Results tagged “garbage”

According to CBS 5's Green Beat, today the Gav proposed new building codes that will hopefully win us the title of nation's greenest skyline. Ever. In the world. Which, of course, is a good thing since other cities will follow suit. They always do.

No, there was no collision involving a train. However, a garbage truck apparently struck a bridge in San Mateo, holding up all southbound traffic for about 20 minutes. At first, our weary-sounding conductor said that we would have to wait for a track inspection to determine when we could depart from San Francisco -- "if at all," he added ominously.

Ah, the perfect San Francisco date. Nothing says love like a sourdough bread bowl filled with New England clam chowder, a few hundred barking, stinky sea lions, and a blue square (aka registered sex offender) escorting an underage girl through the biggest tourist trap in the city. If you thought that buskers jumping out from behind garbage cans were the scariest thing about Fisherman's Wharf, now there's something else to keep you away from the...

Photo of a bird eating plastic

Currently with six full-time employees on staff (whoa), according to the Chronicle, Wikipedia wants to expand its talent base while increasing its presence in developing countries (i.e., Asia), so it's making the move to hedonistic and wonderful San Francisco. Yay.

The Tenderloin Housing Clinic's properties may be among the worst places in the city to live -- but hey, at least it's cheap! Jeff, the proprietor of the Bluoz blog, recently posted a slew of eviction notices, going back several years; and man, it ain't pretty. Knives, fistfights, spitting, floods and fires, a cleaver, an abandoned dog, ripped-up smoke alarms, garbage-hoarders, broken limbs, choking with a telephone cable, stabbings, and (most shockingly) hateful comments all make an appearance. In other words, it makes for a read. Curbed SF calls it "Jerry Springer" meets "The Wire."

See this picture? Well, it's supposed to be of a grey Ford Taurus taken by our camera phone, but as you can see, it didn't come out. What this picture is supposed to show is the license plate # of a car with two people in it who, while stuck in traffic on 6th street, rolled down the window and dumped off the entire contents of some fast food trash onto the street. Right there. In plain day light. Just like that. Seriously, what the f---? What the hell makes somebody think that's right? Don't they know that Woodsy the Owl says they should give a hoot and don't pollute?

We (sort of) hate to say "we told you so," but it looks like our obsession with the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association's focus on trash cans was just the tip of the iceberg on the garbage can tip.

You are all heroes in our book, and we will forever call May 19th “KubSvalCha Day” and celebrate it every year with an egg sandwich.

-- Bill Walsh dies. [Chron, Examiner, KGO]

And now for a little garbage-related news this side of the bridge:

-- Ed Jew preliminary. [Chron]

They settled the Alameda County garbage strike lockout! After a nine-hour mediation, Oakland mayor Ron Dellums announced late yesterday night that all the parties had managed to resolve the four-week dispute. No one can disclose the details, but the union will vote on whether to accept the proposal this Saturday. If the union approves the deal, regular garbage pickup could resume as early as Monday. Meanwhile, the Chron, giving us all the news from the animal perspective, reports that a woman is suing the garbage company for making her dog sick when he ate trash they hadn't picked up.

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You've heard mythic tales about her heroism told in hushed tones around the campfire, you've read about her, you may very well have dreamed about her. Now see her rampage in all of its technicolor glory! Yesterday, Garbage Lady (AKA Dolly Paez) took matters into her own hands -- lockout be damned! -- as she dragged her and her neighbors' bubbling-over, maggot-y refuse into the street in front of passing garbage trucks.

-- Thousands -- thousands!! -- without power because of small rainfall. Sheesh. [KPIX]

An Alameda County judge has ordered Waste Management to start picking up the garbage again.

You mean those train tracks are actually used by real trains? The City of Berkeley is working to implement a quiet zone to prevent the freight trains from sounding their whistles at intersections due to complaints from residents of this traditionally industrial area. While we find train horns romantic, we must admit that we might find them less so if they were not so off-in-the-distance. Though we wonder why the City didn't make the developers of these new residential buildings and conversions soundproof them adequately.

-- Whole Foods might be in a whole mess of trouble. Federal regulators look over seven years worth of (not-so) anonymous, ethically-questionable financial site postings made by chief executive John Mackey, who apparently has never heard of an IP address. Dumbass. [AP via SF Gate] -- Elderly man shoots garbage truck because of the union lockout. But probably more so because of the sundry of shitty smells, senility. [KTVU] -- Tim Goodman talks about...

Confirming what we heard yesterday, quote-unquote "District 4" Supervisor Ed Jew, along with Michela Alioto-Pier and Jake McGoldrick, showed up for yesterday's committee hearing to find out who exactly took those 300 trash cans off the streets of San Francisco. (Turns out it was DPW, who just went ahead and did it without telling anyone first.)

Today's news in refuse:

-- Using the garbage and junk-drawer debris from oh-my-God real-life celebrities (!), crafty artist Jason Mercier creates jaw-dropping portraits of A- through D-list notables, which range from Parker Posey to Heidi Fleiss. Celebrity Junk Drawer opens tonight starting at 9 p.m. at 111 Minna Galley (at Second St.); admission is free.

Just some random news items on the wire:

The Chron has the goods on Mr. Jew's lawyers' 138-page response to City Attorney Dennis Herrera's initiation of proceedings to remove Mr. Jew from his board of supes post. In a nutshell, Tapioca Ed's team is claiming that he kept part-time residence in his Sunset house, and slept there with "increasing frequency."

The "!" is because we've been out of town and we're so, so excited to be back. So, it looks like folks are settling nicely into the new comments system. While we appreciate those of you making "guest" comments as well, we especially appreciate those of you that are taking the time to register. The Top 5 for last week were:

What with Paris Hilton's release earlier this week and the upcoming celebration of American Independence (sorry, Londonist!), we've been thinking a lot about freedom. Freedom to vote, freedom to choose, and most importantly, freedom to blog. Here are a few things we're happy we've been free to blog about this week.

Last week's winner, the Bay Guardian! Oh, Tim Redmond, we're so sorry to hear about your dad. [Moment of silence.] Okay. The Guardian's with Daly on the budget. They got a letter from someone saying Ed Jew is innocent. More info on the layoffs at the Merc News. A man with psychiatric problems gets no help from the city. More people upset with Newsom's proposed budget. They're going to crack down on pot clubs -- watch out, Ed Jew! Do you want to help Annalee Newitz run her blog? Sonic Reducer on Harry and the Potters. Cover article: Looking for the next cult revival star. Cheryl Eddy on Sicko. And Ed Jew's (.pdf) horoscope!: "In order to make the little details worth your time, you've gotta make sure they pay off in the long run."

Hey, why is Gavin Newsom's face pasted onto an Oscar the Grouch body in that graphic? Because he's taken over 300 trash cans off the streets. Why? Because they had too much garbage in them. We know! It's nutty!

Photo of an overwhelmed garbage can with news of fewer cans in S.F. than before.