The Library Tower (AKA the U.S. Bank Tower) in Los Angeles could soon be the second tallest building west of the Mississippi thanks to San Francisco's proposed Transbay Terminal. While the Library Tower, located in downtown Los Angeles, stands at an alluring 1,018-feet tall, the Transbay Terminal is primed to win the measuring contest at 1,200-feet. You know, we're just saying. Not to brag or anything. Anyway, our tallest skyscrapers so far are as......

Popscene and Live 105 proudly present SXSF : A South By San Francisco Music Fest with Persephone's Bees (Oakland), The Duke Spirit (UK), Ting Tings (UK) and Hottub (Oakland). We all know (at least you should) that Persephone's Bees puts out some awesome Russian-influenced pop music but this particular show we are most excited about The Duke Spirit. They are hitting the West Coast for a run of dates through LA, Seattle and San......

Gaylord of the Dance - Teaser from Scott Saraceno on Vimeo. For better or for worse, spring is in the air. And with that comes the many AIDS Lifecycle Fundraisers that will litter the city for the next few months or so. While AIDS charities aren't necessarily our bag -- they come off as a tad too insufferably A-gay for us or for anyone who makes less than a six-figure income -- this one......

In reading the story today about a missing woman found dead in police employees' parking space, we were reminded of a similar tragedy that happened here in San Francisco, where a Leonard Milo Hoskins' body was undiscovered in a van for a month, before being impounded by police and found a week later. While the couple wanted in connection with Hoskins are still at large, we think these incidents bring up serious questions about......

We apologize for our recent obsession with KTVU, but we just couldn't resist this one. Claudine Wong flirting laughing with Kenny G Mornings on 2 programming this morning included frequent and uncomfortably long live coverage of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am by KTVU reporter Claudine Wong. Wong was all giggles as she interviewed B-Listers such as Kevin James, Huey Lewis, and Kenny G. The segments seemed rather silly among news of a police standoff in LA,......

Rocket, Wisely, and the Fits: It's an all-pop night, kids. Rocket, an LA-based band that mixes sexy '60s barely-legal innocence with "'70s decibel-damaging boulevard beat, combined with '80s glam wham swagger," headlines tonight. Who else? Well, Wisely, no relation to Sean's abusive stepmother, performs their special brand of "equivocal pop." And finally, the Fits whose sound, according to Aquarius Records, is an "endearing folksy pop gem with vocals that reminded us of J Mascis."......

LA-based comedy troupe The Vacationeers fears Google Maps Street View Big Brother-ness. And ever since we saw a shot of our bedroom window on it, featuring our awful interior decor, so do we. [Source: Valleywag]......

And speaking of l'herb. Somehow, we thought San Francisco would be the first one to sport these dispensers, but LA has beat us to the punch: two marijuana vending machines will be available for use starting Monday at different locations. Yes, Mary Jane is now available via vending machine, but just how many hoops will you have to jump through to get at her? First, you must have a medical marijuana prescription. Next, you will......

As seen in the graphic above (pulled from the LA Times), and because of last week's fatal attacks, tiger security improvement is needed. Soon. In 30 days, according to the Gate, SF Zoo will have a brand spanking new tiger-grotto security system. The architect who created the zoo's Grizzly Gulch exhibit, Sam Singer, will also now design the safer new tiger grotto. Although no details of the new tiger grotto designed have been released, we're......

No Single Left Behind: Depressed at the thought of being single for the rest of your life? Then, go get a cat or eight. Sheesh. Or, better yet, attend this seminar where,according to the SFBG, "Rich Gosse, the keynote speaker at this gathering of nervous ex-spinsters-to-be, guarantees you'll get married in 2008 after hearing his pithy spouse-harpooning tips." What's more, the event's press release informs us that Mr. Gosse will touch upon the following......

The South Bay gets it. California's High Speed Rail Authority picked the Pacheco Pass as the future route for the 200-mph train that will help you get from SF to LA in record time. According to SFGate, "without a vote, the authority accepted its staff's recommendation last month to run trains from the San Joaquin Valley to the Bay Area over Pacheco Pass, east of Gilroy." Well then. After a four-hour meeting with Mayor......

Never having to drive through this again? Sob. The East Bay and South Bay (more or less) are vying to be one of the destination points that will send travelers from SF to LA in 2½ hours. (Can you imagine? You're watch HSM and HSM2 on your iPhone and -- poof! -- you're kicking it in LA!) Over 700 miles of track would be devoted to getting you from SF to LA in record......

Not to be outdone by their wicked step-sister, UCLA, who all too tastefully/boringly galloped about in their panties on the streets of LA, UC Berkeley also had its traditional end-of-semester streak last week. But they did it in the raw. Hee. The Daily Clog's Christine Borden captured the free-spirited perversity on film. And then had it taken down by the mustache-twirling puritans over at by YouTube. (!) It seems that last week's footage was......

A sad week for LAist as they lose their trusted and amazing editor Tony Pierce to the LA Times, but what a blast his last week was. He shared his 25 Favorite CDs of 2007 and wrote a great review of just a good movie, No Country For Old Men. At UCLA, thousands of students celebrated the end of their quarter by running around campus in their undies (lots of photos in a two-part......

The cold weather - and holiday festivities - descended upon Gothamist. The Rockefeller Christmas tree was lit, Broadway stagehand finally ended their strike, and NASCAR decided to run their victory lap through Times Square. There were disturbing photographs revealing the working conditions in which many city manholes are produced and ninjas were also a hot topic, either robbing homes or entering into alibis. But the city was really rocked by how Rudy Giuliani's visits......

Here's todays sports news...

There's been so many murders lately that it's hard to find a new twist on the stories, so here's one: a Pizza Hut pizza delivery man was shot and killed in the Richmond last night as he was trying to deliver a pizza. Apparently, he got lost and was wandering around trying to find the house he was supposed to deliver the pizza too and when he was stopped by several men trying to rob him. When he tried to run away, he was shot in the back, something that anyone who has ever seen a Western knows is the coward's way. ...

It's kind of an interesting Presidential Race in that two of the leading Republican contenders, Romney and Guiliani, are basing their campaigns on bashing the liberal bastions they governed. The obvious reason is to throw some red meat at conservatives by saying not only are they not actually liberal, but that they based most of their governance on beating back gays, Jews, and dark skinned people liberals. So Rudy just put a commercial out saying that he tamed "America's Most Liberal City." This didn't sit well with New Yawkers, however, and Douglas A. Muzzio, a professor of public affairs at Baruch College, fought back and said, “Blame San Francisco. We’re not No. 1.” ...

Phillyist prepared to party by doing the hustle, lighting the lights, shopping up a storm, and... visiting Khrushchev? LAist continues to cover the Hollywood Writers Strike with visiting guest "strikers" such as KT Tunstall and Presidential candidate John Edwards. To celebrate Veteran's Day, they visited a Civil War reenactment and to celebrate Geography Week, they asked all the Los Angeles City Councilmembers about the districts they represent finding that LA's 180+ official neighborhoods are......

After paying up last year for disclosure violations, Senator Carole Migden is once again under investigation for not disclosing or itemizing credit card charges that total $397,000. According to the LA Times, she faces $60,000 in administrative fines if she's in breach, our Miss Migden has investigators looking all up in her credit card charging for over the past seven years. Yikes. The main cause of concern for not keeping tidy books is that......

Eater SF uncovered something new and morally-questionable -- two of our favorite topics -- TablePronto, an online service that scalps restaurant reservations. Basically, it's a site that allows you to buy and sell reservations for a price. As of now they have a scant few available for SF: - Perbacco, 11/16, 9pm, $18; Foreign Cinema, 11/16, 8:30pm, $15; Town Hall, 11/16, 9:15pm, $10; Aqua, 11/16, 8:45pm, $10 Oh, all prime dining hours, too! But......

So...ugh. Birds died, gastronomic seasons were delayed. What's more, it hasn't even been a week, and already some of your favorite local and national politicos are personalizing the spill, more than ready to point old, spotty white fingers elsewhere. (RIP, acts of God.) How very helpful. Except not really. Anyway, oil-spill points of interest that happened over the weekend: -- ^&*#%^&*#!: Crab season delayed. -- "Something went terribly wrong," obvious'd Senator Barbara Boxer (Can......

-- 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......

Back in May, we were introduced to a great indie-pop band called Great Northern. We quickly fell in love with their latest release, Trading Twilight for Daylight and have been trying desperately to see one of their shows to no avail (they have been touring constantly since their release). They've been through San Francisco several times so we're sure you've already heard about them. (We hope!) Even our own Aaron Axelsen from Live 105 has......

We caught Phil Setzer, the violinist for the Emerson String Quartet, being driven down between performances in Santa Barbara and Orange County. We hope it was in a stretch limo, as these guys have won eight Grammy awards and critical acclaim everywhere they go. They are the only chamber music group to ever win a best classical album grammy, and they even got two. So they better travel like the rock stars they are. They'll......

But some good news: The LA Times has a helpful breakdown worth a moment of your time, on how you can help people (and pets!) in need right now. We've re-printed it for your convenience: ...

Whether you like it or not, SoCal is a part of us. So, this one is going out to our lower half: stay safe, San Diego and SoCal. Fueled by disgusting, freakishly warm Santa Ana winds, coastal and inland areas are on fire. La Gov declared a state of emergency last night for San Diego and seven surrounding counties. Work and school has been canceled; people evacuated. Ugh. In a rare state of concern, we......

This past Wednesday was New-Yorker night in Civic Center: the classical music critic, Alex Ross was promoting his new book at Herbst theater, and we attended the production of the Magic Flute designed by Gerald Scarfe, who regularly illustrates the magazine. Scarfe toned down his usually acidic satirical pen (see the sample from his website that we put after the jump) to cook up sets that are humorous, and respectful of Mozart’s intent. The set,......

SFist interviews Charlie M. from The Happy Hollows. They are playing the Fillmore tonight with the Silversun Pickups...

Members of the exclusive Norteño gang in the Mission District got capped with a civil injunction today, barring them from hanging out each other in a 60-square-block area and from loitering after 10 p.m., according to a report in the Chronicle. Those who are subject to the preliminary injunction...can be arrested in the 60-square-block zone -- and face up to six months in jail -- if they engage in one of a number of......