Imagine Outside Lands Bands as Muni Lines
SFWeekly imagined the Outside Lands lineup as Muni lines – the N-Judah is dance/electronic, the J-Church is funk/soul/hip hop, and so on. Read more
Author: eugenia
Eugenia Chien has been eavesdropping on the 47, 49, or 1 lines since the mid-90's. She lives by the adage, "Anything can happen on Muni" (and also, "That's not water.")
BART Strike Averted for Now (update)
Photo by Jed Sullivan
Update (10:34 p.m.): SFGate is now reporting that Gov. Jerry Brown ordered an investigation into the negotiations between BART management and its unions, thus averting a strike for at least one week. BART trains should run on their normal schedules tomorrow and throughout the week. We’ll update here if more news breaks.
Original post: BART and labor unions representing BART workers still haven’t reached an agreement on key issues involving wages, pension contribution and health insurance. With only a few hours left for negotiations, we could be facing the second BART strike this year on Monday.
SFGate reports that a few agreements were made at the table today but no major changes from last month’s contentions. Read more
Fruit Roll-Up or Something Else?
Sergio R. asks on the Muni Diaries Facebook page about the unidentified matter on the window of this bus:
Placenta, Prosciutto di Parma, or fruit roll-up?
Praying that it’s B or C.
38-Geary Catches Fire in Outer Richmond
A 38-Geary bus caught on fire in the Outer Richmond this morning, reports SF Appeal and Bay City News.
The fire was reported at 6:46 a.m. in the engine of a 38-Geary bus parked at Point Lobos Avenue and 48th Avenue near Lands End, Muni spokesman Paul Rose said.
The fire damaged the left rear side of the bus and was extinguished a couple of minutes later, Rose said.
Rose said the bus driver and one passenger were on board at the time but were not injured.
The cause of the fire isn’t clear yet but we will keep you updated.
BART Says Don’t Make Cute Shirts About Us
BART busted out its trademark lawyers and told a local t-shirt maker that he can’t make shirts and onesies featuring a modified version of a BART ticket any more. The t-shirt maker happens to be Nate Tan, who creates Muni Diaries’ shirts.
You might remember that back in 2009, New York’s Metropolitan Transit Agency used similar reasoning to shut down a local t-shirt maker for using the letter logo of Muni’s metro trains.
BART Prepares for Possible Second Strike
That brief memory of BART being on strike over July 4 weekend could get a lot more real in just a few days. BART and its labor unions met today, and the two sides still couldn’t reach an agreement, SFGate reports. The 30-day contract extension from the strike earlier this month is coming up, which means that at midnight on Sunday, Aug. 4, BART workers could strike again, and this time perhaps for longer.
Union representatives have been criticizing BART’s lead negotiator’s vacation during the talks. From SF Appeal/Bay City News:
SEIU Local 1021 executive director Pete Castelli said negotiations have been ongoing but have been proceeding more slowly than they should because BART’s lead negotiator, Thomas Hock, has been on vacation for the past 10 days.
Castelli said that means the parties have only been able to talk about small supplemental issues during that time instead of the bigger sticking points, which he said are wages, benefits and worker safety.
But [Transit district spokesman Rick] Rice said Hock’s vacation was approved by the state mediator back on July 7 and that the parties have still been able to talk about important matters in his absence.
The two sides will be back at the table Tuesday and daily until Sunday to try to reach an agreement over the labor dispute at the center of the discussion. You all weighed in during the first strike and there didn’t seem to be any tolerable transit options at the time. If BART strikes again, will you have different transit alternatives this time around? Time to sharpen that walking stick?