The Board of Supervisors will be taking a vote today about a long-discussed proposal to charge customers a fee for every bag they take from a grocery store or retail outlet. Ross Mirkarimi is the sponsor of the ordinance, which takes a further step from the 2007 law banning plastic bags in S.F. (which clearly the pink-plastic-bag distributors of greater Chinatown never got the memo about), and requires everyone to use compostable paper bags or reusable bags manufactured for 125 uses. more ›

Today, a new grocery store blooms in a neighborhood that's been known as a 'food desert" for at least two decades. Fresh & Easy opens today at the 5800 Third Street development, offering up fresh produce and a lot of prepared food items, a la Trader Joe's, only a little less gourmet and little less expensive. After Safeway and Lucky refused to move into Bayview/Hunter's Point, the city turned to the British grocer to fill a void in a new housing development along the T-Third Street Muni line. Also moving into the complex in the next month or so are new outposts of Brown Sugar Kitchen and Limon Rotisserie. All three businesses will be participating in an Arts N Eats festival today, giving away free food between 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. more ›

Our bankrupt neighbors to our north (northeast?), Vallejo, are looking to add in some revenue to the city. How? Well, after the neighborhood ousted mega-chain Wal-Mart, Vallejo is looking into luring other grocer businesses to town. While Vallejo isn't allowed to tax foodstuffs, they can tax alcoholic beverage sales. Enter: Fresh & Easy and Beverages & More. more ›