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Caste Racism has long been a major concern for folks immigrating into the the United States from varied countries like Bangladesh, Nepal and India. The latter of these countries, is currently considering changing it’s name to Bharat. That change aside, the same principles likely apply. California is starting to come around on this however, given that they’re going to be the first state to ban anti-caste racism.

The sadness in all of this shows as California has been rampant with way too many anti-caste cases. Back in 2020, the state regulators had made a lawsuit against the tech company of Cisco. All while supposedly, two of the high-caste Indian managers themselves had been discriminating against a Dalit engineer to subject them to lower pay and even inferior terms of employment. The California State University’s own approach has showed in 2022, where they became the primary university system that would add caste as a protected category for their own anti-discrimination policy.

California has been home to some of the most concerning crimes had occurred versus people that had been based on their own caste. For instance, 2001 saw a rich Bay area landlord being convicted of sex tracfficking in the aftermath of him sexually abusing beyond two dozen women in India through the course of about 15 years. He would then spend eight years in state prison.

Caste in specific references to the exclusionary system of more than several centuries of age.

The caste system shows a separation into four inherited social categories. Within a caste system, people whom have been left at the bottom of the social strata are seen less than. Not quite standard human beings if not victims forced to engage with everything from substandard housing into enslaved type of work. This is all information that comes from the IDSN or International Dalit Solidarity Network. They are an advocacy group for Dalits, also known as a South Asian minority group facing many generations of violence and stigma.

Caste systems like this have originated in the country as far back as about 3,000 years for a social hierarchy integral to someone’s occupation and birth. It was even through caste-based discrimination has been prohibited over there for 75 years. Dalits have been facing socioeconomic stagnation, poor treatment and violence.

Such a bill, given that it was previously approved by the state senate 31-5, had been sponsored by Aisha Wahab, whom is well known as the California state senator, while also having been the first Afghan American woman to be elected to the public office in the United States. By passing this bill, Governor Gavin Newsom will allow the first-in-the-USA bill to ban caste racism and acts of racism.

In the Bay Area, there has been problems in the past that showed so much danger in the air. Something that would definitely threaten the majority of people who are truly worried about keeping their lungs clean and safe. Otherwise, there’s an effort that usually comes through to indicate that the weather needs to be noticed. All because the Spare the Air Effort is an indicator for everyone in San Francisco and the surrounding areas to totally be ready for when smog or ozone would become too much.

However, in these days, when there’s heat advisories going about in what looks to be the hottest month in recorded history, an alert is issued by the air district for smog/ozone where huge concentrations of the ground-level ozone pollution are said to be unhealthy. Higher levels of ozone pollution can even be too harmful to breathe. This is particularly true for young kids and old people. Even those with breathing problems find it tough. Thus, the Spare the Air effort is a big help to many people in the community who suffer from this.

Higher levels of ozone, aside, high heats are heading to all over the Bay Area, while there are plenty of cities on the inland that are going to surpass 100 degrees while the heat lasts for beyond several days.

Even in the immediate coast, you will see a comfy heat around the 60s to 70s range.

The excessive heat watch has been heightened from the excessive heat warning for all over the areas Inland, indicating that the heat’s change is not too far off. The National Weather Service themselves believe that around 3.5 million folks in the Bay Area are going to be indicated of the Excessive Heat Warning.

I would say, I wish there were more indications throughout San Francisco and beyond, towards other areas of the state of California. It makes a difference to show your fellow Californians how expertly you can show your care and compassion for each other. It’s also of a huge importance to unify different parts of California, much like the Oakland A’s and the Giants are attempting, in order to lessen the rivalry. Who else can really be so pursuant of the common good than your fellow Californian? It makes a difference to care, and Spare the Air!

To contact the Spare the Air team, all you really have to do is call the toll-free number at 1-800-HELP-AIR.

In California, CARE Court is being rolled out as a counter to really bad mental illnesses that seem to plague the American public. Governor Gavin Newsom himself sees it as a shift of the paradigm that will really shift the conversation in a positive manner. And in no county is this more relevant to occur than in San Francisco county, where much too many fentanyl overdoses and homelessness has occurred.

Mayor London Breed thinks herself that it would be most useful for start in San Francisco.

CARE is an acronym that stands for Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment, as it lets many to come forward to ask a judge for treatment plans to help out the schizophrenia-diagnosed patients. This is applicable for anyone who is in connection to help, such as first responders, clinicians and even various relatives. The program is not quite limited to individuals who go through homelessness or who have drug addition. It’s basically to assist people who aren’t receiving mental health treatment. San Francisco is the first of eight counties that are absolutely on-board with the process. But pretty soon, all the counties in California are going to be expected to use these civil courts by 2024.

While participation is a voluntary kind, supporters are hoping to see the “black robe” effect raise compliance.

However, many critics of CARE Court are also entering the fray, stating how it’s absolutely-biased.

Opponents such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Disability Rights California have been stating how Black Californians will be wrongly targeted by the program.

Supporters had been developing a treatment plan for CARE Court is not as restrictive as conservatorship and state hospitalization.

For qualification, the individual has to be 18 years or older, while also diagnosed by a psychotic disorder, as it may benefit from a supervised treatment plan.

In the year 2023, we have officially reached a time in which driverless cars are not some sort of foreign concept that is not even imaginable; they are here and here to stay. For the people of San Francisco, the driverless car is something they are extremely familiar with, as many companies are conducting test drives in the city. Residents have become all too used to looking over at the car next to them and not seeing a face looking back at them. Tourists have grown expectant of the spectacle and hope they will be lucky enough to get a ride from an autonomous car during their trip.

The residents of San Francisco have had countless interactions with these cars and the responses have been mixed.

Recently, many were not too happy to have to share the road with these vehicles, as with the muggy, stormy spring weather, the cars have been dealing with great confusion. One day, there was a small fleet of five Google owned driverless cars that were out on the road when visibility dropped, and they were not prepared to handle it. They ended up trying to pull over in order to wait out the weather issues until they could better compute a way to continue on. However, what the autonomous cars ended up creating was a traffic jam, angering many other drivers.

Driverless car testing is not isolated to San Francisco, but they are dealing with a significantly higher amount of the cars, as they are neighbors of Silicon Valley and typically used as test subjects for new tech. The city has seen testing for these cars going back to 2018, but in the past year they have multiplied tenfold because many of the restrictions on the driving habits of the cars have been lifted. Originally, self-driving vehicles were not given the freedom to drive around in the daytime without having something known as a safety driver present. These were people whose job was to sit in the cars as they drove around and be on standby to take action in case something went wrong with the technology. However, in 2021, Cruise, one of the biggest companies testing right now, went safety driver free and Waymo, another big driverless car producer, followed suit in 2022. Since, there has been an increase in the number of driverless car related incidents, including semi-frequent traffic jams and even the rear-ending of a public bus.

People have likened the driving of a driverless car to that of a student driver: a bit nervous, never going above the speed limit, always coming to a full and complete stop at lights and signs, and immediately hitting the brakes at any slight hint of an obstacle.

To some, this has seemed a bit endearing. One San Francisco resident has gone on record as a non-driver himself, preferring instead to get around via a bicycle. He expressed his appreciation for the caution the driverless cars express, preferring the room they leave for bicycles and regard for the speed limit. Some other San Francisco natives disagree with the fact that they have to be subjected to being the test subject of the vehicle’s driving habits. They have expressed disdain regarding the fact that allowing the testing of the cars was not put up to a vote so that the people had a voice in the matter. Some have also expressed concerns about the vehicles in emergency situations. If the car has not been programed with certain reactions to specific stimuli, they just freeze up or continue on as if there is nothing there. One firefighter had to smash in the window of a driverless car to get the car to stop to prevent it from running over a firehose in use. This was after a separate instance in which another driverless car did run over a firehose in use.

Overall, it’s going to be an adjustment getting used to driverless cars being in the streets. The good news is that each new stimuli that they get introduced to, in the moment may cause an inconvenience, but eventually, will improve the abilities of the car. Each new stimuli leads to new programing and updates to the system, making the cars constantly learn and adjust to make them better for the future. What the future will look like once these self-driving cars fully hit the market is unknown, but one thing is certain: for now, it will continue to be shocking to not see a face behind the wheel.

The State of California is looking to ban tobacco sales from the general population of the state. This may have to do with the fact that it’s a dangerous drug that is too readily available to individuals born after January 1st, 2007. When it gets signed into law, this state bill would indicate that around two-thousand seventy-three people would have to show identification to reveal that they are all at least older than 67. It’s all in accordance with the school of thought that the next generation of kids in California will kick their habits of smoking if it’s not so easy to sell. Of course, there’s likely to be a lot of push-back. In particular, from the tobacco industry. They themselves are fighting to keep access towards the U.S. market. But should it be made into law, the industry is going to sue the government in order to block it. There’s a likely chance to challenge the ban at the ballot box, while letting voters stop it from taking effect. Such a ban might impact many individuals in the California job market as it’s also likely to cause a repercussion althroughout the California economy. This is according California Association of Retail Tobacconists.

There are plenty of people that believe in spite of the odds, the ban will still prevail if it passes Legislature. The ban is modeled after a law from New Zealand that had been enacted in the last year after a banning of tobacco products to any person that had been born after January 1st, 2009. So historically, it works. But not only in international waters. For instance, within the United States, in Brookline, Mass., a law had been passed that stopped tobacco products being sold to anyone born after January 1st 2000, which remains in effect to this very day.

California Governor Gavin Newsom had been signing a law banning the sale of flavored tobacco products in the state. And that was something that really ticked off the tobacco industry. To the point where they were asking voters to block the law. But being that it took effect anyway, that milestone in the fight against big cigar is only the beginning of a new approach to preventing dangerous habits in debilitating health.

Now, the new state bill will fine retailers.

It’s likely that the bill isn’t going to change the minds of individuals but rather shift the business mentality of certain companies. As it should change, because there’s a likelihood that taxpayers could save so much money if the nicotine and tobacco trade to younger developing minds could simply slow to halt.

As far as marijuana goes, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are steadfast in their belief that marijuana usage contains just as many of the similar toxins and cancer-causing chemicals have been found in tobacco smoke. More research may become crucial soon but for now, there is limited amounts of leads that reveal ties between chronic marijuana and testicular cancer.

Such a ban is likely to eliminate the income for California, as the state has been able to collect beyond $1.5 billion in tobacco taxes of 2021 alone, all as according to the knowledge of the California Department of Tax and Fee Regulation.

The latest round of the record-breaking storms that have bombarded California for weeks claimed an unsuspecting victim. On Saturday, the Golden Gate Bridge experienced a period of extremely strong winds. In fact, they were so strong that they toppled a semi truck on the bridge.

The truck fell over at around 6:30 p.m. CHP responded as quickly as they could, trying their best to direct traffic around the truck. However, it quickly became apparent that officials would need to close the whole bridge in order to return the semi to its wheels.

It took them around an hour to get the truck upright again. By 8:15, the bridge was open once again, although there was still a massive traffic jam.

California Storms Bring Rain, Strong Winds, and Mudslides

The last few weeks have been difficult for California. A series of storms have dumped rain on the state, especially in northern California. While the storms will end soon, possibly by Tuesday, the damage they have caused will take a while to recover from.

The storms began before the new year. As the rest of the country struggled through a massive cold snap that dumped snow everywhere, California missed the worst of it. However, the storms in the Golden State have continued, dumping gallons of rain on a state that isn’t well-equipped to handle it.

In Northern California, many areas are now under evacuation orders. San Mateo County’s Highway 92 had to be closed due to a massive sinkhole. This comes as people attempt to leave an area that could be impacted by mudslides and, in some cases, already has been.

19 people have already died due to the California storms. With the state still experiencing power outages and floods, that death toll could rise. We’ll have to wait and see, but we hope that, with the storms finally letting up, California won’t see any more deaths due to these record storms.

There was a chaotic scene in San Francisco’s Mission District the night after Thanksgiving. A man assaulted a Muni bus driver before hijacking his bus and joyriding through the district. He crashed into 10 vehicles during the joyride before stopping.

The incident began at around 8 p.m. At the intersection of Mission Street and Cortland Avenue, Rickey Dancy assaulted the driver of an empty bus. Dancy then began heading north, swerving dangerously across multiple lanes of traffic for more than a mile. He hit around ten other vehicles along the way and eventually came to a stop at 19th and Guerrero Streets.

An ambulance at the scene treated the injured driver and one other person for injuries. However, neither wound up needing further medical care. Other officials blocked off the intersection for a while to clean things up. By early Saturday morning, the Mission District was back to normal.

Muni Bus Hijacking Suspect Faces Tons of Charges

San Francisco police arrested Dancy at the scene and are holding him without bond. He faces as many as 17 charges for the incident. Police say that he was under the influence during the spree, so all of his charges include drug charges as well as the usual ones. Those include felony carjacking and assault with a deadly weapon. Of course, he will also be charged with multiple counts of hit-and-run driving, as he caused damage to around ten other vehicles.

Luckily for Dancy, no other people were on the bus at the time of the hijacking. If they had been, then he could have been charged with multiple counts of kidnapping, which would add many years to a potential sentence. As things stand, Dancy will most likely be in prison for a while. However, it could have been a lot worse for him.

So far, police have no motive for the spree.

Recently, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) brought a proposal to the state assembly for them to consider. Under the Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) proposal, California would outlaw the sale of new medium-and heavy-duty diesel trucks by 2040. CARB will accept comments on the proposal until the 17th and then will host a public hearing on it on the 27th.

It also includes guidelines for companies to replace their fleets with zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) over time. They would need to begin buying new ZEVs by 2024 and fully convert by sometime in 2042. When paired with the Advanced Clean Trucks rule, which passed in 2020, California should see significantly more ZEVs over the next few years.

Notably, these laws would not affect smaller fleets. Still, trucking industry officials have their concerns, mainly about charging infrastructure and whether the technology is ready or not. CARB apparently believes that their concerns are second to the needs of the state’s air.

Diesel Trucks Pollute California Air

Unsurprisingly, the driving force behind this proposal is climate change. Carb noted in its announcement that the transportation industry causes a disproportionate amount of California’s pollution. Trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles account for as much as a quarter of all smog emissions in the state. With the new rules in place, all of this pollution would fall away.

California Will Also Phase Out Gas-Powered Cars

The plan for diesel trucks comes just weeks after California released a plan to get rid of smaller gas-powered vehicles. According to the plan, Californians will not be able to buy a gas-powered light-duty truck or car by 2035. This rule is also pending public and EPA approval.

This ban only applies to fully gas-powered vehicles. People will still be able to buy hybrids, although they will be a lot less common. Still, these aggressive laws will significantly change the landscape of transportation in California.

Students around the Bay Area may soon be in for a treat. A new program will be launched that will hand out 50,000 BayPasses that offer unlimited rides on every public transit company in the Bay Area. This includes Caltrain’s Commuter Rail, Muni Buses in San Francisco, BART, and even ferries. Students who are eligible for the pass are students from UC Berkley, San Jose State, San Francisco State University, and Santa Rosa Junior College. Unfortunately, there are approximately 142,000 students enrolled, which means that only about 25% of students will get a pass. This is only a pilot program, and it is the hope that more such programs will come in the future.

The reason for the BayPass pilot program is that the public transportation system is failing the community. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) oversees the dozens of transit companies in the Bay Area. With so many different companies with different jurisdictions, it’s hard for riders to navigate the public transit system. The MTC wants to create a single transit mapping system throughout the entire Bay. The hope is that this pilot program will give them a better idea of how people utilize the transit system as a whole. As of late, the public transit system has become a maze. It’s hard to figure out how riders navigate the system since there are so many companies that keep their own records. There are no current passes that overlap between these companies. The BayPass will be the first of its kind that will work on multiple companies’ lines.

The MTC Wants to Fix the Bay Area’s Public Transit

The pilot program will cost the city $4.5 million from the funding of the MTC. They will reimburse the fair for each rider for the 2 years the program will run. Unfortunately, not all students will have access to the pass. However, all students at Santa Rosa Junior College will have access to the pass. Students at the other colleges will get access through a lottery system. It’s up to the student to enroll in the lottery.

The hope is that after the 2 years this program runs, the MTC will have enough data to figure out what the issue is with public transit in the Bay area. Currently, there are more riders and options in car-friendly Los Angeles than in San Francisco. It’s a big disparity as San Francisco’s public transit was once the lifeforce of the city. MTC wants to revitalize the Bay Area’s public transit to its former glory.

Mayor London Breed had made it known that Steven Lee was going to be appointed to the San Francisco Port Commission while also reappointing Gail Gilman and Willie Adams for separate four-year terms. Mr. Lee is swapping out outgoing Port Commission Vice President Doreen Woo Ho. Woo Ho had the pleasure of serving the Port Commission from 2011 to just about 2022. Willie Adams has been the president of the Port Commission, it’s appointed in 2012. Commissioner Gail Gilman had been working there since about 2018.

In a statement, Mayor London Breed expressed how happy she was to have Steven Lee work on the Port Commission while Willie Adams and Gail Gilman continued serving an additional four years. The Port can be home to San Francisco’s most iconic destinations while enacting a significant role in the economy of San Fran.

Mr. Lee has taken decades of training to be hospitable within the entertainment industry. Lee has long-since-owned while operating under many successful restaurants and nightclubs in Chinatown. This has been the case when he moved in the mid-seventies.

While expanding on his commitment to public service, Lee is hoping to more seriously regard the pressing problems that face the San Fran waterfront. Lee has long been an advocate for both the California Music and Culture Association as well as the San Francisco Entertainment Commission. In this case, he’s long been an advocate for entrepreneurs restaurants and nightclubs as well as addressing significant issues that face the industry like alcohol and public safety policies.

What does the San Francisco Port Commission do anyway?

The SFPC is responsible for nearly seven and a half miles of pure blue meets sand. The waterfront, essentially, coasting the San Francisco Bay is their governance. Here, the Port markets, develops and maintains all that goes on, business-wise. Nearly 550 different leases exist upon the SFPC. All sorts of commercial, retail and maritime leases as well as well-known landmarks. Anything from PIER 39 to Fisherman’s Wharf. When you look at the Port Commission, it has about five members, many of whom happen to be appointed by the Mayor while subject to confirmation by the City’s Board of Supervisors. Each of them is appointed for an approximate four-year term.

So you can see why it’d be a big deal for Steven Lee to join the ranks of the SFPC. It all connects to the greater good of the Bay Area’s main waterfront.