SFist

Day Around the Bay

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-20T17:00:03-08:00

Fire drill and chaos be damned, this Cal math professor continued to teach during today's UC protest. In the rain. On a wall. [Daily Clog, via Eye On Blogs]
What do you think of this "Celebrity sells for Bay Area chefs" article? [Chronicle]
Because (dreamy) Tyler Florence hates it. [Eater]
Everyone in town is talking about the Hank Plante-Gavin Newsom interview. [SFBG, SF Weekly, Spotswood, Eye On Blogs, City Insider]
California unemployment rate hits 12.5 percent. [KTVU]
"My vagina fell out." [Daisy]
Newsom parties with snowflakes. [Appeal]
See what's going on at the cherished Valencia Street space that was to be an American Apparel. [Burrito Justice]

Cops Get Tough With UC Berkeley Protesters

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-20T14:15:35-08:00

Demonstrators struggle with police with a barricade in front of a closed off building on the University of California, Berkeley on the Berkeley, Calif., campus, Friday,. Nov. 20, 2009, during a demonstration against university fee hikes and layoffs. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Oh dear.

We found this charming video, which you can view after the jump, over at SF Appeal. It seems that during today's UC Berkeley fee-hike protest, some students got a bit rowdy. So rowdy, in fact, that the fuzz had to put a beat down on a few rapscallions, which is typical during protests that get unseemly whenever the police show up.

According to YouTube user kurtjimi27, who shot the footage, it all started when protesters attempted to block a a cop from transporting a barricade to Wheeler Hall.

As students attempted to block a barricade from being walked in to the Wheeler perimeter, a cop pushed a student to the floor and another punched a kid in the face (video starts around this point). After this incited the students to stay firm, the first cop took out his club and started jabbing students in the stomach which caused the students to back up and the eventually cops went to the right to get through.

As of 2 p.m. students remain barricaded on the second floor of Wheeler Hall.

Check out footage of the protest turning course after the jump.

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This Could Be Our Skyline, In a Couple of Decades

Jay Barmann — 2009-11-20T13:24:04-08:00

Rendering courtesy of SF Planning Dept.

The Planning Department just released their 25-year plan for the Transbay Terminal-adjacent "Transit Center District." Above is a rendering of what the San Francisco skyline might look like, 20 or 25 years hence, if six new proposed skyscrapers actually get approved and built, including the central 950-foot Transbay Tower, which would be 100 feet taller than the TransAmerica Pyramid. This is just a plan of course, not a design, and the image above is meant only to illustrate relative heights. But wouldn't that be pretty? The view from Dolores Park? (Cue the anti-shadow, anti-tall-stuff whiners.)

In addition, the plan covers a 145-acre district bounded by Steuart and New Montgomery Streets, between Market and Folsom, giving landmarks status to four buildings including the Palace Hotel.

We don't know what the hell happened to the proposed 1,200 foot phallus with preliminary design by Cesar Pelli, which was chosen by the jury in the 2007 competition for a new Transbay Tower, or the other imaginary complex of 900-foot-plus towers by Renzo Piano. Well, we do know -- lots of people complained so city planners are trying to compromise at 950 feet now for the tallest tower. What's another 250 feet? (As you can tell, we like tall things). The surrounding, shorter towers will all have height caps of 800 feet, all well above the existing cap of 550 feet, voted in under the "sunlight protection initiative" of 1984. The revised height limit will have to be approved through a public process in order for the plan to move forward.

The first public meetings about the plan are set to happen soon (dates are unclear), but the draft Environmental Impact Report won't be released until mid-2010, and plan adoption won't be underway until late next year.

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SUV Flip at 10th and Howard

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-20T12:19:29-08:00

Just outside the VidSF offices at PariSoma in SOMA, an SUV was in an accident, causing it to flip over.

Remarkably, no one was injured. And it happened before this morning's deluge.

As always, be careful out there on the streets, folks.

San Jose Swim Coach Impregnated Girl When She Was 14

Jay Barmann — 2009-11-20T11:55:06-08:00

Andrew King, affectionately known as Coach Andy in his role at San Jose Aquatics, has been jailed since this past spring for felony child molestation. Investigators have been building their case against him ever since, and it recently led them to interview a woman who, in 1988, reported some abuse by Coach Andy to a school counselor in Danville. The woman was 17 at the time, and claimed she had intercourse with Coach Andy three years before, got pregnant, got an abortion and never told her parents. King had a well-established pattern over several decades as a swim coach of targeting girls between the ages of 10 and 17, taking them to dinner, driving them home, taking them sailing, making out, and then "making love." The Santa Clara County D.A.'s office is seeking the maximum sentence for King, 42 years, and court documents released yesterday make their case sound pretty damning. King has plead no contest.

UC Berkeley Protest Update

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-20T11:32:18-08:00

Demonstrators wave as they are barricaded inside of a closed-off University of California, Berkeley building on the Berkeley, Calif., campus, Friday,. Nov. 20, 2009, during a demonstration against university fee hikes and layoffs. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

The Daily Cal reports that somewhere around 60 protesters have locked themselves inside Wheeler Hall. And...they're still there! (What happened to the crowbar, cops?)

Wheeler Hall, obviously, is closed for the day. Chancellor Robert Birgeneau sent out the following message to students and faculty:

The campus police are working to resolve a protest action that is occurring in Wheeler Hall ... Employees who can contact their supervisors should talk to them if possible to determine whether telecommuting or relocation to another work area is an option. Those in the building right now are advised to leave until the situation has been resolved.

Also, fire alarms have been set off all over campus. The Daily Cal says that "fire alarms at several campus buildings -- Dwinelle Hall, Barrows Hall, Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union, Moffitt Library and Valley Life Sciences -- went off within the last hour, causing hundreds of students to evacuate the building."

Students and faculty are protesting the UC Regents' decision to increases tuition 32 percent.

Chilling Account of a Muni Mugging

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-20T11:03:00-08:00

credit: TimOfLegend

Tim Schafer (@TimOfLegend) sent out two unnerving Twitter messages this morning. A crime, it seems, occurred on the J Church during the AM commute.

"Holy crap! A guy just pulled a gun on a lady and took her iPhone on the J Church!!! WTF?"

And:

"Someone chased the mugger down the block until the dude stopped, turned around, and waved his gun at him." [PIC]

Anyone else witness what went down? We'll update as soon as we know more.

Carson: San Pablo, 2 Cars

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-20T10:20:05-08:00

More vehicles were set ablaze in the recent string of car fire hitting the Bay Area. BCN reports, "The fires were reported at around 2:15 a.m. in the 2100 block of Vale Road near San Pablo Avenue, where two vehicles appear to have been set ablaze at the same location." No injuries were reported; no arrests. Over 20 cars have been torched in the last month.

Newsom's Uncomfortable Interview With Hank Plante

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-20T09:40:03-08:00

Why couldn't Newsom tell CBS 5's Hank Plante, "Yeah, I took off to Hawaii. And what, hooker? Somebody hold my earrings."

Instead, after failing to turn a recent sit-down interview to the city's budget -- because, really, who wants to hear about something so crucial yet boring? -- Newsom got cranky. Because Plante insisted that our mayor tell us where he's been and what he's been doing over the last two weeks.

"Working my tail off," said Newsom.

The mayor, it seems, has been trying to fix the budget, dealing with a new daughter, attending "69 public events last week," and other assorted duties that weren't made public.

When asked about the media coverage of his so-called temper tantrum, Newsom fibs he doesn't read the press, doesn't read the Chronicle. Why? Because he's too busy getting stuff done.

Newsom then slammed Plante as "factually incorrect," accusing him of misleading his audience.

But then, when Plante brought up the budget toward the end of the interview, Newsom turned pissy. Which, of course, was brilliant. (He needs to do this more often. And frown; he needs to learn how to frown when he's upset. We couldn't find a screen grab of him appearing visibly upset, which is chilling.) After the interview ends and he takes off his microphone, the mayor spits back, "Off the record, I'm amazingly disappointed. Amazingly. I just am, personally, you know."

OK then. Well, glad to have you back, Gavin.

Protesters Take Over 2nd Floor of UC Berkeley's Wheeler Hall

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-20T09:15:02-08:00

Early this morning, "dozens of student protesters" occupied UC Berkeley's Wheeler Hall. . "UCPD officers have surrounded the building, and some are inside," reports the Daily Cal. As of 9 a.m., "[p]olice are using a crowbar to open the door, according to protesters inside."

Protest signs have gone up around the building, with some students wearing masks. Lots of chanting, dancing, the usual stuff. Also, UC students are being encouraged to skip class and join the protest.

Twitter reports vary wildly, ranging from "People are getting tear gas thrown at them and getting beat wit batons in wheeler Hall." (@bsig223) to "Protesters in Wheeler Hall, Awesome!" (@ejohns131 ) to "just heard that students have taken over wheeler hall, uc berkeley to protest the fee increase... suerte y solidaridad!" (@elNopalero)

The protest is in response to the UC Board's vote to raise undergraduate student fees by more than $2,500 (32 percent) in the 2010-11 school year, "with some increases taking effect in spring 2010."

Day Around the Bay

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-19T17:00:06-08:00

Eric Korsh and Ginevra Iverson of Eloise

In surprising food news, Sebastopol's Eloise plans to close at the end of the month. [Eater]
Meet Jennie Ketcham, the former Penny Flame. [Violet Blue]
Strife hits amid Prop 8 repeal effort? [BAR]
This fake tree vortex is frightening fun. [Curbed]
So long, Oprah. [Chicagoist]
You too, French hors d'oeuvres dude. [SFBG]
That's funny, because most everybody has had it with you, Meg Whitman. [SFGate]
Some sort of gay anti-smoking rally happening tonight. [Examiner]

Mehserle Trial Will Move to L.A., Says Judge

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-19T16:01:41-08:00

At a court hearing this afternoon in Oakland, Judge Morris Jacobson of Alameda County Superior Court decided to move the trial of Johannes Mehserle to Los Angeles in an effort to get a fair trail. Jacobson promised in September that the trial would move out of the area.

However, according to the Chron, "Los Angeles court officials said they would not be ready for the case to begin for at least six months, and more likely one year."

After Oscar Grant, 22, was shot to death by BART cop Mehserle on New Year's Day on the Fruitvale platform, Alameda County played host to numerous angry protests, condemnations by local leaders, BART meetings on awry, and other assorted disruptions of the peace.

Until then, Mehserle remains free on bail.

Carole Migden Not Running for District 10 Supervisor

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-19T15:01:58-08:00

The well of comedy gold will run a bit drier as Carole Midgen announces that she will not run for the supervisor seat in D10 (Bayview-Hunters Point, Potrero Hill) when Sophie Maxwell terms out. "I don't envision this as a fit for me in the New Year ... I like where I live ... I have a good life," Migden tells SF Weekly's Will Harper. Alas.

Christmas Is Canceled: Postal Service Cancels Letter to Santa Program

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-19T14:00:26-08:00

For those of you who celebrate Christmas (not the "birth" of Jesus Christ and/or but the wildly festive gift-giving holiday), we have some disheartening news. The U.S. Postal Service planas to stop its popular Santa letter service, which began in 1954 in the Alaska town of North Pole, where residents volunteer to open and respond to "thousands of letters to Santa each year."

Why is the program coming to an end, you ask? Associated Press reports:

Last year, a postal worker in Maryland recognized an Operation Santa volunteer there as a registered sex offender. The postal worker interceded before the individual could answer a child's letter, but the Postal Service viewed the episode as a big enough scare to tighten rules in such programs nationwide.

Residents of North Pole, it goes without saying, are livid. "Losing the Santa-letter cache is a blow to the community of 2,100 people, who pride themselves on their Christmas ties," NPR reports. Huge tourist attractions here include an everything-Christmas store, Santa Claus House, and the post office, where visitors can get a hand-stamped postmark on their postcards and packages if they ask for it."

Other children from around the world, however, can still write to Santa.

Jim Hammer Named Police Commissioner

Jay Barmann — 2009-11-19T13:30:41-08:00

Assuming the seat vacated by Theresa Sparks, who stepped down to become human rights commissioner, former Assistant District Attorney Jim Hammer was sworn in yesterday as the City's ~~first~~ second openly gay male police commissioner. Hammer was approved by a unanimous vote of the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, and will serve the remainder of Sparks' term which ends April 30, 2011.

"I can make a difference," Hammer said when speaking before the Rules Committee before receiving the nomination. He has pledged to keep police officers from acting as immigration officials, and said that he has no qualms standing up to the powerful Policeman's Association.

Should Hammer decide to run for DA next year -- if and when Kamala Harris vacates the position to become state's attorney general -- he has said he would resign the position if it presented a conflict. Previously, Hammer has served as a TV legal analyst for CNN and Fox News and he currently has a private law practice in the city.