First off, our heart goes out to all of you who took the Ferry this morning. Do you need dry some toast or Ginger Ale? Because: barf. more ›

Authorities are worried that the violent weekend is a harbinger for a bad July 4th. With 12 people dead (two more people were shot after the articles about 10 people killed went up), and half of those killings in Oakland, the Oakland PD is going to be upping patrols this Wednesday. more ›

Last Saturday, a fight broke out at the "Hyphy High School Bash" at the Marin County Corte Madera Recreation Center. The police raced to the scene upon hearing reports of gunshots and a Golden Gate Transit bus being blocked on Tamalpais Drive by 80 teenagers. They couldn't confirm whether shots had been fired, but someone had sprayed pepper spray into the crowd and around the same time, someone broke into a nearby elementary school. Hilariously, the Marin Independent Journal describes hyphy as "a music and dance expression that grew out of the Bay Area hip-hop scene," and one Corte Madera parent says "It's really ironic. We live in Marin, and I feel safer sending my daughter to San Francisco." Ooooh, not dangerous San Francisco! Hyphy hyphy hyphy hyphy (or, as they call it in Marin, "a music and dance expression"). more ›

It doesn't matter that QB Brett Favre is a hero, plays like he loooves the game, is an uncriticizable Maya Angelou-grade national hero -- choosing not to retire and coming for another season to play quarterback for the Packers stunted the Green Bay franchise's growth by a year. more ›

People enjoying the nice weather on Saturday at Fisherman's Wharf got a nasty surprise as a Baylink ferry boat from Vallejo lost control of its steering and slammed into Pier 43. Nine people on the boat (out of 138) were injured, thankfully none seriously. After that whole Staten Island ferry thing, we're glad no one was seriously hurt! The captain managed to broadcast a warning over the boat's PA system before the crash, and was fortunate enough to avoid hitting a Blue and Gold ferry docked close by, and not to get any fuel into the already-polluted Bay. The boat was fixed over the weekend, and the company says they think a defective water-jet was to blame. The ferry will be back in service on Wednesday (but we wouldn't blame you if you took the Golden Gate Transit bus to work that day either.) more ›

Okay, this is really getting ridiculous. First, they told us the Bay Bridge is going to be ugly and expensive. Then they said they'd raise bus fares. Then they said they'd raise parking fees. And now they're going to raise the Golden Gate Bridge toll to six dollars??? The Golden Gate Transit District, which runs the Golden Gate Bridge, says that while raising the toll to five dollars last year has helped somewhat in reducing its $454 million deficit, it hasn't helped enough. So the transit board is proposing raising the toll by one more dollar by next July. Fastrak-ers will go from $4 to $4.50, but that will ultimately go up to $5 by 2008. Bus and ferry service will increase too. And don't think you'll get off easy by walking to Sausalito either -- the transit district is also considering charging a toll for pedestrians and bikers too. Aw, come on, guys! And anyways, how does a bridge run up a $450 million deficit in the first place? Bad dot.com investments? Picture of the Golden Gate Bridge dissolving due to evil solar microrays from the movie The Core. The Golden Gate Transit District probably charged the sun $5 for the rays. more ›

A man blamelessly catching a last few z's in the back row of a Golden Gate Transit bus from Marin to SF before beginning his workday fell out the back window of the bus. He was leaning on the back as the bus was going downhill on Polk, and then as the bus made a hard right, the window popped open and the man fell out. As those of you who took school buses know, those windows are only supposed to open if you pull on a red lever (that bitter high schoolers also know is always, always stuck). The murder trial for Hunter McPherson's death has begun. You may remember this case from 2001, where, similarly to Nicole DuFresne, Clifton Terrell shot McPherson in Potrero Hill for balking during an attempted mugging. Bummer for Terrell when he found out that McPherson was the son of a state senator. Terrell is arguing that his friend shot McPherson and talked a drunk and drugged-out Terrell into believing that he (Terrell) had done it instead. Seems kind of lame, especially since the DA has Terrell's detailed taped confession. And we'll go Animal Cop for you and report that a San Mateo man has taken a plea bargain in a case where he is accused of strangling a cat by hanging it with a necktie. David Schappert's version of the story is that the cat had gotten stuck under a TV in his yard, he lassoed the cat with the tie to use as a leash, the cat suddenly jumped out, and it unfortunately got caught on his fence. Schappert copped the plea when the DA reported that they were calling as witnesses his neighbors, who had often heard him yelling at the cat for jumping the fence and getting in his yard. Among other penalties, Schappert must perform 100 hours of community service at an animal shelter. You know, something seems kind of wrong with that. Picture from the late lamented ABC cartoon Fillmore more ›

BART will offer a $5 “flash-pass” which upon flashing, will let the rider travel anywhere. This offer is good from 6 PM til 3 in the morning and yes, that’s right, BART will run til 3 that morning. SamTrans will be free starting 11 that night and runs regular service and as for AC Transit and Golden Gate Transit, they'll be operating normal weekday schedules too. No free rides, but AC Transit will be offering a discount.
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