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daily record (2003) 35: E.P.A.’s safe daily levels 377: Wednesday in New York City Source: New York City Community Air Survey and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Data shows hourly concentrations of PM2.5 particles, measured in micrograms per cubic meter, for seven N.Y.C. The air in New York City on Wednesday wasn’t just bad by the city’s standards. It was historically bad, even compared with places around the world that generally experience much more air pollution. Wednesday’s daily average was the highest since recording in New York began in 1999. Wednesday’s pollution, of course, was not caused by a power plant or vehicles, but by major wildfires in Canada, mostly in Quebec.

Persons: San Francisco —, Eric James, James Organizations: New York City, New York City Community Air Survey, New York State Department of Environmental, Records, Protection Agency, state’s Department of Environmental, Environmental Protection Agency, University of Colorado, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Administration Locations: New York, Portland ,, San Francisco, New York City, Canada, Northern California, Quebec, North America

☆ Half of the biggest global companies plan to cut office space. US cities will suffer most
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

There are fears that a rise in delinquencies as a result of the downturn could cause significant losses at banks, which finance many commercial real estate deals. Office space in the United States was also much more generous per person than in Europe and Asia, he said. London, Berlin, Madrid and Hong Kong were also forecast to have a large amount of excess office space. Before the pandemic, the Californian city was one of the hardest places in the United States to find office space, with a vacancy rate of only 9.5%. Now, 30% of its office space is either vacant or due to return to the market in the next year — a 30-year high.

Persons: —, Knight Frank, ” Lee Elliott, Elliott, “ We’re, ” Elliott, Savills, ”, Kelcie Sellers, “ Organizations: London CNN —, San, CNN, Companies, “, Washington DC Locations: San Francisco, homeworking, delinquencies, Francisco, United States, Europe, Asia, San Francisco , New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Washington, London, Berlin, Madrid, Hong Kong, Pacific, America, “

☆ Elon Musk is wrong about a housing-market crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Selma Hepp, the chief economist at CoreLogic, said that's not going to happen. The nation's dearth of housing supply will keep home prices high and prevent a crash. On Monday, the billionaire — who has built a multi-million dollar portfolio of real estate properties — shared one of his most contentious opinions so far in 2023: "Commercial real estate is melting down fast. She said the housing naysayers are wrong and that the housing market is instead heading towards a recovery. Hepp attributes the real estate market's rebound to an imbalance of housing supply and demand that has heightened competition amongst borrowers.

Persons: Elon Musk, Selma Hepp, that's, —, Ray Farris, Ian Shepherdson, Freddie Mac, Hepp, CoreLogic, San Francisco — Organizations: Service, Privacy, SpaceX, Credit Suisse, San Locations: West Coast, Diego, Durham , Connecticut, Boston, New York City, Redfin

☆ Elon Musk called downtown San Francisco — where Twitter is headquartered — a 'derelict zombie apocalypse' amid its huge homelessness and drug issues
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk commented on the drugs and homelessness crisis in San Francisco calling it a "disaster." The billionaire CEO said the "once beautiful and thriving" area has become a "zombie apocalypse." Twitter CEO Elon Musk tweeted his thoughts about downtown San Francisco lamenting the decline of the "once beautiful and thriving" area and called it a "disaster." San Francisco is also a major tech hub with the likes of Google, Twitter, Apple, and Meta headquartered in or near the city. She considered the conditions in San Francisco as bad as in cities like Mumbai and Delhi, which are notorious for having some of the worst poverty crises on earth.

☆ Can Reparations Bring Black Residents Back to San Francisco?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Tim Arango | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

SAN FRANCISCO — Standing at the stoop of her childhood home — a slim but stately Victorian shaded by an evergreen pear tree — Lynette Mackey pulled up a photo of a family gathering from nearly 50 years ago. The men were all in suits, the women in skirts. Ms. Mackey, a teenager in red bell bottoms, stretched her arms wide and had a beaming smile. Soon after that time, in the 1960s and 1970s, Ms. Mackey watched the slow erasure of Black culture from the Fillmore District, once celebrated as “the Harlem of the West.” The jazz clubs that drew the likes of Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington disappeared, and so, too, did the soul food restaurants. In many cases, the old Victorian homes were torn down and replaced with housing projects, but the city kept Ms. Mackey’s home standing, and it has since been renovated into government-subsidized apartments.

☆ Go check out this map that shows just how many vacant office buildings are in downtown San Francisco
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Over 18 million square feet of San Francisco's office space is vacant, the SF Chronicle reported. Thirty-one percent of San Francisco's downtown offices is reportedly open for lease or sublease. The Chronicle's interactive map of the vacancies in downtown San Francisco's office buildings is worth checking out. The rising amount of vacant office real estate partly reflects remote work's impact on office attendance. A telling sign for San Francisco's office building market could come from a 22-story office tower on 350 California Street that is reportedly expected to go for $60 million, after it was valued at $300 million in 2019.

☆ The Yoga Regimen That Keeps an N.B.A. Forward Centered
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Scott Cacciola | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The sun was beginning to burn through a hazy sky as Looney propped his iPad against a small metal column, unrolled his black yoga mat and greeted one of the more important figures in his professional life. It belonged to Jana Webb, the creator of a self-styled brand of yoga known as Joga, which she originally conceived as yoga for athletes. Moses Moody, one of Looney’s teammates, was also on the call, dialing in from his apartment near the arena. It was 8:30 a.m., about four hours before Game 4 of Golden State’s first-round playoff series against the Sacramento Kings. “Reach, reach, reach,” she said as Looney, who is 6-foot-9, stood on his toes and extended his arms, a small pool of sweat forming on the mat below.

☆ An outsourcing firm cut dozens of contractors who were training the language model behind OpenAI's ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Invisible Technologies laid off 31 contractors hired to train OpenAI's GPT, Insider has learned. OpenAI has reportedly hired about 1,000 contractors globally as its ChatGPT AI gains popularity. San Francisco-based firm Invisible Technologies laid off 31 contractors as of March 16, according to internal Slack screenshots that Insider obtained. Hundreds of Invisible contractors known as "advanced AI data trainers" work with OpenAI to train its GPT bots, internal Slack screenshots show. Invisible laid off contractors based on performance metrics like "quality" and "throughput," Grace Matelich, a partner and operations manager at Invisible, said during the recorded meeting.

☆ Golden State Wins at Home, Which Is Part of the Problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Kris Rhim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He waved his arms and yelled — then screamed twice more for good measure — and the white-knuckled Warriors crowd responded with a roar, accepting his direction unquestioningly, an orchestra following its conductor. Curry’s Golden State Warriors had entered Thursday night’s game, the third of their first-round playoff series against the Sacramento Kings, in an uncomfortable spot. They were facing their first 2-0 playoff deficit since Steve Kerr began coaching them in 2014. had suspended for stepping on the chest of Kings forward-center Domantas Sabonis in Game 2 on Monday. But it, too, is at Golden State, and for that reason alone the Warriors were feeling the series was far from over.

☆ Twitter Begins Removing Check Marks From Accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Kate Conger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter began removing check mark icons from the profiles of thousands of celebrities, politicians and journalists on Thursday, in one of the most visible indicators of how Elon Musk is changing the company. But under Mr. Musk, who bought Twitter for $44 billion in October, the social media service has begun to charge individuals $8 per month to maintain their verification status. Mr. Musk has said those who do not pay will have their check marks removed. Mr. Musk initially proposed charging $20 monthly for verification, but he lowered the price after blowback. As Twitter began removing check marks from accounts on Thursday, some users said that they noticed the symbols disappearing and then reappearing on their profiles.

☆ Earning $300,000 a year is still considered middle class in this U.S. city—it’s not New York or LA
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Kamaron Mcnair | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Around half the American population is considered middle class, according to the most recent Pew Research data. That means you can earn $100,000 and be considered middle class in some locales, but not others. In fact, middle class income ranges vary widely across the largest 100 U.S. cities, according to a new study from SmartAsset. Fremont, California, has the highest-earning middle class with those earning up to $311,936 still falling in the middle-income range there. SmartAsset used a variation of Pew’s middle class calculation to determine where middle class Americans are making the most money.

☆ Cash App founder Bob Lee was stabbed to death after argument about the suspect's sister, court documents show
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Daniel Arkin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Flowers and cards left as people paying tribute to Bob Lee near the Portside apartment building in San Francisco, California, on April 7, 2023. Cash App founder Bob Lee was fatally stabbed by an IT consultant near downtown San Francisco after the two men got into an argument over the suspect's sister, according to court documents obtained by NBC News on Friday. In the wake of the dispute, Momeni's sister sent a text to Lee, the documents show. The witness saw Momeni asking Lee whether Momeni's sister had been "doing drugs or anything inappropriate" earlier that day. Additional footage obtained by police shows the BMW heading to a "dark and secluded area" near downtown San Francisco.

☆ Police arrested senior citizens who blockaded banks in a 'Rocking Chair Rebellion' to end fossil fuel use
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

They say Wells Fargo, Chase, Citibank, and Bank of America should stop lending to fossil-fuel companies. Grey-haired San Francisco protestors donned hats and rain jackets, set up a tent, passed around colorful banners and signs, and sang songs about protecting future generations. Organizers reported that 10 activists who occupied a Chase Bank were arrested on March 22, 2023. There were no arrests in San Francisco, where three young people and three older people chained themselves to the Wells Fargo doors. Morgan McFall-Johnsen"We're hoping to damage the reputation enough that people say: 'Oh no, Wells Fargo is not a good guy.

☆ Who is Alvin Bragg? What to know about the Manhattan district attorney investigating Trump.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Michelle Mark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is leading the Trump investigation into Stormy Daniels' hush money payoff. He led the New York attorney general's successful 2018 lawsuit against the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which paid $2 million in court-ordered damages for illegally misusing charitable funds. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks at a press conference after the sentencing hearing of the Trump Organization at the New York Supreme Court in New York City. Bragg is highly controversial for his approach to crimeBeyond the ongoing Trump investigation, Bragg has been harshly criticized for being too lenient while the city struggles with rising crime. Bragg's stance provoked instant blowback in New York City and in conservative media.

☆ Google's CEO touts desk-sharing, says the office can feel like a 'ghost town' with many employees in the office just 2 days a week: CNBC
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Google CEO Sundar Pichai justified a new desk-sharing program at the company's cloud unit, per CNBC. Pichai said many staffers work in the office two days just a week, so it can feel like a "ghost town." While the policy is just for cloud employees now, Pichai said last week other teams have the "freedom to experiment," per CNBC. The desk-sharing program had previously drawn criticism from some employees who taunted the "corpspeak" used while announcing the initiative, per the broadcaster. A Google spokesperson confirmed the company's desk-sharing program, in an emailed response to Insider, but did not comment on Pichai's comments.

☆ $100 repair bill sparked Half Moon Bay shooting, prosecutor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

SAN FRANCISCO — A farmworker charged with killing seven people at two Half Moon Bay mushroom farms reportedly told investigators he was spurred to carry out the shootings after his supervisor demanded he pay $100 to repair a forklift damaged at work. KNTV-TV, the NBC affiliate in the San Francisco Bay Area, was first to report the development. Zhao told KNTV-TV in a courthouse interview Thursday that he committed the shootings. He said he has a 40-year-old daughter in China and lived with his wife in Half Moon Bay. The coroner’s office has named six of the victims: Zhishen Liu, 73, of San Francisco; Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, of Moss Beach, California; Aixiang Zhang, 74, of San Francisco; Qizhong Cheng, 66, of Half Moon Bay; Jingzhi Lu, 64, of Half Moon Bay; and Yetao Bing, 43, whose hometown was unknown.

☆ Why biotech CEOs are growing more cautious about going public — and what they're waiting for
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Andrew Dunn | Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Biotech-startup CEOs are taking more nuanced approaches to going public amid a downturn. SAN FRANCISCO — After record years of initial public offerings in 2020 and 2021, biotech leaders told Insider that the "recipe" for going public no longer works. Most biotechs saw their valuations increase by between 20% and 50% after going public. Insider asked five startup CEOs about how they approach going public and their perspectives on the biotech-IPO market for 2023. But going public doesn't carry an importance of validation for herself or the field of biotech companies specializing in AI, she said.

☆ Two companies race to deploy robotaxis in San Francisco. The city wants them to hit the brakes.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco is trying to slow the expansion of robotaxis after repeated incidents in which cars without drivers stopped and idled in the middle of the street for no obvious reason, delaying bus riders and disrupting the work of firefighters. Some believe self-driving cars will never happen on a wide scale, but they’ve been gaining momentum in San Francisco. San Francisco doesn’t want robotaxis operating in the city’s downtown core, for example, or during morning and evening peak commuting times. He also provided letters in support of Cruise written by local San Francisco merchants associations, disability advocates and community groups. City officials argue that stopped robotaxis are hazards that can cause human drivers to react dangerously.

☆ The recipe biotech startups use to go public is being thrown out. 5 startups CEOs reveal how they're changing their focus.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Andrew Dunn | Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

☆ EQRx promised to deliver cutting-edge drugs at half the cost of rivals. A cofounder shares why the once buzzy biotech is walking away from that mission
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

After years of touting the idea of radically lower drug prices, EQRx has walked away from that plan. Cofounder Alexis Borisy said it was due to the FDA not OK'ing drugs based only on Chinese data. EQRx suddenly sounded like a typical biotech company, talking of "market-based pricing" that would "maximize value for shareholders." EQRx's stock is down over 75% since its record-breaking SPACAlexis Borisy, EQRx Chairman, and CEO Melanie Nallicheri. An unclear future for 'radically lower drug prices'EQRx CEO Melanie Nallicheri EQRxIn November, EQRx said it wouldn't pursue radically lower pricing for its first two drug candidates, both cancer therapies.

☆ Former CEO says Biogen 'shot themselves in the foot' by deciding to charge $56,000 for its controversial Alzheimer's drug
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Former Biogen CEO George Scangos said the biotech priced its Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm too high. After the FDA approved the controversial treatment in 2021, Biogen set a $56,000 list price. "They shot themselves in the foot with the pricing," Scangos, now CEO of Vir Biotechnology, said. SAN FRANCISCO — The former CEO of Biogen told Insider the Massachusetts biotech priced its controversial Alzheimer's drug, Aduhelm, "way too high." "I think Aduhelm works.

☆ Novartis' CEO is charging ahead in cutting tens of thousands of workers to transform the $220 billion pharma giant
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Novartis is laying off thousands of workers, CEO Vasant Narasimhan told Insider. Through layoffs and spinoffs, the Swiss giant expects to trim its headcount by about 30% by 2024. SAN FRANCISCO — Thousands of layoffs are "happening now," Vasant Narasimhan, the CEO of Novartis, told Insider, as he hopes the $220 billion Swiss giant is entering the final steps of becoming a smaller, more-focused drug company. The Swiss giant had about 125,000 full-time employees at the time, and it has about 108,000 workers today. The restructuring will save Novartis about $1.5 billion annually, Narasimhan said during his Monday presentation at the JPMorgan conference.

☆ Here are 5 winners and 4 losers from the healthcare industry's most important event of the year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Andrew Dunn | Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The healthcare industry's most influential investor conference was held in person this week. The J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference helps set the tone for the year for biotech. Insider identified five winners and four losers from the week. Amid severe-weather warnings and rain, about 8,000 attendees came to see over 400 healthcare companies present at the 41st annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference this week, kicking off a chaotic week of networking, pitching investors, and striking deals. Insider pinpointed five winners and four losers from this year's event.

☆ Elon Musk's attorneys argue his Twitter purchase has caused so much 'local negativity' that a class action trial should be moved from California to Texas
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk faces a class action lawsuit over tweets saying he secured funding to take Tesla private. His attorneys say the trial should be held in Texas instead of California to ensure fairness. Since Musk's Twitter takeover, prospective jurors are biased against the billionaire, they argued. Northern California Senior District Judge Edward M. Chen, who will oversee the class action trial, ruled last year that Musk knowingly made the false statements, which may have impacted Tesla's share price. Since the October 27 acquisition of Twitter, Tesla's stock price has fallen from $225.09 to $113.06 per share, its lowest point since August 2020.

☆ Silicon Valley is coming for your gut biome
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

SAN FRANCISCO — Cryptocurrency hasn’t worked out so well for tech investors. As a consumer product, supplements are associated more with the Kardashians or Joe Rogan than with Silicon Valley. Roelof Botha, the managing partner of Sequoia Capital, one of the largest venture capital firms in the world, is among those buying in. He said there’s a “societal reawakening” about the complex biome of the human gut where hundreds of species of bacteria live. She co-wrote a review of the science this year, and said future probiotic supplements have promise compared to supplements that have been available for decades.

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