The Smoke Signal

By: Staff Writers Ashley Chang and Kevin Li

Local – Change in Din Tai Fung reservation policy due to long lines

Din Tai Fung, a Taiwanese restaurant known for its dumplings, opened its doors to more than 400 people in Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara on May 10. Originating in Taipei, Din Tai Fung now has branches in more than 10 countries and was ranked one of the top 10 restaurants in the world by The New York Times. Due to the new location’s popularity, the normally no-reservations chain shifted to a temporary reservations-only policy for the Santa Clara branch on May 16.

National – Media organizations to collaborate on homelessness coverage

On June 29, the Bay Area’s media organizations plan to collaborate on coverage of San Francisco’s rising homeless crisis. The San Francisco Chronicle will be leading the effort with traditional news articles that will propose possible solutions to the growing number of people on the streets. Thirty news organizations so far have agreed to participate in this project. The San Francisco Chronicle Editor-in-Chief Audrey Cooper says that the goal for the coverage is to make a large enough impact to compel politicians to come up with solutions.

International – Alberta inferno changes direction, heading back towards Fort McMurray

At a news conference on Monday, May 16, Rachel Notley, the Canadian premier of Alberta, said that between 500 and 600 people had to be evacuated from work camps in the Fort McMurray area after being allowed back in to restart operations on the oil sands. The raging wildfire had been turned back towards Fort McMurray by shifting winds, but Scott Long, executive director of Alberta’s emergency management agency, who remained optimistic on the safety of Fort McMurray, said “We’re fairly confident – fingers crossed, knock on wood – when it comes to Fort McMurray.”

Quirky – Lighting capital of the world sees strikes almost 300 days a year

The people of Zulia, Venezuela experience lightning storms for most of the year – so much, in fact, that on Monday, May 2, NASA declared Zulia “Earth’s new lightning capital.” Photographer Jonas Pointek, who has documented the storms, said: “You can read a newspaper in the middle of the night because it’s so bright.” Locals call the storm “the never-ending storm of Catatumbo,” and it appears mainly from April to November each year – an average of exactly 297 days per year.