The entertaining/controversial Chris Daly, who seems a bit quiet as of late, has a new target now: wafts of cigarette smoke. We're told that his latest push of legislation "calls for a smoking ban outside of restaurants, in waiting areas, within 20 feet of nonresidential buildings," and in common areas of apartment buildings. That is to say, you might have to look elsewhere to spark up that Capri or Virgina Slim while eating out.......

Although we're only occasional smokers (read: when we're drunk or feeling awkward at a party), we sympathize with the need to have a cigarette. And while the smoking ban at bars and everywhere else has kept everyone relatively secondhand smoke free, the constant browbeating smokers receive from non-smokers is enough to make the anarchists in us want to light up in front of all the naysayers. That's when this article on bars working around the......

Congratulations, Oakland (29th), Fremont (32nd), and San Francisco (34th) -- you made it on the top 50 drunkest cities in the U.S. list. At least, according to the December issue of the body dysmorphia-inducing rag Men's Health Magazine. The rankings are based on alcohol-related liver deaths, "binge drinking data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," FBI-culled drunk driving arrest numbers, death-related auto accidents that involved booze, and "grades given to cities......

-- Ross Mirkarimi, sole supe against Clear Channel. [SFBG] -- Out-of-town drug dealers bring their goofballs and china white to SF. [Examiner] -- Stupid TV can't ever get us right, or so says the Streets of San Fauxcisco. [Culture Blog] -- San Jose kills cigarette smoking at city parks. [SJ Merc] -- SF is numero uno according to Conde Nast Traveller. [The Snitch] -- And yet we can't crack the top-ten as a prime......

Photo of people smoking in the park...

The city of Belmont -- a most magical place somewhere along this place called the Peninsula -- banned smoking in "multiunit dwellings" yesterday. Breaking the law could result in a $1,000 fine. This seems a bit extreme. Getting fined inside of your own home. Then again, so is murdering God's innocent children with your vile second-hand smoke, right? RIGHT?......

We used to think we couldn't stand Sean Penn, but he never really did anything to deserve our ire. He's talented; seems to have similar political to ours; married to her, wonderful her; surfs; from Southern California; lives in the Bay Area; and above all else, is attractive. Then we figured it out: we didn't hate Sean Penn, we feared him. He seems like the kind of guy who could and would kick our......

One day we're planning a going-away party there, and then -- ta-da! -- it's gone. Wired workers' favorite watering hole and one of the last dive's around the Eastern SOMA area, the Eagle Drift-In Lounge was a good place for cheap booze, comfy booth seating, playing a game of darts, or to catch our favorite pregnant smoking bartender making a drink, waiting for that call from CPS....

-- Norman Nsu to return to Redwood City. [ABC7] -- Beth Spotswood writes in real-time about this year's Macy's Passport, with SFist aluma Eve Batey as the Virgil to her Dante. [Chron] -- Ed Jew trail delayed. [Examiner] -- Press conference of San Diego's mayor reversing his decision on same-sex marriage after his daughter comes out. Really, it's amazing footage. [CBS5] -- The U.S. (well, the South) keeping us safe from teens' exposed underwear.......

Today, the Oakland City Council voted to ban smoking in "ATM lines, parks and other public places," which is smurfy, health-conscious, makes the bitch behind you at the ATM line stops her self-righteous fake coughing, will result in animated birds singing on your shoulders, etcetera. And although we understand that it's a private establishment, this always brings to mind the fact that we can no longer smoke at Denny's. One should still, always, and......

Seeing as how the Summer of Love was the single most important event in the history of time and space, we thought it would be delightful of us to review a smattering of Summer of Love anniversary reviews for you. In no particular order, discover the music, elderly genitalia, and abundance of ATMs you missed. -- Beyond Chron: Goes into detail about that guy who sang that anti-Vietnam war song prefaced by a spelling lesson......

There's big legal news concerning the Barry, none of which involves Curt Schilling or Grand Juries. Oh no. Barry has just been slapped with a lawsuit by an inmate in a South Carolina prison, Jonathan Lee Riches (aka "the White Suge Knight), for fraud. No, not for breaking the record while on the juice, but for perpetuating a "Fraud Against Mankind," which Lee Riches calls "Batman and Identity Robbin." The Smoking Gun has the details, but from a quick perusal here are some of the claims made: ...

arlyck, following-sean, pov, pbs...

SFist Mihi warns you that this preview clip above may be dull. Sidewalk, the documentary we saw at the Roda Theatre in Berkeley on Sunday for the SF Jewish Film Festival, was billed as a "wry and hilarious" examination by filmmaker Duki Dror as he follows kids on their daily journeys to and from school. "Dror has the same wondrous gift of bittersweet nostalgia that cartoonists Charles M. Schulz and Lynda Barry have," said......

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a......

Star Wars-ish stuff sometimes seems done to death, but we fondly remember this PSA. What we forgot, though, was the pillow talk at the very end of this anti-smoking propaganda. It's very moving. And kind of sad. (Thanks to Eve and the wonderful Tim for finding this for us!)......

LAist was comped front row seats by the Dodgers due to Malingering being struck by a foul ball last week, and she came back with some great photos, and earlier made fun of 4th of July on Venice Beach. But the biggest stories of the week was that the Mayor's Hot Tamale was revealed, and that a Kwik-E-Mart was erected in Burbank. Phillyist was busy doing the Fourth of July up right, exercising their......

When not fending off rumors that he's been horking lines, Gavin has lately been running around proposing ideas to fix Muni, spurred on by the latest SPUR report and the Transit Effectiveness Project. ...

Simon Says premiered at the Another Hole in the Head horrorfest on Friday June 1st at a midnight showing. Well, an 11:45 p.m. showing. Whatever, it was late for old fogeys like us, but the allure of Crispin Glover was too much to ignore. You know what can really prep you for a late night horror movie showing? Searching for parking in the Mission when your parking abilities are limited to spots that do......

Assembly Bill 684 seeks to legalize the growing of hemp for industrial uses -- rope, cloth, oil, all that good stuff. It's not for smoking, okay? Okay?! In fact, the bill. which passed the assembly and heads for the state senate shortly, defines "industrial hemp" as "an agricultural field crop limited to the non-psychoactive varieties of the of the plant Cannabis sativa L."...

There's so much going on across the Ist-a-Verse that it's almost impossible to keep track these days. Fortunately, we do it so you don't have to! Londonist took a walk through Oliver Twist's London, thanks to a gorgeous map layer for Google Earth. They also caught up with modern-day fictional London, with the Fantastic Four and 28 Weeks Later. It was a week of insanity over at DCist. They started the week off with......

Everybody cheer! The locals in Thee More Shallows are releasing a new record this week! They're playing a free set at Amoeba Records tonight at 7pm and the big record release party is on Friday at Cafe Du Nord. Listen to their adventurous song structures, buzzy and fuzzy keyboard sounds and strangely mesmerizing lyrics ("at the night school, night school" has been running through our head all day). Enter to win a copy of their......

Here's todays news...

More mysterious criminal events in Fremont! This time, someone dropped a five-foot tall safe off a truck in the middle of the road. The safe had been pried open, revealing...... a collection of about 70 Star Wars action figures, still in their original packaging. Somewhere, a broken-hearted fan weeps. The yutz alert is on high after the horrific Virginia Tech tragedy: the UC Berkeley law student who posted a fake threat on a blog that......

A group at UCSF estimates that tobacco products in general-admission films are raising a whole lot of new, young smokers. The solution: slap an R on any film in which smoking is portrayed as having zero health consequences, since kids aren't mature enough to understand the real-life dangers of tobacco. We meet that idea with skepticism; it is with vivid detail that we recall the extensive anti-smoking education of our youth, and our impression......

Here's a roundup of today's news...

We had already been pretty fascinated with the growing trend of online user reviews lately. Then last week, the Chronicle came out with an article on "amateur" food blogs and restaurant reviews, about which SFist Jeremy posted an awesome rant, prompting some great dialog in the comments. This further prompted us to ponder how much online user reviews affect, and reflect, our own daily consumeristic lives....

Here's a roundup of today's news...

If you ever find yourself in Belmont and want to light up a cigarette, here's a word of advice: don't. Thanks to a new resolution being considered to fight second-hand smoke, the city will be the toughest on smoking anywhere. Smoking in company cars? Nope. Smoking on the sidewalk? Fuhgeddaboutit. Same with your apartment and even your home if one of your neighbors complains. If you do get caught, the anti-Smoking SWAT Team will come and get you and send you to a smoking reeducation camp where they will forcibly keep your eyes open Clockwork Orange style and make you watch the movie about the Marlboro Man until you see the evils of smoking. ...

-Bad cops, bad cops, whatcha gonna do, watcha gonna do when they start tracking you -Man found dead in Page Street apartment is finally ID'd. The guy whose apartment it was says he hired the guy to look after his cat. ...