Photo of the newly topped out hotel highrise at 888 Howard...

Photo of the long long line of people standing around waiting to get their passports. Still...

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar. Standouts: 1. Eskimo Joe - Black Fingernails Red Wine (w/ Bonus DVD): Hands down, one of the best CD's of 2007. Eskimo Joe released "Black Fingernails, Red Wine" as their debut single in the US in August. Their CD already went quadruple platinum in Australia (it was released in 2006). The quiet application of the piano combined with the melodramatic......

Here's todays sports news...

Yum! Did you smell something nasty in downtown SF yesterday? Some people described it like raw sewage, and others like rotting meat. Turns out it was from the sewage holding system, which was ripening in the sun faster than it was getting flushed into the system. Apparently we have a system where waste gets shunted into holding boxes located throughout the city, which periodically get flushed out with water -- but not periodically enough......

It's a day of relatively-unusual natural phenomena -- first the earthquake this morning and then, less than 24 hours later, there's going to be a total eclipse of the moon. The lunar eclipse will be visible throughout California, but only for those of you who are up from the hours of 1:51 a.m., when the partial eclipse will start, through 5:24 a.m., when dawn starts up. If you are up that late, the total......

Awesome last name recipient and New York Times contributor Nicole Spiridakis covered NOPA (AKA, "North of the Panhandle" -- of course) in this past weekend's travel section of the NYT, "Colonizing an Urban Frontier". Spiridakis tells us that "an influx of attention-getting restaurants and boutiques in the last decade has made it one of the city's cooler destinations, even as it struggles to maintain its gritty individuality." Though we must disagree with the claim......

Well, first and most importantly! -- SFist MattyMatt's started a new job so he's been pretty busy at work and hasn't had time to post lately, for all folks asking about him in the SFist Tips column!. But he's still here, we promise! We miss him too! (Meanwhile, you guys can always check out his personal blog.) And second of all -- goodness, what a terrible day on the commutes. It's like when the sun,......

Speedy trial? Say it fast: OhNoEdJew! At yesterday's hearing, residentially-challenged Supervisor Ed Jew's legal team went against conventional criminal defendant wisdom, and requested an early trial. The trial could go as early as October of this year. Ed Jew's state criminal attorney (as opposed to his federal criminal attorney and his state civil attorney) Bill Fazio, who ran for DA and lost to Kamala Harris, says he wants a trial to exonerate Ed as soon......

How can it be true that San Francisco is less green than Pelzer, South Carolina, or Hastings, Nebraska, or Fairfax, Virginia? Those are some of the cities beating out SF in Yahoo's greenest-cities contest. But you can make a difference! We've already jumped from 168th place to 16th, and your signups can push us up even higher. Plus, you get a free light bulb out of the deal. No more stumbling around when the......

Week Around The -Ists...

Here's todays sports news...

Some kind of storm's a-brewin' over at JPG Magazine. The friendly photo mag, a sort of side-sibling of Flickr, will be under new management as of its next issue. The founders, Derek and Heather, offer polite but wistful explanation -- for them, it's time to say good-bye to what was a beautiful thing, and to remember it when it was good, instead of when the CEO started deleting records of their ever having existed.......

Last week's winner: the SF Bay Guardian . Cover article: Summer Guide - lots of world music and food festivals in places named "something"-ville. Remembering Jello Biafra and The Clash. Gavin's skimping on the details of his mayoralty to the public - it's the 40th Anniversary of the Summer of Love, Gavin, let the sun shine in on your calendar. Do it for Beth Spotswood. Kimberly Chun wasn't a happy camper at Coachella. Daughters of......

With the sun out, the temperatures high, one can only think of one thing-- what's going on in the World of the -ist's? Bostonist dug deep to uncover Barack Obama's unpaid parking tickets, their Governor's latest ethical lapse, and a plagarizing sports writer. Chicagoist had everything in twos: two views on having the Olympics, losing two members of their Super Bowl team, and two music festivals. DCist put their noses in legal books as......

* Bay Area Wanderer: Near Martin Luther King Drive and Lincoln, San FranciscoAhh, it is nice to have the sun back with us.Couples holding hands. Kids frolicking underneath eucalyptus trees. Picnics.Springtime... is that you?......

Saturday--the sun was shining, Dolores Park was full to the brim, and evidently everyone else had the same idea we did: "let's get some ice cream." Bi-Rite Creamery, which opened only a few months ago, is not quite half a block from the park (3692 18th St.). The line was out the door. We'd tried coming here a few weeks back, the last time San Franciscans were blessed with such nice weekend weather, but the line had been even longer then. Surely we're not unique in this regard, but we hate hate hate standing in lines. We won't for movies, we won't for restaurants, we'll only rarely, and reluctantly do it for coffee....

Despite a few anxious laps during the climactic Stage 7, wire-to-wire overall race leader Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel) found just enough energy to fend off a cheeky breakaway from Danny Pate (Slipstream) and win the 2007 Amgen Tour of California (TOC) . A seven-man group including Pate broke out from the main peloton very early in the race and worked a beautiful pace line to stretch the lead out to 2'50". Pate came into......

Want to know how we spent our sunny Saturday afternoon? It involved some good friends, white wine, and lots of beads. We wanted to craft and enjoy the summer weather we were having, so we dragged our city feet over to the East Bay for a beading party. Not only was it warmer on the other side of the bay, but our friends over there have a nice big yard perfect for crafting in the sun. We brought our bins of beads, stopped off for some supplies on the way, and had a lovely afternoon. When you bead with friends not only can you swap beads and supplies, it's also the perfect time to share skills and teach each other different techniques. Start with an easy project like a necklace or drop earrings. We know that lots of people don't have time to make their own jewelry, but after you learn how to make a pair of earrings you'll never look at store bought ones the same way again. Once you get some basics down, you can make those $50 earrings for about $5, and feel proud showing off your handy work to everyone. We've been buying beads in the city for a while now, so we thought we should share some of our favorite places to get supplies. We'd love to hear about your favorite spots to buy beads, so feel free to leave comments with any places we didn't list and may not know about....

A woman biking to work (with a helmet) suffered life-threatening injuries after being struck by a cement truck making an illegal right turn onto the 101 onramp at Market and Octavia Monday morning. The truck didn't stop, but a motorcycle cop subsequently caught up with the driver on 101 by the Cesar Chavez exit (and determined that the driver didn't realize he'd hit the woman). There have been a number of accidents at that intersection,......

Ahh clouds. Who likes clouds? Don't we all appreciate those clear days and clear nights? When the sky is all cloudy and grey, don't we complain? Well those clouds aren't just for looking at Ice Cream castles in the air and feather canyons everywhere but to trap in the heat and make things warm again. Which is why it doesn't seem so bitterly cold out there. In fact, it almost feels normal again....

If the sun is shining a bit brighter and the birds are chirping a bit chirpier it could only be because today is a big day-- as of this posting, our little Nancy is officially now the Queen. In fact, her little "First 100 Hours" plan is now on the clock. How excited is she? She's been throwing herself four days of parties in celebration of it, all to be later shown in an episode of C-Span's "My Sweet Inauguration Party." In a stab at snarkiness, the NY Times even refered to it all as a "Pelosi-Palooza." And the fact some of those parties could raise a little money for her and her party, well, that's just a happy little coincidence. ...

Welcome to a new SFist feature, Treasure Hunt, as new contributor Natacha scours the city for all those cool, somewhat out-of-the-way, stores featuring items you definitely cannot find at your average Walgreens. Asia Galleries 1534 Grant Ave., San Francisco CA. The store opens at 11AM Wednesday through Sunday and after that who knows... ...

We like to think of Liz Ross' music as sounding like an electric pillow. Her voice lulls you into sweet, poppy melancholy while her guitar sends a current through your spine, but we like how one of her other fans described her voice better: "as the feeling one gets when the sun finally rises after being up all night with horrible insomnia." Liz is a former member of Hannah, Lessick, Lines In Analog Sound, and......

The San Francisco Film Critics Circle announced their season ending yesterday, something of which we are constantly told could mean something when it comes to the Oscars. The idea, we guess, being that these awards are like the NCAA brackets: Movie A wins the SF Flim Critics and movie B wins the LA Film Critics award, then they go off to meet the winner of the New York Critics Awards with the winner being the front-runner for Oscar gold. Or something like that. ...

-The Warriors111 Spurs 102: This is the second big-name team the Warriors have beaten up at home in a week (they beat the Jazz earlier) and they got some R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Take Care TCB, from Spurs coach Greg Popovich. Bruce Jenkins says it's all about Nellie....

We already liked Toad’s Food & Drink for its good food, friendly service, $2 draft beer happy hour (5:30 PM - 7:00 PM), and mellow vibe. There’s something about Toad’s fresh tasting buttered bun that makes us smile–when we’re not wiping the Angus burger juices off our lips, that is. We also appreciate having the burger set up (lettuce, pickle, onion, tomato) on the side, for those "no onions tonight, self" times. Toad’s is......

Is Chronicle editor Phil Bronstein the new Jerry Seinfeld? Every year, he steps on the stage of the SF Opera in the Park, which the Chron generously helps produce. And people are semi-drunk on chardonnay, satiated on taboule and tomato-and-mozarella salads, they are baking in the sun: they are warmed up already. Yet every year, Phil's attempts to warm up the crowd even more end up in a train wreck. Here are this year's jokes......

Today's the opening day of the new SF Symphony season, with a Gala at Davies Symphony Hall and a performance of Stravinsky's violin concerto with Christian Tetzlaff soloing, and Dvorak's Symphony No. 8, with of course MTT at the helm. Then, the orchestra abandons us to woo the European crowds in the neutral countries of Luxembourg and Switzerland. They come back in time for a free noon-time concert in the Yerba Buena Gardens on Sept.......

Look, we love the 90s as much as anyone. We loved the Smashing Pumpkins and the whole grunge thing and we loved Pubic Enemy and watching "BH 9'er" and "Melrose Place" back-to-back and we loved being in our twenties and partying all night in our tiny apartment in North Beach and actually being able to dream of a Democratic President. But as much as we love the idea of those days, we also realize we can't go back to them. Among other things, it's pretty much near impossible as we don't have a space ship we can slingshot around the sun with. And second of all, we're old enough to realize that, as a wise man once said, you can't go home again. Which brings us back to the Warriors who this morning fired Mike Montgomery and re-hired Don Nelson. That Don Nelson. You know, crazy, eccentric, mad-genius basketball coach known for employing smallish lineups with an emphasis on scoring and well-known inability to go anywhere in the playoffs. That Don Nelson. The Don Nelson who helmed the last hey-day of the Warriors, the RUN-TMC Warriors. The one who accidentally started the whole free-fall downfall of the franchise when he got into it with Chris Webber. And yes, the one who coached the Mavs and couldn't take them to the Finals until he retired and handed the team over to Avery Johnson. ...