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:
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!
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. 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]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
The good news: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced that it's giving over $300 million to the cause of training good teachers and figuring out what makes a good teacher. The bad news: None of the money is coming to San Francisco. $290 million is being spread around to four testing ground school districts in Tampa, Pittsburgh, Memphis, and L.A., where it will be used for teacher training and new programs and incentives to encourage the best teachers and remove ineffective ones. Another $45 million will go toward research. The foundation purposely chose four diverse school districts in, well, three corners of the country, each with their own problems and successes. Vicki Phillips, who directs the foundation's K-12 education program, hopes the outcome of the grants will "rock" every school district in the nation.
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."
For anyone who might be reading this before heading to the airport, expect delayed flights today. Although the FAA's Atlanta-based computer system is back up after an earlier system crash, they expect a ripple effect of residual delays throughout the day. Earlier this morning, all Bay Area flights were stacked at the gate, so it will be slow going today, folks.
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.
Emergency_In_SF reports a blaze in happening in Bernal Heights. "Fire on the top floor of a 3-story residence at Peralta and Esmeralda near Bernal Heights [Park]. SFFD on scene."
Local kook Stanley Hilton is suing San Francisco International Airport for $15 million for creating noise and smog that led to his divorce. He's also suing the real estate agent for selling him the San Mateo county house in 2003 for $1.4 million, saying that everything went down hill after he and his wife moved there. Hilton is representing himself in the case, and despite being an experienced trial lawyer, he was "deemed ineligible" to practice law back in August, right around the time he sued a building for $20 million after he got stuck in an elevator. Needless to say, 85% of NBC Bay Area readers are laughing at him.
One lane on the lower deck of the Bay Bridge was shut down during this morning's commute due to a dangling wire. But have no fear, the wire, which is used to power lights in the tunnel, is not a symptom of the bridge's structural integrity, or lack thereof.
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!
Muni service on the K, L, M and T lines through the Twin Peaks Tunnel was restored tonight at around 7:15 p.m., however shuttle buses continued to run in order to maintain "regular service." The system-wide delays (despite the fact that not all trains need that tunnel) related to a damaged antenna that was caused by this morning's derailed train, which affected the oft-troubled, automated train system, thus crippling the entire city. Meanwhile, N-line service will be interrupted again this weekend by track improvements which may or may not be done by Monday morning. ALSO, the L-train derailment happened in the exact spot of a similar 2006 derailment, which was allegedly fixed. Says Sunset district resident Mike Casey, as quoted on SF Gate, the process of diverting commuter traffic into shuttles at Castro station went relatively smoothly. "But," he says, "they've got to fix the underground." Yah. Understatement.
Bad news, commuters. "Muni workers have repaired the Metro system's automated control system but don't expect to have the Twin Peaks tunnel back in service for the start of the afternoon commute," said the Gate. Hopefully, you all can avoid the rain. Godspeed, dear readers.
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.
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:
The rapscallion who shot eight people outside KMEL's House of Soul concert at the Regency Ballroom has yet to be apprehended by authorities. Last night, if you recall, a fight between two men escalated into a fight between four men, which resulted in a man who pulled out a gun. And that man? According to SF Chronicle is "described as black, in his 30s, wearing an unbuttoned white shirt with pinstripes, white T-shirt, blue jeans and a baseball cap."
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."
KRON 4, in between a slew of easy-entry-walk-in-bath commercials, reports that an early morning carjacking at Sutter and Polk ended in a crash. No word yet as to the condition of the vehicle's owner. The suspect tried to run from police, but was arrested at the scene. (The cops "t-boned the guy," says Darya Folsom.) We'll update as soon as we hear more.
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.
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."
A family of three is hospitalized and in serious condition at California Pacific Medical Center after eating "death cap" mushrooms that they found growing in the wild. Let this be a reminder to all of you out there that no wild mushroom in Northern California is a good wild mushroom. Unless it's a free chanterelle in the Presidio.
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.
A woman's body was found in the parking lot along Berkeley's bayside Aquatic Park this morning. And we quote, via SF Gate: "The area is known for drug use and prostitution, but [police] said it was too early to say whether those factors were involved in the slaying." ABC 7 has raw video of the cops on the scene. We promise we'll stop dropping these terrible bits of news on you first thing in the morning just as soon as they stop happening.
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.
In an effort to get motorists to slow down on the Bay Bridge, CHP officers had a "crackdown" in the bridge yesterday. CBS 5 reported that officers "issued 34 citations for speeding and arrested someone for driving under the influence. The crackdown was carried out between 11 p.m. Wednesday and 4 a.m. Thursday." This comes on the heels of a big rig toppling over the bridge on Monday. Also, later this month, "radar signs will also be installed to show drivers how fast they are going as they pass."
A batch of natural gas coming down a Pacific Northwest pipeline was mistakenly produced with too much odorant -- the stuff called mercaptan that smells like sulfur that they add to the usually odorless gas so that you can detect a leak. This means a great many people in the easterly Bay Area may turn on their gas stoves to an especially yucky smell for the next day or so, and PG&E will be getting a whole shitload of calls from paranoid people who get a whiff and think there's a problem. The smelly gas has already set off odor alarms at PG&E's own compressor stations. An official from the company says the smell should dissipate after today and that not all customers will smell it because multiple pipelines feed gas to the area.
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.
AlertSF reports that there's a "[g]as main break on Bayshore Blvd btwn Industrial St & Augusta. Bayshore shut down in both directions. Avoid area for next hour."
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.
We noted it in the Day Around the Bay last week (via SF Appeal), but some of you radio fans may have noticed that Pirate Cat Radio (89.7 FM) has completely disappeared off the airwaves and are now operating web-only. SF Weekly picks up the story this week, and reports on the $10,000 fine that's been slapped on the unlicensed station, despite their having operated openly, under the FCC's nose, for years -- using a loophole in the commission's rules regarding unlicensed stations "during wartime," which technically, one could argue, we're in now. 28-year-old station head Daniel K. Roberts is hoping for some donations to help cover this fine, and to help the station keep operating in its current web-only incarnation.
Someone on the contribute page chided us about not covering this story, so here you go, folks: Redwood City's Electronic Arts, creator of such awesomeness as SimCity, The Sims, and Rock Band -- cut 1,500 jobs today, more than 16% of its workforce. The economy, and you might have guessed, is to blame. Chin up, (former) EA ilk.
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.
Gavin Newsom, according to SF Examiner, has officially proclaimed Saturday as Burl A. Toler Sr. Day in San Francisco.
Yesterday, Richmond police released a recording of the 911 call made on October 24 by 16-year-old Margarita Vargas, who reported the now infamous Richmond High School gang rape.
Now that Gavin Newsom has dropped out of the governor's race (welcome back to work, Gavin!), rumors are swirling that Senator Dianne Feinstein might take a stab as the new "it" Democratic candidate. Or not. Who's to say for sure. This speculation pops up all the time with DiFi.
An unidentified male Muni ticket agent was arrested yesterday afternoon after allegedly punching a young woman.
According to Columbian.com, Giants star Tim Lincecum was busted on October 30 for smoking and possessing marijuana. "The amount was 3.3 grams, [Washington State Patrol trooper and spokesman Steve] Schatzel said, which is considered only enough for personal use. Lincecum did not appear to be impaired behind the wheel and is not being charged with a felony crime." He was busted while driving in I-5, charged with misdemeanor possession. (via The Splash)
Breaking news, folks. It looks like Newsom will return to San Francisco tonight, and be back to work come tomorrow morning. The mayor, if you recall, vanished from San Francisco and City Hall after announcing his withdrawal from the California's governor race.
Filling the void left by Ellen Tauscher, former Lt. Governor John Garamendi was sworn in today "as a new representative in the House for the 10th district representing parts of Contra Costa, Alameda, Solano, and Sacramento counties." Fun! In related lieutenant governor news, Gavin Newsom might not be eying the lesser position as was rumored a week ago. Why? Well, as Melissa Griffin expertly pointed out in her column today, "Being lieutenant governor isn’t worth moving to Sacramento since it basically requires you to be the John Oates to the governor, who gets to be Daryl Hall."
Last year at this time, the gay community (and then some) lost their collective shit over the passing of Prop 8, a pro-discrimination measure that effectively pruned the rights of gay married couples. The passing of the anti-marriage confused and disturbing "Fuck Mormons" banner from his home, while blaming "middle class people" for Prop 8's passing(!); and this handy map of those who donated to Prop 8.
Good news, all! Retail stores saw their second consecutive month of sales increases in October, which amounted to retail's best overall performance in over a year in this here Great Recession. But for the most part, the stores that saw the increases were places like Costco, TJ Maxx, Marshall's, Kohl's, and Ross, which all sell "designer" candles and bath towels for pennies on the dollar. Sak's and Nordstrom's also saw small increases, but chains like Macy's and Neiman Marcus continue to suffer, decreasing 0.8% and 6% respectively. With the dreaded Black Friday clusterfuck nearly upon us, we can only imagine the renewed fervor with which mothers and daughters nationwide will be putting on their running shoes and gobbling up those "doorbusters" mere hours after gobbling down their turkey. Wake us when it's all over.
Is Newsom back home yet? Of course not. His ego is bruised -- for Gavin, dropping out of the California gubernatorial race is a bit like losing an Oscar, only not nearly as horrifyingly bad -- so he's drowning his sorrows in a little bit of R&R in the U.S.'s newest state.
Earlier this week we told you about the owner of Ocean Avenue Books who, after receiving a less than glowing Yelp review, went crazy on Yelper "Sean C.," showed up at his front door, and tried to attack him.
SFist brought you this news yesterday, but somewhere around "100 police officers, Muni inspectors and sheriff's officials were involved in Citywide Operation Safe Muni," conducted between 1 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday. CBS 5 reports that citations were issued for fare evasion, not having a pass or transfer, and eating/drinking on public transit.
How the Department of Correction did everything wrong with Philip Garrido. [SFGate]
SFist just received the following bit of information, one you Muni freeloaders should read. A reader, who we'll keep anonymous, tells us that there are "[u]ndercover pigs checking for fares around the city... hundreds of them today."
After today's profoundly disappointing news that gay marriage was repealed in the state of Maine -- alas, unadulterated hate wins again -- rallies will be held across the country starting tonight.
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Yesterday, somewhere around 500 students, faculty, and community members showed up at a vigil at Richmond High School, where a 15-year-old girl was beaten and gang raped over over a grueling two-and-a-half-hour ordeal on October 24 during a homecoming dance.
The mentally unhinged man who jumped into the grizzly grotto at the SF Zoo on September 26 has been acquitted by a jury. Accused of "trespassing and disturbing dangerous animals," Kenneth Herron, 21, crept into the into the dwelling of" two 6-year-old, 500-pound female grizzlies at closing time," reports SF Chronicle.
August Coppola, who served as dean of the College of Creative Arts at San Francisco State and who created the famed Tactile Dome at the Exploratorium, died last week at his home in Los Angeles and the obit is just running today. The cause was a heart attack and August, brother to Francis Ford Coppola and Talia Shire and father to Nicholas Cage, was 75 years old.
SF Appeal brings it to our attention that smarmy San Francisco-based (located on Maiden Lane, specifically) "independent integrated marketing communications company," Criswell and Associates, earned about $700K in the past couple of months producing anti-same-sex marriage ads for Stand For Marriage Maine with the help of SF production company Coyote Films.
Where does one go to figure out what to do with the rest of their life? If you're former gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom, you go to Hawaii. CBS 5's Joe Vazquez has first word that the San Francisco Mayor "left the city Tuesday to spend the rest of the week in Hawaii following his decision to drop out of the California governor's race."
ABC7 is reporting on a string of 10 car fires that broke out early this morning, beginning with multiple locations along San Pablo Dam Road in Richmond (that's the City of Richmond, not *the* Richmond where the SF carsonist frequently struck). Police seem to already be honing in on a suspect, and unlike the SF carsonist, this one was a little more aggressive and a little less wily. Assuming this is a different carsonist, what is it about 2009 that makes this the era of car fires?
The votes are in. Four out of five propositions passed. Here's how things went down after yesterday's election:
Coast Guard responding to runaway fishing vessel off California coast. [Pier System]
Oh oh. Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums owes the IRS in back taxes. Lots and lots of back taxes.
Steve Rhodes reports that, by 10 a.m. this morning, only 60-plus people out of several thousand voted at this Bernal Heights polling place.
San Francisco-based non-profit agency Economic Opportunity Council (EOCSF) was expected to receive $159,000 in stimulus dollars for various/questionable "weatherization" projects. Today, however, those funds were yanked.
Ryan Tate at Valleywag has a phenomenal story about the sanity-estranged owner of Ocean Avenue Books. The owner, after reading a negative review on the interwebs about her store, found the reviewer and tried to assault him. At his home.
Just a little before 6 a.m. this morning, SFFD got a report of smoke coming out of a manhole at Battery and Pine in downtown San Francisco. When they got there, they found (another!) vault fire. According to Appeal, "PG&E is saying that initial reports suggest that 'a cable failed' which 'produced a little smoke.' They expect the area to remain a work site (that is, a big PG&E truck and workers are in the line of traffic), but all streets have been reopened."
A seventh arrest was made in the gang rape of a Richmond High School girl. A total of 10 men, police allege, beat and raped the girl outside her homecoming dance. Held on a $1.2 million arrest warrant, the unidentified 21-year-old allegedly played a significant role in the brutal attack.
Hey kids! Tomorrow is Election Day across this great land of ours and you know what good citizens do on Election Day? They vote, that's what! Here is a quick run down of what we have to look forward to dealing with here in San Francisco as we engage in that great experiment this writer loves to call la democracia:
Radio station 92.7, once a gay-friendly station brimming with synthetic beats, was bought by new owners in September. Said new owners fired most of the staff and talent, replacing them with, for lack of a better word, dreck.
Here's the thing: I might have a slight emotional problem when it comes to watching football. One need only read my angry tweets on Sundays to realize this. Example: "Person who should die: Peyton Manning." (Really, Daisy? Really?) "Person I find whiny and annoying," maybe. "Person who failed to throw a TD pass for the first time since November of 2008," great.
Check out this shot of the Metreon, crammed right into the heart of bustling San Francisco at Fourth and Mission, this past Friday night. Where is everybody? Even the movie theater appears empty. It's like they turned the complex into a museum.
On Friday night, a carjacker was the first civilian vehicle to cross the entire Bay Bridge since its Wednesday closure. "[A] carjacking suspect in a Dodge Nitro made it onto the bridge from San Francisco's Sterling Street ramp, blowing through the barricades around 10:20 p.m.," reported SFGate. The suspect was eventually arrested in Oakland.
In even more depressing 49ers news -- more on yesterday's loss later, as soon as we coax Daisy down from the ledge -- former Niners great, BALCO fibber, and snitch Dana Stubblefield has been hit with a restraining order by his former fiancee. Why? Because, according to his ex, he's not a well man.
Attention anti-graffiti ilk: there's a new anti-graffiti Twitter feed for you to follow, @SFGraffiti. While still in its embryonic stage, it has @311 following it, which might very well result in some sort of tagging cleanup around the city if it gets enough people involved. So, send all your most irritable graffiti sightings (plus a picture, ideally) to @SFGraffiti.
Good news! The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge will reopen by 9 a.m. today. Although it was initially reported that the bridge will remain closed during this morning's commute -- and, for the most part, it has -- it will open.
ABC 7 has this report about Halloween in SF, sans bridge traffic, and it turns out business was still strong at places like Rouge on Polk (which has $500 bottle service at the booths!) and Teatro ZinZanni, which both depend heavily on their East Bay following. The turnout in the Castro -- while still festively large with many gays doing their one night of drag for the year -- was not as huge and unruly as in previous years (one reveler in the video notes the lack of "riff-raff"), and there were plenty of cops on hand telling everyone to stay on the sidewalks.
Without giving an estimated time as to when it will reopen, officials said today that the Bay Bridge will remain closed for Monday's morning commute.
BART Cop Smashes Drunk Dude's Head Through Glass
Asm. Tom Ammiano On Glass Breaking BART Cop
Don't Dump Unwanted Stuff On City Sidewalks
Daisy Does the 49ers: Green Bay Tops SF
Help Children Have a Merry Xmas While Receiving a Lap Dance
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