Although last week's test on the American tap water by chemists claims to have detected the sex hormone estradiol -- found such vertebrate animals as birds, reptiles, and fish -- a more recent test conducted by the American Waterworks Association Research Foundation, says that San Francisco's "best tasting" H20 has come up sparkling clean. The Gate reports that our tap water, which is really quite tasty compared to, say, the waters of Southern California......

When asked for the real reason why Susan Leal was forced out as head of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission by Mayor Gavin Newsom, Susan Leal said: "When people say you're not part of the team, it means they want you to be part of the fan club."......

Without providing an answer for firing San Francisco Public Utilities Commission chief Susan Leal, the SFPUC officially sacked her this morning after a nine-minute closed door City Hall meeting. As part of her severance package, she will receive a delightful $400,000. The former city treasurer was asked to pack up and get the hell out last December as part of Newsom's second-term staff cuts. Although word is she had to go either for not......

Did she find a horse's head in her office chair the day before? Embattled Susan Leal, who's refused to bow to pressure from Gavin Newsom to resign her position as the general manager of the SF Public Utilities Commission, was hit by a car outside City Hall as she was leaving meetings just before noon today. She was rushed to the hospital, where they found she was okay, if a little shaken. We like one......

Although her contract ends in 2009, former SF Mayoral candidate and current San Francisco Public Utilities Commission chief Susan Leal might get the ax, according to Cecilia M. Vega over at the Chronicle. Her removal could kickoff a bloodbath of staff cuts by Newsom. And although her dismissal would need approval by committee, this seems like a done deal. According to the article: Leal received a telephone call Friday evening from Newsom's chief of......

Mere days after the head of the environmental department broke with Aaron Peskin and other city leaders on a Public Utilities Commission policy, this week Peskin introduced a wee bit of legislation that would obliterated said department. Yoinks....

Months ago Gavin talked up the idea of placing turbines into the Bay to generate energy for the city and on Monday, he made it official. At a press conference at Crissy Field, Gavin and San Francisco Public Utilities Commission General Manager Susan Leal announced that they will begin the initial stages of getting this thing going. The turbines supposedly will create 38 megawatts of power, or enough to power 38,000 homes. ...

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is warning residents in low lying areas that the expected rain for this and next weeks may lead to property damage and flooding. The PUC has mobilized teams to go out and check on storm drains and catch basins to ensure none are blocked (report clogged or non-draining sewers at 415-28-CLEAN), and has prepared information on how to protect yourself in case of flooding. Check it out: "For......

Surf's up! Two water mains on Lombard between Stockton and Powell Streets burst this morning at about 4 a.m., flooding North Beach streets. The Public Utilities Commission says it might be from the cold weather, and says if you suffered any damage to file a claim with the city. They said they should be have been able to get the water cleaned up around 10 a.m. Hey North Beachers (a group which now includes SFist Jackson!) -- any reports? Any water damage? Picture from KGO 7...

This is how WE roll. But first, some sad news…minutes after the end of the 49ers/Broncos pre-season game, Niner offensive lineman Thomas Herrion collapsed and was pronounced dead upon arrival at a Denver hospital. The autopsy results were inconclusive and it could take weeks to determine the cause of death. Herrion is not the first football player to die during the season as heat, atmospheric conditions and the huge size of football players can be somtimes be a toxic mix. He was 23. And here's an update on the exploding transformer -An angry Gavin demanded an investigation into the cause of the explosion and called for accountability on PG&E's part. Quoth the Gavin: "enough is enough. Excuses be damned, there will be accountability." And in a statement that will warm the cockels of Bruce Brugmann’s heart, Susan Leal, the head of the Public Utilities Committee, says that these type of incidents made her even more determined to "aggressively look at alternatives" to PG&E. In response, PG&E has annnounced that they'll soon inspect all 540 of the city's transformer vaults to make sure there won't be any more explosions. The poor woman injured in all this is still in critical condition at burn center at St. Francis but is said to be doing better. ...

At the beginning of the year, our earnest Boy Wonder of a Mayor said that in the spirit of sharing the pain of the inevitable budget cuts, he would cut his own salary 15% percent. The total amount of his cut? $25,000 -- taking his salary down from the $168,867 being Mayor pays. Sure living on a salary around $140,000 isn't that difficult. And sure it's easy to give up money when you're already rich.......

>...or is it a DCist cameo on SFist? Our sister site notes that one of our local boys, Adam Werbach, and his new group, the November 3 Theses have invaded their town to wheat-paste flyers on the doors of the DNC. Kind of like Martin Luther, except he had 95 theses and the November Thirders only have nineteen. ...