There was a press conference today at 11am with the Mayor and the head of Muni -- no major revelations, but here's the condensed Cliff's Notes version from our guy at the event: Gavin: Nat is as frustrated as everybody else. We want change on the margins. Eliminating bus stops. The line I take down polk never has more than 10 people; It takes 10 minutes. We will eliminate bus stops. Nat: This journey......

Hey, which would you rather have: a bus that comes on time, or a bus that comes late but has a nifty antenna on top? Well who cares what you want! You're getting the antenna. A tipster advises us that there was a ConnectedBus event at the Fed Building today, at which Gavin and Nat Ford and Cisco announced that there'll soon be 800 wifi-enabled busses in San Francisco. You mean, sort of like......

Local-TV Tivo alert! We've got some exciting news about everyone's favorite concerned local investigative reporter, Dan "My Rumpled Tie Says No But My Piercing Gaze Says Yes" Noyes. The next installment of his long-running Muni investigation airs tonight at 6pm on ABC-7, and it sounds like it's going to be awesome: after spending months pouring through Muni's complaint records (while simultaneously fighting off the drivers' union), Dan's I-Team has the goods on Muni's most......

A few hours later after a car hit a man at the same intersection in Portola, a Muni bus stuck and killed a pedestrian on Thursday night at around 8:30 p.m. The 9X killed a woman in her 30s at San Bruno Avenue and Bacon Street. According to CBS 5 (via Bay City News), "details of the incident were unclear. Muni spokesman Alan Siegel confirmed the accident occurred but said he wouldn't comment on......

In the tussle over the mantle of San Francisco’s Most Tucked-Away Neighborhood, Visitacion Valley gets our vote...particularly if by “tucked-away,” one really means “neglected.” Geographic and economic isolation have contributed to infrastructural decline - and crime - here for quite some time, although earnest efforts are being made these days to turn the tide. The block of Leland between Peabody and Rutland is dually zoned for business and residence, so the street is one of Viz Valley’s main drags. There’s plenty of foot and auto traffic here, and the 56 Rutland bus even shuffles by on occasion. Businesses bookend the nondescript strip as post-WWII housing, other small commercial concerns, and a pair of bottlebrush trees fill in the space between. Pretty? Not quite. But, utilitarian? Sure....

Did she find a horse's head in her office chair the day before? Embattled Susan Leal, who's refused to bow to pressure from Gavin Newsom to resign her position as the general manager of the SF Public Utilities Commission, was hit by a car outside City Hall as she was leaving meetings just before noon today. She was rushed to the hospital, where they found she was okay, if a little shaken. We like one......

Did you know that the "North of Market Holiday Celebration" is coming up? Neither did we! And neither did the rest of the internet, because there's no mention of the (possibly-fictitious) event anywhere else online. What could it possibly be? We simply couldn't find any information or imagery related to the damn thing; and that's why we decided to run this totally-unrelated picture from a few weeks ago. Anyway, Muni claims that they'll be closing......

-- The 2007 'Stache Bash: The regular world now knows what bears have known for a long time: mustaches are kinda cool. This even will show you just how cool they, in fact, are. Burlesque troupe Kitty Kitty Bang Bang and DJ Ross Hogg's hip hop, dancehall, roots reggae, and dub sounds intertwine with a night of 'stache championing. Tonight's bash will feature a mustache pageant, a beer foam retention test, a mustache haiku......

So, it appears like the new stacked buses are on the road as of today. Wait, scratch that -- the new stacked bus is on the road today. According to the Examiner, "with only one bus servicing select routes, it may be tough to catch a ride." Well, that's sad. The poor thing -- which it looks like was given the 10-Townsend route, perhaps? -- must be lonely. Sniff. It looks like it will......

Hey, look, it's back! It's "Ask a Muni Driver!" But we need help from you-- we need questions. So, if you got any, let us know at jon@sfist.com. ...

-- Coit Tower murals. Just loverly. [WhatImSeeing] -- Building workers unwittingly perform air acrobatics. [Curbed SF] -- Concerts at the Cadillac. [BeyondChron] -- Matt Smith on bloggin'. Awesome. [SF Weekly] -- Double-decker Muni all up in your bus stop. Soon. [N Judah Chronicles] -- Susan Leal gets laid... off. (Thank you! We're here all week.) [SFBG] -- Bernie Ward busted for research? [ABC7] -- Six-year-old metrosexual? Uh oh. So were we. Just saying is......

With its umbilical sliced, face slapped, and shivering body wrapped in a toasty blanket, the new Muni double-decker bus has finally arrived. San Francisco Sentinel has the story (as well as a few more images) for you. And we must admit: the buses are not that bad looking. With the little spray of hearts at the tail-end? Not bad at all. Your thoughts? The buses will (temporarily) go into action on December 12. Enjoy......

Coming out of the Fall Out Boy/Gym Class Heroes/Plain White T's concert (which we'll cover later) we ran into the Invisible Children's van. Pete Wentz, an avid supporter of the organization that helps Uganda's children, talks about this at all of his concerts. He raises awareness and asks for donations, sells emo-inspired t-shirts, sweatshirts and anything else that 13 year-old fans want. (Kudos to him!) Apparently there is even a van that helps promote......

Remember that story our Muni Security Guy told us about that fracas between some security dudes and a bus driver? Well, you got comments and we got responses and we also got further updates which we'll post later. And remember, if you have any further questions you'd like to ask either our Security Guy or Bus driver, just drop us a line at jon@sfist.com ...

Let's face it, underneath all of our progressive thinking and alleged altruism, we're a vain city. Thank God. After all, we are Californians nestled in a land of impossible waistlines and beauty. That said, is the above image what the double decker buses will look like? (Minus the tasteful Las Vegas backdrop, of course.) Hmm, we really didn't think this through. We thought that we'd be seeing ever so charming red double decker buses......

Demian Bulwa at the Chronicle reports on some depressing info found in the search warrant affidavits filed in court by police in the Halloween murder of Ichinkhorloo "Iko" Bayarsaikhan. The teenagers who supposedly gunned down "Iko" bragged about shooting her soon after they fled the scene on an AC Transit bus back to Oakland. According to the story: As the youths rode an AC Transit bus back to Oakland afterward, one of the suspects......

When the robots finally take over (as they surely will), we just hope they'll be as cute as Chumby, a nerd-toy that's basically a hackable computer, surrounded by an adorable plush body. With a bit of clever programming, an enterprising geek can get it to do basically anything. And check this out: one such geek got his to talk to NextBus! Yes, that's right: even fucking pillows are getting NextBus signs faster than Muni......

Seeing as how we don't drive an automobile in San Francisco because people in the Bay Area drive like crap because we want to keep the planet minty green, we don't feel the pinch as much as others do. About what, you ask? Well, gas prices, it seems, are going through the roof! (The only thing that concerns us about gasoline is its odor, which we love.) But before you get all "like, ride......

Three boys -- possibly ruining their lives at the wee ages of 15, 16, and 17 -- were arrested yesterday, all of then booked on suspicion of murder. The fuzz believes that the three of them were among the five boys who tried robbing a group of friends hanging out at Washington Park in Alameda, killing one of them. "One of the assailants fired several shots in the air and then shot Ichinkhorloo in......

If you remember way back last week, 15-year-old Ichinkhorloo Bayarsaikhan was shot and killed at Washington Park during a botched robbery attempt while kicking it with some friends. The group of boys responsible for her shooting escaped on a bus, but now it seems that some or all of them have been caught. We'll update in the arrests when we know more....

UPDATE: Oh man! How could we have missed this one? There's also going to be a Falun Gong march! We're sick and tired of trying to figure out whether we want to make fun of the pro-FG crowd or the anti-FG crowd -- oh, they're oppressed; but wait, their leader said nasty things about gays; and then there's that weird Epoch Times newspaper that they're involved with -- so we leave the thankless task......

As much as we bitched today about the unexpected free-shuttle service on Halloween night, they're actually a nice thing for the city of San Francisco to have. The problem is: where have they been? As mattymatt's weekend guides demonstrate, the city has disruptions like (though not as large, but similar to) the one coming on Halloween night. Why can't we see more of these shuttles for every large to medium-large city event? And while......

It's a battle of the press releases! Watch yourselves, or you might get cut. Did anyone know about these free shuttles tomorrow night, over at the 16th Street/Mission station? We didn't. Not even the SFMTA site had info on it this morning, which we looked over for Halloween transportation info. Hmmm. Also, while we understand that closing 16th Street station will help hinder people outside the city from coming to the Castro (yet problematic......

Why aren't you hiding under the covers yet? The city doesn't want to so much as hear you breathe come tomorrow. So, start upending those floorboards and crawling into that dank attic, or Gavin and Bevan will be coming to get you, Barbara. "We are praying for a peaceful evening, but are preparing for the worst," says Newsom. No, he's not talking about election night (heh, eh), but Halloween night. Which brings us to your......

Oh this is just hilarious. Muni is predicting bus disruptions in the Castro on October 31st; but they can't say that it's because of Halloween, because the city continues to pretend that Halloween isn't going to happen this year. So now, in a semiotically treacherous move, they're saying that the disruptions are due to No-Halloween. "No Halloween in the Castro. Possible delays and re-routed lines," says the MTA website. "Due to the cancellation of......

-- Carmen Jones: Based off of Georges Bizet's famous French opera Carmen, the adaptation was made into a successful Broadway musical, and then a '50s film staring Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, and Pearl Bailey. Now, see it again on stage right here in SF. The curtain goes up tonight at the African-American Art & Culture Complex (762 Fulton); $15. -- The Halloween Friday Night Skate: Rollerskate (or blade) in your Halloween costume without breaking......

We have incredibly exciting news about bus shelters! The city just reached an agreement with Clear Channel, your favorite company, to provide bus shelters and advertising and revenue. It's a complicated relationship, and totally boring -- like, alt-weekly-level boring -- but here's what it all means to you, the common man on the street: - New shelters will speak NextMuni information out loud, will have a beacon for waiting passengers to notify approaching vehicles, will......

But, Muni, try limiting our wait. (Ha! Oh stop!) SFist reader, Cior sent us this image she snapped up while waiting for the N-Judah this morning. 60 minutes for a 10 a.m. N-Judah seems a bit inexcusable. What's more, she called her boyfriend to see what NextMuni had to say online. Smart move. The site claimed arrivals at 1, 2 and 3 minutes. After waiting for over five, she went ahead and caught a......

Oh sure, you scoffed. But the joke's on you, scoffy! A majority of commenters on an earlier post were of the opinion that the cautionary "Muni Stories" posters on the buses could not possibly be true, and must be the work of an ambitious hoaxer. There was disbelief that Muni would put up signs about, for example, a crazy man seizing control of the gas pedal -- the take-away being that a ride on......

As previously noted, one of the best weekend guides in the city is produced by Muni and sent out exclusively to the press. (The PresidiGo, meanwhile, extends that courtesy to its riders.) So, what's on Muni's radar this weekend? Some kinda Nike thing! The "Fiesta on the Hill," which sounds like the name of a children's television program! The Portola Festival, which has been celebrated since 1909 according to this hideous webpage! And also,......