We missed the Arcade Fire show this weekend but: The Power's Out -- in the Heart of Man! (shicka shicka bell bell). Haven't we already heard this story? Yet another PG&E underground vault blew up this afternoon, injuring a passerby -- but this time in Berkeley, at Bancroft and Telegraph. A manhole cover was blown off by the blast, hitting a person driving by in his car. The airbags on the car deploying, injuring the driver. There was a small fire, which is now out, and about 2200 people were without power. And speaking of the Ralph Lauren explosion, PG&E confirmed today that the August 19th explosion was caused by a misaligned gasket that allowed water to leak into the vault and short out the transformer. PG&E didn't know if this was the same cause of today's Berkeley explosion but said they'd look into it. During all this, PG&E crews were also scrambling to get to yet another blackout in Cow Hollow this afternoon, after a car hit a power pole. How was that Arcade Fire show, anyways? Image from the Arcade Fire Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) video more ›

Four unrelated shootings in San Francisco over the long Labor Day weekend -- one at 24th and Alabama, one at Turk and Laguna, one at Harrison and 1st, and one in Visitacion Valley near the Cow Palace. Two victims are dead, two are in the hospital. PG&E announced that it figured out why that generator blew the other week underneath the Ralph Lauren store -- water leaked into the transformer, which caused an electrical short, which then blew up oil in the chamber used for insulation. Who uses oil for insulation? (Okay, engineers, enlighten us.) In other news, another transformer blew up on Market Street due to a failed cable splice, there was a power outage near UCSF when a tree blew into some power lines, and another outage in the Outer Mission when a car drove into a pole. And celebrating Labor Day the old-school way, 61 union members were arrested outside the Grand Hyatt at a sit-in over the year-long hotel strike. The union organizers have agreed to end the boycott against the Westin St. Francis because the WSF management has agreed to support several of the union's key demands. more ›

There's been an underground explosion at Post and Kearny, right outside the Ralph Lauren store at the Crocker Galleria. At around 10 a.m., people said they heard an explosion and saw the sidewalk rise up about 6-7 inches. Two manhole covers were blown off, as was a concrete cover, and the explosion blew up the glass front of the Ralph Lauren store. One woman was sent to the hospital with serious, but not life-threatening, burns. We wish her a speedy recovery. The authorities suspect that an underground transformer blew, but the bomb squad is going in before they let PG&E look around. Parts of Post, Sutter, Montgomery, and Kearny have been cordoned off as the investigation continues. Not a good day for PG&E, who just got hit with a possible $15 million fine for the 2003 above-ground transformer explosion. In other news, there was also a bomb scare at Civic Center (which was cleared without incident) around the same time. Meanwhile, the authorities are also worrying that the beached whale we told you about in Half Moon Bay might explode as well. (Really!) Also -- Flickr users, ABC News 7 wants to use your digital photos of the blast if you have any. more ›