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Crosscurrents

Daily news roundup for Monday, June 22, 2015

Dan Rosenstrauch/Bay Area News Group
Jeremy Lawson, left, of El Sobrante, and D.B. Symmes, right, of Berkeley, dance down the line together during the Guinness world record with the largest "Soul Train" at DeFremery Park in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, June 20, 2015.

Here's what's happening in the Bay Area, as curated by KALW news:

Oakland Claims Record for Soul Train Line // Inside Bay Area
"OAKLAND -- We already know Oakland's got soul. Now, the city apparently has the distinction of holding the world record for a "Soul Train"-style dance line.

"On Saturday morning, 337 dancers showed up at DeFremery Park to beat the record of 298 dancers in Philadelphia who have held the title since 2012. The number was short of the 500 people the event's organizers had hoped to attract, but they said it was certified by Guinness World Records Ltd. on Saturday afternoon that Oakland's affinity for the "Soul Train" television show's classic dance platform is record-breaking."
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California drought: Big difference in water use between wealthy communities and everyone else// San Jose Mercury News

"Only 24 miles separate the East Bay communities of San Lorenzo and Diablo. But when it comes to California's relentless drought, they are a world apart.

"Both communities receive their water from the same source -- the East Bay Municipal Utility District -- and both are bound by the same conservation rules and rates. But the residents of San Lorenzo, a working-class Alameda County suburb along Interstate 880, use a mere 51 gallons of water per person a day. In Diablo, an affluent community just over the hills in Contra Costa County known for its country club and tree-lined private streets, residents use nearly seven times more water -- 345 gallons per person per day."
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Mission mural celebrating gay Latino and Chicano culture defaced// SFGate

"The mural on the corner of 24th and Bryant streets — two queer men on one side, two queer women on the other and a trans man between them all, his chest scars stitched with rose thorns — was always meant to encourage discussion. That’s been the idea behind the murals Galería de la Raza has installed on that canvas since the ’80s. This time, though, it’s also drawn threats and slurs and vandalism.

"Even before it was put up, the image, created by Manuel Paul of Los Angeles’ Maricón Collective, was met with heated comments on social media, particularly on Instagram and Tumblr. One commenter said the mural belonged in the Castro, another called it part of the “gay agenda.” Other commenters said it was an example of appropriation, and that it encouraged gentrification."
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Rising tides in San Francisco Bay demand unified solutions// Inside Bay Area

"MOUNTAIN VIEW -- Every community that rings San Francisco Bay is vulnerable to rising seas. But while some places are preparing, others are not -- and no single agency is coordinating the effort, according to two new civil grand jury reports.

"It is a slow-moving emergency," said state Assemblyman Rich Gordon, D-Menlo Park, lead author of the state's first report on climate-related flooding and organizer of a conference Friday at NASA Ames Research Center called "Meeting the Challenges of Sea Level Rise."

"Our communities are at risk -- and the only way we'll make progress is if we all work together," he said."

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New Maps Reveal California’s Sensational Seafloor Geography // Wired
"An unprecedented effort to map the seafloor bordering California’s coastline has produced some of the most detailed, beautiful and useful maps of an underwater landscape ever made.

"No fewer than 18 state and federal agencies and institutions led by the US Geological Survey banded together to make these maps. A staggering amount of work went into the California Seafloor Mapping Program, and the results are impressive."

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In Bay Area, Obama urges mayors to find solutions// San Mateo Daily Journal
"U.S. President Barack Obama urged the country’s mayors assembled at the U.S. Conference of Mayor’s 83rd annual meeting in San Francisco Friday afternoon to more openly discuss solutions to racism and gun violence.

"Speaking in response to tragedies such as the massacre that occurred at an African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday, Obama said that mayors, more than anyone, are in a position to understand the toll that gun violence has on America. He said they know, more than anyone else, that “these tragedies have become far too commonplace.”
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