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.
Popular
SFist Popular: The posts that got people talking, ranked by your recommendations and comments.
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.
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:
In addition to it being Black Friday, today is also trustifarian holiday Buy Nothing Day, a day when well-to-do faux-revolutionaries tell others how to spend their money.
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:
Jerry James Stone snapped this image while frolicking in San Francisco's Historic Tenderloin District last night. This sign, it seems, is supposed to keep rapscallions from smashing the vehicle's windows. How very depressing.
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.
We know. Money is tight. Very tight. But people are starving in San Francisco. Not just the homeless, but people you might even know. People close to you. Your friends and family and neighbors. Seriously.
This one's making the rounds today, as well it should. It's a brand new, all-muppet version of Queen's classic "Bohemian Rhapsody," featuring 70 different Muppets and, our favorite, Animal asking for his mama. Cheers.
SF Weekly brings us some merry/horny news: the fine folks over at Market Street Cinema (a strip joint as seen via their NSFW site) are now accepting new unwrapped gifts for Toys for Tots in exchange for admission. Aw.
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."
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.
The aggressively provincial rich bitches of San Francisco tell the luminous Catherine Bigelow how to end a party. In lieu of, say, telling guests, "Hey, thanks for coming, but Chelsea Lately is on now. Scram," these ladies employ more refined tactics to get guests out the door.
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 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.
Known as San Francisco's "other conservatory," the Sunnyside Conservatory underwent a dramatic renovation in 2009. And come Saturday, December 5, the newly refurbished conservatory will be open for business, complete with a kickoff party featuring conservatory tours, a ribbon cutting ceremonies, and... high tea! Best of all, it's just a few blocks away from the Glen Park BART station, and easily accessible if you take a ride on the Muni #23 Monterey.
- 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]
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.
We hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving. We sure did.
In some non-Bay Area news, golf icon Tiger Woods was in a "serious" car accident this morning.
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.
Dessert isn't one of your editor's favorite courses -- especially at Thanksgiving time. Pumpkin pie is too gluey, pecan pie involves nuts, and apple pie is packed with vile warm, slimy fruit.
No, no. Did you really think you were getting a day off from having the holiday season shoved down your throat? That you would get a day of rest come Friday? Well, think again. Because Macy's is putting on the city's 20th annual tree lighting ceremony that night.
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.
MUSIC: Enjoying watching solo acts perform? We sure do. (Hence our unshared love for cabaret acts.) Which is why you should check out "I Rock Alone! A Night of Weird Solo Acts" happening in the Tenderloin at the city's most deceptively named venue. Here's what's in store for you: The Slow Poisoner, a San Francisco-based "snake oil salesman that bangs a drum festooned with sleigh bells while singing jingles about the miracle tonic that he hawks from the stage"; Mosquito Bandito, a Wisconsin-based "renowned one man band" who performs "distorted blues singles"; and the 1 Man Banjo, a member of the Extra Action Marching Band and Hobo Gobbelins. Single people, unite! By spending some time with local solo acts.
- 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]
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)!
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.



Recent Comments