Blog Catalog

Showing posts with label San Francisco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label San Francisco. Show all posts

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Could This Be the Year We All Finally Admit Global Warming?


After the flooding and mudslides, killing approximately 1,000 people in Sierra Leone last week and the widespread, devastating flooding in Bangladesh, along with Hurricane Harvey decimating so much of Houston and Southeast Texas and West Louisiana, then the record-breaking high temperatures in the Western US, there is this.

Image result for san francisco heat wave 2017


San Francisco smashes all-time record high temperature, hits 106 degrees


Anyone who knows anything of San Francisco knows that's insane.

And it doesn't stop there. With all of California's record-breaking high temperatures, wildfires have, again this year, been breaking out.




This is not alarmist, either. These are facts. These are real, actual events, not concerns about what may happen in the future.

Then there's Irma, building this moment.

Hurricane Irma remains potential threat 
to the East Coast
possibly matching Harvey’s wind strength

And finally, this.

Two new tropical threats are taking shape in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean

Could we all get on this same bus now?

Please?

Links:




Monday, March 16, 2015

Kansas City? Weird?


Yes, Kansas City is on a list recently of the top 10 weirdest cities in the nation:

They're Weird and Proud: America’s Quirkiest Cities


Kansas City? Weird? Number 8 of 10?


What they had to say about us:

These Midwesterners may have struck readers as thrifty and no-nonsense, but that doesn’t make them dull. The city ranked highly for both its museums and its sense of history—though some of that history is distinctly outside the box. TakeThe 1950s All-Electric House, which was originally built to be a glimpse of the future (when everyone, for instance, would have electric curtain openers). Or you can explore the Arabia Steamboat Museum, where you can see a fascinating array of pre-Civil War artifacts, recovered 132 years after the boat sank in the Missouri River. The city also ranked in the top 10 for its coffee, exemplified nicely at Oddly Correct, where cream and sugar are verboten.

I ask again, weird? Kansas City?  It's Independence that has the Hair Museum.


Friday, October 5, 2012

KC: No. 15 out of 50



Yes, it's been covered by The Pitch Magazine and likely elsewhere online, too, across town but I still think it's good to cover this story and point out a few things differently.

Kansas City was ranked a bit of a surprising number 15 out of a total of 50 cities, nationwide, out of Businessweek Magazines'--with an assist from Bloomberg Rankings, it says-- "50 Best Cities to Live." (See links at bottom).


So good for us but first things, first--where does this come from and what may it mean for us?


First, from where this ranking comes:

The magazines say the cities are "... evaluated 100 of the country’s largest cities based on leisure attributes (the number of restaurants, bars, libraries, museums, professional sports teams, and park acres by population); educational attributes (public school performance, the number of colleges, and graduate degree holders), economic factors (2011 income and June and July 2012 unemployment), crime, and air quality. Major professional league and minor league teams, as well as U.S.-based teams belonging to international leagues in that city were included. The greatest weighting was placed on leisure amenities, followed by educational metrics and economic metrics, and then crime and air quality."

So, all told, that should mean especially good things for us, being based on these items. It's good company--all those cities--good competition and great overall reasons to grant these rankings.

(It has to be noted that it sucks, here, on this list, to be Dallas or Los Angeles or Phoenix, too. Wow).

Next, let's take a pause here and see what the article has to say about us:

Rank: 15
Population: 458,064

Were it not for its high crime rate, Missouri’s largest city might rank even higher. Residents working in the city’s downtown area are watched over by the iconic Kansas City Power & Light Building, while shoppers can get lost in local shopping centers such as Country Club Plaza and the Legends at Village West. For a unique blend of technology, arts, and history, residents can always stop by the city’s old transportation hub, Union Station.

Bars: 113
Restaurants: 921
Museums: 28
Libraries: 19
Pro sports teams: 3
Park acres per 1,000 residents: 36
Colleges: 15
Percent with graduate degree: 7.3
Median household income: $59,980
Percent unemployed: 6.9

I think it's interesting that the ranking is specifically for Kansas City, Missouri, yet they mention the Legends at Village West. That's a cute oversight on their part.

So, finally, then, what does this mean for us?

I think it means a couple things, really, at least.

First, it means we're getting good, national attention and coverage and that's always good.

Second, I think it's clear that, without the arts, Kansas City would be nowhere near this list. The arts and our three national sports teams--baseball, football and now soccer. What's ironic is that that last one, the new, "fereign" one, soccer, is the one that wins more than the other two.

Third, I think we need to, once again, stop a moment here and thank all kinds of people but maybe especially the Kauffman family since, without Ewing, Marion and Julia, we would have neither the Royals Major League Baseball team nor the incredible, in so many ways, new Performing Arts Center. Those are two big factors on this ranking, I think.

Where we have to sit up and take note--what we have to work on, this ranking shows--is that we clearly need, as we all surely know, that we have to get the crime rate down and the shootings and killings to stop.

Now if we just knew how, right?

Here's another note, too and it's in our favor: St. Louis is ranked 47th and really took a beating in all this. They have the big, major league teams but, in the magazine's own words, "St. Louis rated the worst on this list...in crime."

Ouch.

So, not only does this give us some bragging rights and some things for the Chamber of Commerce to crow about and promote and advertise, but it also gives us something to work on and for. Maybe if we get that crime rate down and the shootings and killings to decrease or, better yet, stop, we'll climb up this list even higher.

Here's hoping.

Congratulations, Kansas City. You got some good to great press here. Now let's get out there and get even better.


Links:
http://www.pitch.com/plog/archives/2012/10/05/kc-is-americas-15th-best-city-says-businessweek

http://images.businessweek.com/slideshows/2012-09-26/americas-50-best-cities.html


http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-26/san-francisco-is-americas-best-city-in-2012

http://images.businessweek.com/slideshows/2012-09-26/americas-50-best-cities.html#slide37

Monday, June 11, 2012

Think about it

An adult male in San Francisco, of all places, who dresses up like an elderly nanny, so he can be close to his kids?

Monday, April 23, 2012

Third week of April, 2012

Snow last night in Philadelphia--they were forecast to get 6 to 8 inches of it. Meanwhile, about 80 warm degrees just North of San Francisco, 104 in Palm Springs and about 65 here for the high, in the middle of the country. Grateful, anyone?

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Arthur Bryant's big, national honor

The Daily Meal, an online media site about all things food, just ranked the "101 Best Restaurants for 2012" and--get this--Arthur Bryant's Barbecue came out in the 48th spot. Wow. You should see the big names they're in there with, nationally. Outstanding. Two other things to note about this list. First, the American Restaurant is nowhere on the list and I thought it would be and second, Bryant's is the ONLY Kansas City restaurant on it. Yikes. Link: http://www.thedailymeal.com/101-best-restaurants-america

Thursday, February 16, 2012

You almost can't believe the transportation bill the Republicans want to pass in Congress right now

This is one ugly, irresponsible, even ignorant piece of legislation. They're trying to cut funding for transportation projects, Amtrak, defer "much-needed bridge and tunnel maintenance" and a lot more. Read the article linked here, showing ten reasons this shouldn't pass--then email your legislator: http://www.cartalk.com/content/10-reasons-hate-transportation-bill. Here in Northwest Missouri, it's Sam Graves.

Friday, August 26, 2011

KC No. 25 (of 26) of cities with most same-sex couples

News out today tells of the Williams Institute's ranking of the cities in America with the most same-sex couples and, as said above, Kansas City ranks 25th out of 26. St. Louis is number 11 and Minneapolis is number 4. Just sayin', as the saying goes. You can probably guess who's in the number one spot. Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/26/same-sex-couples-williams-institute-national-data_n_938166.html#s340532&title=Minneapolis_MN

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Quote of the day

"Washington is 67 square miles, about as high as the Washington monument, and surrounded on all sides by reality." --the late San Francisco humor writer Arthur Hoppe

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Skippy the Bush Kangaroo's Very Important--Environmental--Post

If you're not familiar with Skippy the Bush Kangaroo and his blog, well, you should be:

environmental news stories sunday

for those little stories you won't hear talked about on the almost all white guys talking head shows today.
s.f. chronicle adds beehives to rooftop garden. - although some apiarists say new research into fungus and viruses is starting to give the bee the upper hand against colony collapse disorder, no one is ready to declare a comeback for the pollinator, responsible for about $15 billion worth of nuts, fruits and vegetables consumed in the united states each year - sfgate

increasing levels of mercury found in rare pacific albatross. - levels of mercury in an endangered pacific seabird species have increased substantially in recent decades largely due to industrial emissions from asia, harvard university researchers have found. - honolulu star advertiser
more evidence linking pesticides and malformations. - concern about toxic chemicals in the environment has erupted into the mainstream media again, with new reports tying pesticides to disruption of male hormones, birth defects and cancer. - miller mcune

the long-term effects of in utero exposures — the des story. - the lessons learned from the des story are powerful. endocrine disruptors may cause alterations in the reproductive tract that have severe consequences and form the basis of disease in adults decades later. - new england journal of medicine
study spots high level of fire retardant chemicals in california kids. - a california safety standard intended to prevent furniture from catching fire may be having the unintended consequence of exposing children to large amounts of harmful flame retardant chemicals. - fair warning

common weed killer atrazine is showing up in public water supply. - apopular weed killer that's been suspected of causing frog deformities is turning up in drinking water systems throughout the country including some in missouri and illinois, according to a report by the natural resources defense council. - st. louis post ledger

chemical in soft drink cans comes under fire at coca-cola. - it's about as inconspicuous as a chemical can be: it coats the insides of soft drink cans, a barrier against spoilage and contamination. but to some critics, bpa is itself the health risk. now, a group of coca-cola shareholders want to strike a blow against the substance - atlanta journal constitution

atlantic turtles threatened by man-made chemicals. - a team from the college of charleston, south carolina, found travelling turtles picked up potentially deadly pesticides, pcbs and other organic chemicals linked to cancer and brain problems. - bermuda sun

our 'toxic' love-hate relationship with plastics. - we all know that plastics are common in modern life, but science journalist susan freinkel says they are really literally everywhere — in our toothbrushes, hair dryers, cell phones, computers, door knobs, car parts — and of course in those ubiquitous plastic bags we get it seems every time we buy anything. - npr

critics: state department's latest oil pipeline review 'superficial'. - advocacy organizations are as disappointed with the u.s. state department’s revamped version of its environmental evaluation of a much-disputed canada-to-texas oil sands pipeline as they were with its first iteration - solve climate news

farmers should be conservationists. - the central valley regional water quality control board will take up the questions of fertilizer use and groundwater contamination June 8. here's a suggestion for farmers: instead of belly-aching about another regulatory burden, support monitoring and new rules so that the people who pick your crops get clean water from their taps. - contra costa times opinion

gov. rick scott to u.s. epa: we'll take care of our own water. - the day after the florida house passed a bill to ban implementation of water quality standards set by the u.s. environmental protection administration, gov. rick scott on friday asked the agency to rescind a january 2009 determination that the federal rules are necessary for florida - st. petersburg times

muddy waters: silt and the slow demise of glen canyon dam. - lake powell is the second-largest artificial reservoir in the united states - and is the seeming endpoint for four rivers. but these rivers aren't dead, and their persistent dynamics are slowly, steadily driving lake powell toward its demise. - high country news
time is running out for the grand canyon. - on july 21, a moratorium on staking new uranium and other hardrock mining claims on over one million acres of public land near the grand canyon national park will end. unless the department of the interior makes a decision on the land withdrawal prior to that, it will once again be open season. - high country news

common weed killer atrazine is showing up in public water supply. - a popular weed killer that's been suspected of causing frog deformities is turning up in drinking water systems throughout the country including some in missouri and illinois, according to a report by the natural resources defense council - st. louis post dispatch

workers become ill and die at ogden superfund site. - ling seager is dead. so is jim sproul and chris jensen, who sat next to her in an office in the utah national guard’s joint language training center. across from seager sat mike chen; he survived a brain tumor. a few feet away was mark hepper; he’s dying. others are sick. none of them knows why. - salt lake tribune

tobacco firms used diet-aid chemicals. - british and american tobacco companies deliberately added powerful appetite-suppressing chemicals to cigarettes to attract people worried about their weight, according to internal industry documents dating from 1949 to 1999. - london independent

spring may lose song of cuckoos, nightingales and turtle doves. - some of britain's most cherished spring visitors are disappearing in their thousands. ornithologists say species such as the cuckoo, nightingale and turtle dove are undergoing catastrophic drops in numbers, although experts are puzzled about the exact reasons for these declines - london observer

Link:  http://xnerg.blogspot.com/

Thursday, March 31, 2011

California: It sucks to be you

Years ago, seemingly forever, no one could say enough good things about California.

Remember that?

There were songs about the State and untold movies and books and who-knows-what-all.

If there were any one place so many people wanted to go, it was California, either for the jobs or the mountains or the ocean or the mild temperatures or the palm trees or the low humidity or desert or whatever.  The list of reasons to go seemed nearly endless.

Well, 'dem days are over and by a long shot.

Check this out--on the Forbes Magazine list out today on "15 Cities Where Economies Are Getting Worse", California has 7--count 'em, 7--of the entire 15.  Nearly half of the whole list is California cities where things stink economically and will likely get worse.

Of this list of 15, too, California also holds the extremely dubious distinction of having 4 of the top 5 cities "where economies are getting worse" and, on top of that, they hold the number one position.

So, given all this, how badly would you want to be governor of the great state of California right now?

Another reason to be here, in Kansas City, in the heartland.

Enjoy.

Links:  http://www.forbes.com/2011/03/16/cities-where-the-economies-are-getting-worse_slide_2.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPvZVdHDB4E

Friday, January 28, 2011

Kansas City in top 10 for jobs

One reason, at least, to be glad you're here and not in Los Angeles or most anywhere in Florida, palm trees or no:

Monster.com: Kansas City ranks among hottest U.S. job markets

Kansas City Business Journal
Date: Friday, January 21, 2011, 8:15am CST.

Job-matching website Monster.com ranks Kansas City among the 10 hottest markets for job seekers in 2011.

Kansas City was No. 10 on the Monster.com list, which was led by a top three of Washington, San Francisco and Boston. The rankings are based on the relative abundance of job openings for each city’s local work force, or available jobs per job seeker, the company said in a release.

It may not feel like it, but we're "kicking butt and taking names", employment-wise, at least compared to much of the rest of the country.

Have a great weekend, y'all.
Link to original post:  http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2011/01/21/monstercom-kansas-city-ranks-among.html
Other, associated links:  http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2011/01/27/abaxis-will-set-up-testing-lab-for.html
http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2011/01/05/exergonix-picks-lees-summit-for-90m.html

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

At least Gov. Schwarzenegger "respects life"

From The New York Times this morning: Governor Postpones Execution in California SAN FRANCISCO — With the clock ticking and uncertainties — both legal and pharmaceutical — hovering, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered a temporary last-minute reprieve on Monday in what would be California’s first execution in more than four years. Still no word, either, that I can see or hear, out of anyone in the Catholic Church on the inhumanity of capital punishment. Link to original post: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/us/28execute.html?ref=us&pagewanted=print