News
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For Bee Researchers, It’s Real-Life Night of Flying Dead

10.31.2013
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By Rachel Diaz-Bastin, Bay Nature
 A few years ago, John Hafernik, a biology professor at San Francisco State University, noticed a group of honeybees acting strangely, walking in circles on the concrete outside of his building on campus. He had recently acquired a pet praying mantis, so his first thought was: “Mantis food!” For days, he scooped up the shambling bees into vials and fed them to his hungry pet. One vial of bees, however, sat forgotten on his desk. When he remembered the vial a week later, he was surprised to find it filled with partially decapitated bees and small, brown fly pupae. Read the complete story at Bay Nature.

Climate Change
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Plans to Relax California Climate Regulations Upset Some Environmentalists

10.31.2013
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California regulators are weighing plans to make it easier and less expensive for oil refineries and other big industries to comply with the state’s new cap-and-trade system for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and environmentalists are alarmed.
At a hearing last week in Sacramento, the California Air Resources Board heard staff proposals to amend the year-old cap-and-trade program to extend “transition assistance” to industry through 2018. » Read more

News
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Landfill Expansion Pits Marin Environmentalists Against Nation’s Largest Waste Company

10.30.2013
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By Karina Ioffee, KALW Crosscurrents
If you drive north from San Francisco and through most of Marin County, you get to the town of Novato. Turn east from Highway 101 and you run into the San Pablo wetlands, now being restored after more than a century of infill. Here, egrets, storks and other birds fly overhead, making the area a popular destination for nature lovers. Nearby, the Petaluma River winds through the hills before connecting to the San Pablo Bay. It’s a pastoral scene.

News
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BART Strike’s Impact on Environment Tough to Measure

10.29.2013
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By Alexander Mullaney, Mission Local
When BART strikes, commuters who rely on BART drive to work or take other means of transit, creating more air pollution. This year, there were two strikes, totaling eight days, putting the regional transportation service out of use to tens of thousands of commuters. So how much did pollution increase? It’s hard to tell. Read the complete story at Mission Local. 

Community

S.F. BOARD WATCH: Jack Spade Inspires Higher Threshold for Chain Store Ban

10.29.2013
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The restrictions on formula retail that apply to sections of San Francisco could soon be modified to expand the definition of what constitutes a chain store.
When the Fifth & Pacific Companies Inc., a New York fashion company with more than 5,000 employees, announced its intent to open a Jack Spade store at the former location of Adobe Books at 3166 16th St., » Read more

News
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S.F. Supervisors to Weigh Closing City Parks at Night

10.28.2013
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By Mary Willis, KALW Crosscurrents
On Tuesday, San Francisco supervisors will consider legislation to close the city’s parks overnight. If passed, no one will be allowed in parks run by the city’s recreation department between midnight and 5 a.m.
There are a few exceptions, including Golden Gate Park, where people will be allowed to drive or walk on paved roads and sidewalks, as long as they keep moving through and do not stop. People who violate the proposed law could face fines of up to $1,000 and/or six months in county jail. Advocates say the law will help stop vandalism and illegal dumping, but critics are concerned about its possible effect on homeless people who sleep in the parks. Read the complete story at KALW Crosscurrents. 

News
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Feds Recast Child Prostitutes as Victims, Not Criminals

10.24.2013
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By Jessica Pupovac, KQED News Fix
Across the country, newly formed task forces made up of local, state and federal law enforcement officers are starting to view what was once seen as run-of-the-mill prostitution as possible instances of sex trafficking. With support and funding from the FBI and the Justice Department, agencies are starting to work together to identify and rescue sex trafficking victims and arrest their pimps. The new approach is being hailed by victims of trafficking and their advocates as a much-needed paradigm shift — and, the FBI says, is reaping results. Read the complete story at KQED News Fix. 
For more on the issue of human trafficking, read the 2012 special report by the S.F. Public Press, ” ‘Force, Fraud and Coercion’ “: Human Trafficking in the Bay Area.”  

News
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Why Your Voice Counts: $1 Billion in Hospital Payments Tied to Patient Satisfaction

10.23.2013
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By Chris Richard, KQED/The California Report
To try to improve patients’ rest, San Francisco General Hospital has installed devices resembling traffic signals near some nursing stations. Called “yacker trackers,” they monitor the volume of conversation and other work-related noise around the stations. When sound is at an acceptable level, the light shows green, turning yellow as the noise increases. When it’s too loud, the light turns red. The admonitions might get on the nerves of hospital staffers who think they’re capable of regulating how loudly they talk without electronic oversight, but there’s evidence the yacker trackers do keep the racket down – and help patients rest better.