SF News Sunday Links: Missing Utah Woman Who Disappeared Near Santa Cruz Beach Found Safe Another person has gone missing at the same spot in Big Sur as the father and daughter killed last week; Antioch is using a special desalination process to treat brackish water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta; and Danielle Staley has been found safe after disappearing on November 6.
SF News Saturday Links: Stabbing Near SF Homeless Shelter Puts Victim in Hospital, Suspect Arrested A Milpitas restaurant was temporarily shut down after an employee was filmed throwing meat on the ground; Amazon is issuing refunds to qualified Prime customers from a recent settlement with the FTC; and a suspect was arrested in connection to a stabbing near 700 Hyde Street in SF.
SF News Castro Dispensary Owner and Legendary SF Cannabis Activist Terrance Alan Has Died Former Cafe Flore owner Terrance Alan started as a member of the “gay weed mafia” that won medical marijuana legalization in 1996, and co-founded the SF Entertainment Commission, but the Flore Dispensary owner has just passed away at age 73.
SF News Saturday Links: Yosemite Overrun With Hikers Cutting in Line, Squatting Amid Shutdown San Francisco DA Brooke Jenkins tells Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, “We don't need your help here;” the SF Arts Commission was not consulted on Mayor Lurie’s “Big Art Loop” project; and nefarious characters are flocking to Yosemite, which currently only has one volunteer park ranger.
SF News Day Around the Bay: Lawmakers OK Bill to Rollback Cannabis Tax to 15%, Awaiting Newsom’s Approval Valkyries Coach Natalie Nakase was awarded ‘Coach of the Year’ and Vs guard Veronica Burton received ‘Most Improved Player;’ nasal sprays containing azelastine may help prevent contracting COVID-19; and the state excise tax on cannabis could go back down to 15% from the current 19% soon.
SF News Oaksterdam Founder Richard Lee, Known as ‘the Johnny Appleseed of Pot,' Has Died Cannabis activist Richard Lee opened two highly successful (and highly illegal) medical marijuana dispensaries in Oakland, founded Oaksterdam University, and bankrolled the recreational cannabis measure, but just died at 62.
SF News Former North Bay Cop Found Guilty of Posing as Federal Agent to Rob Drivers of Weed, Cash A federal jury on Friday convicted former Rohnert Park police officer Joseph Huffaker on all six counts tied to a yearslong scheme in which he and other officers illegally stopped drivers on Highway 101 and stole their cannabis and cash — prior to the legalization of recreational cannabis.
SF News Cannabis Farm In SoCal Sees Chaotic ICE Raid; Subsequent Protest Met With Tear Gas A chaotic scene on California's Central Coast is making the national news Thursday evening as an ICE raid at a cannabis farm was met with a protest, and federal agents and National Guard troops then began deploying tear gas and rubber bullets.
SF News 75 Firefighters Respond to East Oakland Warehouse Fire, Suspected Grow Operation A four-alarm fire broke out Friday evening in a commercial building near the Oakland Coliseum, which housed a suspected cannabis grow operation. About 75 firefighters were called to the scene, and the fire was brought under control after a few hours.
SF News Day Around the Bay: SF Venture Capital Firm Fined $215M Over Russian Oligarch Funds A Flywheel taxi flipped over in Civic Center on Friday morning; four detainees escaped from a New Jersey ICE facility during a riot that broke out over hunger and poor conditions; and a local firm was fined for managing a sanctioned Russian oligarch’s investments.
SF News Drug Smugglers Sneaking Synthetic Marijuana Into Jails By Soaking It Into Fake Legal Papers Santa Rita Jail and other prisons across the state are on high alert that a potent synthetic cannabis substitute is being smuggled into their jails, soaked into completely fake legal documents that the prisoners can just shred up and smoke.
SF News Woman Arrested at SFO For Allegedly Trying to Board Flight With 151 Pounds of Marijuana A Glendale woman will not be flying high after an arrest at SF International Airport, as she allegedly attempted to board an international flight with 151 pounds of cannabis crammed into her luggage.
SF News Man Gets Five-Year Prison Sentence for Huge Marijuana Grow In Los Padres National Forest Found After Dolan Fire A 56-year-old man will be doing five years in prison for running a giant illegal cannabis grow that was discovered in a Monterey-area national forest after the Dolan Fire, which itself was started by another rogue marijuana grower.
Arts & Entertainment Hippie Hill 4/20 Party Canceled Again This Year, SF Rec and Parks Claims The official 4/20 party on Hippie Hill is up in smoke for a second year in a row, though nearly 5,000 stoners still attended last year’s supposedly “canceled” party, and also this year’s 4/20 coincides with the Hunky Jesus Contest in Dolores Park.
SF News Saturday Links: Costco Stands Up for DEI Costco defends DEI against conservative think tank; the next public meeting to address SFMTA's budget gap will take place next Friday; and vigil held in Half Moon Bay for seven farmworkers killed in mass shooting two years ago.
SF News Inner Richmond Dispensary Robbed by Thieves Who Sledgehammered Their Way Through the Windows The Inner Richmond location of the California Street Cannabis Company was hit by burglars in the wee hours Thursday morning, who smashed through the front window with sledgehammers, and got away just as police were arriving.
SF News SF City Attorney Sues Bayview Warehouse Owner for Allegedly Running Two Huge Illegal Marijuana Grows Two Bayview warehouses have been acting as illegal indoor cannabis grows for over a year, according to a new lawsuit from City Attorney David Chiu, after state agents raided and found nearly 6,000 plants at the two facilities.
Business & Tech SF-Based Weed Delivery Service Eaze, Once Valued at $700 Million, Shutting Down By Year’s End The company that called themselves “the Uber of Weed” is going up in smoke, having blown through $250 million in venture capital but now announcing they’ll likely cease operations on December 31.
SF News Governor Newsom Has Signed the Bill to Legalize Cannabis Cafes Across California Assemblymember Matt Haney’s bill to legalize food and beverage sales inside dispensary lounges has gotten by on the second try, and Amsterdam-style cafes and performance venues could be popping up in your local pot shops next year.
SF News Oakland PD Officer Placed On Leave After Giant Illegal Marijuana Grow Found in His Antioch Home Last week CNN ran a report detailing that more than 50 very nice houses in Antioch were just giant hidden illegal pot grow operations, with no one living in the houses. Now it turns out one of those homes is owned by an Oakland police officer.
SF News CNN Report Finds Giant, Illegal Marijuana Grows Operating Out of Luxury Homes in Antioch Not even the ritziest enclaves of Contra Costa County are immune to having large-scale illicit marijuana grow operations, as a CNN report found three homes on the same street in Antioch were busted for not being homes, but instead enormous indoor pot grows.
SF News Bill Allowing Marijuana Sales at Farmers' Markets Clears State Legislature, Heads to Newsom’s Desk You may soon be able to stock up on cannabis at a discount price at your local farmers’ market, as the state legislature has approved a proposal to let growers sell there directly. Oh, and Matt Haney’s “cannabis cafe” bill has passed too.
SF News Day Around the Bay: Bay Area Company Takes Gold Medal at California State Fair Cannabis Awards Elton John was announced as the headliner for the big Dreamforce 2024 concert; Waymo and the rideshare companies might be taxed to save Muni; and a Bay Area cannabis company just won the gold medal at the California State Fair Cannabis Awards.
Arts & Entertainment SF Pride Hopes to Have Legal Cannabis Sales and Smoking at Civic Center Plaza Party A highly historic feature could be puffing up at this year’s SF Pride celebration, with Civic Center Plaza planning to host SF Pride’s first-ever legal marijuana sales and consumption area — though the permit has technically not been approved yet.
Arts & Entertainment There Will Be Legal Marijuana Sales and Smoking at the California State Fair This Year Another trailblazing moment first for those who blaze up: Next month’s California State Fair will have legal cannabis sales and consumption, the first-ever state fair with pot being smoked legally on-site.
