spaces where people can learn about food and how it’s grown.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "san-franciscos-castro-theatre-a-cultural-temple-facing-a-fight-for-its-future",
"title": "San Francisco's Castro Theatre: A Cultural 'Temple' Facing a Fight for Its Future",
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"headTitle": "San Francisco’s Castro Theatre: A Cultural ‘Temple’ Facing a Fight for Its Future | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Read a transcript of this episode \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/3LeQebL\">here.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can’t walk through San Francisco’s Castro District without your eyes being drawn to the towering marquee. The words “CASTRO” shine in bright, flashing neon over this proud queer neighborhood. But get a little closer and you notice that some of the neon lights are out, and there aren’t any people around. The front of the theater seems as deserted today as it was during the COVID-19 pandemic. What gives?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The theater is in a state of limbo while its new managers push to renovate the space for a mixed-use future. If their plan goes forward, The Castro wouldn’t be just for movies anymore, but also things like concerts, performances and weddings too. These plans have not been received warmly by all members of the community, who point to the theater’s historical significance as a reason to restore it, but not renovate. The fate of the space currently sits at San Francisco City Hall, where a fight for it’s future has been unfolding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To understand the issue fully, we’ve first got to go back to the theater’s earliest days, because behind the boarded-up windows lie 100 years of stories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriouspodcastinfo]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The early years\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the earliest days of film, three brothers — William, Elias and George Nasser — opened a nickelodeon at 18th and Collingwood in San Francisco. This crude cinema was little more than pictures projected onto a wall, but it led the Nasser brothers to dream of a bigger space in which to entertain audiences with silent films. Before long, they’d tapped architect Timothy Pflueger to design a movie palace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Castro Theatre opened in 1922 on Castro Street, and Pflueger would go on to design celebrated movie theaters like the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, and iconic San Francisco cocktail lounges like the Top of the Mark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Castro is a bit of a grab bag of Beaux-Arts, Spanish Baroque, Renaissance, and a variety of other styles,” said queer public historian Gerard Koskovich, “including some Art Deco elements.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That mix of styles creates a whimsical environment designed to transport the audience into a world of fantasy and film.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11942950\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 582px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/Castro-Theatre-1927.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11942950 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/Castro-Theatre-1927.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white image taken from the balcony of a classic, highly decorated movie theater.\" width=\"582\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/Castro-Theatre-1927.jpg 582w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/Castro-Theatre-1927-160x110.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 582px) 100vw, 582px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The interior of the Castro Theatre in 1927. \u003ccite>(San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the beginning, the Castro showed silent films, often accompanied by live music from a variety of instruments, most famously the Castro’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CastroTheatre/videos/san-francisco-on-castro-organ/747351313094835/\">Wurlitzer organ\u003c/a>. The Castro catered primarily to the working-class community in the Eureka Valley, then considered a distant suburb outside bustling San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In those days, people expected to see a mixed program … some shorts, perhaps to see a newsreel, and then a feature,” said Koskovich.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC8810679935&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As sound arrived in film, speakers arrived at the Castro, installed into a large, burlap-lined hole in the wall behind the square movie screen. When film went wide-screen, so did the Castro: Just a few feet in front of the original screen and proscenium, another screen was constructed, and over time the old, gold square was forgotten. It remains visible backstage at the Castro, if you can climb the stairs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Castro, with its 1,400 seats, was considered small for the time period. In San Francisco alone there was competition from behemoths like the El Capitan on Mission Street; now a parking lot, the Cap had double the seats of the Castro. The Fox Theatre on Market Street (on the land now home to Fox Plaza) was dubbed “The World’s Finest Theatre” by \u003cem>The San Francisco Chronicle,\u003c/em> and clocked in at 4,651 seats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The average movie theater in 2023 has approximately 150 seats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The larger movie houses like the Fox and El Capitan would show the big blockbusters or first-run pictures, while the Castro’s repertoire mostly consisted of second- or third-run pictures — films that had already played at the bigger theaters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11942945\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57657_003_KQED_CastroTheatreInterior_08102022-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11942945 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57657_003_KQED_CastroTheatreInterior_08102022-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"The inside of a grand movie theater with ornate decoration. An Art Deco chandelier hangs from a vaulted ceiling. Many rows of red velvet seats lead down to an elevated stage with a curtain closed over the film screen. The lighting is low, in reds and ambers.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57657_003_KQED_CastroTheatreInterior_08102022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57657_003_KQED_CastroTheatreInterior_08102022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57657_003_KQED_CastroTheatreInterior_08102022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57657_003_KQED_CastroTheatreInterior_08102022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57657_003_KQED_CastroTheatreInterior_08102022-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The interior of the Castro Theatre in San Francisco on Aug. 10, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The gay Castro\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Deindustrialization and white flight changed the makeup of the Castro through the ’50s and ’60s. Then the gay community began moving in. By all accounts, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon — a lesbian couple who became longtime community activists — were the first openly LGBTQ people to move into the Castro, arriving in 1953.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By the 1950s, this declining working-class neighborhood had started to emerge as a gay enclave,” said Koskovich. The Castro’s first gay bar — called the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgayhistory.com/neighborhoods/castro/castro-gay-bars/84-2/\">Missouri Mule\u003c/a> — opened in 1963. “And by the early ’70s,” said Koskovich, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5rlwVsyKXA&ab_channel=KQEDArts\">the Castro\u003c/a> was becoming very clearly marked as a gay neighborhood.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mel Novikoff was the Castro Theatre’s programmer in those days, and he quickly discovered a strategy for getting the neighborhood’s rapidly growing gay community into the theater:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Bringing back old film, mixing it with art house films and foreign films,” said Koskovich. This was key to understanding this emerging urban public, he added: “It was people who’d fled their dismal, monochrome hometowns and moved to San Francisco because they wanted to have a sophisticated, thrilling, cosmopolitan cultural life.” Novikoff understood that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And what emerged at the Castro Theatre,” said Koskovich, “was the fact that there were an awful lot of crazed movie queens in San Francisco. They just had to go see a double bill of \u003cem>The Women\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?\u003c/em> often dressed like their favorite characters, or dressed to mock some of the characters, often reciting along the best lines of dialogue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the outside world, it wasn’t necessarily safe to be openly gay. But inside the Castro Theatre, gay people — mostly gay white men — felt safe to express themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1977, the Castro Theatre was recognized as a beacon for the LGBTQ community when it became San Francisco’s 100th historic landmark, protecting the exterior from demolition or alteration. [baycuriousbug]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A place of refuge\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“Before there were effective treatments around 1996, remaining part of the community as a person with AIDS was impossible,” Koskovich said. Close to 20,000 people died in San Francisco alone during the AIDS crisis — “the overwhelming majority of them gay men under the age of 50,” Koskovich added, with the majority of them living within two miles of the Castro District. “So imagine the impact of that epidemic, not just on the city, but on this specific neighborhood.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Castro Theatre became a chapel to a community grieving the loss of a generation of young men.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was a place to go after you got done with the two memorial services for people you knew that week,” remembered Koskovich. “You could spend a couple of hours escaping to a movie, or a live show. You could bring people who were sick and they could sit calmly in a safe, secure, comfortable place and know they weren’t going to be excluded if they had signs [of AIDS], like Kaposi’s sarcoma lesions. That people weren’t going to pull away from them. They could remain part of the community that had been built there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout the ’90s and 2000s, the Castro Theatre continued to grow in engagement and visibility within the LGBTQ community under the watchful eye of programmer Anita Monga. She began the era of film festivals, like Frameline, being hosted at the theater, as well as major film premieres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2008, the Harvey Milk biopic, \u003cem>Milk\u003c/em>, much of which takes place in the Castro, held its world premiere at the theater. In preparation for the event, the film studio funded a facelift to the Castro’s exterior, restoring it to its 1970’s glory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11942954\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/GettyImages-112329231-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11942954 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/GettyImages-112329231-1-800x594.jpg\" alt='Image taken at night of a glowing neon sign and marquee outside a movie theater. Posters for the movie \"Milk,\" starring Sean Penn are featured on the sign.' width=\"800\" height=\"594\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/GettyImages-112329231-1-800x594.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/GettyImages-112329231-1-1020x757.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/GettyImages-112329231-1-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/GettyImages-112329231-1.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Atmosphere at the world premiere of ‘Milk’ at the Castro Theatre on Oct. 28, 2008, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Steve Jennings/WireImage)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The future of an icon\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During the COVID-19 pandemic, theaters and concert venues were shuttered. Though the Castro Theatre is still owned by descendants of the original Nasser brothers, it came out of 2020 under new management, a company called Another Planet Entertainment. APE is a locally owned concert production company founded in 2003, which also manages the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, Oakland’s Fox Theater and the Outside Lands festival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>APE announced \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13908311/castro-theatre-to-become-live-music-and-events-venue-after-renovation\">plans to renovate\u003c/a> the Castro Theatre, which include removing the fixed movie theater-style seating, and adding tiered sections for standing-room concerts. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13917362/castro-theatre-seating-renovation-town-hall\">film community’s reaction\u003c/a> was swift, and decisive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Castro Theatre Conservancy, a community organization whose mission, according to their website, is to protect the theater “as a cultural and entertainment venue for motion pictures and live performances,” announced the creation of the “Save the Castro Theatre” campaign in response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11942947\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57720_005_KQED_CastroTheatreTownHall_08112022-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11942947 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57720_005_KQED_CastroTheatreTownHall_08112022-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt='A person wearing a rainbow striped sweater hold up two signs. One says \"Another Planet Sucks!\" The other says \"Save the seats.\"' width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57720_005_KQED_CastroTheatreTownHall_08112022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57720_005_KQED_CastroTheatreTownHall_08112022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57720_005_KQED_CastroTheatreTownHall_08112022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57720_005_KQED_CastroTheatreTownHall_08112022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57720_005_KQED_CastroTheatreTownHall_08112022-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Petrelis holds a sign that says ‘Save the Seats’ during a town hall meeting about renovations by Another Planet Entertainment at the Castro Theatre on Aug. 11, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What followed were rallies, the online #SaveTheSeats campaign, and hundreds of chain emails sent to officials asking that the seats and their layout be specifically protected in a landmark designation for the interior of the theatre.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Historic Preservation Commission took public comment for and against the proposed landmarking on Feb. 1, 2023, at San Francisco City Hall. More than 100 people lined up and waited hours to speak. The majority of the public comments were against any proposed changes to the Castro Theatre’s seating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, the \u003ca class=\"c-link\" href=\"https://citypln-m-extnl.sfgov.org/Commissions/HPC/2_1_2023/Commission%20Packet/2022-006075DES.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https://citypln-m-extnl.sfgov.org/Commissions/HPC/2_1_2023/Commission%20Packet/2022-006075DES.pdf\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">HPC voted to recommend landmarking\u003c/a> the interior of the Castro Theatre, but the details are complicated. The official draft of their recommendation to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors says, “The following features are character-defining and shall be preserved or replaced in kind,” and goes on to list interior features of the theatre, including the “Vast interior auditorium volume with raked floor, aisles, and presence of seating.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words, it will be up to the Board of Supervisors to decide on the designation and interpretation thereof, including what that means for the existing seats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some members of the film community see APE’s proposed changes as the destruction of a cultural space. On the other side are folks who imagine a future where queer concerts play just as much of a role as queer cinema.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can’t imagine the city of San Francisco, or the international gay community without the Castro Theater,” said David Perry, the Castro Theatre spokesperson for APE, “The plan that Another Planet has put forward doesn’t lessen the iconic nature of the Castro. It increases its ability to become an icon for people to embrace for years to come.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Either way, the iconic Castro Theatre will remain a part of the San Francisco experience for generations to come, whether as a multi-use community space, or a temple to film.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A final decision on its fate could be reached by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors some time in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story has been updated. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "San Francisco's Castro Theatre: A Cultural 'Temple' Facing a Fight for Its Future | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Read a transcript of this episode \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/3LeQebL\">here.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can’t walk through San Francisco’s Castro District without your eyes being drawn to the towering marquee. The words “CASTRO” shine in bright, flashing neon over this proud queer neighborhood. But get a little closer and you notice that some of the neon lights are out, and there aren’t any people around. The front of the theater seems as deserted today as it was during the COVID-19 pandemic. What gives?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The theater is in a state of limbo while its new managers push to renovate the space for a mixed-use future. If their plan goes forward, The Castro wouldn’t be just for movies anymore, but also things like concerts, performances and weddings too. These plans have not been received warmly by all members of the community, who point to the theater’s historical significance as a reason to restore it, but not renovate. The fate of the space currently sits at San Francisco City Hall, where a fight for it’s future has been unfolding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To understand the issue fully, we’ve first got to go back to the theater’s earliest days, because behind the boarded-up windows lie 100 years of stories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Bay Curious\u003c/a> is a podcast that answers your questions about the Bay Area.\n Subscribe on \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>,\n \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR One\u003c/a> or your favorite podcast platform.\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The early years\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the earliest days of film, three brothers — William, Elias and George Nasser — opened a nickelodeon at 18th and Collingwood in San Francisco. This crude cinema was little more than pictures projected onto a wall, but it led the Nasser brothers to dream of a bigger space in which to entertain audiences with silent films. Before long, they’d tapped architect Timothy Pflueger to design a movie palace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Castro Theatre opened in 1922 on Castro Street, and Pflueger would go on to design celebrated movie theaters like the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, and iconic San Francisco cocktail lounges like the Top of the Mark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Castro is a bit of a grab bag of Beaux-Arts, Spanish Baroque, Renaissance, and a variety of other styles,” said queer public historian Gerard Koskovich, “including some Art Deco elements.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That mix of styles creates a whimsical environment designed to transport the audience into a world of fantasy and film.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11942950\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 582px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/Castro-Theatre-1927.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11942950 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/Castro-Theatre-1927.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white image taken from the balcony of a classic, highly decorated movie theater.\" width=\"582\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/Castro-Theatre-1927.jpg 582w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/Castro-Theatre-1927-160x110.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 582px) 100vw, 582px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The interior of the Castro Theatre in 1927. \u003ccite>(San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the beginning, the Castro showed silent films, often accompanied by live music from a variety of instruments, most famously the Castro’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CastroTheatre/videos/san-francisco-on-castro-organ/747351313094835/\">Wurlitzer organ\u003c/a>. The Castro catered primarily to the working-class community in the Eureka Valley, then considered a distant suburb outside bustling San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In those days, people expected to see a mixed program … some shorts, perhaps to see a newsreel, and then a feature,” said Koskovich.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC8810679935&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As sound arrived in film, speakers arrived at the Castro, installed into a large, burlap-lined hole in the wall behind the square movie screen. When film went wide-screen, so did the Castro: Just a few feet in front of the original screen and proscenium, another screen was constructed, and over time the old, gold square was forgotten. It remains visible backstage at the Castro, if you can climb the stairs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Castro, with its 1,400 seats, was considered small for the time period. In San Francisco alone there was competition from behemoths like the El Capitan on Mission Street; now a parking lot, the Cap had double the seats of the Castro. The Fox Theatre on Market Street (on the land now home to Fox Plaza) was dubbed “The World’s Finest Theatre” by \u003cem>The San Francisco Chronicle,\u003c/em> and clocked in at 4,651 seats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The average movie theater in 2023 has approximately 150 seats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The larger movie houses like the Fox and El Capitan would show the big blockbusters or first-run pictures, while the Castro’s repertoire mostly consisted of second- or third-run pictures — films that had already played at the bigger theaters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11942945\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57657_003_KQED_CastroTheatreInterior_08102022-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11942945 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57657_003_KQED_CastroTheatreInterior_08102022-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"The inside of a grand movie theater with ornate decoration. An Art Deco chandelier hangs from a vaulted ceiling. Many rows of red velvet seats lead down to an elevated stage with a curtain closed over the film screen. The lighting is low, in reds and ambers.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57657_003_KQED_CastroTheatreInterior_08102022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57657_003_KQED_CastroTheatreInterior_08102022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57657_003_KQED_CastroTheatreInterior_08102022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57657_003_KQED_CastroTheatreInterior_08102022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57657_003_KQED_CastroTheatreInterior_08102022-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The interior of the Castro Theatre in San Francisco on Aug. 10, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The gay Castro\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Deindustrialization and white flight changed the makeup of the Castro through the ’50s and ’60s. Then the gay community began moving in. By all accounts, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon — a lesbian couple who became longtime community activists — were the first openly LGBTQ people to move into the Castro, arriving in 1953.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By the 1950s, this declining working-class neighborhood had started to emerge as a gay enclave,” said Koskovich. The Castro’s first gay bar — called the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgayhistory.com/neighborhoods/castro/castro-gay-bars/84-2/\">Missouri Mule\u003c/a> — opened in 1963. “And by the early ’70s,” said Koskovich, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5rlwVsyKXA&ab_channel=KQEDArts\">the Castro\u003c/a> was becoming very clearly marked as a gay neighborhood.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mel Novikoff was the Castro Theatre’s programmer in those days, and he quickly discovered a strategy for getting the neighborhood’s rapidly growing gay community into the theater:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Bringing back old film, mixing it with art house films and foreign films,” said Koskovich. This was key to understanding this emerging urban public, he added: “It was people who’d fled their dismal, monochrome hometowns and moved to San Francisco because they wanted to have a sophisticated, thrilling, cosmopolitan cultural life.” Novikoff understood that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And what emerged at the Castro Theatre,” said Koskovich, “was the fact that there were an awful lot of crazed movie queens in San Francisco. They just had to go see a double bill of \u003cem>The Women\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?\u003c/em> often dressed like their favorite characters, or dressed to mock some of the characters, often reciting along the best lines of dialogue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the outside world, it wasn’t necessarily safe to be openly gay. But inside the Castro Theatre, gay people — mostly gay white men — felt safe to express themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1977, the Castro Theatre was recognized as a beacon for the LGBTQ community when it became San Francisco’s 100th historic landmark, protecting the exterior from demolition or alteration. \u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n What do you wonder about the Bay Area, its culture or people that you want KQED to investigate?\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Ask Bay Curious.\u003c/a>\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A place of refuge\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“Before there were effective treatments around 1996, remaining part of the community as a person with AIDS was impossible,” Koskovich said. Close to 20,000 people died in San Francisco alone during the AIDS crisis — “the overwhelming majority of them gay men under the age of 50,” Koskovich added, with the majority of them living within two miles of the Castro District. “So imagine the impact of that epidemic, not just on the city, but on this specific neighborhood.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Castro Theatre became a chapel to a community grieving the loss of a generation of young men.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was a place to go after you got done with the two memorial services for people you knew that week,” remembered Koskovich. “You could spend a couple of hours escaping to a movie, or a live show. You could bring people who were sick and they could sit calmly in a safe, secure, comfortable place and know they weren’t going to be excluded if they had signs [of AIDS], like Kaposi’s sarcoma lesions. That people weren’t going to pull away from them. They could remain part of the community that had been built there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout the ’90s and 2000s, the Castro Theatre continued to grow in engagement and visibility within the LGBTQ community under the watchful eye of programmer Anita Monga. She began the era of film festivals, like Frameline, being hosted at the theater, as well as major film premieres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2008, the Harvey Milk biopic, \u003cem>Milk\u003c/em>, much of which takes place in the Castro, held its world premiere at the theater. In preparation for the event, the film studio funded a facelift to the Castro’s exterior, restoring it to its 1970’s glory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11942954\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/GettyImages-112329231-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11942954 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/GettyImages-112329231-1-800x594.jpg\" alt='Image taken at night of a glowing neon sign and marquee outside a movie theater. Posters for the movie \"Milk,\" starring Sean Penn are featured on the sign.' width=\"800\" height=\"594\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/GettyImages-112329231-1-800x594.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/GettyImages-112329231-1-1020x757.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/GettyImages-112329231-1-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/GettyImages-112329231-1.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Atmosphere at the world premiere of ‘Milk’ at the Castro Theatre on Oct. 28, 2008, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Steve Jennings/WireImage)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The future of an icon\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During the COVID-19 pandemic, theaters and concert venues were shuttered. Though the Castro Theatre is still owned by descendants of the original Nasser brothers, it came out of 2020 under new management, a company called Another Planet Entertainment. APE is a locally owned concert production company founded in 2003, which also manages the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, Oakland’s Fox Theater and the Outside Lands festival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>APE announced \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13908311/castro-theatre-to-become-live-music-and-events-venue-after-renovation\">plans to renovate\u003c/a> the Castro Theatre, which include removing the fixed movie theater-style seating, and adding tiered sections for standing-room concerts. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13917362/castro-theatre-seating-renovation-town-hall\">film community’s reaction\u003c/a> was swift, and decisive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Castro Theatre Conservancy, a community organization whose mission, according to their website, is to protect the theater “as a cultural and entertainment venue for motion pictures and live performances,” announced the creation of the “Save the Castro Theatre” campaign in response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11942947\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57720_005_KQED_CastroTheatreTownHall_08112022-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11942947 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57720_005_KQED_CastroTheatreTownHall_08112022-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt='A person wearing a rainbow striped sweater hold up two signs. One says \"Another Planet Sucks!\" The other says \"Save the seats.\"' width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57720_005_KQED_CastroTheatreTownHall_08112022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57720_005_KQED_CastroTheatreTownHall_08112022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57720_005_KQED_CastroTheatreTownHall_08112022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57720_005_KQED_CastroTheatreTownHall_08112022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS57720_005_KQED_CastroTheatreTownHall_08112022-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Petrelis holds a sign that says ‘Save the Seats’ during a town hall meeting about renovations by Another Planet Entertainment at the Castro Theatre on Aug. 11, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What followed were rallies, the online #SaveTheSeats campaign, and hundreds of chain emails sent to officials asking that the seats and their layout be specifically protected in a landmark designation for the interior of the theatre.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Historic Preservation Commission took public comment for and against the proposed landmarking on Feb. 1, 2023, at San Francisco City Hall. More than 100 people lined up and waited hours to speak. The majority of the public comments were against any proposed changes to the Castro Theatre’s seating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, the \u003ca class=\"c-link\" href=\"https://citypln-m-extnl.sfgov.org/Commissions/HPC/2_1_2023/Commission%20Packet/2022-006075DES.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https://citypln-m-extnl.sfgov.org/Commissions/HPC/2_1_2023/Commission%20Packet/2022-006075DES.pdf\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">HPC voted to recommend landmarking\u003c/a> the interior of the Castro Theatre, but the details are complicated. The official draft of their recommendation to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors says, “The following features are character-defining and shall be preserved or replaced in kind,” and goes on to list interior features of the theatre, including the “Vast interior auditorium volume with raked floor, aisles, and presence of seating.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words, it will be up to the Board of Supervisors to decide on the designation and interpretation thereof, including what that means for the existing seats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some members of the film community see APE’s proposed changes as the destruction of a cultural space. On the other side are folks who imagine a future where queer concerts play just as much of a role as queer cinema.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can’t imagine the city of San Francisco, or the international gay community without the Castro Theater,” said David Perry, the Castro Theatre spokesperson for APE, “The plan that Another Planet has put forward doesn’t lessen the iconic nature of the Castro. It increases its ability to become an icon for people to embrace for years to come.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Either way, the iconic Castro Theatre will remain a part of the San Francisco experience for generations to come, whether as a multi-use community space, or a temple to film.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A final decision on its fate could be reached by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors some time in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story has been updated. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/3SHQgur\">\u003cem>Read a transcript of this episode\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a stretch of shoreline near Folsom, where the northern end of Lake Natoma meets the American River, is a park called Black Miners Bar. Its name is a nod to a group of Black miners who discovered gold just south of Folsom back in 1848, just before the wider California gold rush. [baycuriouspodcastinfo] But the park has only been called Black Miners Bar since June 2022. Before that, it was called by a different name for decades: Negro Bar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week on Bay Curious, we’re featuring an episode of fellow KQED podcast, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/rightnowish\">Rightnowish\u003c/a>, from their series on land in Northern California, ‘From the Soil.’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13924949/from-the-soil-unfolding-the-story-of-black-miners-bar\">You can read the original story here. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"marketplace": {
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"masters-of-scale": {
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},
"mindshift": {
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"on-the-media": {
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"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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},
"pbs-newshour": {
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},
"perspectives": {
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"order": 14
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"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
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"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
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"politicalbreakdown": {
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"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
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"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
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},
"pri-the-world": {
"id": "pri-the-world",
"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
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