Well, this is some sad news. An unidentified woman was sent to the hospital today with life-threatening injuries after part of a redwood tree fell and smashed her at Stern Grove today. It seems, according to KCBS, that the woman had just walked her dog, who was not hurt, and as she was getting into her Subaru Outback near Concert Meadow, "part of a tree broke off and fell," crushing her as it came......

Although the billionaire hotelier once allegedly (the help is never a reliable source) uttered the words "only the little people pay taxes," Leona Helmsley today paid her biggest tax bill of all, breathing her last breathe in Greenwich, Connecticut. One has to hand it to Helmsley for making it all the way to the age of 87. She had a rough time of it in the late '80s with all that tax evasion, employee......

A photo of a large crowd enjoying ballet at the Stern Grove Festival...

Who ya got? The cowboy or the samurai? That's the question posed by the Asian-American Theater Company's Cowboy v. Samurai, a story about two Asian-American cowboys in Montana who fall in love with the same Korean-American new girl in town. Our Gothamist cousins liked it when it played in New York. 2 p.m. at the Thick House (1695 18th Street, x Arkansas), $20. Other events: --The workers united -- have a whole month to celebrate!......

Even though James Gaffigan's only 27 years old, he is running the SF Symphony Summer series. We wanted to know him better, and he granted us an interview:...

Hey, SFist Krissy already told you about this, but we're going to remind! Go to the Benefit to Save Internet Radio at the Bottom of the Hill tonight. Bagel Radio Ted and SoMa FM Elise from SoMa FM are picking the tunes, and a bunch of favorite local bands will play too. 1233 17th St (x Connecticut), 6 p.m., and $3 (but give more). Other events: --The Fillmore Jazz Festival continues all day today (10-6)......

It's the Gay Pride Parade! Since you can't watch it on TV anymore anyways, just drag your sorry self out of bed and head anywhere on Market Street between the Embarcadero and Civic Center. Watching it on a webcast just won't be the same! The party goes on at Civic Center from noon to 6. $5 donation to get in. Other events (are there really any other events besides Pride today?): --Frameline's finishing up!......

--The heart of rock and roll is still beatin' -- at Stern Grove this afternoon. It's HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS!!!! The free show starts at 2, but we assume folks'll be lining up pretty early, beach towels and folding chairs at the ready. Stern Grove's at Sloat and 19th. --The Chinese Cultural Center screens White Tower, a documentary about deaf culture in China's Henan Province. 1 p.m., $6, 750 Kearny 3rd Floor (x......

The second show of the Merola program, Il Matrimonio Segreto, opened last night at the Cowell Theater in Fort Mason. Just to recap: the Merola program was funded in 1957 by Kurt Adler and James Schwabacher to offer a training program to young singers, with real staged performances, and a Gala in the War Memorial Opera House as a conclusion. We actually were a bit surprised that Schwabacher was not eulogized at this first Merola......

Wednesday's not ready to make nice! Today: Do you wish you were in Hawaii instead of here? Well, bring your macadamia nuts and head out to Stern Grove by 2 p.m.and check out the SF Hawaiian dance troupe Halau'o Keikiali'i and the Hawaiian singing group Makaha Sons f/ Barry Kimokeo. Download clips if you can't make it, but want that Hawaiian sound in your office cubicle. (registration required). Thursday: The WestWind summer dance fest showcasing......

If you ever wished to stand up and stretch, or God forbid, leave, in the middle of attending an opera, the SF Opera is there for you. They don't provide you with concerts you want to run away from, but with a bunch of casual opportunities to appreciate the lyrical arts al fresco. They have a concert in Stern Grove (July 30th), they have the annual Opera in the Park in Sharon Meadows in......

Make it an evening of art. Drop by Ross Mirkarimi's office at five and check out art by Mohammed Hourian while drinking some wine on Ross's dime. Then check out the long anticipated (at least here at SFist) release of Pet Noir: An Anthology of Strange But True Pet Crimes at Adobe Books starting at 7. For the bozos who weren't invited to Tim O'Reilly's FooCamp in Sebastopol, you're more than welcome to drop......

First off, we just found out via Craiglist about a wharehouse party tonight featuring The Wildlife, barbarasteele, Joel Gion's The Dilettantes and Six Eye Columbia. They tell us to "Bring some champagne and come and dance." Sounds like a fine time! 9pm at 58 Natoma, $5 at the door. Tomorrow are two hip happenings -- first is the 10th annual Books By the Bay, an outdoor event at the Yerba Buena Center for the......

KRON 4's Brian Shields organized a huuuuuuge blogger meetup at their studios. They've decided to keep working on the rollout of their aggregator and commentary. SFist sells out and is co-opted by the drunk and beautiful crowd at the Black and White Ball. Oh, wait, we are that crowd. As our friend pointed out, it's 'Gay Season' in San Francisco. Which means that the city is full of drama -- by which, of course,......

If you aren't checking out Frameline, seeing some music (Stern Grove on Sunday!) or peeing your pants at the Purple Onion, how about... Tonight, SF Homegirl Margaret Cho (who our sources say has been using some of the same material since high school) performs two shows tonight at Davies Symphony Hall as part of her Assasin tour. Tickets start at a whopping $25. But hey, support a blogger, will ya? Tomorrow at 11:30, revellers......

We are getting very psyched up as the annual Stern Grove festival opens next Sunday. Every city in the world can offer free live entertainment, but only SF can do it with such spectacular backdrops. Fireworks, shmireworks, we say, unless we have the bay in the background. Bike races are boring, they run in circles, unless they follow the course of the Bullit car race. And summer concerts are just not the same when......