Since last week's downpour staved off the opening, today's sunny skies mark the official opening of the Stow Lake Boathouse. While the kitchen redo nears completion, food off-site will be served from "La Cocina vendors (think empanadas and piroshkis), Let’s Be Frank, and of course, American Box (salads, sandwiches)," reports Inside Scoop. more ›

The Examiner reports that Alex Tourk, campaign consultant and lobbyist-about-town, resigned from Dennis Herrera's campaign for mayor today. In a statement, Tourk said Herrera should be spending more time focusing on his campaign and less time being distracted by questions about Tourk and his firm Ground Floor Public Affairs. The announcement comes after Tourk found himself scrutinized for his work in winning the lease to the Stow Lake boat house for his client Ortega Family Enterprises. more ›

Back in February, the Board of Supervisors finally approved a bid from New Mexico-based Ortega Family Enterprises to take over the vending duties at the Stow Lake boat house. As San Franciscans tend to do, some people got excited about the prospect of a modernized lakeside eatery with free WiFi. Others decried the displacement of the McClellan family operation that had been running things since the 1940s. Two months later, the Chronicle has decided the whole thing was an inside job perpetrated by connected San Francisco lobbyists. Or maybe that's just how business is done in San Francisco now. more ›

San Francisco Bay to Breakers results more ›

The calendar of a non-profit nature organization in Golden Gate Park more ›

A Great Blue Heron presents a very small bit of nesting material to his mate above Stow Lake today. more ›

Goodness, we go away for three days and look how much stuff happens. They found the body of a missing woman in Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park; there were seven shootings in SF over the weekend (22nd and Folsom; Glen Park; and China Basin), a member of the Raiders Black Hole got caught and killed in gang crossfire, and there was an armed carjacking at Geary and 27th Ave. Not to mention all the Halloween-related crime: three shootings in the Western Addition and a stabbing at Castro and 18th, someone firing a BB gun at 18th and Guerrero, a shooting at Albion and 17th (yo, that's right by the police station!). Someone lit a homeless man on fire downtown this morning. And in Oakland, someone may have kidnapped a young boy wearing a Scream mask too. What is with people these days?? Sigh. Well, we do try to keep it cheerful around here -- so here's the one piece of upbeat news we could find: a man who drove his SUV off the road near his house in a remote section of Marin was finally rescued, after his dog found him and barked for help until someone called 911. Good girl, Lassie! more ›