San Fran

Weeks after wedding bells began tolling for San Francisco's gay couples, revelers had extra reason to celebrate at today’s annual Pride Parade. Thousands watched a procession of kids, drag queens, politicians, and topless men shimmy along Market Street—where a small group of protesters demonstrated against California’s approval of gay marriage. More »

Close on the heels of the Supreme Court ruling that Americans have the right to own guns for self-defense, the National Rifle Association filed suits yesterday against San Francisco and Chicago over gun-control laws in those cities. In San Francisco, the NRA hopes to overturn a law keeping guns out of public housing, and in Chicago, to end a ban on gun ownership, the San Francisco Chronicle   and Chicago Tribune report. More »

Architect Daniel Libeskind won worldwide acclaim for his stark, unsettling Jewish Museum in the heart of Berlin. Now the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco has moved into a new Libeskind-designed building. But as a critic for the New York Times observes, the Bay Area institution shies away from the particularities of the Jewish experience. More »

California wine master Robert Mondavi died peacefully today in his Napa Valley home at age 94, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Disciples and critics alike have praised the vintner for elevating West Coast wine from jug juice to world-class vino. "His legacy and his vision for what California could do remains with us as guidepost and a source of aspiration," one winemaker said. More »

Plans for tapping the premium coffee market are percolating in the Bay Area, the San Francisco Chronicle reports in an in-depth look at the new generation of roasters. Emphasizing freshness and preparation, next-gen roasters are building Northwest-inspired businesses that offer patrons ground-to-order $8 cups, or $9-$11 pots prepared by a $20,000 halogen-powered siphon from Japan. More »

California gays are ecstatic about the state's supreme court striking down a ban on same-sex marriage, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. “I'm feeling the joy all over,” one gay man, and father, said. In Fresno, a gay couple applied for a marriage license from a somewhat bewildered county clerk who wondered about the “exact language” of the decision, the Bee observed. More »

The streets of San Francisco might not be paved in gold, but they'll soon be clogged with electric cars if Mayor Gavin Newsom has anything to say about it. Newsom is in talks with Project Better Place to fill the city with electric car charging stations, a move that could push the technology into the mainstream. “It would be terrific if this happened,” said a Plug-In America co-founder. More »

San Francisco’s got a new plan to address panhandling: The city is installing old parking meters in popular begging areas where passers-by can drop their spare change rather than giving it to panhandlers. The money will go to local non-profits to help the homeless, the Chronicle reports. “We're not helping these individuals by handing out cash” directly, says the city’s mayor. More »

The thousands of pieces that make up the Grateful Dead archive are truckin’ to a new home at UC Santa Cruz, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The materials—worth millions and ranging from the band’s first record contract to life-size skeletons of members—currently occupy 2,000 square feet in a warehouse; in Santa Cruz, they’ll become the school’s biggest collection. More »

The Bay Area is used to being on the cutting edge, but becoming the first to pay $4 for a gallon of gas is a milestone San Francisco could do without, the Chronicle reports. Prices are expected to nudge past the mark next week—but many Bay Area residents have already fled their cars to dodge ever-growing fuel costs. More »

San Francisco Bay Area businesses could face major fines—the first ever imposed by a local government—based on the amount of climate-changing emissions they produce annually, the New York Times reports. The move, which the Bay Area Air Quality Management District could make official May 21, would skirt plodding debate that has held up action at the national and state levels. More »

In drastic action to stop the collapse of the West Coast salmon population, a federal fisheries council is banning salmon fishing off California and most of Oregon for the rest of the year, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . "This is a disaster," said the council chairman. The number of salmon spawning in California's Sacramento River system has plunged some 94% in six years. More »

The San Francisco leg of the Olympic torch relay avoided some of the chaos that plagued London and Paris, but pro-Tibetan activists were fuming that Mayor Gavin Newsom rerouted the flame's path at the last minute to dodge protesters. "He did it so China can report they had a great torch run," one demonstrator complained to the San Francisco Chronicle . More »

The Olympic torch winds its way through San Francisco today and authorities are bracing for big trouble from protesters who have already hit the streets, AP reports. The torch was buffeted by protests in London and Paris, where the relay was cut short, and the worst may be yet to come as Left Coast pro-Tibet activists harry the flame. Officers will accompany the torch every second of its six-mile route through the city—which is likely to be changed at the last minute. More »

The Olympic flame landed in San Francisco early this morning, accompanied by Chinese officials and protected by riot-ready security, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The 3:40am landing was followed by a round of photographs before a quick retreat to an undisclosed location, where the torch will await tomorrow's relay around the city. More »

With the Olympic torch due to reach San Francisco tomorrow, protesters climbed the Golden Gate Bridge today to unfurl banners reading “One World, One Dream" and "Free Tibet 08.” The climbers, members of Students for a Free Tibet, were arrested after they rappelled down the bridge’s south tower, leaving the sign aloft, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. More »

The Olympic torch arrives Wednesday in San Francisco, and Mayor Gavin Newsom is already being flamed in advance of expected protests. Tens of thousands are expected to fill the streets of the "protest-happy city" to condemn China's treatment of Tibet, reports Newsweek .  Newsom's plan to require demonstrators to register for permits has drawn criticism, and city supervisors are clamoring for Newsom to sign a resolution criticizing Chinese policy. More »

Following death threats, a San Francisco art museum has canceled a controversial exhibit that included video clips of animals apparently being bludgeoned to death. "We remain committed to freedom of speech as fundamental to this institution, but we have to take people's safety very seriously," said the president of the San Francisco Art Institute. "We've gotten dozens of threatening phone calls that targeted specific staff people with death threats, threats of sexual assaults." More »

Sweeping new health care legislation requires all San Francisco businesses with more than 20 employees to contribute to their health insurance—and restaurant owners are suing over the new burden, the Los Angeles Times reports. Owners say the fees cut into already-low profit margins; diners, who are seeing some of the cost added to their tabs, don’t seem to mind as much. More »