Not that we have any right to complain (it's been over five years since we last blacked out at this fine music venue), but Polk Street rock 'n' roll/hustler staple Kimo's (1351 Polk) is on the market, and its future doesn't look good. more ›

An unidentified man was shot multiple times and killed Thursday afternoon at a cafe on Polk Street. "A 25-year-old man was fatally shot at Tevena Coffee and Tea Company at 900 Polk Street [at O'Farrell] at about 4:20 p.m. Thursday," reports KRON 4. "Authorities say that the gunman followed the victim into the café, shot him and ran away." He died at the scene. No arrests have been made. more ›

The US PROStitutes Collective, a local group "campaigning for the abolition of the prostitution laws which criminalize sex workers, organized a "stand-in protest at noon today at Polk and Sutter. Why? Well, SF Weekly reports, "At issue is a proposed San Francisco ordinance which would give police greater leeway in moving or arresting people loitering on the sidewalk between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m." The SF Coalition on Homelessness will cosponsor the festivities. (Side note: today's stand-in should prove a worthy photo opportunity, photogs.) [SF Weekly] more ›

Polk Street corridor residents are fuming/titillated over an increase in prostitution affecting the notoriously gritty neighborhood as of late. CBS 5's Joe Vazquez has a great story on a new wave of hookers hitting the streets just as the bars close. more ›

Hey, it's another Polk post, folks! more ›

-- On Saturday Friday at around 10:40 p.m., Jan. 26, 24-year-old Ernesto Williams was shot and killed while standing outside his car at the Chevron station at Sixth and Harrison streets. While waiting with his 26-year-old girlfriend, police claim a suspect drove up to the couple, exited his vehicle, and then "approached the victims and started shooting," killing the Oakland man and wounding his female companion. The suspect then "returned to the vehicle and fled the area," driving off in a "drove off in a gold-colored car." Cops have neither suspects nor description of the assailant(s). more ›

Risseldy, Rosseldy: a falcon (or hawk, according to eagle-eyed commenters) kicking it in a planter in front of Sushi Rock on Polk Street. Image credit goes to SFist's very own Rain Jokinen.
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This morning at around 3:20 a.m., smack-dab in our old neighborhood of 23rd Street and Treat, SFPD found four gunshot victims, one of whom was pronounced dead at SF General Hospital. "Police have no suspect information in that shooting." Yet. So start singing, witnesses. more ›

We'll do the partying and/or dying, so you don't have to. Homebound denizens of San Francisco, the Bay Area, and the world at large. Our editor, Brock, will be coming at you live from the Castro all night. We'll bring you live reportage of the costumes, "unsanctioned gaiety," Dachau-like police state, public urination, and/or absolutely nothing happening at all whatsoever. Stay tuned. 10:45 Update: That's it. We're done here, folks. If there's a shooting... more ›

Photo from last year's Halloween in the Castro 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 ›

So I decide to call the police because I'm an animal lover and stuff like this makes me crazy. But not only was he going to kill this dog but most likely end up causing God knows how much havoc and accidents on the street. It wasn't a shootout in the Mission but it was incredibly effed up and I'm sure illegal in many ways. more ›

--CounterPULSE is hosting Paint Out!, a breast cancer fundraiser with comedians, slam poetry, and women getting their chests painted ($50 mininum donation to get painted). 3:30-7:30, $25, 1310 Mission St. (x 9th). more ›

Can you still remember how to roller skate backwards? How about shoot the duck? For $2 skate rentals, you can give it your best shot at Mighty to the tune of really bad (or really good, depending on how you look at it) disco music. 7pm, 119 Utah Street, SF. more ›

Erotica Reading: Drop by the Good Vibes Polk St location from 7-8 for a tantalizing session with Dahlia Schweitzer, who will be reading from her novel, The Slightest Provocation, a historical romance, and Pam Rosenthal, reading from Seduce Me, a collection of stories about women who always get their way. Good Vibrations Polk is at 1620 Polk Street (x Sacto), SF. more ›

Sid Luscious and the Pants play at 11 p.m. at Kimo's on Polk Street, which is dangerously (is it just us?) close to Bob's Donuts, one of SF's best. Get all maximum new wave, like OMG! 1351 Polk Street, SF. Telephone: 415-885-4535, more ›

If you remember, two years ago Gavin announced some program to fight litter in the streets by calling on residents to mobilize and clean the streets. Somewhere Gavin envisioned hordes of fresh-faced San Franciscans picking up random potato chip bags, coffee containers, and hypodermic needles while frolicking down Polk Street arm-in-arm singing John Denver songs. Well, as anybody could tell just by wandering the streets, the streets are still dirty as hell. So today, Gavin introduced a new campaign to stop littering. This time, the campaign will be mainly educational as that appears to be the problem. We don't understand why people wouldn't think littering is bad, but we were kids in the early '70's and had a bunch of long-haired hippie teachers tell us that littering is bad, mmmmkay, in between the playing of Judy Collins' songs. Just walking to our car this morning, we saw a bag of chips lying on the street and it occured to us that as there was a garbage can a few feet away, why didn't somebody just dump it into the garbage can since the idea behind garbage can is that's where you put garbage. more ›

Nothing gets our treasure hunting heart pounding as fast as a crowded taco truck tucked away on a parking lot. Unfortunately the delicious meal we wolf down sometimes makes our stomach heave just as fast. Fear not, we've located the healthiest taco truck south of the Department of Public Health. more ›

The story about Rex Farrance, the PC World editor shot to death in a home invasion robbery gets more complicated, as his 19-year-old son tells the media that the "drug trade" alluded to by the police was in fact a stash of licensed medicinal marijuana that the son was keeping at the father's house with the father's knowledge. Farrance's wife, who was pistol-whipped in the attack, strongly denies any drug dealing in the house -- and Farrance's stepdaughter said she thinks the family was targeted because her stepfather had guns in the house. Farrance was a fitness buff, and had been profiled in the Chron back in 2001. more ›

It's not clear what happened, but earlier today around 10:30 or so there was some sort of combination of car crash and shooting that snarled up traffic and sent a bunch of people to the hospital. more ›

Speaking of cleaning up the streets, people on Polk Street are trying to have a major rehaul done in an attempt to make it less grimy. Twenty-nine commercial spaces are either vacant or under construction along the Lower Polk corridor and all the businesses and developers are looking to help clean the area up in order to increase their business. For whatever reason, they think that having to climb over transvestite heroin junkies nodding out isn't the kind of thing people want to do if they come to a neighborhood. And also, lots of vacancies equals more crime and the more crime the more vacancies and so on and so forth. more ›

-Disaster strikes as a blackout affects the new Westfield shopping center. Luckily, Bloomies wasn't affected, but other stores were. The horror, the horror. more ›

Tonight we're headed down to the Hemlock (1131 Polk Street) for the release party for Volume one Of Defenestration Literary Magazine. more ›

Saturday: At noon we're hitting the 3rd annual GAMA-Go Spring sale at the Rickshaw Stop, then going to the The 16th SF/ Bay Area Mural Awareness Festival & Awards Ceremony at Precita Park from 1-5 p.m. more ›

There's been some amount of whining lately over this weekend's big championship football games. Especially here in the Bay Area as our football teams were out of the playoff running around the same time the Giants and the A's were. But relax, football fans, we just might have something to root for this weekend anyways. This week, Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval announced legislation to have the city adopt the Seattle Seahawks as our football team. It's kind of like having a Sister City. We now have a Sister-Team more ›

So first, the good news -- your Trimethyldioxypurist happened on a swell place for a cup of coffee, one that we fully encourage you to try. more ›