Here Comes the Sun

View of Solar Beacon, 28th May 2012 from Emeryville Marina.
Photo: Jason McPhate

“In celebration of the 75th birthday of the Golden Gate Bridge, space scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, are topping each tower with a glittering solar candle.

The “candles” are mirrors that the public can control through the Internet to make them swivel and tilt, flashing a glint of reflected sun like a lit candle.

“We’re lighting the birthday candles at the bridge,” said John Vallerga, a researcher at UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL), who conceived the project. Normally, he builds instruments that fly aboard spacecraft such as the Hubble Space Telescope.

His Earth-bound project, Solar Beacon, is one of 75 birthday tributes approved by the Golden Gate Bridge District in celebration of the bridge’s completion in 1937, and one of the few approved for installation on the bridge itself.

“This is not something we have ever done before or will ever do again – we don’t let people place art on the bridge,” said bridge manager and mechanical engineer Kary Witt. “But this is a pretty cool project, especially the technology they’re using, which is based on what they use in space…” — Robert Sanders, Media Relations, UC Berkeley News

For more information, or to schedule a personal viewing event, click here to go to the Solar Beacon website.

Related article: Mill Valley Patch

Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary Fireworks Show

San Francisco radio station KFOG has outdone themselves with a spectacular fireworks show celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Turn up your speakers and enjoy the HD video below. Listen to the crowd during the fog horn duet after Santana – nobody does it as well as KFOG.

The Golden Gate Festival — May 27, 2012

May 27th is fast approaching and anyone who wants to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge may want some basic information:

• The event is from 11 am to 11pm
• Admission is free.
• The main activities will be held at Fort Point, Crissy Field, The Presidio and Marina Green.
• Anniversary activities will also be held at Fort Mason Center, Ghirardelli Square, San Francisco Maritime Historical National Park, Fisherman’s Wharf, and Pier 39.
• There will be no event parking. Please take public transit, walk, or bike instead.
• From Ft. Point to Pier 39 is about 4 miles. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a re-useable water bottle and flashlight.
• Here is a link to the Golden Gate Bridge District website with Transit tips.

International Orange

International Orange makes every day at work feel just like Halloween. The deep orange color dominates every part of the Bridge District from picture frames to warming huts. You name it, and it is probably painted International Orange.

Irving Morrow was the person responsible for choosing the color of paint used on the Golden Gate Bridge. Mr. Morrow commuted by ferry to his home in Oakland and had plenty of time to study the mix of light and shadow at the Golden Gate, where the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco Bay, and the hills of the Marin Headlands all join together. International Orange was finally chosen because Irving Morrow thought that it blended with the changing seasonal tints of the bridge’s natural setting between the San Francisco skyline and the hills of Marin. Morrow concluded, “The effect of International Orange is as highly pleasing as it is unusual in the realm of engineering.”

Golden Gate Opus

Rob Kapilow
Photo © Peter Schaaf

In 2011 the Marin Symphony commissioned Rob Kapilow to compose a musical composition honoring the 75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge in May of 2012.

Sometimes called America’s “pied piper of classical music”,  Rob (he prefers to be called Rob rather than Robert) started with a simple premise, “Everybody knows what the Golden Gate Bridge looks like, but what does it sound like?” He posed that question to local residents, commuters, school children and bridgeworkers. A Facebook page was started to build interest and expand the level of participation.

A year ago I had the pleasure of meeting Rob Kapilow when he came to the Electric Shop to ask his question. I must confess, I did not want to be there. My wish was to be far, far away, perhaps 700 feet up on a cable with the wind in my face and a view that goes on forever. Back to reality, I had agreed to talk to this Classical musician about what I thought the bridge sounded like and here is where Full Disclosure is necessary: Rob Kapilow is a very engaging guy. His enthusiasm is infectious and his vision is inspiring.

Bridgeworkers Picket Janet Reilly’s House

 

Disclaimer: The following account is mine alone and is not meant to convey the views of the GGB Labor Coalition or its individual Unions/members. I was there and this is what I experienced.

—Allan G. Smorra

 

Picket sign outside Janet Reilly”s House

On the evening of March 22, 2012 members of the Golden Gate Bridge Labor Coalition gathered outside the home of Janet Reilly, President of the Board of Directors of the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, to protest the lack of a contract after more than a year of negotiations.

The District Board of Directors is insisting that the workers give more in the form of cost-sharing and reforms on vested retiree benefits. The proposal is to put retirees into a plan where they can only access the ever-shrinking pool of Medicare-only doctors. The cost of this new plan is not available.

Janet Reilly interviewed during Informational Picket.
Photo by Allan G. Smorra

Currently, retirees have access to the same medical plans that active employees use. This enables the retiree to keep up their relationship with their current doctors/choose new ones within their respective plan if needed. This was part of the package that they agreed to when they came to work at the bridge.

At the table, unions have offered concessions and have been told by management that the District’s financial needs have been met. However, the District is insisting on principle, not need, that union members pay unaffordable health care premiums. The Golden Gate Bridge Board have insisted on concessions while giving non-union employees raises.

More than 380 employees have worked, in good faith, without a contract, since July 2011. They are asking to have the promises made to them honored. The District’s public “face” certainly does not match their actions.