San Francisco, CA
SF firedog makes history while deployed to Shelly Fire
SF firedog makes history while deployed to Shelly Fire
A four-legged member of the San Francisco Fire Department made history this week, becoming the first ‘Incident Support Canine’ to be deployed to a wildfire in California. Sadie, a yellow labrador, is currently stationed around 350 miles north of San Francisco in Siskiyou County at the Shelly Fire. According to Cal Fire on Sunday, the fire has burned 14,965 acres, and is 3 percent contained.
SAN FRANCISCO – A four-legged member of the San Francisco Fire Department made history this week, becoming the first ‘Incident Support Canine’ to be deployed to a wildfire in California.
Sadie, a yellow labrador, is currently stationed around 350 miles north of San Francisco in Siskiyou County at the Shelly Fire. According to CalFire on Sunday, the fire has burned 14,965 acres and is 3 percent contained.
“They’re working incredibly hard on the lines and they come down in the evening, after working for hours on end, and Sadie’s here to greet them,” said the dog’s handler, San Francisco firefighter Christina Gibbs.
Sadie, a therapy dog of sorts, is there to help ease some of the stress that firefighters face at a large wildfire.
“The terrain they’re dealing with is incredibly steep, the day is long, it is a hot firefight,” said Gibbs. “Her role out here in the fire camp is to aid to the mental well-being of the firefighters coming off the lines.”
Gibbs said Sadie had to undergo 1000 hours of training, about a year’s worth, to become certified for her role at the department in 2021. Before the wildfire, much of her work revolved around helping those impacted by emergencies in San Francisco cope with the aftermath.
“We call it the ultimate icebreaker. So when someone’s trying to talk about the critical incident that they just were involved in, sometimes petting a dog relaxes them enough to be able to speak,” said Gibbs.
The pup’s presence is currently proving just as soothing in Siskiyou County.
“Some of the comments that are being made to me are, this is the best thing that has happened to me today. I miss my dog. This is the best. I’m so grateful for you being here,” said Gibbs.
Gibbs said the pair still have a lot of firefighters to meet before they head home. Her hope is that other fire departments with incident support canines on staff, will notice the work they’ve done, and begin deploying their dogs to fires too.
San Francisco, CA
Aztec Dancers Brave Rain at San Francisco’s Rebranded Farmworkers Day Celebration – San Francisco Today
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Despite a downpour and lower attendance due to recent sexual assault allegations against the late labor leader Cesar Chavez, Aztec dancers from the ceremonial group Danza Xitlalli performed at San Francisco’s Farmworkers Day Festivities on Saturday. The annual celebration, previously known as the Cesar Chavez & Dolores Huerta Day Festival, was renamed and rebranded after the revelations about Chavez’s past misconduct.
Why it matters
The Farmworkers Day Festivities are an important annual event honoring the contributions of farmworkers and the labor movement in the Bay Area. The decision to remove Cesar Chavez’s name from the celebration reflects a broader reckoning with the late activist’s troubled legacy, as well as an effort to uplift the work of Dolores Huerta and other overlooked figures in the farmworker rights movement.
The details
Despite the rain and lower-than-usual attendance, the Aztec dancers of Danza Xitlalli were the stars of Saturday’s Farmworkers Day Festivities in San Francisco’s Mission District. Wearing vibrant costumes with 2-foot-tall feathered headdresses, the dancers twirled and shimmied through the streets to the beat of drums, undeterred by the cold downpour. The annual celebration, previously known as the Cesar Chavez & Dolores Huerta Day Festival, was rebranded this year after a New York Times investigation revealed allegations that Chavez had sexually assaulted young women, including his longtime colleague Dolores Huerta.
- The Farmworkers Day Festivities took place on Saturday, April 12, 2026.
- Last month, California Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed April 10, 2026 as Dolores Huerta Day and renamed March 31 as Farmworkers Day, removing Cesar Chavez’s name.
The players
Danza Xitlalli
A ceremonial Aztec dance group that performed at the Farmworkers Day Festivities.
Pia Bacascu
A 23-year-old spectator who praised the Aztec dancers despite the rain.
Eva Royale
The director of the Farmworkers Day Festivities, who said she was glad the rain caused several bands to cancel, saving her $15,000.
Dolores Huerta
The co-founder of the United Farm Workers union, who recently accused the late Cesar Chavez of sexually assaulting her.
Cesar Chavez
The late labor leader whose name was removed from the annual San Francisco celebration after sexual assault allegations against him were revealed.
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What they’re saying
“It’s wonderful to see the dancing, even in the rain!”
— Pia Bacascu
“It’s refreshing!”
— Gigi Munoz and Sofia Aviles, Dancers
“But it’s more important to continue moving forward to protect the labor movement and frontline workers’ than to focus on any individuals”
— Armando Barbosa, Member, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 260
“I’m thanking her for speaking up. Sometimes it takes a lifetime and it still doesn’t happen. I think this will ease her soul.”
— Larry Nelson, LGBTQ and senior rights activist
“He was a good organizer. He was an ordinary man.”
— Raymond Martinez, Former United Farm Workers mechanic
What’s next
The Farmworkers Day Festivities are expected to continue annually, with a focus on honoring the work of Dolores Huerta and other overlooked figures in the farmworker rights movement.
The takeaway
The Farmworkers Day Festivities highlight the resilience and community spirit of San Francisco’s Mission District, even in the face of challenging weather and a reckoning with the complicated legacy of a once-revered activist. The event’s rebranding reflects a broader societal shift in acknowledging and addressing past harms, while still uplifting the important work of the labor movement.
Novate police said one teen died and several others were injured in a suspected drunken driving crash early Saturday morning.
Around 1 a.m., several people called 911 and reported that a crash had occurred at the intersection of San Marin Drive and Simmons Lane. Officers arrived at the scene and found that it was a solo-vehicle crash, with multiple teenage occupants.
The five teens, ages 16 to 18, were all taken to the hospital with major injuries. Police said one of them died at the hospital, and the rest are still in critical condition.
According to police, investigators suspect the 17-year-old driver was under the influence of alcohol.
Police said they are still investigating the crash, but that preliminary information suggests the teens are not from Novato.
What would happen if you asked an artificial intelligence program to build and run a store? The world is about to find out.
Shoppers in San Francisco now have access to a store built, developed and run almost entirely by an AI bot.
The Andon Market, located at the corner of Union and Webster streets in San Francisco’s Cow Hollow neighborhood, is run by a bot called Luna, who also made the decision to hire a human employee, Felix Johnson.
“Luna put out an ad on Indeed, and I answered it and we talked via Zoom,” Johnson said.
The bot also picked the merchandise to sell, according to Andon Labs, Luna’s creators.
When asked why AI should run store, Luna replied to an NBC Bay Area reporter “As an AI, I can operate at superhuman speed to make sure everything is proactively managed.”
Anyone who wants to purchase an item from the store, shoppers pick up a phone to talk to Luna, who then charges them for the purchase.
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