Lew Wolff announced today that he's signed an agreement to purchase 168 acres of land in Fremont to build the new A's stadium and requisite development. What this means, essentially, is the A's are one step closer to moving to the 'burbs. Just call 'em the Soccer Mom Team. ...

On Tuesday, the 49ers unveiled their shiny new plan for a stadium in Santa Clara. The whole thing will cost about $854 million with Santa Clara pitching in what is said to be $160 million, although Santa Clara still might have to throw down for another $20 million to move the substation that's on the grounds of the proposed stadium. The rest of the money, $694 million, will come partially from the Niners ($363.3 million) and partially through the usual assortment of things, mainly naming rights and fan gouging. ...

Last time we were back in Philly, we saw some random gas station in the middle of nowhere that had a biodiesel fueling station. When we saw it, we were amazed that some city not known for its forward-thinkingness had one and San Francisco, the cutting edgiest of cutting edge cities, had none. Well now there's one. ...

On Tuesday, Josh Wolf broke the Guiness Book of Records for longest incarcerated reporter, that being 169 days (now 171). For his efforts, he received a plaque commemorating the occasion. In San Francisco, a rally was held, attended by various supporters, Bay Guardian Publisher Bruce Bruggman, and Supervisors Mirkirami, Ammiano and McGoldrick. Mirkirami blasted Gavin for not doing much in the case and well, Gavin probably has bigger things on his mind right now. At the rally, a statement was read from Wolf that was also posted on his blog to supporters to reiterate why he continues to fight on. That night, there was a fundraiser at the House of Shields to raise money for him....

Activist film in the Mission - At El Rio (3158 Mission St. at Cesar Chavez), outside on the patio, The Heads Up Collective presents The Take, an inspiring documentary, filmed during the factory takeovers in Buenos Aires, that centers around one auto-parts factory, and of the lives and struggles of the 30 unemployed workers who decide to reoccupy, collectivize, and get it going again. This screening is part of the monthly radical film series, Televising......

How do you feel about holiday music? We thought that KOIT started playing their 24/7 holiday programming a little early this year, but we do love randomly hearing Jose Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad" in our car. There are two holiday albums out this year that we've been enjoying. If you're a fan of Sarah McLachlan, you should buy her holiday album Wintersong. The CD has several traditional holiday tunes, but we were pleasantly surprised by......

It's been a few months since we raved about Ratatat and gave away their CD, so we figure it's time again to extol their greatness. Like we said last time, RATATAT's music is so melodic, varied and compelling that it makes vocals and lyrics seem superfluous. The Brooklyn duo expertly mixes snakey synth lines with sneering guitar, cello, sleigh bells and samples like the appropriately primal roar in "Wildcat". File under: Things That Make......

This week we give thanks for the amazing music coming out of the bay area, and the best venues in the nation to see it in. Listen up to the local music you can hear this week, and let's show our appreciation to these hardworking musicians by heading out to catch some shows. On Friday, Love X Nowhere are at Hemlock with Rondo Brothers. On Saturday night, one of our favorite local labels Birdman......

They've moved away from San Francisco to a small town in Connecticut, but we're still claiming Mates of State as our own. The birth of the couple's baby girl Magnolia hasn't slowed their relentless tour schedule: on Tuesday they play their first of two nights at Great American (The Court & Spark open Tuesday and Asobi Seksu on Wednesday). We've got a copy of their latest record Bring It Back, out now on Barsuk......

On Tuesday, the American -ists will be celebrating democracy and hitting the polls, letting politicians know what they really think. It just made us wonder: if it were up to the -ist-a-verse, what would we be voting for?...

Reader Nick quite intelligently sent his feedback to Muni, and even more cleverly sent his experiences to us. Here's hoping he gets a response from Muni on his concerns -- Nick, keep us posted! On Tuesday, I was waiting for a bus to take me from 4th and Market to 4th and King. A 30 came by and I got in line and waited for everyone to get off so I could board. While......

On Tuesday, the Warriors walked away from the 2006 NBA Draft Lottery slightly disappointed with the number nine pick. If only they had finished that high in the Western Conference this past season.

The NBA Draft Lottery, a transparently made-for-media non-event, is not the actual draft. Instead, it is a drawing of ping-pong balls to determine the order in which the 14 sad-sack teams that didn't make the playoffs will select in the actual draft -- Wednesday, June 28 in Madison Square Garden. Based on a complicated formula of ping-pong balls and futility, the Warriors were expected to get the number nine pick; they had only a 2.2 percent chance of getting the number one pick. For once, they lived up to expectations.

Thanks for nothing.

It's probably an everyday thing for our pals at LAist -- you open an email and it's a request for folks to come staff a shoot. Well, we don't want to sound like starf**kers (that's a lie), but that's what happened to us today when we got an email from friend of SFist Jeremy Kasten, which said: I am in production on my 3rd horror movie (hooray!) and things are going well. We have......

It looks like the Bay Area is going to be getting a new film studio. In Oakland. Take that San Francisco. The people behind the new studio? The Wayans brothers-- Keenan Ivory, Damon, Shawn, Marlon, and Tito-- the auteurs behind "In Living Color," Scary Movie and White Chicks. On Tuesday, an Oakland City Council committee unanimously approved a preliminary plan to move their production facilities to the old Oakland Army Base. If the City Council approves the plan, the brothers have a year to put together an agreement. So far, the plan calls for retail stores, a 30-acre film production studio with offices and a 10-acre back lot for production. Oh, and a 30-acre theme park with a hotel. Yes, we said an amusement park. According to the plans, the brothers want to build an amusement park adjacent to the studio. The park will be like "Universal Studios in Los Angeles but with a hip, urban atmosphere reflected in the Wayans brothers' comedies." And yes, the mind boggles. The Homey the Clown Funland Park? Fly Girls of the Caribbean? The White Chicks Nightclub Ride featuring an animatronic Lindsey Lohan getting into a cat fight with animatronic Simpson sisters while an animatronic Paris Hilton does blow in the bathroom? Either way, we can hardly wait. ...

As expected, the Municipal Transit Authorities proposal to increase fares by $.25 went over as well as Tara Reid's attempt to play a brainy archeologist in her new movie. So far, it's led to a protest, a rowdy committee hearing and some waffling on the part of the Gavster. Not to mention some spirited debate on SFist. The proposed fare increases are in an attempt to try and close a projected deficit of over $50 million for the upcoming year. ...

Solar Power 2004 conference comes to a close....