• Firefighters in Newark struggled to rescue a person who’d fallen into a four-story commercial hopper filled with gypsum powder. To explain: a commercial hopper is a form of very large industrial bin, and gypsum powder is a mineral often used in fertilizer, plaster, and chalk, but it is highly irritating to the skin and mucous membranes. The man was pulled out in about an hour, but had lost consciousness and was pronounced dead at the scene. [KRON4 / East Bay Times]  

• The team behind longtime Michael Bauer favorite Bistro Don Giovanni (Posh Spice and David Beckham love it too!) is opening a second restaurant in Napa, this one downtown and focused on Southern Italian food. The new place will be called Scala Osteria, and its seafood-focused menu will also carry a few Bistro Don Giovanni favorites like meatballs and Margherita pizza. [Chronicle]  
• The Castro location of fast-casual Thai chain Rooster & Rice apparently closed last week, but a new Thai spot Mr. Hen Chicken Rice & Noodle is slated to open at that location next week. Longtime San Franciscans will remember the 4039 18th Street spot as the old burger place Hot 'N' Hunky, but since that shop’s 2005 closure, we’ve seen a rotating cast of restaurants there like Malacca, Zadin, Urban Picnic, Mekong Kitchen, and Indo Restaurant. [Hoodline]
• Concord police arrested 27-year-old Michael Anton for sexual assault and kidnapping charges over a Christmas Day incident, and police are asking for information from anyone else who may have had contact with Anton. [KTVU]
• Trailblazing Brazilian soccer sensation and three-time World Cup champion Pelé died Thursday from a respiratory infection and complications from colon cancer. He was 82. [NY Times]
• And more sad news, as fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, who famously outfitted the Sex Pistols, also died Thursday according to a statement from her family. She was 81. [CNN]

Image: Joe Kukura, SFist