Clothing Take-Back Law Targets Landfill Clutter
The Mercury News (San Jose), October 2, 2024
It's not quite time for spring cleaning, but the new year may have you thinking about what to do with old clothes that no longer fit or are just plain out of style. This article reports on new legislation signed into law by Governor Newsom that will require clothing retail stores to provide bins for unwanted clothes in all California counties by 2030. Before then, you can try the Take Back Bag from For Days, or you can sign up for the supplementary recycling service Ridwell, which picks up clothing and textiles in addition to items like batteries and lightbulbs. For a complete overview on what to do with unwanted clothes of varying qualities and how to prevent the problem going forward, check out the NYT's Wirecutter write-up from last year.
The Anti-Social Century
The Atlantic, February 2025
You've probably heard that the U.S. has a "loneliness epidemic" going at full tilt according to U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. The Atlantic follows the thread that Murthy started unspooling on the topic nearly two years ago. Indeed many of us experience acute loneliness during the holidays, ironically, so the topic is fresh in our seasonal awareness. Journalist Derek Thompson explores how and why our culture promotes the insularity of being alone with a screen rather than sharing space with living, breathing humans, and the resulting implications for society and the individual due to this degradation of humanity's oldest tradition of being social animals.
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How Far Would You Go To Make a Friend?
New York Magazine, January 13, 2025
Being completely in-tune with the topics on the tip of the tongue, NY Mag published a great companion piece that could act as an antidote to this loneliness epidemic the Atlantic is talking about. The piece zeros in on one entrepreneur's plans to create an anti-loneliness nonprofit called Belong Center. It's a fresh perspective (and possible solution) to a topic that's easy to talk about but more difficult to do anything about.
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A decade-old ladder, a half-dozen letters and the story of how an ‘American Nightmare’ kidnapper allegedly came to Contra Costa County
The Mercury News (San Jose), January 9, 2025
Listen up true crime aficionados! Did you see the Netflix documentary "American Nightmare?" This article picks up where the doc left off--connecting the perp, Matthew Muller, to several other instances of breaking and entering, assault, and abduction, all having come to light because a Central California law enforcement officer began writing to the perp after watching the doc. On January 17, Muller plead guilty to an additional two home invasions in Santa Clara County.
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A mystery photographer made stunning images of 1960s San Francisco. Clues point to a filmmaking legend
San Francisco Chronicle, January 16, 2025
Fans of french film maker Agnès Varda will be pleased to learn she may be the photographer behind a cache of 1960s photographs documenting our City by the Bay. The Chronicle's culture critic Peter Hartlaub investigates from the source--a man named Bill Delzell is helping the latest owner of the collection figure out who was behind the lens. It seems as of February 7, the photographer's identity is still not confirmed, but Delzell has reached his funding goal and will be able to move forward with developing and digitizing the rest of the photos.
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Boom on San Francisco Bay
National Geographic, August 1956
This in-depth article and photo essay about 1950s San Francisco is like visiting with an old friend and seeing pictures of them as a young person. There are so many highlights, but perhaps the painter at the top of a Golden Gate Bridge tower is the most breathtaking of all. Thanks to the patron that asked the reference question that led us on a wild chase to this amazing article.
