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Pedestrian Jul 24, 2021 8:23 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaliNative (Post 9348923)
^^^
They may be back but where are the riders? Used to be so crowded people would be hanging off the sides.
There are not yet any riders. They are training new drivers as apparently a lot of the ones they had before covid retired or otherwise left.

My guess is once the service is fully opened, there will be plenty of riders. Cable cars are essentially open air vehicles unless you chose to ride inside. I'm avoiding Muni's busses and streetcars but I'd hang on the side of a cable car.

Pedestrian Jul 24, 2021 8:28 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by iheartthed (Post 9349040)
Looks like they're testing it. Also, aren't the cable cars mostly just a tourist trap now?
They're not a "tourist trap" at all. If I'm going where they go such as down to the Embarcadero, I love riding them. There were, before covid, and I assume will be again, 3 operational lines. The Powell St lines tend to be dominated by tourists but the one I photographed is the California St line which few of the tourists seem to know about and whose riders are largely locals.

https://www.sfcablecar.com/images/sfroutes.gif
https://www.sfcablecar.com/routes.html

By the way, when this car passed me I smiled and waved and both drivers (one I assume training the other) smiled and waved back. They know how popular the things are.

Pedestrian Jul 24, 2021 8:39 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by the urban politician (Post 9348966)
^ They re all working from home.

That’s the irony of San Francisco’s role of being the premier tech center. A victim of its own success, tech made it possible for all of the overpaid & socially awkward dorks that once commuted to their jobs to now fulfill their lifelong dream of no longer having to interact with people.

They can now eat Cheetos on their couch and play with their computers while getting paid.

Meanwhile the city and commercial landlords sit there wondering, “Now what the fuck are we gonna do?”
Keep building is what they're gonna do:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a492b468_b.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/RVOmNLhh.jpg

By the way, since you love calling me "Howard", I'm now calling you "Antoine".

JManc Jul 24, 2021 9:45 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pedestrian (Post 9349221)
They're not a "tourist trap" at all. If I'm going where they go such as down to the Embarcadero, I love riding them. There were, before covid, and I assume will be again, 3 operational lines. The Powell St lines tend to be dominated by tourists but the one I photographed is the California St line which few of the tourists seem to know about and whose riders are largely locals.

https://www.sfcablecar.com/images/sfroutes.gif
https://www.sfcablecar.com/routes.html

By the way, when this car passed me I smiled and waved and both drivers (one I assume training the other) smiled and waved back. They know how popular the things are.
Didn't ride them but the streetcars are pretty cool piece of history. Just about every city had them at one point but SF kept it real.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...992649ee_b.jpgFisherman's Wharf by ConfusedWithACamera, on Flickr

Nite Jul 25, 2021 2:46 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pedestrian (Post 9349221)
They're not a "tourist trap" at all. If I'm going where they go such as down to the Embarcadero, I love riding them. There were, before covid, and I assume will be again, 3 operational lines. The Powell St lines tend to be dominated by tourists but the one I photographed is the California St line which few of the tourists seem to know about and whose riders are largely locals.

https://www.sfcablecar.com/images/sfroutes.gif
https://www.sfcablecar.com/routes.html

By the way, when this car passed me I smiled and waved and both drivers (one I assume training the other) smiled and waved back. They know how popular the things are.

If it's not a tourist trap, why don't they use modern vehicles with much greater capacity like everywhere else in the world
In North America, Toronto has a streetcar network that's several magnitudes larger and all vehicles are climate control, modern, high capacity and high frequency

https://www.railinsider.co.uk/wp-con...-dtwn-16-9.jpg

homebucket Jul 25, 2021 3:31 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nite (Post 9349414)
If it's not a tourist trap, why don't they use modern vehicles with much greater capacity like everywhere else in the world
In North America, Toronto has a streetcar network that's several magnitudes larger and all vehicles are climate control, modern, high capacity and high frequency
You mean... like dis?

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b234f16b_b.jpg

https://64.media.tumblr.com/79cd71dd...lg7o1_1280.jpg

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/n1BN_63AtVE/maxresdefault.jpg

Pedestrian Jul 25, 2021 6:22 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by JManc (Post 9349283)
Didn't ride them but the streetcars are pretty cool piece of history. Just about every city had them at one point but SF kept it real.
SF actually bought most of its fleet from other cities keeping it "less real". That's why they use the logos of all those different cities on the cars. I loved spying one from DC Transit--I rode those all the time as kid (but unfortunately, the ones to the dentist were the most memorable).

And before they put them into service, they had them all completely refurbished. They were like new when SF first got them. You can see the whole fleet in its original livery here: https://www.streetcar.org/streetcars/

But there were still places that could refurbish the streetcars under contract. SF for decades has had to have its own cable car workshop where they repair the fleet and occasionally resurrect one that seemed beyond repair. Somewhere they seem to have a stash of old broken down ones.

Pedestrian Jul 25, 2021 6:26 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nite (Post 9349414)
If it's not a tourist trap, why don't they use modern vehicles with much greater capacity like everywhere else in the world
Why doesn't NY demolish the Empire State Building and put a modern skyscraper in its place?

What a stupid question. The cable cars and old PCC streetcars are wonderful relics and great fun and the city loves them. But the streetcars in particular run on only one line on the surface with a subway using modern light rail vehicles as homebucket posted below. So you have your choice: Ride a piece of history on the surface and enjoy life, or take the subway below and get where you're going fast.

I almost always ride the streetcars. You should come ride this one:

Quote:
https://www.streetcar.org/wp-content...x/560-1074.png

No.1074
Toronto, Canada
Built 1946 • Operational • Tribute livery
This car is painted to honor Toronto, which ran PCC streetcars in regular service from 1938 until 1995. Toronto boasted the largest fleet of PCCs in North America: 745 cars.
Nowhere on the continent have streetcars had such continuing success, with routes running all over Canada’s largest city to this day. When the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) ordered its first PCCs in 1938, the city was already well served by a large fleet of all-steel Peter Witt style streetcars (some of which remained in active service until 1963), but needed more streetcars to meet growing demand. St. Louis Car Company shipped PCC body shells and trucks north for assembly by Canadian Car and Foundry. This became standard practice for Toronto’s ongoing purchases of new PCCs.
But the Canadian city was also a prolific buyer of used PCCs, picking up cars after World War II from Cincinnati, Cleveland (including the PCCs originally built for Louisville), Birmingham, and Kansas City.
The opening of heavy-rail subways decreased the PCC fleet in the late 1960s, and Toronto began replacing its beloved ‘Red Rockets’ in the late 1970s with Canadian Light Rail Vehicles (CRLVs), which themselves are in the process of being replaced by yet another generation of Canadian streetcar.
Muni’s Historic Trolley Festivals in the 1980s partly inspired the renovation of 19 PCCs for the new Harbourfront line that opened in 1990, but these were replaced by CLRVs just five years later, leaving only two PCCs in Toronto for charter service (along with one Peter Witt).
In the 1970s Muni acquired 11 ex-Toronto PCCs (originally from Kansas City) for brief service in San Francisco. They essentially kept this same maroon and cream paint scheme, with Muni’s ‘cable car ribbon’ logo replacing the ‘TTC’ logo. Now, this handsome “Red Rocket” livery is back on San Francisco’s streets to stay.
https://www.streetcar.org/streetcars...oronto-canada/

But to get this back on-topic, the LRVs were among the things suspended during "lockdown" and the service is slowly being resumed. Muni claims they lost so much revenue and trained operators they can't get everything back up and running yet, so that's why I'm so glad to see the cable cars.

iheartthed Jul 25, 2021 3:53 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nite (Post 9349414)
If it's not a tourist trap, why don't they use modern vehicles with much greater capacity like everywhere else in the world
In North America, Toronto has a streetcar network that's several magnitudes larger and all vehicles are climate control, modern, high capacity and high frequency
He posted a picture of the cable cars, which is a different system from the street cars in SF.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pedestrian (Post 9349221)
They're not a "tourist trap" at all. If I'm going where they go such as down to the Embarcadero, I love riding them. There were, before covid, and I assume will be again, 3 operational lines. The Powell St lines tend to be dominated by tourists but the one I photographed is the California St line which few of the tourists seem to know about and whose riders are largely locals.

Every time I've ever walked past the Powell Street cable car terminus, there has always been a line packed with tourists. The one time I actually rode it I'm pretty sure that, like me, everyone on it was from out of town. And at $6/ride, this isn't exactly a cost effective way to get from point A to point B.

Nite Jul 25, 2021 6:01 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pedestrian (Post 9349487)
Why doesn't NY demolish the Empire State Building and put a modern skyscraper in its place?

What a stupid question. The cable cars and old PCC streetcars are wonderful relics and great fun and the city loves them. But the streetcars in particular run on only one line on the surface with a subway using modern light rail vehicles as homebucket posted below. So you have your choice: Ride a piece of history on the surface and enjoy life, or take the subway below and get where you're going fast.

I almost always ride the streetcars. You should come ride this one:


https://www.streetcar.org/streetcars...oronto-canada/

But to get this back on-topic, the LRVs were among the things suspended during "lockdown" and the service is slowly being resumed. Muni claims they lost so much revenue and trained operators they can't get everything back up and running yet, so that's why I'm so glad to see the cable cars.
well it's good to see SF has modern rolling stock. But they should modernize the entire system. How is the historic vehicle for people with disabilities? Modern streetcars/trams and much better for the public for accessibility and comfort than older ones. San Francesco should get rid of the tourist trap for an update the entire system.

Pedestrian Jul 25, 2021 6:14 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by iheartthed (Post 9349573)
He posted a picture of the cable cars, which is a different system from the street cars in SF.
Every time I've ever walked past the Powell Street cable car terminus, there has always been a line packed with tourists. The one time I actually rode it I'm pretty sure that, like me, everyone on it was from out of town. And at $6/ride, this isn't exactly a cost effective way to get from point A to point B.
Except it isn't $6/ride if you have a monthly transit pass like many locals do. The cable cars are definitely a money raiser from the tourists who buy one ride at a time but that's fine with city residents.

Pedestrian Jul 25, 2021 6:15 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nite (Post 9349633)
well it's good to see SF has modern rolling stock. But they should modernize the entire system. How is the historic vehicle for people with disabilities? Modern streetcars/trams and much better for the public for accessibility and comfort than older ones. San Francesco should get rid of the tourist trap for an update the entire system.
Just stay in Toronto. You'll be much happier there. San Francisco values its history and enjoys it. What's the point of life without enjoyment?

craigs Jul 25, 2021 7:43 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nite (Post 9349633)
well it's good to see SF has modern rolling stock.
You've been on this forum for 14 years and are only now discovering this?

Quote:
But they should modernize the entire system. How is the historic vehicle for people with disabilities? Modern streetcars/trams and much better for the public for accessibility and comfort than older ones. San Francesco should get rid of the tourist trap for an update the entire system.
No, the historic cable cars--a rolling part of San Francisco history--should and shall remain a part of the city's transit mix. In addition to cable cars, San Francisco also has buses, electric trolley buses, modern light rail streetcars, historic streetcars, commuter rail, and heavy rail metro.

Camelback Jul 25, 2021 11:02 PM
Wasn't SF's cable cars a totally different system from what we now know as street cars?

Something like a cable pulling them from underneath due to the hilly terrain of the city and not electrified?

craigs Jul 25, 2021 11:36 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Camelback (Post 9349876)
Wasn't SF's cable cars a totally different system from what we now know as street cars?

Something like a cable pulling them from underneath due to the hilly terrain of the city and not electrified?
Correct, "cable cars" are pulled by a cable under the street, and correct that they are in that way entirely different from the city's other train systems--SF's light rail streetcars, historic streetcars, and heavy rail metro are all electrified, and the commuter rail trains are currently diesel but are undergoing electrification.

Camelback Jul 25, 2021 11:42 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by craigs (Post 9349897)
Correct, "cable cars" are pulled by a cable under the street, and correct that they are in that way entirely different from the city's other train systems--SF's light rail streetcars, historic streetcars, and heavy rail metro are all electrified, and the commuter rail trains are currently diesel but are undergoing electrification.
Ok cool, that's what I thought. I was going off memory from a tour I took in SF years ago.

Maybe your explanation will help Nite realize why SF hasn't "gotten rid of" cable cars for modern day street cars.

Stan31 Jul 26, 2021 12:12 AM
My impression has been that life became more neighborhood centric in NYC, people spend more time in their respective neighborhoods due to widespread work-from-home situations. Midtown is still looking a bit deserted compared to what it was two years ago, but nothing too extreme, there's just no reason to go there now for many people.

SIGSEGV Jul 26, 2021 12:33 AM
Walked by Sundays on State today (how could I not, it's half a block from where I live) and it seemed nice and lively, though not sufficatingly crowded.

JManc Jul 26, 2021 1:02 AM
The Powell Street 'turnaround' is pretty cool. Spent about 2 hours just watching 2 guys manually rotating 5 ton cable cars.

Pedestrian Jul 26, 2021 1:32 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by craigs (Post 9349897)
Correct, "cable cars" are pulled by a cable under the street, and correct that they are in that way entirely different from the city's other train systems--SF's light rail streetcars, historic streetcars, and heavy rail metro are all electrified, and the commuter rail trains are currently diesel but are undergoing electrification.
And a lot of the busses are electric too. The city owns a hydropower dam in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and although it has to pay to transport the electricity from dam to city, it still means a lot of its electric power for street lights and transit is awfully cheap.

O'Shaughnessy Dam (San Francisco's city-owned power source)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...hnessy_Dam.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...hnessy_Dam.jpg

Pedestrian Jul 26, 2021 1:36 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by JManc (Post 9349937)
The Powell Street 'turnaround' is pretty cool. Spent about 2 hours just watching 2 guys manually rotating 5 ton cable cars.
To get the thread a little back on track, that spot (the cable car "turnaround") is kind of my "tell" on how the local tourist industry is doing post-covid/lockdown. For the height of the tourist season, which we are now in, a week or 2 ago when I was last there there still weren't any lines of tourists which is striking. On the other hand, things seem a lot better on my other "tell": The load factor of "Big Busses":

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pr...QQmviAhIdiUB4H
https://www.imcdb.org/v848699.html

Pedestrian Jul 26, 2021 1:40 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Camelback (Post 9349901)
Ok cool, that's what I thought. I was going off memory from a tour I took in SF years ago.

Maybe your explanation will help Nite realize why SF hasn't "gotten rid of" cable cars for modern day street cars.
This is the rather amazing "powerhouse" where the cables that, as craigs said, are continuously being pulled under the street, get set in motion:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...%282016%29.jpg

iheartthed Jul 26, 2021 4:46 PM
Vaccination or weekly testing will be mandated for all New York City employees in September:

Quote:
New York City will require municipal workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by mid-September, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday. Those who don’t will have to take weekly tests instead.

The policy, which will apply to roughly 340,000 city employees, including police officers, teachers and firefighters, dovetails with a broader push for vaccine mandates in the city as the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus sparks renewed national concern.

Workers will have to show proof of vaccination by Sept. 13, the first full day of school in the city. Those who decline will have to get tested once a week, de Blasio said. Unvaccinated city staffers who work indoors will also have to wear a face mask at all times.

“Either get vaccinated, which is far preferable, or get tested once a week,” the mayor said at a press conference rolling out the policy. “This is about our recovery. This is about what we need to to do bring back New York City. This is about keeping people safe. This is about making sure our families get through COVID OK. This is about jobs, you name it.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/new-y...b0d2a22d4dc036

homebucket Jul 26, 2021 5:11 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by iheartthed (Post 9350364)
Vaccination or weekly testing will be mandated for all New York City employees in September:
What's the current vaccination rate for these folks?

iheartthed Jul 26, 2021 5:57 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by homebucket (Post 9350388)
What's the current vaccination rate for these folks?
They don't know for sure, but it's probably not above 50%. One major area of focus has been the apparently low vaccination rate within the NYPD. The department says that it has only vaccinated 43% of the department, but it's possible that workers received the vaccine other ways.

Crawford Jul 26, 2021 6:03 PM
I can't imagine the vaccination rate for city employees is below the overall vaccination rate, which is over 70%. City employees tend to be older, more nonwhite and more left-leaning than overall population, which suggests high vax. Also, the most anti-vax group, the Hasidic population, isn't heavily represented in city govt.

Yeah, cops are probably an exception.

iheartthed Jul 26, 2021 6:20 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crawford (Post 9350457)
I can't imagine the vaccination rate for city employees is below the overall vaccination rate, which is over 70%. City employees tend to be older, more nonwhite and more left-leaning than overall population, which suggests high vax. Also, the most anti-vax group, the Hasidic population, isn't heavily represented in city govt.

Yeah, cops are probably an exception.
Nonwhite vaccination rate in NYC lags whites.

Pedestrian Jul 26, 2021 8:32 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by iheartthed (Post 9350364)
Vaccination or weekly testing will be mandated for all New York City employees in September:
Also workers for the state of California and the VA nationally:

Quote:
California requires state employees and health workers to show COVID vaccination proof
Aidin Vaziri
July 26, 2021
Updated: July 26, 2021 1:17 p.m.

California has become the first state to require all state employees and health care workers to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or get tested weekly, as the highly infectious delta variant drives new coronavirus infections steeply upward.

Under the new guidance Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday in Oakland, state workers must either show proof of vaccination or undergo regular testing and wear a mask indoors.

“Too many people have chosen to live with this virus,” Newsom said. “We’re at a point in this pandemic where an individual’s choice not to get vaccinated is now impacting the rest of us in a profound and devastating and deadly way.”

Previously, state workers and public and private health care employees could “self-attest” to their vaccination status.

California plans to implement the new health order on Aug. 9, with full compliance expected by Aug. 21.

Newsom said 246,000 Californians are state employees, and added, “246,000 Californians should be vaccinated.”

Those who can not verify that they are vaccinated will be required to be tested weekly, he said.

The state will also partner with health care providers to apply the same rules to the 2 million health care workers in California’s public and private sectors.

In health care settings, coronavirus testing will be required twice a week for individuals who fail to show proof that they are vaccinated. That includes acute care and skilled nursing centers.

Those who are not vaccinated in health care settings additionally must wear an N95 respirator mask at work . . . .

Over the weekend, the state saw an average of about 7,500 cases reported per day; the seven-day average is now above 6,400 cases per day, state officials reported. That equates to 9.6 cases per 100,000 people, compared to May 15 when the state was at 1.9 cases per 100,000.

But those who are unvaccinated are testing positive at a much higher rate than people who have received the shots . . . .

The new policy stops short of a mandate as Newsom faces a September recall election significantly focused on his handling of the pandemic, and effectively kicks the ball back to local governments and the business sector, where state officials said employers can apply their own vaccination mandates should they wish to do so.

Newsom noted some business groups are requiring verification of vaccination, and he cited the Bay Area where many bars require vaccination for entry. “We encourage that in the private sector across the spectrum,” the Democratic governor said.

. . . the Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday became the first major federal agency to require health care workers to get COVID-19 vaccines . . . .
https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/a...f-16340506.php

eschaton Jul 26, 2021 8:36 PM
I believe it has more to do with the nationwide shortage of workers in the service industry than anything else, but I have noticed that lots of businesses are keeping weirdly short hours still now.

On hot summer days, I really like having an iced tea while I walk home after work (caffeine doesn't affect me much). But every single coffeeshop along my normal walking commute either closed entirely during the pandemic, or closes by 4.

The chain coffeeshop near my work (not a Starbucks) seems to be only staffed by one woman with an Eastern European accent. It was closed entirely for a week when she presumably wasn't available.

This Saturday, my wife and daughter were getting haircuts, and I had time to kill. I figured this was a great time to try out a new restaurant only open for lunch the next neighborhood over. But it was closed - on Saturday at noon. It's only open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays for lunch. Stopped by a bakery to get my son a cookie instead - which was only open four hours a day three days a week.

I could go on with more stories, but it's really striking to me how limited these hours are. Oddly I don't see the same thing with sit-down bars/restaurants - they seem to have pretty full service hours. Maybe the difference comes down to tips making these more desirable?

Pedestrian Jul 26, 2021 8:51 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by eschaton (Post 9350681)
I don't see the same thing with sit-down bars/restaurants - they seem to have pretty full service hours. Maybe the difference comes down to tips making these more desirable?
Quote:
Why one of San Francisco's busiest restaurants is closed for a 'mental health break'
Elena Kadvany
July 20, 2021
Updated: July 21, 2021 3:46 p.m.

Popular San Francisco restaurant the Morris is busier than ever. Tables are booked every night. It has even limited the number of reservations due to the demand. But this week, owner Paul Einbund did something he never thought he’d do: He closed his restaurant for four days to give his staff what he called a desperately needed “mental health break.”

Restaurant owners across the country have been struggling to hire workers amid a labor shortage, and the Morris is no different. The Portrero Flats restaurant, known for its wine list, high-quality service and whole smoked duck, is understaffed, and the employees who are there are overworked. Despite slimming down the menu to be less labor intensive, stopping to-go service, cutting the Morris’ hours from six to five days a week and keeping the bar closed, Einbund knows service is suffering. And so is his staff . . . .

Restaurants are doing what they can to adapt to the labor shortage: shortening hours, using ordering kiosks and technology to fill in for human beings, adding fees and raising pay to attract employees — while managing the expectations of customers eager to dine out after more than a year. The owners of Palo Alto bar Sun of Wolf are sharing staff with their parents, who run nearby Mexican restaurants, and paying for Ubers to shuttle employees from one business to another. In Massachusetts, the owners of one restaurant reached their boiling point with rude customers last week and decided to close for a “day of kindness” for their staff. (While the Morris is closed this week, salaried staff will be paid while hourly employees were given the option between taking vacation days or paid time off.)

[At The Morris] "the team is still working their butts off. Even though we went down to five days a week, it’s too many hours in the day. It’s too exhausting. We just don’t have enough hands."
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/art...s-16327206.php

Pedestrian Jul 26, 2021 8:56 PM
Quote:
As more workers fall ill, Bay Area restaurateurs weigh a dramatic step: banning the unvaccinated
Janelle Bitker
July 23, 2021
Updated: July 26, 2021 11:39 a.m.

Bay Area restaurants are seeing reservations drop, with diners citing the highly contagious delta variant as their reason for canceling. Fully vaccinated employees are getting sick, forcing temporary closures at a rate that hasn’t been seen since early in the pandemic. Now, owners are debating what to do next.

A growing number of restaurants and bars have become vaccination-only establishments, requiring diners to flash their vaccine cards upon entry. But others say it’s not so easy due to logistics and potential customer backlash. Instead, they’re contemplating alternative measures like shutting down their indoor dining rooms, requiring double masks for staff or simply waiting to see how the new vaccine requirements play out at other businesses.

Owners already requiring proof of vaccination say it’s an effort to get somewhat out ahead of the delta variant since there’s still no official guidance from government agencies beyond a mask recommendation. Mayor London Breed said her office doesn’t have immediate plans to mandate that businesses require patrons to show proof of vaccination but is exploring “all options.” The Golden Gate Restaurant Association, the city’s restaurant industry group, is surveying members on the issue . . . .

“The whole idea is to keep our staff, who is completely vaccinated, safe and to keep people coming in safe,” said Marc Zimmerman, owner of San Francisco’s Gozu. The high-end restaurant started requiring proof of vaccination on Wednesday. “If we can get ahead and do a little self-policing — I’d hate to think about a shutdown at this point, but who knows?”

Restaurants are already feeling the financial hit of cautious diners canceling reservations. At Gozu, reservations were down by 60% this week compared to last week. On a normal Friday night, the restaurant draws about 50 reservations but this week has just 10. Zimmerman said diners who canceled by phone specifically said it was because of the delta variant.

Meanwhile, the no-show rate Wednesday at San Francisco Peruvian destination La Mar was almost 20%, abnormally high. At Oakland hot spot Sister, reservations were down by about 30% that day.

Earlier this week, Matt Reagan, co-owner of Oakland restaurants Palmetto and the Kon-Tiki, likened the vibe to March 2020. “You can see the storm is coming and no one has the courage to sound the alarm,” said Reagan, who instituted a vaccine policy in the hope of showing that his restaurants were taking the pandemic seriously . . . .
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/res...s-16335415.php

JManc Jul 26, 2021 9:03 PM
^ I have zero issues with screening those who are unvaccinated...in theory...but what happens when a patron reacts in a less than adult manner. We had people overreacting (and becoming violent) because they refused to wear masks and were turned away.

Plus, the act of screening and checking vaccine cards takes time.

Pedestrian Jul 26, 2021 9:23 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by JManc (Post 9350706)
^ I have zero issues with screening those who are unvaccinated...in theory...but what happens when a patron reacts in a less than adult manner. We had people overreacting (and becoming violent) because they refused to wear masks and were turned away.

Plus, the act of screening and checking vaccine cards takes time.
Great employment opportunity for really BIG bouncer wanna-bees.

chris08876 Jul 26, 2021 11:01 PM
COVID-19: NYC Workers Get Vaccinated or Take Weekly Tests As Delta Spikes | NBC New York

• Video Link

Quote:
Mayor Bill de Blasio expanded New York City's vaccine mandate to include all city workers on Monday. Starting this fall, employees who have not provided proof of COVID-19 vaccination must test weekly for the virus.

Unvaccinated workers will have until Sept. 13 to complete their vaccine series or opt for a virus test each week. But before that deadline kicks in, the mayor said unvaccinated workers must wear a mask at work starting Aug. 2.

The new vaccine mandate begins with city employees who work in congregate settings. That group, roughly 45,000 workers, will have to start testing weekly if they have not received their dose of the vaccine by Aug. 16.

"This is about our recovery. This is about keeping people safe, making sure our families get through COVID okay," de Blasio said. "September is the pivot point of the recovery, September is when many employers are bringing back a lot of their employees. It's when schools start full-strength, it's when people come back from summer."

Pedestrian Jul 27, 2021 2:02 AM
Quote:
U.S. Set to Push Global Economy Over the Recovery Line
By Paul Hannon
July 25, 2021 10:00 am ET

The U.S. economy likely returned to its late-2019 size during the three months through June, helping to lift global output above its pre-pandemic level for the first time.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal estimate that figures to be released Thursday will show that the U.S. gross domestic product rose at an 8.5% seasonally adjusted annual rate in the second quarter. That likely left U.S. GDP—the value of all goods and services produced across the economy, adjusted for seasonality and inflation—above the $19.2 trillion level reached in the final quarter of 2019, the last before the spread of Covid-19 pushed large parts of the global economy to shut down and contract, they say.

The combined economic output of the Group of 20 leading economies exceeded its pre-pandemic level in the first quarter, according to estimates by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. With the U.S. and a number of other large economies crossing that threshold in the second quarter, it is likely that global output is now higher than the level recorded in the final quarter before the coronavirus struck, the group says.

Europe’s economy, however, likely remains smaller than before the pandemic, according to the European Commission, while the spread of the new Delta variant of the coronavirus across Asia threatens to slow its recovery in the second half of the year . . . .

According to the European Commission, the combined economic output of the European Union’s 27 members will return to its precrisis level in the final quarter of this year. But individual countries will get there sooner than others, depending on how much their economies count on tourism and related services, which were more hobbled by the pandemic’s effects than manufacturing and other heavy industries.

The commission said that Poland might already have recovered in the second quarter and is likely to be followed in the third quarter by Germany. What the two have in common is a relatively large factory sector that has benefited from the global surge in demand for goods during the pandemic, when households sharply curtailed their spending on in-person services . . . .

By contrast, the Commission expects Spain and Italy to recover only in the third quarter of next year. Both countries have large tourism sectors, and broader hospitality industries . . . .

India offers the clearest recent example of the economic cost of a fresh surge in infections through a largely unvaccinated population. Of all the G-20’s members, India suffered the largest economic contraction during the second quarter of 2020, but bounced back strongly to end the first three months of this year with output 2.7% higher than its pre-pandemic level.

But the pandemic and government restrictions returned with a vengeance in the second quarter of this year, driven by the fast-spreading Delta variant, with the result that surveys of purchasing managers point to declines in services activity throughout the three-month period, and even in manufacturing toward its end.

Across Asia more broadly, new restrictions are being imposed as infections rise . . . .

“Asia may fall behind in returning to normality.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-set..._pos2#cxrecs_s

the urban politician Jul 27, 2021 3:55 AM
Well, my wife and I are headed to Lollapalooza this Saturday!! :tup:

Pedestrian Jul 27, 2021 10:09 PM
Quote:
Cal State mandates COVID-19 vaccinations for students, staff this fall
Omar Shaikh Rashad
July 27, 2021
Updated: July 27, 2021 1:20 p.m.

The California State University system said Tuesday that it will require in-person faculty, students and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before classes begin in the fall.

The announcement comes six days after CSU professors penned an open letter — which garnered around 1,400 signatures from Cal State faculty members — urging CSU Chancellor Joseph Castro to mandate vaccines in the fall. The professors expressed concern about waiting for the Food and Drug Administration to issue a full authorization for the vaccines before mandating COVID-19 inoculations . . . .
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/...r-16343312.php

Acajack Jul 27, 2021 10:15 PM
Another impact: reduced business hours and a very slow return to normal hours.

My wife and I are off work right now and looking to eat out a lot, and we're running into lots of places that are closed.

A few days ago we were in a popular resort area not too far from here and found numerous places were closed on Monday and Tuesday, in the middle of what is normally peak tourist season.

Today we were back home and looking to go out for lunch, and tons of places that would all be open for lunch on a weekday were all closed.

The place we ended up going to, at around 1:45, was full but we got a table.

JManc Jul 27, 2021 10:46 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by the urban politician (Post 9351109)
Well, my wife and I are headed to Lollapalooza this Saturday!! :tup:
Lollapalooza? 1995 called and wants their music back.

the urban politician Jul 27, 2021 10:47 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by JManc (Post 9351726)
Lollapalooza? 1995 called and wants their music back.
I recommend checking out their music lineup. It’s not 1995

homebucket Jul 27, 2021 11:09 PM
On the website, it looks like Nashville hot chicken is being featured as an example of "Chicago's Best Eats". It really is all over the place! If this isn't evidence of Nashville's widespread cultural impact across the country, I don't know what is.

https://assets-global.website-files....rd-p-1080.jpeg

hauntedheadnc Jul 27, 2021 11:45 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by JManc (Post 9351726)
Lollapalooza? 1995 called and wants their music back.
Well, they can't have it back. I'd rather listen to the futile prayers of orphans than the trash they try to pass off as alt-rock these days.

And while we're at it, get off my lawn.

Camelback Jul 28, 2021 1:12 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by JManc (Post 9351726)
Lollapalooza? 1995 called and wants their music back.
I mean, Sinéad O'Connor was lit during Lollapalooza '95.

She really wails. (Wayne's World reference).

JManc Jul 28, 2021 3:27 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by the urban politician (Post 9351727)
I recommend checking out their music lineup. It’s not 1995
That much is clear. Post Malone, Miley Cyrus, Marshmello and Megan Thee Stallion?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pr...L6_U0PWRbE8tes

BnaBreaker Jul 28, 2021 4:16 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by the urban politician (Post 9351109)
Well, my wife and I are headed to Lollapalooza this Saturday!! :tup:
I'm not going to Lolla, but I will be at all four days of Riot Fest in September... Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, The Pixies, Devo, Lupe Fiasco, Run The Jewels, Gogol Bordello, Sublime... anybody remember Mighty Mighty Bosstones? LOL... they'll be there too, for some reason!

glowrock Jul 28, 2021 12:30 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by BnaBreaker (Post 9351944)
I'm not going to Lolla, but I will be at all four days of Riot Fest in September... Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, The Pixies, Devo, Lupe Fiasco, Run The Jewels, Gogol Bordello, Sublime... anybody remember Mighty Mighty Bosstones? LOL... they'll be there too, for some reason!
Hell of a lot better than the crap that passes for Lolla nowadays. ;)

Aaron (Glowrock)

MonkeyRonin Jul 28, 2021 1:15 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack (Post 9351679)
Another impact: reduced business hours and a very slow return to normal hours.

My wife and I are off work right now and looking to eat out a lot, and we're running into lots of places that are closed.

A few days ago we were in a popular resort area not too far from here and found numerous places were closed on Monday and Tuesday, in the middle of what is normally peak tourist season.

Today we were back home and looking to go out for lunch, and tons of places that would all be open for lunch on a weekday were all closed.

The place we ended up going to, at around 1:45, was full but we got a table.

It's a staffing problem - a lot of service industry or tourist-oriented places are having a hard time finding people to work. After a year and a half of on-and-off lockdowns, a lot of former employees have moved on to new careers and/or just left the city entirely.

10023 Jul 28, 2021 3:18 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pedestrian (Post 9350702)
Are fully vaccinated employees really “getting sick”, or are they just testing positive for Covid? These are not the same thing.

eschaton Jul 28, 2021 3:26 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by 10023 (Post 9352181)
Are fully vaccinated employees really “getting sick”, or are they just testing positive for Covid? These are not the same thing.
IIRC the CDC is now telling the vaccinated not to even get tested for COVID following exposure unless they develop symptoms, because too many false positives are showing up in some states which is screwing up the totals.

This is different than even an asymptomatic infection. PCR tests can show you as infected if you were exposed to the virus and have a small amount of live virus in your upper respiratory track which your body successfully clears before it becomes established. Or even if you are shedding some dead virus.

the urban politician Jul 28, 2021 3:45 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by eschaton (Post 9352195)
This is different than even an asymptomatic infection. PCR tests can show you as infected if you were exposed to the virus and have a small amount of live virus in your upper respiratory track which your body successfully clears before it becomes established. Or even if you are shedding some dead virus.
Exactly.


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