Around 120 local fishermen will split $3.65 of a $6 million award in damages won though a class action lawsuit against the parties at fault for the horrific 2007 Cosco Busan oil spill. The spill, if you recall, poured an estimated 53,000 - 58,000 gallons of fuel into the bay after colliding with one of the Bay Bridge’s towers. It also killed scores of wildlife in the process. more ›

On this languid New Year's Eve week, here's some interesting, nerdy ecological stuff for you to gnaw on: an interactive timeline / crash course on everything you need to know about the California Delta. more ›

A man who was found wading in the Bay on Sunday was pronounced dead. The deceased, in his 40s or 50s, was located near Pier 41 at around 3:45 p.m. "Police tried to throw the man some sort of life preserver, which he did not take," reports BCN (via SF Appeal). Police are still investigating why the man was in the water. [SF Appeal] more ›

Oh jeez. Another dead whale was found in the SF Bay, close to where another dead whale was discovered last month. CBS 5 reports that the creature was found "just East of the Ferry Building Wednesday, not far from the spot where another whale's carcass was recovered last month." more ›

Good morning! We came across this just-uploaded segment on San Francisco Bay windsurfing from Good Morning America in 1981 and thought we'd share. It was shot off of Fillmore Street, Redwood Shores Estates and Sausalito and features some groovy smooth jazz and windsurfing enthusiast Mark Buzzard. more ›

Captain John Cota, who helped steer the Cosco Busan into the Oakland Bay Bridge, causing tons of gunk to spill into the San Francisco Bay, pleaded 'guilty' today to two environmental crimes: oil spilling and bird killing. According to AP, Cota could spend up to 10 months in prison. AP goes on to report that "The National Transportation Safety Board said last month that Cota's prescription medications impaired his performance, but it also blamed other factors for the crash including a poorly trained crew." Cota was officially charged last May. more ›

The U.S. Coast Guard and San Francisco/Marin firefighters are battling a blaze on the eastside of Angel Island, which was reported at 9 p.m. Sunday tonight. more ›

Four commercial fishermen were rescued today after their 35-foot commercial fishing boat, christened "Reward," capsized 50 yards off of Pier 45 today. Fortunately, as a response boat from the Coast Guard Station was performing "training evolutions" in the Bay, they noticed the boat sinking, went into action, and rescued the four fishermen. No injuries were sustains. more ›

A "significant amount" of spilled into the San Francisco Bay after a tugboat collided with a refinery pipeline last night at Tesoro Petroleum's Golden Eagle Refinery in Martinez. Reports claim that "it wasn't know how much gasoline spilled into the bay, but a Coast Guard spokesman says it's 'a large amount.'" more ›

Oh shit. more ›

• First eco-friendly homeless shelter opens its doors. Glamour, glitz, green. [Oakland Tribune]
• The Mayor uses Muni funds to pay his posse. [SFGate, N Judah Chronicles]
• Speaking of which, buy your "The N Is Near" t-shirt now. No, now. [N-Judah Chronicles]

• Beatropolis: Oh joy! Beatropolis has returned! (Not that they really went anywhere, but it always feels like forever when they're not around.) Anyway, Beatropolis' special brand of dance rock, live drum 'n' bass, and futuristic space pop will have you up until the wee hours of the morning. The Toy Soldiers (a heady nu-electrorawk mix of Flaming Lips, Justin Timberlake, and Hot Chip) and the Buttercream Gang (a local indie/post-punk/afro-beat band) also perform starting at 8 p.m. at Rickshaw Stop; $8.
• The Geek System: Starring Hard 'n Phirm , Reggie Watts, and " We have no idea what that last thing means--okay, some of that other stuff, too--but anything Kraftwerk-y is simply smashing by us. Starts at 10 p.m. at the Knockout; free.

Image credit: Signe's Blog more ›

Image credit: Wikipedia more ›

Just what's up with our least favorite oil spill dilemma, you ask? Let's find out: -- After 29 years of military service, Coast Guard Captain William Uberti will retire after the oil-spill SNAFU is over and done with. According to the Examiner, "Uberti was the region's sector commander when a container ship sideswiped the Bay Bridge in dense fog, dumping 58,000 gallons of thick bunker fuel into the bay." Uberti was soon replaced after... more ›

-- Cinewhores Present Midnight Cowboy (1970): Although tame by today's smut-filled standards -- oh, you heard right! -- Midnight Cowboy has the distinction of being the only X-rated film to have ever snagged the Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The film -- about the friendship between Joe, a rookie New York City hustler, and Ratso, a terminally-ill New Yorker -- is prefaced by a reading by queer author Kirk Read. (Oh, and Sylvia Miles is simply fucking awesome in Midnight Cowboy.) Doors open at 6:30 p.m. at ATA; $5-$20 (all donations go to benefiting the St. James Infirmary.) more ›

The airtight smiles. Awesome. For those of you somehow not tempted into becoming a part of Van Santian art -- or, you know, if you sport a vagina -- might we suggest catching round II of the Leno vs. Migden smackdown? Sponsored by the Harvey Milk Club, this meeting is sure to ruffle a few plumes and have local politicos affectedly scratching their chins for days to come. That's right, kids, it's on. It is... more ›

This morning at around 11:30 a.m., two people were seen standing on top of a single-engine A35 plane that crashed into SF Bay. The plane went down near (and, thankfully, not into) the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge. As of now the extent of the victims' injuries are unknown, but seeing as how they managed to climb atop the wreckage, we're going to say that they're fine, or at least very, very tough. (Will update with... more ›

Good news for students of the struggle of the proletariat: even if you don't have time to read Marx, there are alternatives. Like Paul Krugman, Harpers, Howard Zin, Noam Chomsky, the Guardian of London -- and even our very own home-grown SF Bay Guardian. more ›

Gay marriage, GLBTQQGQQ$#@ discrimination, HIV issues, queers in the military, Donna McKechnie (we can only assume), health care, and more are what's on tap for tonight's presidential debate. Disgusting, we know. But 84% of eligible gays voted in the last election, so why not? (Who knew gays could even vote? Huh.) more ›

-- Litz Plummer, the Opera Lady: Wow. This should be an interesting combo: Coming to the Eagle this evening is the opera lady. You know? The one who sings on Maiden Lane, near the Hermes store. (Where you buy all of your blue separates, just like us?) She's part of tonight's "Thursday Night Live" along with All My Pretty Ones and Carletta Sue Kay. 10 p.m., the Eagle Tavern, 12th St. & Harrison; $5. more ›

Over the weekend, photographer Matt Cohen went to the Roller Derby to see the SF Bay Bombers vs Brooklyn Red Devils last weekend. These are the totally cool photos of the event. more ›

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

The Alternative Press Expo (or APE) was this past weekend at the Concourse here in San Francisco. The show, which is put on yearly by Comic-Con International, features indy and small press creators of zines, comic books, mini-comics, and more. After getting Larry Young's help to kick off our coverage, we attended on Saturday. We met so many cool people and saw so much neat stuff that we're breaking our experience into several posts. First up: the funny stuff. more ›

An event will be held today in yet another effort to Free Josh Wolf. Wolf, of course, is the video blogger/journalist being held in jail for contempt of court for not releasing the hottest video out there that doesn't involve a celebrity having sex with somebody else. And thank God for that but we'd love to see the alleged video of Britney and K-Fed playing chess. more ›

Well, is our face red! We screwed ourselves out of a couple of free 40 buck lunches! more ›

Locally, the big news was the second best blog party last Friday thrown by TechCrunch down in Menlo Park. Scott Beale was commissioned to take the photos, including the one above featuring an uneasy handshake between Valleywag's Nick Douglas (left) and his favorite whipping boy, TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington. Nick had been bumped off the exclusive invite list, but Michel must have relented. If he had been dis-invited, apparently crashing the party was not an option. more ›

We here at SFist are high-minded individuals who do what we do for the joy of it (because it sure ain't for the money, honey). So why do we find ourselves suddenly obsessed with the idea of winning the Best Local Web Site award in this year's SF Bay Guardian Best of the Bay? Sure, we love the Guardian (well, technically, Rita loves it for all of us), but it's not like the approval of its readers is necessarily indicative of quality, as evidenced by the truly horrible 2001 Best of Bay winning sushi place down the street from us. more ›

We're thrilled to the gills that the dailies are learning about this cool new sex podcasting thing all the kids are doing with their computers. more ›