​

Brian Egg Was An Exemplary Member Of Society

Brian Egg was born in San Francisco and grew up there. And as an adult, Brian lived close to his family to keep visiting. For Brian's family, communication played a major role in strengthening their relationships.
Around mid-2018, the family's communication had grown weaker with fewer and fewer visits. With so much free time on his hands, Brian resorted to serving his community. He cleaned up the alleyways and picked up trash in his neighborhood pro bono.
On one weekend, neighbors noticed Brian performing his voluntary community service and entering his house afterward. But, that day marked the last time they ever saw him.
A month later, Brian's brother, Devin, called his phone to catch up, but it went straight to voicemail. Devin was alarmed by this because he knew his brother always answered his phone. In addition, the voice from the answering machine sounded less like Brian's voice.
Devin attempted to call Brian's phone again, and on the third time, it was picked up by a man who claimed his name was Nate. Nate informed Devin that Brian was out taking his dog for a walk and would call him back. But Brian never called back!

Multiple Alerts To 911

By the end of July of that year, Brian's neighbors began suspecting that he was possibly missing. Brian was familiar with almost everyone in his neighborhood, and no one had seen him for a while. Many neighbors informed the police about their worries. There were two possibilities. If Brian wasn't missing, he could be suffering from an injury inside his home.
When the police visited Brian's house, no one answered the door. However, the police did not go further with the investigation. They assumed that Brian had possibly gone out of town without informing anyone. On the other hand, Brian's neighbors didn't settle for that. Something just felt wrong.
But, the police were not taking Brian's case seriously. Thus, one of Brian's neighbors turned to social media to search for him. Everyone in the neighborhood made it their priority to always be on the lookout for any suspicious activity that might be happening at Brian's house.
Within a short period, neighbors noticed two strangers frequently entering and leaving Brian's house. The two men appeared to be homeless and used Brian's house as their own for a while. Thus, neighbors alerted the police so they could look into the situation. Again, the police department didn't take the case seriously.

Perpetrators Had Time To Get Rid of The Evidence

Alarmed by the fact that Brian had not contacted any of his family members in months, Brian's sister reported her suspicion to the police. And, on August 4th, the police visited Brian's house to investigate. However, no one answered the door.
After the authorities left, neighbors claimed that they noticed what appeared to be a deep and thorough cleaning at Brian's house. Soap bubbles emerged from Brian's door, and there was also a strong bleach scent that came from the house.
The strangers who were living at Brian's house were seen painting inside a portion of the house; they were trying to cover something up.
On August 7th, Brian's sister filed for a missing person's report. A week later, Brian's neighbors called the police, informing them of a crime scene clean-up company outside Brian's home for some time.

Conclusion

The police took the report seriously and searched Brian's home. They arrested one of the strange men, Robert McCaffrey, who was living there for almost two months. Two days later, the other stranger, Lance Silva, was located and arrested.
The two men were charged with ID theft and financial crimes. The strangers had used Brian's credit cards, including in purchasing a car.
A thorough search was conducted on Brian's house, and four days later, police discovered a storage room under a staircase. Inside the room, police uncovered a hidden fish tank. And, inside the fish tank, the police noticed a torso of a beheaded body. It was later confirmed that it was Brian's dismembered body.
Brian's death was ruled as a homicide, and the two strange men were charged with the homicide. However, the San Francisco District Attorney's office later dropped all the charges against Robert and Lance. To this day, the two men are free.
No one was ever found guilty of Brian's murder.

Timeline:

• Late May or early June 2018: Brian Egg last seen in his South of Market neighborhood, San Francisco police say.
• June or July 2018: Egg's brother, Devon Egg, says he phoned his brother and an answering machine picked up with a request to leave a message. He said his brother never used an answering machine and he didn't recognize the voice on the machine. He called back and someone answered who gave his name as Nate. He said his brother would call him right back after he finished walking his dog. No one called back.
• June 1, 2018: Court records show that a 2007 BMW was purchased for $5500 by someone who had identified themselves as Brian Egg from a dealership in Newark. A purchase document for the sale would later be found in possession of Lance Silva after he was arrested in connection with Egg's disappearance.
• June 15, 2018: The BMW purchased on June 1 was towed from 379 5th Street in San Francisco for parking in a no-stopping zone. It was retrieved later that day by two men, one of whom identified themselves as Paul Foran, the second was identified by police from surveillance video as Lance Silva.
• Late July 2018: Police say they receive the first calls from neighbors reporting Egg's disappearance. Officers respond to the home twice. They knocked on the door. Each time, there was no answer and the officers left.
• August 2, 2018 Egg's longtime neighbor and friend Scot Free makes a post on the social media site Nextdoor to alert neighbors. Neighbors expressed their concern and said they would also report the suspicious activity at the home to police. Strangers were seen coming and going from home.
• August 4 or 5th, 2018: Neighbors say the third check by police apparently prompted the people living in the house to frantically clean. They observed soap suds coming out of the home and bleach was being used to clean the front of the home. Someone in the home and also painted part of the front of the home including a door.
• August 7, 2018: Police say Egg's sister filed a missing person's report. They send officers out to the house for a third time. But again, after no one answers the door, they leave.
• August 14, 2018: Neighbors call 911 after the private crime scene cleanup company Aftermath showed up to clean the home. Robert McCaffrey, 52, was arrested at the home. Neighbors say he had at least $1,000 cash in hand to pay the company for the job.
• August 16, 2018: Police arrest Lance Silva, 39, in a nearby residential hotel. Both men are charged with homicide, ID theft, elder abuse and financial crimes. But the San Francisco District attorney's Office eventually drops the charges pending further investigation. McCaffrey is freed. Silva is held in jail in Alameda County by authorities for a parole violation. Court records show he had a prior convictions for grand theft. The parole violation stemmed from identity theft and fraud charges. Police believe he was using Egg's debit card.
• August 17, 2018: After searching the home for four days, police find a human torso in a large fish tank that was hidden in the home. They seek DNA samples from family members in an effort to identify the remains.
• August 23, 2018: Neighbors say that a round-the-clock surveillance of the home by police since August 14 ends.
• August 28, 2018: San Francisco police hold press conference revealing details of the case for the first time. They defend not taking further action during those three checks on the home. They say there wasn't sufficient suspicion break into the home but neighbors strongly dispute that.
• August 29, 2018: Lance Silva appeared in court in Alameda County to face charges related to a parole violation.
• April 24, 2019: Lance Silva released from jail after 'sentence served'
• May 2019: Egg's death officially ruled a homicide by San Francisco Medical Examiner

Articles:https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/15/brian-egg-san-francisco-fish-tank-murderhttps://abc7news.com/headless-body-timeline-found-sf-no-head/5467636/https://sfist.com/2019/08/15/one-year-later-brutal-soma-dismemberment-murder-still-unsolved/https://lastseenalivepodcast.com/2020/06/06/unsolved-homicide-brian-egg/https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/the-police-had-ample-time-to-catch-offenders-at-the-crime-scene-but-did-not-da08dd222770https://abc7news.com/headless-body-timeline-found-sf-no-head/5467636/https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/one-year-later-no-charges-in-decapitated-sf-mans-death/150233/https://www.ebar.com/story.php?295940

East Bay Bike Party is when a bunch of bikers get together and bike with the mindset of "can't kill all of us". They bike down roads, stopping traffic, and spreading a good time. Mixture of party and activism. Some assholes tried to murder them. https://sfist.com/2023/02/13/east-bay-bike-party-marred-by-alleged-multiple-instances-of-car-dooring-two-injured/
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https://www.ktvu.com/news/group-of-drivers-allegedly-dooring-east-bay-bicyclists-leaves-2-hospitalized
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Never forget that cars kill more people than murders in the US.

Article: Steph and Ayesha Curry Oppose New Multi-Family Housing Near Home in Exclusive South Bay Town
Excerpt from the article:
Mercury News obtained a copy of an email that the Currys reportedly sent to Atherton mayor Mayor Bill Widmer and City Manager George Rodericks. It reads:
“We hesitate to add to the ‘not in our backyard’ (literally) rhetoric, but we wanted to send a note before today’s meeting,” the couple wrote just hours before the Atherton City Council convened to discuss revisions to its 2023-2031 housing element. Due Jan. 31, the plan lays out how the affluent burg will meet a state mandate to increase its supply of affordable, multi-family housing over the next eight years … We kindly ask that the town adopts the new housing element without the inclusion of 23 Oakwood (Blvd.). Should that not be sufficient for the state, we ask that the town commits to investing in considerably taller fencing and landscaping to block sight lines onto our family’s property.”
The drama:

really kinda shitty tbh

You’d do the same if it was going to kill your property value and quality of life.

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What great Christians!

Its Atherton, this is just some real estate developer trying to make a quick buck, aint no poor people able to afford those houses

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Have you lived around poor people? Would not recommend 0 out of 10.

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You obviously have an agenda dog, there’s nothing wrong with petitioning your city council for more privacy from new developments, especially when your entire life is in the public eye as is

Yes, my super nefarious agenda of "poor people should get housing too." Don't expose me!

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This is the reason that high-rise apartment buildings and single family homes are usually separated.

Yes, because single family zoning laws have definitely worked really, really well in this country!

/news
https://sfist.com/2023/01/31/the-same-sinkhole-in-tracy-claims-three-vehicles-all-because-drivers-ignore-road-closures/

/news
https://sfist.com/2023/01/30/senior-care-worker-charged-with-elder-abuse-after-94-year-old-man-dies-from-drinking-cleaning-fluid/

This is such a great episode I think this community will want to hear; skip to about 7:40. Good information for conversations and to use if any local government (city, county, state), starts talking about certain technology, you'll have ammunition to shine a light on why the approach is disingenuous:
All Charged Up and No Place to Go: The Promise and Pitfalls of Electric Vehicles
Further reading based on the interview from 7:40 on:

• Musk Backlash Continues With Time Magazine Calling Out Hyperloop Idea as Spoiler For High-Speed Rail
• The Boring Company Coming Up Short of Expectations in Las Vegas
• Elon Musk's Boring Company Leaves Local Governments Around the U.S. High and Dry
• Elon Musk’s tunnels to nowhere
• How the Koch Brothers Are Killing Public Transit Projects Around the Country (non-subscribers: no paywall)
• Surging SUV demand is canceling out the environmental benefit from electric cars
• Heavy vehicles twice as deadly for cyclists and pedestrians
• 9 Reasons the U.S. Ended Up So Much More Car-Dependent Than Europe
• After biking boom, some cities beef up infrastructure
• What Closing Streets to Cars Meant for Restaurants in New York City
• Huntington Beach votes to reopen Main Street to traffic and remove outdoor dining
• Huntington Beach to reopen second block of Main Street to traffic (non-subscribers: no paywall)
• Council member Kalmick pointing out the proposal isn't looking to the future
• "We live at the beach and this person thinks dining outside is a bad thing"

https://sfist.com/2023/01/18/fed-up-artists-now-suing-ai-startups-for-stealing-their-work-to-create-those-stupid-avatar-selfies/

The basis of draws:
In the 3rd round, seeds 1-16 meet/encounter 17-32 (1-8 meets 25-32, 9-16 meets 17-23).
In the 4th round seeds 1-8 meet seeds 9-16 (1-4 meets 13-16, 5-8 meets 9-13).
In the quarterfinal, seeds 1-4 meet seeds 5-8.
In the semifinal, seeds 1-2 meet seeds 2-3.
In the final, first seed meets second seed.
AO Seeds:
https://i.gyazo.com/190f83c93d50b3b7a2e970d561d255bb.png
Alcaraz injury/withdrawal as bad as it is, has luckily made Djokovic a top 4 seed.
Players seeded low who shoud be in higher slots:
Djokovic not top 2, Medvedev not in the top 4, Rune in the 9-12 slot, Sinner in the 13-16 slot, Kyrgios at 19.
In the 4th round, Nadal, Tsitsipas or Djokovic could be playing Sinner or Berrettini. One of them, will be playing one of them. Medvedev or FAA coud be playing Rune, Zverev or Hurkacz.
In the quarterfinal aready, Nadal, Tsitsipas or Djokovic could play Medvedev.
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Unseeded payers to look for(form/level rise or general pedigree): Draper, Nakashima, Paul, Brooskby, Wolf, Karatsev, Kokkinakis, Bublik, Ymer
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Update: I wrote this pre-draw but wanted to reease it anyway.
Results:
Nadal got the worst/toughest non-seed rounds 1-2 (arguaby the 2 best in Draper and Nakashima) and the toughest quarterfinal opponent (Medvedev) and the more top heavy semifinal (Tsitsipas, Sinner or FAA) opposed to Djokovic and Berrettini, Ruud, Fritz or questionable Zverev (can only hope Zverev will be back at his best).
Djokovic with a nice draw, 2 unthreatening players, and still no real floaters then with Dimitrov/Karatsev/Bergs, PCB/ADM, strong QFist (Kyrgios/Rune), and weak-ish SFist since most title contenders are in the top half.

Introduction: Rent Control in Chicago

Rent control is a policy restricting the amount landlords can charge for rent in specific apartments or neighborhoods. Many major U.S. cities have rent control laws, but Chicago is not one of them. Illinois passed the Rent Control Preemption Act in 1997, prohibiting municipalities like Chicago from enacting, maintaining, or enforcing rent control measures. Therefore, even if the Chicago City Council and Mayor wanted to implement rent control, they would not be able to do so.

History of Rent Control in Chicago

However, there is renewed interest in rent control among community groups and some of Chicago's aldermen. These groups argue that adopting rent control would provide more long-term stability for renters, their families, and their communities. In 2018, a group called "Lift the Ban" collected enough signatures to put a non-binding voter referendum on the ballot in three Chicago wards, and the majority of voters in those wards endorsed the idea of local rent control.
While the referendum had no practical impact on the law, it did indicate significant support for rent control among Chicago residents.

Pros and Cons of Rent Control in Chicago

While some argue that rent control is necessary to keep apartments affordable and protect renters from displacement, there are also valid arguments against implementing rent control in Chicago. One concern is that rent control can discourage the construction of new rental units, leading to a decrease in the housing supply. This decrease in supply can, in turn, lead to higher rents for units not subject to rent control, as landlords have less competition.
Rent control can incentivize landlords to pay attention to their properties, as they may need help to increase rent to cover the cost of repairs and maintenance.
Furthermore, rent control can also lead to a decrease in the quality of rental housing, as landlords may be less likely to invest in improvements to their properties. This can lead to a decline in the overall quality of neighborhoods and decrease the value of homes and other properties in the area. In a study of rent control in San Francisco, researchers found that rent control led to a decrease in the number of available rental units and a decline in the quality of rental housing. These adverse effects of rent control can ultimately harm landlords and renters in the long term. However, there are also compelling arguments in favor of implementing rent control in Chicago. One significant benefit of rent control is that it can help to keep housing costs affordable for low-income renters and prevent displacement. Rising rents can be especially burdensome for low-income renters, who may struggle to afford higher prices and risk being forced out of their homes. Rent control can help to mitigate these adverse effects and provide more stability for renters.
Another potential benefit of rent control is that it can help to preserve the diversity of neighborhoods and prevent them from becoming unaffordable for long-time residents.

Conclusion: Balancing the Needs of Renters and Landlords

When rent increases are not regulated, it can lead to rapid gentrification and the displacement of low-income and minority residents. Rent control can help to slow down this process and allow communities to remain diverse and inclusive. In a study of rent control in San Francisco, researchers found that rent control led to a decrease in the rate of evictions and an increase in the stability of the rental market. These positive effects of rent control can ultimately benefit landlords and renters in the long term. Nevertheless, rents in San Francisco remain among the highest in the country.
Despite the Rent Control Preemption Act, there have been some efforts to provide relief for renters in Chicago. In 2020, Illinois Governor Pritzker implemented an extended eviction moratorium for Illinois residents in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additionally, Mayor Lightfoot and the Chicago City Council enacted reforms that require landlords to give renters additional notice before raising the rent. However, these measures provide extra long-term stability than rent control.
It remains to be seen whether the Rent Control Preemption Act will be repealed. In the meantime, Chicago renters will continue to face the possibility of rising rents and the potential for displacement in rapidly gentrifying areas.

Filled one location and won against an opponent who completely filled the board. Kind of…

/news
https://sfist.com/2022/11/30/baby-reportedly-ingests-fentanyl-at-marina-park-saved-with-narcan/

https://sfist.com/2022/11/21/bay-area-transit-planners-fret-over-doomsday-scenario-of-service-cuts-amidst-plummeting-ridership/
It doesn't look good. Ridership has not returned.