SFist

Tiger Woods In "Serious" Condition After Car Crash

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-27T12:02:38-08:00

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

According to reports, "Woods, 33, pulled out of his driveway in the Isleworth community about 2:25 a.m. when he struck a fire hydrant, and then drove into a tree at his neighbor's property, Florida Highway Patrol reported."

Tiger was whisked to Health Central Hospital in Ocoee. He is listed in "serious condition."

FPH also notes that booze was not related to the accident.

Update: CNN reports that Woods has been released from the hospital.

High Surf Advisory Issued for Bay Area

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-27T11:36:16-08:00

Twenty to twenty-five foot waves break off Ocean Beach in San Francisco, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009. Large waves upwards of thirty feet are battering the coast of northern California. In the foreground is the Sunset district of San Francisco. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)

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.

Yesterday at Ocean Beach, 25-foot -- 25-foot!! -- waves came crashing down. BCN/CBS 5 reports." What's more, a northwest swell of 14 to 18 feet due to arrive along the Central California coast by Friday morning combined with local gale force winds will make the seas choppy, according to the weather service."

So, you know, don't go in the water today or tomorrow.

The advisory affects San Francisco, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, Marin, and Monterey counties.

Photos from Black Friday

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-27T10:18:25-08:00

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Starting on Thursday, folks lined up outside aggressively non-boutique stores like Old Navy and Wal-Mart across the U.S. in order to get sanity-estranged deals on holiday shopping. Although Black Friday is as American as bad credit and apple pie, many San Franciscans are still amazed every year that folks make mad AM dashes to get bargains of the century.

Anyway, here are some shots from this morning's Black Friday in San Francisco. For those of you who took part in the annual tradition, we hope you got something nice for your family and for yourself.

Day Around the Bay

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-25T17:00:51-08:00

Jan Wahl

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]
What are local politicos and society thankful for this year? Find out. [Culture Blog]
Golden Gate Bridge could be revenue source. More than it is, we suppose. [Examiner]
Celebrity thanksgiving meals! [SF Weekly]

Redheads Unite!

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-25T14:05:06-08:00

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 year's "Kick a Ginger Day" also resulted in the kicking of several auburn-haired Canadians.

But fear not, redheads of the world, for there are safe spaces. The Scavenger reveals several ginger-safe sites: Red and Proud (news, T-shirts, and a manifesto); Gingerism, a site that cracks the walnut that is redheadism in mainstream society; and info on Redhead day, September 5, 2010.

NY Times Singles Out Vallejo As Battleground Between Gays & Christians

Jay Barmann — 2009-11-25T13:33:03-08:00

Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis

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.

The economy has not been kind to the city, and with economic hardship comes increased tension between the town's Christian mayor and the gay citizens who are now locked into mortgages there. "I don’t know what the fear is about considering Vallejo as a city of God," Mayor Davis says. Well, first of all, Vallejo was the first California city to file for bankruptcy last year, and Vallejo's only gay bar, the R Bar, closed not long after. An openly gay student sued the impoverished Vallejo School District for discrimination and won a $25,000 settlement earlier this year.

But the increasing closeness of church and state in Vallejo is making the town's gay population nervous. The particular quote they take issue with in the NY Times piece is where Mayor Davis says of homosexuals, "They're committing sin and that sin will keep them out of heaven, but you don't hate the person. You hate the sin that they commit."

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have one of those scary cities you see in documentaries in our backyard. And while we do not assume that Mayor Davis' comments reflect the opinions of all the citizens of Vallejo, we agree with Vallejo citizen and former Human Relations Commissioner Sherrie Connelly, who says "As elected officials, we have a responsibility to serve the entire community, not just the ones who believe as we do." City Council member Stephanie Gomes notes that the Christian segment in Vallejo obviously felt invaded by the gays and are now battling back.

Those who aren't on Mayor's Davis' side are calling for both his censure, and in at least one case, his resignation. A rally is planned at Vallejo City Hall on December 1st at 6:15 p.m., before the next regularly scheduled City Council Meeting. Seriously, people, you don't run a city with a Bible, for god's sake.

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Golden Gate Bridge Crash Causing Closure, Major Traffic

Jay Barmann — 2009-11-25T12:02:01-08:00

Photo: AP

A big crash involving a turned-over car and at least four other vehicles in the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge has put traffic at a near stand-still in both directions, with only one lane open going either direction (all the lanes were closed until just a few minutes ago). Only minor injuries reported in the accident but clean-up is ongoing and drivers are being advised to take the Bay Bridge and Richmond Bridge to get to Marin if at all possible. UPDATE: All lanes have been re-opened. Watch that lack of center divide, people. And also, slow down on the S-curve (on the other bridge)!

Gavin Cans Film Commission Head Stephanie Coyote

Jay Barmann — 2009-11-25T11:45:07-08:00

Head of the SF Film Commission Stephanie Coyote -- who makes $132,000 a year to lure film companies to shoot their movies in our fair city -- got ~~wacked~~ fired yesterday. While Gavin may cite the fact that Coyote wasn't doing her job as well as she could, we (and Matier & Ross) suspect there was a little more to the surprise firing. Coyote is the wife of actor Peter Coyote, who came out vocally in support of Jerry Brown for governor, so we kind of feel like this is evidence of Gavin cleaning house and removing the faces of all who remind him of his failed gubernatorial bid.

San Francisco's Canopy Financial "a Complete Sham," Says TechCrunch

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-25T10:40:08-08:00

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.

TechCrunch breaks the news that the company, located at 201 Spear, is just another shady company.

Multiple sources have told us that Canopy was absolutely making up their financial statements, even forging audited statements with fake KMPG letterhead. And somehow the investment bank and all the investors never figured it out.

As of this morning, "all trace of the company have been erased from the portfolio pages of investors GGV Capital, Spectrum Equity and Foundation Capital," reports Tech Crunch. "And their investment bank has erased them from their trophy page as well."

The firm's CEO, Vikram Kashyap, claims that he didn't know nothing about nothing. His attorney states:

Vik Kashyap had no prior knowledge whatsoever of any fraud regarding Canopy’s financial statements. He is as surprised as anyone about these allegations. He relied on financial and legal professionals in accepting the authenticity of the company’s financials. Going forward, he will leave his role as CEO of Canopy, but will remain as Chairman of the Board of Directors, helping to ensure that anyone who committed fraud is held fully accountable.

No arrests have been made.

Evan Low to Become Country's Youngest Gay Asian-American Mayor

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-25T10:14:16-08:00

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."

This would make Evan would become the youngest openly gay mayor and youngest Asian American mayor in the U.S.

Elected to City Council at the age of 23 back in 2006, Low earned his B.A. in Political Science from San Jose State University and attended graduate school at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

More On Nob Hill Pizzeria Murderess Maryam Achekzai

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-25T09:40:35-08:00

image credit: amor a./Yelp

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.

Back in 2006, however, Achekzai was arrested in a series of brutal armed robberies in Newark and Fremont. During one attempted robbery at the NewPark Mall, Achekzai held a knife to a woman "who was loading groceries into her car." The Oakland Tribune reported that "[t]he victim refused to let go as Achekzai reportedly punched her several times and screamed, 'Let go of the bag, you (expletive).'"

SF Chronicle notes that "Achekzai pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in state prison." She was paroled in June 2008.

Back to yesterday's murder, it's being reported that Achekzai didn't know Bokri, but she did ask him for water a few minutes before the attack. After (allegedly) stabbing the pizza employee, "Achekzai ran away and witnesses to the stabbing followed her. She flagged down a passing motorist and asked for a ride, telling the driver she was being threatened." Shortly after getting into the car, a police car pulled the vehicle over and arrested Achekzai.

Oakland Murder #99

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-25T09:26:46-08:00

According to BCN/KTVU, a fatal shooting was reported to Oakland police at 2:48 this morning. The victim, 31-year-old man, was found in the1900 block of 85th Avenue, near Birch Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene, making this Oakland's 99th homicide.

Day Around the Bay

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-24T17:00:02-08:00

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]
Google uses ad space to explain offensive monkey-Michelle Obama image. [SFGate]
Concord grounds amusing dinosaur. Boo hiss. [Claycord]
Calling all DIY types: check out these ten easy steps to silk curtains. [Fog City Sparkle]
Co-relation between good spelling and grammar and hatred of Critical Mass? [Appeal]

What's Going On Here, Market Street?

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-24T14:44:36-08:00

Photo by Jim Herd/SFCitizen

It's getting painted today. Finally.

SF Murder #44

Brock Keeling — 2009-11-24T12:49:14-08:00

Sutter and Leavenworth played host to San Francisco's 44th murder of 2009 this moring. "[T]he incident took place in the wee hours when witnesses watched a woman end a 'dispute' by stabbing someone else," SF Weekly reports. "The alleged killer was later detained by police." No word yet as to the sex and identity of the victim.