#Rehabilitation Center San Francisco

[posttexasstressdisorder]

California’s oldest and most infamous prison, San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, is undergoing a groundbreaking transformation into a Nordic-inspired rehabilitation hub. Spearheaded by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the $239 million renovation is expected to be finished by January 2026.

Once home to notorious figures like cult leader Charles Manson and serial killer Richard Ramirez, the prison is now at the forefront of California’s evolving approach to incarceration. This new direction was solidified by Assembly Bill 1104, introduced by Democratic Assemblymember Mia Bonta and signed into law by Newsom in October 2023, redefining the purpose of incarceration as “rehabilitation and safe and successful reentry back into the community.”

The project draws inspiration from Scandinavian incarceration models that prioritize dignity, autonomy and reintegration. This approach has been linked to lower recidivism rates, as Norway’s two-year rate is 17.6%, compared with 61.5% in the U.S.

Jesse Vasquez, executive director of Friends of San Quentin News and the Pollen Initiative, told SFGATE he supports a shift in the prison model from punishment toward rehabilitation. “For the first time in California history, the governor decided, ‘OK, we’re gonna change the penal code. We’re gonna change the mission of the Department of Corrections, and we’re gonna solidify it with a monumental structural investment,’” he said. 

Unlike more remote prisons, San Quentin’s location in Marin County — just outside San Rafael — offers close proximity to Bay Area resources and a well-established volunteer network, enabling a wide range of rehabilitation and educational programs. Mount Tamalpais College, which operates within San Quentin, offers an associate degree in liberal arts, with courses taught by volunteer faculty from top Bay Area colleges and universities.

A view of San Quentin seen from a ferry boat on San Francisco Bay.Susanne Friedrich/Getty Images

Central to the transformation are three new buildings replacing former industrial facilities that will house vocational training areas, multimedia education centers and restorative justice programs. The 2024 report from the San Quentin Transformation Advisory Council outlines plans to reimagine the prison environment through additions like a library, grocery store, cafe and communal spaces reflecting life outside prison.

“If you can imagine like a college campus vocational training center inside of the institution,” Vasquez said, emphasizing plans for open-access programming.

Additionally, the renovation includes significant improvements in inmate living conditions, particularly advocating single-cell occupancy — a direct response to inmate requests, Vasquez noted.

“The incarcerated first and foremost wanted single-cell living,” Vasquez said, noting that renovating existing facilities wasn’t viable. With the new model, the prison can better accommodate more humane living conditions aligned with rehabilitation goals. 

Newsom’s San Quentin initiative is part of broader criminal justice reforms, including his 2019 moratorium on California’s death penalty and the dismantling of San Quentin’s death row announced in January 2022. These foundational changes paved the way for the current rehabilitation-focused transformation.

According to a 2023 California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation report, nearly half of California inmates released in 2018 faced reconviction within three years.Vasquez hopes San Quentin’s new approach will serve as a replicable model nationwide to reduce recidivism.  

“We’ve tried incarceration in terms of warehousing with no programming or minimal programming and minimal investment for more than 180 years, and it hasn’t worked,” Vasquez said. “This is the one time that we have a chance to provide investment and create opportunity so that the thing does work.”

Local editor Kasia Pawlowska contributed to this story. 

[ms-nesbit]

Title: cosmic (a jason todd x reader fic)

Chapter I of ???

Rating: 18+ (eventual smut, language, violence i guess, and mention of past abuse)

Tw: abuse, violence, and smut.

Summary: 

y/n meets dick and barbara, who try to set y/n up with dick’s big little brother.

ao3

“Can you turn the goddamn air up?”

Gothamites were becoming increasingly brusque as the summer heat slowly suffocated them. Typically, one can notice the season in Gotham based on the layers of clothing (or lack thereof) that each resident sported on the Gotham streets; however, tube tops and 1970s-style track shorts were no match for the heat index rising above 115 degrees, an unusually sweltering day for the sinful city.

“It looks like Gotham is finally getting a taste of what the afterlife is gonna look like.” One resident snickered with a twisted smirk as he laid change down on the newspaper stand to pay for the Gotham Gazette. “Lotta fire in those parts, don’t’cha think?”

“I don’t know - never believed in the stuff.” replied y/n, who sat on the other end of the newspaper stand. She counted the dirtied coins and wrinkled up dollar bills before placing them in the register, sitting on the stool with a sigh. She glanced at the clock on the upper corner of the interior of the stand as the upper hand mocked her boredom.

Y/n worked at the newspaper stand part-time since graduating from NYU - she fled New York City, hopeful about Gotham despite her friends’ pleas for her to stay after the break-up.

“Y/n, seriously? Fucking Gotham?” Amulya spat the city’s name, her boxed wine almost out with it. “What the hell?”

Sarah shook her head, the wiry blonde strands going with it. “Is it because of the superheroes?”

“No.” Y/n replied, her voice less convincing than her face’s poor attempt at hiding guilt. “I just think that I want to see more than NYC.”

“Then go to San Francisco, for crying out loud!” Amulya stood on her feet this time, glass full of wine sloshing with every movement. “Or at least Bludhaven. I’m with Sarah on this one: I think you’ve finally lost it, hun.”

Y/n sighed as she stared at her flats. “I’ll come visit, I just… can’t stand being here after everything.”

Since moving to Gotham, y/n caught up on the news: Batman was a household name, due in part by the Gotham News and Gazette. His name was both a prayer and a curse, spoken by all sorts of residents as they pointed to him. After a couple of weeks, it clicked for y/n: Gotham’s incessant violent crime ceases to stop due to Batman’s no-kill rule.

One day, while job hunting (for the third week in a row), y/n picked up a thrown out Gazette paper, with a piece titled Are You There, Batman? It’s Me, Gotham by Keke Throwma. She read it, then clipped the newspaper article into a scrapbook upon her arrival to her shared apartment. The following day, she applied for a position at the newspaper stand, writing articles in her downtime on shifts (which was often - the digital age nearly extinguished the paper business entirely).

“Do you think it’s ever going to change?” Y/n heard from a passerby who stopped at the stand to read the cover page of the paper.

The man standing beside the passerby shrugged, but grinned optimistically. “You know, all it takes is implementing a rehabilitation program, which Gotham should fund!” His voice was as deep as his shoulders broad, and only then did y/n notice the badge clipped on the man’s belt. “Could I just get this one?” He made eye contact with y/n, his blue eyes soft and welcoming.

“Yeah, no problem.” y/n opened her palm for the cash as she watched the man remove the wallet from his front pocket.

“What do you think about all this?” The woman asked y/n, pointing to the newspapers.

Y/n blinked for a moment, her mind blank despite preparing for this question for months. “The rehab center wouldn’t account for people like Joker, who believe that rules are meant for breaking.” she counted the coins after the man gave her the money, and pushed a button to open the register.

“See? Thank you!” the woman threw her hands up, her buttoned-up top rising from her slacks. “Grayson, you’re the only person who thinks Batman is in his right mind.” 

“Not right mind,” Dick corrected, “just on the right path. Big difference.” He folded the newspaper and placed it in his armpit, thanking y/n.

“You’re Detective Grayson, right?” y/n leaned forward in her stool in curiosity. “And Commissioner Gordon!” she grinned, awestruck by the pair standing before her.

“Yeah, we are.” Barbara replied. “Y’know, people aren’t always this excited to see us.”

“Unless they have a loaded barrel and a death wish.” Dick added, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Sorry, I just see you two on TV, I hear about you in the papers, and I think you’re doing a great job of interfering with the vigilantes.”

Dick blinked quickly, pursing his lips as he looked to Gordon for her reaction. She beamed, “Yeah, I know a lot of people are upset about that, but from working closely with my father until his death, I saw the often fatal flaws of enabling vigilantism, let alone encouraging it in Batman’s case.”

Y/n nodded, following along. “Yeah, we studied vigilantism in a couple of my criminal seminars in school. Although Batman has respectful intentions for the legal system in Gotham, he isn’t contributing to the reform of the system, essentially being a catalyst for the cycle of retribution and re-offense for these criminals.”

“Exactly!” Barbara laughed. “Where did you study criminal justice?”

“Criminology.” y/n corrected. “At NYU. I moved here a few months ago hoping to get a job as a journalist, but apparently they’re all booked up.”

“Figuratively or literally?” Dick asked, quirking a brow. Y/n and Barbara laughed in response. “I’m not surprised that you weren’t brought on at the Gazette, if that’s what you applied for, but we could always use you at the PD, if you’re interested in some additional training.”

“Recruiting me? For the police? No offense, Detective, but I’d rather stay here in the sweltering heat.” y/n waved her hand.

“Don’t like the grunt work?” Barbara asked, intrigued.

“No, I love that stuff,” y/n sighed, “I just don’t… like the cops, y’know? Feels dirty." She looked around at the floor beside her, covered in old gum, trash, and remnants of rodents. “Dirtier than this place, I’m afraid.” Y/n realized what she said and quickly added, “No offense.”

“None taken.” Dick replied. “Seems like you should meet my brother. He is, for lack of a better word, ashamed of what I do for a living.”

Barbara nodded in agreement. “I’ve been over at their place for holidays a couple of times, and Jason hates him for it. It’s kind of funny, actually.”

“I don’t know why he doesn’t hate you! I don’t get why it’s just me!” Dick’s voice is irritated, half-laughing at his own words.

“I know, I know.” Barbara rubs his back soothingly. “We’ll get going soon, but we didn’t catch your name. What was it?”

“Oh, it’s y/n.” Y/n replied.

“If you want,” Dick’s chest rose as he took a sharp breath, “you can stop by at the station, and I can take you to the criminologist. I dunno if she needs an apprentice, but I do know that she needs help with a couple of cases.”

“Or you can just stop by Wayne Manor next week for the gala and introduce yourself to the PD.” Barbara interrupted. “It would be bold, but that way you can meet them, and possibly Dick’s brother, whom you might just like.”

Dick side-eyed Barbara, swallowing a smirk. “He might not even show up. He doesn’t like parties, and he doesn’t like cops. It’s like his worst nightmare.”

“I can stop by. Is it black tie?” y/n rested her hands on her knees as she watched the pair shake their heads almost in unison. “Okay, I’ll do that, then. I don’t like parties as much, but fuck it, I could use a better job than this.”

“Okay, we’ll see you then.” Dick smiled, holding up his coffee cup.

“See you then, y/n.” Barbara playfully grinned before leaving.

[importantwomensbirthdays]

Kitty Cone

Disability rights activist Kitty Cone was born in 1944 in Champaign, Illinois. Diagnosed with muscular dystrophy as a teenager, Cone's disability activism began in the 1970s. Working at the Berkley Center for Independent Living, she advocated for accessibility measures such as curb ramps. She was a key figure in the 1977 occupation of San Francisco's Federal Building, a protest that led to regulations implementing section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. These protests also helped raise public awareness of the struggle for disability rights.

Kitty Cone died in 2015 at the age of 70.

[spntrashpanda]

EvanTommy Headcanon for

@kinardbuckleys.

So this just poured out of me, I have no idea where it came from.

Chimney had at some point mentioned some of Buck's attempts at a grand gesture when dating women, like the hot balloon ride. He waits for Evan to try one but Buck doesn't. Some careful and nonchalant questioning later Buck reveals that they always go wrong and that he is tired of trying and failing. Tommy is like hold my beer and so for Buck and Tommy's 6 month anniversary Tommy does a big gesture. Even has been research spiraling on whales and other marine mammals and Tommy loves to listen to Evan ramble and gets sad when Evan stops himself afraid he is being annoying. Tommy plans with Eddie to surprise Evan with an overnight trip up to San Francisco. He flies them up to San Francisco and takes Evan to the Marine Mammal Center for a private tour to see the seals being rehabilitated followed by a picnic on a small beach near-by. They go hiking at sunset and spend the night at a cozy bed and breakfast overlooking the ocean. While Tommy doesn’t arrange to have rose petals scattered over the room, some things are too over the top, he does arrange to have a vase of California poppies in the room.

The next day, they go on a whale watching trip to the Farallon Islands. It takes some prompting from Tommy before Evan starts excitedly telling him about whales and particularly the 52-hertz whale. He gets sad when he talks about how it’s the loneliest whale in the world. He sounds wistful and Tommy just holds him from behind as they watch humpbacks frolic. He quietly whispers into Evan’s ear that he isn’t alone and tells him he loves him. 52 becomes their short hand for you are not alone, to the point where when they get married years later, the wave pattern for 52 hertz is etched onto their rings.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this Smithsonian story:

Several hundred starving, sick or injured brown pelicans have turned up on beaches throughout California over the past few weeks, with wildlife officials still unable to pinpoint the cause of what they are calling a “crisis.”

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and other non-governmental partners, have been working to collect and rehabilitate the birds, many of which are anemic, dehydrated and underweight.

“They’re in really poor physical shape. They’re starving, and they haven’t gotten enough nutrition,” Russ Curtis, a spokesperson for the nonprofit organization International Bird Rescue, which is helping in the rescue efforts, tells KQED’s Annelise Finney.

“When there’s not the fishing stock that they can find, they take chances around fishing piers and fishing boats and places where there are people with fishing tackle,” Curtis says, explaining that some pelicans have been hurt by fishing hooks and lines they encounter near the shore.

As of this week, the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center (WWCC) in Huntington Beach and Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network have admitted more than 100 pelicans each, while International Bird Rescue has taken 260 pelicans into its two California facilities—one in Los Angeles County, and one in the San Francisco Bay Area, reports Cheri Carlson of the Ventura County Star.

Other birds have been found dead on beaches. Necropsies have revealed starvation as their cause of death, which has puzzled scientists. Populations of fish that pelican forage, by all accounts, remain abundant off the Pacific coast.

We also know that there’s supposedly plenty of anchovies and their food out there in the ocean, so we don’t really know why they are not able to forage yet,” Debbie McGuire, executive director of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center, tells Eugene Garcia of theAssociated Press.

Brown pelicans are known to spend their non-breeding months throughout the entirety of the state’s coastline, and the sick birds have been found in a variety of locations. In northern California, most birds have been rescued around Monterey and Santa Cruz, while those in southern California have been found by officials in a variety of traditional and non-traditional habitats. Two dozen pelicans were found on Newport Beach and dozens more were picked up around Huntington Beach—but sick birds have also been identified in a lake at SoFi stadium, the home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, and at a Malibu fire station, the Guardian’sDani Anguiano reports.In rescue efforts, the first step is to support the birds with warmth. “The great news is the vast majority are recovering if we can get them through those first couple of critical hours of hypothermia,” Elizabeth Wood, the WWCC’s veterinarian and medical director, says in a video posted to Facebook.

[perfectlyyoungtimetravel]

Black History Month:Day 13

I drew Johnnie Lacy-She was born in 1937.In Huttig,Arkansas.She grew up during the segregation, especially in school systems.She would face gender and racial discrimination and as her family moved to Louisana and California (they moved to California in 1947. When she was 10) she would still experience gender and racial discrimination.At age 19 while she was studying for a nursing degree in San Francisco State,Johnnie got diagnosed with polio which resulted in paralysis but in 1980.She still wanted to return to school to continue her education,and at that time she started using a wheelchair and got discrimination for her disability.When she applied to attend San Francisco State University to study speech therapy the head of the department tried to BLOCK her enrollment.This was before the Americans with Disabilities Act and at the time the only federal law protecting people who had disabilities was the Rehabilitation Act.Johnnie informed the department head that he would not be able to do this to her just because she was a woman or just because she was Black and of course it was clear that the head of the department tried to take an unfair advantage of her because she had a disability.And later she was allowed in the program but was not allowed to attend her graduation.She would go on to graduate from UC Berkeley where she also got inspired to become a civil rights and a disability rights activist.She refused to be silenced.Johnnie became the first executive director of The Community Resources for Independent Living in Hayward,California.She co-founded and worked at the Berkeley Center for Independent Living in 1981.She served on the state Attorney General’s Commission on Disability and the Mayor’s Disability Council of San Francisco.Even after her retirement she was determined to continue her activism and educate both the Black community and the disabled community about race and served on the Hayward city and community commissions and well as the Commission on Personnel and Affirmative Action.

She died in 2010.At the age of 73

Credits for information: laddinc.org and disability network southwest Michigan.or

Materials used:Soft Pastel crayons,HB pencil and 8B pencil

See you soon everyone and Happy Valentine's Day if you celebrate it,even though I don't really celebrate it anymore but I still wish everyone a happy Valentine 💖💖

[beardedmrbean]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has ambitious and expensive plans for a dilapidated factory at San Quentin State Prison where inmates of one of the nation’s most notorious lockups once built furniture, and lawmakers have given him the greenlight to start with little input or oversight.

He wants to spend $360 million demolishing the building and replacing it with one more reminiscent of a college campus, with a student union, classrooms and possibly a coffee shop. It’s part of his desire to make San Quentin, once home to the nation’s largest death row and where the state performed executions, a model for preparing people for life on the outside — a shift from the state’s decades-long focus on punishment.

And Newsom wants it all to happen by December 2025, just before he leaves office.

A 21-member advisory council Newsom selected to help shape the new facility’s design and programming does not have to follow open meetings laws, while the Legislature traded away seats on the council and formal oversight during budget negotiations.

That’s a concern for supporters and critics of prison reform. Republican lawmakers say the Legislature needs more of a say in the process, especially when the state faces a nearly $32 billion budget deficit. Criminal justice advocates say reforming San Quentin is a distraction from the real goal of closing more prisons.

“Spending hundreds of millions on new prison infrastructure is a step in the wrong direction,” said Brian Kaneda of CURB, a criminal justice reform coalition. “If there’s no public accessibility to the San Quentin advisory council meetings, that’s a really significant concern that I think people aren’t paying enough attention to.”

After inquiries from The Associated Press, the governor's office said it will release the advisory council's report to the public before Newsom presents his next budget to lawmakers in January.

“Since the very beginning of this process, the administration has engaged a diverse set of stakeholders and committed to transparently making the Advisory Council’s recommendations public. Our partners in the Legislature — along with stakeholders including victims, incarcerated individuals and their families, (The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) staff, and program providers — are the linchpin to San Quentin’s success," Izzy Gardon, deputy director of communications for Newsom, said in a statement.

The advisory council includes criminal justice reform advocates, San Quentin top brass and Newsom political allies like Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg. It has met at least five times since June, and it will give a preliminary report to the administration this September and a final report in December.

The Democratic governor first announced his plans for remaking the prison — and renaming the facility located about 18 miles (29 kilometers) north of San Francisco the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center — in March. He said California would offer its own take on the Scandinavian prison model where cells look more like dorm rooms and inmates have access to activities and educational programs.

Newsom in 2019 instituted a moratorium on executions, and the state has begun moving San Quentin’s remaining 700 death row inmates to other prisons. San Quentin is home to more than 3,600 inmates total.

San Quentin already has some of the nation’s most innovative programs for inmates. In July, Newsom’s administration invited reporters to tour the prison, showcasing accredited college classes, a coding academy and the prison’s award-winning newsroom, among other programs. Many inmates said they’re excited for more programming spaces, but others remained skeptical.

Juan Haines, an inmate at San Quentin for nearly three decades, said the governor’s efforts to shift the culture at San Quentin would only work if both inmates and prison guards are buying into the vision, he told reporters during the July media tour.

Steinberg, one of the advisory council's leaders, said the group is tackling how to retrain correctional officers and improve inmates’ experience, among other issues.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation started soliciting contractors to design the new campus before lawmakers approved the budget, and a firm has been hired with plans to start construction next year. Lawmakers waived the historic preservation requirement and an environmental impact review to speed up the project.

The San Quentin campus would cost $360 million through a lease revenue bond. Lawmakers also agreed to another $20 million from the general fund for other smaller capital projects recommended by the council.

Democratic lawmakers, who hold a supermajority in California, said they’re supportive of Newsom’s project. Approving it helped them score a different political victory.

In exchange for approval, they added a provision to the budget giving them access to key data on the operational capacities of prisons across the state, which they say will help determine which to shut down. California has roughly 15,000 empty prison beds, a number that’s expected to grow.

[rabbitcruiser]

Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Spain (No. 6)

Plaza del Santo: It is located in front of the cathedral, in the center of the old town. It was in the Santo where at first the most important institutions were concentrated: pilgrim hospital, cathedral and the old dependencies of the council with its prison. The old Hospital of Pilgrims, it is known that it was raised by the hermit Domingo in the second half of the eleventh century, for its realization required a large amount of wood that decided to ask the neighbors of Ayuela. They refused, authorizing him to cut everything he could with the sickle he had hanging on his belt, and the Miracle was done: at each sickle stroke a tree fell. It remained active until in 1840 it moved to the Convent of San Francisco, from that year it was the home of various families, the brotherhood of the saint itself occupied for years two rooms for its civic-religious activities. In 1965 it was rehabilitated as a Parador de Turismo, which is still operating today.

House of Lorenzo de Tejada: Known as the lords of Cirujeda because for almost two centuries the pharmacy that ran the saga of the Cirujeda was located, whose last owners were said to have "taught a horse not to eat, and when it learned it died ...". It highlights a double eaves of carved dogs and florons, the most beautiful of all La Rioja and the royal staircase articulated by Tuscan columns, whose hollow is covered with dome on pendentives, decorated with plasterwork and naïve paintings of popular art.

Source: Wikipedia  

[liveoakswellness]

Live Oaks Wellness: Comprehensive Drug Rehabilitation Services Near Black Point-Green Point, CA

Black Point-Green Point, located in Marin County, California, is a serene community known for its picturesque landscapes and tranquil environment. Residents seeking professional drug rehabilitation services have access to comprehensive programs designed to support individuals on their path to recovery.​

About Black Point-Green Point, CA

Nestled along the northern shores of San Pablo Bay, Drug Rehab San Francisco Black Point-Green Point is characterized by rolling hills, waterfront views, and a close-knit community atmosphere. The area boasts several notable landmarks, including the historic Black Point Railroad Bridge and the scenic Rush Creek Open Space Preserve, providing residents with ample opportunities for outdoor recreation and nature appreciation.​

Drug Rehabilitation Services Near Black Point-Green Point

For residents of Black Point-Green Point seeking professional drug rehabilitation services, several reputable facilities are located nearby:​

Bayside Marin Treatment Center: Located in San Rafael, approximately 9.8 miles from Black Point-Green Point, Bayside Marin offers comprehensive addiction treatment services, including residential and outpatient programs, catering to individuals seeking recovery in a serene and supportive environment. ​

North Bay Recovery Center: Situated in San Rafael, about 9.56 miles from Black Point-Green Point, North Bay Recovery Center specializes in substance abuse treatment, providing personalized programs to address the unique needs of each client. ​

Center Point Inc Non Residential Services: Also located in San Rafael, approximately 9.57 miles from Black Point-Green Point, Center Point Inc offers non-residential services focused on substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation. ​

Contact Live Oaks Wellness

For personalized care tailored to individual needs, Live Oaks Wellness is committed to supporting residents on their journey to recovery.​

Phone: 415-316-0672​

Website: https://liveoakswellness.com/​

Location: Find Us on Google Maps​

Embarking on the path to recovery requires courage and support. Live Oaks Wellness is dedicated to providing the necessary services to ensure this journey is as smooth and effective as possible.

[xtruss]

These Matchmakers Will Find You The Perfect Mate—If You’re An Owl

A Small Population of California Burrowing Owls is Getting a Helping Hand When It Comes to Romance—From a Team of Devoted Scientists.

— By Kate Furby | February 14, 2025

Finding a mate isn’t just about love for California Burrowing Owls, it’s about the survival of their species. That's why scientists are getting involved, pairing the birds with the best mate possible to ensure Genetically Diverse Offspring. Photograph By Kevin Lohman

Modern love can be a struggle—even for owls.

February is the beginning of breeding season for a small but growing population of burrowing owls in the San Francisco Bay Area, and also the time that conservation biologists will start releasing optimally paired owls they’ve taken care of all winter.

Dr. Lynne Trulio, Professor of Environmental Studies at San Jose State University, has been studying Western Burrowing Owls (Athenae cunicularia hypogeae) for over 20 years. She and her colleagues have mapped the birds’ homes, sex, and genetics. The aim: to understand the genetics of the population, help juveniles survive the winter, pair them to prevent inbreeding, and preserve and create habitat. It’s all part of a wider research effort called the Bird Genoscape Project which uses AI analysis and genetic material to help track, study, and preserve Western Hemisphere birds.

Trulio has spent countless thousands of hours watching and studying the wild owls, which are typically monogamous, following elaborate courtship displays from males, who swoop, dive, and serve food to impress sometimes nonchalant females. “She'll grab it and just run underground,” says Trulio, adding: “the way they run along the ground is just hilarious.”

By May, their chicks have begun to hatch—and and once they’re old enough, the scientist matchmakers swoop in.

A Burrowing Owlet Peers out from its Burrow. Photograph By Kevin Lohman

In the wild, juvenile owls have a dismal 30 percent survival rate over the winter, but by collecting a number of the young owls in a process called “overwintering,” scientists can significantly increase their survival. They only take juveniles of a certain age from parents who have two or more other offspring. After a health check and quarantine period, the owls spend the winter together in a massive aviary at the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center in Morgan Hill, south of San Jose. It’s an overnight camp vibe for the juveniles. But camp has a second purpose other than keeping the owls safe: it gives the scientists time to study each individual and genetically pair them with their best mate possible just before release.

Using just a feather or a blood sample, collaborating scientist at Colorado State University, Dr. Kristen Ruegg can sequence their genomes. That complete set of DNA for an organism holds all the information that codes for a life, everything from vision to feather color. But it can also be used to understand ancestry, much like the ancestry test can help you understand your health and heritage or how a DNA test will try to guess your dog’s breed. Ruegg can do genetic testing that matches the birds according to which part of their genome needs more diversity, ensuring the most genetically diverse—and thus most likely to succeed—offspring.

Once the scientists have arranged the owls in optimal duos, they release them together into designated burrows, some artificially constructed (due to flooding and urban development, many of the historical natural burrows have been destroyed). Some of the burrows are those dug by local ground squirrels, making the owls much like squatters. And not tidy ones. “ Oh my gosh. They're messy,” says Trulio.

Other housing help for the young couples often includes an enclosure over the burrow to protect the birds from predators such as red-tailed hawks and golden eagles. Burrowing owls have a long evolutionary relationship with the animals of the grasslands—so much so that the young owls, without ever having heard a rattlesnake, do a perfect mimic hiss like a rattlesnake if they’re scared or threatened.

While in the enclosed burrows, researchers will supplementarily feed the birds. The birds almost always stay with their assigned mate, although in a few cases the pair won't produce an egg (sometimes even the best matchmakers can’t pull off their missions).

Burrowing Owls in a Booming Megacity! Built on the flat expanses of the Sonoran Desert, metropolitan Phoenix is growing dramatically as it absorbs farm fields and wild scrublands— terrain favored by burrowing owls. In a unique effort to save the underground nesters, experts and volunteers have relocated hundreds of owls away from encroaching development. Matthew W. Chwastyk, NGM Staff. Sources: Wild at Heart; Cornell Lab of Ornithology; City of Phoenix; USGS; NASA/JPL

“They actually want to stay together. So they stay with one mate for more than one season. That doesn't mean there aren't extra pair matings and stuff like that. They certainly are. But most of the time they stay with one mate,” said Trulio.

So far, the short-term field metrics of success of the arranged owl pairs—including life span, and number of offspring—are not significantly different, and longer term data are needed. But there is one early sign that the matchmaking is paying off. Offspring from these scientifically paired owls have telomeres that are twice as long, according to a 2023 study in Molecular Ecology. Telomeres, the region at the end of a chromosome, protect DNA and shorten as you age. Longer telomeres in humans can indicate a healthier person, and one who has experienced less stress, according to some studies. The owl scientists speculate that the longer telomeres may be an indication of the increased genetic diversity they’ve been aiming for. When populations of animals get too small, the risk of inbreeding and lower genetic diversity has also been linked to a variety of bad outcomes, including a weaker immune system.

This is good news for the Bay Area owls, who’ve been facing both a housing crisis and corresponding shortage of suitable mates. The Western Burrowing Owls are nearing localized extinction because the population has grown so small due to habitat loss and climate change. But, in good news for the owls, last year the California Fish and Game Commission made the Western Burrowing Owl a candidate for becoming a protected species under the California Endangered Species Act.

“If you look at Google Maps at all of these sites, they're surrounded by development. You can see historically they were more open. The owls could nest in these areas and forage in adjacent sites, but now they're being confined to smaller and smaller areas,” said Philip Higgins a wildlife biologist and co-founder of Talon Ecological Research Group, a research and conservation nonprofit collaborating on the project. The conservation science is immensely collaborative, funded by Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency, and involving many other groups in the region.

Originally there was some concern about juveniles in captivity being at a disadvantage for hunting and protection instincts, however, the scientists have found that a captive bred burrowing owl is very capable of catching a wild mouse or understanding that a red-tailed hawk call means to watch the sky and hide underground.

“A pair we released last year…, one day we went out there to check on them. The male was hopping around on the ground. This was in a week of being released. And we couldn't see what he was doing. Then there was a gopher snake, he was attacking the gopher snake, so it wouldn't go down the burrow. So those instincts are very, very strong, at least in burrowing owls,” said Higgins.

The scientists have mapped and banded seven study sites in the Bay area. This effort, coupled with captive breeding and habitat preservation, has led to great success for the owl programs. Once home to as few as 15 owls, the adult population is now nearing 100, with the juvenile population over 200.

For Trulio, it’s one more example of the power of cooperation.

“The matchmaking between our field team and our field work and the genomics team,” she says “produced incredible results that we would never have achieved alone.”

[starspangledbatter]

The History of Prescription Drug Abuse in California

Though California deals with a controversial use of prescription drugs, the state lacks an exact documented history involving them.

However, there is still documentation present that has tackled this issue over the last few years.

About 6 years ago, around 791,000 Californian adults abused their prescribed medications. This was conducted by the California Health Interview Survey.

In 2017, death by prescription opiods had increased by 14,000 more likely deaths in the United States since 1999.

In relation to the drug abuse epidemic in the United States (including California), Ronald Reagan passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. This act was used to punish or rehabilitate all substance abusers, including ones of prescription drugs.

Even after half a decade or more, the history involving California and prescription drug abuse has not been at all pleasant. So, if this is the case, has California attempted to do something about it? This will be the topic of a separate post.

Sources:

[uhcstaffing1]

Unlock Your Career Potential with Physical Therapist Assistant Jobs in Pleasant Hill, CA

Physical Therapist Assistants (PTAs) play an essential role in the healthcare industry, providing hands-on support to patients undergoing physical therapy. If you're seeking a rewarding career that combines patient care, professional growth, and excellent job prospects, consider exploring PTA opportunities in Pleasant Hill, California. Here's everything you need to know about starting or advancing your career as a Physical Therapist Assistant in this vibrant city.

Why Choose a Career as a Physical Therapist Assistant?

PTAs work under the supervision of licensed physical therapists to help patients recover from injuries, manage chronic conditions, and improve their overall mobility and quality of life. Their responsibilities include assisting with therapeutic exercises, documenting patient progress, and educating patients and their families on treatment plans.

This career offers several benefits:

High Demand: With an aging population and increased awareness of physical therapy's benefits, the demand for PTAs is on the rise.

Competitive Salary: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, PTAs in California earn an average annual salary of $70,570, significantly higher than the national average.

Job Satisfaction: Helping patients regain their independence and achieve their health goals is deeply fulfilling.

Why Pleasant Hill, CA?

Nestled in the heart of Contra Costa County, Pleasant Hill offers a unique blend of suburban charm and professional opportunities. Here are some reasons why PTAs thrive in this area:

Healthcare Hubs: Pleasant Hill is home to numerous clinics, rehabilitation centers, and hospitals, providing ample job opportunities.

Community Atmosphere: The city boasts a welcoming community, making it an ideal place to work and live.

Proximity to Major Cities: Located near San Francisco and Oakland, Pleasant Hill allows easy access to larger metropolitan areas while maintaining a quieter lifestyle.

Qualifications and Skills Needed for PTA Jobs

To work as a Physical Therapist Assistant in Pleasant Hill, you’ll need:

Education: An associate degree from a CAPTE-accredited PTA program.

Licensing: A valid California state license, which requires passing the National Physical Therapy Exam (NPTE) for PTAs.

Key Skills: Strong communication, compassion, attention to detail, and the ability to work as part of a team.

Where to Find PTA Jobs in Pleasant Hill

Several facilities in and around Pleasant Hill are actively seeking skilled PTAs. These include:

Hospitals: Major healthcare providers such as John Muir Health.

Rehabilitation Centers: Local facilities specializing in physical and occupational therapy.

Private Practices: Smaller clinics offering personalized patient care.

Home Health Services: Opportunities to work with patients in their own homes.

You can also explore online job portals like Indeed, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn, or connect with staffing agencies specializing in healthcare placements.

Tips for Landing Your Dream PTA Job

Polish Your Resume: Highlight your education, certifications, and clinical experience.

Network Locally: Attend community health events or join local professional organizations.

Continue Learning: Pursue additional certifications in specialized areas like orthopedics or geriatrics to stand out.

Prepare for Interviews: Emphasize your ability to connect with patients and collaborate with teams.

Start Your Journey Today

Pleasant Hill, CA, offers a promising landscape for Physical Therapist Assistants eager to make a difference in patients’ lives. With a growing demand for skilled professionals, excellent earning potential, and a supportive community, there’s no better time to pursue a PTA career in this dynamic city. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to take the next step, explore the exciting opportunities available in Pleasant Hill. Your future as a PTA awaits!

[phillipcole]

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert part 2

Colbert: Now, the reason why Nancy Pelosi is not the last name on Phillip's sick list.

PBC: Thank you. My name is Phil and I am here on behalf of Phillip and Cole's Variety Team. Phillip is in a rehabilitation center in California on watch in case his condition worsens in a couple weeks. The rest of the team is hiding in various bunkers near their respective polling places. That's with the exception of Rupert, Phillip's cousin in England. He has been very busy of late trying to explain the eccentricities of American politics to the British public.

I am here to say that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is not the last name on Phillip's sick list. She is preparing to retire at age 84 after 38 years in the House of representatives and every member of the team hopes she will have a happy retirement...mpppp. Some of us wish she had retired 10 or 20 years ago, but with no ill will. Even though we wish her the best and she is not the last name on Phillip's list, we all do have objections to some things about her.

First of all, Phillip is not a right wing conservative. He has few objections to her political positions. What he objects to is her membership in the San Francisco elites. Phillip considers them a more irritating group than the Boston elites who would never accept him as a member no matter how smart he got because he was never rich enough. She had to join the elites, but she didn't have to go into politics. When people live in an ivory tower and look down on the masses they are doing no harm. When they go into politics and try to mold the masses into their version of what they think they should be...then he objects.

Norbert Adams, the unluckiest man in the world, dislikes Nancy Pelosi because of her great success in life. In fact, he dislikes almost anyone who succeeds at anything more often than she fails.

Cole the Nashville rapper and his cousins Brad and Ford...mpppp...mpppp...dislike Nancy Pelosi because back in 2004 Richard Gephardt, Congressman from Missouri, stepped down from his position as leader of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives to seek the Democratic Presidential nomination. They were all big fans of Richard Gephardt and of course he fared badly in the primaries. Then Pelosi got his job. The south, basking in the glow of 3 consecutive southern Presidents, needed a Speaker of the House who saw their interests. When the power shifted to California, not to mention Nevada, then New York in the Senate, it was a crusher to the hopes of countless southerners. It's no surprise they flocked to the Republicans, who at least had Kentucky's Mitch McConnell as their leader in the Senate.

Rupert dislikes Nancy Pelosi because she became Speaker of the House, lost the majority, but remained party leader in the House, got the top job back...mpppp...and eventually lost it again. He's afraid someday Liz Truss will get a second chance as Prime Minister.

Finally myself; I object to Nancy Pelosi because she has stayed in Congress far too long. She doesn't need the money. If her husband is that unsatisfactory she can find ways to avoid being with him. A long career in Congress is not statesmanship. It's not patriotism. It's nothing virtuous. In the 1800s the US had true statesmen, people like Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun. They didn't get reelected to Congress for 40 years. Every chance they got they took jobs like Secretary of State, Secretary of War and Vice President. Most others stayed in Congress only a few terms. Even Abraham Lincoln quit after one term. She's retiring at last, 10 years too late. Good riddance, and I hope almost every incumbent loses this year.

Colbert: That's all for tonight. See you next week.

[sshbpodcast]

Tales from the Holodeck: ENT Fanfic: Ames’s Teleplay

Celebration! We’ve luckily finished Star Trek: Enterprise here on A Star to Steer Her By, and good riddance. There’s only one thing left to do in our typical style: show the writers how it’s really done by writing up our own fanfic stories and teleplays with carefully selected characters from the series. Will they end up better than most episodes of Enterprise? Low bar, folks.

Let’s move on in our schedule to Ames’s teleplay in our “Tales from the Holodeck” fanfic series. It’s a longy, as is typical, and features the craziest Soong iteration yet, as is also typical. Follow along below and/or listen to the cold reads on this week’s podcast episode (this one starts at 42:56). Approve the selection to begin the fanfic process.

[images © Paramount/CBS]

“Station, Repair Thyself”

By Ames

Random Main Character Pick(s): Phlox Character Draft Picks: Arik Soong, Repair Station

TEASER: “The Prison”

Exterior. Establishing shot: The Harris Maximum Security Rehabilitation Center of San Francisco – a high-tech facility with obviously complex security checkpoints and futuristic scanning capabilities. 

Interior. GUARD 1 and GUARD 2 sit behind a desk at a checkpoint with various screens of prison locations streaming through footage behind them. They pick occasionally from a bowl of futuristic candy that looks something like everlasting gobstoppers.

GUARD 1: Did he have any next-of kin?

GUARD 2: Didn’t they all get killed?

GUARD 1: They did, but I mean direct next-of kin?

GUARD 2: Doubt it.

GUARD 1: That’s a shame. No one to carry on his work.

GUARD 2: Not that that’s a bad thing.

PHLOX approaches in that shuffley walk of his. The two GUARDS look at each other then pick up the candy dish from the desk and hide it in a drawer. PHLOX notices this and cocks his head.

PHLOX: Afternoon, officers.

GUARD 1: Doctor. Didn’t realize you were here already. Didn’t we just call you in?

PHLOX: I was in the area attending to personal matters.

GUARD 2: Everything check out?

GUARD 1: No signs of foul play?

PHLOX: I’m afraid there’s nothing new I can tell you. My evaluation confirms the initial report. The cause of death was an anaphylactic reaction to ingestion of food.

GUARD 2: Ingestion of food?

GUARD 1: What did he eat?

PHLOX: Peanut butter.

GUARD 2: He was allergic to peanut butter?

PHLOX: It would seem so. I don’t understand why you needed to call me here to verify such an obvious assessment. Any medical scanner could do it.

GUARD 1: He’d requested you specifically as his forensic pathologist in the event of his death.

PHLOX: He did? When was this?

GUARD 1: (Pulls up a tablet.) Um. Recently, I’m sure. Yes, just last month he updated his documentation.

PHLOX: Lucky me. Even in death, he ropes me into his mayhem. Well, if that will be all, accept my sympathies, though frankly I won’t miss that deviant.

GUARD 2: Not many will.

GUARD 1: I found him cordial enough.

PHLOX: I’d say that was all part of his deception. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon, officers.

GUARD 2: You as well, Doctor.

GUARD 1 holds out the tablet to PHLOX who looks at it quizzically for a moment before pressing his handprint onto it. GUARD 1 nods and gestures at the first of several gates that lead to the exit. PHLOX passes through it, there’s a pause, then a green light turns on and the next gate opens up. PHLOX continues through it and out of sight. The first gate closes as the two GUARDS take their candy bowl back out.

Suddenly! GUARD3 runs up, having clearly sprinted from somewhere far off.

GUARD 3: (Panting.) Did he get out?! Did I miss him?!

GUARD 2: Who?

GUARD 3: Who did you just release?

GUARD 1: That Denobulan doctor.

GUARD 2: Doctor Phlox.

GUARD 1: We made sure to save our snacks from him. Do you want some?

GUARD 3: YOU MORONS! Don’t you know who that was you just let walk right by you?

GUARD 2: Huh?

GUARD 3: Doctor Arik Soong! He’s still alive!

Dramatic music swells then fades into… well, let’s skip the theme song actually. It’s for the best.

CHAPTER ONE: “The Repair Station”

Exterior. Space. Several days later. A Denobulan shuttlecraft that has clearly borne some recent attack damage is flying around.

Interior. The man who appears to be PHLOX but is in fact SOONG is piloting the shuttlecraft through space. His appearance as the Denobulan may be slightly more human than it was in the teaser. He starts recording a log. He no longer sounds like Phlox, but just like himself now.

SOONG: Final personal log of Doctor Arik Soong. To whoever has found this message, congratulations! You’re the first to hear what may be the final words of that infamous mad scientist who’s certainly all over the news. Milk my renown for all I’m worth. You have my permission. 

It’s just my luck. I brilliantly escape prison by faking my own death using a mix of nonlethal pathogens I pocketed from a quick stay at Cold Station 12, alter my DNA to that of a trusted physician who had the misfortune of meeting me once and whose biological sample I’d adapted into a genetic resequencer, and hitch a ride off Earth on a Denobulan vessel… All to get attacked by Nausicaan pirates who did not seem particularly partial to my charms.

So here I lay, where you’ve undoubtedly found me, in a stolen Denobulan shuttlecraft I cunningly nabbed from right under their snooty noses. By the time you lay eyes on what is left of me, my appearance should be my own again, which is for the best. I’m already getting tired of looking like a spotted pufferfish. 

On the off chance you’re scientifically minded enough to keep my legacy going, let me give you a crash course in genetics and maybe you can pick up where I –

Something beeps. A hail from a nearby vessel!

SOONG: Fuck that, I’m saved! Computer, delete log.

SOONG boops a button.

SOONG: Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes! I appreciate your response to my hail.

UNKNOWN VESSEL: (Extremely garbled.) How may we be of assistance?

SOONG: One glance at my vessel would show you I’m shot to hell and running low on life support. So I suppose I could use a lift. I could also use a hot dinner, a glass of whiskey, and a blowjob, if I’m being honest, but without the former, the latter would cease to be a problem.

UNKNOWN VESSEL: (Static.) – won’t permit – (Static.) – signal breaking up – (Static.)

SOONG: I’m barely reading you. Can you repeat that?

UNKNOWN VESSEL: (Static.) – transmitting coordinates to – (Static.) – repair station at – (Static overtakes the message entirely.)

SOONG: Could you identify yourselves please? Hello? Hello?

His console lights up with coordinates and a flight plan.

SOONG: Well, I’ll have to put my dancing shoes on. It looks like I’ve got a hot date tonight.

Scene changes to: Exterior. Some time later. The stolen shuttlecraft limps into a berth on a futuristic REPAIR STATION.

Interior. SOONG attempts to hail the station, attempting an imperfect Phlox impression.

SOONG: This is Dr. Phlox of the Denobulan doctoral exchange program. My vessel is badly in need of repairs. Please respond.

A heavy pause and then a flash of light passes over the shuttlecraft and everything inside it. SOONG watches it with a combination of trepidation and curiosity. A tractor beam then pulls the shuttlecraft into an open hangar bay. When it has settled into the bay, the doors behind it close and the lights in the hangar bay change to a friendly, sterile white.

SOONG: I suppose that’s one way to say hello.

SOONG tentatively leaves the shuttle, relieved to breathe air that’s not as stale as that in the shuttlecraft.

SOONG: No welcoming committee though.

He makes his way down the pristine white walkway that we’ll recognize from “Dead Stop” until he’s reached the diagnostic room, which is displaying data all over the place, including little holographic recreations of his shuttlecraft and of himself not as his Phlox disguise but as Soong.

SOONG: (Dropping the Phlox impression.) I suppose the cat’s out of the bag. Just as well, I’m not sure how long I could have kept up pretending to be that Denobulan sycophant. I’d love it if you could show yourselves though. It’s only polite.

The holographic image of the shuttlecraft enlarges with little circles and arrows and stuff pointing at all the things that need repairing. The REPAIR STATION speaks in that nonchalant female voice of hers.

REPAIR STATION: The analysis of your vessel is complete. No acceptable method of compensation exists. Vacate this station.

SOONG: Method of compensation? Oh, I can pay you, just not upfront. I got robbed, you see –

REPAIR STATION: No acceptable method of compensation exists. Vacate this station or your vessel will be compromised.

SOONG: My vessel is already compromised. I won’t make it another day in that tin can.

REPAIR STATION: No acceptable method of compensation exists. Vacate this –

SOONG: I heard you the first time. Haven’t you heard of haggling?

REPAIR STATION: Your inquiry was not recognized.

SOONG: (Realization.) You’re an artificial lifeform, aren’t you? Well, this could get interesting. I’m actually looking to expand my study to artificial lifeforms. Maybe I could help you out. Would you like that?

REPAIR STATION: Your inquiry was not recognized.

SOONG: Not one for conversation, eh? Listen. I don’t have access to payment right now. But I can make it up to you in services. You clearly know who I am. 

He gestures at the display of his identification on one of the hovering screens.

SOONG: You can put two and two together and see that my expertise could benefit you. You scratch my back…

The holographic image of SOONG’s face with all of his lifesigns and specs replaces the one of his shuttlecraft. Lines of data stream quickly over it.

SOONG: I have contacts all over the quadrant. I can get you anything you want. I could, for instance, upgrade your responses to sound more… personable.

The stream of data slows until we can clearly see some correspondence between Dr. Lucas and Dr. Phlox that we might recognize as their penpal letters.

SOONG: Oh that? I have some files from some Starfleet doctor from Cold Station 12. He’s partly the reason I have this rather unbecoming appearance at the moment, actually. I guess he was penpals with the Denobulan doctor and, I’m not proud of this, but I lured the guy to –

The data stream suddenly stops and the holographic image closes. A new screen replaces it with text and a big “Approve” button.

REPAIR STATION: A method of compensation has been selected. Approve the selection to begin the repair process.

SOONG: This is what you want, eh? What use could you possibly have for… Then again, who am I to argue? Approve!

REPAIR STATION: Make the necessary arrangements for the delivery of the approved goods as soon as possible.

SOONG: Now we’re getting somewhere. I think we’re going to be good friends, you and me.

The screen focuses on the offer from the REPAIR STATION that SOONG has agreed to. We now see that it reads: “One mating pair: Lyssarian Desert Larvae.” The scene fades to commercial.

CHAPTER TWO: “The Mimetic Simbiot”

Interior. The REPAIR STATION’s recreation area. Some time later. SOONG’s appearance is his normal Brent Spiner self by now. He’s eating a dinner of plomeek soup and reading something on a tablet.

SOONG: I think I’m starting to wrap my mind around your artificial intelligence framework. This is going to be extremely beneficial for my research if I want to expand my practice into cybernetics. Though I wonder… what will be the best way to incorporate my expertise in genetics? I don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak. Maybe something with biomechanical elements would prove an interesting challenge…

REPAIR STATION: Please proceed to the science laboratory.

SOONG: (Sighs.) We’ve really got to work on your communication skills, my dear. Would it help if I could call you a name? “Computer” seems a little impersonal to me.

REPAIR STATION: Your inquiry was not recognized. Please proceed to the science laboratory.

SOONG starts down the halls to the science lab.

SOONG: What would you like me to call you? Nancy? No, I know too many Nancys. Sarah? Not special enough. Elvira…? I know. I’ll call you Roxann. Do you like that? I met a particularly memorable Roxann once on Risa. And you can call me Arik, of course.

ROXANN: Please proceed to the science laboratory, Arik.

SOONG: You love it! I knew you would.

He arrives at the science lab.

SOONG: Now, Roxann, what did you want to show me in the –

He stops dead at what he sees in the middle of the laboratory: a hovering bassinet with a newborn human baby in it. SOONG steps closer to it, profound wonder in his eyes.

SOONG: Where did this come from? Roxann? (Pause.) Roxann, tell me where this baby came from.

She doesn’t respond. SOONG pulls out a handheld device and starts scanning the baby.

SOONG: There, there, little guy. We’ll figure out where you belong after I run some – oh… Now that’s unusual. Roxann, would you care to explain this?

ROXANN: Your inquiry was not recognized.

SOONG: Why does this baby have my DNA?!

ROXANN: Compensation for repair of your vessel has been initiated.

SOONG: Wait… This is what you wanted the larvae for? To make a copy of me? Why?

ROXANN: Your offer of services has been approved.

SOONG: All you said was that you wanted those ugly slugs. You didn’t say you wanted to use them to clone me. What do you want the baby for?

ROXANN: Your offer of services has been approved. Services will soon be required.

SOONG: What services? When are you going to let me out of here?

ROXANN: Services will soon be required.

SOONG: That’s not what I – Wait, clones grown from these larvae only live for a couple of weeks, don’t they?

He quickly looks through his device for info on Lyssarian Desert Larvae, scrolling and reading with immediacy.

SOONG: Fifteen days? You want a clone of me that will live for fifteen days? What, is there a two-man job you need me to tackle for you?

ROXANN: Services will soon be required.

SOONG: I don’t understand!

The baby starts crying. SOONG picks him up.

SOONG: No no, it’s alright. Let’s go get you a bottle. At least you’ll grow up fast, baby Arik. It’ll be nice to have some real company around here.

SOONG starts carrying the baby back to the recreation area.

SOONG: We’re not done talking about this, Roxann.

The science lab doors close behind him. The scene fades.

Interior. The recreation area. A few days later. SOONG and ARIK 2, now a child of about eight years, sit at a table. ARIK 2 is playing with some kind of futuristic video game equivalent while SOONG is reading about Lyssarian Desert Larvae.

SOONG: Have you seen some of the shit this Denobulan has done and felt justified doing? Christ, and that guy thought I was unethical. At least I feel guilty for things. See, right here: he once used one of these larvae to essentially grow himself a walking organ bag to harvest, knowing full well this clone was going to have to be murdered for his brain tissue. He led the poor guy on until his demise! So Roxann must’ve read these letters…

ARIK 2: I don’t like Roxann.

SOONG: That’s not nice. She gave you life. She gave me an apprentice.

ARIK 2: She won’t play games with me.

SOONG: No. No, I suppose she won’t. But she’s really busy running the station, isn’t she?

ARIK 2: I guess. But mom always says she wants me making friends, not playing in my room by myself.

SOONG: How… how did you know about that?

ARIK 2: She says it all the time.

SOONG: You have memories of my… our mother?

ARIK 2: Of course I do.

SOONG: And you’re at that stage of development, huh? Well, sorry to say but it’s gonna get worse before it gets better, Arik.

ARIK 2: I just wish there were other kids for me to play with.

SOONG: Well you’ve got me. And I could use your help if we want to extend your lifespan to a normal length.

ARIK 2: I’m only eight.

SOONG: That’s just how it feels. You’re actually two days old, and the clock is ticking. According to Phlox’s logs, there should be a way and we’ve got a couple days to work it out.

ARIK 2: No, I mean… I don’t get this dumb gene stuff. 

SOONG: Well. Maybe not yet, but soon.

ARIK 2: Genetics is too hard. Can’t I just play games for a while?

SOONG: Why was I such a petulant little… Never mind, by tomorrow you’ll be past this phase and well on your way to being my progeny, keeping the Soong name going. Maybe righting some of my wrongs.

ARIK 2: Look, I finished this level. Watch this. I’m gonna play the next one with my eyes closed.

The game makes an erroneous noise.

ARIK 2: Oops…

SOONG: That’s nice, Arik. Maybe next time.

The scene fades.

Interior. A few days later. The science lab. The clone, SOONG 2, has now developed to a stage of adulthood roughly in his thirties, still younger than the original SOONG. He is busily working with some generic science experiment stuff.

SOONG 2: Roxann, please test the newest enzyme proposal against my brain tissue. I think we’re finally getting somewhere.

ROXANN: Negative. Experiment will result in catastrophic brain failure.

SOONG 2: Just kidding then. Back to the proverbial drawing board. (Calling off.) Doctor Soong! (Beat.) Doctor Soong, come look at this! (Beat.) Roxann, locate Doctor Soong.

ROXANN: Doctor Soong is in the recreation area.

SOONG 2 exits the lab and starts walking down the hallways to the recreation area.

SOONG 2: If only we had a full lab complement. How long until the repairs to the Denobulan vessel are finished, Roxann?

ROXANN: Compensation for repair of your vessel has been initiated.

SOONG 2: I’m aware of that. But when do you foresee that happening? 

ROXANN: Services will soon be required.

SOONG 2: I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re not going to have me around very long if we don’t solve –

He stops in the recreation area to see SOONG collapsed on the floor. SOONG 2 rushes to him, pulling out the handheld device and waving it over him.

SOONG 2: Doctor Soong!

He reads the data streaming on the device, concern in his visage turning to outright panic. He touches the face of his older counterpart.

SOONG 2: He’s dead. Oh no. Oh no! Roxann! Roxann, how did this happen?!

ROXANN: Medical analysis indicates a cease in life functions caused by myocardial infarction.

SOONG 2: You’re going to have to do better than telling me he had a heart attack! What caused it?!

ROXANN: Myocardial infarction in humans can be caused by coronary artery disease, atherosclerotic disease, coronary artery spasm, spontaneous coronary –

SOONG 2: This is a disaster, Roxann! Don’t you understand? Can you do anything to save him?

ROXANN: Resuscitation of a deceased human is not possible.

SOONG 2: Fucking hell! I’ve only got another week here to figure this out. There’s no way I can do this on my own. I need him!

ROXANN: Services will soon be required.

SOONG 2: You heartless bitch. There’s no time! Whatever you need, I can’t do it in time, and I can’t lengthen my lifespan without him! You’ve doomed me! I’m doomed!

We can suddenly hear a sound from somewhere. SOONG 2 stands and listens intently, eyes frantic, until it becomes clear what it is. It’s another baby crying.

ROXANN: Arik. Please proceed to the science laboratory.

SOONG 2: My god. Roxann… what have you done?

The scene ends on SOONG 2 walking dejectedly out of the recreation area in the direction of the science lab.

CHAPTER THREE: “The Clones”

Interior. The science laboratory. A few days later. SOONG 2 is now an older man, while the REPAIR STATION has a new inhabitant: ARIK 3, a teen. The two are working together on some more science.

SOONG 2: Do you remember when Doctor Soong – the first Doctor Soong – showed me this?

ARIK 3: I think so. It’s screwing with my head because his memories are clarifying at the same time yours are.

SOONG 2: That’s a good thing. You’ll have expertise from the both of us. We should be able to lengthen our life spans together.

ARIK 3: It’s a little disorientating.

SOONG 2: Hmm. I’m only eleven days old. There really shouldn’t be that much content from my end.

ARIK 3: Tell that to my brain.

SOONG 2: Focus, Arik. The Velandran Circle experiments…

ARIK 3: Right. They developed an enzyme to slow the aging process of mimetic simbiots to normal.

SOONG 2: Doctor Soong had hacked into the Lyssarian databases for info on the Velandran Circle. Read this.

ARIK 3: It’s pointless, isn’t it? There’s no proof that they got anywhere. They could have just been some mad scientists.

SOONG 2: (Jokingly.) It takes one to know one, and I don’t think they were mad scientists.

ARIK 3: (Teen sarcasm.) That’s encouraging.

SOONG 2: If there’s any clue to how to do this, it’s here.

ARIK 3: I read that thing already. I read it when I was you, and there was nothing there the first time.

SOONG 2: Arik…

ARIK 3: Don’t you get it? It’s all a myth!

ARIK 3 storms off.

SOONG 2: Fucking teenagers. What I wouldn’t give to have Persis or Saul instead. Even Malik. Those were the days. (Sigh.)

The scene fades.

A couple more days later, SOONG 2 is asleep in his quarters when the voice of SOONG 3, now a young adult, wakes him.

SOONG 3: (From off.) Doctor Soong, I could use your help in the lab.

SOONG 2 awakens and gets up. He’s very old now. He touches a panel on the wall.

SOONG 2: What is it, Arik?

SOONG 3: You’ve got to see this! It could change everything!

SOONG 2 totters down the hall, so excited that he doesn’t even look into SOONG 3’s quarters to see his younger clone eerily asleep inside. The older man enters the empty science lab and looks around.

SOONG 2: Arik?

He goes to read some of the displays left open at a lab bench, but when he touches them, something kerzaps him!

SOONG 2: ACK!

SOONG 2 drops to the floor, writhes for a moment, and then goes still. Little robot arms pop out of various places in the lab and lift him away. Meanwhile, the commotion has awoken SOONG 3.

SOONG 3: Doctor Soong? Did you hear something?

He goes over to SOONG 3’s quarters to find the old man (or a perfect facsimile!) dead in his bed.

SOONG 3: Dammit.

The scene transitions into a sort of medley of SOONG scenelettes, spanning many generations of SOONGs at different life stages. The scenelettes create a montage indicating that this has been going on for a long, long time and the iterations of SOONGs get crazier and crazier.

We shift to SOONG 10 pacing in the diagnostics center.

SOONG 10: Roxann, what are the services you require?

ROXANN: Compensation for repair of your vessel has been initiated.

SOONG 10: I’d like to conclude the compensation. What do you say I take a whack at fixing the vessel myself?

ROXANN: Your inquiry was not recognized.

SOONG 10: Okay, I’ll be direct. Let me into the hangar bay.

ROXANN: Personnel are required to vacate areas that are undergoing reconstruction.

SOONG 10: Then stop the reconstruction and let me in there.

ROXANN: Your inquiry was not recognized.

SOONG 10: (To himself.) It’s like talking to a particularly stupid parrot.

A new baby Soong cries to mark a scene transition. An older SOONG 50 reads over a tablet with ARIK 51, the latest teenaged Soong.

ARIK 51: I read this already.

SOONG 50: Not with those eyes. Read it again.

ARIK 51: I’ve got it memorized by now. “Individuals representing the Velandran Circle have conducted illegal experiments on Lyssarian Desert Larvae with inconclusive results. All individuals have been incarcerated for violating the Lyssarrian Prime Conclave’s prohibition of mimetic simbiots.”

SOONG 50: Skip to the good part.

ARIK 51: We’ve tried it all before. Each time it’s “Experiment will result in catastrophic brain failure.” We’re not going to crack it.

SOONG 50: (Wistful.) All I wanted was to become a cyberneticist.

ARIK 51: You’ve got three more days to live if you want to try to rush through a degree.

SOONG 50: We have to solve this. I know it feels like you’ve got all the time in the world right now, but that’s the wrong Soong doing the thinking.

ARIK 51: We’re fucked.

SOONG 50: Read it again.

Scene transition. A new baby Soong cries. SOONG 133 sits in the recreation area while rocking the next baby, who is sleeping in a cradle.

SOONG 133: Roxann? Where do the bodies go?

ROXANN: Human remains are disposed of.

SOONG 133: But where do they go?

ROXANN: Human remains are disposed of.

SOONG 133: I want you to show me where the last Doctor Soong is. What you did with him. Did you cremate him? Did you expel him into space?

ROXANN: Human remains are disposed of.

SOONG 133: You know what I think? I think you’re keeping them. I think you have a pile of me’s somewhere on this station like some fetishist. What are you doing with them, Roxann?

ROXANN: Your inquiry was not recognized.

SOONG 133: Real original. One more time for the people in the back?

ROXANN: Your inquiry was not recognized.

SOONG 133: There we go.

Scene transition. A new baby Soong cries. SOONG 171 is popping pills from the replicator and holding his aching head. ARIK 172, the latest child-sized clone, is nearby.

SOONG 171: Okay, Malik, time for your lessons.

ARIK 172: Who’re you talking to?

SOONG 171: I’m talking to you, Malik. We’re going to the lab.

ARIK 172: Who’s Malik?

SOONG 171: You’re Malik. You’re… No, you’re Arik. I’m Arik. We’re all Arik.

ARIK 172: Maybe we shouldn’t do lessons today.

SOONG 171: No no. Tomorrow you’ll be me and it will be too late. Come on. To the lab.

They walk off toward the lab, ARIK 172 looking concerned.

Another scene transition. Babies keep crying. ARIK 363, a teen-sized one, is fiddling with the computer screens in the lab. SOONG 362 is doing some sciencey thing at a lab bench.

ARIK 363: The Lyssarians have to have more information somewhere. I’ve hacked some more of their gated files.

SOONG 362: (Distractedly.) Find anything?

ARIK 363: The computer is combing the data.

SOONG 362: Good.

ARIK 363: Fifteen days is not enough time to make a dent in this.

SOONG 362: Nope.

ARIK 363: Especially when several of them are spent raising the next generation.

SOONG 362: Aha!! I’ve done it!!

ARIK 363: You have? What is it? How did you –

SOONG 362 steps away from the lab bench to reveal what he’s been working on. It’s a potato that he’s carved to look like it has boobs.

SOONG 362: I call it “Po-tit-o.”

ARIK 363: (So flat.) I’m going back to bed.

Scene transition. Another baby Soong cries. SOONG 544, an old man, pleads pathetically with ROXANN in the diagnostics room.

SOONG 544: You’re going to spawn another baby soon. Can’t you please use different DNA?

ROXANN: Your inquiry was not recognized.

SOONG 544: The DNA of the first Doctor Soong. Use that DNA for the new simbiot. Give him a chance!

ROXANN: Human remains are disposed of.

SOONG 544: You must have a trace somewhere. The memories. It’s too many memories! (He clutches his forehead.) I can’t tell where I begin and a hundred other Soongs end. Don’t use my DNA. Don’t torture another generation.

ROXANN: Your inquiry was not recognized.

SOONG 544: Or how about this? Let me edit the embryo DNA. I’ve never even seen the Lyssarian Larvae since they were retrieved! Where are they?

ROXANN: Your inquiry was not recognized.

SOONG 544: Or stop creating mimetic simbiots! Let it be done!

ROXANN: Your inquiry was not recognized.

SOONG 544: Dammit, this is the last thing I’ll do. What do you want from us?

ROXANN: Services will soon be required.

SOONG 544: Services will soon be required.

ROXANN: Your inquiry was not recognized.

SOONG 544: Your inquiry was not recognized.

ROXANN: Your inquiry was not recognized.

SOONG 544: Your inquiry was not recognized.

ROXANN: Your inquiry was not recognized.

The younger SOONG 545 radios him… or does he?

SOONG 545: (From off.) Doctor Soong, I could use your help in the lab.

SOONG 544 shuffles off to his death.

More baby Soongs. Always more baby Soongs. ARIK 690, a child of maybe four, is trying to smash the consoles in the recreation area. SOONG 689 is staring catatonically at an entire pie he’s replicated.

ROXANN: Any damage to these facilities will be charged to your vessel.

ARIK 690: I don’t care! I hate you!

SOONG 689: Arik, what kind of pie is this?

ARIK 690: Why don’t you do an experiment and find out?

SOONG 689: An experiment?

ARIK 690: Yeah. You love experiments, don’t you? Like this!

ARIK 690 comes over and pies SOONG 689 in the face.

SOONG 689: Ah, that explains it. It’s face pie.

ARIK 690 and SOONG 689 laugh and laugh. I’ve gone insane writing this.

But! There are yet more baby Soongs! Their crying is constant because they are constant. Another Soong, SOONG 1,505 is holding a drooling baby and weeping openly in the middle of the lab.

Another scenelette! SOONG 1,903 is in the lab making the same enzyme over and over again.

ROXANN: Experiment will result in catastrophic brain failure. Experiment will result in catastrophic brain failure. Experiment will result in catastrophic brain failure.

The crying has morphed into the background cacophony. There’s fisheye lens camerawork all over place as the scene shifts to another moment. SOONG 2,545 is immensely drunk in the middle of the diagnostic room, holding a bottle of booze and shouting at the walls.

SOONG 2,545: (Drunkenly.) Roxann, you bitch! If you had a mouth, I’d give you a punch in the… you fucking bitch! I’m going home! Where’s my blasted ship…

ROXANN: Compensation for repair of your vessel has been initiated.

SOONG 2,545: Shut up! Compem-flation, my ass! There’s never going to be any compem… compem…

He takes a swig from the bottle. ARIK 2,546, a child of three or so, runs past in his underwear, whooping, looking practically feral and brandishing a spatula like a sword.

SOONG 2,545: I’ll take you down with me, Roxann. You’re going to… I’m going to… Raaaahh!

He punches one of the monitors, dropping his bottle on the floor which shatters everywhere, and then slips in the spilled liquid and collides with the floor. He stares up at the ceiling despondently.

ROXANN: Any damage to these facilities will be charged to your vessel.

SOONG 2,545: Damn you, Phlox.

The scene fades out on the diagnostic room in disrepair as little arms come out and repair the smashed monitor.

CHAPTER FOUR: “The Progeny”

Interior. The recreation area. A young adult SOONG 4,448 is sitting at a table knitting an absurdly long scarf, clearly the product of many generations’ work, that takes up a large section of the room.

REPAIR STATION: Arik. Please proceed to the science laboratory.

SOONG 4,448: No. No no no no no. Not again. Not another one. Please please please.

REPAIR STATION: Please proceed to the science laboratory.

SOONG 4,448: Is it another baby, Roxann? It’s always another baby, Roxann.

He proceeds down the hall to the science lab. It’s another baby.

SOONG 4,448: Why didn’t I just stay in the prison? I could have been so happy there. 

He takes a medical tricorder and starts to scan the baby.

SOONG 4,448: But no, evidently I’ve done something to deserve thousands of generations of torment. Can’t one of my lives be happy? Can’t one –

He notices something on the tricorder and stares at it for a long time, as if it doesn’t make any sense.

SOONG 4,448: Well this doesn’t make any sense. This baby doesn’t have the rapid-aging gene. He’s… he’s normal.

ROXANN: Compensation for repair of your vessel has been completed. 

SOONG 4,448: (Weeping with joy.) He’s perfect.

ROXANN: Thank you for your visit.

SOONG 4,448: Is it… is it done?

ROXANN: Thank you for your visit.

SOONG 4,448: (A shriek of pure elation!) Oh my god! Finally! I can go? I’m – we’re going to go. My vessel – Before you change your mind.

He starts toward the shuttlebay with the baby in his arms. It hits him.

SOONG 4,448: Wait a minute. How have I never thought of this? I’ve got, what, eight days left? He’ll still be a baby! Who’s going to raise him?

ROXANN: Your inquiry was not recognized.

SOONG 4,448: Roxann, I need you to do whatever you did to this baby to me.

ROXANN: Procedure is not viable on developed lifeforms.

SOONG 4,448: Raah! You fucked me again, Roxann! I can’t possibly raise this child! I won’t even live long enough to see him grow out of his onesie. Eight days? I can’t do anything in eight days.

ROXANN: You are permitted to stay on the station.

SOONG 4,448: Oh, you’d like that, wouldn't you? This is what you wanted all along. No matter what happened, you were pulling the strings. So I have two choices: I can stay here and you’re going to have to create even more rapid-aging clones so that there’s someone to raise this baby, or I can take my chances in the shuttle and get him a maximum of eight days away. Is that right?

ROXANN: You are permitted to stay on the station.

SOONG 4,448: Uh uh. If it’s what you want, I’m not going to do it. We’re leaving. This baby deserves a new start anywhere but here. He’s a Soong. He’ll survive for all of us.

He carries the baby onto the shuttlecraft, which looks as good as new.

ROXANN: Thank you for your visit.

SOONG 4,448: Fuck off.

The door to the shuttlecraft closes and after a moment, the thing flies away.

Exterior. The campus of some kind of science academy. It’s eight days later and SOONG 4,448 is the oldest we’ve seen him yet. He walks the grounds in the middle of the night carrying a bassinet with the baby in it. We listen to his final recording.

SOONG 4,448: To whoever discovers this child, my name is Doctor Arik Soong. Perhaps you’ve heard of me. Perhaps you’re wondering “didn’t that bastard die 125 years ago?” (Laughs.) You don’t know how right you are. The child you’ve found is also me, in a way, but that’s not important. What’s important is that he persists.

Educate him in the sciences. I think you’ll find him strangely adept at picking up on concepts that most people wouldn’t give the time of day. Nurture that. He comes from a line – a long line – of scientists who have put a lot of expectation on his little shoulders. He’ll live up to it. See to that.

Let him make mistakes. Give him the occasional tiramisu. Teach him about girls. Give him a normal life. 

The elderly SOONG 4,448 plods to the entrance of a building and sets the bassinet down before the threshold. We see only the baby being cute but can hear the old man collapse on the pavement.

His name is Noonian.

Scene fades.

End of thing!

—

For more Enterprise fanfic, check out Caitlin, Chris, and Jake’s stories from this year’s “Tales from the Holodeck”! Be sure to keep listening to new episodes every Thursday on SoundCloud or wherever you podcast, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and please proceed to the science laboratory...

[valkyries-things]

JUDY HEUMANN // ACTIVIST

“She was widely regarded as "the mother" of the Disability Rights Movement. At 18 months old, Judy contracted polio in Brooklyn, New York and began to use a wheelchair for mobility. She was denied the right to attend school at the age of five because she was considered a "fire hazard." Later in life, Judy was denied her teaching license by the same school district. After passing her oral and written exams, she was failed on her medical exam because she could not walk. She then sued the New York Board of Education and eventually went on to become the first wheelchair user to teach in the state of New York. In 1977, Judy was a leader in the 504 Sit-In in San Francisco, a 26-day protest (the longest sit-in at a federal building to date) that led to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act being signed into law. Judy was instrumental in the development and implementation of other legislation including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. These pieces of legislation have been integral in advancing the inclusion of disabled people in the US and around the world. Judy is a founding member of the Berkeley Center for Independent Living and a co-founder of the World Institute on Disability (WID).”

[belalhossainseo]

Nicola Christopher Bucci: A Journey of Philanthropy and Community Service

Nicola Christopher Bucci, a culinary artist based in San Francisco, is celebrated not just for his delicious and visually stunning dishes but also for his deep commitment to helping others. With nearly 30 years in the culinary world, Nicola has dedicated much of his life to philanthropy, using his skills and resources to support various charitable causes and community initiatives. His generosity and compassion have made a significant impact, touching countless lives and making him a beloved figure in many communities. Visit Now: https://nicolachristopherbucci.com/

Supporting Farmworkers with Nancy's Project

One of the core organizations Nicola supports is Nancy's Project in Monterey, California. This wonderful group is dedicated to helping farmworkers and their families, who often face tough working conditions and lack access to basic necessities. Farmworkers are essential to our food system, yet they frequently struggle with poverty and inadequate living conditions.

Nicola's involvement with Nancy’s Project goes beyond just writing checks. He actively participates in fundraising events and uses his culinary expertise to prepare meals for these occasions, raising awareness and much-needed funds. Through his efforts, farmworker families receive vital supplies such as food, clothing, and educational materials, greatly improving their quality of life.

Empowering Education at Saint Andre’s School in Haiti

Education is a cause that Nicola is deeply passionate about. He is a dedicated supporter of Saint Andre’s School in Hinche, Haiti, an institution that provides quality education to children in one of the poorest regions of the country. Nicola believes education is a powerful tool for change, and his contributions help ensure these children have the resources they need to succeed.

His support includes funding for school supplies, teacher salaries, and infrastructure improvements. Nicola also makes regular visits to the school, bringing hope and inspiration to both students and staff. His involvement underscores his belief in the transformative power of education and his dedication to creating opportunities for future generations.

Promoting the Arts with the William James Association

Nicola's philanthropic efforts also extend into the arts through his support for the William James Association. This nonprofit organization promotes arts and cultural activities as a means of rehabilitation and personal development, especially within prison systems and underserved communities. The association’s programs offer a creative outlet for individuals, fostering personal growth and healing through artistic expression.

Nicola's contributions help fund various art programs, including those in prisons, schools, and community centers. By supporting these initiatives, he helps provide individuals with the tools to express themselves creatively, helping them find a sense of purpose and direction. His belief in the power of the arts to rehabilitate and uplift is a testament to his commitment to holistic community development.

Fostering Dance and Movement with Urban Edge Dance Co.

Dance and movement arts are another area where Nicola’s philanthropic spirit shines. He is a dedicated supporter of Urban Edge Dance Co., a nonprofit organization based in Rancho Cucamonga, California. This group is committed to promoting dance and movement arts, offering performances, workshops, and outreach programs to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Nicola’s support helps fund these programs, making dance accessible to a broader audience. His contributions ensure that individuals, regardless of their financial situation, can experience the joy and benefits of dance. This support highlights his belief in the importance of physical and emotional well-being and the power of the arts to bring people together. https://www.prlog.org/13022021-nicola-christopher-bucci-culinary-innovator-and-philanthropist-enhances-san-franciscos-gourmet.html

Strengthening Community with Saint Dunstan’s Episcopal Church

Nicola is also deeply involved with his local community through Saint Dunstan’s Episcopal Church in Carmel, California. The church serves as a vital spiritual and community hub, providing support and guidance to its members. Nicola’s contributions help fund the church’s outreach programs, community events, and the maintenance of its historic building.

His involvement with Saint Dunstan’s Episcopal Church reflects his commitment to nurturing community bonds and fostering a spirit of service and generosity. By supporting the church’s activities, he helps create a welcoming and supportive environment for all its members.

Championing Health and Wellness with the YMCA of San Francisco

Nicola’s philanthropic reach also extends to the YMCA of San Francisco, an organization that offers a wide range of programs and services to promote health, well-being, and community engagement. The YMCA provides essential services such as fitness programs, youth activities, and community support initiatives.

Nicola’s support ensures that these programs remain accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial situation. His contributions help the YMCA continue its mission of fostering a healthy, inclusive community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

A Legacy of Compassion and Generosity

Nicola Christopher Bucci’s philanthropic efforts are a testament to his deep compassion and commitment to making a positive impact in the world. Through his support of various charitable organizations and community initiatives, he has shown that true success is measured by the difference one makes in the lives of others. His legacy is one of generosity, kindness, and an unwavering dedication to helping those in need.

By leveraging his culinary talents and resources, Nicola has touched countless lives, creating a ripple effect of positive change. His story is a powerful reminder of the impact one individual can have when they dedicate their life to serving others. Nicola continues to inspire and uplift, proving that the heart of a culinary artist can extend far beyond the kitchen, into the very soul of the community.