SFist - San Francisco News, Restaurants, Events, & Sports (Page 2)

Day Around the Bay: Jackson Street Starbucks to Close

A downtown Starbucks is facing a looming closure; CashApp has agreed to a $255 million settlement; and pop megastar Lady Gaga was spotted in a very unexpected place.

Bay Area Sports

Charles Barkley Claims He Will Refuse to Attend NBA All-Star Game Because It’s in SF, Though He Absolutely Will Be Here

The latest SF provocation from TNT jokester-analyst Charles Barkley was him claiming Thursday night that “I’m not going to that rat-infested place out in San Francisco” for the All-Star Game, though he has contractual obligations to attend and he surely will.

Undocumented Laborers Surprised By Immigration Raids In Bakersfield

And so it begins. A US Border Patrol unit out of El Centro, in Imperial County, conducted a surprise series of raids in and around Bakersfield last week, rounding up 78 undocumented workers, including farmworkers, in an operation that may be the first of many under the incoming Trump administration.

Nob Hill’s Posh Stanford Court Hotel Hit With Foreclosure Lawsuit Over Claims of Missed Mortgage Payments

In the latest debt trouble for a San Francisco hotel, lender Deutsche Bank AG just sued the owners of the Stanford Court Hotel for allegedly missing payments on their $105 million mortgage, and for supposedly allowing elevators to go unrepaired.

SF Restaurants, Food & Drink

This Week In Food: A Fond Farewell to Sam Wo

Bar Brucato takes shape in the Mission District, Sam Wo says goodbye for probably the last time in Chinatown, and Papa Noodle brings some new quick-service noodle bowls to downtown.

Fire Raged Thursday Night at Monterey County's Moss Landing Battery Plant, At Least 1,200 Evacuated

The fire is still going as of Friday at the Moss Landing Power Plant in northern Monterey County, though it is largely contained — but parts of Highway 1 remain closed and at least 1,200 residents had to be evacuated.

Business & Tech

Apple Pulls Its AI News-Summary Tool After Major Errors

Apple is yanking one of its first Apple Intelligence features to roll out, the one that summarizes news headlines from various sources to turn them into push notifications, which have turned out to be sometimes wildly false.

Sheng Thao (and Her Boyfriend) Indicted on Eight Federal Counts of Bribery and Corruption

The hammer finally came down on former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao seven months after the FBI raided her home, and she now faces charges that she received kickbacks from major political donors, including the offer of a $95,000 no-show job for her romantic partner.

Matthew Muller, Convicted of Denise Huskins Kidnapping, Pleads Guilty to 2009 Home Invasions

The man convicted in the infamous Vallejo kidnapping and sexual assault of Denise Huskins has pleaded guilty to two counts of home invasion from six years prior, in Santa Clara County.

Richmond Man Arrested for Putting CHP Decals on His Camaro, Impersonating Officer

On Wednesday, two San Rafael police officers spotted an older model white Chevrolet Camaro with a California Highway Patrol insignia on the door, resembling patrol cars the agency used over a decade ago.

Friday Morning Constitutional: Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Ban

The Supreme Court sided with the government on the TikTok ban; Barbara Lee gives her first interview as candidate for Oakland mayor; and the Potrero Walgreens is among those slated to close.

Day Around the Bay: Man Who Allegedly Fired Gun at Muni Bus Arraigned and Charged

A police dog was shot in Vacaville and had his leg amputated; Facebook's new looser moderation policies apparently don't apply to marijuana content; and the guy who allegedly fired gunshots at a Muni bus has been charged with a large number of felonies.

SF Restaurants, Food & Drink

Mission Street Pollo Campero to Double in Size, and Get a Huge Makeover

The “KFC of Guatemala” Pollo Campero has been drawing long lines at their Mission Street location for a decade. But the lines shouldn’t be so long anymore, as the SF Planning Commission just approved the restaurant’s request to expand and take over the neighboring address.

Arts & Entertainment

Benefit 'FireAid' Concert In LA to Feature Stevie Nicks, Joni Mitchell, Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish

Big stars are lining up to join the lineup for a concert fundraiser later this month to benefit victims of the Los Angeles wildfires, which are still smoldering and not fully contained.

Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao Is, Indeed, Getting Indicted

Less than 24 hours after the FBI raided the home of another East Bay politician in connection with an apparently broad-ranging corruption scandal, we learn that former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is getting federally indicted.

Dr. Grant Colfax Out the Door as SF DPH Director, as Daniel Lurie Takes Office

Yet another key figure from the London Breed administration will not be sticking around for the Daniel Lurie administration, as SF Department of Public Health director Dr. Grant Colfax announced his resignation Thursday morning.

'Equipment Issue' Leaves 36,000 San Mateo Households and Businesses Without Power

A power outage was impacting a whole lot of people in San Mateo Thursday morning, and its cause is still a mystery.

Business & Tech

SEC Gets In Parting Shot at Elon Musk, Sues Him For Swindling Investors by Hiding His Twitter Shares Purchase

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is accusing Elon Musk of cheating shareholders out of $150 million by not disclosing his secret 2022 purchase of 10% of Twitter shares, as was legally required.

SF Restaurants, Food & Drink

Fillmore Safeway, Nearly Depleted of Goods, Set to Become Desolate Eyesore for Likely Years to Come

With no definitive development plan on the table and zero city approvals, the Fillmore Safeway property is set to shutter on February 7 — if not sooner, because deep discounts have led to the store being almost emptied out of anything to sell.

The Winter COVID Surge Did Not Materialize This Year, or At Least, It Hasn't Yet

Both the Bay Area and the whole nation are enjoying the lowest mid-January positive COVID testing rate in four years, and no discernible winter surge, though experts caution the surge could just come late.

Thursday Morning What's Up: East Bay FBI Probe Lands at San Leandro Councilmember's Home

The FBI served a search warrant Wednesday at the home of a San Leandro city councilmember; Santa Cruz will decide about rebuilding that collapsed section of wharf by April; and Nancy Pelosi says she will not be attending Trump's inauguration.

Day Around the Bay: Suspect Arrested In Marin After Dramatic Chase

Video shows a dramatic chase that ended with some wrong-way driving on 101 in Marin; an annual report on the economic health of cities shows bad news for SF; and three Hollister High students were killed in a crash Tuesday night.

Business & Tech

Walgreens CEO Admits Locking Up Items Was a Mistake: ‘When You Lock Things Up… You Don’t Sell as Many of Them’

On a quarterly earnings call, the CEO of Walgreens conceded that putting items behind lock and key has hurt the company’s sales, because no one wants to shop in a store where even the toothpaste is behind glass.

Car Crashed Into Front of Dovre Club Wednesday Morning, But Bar Insists They Will Reopen ‘Soon'

A two-car accident resulted in a car ramming into the front of the Valencia Street bar Dovre Club. But the repair job is already well underway, and staff insist the bar will reopen “soon,” possibly even this week.

Dozens of Shelter Pets Coming to SF SPCA From Los Angeles; Puppy Adoptions Currently Free

The San Francisco SPCA is getting ready to receive 30 dogs and cats from Southern California shelters that have been impacted by the wildfires there, and they are hoping to get more dogs adopted this week to make space.