Giant Greta Thunberg mural to watch over San Francisco's downtown

San Francisco, a city that prides itself on its eco-consciousness, will soon have a giant likeness of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg gazing upon its downtown, reminding residents to respect the planet.

A mural on the side of a building depicts the
Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg.

The Argentine muralist Andres Iglesias, who signs his art with the pseudonym Cobre, is expected to complete the project in the central Union Square neighborhood by next week, SFGate reported. Cobre also painted a revered mural of the comedian Robin Williams that has since been demolished.

“Climate change is real,” Cobre told SFGate. “This girl Greta is awesome and she knows what she’s doing. I hope with this mural people will realize we have to take care of the world.”

The environmental not-for-profit group One Atmosphere reportedly reached out to Cobre after the mural of Williams was slated to come down and just as Cobre was searching for a building for his next project. The organization is said to be supplying all the paint for the project.

Read the story from The Guardian by Mario Koran - “Giant Greta Thunberg mural to watch over San Francisco's downtown.” 

Sudden appearance of electric scooters irks Santa Monica officials

ANTA MONICA, Calif. — Black, electric-powered scooters suddenly began appearing on the downtown streets, suburban sidewalks and beachside a few months ago in this urban coastal city.

Tyler Catudioc, 20, and Kai Wilson, 20, rent a Bird
scooter on the Third Street Promenade in Santa
Monica, Calif., on Feb. 4.

The dockless shared scooters took Santa Monica by surprise, including the mayor, who says he received a LinkedIn message from Bird chief executive Travis VanderZanden, offering to introduce him to the company’s “exciting new mobility strategy for Santa Monica” — after they landed in town.

“If you’re talking about those scooters that are out there already, there are some legal issues we have to discuss,” Santa Monica Mayor Ted Winterer said he told VanderZanden.

And to reinforce the point, the city filed a criminal complaint of nine counts centered on Bird’s failure to obtain a vendor permit, something the company maintains is applicable to food vendors, not dockless shared electric scooters.

Read The Washington Post story by Noah Smith - “Sudden appearance of electric scooters irks Santa Monica officials.”