A 49-year-old man attempting to lure police in to shooting him to death went on a rampage in his SoMa apartment building Tuesday night that ended in a brutal-looking punch-up from SFPD officers and accusations of police brutality. The man, who has not been identified, apparently assaulted multiple victims in his building near Third and Perry Streets to get the attention of responding police officers before threatening them with a gun he didn't have. more ›

Matt Gonzalez, the former Board of Supervisors President and current chief attorney in the San Francisco public defender's office, has been doing some moonlighting for a client with a $16 million lawsuit out against the city of San Francisco. As the Chronicle's Mustache & Mustache report today, Gonzalez is currently taking a monthlong vacation from his $188,000-per-year city gig to help a former law partner argue a case in which Cobra Solutions Inc., makers of administration software, claims they were banned from winning some city contracts after becoming mixed up in a bribery scheme. more ›

Receiving his B.A. from the UC, Berkeley in 1981 and his J.D. from the UC Hastings in 1985, Jeff Adachi once acted as the president of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area and the San Francisco Japanese American Citizen's League, as well as serving as a board member of the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice and the San Francisco Bar Association... more ›

Jeff Adachi, John Avalos, David Chiu, Bevan Dufty, Dennis Herrera, Joanna Rees, Phil Ting, and Leland Yee will all sport their finest bikinis (or not) during this Saturday's fundraiser car wash for McKinley Elementary School. No word yet if frontrunner Ed Lee will show up for some sudsy fun in the sun, but a boy can dream. Anyway, here are the rules: more ›

According to the Examiner, San Francisco Public Defender and creator of a not-so-popular pension reform deal Jeff Adachi has jumped in to the race for Mayor. Today is the final day to file paperwork to join the race and the Public Defender joins a crowded pack of candidates, who have already made plenty of headway in their campaigns. By our count, Adachi's announcement brings the tally up to 11 serious candidates, with a total pack of more than 35. more ›

The office of San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi released a video today showing San Francisco Police Department officers physically attacking an apparent bystander after (allegedly) illegally searching the room of a residential hotel resident on Dec. 30, 2010. Adachi's office claims that this video directly "contradicts officers’ sworn statement on several counts and appears to support the resident’s claim officers stole his property." In the police report, officers detained Fernando Santana, 48, in the Jefferson Hotel lobby at 440 Eddy "after claiming to see crack cocaine in his outstretched hand." However, in the video Santana's hands are inside his pants pockets. more ›

In what's turning into a slapfight between city attorneys over civil gang injunctions, public defender Jeff Adachi recently sent a proposal over the Board of Supes that, according to the Examiner, "would give named alleged gang members priority when it comes to receiving city services, including, 'city funded economic development, employment, vocation, educational, housing, asset building, mental health, drug treatment and social service programs.' And Dennis Herrera is none too pleased. more ›

Photos of Tom Ammiano at his fundraiser more ›

in fact going to Japan! According to press secretary Peter Ragone (so take it with a grain of salt), Newsom is leaving tomorrow and coming back on Tuesday -- hope he'll have a chance to catch cousin Joanna Newsom's Saturday Osaka show while he's there. more ›

So, according to the LA Times, Barack Obama spent his early college years smoking dope, listening to new wave music, and taking classes in Marxist theory and gender issues. In other words, can we vote for him yet? Just the thought that he could be the first President to have ever squatted down at the "down...down...down..." part of "Rock Lobster" makes us want to vote for him. We still, however, await the first presidential candidate who could quote from Snoop and Dre. more ›

Because we've started the column "Who's Attacking Newsom Now!", we figure it's only right to start the counterpoint column next: Who's Defending Newsom Now!. So who's Mayor McDreamy got on his side? (beside these young ladies in the picture above, that is!): more ›

SFist Jon's having computer woes, so we're covering all the rest of the races here too. more ›

If you read the comments on this blog closely, you'll see that we suggested that, in light of Gavin Newsom's new Matt Gonzalez-influenced coffure, the next obvious thing would be for us to find a picture of Matt Gonzalez brushing his hair like Gavin's. more ›

(it seemed like it took forever). more ›

The picture to your left is a still from the documentary Presumed Guilty, and profiles SF public defender Jeff Adachi when he was still an assistant public defender. Well, Adachi must have been inspired by the experience or something, because on top of his duties in criminal court, because the Chron is reporting that Adachi will be making his directorial debut at this year's Asian American Film Festival, with "The Slanted Screen," a documentary about the portrayals of Asian-American males in American movie history. Wha? Well, we suppose if the DA's really not charging anyone with crimes these days, Adachi's gotta do something to fill his time, right? (Are you sure this isn't just someone else named Jeff Adachi, guys?) At the preliminary hearing on the Pamela Vitale murder, a roommate of suspect Scott Dyleski testified that he saw a to-do list hidden in Dyleski's dresser drawer that said "knock out/kidnap, question, keep captive to confirm PIN, dirty work, dispose of evidence (cut up and bury)." Terrible. But also, can we just ask? Why do you need to write that down? Can't you just remember that on your own? And in the South Bay police blotter -- police confirm that a briefcase left outside the Fresh Choice in San Jose was not a bomb, someone in Palo Alto's guitar tuner was stolen, and someone else heard mysterious noises inside her house, ran downstairs, and found ..... (dramatic music) .... someone else's key chain on her kitchen counter! You know the would-be thief's all like, running home, pant pant pant, and then reaches into their pocket to open the door, and is like .....doh! more ›