Here’s what’s happening in the Bay Area, as curated by KALW News:
Evening bomb scare shuts down part of Union Square // SF Gate
“Part of San Francisco’s Union Square was closed to foot traffic for more than two hours Monday evening as police investigated a report of a possible explosive, authorities said.
“A ‘suspicious package’ reported near the corner of Post and Powell streets shortly before 6pm was determined by the bomb squad to present no danger, said San Francisco police spokeswoman Grace Gatpandan.
“Details about the item and why it may have appeared suspicious were not immediately released. Gatpandan said it is protocol to clear people within a block of any potential explosive.”
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San Francisco police investigating anti-Chinese graffiti as hate crimes // NBC Bay Area
“Police are investigating several incidences of vandalism in San Francisco’s Portola neighbourhood as hate crimes, police say.
“San Francisco police officer Grace Gatpandan said officers received a report Monday morning that the words “No More Chinese” were written in orange spray paint in three locations.
“The words appeared to have been written on Sunday, but Gatpandan said investigators aren’t sure yet what time the alleged crimes occurred. The vandalism was reported in the 1300 block of Silver Avenue, the 500 block of Felton Street, the 100 block of Brussels Street, on an abandoned grocery store and on a Palega Recreation Centre playground, Gatpandan said.”
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Owner of private SF island cuts sale price 77% // Newser
“Want to make San Francisco’s only privately owned island your own? Easy, if you’ve got $5 million and don’t mind a big dome-like rock with trees and grass and not much else, Yahoo reports. Owned by an attorney living in Thailand, Red Rock Island went on the market three years ago for $22 million and was touted for its possible gas reserves.
“But with San Francisco residents seemingly ready to oppose drilling on the 5.5-acre property, the price fell to $9 million. Now comes the new price, without any promise of natural-gas riches.”
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New super smack puts SF’s Department of Public Health in crisis mode // Hoodline
“A powerful drug is crashing the party in San Francisco.
“Fentanyl, a synthetically produced bluish-white fine-powder opiate, is ‘the scariest one out there,’ according to Dr. Phillip Coffin, Director of Substance Abuse Research at the Department of Public Health. ‘It’s the only one we measure in micrograms instead of milligrams,’ Coffin said. ‘You can’t titrate it (measure an appropriate dose) in the streets.’
“Fentanyl is ‘up to 100 times more powerful than morphine and 30 to 50 times more than heroine,’ according to a March news release by the Drug Enforcement Administration.”
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S.F. braces for flooding, service disruptions in El Niño winter // SF Gate
“Everybody’s hoping for rain, but a whopping El Niño forecast also has city agencies bracing for a deluge that could postpone projects and disrupt services.
“San Francisco, which averages 23.6 inches of rain a year, could get slammed with significantly more than that this winter, said Warren Blier, science officer at the National Weather Service in Monterey.
“The city’s ultra dry soil probably won’t absorb the inundation of rain easily, causing flooding, construction delays and traffic snarls. Intense wind could also down tree limbs and branches. A handful of city departments are meeting this month to create a master plan for the rainy season.”