Oakland International Airport (OAK) is enhancing the travel experience for passengers by introducing augmented reality games through the Agents of Discovery Bay Area Explorer 5.0 Campaign. This initiative provides a fun and educational way for families to spend time at the airport, while also offering insights into local history, culture, and environmental awareness.
The tech industry in the Bay Area has been hit hard by mass layoffs, with thousands of employees losing their jobs. Companies like Tesla, Google, Salesforce, and Lyft have all recently announced significant staff reductions. Tesla has laid off 6,020 employees in an effort to combat slowing demand and falling margins. Google has cut 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its global workforce. Salesforce has laid off 8,000 employees, or 10% of its workforce. And Lyft has cut 1,806 jobs, or 34% of its workforce.
In a move that is expected to impact the region’s employment market, Tesla has announced plans to lay off thousands of employees in the Bay Area, including at its Fremont electric vehicle factory. The company will cut 2,700 jobs in the region, with an estimated 1,452 layoffs occurring at the Fremont factory. Layoffs are also planned at multiple other locations in Fremont and Palo Alto.
Indonesian cuisine is now more accessible in the Bay Area thanks to the arrival of Nusa Bakeshop in Emeryville’s Public Market. Chef Jennifer Huang, who grew up in Sumatra, has brought her family’s recipes to life at this new establishment. Nusa offers an array of traditional Indonesian sweets and savories, including thousand-layer cake, pineapple tartlets, mochi chicken rolls, chicken satay, and rendang. The bakery also serves up beverages like Java jasmine tea and red-ginger tea. Nusa is currently open for lunch and plans to celebrate its grand opening on May 15th, when it will add dinner service.
Two schools in the Bay Area were forced to take precautions Monday afternoon due to unspecified threats. Gunn High School in Palo Alto was placed on shelter-in-place due to an unconfirmed threat, while Miramonte High School in the East Bay was put on lockdown.
Express, a popular retail store chain, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and will be closing 95 stores across the United States, including two locations in the Bay Area: Santa Clara and Emeryville. The closures are expected to begin on Tuesday and will impact a total of 16 stores in California.
A new Chicken Guy restaurant is coming to American Canyon, California as part of a multirestaurant franchise agreement that intends to bring crunchy chicken tenders and a smorgasbord of sauces to the Bay Area and surrounding counties. The first location is set to open this summer at 200 American Canyon Road in American Canyon, part of Napa Valley.
Wildflowers are blooming in Southern California, the Bay Area, and near LAX, but experts debate whether it’s a ‘superbloom.’ While winter rains have been ample, the blooms aren’t as vibrant or abundant as last year’s drought-busting superbloom. Scientists define a superbloom as a burst of color that appears after seasons with greater than 30% average precipitation, and it typically occurs in low-elevation desert regions. This year’s blooms are not as large or dense in places like Death Valley, and it may be too soon to tell if they will continue to blossom later in the spring. Climate change is making precipitation patterns more erratic, so the effects on wildflowers could play out over time.
