Hey, everybody, the New York Times has discovered San Francisco again! And this time it isn't about the Mission. Well, almost. The gray old lady sets its book-sniffing sights on NoPa — known to locals and decent human beings as "Divis," "the Panhandle," "Western Addition," or even "you know, near Alamo Square." But never, ever "NoPa." The travel piece even has the unmitigated gall to throw shade at Popeye's, claiming that it's out of place in the freshly invigorated neighborhood. Fighting words, folks. Check it: more ›

A young man was fatally shot on Western Addition streets late Monday night. SFPD officers responding to reports of gunshots a few blocks North of Alamo Square arrived to find 21-year-old victim Lawrence Richardson lying on the sidewalk suffering from a gunshot wound around 10:40 p.m. After being transported to a nearby hospital, Richardson was pronounced dead just before midnight. more ›

A little less than a month after a 5-alarm blaze broke out in the Western Addition, several community groups have banded together to lend a hand to those affected with a benefit event featuring booze, music and eats from range of neighborhood establishments. more ›

A major power outage hit San Francisco today affecting central San Francisco. An estimated 9,000 people are without juice. According to Andrew Dalton at SFist's western headquarters, "a couple of PG&E crews are at Hayes and Baker staring up at power lines and looking dumbfounded." The outage occurred at around 9:40 am. more ›

A whopping 7,000 PG&E customers are without power this morning after an outage hit the area. Intersections are affected and parking control officers are controlling intersections. Please be advised. Far worse a fate? SFist associate editor Andrew Dalton, who lives/works smack dab on Divisadero at SFist's western offfice, was unable to watch the fourth hour of the Today Show. Godspeed, Andrew and his fellow Western Additionites. more ›

An unidentified victim (we're not even clear if he/she was male or female) was shot last night around 8:40 p.m. near the intersection of Divisadero and Eddy Streets. more ›

According to SFFD officials today, yesterday's five-alarm fire in the Western Addition started in a trash chute in the alley between Golden Gate Ave and Pierce Street. The fire was called in around noon by construction workers who were nearby, but the fire was "already well established" by the time the first fire crews arrived two and a half minutes later. Although the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation, officials estimate it caused a total of $8 million in damages to three apartment buildings and the Creative Arts Charter School next door. more ›

Thursday's five-alarm inferno in the Western Addition torched two residential buildings and one structure, leaving scores of people temporarily homeless for the holidays. Smoke could be seen as far as Colma and Oakland. While the exact cause of the fire has yet to be determined (no, outer space wasn't to blame), only a handful of people were injured due to smoke inhalation. more ›

A man and a woman, both in their 30s, were shot while driving through Lower Pac Heights/Western Addition on Baker Street yesterday evening around 5:30 p.m. The pair were both taken to a nearby hospital after their blue Buick was shot, leaving the woman with life threatening injuries. more ›

In Pac Heights, the problem is too much empty retail and not enough restaurants, but down in the [ahem] Lower Fillmore area District 5 Supervisor and potential sheriff Ross Mirkarimi sees a different factor holding back revitalization of the district: Businesses using ground-floor storefronts as offices. Don't these businesses know that's where the boutiques are supposed to go? more ›

As most of you now by now, 21-year-old Nils Linke died while riding his bike southbound on Masonic Avenue near Turk Street on Friday night. He was hit by a car. His body smeared across Masonic, with pieces his bike "strewn about half a block with pieces of shattered wheel under the car," and his shredded bits of clothes found scattered down the street. The driver of the car, who fled the scene after colliding with Linke, was arrested and booked for vehicular manslaughter. It's a tragic and trying tale for all parties involved, but especially for Linkne and his family. What's more, as many of you also know, Masonic and Fell is one of San Francisco more troubled spots when it comes to the tissue-thin relationship between cyclists and drivers. more ›

Why aren't there more of these around SF? more ›

One of those (dangerous looking) Smart Cars parked perpendicularly, shot by Jim Herd of SFCitizen. Is it legal to park your fun-size car like that, Herd asks? Nope. more ›

A little after 11 p.m. last night, two men were shot in the McAllister and Webster area of Alamo Square / Western Addition. A teenage boy, 17-year-old Xavier Gillette, later died at a nearby hospital. The other victim, however, is expected to survive. No arrests have been made. We'll update with more details as we find them. more ›

Myron Edward was shot and killed at 3pm yesterday at the intersection of Eddy and Laguna in the Western Addition. Edward was transferred to a local hospital where he later died. As of Sunday morning, no protests against crime in the neighborhood have been scheduled, and no arrests have been made. Update I: As mentioned in the comments, "San Francisco police witnessed Edward getting shot." And yet? No suspects were arrested. Update II: Er, scratch that. Police heard the shots, they did not witness said shooting. Or so says Sergeant Lyn Tomioka. more ›

After their American Idol hour was unforgivably interrupted by the San Francisco Police Department making an announcement last night, a reader writes to SFist asking: more ›

Matier & Ross were all over this nugget of news today: bronze plaques will be placed in locations where the city's homeless have died. The "memorials" will be placed in Chris Daly and Ross Mirkarimi's districts, which include the Tenderloin, Civic Center, Haight-Ashbury and Western Addition. Each will be 2 feet by 2 feet "human-shaped plaques" and "[inscribed] with details of the deceased's lives and the circumstances of their deaths," according to the Chron. Let's just hope they don't look like the mockup the Gate created above. more ›

We thought that this issue was neatly swept under the rug. What gives? Is the neighborhood patrol still kicking it in the Western Addition? Well, time to come home, fuzz. It looks like someone in the Marina/Cow Hollow vicinity was recently attacked, and SFist won't rest until San Francisco is a solid police state. more ›

BeyondChron has a civil point/counter-point debate going on about Yoshi's SF, which opens its doors today. But let's go back a bit, shall we? If you didn't know, San Francisco has the most cheery pockmark on its record: the "Negro removal" period. During this time historic buildings were torn down and black Western Addition residents were shooed out of the city. A movement that "never succeeded in driving all blacks from the Fillmore," but... more ›

Noe Valley kids who were promised horses by Supervisor McGoldrick.) If only the proposition focused on something a little more practical for our urban youth. more ›

Free bike light giveaway today only. more ›

101, the highway of doom! There was a drunk driving death near Willow Road Wednesday morning, along with all those random shootings the day before. The cops, for what it's worth, say none of those random shootings are connected -- but still: we'll take 280 this week, thanks. more ›

-- Bridge? Closed. (They're gone! Quick, put away the bongs, and bust out the vodka, straws, and mirrors!) [Examiner] more ›

WE LOVE IT WHEN ROSS MIRKARIMI SAVES THE DAY!!!!!! Remember when he stopped a robbery? And then when he saved the life of a guy in Buena Vista Park? And today, he caught two people involved in a drive-by shooting!!! (Thanks to commenter Rah for calling our attention to the story!) more ›

Some very sad news. more ›

Happening "primarily on Chestnut Street [with a some attacks happening] near Fillmore and Greenwich, two to three [persons] dressed in all black wearing Halloween skeleton masks" and brandishing guns, it seems, committed at least 11 attacks on men and women over the past three weeks. Grabbed while walking on the sidewalk -- including one woman who was reportedly forced into her apartment -- the victims were all robbed of their personal belongings (i.e., backpacks, purses, phones, sunglasses, sense of security, etc.) during the violent encounters. more ›

(7pm-ish, 7/10, McAllister and Divisadero) An anonymous tipster sent in the above image, which is curious since the entirety of the SFPD was required to stake out a three block radius from last night’s All-Star Game, searching for elusive Alyssa Milano boob. No, not really, but we’re dying to know more. (Excuse the pun.) This shot shows at least five people in the process of being arrested, and was reportedly captured one hour after... more ›

Photo of Jesse Jackson's address in the Western Addition. more ›