The revolution will be Instagramed, as pictured here by Jen Ackrill, and nowhere else does that sentiment ring truer than in the heart of the city's Mission District. A May Day demonstration at 16th and Mission currently underway has effectively shut down the intersection today. Traffic is being diverted. If you plan on driving in the area... don't. more ›

If you're heading to Lake Tahoe today beware that, as of this morning, the Yolo Causeway has been shutdown, casing a massive backup. Police have closed the stretch of I-80 as they search for a gunman who opened fire on officers, stole a car, crashed said car, and generally caused all sorts of mayhem. Sacramento Bee reports. "The I-80 causeway is shut down westbound at Enterprise Avenue and eastbound in Davis, Wetzel said. The suspect crashed his car approaching the causeway in West Sacramento." more ›

Spork, the Valencia Street establishment that has been elevating comfort food for five years now, has reached the end of their lease Ms. Tablehopper reports. Friday, December 23rd will be the restaurant's last day to grab their infamous in-side-out burger (two patties, bun in the middle, all skewered with a large steak knife) or the opulent Champagne of Burgers. After the new year, the co-owners plan to focus on their more grown-up concept at Thermidor in Mint Plaza. more ›

In food and mammary news, the Hooters in Fishermen's Wharf will close its doors for good this month. They're slated to put away the boobage on December 21, the store manager explained to SFist. For a taste as to what Hooters has/had to offer, local writer Beth Spotswood visited the chain restaurant earlier this year. In part, she writes: "What I don’t understand is why you’d ever want to go to Hooters in the first place. Are boobs really that much of a novelty for the patrons of Hooters? Is proximity to hot chicks and gross food that much of a rarity? The sweet girls working there, lovely as they are, walk around in an incredibly unappealing uniform, like a sexed up version of the Hot Dog on a Stick ensemble. Of all the places on Fisherman’s Wharf to dine, why would anyone go to Hooters?" more ›

Terces Engelhart, owner of Café Gratitude, just posted the following announcement on her Facebook page announcing the closure/sale of all Northern California Café Gratitudes locations. According to Englehart, some "aggressive lawsuits" from former employees brought her to the decision to shutter her vegan/cult restaurants. more ›

After meeting up with hotel workers at the Hyatt (employees who have been in a union battle years), Occupy SF protesters have marched towards Wells Fargo on Montgomery and California. The general sentiment is frustration that banks received a bail out while regular folks suffer during the economic crisis. According to Sal Castaneda, "OccupySF protesters have arrived at Wells Fargo World Headquarters on Montgomery near California Sts., blocking entrances. Expect delays." more ›

Carlos Bar, one of the few watering holes in the Mission geared towards Latinos, closed its doors on June 30. Its alcohol license was suspended by the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control. Why? Mission Local reports: "According to Danielle Shafer, supervisor investigator with the Department of Alcohol Beverage ControlA six-month department investigation, which began 2009 and completed early 2010, found bar owner Carlos Gutierrez and his employees guilty of profit sharing - that is, hiring cocktail waitresses to pressure patrons into buying drinks at a higher rate than normal." more ›

The Eagle -- 30-year-old SoMa gay bar noted worldwide for its Thursday Night Live concerts and spirited Beer Bust Sundays -- will shut operations down on Friday, 4/29. Although, according to a manager SFist spoke with Sunday night, several Eagle bar employees were in escrow to buy the venue, "the landlord changed his mind." On Monday, a community meeting will be held at the bar from 7 - 10 p.m. to discuss "strategies for fighting the Eagle's closure, as well as the ongoing crisis of loss of gay property ownership in San Francisco and the continuing erosion of our iconic gay bar scene." The venue is currently on the market. We'll update as events unfold. The Eagle, 398 - 12th Street (at Harrison) more ›

One of the city's best drunk diners (i.e., late-night greasy spoons in which you can get cheap food while tipsy) closed shop last week. According to Paolo Lucchesi at Inside Scoop, "Bagdad Cafe closed suddenly over the weekend with the turn of the calendar. Turns out the lease was up, and according to the departing folks at Bagdad Cafe, new tenants have already taken over." more ›

Around 7:10am during this morning's commute, a heavyset man in a Black SUV called in to the KCBS traffic tipline to alert them to a potential traffic jam: his own vehicle he had pulled over on the westbound deck of the Bay Bridge. According to reports the man explained he was armed and his vehicle was carrying explosives along with his 16-year-old daughter he was holding as a hostage. A negotiator was requested to speak to the man, described by CHP as "truly mentally unstable," as he exited the vehicle and threatened to jump off the bridge. more ›

Although Dolores Park will undergo a lengthy renovation process, a plan that's been in the works for quite some time, this hasn't stopped people from losing their collective feces over the park's estimated year-long closure. Everywhere from SFist's initial post on the closure to comment threads to this Facebook page, folks are curled up in the fetal position, bathed in a pool of their own tears and drool over their precious patch of grass. more ›

After a cable rod snapped during last night's commute, the Bay Bridge closed down indefinitely. Here are some images of just how the closure is affecting San Francisco and the Bay Area today. more ›

by Chris Jones more ›

Spectacular, isn't it? more ›

As Labor Day Weekend creeps to a dramatic opener, getting over the Bay Bridge will come to a halt in, oh, less than six hours from now. more ›

Starting Thursday at 8 p.m., the Bay Bridge will close down until Tuesday at 5 a.m. The cost? Well, according to KCBS, it's a lot "It's about $100,000 per day in cost for the additional BART service," John Goodwin of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Bay Area Toll Authority tells KCBS. Also, the Bay Bridge will lose somewhere around $1.8 million in toll revenues, which will be slightly offset by increases on the other bridges. Is it worth it? Yes. What with SFist headquarters located next to the bridge, it will provide your editor with a few hours more of much-needed beauty rest. Also yes, the Seismic Safety Project will bring the structure up to earthquake safety standards. Read more about the closure here. more ›

California State Parks director Ruth Coleman said that the agency faces a total of about $39 million in cuts after the new budget, which directly states a $14.2 million cut, was signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today. Additionally, $2.4 million was siphoned from a cigarette tax fund because less people are smoking. Furloughs and salary cuts round out the large number (Note: a full budget fact sheet is embedded below). more ›

Caltrans will extend Labor Day Weekend's Bay Bridge closure by an additional day. The extra day is needed to seamlessly shove in a section of bridge bypass at the tunnel. So, the bridge will close at 8 p.m. on Thursday Sept. 3, then open again at 5 a.m. on Tuesday Sept. 8. The bridge, by the way, will be closed in both directions. According to reports, this extra day will make "the first non-holiday weekday that the bridge has been closed since 1989 when the Loma Prieta earthquake collapsed part of the bridge deck." more ›

It's been a chaotic morning on the roads. First, a multi-car crash screwed up the commute on the Bay Bridge. Now, according to Action News SF, "The Ninth St[reet] off-ramp from Northbound 101 is completely closed [due to] to an injury accident involving a cement truck." Traffic head to the East Bay, though, looks fine -- at least according to the view outside SFist HQ. more ›

According to the Gate, le Richmond Bart is closed and "trains are being turned around at El Cerrito Del Norte BART" after a man wearing "an Indiana Jones-style hat got on board an Amtrak train in Martinez and asked other passengers strange questions," leaving a "package that appeared to have wires sticking out of it," and then heading to a second car where he pried off two windows. (God, the Bay Area is just awesome sometimes.) He then jumped out the window. Yikes. more ›

Is there anyplace in San Francisco more charming than SOMA at night? No, there is not. And this President's Day, it'll be even charminger: construction and traffic reroutes on the Bay Bridge may cause a few heavy-flow days over the holiday weekend. If you're clever, you'll probably want to avoid SOMA in the late-night and early-morning hours. But then again, if you're clever, you probably already do. more ›

Nature lovers will be peeved. more ›

"Mean nut" restaurateur Luisa Hanson -- you know, the person more or less responsible for the Barleycorn closure -- had a swift bit of karma hurled at her head last week. It seems that her flagship, whimsically branded Luisa's, was forced to shut its door. Nothing too unusual. Yet. more ›

Barricades have gone up, drag queens are slapping on the greasepaint and Cover Girl cosmetics, and your BART and Muni closures / re-routings start soon. With that said, this has been somewhat of...a mess. What with the fallout over whether or not to close BART at 16th and Mission, how the closure was executed (e.g., an important elected District 9 BART Director left in the dark), and if it's the right thing to do,... more ›

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... more ›

Well, this is interesting. Today we received a (rightfully) irritated press release from Tom Radulovich, District 9 BART Director (co-signed by Chris Daly). It seems that he wasn't involved in the decision to go ahead and close BART on Halloween night. Which? Is bizarre and inappropriate considering, well, he's an elected District 9 BART Director. The missive, which is long and available for your viewing pleasure below (and continues on after the jump), reads... more ›