Sleepy, richy rich Belvedere, that little island made of gold up in Marin, next to Tiburon (where Tony Bennett has a mansion), has been noted by the FBI as the safest city in California for the third year running. For cities of 2,000 people or more (Belvedere has a population of 2,050) Belvedere had the lowest violent crime rate in 2010: zero. Way back in 2007 they reported a single assault. But as the 27-year-old police officer Chris Medina tells the Marin Independent Journal, he does occasionally have a job to do. "The truth is, things do happen," he says, a little defensively. more ›

Black, Hispanic, and Asian kids now form a majority of the non-voting-age population in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Texas. more ›

According to the Scarborough Research -- an institute that measures the lifestyles, shopping patterns, media behaviors, and demographics of unholy, evil American consumers -- San Francisco was ranked as one of the top markets for people who read or contribute to blogs. Yay. And, duh. more ›

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We've been hoping that at least one of our online reserves would come in, as we're presently library book free. So many times a day we check our email hoping for a notice telling us that has arrived, only to be confronted by the usual opportunities for fake Rolexes and "male enhancement patches". It's just not the same. But don't cry for us quite yet, as we do have plenty of recent purchases from a local independent bookstore -- but why is it that our just out of reach desires seem so much more appealing than those in our grasp? more ›

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond to our questionnaire. Marketers and publicity people are currently wetting their pants with delirious glee based on our absurdly gorgeous and intelligent demographics. Kudos! more ›

The Chron's Matier and Ross get back to the gossip we pay twenty-five cents in the MUNI for and report that Gav Daddy Newsom is aggressively wooing MTV to throw the 2005 VMAs in San Francisco. Certainly, San Francisco in August will be much less humid than Miami's ceremonies in 2004, where everyone looked kind of flushed and sticky. Overexcited Gavin, presumably hoping to see his secret crush the Heiress Paris again, said: "In terms of showcasing the city, this is about as good as it gets. I won't say it's equivalent to the Super Bowl, but in terms of the energy, enthusiasm and particularly the demographics, it's a perfect fit for San Francisco." Can't wait to see Nick and Jessica at the End Up! M&R also use the opportunity to get in some digs about Gavin's inability to settle the hotel strike, and also to run that same old picture of Brit and Madonna making out. (If we only had Photoshop, we'd have given you a picture of Matier and Ross making out, but alas, we don't, so you get the other famous VMA makeout, Michael Jackson attacking Lisa Marie Presley.) The other cities under consideration by MTV are Hotlanta, San Diego, and perennial favorite New York. more ›

When the first post in your archives falls on the 99th Bloomsday, you're off to a good start. More recently, Ian of WULAD pretty much summed up our thoughts on the twists and turns of the recent campaign season. It's the kind of site where you can find retention of disbelief during a screening of Goonies, inspiring dream pay-per-view boxing matchups, and Internet searches logged on the site gone awry - horribly, horribly awry. more ›

Raise your hand if you feel like we're always voting around here. That’s in part because of our City’s requirements that people running for office win by a majority of votes and not just a plurality. That’s why Gavin Newsom didn't win the first time we voted for mayor – he only got around 40% of the vote on the first try. As you might remember, then we had a second election a month later, which was much more expensive, raised a whole different set of city issues, and yielded completely different turnout demographics. A little frustrating (though SFist does always enjoy going out and actually voting). So back in March 2002, exasperated with the amount of time eaten up by the interminable election/runoff election/runoff cycle, the good voters of San Francisco agreed to try "instant runoff voting." After two and a half years of tinkering, the project is finally set to roll with the November 2004 election. more ›