BeyondChron's Paul Hogarth dares to go where many fear to tread: all up in Elisa Stephens' grill. Again. Hogarth writes about the Academy of Art College's plan to swallow up even more of San Francisco's prime real estate. TenderNob/downtown buildings such as the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, the St. Brigid Church, and perhaps the building you're in this very second, have been gobbled up by l'Academy of Art College. Preferring the taste of rent-controlled apartments......

Todd David Burpee, the man who kidnapped and raped a Palo Alto teen last week, just busted out a heavy confession detailing the hour-plus moments he spent with his victim. It seems that this was all because he was upset and "just [wanted] someone to take out his frustration on after a fight with his girlfriend," reports the San Jose Mercury News. They go on to say that "angry after a fight with his......

What would Batman and Robin think? With its chic industrial/gothic design, the new “market hall” style Whole Foods that opened recently near Lake Merritt in Oakland certainly could be used for a set on the next Batman flick. (Note: we won’t be defending or condemning the corporation itself here. We instead refer you to Mark Morford’s sharp analysis of the friendly giant.) We wish we’d known about the opening day festivities, what with an......

As was pointed out by a reader last week, we do have a local geek representing the Bay Area on "Beauty and the Geek" this season. His name is Josh Bishop-Moser and he's a Mechanical Engineering major at U. C. Berkeley and president of the Rubberband Club. (We can't find a MySpace page for him; could he possibly not have one??) Unfortunately, we had to sit through 45 minutes of the two-hour premiere before......

We're baaaack from a brief food blog round up break. Cookie Crumb and Cranky at I'm Mad and I Eat are finally settling into their new abode. They smartly combined take out and home cooked food to make what looks like a tempting combo of pasilla peppers and cheese, guac, and jalapenos. Check out the spicy fun for yourself, in their pic at right.......

ith fare evasion and it's effect on MUNI's budget being one of last week's big stories, we thought we'd ask our MUNI driver what the what is about all things MUNI fares. And remember, if you have any questions you'd like answered, send them to editor@sfist.com ...

Looking for a one stop shop for everyone one on your list? From your Eccentric Aunt Marge to your teened out god-daughter? Darly Bird may be the ticket with everything from vintage earrings to family games, and a full line of kids products. ...

Our frequent fantasies and consumption of pumpkin bread (with or without cream cheese frosting; raisins are also optional) shows we like to explore the myriad ways of preparing and eating this vegetable. We know pumpkin eats are not necessarily for everyone, of course. Yet we are still thrilled when conversions occur. Gluten-Free By the Bay makes pumpkin muffins which edged GFBTB into this territory: "from an unbashed pumpkin hater to an ambivalent, tentative pumpkin eater." Baby steps can be the way to change, GFBTB, baby steps. ...

The old political shibboleth about releasing unpopular news on the afternoon of "take out the trash" Friday holds true again, as Gavin Newsom sneaks in a veto on Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi's well-received proposal requiring police foot patrols of San Francisco neighborhoods, after originally saying he would let it pass. Ross isn't too pleased about this (his commentary was described as "withering" in the paper). Read this with your own mellifluous basso imitation-Ross voice! The mayor......

It was a Wednesday morning and I was waiting for the bus. If you're a nine-to-fiver, you know the drill. Swelling crowds, contending with the inconsistent transit schedule, the oratorical dialogue with the cold foggy air. Will the bus come? Is there a chance in hell you'll actually make it to work on time? But this Wednesday morning was a different routine with a different set of rules. I should note from the onset that......

Six orphaned ducklings are in foster care at the Walnut Creek Lindsay Wildlife Museum, after an errant left-turner failed to make way for their mother as she was crossing North Main and Parkside. It's very sad, yes, but this article is also kind of hilarious (and it spells "quack" without the c, which we think is kind of controversial). Also, we learned that If you're trying to attract ducks to your backyard pool, you should take out those inflatable swans and motorized boats, which scare them away. From small water creatures to large -- remember our buddy the angry sea lion in Berkeley? He's back! ....and a man in Redwood City had an odd stoplight experience -- just as he pulled up to the intersection of Whipple and Elwood, a 40 foot tree fell on his convertible. "The car was so full of branches we couldn't see him," said the Redwood City battalion fire chief. Making matters weirder, when the fire department got there, they found a nest of baby raccoons at the bottom of the tree. They extracted convertible man, and had the Peninsula Humane Society deal with the babies. The man wasn't injured. Picture of ducklings from ABC 7...

So you're feeling macho, is that it? Well sir, you can either take out your aggressions with one of those squeezy stress balls, or you can immerse yourself in the snarling tough-guy posturing of this week's comics, all brought to our manly attention by the delightful chaps at Isotope Comics. First up: Adam Pollina's gritty and manic "Romp," a comic book series (and soon to be movie) about a titular armless up-and-coming thug just......

t's time for American Football Spectacular's bowl preview! Assisted by red wine, our American college football consultant Doug "MC Fried Chicken" Mungin, and the sheer will to succeed, we push ever forward to bring you these scintillating projections. ...

Calling all feminist hipsters (and those looking to pick up the same) � the second Ladyfest Bay Area will be hitting the Mission this weekend (July 29-August 1). Ladyfest is the feminist DIY post-riotgrrl community art, activism, and punk rock festival, which started in 2000 in (where else?) Olympia, WA, and has since spread throughout the land and throughout the world. So naturally, girl bands play, spoken word poets rant, knitting circles purl, self-defense classes take out the eyes and kneecaps of the oppressor, and positive female energy rules the day. It�s volunteer-organized, non-corporate sponsored, and appears mainly to have been advertised by spray-paint stencils on Valencia Street....