The Golden Gate Bird Alliance (GGBA) is an organization that has been dedicated to Bay Area bird conservation since 1917. Through environmental activism and education, it has made a significant impact on preserving regional bird habitats. The GGBA offers more than 200 mostly free local field trips annually, welcoming beginning birders to join. We joined the birding experience in the SF Botanical Garden this past Sunday.

On Wednesday, August 19th, I attended “Flock out of SF”, a teach-in and action event centered around Flock cameras in San Francisco. The room was filled to capacity, with at least 100 people in attendance. Going in, I was already fairly aware of what was happening with surveillance in San Francisco, but I still learned quite a bit at the teach-in.

The speakers at the event presented information about the devices and how they impact residents. The people behind it included representatives from Bay Resistance, Tech Workers Coalition Bay Area, ICE Out of SF, SIREN, DeFlock SF, and more. Speakers from each group discussed Flock cameras through different lenses. Some discussed immigration, while others discussed policing, privacy, labor, and technology. While they each cared about different aspects of surveillance, they all agreed on the goal of getting Flock out of San Francisco.

I spent my Labor Day at Hiero Day, the annual celebration of Hieroglyphics. For the unfamiliar, Hieroglyphics are a legendary hip-hop collective out of Oakland. They are probably best known for the classic hip hop song “93 ’til Infinity” by Souls of Mischief (a Hiero subgroup) or from individual members like Del the Funky Homosapien.

Hiero Day began in 2012 as a fan-driven celebration on September 3 (or 9/3), a nod to “93 ’til Infinity.” The celebration grew into a showcase for Bay Area hip-hop and culture. I still have fond memories of Hiero Day 2018, when the festival was outdoors in Oakland. That year’s lineup included Black Thought, The Pharcyde, Talib Kweli, and of course Hiero. This year’s Hiero Day was held at The Midway in San Francisco.