After reading Matt Smith's fantastic article (Nov. 18, "Business Conductor") on how much the San Francisco Symphony gets annually via taxpayers -- Michael Tilson Thomas alone is one of the highest-paid conductors in classical music, with a yearly salary of over $1.5 million -- Aaron Peskin decided to do something about it. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors President told Smith, "I'm cutting the symphony's budget ... starting with $1.8 million, and I'll end up with whatever I end up with." Next Tuesday, Peskin will introduce legislation "freezing out the symphony," making it one of the last acts he'll perform at President. While the majority of the symphony's annual budget is donation-based, Peskin's cuts will snip at the current subsidy city taxpayers contribute yearly. Read more about it, right here. more ›

-- Coit Tower murals. Just loverly. [WhatImSeeing] more ›

Last week's winner, the deceptive SF Weekly. Letters abound, either outraged by the fake Barry Bonds story or entertained by the elk. Why don't the negative letters have the names of the authors? Are you now questioning all the journalism you read in the Weekly now, or did you just think it was a good joke? Matt Smith says Gavin Newsom is supporting a cult. No, not the cult of Gavin, though no doubt Gavin supports that too. Cover article: a family that's had two kids shot near the Sunnyvale housing project. It's a really interesting story! This weekend alone: Litquake, the Zine Fest, and Tease-O-Rama. It's good to live in SF! Meredith isn't so happy with an appetizer bar; SFist Ced isn't so happy with Meredith! Mercredi, C'est Ravioli will continue!!!! Yay! Recent disaster concerts in the Bay Area -- at least Lady Sovereign and Lauryn Hill showed up, unlike MF Doom. We liked Let's Get Killed's pensive mature tone about the tough times Rogue Wave's gone through, we really did. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, and the Bouncer deconstructs the dive bar. more ›

Last week's winner, the SF Weekly: Someone's angry with the Bouncer. Local progressive Adam Werbach is a Walmart sellout. Why won't anyone endorse the mayor? Cover article: the back story about the Haight neighborhood activist killed in an S/M session gone wrong. These drawings illustrating the piece are pretty rad, though (see left) -- did Matt Smith do 'em? A Hank Williams Birthday Karaoke Sing-Off???? There's a tear in our beer too! The anti-war Berkeley Rep Play is uneven. Meredith hits her second good review for SFist Ced. And Let's Get Killed screens some rare rock movies. more ›

in Mountain View. Russian food and deli in Campbell. And a vegan wedding! more ›

Last week's winner, the Bay Guardian. We should totally put needle disposal boxes in Golden Gate Park. Also, C.W. Nevius says that Newsom called him and yelled at him for 45 minutes after he wrote his first article on the issue. We'd put that call on mute. Gentrification is destroying Polk Street. City contractors still use sweatshop labor. Annalee Newitz has mice. Sonic Reducer's still at the Guardian. Cover article: Local bands to watch. You've got your whisky swillers, your barefoot folksters, your hip-hoppers, and some fey whimsy. And read Marke B's column and show him not everyone's away for Burning Man! more ›

Last week's winner, the East Bay Express. Dream cartoonist: Fascist zombies versus Marxist ones. So hard to tell the difference sometimes! The situation with the Oakland Trib union. Internal disputes at an East Bay lesbian bar. Cover article: should you store your baby's umbilical cord blood or donate it? Hand-churned ice cream in Fruitvale. Hey, we didn't know I Like Eating is a teacher! We would totally be in I Like Eating's homeroom class! Yoshi's on their new SF expansion. And the Crowded House reunion tour. more ›

Photos of the current and future mayor of San Francisco promoting urban greenery more ›

. Meredith ventures back to the Mission to try that place that opened in the old KFC (she had the lobster). Minnie Driver uses the word love 54 times on her album. And former SFist Violet Blue guests in the Savage Love. more ›

What a day, what a day, what a day... more ›

is pretty hilarious. Spanish food in Menlo Park (we got totally trashed on sangria at that restaurant once! Fond memories.) And the Metro also wants more late-night pastry places. We hear ya. more ›

Last week's winner, as picked by SFist Sarah -- the Bay Guardian! Steven T. Jones takes over the opening editorial from Tim Redmond this week. It does not mention Burning Man! Recalls go too far. Club 6 -- still open. Why can't the Chron make money? Now serving at Cafe Gratitude: "I Am....Sued." San Francisco water may be causing rashes. Thank goodness Ed Jew doesn't have to worry about that! (okay, to be fair, we're sending the water all over the area so it might be in the Burlingame system too). Cover: Marke B's Club Guide, a glossy insert. Cute picture of bears! (picture not online.) Goth band comes to town. K Records founder Calvin Johnson has a retro haircut. And Frameline! Oh yeah -- and vote for us for best blog in the Best Of! more ›

--Another shooting in District 5. And a man robbed at gunpoint in the Sunset. more ›

Yes, it’s the high-end Italian bike shoes of SF Weekly’s longtime area commentator Matt Smith gracing the very nice carpet of a swank local hotel. He was there yesterday hobnobbing with the likes of Howard Dean, Carole Migden, and craigslist founder Craig Newmark at the Democratic Party’s aptly-named “Join the Party” party. Unlike other members of the media, Matt seemed to have an all-access pass at the event. Why? It’s got to be the shoes.
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guys is pretty funny. Is payola coming back for web radio? And no more crack rap, please. Also, a birthday party for John Adams, and Savage Love forgot about adoption. more ›

It looks like there might be peace in our time as a deal is in the works over the whole Healthy Saturdays thing. Apparently, city officials are trying to work out a compromise between fans of the plan and supporters of the Dede Wilsey Shrine to Her Wilsey-ness. No details have emerged yet, but apparently Gavin has been meeting with both sides to figure something out. more ›

Last week's winner, the Guardian. Tim Redmond says, war, war is stupid. Okay, it's kind of funny that the lead editorial describes PG&E's latest electrical scheme as an extension cord running from Pittsburg to SF. Josh Wolf pens an editorial -- if he wasn't a reporter before, he's certainly a reporter now. Someone who talked to the Guardian about their job on Alcatraz got fired, allegedly in retaliation. More on the anti-war protests (but Matt Gonzalez's name is misspelled.) They're never going to give back the Fillmore to the African-American community. Cheryl Eddy's not a vegetarian anymore, so here's her fave cannibalism movies. Sonic Reducer at SXSW. Cover article: local heavy metal band Hammers of Misfortune. The name Taiga is very hot right now. And if you're a Cancer, "you get the gleaming golden Sucks To Be You trophy." more ›

Last week's winner, the East Bay Express: Hey, maybe you could let the Laotian community know, in Laotian, when your refinery blows up? Cover article (which is by the same person that wrote the Lao article -- Kara Platoni had a busy week!): People hoarding gene patents. Book section: Books about eating, and a book about how a dowser found someone's missing harp. Nontraditional BBQ in Berkeley. And the digital music industry still sucks. And that's it! Goodness, that was a thin EBX. more ›

Last week's winner, the SF Weekly: Those of you longing for less Newsom news, the Weekly is your place! It's an entirely Ruby Tourk-free issue (except for the first two paragraphs of Matt Smith, at which point he then changes the subject entirely to talk some more about the city golf courses). More letters about Jade-Blue Eclipse. Has Nancy Pelosi had a facelift? People upset about the increase in fees for a state medical marijuana card. Aw, is it not enough that you can buy the pot, but you gotta be cheap about it too? (yes, yes, we know, medical need -- but still!) Cover article: We don't really get it, but it's something about the son of a cook whose name we don't recognize (Narsai David?) who got arrested on a pay-phone scam involving toll-free numbers? Hm. Yay Indiefest! Yay Fauxnique! Yay sex tours at the zoo! Meredith goes to the steak place in the mall (with a friend named Ruby -- but we don't think it's Ruby Tourk) and clashes with a server. SFist Ced doesn't get to enjoy the tension, though, because he's refusing to read the review on principle. An interview with a DJ who's done a totally awesome remix of E-40's "Tell Me When To Go." And Savage Love lectures a diaper fetishist (not the astronaut lady). more ›

We have no illusions anyone's going to read this column today what with all this news about Gavin Newsom's affair with his campaign manager's wife -- but we soldier on nonetheless. more ›

Last week's winner, the East Bay Express: Well, this is interesting! Bottom Feeder Will Harper is leaving the EBX to become the executive editor of the SF Weekly. We're sorry to see Harper leave, but we're excited to see what he does at the sister SF publication! Plus, this collection of Bottom Feeder's greatest hits is pretty exciting. We may not be making as much money off stem cells as everyone says we will -- and there's an online-only article about the clash at Dellums inauguration. Cover article: Emeryville hotel fires illegal immigrant workers to avoid a minimum wage law. People are walking out of the Berkeley Rep's production of a play about a child murderer. Indian pizza in Fremont, and the Wineau calls out some errors made. The Bluegrass Festival. And Ron Dellums's horoscope: Define your short-term goals. (Horoscope online is different from the one in the paper. Dellums's horoscope in the hard copy is "be your usual loquacious self.") more ›

Let's hear it for SFist Sarah L and her awesome weeklies wrapup from last week! Whoooo! And an extra-special thanks for compiling not only a weekly of the week but the weekly of the year as well. more ›

Last week's winner, the Bay Guardian. And ... whoa! Pictures of Margaret Cho's burlesque performance online (probably NSFW, but not really hardcore or anything). Make Gavin Newsom tell us what he does all day. Aaron Peskin on some kind of shenanigans with a City College building in North Beach. And -- this is weird -- so the Guardian is sort of mad at (or at least puzzled by) Chris Daly on Sophie Maxwell's housing plan, but Matt Smith over at the Weekly is begrudgingly okay with him about that Hastings protest where he got arrested. This is totally blowing our mind! Is it opposite day? Open the library on Sundays! Skipping a long and difficult-to-read two page comic-strip advertisement. Annalee Newitz on the debates over the feminist science fiction entry on Wikipedia. Cover: have a nice winter holiday. More music and club lists. The Guardian congratulates itself on opposing the war in Iraq in a full-page ad. And new A's DH Mike Piazza's horoscope: the stars see fear and illusion masquerading as truth and necessity for him. more ›

Last week's winner, the SF Weekly. Matt Smith tries to solve a murder from 2003. The Apologist on the new mall. Paper City folds. Cover article: discrimination against mothers in the workplace. The Brutal Sound Effects Festival -- sounds intriguing, doesn't it? Meredith Brody goes to Front Porch with Hiya Swanhuyser. Everyone seems to like Hiya at the Weekly! SFist Ced has nothing bad to say about the review, but is now taking bets on when Meredith will review "Out the Door" in the Westfield Mall. Frances Reade on an experimental feminist noise group. And a tribute to Dirk Dirksen, a stalwart of the local punk scene. more ›

Last week's winner, the SF Weekly. Hey, they're looking for people who want to write short features about life in the city that call out suckas for Sucka Free City. Dude, if you want to write short features about life in the city that call out suckas in the city, write for SFist! Matt Smith on SF voting machines. Are you an apologist for San Francisco values? Pipsqueak-a-go-go. Cover article: Corporation buys up low-income housing and jacks up the rent. Mole food competition. Meredith reviews Jewish delis -- we really liked it! SFist Ced, however, did not. The Rapture are back. Lady Sovereign comes to town (article written by EBX author Eric Arnold). And the Bouncer is drinking again. more ›

Last week's winner, the East Bay Express. DAMN Choreography objects to an article about them with the title "Tits and Assets." It's their special East Bay politics issue! Political bloggers wreaking havoc in Alameda, that Democrat running against Pombo might actually win, hipsters are voting for Aimee Allison. The EBX recommendations, plus a genius move -- polling people about fake propositions. We liked the school vending machine tax to go to anti-bullying programs, and the requirement that the voter info guide be written at a 6th grade reading level the best. Jonestown the documentary is opening. Sichuan food in Fremont. A Rock The Voter blows off learning about the propositions to tool around town. And the Sunday morning rap radio show on KALX has been cancelled. more ›

--Sofia Milos is back in town. more ›

get SFist Chris to write an anti-fixie column so we can get this kind of entertainment on our very own website! Books section: Joan Didion, still not in the best shape after her family died. Meg Tilly wrote a book? Cover article: TV mashups with Dick Cheney. Also: Pixies documentary opening at the Roxie this week. And SFist Eve's horoscope: "Your life is on fire -- grab your three most precious things and get out." more ›

Last week's winner, the SF Weekly: Matt Smith on defrauding the retarded. Chris Daly thinks the SFSOS flyer about him is funny. Cover article: graffiti artist Vulcan. Win a free copy of season 2 of the American Office. Meredith eats outside. Vashti Bunyan, the Silver Jews, and the Headphone Festival. more ›

Last week's winner, the East Bay Express. More letters about Cody's? Okay, ew: there's cockroaches on AC Transits, and they had a lice infestation on BART. We are totally standing up on BART for the indefinite future. Also -- Ann Coulter is accused of plagiarizing from Jane Ganahl. Is Ann Coulter also feeling bad about being single? Spider bites. A new group encouraging more people to refuse to testify before grand juries. Will SFist Jackson throw them all a benefit party? Cover article: the expensive skew of wine journalism (we like the title "Wineau."). New website to use statistics to evaluate assage on the Oakland A's, called Moneybutt. Ha! The first Wineau column, for cheap wine. Shouldn't this column have been placed closer to the cover article? And Bay Area tribute bands. more ›