sfgate.com
LATEST March 3, 10:40 a.m. After a blizzard swept through California’s Sierra, Yosemite National Park is set to partially reopen. The park has been closed since Friday, and visitors were told to leave for their own safety. Access into the park via highways 41 and 140 will reopen at noon, although drivers should “expect snowy conditions,” park officials said. “Big Oak Flat Road (Highway 120 from the west), Badger Pass Road, and Hetch Hetchy Road will reopen on Monday, March 4, at noon, conditions…
10 months ago
sfgate.com
A United flight lost a tire while taking off from San Francisco International Airport Thursday morning, and it fell on an airport employee parking lot. United Airlines Flight 35 to Kansai International Airport in Japan lost a portion of its landing gear tire during takeoff around 11:35 a.m. SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel told SFGATE that the debris fell onto an airport parking lot used by SFO staff. There were no injuries, and the airport’s runway was briefly closed to clear debris. It has since re…
10 months ago
sfgate.com
One of the more unpleasant feelings for an Airbnb guest is the subtle sense that the host is surveilling you via cameras placed around the unit. The watchful eye from an invisible homeowner is a disturbing element for what’s supposed to be a vacation. It can leave guests feeling insecure or distrusted, as was the case for one SFGATE staffer who shared a 2021 experience when he and his family fell under the scrutiny of a host who monitored when his daughter arrived and whether a dog visited the p…
10 months ago
sfgate.com
LATEST March 13, 12:16 p.m. Following two hours of protests by activists inside and outside the airport, San Francisco International Airport officials announced that “A & G checkpoints in the International Terminal are now reopened” and “Roadways and checkpoints have reopened resuming normal operations.” March 13, 10:52 a.m. Protesters flooded the international terminal and curb outside the San Francisco International Airport on Wednesday morning calling for a permanent cease-fire and waving a b…
10 months ago
sfgate.com
An unknown digital scammer impersonating a Bay Area toll system has targeted numerous local customers, apparently without pausing to consider how to correctly spell the electronic toll collector’s name. FasTrak released a fraud notice to customers this week after it was alerted to a scammer attempting, once again, to deceive Bay Area drivers into paying bogus toll fees. Last month, some FasTrak customers received a text message claiming they had an “outstanding balance” and were directed to vis…
9 months ago
sfgate.com
A real estate developer connected to a luxury hotel building in downtown San Francisco has started flashing warning signs that it will default on its loan, adding to the list of owners struggling with solvency in the city’s shaky hospitality real estate market. Westbrook Partners, which acquired the property for the Four Seasons San Francisco at the Embarcadero in 2019, was served a notice of default this week that said it had not paid on its monthly loan since December and is currently behind…
9 months ago
sfgate.com
Anyone who’s visited the Point Reyes National Seashore this month might have noticed a foul sight amid the arching peninsula’s rolling green hills: The trash bins have begun to overflow. For the past couple weeks, waste has sat untouched in and around the park’s trash receptacles due to a mechanical issue with the park’s garbage truck. The National Park Service is aware of the issue and is working to fix the truck so it can once again fetch rubbish, but the organization is caught in a bureaucrat…
9 months ago
sfgate.com
Like a dog chasing its own tail, travel hacks tend to go in circles, reappearing on the internet over time — like the skiplagging hack that people were using for at least a decade before it made national headlines last year. The latest travel hack to show up on social media feeds is an easy cellphone tip for keeping tab on your flight’s status. A digital creator named Darby Maloney revived the technique — which she called her “#1 day of flight hack” — in a TikTok clip that’s been viewed nearly…
9 months ago
sfgate.com
As more and more express lanes appear on Bay Area highways, one cohort of drivers is stuck in a no-win situation: either sit in traffic, losing time, or pay the toll out of pocket, which can exceed $10 depending on the day. The predicament uniquely impacts drivers for Uber and Lyft, which operate using a fixed fare that can’t update mid-trip with added express lane tolls. If a driver with a passenger faces gridlock on Highway 101, they have to choose to either pay the toll with their own FasTra…
9 months ago
sfgate.com
Hawaii prefers San Francisco Bay Area travelers, as SFGATE has previously reported, and the glue for this love affair just might be Southwest Airlines. The airline began running Hawaii routes from Oakland International Airport five years ago this month. Since then, the Bay Area has become something of a heart for Southwest’s service to the Hawaiian Islands. As Southwest shakes up its schedule at other California airports — the airline is scrapping its Los Angeles International Airport to Kahului…
9 months ago
sfgate.com
As tourism in San Francisco cratered during the pandemic years, another Bay Area county saw something unusual: Visitor spending hit a record high. Sonoma County reaped the rewards, as folks ditched cities to travel north on Highway 101 in pursuit of more space among its vineyards and coastline. Visitor spending ballooned to $2.3 billion in 2022, notching a new benchmark. But prosperity was fleeting. Soon after the start of 2023, the county’s tourism CEO, Claudia Vecchio, noticed a problem. A…
9 months ago
sfgate.com
San Francisco may have an unfavorable reputation with some travelers, but a major Bay Area airport still wants to insert the city’s name into its official title to enhance geographical awareness and boost economic activity in the East Bay. Metropolitan Oakland International Airport is considering dropping “Metropolitan” from its official name and replacing it with “San Francisco Bay.” OAK, the airport code, would not change, and if the Port of Oakland gets its wish following an upcoming board…
9 months ago
sfgate.com
Since his first photograph of the park was developed over 100 years ago, Ansel Adams has remained interlinked with Yosemite National Park. Beginning next month, the San Francisco photographer’s shots of the California icon will appear on U.S. mail, shrunk to about the size of a thumbnail. Half Dome has never looked so tiny. The United States Postal Service is releasing a sheet of stamps showcasing 16 landscape photographs from Adams’ collection. The stamps display three images from Yosemite an…
9 months ago
sfgate.com
San Francisco International Airport really doesn’t want to lend its name to an airport across San Francisco Bay: On Monday, the San Francisco city attorney’s office signaled it’s willing to take legal action to keep the brand all for itself. SFO and San Francisco officials are upset with Metropolitan Oakland International Airport, which is in the process of adapting its official title to “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport” in an effort to boost “geographic” awareness among travele…
9 months ago
sfgate.com
The Metropolitan Oakland International Airport took a major step towards becoming the “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport,” which supporters believe will increase routes to the East Bay airport. All seven members on the Port of Oakland’s board of commissioners voted to approve the rebrand during their regular meeting on Thursday, setting the stage for a lawsuit and bitter battle with San Francisco International Airport. Leading up to the vote, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu…
9 months ago
sfgate.com
Toward the end of the first night of her three sold-out shows in San Francisco, the Icelandic and Chinese jazz sensation Laufey teased the crowd with a surprise. The ensuing eruption of high-pitched cheers from her adoring fanbase (median age: early 20s, with ribbon-tied hair) sent a sonic shockwave through the Masonic Auditorium. Laufey fans are the closest I’ve come to hearing the storied screams for the Beatles at Candlestick Park. It’s also the only time that my regret over forgoing earplu…
9 months ago
sfgate.com
In an attempt to streamline the paperwork process that follows any car crash, the California Highway Patrol is “disrupting” the way crash reports can be accessed by the people involved. Previously, after an officer completed a handwritten report, the individuals in a wreck had to visit a CHP office to obtain printed reports to share with their insurance company. The process was slow and required people involved in a chaotic event to remember an officer’s instructions, despite the adrenaline pump…
8 months ago
sfgate.com
The Battle for the Bay took a new turn Thursday when the San Francisco city attorney filed a federal trademark infringement lawsuit against the city of Oakland over the decision to add “San Francisco Bay” to Oakland International Airport’s official name. San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu threatened the suit earlier this month, as the Port of Oakland debated whether to adopt the name change, a move designed to increase business at the Alameda County airport. According to port officials, add…
8 months ago
sfgate.com
The Federal Aviation Administration sent a notice to a Bay Area county last month indicating that it’s opening an investigation to determine whether the county is responsible for “unsafe airfield conditions” at two small airports. Among the safety concerns at the two general aviation airports, Reid-Hillview and San Martin, are wildlife, specifically ground squirrels, “potentially impacting the airfield pavement, signage and lighting,” according to the notice. For pilot David Stites, who is also…
8 months ago
sfgate.com
A travel fear for some was recently met in San Francisco when a jet bridge collapsed just after a flight landed. A boarding bridge at San Francisco International Airport and an aircraft are both out of commission after the metal struts on the bridge failed just as a flight from Hawaii arrived at the gate last week. The jetway for SFO’s Gate A1 experienced “a structural failure” on May 2 after the arrival of a Hawaiian Airlines flight, according to airport spokesperson Doug Yakel. He told SFGATE…
8 months ago
sfgate.com
An unexpected shakeup rattled the San Francisco tourism industry this week as it continues to recover from the pandemic. The San Francisco Travel Association abruptly announced Wednesday that Scott Beck is stepping down as president and CEO of the marketing organization, citing “personal reasons.” Beck, who succeeded Joe D’Alessandro in October 2023, served as San Francisco’s lead marketer for just seven months. SF Travel, with an annual budget of $33 million, is responsible for marketing the c…
7 months ago
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