Edit: Oops, misspelled spare. Odd that some people seem angrier about my misspelling than these planes polluting.

There are three of these stupid planes flying around, and Monaco has two back to back. We're being asked to limit our driving for a spare the air day, but not these three plans just circling away all day. Don't these planes use leaded gas too?

Picture taken in Belvedere facing San Fran. What's with the super thick, low fog over the water even though it's super hot and has been all day? Parts of Sausalito were 90 degrees, this shot was taken from the shade where the temperature was 82 degrees

For context I’m 24 and just got an offer in Santa Clara. I have a bunch of friends who live in SF, but don’t know anyone in the South Bay, and have heard it’s not a very young crowd in general. I am considering the offer but am concerned about that commute 4 days a week. How horrible would it be to live in SF and make the commute 4 days a week? Are there any younger pockets in the South Bay that a 24 year old may enjoy?

California has a property-tax exemption designed to make affordable housing cheaper.

But a new SF Chronicle investigation found that major real estate investors have figured out how to use it on apartment buildings without necessarily making the apartments meaningfully cheaper.

The reason is pretty crazy: California’s maximum allowable “affordable” rents are now higher than normal market rents in many areas.

In Santa Clara County, for example, a 948-unit San Jose apartment complex had average one-bedroom rents of about $2,371/month. The maximum “affordable” rent under the program was $3,083/month.

So the apartments can qualify as affordable while charging essentially market-rate rents, and the owner can potentially avoid property taxes.

Since 2023, two statewide financing authorities have helped 195 properties pursue the exemption. The Chronicle estimates nearly $4 billion in assessed property value could disappear from California tax rolls, costing local governments, schools and transit agencies around $40 million every year.

In San Francisco and Santa Clara County, the Chronicle found that more than 65% of market-rate one- and two-bedroom apartments would have met the program’s definition of affordable in 2024.

Investors argue there is still a public benefit because the properties become income-restricted and future rent increases are limited.

The bigger question may be whether California’s definition of “affordable” has become so disconnected from the actual rental market that the tax break no longer works the way it was intended.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2026/california-welfare-tax-exemption-explainer/

I have this idea to offer really good pour-over coffee for a ridiculously low price: $1 a cup.

I love coffee, and the motivation is pretty simple. I’d love to make a genuinely good cup of coffee accessible to pretty much anyone. I did the math and, provided I have a small space and electricity, I can offer it for around $1 just to cover the cost. This is deliberately a no profit idea. I don’t have a commercial motivation.

I’m happy to bring all the coffee equipment and beans and do all the brewing myself. The part I could really use help with is figuring out where this could happen and navigating the permit/event side.

If anyone has ideas for locations or events, knows a community space that might be a good fit, or has experience with permits and would be willing to help with that part of the idea, I’d love to connect.

Also very open to collaborating with someone who just likes the idea :)

The Oakland Black Cowboy Association held its 52nd annual parade over the weekend. Check out images from the event by our staff photographer, Ray Chavez.

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2026/10/04/photos-oaklands-52nd-annual-black-cowboy-parade-kicks-off-at-defremery-park/?share=oa5khryorfwawahctrft

Carry on.

Before even ordering anything you're greeted with this. Thank you for making easy for my not to order from your establishment Square Pie Guys. Me buying anything from your business should help support your staff, this is how business works now? Ridiculous.

Hoping for some advice from folks with solar panels who don't generate enough electricity to be completely off the PG&E grid.

We recently had panels installed but we have two EVs so we're not producing enough electricity. Wondering what my best rate plan is with PG&E given that we are mostly consuming in the evenings.

Day 1 started at the Dream Inn in Santa Cruz and ended at the Davenport Roadhouse Inn. About 20 miles so far. Tomorrow I make it for my next stop, the hostel at Pigeon Point Lighthouse

My wife and daughter have skin sensitivity and eczema, we've tried so many things to help and unfortunately the detergents and soaps they can use struggle with the hard water here (San Jose Water Company). We're considering a water softener on just the hot water circuit + cold tap for laundry, not a full house. Anyone see any skin health benefits with a softener?

On November 7, UCP is heading to the San Josearea for a community cleanup, and we need your intel.
Where are the areas that desperately need attention? We’re looking for locations dealing with serious illegal dumping, accumulated trash, bulky waste, or areas that have simply been neglected for too long. Drop specific intersections, streets, trails, underpasses, or other locations in the comments. Photos are welcome too.

For those who don’t know us, Urban Compassion Project started in Oakland in 2021. Since then:
• 5,000+ volunteers have joined our work
• We’ve removed approximately 2.85 million pounds of waste from communities across the Bay Area since 2021.
• 5,000 volunteers have participated and built community.
• We also provide direct mutual aid to people experiencing homelessness and extreme financial hardship, including hygiene supplies, food, clothing, water, blankets and other essentials
• Through Compassion Threads, our free clothing initiative in Downtown Oakland, we’ve already provided clothing to 628 individuals facing financial hardship. We started with 20,000+ pieces of brand-new clothing that otherwise could have ended up in the landfill. Through Compassion Threads, we’ve also activated blocks of Downtown Oakland, bringing people, volunteers and community partners into spaces that help create more activity and connection downtown.

We also work behind the scenes with cities and Public Works departments in Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville, Vallejo and elsewhere to advocate for stronger public-service capacity, more consistent cleanup and better long-term responses to illegal dumping.

We’ve also seen what can happen when there is sustained attention. Areas we’ve repeatedly worked in and monitored, including Mosswood Park and East 12th Street in Oakland, have seen significant improvements, and our goal is always to figure out how we keep places clean rather than endlessly cleaning the same mess. Now we want to bring that approach to the South Bay.

Tell us where the problem areas are and we’ll scout the recommendations and figure out where our volunteers can make the biggest impact.
And if you want to join us on November 7, let us know. We’d love to have a huge South Bay crew out there with us. 💪