Well, that was a grim Daily Californian homepage yesterday. The top six stories: pedestrian hit by car on Telegraph; Berkeley summer camp evacuated due to Tahoe fire, body found near the Berkeley Marina, beloved local activist hit by train, Cal student to be tried for killing David Halberstam, and memorials for the local murder-suicide family. On the bright side, the other article on the home page is that Cal basketball star DeVon Hardin has decided not to enter the NBA draft.

Hey, remember the kid killed for saving a parking space in the Richmond on Geary Street last year? The SFPD arrested two more people in that killing, and now say they've got all four of the suspects in custody now.

And this is nice (if sad) -- The Red Onion restaurant in El Cerrito is offering free meals today if you donate at least $25 to a reward fund to help find the people who killed the owner, Alfredo Figueroa, two months ago. Figueroa's day job employer, a sheet metal company, will match whatever's raised, and if they never pay out the reward, the money will go to the family. Figueroa used to start work at the sheet metal place at 6 a.m., take his kids to school at 8, and then go back to the sheet metal place until 3, at which point he'd go work in the restaurant. The fund as of now is at $25K -- the sheet metal company has already kicked in $10,000 and insurance companies have kicked in another $10,000.

This story about the Berkeley family killed in Tilden Park by the husband over business problems is so sad. Friends of the family describe the husband, Kevin Morrissey, as "brittle," "desperate," and as having a "very controlling side," though by all accounts deeply in love with his wife. The wife, Mamiko Kawai, is described as a wonderful doctor and the two girls as adorable. The CIA will neither confirm nor deny the husband's claims that he worked for them (hey, let's ask Bob Novak!). The husband bought the gun two months ago and complied with the mandatory waiting-period provisions before taking it home.

Remember the Berkeley journalism student that got in the car accident that killed author David Halberstam? The San Mateo County DA's charging him with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter (the same charge for which the girl who killed the members of the Tongan royal family was convicted).

And here's the heartwarming! A Milpitas man's stolen car is returned to him, after 31 years. It was a 1956 Thunderbird, stolen in 1976. No one really knows what happened to it, but a woman in Ventura County bought it off eBay from someone in Ohio, and when she tried to register it, CHP discovered it was a stolen car. The car's got around 20,000 miles on it and and should be worth around $20,000 now (original purchase price: $1500).

Picture of the Morrissey-Kawai family.

City Attorney Dennis Herrera took a break from harassing that nice Ed Jew today, introducing a lawsuit against three gangs. Our knowledge of streetgang etiquette is pretty much zero, but we can't imagine the "Knock Out Posse" will be giving him the courtesy of an RSVP. At any rate, the plan is to use an injunction to impose stiffer penalties for gang activity in certain areas. In the past, this technique worked against the Oakdale Mob, Dennis' office says, so hopefully it'll work again now. Now all's we need is some spiffy police work to back the injunction up.

We've assembled a handy-dandy map of the gang zones, as well as the locations of recent gang-connected incidents. We can't help noticing that the two recent shootings in the Western addition fall outside of Dennis' gang areas -- but, and make of this what you will -- the boundaries do appear to cover some of the public housing in the neighborhood.

There's pirates coming this weekend! Thank God, an event you can actually be proud of. For some reason it's happening in Vallejo, so you'd better start planning your stow-away now if you want to get there by Saturday. Pirate shows! Pirate merchandise! Dudes dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow! This party's got it all. And if you're sad about skipping Pride for the pirates, don't worry -- you can combine them.

Yuck. A SFPD cop was arrested for soliciting a 14-year-old prostitute in Oakland. The cop's a motorcycle squad supervisor and is a 37-year veteran of the force. The 14-year-old said it was her first time on the streets, the cop was apparently cooperative when the Oakland PD caught the two of them in his car, and told the Oakland officers that he thought the girl was 18.

How the mighty broker has fallen in these days of the downturn in the local real estate market! Curbed SF passes along the following warning -- there's a couple robbing realtors at house showings. While one distracts the reality by talking about buying the house in all cash, the other one grabs everything in sight. The male uses the name Paul Chapman or Paul McClung, the woman is older than him and has "uneven smokers' teeth." They sometimes bring a small dog to the open houses.

And here's a heartwarming story to end your crime blotter news! An abandoned shepherd-lab mix puppy, found unsuitable for adoption due to his boisterous personality, turned out to be an ace at law enforcement! He's going into training to become a search-and-rescue dog. Yay! (also -- do you want to be an animal control officer? The City of Oakland is hiring.)

Picture of an SFPD motorcycle by Telstar Logistics.

Here's a weird tale of yet another car-on-bike hit-and-run at perennial danger spot Octavia and Market, off ABC 7. (More details at CBS 5 too, plus a video clip.)

Last night, around 11 p.m., a car coming off the freeway making the now-standard illegal right turn onto the Octavia Street freeway ramp hit a biker. [edit per CBS 5 story.] Alas, that's not the weird part.

So the driver was about halfway up the onramp and about to take off, when another passing driver got out of his car and grabbed the would-be hit-and-runner's steering wheel so he couldn't drive away. The hit-and-run driver's car then flipped over and pinned the witness underneath it, with the driver still in the car. (Endearingly, a friend of the witness described the car-flipper as "my old man.")

Other bystanders then came by and helped flip the car back up -- at which point the driver made a break for it and zoomed off. Doh! Other drivers followed the hit-and-run guy, at which point he ended up turning himself in to the Emeryville PD, who promptly took him back to SF for booking. That's a lot of trips across the bridge.

Biker and witness were taken to SF General; no word yet as to how they're doing. Dude, how do you manage to flip a car just by holding the steering wheel? And total good karma to all the witnesses who helped! Pedestrians and bicyclists all over town salute you.

Picture of the Octavia/Market off-ramp by SFist Jim.

This situation with Thursday's Western Addition shooting is just sad, sad, sad, and not just because a lot of people got hurt (seven, according to the news outlets who actually have time to investigate these things). It's becoming pretty clear that it is, yet again and as always, the result of a bunch of people making very poor choices indeed.

The comments lit up on our last post -- whose fault is the recurring violence? What's to be done? Why do some people make such poor choices (namely, getting in fights over nothing, participating in risky enterprises, and protecting the very people who are killing them)? Does public housing just contain people, instead of teaching them to take care of themselves? And even if you tried to teach folks how to make better choices, would they care? What's to be done with the people who are, for reasons that are not entirely logical, satisfied with the present situation?

The answers to every single one of these questions is "who knows?" Which is itself a question, and therefore very unsatisfying.

In debating whether to post our pictures from the scene (many of which revealed the identities of victims and eyewitnesses), one SFist staffer lamented, "Anyway, we don't necessarily need to post again on this shooting ... The next one will probably be coming up soon. Seriously." Please, somebody, anybody, prove us wrong.

Remember Edith Delgado, the girl who accidentally killed two members of the royal family of Tongo Tonga about a year ago on 101 in a speeding accident? She was found guilty of misdemeanor manslaughter (but not the more serious felony version), which has a maximum penalty of 3 years. The prosecutors alleged that Delgado had a history of reckless driving and was drag-racing at the time of the accident, but her lawyers disputed that. In any event, Delgado has been in jail for a year because she was unable to post her $1,000,000 bail, but after the verdict, bail was reduced to $40,000 and she was released last night.

Police chase last night in the Mission: around 7 p.m., the SFPD started chasing one or two guys in a blue Cherokee at around 26th and Harrison. The Cherokee got on 101 North with the police in tow. Man, bad move, Cherokee driver! Have you seen how bad traffic is towards the Bay Bridge at that time of day? The Cherokee eventually got off the highway on Fourth Street (no word on if there was traffic at the time), hit traffic, and rear-ended a Camry. The Cherokee drivers then got out and jacked a car at Fifth and Harrison. One person was eventually caught by the cops, they're not sure what happened to the other guy.

And a Castro resident is suing the 18th Street store AutoErotica for posting a provocative picture of him that they found on the Internet from a dating service website, with a photoshopped sex toy next to him and the caption "yikes, look at that wallpaper." We're not running the picture but the wallpaper is pretty bad.

Picture of Edith Delgado from NBC 11.

It wasn't just that shooting in Western Addition this morning -- it's been kind of a violent 24 hours there and in the Mission.

At around 5:40 p.m. yesterday, there was a stabbing at Capp and 17th -- a guy was stabbed with an ice pick after getting out of a car. The stabber then jumped into another car and tried to run the victim down, and then jumped out of the car and stabbed the victim again. The cops got the stabber but the person driving the second car got away. The vIctim was taken to SF General and is expected to survive.

Next, around 9:30 p.m., three men were shot in the Western Addition (McAllister near Webster) by a group of seven men. Two victims went to SF General and are expected to survive. The third guy went to Kaiser and isn't doing so well. (We just saw Michael Moore's Sicko last night, but we're sure this has nothing to do with the quality of care at HMOs.) One bystander was hit as well but is okay.

Next, at around 11:50 p.m., there was a shooting at 18th and Capp. Two men approached the victim, fired multiple shots, and fled. (We think we heard this one last night as we were toiling away on Day Around The Bay.) Victim was taken to SF General with life-threatening injuries.

And finally, this morning at around 11:00 a.m., there was another shooting in that same area of the Mission, on Valencia Street between 17th and 18th (the block of the police station). A guy playing soccer was approached by another man, an argument broke out, and the soccer player got shot three times, The victim was rushed to SF General, and is expected to live. (Where can you play soccer around there? Please don't say the police station.) Update: New reports say the shooting was at 19th and Valencia, and was gang-related

Picture of SF General.

San Francisco's most pleasant neighborhood had its cheery, safe veneer shattered this morning with a shooting -- 8:50am, Steiner and McAllister. We are shocked, simply shocked. Surely, city officials, police leaders, and representatives of the nearby public housing will take swift and effective action to ensure that this is the only time citizens ever feel unsafe while walking through the Western Addition.

SFist_Jim was fortunate enough to be in the neighborhood at the time, that lucky thing. We'll be posting pix of the scene just as soon as they roll in.

Update: Jim reports that the victim was doing well enough to converse calmly with paramedics, and that the area was very quickly secured. (Readers, however, report that there were three victims in total.) Be careful, everyone, please. And don't shoot people.

Update on the update: SFGate reports that three victims were conscious and transported to hospitals.

As discussed in the SFist Contributes tips page, what people heard in Ingleside Heights early yesterday morning was a mysterious car explosion. Witnesses saw a man park a car, get out of the car and into someone else's, and then the parked car burst into flames. Around 7:00 a.m, another car mysteriously exploded, this time in the Tenderloin at Ellis and Taylor. The two incidents aren't thought to be related -- but how weird.

Gimmi Rhoads-Haro, an animal hoarder, was caught in Marin with her two children (5 years old and 2), four cats, and a pit bull living in a filthy apartment. The neighbors called the authorities due to the "overpowering stench of urine" coming from the place. When the police gained entry into the house, the children were half-clothed, and walking barefoot on a carpet soaked with urine. Rhoads-Haro didn't take well to the raid, at one point telling the cops to "take a flying f*** on a rolling doughnut." Rhoads-Haro has a history with Marin -- as a child, her family's house in San Anselmo was considered so filthy it was declared a public health hazard, and she was arrested in 1990 for hoarding 56 animals.

And six people arrested and seven guns confiscated at the Fanatics Sports Bar at Cesar Chavez and Third Ave. early Sunday morning, as two cars exchanged gunfire. Witnesses said they saw gunfire coming from a Nissan SUV but when the cops arrived, the shots were coming from a 98 Jaguar. One man was shot but is expected to survive.

Picture off Flickr by kate at yr own risk.

This story's so weird that we're not even saving it for tomorrow's Blotter! (We'll be cursing this decision as we frantically try to find a third Blotter item later tonight.)

Mark Pope, the guy who co-founded Quark Software, was working in his Pac Heights mansion last week when he heard some weird noises and looked out the window and saw a car (a red BMW convertible) that was exactly the same as his, only in significantly better condition.

Suspicious, Pope called the cops -- and it turned out some guy had broken into the house and tried to steal "a cast-iron Victorian garden bench, an iron fireplace door, a silver-plated water pitcher and a mah-jongg game in an ornate case."

The SFPD came and caught the suspect, who had a piece of the mah-jongg set in his pocket. The suspect told the cops he was an antiques dealer and had thought the house was abandoned, but Pope described that alibi as "malarkey."

Mr. Pope sounds kind of old-school, with the "malarkey" and the mah-jongg set and all. We imagine he's got an upholstered armchair with those little raised brass buttons along the edges in the same study where the thief was pilfering.

Hey kid. An SFist editor would like to have some words with you. A 16-year-old from Belmont was arrested for planting those bombs around SF General yesterday. He was caught with another explosive device in his house, and they think he might have planted some bombs near SF General last month too. And yeah, you may have heard -- it turns out they were actual bombs.

A student at Berkeley High and her date were arrested for bringing a gun to the senior prom. The date said he needed the gun for protection because of an ongoing turf war between South Berkeley and North Oakland, and when he saw people checking bags at the door, he passed the gun to the student, who tried to hide the gun in her purse.

That cop who allegedly beat up (among many other people) cheesecake model and Willie Brown associate Esther Hwang and also Barry Bonds's personal trainer has been reassigned to desk duty. Is he going to beat up the copier next? Plus -- we'll take this excuse to give you a chance to listen to Esther Hwang's press conference about how the cop ruined her "pretty dress" again!!!

powered by ODEO

Picture entitled "Curb Appall" from the SFist Flickr stream by Orin Optiglot.

Ed Jew alert! Friend-of-SFist Dan N. (or, if you like, D. Noyes) alerts us to a brand spanking new Ed Jew interview on the I-Team's website! Oh, faithful I-Team. Here's the juicy bit:

Ed Jew: "I do reside there, yes."

ABC7's Dan Noyes: "You do now, but did you at that point in time?"

Ed Jew: "I do reside there."

ABC7's Dan Noyes: "Now, but did you before, when you signed up to be a candidate?"

Ed Jew: "Again, I want to just basically say that I, we have a number of attorneys that are representing me and so forth like that."

Well, there you have it. Nothing untoward going on there.

It is with a very heavy heart that we report the passing of Hugues De La Plaza. The young audio engineer was returning to his home in Hayes Valley last night at around 2:15; his neighbors called police when they saw a struggle outside his apartment; and his body was found a few hours later. Friends have set up a memorial site, and have extended to the world an invitation to remember Hugues:

Hugues neighbors have encouraged friends and family to stop by and leave flowers, pictures, poems or candles. Please feel free to stop by Linden Street (between Laguna St. & Octavia St).

That's pretty much all the information we have -- from how it sounds, the SFPD is asking for folks to come forward with leads.

Our heartfelt condolences to Hugues' family and many many friends.

A lot of weird car accidents in the news yesterday: an impatient guy trying to pass around congestion on the road killed a pedestrian on 19th Avenue in San Francisco, a drunk off-duty cop killed a pedestrian on Solano Avenue in Berkeley, and a man was killed in Sausalito by a garbage truck backing up, a truck filled with hay tipped over and jammed up I-80 this morning.

The Examiner Blotter -- always a good time! Today's entertaining story: A local woman in Golden Gate Park was approached by a man wearing only a navy blue peacoat, who stood in front of her and started unbuttoning. She called him a flasher, since she could tell he wasn't wearing pants, shoes, or socks. The man became very offended, said he was no such thing, and walked away.

And a woman in Marin (who's a food photographer for Jacques Pepin, among others) won $4.8 million in a jury verdict over a golf cart accident. The photographer was driving her golf cart as another golf cart was coming in her direction. She veered to the left, which caused one of the wheels of the golf cart to hit a 1-foot drop off, which was covered up with leaves. She then fell down a 15-foot ravine and landed on a boulder, severely dislocating a rib.

To: commenter Hank Essay
From: your friendly local blog SFist!
Re: commotion at New Montgomery and Mission earlier today

We saw your question in the Opera post about some commotion going down at New Montgomery and Mission this morning, and have the following information to pass along.

--They arrested a shooter in SoMa this morning. (NOT related to the Loft 11 shooting, as we'd originally posted -- sorry!). We also found some more news about this in the Tip Us! section of the left-hand bar on LiveJournal -- thanks for the tip, readers!

--Also, we've gotten word from sources that there was a shooting earlier this morning at Townsend between 3rd and 4th Street, near the Safeway parking lot.

Not sure if either of those caused the commotion to which you were referring, or even if they're related, but we figured we'd pass the news along!

Update: They were related! Shooting at Townsend, brief car chase from the Embarcadero to Mission and New Montgomery, foot chase culminating in an arrest by Jessie and Annie Anna Streets. (We don't even know where Anna Street is, and it's not on Google Maps -- because it was Annie Street, that's why! Annie likes to go by her formal name sometimes. Thanks for the clarification, commenter Asa!) The shooting victim is expected to survive.

Video still from what looks like New Montgomery and Mission from CBS 5.

The Chron's reporting that two people were stabbed outside the club Loft 11 on 11th and Folsom around 1:30 this morning.

Apparently at the Loft 11 "Famous" Sunday night party, a fight broke out, spilled out into the street, and two men were stabbed. One has life-threatening injuries. The club shut down immediately after the stabbing occurred, and the police are looking for three male suspects wearing baseball caps backwards (which seems notable in light of the mandate on the Loft website that no athletic attire is permitted at the club.)

We're not sure how this is going to affect tonight's Loft party, which is a private event celebrating Stanford graduation.

Picture of Loft 11 from their website.

These Google street views have captured all sorts of daily life in our fair city, haven't they! Thanks to Poor Mojo for catching this one.

A gay African-American high school English teacher at the private Urban School is recovering from three stab wounds he received a few weeks ago while eating at the Taqueria Cancun down near Mission and 29th Street. A woman came into the taqueria and started yelling racial and anti-gay slurs at people in the restaurant, and when the teacher and his friends tried to get away from her, she attacked him with the knife. The SFPD responded and arrested the woman, who's pled not guilty to the charges.

Gobble gobble! Wild turkeys are menacing the Lawrence Berkeley labs. One guy was trying to park his car and a huge flock of turkeys tried to wrestle him out for the spot, and another man was chased by turkeys while riding his Segway. Picture to your left, from NBC 11 (there's some other awesome pictures there too.)

And Leah Garchik reports that eight cops were called to South Van Ness and 16th Street last Saturday upon reports of shootings! Bang Bang!! Sirens! Running! Guns drawn! ..... only to find out that they were just gunshots in the Theater Rhinoceros's rehearsal for the play Special Forces, about genderqueering the war in Iraq. Noise travels far on that block -- at the rehearsal the day before, the actors had been bombarded with noise from the Moe! kestra group playing at the Lab down the street.