SFist: Crazy Boyfriend Of New SF Planning Director Sets Fire To Firehouse

RicardoSF

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:15:34 -0800

Shouldn't we be using the term "ex-boyfriend" already? I think they've probably broken up by now, what with the restraining order and all . . . .

MalcoveMagnesia

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:17:32 -0800

True, Daithi. I should have used the words "boyfriend / girlfriend". The articles I've read indicate the arsonist was a boyfriend. No article I've read (or just googled for) said Farber was a "partner". I tend to think of spouse or partner as a more committed thing than "boyfriend" or "girlfriend", but this is all semantics. A typo in Rita's posting, b.t.w. Damaged in the original article were originally estimated at $10K, not $100K, but this updated SFGate article says damage is more along the lines of $25,000.

daithi

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:20:55 -0800

"Gently drop"?? Substitute partner for "wife" or "husband" and the thought of gently dropping seems a tad extreme. Partner is as legit as some can call somebody they are committed to for life.

citi_zen

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:39:58 -0800

The Pink section in the Chron the last 2 weekends in the "25 years ago, 50 years ago" section has been covering a former city law that all police had to live in SF, and how some listed "summer cottages" in Daly City! Priceless!

MalcoveMagnesia

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:14:50 -0800

Anyone can have a meltdown, but what makes this the story is that this is the Fire Chief's house, one of those city jems. I lived two doors away from that beautiful house for 8 or 9 years, walked by it daily, and the closest I ever got to getting to explore or look around it was when one of Willie Brown's firechiefs lived there and regularly had the garage door open with a big red Crown Victoria parked in the driveway. And if I ever had the opportunity to actually sleep in the structure (ala a Bed & Breakfast, or house-swap, or whatever), I'd treat it (and the antiques inside) as gently as I would any guest house I've ever stayed at. I'm not sure how much the new Planning Director is earning but it's likely to be somewhat more than any of us posting here. Why didn't Rahaim had his own place Farber could trash? Is Rahaim going to be on the hook for the damages? If I had a potentially crazy (or overly dramatic) partner in one city and an awesome opportunity in another city, I'd be likely to gently drop the partner in the original city before high tailing it out of town to the new opportunity. Anyways, I do agree with you up to a point, Matty, about gossiping excessively about people we know barely anything about. But stories like this reflect really badly on the Gav and keep San Francisco's government in (national) headlines. b.t.w. as an aside, the house has a "No Parking Fire Station" set of signs on either edge of the driveway. If any poor soul so much as parks an inch into the red zone, the parking ticket they'd get slapped with is something like $400 or so.

mmmike

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:10:48 -0800

I'm not sure that this story is anyone's fucking business... Why not give them some privacy? Excellent question. Replace "Lance Farber" with "Jennifer Siebel" and answer that on your own. Good point, though...

mattymatt

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:28:41 -0800

I'm not sure that this story is anyone's fucking business. Some guy had a meltdown; it was unpleasant for everyone involved; the end. Why not give them some privacy? Talk about the firefighters' residency issues, sure; but gossiping about emotional difficulties seems like the epitome of mean.

wsanders

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:38:11 -0800

Where the Chief lives is hardly the problem. The not-so-secret is that a large majority of Bay Area firefighters and police officers live way the hell out in suburbia - I'm talking Modesto, Sacramento, Chico, Red Bluff. After the big one, wish them luck getting through the traffic and downed overpasses. This is one of the major justifications for CERT/NERT traning and the "72 Hours" argument.

xyz123

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:17:49 -0800

I wondered about Hayes-White not living there as well, but I don't think policy made over 50 years ago about the fire chief living there is necessarily valid now. I also don't get the SFGate commentators angry because the city is using it for temporary housing. Relocation packages are fairly normal, and I would rather they put new employees up in a vacant city owned property than paying for a room at the Mark Hopkins.

scorched

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:21:06 -0800

One of the commenters on the Gate last night made a remark that sounds like a story waiting to break: The reason they're letting new city executives live in the house is because Chief Hayes-White refuses to live in the official residence herself. According to the commenter, the official residence is provided to the chief so that he or she can be downtown quickly in the event of a major disaster. Hayes-White apparently lives near the Daly City border -- not exactly an easy place to get to downtown from in the case of a massive earthquake or other mega-incident. I'd love to hear more about this angle and less about the psychotic issues of some Seattle chiropractor.

daithi

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:11:53 -0800

Did he get the tomatoes at the treasure hunt in Dolores park?

Brock Keeling

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:54:30 -0800

I am so going to start smearing crushed tomatoes on the walls of my enemies. Brilliant.

KWillets

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:47:53 -0800

Hee hee, the planning commission. They redlined our neighborhood at a recent pot club hearing, and now this. Ha ha.

mariconsoy

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:28:31 -0800

At least he didn't burn his boyfriend to death. 1-800-DIVORCE or 1-800-MEDICATE are two needed phone numbers...

MalcoveMagnesia

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:22:17 -0800

Horray! Now this is what I was waiting for SFist to post about. So many wheels upon wheels of fail here, I don't even know where to approach the topic. So I'll let someone else do it.