They're everywhere together these days, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. Whether dining about town, attending political parties, or just bro-ing it up wonk-style, the two power players are the Michelle Williams and Busy Phillips of San Francisco. While they once defended their relationship during Lee's campaign, they're now out in full force together about town at countless public events. Why, we have run into the mayoral duo together together at three events in 2012, including February's Miss Chinatown Coronation Ball. more ›

As previously mentioned, locavore high priestess Alice Waters took over the quaint side streets of Union Square today to transform Maiden Lane in to a downtown edible schoolyard. (And also sell charity t-shirts.) Judging by the post-lunch tweets and twitpics coming in this afternoon, the event was an adorable, summery picnic table affair. more ›

We ourselves tend to avoid doing too much scrolling on SFGate for fear that our eyes will fall upon the shrill, vitriolic, frequently ALL-CAPPED stupidity that is their commenter pool. Today, Phil Bronstein can't take it anymore and pens an editorial about what assholes these commenters all seem to be, now that they pounced upon two recent tragedies -- the three hikers swept over the falls at Yosemite, and a Marin man who got washed into a blowhole in Maui by a rogue wave -- as excuses to mouth off about how dumb the victims were. more ›

A bit saddened and surprised that Phil Bronstein failed to contact us immediately to get few choice quotes and some penetrative views on the human penis, we can forgive the Chronicle's Editor-at-Large since he penned a downright spectacular piece on the male piece. Specifically, the flap of skin that gets lopped off for religious and/or societal reasons is also great for freshening up a disgustingly-aged face. (By the way, hailing for Southern California, we have 0.00 problems with plastic surgery. Having work done is the Orange County version of getting a tattoo. A time-honored ritual, really.) Bronstein writes: more ›

In his column this morning, Chronicle Editor-at-Large Phil Bronstein brings us a look inside the federal courtroom where seven members of notorious MS-13 gang have been on trial for murder, extortion, drug charges and robbery. While much of the media tends to discuss the neighborhood in the context of its gourmet restaurants, throbbing bar scene or artisan children's toys, even the near-constant reminders of gang violence in the area have done little to fill the courtroom. As he points out, few seem worried about the trial, or about the violence in general. Naturally. Even a defense attorney for a gang member accused of two murders said he thinks the trial provides a "fascinating glimpse" to a side of the Mission of which he was blissfully unaware. more ›

In response to the recent increase in violence in the Mission, the Guardian Angels began increasing the frequency of their night patrols in the neighborhood. And in response to that, Chronicle Editor at Large, former foreign correspondent and Komodo dragon attack victim Phil Bronstein took to the streets to check out the operations of the para-paramilitary. Here now is his video report in which volunteers from San Jose descend upon the rough-and-tumble streets of the Mission to selflessly pour out beers and burn illegal immigration documents. more ›

We probably have, say, around 100 or so questions to ask Chron Editor Phil Bronstein about what it was like to live as one with Sharon Stone. (Out of respect/fear, however, we never ask. But we have questions. Boy, do we have questions. Dangerous questions.) We have loads of other things we'd like to pluck from his skull, too. What about you? What do you want to ask him? Well, don't tell us. Ask him via his shiny new VYou account. (Brian Wilson, if you recall, did something similar last year.) Bronstein is taking your questions about anything -- and we do mean anything -- while sporting a kicky baseball cap! more ›

"At 19, I was a drop-out in bell bottoms selling Great Books of the Western World door-to-door to support a meager journalism career. You, on the other hand, make even the two high-end young women in the story below you on the page, who have a hugely successful and surging Washington PR firm, look like pikers and trailer park queens." - Chronicle Editor-at-Large Phil Bronstein, working out some pent up aggression on 19-year-old Hadley Nagel, the subject of a recent Sunday NYTimes Style Section piece and possible inspiration for Gossip Girl's Serena Van Der Woodsen. [Chronicle] more ›

Oh, we see now. It was a mistake -- a horrible, frightening, skull-shatteringly awful mistake. Whew. more ›

Former pop star Kanye West, that (racist?) Senator who called Obama a fibber, the oddly schadenfreude-free sight of a bruised Tila Tequila, murder-suicides in the Bay Area, Serena Williams, the staff at SFist headquarters -- why has everyone gone mad? Well, according to Phil Bronstein, the stars might have something to do with it. Today, the SFGate scribe posts an astrological cautionary tale and explanation behind all celebrity meltdowns of late. That is to say, the current Mercury retrograde is to blame. For everything. (Seriously, watch that Mercury retrograde. Scary stuff.) He cites Susan Miller's AstrologyZone, who tell us that for the next couple of weeks, we are, more or less, fucked. Bronstein advises, "And in case you're unemployed, fundraising for struggling non-profits, looking to budge entitled and entrenched health care/new financial bubble chicanery, or think you have the most clever idea for saving journalism, just hold on. 'Don't ask for favors, present ideas or launch new projects this month.'" But have no fear -- just kidding -- the retrograde will end on September 29. Until then, we find slow, gentle rocking movement prove the most soothing while curled up in the fetal position. more ›

Conspiracy theorists freaked the holy hell out this morning over a piece penned by Phil Bronstein -- one that was critical of Gavin Newsom as California's next governor -- which was pulled. Or so it seemed. What happened was, local-politics fanboy types, like the anonymous ILoveGavinNewsom and journo Josh Wolf, accused SFGate of censoring the anti-Newsom bit. (While Wolf, a journalist by fame, didn't balls out accuse them of censorship, he retweeted the anonymous blog's assertion without consideration of the source.) more ›

Phil Bronstein wrote this morning about several senior cable car operators who are boycotting the upcoming Bell-Ringing Contest in Union Square, due to Muni's lack of respect for 36-year cable car veteran, Alben Chang's, retirement celebration. Chang, who had an unblemished conductor record, wanted to take one last memorial ride on both the Hyde and Powell lines with some of his fellow senior operators. Muni had at first said the operators could take the ride while clocked out, but on the day before the ride, Muni then refused to let them participate. more ›

San Francisco's very own Phil Bronstein, former editor at SF Chronicle and Sharon Stone survivor, appeared on Hardball last night. Around the 8 minute mark, he gets appropriately bitchy at Chris Matthews and Lawrence O‘Donnell who are talking about NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and East Coast politics, and then Matthews points out that DC is on the East Coast and NY is on the East Coast, and makes a snide remark about SF and a mood ring. See for yourself. more ›

During the contentious court trial between (former) Bay Area married couple of note, Ginger McKenna (AKA Sharon Stone) and the Chronicle's Phil Bronstein," the former, it seems, was described as an "alarmist" who had "gone off the deep end over and over." At least according to the esteemed journalists over at TMZ, who obtained the court's "Tentative Statement of Decision" document on their recent custody battle. more ›

Well, here we go, folks. What was once an abstract thought is now a reality. Behold "Phil Bronstein At Large," featuring the Chron's political scribe, Carla Marinucci. It was just posted fresh for your admiration, disdain, or entertainment. more ›

Former editor of The Arizona Republic, vice president of The Cincinnati Enquirer, and top editor for the Reno Gazette-Journal and the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, Bay Area's Ward E. Bushee was just named executive VP and editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. more ›

• Phil Bronstein steps down as editor. Say what? [SFGate]
• Julius Castle closes amid allegations of fraud, misrepresentation, and lease issues. [Tablehopper]
• 1015 gets a (much-needed) makeover, will feature live bands. Well, it's about time. [SF Weekly]

It was announced today that SF Chronicle's editor, Phil Bronstein, will be "shifting his role from running day-to-day operations in the newsroom to taking on broader strategic responsibilities at the paper and for its owner, Hearst Corporation." Whoa. more ›

We don’t dabble in national politics much, except when a gay Republican senator is outed in a Minneapolis airport (fun!). But we relate to the Two Americas theme of Democratic primary candidate John Edwards’ campaign: there is an America which will go to the SF Opera tonight, and another one which will go to Opera in the Park on Sunday. The first one, tuxedoed and bejeweled, cheered up by a cocktail reception, will enjoy a performance of Camille Saint Saens Samson and Delilah, followed by a “lavish post-performance dinner” and dancing. The other (ok, let’s be honest, us) will get arias selected from the upcoming season, preceded by Phil Bronstein’s stand-up routine, while drinking two buck chuck. more ›

Today, we really enjoyed an interview of Chronicle Executive Editor Phil Bronstein by Julie Haire, an L.A.-based freelance writer, that was published on MediaBistro. And, yes, we confess, part of that enjoyment was due to multiple references to SFist. more ›

When we talked to Phil Bronstein, the publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle, a few weeks back, he told us that "the Chronicle will continue to be packed with talented journalists who will keep providing what (SFist) Rita called 'an essential public service.'" more ›

Our recent "3 Questions" subjects have included Megan Marrone, Kevin Rose, Phil Bronstein, and the founders of Yelp -- all pretty darned high-profile people. However, as compelling as we find those folks, our goal with the short-form interview was always to intersperse folks on the street; the folks you meet in your real life, who really are as interesting as, well, anybody. more ›

Hi, folks -- welcome to the latest edition of the Top 5. As SFist is community driven, we enjoy picking out some of the best comments that you folks contributed -- the ones that raised the discussion level, taught us something we didn't know, or made us laugh. This week, commentary on Ed Jew, Western Addition Shootings, the budget, and more made the Top 5. more ›

Happy Father's Day! For those of you who have dads, are dads, or know dads, this one's for you, from all of us at the Gothamist network. more ›

Phil Bronstein is the Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. Mr. Bronstein agreed to answer a few questions for us. His responses directly address issues brought up by SFist and SFist's readers a short time ago. Notably, you'll see from his answers below that he'd appreciate more of the same. Here's a chance hear and be heard from one of the most important drivers behind news coverage in our area. See what he had to say to us below -- and let him know what you think. more ›

Number of people pictured in this week's Swells society column: 55. more ›

And the layoffs begin -- a source tells us the first person to be let go from the Chronicle in their 25% reduction-in-staff campaign is managing editor Robert "Rosey" Rosenthal. We got the news confirmed by Friend of SFist and Chron Blogging/Interactive Editor Eve Batey, who says: more ›

Yesterday, we were shocked to find this picture of our homeboy, SF Bay Guardian publisher Bruce Brugmann, posted on his blog. more ›

Well, this sounds like fun! A reader who went to yesterday's live taping of the NPR news game show "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" writes in to report that the game show's "special guest" of the day was none other than our favorite newspaper editor, Phil Bronstein! more ›

Thanks to the kindness of a tipster (remember folks, keep those cards and letters coming), we get word of a great site that combines two of everyone's favorite kind of porn: real estate and celebrities. The site is called the Real Estalker and even though it's been up and running for a year or so, they finally opened up their San Francisco branch. It's like SF Curbed except snarkier and only about people you know. more ›