In the realm of mundane news that may actually affect you, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 39 in to law yesterday, banning the production and sale of beer infused with caffeine in this great state of California. The ban goes in to effect starting January 1st, 2012 and follows City Attorney Dennis Herrera's ongoing war on sugary caffeinated booze. more ›

We just heard from MillerCoors spokesperson Julian Green, who tells SFist, "We respectfully disagree with their inaccurate allegations about the marketing and sale of Sparks," and would we please tell their other side of the story. Sure thing, Julian! Anyway, Green shared with us the official MillerCoors press release, which claims, among other things, that "MillerCoors voluntarily agrees to reformulate Sparks." (The $550,000 payment isn't penance so much as it's to "cover the cost of the investigation.") Also, the marketing and creation of Sparks was, obviously, approved by federal regulatory authorities, but MillerCoors says it decided to "reformulate the product" due to nagging by the buzzkill AGs. So there. more ›

City Attorney Dennis Herrera, along with 13 other state attorneys generals, helped rid store shelves of MillerCoors' "Sparks", an energy drink containing caffeine, taurine, ginseng, and guarana. Oh, and some alcohol too. And today, MillerCoors will no longer make caffeinated "Sparks," "Sparks Plus," "Sparks Light," or any other alcoholic energy drinks ever again. more ›

more ›

--Civic Center's SFMike reports on a Hayes Valley-themed mini-golf public art installation. That's the eponymous Mr. Hayes (not Rutherford B., but another guy named Thomas) to your right. more ›

Some organization we've never heard of and could probably care the less about, the American Institute of Architects, put together a list of the Top 25 Bestest Buildings in San Francisco. Look for attendant show on VH-1 featuring snarky comments from Hal Sparks, Ian Michael Black, and Rachel Harris. 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 ›

--Yahoo's Jerry Yang is donating $75 million to Stanford. Does that mean he'll get fewer calls from the alumni giving committee.... or more? more ›

Yeah, we know. It's a Monday. And not just any Monday, but the five-year anniversary of That Day with all the attendant beating over the head that comes with it. So to cheer you up, dear readers, SFist presents to you, the Holy Grail of awesome music videos-- Journey's "Separate Ways." more ›

SFist would like to give an official SFist Mazel Tov to Alameda's own Craig "Hot Lixx Hulahan" Billmeier who became the Fourth ever US Air Guitar National Champion. Having seen Hot Lixx in action, we can only say well done, sir, well done more ›

SXSW is already a blur, despite us leaving a day early this year. We had our hand-me-down digital camera in tow this time, so we will present our wrap-up with amateur photos. (We need to learn some night photography tricks, because using the flash sucked all the rock club atmosphere out of the subjects, and not using the flash rendered most bands as flourescent red and blue blobs.) We got our hands on the free party list which is a compilation of all the parties throughout SXSW. Most of the parties happen during the daytime, some happen at night, some are private, some are open to the public, and most offer free beer and/or food. These parties are in addition to the official SXSW nighttime showcases of over 1000 bands from around the world. For the past few years this party list has only been 6-8 pages long, but this year it was sixteen pages long. It was overwhelming. more ›

Last night's Police Commission meeting [RealPlayer] started off with rollicking public comment from officers and the public. Officers were particularly upset over the termination of officer Anthony Nelson. Nelson was terminated after breaking the arm of an anti-war protestor and then filing a report with erroneous information about the circumstances. One of the two commissioners who voted against his termination was Peter Keane, who is also the dean of the law school at Golden Gate University (hence his nickname, "The Professor"). more ›

Homosexual Pride Mass in Berkeley! Father Richard Sparks gave communion to gays and members of other faiths; "completely unjustified," and "heresy," says the article. SFist's expert in such matters informs us that Father Sparks did, in fact, violate Canon 844 § 1, and that casual participation in a sacred rite can offend (sorta like the influx of suburbanites to Pride in the Castro). On the other hand, there are many of the opinion that bringing Christ to as many people as possible is not necessarily a bad thing; but "Faith" doesn't address that side of the issue -- hey, we thought conservatives were all about "teach the controversy!" more ›

SFist of course does not recommend any Jonestown-style group hari kiri, and a good belly laugh over a pint could be just the ticket to remind you that presidents, good or bad, only get to serve two terms. So head on down - it's free, and the comedians will keep their wits tuned to the telly along with you. The showcase will be hosted by local comedy impresario Susan Alexander. more ›