News: November 2009 Archives

In some non-Bay Area news, golf icon Tiger Woods was in a "serious" car accident this morning.

Although this image looks tempting, NorCal surfers/sailors, the National Weather Service issued a high surf advisory today for Bay Area beaches. The advisory goes into effect from 10 a.m. to to 4 a.m. Saturday.

• Gary Radnich, Lee Rodgers, Jan Wahl, Anna Werner,and other on-air journalistic talents get roasted in the 2009 Golden Turkey Awards. [Lieberman]
• Police seize DJs' laptops. [SFBG]
• Supes' job bailout faces Newsom rejection, wrath. [SF Chronicle]

The LA Times reports that on November 20 several ginger-haired students were attacked. Why? Because of this vile Facebook page that urged its fans to humiliate and destroy those of us (such as your SFist editor) who are gifted with enviable red hair.

Last week, the NYT wrote this rather provocative piece about the collision between evangelical Christians and transplanted LGBT people in Vallejo -- which as you should know is right in our backyard and closer than wine country. A goodly sized gay segment moved into the North Bay town during this last economic cycle, lured by decent real estate at bargain prices and, until last year, a gay bar. An openly gay man, Gary Cloutier, was actually elected mayor in 2007, but a contentious recount and a minor scandal involving an arrest for public drunkenness ended with Mayor Osby Davis winning by less than five votes and taking office only a few days after Cloutier's first day.

Canopy Financial, "a pioneer in innovative healthcare banking technology solutions that connect healthcare and financial services" at ranked no. 12 on the 2009 Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies, is a total sham.

Yeah, it's a slow news day. Well, it's sort of slow. (SFO is busy! Lafayette is gassy and damp! Canopy Financial is a total sham!) But we would be remiss if we didn't tell you about this youthful bit of human interest news: at the ripe age of 26, Campbell's vice mayor Evan Low is "expected to be selected by the city council to serve as mayor."

Yesterday, if you recall, an employee of Bellissimo Pizza in Nob Hill was stabbed to death. Police arrested Maryam Achekzai, the woman they suspect of killing 38-year-old Lassaad Bokri.

• Headlines don't get more exciting than this! SFPD officers plan on making your Muni ride a safe one. [Examiner]
• SFGreasecycle wants your Thanksgiving turkey grease. [SF Sewers Blog]
• More on the SF Nob Hill pizzeria employee stabbed to death. [CBS 5]

It's getting painted today. Finally.

The (and, in all seriousness, we really do hate to say this, because he is, after all, our city's mayor) downward spiral of Gavin Newsom continues. Phil Bronstein goes for broke today when he ripped Newsom a new one. Rightfully so. See, in what was supposed to be an interview with FOX affiliate KTVU, Newsom demanded that the interviewer stick to the subject of Muni, the city's public transit system he rarely, if ever, rides. Bronstein says:

After four students at Gunn High School committed suicide "at or near the same Caltrain crossing in Palo Alto," a group of area parents have asked Caltrain to reduce the speed of trains to a staggeringly slow 5 miles per hour.

A man riding a motorcycle crashed and died inside the Broadway tunnel last night, resulting in the tunnel's closure for more than two hours.

• Any donation made online to the San Francisco Food Bank through Wednesday, November 25th will be matched dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000. [SF Food Bank]
• Do you want to live in a Twitter CEO's old SOMA digs? Because we sure do. Sigh. [Curbed]
• Michael Chiarello teaches you how to brine your holiday meat. [CHOW]

Speaking of BART, police are asking for the public's help involving the shooting of a teen girl over the weekend.

After this weekend's headline-churning incident featuring a BART cop protecting passengers from unruly, drunk Michael Joseph Gibson, 37 -- the twist being that the officer accidentally (?) broke a pane of glass during the arrest at the West Oakland Station -- Assemblymember Tom Ammiano released the following statement:

Uh oh.

CQ Press released their annual list of the hottest crime cities in the U.S. And the Bay Area scored in the top 20. Twice!

"One wet mushroom" by Darwin Bell.

by Daisy Barringer

19-year-old Puerto Rican teenager Jorge Mercado was stabbed, dismembered and beheaded last week by 25-year-old Juan Martinez Matos, and Matos has since confessed to the crime using the gay panic defense. Matos was allegedly out looking for women in an area known for prostitution, and he met Mercado, who was there dressed in drag. Upon discovering that Mercado was a man, Matos stabbed him, and proceeded to dismember the body in a rage.

Today's Matier et Ross is chock-full of fun. First, the duo tell us that Jerry Brown is in hot water for trying to uphold the U.S. constitution's second amendment. (See, earlier this year, Brown asked a Chicago court to overturned a gun ban, saying that if the court doesn't act, "'California citizens could be deprived of the constitutional right to possess handguns in their homes.'" Hence the anti-gun sect's water works.) Hmm, a Democrat moonbeam supporting our right to keep and bear a cute pearl-handled 45 pistol? Sounds like we have a new governor.

About an hour ago this morning, Aileen Tat snapped this shot of a truck blaze at 25th and Geary Fulton. We're not sure if this is the work of the carsonist -- which we doubt since the recent spat of car fires take place in the dark of morning -- but we'll update as soon as we know more.

And a jolly good morning to all! Kicking things off headline-wise this weekend, there was a fatal stabbing late Saturday night/early Sunday at Cesar Chavez and Folsom. Police are looking for witnesses, as well as four or five men suspected in the stabbing of 33-year-old German Fernandez of Daly City. Any possible witnesses to the fight that broke out around 12:30 a.m. are being asked to call the anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444.

Somebody caught this arrest on video Saturday night: a very obnoxious drunk guy starts screaming and generally making a nuisance of himself -- all while brown-bagging it -- as the train is stopped at West Oakland Station. A BART police officer quickly moves in and pulls the guy off the train, and pushes him across the platform where (it appears) his head ends up going through one of the glass barriers on the other side. While some might cheer this valiant effort to remove a drunk asshole from a train, others are raising questions about the officer's excessive use of force.

What do you think of this "Celebrity sells for Bay Area chefs" article? [Chronicle]

Oh dear.

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.)

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

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?)

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

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

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."

Meet Jennie Ketcham, the former Penny Flame. [Violet Blue]

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.

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."

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.

While it was initially rumored that NBC might kill the ratings-challenged Trauma, word is NBC decided to pick up the medical/explosions show.

The Powell cable cars are down this morning after a delivery tuck accidentally rammed a lamp post, which then fell and smashed into a window at Game Stop at 151 Powell.

Bus stop consolidation is going on as we speak on the 21 Hayes line, where, arguably, there are more stops than are really necessary. Muni has apparently been reluctant to delve into the topic of consolidating stops to reduce wait time, reduce costs, and increase efficiency of bus lines because there are, of course, always going to be people ready to fight to keep their favorite bus stop exactly where it is.

Tim Lincecum nabbed his second Cy Young Award in two years. This is what Lieberman is reporting, as is The Splash.

Merriam-Webster announced the 'Word of the 2009 ' today: admonish.

Two vehicles had to be extinguished by firefighters this morning in the city's South of Market District. According to Appeal/BCN, "Units responded to Jessie and Sixth streets at around 5:15 a.m. to a report of a vehicle fire ... Two vehicles were found burned at the same location."

During a UC Regents meeting, students reportedly "stormed" and "took over" a building at UCLA on Wednesday. SF Chronicle reports that the "[s]tudents, furious at the increase that will bring their yearly fees above $10,000 for the first time, rushed the UCLA building where the regents were meeting, throwing food, sticks and vinegar-soaked red bandannas meant to look like blood."

• UC Regents approve staggering 32% fee hike. [Daily Cal, CBS 5]
• What on earth is "business as usual" for Gavin Newsom? [SF Weekly]
• A chat with "The World's Biggest DJ," Tiësto. [SFBG]

Today, SFAppeal's Eve Batey and SFist editor Brock Keeing join wonk scribe Chris Roberts to chat about City Hall and current (as of now, we think) San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. It'll be a hoot. Hopefully.

Your Kaja Silvermans and Teresa De Laurentises aren't going to save you now, UC ilk. The economy knows no bounds, it knows no AP scores, it known no misguided acceptance of one's own body odors. Today, UC students and faculty went on strike. UC Berkeley folks "took up their signs on Sproul Plaza beginning at 5 a.m. to protest an expected 32 percent student fee hike at today's UC Board of Regents meeting."

Well, this is getting downright creepy. Two "deliberately set" cars were set ablaze last night in the city of Richmond. BCN reports, that "[t]he first occurred at a home in the 600 block of 12th Street at around 11:45 p.m." where a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am was toasted. Then, around two hours later, a "second fire was reported in a driveway in the 4300 block of Center Avenue at around 1:40 a.m.," this time a 1990 Mitsubishi.

A crane operated by a company called (get this) Reliable Crane and Rigging dropped a 120-foot, 50-ton crane boom onto a house in Santa Rosa yesterday, splitting it in half and sparing only the Halloween pumpkin which sat unscathed on the porch railing. Another crane had to come to lift the first crane off the house. Neither the homeowners Michelle and Kevin McCarthy nor their children were home at the time and no one was injured. But yeah, kind of a bummer!

We swear we not trying to pick on our fine mayor. Well, not more than usual. Anyway.

Rumors are percolating that Gavin Newsom might, as a SFist commenter Manys pointed out, pull a Sarah Palin. That is to say, he could very well resign. Or not. No one can say for sure, of course. Sure, former Director of Communications Nate Ballard once (allegedly) convinced Newsom not to quit his mayoral gig a few years back; but now that he's gone, is there anyone left to talk Gavin out of resigning? Probably not.

While there's no word yet why a L-Taraval train derailed in the tunnel this morning, more than 20 bus shuttles are currently carrying Muni passengers between Van Ness and West Portal stations. All lines are affected. Appeal has word "that all Muni traffic is slow between Castro and Embarcadero stations," as well as the press release MTA just sent out. Ahem:

The carsonist -- or a copycat carsonist, or a copycat copycatting the copycat carsonist -- stuck three times in the Easy Bay last night. Three evening car fires hit San Pablo, and authorities are seeing if they're related to the recent string of auto immolation in El Sobrante.

Finally. Mayor Gavin Newsom was cornered by spoke to reporters yesterday outside his office. While the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam visited City Hall last night, Newsom stayed inside his office, hiding from reporters. But, being the crafty little critters that they are, local journos found him when he emerged. (Newsom did, we should point out, grant an interview with San Francisco's own Corky Sherwood, Ken Garcia, last Friday.)

After "the second car of an L Taraval derailed in the Twin Peaks tunnel between Castro and Forest Hill stations," reports SF Appeal, the entire Muni system is chaotic this morning. No injuries have been reported. The accident occurred at 7::35 a.m.

• Photos and film from the Skirtchaser 5k race. [Richmond Blog]
• Bauer gripes about Top Chef host's spokesmodel duties for the world's greatest beverage. [Bauer]
• More on Nate Ballard's departure, including commentary from Chris Daly. [Appeal]

Brace yourselves, Gen Xers. Ken Ober, host of MTV's beloved Remote Control, was found dead at his home in Los Angeles.

Witty and wise Newsom spokesman Nathe Ballard made a choice decision today: he quit Newsom's (sinking?) ship. To the press release:

Oakland A's pitcher Andrew Bailey has been named the American League Rookie of the Year this morning. Bailey is a Gemini who was born in Voorhees, NJ, way back in 1984. He stands at 6'3'' weighing in at 235 lbs and has abnormally large hands, which means, well, you know exactly what that means.

Seeing as how this winter promises to be a wet one, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is offering big ol' barrels in which to catch precious rain water. San Francisco Sewers Blog reports, that as of this past Saturday, "San Francisco residents can purchase up to ten fully outfitted 60-gallon rain barrels at steep discounts, compliments of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC’s) Wastewater Enterprise."

Uh oh. Both Eater LA and the LA Times are reporting that an outbreak of McDonald's elusive McRib sandwich has ensued in the greater Southland. This naturally begs the question, when will the McRib spread to the Bay Area? According to the McRib Locator, the McRib has already been spotted in one of San Francisco's many McDo franchises. Could this be true?

Last Thursday, the New York Times published a piece about the trials and travails of a bunch of old ladies living in a San Francisco Housing Authority building in the Castro that was overrun by crystal meth fiends. Apparently, the old ladies repeatedly complained to the Housing Authority about the addicts in their midst and were, unsurprisingly, pooh-poohed for their troubles. The neighborhood had to collapse into the gutter followed by a police raid on the building to shut down the resident meth lab before the Housing Authority was willing to take steps to evict the meth addicts.

The dead woman's body we regretfully mentioned, which was found in the parking lot at Berkeley's Aquatic Park around 4 a.m. Friday morning, turns out to be that of 23-year-old Zoelina Williams of West Oakland, a quiet girl who lost both of her parents to cancer, one in the last few months. She had allegedly been in a relationship with one Curtis Martin III, a neighbor with a criminal record whom Zoelina had been secretly dating, unbeknownst to her family.

Three people were shot outside the Regency Ballroom at Van Ness and Sutter on Sunday night where radio station KMEL was hosting its annual House of Soul event. The incident allegedly began as a fist fight which spilled out of the venue on to Van Ness, and ended with gun shots fired. As of this writing there's no word as to whether any passersby were injured, but according to ABC 7 none of the shooting victims were gravely injured. Sidenote: There was a wedding reception going on in the Masonic temple space on the top floor of the building at the time of the shooting, which was unfortunately interrupted by the sound of gun shots.

• Check out this wildly amusing array of No Parking signs in San Francisco. [Streetsblog]
• Man arrested in Berkeley aquatic park homicide. [CBS 5]
• SF veterans feel slighted by poor parade turnout. [Appeal]

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) sounded the alarm today, warning "consumers not to eat Santa Cruz County sport-harvested shellfish because the clams, mussels, scallops or oysters may be contaminated with domoic acid, a dangerous toxin that is harmful to people."

Child rapist and noted unhinged person Philip Garrido, the man who kidnapped and held Jaycee Dugard captive in his backyard for 18 years, sent KCRA 3 a written letter of apology the week.

Let's face it, the Carsonist has been a pale imitation of the infamous Toilet Torcher. Which is why we were amused to hear that the Toilet Torcher (or a copycat) made a dramatic return at around 1 a.m. this morning in the city's Pac Heights hood.

While heading to UCSF Parnassus, Leanne Maxwell tells us that there was a bit of a Muni meltdown this morning. According to reports, the J, K/T, L, M and N were affected due to a train control system snuafu, which has since been resolved. Muni spokersperson Judson True tells Appeal, "the problem with the train control system has been resolved and all Muni Metro lines have returned to automatic operation."

Three hospitalized after eating amanita phalloides, or "death caps." [SFGate]

     

The three-day strike by the Local 2 hotel workers against the Palace Hotel is coming to a close, with no obvious change in either side's position. The union's own account of their similar three-day walkout last week against the Grand Hyatt suggests that tough economic times for even the best hotels aren't making management any more willing to soften their stance on cutting employee health benefits.The national newspaper most of us only see in hotels covered that earlier dispute nicely, while our local newspaper has offered scant coverage of the latest.

Aw, this is sad. Kids play here! This just isn't cool. Also, why did they have to go and mix in something so splendid as the human penis with something so vile as Nazi signage? It devalues the shlong.

We brought this up briefly yesterday, but we thought it best to touch on it again. Salvador Rodriguez, 21, who was initially charged with the brutal rape and beating of the Richmond High School student wants to clear his name. He's come out to the media to talk about what he saw happen that night. And the details are pretty graphic.

A $75,000 reward is being offered in the Hasanni Campbell case, which, according to CBS 5, will "hopefully bring some fresh leads to the case."

Right. So, Carla Marinucci over at the Comical reports that this fella, Damon Dunn, who is running for Secretary of State, has admitted that he has only voted like once in his entire 33 years on this lonely planet. This of course automatically qualifies him for membership in the He-Man's-Bad-Citizens-Who-Think-They-Should-Be-Our-Leaders Club along with our favorite local career gals, Carly Fiorina (club president) and Meg "Lieberwoman" Whitman (club janitor). Maybe Dunn can be club treasurer. As you will recall, Ms. Whitman, was far too busy raising children while gazing adoringly at her husband's career to bother doing her civic duty, and Ms. Fiorina? Well, who knows? Perhaps she was too busy counting her American dollars to bother dragging her backside down to the nearest friendly polling place. Dunn's explanation for his bad citizenship? He grew up as a poor! Um, no excuse!

More glorious views from One Rincon Hill. Sigh. [Curbed]

What's being described as a "major bloodbath," both the Los Angeles and San Francisco Current offices plan on snipping 80 employees, which will bring their entire staff to somewhere around 300. This comes on the heels of news that Al Gore's media company will become more YoutTube-ish. That is to say, shorter videos produced my non-employees.

Yesterday's Board of Supervisors meeting was, by all accounts, highly entertaining. Then again, anything involving the bizarre practice of life coaching is always something to behold. You see, Gavin Newsom, while running for governor of California, hired himself a life coach or "corporate facilitator."

The temporary repair made to the cracked eyebar on the Bay Bridge, according to KTVU, "remains problematic and will likely require that Caltrans to shut down the entire span again sometime in the near future." And that closure? Could come before the Christmas season.

Gosh. Everybody seems to be getting a flu shot, getting the flu, or freaking out about something flu-related. So, who are we not to throw fat on fire? We came across Google's new flu features, and we couldn't be more delighted/scared. See, Google will help you get a flu shot and help you find out more where the flu is attacking.

ABC 7 News spoke to one anonymous witness who says he watched, for twenty minutes, the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl at a homecoming dance two weeks ago -- he says he was too scared to call for help or say anything because of who several of the perpetrators were. They also spoke to Salvador Rodriguez, who was held, questioned, and released in the case and who claims he tried to help the naked victim after the incident was over, and covered her up with her t-shirt.

• Shuttle bus alert: work starts Friday on N-Judah rail replacement. [Streetsblog]
• Disgraced Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina's campaign is equally disgraceful as seen in this inane, politically correct missive. [Valleywag]
• Photo of false investigator! [Sex Pigeon]

Unless you're a godless whore who uses contempt for a group of people to make a cheap buck, most young people are in support of gay marriage. Which means, after most of the bigots finally -- finally! -- die off, marriage equality stands a chance.

The Board of Supervisors will be casting votes today on whether to override Mayor Newsom's veto of Supervisor David Campos's legislation amending the City's sanctuary law. As you may recall, the legislation approved by the BOS protects illegal hooligan youth who've been arrested for allegedly committing crime in the streets, from being unduly reported to the feds by city employees prior to actual conviction.

While this is old news, this map is a great way to navigate info on Recovery Funds affecting San Francisco. Signed into law by Obama on February 17, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is "an historic investment in America's infrastructure, energy technology, education and health care." Which is to say, San Francisco received money. Lots of it.

Oh jeez. At the risk of sounding ageist, a 90-year-old man is responsible for this early AM scene in Glen Park. Why? Because he's a 90-YEAR-OLD MAN DRIVING A CAR.

UC Berkeley structural engineer professor Abolhassan Astaneh has some urgent words for the Bay Area. Specifically, he's calling for the shut down of the Bay Bridge. Now. Soon. Just do it, he says. Ever since the new S-curve opened, the Bay Bridge has seen numerous accidents, including yesterday's big rig fatality. And a UCB smartypants is demanding the bridge's closure.

High speed is being blamed for yesterday's Bay Bridge fatality, or so says Caltrans. The accident -- where a big rig truck toppled over the bridge at around 3:30 a.m. on Monday, killing the driving and reducing the truck to a pile of rubble -- occurred because the driver was going way traveling around 50 mph, or so said witnesses at the scene.

While we can't say for certain that this morning's most recent vehicular fire is the work of the carsonist -- the lunatic who immolated SF cars earlier this year -- they do have a lot in common. Last night, for example, "[a]uthorities responded to a car fire Tuesday morning in unincorporated Contra Costa County, close to where 3 vehicle fires were reported over the weekend and at least 10 were reported last week."

Can you feel the residual mayoral butt warmth at Willie Brown's favorites restaurant tables? [Eater]

This sticker was spotted on a bus stop at Union and Van Ness this morning on a 2012, advertising what seems like a site with a serious discussion of Mayan mysticism, Maya-Portal.net.

          

Here’s the thing: I’m a Bad Fan. I cuss and yell and get angry. For obvious reasons, my behavior becomes even worse when the 49ers are losing. (And, yes, the “obvious reasons” are alcohol, frustration and desperation; an amazing combination no man can resist.) But here’s the other thing: I know I’m a Bad Fan, so I at least attempt to minimize the annoyance that it must be to sit anywhere near me at a game.

While the rest of the world frets over long vaccine lines, or lack of vaccine doses, we have pressing news for you today: transmitting H1N1 to your cat or dog. Up until last week, veterinarians claimed that "it was a myth that house cats could catch the deadly H1N1 flu from their owners."

Three more cars were torched Saturday, all of them being "less than a mile away from one another, and at about the same time." This comes on the heels of 12 vehicles getting charred crispy black in the East Bay last week.

Ever since Gavin Newsom dropped out of the California governor's race, and ran off to Hawaii without telling his staff, residents are dying to get a peek at our mayor post-wound lick.

A big rig driver lost control of his truck at 3:30 a.m. this morning while negotiating the infamous S-curve on the Bay Bridge. The vehicle plunged 200 feet onto Yerba Buena Island, killing the driver. The far right lane was reopened at 7:45 a.m., but CHP expects residual delays. The driver, who was transporting pears, was going ten miles over the speed limit, and investigators suspect the truck's cargo might have shifted, helping to cause the crash. The bridge did not experience any structural damage from the crash.

Sixth suspect, Elvis Torrentes, 21, charged in Richmond HS gang rape. [SFGate]

According to The Oakland Tribune, Wycoff reads at a sixth grade level and kept books around the house like The Vigilante's Handbook and Techniques of a Silent Killer. He had killed at least 17 cats in his neighborhood in order to "protect other wildlife," and he said openly that he "could have been a serial killer" if it weren't his "good morals."

Scott James of NYT Bay Area did something a bit crafty. He perched a camera at Duboce and Steiner, capturing cars and cyclists during their morning commutes. While not the busiest or most dangerous intersection in San Francisco, it is, as James points out, a complex one where "cars, pedestrians, cyclists and the MUNI N-Line all converge."

Now this? Is our kind of criminal. With no way to get to his auto-theft trial in Vallejo, tenacious Oakland resident Samuel George Botchvaroff did what comes naturally to him: he stole a car and drove it to the courthouse.

Well, well, well. What do we have here? Plastic bags. At the Masonic Lucky's supermarket. Destroying the environment. Making Ross Mirkarimi vomit.