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June 2009
- Gay Marriage Debate Key to SF Mayor's Future
  
  Associated Press | Jun 1, 09 12:32 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - As San Francisco’s mayor looks to become California’s next governor, his gay-marriage activism may threaten his success—especially if voters are again asked to decide the issue for themselves, the AP reports. Though all the Democratic candidates support gay marriage, Gavin Newsom has a particularly strong association with the issue: He directed city clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2004. More »
May 2009
- Gay-Marriage Supporters Take to Streets After Ruling
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | May 26, 09 2:30 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Supporters of same-sex marriage were disappointed but not surprised by the California Supreme Court’s decision today to uphold Proposition 8, the San Francisco Chronicle reports, as a crowd that had gathered at the state courthouse moved through city streets, blocking traffic and prompting arrest. “This is a serious blow on religious freedom, and it opens the door for discrimination against any minority,” said one of the case’s plaintiffs. More »
- Dad Wasn't Zodiac Killer, Says Other Daughter
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | May 1, 09 5:10 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The half-sister of the California woman who asserted Wednesday that their father was the dreaded Zodiac killer of the 1960s isn’t having any of it, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Janice Hendrickson’s father “couldn’t hurt a fly,” she said today. “He did have a temper, and he did hit me, but did he kill people? I don’t believe he did.” More »
April 2009
- Robber Told Bank He Was Fed Up With Bailouts
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Apr 22, 09 3:20 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Police are looking for a man who robbed a San Francisco branch of Bank of America—ostensibly out of disgust for corporate bailouts, the Chronicle reports. The man requested a meeting with a manager and told him he represented “a corporation” concerned with the bailouts—before threatening to detonate a bomb he claimed to have in a briefcase. The robber told bank personnel the large amount of cash “would go to people who deserve it.” More »
- SF Mayor Unveils Run for Calif. Gov on Twitterverse
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Apr 21, 09 1:38 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom made his candidacy for California governor official today with nary a word, the Chronicle reports—except on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Though Newsom plans to publicize his run with in-person appearances, an adviser called the old sort of announcement “passé.” The state’s Democratic convention is just days away, with many potential office-seekers still unannounced. More »
March 2009
- In SF, a Center for Female Orgasm
  
  New York Times | Mar 15, 09 2:29 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Every morning as the rest of us fight sleepiness and traffic, a group of women at the One Taste Urban Retreat Center lie back and let a fully clothed male "research partner" coax them to orgasm, reports the New York Times . The co-ed commune in San Francisco also offers yoga and group meditation, but its claim to fame is the clinical "orgasmic meditation" for its female residents. “I don’t think women will really experience freedom until they own their sexuality.” says the founder. More »
- Execs Aim to Tame Rowdy SF Race
  
  Los Angeles Times | Mar 7, 09 6:25 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - San Francisco, the “City That Knows How,” is notoriously adept at throwing hedonistic events—but it also knows how to fight to keep them, the Los Angeles Times reports. Protesters are fuming at the organizers of the annual Bay to Breakers footrace, who want to ban nudity and alcohol from the 97-year-old competition. “San Francisco is turning soooooooo PRISSY," sniped one Facebook posting. More »
- Judges Appear Likely to Let Prop 8 Stand
  
  Los Angeles Times | Mar 5, 09 7:40 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - It looks like California's ban on gay marriage will stand. Based on their questions today during arguments over Proposition 8, justices on the state's Supreme Court seem inclined to uphold the voters' decision in November, reports the Los Angeles Times . However, the justices also appeared willing to allow same-sex marriages that took place before the vote to remain valid. Their ruling is due in 90 days. More »
- Calif. Prop 8 Back in Court Tomorrow
  
  Los Angeles Times | Mar 4, 09 3:34 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Protesters around California are gearing up for tomorrow's state Supreme Court session on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the voter referendum that banned gay marriage, the Los Angeles Times reports. The decision isn’t due for 3 months, but the opinion is already written, and the court's stand may be revealed in the judges' responses to oral arguments, which will be televised. More »
February 2009
- Calif. Legislator Wants to Tax, Legalize Pot
  
  Los Angeles Times | Feb 24, 09 10:36 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - A California lawmaker thinks he has a solution for the state’s fiscal woes: Tax marijuana. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has introduced a bill that would legalize, regulate, and tax pot, treating the drug like alcohol or tobacco, the Los Angeles Times reports. “I know the jokes are going to be coming,” Ammiano says, “but this is not a frivolous issue.” More »
January 2009
- Bush Street Gets Overnight 'Update' in SF
  
  NBC Bay Area | Jan 20, 09 2:36 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Partisan pranksters struck San Francisco overnight, covering four blocks of signs on the city’s Bush Street with “Obama Street” signs, NBC affiliate KNTV reports. The covers look professional, and chalk messages on the pavement encourage pedestrians to look up and notice the “change.” A rally is planned today at the street’s terminus, marked by a small, but official, “end” sign. It is unclear whether an investigation is under way. More »
- SF Cop Charged in BART Slaying
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Jan 14, 09 7:17 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The transit officer who fatally shot an unarmed man on New Year's Day, sparking San Francisco-area riots, was arrested last night in Nevada on suspicion of murder, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Sources say Johannes Mehserle, 27, had fled California after receiving death threats in the wake of Oscar Grant's death. Mehserle resigned last week rather than answer investigators’ questions. More »
- SF-Area Riots Erupt Over Fatal Shooting By Cop
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Jan 8, 09 9:53 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - An angry mob protesting a cop's fatal shooting of an unarmed man stormed Oakland last night, hurling rocks at cars and storefronts, and lighting garbage on fire. About 200 protesters—including a core group of self-proclaimed communists—began peacefully at the subway stop where an officer killed a 22-year-old passenger on New Year's Day. But demonstrators turned violent as the night wore on, unleashing their fury at racial injustice indiscriminately, often against minorities, the Chronicle reports. More »
- Video Shows SF Cop Fatally Shooting Prone Suspect
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Jan 7, 09 3:47 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Video of a cop shooting an unarmed suspect has sparked outrage in San Francisco and calls for an investigation, report the San Francisco Chroncle . The videos, taken by passengers and obtained by local station KTVU, shows Oscar Grant, 22, seated against a subway wall apparently pleading with police. He is then put face-down on the ground. One officer kneels on his his back while another unholsters a gun and fatally shoots Grant in the back. More »
December 2008
- Frisco Debates Downtown Traffic Fee
  
  Los Angeles Times | Dec 30, 08 4:27 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - A plan to charge motorists for driving downtown in peak hours could be a step too far even for famously green San Francisco, the Los Angeles Times reports. City officials say the plan, which would be the first of its kind in the nation if it passes, would reduce traffic and pollution—but reactions so far have been mostly negative. More »
- Flush and Burn: Port-a-Potty Pyro Strikes Again in SF
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Dec 24, 08 6:28 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - For the seventh time in two months, port-a-potties at construction sites in an upscale San Francisco neighborhood have been set ablaze by unknown parties, the Chronicle reports. Fire officials won’t say how the late-night pyrotechnics started, but they’re asking construction workers to be sure their “comfort stations” are locked when they leave work for the night. More »
- Mayor Channels Inner Wonk in 7½-Hour YouTube Speech
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Dec 1, 08 3:00 PM CST
  
  $Mayor Channels Inner Wonk in 7½-Hour YouTube Speech$
  
  (Newser) - San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is living up to his chatty reputation with a 7½-hour state-of-the-city speech—on YouTube. The mayor, who is averse to speaking with the city’s board of supervisors and enamored of policy, will release the detailed address in 45-minute chunks. Why watch, wonders the Chronicle ? “The good news is no one has to,” Newsom says. “For those that don’t want to, don’t.” More »
October 2008
- San Francisco May Soon Be Hooker Haven
  
  Associated Press | Oct 22, 08 7:39 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - San Francisco could soon become the first major city in the US where prostitutes won't be arrested, the AP reports. The city votes next month on the controversial Proposition K to decriminalize sex work. The measure won't actually legalize the trade, but will forbid local law enforcement from investigating or prosecuting anyone for prostitution. More »
- Suicide Nets Set for Golden Gate
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Oct 11, 08 6:19 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A panel has approved a plan to hang nets along the Golden Gate bridge to catch would-be suicides, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The bridge's board voted 14 to 1 in favor of installing the barrier after hearing testimony from psychiatrists, suicide prevention experts, and family members of people who have leaped from the bridge, believed to be the world's top suicide magnet. More »
September 2008
- Alcatraz Garden Blooms Despite Years of Neglect
  
  Sacramento Bee | Sep 27, 08 6:41 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The hardened inmates on San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island had tough neighbors who endure to this day: sun-kissed geraniums, snapdragons, gazanias, and roses. Thanks to an ambitious restoration project, “The Rock” is blooming, the Sacramento Bee reports. After work began 5 years ago, gardeners discovered 145 plant varieties that survived 40 years of neglect amidst the island’s harsh conditions. More »