San Francisco State University may put the brakes on 1st-of-its-kind traffic reporter class
A unique program teaching broadcasting students at San Francisco State University how to deliver real-time traffic reports is wrapping up a successful first semester, but because of state budget cuts, its future is now stuck in gridlock.
The traffic reports are part of the Broadcasting Electronic Communication Arts "Intro to Radio and Podcasting." The curriculum was put together by longtime Bay Area Traffic Reporter Elaine Leung who has worked as a Lecturer at SFSU for the past six and a half years.
"[KSFS is] the only Northern California college radio station that is offering consistent transit and traffic reports," said Leung. "It's a real skillset to be able to look up transit traffic right before a report, and then leading up to the report, and any breaking elements with, let's say, if there are BART delays, Muni delays, or maybe traffic has recovered after a major crash."
Student Casey Crews, who is graduating this spring, jumped at the chance to add traffic to his resume.
"I saw this as a different skillset that I wanted to learn, and that is important," said Crews. "And if it can impact the community, okay. But I like skills that I can use."
The daily evening traffic reports are broadcast on the KSFS radio app at 4:45 p.m., with a focus on traffic impacting students, faculty and staff at SFSU.
"We have got Muni, the Park 57, 101 to 280 South and North, the M Train to Balboa Park, Daly City Bart, the buses to Sunset," said Crews. "As a commuter student, I drive an hour one way just to get to school. Understanding what's going on in the city before I leave. Helps me navigate getting to school on time."
But the future of the college traffic report could be in jeopardy. Budget issues and low enrollment have the California State University system facing $375 million in cuts.
That is forcing SFSU and other colleges to eliminate hundreds of classes across the board, including the BECA department that could cut at least 13 classes next fall, and not retain several lecturers like Leung who says, her Radio and Podcasting class has already been slated to not return for the fall semester.
But Leung says the advanced radio class will continue the traffic reports, with the idea of expanding to the morning and afternoon commutes. She hopes her "Intro" class will return for the Spring of 2026.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
41 minutes ago
- CNN
Bernie Sanders: Trump ‘wants all the power'
Bernie Sanders: Trump 'wants all the power' Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) criticized President Donald Trump's decision to deploy National Guard troops in Los Angeles, claiming that Trump 'wants all of the power' and is rapidly moving the US 'into authoritarianism.' 00:58 - Source: CNN See reactions to the Trump-Musk feud See some reactions to the intense public feud that erupted between President Donald Trump and his one-time ally, billionaire Elon Musk. 01:05 - Source: CNN Trump on Musk: 'The poor guy's got a problem' In a phone call with CNN's Dana Bash, President Donald Trump said he is 'not even thinking about' billionaire Elon Musk and won't be speaking to him in the near future. The comments come a day after Trump and Musk traded barbs on social media as their relationship deteriorated in spectacular public fashion. 00:43 - Source: CNN Trump and Musk escalate public feud An intense public feud erupted between President Donald Trump and his one-time ally, billionaire Elon Musk, with an argument about Trump's massive tax and domestic policy bill raging across social media and in the Oval Office. CNN's senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes reports. 03:03 - Source: CNN Kara Swisher on the 'nuclear' feud between Trump and Musk CNN's Anderson Cooper talks with Kara Swisher about the stunning public feud between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. 01:30 - Source: CNN German leader on 'terrible' impact of Trump's tariffs In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz talks about the impact President Trump's tariffs are having on the auto industry. 01:13 - Source: CNN Curtis Yarvin is inspiring a new generation of MAGA CNN's Hadas Gold interviews anti-democracy author Curtis Yarvin about his argument for an all-powerful executive in the White House. 02:24 - Source: CNN DNC Trolls Trump with Taco Truck The Democratic National Committee parked a taco truck outside the RNC headquarters in Washington DC Tuesday, as a way to troll the president over an acronym created by a Financial Times commentator about the president's frequent walk backs and pauses to his tariff's. 00:52 - Source: CNN Musk calls Trump's bill 'disgusting abomination' Elon Musk lashed out at President Donald Trump's agenda bill — which the president is pressuring GOP senators to support — calling it a 'disgusting abomination.' CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports. 00:59 - Source: CNN ICE chief defends agents wearing masks during immigration raids Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons is defending federal immigration agents for wearing masks during raids across the US, citing safety concerns. The tactic has sparked backlash and raised questions about transparency and accountability. 00:58 - Source: CNN Dana Bash presses Trump's budget chief about cancer cuts CNN's Dana Bash presses Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought on the Trump administration's proposal to cut non-defense spending by more than 22% — including deep reductions to education, food assistance, and billions in cancer research funding. As Vought defends the cuts and criticizes the NIH, Bash challenges him on the real-world impact to life-saving medical research. 01:35 - Source: CNN Trump reacts to video of Macron's apparent shove from wife President Trump was asked by reporters about the viral video appearing to show French President Emmanuel Macron being pushed by his wife Brigitte as they disembarked from a plane in Vietnam. Macron, at the time, quickly dismissed the video. 00:34 - Source: CNN Trans high school athlete wins events amid controversy A transgender athlete, whose participation sparked a national controversy and a temporary rule change, took first place in two of her three events in the California High School Track and Field Championship. 01:09 - Source: CNN South Carolina voter says 'no' to moving center South Carolina has often bucked the electoral trend – voting for candidates who lost in Iowa or New Hampshire and thus helping pick which candidate will move on to the general election. CNN's Jeff Simon spoke to multiple voters at a Democrat dinner in Columbia, South Carolina about the party's leadership and future. 01:25 - Source: CNN Hegseth warns 'threat China poses is real' US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking to Asia's premier defense forum in Singapore, delivered a dire warning to the world: China's designs on Taiwan pose a threat to global peace and stability that requires 'our allies and partners do their part on defense.' While Hegseth made clear that Washington does not seek conflict with China, he stressed the Trump administration would not let aggression from Beijing stand. 00:50 - Source: CNN GOP senator pressed on Medicaid in heated town hall GOP Sen. Joni Ernst faced concerns from town hall attendees over potential cuts to Medicaid and SNAP programs as a result of President Donald Trump's sweeping domestic policy bill, saying at one point, 'Well, we all are going to die,' and insisting that those who are eligible for Medicaid will continue to receive payments. 01:12 - Source: CNN Fareed Zakaria breaks down Trump's tariff battle CNN's Fareed Zakaria breaks down what's going on with President Donald Trump's battle with the Supreme Court over tariffs. 00:58 - Source: CNN President Trump's timeline for things seems to almost always be 'in two weeks' President Donald Trump told reporters it will take about 'two weeks' to determine whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is serious about ending the war in Ukraine. That two week timeline, CNN's Abby Phillip says, is a familiar one. 01:48 - Source: CNN President Trump is on a pardoning spree President Donald Trump used his pardon power to grant clemency to a wave of individuals who had been convicted of crimes that range from public corruption, guns and even maritime-related offenses, according to multiple officials. CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports. 00:53 - Source: CNN Trump responds to Wall Street term 'TACO': Trump Always Chickens Out President Donald Trump was asked about "TACO," an acronym that means "Trump Always Chickens Out," which is used by Wall Street workers for his on-and-off approach to tariffs. Calling it "the nastiest question," Trump defended his tariff policy by calling it "negotiation." 01:13 - Source: CNN Harvard students and faculty speak out against Trump Harvard students and faculty spoke to CNN ahead of commencement as Donald Trump said the university should cap foreign enrollment. The Trump administration has recently sought to cancel $100 million in contracts with the school. 02:03 - Source: CNN
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Terrifying Footage Shows Self-Driving Tesla Get Confused by the Sun, Mow Down Innocent Grandmother
For years, tech entrepreneurs have been preaching that self-driving cars will soon deliver us from our hellscape of vehicular crashes and horrible, fiery deaths. Among the biggest advocates for the safety of autonomous vehicles has been Elon Musk, whose promises of a fully self-driving Tesla have been wearing on for a decade. Despite having provided no proof that Teslas can operate at a level required for "autonomous driving," the tech mogul's robotaxi service is mere days away from going live in Austin. Already, driverless Model Ys are testing out Austin-area roads full of living, breathing humans — which is why it's all the more horrifying that a self-driving Tesla was responsible for the brutal death of a Phoenix-area grandmother. The fatal incident happened in 2023, and was the first pedestrian death attributed to a Tesla's self-driving software. Bloomberg recently released the crash footage, which shows a Tesla screaming down the highway into a blinding Arizona sunset. Moments before the fatality, the vehicle reacts to a man waving it down by veering to the left, though failing to slow down. The vehicle then adjusts to the right, straight onto the 71-year old woman, who was helping direct traffic after a previous accident shut down the highway ahead. Though there was a driver in the Tesla at the time who should have intervened, it's not known whether they were implicated in the woman's death. Though all carmakers are required to report any incident where self-driving software is involved, Tesla took seven months to submit the crash details to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA.) The fatality brought about a federal investigation into Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" software, which in spite of its name requires constant supervision, and has been found responsible for multiple crashes in the past few years. One of the major issues with Tesla's self-driving software is the sensor it uses to detect other objects. Instead of a LiDAR system like Tesla's ascendant competitor Waymo, Musk has chosen to barrel ahead with visual cameras alone — even as evidence grows suggesting some major safety flaws with that strategy. Meanwhile, Tesla is actively hiring engineers to work on "sensor cleaning systems," presumably to patch over the sensor issues that led to a combined 467 crashes by 2024. None of it bodes well for the company's Austin takeover, which Tesla's own internal documents anticipate will be a disaster. Bryant Walker Smith, a lawyer and transportation engineer, told Bloomberg that "they are claiming they will be imminently able to do something — true automated driving — that all evidence suggests they still can't do safely." And everyone on the roads will be a test subject. More on self-driving cars: Watch in Horror as Cybertruck Driver Plays "Grand Theft Auto" While Screaming Down Highway on Self-Driving Mode
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
American presidents have long used autopens. Just ask Trump.
Donald Trump has repeatedly slammed Joe Biden's use of an autopen during his presidency, going so far as to center its usage in a broad investigation Trump announced Wednesday into his predecessor. But politicians on both sides of the aisle are deeply familiar with the tool. The autopen — also referred to as the robot pen — replicates an individual's signature using a writing utensil, rather than a scanned and printed version of it. The tool, which resembles a small printer with a long arm that allows users to attach a pen to the center, has a long history of use in American politics. The device was first patented in 1803, according to the Shapell Manuscript Foundation, an independent research organization that collects original manuscripts and historical documents. Iterations of the autopen have been used by presidents as far back as Thomas Jefferson, who wrote that 'I could not, now therefore, live without' the device he used to duplicate letters. 'The Autopen has long been a tool for the world's most influential leaders, allowing them to more effectively apply their time and attention to important issues without compromising the impact of personalized correspondence," according to The Autopen Co., which sells the machines. U.S. leaders on both sides of the aisle have used the autopen for decades — and have faced criticism for their use of the tool. During Lyndon Johnson's administration, the autopen was featured in The National Enquirer for an article headlined 'One of the Best Kept Secrets in Washington: The Robot That Sits In For The President.' Even Trump himself has said he used autopens, but 'only for very unimportant papers.' 'We may use it, as an example, to send some young person a letter because it's nice,' Trump said in March, according to The Associated Press. 'You know, we get thousands and thousands of letters, letters of support for young people, from people that aren't feeling well, etcetera. But to sign pardons and all of the things that he signed with an autopen is disgraceful.' In 2004, George W. Bush's secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, faced criticism from some veterans for using an autopen to sign condolence letters to families of troops killed in the Iraq War. In 2011, Barack Obama used an autopen to sign a Patriot Act extension — becoming the first known, apparent use of the tool by a president for legislation — and used it subsequently in his administration. The move resulted in Republicans questioning the constitutionality of Obama's decision, though Bush's Office of Legal Counsel, which is part of the Department of Justice, had already concluded the use of autopens was constitutional. 'The President need not personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill he approves and decides to sign in order for the bill to become law,' the office's 2005 ruling stated. "Rather, the President may sign a bill within the meaning of Article I, Section 7 by directing a subordinate to affix the President's signature to such a bill, for example by autopen.' There is no specific law governing a president's use of an autopen. But the ruling from the Department of Justice hasn't stopped Trump from accusing Biden and his team of illegally using the tool, alleging that Biden's team used an autopen to sign documents without Biden's permission or knowledge. Trump has also claimed that Biden's round of pardons — including 'preemptive pardons' of Jan. 6 investigators, his son Hunter Biden and Anthony Fauci — were illegal and are 'void' and 'vacant.' However, most legal scholars are in agreement that pardons cannot be overturned once granted. In 1869, a federal court ruled, 'The law undoubtedly is, that when a pardon is complete, there is no power to revoke it, any more than there is power to revoke any other completed act.' Biden has denied the claims that any decision was ever made or issued in his name without his approval or knowledge. Trump and other Republican accusers have provided no evidence that aides used an autopen without the former president's approval. 'Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,' Biden told POLITICO in a statement. 'I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn't is ridiculous and false. This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation that would cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families, all to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations.'
