This seems perfectly normal: San Francisco Supervisor John Avalos tells the San Francisco Chronicle that he and his aides contacted Harvey Milk's ghost regarding a vote on a non-binding resolution to name a Navy ship after slain gay rights activist. How so? Using an Ouija board, of course. Avalos explains: more ›

Justin Beck is live at City Hall covering today's SEIU occupation. So far there are an estimated hundred or so protesters inside, one brandishing a bullhorn to shout and chant stuff. Supervisors Eric Mar and David Campos have shouted into the bullhorn. Others might too. Cops are at the scene and reportedly "concerned about the noise level." It's all very exciting. (Not season finale of RuPaul's Drag Race exciting, but thrilling nevertheless.) Anyway, we'll keep an eye on the scene. If you'd like to watch it live, visit Justin Beck's UStream or view it below. more ›

While San Francisco won't get to select a new mayor this time around, residents will have the chance to pick a slew of new supervisors. And the Usual Suspects, San Francisco's political page of note since 1995, has a list of declared and rumored candidates running this year in districts 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. N Judah Chronicles' Greg Dewar, esteemed politico Matt Haney, Benjamin Castaneda, multi-award-winning journalist Joel Engardio, Aaron Peskin (!) and more are just a few names with which you might become more familiar over the next few months. more ›

As you know, San Francisco's honorary Granddad was celebrated in a ceremony at City Hall earlier today. While the emergency warning siren might have failed to entertain us, but the San Francisco Boy's Chorus, the San Francisco Girl's Chorus and the Gay Men's Chorus repeatedly belted out San Francisco's unofficial theme song for the lucky folks who managed to squeeze in to the dome room of City Hall. more ›

Power broker Rose Pak is a genius. In addition to getting Ed Lee into the mayor's office, cursing like a truck driver on crank, and lording over a good chunk of San Francisco, she's doesn't give a shit who she offends at City Hall — and she does it publicly to boot. Take, for example, her sassy performance of a lifetime on Saturday while emceeing the Chinese New Year parade, which turned into a roast of many noted San Francisco leaders. As Supervisor Eric Mar, John Avalos, and George Gascon looked on nervously, here were a few golden nuggets Pak unleashed. more ›

While the comment sections of local Internet news outlets and one noted anti-progressive former mayor continue to call for Ross Mirkarimi to step down from his post, it turns out Ed Lee could oust the sheriff—at least temporarily—if he were so inclined. Mirkarimi's trial, which just added a new witness, got an official start date Monday, the accused domestic abuser will have his day in court starting on February 24th — just a hair over a month away. As the Examiner's Melissa Griffin points out, Mayor Lee has the authority to remove the sheriff for up to 35 days. more ›

The San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium called a press conference on the steps of City Hall this afternoon, calling for Sheriff Mirkarimi to "step aside" while the investigation in to his possible domestic violence is going on. Adding to the drama surrounding the whole ordeal, several reporters and photographers who were on the scene this afternoon claim to have spotted Mirkarimi's wife Eliana Lopez in the crowd at the event, which was announced as a press conference earlier today. more ›

Deanna Despain, Berkeley's city clerk, was found dead inside her Oakland home (at on the 4100 block of Lyman Road) on Saturday morning. According to Berkeleyside, who broke the story, "The coroner’s office is not yet releasing any information about the death, referring enquiries to the Oakland Police Department." more ›

Yesterday, old/new Mayor Edwin Lee was officially inaugurated to a full four-year term in a special ceremony at San Francisco City Hall. The reception immediately following the ceremony in the temporarily carpeted dome room included: string quartets, choruses of children singing, some light Opera and two hosted all-you-care-to-eat buffets in the North and South Light Courts. We skipped breakfast to bring you all of the highlights. more ›

Ross Mirkarimi was quietly sworn in Saturday night as San Francisco Sheriff in a private ceremony just a day after news broke of an investigation into a New Year's Eve domestic violence incident involving Mirkarimi and his wife. The judge asked to administer the oath of office to Mirkarimi refused to do so, however, citing the possibility of a conflict down the line should Mirkarimi's abuse case come before her court. more ›

Remember way back in January 2011, when the promise of a mayor with less exciting hair and a refreshed lineup at the Board of Supervisors had every political wonk in town excited for things like "change" and "progress"? Neither do we. But we do remember the time that one notoriously feisty District 6 Supervisor and current dive bar owner took to the mic in the Board chambers to re-appropriate gangster rap lyrics* to describe, "the biggest fumble in San Francisco politics." more ›

After Luis Cancel's disastrous tenure—which, among other things, included telecommuting from Brazil, reports of horrid behavior to underlings, and "questionable granting practices"—the city made a spot-on decision by hiring Tom DeCaigny as cultural affairs director of the San Francisco Arts Commission. more ›

Ferry Building property manager Jane Connors wrote two letters to City Hall detailing supposed crimes perpetrated by some thoughtless Occupy SF members. An increase in shoplifting, break-ins and, ugh, reports of abandoned human feces are just a few complaints Connors has lodged against the local splinter protest group. The Occupy SF encampment, situated in Justin Herman Plaza, sits just across the street from the noted purveyor of fine artisan foods at the Embarcadero, providing a stark contrast between the haves and the (alleged) have-nots. more ›

A photographer presumably taking some night shots of the gilding on City Hall was robbed last night near Polk and Grove Streets in Civic Center. According to the Examiner, the 45-year old man suffered head lacerations as two teens aged 16 and 17 clocked him over the head before making off in their 1997 Hyundai. more ›

Yesterday afternoon at City Hall, hundreds of cab drivers staged a protest and threatened to strike if the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency didn't give them face time to discuss critical issues. KTVU reports: "Representing many of the city's cab companies, including Luxor, Yellow Cab Cooperative and Green, the drivers were protesting a 5 percent credit card processing fee, implementation of electronic waybills and lack of SFMTA benefits, especially since the Taxi Commission merged with the SFMTA in March 2009." more ›

We still won't see Temporary Mayor Ed Lee in the People's Chambers again until next week, but with a couple of public hearings and a tricky NIMBY issue that's almost guaranteed to raise a few voices from the public comment section there should be plenty to watch out for in tomorrows Board of Supervisors meeting. Here's what we're keeping our eyes on: more ›

Despite a deficit of $306+ million, the San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors, mayor and other elected officials could receive thousands of dollars more in their paychecks come next fiscal year. "The salaries of each of the 11 members of the Board of Supervisors will increase by nearly $2,000 next fiscal year, from $96,549 to $98,469, reports The Examiner. "Other, more highly-compensated elected officials, such as the city attorney, will see their salaries grow next year compared to this year by more than $4,000. The mayor’s salary will increase by $5,462 from $247,473 to $252,935." more ›

Last night's meeting to discuss new security proposals for San Francisco nightclubs -- which would include ID scanning and face recording of patrons, among other things -- was postponed. Mayor Lee wanted "further analysis and study" before moving forward, reports The Examiner. While the odds of the city seeing each rule put into action are slim, that didn't stop privacy rights groups and members from voicing their concern. more ›

Two things happen every Tuesday in San Francisco: that air raid siren goes off when it's time to go to lunch and the Board of Supervisors meet in the People's Chambers at City Hall to make our laws and take a modicum of commentary from the public. Things can occasionally move fast when the board meets as a committee of the whole though, so here's our handy list of items of interest from the agenda for today's Board of Supervisors meeting, in order of their appearance: more ›

While we're on the subject of mayorship, District 8 Supervisor Scott Weiner officially endorsed City Attorney Dennis Herrera today. "I’ve seen firsthand that Dennis has the leadership style we need in our next mayor," said Wiener in a written statement. "Dennis shut down the dirty Potrero power plant, instituted gang injunctions to keep our streets safe, and led the legal battle for marriage equality. We need a strong mayor who will work with the Board of Supervisors to get our city working. That’s why I’m proud to support Dennis Herrera for mayor." more ›

Campaign Financing reports for 2011 Mayoral hopefuls started coming in to the city's Ethics Commission yesterday, meaning we get an early look at who has how much money behind their campaign. According to the Examiner, City Attorney Dennis Herrera had nearly $266,000 in the bank by the end of 2010, although he got a head start by kicking off his run way back in August. Senator Leland Yee and Venture Capitalist Joanna Rees are around a hundred grand behind at $170k and $154k respectively. Meanwhile, former District 8 Supervisor and proud father Bevan Dufty is sandbagging a bit with a mere $108,305. more ›

The Save KUSF folks are organizing a rally to take place in front of City Hall today from 1 to 4 p.m. The Board of Supervisors will be voting on the cause's resolution at 2 p.m. Participants are asked to make their own signs and wear red and black. Ty Segall will be performing, along with other special guests. more ›

Did we say Ed Lee had no Facebook page? Scratch that. San Francisco's nascent mayor does, in fact, have a Facebook page. A fan page, actually, with not much on it. Yet. Let's see: Lee's favorite pages are California Democratic Party, Gavin Newsom, and a nonpartisan vacuum called No Labels. (Jarringly enough, Lee has yet to 'like' SFist. Bizarre, we know. Ahem.) more ›

Ed Lee was sworn in as San Francisco's first Chinese-American mayor on Tuesday. In a speech after the ceremony, Lee promised to be a mayor "for everyone." more ›