Our sources tell us that Halloween in the Castro as we knew it is now dead. Long live a dull and tedious San Francisco. Although supervisors promised us that Halloween in the Castro would return for 2008, it turns out that it will not make a spooktacular comeback; in fact, it won't return at all. The event is no more. Dead. It seems that the Entertainment Commission -- whose job, it seems, is to......

The three boys who took part in the shooting death of Ichinkhorloo "Iko" Bayarsaikhan in Washington Park in Alameda last Halloween, and then reportedly boasted about it, were sentenced in juvenile court today. One of the teenagers, the 16-year-old, will spend seven years behind bars, but the other two first-degree killers, the unidentified 15- and 13-year-old, were ordered to attend the Rites of Passage program, which is "a structured camp in the Nevada wilderness."......

Starting this week, as we all know by now, Palme d'Or-winning writer/directer Gus Van Sant starts filming Milk on our pretty yet smelly streets. But Gustave needs your help, folks. On Monday night, Feb. 4, and Friday night, Feb. 8, he will require you use your thespionic skills during several march reenactments. If you go here and register, you will be used. All ages, races and genders are just dandy; however, you must be......

Violence at SF nightclubs has been all the rage this year - all nine days, that is - and now a summit is being held this month in order to curb the violent tomfoolery. A few choice incidences to refresh your memory: Marcus Pepper, 26, was killed on New Year's Day outside a Ninth Street warehouse SOMA party; Clarence Corbin 34, was shot outside Jelly's Dance Cafe in Mission Bay; Club Vessel was, well,......

(Ew. Not like that.) OK, guys. We're at the end of yet another stereotypically zany year in the Bay Area. A surprisingly boring election, some guy named Ed Jew, bickering weeklies, horny blasphemers, big-cat attacks, and one bizarre Halloween cancellation have proved 2007 to be, well, yet another year in Baghdad By the Bay. And we loved it. Tell us, just who in the Bay Area needed their screw tightened the most? We only......

Cris takes some time off the Bonds case to support her lady. No one pulled out a bitch's clump of hair. That's the big news. Oh, and some other stuff happened, ahem: The Club's membership voted tonight on the February 2008 ballot and the June 2008 State Senate primary, and the endorsements are... Prop 92 (Community College Funding) - Yes Props 94 - 97 (Gaming Compacts) - No Prop A (Neighborhood Parks Bond) -......

SFist interviews the Reverend Billy of "what would jesus buy?"...

Demian Bulwa at the Chronicle reports on some depressing info found in the search warrant affidavits filed in court by police in the Halloween murder of Ichinkhorloo "Iko" Bayarsaikhan. The teenagers who supposedly gunned down "Iko" bragged about shooting her soon after they fled the scene on an AC Transit bus back to Oakland. According to the story: As the youths rode an AC Transit bus back to Oakland afterward, one of the suspects......

EBay's company headquarters on Hamilton Avenue in San Jose, California has just been evacuated due to a suspicious looking package...

-- The Misfits: a little post-Halloween chillingness -- sexy, bare-chested, punk chillingness, that is -- for you tonight. Behold: the Misfits play a few ditties along with the Hellbillys and the Memphis Murder Men tonight at 8 p.m. at DNA Lounge; $20. -- Dodo for President: Written by Mark Eisman (LA Weekly's Best Playwright 2006, two-time [daytime] Emmy nominee) returns with this politcomedy. It's a "funny, quirky and touching look at friendships, presidential campaigns......

If you remember way back last week, 15-year-old Ichinkhorloo Bayarsaikhan was shot and killed at Washington Park during a botched robbery attempt while kicking it with some friends. The group of boys responsible for her shooting escaped on a bus, but now it seems that some or all of them have been caught. We'll update in the arrests when we know more....

We love this picture of *NSYNC's out memoirist Lance Bass at a Halloween party at the Clift Hotel - love love love love love!!! (Are we the only people mildly interested in reading his new book, "Out of Sync," to see if he names anyone else in the pop world who might be gay?). Thanks to Drew Altizer for sending it along! Drew, SFist's favorite photographer, also sent along an assortment of pictures from......

So, the horrible ordeal of Halloween has passed us by, and we escaped more or less unmolested except for Kenny the fire-juggling clown; but SOME PEOPLE just will not let it drop. "It was so hard to see busloads of police marching through an empty Castro," says one Castro resident, and another adds, "I was in tears last night." The buzzword for the evening seems to be "martial law," which is technically two words,......

Londonist got the big scoop of the week with what may be the first images of notorious street artist Banksy in action. They also got on a runaway train without an operator provoking a response from the transport authorities. Elsewhere, London's answer to Central Station is about to open for business, and Londonist got a sneak preview. Meanwhile, spooky goings-on beneath London Bridge, where a cache of skeletons provided an apt story for Hallowe'en.......

-- Barry Bonds: your San Francisco diva. [SFGate] -- Halloween in SF was a "a dead zone" [Examiner, SFGate] -- 19th Avenue -- now less deadly. [SFist] -- SF hotel bars. Which one is your favorite? (Hint: St. Regis) [Gridskipper] -- Ban rent control? [BeyondChon] -- Doc 420, the medical marijuana doctor. [ABC7] -- Awesome: the "SWL 337" Planning Challenge. [Curbed SF] -- Eeeeeeeeee! Can you feel it in the air? Hannah Montana has......

The supernatural forces behind the Ed Jew storyline are not pleased with Halloween and earthquakes hogging all of the attention. As of today, Ed Jew officially has his fourth legal suit brought up against him. After asking Jerry Brown if he could get all litigious on Jew a few months ago, today SF City Attorney Dennis Herrera finally filed the lawsuit we've all been waiting for -- or not -- that he didn't live where he was supposed to live when he ran in 2006 and took office in early 2007....

During the wee hours of the morning, a woman sporting a French maid outfit was arrested for going the wrong way down the northbound lanes on (the) 280 in San Francisco. She caused (only) three collisions before she was finally nabbed by the cops....

Last night at Washington Park in Alameda, a 15-year-old girl was shot and killed in a robbery. According to the the Chron, "the girl was with about 10 friends when five or six teenage boys whom they didn't recognize approached them." One of the guys in the approaching gaggle shot five shots into the air, and then one in her back. She was pronounced dead at Highland Hospital in Oakland. No arrests have been made in connection with her murder. (Don't they draw the bridges, or something like that, when a serious crime happens on the island?) ...

Photos of No Halloween in the Castro...

We'll do the partying and/or dying, so you don't have to. Homebound denizens of San Francisco, the Bay Area, and the world at large. Our editor, Brock, will be coming at you live from the Castro all night. We'll bring you live reportage of the costumes, "unsanctioned gaiety," Dachau-like police state, public urination, and/or absolutely nothing happening at all whatsoever. Stay tuned. 10:45 Update: That's it. We're done here, folks. If there's a shooting......

Well, well, well. According to Alix Rosenthal (Citizens for Halloween), ahem: Word has arrived from a credible source in city government. The City has rented 120 toilets to be placed in the Castro by 5pm today. It may not prevent all of the public urination, but it is certainly better than no toilets at all. We are thrilled that the City made the right decision, even though they could have done more to decrease......

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,......

So much to do, so much not to do. What's a girl to do? Well, here is just a smattering of what's going on tonight. (An aside, is there any reason to buy bags of fun-size candy anymore to hand out to costumed tykes? We haven't seen a trick-or-treater in ages. Sob.) -- Hellgate Halloween: Vice magazine (SF's no. 1 fan) is throwing a bash with a complimentary bar (!) and tunes by Chromeo......

No, not really. But that would be some party if they were. We received these images from the editor's inbox this afternoon, taken at Castro and 18th Street (the epicenter of Halloween's past). It looks like some sort of PG&E nonsense. Waiting until after Halloween might have been a better time to cut large, grave-like holes into Castro Street. We're just saying. SFist thanks you, Larry, for the pics!......

Speaking of ILM, their Halloween party boasted one of the best costume ideas we've seen in eons. Behold, Ikeabots! So, for those of you who still think it's nifty to dress up as a sexy devil/cat, pirate, or Frank Chu, take note at these boss creations. This is how a Halloween costume is done. (Auto-start footage of the Ikeabots after the jump. If you're reading this in an RSS feeder, please click-thru. Alas.)......

In light of it being Halloween, we thought instead of candy, we would give out two tickets to another concert. This week has been full of giveaways (see here and here), so why not more? This time, it's two tickets to see Tunng, a London-based experimental/folk/electronic band, at Bottom of the Hill on Monday, November 5th. The press release says that, "If you're into rustic acoustic-based folk, kitchen sink experimentalism, delicate electronics and pop......

Remember just last week when Sutro Tower was sad and blue? No one was paying any attention to the Bay Area because of Southern Cali and their attention-seeking wildfires. Thanks to a 5.6 earthquake and tonight's "Will there be a Halloween in the Castro or not?" question plaguing the minds of locals and bridge and tunnelers alike, San Francisco is back on top! Even KRON, whose top story was still the wildfires as of......

Photo of a flyer promoting an unofficial Halloween parade on Market Street ...

-- Judge tosses out California's new lethal injection procedures. [SFGate] -- DA Kamala Harris and the quality o' life. [BeyondChron] -- Robert Goulet dies. Sniff. [CBS5] -- Not everyone is happy about BART's Halloween closure. Including some BART elected officials. [SFBG] -- Gizmodo gets put under the BetterKnowanSFBlog microscope. [The Snitch] -- Howard Street convicted of attempted murder for shooting a Berkeley copper. [Inside Bay Area]......

As much as we bitched today about the unexpected free-shuttle service on Halloween night, they're actually a nice thing for the city of San Francisco to have. The problem is: where have they been? As mattymatt's weekend guides demonstrate, the city has disruptions like (though not as large, but similar to) the one coming on Halloween night. Why can't we see more of these shuttles for every large to medium-large city event? And while......