# 70: Better Water, Santa Barbara, $625,000 Bathroom
Saturday 4/20/2024
Hey Friends!
Welcome!
We're always looking to improve this newsletter; with that in mind, we're trying something new this week.
It isn't enough to post stories about places to visit when a great deal of news affects travel in our state for us and visitors. So, we will cover some of the more critical travel news that we feel you should know. We hope you enjoy the new Travel News Section.
Be Well! Stay Safe!
Mark & Patti
Don't call this San Francisco Bay Area pub a sports bar
by Gabe Lehman, SF Gate
The Up & Under Pub and Grill in Richmond airs live sports, serves fried food and offers generous pours — but don’t call it a sports bar.Â
America doesn’t know what pubs are. No offense, but it’s not a bar. It’s a pub, explains Up & Under owner Nathan Trivers. A pub is a public house, a community-based place where people gather.
Specifically, Up & Under is a rugby pub, in its words, North America’s first proper rugby pub.
I used San Francisco's $625,000 bathroom. It was a crappy experience
by Alec Regimbal, SF Gate
But on a recent balmy afternoon in San Francisco’s cozy Noe Valley neighborhood, I found myself at the Noe Valley Town Square on 24th Street waiting to interview people who had just finished emptying their bladders in a newly installed and much-anticipated public restroom that opened on Monday.
In fact, I was one of at least five members of the local news media who were there that day with a similar mission. So, why do a bunch of journalists give a s—t about some toilet?
First timer’s guide to California's Santa Barbara
by Anita Kate, Lonely Planet
Welcome to Santa Barbara, where the sun, sea, and mountains create a coastal paradise like no other. The Chumash people initially inhabited the town for thousands of years before Spanish explorers arrived in the 16th century. Today, Santa Barbara still reflects its Spanish colonial heritage with Mediterranean-style buildings and red-tile roofs, which perfectly complement the natural backdrop of the San Ynez Mountains.Â
This little-known Bay Area island is still weird. For now
by Kendra Smith, SF Gate
I am standing at the top of a windswept hill overlooking San Pablo Bay and San Francisco Bay beyond. The last time I felt this removed from everything, I was on a nearby peak on Angel Island. But to get there, I’d hiked more than 3 miles and brought loads of gear to spend the night. This time, I’m just 20 minutes from a parking lot.
California Travel News
Better drinking water? Let’s hope so.
California sets nation’s first water standard for cancer-causing contaminant
by Rachel Becker, CalMatter-Lompoc Record
In an effort to protect more than 5 million Californians from a cancer-causing contaminant, state regulators today set a new standard that is expected to increase the cost of water for many people throughout the state.Â
The State Water Resources Control Board unanimously approved the nation’s first drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium, which is found naturally in some California groundwater as well as water contaminated by industries.
Now water suppliers will be forced to install costly treatment to limit the chemical in water to no more than 10 parts per billion — equivalent to about 10 drops in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.Â
Fast food prices keep rising. Fast food places keep closing or laying off. Here’s more.