Two civil lawsuits were filed today on behalf of the City of San Francisco against two Tenderloin businesses that are considered "host businesses" for drug sales and the fencing of stolen property. The businesses are Barah's Market at the corner of Leavenworth and Turk, and Razan Deli & Grocery nearby at 391 Ellis Street. City Attorney Dennis Herrera says these lawsuits were needed to help kids and seniors and to "create an environment where people can thrive and be the best we can be." more ›

Here's a slightly odd item for the blotter: A man in his 30s ran into a building Saturday night around 7:20 p.m. on the 100 block of Hyde Street claiming he had been shot. Police who responded to the scene found that the man had actually been stabbed. Was he drunk? more ›

If these two recent crime reports are any indication, the transition to 2012 was a stabby one for San Francisco. In less than a week, arguments over the price of crack cocaine and the outcome of a Mission District soccer match ended in unfortunate stabbings. more ›

Dozens of people are out of a home tonight after a fire on shady Eddy Street consumed an apartment building. "The fire at a six-story, 40-unit apartment building at 347 Eddy St. was reported just after 8 a.m.," reports SF Examiner. more ›

Neighborhood-specific Occupy protests are happening simultaneously today in four 'hoods around the city which organizers say have experienced the highest rates of "eviction for profit." 99-percenters are being called to gather in the following locations, starting at 11 a.m. in the Bayview, noon in the Castro, 1 p.m. in the Mission, and 2 p.m. in the 'Loin, followed by a "mass march" at 3 p.m. from Justin Herman Plaza. more ›

Not that we have any right to complain (it's been over five years since we last blacked out at this fine music venue), but Polk Street rock 'n' roll/hustler staple Kimo's (1351 Polk) is on the market, and its future doesn't look good. more ›

Recall back in September when we stepped in a proposed plan to install streetside public toilets in the Tenderloin. At the time the plan promised to bring eco-friendly, drug use-free johns to some of the nastiest corners of the neighborhood, but wasn't quite ready for public input. Fast forward two months and the pooplet plan has apparently acquired enough fiber to take suggestions from the community at large. more ›

A tenderloin mugging victim, left beaten and bloodied after her attacker realized she had no money, decided to seek out medical attention from some other downtrodden and financially strapped San Franciscans early this morning, Bay City News reports. According to an SFPD spokesman, after the woman realized she had been stabbed at around 3:45 a.m, her "husband came to the scene and they decided to ... take a cab down to the Occupy SF event because there's a medical tent there." more ›

City Attorney and mayoral candidate Dennis Herrera filed suit last week in Superior Court against landlord John Wai, owner of a 48-unit apartment complex at 245 Leavenworth. According to the public nuisance suit, Wai has allowed the place to become not only a festering cesspool of vermin and bedbugs, but it's also essentially being overrun by members of the Cambodian Crips, who also go by the local names Thug Lords, "TL," and, tellingly, "245." more ›

What Twitter employees will lack in $5 foot-longs, they'll more tham make up for in $48 roasted chicken with bread salad. Which is to say, Twitter ilk will hurl chunks of their earnings at Zuni Cafe, located at Market and 10th, once they relocate to the Tenderloin. And for whatever reason this is subscription-required news. Wall Street Journal reports the obvious: "Twitter Inc. is expected to relocate its headquarters in the middle of next year to a few blocks away from Zuni's sun-washed space, bringing well over 1,000 employees to the area. '"It will be great,' said Zuni chef and co-owner Judy Rodgers. 'For so long this was such a shaky, edgy part of town.'" more ›

The annual Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation’s (TNDC) charity pool toss happens tonight. What does that mean, exactly? It means local notables get pushed into a pool for money. Weren't you paying attention? A few confirmed tosees include D6 Supervisor Jane Kim, SF Giants Mascot Lou Seal, people from Twitter (hey, they aren't celebrities!), SF society photographer Drew Altizer, and more. But that's not the exciting part. The awesome part is that MC Hammer will help host the near-drowning frivolity along with KGO-TV/ABC7's Cheryl Jennings, chiseled Top Chef: Just Desserts champion Yigit Pura, the divine Donna Sachet (host/performer/columnist/actual star), and none other than Jan Wahl. That's right, JAN WAHL, Quentin Tarantino's favorite movie critic. more ›

Chambers Eat + Drink and the adjacent Phoenix Hotel, owners of one swanky pool lounge that we never have a good opportunity to take advantage of, are seizing this little snap of Indian Summer we're having right now and throwing a swanky, LA-style pool party and all-day "Hookie Happy Hour" tomorrow afternoon. (It's LA-style because of how no one in LA works during the day, get it?) The weather tomorrow is expected to crack 80 degrees, even with the usual microclimate caveats, so it looks to be as good a day as any to ditch work and go lounge around in the Tenderloin in your finest swimwear. more ›

A 22-year-old Tenderloin resident returned home to her place on the 100 block of McAllister Street last night to find a burglar hiding inside her closet. When the poor girl ran outside to call the cops, the burglar took off, taking some of her lingerie with him. more ›

All-City photographers Travis Jensen and Brad Evans photo doc book about San Francisco's Tenderloin, aptly christened Tenderloin USA, will have its official launch party on Wednesday night in the 'loin. The bash, featuring good tunes and potent booze, goes down at Ever Gold Gallery (441 O'Farrell). more ›

The most exciting event to ever happen in San Francisco will go down on September 16 at the Golden Gate Theater. You might want to sit down for this one. You seated? Good. Diana Ross -- that's Miss Ross to you, plebeian -- will grace us with her harrowing yet charming presence later this year, smack-dab in the heart of the Tenderloin. more ›

Over the last year, photographer Travis Jensen and fellow All-City photographer Brad Evans worked on a remarkable photo documentary book about San Francisco's Tenderloin called Tenderloin USA. Their work takes a black-and-white look into the heart of the Tenderloin, with a sharp focus being on the characters who live, work, own businesses, hang out, and raise families in the 'loin. more ›

Remember how the NYT told us the Tenderloin was becoming a tourist attraction? New online activity and tour purveyors Vayable.com has a terrific idea! They want to give tourists to San Francisco (and those adventuresome locals who want to take a gritty, one-day staycation) a first-hand experience of what it's like to homeless for a day! Yes, for the bargain price of $100, you can eat in a shelter, hang out with a real-life homeless dude, and "live on the street" like an honest-to-god hobo! And no, we're 95% sure this is not a hoax. more ›

According to the Tenderloin Housing Clinic's "Taking Back Turk" study the first block of Turk Street has 35 times as much crime per capita than the rest of San Francisco. Some may better know the block as the home of Farmer Brown's award winning fried chicken or the corner where the guy dressed as a giant cellphone advertises MetroPCS, but to the Tenderloin Housing Clinic folks (and their BeyondChron mouthpiece) it's the land of too-few cops and an allegedly problematic liquor store. more ›

Two robberies were reported near each other and within five minutes of each other Tuesday morning in the Tenderloin. First, at about 4:25 a.m. at Golden Gate Avenue and Polk Street, A 70-year-old man was approached from behind by a guy who demanded his belongings. "The victim refused, and a second suspect pointed a gun at him and he eventually gave up the bag, along with his cellphone and wallet." Described as "black men in their 20s," the two men, along with a third, fled on foot. more ›

Michael Petrelis brings word of a Tenderloin tearoom we never knew existed. (A tearoom, for those not in the know, is a bastion of public gay male sex. Hubba hubba.) Petrelis writes: "The all-male Tearoom Theater on [145] Eddy Street in the Tenderloin, which provides an array of fine adult erotic flicks, go-go boys at certain times and safe sexual releases for consenting men of all races, shapes and economic status, is conducting what I believe is their first-ever customer satisfaction survey." A novel idea to a dwindling industry, yes? What does said survey look like? Behold: more ›

Just when you thought the Tenderloin was a drug free-for-all that law enforcement had given up on... Nine defendants ranging in age from 25 to 63 have been brought up on federal charges for selling crack, coke, and methamphetamine based on purchases made by undercover federal agents between December 2009 and August 2010. The indictments were issued over the last few months, and represent a collaborative undercover operation by the San Francisco Police Department, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Special Service Unit. The charges carry possible sentences of five to forty years. more ›

Update: The Examiner is reporting that the fire has been deemed suspicious. Authorities are saying that a trash compacter on the first floor of the building had exploded, enabling fire and smoke to spread up the garbage chute and travel throughout the hotel. more ›