See the winners of the first S.F. firehouse decoration contest since 1950
FacebookTwitterEmail
Station 34, 499 41st Ave., takes part in San Francisco Fire Department holiday decorating contest in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, December 20, 2020.Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle
San Francisco fire crews at 17 stations decorated their firehouses with just two weeks’ notice, reviving a 70-year-old holiday contest in hopes of bringing some light and joy to city neighborhoods during the pandemic.
The winning house, Station 38 in Pacific Heights, brought added magic, making it snow outside.
The contest was reborn after fire officials saw a San Francisco Chronicle history article about the 1948 to 1950 contest, which was incredibly popular with the populace, but ended in bitterness between the firefighters and City Hall. Photos of all the decorated 2020 fire stations and an interactive guide with their locations are available at sfchronicle.com.
Calls to nominate a Black woman to replace Sen. Kamala Harris fell on deaf ears, as California Gov. Gavin Newsom picked Alex Padilla as the state’s next U.S. senator. Black elected officials Associated Press reported that Vice President-elect Harris is slated to step down in January ahead of the inauguration.
While news outlets have reported Padilla as a front runner, advocates had called on the governor to replace Harris with either Reps. Karen Bass or Barbara Lee, both Black women. Others wanted a general promise to appoint a woman of color. Harris was only the second Black woman elected to the senate. Carol Moseley Brown broke the initial barrier with her 1992 election. She represented Illinois for only one term.
Editorial: California gets its first Latino U.S. senator: Alex Padilla
Chronicle Editorial Board
FacebookTwitterEmail 2
1of2Secretary of State Alex Padilla speaks at the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday, January 5, 2017 in San Anselmo, Calif.Lea Suzuki/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
2of2FILE - In this Nov. 2, 2018, file photo, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla speaks in San Francisco. California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Secretary of State Alex Padilla on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, as the state s next U.S. senator to fill the seat being vacated by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)Eric Risberg/Associated PressShow MoreShow Less
In a sign of the economic devastation wrought by the pandemic, four in five Bay Area LGBTQ nonprofits have seen a decrease in revenue and more than half have had to reduce services, according to preliminary results of a Horizons Foundation survey released December 17.
The survey, taken in October about seven months into the health crisis is the most comprehensive data announced thus far about how the pandemic has affected 61 local nonprofits primarily serving the queer community. It s not a surprise, Roger Doughty, a gay man who is the president of Horizons, told the Bay Area Reporter. At the same time, I m a believer that we should make sure our assumptions are borne out in reality. One of the things we wanted to do is to get a better gauge to see who s being affected.
San Francisco city leaders report slight dip in COVID-19 infection rate as holidays approach
Published
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco city officials on Tuesday said although the city continues to see the highest number of new COVID-19 cases daily since the onset of the pandemic, the rate of infection citywide has slightly dipped.
During a virtual briefing, Mayor London Breed and Department of Public Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax said as both the Christmas and New Year s holidays approach, the next two weeks will be crucial in bringing the numbers down. The latest figures showed the seven-day average of new cases per day in the city stood at 275. In all, there have been 20,976 confirmed cases in San Francisco and 176 deaths.