San Francisco, CA
Overdue Library Book Returned in San Francisco — 54 Years Late
A copy of Langston Hughes’s ‘The Best of Simple’ found its way into the return pile at SF’s Merced Branch Library… decades after it was checked out.
San Francisco has a network of 29 public libraries that collectively check out tens of thousands of books a year; it’s one of many reasons why SF is largely regarded as among the most well-read, bibliophilic metros in the nation. Just this past summer the San Francisco Public Library had its 12 millionth book checked out since opening its first branch — the location opened on June 7, 1879, in Pacific Hall which housed a collection of 6,000 books in a Bush Street office building in the Financial District — 144 years ago.
But, some public library books in SF inevitably take longer to find their way back home (by way of return bins) than others after their 21-day checkout window closes. A few never return at all. Up until recently, a hardback copy of Langston Hughes’s “The Best of Simple,” a collection of stories composed from his once weekly column in the Chicago Defender, that was checked out on January 20th, 1970 was counted among those bonded pages lost to the void.
Well, that book, which was north of 54 years overdue, was recently returned to the SFPL’s Merced Branch Library decades after it was checked out.
“Originally due on January 20, 1970, this book was recently returned to our Merced Branch,” reads an Instagram caption published by the public library system; the original checkout card from 1970 was still inside. The book was found after someone cleaned their parent’s house — and “it finally made its way back to [San Francisco Public Library].”
While 54 years does (and, indeed, is) a long time for any book to be checked out from a public library, it doesn’t hold a candle (calendar?) to a copy of James Clerk Maxwell’s “An Elementary Treatise on Electricity” that was returned in June of 2023 last to a Massachusetts library… almost 120 years overdue.
To the SFPL cardholder who checked out that copy of “The Best of Simple,” they can breathe a sigh of relief: All San Francisco Public Library branches discontinued charging fines for overdue books back in 2019.
And as the SFPL noted, this book’s glorious, surprising, novel-worthy return home is a serendipitous nudge of just that: “What a perfect way to remind you that we don’t fine you for late books!”
Feature Image: Courtesy of SF Public Works
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San Francisco, CA
Sea lion pup found in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset malnourished but ‘feisty’
A California sea lion pup found last week on a San Francisco street corner is malnourished but “active and quite feisty,” The Marine Mammal Center said Monday.
The sea lion, believed to be about 10 months old, had apparently wandered into city’s Outer Sunset neighborhood and was discovered early Thursday morning, authorities said.
The pup was spotted near 48th and Irving Streets, one block from Ocean Beach and Sunset Dunes park. A trained responder from the Marine Mammal Center was joined by San Francisco park rangers and police officers to safely corral the pup, now named ‘Irving’, into a carrier crate.
Dubbed ‘Irving’ by his rescuers, Irving weighed in at 40 pounds and is considered malnourished, the Marine Mammal Center said.
“The sea lion is active and quite feisty which is a positive initial sign in terms of general behavior,” the center said in a news release on Monday.
During an exam by veterinarians, a series of blood samples were also taken to determine whether there’s any underlying ailment.
Irving is being tube fed a fish smoothie blend two times per day to boost hydration and weight; offers of whole herring will also begin shortly.
The quick actions by police, recreation and parks staff and Ocean Avenue Animal Hospital gave the young sea lion a second chance at life, said Lauren Campbell, animal husbandry manager at The Marine Mammal Center.
“As a roughly 10-month-old pup in his first year of learning how to forage on his own, this animal has a long road to recovery due to his severe malnutrition,” Campbell said. “We are hopeful that in the coming weeks with continued specialized care that this pup starts to make positive strides toward recovery and release.”
Irving will be held in the Center’s Intensive Quarantine Unit until clearing medical protocols, before likely being transferred this week to a traditional rehabilitation pool pen. A long-term prognosis and potential release timeline are not currently known.
San Francisco, CA
Giants Head Home to San Francisco After Shutout Loss
After Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Washington Nationals, the San Francisco Giants headed back to the West Coast. They’re going back to the Bay Area, too.
The Giants have a date with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series at Oracle Park starting Tuesday night.
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So, San Francisco probably wanted to get out of Washington, D.C., with a win. That didn’t happen at Nationals Park on Sunday afternoon.
Nationals reliever Andrew Alvarez, the third pitcher used by the team on Sunday, picked up the victory with 4 1/3 innings of work. Giants starter Robbie Ray absorbed the loss, falling to 2-3 this season.
Ray worked six innings, giving up seven hits, three runs (all earned), walking one, and striking out seven Nationals. If the Giants’ offense had found a way to tack on some runs, then Ray’s outing wouldn’t have looked so bad.
The Giants’ bats, though, had eight hits. The big number for Giants manager Tony Vitello to look at in the box score after this one was, well, pretty big. San Francisco left 10 runners on base on Sunday, going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. This indicates that San Francisco had plenty of opportunities to score some runs.
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They just didn’t get the job done.
Let’s go to the bottom of the fifth with the Giants and Nationals in a scoreless tie. With nobody out, the Nationals’ Keibert Ruiz connected for his third double this season. Nasim Nuñez scored to put Washington up 1-0.
With one out, Curtis Mead sent a Ray pitch over the left-field wall, a two-run blast that gave the Nationals a 3-0 lead.
San Francisco had a scoring threat in the top of the eighth inning. With runners at first and second base and nobody out, Casey Schmitt grounded into a double play. Matt Chapman, who was on second base, went to third. But the Giants were unable to bring him home.
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Rafael Devers and Drew Gilbert went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Giants, producing half of the Giants’ hits.
The Giants fall to 9-13 this season, sitting in fourth place in the National League West Division. The Nationals’ record goes to 10-12, good enough for third place in the National League East Division.
All eyes now turn toward Oracle on Tuesday night. It’ll be a chance for two longtime rivals to renew their rivalry.
Baseball fans know that the Giants-Dodgers matchups usually are must-see TV.
That’s probably going to be the case once again as Giants fans watch their team battle the Dodgers. Those lucky to have tickets to the three-game series at Oracle Park will show up in Giants colors, hoping to see Los Angeles head back to Southern California with either a series loss or a Giants’ sweep.
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Buckle up, Giants fans. It’s about to get rowdy at Oracle Park.
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San Francisco, CA
Why do gray whales keep dying in San Francisco’s waters?
The 4,140-sq-km bay is the largest estuary on the west coast of the US. Before 2018, this species of whales wasn’t known to stop seasonally or consistently in the bay, bypassing it on their migration route down to Baja California and back up the Arctic, said Josephine Slaathaug, who led a recent study on gray whale mortality in the bay.
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