Will Reisman

Port of San Francisco, ferry agency, expected to enter into agreement today

The future expansion plans of the Ferry Building in San Francisco will take a vital step forward today. The Water Emergency Transportation Authority, a regional body that regulates public ferry developments in the Bay Area, is expected to approve a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the San Francisco Port Commission today. The MOU will define the responsibilities of the two agencies as they move forward with an ambitious plan to dramatically increase ferry service over the next decade. WETA is overseeing a series of proposed ferry expansions, including new terminals in Martinez, Berkeley, and on Treasure Island, all of which will travel to the expanded berth at the San Francisco...

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SFPD tickets Muni fare evaders

Police have a new tool for their belts — a Muni fare-evasion ticket book. After an hour-long briefing, about 100 San Francisco Police Department officers went to different Muni stops throughout The City on Wednesday for a daylong crackdown. Officers are already supposed to ride the bus during their shifts, but when police ride public transportation, the focus has been on looking out for crimes such as vandalism and theft. On Wednesday, however, officers went further by checking for proof of payment, a task usually performed by the Municipal Transportation Agency. The crackdown also focused on high-crime lines in each police district, which are outlined on handouts to be given to...

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Muni deficit deeper than anticipated

Just three months into the current fiscal year, the Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees Muni, is working to close a $45.1 million deficit. Despite a recent fare hike and a move to alter routes to save money through efficiency, the transit agency is in the red due to lower-than-predicted returns from parking meters, an impasse with the taxi industry and an unexpected spike in operating costs. In order to make up for some of the projected shortfall, the transit agency, which closed a $129 million budget deficit last fiscal year, is looking to implement $25.5 million in savings that includes eliminating 250 positions, which includes some jobs that are currently vacant. The...

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City’s Bike Plan remains on hold

Advocates hoping for the dissolution of an injunction against The City’s Bike Plan will have to wait a little longer after a Superior Court judge ordered at least a 10-day delay in the case before making any decisions. Judge Peter Busch ordered both sides to submit briefs Nov. 12 detailing arguments for and against relief of the injunction. The Bike Plan was approved by The City in 2005 and consists of 34 new miles of bike lanes, among other enhancements. But it was put on hold in 2006 when a local group successfully sued The City, claiming the plan was authorized without undergoing an environmental impact report. On Monday, Busch said he’ll hear arguments Nov. 12 for...

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BART trains to run overnight if Bay Bridge remains closed

BART will provide overnight service tonight and Saturday night -- if the Bay Bridge remains closed during the weekend -- but not on Sunday. Unlike the past three days, when the regional transit agency did not provide overnight service during the bridge closure, BART will offer hourly trains on Friday night and Saturday morning, and on Saturday night and early Sunday morning. The trains will stop at 14 different stations throughout the Bay Area, including the Embarcadero, Powell Street, and 24th Street in San Francisco. Normal BART service will return at 6 a.m. on Saturday, and 8 a.m. on Sunday. Passengers interested in using the service should visit BART.gov. BART spokesman Linton...

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Muni likely to oversee world’s oldest cable car

The rich history of The City’s cable cars will soon be under the control of San Francisco. In 2005, Muni began exploring options of contracting out operations at the Cable Car Museum to a new organization. However, the department’s plans were halted because the nonprofit group in charge of the museum since 1993, the Friends of the Cable Car Museum, owned a bevy of important relics, including the Clay Street Hill Railroad — the oldest cable car in the world — and the Sutter Street Railroad, which is the second-oldest. Also on display at the center, which was established in 1974, are grips, track mechanisms, brakes and a collection of historic photographs. In an...

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Renowned local landscape architect dies at 93

Lawrence Halprin, a nationally renowned landscape architect who helped design some of The City’s most high-profile open spaces, died Sunday. He was 93. Although he was born in New York City, Halprin had a profound effect on the public landscape of many West Coast cities, notably San Francisco, where he was instrumental in shaping Ghirardelli Square, Levi Plaza and the United Nations Plaza. After serving in World War II — where he narrowly survived a kamikaze attack on his battleship during combat — Halprin moved to San Francisco in the spring of 1945, at first working under the tutelage of landscape designer Thomas Church. In 1949, Halprin opened up his own firm in The...

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New direction for Market Street

In a rare example of harmony in San Francisco, merchants, transit advocates and pedestrians have all expressed some degree of support for the much-ballyhooed experiment to restrict cars on Market Street that started last month. The current situation, which took effect Sept. 29 with the backing of Mayor Gavin Newsom, forces private automobiles traveling eastbound on Market Street to make right turns at Sixth and Eighth streets off the thoroughfare. The restrictions were implemented as a six-week test program that’s the initial phase of a prolonged effort to revitalize San Francisco’s historic main artery. They’re also a partial rollout of an oft-proposed idea to ban...

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Residents not thrilled about new 2-Clement turnaround route

In a situation that’s straight from the “you can’t please them all” files, Muni has finally decided on a site for the western terminus of its 2-Clement bus line, and, not surprisingly, people are upset about it. Due to budget shortfalls, Muni has been forced to reduce service on several transit lines, and none have been as troublesome as the 2-Clement. Instead of running out to 33rd Avenue, the 2-Clement will now turn around in the middle of the Richmond District (around Park Presidio) and finding an easy side street where the buses can make the return loop has been nearly impossible. Part of the problem is that the turnaround requires a terminal — an...

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Missing chairs, tables cook up fine for waterfront restaurants

Two popular Embarcadero restaurants are being fined thousands of dollars for failing to provide accommodations for the public along the waterfront, including tables and chairs. The Epic Roasthouse and Waterbar restaurants, which garnered attention last year for being the first establishments built entirely for dining purposes in San Francisco in more than a century, don’t have enough benches and seating arrangements on their patio. Access to the patio is required since it lies on the Bay Trail — a 240-mile, multicounty shoreline walk that must be fully accessible to the public. The Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the regional body in charge of permitting on the...

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Bay Bridge crossing may cost $6

Driving across the Bay Bridge could cost $6 as early as the middle of next year. The suggested toll hike is one of three proposals that would have Bay Area drivers paying more to cross the seven state-owned bridges in the region. The money would raise more than $160 million for regional infrastructure projects. Two of the three plans, from the Bay Area Toll Authority, include proposals for a $5 toll at all times on the Bay Area’s toll bridges, with the exception of the Golden Gate Bridge, along with options for raising rates for truckers and carpoolers. The third plan includes a $2 hike for the Bay Bridge during peak commute times, which would most likely be from 5 a.m. to 10...

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Blogger files appeal against motion to dissolve bike plan injunction

The injunction against San Francisco’s bike plan will continue, at least for a few more weeks. Rob Anderson, a local blogger and founder of the Coalition For Adequate Review, the group responsible for postponing the implementation of San Francisco’s ambitious bike plan, has filed a petition against The City Attorney’s motion to dismiss the injunction. The City Attorney’s Office had sought to dissolve the injunction before the scheduled hearing on November 2. The City Attorney now has until October 28 to reply to Anderson’s petition, which was formally submitted by his attorney today. The bike plan, which will add 34 miles of new cycling lanes to San...

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Electronic bike parking may deter BART commuters

Bicycle riders will be able to park their two-wheelers at the Embarcadero BART station for longer periods of time, but some worry the new system will increase bike thefts. Since the transit agency put a new system in place at the busy station, commuters can park their bikes whenever it’s open. The previous setup restricted parking to commute hours on weekdays. BikeLink, the new program, started Monday and allows bicycle-toting commuters to access the station’s existing parking cage with an electronic card. In lieu of a full-time attendant, BART will employ a series of security cameras, transit agency spokeswoman Luna Salaver said. The program also will save BART money. The...

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Shorter hours could be in store for winter months at the S.F. Zoo

Wildlife enthusiasts hoping to get a glimpse of their favorite animals at the San Francisco Zoo may have their window shortened slightly starting next month. On Thursday, commissioners for the Recreation and Park Department, which co-manages operations at the Zoo, could vote on shortening visiting hours at the establishment by one hour during the winter months. Instead of staying open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. the Zoo would close at 4 p.m., starting on November 1 and lasting until March 16 — the span in which Daylight Saving hours are in effect. The Recreation and Park Commission could also vote on giving Zoo director Tanya Peterson the authority to shut down operations during...

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Chu, Taraval chief, to discuss safety upgrades

Stepping off a Muni light rail vehicle can be an adventure at times, especially in the Sunset District, which has miles of above ground tracks that run on bustling city streets — a situation that has drawn the attention of Supervisor Carmen Chu, whose district includes much of the western neighborhood. Earlier this year, Chu requested that Muni take a look at the conditions of transit passengers in the Sunset, which is home to two well-traveled metro lines, the N-Judah and the L-Taraval. One of Chu’s main goals was to find ways to increase signage on The City streets that alerts drivers to yield to departing transit passengers. At 1:30 p.m. today, alongside Paul Chignell,...

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Apartment plan is for the dogs

The fur may be about to fly again, as animal activists revive the fight against building owners who won’t allow animals in rental units. The Animal Control and Welfare Commission initiated discussion at City Hall on Thursday night about ways to increase the number of apartments in San Francisco that allow pets, including measures forbidding landlords from discriminating against responsible pet owners when looking for tenants. It’s a contentious issue that led to a shake-up in City Hall a few years ago. In 2006, the same commission tried to enact a mandate allowing landlords to charge tenants with pets more, an incentive they hoped would motivate more building owners to...

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Transbay funds delay may have $100M price tag

An unexpected delay in funding for the new Transbay Terminal could set construction plans back months and cost the project another $100 million. The transformation of the existing Transbay Terminal, a 70-year-old building on Mission and First streets, into a modern regional transit hub is expected to provide 45,000 jobs. Earlier this year, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority — the agency in charge of the ambitious renovation project — applied for $400 million in federal stimulus funds, a revenue stream it originally expected to be released this month. However, an overwhelming number of applicants for the stimulus money has forced the federal government to push back...

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DPW workers to get healthy food, exercise, medical tips today

Faced with the extensive tasks of restoring The City’s battered streets and ramshackle sidewalks, employees from the Department of Public Works need to be as fit as can be, so the department’s third-annual Health Fair should be much appreciated. DPW’s 1,200 workers will get medical screenings, nutrition advice, and exercise tips during the fair, which lasts from 9 a.m. to noon today at the department’s headquarters on Cesar Chavez Street. The San Francisco Produce Market will give demonstrations on how to prepare healthy meals, the California Pacific Medical Center will perform medical screenings, and Crunch Gym will dispense workout advice. The fair also...

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Redwoods gear up for UFL debut

On Thursday night, strong safety Tony Parrish will be staked out in the defensive backfield, carefully surveying the eyes of quarterback Mike McMahon, looking for any clues that could lead to a game-changing interception or bone-jarring open-field tackle. Just a few years ago, that scenario would have been played out in front of 75,000 fans and a worldwide audience of millions, but on Thursday it will happen in the cozier confines of Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, where 20,000 curious onlookers are expected to show up for the opening game of the inaugural United Football League season. McMahon, part of the San Francisco-based California Redwoods, will be squaring off against Parrish and...

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Aussie streetcar rolls into town

Courtesy of the folks Down Under, Muni is adding a new streetcar to its fleet. A green- and cream-colored tram built in 1946 is set to be unveiled this morning near the Ferry Building on The Embarcadero in a special joint celebration between Muni and foreign ambassadors from Australia. The streetcar once traveled in Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city and the state capital of Victoria, which donated the vehicle. “Melbourne and San Francisco have a tremendous amount in common,” said Victor Perton, Victorian commissioner to the Americas. “This streetcar donation is a great physical symbol of our connection and an important way to strengthen our...

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Suspicious bags prompt separate security alerts

Police responded to two separate reports Tuesday of suspicious packages in The City, but both situations were defused without incident. Tuesday’s incidents came on the heels of a security scare prompted by an an abandoned bag on a Muni bus at the Transbay Terminal last week. The first report came in around 8:30 a.m., when a security guard noticed an unattended briefcase in the garage of the State Building on 350 McAllister St., according to California Highway Patrol Officer Shawn Chase. Police closed off surrounding streets and the San Francisco Police Department’s bomb squad X-rayed the bag, which turned out to be empty. The area was open back up the public at 11:30 a.m.,...

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Family of trampled 49ers fan seeking millions

Relatives of a Sacramento man who was killed after being trampled by a runaway police horse outside Candlestick Park have sued The City and the San Francisco 49ers in what the family’s lawyer said will be a multimillion-dollar case. Eugene Caldwell, 78, was killed Aug. 30, 2008, when a spooked police horse threw off its mounted officer and ran frantically into a crowd gathered outside the stadium to attend a preseason 49ers game. The horse was apparently startled after a plastic bag whipped up by the wind became caught in its bridle. As the animal tried to shake the bag loose, it fell backward and lost its veteran rider before taking off across a parking lot and knocking down...

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Neighborhoods start letter campaign against signs on Fell and Oak

The local backlash is starting to get serious against a proposed set of traffic management signs on Fell and Oak streets. Neighborhood groups from the North of Panhandle and Alamo Square communities have begun a letter-writing campaign, urging Muni to abandon the controversial plan to erect a set of freeway-like message boards on Fell and Oak streets. The signs are part of Muni’s SFgo program, a set of a pilot projects aimed at easing congestion and improving traffic measures throughout The City. However, the folks over at the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association and the Alamo Square Neighborhood Association say that the traffic signs on Fell and Oak do just the opposite...

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Groups get sandy for charity

If you’re strolling down Ocean Beach on Saturday and come across a giant frog with a beaming grin on its face, don’t be alarmed. The happy amphibian is likely the creation of a team of sand-crafting enthusiasts drawn to the beach for the 26th annual Sandcastle Contest, an event sponsored by Leap, a nonprofit organization that supports creative and visual arts programs for schools in the Bay Area. The granular-based concoctions on Ocean Beach will hardly be the result of traditional pail and shovel efforts, with teams — some with as many as 100 participants — getting a 20-by-20 plot to craft their masterpieces, according to Leap Executive Director Julie...

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Stimulus to keep rail plan moving

In a bid to keep the high-speed rail project in California on track, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will submit paperwork today for more than $4.5 billion in federal stimulus funds. Construction of the rail line, which is projected to whisk passengers from downtown San Francisco to Los Angeles in 2 hours 40 minutes, is estimated to cost between $30 billion and $35 billion, according to Rod Diridon, a member of board of directors for the California High-Speed Rail Authority. In order to keep the project moving, the $4.8 billion from the federal government is a key, Diridon said. The federal government is expected to respond to the grant application in the next four to five months, and he...

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Keeping the course up to par

As superintendent of Harding Park Golf Course, Wayne Kappelman can control a lot of things in preparation for The Presidents Cup. He can oversee the reworking of the course’s bunkers and fairways, control the irrigation schedule on the greens, import hundreds of thousands of pieces of sod and carefully design the right mix of flowers so the clubhouse’s welcoming garden has a colorful depiction of The Presidents Cup’s iconic gold trophy. He can and has done all of those things, but there’s still one all-too-important factor beyond his grasp when the PGA Tour event brings 24 of the world’s finest golfers to The City on Tuesday: the weather. Sitting on the...

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SFO bomb threat a dud

A dispute about a ticket at San Francisco International Airport that ended with an Oregon man threatening to blow up a plane has landed him behind bars. Mark Field, 46, was in the midst of a heated argument with attendants from Philippine Airlines when he abruptly threatened to explode a bomb by using his cell phone, according to Sgt. Wesley Matsuura of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. Bomb-sniffing dogs were called to the International Terminal around 10 p.m. Tuesday. And after it was determined that Field didn’t possess any possible explosive devices, police arrested him on suspicion of falsely reporting a bomb threat, Matsuura said. Field did not appear to be...

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Cars funneled off Market Street

Market Street was the scene of some minor confusion Tuesday during the first day of new automobile restrictions on the thoroughfare. As part of a six-week pilot program, private automobiles traveling eastbound were forced to take right-hand turns on Eighth and Sixth streets, leaving a long swath of Market Street solely to the domain of transit vehicles, commercial cars, taxicabs and bicyclists on Tuesday. San Francisco police officers and Muni’s parking control officers provided direction at the intersections, and although a few motorists mistakenly stayed straight on Market Street, there were no blatant dismissals of the new rules during the morning commute. “Just like...

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Art center replacing old depot

A crumbling 108-year-old train depot near the Balboa Park station will soon be a place where neighborhood youths can explore their creative side. The Geneva Car Barn and Powerhouse at Geneva and San Jose avenues was once an integral part of the San Mateo Railroad and San Francisco Muni systems, but it has not been used since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and was nearly demolished a decade ago. Now, it’s being eyed as a cultural center for the community, which has the highest percentage of youths in San Francisco yet the lowest percentage of youth services, according to Nicole Avril, who heads the nonprofit organization leading the effort to transform the site. District 11 is...

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One more for the road: Doyle ramps closing

For the fourth and final time, two off-ramps will be closed on Doyle Drive this weekend. The closures will allow construction crews to remove trees in the Presidio as part of the $1 billion project to rebuild the southern approach to the Golden Gate Bridge. Construction will close the northbound and southbound off-ramps from Doyle Drive to Highway 1 from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, according to project spokeswoman Molly Graham. Tree removal this weekend will be the final part of the soft-construction phase of the rebuild. The swath of trees, which are mostly sycamores, are being cut down in an area just west of the existing Doyle Drive to clear space for construction...

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Caltrain works to reduce suicides on the tracks

On Aug. 21, a 13-year-old girl stepped onto the Caltrain tracks near the East Meadows Drive crossing in Palo Alto and waited. At 10:45 p.m., she was fatally struck by an oncoming train, becoming the third teenager to commit suicide this year at that crossing. It was an act that refocused attention on the challenges Caltrain faces in keeping despondent individuals from willfully taking their lives on the tracks. Since 2004, there have been 72 deaths on Caltrain tracks. At least 46 have been deemed suicides, according to Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn. Unlike other Bay Area transit agencies like BART and Muni, Caltrain has miles and miles of street-level tracks that are accessible...

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Deficit grows despite higher toll

Raising the toll by $1 on the Golden Gate Bridge was supposed to erase a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall, but the deficit has ballooned because of state cuts and fewer drivers crossing the span. The increase last September, which left drivers paying $6 for a cash fare, was supposed to raise $93 million. That would have wiped out the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District’s $91 million, five-year deficit. Instead, the recession has led to fewer vehicle crossings, costing the district an estimated $20 million through five years, according to bridge district spokeswoman Mary Currie. Also, California’s decision to suspend State Transit Assistance funding...

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Niners cornerback Dre’ Bly on giving back to schools

The 49ers cornerback and two-time Pro Bowl selection will team up with Boost Mobile today to announce that the wireless company will donate $5,000 to the Dre’ Bly Foundation, a program set up by the player to help improve physical education programs at city schools. What prompted you to start the Dre’ Bly Foundation? Both my mother and father were teachers, and I majored in physical education, so having a chance to help city schools improve their programs was something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to make a difference ... it’s been a real neat experience. What has been the most rewarding part of the foundation?...

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Pigskin parties greet new season

Thousands of 49ers fans from across the state flooded Candlestick Park on Sunday for the season’s home opener against the Seattle Seahawks, which San Francisco won 23-10. But hours before the throngs of football fans actually entered the stadium, many posted up in the parking lot decked in red, white and gold jerseys for tailgate parties complete with homemade portable bars, smoky barbecues and, in some cases, fancy dinner tables with candles and silverware. Trucks, sport utility vehicles and sedans lined up while fans shared hot dogs and burgers, Bud Lights and Coronas, played music and reminisced about their famed idols, like former quarterback Joe Montana. Since 1971, San...

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BART board approves labor agreements

Almost six months after contract negotiations between BART and its five unions began, transit agency officials on Thursday formally approved contract agreements with two, finally ending a process that at one point reached the brink of a labor strike. By unanimously agreeing to ratify the collective bargaining agreement with two unions — Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3993 — the BART board of directors ensured no strike would take place. The transit agency serves an average of about 340,000 riders each weekday. Less than a month ago, Bay Area commuters were on high alert as contract negotiations...

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49ers star Willis promoting a different type of game

Patrick Willis, 2007 NFL Rookie of the Year and two-time Pro Bowl linebacker, had an interception and 13 tackles in the 49ers’ season- opening win against the Arizona Cardinals. On Tuesday, Willis was at Ubisoft Entertainment in The City to promote one of his other passions: video games. The software company, which has an office on Third Street, and Willis teamed up to announce the release of “Assassin’s Creed II.” How often do you get a chance to play video games during the season? To be honest with you, I try and play every day. It’s a great way to relax and get my mind off football for a bit. I usually get home from work, eat some food, watch a little...

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Community to discuss future of Glen Park

There are big plans underway for Glen Park, and neighborhood residents will be able to hear more about what those plans are next Wednesday. Since 2003, residents have been meeting with city officials to discuss better planning uses http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Glen-Park-boom-clogging-streets-50903612.html for the area, including safer pedestrian crossings, greater transit options to and from the Glen Park BART station, and better traffic-calming control. This spring, the San Francisco Planning Department began an 18-month environmental review of proposed changes to the central area of the Glen Park neighborhood. Planners from the department will meet with neighborhood residents on...

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Celebration for Ingleside Library reopening

A year and a half after it was shut down, the Ingleside Library is scheduled to reopen on Saturday, and it will be welcomed back by an impressive slate of local and state officials. Mayor Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Supervisors Sean Elsbernd and John Avalos, and acting State Librarian Stacey Aldrich will be on hand to celebrate the $7 million renovation of the neighborhood library, which closed its doors for repairs in February 2008. The library is the 11th neighborhood facility to benefit from the $105 million Branch Library Improvement Project, a voter-approved bond measure that passed in 2000. The opening celebration is scheduled to last from noon until 3 p.m. at the library’s...

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Man falls by Muni tracks, later dies

A 58-year-old man died from injuries Tuesday morning shortly after he was discovered lying unresponsive next to Muni train tracks in Noe Valley. The cause of those injuries is still being determined, but according to onboard video retrieved by the Municipal Transportation Agency, San Francisco resident William Nelson exited an S-Castro Shuttle light-rail vehicle near Church and 22nd streets shortly before he was found by a witness. The video shows Nelson disembarking through the rear doors and walking approximately 20 to 30 feet alongside the train. He then appears to fall and is no longer visible, according to the transit agency. Muni spokesman Judson True would not say exactly how...

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Doyle Drive rebuild will also mean future weekend closures

The Doyle Drive seismic rebuild project will feature three-day closures much like the one local commuters experienced last weekend with the Bay Bridge. Provided the project gets the necessary funding (http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/57951057.html), the construction-related closures would take place in 2011 and 2013. They would shut down Doyle Drive, the southern approach to Golden Gate Bridge, in both directions. The bridge would still be accessible through Park Presidio Boulevard, according to the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, one of two lead-agencies on the project. Slated to be finished in 2013, the project would demolish Doyle Drive, built in 1936, and replace it...

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Men more likely to take plunge

Men are more likely than women to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge, and almost half of those are men between 25 and 44 years old, according to a new report. Of the 330 confirmed deaths since 1994, more than 80 percent were identified as white people, and nearly 45 percent were between 25 and 44 years old. Most of the deaths — 74 percent — were witnessed by somebody on the bridge. “Tourists, commuters, adults, children and people working on the bridge report seeing over 70 percent of all suicides from the famous span, and that’s just people who speak with authorities,” said Ken Holmes, Marin County coroner. “I suspect the actual number of witnesses is...

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Funding doubts hinder Doyle Drive retrofit

While heavy construction is set to begin in November on the seismic rebuild of Doyle Drive, there are funding uncertainties, including $50 million in requested federal stimulus money that has not been secured. So far, $879 million in state, local and federal funding has been allocated to replace Doyle Drive, the southern approach to the Golden Gate Bridge. Planning officials say the project is scheduled to be completely rebuilt by 2013. At least $955 million is needed for the rebuild, however. In addition to the hoped for $50 million federal grant, planning officials are waiting on legislative authorization for another $26 million in federal funding, according to Leroy Saage of the San...

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Construction companies to meet with officials on Doyle Drive rebuild

The $1 billion Doyle Drive rebuild project is moving forward with construction bids on the project. The San Francisco County Transportation Authority, the public planning agency overseeing the massive project, will hold a conference today for construction companies interested in helping to rebuild the aging southern span to the Golden Gate Bridge. Finalized Request for Proposals are due on September 22, according to Authority documents. Preliminary construction on the seismic rebuild has already begun, with the final completion date slated for 2013. This weekend, the southbound ramps that connect Doyle Drive to nearby Highway 1 will be shut down from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., so that...

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Muni boosts performance

Despite budget woes that have forced widespread reevaluation of the system, traveling on Muni is now more reliable than ever. Muni’s fleet of buses, cable cars and light-rail vehicles were on time for 73.3 percent of its scheduled routes during the last fiscal year, a rate that has never been higher for the department. The 73.3 percent on-time performance rates for fiscal year 2008-09 — which runs from July to June — improved upon the 2007-08 mark of 70.6...

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Traffic may be draining economy

The Bay Area’s economy could grow by billions of dollars if infrastructure projects that reduce traffic congestion are put in place, according to a report. The study by the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank, looked at the ease with which commuters can travel between The City and popular regional destinations such as San Francisco International Airport, Stanford University and the Southland Mall in Hayward. If around $29 billion (in 2005 dollars) were spent adding lane capacity in the next 20 years, the resulting drop in traffic congestion could bring Bay Area businesses annual productivity gains of around $10 billion, according to the study. The improvements could also...

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Traffic officer’s vehicle flips over in tunnel

A parking-control officer was hospitalized and traffic halted for about an hour Thursday afternoon when a city worker’s light-weight vehicle flipped over in The City’s Broadway Tunnel. A female employee with the Department of Parking and Traffic was traveling in a Cushman — the small vehicles driven by parking-control officers — when she lost control and overturned at 10:45 a.m., according to police Sgt. Wilfred Williams. No other vehicles were involved in the crash, he said. The woman was taken to San Francisco General Hospital with injuries not considered life threatening, Williams said. Emergency crews cleared the scene, but eastbound traffic coming into the...

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AT&T Park’s garlic fries stand goes green

When the Giants kick off their season on April 7, one concession stand in AT&T Park will be as green as the grass on the field. Continuing in their attempt to become the “greenest ballpark in the majors,” the Giants announced a slew of new environmental initiatives at their annual media day on Wednesday, beginning with sustainable practices related to the park’s beloved garlic fries. Since last season, the team has completely retrofitted the Gilroy Garlic Fries stand on the promenade level of AT&T Park, making the vendor a paragon of environmental efficiency, according to Giants president Larry Baer. Gas consumption on the fryers has been reduced by 32 percent...

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Taking it to the streets: Clorox organizes ‘Potty Patrol’ march

One company wants to scrub The City clean of its portable-toilet arsonist. The Oakland-based Clorox Co. staged a “Potty Patrol” walk through areas of San Francisco Tuesday to raise awareness about the serial arsonist who has burned 27 portable bathrooms in a crime spree that began in November. The march came after the company offered a $5,000 reward and a year’s supply of cleaning products for tips leading to an arrest. The procession will start at 11 a.m. near a Clorox outhouse on Sansome Street and Pacific Avenue, and will go through locations on The Embarcadero and Broadway before wrapping up at noon. According to Clorox spokesman David Kellis, members of the...

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Task force pushed ahead environmental agenda in Burlingame

Economic incentives to buy solar panels, mandates for constructing environmentally sound buildings and increased development near central transit systems are some of the proposals Burlingame is refining to reduce carbon emissions 15 percent by 2020. The goals are outlined in the city’s Climate Action Plan, created by a task force launched in early 2008 that also works to move Burlingame toward its environmental benchmarks. Among recent successes, the Green Ribbon Task Force recently persuaded the city to drop its $416 fee for residents who wish to install solar panels on their homes. The group also conducts outreach in the community and last year organized a Green Street Fair,...

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Founder talks about School of Rock Music

Paul Green, the founder of the eponymous School of Rock Music, a nationwide program that teaches children to perform classic rock ’n’ roll, has seen his startup expand to a franchise with more than 4,000 students. The school’s San Francisco students will perform tonight with musician Napoleon Murphy Brock, who performed with Frank Zappa, at the ClubHouse Main Room, 414 Mason St., Suite 502. What prompted your decision to create the school? In 1998, I finally gave up on making a career in rock music, and started teaching to put myself through college. I gave music lessons to kids in my living room and liked it so much that I decided to expand. There has been a...

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Man hospitalized after being shot in Tenderloin this morning

A man was hospitalized early this morning after he was shot during an argument in the Tenderloin. The shooting occurred at the 500 block of Leavenworth Street just after 2 a.m., according to the San Francisco Police Department. The victim was shot by another man after the two engaged in a verbal confrontation, police said. The suspect fled the scene before police could arrive. The injured man was transferred to San Francisco General Hospital this morning. Police did not have an update on his condition. No arrests have been made and the case is under...

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Art thieves leave mystery behind

In a crime that has left those concerned a bit befuddled, thieves broke into an art gallery in the Mission District sometime between midnight and 3 a.m. Friday morning and stole four paintings created by a somewhat obscure local artist — and didn't lay a finger on anything else. The burglars, or burglar, used a crowbar to pry open a set of large glass double-doors to make the theft at the Michael Rosenthal Art Galley on 365 Valencia Street, according to Wendy Norris, a company spokeswoman. While inside, the thieves took four paintings by Pacifica-based artist Terry Hoff, but the rest of the gallery's art was left behind, Norris said. The four paintings are estimated to have a...

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Expect wet, cold weekend in Bay Area

Bad news for the average nine-to-fiver: The warm, sunny skies that prevailed this week will likely transform into wet and windy weather by the weekend. Sunny skies are forecast today, but clouds and rain are expected to arrive in San Francisco by Saturday afternoon, according to Brian Tentinger of the National Weather Service. Wind gusts of up to 35 mph will accompany the rain, which will likely start around 4 p.m. and last through Saturday, Tentinger said. Temperatures are expected to hover around the mid-50s, with a possibility of reaching the low-60s on Saturday afternoon, he said. Sunday’s forecast doesn’t look much better, with persistent rains and winds expected...

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Clouds, rain, wind in the forecast for the weekend

Bad news for the average nine-to-fiver: The warm, sunny skies that have been radiating in San Francisco this week will likely transform into wet and windy weather conditions by the weekend. While the sun is forecasted to stay out in the clear though Friday, clouds and rain are expected to arrive in San Francisco by Saturday afternoon, according to Brian Tentinger of the National Weather Service. Wind gusts of up to 35 mph will accompany the rain, which will likely start at 4 p.m. and last for the rest of Saturday, Tentinger said. The temperatures are expected to hover around the mid-50s, with a possibility of reaching the low-60s in the afternoon on Saturday, Tentinger...

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Officials asking for public’s help in identifying Lake Merced body

The identity of the man whose body was found floating in Lake Merced on Sunday afternoon has still not been determined, and medical officials are now asking for the public help’s in resolving the mystery. The John Doe is a white male who appeared to be about 50 years of age, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office. He’s described as being 5 feet seven inches tall, weighing 167 pounds with dark brown hair and an undetermined eye color. He had no tattoos or jewelry, and was wearing a green sweatshirt, a red T-shirt, green boxer shorts, and one green dress sock when his body was discovered, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office. He had an identifiable...

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Elevator-shaft death ruled a mishap

The death of an Oakland man whose body was discovered at the bottom of an elevator shaft in a San Francisco building in December was ruled an accident by the county medical examiner. Dan Kliman fell to his death after becoming trapped in an elevator at 55 New Montgomery St. that had multiple functioning defects — including the mechanism that controls the opening and closing of the inner door — according to the report by the San Francisco medical examiner. The report quotes a California Division of Occupational Safety and Health investigator who indicated that the inner door latch was malfunctioning at the time — a revelation contradicted by the fact that inspectors...

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Central Subway may travel farther north than planned

With funding and planning on track for the ambitious Central Subway project, the proposal to extend the rails north of Chinatown is gathering steam. The $1.3 billion project cleared a huge hurdle in December when the federal government approved its record of decision on the project. The only planning step that remains is the completion of a final design, which is expected to happen this November. After that, The City is poised to receive more than $750 million from a federal grant program to begin construction on the project in 2010, according to John Funghi, lead planner for the Municipal Transportation Agency’s project. The massive tunnel-boring machine is currently scheduled...

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Woman hospitalized after fall near Golden Gate Park

A 61-year-old woman was hospitalized after tripping and falling near Golden Gate Park this morning. The accident occurred a little before 11 a.m., at the intersection of Park Presidio Boulevard and Fulton Street, according to the San Francisco Fire Department. She said there was a San Francisco Municipal Railway bus nearby but it does not appear the bus or any other vehicle struck the pedestrian. The woman has since been transferred to San Francisco General Hospital with unknown injuries, the fire department...

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Firefighters corral small blaze in Nob Hill

A small electrical fire in Nob Hill was quickly contained by firefighters this morning. The one-alarm blaze was first reported just before 6 a.m. at 1303 Larkin Street, according to the San Francisco Fire Department. By 6:20 a.m., firefighters had controlled the blaze. There were no immediate reports available about how much damage the fire...

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Transbay Terminal project awaits funding from agency

Nearly $13 million in funds for planning and design work on the Transbay Terminal rebuild is slated to be released soon. So far, a total of $338 million has been awarded for the project, which will transform the existing Transbay Terminal on Market and First streets into a state-of-the-art “Grand Central Station of the West.” The transportation hub is expected to house Muni, Caltrain and — if proper funding is secured — high-speed rail services, according to documents. As part of its regular funding cycle for the project, a committee for the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, a tax-allocation agency, will vote today on whether to release $12.8 million...

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Body found in Lake Merced expected to be identified later today

The identity of a man who was found floating lifeless in Lake Merced on Sunday afternoon is expected to be released later today, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office. A kayaker discovered the body at 4 p.m. on Sunday, and although initial reports don’t indicate any signs of trauma, the San Francisco Police Department is considering the death suspicious, Sgt. Lyn Tomioka said. Tomioka said the Medical Examiner is scheduled to perform an autopsy on the body today, although it will likely be some time before the department determines a cause of death. “Until we are informed otherwise by the Medical Examiner’s Office, the death will continued to be...

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Rain should dry up by midnight, temps expected to rise over the week

Today’s drizzly conditions should dry up by later tonight and stay dry for the rest of the week, as temperatures are expected to rise steadily until Saturday in San Francisco, according to the National Weather Service. The rain that has appeared intermittently over the past two days will peter out and dry up completely by midnight, National Weather Service meteorologist Diana Henderson said. The rest of the week’s forecast calls for mostly clear to partly cloudy skies, with temperatures creeping gradually from the mid-50s and lower-60s into the upper 60s by Friday, Henderson said. A weather pattern from the Pacific Northwest is expected to arrive in the Bay Area by Friday...

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Senior left fielder snags Player of the Week award

Zach Kim, a University of San Francisco senior left fielder was recently named Player of the Week in the West Coast Conference after a torrid hitting stretch in which he batted .500 for five games from March 4 to 8. The team plays its first home game of the season Tuesday against Sacramento State. You’ve been hitting really well, but the team has struggled. What’s your evaluation of the season so far? Well, what the team does is all that matters right now. We’ve played a real tough schedule and I think we’re realizing that we can’t compete against top-10 and top-20 teams if we’re making three or four errors a game. As a senior, do you take it upon...

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Parades, races shutting down streets this weekend

Two separate parades and a 12K road race in San Francisco this weekend will result in various street closures and a slew of Muni bus re-routes. On Saturday, the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade is set to take place at locations on Market Street and the Civic Center Plaza. Thousands of people are expected to attend the festival, which starts at 10 a.m. on Second and Market streets. As a result of the crowds, Market Street between First and Eighth streets will be closed to traffic from 10 a.m. to around 1:30 p.m., according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Festivities at the Civic Center Plaza are expected to last from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Grove Street being...

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Charitable online auction courts celebrities’ goods

For a recent event, Bay Area celebrities pitched in donated items to be raffled off for charity. But the auction was hardly red-carpet. Instead, the event was hosted on a new Facebook application. The Palo Alto-based social-networking Web site collaborated with San Mateo’s Oodle to launched a new version of Facebook’s Marketplace. The companies hope to convince users to sell unneeded possessions to benefit their favorite charities, according to an Oodle spokeswoman. One of the donors in the celebrity auction was actress Robin Wright Penn, wife of Sean Penn. She gave a signed original script from the movie “The Princess Bride” to benefit the EcoMom Congo...

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Ready for some more football?

Visits to the players during halftime may be one of the perks when a new professional football team starts playing at AT&T Park this fall. The City’s newest football squad will suit up in October for a pair of games at AT&T Park — home of Major League Baseball’s Giants — as part of the inaugural season of the United Football League. The league is a startup being pushed by its backers as a more affordable, fan-friendly alternative to the long-established National Football League. San Francisco is one of four teams competing in the UFL in 2009, along with Orlando, Las Vegas and New York. San Francisco’s team — which will be named by fans in an...

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Man suffers life-threatening injuries after being struck by hit-and-run driver

A man was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after being struck by a hit-and-run driver in the Richmond District last night. The victim, who has not been identified, was found by police officers on the 4000 block of Anza Street just after 10:30 p.m., according to the San Francisco Police Department. The injured man was found lying on the ground, right next to the driver’s side door of his car, which was parked on the street, police said. The suspect driving the vehicle involved in the collision fled the scene and no arrests have been made. The case is under investigation, police...

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Mayor Newsom atwitter about social-networking service

Angry about that big pothole in your neighborhood? Don’t worry, Mayor Gavin Newsom is only a “tweet” away. Highlighting his desire to better integrate burgeoning technology with city government, Newsom met publicly Tuesday with Evan Williams and Biz Stone, co-founders of Twitter, the San Francisco-based social-networking company that has been embraced by the mayor. “Using Twitter has already made me a better mayor, and I’m only 3½ weeks into it,” said Newsom, who spoke at Twitter’s headquarters on Bryant Street. “I’m barely scratching the surface, but the technology is limitless and I’ve been able to gain invaluable...

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Sunny, warming weather expected for this week

It’s March, so any thoughts about summer are premature, but the weather for the next week will at least make many San Francisco residents temporarily forget about last month’s soggy conditions. Skies are expected to be clear and sunny, with temperatures gradually rising over the next week, according to meteorologist Brian Tentinger of the National Weather Service. The weekend is looking particularly accommodating, as the weather is supposed to warm up into the upper 60s by Sunday afternoon, according to Tentinger. “We should see a gradual warming trend for the near future,” said Tentinger. “It’s going to be dry for a little while.” Clouds and...

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Coastside cockfighting ring busted

One man was arrested and nearly 100 roosters were euthanized after a cockfighting ring was disrupted in the town of Pescadero on Saturday night. Bradford Magpiong, 53, was charged with 97 counts of violating San Mateo County’s cockfighting rules, one for each bird that was forced to be put down, according to a release by Sgt. Ray Lunny of the county’s Sheriff’s Office. Magpiong owns the home on Cabrillo Highway where approximately 40 men had gathered around a well-lit makeshift arena on Saturday night to take part in the illegal gaming event, Lunny said. After being alerted to the gathering by an anonymous 911 call at the property, sheriff deputies raided the home at...

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Man who ran over Girl Scouts meant to brake

A man who drove his car into five people, including three 6-year-old Girl Scouts selling cookies outside a Burlingame supermarket, has not been arrested, Burlingame police Captain Mike Matteucci said Monday. The man, who has not been identified, mistakenly pressed the accelerator on his car instead of the brake while pulling into a parking space at the Mollie Stone’s market at 1477 Chapin Ave., police said. Instead of pulling into a parking space, the man drove up onto the pedestrian walkway, where he hit the five people. A 6-year-old Girl Scout and her 48-year-old mother remain in serious condition. Two other Girls Scouts, also age 6, were also hit by the car while they sold...

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S.F. man found not guilty of murder charges

A 20-year-old San Francisco man was acquitted Tuesday of first-degree murder in connection with the May 3 shooting death of Ajason Black, 32, in the parking lot of the Buchanan YMCA on Geary Boulevard. Deputy Public Defender Mark Iverson told jurors that Demetrius Hill had no motive to kill Black, police had no physical evidence and that the eyewitnesses had motive to lie in order to cover up for the real shooter. "I find this to be a very satisfying verdict because I believe that Demetrius Hill is innocent," Iverson said. In the hours preceding the shooting, Black was engaged in a heated public argument with a 34-year-old woman. At the trial, the woman testified to watching...

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Muni bus crashes into vehicle in Marina, injures three

A Muni bus crashed into another vehicle in the Marina early this morning, sending three people to the hospital. The accident occurred at about 1:25 a.m., when a 91-Owl bus collided with a car at the intersection of Franklin and Lombard streets, according to Muni spokesman Judson True. Three people were hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries following the crash, said Lt. Mindy Talmadge of the San Francisco Fire Department. The injured were all in the vehicle struck by the Muni bus, Talmadge said. True did not have any information about what caused the accident, saying the police are investigating the crash. The driver of the bus was tested for drugs and alcohol and placed on...

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Sunday Streets garners support from neighborhoods

When The City announced last August that it would shut down The Embarcadero to automobile traffic on a Sunday to open it up for bikers and pedestrians, Pier 39 CEO Bob Macintosh was the voice of opposition representing business owners angered by the decision. Flash forward seven months later — Macintosh, like many other area merchants, is welcoming the Sunday Streets program with open arms. Pending permit approval, The Embarcadero will be closed from AT&T Park to Aquatic Park on April 26, the first of six Sunday Streets events scheduled this year. Macintosh opposed the idea last year because he feared the street closures would drive away much-needed customers, but he’s...

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Explore your backyard with outing to Peninsula preserves

Wading through salt ponds, hiking up mountains with panoramic views, grazing along grassy expanses and — if you’re into this sort of thing — petting banana slugs are all potential adventures in the Peninsula, thanks to a group that puts on free guided tours of the region’s myriad public preserves. Interested patrons can reserve a spot for a getaway to one of the Peninsula’s 26 preserves — which encompass 57,000 acres from Los Gatos to Half Moon Bay — by making a phone call, according to Leigh Ann Maze of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, the public group that organizes the trips. Tours are held weekends and weekdays, and can range...

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San Mateo County residents resist public transportation

As awareness of climate change increases and the faltering economy makes paying volatile gas prices all the more untenable, there’s a push to get commuters out of their vehicles and into public transportation. In suburban Bay Area counties such as San Mateo — where the economy’s effects are not as pronounced and transportation options are sparse — the transition away from autos has been slow and unsteady. In 2006, the most recent year for transportation data, 3 percent of San Mateo residents overall used public transit to travel to destinations both inside and outside the county. That number shrank to 1 percent when applied to movement within the...

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Presidio on the path to self sufficiency

More than a decade of persistent development in the Presidio — largely the conversion of former military buildings into housing and offices for businesses and nonprofits — has put the national park on track to meet a federally mandated goal of financial self-sufficiency by 2013. Congress turned the 1,491-acre federally owned northernmost tip of The City — a former military post — into a public park in 1994, and placed it under the authority of the then-newly formed Presidio Trust. The park’s preservation came with a controversial catch, however: If park administrators failed to pay their own bills by 2012, the park’s buildings would be sold to...

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3-Minute Interview: Jason Henderson

The San Francisco State University professor recently completed “The Politics of Parking,” an examination of the machinations that drive and determine The City’s policies. In your paper, you say that there are three factions with varied goals for parking in The City. You have neoconservative groups who say that the government should require more street parking and more room for cars. Neoliberals think the government should eliminate parking-rate minimums and maximums and let the market determine parking prices and spots. And there are the progressives, who want the government to eliminate parking spots and to actively transform The City into a transit-first area. Is...

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Sunday morning homicide victim identified

The man who was shot and killed in the Outer Mission neighborhood on Sunday morning has been identified my medical authorities. Javier Arroyo, a 59-year-old San Francisco resident, died after being shot at 5300 Mission Street on Sunday. Police found Arroyo lying on the ground suffering from multiple gunshot wounds at 8:30 a.m. He later died in the hospital. No arrests have been made in the killing. Arroyo was the ninth homicide victim in San Francisco this year. In 2008, there were 17 homicides at this time of...

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One arrested, one hospitalized, following shooting in Tenderloin

A man was hospitalized last night with life-threatening injuries after he was shot in the Tenderloin neighborhood by a suspect who was later arrested. The two men were seen engaging in a physical altercation at the corner of Ellis and Jones streets when officers intervened at about 7:50 p.m. on Monday, according to Sgt. Lyn Tomioka of the San Francisco Police Department. By the time police broke up the fracas, they realized that one of the men had been shot, Tomioka said. They arrested the other man, who was found to have a firearm on his possession. His identity has not been released yet. Following the shooting, the victim was walking around and talking to officers, but his health...

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Rain, thunderstorms in the works today

The wet weather that has been a mainstay in San Francisco for the last month will continue for the rest of the week. Showers are likely for the rest of today, with winds blowing up to 20 mph and thunderstorms possible in the afternoon, according to Diana Henderson of the National Weather Service. The rain will keep coming on Wednesday, with temperatures expected to remain in the 50s, Henderson said. Thursday will likely be the nicest day of the week, with only a 10 percent chance or showers forecast, but Friday will probably be wet and windy, Henderson said. The weekend offers a glimmer of hope for residents itching to get outside during their time off from work, with temperatures...

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Injured firefighter recovering at home

The San Francisco firefighter who nearly died while battling a blaze last month is now recovering at his home in San Jose. Christopher Posey, an 11-year veteran with the department, suffered life-threatening injuries after breathing in a noxious combination of smoke and gas during a three-alarm fire at a vacant home in The City’s Portola District on February 5. Last Friday, Posey was released from San Francisco General Hospital and he is currently at his home recovering with his family, according to Tom O’Connor of the San Francisco Firefigthers Union. “He’s at home and he’s doing better,” said O’Connor. “Right now he’s just...

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Weekend rain to keep reservoir levels rising

February’s rain has been a needed boon for local water supplies, which will get more replenishment from expected showers this weekend. So far this month, 6.8 inches of rainfall have been recorded in San Francisco, nearly double the average output of 3.6 inches, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Anderson. Today is likely to be mostly dry, but rain is expected to arrive Saturday afternoon and last through the weekend, Anderson said. Temperatures should reach highs in the 50s to 60s and lows in the 40s, Anderson said. The National Weather Service begins calculating winter rainfall on July 1. Since that time, San Francisco has amassed 14.5 inches of rain,...

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3-minute interview: Alex Gibney delves into depths of corruption

The Oscar-winning director of the documentary “Taxi to the Dark Side,” which details the torture and subsequent death of an innocent Afghani man, will speak today at the University of San Francisco Human Rights Film Festival. What are you hoping that students at the festival take away from “Taxi to the Dark Side”? A sense of outrage, and also a deeper sense of how we allowed the Bush administration to corrupt the American character and the rule of law. How did you become involved in this documentary? Someone approached me about working on a documentary that dealt with abuse in Afghanistan. However, I wasn’t certain about the project until I spoke with my...

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South City ferry project faces further setbacks

An oft-delayed proposal to bring a ferry terminal to South San Francisco — originally scheduled to begin carrying passengers back and forth from the East Bay to the Peninsula last year — has been set back again because the state froze key funding. The $51 million terminal slated for Oyster Point appeared to be on the right track in December, when the San Mateo County Transportation Authority released $15 million in taxpayer revenue for the project, finally making it fully funded after money problems plagued it for years. But the state announced in January that it was indefinitely suspending portions of its Proposition 1B money — funding approved by voters in 2006 for...

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Chaos follows drive-by shooting

A drive-by shooting kills a woman and injures four others. A high-speed chase ensues across the Bay Bridge. A burned-out car is found in Oakland that may be involved in the crime. And though this is not TV, some of the drama may have been caught on tape. The series of dramatic events began with the shooting at 10:20 p.m. Monday night at the corner of Turk and Taylor streets in The City’s Tenderloin neighborhood. Bullets fired from a silver Mercedes sport utility vehicle killed 33-year-old Laticia Hunter, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office and police Sgt. Lyn Tomioka. Four others were sent to San Francisco General Hospital with injuries not considered life...

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Feds seize 20 pounds of opium at mail center

Authorities seized more than 20 pounds of opium at the San Francisco Air Mail Center. While conducting investigations of international cargo in mid-February, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials noticed some irregularities with a series of packages arriving at the center from Thailand, according to Officer Ed Low. The packages were destined for locations throughout Northern California. Upon further inspection, officials found the illegal drug shipments wrapped in plastic and concealed inside false walls of a number of different drum kits, according to Low. Due to the ongoing investigation, Low could not say where specifically the packages were headed and when in February the...

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SoMa latest neighborhood to report scorched toilet

The rash of portable-toilet fires plaguing The City since early November has spread to a third neighborhood. The latest of the 27 blazes occurred at 7:20 p.m. Sunday, when firefighters doused a flaming toilet in the 500 block of Second Street, according to police Sgt. Lyn Tomioka. Sunday’s fire followed two successive flaming-toilet incidents last week in Potrero Hill, both on Kansas Street. Before that, nearly all of the bathrooms had been burned in the northeast portion of The City. The time of the fires has also shifted. Three of the past four were recorded between 4 and 7 p.m. Before that, the fires were noticed almost exclusively during the early morning hours. No witnesses...

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Three wanted in connection with armed robbery in Redwood City

Three suspects accused of robbing a convenient store in Redwood City on Sunday morning are being searched for by law enforcement authorities. The owner of the Carniceria Market in unincorporated Redwood City told authorities that two Hispanic men robbed his store at gunpoint at about 8:40 a.m. on Sunday, according to a release by the San Mateo Sheriff’s Office. After robbing the market, the two men fled in an awaiting car driven by an unknown suspect. A passerby noticed the fleeing car and was able to provide a partial account of the vehicle as it sped away from the scene, according to the sheriff’s office. Authorities eventually located the abandoned vehicle near Eighth...

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Oakland Tribune reporter hit by train dies

A longtime reporter with the Oakland Tribune who was struck by a Muni Metro train earlier this month has died from his injuries. Bill Brand, who worked for the Tribune for over two decades, was hit by an N-Judah light rail line near AT&T Park on February 8. After remaining hospitalized for nearly two weeks, Brand, who was 70, passed away this morning, according to a statement released by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. “We are deeply saddened by the tragic outcome of this accident,” Muni executive director Nathaniel Ford said the in release. “On behalf of the SFMTA, I offer our sincerest condolences to his family and friends.” Brand, a...

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Muni investigating Thursday night bus crash

A Muni bus carrying one passenger careened off the road and crashed into a building last night in the Bayview District. No one was seriously hurt in the crash, and investigators are trying to determine what caused the driver of the 24-Divisadero bus to swerve off the road near Third and Oakdale streets just after 11 p.m. on Thursday, according to Muni spokesman Judson True. The operator of the bus has been placed on non-driving status and was tested for both drugs and alcohol, standard procedures following an accident, True said. Muni inspectors are still evaluating the damage to the bus, True said. One side of the commercial building was significantly damaged. Service on the...

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Transportation dollars halted

The state budget deals a wallop to local transportation agencies — and it’s likely to hit you straight in the pocketbook. Increased fares and service cuts are likely on the horizon for local transit agencies after state funding, which was trimmed back this year, will be axed in 2010. The state budget, which was approved by the Legislature on Thursday, slashed $61 million in funding originally allotted for Bay Area transportation agencies, including a combined $36 million reduction in transit assistance funds for BART and Muni. The news only gets worse for the 2010 fiscal year, when transit assistance funds — which topped $700 million in 2008 — are expected to be...

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Water main bursts in Nob Hill

Gallons of muddy water spilled out onto the streets after a 100-year-old water main burst in Nob Hill early this morning. A six-inch pipe cracked near the intersection of Jones and Bush streets, sending out a deluge of sand, water, and other debris at about 4 a.m., according to Tony Winnicker of the Public Utilities Commission. The silty substance spilled out into the street for about 30 minutes before maintenance workers were able to shut off the service, Winnicker said. About 10 buildings on Jones Street, between Bush and Pine streets, are currently without water because of the burst pipe, Winnicker said. Crews are hoping to restore services by early afternoon, Winnicker said. Cleanup...

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Angry Muni employee halts morning service

A disgruntled Muni worker delayed more than 70 buses for an hour Wednesday morning when she parked her car in front of a vehicle storage facility. Kavai Muao-Harris, who’s worked as a Muni operator for 21 years, blocked the exit at the Woods Division facility in the Dogpatch neighborhood during an hourlong standoff that started at 5:30 a.m. She was upset that a “yard starter” position — which oversees moving buses in and out of storage yards and does not require placement on Muni service routes — was assigned to a worker with less seniority than other eligible employees, according to Muni spokesman Judson True. Muao-Harris, who is also a division chair with...

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Keeping cars off the tracks

When you come to the fork in the road at Duboce Avenue and Noe Street in The City, Muni wants to make sure you know which way to steer your vehicle. It may seem like common sense for autos to stay on the road while light-rail vehicles stick to the tracks, but instances of cars driving into Muni tunnels in the past two years has the Municipal Transportation Agency looking for ways to prevent future mishaps. The most recent incident of a wayward driver occurred in the early morning hours of Feb. 11, when an allegedly drunken driver entered the Sunset tunnel. The man, who was not identified, made it about 100 yards down the train-only artery before his Volvo station wagon became stuck,...

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Airport reports delays due to weather

Adverse weather conditions have delayed about half the flights at San Francisco International Airport this morning. Heavy cloud coverage is setting back departing and arriving flights by about 30-60 minutes, according to airport spokesman Michael McCarron. The airport implemented their delay pattern — which cuts arriving flights down from 60 an hour to 30 an hour — at 9 a.m. as a result of the weather, McCarron said. He did not know how long the delays would...

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Officer’s fast response saves toddler

A 14-month-old toddler is recovering after a dramatic rescue by a veteran police officer. The child, Eric, was in the care of his grandmother when he lost consciousness Friday afternoon, said Sgt. Steve Quon of the Taraval Police Station. Officer Sam Martin, a 28-year-old veteran with the San Francisco Police Department, raced to the residence, in the 2500 block of 47th Avenue, about 7:45 a.m. Friday. It was only three minutes after a frantic call from the infant’s grandmother, who spoke limited English, Quon said. When Martin arrived, the child’s cheeks and feet were blue and he did not show signs of breathing. Martin administered CPR and called an ambulance. Five minutes...

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Storms drop 4 inches of rain, contributed to 702 accidents

A recent spate of nasty weather that contributed to slick roads, residential power outages, delayed flights and plenty of drenched San Francisco residents should be in the rearview mirror. Since Wednesday, downtown San Francisco has recorded 4 inches of rainfall and temperatures have hovered in the low 50s, according to Brian Tentinger of the National Weather Service. The heavy rain and subsequent high winds were partially to blame for the 702 recorded traffic accidents in the Bay Area on Saturday and Sunday, said Trent Cross of the California Highway Patrol. On Monday, a multivehicle accident shut down all but one lane on northbound Interstate 280 for more than an hour during the...

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Weather causes power outages in City, Peninsula

The inclement weather conditions knocked out power for more than 4,000 customers in San Francisco and the Peninsula Monday morning, including almost 2,500 homes in Foster City alone. As of about 2 p.m., about 1,281 homes throughout the Bay Area remained without power, according to PG&E, including 100 to 200 on the Peninsula and about 300 in San Francisco, 300 in the East Bay and fewer than 100 in the South Bay. An underground equipment failure — likely caused by the rain and wind — knocked out power to large swaths of Foster City just after midnight Monday morning, according to Kristin Inman, spokeswoman for the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. In San Francisco, 1109...

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One hospitalized, one arrested in Chinatown shooting

A man was arrested in connection with a shooting in Chinatown early Monday that left another man hospitalized. The incident occurred about 1:30 a.m. near the intersection of Jackson Street and Grant Avenue, according to the San Francisco Police Department. The victim was transported to a nearby hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, and was in stable condition, police said Monday morning. The suspect, whose identity has not been released, was apprehended soon afterward and remains in custody, police said. The number of nonfatal shooting victims in San Francisco decreased in 2008, according to data from Jan. 1 to Oct. 18 of that year and from the same period in 2007,...

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Multi-vehicle accident closes lanes in San Bruno

A multi-vehicle accident in San Bruno closed down all but one lane on Interstate-280 for an hour this morning. The accident happened at around 6:30 a.m. and involved at least two different cars, according to Officer Ralph Caggiano of the California Highway Patrol. One person suffered unknown injuries in the pileup, which occurred on northbound Interstate-280 just south of Interstate-380, Caggiano said. The crash closed all but the far-right lane on the highway until 7:30 a.m., when tow-trucks cleared the scene. CHP crews are investigating what caused the multi-vehicle crash. Caggiano said traffic did not appear to be backed up too severely, as many Bay Area commuters were at home because...

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Dangerous roadway on the map for fixes

Masonic Avenue, a busy boulevard that advocates say is riddled by speeding vehicles, dangerous conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists, and slow Muni service, could be in line for an extensive upgrade. A combination of rolling hills and confusing lane arrangements on a nearly one-mile stretch of Masonic Avenue from Geary Boulevard to Fell Street encourages drivers to regularly exceed the 25 mph limit, said Mark Christianson, founder of Fix Masonic, a neighborhood group. That stretch is the 10th-worst in The City for bicycle collisions and the intersection at Turk Street and Masonic Avenue is the fifth worst in San Francisco for motorists running red lights, according to the Municipal...

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Gag order remains for murder trial of former BART officer

An Alameda County Superior Court judge dismissed a motion on Friday to drop a gag-order in the murder trial of Johannes Mehserle, the former BART officer accused of killing an unarmed man at the Fruitvale train station on New Year's Day. Mehserle's attorney, Michael Rains, filed the motion, arguing that media reports covering the case painted an unfair picture of Mehserle and the gag order prevented him from defending his client in the public. Judge Morris Jacobson, who enacted the gag-order after Rains faxed a copy of Mehserle's bail motion to a local newspaper, countered that claim, saying continued talks with media outlets would present a danger to potential witnesses and would...

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Public demands BART officials lose their posts

A defiant collection of politicians, community organizers and local residents continued to demand that someone lose their job due to BART’s handling of the New Year’s Day shooting of an unarmed passenger. In a tense board of directors meeting Thursday, an overflow crowd demanded that BART General Manager Dorothy Dugger and police Chief Gary Gee step down because of their response to the shooting death of Oscar Grant III, 22, at the Fruitvale station. Oakland City Councilwoman Desley Brooks was one of the more vocal speakers. Along with the resignations of Gee and Dugger, she also asked for criminal charges to be pressed against BART police Officer Tony Pirone, who was...

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Caught in the static: making the digital switch

If Bay Area television stations were to switch to solely digital broadcasts this month, an estimated 100,000 households would be left without working TV sets, according to data released Feb. 1 by the Nielsen Co. Ranked No. 26 for digital readiness on Nielsen’s list of the top 56 markets, the numbers show that Bay Area households don’t know about, don’t care about or can’t afford the federal government’s plan to switch off all analog TV signals this year. Approved by Congress in 2005, the conversion to high-tech digital service was originally supposed to take place Tuesday. In January, however, President Barack Obama urged Congress to postpone the switch,...

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Drivers on the road less, but gas prices still rising

Despite a lack of demand from drivers, gas prices in San Francisco are creeping back up, according to a new study by AAA. Gas prices jumped to an average of $2.23 a gallon in San Francisco for February, a .19 cents-increase since last month, said Matt Skryja of AAA. Penny-pinching drivers can blame a familiar trend for the rising gas prices — the economy. According to Skryja, oil refineries have cut back on gasoline production because of the middling economy, meaning prices at the pump will continue to rise, even though oil has topped off at $40 a barrel in recent weeks. Californians are particularly feeling the hurt of that phenomenon, as state prices in February are exactly .30...

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Ownership issue plagues airline

Virgin America is flying through some unfriendly skies. A rival airline is demanding an investigation into whether the company should be allowed to operate within the United States. Using San Francisco International Airport as its main hub and focusing on low-cost travel, Virgin has been a boon to the region since it began operating daily in August 2007, according to Dennis Conaghan of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. The carrier, which employs 1,500 people in the Bay Area, made local headlines when it announced in 2004 that it would base its operations in Burlingame. Conaghan was among a group of local businessmen who worked hard to woo the company to the region. The airline is...

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Firefighter with burn injuries out of hospital

The San Francisco firefighter who suffered various burn injuries while battling a blaze in a vacant residence in the Portola district last week was released from the hospital on Monday. Lt. James App, an eight-year veteran with the department, suffered first, second, and third-degree burns after a roof collapsed on a burning home at 627 Felton Street on Feb. 5. App recorded burns on his face, ear, neck, back, arms, and a leg, but left St. Francis Hospital Monday in good condition, according to Lt. Mindy Talmadge of the San Francisco Fire Department. Firefighter/paramedic Christopher Posey was also seriously injured in the blaze, suffering severe inhalation injuries from breathing in...

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Porta-Pottie in North Beach is victim 22

Another day, another burned Porta-Pottie. According to the San Francisco Police Department, a portable toilet was scorched to the ground in North Beach on Sunday night, the 22nd time since November that a bathroom was lit aflame in San Francisco. Firefighters found the toilet already burning at about 6:45 p.m. on the 700 block of Chestnut Street, according to police. It was the first bathroom fire in The City since Feb. 2, when a toilet went up in flames at the 2000 block of Broadway Street. Almost all of the fires have happened in the Russian Hill, North Beach and Marina neighborhoods. Sunday’s fire occurred in the early evening, making it slightly different from most of the...

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Firefighters from Portola blaze remain hospitalized

The San Francisco firefighters injured in a Thursday morning fire in the Portola district remained hospitalized today, including one who is fighting for his life with severe inhalation injuries at the Intensive Care Unit in San Francisco General Hospital. Firefighter and paramedic Christopher Posey, an 11-year veteran with the department, inhaled dangerous levels of super-heated gas while battling a blaze that destroyed a vacant two-story home on 627 Felton Street. He was in critical but stable condition on Thursday, according to James Lambrechts, his battalion chief. Lambrechts, described Posey as a “well-liked, skilled firefighter, and a dedicated father and husband.” The...

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Critically injured firefighter described as family man

The San Francisco firefighter critically injured while fighting a blaze in the Portola district Thursday morning was described by his superior as a “well-liked, skilled firefighter, and a dedicated father and husband.” The firefighter, identified as Chris Posey, is at San Francisco General Hospital with severe respiratory injuries after inhaling a noxious combination of gas and smoke. The injuries occurred while Posey, an 11-year veteran of the Fire Department, responded to a three-alarm blaze that quickly destroyed a vacant, two-story residence at 627 Felton St., according to Battalion Chief James Lambrechts. The roof of the home caved in almost immediately after...

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Thriving biotech insulates South City from recession

As the economic recession continues to digs its claws into the country, belt-tightening and downsizing are becoming increasingly familiar in the public lexicon. Terms like expansion and development, on the other hand, are rarely heard — except in the case of South San Francisco, the sleepy Peninsula city that has thrived recently. Earlier this month, the City Council gave the green light to a nine-story, 292,000-square-foot research and development center that will replace two 40-year-old buildings on East Grand Avenue. The center, which is being managed by Alexandria Real Estate Inc., a group with an extensive background in the biotech industry, will be erected as soon as a...

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Mother, son arrested for armed robbery in Redwood City

A 34-year-old woman and her teenage son were arrested early this morning after allegedly robbing a convenient store of alcohol, cigarettes and cash in Redwood City. At 3 a.m. on Wednesday, officers responding to an armed robbery alarm at a Quik Stop Market in unincorporated Redwood City pulled over a vehicle near the scene driven by Darlene Barnes, according to Lt. Ray Lunny of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. During the traffic stop, Barnes’ son, 18-year-old Darrell Reed, and another unknown male opened the doors and fled on foot. Barnes was tracked down and arrested by officers after a short chase, Lunny said. He was later positively identified by the store clerk who...

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Errant balloon cause power outage in Hunters Point

A wayward Mylar balloon got wrapped up in power lines early this morning, causing a outage that has left 408 people without electricity in Bayview/Hunters Point. The incident was first reported at 3 a.m., according to Pacific Gas and Electric Co. spokesman J.D. Guidi. Crews are at the scene working on fixing the problem now, and power should be restored by 9:30 a.m., Guidi said.

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Investigators still trying to figure out what caused BART collision

The tracks are clear and service should be running smoothly this morning at 12th Street Station in Oakland, a day after 13 people were injured when two BART trains collided with each other, but safety officials are still in the dark about what caused the accident. The accident occurred at 3 p.m. on Tuesday when a train heading into the 12th Street station derailed and collided with a train following it. Both trains were travelling at very low speeds, so the collision was minor, and there were no serious injuries, BART spokesman Linton Johnson said. Usually trains entering the 12th Street station are on automatic piloting, which would normally prevent accidents, but one of the trains...

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Gang member first convicted under city’s injunction policy

A 22-year-old gang member with a violent criminal background became the first person convicted by the District Attorney’s Office for violating The City’s controversial injunction. Henry Hernandez, a member of the Nortenos, was arrested Dec. 19 for congregating at the intersection of 24th and York streets, an area off-limits to gang members due to the injunction. On Monday, Hernandez was convicted after a two-week trial, and faces up to six months in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 23. Starting in 2006, City Attorney Dennis Herrera established gang injunctions in the Western Addition, Bayview-Hunters Point and Mission neighborhoods to create safety zones in...

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Free meal draws crowds to Denny’s

Josh Rotter didn’t waste much time after news broke that Denny’s would be offering a free Grand Slam breakfast on Tuesday. Immediately mapping out a route that would carry him throughout San Francisco, the 23-year-old Rotter made plans to hit up at least three different Denny’s restaurants before the free fixings expired at 2 p.m. “First we’re doing SoMa, then Japantown, then Fisherman’s Wharf,” said Rotter, who was waiting in line outside of the Denny’s at Fourth and Mission streets Tuesday morning. “You have the time to plan something out like this when you don’t have a job.” Rotter had already been waiting for 20...

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After 10-day hiatus, portable-toilet arsonist is back

After a 10-day span in which not a single portable toilet fell victim to flames, the serial arsonist who has been running amok in San Francisco struck again early Sunday morning, burning down another mobile bathroom—the 21st such incident since the bizarre crime spree began in November. At 3:50 a.m. on the 2000 block of Broadway Street on Sunday, firefighter doused off the singed remains of a portable toilet, according to San Francisco Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Lyn Tomioka. The bathroom blaze was the first reported since January 22, when the arsonist lit a lavatory on fire in the middle of the afternoon at Marina Boulevard and Scott Street. That incident was a brazen...

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School bus involved in crash near Hunters Point

A school bus carrying two children was involved in a traffic collision this morning near Hunters Point. No one was injured in the crash, which happened at 6:49 a.m. at the intersection of Quesada Avenue and Ingalls Street, but both vehicles involved suffered property damage, according to the California Highway Patrol. Details of how the accident occurred were unavailable. The accident scene was cleared by 7:15 a.m., CHP officials said.

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Golden Gate Bridge board to see new members

As if helping to juggle a city deficit projected at $460 million wasn’t enough of a headache, four members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will soon join the board of the Golden Gate Bridge District — an entity that frequently has to deal with its own financial problems. Despite the added responsibility, The City supervisors likely to join the bridge board are embracing the chance to help shape the direction of San Francisco’s most iconic landmark. “This is a great opportunity to engage with other elected officials and public citizens,” said Bevan Dufty, the only one of four city supervisors returning to the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and...

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New face at the helm of the Transportation Authority

San Francisco political moderate Supervisor Bevan Dufty will chair the Transportation Authority, the local transportation funding entity that has frequently butted heads with the larger Municipal Transportation Agency. Dufty, the incumbent vice-chair of the TA, was voted into the chief position by a 6-5 vote over fellow supervisor Chris Daly, a more progressive member of the Board of Supervisors. The TA is the lead planning agency on several long-term projects in San Francisco, including the Doyle Drive rebuild, new Bus Rapid Transit plans for Van Ness Avenue and Geary Boulevard, and the proposal to charge motorists fees as a way to combat traffic congestion. However, the...

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Yale student reaches settlement with attackers in Baker’s Dozen case

A Yale University student who was beaten after singing at a New Year’s Eve party two years ago reached a settlement with his attackers in the incident on Thursday. Sharyar Aziz, Jr., then an 18-year-old freshman at Yale, had his jaw broken in two places after being assaulted by a host of attackers outside a party in the Richmond District just before January 1, 2007. Aziz was singing in an a cappella group called the Baker’s Dozen. Thursday’s settlement was confirmed by the lawyers of the four attackers involved in the Aziz case — brothers Richard, James, and Michael Aicardi, and Brian Dwyer, all of whom were between 19 and 20 years old at the time of the attack. A...

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Light rail service down on Third Street

Service on the Muni Metro line that connects the Financial District to Bayview/Hunters Point has been disrupted because of a problem with some overhead wires. The T-Third Street light rail line has been replaced with busses between Fourth and King streets and Third Street and Sunnydale Boulevard, according to Judson True, spokesman for the Municipal Transportation Agency. The problem was first reported at 9:36 a.m., True said. There was no information available about when service on the line will return to normal. Riders that normally travel on the T-Third line should be advised that busses can be boarded from roadside curbs, True said. No other light rail service on the Muni system has...

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Man suffers life-threatening injuries in Tenderloin stabbing

A man suffered life-threatening injuries after being stabbed in the Tenderloin on Wednesday night. The victim, an Asian male, was attacked by a black male just after 7 p.m. on the 300 block of Eddy Street, according to the San Francisco Police Department. No arrests have been made and the case in under investigation, police said. Police did not have an update on the condition of the stabbing victim.

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Captain’s quick thinking prevented major damage

The captain in command of the 741-foot oil tanker that temporarily lost power on Tuesday night near the Golden Gate Bridge “responded in a textbook manner,” to prevent the massive vessel from running aground on the Marin County shoreline, according to the president of the San Francisco Pilots Association. The Overseas Cleliamar, bound for Ecuador from San Francisco, lost control of its propulsion and steering ability, but Captain Dave McCloy responded quickly by deploying the ship’s starboard anchor, said Peter McIsaac. McCloy’s quick-thinking prevented injuries, damage to the hull, and environmental degradation, McIsaac said. Although the Overseas Cleliamar...

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Goodwill seeks help from public

For many, Goodwill is an underground shopping mecca, where patrons can purchase secondhand clothing, accessories and household needs, sometimes for no more than the price of one of those coffee-shop lattes. What some shoppers may not realize is that the venerable nonprofit institution also boasts an array of job training programs — 12 alone in San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties — that provide valuable work skills for low-income residents. However, like countless other companies dealing with the dwindling economy, Goodwill is struggling to stay afloat financially, and as a way to help balance its budget, the organization is asking its loyal Bay Area patrons to help...

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No sign of leak from oil tanker that lost power

Clogged fuel lines caused an empty 741-foot petroleum tanker to lose power for 10 minutes outside the Golden Gate Tuesday, where it risked crashing into the rocky shoreline, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Overseas Cleliamar had unloaded its cargo of fuel in Martinez earlier Tuesday and had sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge – with enough fuel in tanks to reach its destination in Ecuador – when it lost control of its propulsion system, rudder and a generator at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday. The vessel regained power about 10 minutes after its initial distress call. Several tugboats and the U.S. Coast Guard escorted the boat safely back into the Bay, where it docked at Anchorage...

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Three-car crash sends one to hospital

A three-car crash sent one person to the hospital and closed a lane on Interstate 280 in San Francisco for about an hour this morning. The multi-vehicle pileup occurred at 8:04 a.m. on northbound I-280 near Geneva Avenue, according to Officer Peter Van Eckhardt of the California Highway Patrol. One passenger, an 18-year-old female, was transported to a nearby medical center, although her injuries do not appear to be life-threatening, Van Eckhardt said. The crash was likely caused by one car rear-ending the other, Van Eckhardt said. The far right lane on northbound I-280 was closed until about 9 a.m. CHP officials said. There was some traffic congestion because of the accident, but the...

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Chihuahua pup stolen from shelter

In a crime that would melt the heart of any pet lover, a 2-pound Chihuahua puppy was stolen Friday afternoon from a San Francisco animal shelter, just a day before it was scheduled to go up for adoption. The 3-month-old dog, which sports a distinctive golden brindle color with white markings, was taken sometime between 4 and 4:30 p.m. from a locked area of the Animal Care and Control shelter at 1200 15th St., said agency spokeswoman Deb Campbell. Video surveillance captured two men believed to be suspects in the kidnapping, she said. The suspects were the only people who entered the room where the puppy was staying, Campbell said. “They were not staff members, so we’re...

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Burglars hit quiet neighborhoods

A recent deluge of burglaries highlighted by thieves gaining access into homes through sliding doors and windows, has police urging residents living in normally quiet neighborhoods in the southwestern part of The City to be wary of any potential criminal behavior. At least seven homes—all detached single-family structures with backyards—have been burglarized in the past several weeks in the West Portal, St. Francis Wood, and Lakeside communities, according to Sgt. Steve Quon of the Taraval Police Station. In the cases, the burglars appeared to have walked to the back of the homes through an adjoining neighbor’s yard before proceeding to break-in via a window or a sliding...

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Identity of pedestrian struck in Sunset District released

The 81-year-old woman who was fatally struck by a vehicle in the Sunset District yesterday has been identified by the Medical Examiner’s Office. Yee-Fung Poon, a San Francisco resident, was killed after being hit by a Toyota Corolla while crossing Sunset Boulevard at Santiago Street, according to the San Francisco Police Department. Poon was transferred to the San Francisco General Hospital, where she died from her injuries. The drive did not appear to be speeding or intoxicated, police...

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Power outage hits San Francisco neighborhoods

About 4,400 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers were left without power for over an hour in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury, Twin Peaks and Sunset neighborhoods on Friday afternoon. Equipment failure first reported at 12:19 p.m. caused the outage, which only affected electrical usage, according to PG&E spokeswoman Tamar Sarkissian. Workers were able to fix the problem and restore power at 1:30 p.m., Sarkissian...

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BART experiences 15-minute delays

Morning commuters travelling on BART experienced about 15-minute delays between San Francisco and Oakland due to a trackway problem earlier Friday morning. Two separate incidents with the system’s trackway switches, one occurring between the Montgomery and Embarcadero stations, the other at West Oakland station, caused the initial setbacks, according to BART’s central command center. Workers have fixed the problem, but passengers are still experiencing residual delays between Montgomery station and West Oakland station, BART said. The trains were back on schedule at about 11:30 a.m. wreisman@sfexaminer.com Bay City News contributed to this report....

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Riders will pay for BART budget deficit

BART’s budget deficit is likely to cost you. Fare increases of as much as 10 percent and higher fees at parking lots are a few of the options BART’s board of directors are considering, as the agency copes with a projected $90 million budget deficit during the next two years. Officials met Thursday in Oakland to hear ideas on how to make up the deficit, which is largely attributed to the struggling economy. No decisions were made, though, and the transit agency won’t consider specific measures until at least next month. A significant portion of BART’s funding comes from local sales tax, which has dipped during the recession, and from state transportation funds,...

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Widower seeks dedication for late comedian

Gail Simon, the widower of comedian Jose Simon — founder of San Francisco’s annual free Comedy Day — is working on gathering public support to have a park bench named after her husband, who died in 2008. Simon, a Bay Area native, has continued her late husband’s philanthropic work, with her latest project being an autism benefit concert at the Warfield on Jan. 24 How is the petition going to get a park bench named after Jose? Well, we’ve already gathered 1,000 signatures, including names like Robin Williams and Joel Selvin. Unfortunately, when we talked with [former Supervisor] Tom Ammiano, he said it wasn’t a good time financially for The City to give...

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Police release description of suspect in triple-shooting

Police have released a description of the woman who was driving a vehicle involved in a triple-shooting in Brisbane early Monday morning. Brisbane authorities said an Asian female, aged 20-25 years old with a small to medium build was behind the wheel of a white Toyota Corolla when one of the occupants of the vehicle opened fire and injured three men travelling in a Honda Accord on Highway 101, just south of the San Francisco city line. The driver has light skin tone and blonde hair that was tapered to one side, with the longer tresses coming down to her right shoulder, according to the Brisbane Police Department. The police said at least two occupants were travelling with the female...

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Man arrested after trying to light cop car on fire

A San Francisco man a has greater understanding of the phrase, “when you play with fire, you get burned,” after he was arrested early Wednesday morning in the Sunset District for trying to light a police car on fire. Mark Buza, 42, applied some type of flame accelerant and lit the tires of a parked patrol vehicle near the intersection of 24th Avenue and Santiago Street at 3:15 a.m., according to Sgt. Lyn Tomioka of the San Francisco Police Department. When an officer from the nearby Taraval Police Station noticed an orange glow emanating from the tires he approached Buza, who immediately fled from the scene on foot, Tomioka said. Officers formed a security perimeter and...

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Obama signs temporarily replace Bush signs

When Barack Obama was sworn in Tuesday morning as the nation’s first black president, his vision of change for the country was culminated in dramatic fashion. That message rang particularly clear in San Francisco in more ways than one, starting with a literal change on The City’s streets made by a vandal. Signs marking Bush Street, which happens to be the surname of the country’s former president, was temporarily marked over with the last name of the president that would soon succeed him, Obama. The freshly minted Obama signs, which covered both sides of the structures featured the same font and print as the pre-existing Bush Street signs. Cars passing through the...

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Two hurt in early-morning fire in Diamond Heights

Two people were injured in an early-morning fire in The City’s Diamond Heights neighborhood. A one-alarm fire erupted at a two-story residence at 328 Gold Mine Drive at about 5:50 a.m., according to the San Francisco Fire Department. The two victims were transported to a nearby medical center with undisclosed injuries, the fire department said. The fire was contained by 6:40 a.m., the department said. No other information about the blaze was available. Earlier in the morning, firefighter evacuated residents of a senior center at 1000 Sutter Street, after smoke was reported in the building at 3:50 a.m. Officials at the scene did not detect any signs of fire, and everyone was let...

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Say goodbye to sunny skies, warm temps

After a week of clear skies and warm temperatures, San Franciscans could wake up to a colder and more cloudy city Wednesday morning. Clouds are expected to roll in to San Francisco and temperatures are likely to drop down to the 50s and 60s — weather conditions more customary for The City in January, according to Steve Anderson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Although there is a large front moving into the Bay Area, rainy conditions could split north to Oregon and south to Los Angeles, leaving San Francisco with only a 20 percent chance for showers for the latter part of this week, Anderson said. While The City may miss out on the precipitation, the forecast...

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Three injured in road rage shooting

Early morning gunfire on U.S. Highway 101 in Brisbane sent three men to the hospital Monday. The three men were traveling south with one other passenger in a gray Honda Accord at 2:30 a.m., when they became engaged in a confrontation with an unknown number of people in a white Toyota Corolla near Duboce Avenue in San Francisco, according to Sgt. Bob Meisner of the Brisbane Police Department. The two vehicles continued to engage with each other until the Tunnel Avenue exit in Brisbane, at which time the occupants of the Corolla pulled up alongside the Accord and opened fire, hitting the three men with at least six rounds of ammunition, possibly from a 9mm handgun, Meisner said. The...

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Woman hit by bullet in Pacific Heights

A woman was hospitalized after being shot in the shoulder while in a car in Pacific Heights on Sunday night. The victim was a passenger in a vehicle with two males when gunshots were heard at about 11:45 p.m. near the intersection of Sacramento and Laguna streets, according to the San Francisco Police Department. Moments later, the female realized she had been shot in the shoulder, police said. She was transferred to San Francisco General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No arrests have been made and the case is under investigation.

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San Francisco events celebrate historic day

San Francisco — a city that revels in its political preoccupation — has events aplenty to view and celebrate the historic inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama: from early-morning live simulcasts to late-night club events and benefits. Chantel Williams, assistant general manager at Castagnola’s, a restaurant in Fisherman’s Wharf, said she decided to open the establishment early so that viewers could watch a live telecast of the Obama inauguration. “We’re usually never open for breakfast,” said Williams. “But we knew how historic the day would be.” Free tickets for a live screening at The San Francisco Public Library have...

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Bomb scare at home of BART officer's family

An immediate family member of the BART police officer accused of murder fled his Napa County home on Wednesday afternoon after seeing two suspicious packages on his doorway. The Napa Sheriff’s Department’s bomb disposal team sent a robot to inspect the packages and a detonating device to render them safe, Commander Andy Lewis said. The packages were deemed to be neither hazardous nor explosive, although Lewis would not discuss what contents were inside. No information was available about the size and weight of the packages. Lewis could not give further detail on the relationship of the man to former BART officer Johannes Mehserle, other than to say he was an “immediate...

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18 arrested during riots in Oakland last night

Eighteen people were arrested last night, including one woman for assault with a deadly weapon, during a protest and ensuing riot in Oakland, spurred on by the killing of an unarmed man by a BART police officer. A peaceful march was planned for 4 p.m. at the Oakland City Hall to protest the killing of 22-year-old Oscar Grant, who was fatally shot by Johannes Mehserle at the Fruitvale BART station on New Year’s Day. During the march, police arrested two people who had Molotov cocktails in their backpacks, and one woman who assaulted someone with a deadly weapon, according to Officer Jeff Thomason of the Oakland Police Department. Thomason did not say how the officers knew the two...

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Man fatally stabbed by attacker in wheelchair

A man was fatally stabbed Wednesday in the Tenderloin by a wheelchair-bound attacker who fled the scene on foot and was later arrested. An altercation between the two men broke out about 5:25 p.m. in the 100 block of Jones Street, according to the Police Department. After the fight, the victim, a black man whose identity has not been released, walked into a nearby residential hotel and announced that he had been stabbed, police said. He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where he died later. According to Tenderloin Police Station Capt. Gary Jimenez, officers initially had no leads, but after viewing nearby private security cameras they were able to capture images of the...

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South City ferry moving forward

A long-awaited plan to build a $51 million ferry terminal in South San Francisco that would connect commuters from the East Bay to the Peninsula’s bustling biotech industry is expected to clear a major planning hurdle today. With funding for the project said to be secure, the Oyster Point Marina Ferry Terminal must now be approved by the region’s shoreline development agency, which will hold a public hearing and possibly vote on the matter. The Bay Conservation and Development Commission will review the project’s impact on nearby wetlands and wildlife, along with the terminal’s public-access points and structural sufficiency, but debate on those issues is likely...

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Porta-pottie arsonist strikes again

San Francisco’s most bizarre crime streak continued early this morning, when a portable toilet was set ablaze in Russian Hill, marking at least the 18th time in the last three months that a mobile bathroom has been burnt to the ground in the neighborhood. For their latest caper, the serial arsonist burned a portable toilet — commonly called a porta-pottie — on Washington Street between Jones and Taylor streets at about 4 a.m., according to the San Francisco Fire Department. Crews arriving on the scene doused the flames immediately, and nothing was damaged and no one was hurt, the fire department said. No one has caught a glimpse of the arsonist yet, who has burned the...

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Carbon monoxide levels ‘off the charts’ in fatal incident

Carbon-monoxide levels were “off the charts” at the Tenderloin apartment building where an elderly man died Monday and eight others were injured by fumes released from a leaky water boiler, officials said. Normal levels of carbon monoxide are 25 parts per billion. The readings at 816 Geary St. were as high as 900 parts per billion, Fire Department spokeswoman Lt. Mindy Talmadge said Tuesday. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and potentially toxic gas. Building resident Eddy Choy-Santos, 78, died and eight others reported injuries — including one sent to a hospital in critical condition — from the fumes, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office and...

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PG&E working to repair gas leak in SoMa

Construction crews from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company are working to repair a gas leak in the SoMa District that briefly caused a building to evacuate and has left at least 15 people without gas services. The problem was first reported at 6:30 a.m., when a resident near Folsom and Fremont streets called PG&E to alert them that his gas was not working properly, according to company spokesman Joe Molica. Construction crews sent to the scene detected a leak below the surface of Folsom and Fremont streets, and shut down the intersection to dig up and isolate the affected main, Molica said. A nearby two-story building was evacuated as a safety precaution, but the residents were...

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Resident dead from carbon monoxide poisoning identified

The 78-year-old man who died from carbon monoxide poisoning in a Tenderloin apartment building on Monday night has been identified by medical officials. Eddy Choy-Santos died and eight other people suffered injuries—including one sent to the hospital in critical condition—after noxious fumes were released from a leaky water boiler at 816 Geary Street, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office and the San Francisco Fire Department. In total, 50 people were evacuated from the five-story building for over four hours, with hazardous material workers clearing out the scene from 7:45 p.m. to just before midnight, according to fire department spokeswoman Lt. Mindy...

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Market Street plan picks up speed

The oft-mentioned proposal to ban automobiles on Market Street is again being considered. Unlike past efforts, however, advocates for the latest plan say they have a wide swath of support for the controversial measure. At the behest of Supervisor Chris Daly, who suggested the idea last summer following the orchestrated closures on The Embarcadero backed by his main political adversary, Mayor Gavin Newsom, local planners are studying the possibilities for restricting private vehicles from The City’s historic main thoroughfare. The idea has been posed by politicians before, most famously from former Mayor Willie Brown, as a way to speed up public transit and improve safety on the...

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Porta-potty arsonist strikes again

Call it the “Curious Case of the Bathroom Burner.” While he or she is unlikely to be portrayed by Brad Pitt in a blockbuster movie anytime soon, the mysterious arsonist that continues to light portable toilets on fire in San Francisco's Russian Hill neighborhood has grabbed the attention of some bewildered law enforcement officials. Early Friday morning, the arsonist — dubbed the "Loo Lighter" and "Toilet Torcher" by various media outlets — struck again, lighting up a portable toilet on the corner of Gough and Union streets, the 17th time since November that an outhouse has gone down in flames in the Northeast section of San...

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Local NAACP wants investigation in BART shooting

The Oakland Police began an investigation into the death of Oscar Grant Thursday, the third Bay Area agency to look into what happened the night the unarmed 22-year-old black man was shot by a BART police officer. Despite the confluence of investigations, the National Advancement for the Association of Colored People has called for scrutiny from state or federal investigator, saying that local inspectors cannot be trusted in the case that has taken on strong racial implications. Grant was killed on New Year's Day by Johannes Mehserle, a second-year BART police officer who is white. Amateur videotape and eyewitness accounts revealed that the Grant, who was pulled off the train for...

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40-minute delays on BART in East Bay

Passengers travelling on BART’s Pittsburg/Bay Point line are experiencing 40-minute delays in both directions this morning due to a disabled train in the East Bay. The train broke down between BART’s Lafayette and Walnut Creek stations at 6:57 a.m., according to district spokesman Jim Allison. Because of the breakdown, BART trains were forced to travel on a single track between the two stations, Allison said. The 40-minute delays were confined to passengers travelling between Lafayette and Walnut Creek, but residual setbacks have resulted in 15-minute delays on trains going from Orinda to the San Francisco International Airport, Allison said. Crews are working on clearing the...

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Harlem Globetrotter ready to drop ‘Buckets’

Anthony “Buckets” Blakes, a seven-year veteran of the Harlem Globetrotters, will bring his showmanship and skills to local basketball fans next week, when the venerable entertainment squad visits San Jose and Oakland for a four-game stint from Jan. 16 to 18. You guys have a busy stretch of games in California this month. Is it still exciting to perform with so many dates scheduled? Oh, yeah, it’s still a lot of fun, especially here in California. We usually get amazing crowds and it’s always a great atmosphere. What are some of the highlights people can expect to see from the Globetrotters? We have some very gifted dribblers, who can do some phenomenal things...

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The City records first homicide of ’09

A 59-year-old man’s throat was slashed Wednesday in a fatal daytime stabbing in the Richmond district, marking San Francisco’s first homicide of 2009. Ryosuke Yoshioka, a San Francisco resident, was attacked by 45-year-old Peter Fong in the parking garage of an OfficeMax store at the intersection of Arguello and Geary boulevards, according to police Sgt. Lyn Tomioka. Three passers-by who witnessed the knife attack corralled Fong and were able to detain him till police arrived at about 2:45 p.m., said Tomioka. Fong, a San Francisco resident, was arrested and remains in custody on homicide charges. Yoshioka was pronounced dead at the scene, Tomioka said. Police...

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Stabbing victim first homicide of 2009

A man had his throat slashed in a fatal daytime stabbing in the Richmond District on Wednesday, marking the first homicide in San Francisco this year. The victim, an Asian male whose identity has not been released yet, was pronounced dead at the scene when police arrived to Arguello and Geary boulevards at 2:46 p.m., according to the San Francisco Police Department. Details of the altercation that led to the stabbing are still scant, but police said that when officers arrived at the scene, a number of witnesses had already detained the suspect. The suspect, also an Asian male, was then arrested, police said. The homicide is the first in San Francisco this year. At this point last year...

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More than 100 arrests made during protest

Over 100 people were arrested in Oakland last night, after a protest rally in honor of Oscar Grant — a 22-year-old man who was killed by BART police — turned violent. The arrests included charges of vandalism, inciting a riot, unlawful assembly and assaults on police officers, according to Officer Jeff Thomason of the Oakland Police Department. Organizers originally planned a peaceful rally at the Fruitvale BART station to protest the death of Grant, a Hayward resident and father of a four-year-old daughter who was shot and killed by BART officer Johannes Mehserle. However, a rogue element of the protest broke off and began vandalizing property, Thomason said. Thomason said...

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Basketball coach makes strides with women's team

Tanya Haave, the third-year coach of the University of San Francisco women’s basketball team, has steered her squad to a 4-10 start. Haave will lead the Dons in their West Coast Conference opener at San Diego today. How would you rate your team’s play through the first half of the season? Well, we’re 4-10, but we’ve lost a couple of close home games and a road game, so we really could have been 7-7. I’m trying to use that thinking right now to illustrate to our team that we’ve been competitive, but there are things we need to improve on. What is the team’s attitude heading into conference play? I think they see this as a fresh start and the...

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Muni riders look to cash in on crash

The broken bones, scars and emotional damage from a Muni light-rail crash in June could cost The City more than $350,000. Eleven people have filed claims against San Francisco for the June 14 crash that occurred when a T-Third train traveling more than five times the speed limit rear-ended an idle N-Judah train at Fourth and King streets near AT&T Park. Documents obtained by The Examiner show that eight of the 11 people who filed claims are seeking a total of $367,034 for injuries suffered in the crash. Three of the claimants have already been paid a total of $11,557 from The City for injuries suffered in the crash, according to Matt Dorsey, spokesman for City Attorney Dennis...

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N-Judah train derails near 48th Avenue, service restored

Regular service has been restored on the western portion of the N-Judah line, after a train derailed near 48th Avenue today. The accident happened at 10:55 a.m., according to Judson True, spokesman for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Buses replaced the light rail line on inbound and outbound routes from Sunset Boulevard to the route’s western terminus near Ocean Beach while the service was disrupted, True said. No injuries were reported in the derailment, True...

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Man suffers life-threatening injuries in knife attack

A man was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after being stabbed in the Mission District early this morning. The victim was stabbed at the 2000 block of Mission Street at 3:55 a.m., according to the San Francisco Police Department. The suspect approached the victim, stabbed him in the chest, then fled on foot, police said. The victim was transferred to San Francisco General Hospital. No arrests have been made and the case is under investigation.

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Man, 73, dead in San Mateo senior center blaze

A 73-year-old man was killed in a one-alarm fire at a San Mateo senior center Monday night. Sang Sun Kim, a San Mateo resident, died after a fire broke out at the Villa Senior Apartments at 4000 South El Camino Real, according to a statement by the San Mateo County Fire Department. A fire originating in the kitchen area on the fifth floor of the building was first reported about 9:45, according to the fire department. Firefighters on scene quickly doused the flames, and in a search of the residence they found Kim unconscious in his room. Emergency officials attempted to resuscitate Kim, but he was unresponsive and was pronounced dead at San Mateo County General Hospital later that...

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Portable toilet arsonist strikes again in Russian Hill

The portable toilet bandit struck again Tuesday morning, lighting ablaze a mobile lavatory in Russian Hill for the 13th time in the last two months, continuing a series of arson acts that has baffled authorities. The latest toilet “victim” was set on fire at the corner of Van Ness Avenue and Greenwich Street at 3:20 a.m., according to a dispatcher from the San Francisco Fire Department. Firefighters arriving at the scene quickly extinguished the flames. Like the previous dozen cases, the fire department’s arson unit is investigating the incident, fire dispatch said. On Dec. 23, the fire department issued a release notifying that 12 portable toilets had been lit on...

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Tuned-down Macworld draws its usual crowd

Mac computer devotees from around the world descended on San Francisco on Monday for the Macworld Conference and Expo, despite this year’s event having a little less of a bite. Although Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs announced last month that he wouldn’t be making his annual keynote address this year, software developer and Mac devotee Marcus Zarra couldn’t help but remain a little hopeful for a cameo. “There is a part of me that is thinking he might come out unannounced right before the conference closes,” said Zarra, who traveled from Colorado for the second straight year to attend the event. “What I really enjoy is the mob mentality,”...

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Firefighters control blaze in Sunset District

San Francisco firefighters were able to control a one-alarm fire at a Sunset District residence early this morning. The fire broke out at 95 Judah Street at approximately 2:15 a.m., according to the San Francisco Fire Department. By 2:35 a.m., it had been contained, the fire department said. There was no information immediately available regarding injuries, damage to the property or cause of the fire.

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Woman in custory for allegedly killing 18-year-old

The 27-year-old San Francisco woman who allegedly fatally stabbed her boyfriend during a domestic dispute on Tuesday morning was in police custody Friday, officials confirmed. DeEbony Smith was in custody three days after police said she stabbed Lazarus Pickett—the 18-year-old father of her infant child — in the Western Addition neighborhood, according to Sgt. Lyn Tomioka, spokeswoman for the San Francisco Police Department. The two were having an argument inside a parked car on the 600 block of Larch Way, when Smith stabbed Pickett multiple times, police said. Pickett was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital, but died shortly afterward from injuries suffered in the...

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Homicide totals for recent years adjusted

With the turning of the new year, San Francisco’s homicide tally has definitively reset to zero for 2009, but a couple of recent homicide reclassifications have altered the amount of killings for the previous two years. Until as recently as Wednesday, the San Francisco Police Department officially declared that 98 homicides occurred in 2007 — a mark that was a decade high, and in danger of being eclipsed by the number of killings in 2008. However, a recent review by the Medical Examiner’s Office proved that 26-year-old Joshua Glasser’s death from asphyxiation in February 2007 should be classified as a homicide — not a suspicious death. That means the death...

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Two teenagers wounded in separate shootings

An 18-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries after being shot in the Oceanview neighborhood, near The City’s southern border, on Thursday night. The shooting suspect, an 18-year-old black male, approached the victim, an 18-year-old white male, at 8:30 p.m. at the intersection of Wilson and Rhine streets, and attempted to buy marijuana, according to Sgt. Lyn Tomioka of the San Francisco Police Department. When the victim denied possessing any marijuana, the suspect shot him multiple times, Tomioka said. The suspect then stole property from the victim and fled the scene, according to Tomioka. The victim, whose identity has not been released, was transferred to San Francisco...

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Residents to set trees ablaze on beach in annual tradition

Sometime into the new year, a group of San Franciscans will gather on Ocean Beach. But these revelers will not be singing yuletide carols — they will be burning discarded Christmas trees. No one seems to know for certain how these bonfire sessions got started or when they began, but it has become common practice for locals in the Avenues — areas of Ocean Beach and the Richmond and Sunset districts — to leave their old Christmas tree on the sidewalk after the year-end festivities have ceased. Locals gather them and use them as fodder for their annual burning on Ocean Beach. It doesn’t matter what day of the week trash pickup is; residents can rest easy knowing...

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Text message ban no LOL matter

California drivers intent on multitasking behind the wheel will have to put their plans on hold. As part of a slew of state laws set to take effect today, text messaging while driving is now banned in California. The legislation complements a similar rule put into effect in July that made talking on hand-held devices while driving illegal. The base fine for first offenders of the new text-messaging ban is $20, although various penalties and assessments increases the cost to about $100. For repeat offenders, that penalty grows to $200, according to the California Highway Patrol. Roadway officials are praising the merits of Senate Bill 28, authored by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo...

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The 3-minute interview: Fiona Ma

The former San Francisco supervisor was recently voted into her second term as a state Assembly member representing California’s 12th District, which includes areas of the Peninsula and The City. Why did you choose to focus on extending punishment on graffiti vandals in The City? San Francisco spends more than $20 million annually on graffiti abatement, so the people responsible for this need to be held accountable. By making them pay back the property owner and perform community service, we’re sending a message that this can’t be tolerated. What about your legislation to prevent “raiders” from looting other people’s recycling bins? This has been a...

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Church takes higher road in theft incident

The idea of giving on Christmas Day was apparently missed by a man who allegedly stole money from a church. Ignoring the good will usually synonymous with the holiday, a man walked into St. Cecilia Church on Christmas Day and tried making off with a handful of cash from the institution’s offertory box, according to a report from the San Francisco Police Department. The offertory box where the man took the money was set up to collect donations for the St. Anthony Foundation, which provides food and shelter for The City’s homeless and underprivileged, according to the Rev. Joseph Landi of St. Cecilia. The offertory box is a small wooden holder with a slit at the top of it, so...

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Trackside problems forcing delays on BART

Commuters travelling on BART from the East Bay to San Francisco are experiencing 10-15 minute delays due to a trackside problem at MacArthur Station in Oakland. The problem was first reported just before 8 a.m. and is in the process of being fixed, but residual delays have slowed down trains passing through the station into The City, officials at BART’s command center said. There was no immediate word on when the delays would be cleared, the officials said.

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Fire in Anza Vista displaces 15

A three-alarm fire left 15 people displaced Monday and damaged three buildings in The City’s Anza Vista neighborhood. The blaze erupted at 5:12 a.m. on the middle floor of a three-story building at 41-43 Barcelona Ave., according to Lt. Mindy Talmadge of the Fire Department. Flames were already spewing from windows when firefighters arrived. The fire eventually spread to all three floors of the building and into the residence next door, but everyone inside was able to escape without injury, Talmadge said. A crew of nearly 100 firefighters managed to douse the flames by 6:40 a.m., but not before the fire caused $800,000 in damage, she said. “There were very intense flames...

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Public transit offering travel incentives on New Year’s

Revelers returning from late-night (and early-morning) New Year’s parties will be able to travel on public transportation free of cost in San Francisco. For the ninth straight year, Muni will provide complimentary transit service on New Year’s Eve. The free rides begin at 8 p.m. on Dec. 31 and will last until 6 a.m. on New Year’s Day, according to Muni. Along with the no-cost rides, Muni’s underground Metro trains will extend their operating hours until 4 a.m. between The Embarcadero and West Portal stations. The historic F-Market streetcar will also run until 4 a.m. Several Owl routes — including the 5-Fulton, 24-Divisadero, and 38-Geary — will...

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Fugitive turns himself in to authorities after six days on the lam

A 59-year-old San Francisco man who escaped from a minimum-security facility in Redwood City last week turned himself into the authorities Friday after spending six days on the lam. Charlie Johnson, who was serving a one-year sentence for drug possession, walked away from a transitional facility on Dec. 20, according to Sgt. Laura Gibbons of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. After reaching contact with San Mateo law enforcement officials and detectives from the San Francisco Police Department, Johnson elected to turn himself in Friday at 1:15 p.m. in San Francisco, Gibbons said. He was transported back to San Mateo County, where he is currently being held in the county jail...

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Planned new Muni station part of Columbus Avenue face-lift

Wider sidewalks, expanded lanes for transit vehicles and a new underground Muni Metro station at Washington Square Park are all being contemplated by neighborhood activists and planning officials as a way to improve pedestrian access on Columbus Avenue. The busy diagonal street that connects The City’s Financial District to Fisherman’s Wharf is home to countless restaurants, cafes, boutiques and homes, but its sidewalks can be crowded and crossing the divide is perilous at times, according to Claudine Cheng of Renew SF, a neighborhood group that’s working on improving the major artery. Paired with the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, a local planning...

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Malfunction leads to brief power loss in SF

A mechanical malfunction earlier this morning briefly knocked out power to 5,550 Pacific, Gas and Electric customers in the northeast portion of San Francisco. The problem, first reported at 9:15 a.m., left customers powerless in the Nob Hill, Russian Hill and Ghirardelli Square neighborhoods, according to PG&E spokesman Brian Swanson. By 10:30 a.m., PG&E workers had fixed the problem and restored power to all customers, said Swanson. Swanson said a malfunction with one of the company’s substations — a transmission system that transfers power from voltages lines to distribution lines — was the cause of the outage. The company is investigating the incident to...

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Off-duty SF officer involved in road-rage confrontation

An off-duty San Francisco police officer fired shots from his service weapon after being threatened by another motorist during a road-rage confrontation in Marin County early this morning. The incident occurred near the entrance of the Waldo Tunnel at 12:45 a.m., according to Sgt. Diana McDermott of the California Highway Patrol. Reacting to the threat, the officer fired his handgun, at which point the truck fled from the scene, McDermott said. It was not known if either the passenger or the vehicle were struck by the gunshot, according to McDermott. Both the officer and the passenger in the green Ford truck remained in their vehicles during the confrontation. The police officer called...

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Glenn Cook ready to lead Cal in Emerald Bowl

The sixth-year senior linebacker is the team captain and leading tackler for a young Miami (Fla.) football team that will take on Cal on Saturday at AT&T Park in the seventh staging of the Emerald Bowl. Cook battled back from a season-ending foot injury last year and was named by the coaching staff as the team’s most inspirational player. This year’s team is loaded with young, inexperienced players. Have you made it a priority to reach out to them as one of the veteran players on the squad? Yeah. Your freshman year can be real tough, and I wanted to take the opportunity to talk to the young guys and kind of steer them in the right direction. You’ve been with the...

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Cal cornerback Syd'Quan Thompson looking forward to Emerald Bowl

Cal’s junior cornerback has started every game in his three-year career and was recently named a first-team All-Pac-10 Conference performer. On Saturday, Thompson and his teammates will face off against Miami (Fla.) in the Emerald Bowl at AT&T Park. Does the long wait between the end of your regular season and the bowl game help or hurt? I think it’s good for us. It allows us to get rested up and healthy, and we get a little extra time to focus on the classroom. Miami recently announced is suspended quarterback Robert Marve for the game. Does that affect the defensive game plan? Not really, because he and the other quarterback [Jacory Harris] are pretty similar, so we were...

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Apparent hit-and-run kills man walking near Fisherman's Wharf

The dead body of an Asian man discovered Sunday night near Fisherman’s Wharf has police asking the public for help in locating a possible hit-and-run motorist. The man, estimated to be in his 60s, was found by police officers at 6 p.m. at the intersection of Kearny and Bay streets, suffering from injuries that appeared to be consistent with an automobile collision, said Sgt. Wilfred Williams of the San Francisco Police Department. The man was alive when police discovered him, but he died from his injuries a short time later in a local hospital, Williams said. The police department’s hit-and-run unit is investigating the accident, but so far information on the death is...

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Truck driver charged with misdemeanor in Mollie Stones fatal crash

A Modesto man who was driving a heavy-duty truck that crashed into several vehicles and killed a nine-year-old boy in San Mateo in September, has been charged with one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter for his role in the accident. Carlos Siordia, 43, of Modesto, was working for the Hayward-based construction company Century Roof Tile on September 22, when the 10-ton vehicle he was operating blew through an intersection at 43rd and Olympic avenues, smashed into a car, and careened into several other vehicles in the parking lot of a nearby Mollie Stones grocery store in San Mateo. Nine-year-old Tyler Fahy of San Mateo, who was in the first vehicle struck by the runaway truck,...

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Heavy snowfall in Pacific Northwest forcing delays out of SFO

Nasty weather conditions in the Pacific Northwest are forcing the delays and cancellations of some early-morning flights out of San Francisco International Airport. Heavy snowfall in Portland and Seattle prevented a series of flights from taking off this morning from SFO, and there is no immediate indication for when the planes will be able to leave, said airport spokesman Michael McCarron. McCarron did not know how many departing flights to the two cities have been cancelled and how many have been delayed. Snow is forecasted to last throughout the day in Portland and until the afternoon in Seattle, according to weather.com. There were no other major delays to other cities in the nation...

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Counting walkers, bicyclists not as easy as 1, 2, 3

The number of people walking and biking in the Bay Area has always been a speculative matter, with different government and nonprofit agencies offering up various statistics. As a way to reconcile the discrepancies, Bay Area transportation officials are attempting to devise a universal method to count cyclists and pedestrians — a move that they say could impact future policy and planning decisions. Agencies including the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and Alameda County’s Congestion Management Authority have conducted studies on the number of local bicyclists, but often come up with data using different methods, making it difficult to compare statistics,...

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Body found on golf course ID'd as Pacifica woman

The body of a woman found near the Sharp Park Golf Course was identified by medical authorities Friday as a Pacifica resident. The death of Laura Jessica Valentine, 34, is being regarded as suspicious according to the Pacifica Police Department, which is currently investigating the case. Valentine was found Thursday morning by a hiker on the northwestern fringe of Sharp Park, between the golf course’s 16th hole and a nearby beach, Pacifica police Capt. Fernando Realyvasquez said Thursday. Initial reports from the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office indicated that Valentine’s body was found in a pond, but the Pacifica Police Department would not confirm that. The area...

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Big chill to hit region for a week

City residents looking to do some last-minute Christmas shopping will once again have to contend with rain and cold temperatures, as recent gloomy weather conditions are expected to continue this weekend. Rain is forecast to pelt San Francisco this afternoon and evening, eventually easing a little bit overnight, said Diana Henderson of the National Weather Service. Saturday is likely to stay somewhat dry through morning, but temperatures will likely stay in the low 50s, according to Henderson. Rain is supposed to pick up again Saturday night and last throughout Sunday, Henderson said. “If you’re looking to run some errands, your best bet is going to be Saturday,”...

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Plans for Doyle Drive rebuild approved

Exactly what the new Doyle Drive will look like became clearer Tuesday when plans for the 1.5-mile approach to the Golden Gate Bridge garnered further approval. The approval by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority was for the Presidio Parkway plan, which the agency initially approved in 2006. The move was the culmination of a design process that started in 1993. The Presidio Parkway plan will rebuild three lanes, add an emergency lane and add two tunnels. It will also add medians and shoulders, and increase access for pedestrians and bikes. The SFCTA formally approved the environmental impact report for the $1.04 billion project Tuesday. The Department of Transportation...

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City moves forward with congestion pricing studies

Motorists could be charged a fee for driving into certain parts of San Francisco, under two proposals that aim to reduce traffic that were approved by city officials Tuesday for study. Called congestion pricing, one of the options proposes creating a “double-ring,” which would charge drivers entering San Francisco from outside areas, as well as motorists entering a small downtown corridor within The City. The second option would only charge drivers who enter a downtown corridor, although that would encompass a larger area that would include some of San Francisco’s northeast. The two fee proposals were approved for “further analysis” by the San Francisco...

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Rabbi Yosef Langer rides on his own philosophy

He sports a long, flowing beard, his transportation method of choice is a motorcycle, he counts among friends rock star Perry Farrell, and he was a regular attendee of Grateful Dead concerts. Yes, Yosef Langer meets all the requirements of your typical, grizzled ex-roadie, but the 62-year-old’s real day job is as a rabbi. He’s also one of the Bay Area’s most visible — and unconventional — religious leaders. A Bay Area native, Langer has been a tireless local advocate for Judaism by bringing his message to the most diverse arenas — including San Francisco Giants baseball games, music festivals and on The City’s famous cable cars — with an...

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City tries to get a sense for parking

Muni wants to know when people are parking in Hayes Valley and for how long. Small motion sensors — which look like reflectors — will be placed along four streets in Hayes Valley this month for use in a test that will monitor parking meter occupancy. Roadway sensors will also be installed to measure traffic volumes and speeds. Data collected from the sensors will ultimately help set parking meter rates and provide other planning insight for Muni’s new federally funded SFpark program, which will use a variety of pricing-by-demand strategies to reduce traffic and free up parking by raising prices in places where there is high demand. Meter rates could increase —...

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Cabbie’s alleged money-making scheme exposed

A local cab driver described by officials as a “blight” on the industry has been punished for being dishonest about running a black-market taxi business — a difficult-to-regulate trend in San Francisco that officials say deprives The City of much-needed revenue and puts passengers at risk. On Tuesday, the San Francisco Taxicab Commission revoked the permit of Driss Elassali — meaning he will no longer be able to operate a cab in The City — after police pulled him over in August with a suspended driver’s license. The commission also fined Elassali $650 for making false statements for his role in an alleged money-making scheme, although he was exonerated...

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One dead in I-80 Emeryville accident; all lanes now open

A female passenger died Wednesday morning in Oakland after the car she was travelling in flipped over a concrete rail during an attempt to flee from police officers. The driver of the vehicle was initially stopped by Oakland Police officers at 6:20 a.m. for driving without his headlights on, according to Officer Sam Morgan of the California Highway Patrol. As police approached his vehicle, the driver sped off and attempted to enter Interstate 580 from the Maritime Street on-ramp, Morgan said. Unable to negotiate the steep curve of the ramp, the car flipped over the rail and rolled several times before coming to a stop in the right hand lanes of eastbound Interstate 80, just east of the...

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Two arrested, two at large in home-invasion robbery

Two teenagers were arrested while two other suspects remain on the loose, after the foursome allegedly attempted to pull off a daylight home invasion robbery and kidnapping in Potrero Hill on Tuesday. The incident began at 3 p.m., when the suspects broke into a home on the 700 block of Missouri Street, according to the San Francisco Police Department. After illegally gaining access, they took the resident out of her home and drove her to a nearby bank, where they forced her to withdraw money. While at the bank, the victim happened to notice a police officer on duty, and quickly notified the officer that she was being held against her will. When the nearby officer approached the...

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Man wielding homemade flamethrower arrested

An amateur pyrotechnician was arrested by police last weekend after staging an impromptu fire show in the Sunset District during the early morning hours. At 3 a.m. on Saturday at the 800 block of Judah Street, police found a 31-year-old man standing on the top of a pickup truck while wielding a homemade flamethrower that was shooting balls of fire four feet into the air, according to Capt. Paul Chignell of the Taraval Police Station. The man had obtained a couple of cylindrical tanks, possibly containing propane, and connected them with hoses to a metal outlet that directed the flames, Chignell said. Each time the man pulled the device’s trigger, a spout of fire would...

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Natural gas bills expected to be lower than last year's

Even though the winter months usually mean an increase in gas costs, Pacific Gas and Electric customers in the Bay Area will get a deal this December on their monthly bill. With an average monthly cost of $61.82, natural gas prices for residents in December are 22 percent lower than costs last year at this time, according to a release by the energy company. The $17 drop — as compared to the $78 average from December 2007 — is the result of the company’s high-storage levels of natural gas nationwide, said PG&E spokesman Joe Molica. As demand rises in the winter, prices usually flow accordingly, but because of heady natural gas acquisitions made by PG&E throughout...

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Serial groper lurks near CCSF campus

Three female students have been the victims of sexual battery on or near the City College of San Francisco campus in the past three weeks, and police believe two of the incidents were perpetrated by the same man. The striking similarities of the first two assault cases, strongly indicate a repeat offender, according to Capt. Denis O’Leary of the Ingleside Police Station. Both incidents occurred around 6 p.m. near the pedestrian overpass that crosses Geneva and Ocean avenues onto the CCSF campus, O’Leary said. The two victims said a man reached out and groped them between their legs as they were passing by him, O’Leary said. Both times the man fled in the opposite...

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Elevator experts split on fatal fall scenario

A reported theory from police that an Oakland doctor pried his way out of a stalled elevator door before falling to his death has received conflicting reports from industry and safety officials concerning its plausibility. The decomposing body of Dan Kliman was discovered Monday at the bottom in an elevator shaft in the historic Sharon Building at 55 New Montgomery St. Police have not released to the general public any details on the case, except to say that Kliman, an Oakland-based doctor and member of a vocal pro-Israeli group, “inexplicably fell” about six stories down the elevator shaft on Nov. 25 — six days before his body was discovered. Rabbi Judah Dardik, a...

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S.F. man pleads not guilty in stabbing of student

A San Francisco man accused of stabbing a student from the University of Southern California has pleaded not guilty to three felony counts stemming from the incident. Police said that Herman Zhu stabbed Kellen Spani, a student at USC, outside the Balboa Café on Nov. 15, the weekend when Stanford University hosted the southern California school in football. Zhu is charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and battery with serious bodily injury, according to Connie Chan, spokeswoman for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. On Dec. 2, Zhu pleaded not guilty to the charges — which carry a maximum sentence of life in jail — and is being...

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Caltrain fatally injures pedestrian in San Mateo

A Caltrain passenger line struck and killed a man on the trackway near San Mateo, marking the fourth time since Oct. 30 that the commuter service has been involved in a fatal collision. The accident occurred at 7:20 a.m., just south of the Hayward Park Station in San Mateo, when a southbound train hit the man, according to Christine Dunn, spokeswoman for Caltrain. There were no designating crossing sections at the site where the man was killed, Dunn said. “We have no idea what he was doing there,” said Dunn. “There is no reason to be on the tracks.” Medical officials have yet to release the identity of the man, who was the 15th person this year to die from a...

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New person of interest sought in double-homicide

Eight months after two people were gunned down outside of a pizza parlor in the Sunset District, police have announced they are seeking a person of interest in the case. Jason De La Cruz, 31, of Daly City, and Derek Butch, 23, of San Francisco were killed on March 29 at 2:15 a.m., near Irving Pizza on Irving Street and 19th Avenue. Police are now looking for 20-year-old Eric Siu in connection with the slayings. Siu, a former Sunset resident, hasn’t been seen since the night of the killings, according to a report issued by the San Francisco Police Department. Siu is described as a Chinese male, 5 feet 8 inches and 135 pounds. He has short black hair, brown eyes and a medium...

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Police: Doctor’s death in elevator shaft an accident

The death of a doctor from Oakland whose decomposed body was found in an elevator shaft did not involve foul play, police said Wednesday. The remains of 38-year-old Dan Kliman, a fiery pro-Israel activist, were discovered Monday on the lower level of the Sharon Building at 55 New Montgomery St. — at least six days after he fell about six floors. Details of the accident are being closely guarded by the Police Department, but spokesman Sgt. Wilfred Williams said “there is no evidence of foul play, whatsoever.” Williams said Kliman fell for an “inexplicable reason,” but would not give further explanation about the fatal accident, which went unnoticed for...

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Delays at SFO for the third-straight day

For the third straight day, low-visibility conditions are delaying flights entering San Francisco International Airport. About 25 percent of arriving planes are experiencing hour-long setbacks because of low-lying cloud coverage and thick fog, according to Linda Perry, duty manager at the airport. The airport has initiated a ground-delay program—which slows down arrival traffic to ensure that runways don’t get bogged down—that will last until 2 p.m., Perry said. “Obviously when planes come in late, they leave late,” said Perry. “So we’re going to be seeing delays on both departing and arriving flights.” On Monday, nationwide weather...

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BART experiencing slight delays as a result of police activity

BART trains are experiencing system-wide residual delays as a result of police activity at the 24th Street station in San Francisco this morning. Although the problem has been cleared, trains are travelling about 10 minutes behind schedule as of 9:30 a.m., according to BART’s central command. Central command did not have any information on why there was police activity at the 24th Street station in San Francisco’s Mission District. Officers arrived at the station a little before 9 a.m. and cleared the situation at about 9:20 a.m., central command said. The police activity temporarily forced a halt to trains at the 24th Street station.

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Man suffering from life-threatening injuries after bar fight

A man was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after getting into an altercation with an unruly bar patron in the Tenderloin early Wednesday morning. The stabbing suspect entered a bar on the 800 block of Geary Street at about 1:30 a.m. and began destroying property in the establishment during an apparent drunken rage, according to the San Francisco Police Department. The victim, reacting to the disturbance, was able to force the suspect outside the bar, but when the two men were out on the street, the suspect stabbed the victim multiple times, according to the police. The suspect fled on foot, and the victim returned to the bar injured with knife wounds. The victim was then...

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Questions raised about the death of man in elevator

The circumstances surrounding the mysterious death of an Oakland man known for his fiery pro-Israeli stance remain unknown, one day after his body was discovered at the bottom of an elevator shaft in a downtown San Francisco building. The decomposing remains of Daniel Kliman, a 38-year-old doctor with a general internist practice in Alameda, were discovered Monday on the lower level of the Sharon Building at 55 New Montgomery St. — some six days after police said the man fell seven stories to his death. The San Francisco Police Department said Monday night that the fall was an accident, but on Tuesday Sgt. Lyn Tomioka changed the stance slightly, saying the department would not...

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Local candlelight vigil planned for Mumbai victims

Local Jewish leaders and figures from the international community will gather on Tuesday for a candlelight vigil honoring those who were lost in the terrorist attacks last week in Mumbai. Among the at least 172 people killed in the attacks were six residents of Mumbai’s Chabad-Lubavitch house, a form of Orthodox Judaism that has a strong presence in the Bay Area. As a reaction to the deaths, the Jewish Community Center, located at 3200 California Street, will hold the vigil at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, with over 30 rabbis and local representatives from the Indian and Israel consulates expected to attend, according to Yosef Langer, a rabbi with the Chabad house of San Francisco, who is...

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Bad weather conditions forcing delays to, from SFO

Foul weather across the nation is creating delays for both arriving and departing planes at San Francisco International Airport. Planes leaving San Francisco for San Diego are experiencing two-hour setbacks because of heavy fog conditions in the southern California city, according to Dan D’Innocenti, duty manager for the San Francisco International Airport. Inclement weather in New York and Chicago are forcing delays of up to one hour for planes leaving San Francisco for those cities as well, D’Innocenti said. Inbound flights are also experiencing delays because of fog in San Francisco, resulting in setbacks between 30 minutes and one hour. The fog in San Francisco is...

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Man surrenders after 30-hour standoff

A 29-year-old man who had holed himself up in his parents’ Redwood City home for over 30 hours, armed with a shotgun, surrendered this morning to authorities, who had surrounded the residence after receiving reports of the man’s bizarre behavior. The parents of Mario Moreno, a Redwood City resident, called the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office at 10:57 p.m. on Saturday night after becoming increasingly worried about the behavior of their son, according to Lt. Ray Lunny. Although Moreno was the only person in the residence at 494 Fourth Avenue and had not made any threats to anyone, officers surrounded the home, evacuated the nearby residences, and closed down the street...

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Macy's lights up a charitable Christmas in Union Square

The 19th annual Macy’s tree lighting in Union Square is a chance to usher in the holiday season — and to contribute to charity. The 80-foot Shasta pine is adorned with 1,500 red and gold ornaments, and it has 21,000 LED lights. The tree in Union Square is also an opportunity to raise money for UCSF’s Children Hospital. For $5, anyone can purchase a tree ornament, with the proceeds directly benefiting the hospital. In the last six years, $700,000 has been donated to the hospital. Along with the Macy’s tree in Union Square, there is also the recently opened skating rink. Admission to the rink is $4 for children and $8 for...

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Bridge district commits $80 million for Doyle Drive rebuild

The Golden Gate Bridge district agreed to fund half of a $160 million regional package to rebuild Doyle Drive, a crucial step in advancing the long-awaited reconstruction project of the aging state highway. The $80 million commitment from the district came as a result of negotiations between several regional transportation agencies intent on closing the funding gap of the $1.04 billion reconstruction of Doyle Drive, the southern approach to the Golden Gate Bridge, which was given a rating of two out of 100 for structural efficiency by the federal government. The Doyle Drive rebuild project is still about $250 million short of being completely funded, but the $160 million regional...

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City considering a charge to drive down congestion

What’s more valuable to motorists, money or time? San Francisco officials are hoping some drivers will place more value on their watch than their wallet. Soon after London began charging to drive into parts of the city in 2003, San Francisco officials began looking into whether such a scheme would make sense for The City. The idea behind the so-called congestion pricing is to charge to drive in heavily traveled areas during peak times in an attempt to move commuters out of their cars and to other transit options. The San Francisco County Transportation Authority, which is overseeing the program, will in December allow the public to comment on four congestion-pricing options....

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Former fugitive shot, killed

A 29-year-old man who once appeared on San Francisco’s most-wanted list was fatally shot in the back after an argument early Tuesday morning in an area of North Beach notorious for violence. The slaying of San Francisco resident Richard Barrett at 12:55 a.m. near the intersection of Kearny Street and Broadway brings The City’s homicide total to 96 this year. A man shot Barrett twice in the back next to an ATM machine at the bar Fuse, according to Chris Curry, who witnessed the scene from across the street at the Hustler Club, where he works. The two men were involved in an argument, and a large crowd had gathered around them when the shooter opened fire, Curry said. After...

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Study: San Francisco No. 102 in crime rates

Despite recording 100 homicides in 2007 — the most in a decade — San Francisco’s violent-crime rate was better than 101 other major U.S. cities, according to a study released Monday. Issued by the CQ Press, an independent publishing company, the study listed San Francisco as No. 102 for worst crime rates in the country. New Orleans topped the list, followed by Camden, N.J., and Detroit, according to the study, which compared 385 cities with populations larger than 75,000. Two Bay Area cities were in the study’s top 10: Oakland at No. 5 and Richmond at No. 9. The data used by CQ Press comes from the latest release of the FBI’s “Crime in the United...

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Lunchtime power outage hits city

A mechanical malfunction on a circuit line in the northeast section of San Francisco that left about 8,900 Pacific Gas and Electric customers without power on Monday morning was still affecting 381 customers at 10 p.m. The outage occurred at 11:30 a.m. and affected residents in North Beach, Russian Hill, Chinatown and portions of Fisherman’s Wharf. By 10:15 p.m., 381 customers — all based near Leavenworth Street and Broadway — were still without power, utility spokesman J.D. Guidi said. Those customers were expected to have power back on before midnight, Guidi said. The outage occurred due to a problem with a “riser” — a heavy duty electrical cable...

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'Milk' actress gained new perspective on history

Hope Tuck, a 34-year-old San Mateo actress, stars in “Milk” as Mary Anne White, the wife of Harvey Milk’s killer, Dan White. Her 15-month-old son Anthony also appears in the film as the Whites’ child. How did you get your part as Dan White’s wife in “Milk?” I think they wanted a local actress who looked the part, and I fit the role. How much did you know about Harvey Milk before you started working on the movie? I was only four when everything happened, so I actually knew relatively little. I rented a documentary on Harvey, and it really made me understand what a big deal this movie was by bringing attention to his plight. Was it difficult...

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Student stabbed outside mayor’s bar

A Southern California college student who was stabbed last weekend while trying to break up a brawl in front of a Cow Hollow bar, which is in part owned by Mayor Gavin Newsom, remained hospitalized Thursday. Kellen Spani, a student at the University of Southern California, was stabbed multiple times in the chest early Saturday morning outside the Balboa Café, according to police spokeswoman Sgt. Lyn Tomioka. The business administration major was attempting to quell a fight between a group of his friends and a group of students from another school when he was stabbed, according to Tomioka. “He was acting as the mediator,” she said. Two suspects were arrested...

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Fans, alumni gear up for the Big Game

Although Stanford red and Cal blue and gold are woven into the fabric of San Francisco, The City will be noticeably adorned in those hues for the next few days, as the Bay Area’s two most prominent sports programs resume their storied football rivalry this weekend. The UC Berkeley Marching Band will be making several stops in San Francisco bars tonight to play fight tunes and pep up alumni in anticipation of the 111th Big Game, pitting the Cal Bears against the Stanford Cardinal. One of those stops is at Schroeder’s, a downtown San Francisco bar that has hosted Cal fans prepping for the Big Game for as long as current owner Jana Filipclk can remember. “They always...

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Theft charge remains for SFPD officer, despite motion

A judge on Thursday refused to dismiss charges of grand theft in the case of a San Francisco Police Department officer accused of stealing cash from an evidence box, but lesser counts of falsifying documents were dropped. Prosecutors have said that Michelle Alvis, 30, stole $2,390 in cash from an evidence locker at Taraval Police Station in October 2006, then altered documents to hide the crime. Alvis’ attorney, Lidia Stiglich, filed a motion to dismiss all five felony counts against the officer on the basis of insufficient evidence. On Thursday, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Carol Yaggy sided with Stiglich and dismissed the charges of doctoring the reports. However, the...

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N-Judah train hits car

An N-Judah struck a car Thursday morning after a woman attempted to make a left turn in front of the light-rail vehicle. The accident, which occurred at Judah Street and 11th Avenue just after 9 a.m., delayed trains going downtown for nearly 30 minutes. The driver, who would not identify herself, told The Examiner just after the crash that she was driving eastbound on the right side of the train before attempting to make a left turn with her four-door sedan. The woman told a Muni employee that she was nearly through the intersection when she felt her car spin from the collision. The impact from the crash caused a box to fly out of the woman’s car, falling into the intersection....

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Caltrain delays affect northbound commuters

For the second straight day, morning commuters traveling north on Caltrain are experiencing delays due to mechanical problems. A malfunction detected earlier this morning has caused a 39-minute delay on the northbound 211 train, which takes passengers from San Jose to San Francisco. Four other trains heading north are also experiencing minor delays due to the problem, according to Mary Knuckles, spokeswoman for Caltrain. Knuckles did not elaborate on what the mechanical malfunction was or if the problem will result in any further residual delays for southbound trains. Yesterday, a mechanical malfunction forced Caltrain to take its “baby bullet” express line out of service,...

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Nurse offers humor, how-tos for those with diabetes

Theresa Garnero, the clinical nurse manager at California Pacific Medical Center in The City recently published a how-to book on managing diabetes, “Your First Year With Diabetes.” November is National Diabetes Month. The disease currently affects 23.6 million people in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Why is diabetes such a huge and growing global problem? It is closely followed with the obesity trend in our country. One in three babies born after 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime. It’s a combination of things, mainly from moving less and having a diet that is not so great. Why did you write your book? The...

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Mechanical problems cause Caltrain cancellation, delays

Mechanical problems canceled one northbound Caltrain line and forced delays in several others trains on the commuter line that takes passengers from the South Bay to San Francisco. Service on train 319, a northbound “baby bullet” train that features express service from San Jose to San Francisco, was canceled during the morning commute because of the mechanical malfunction, according to Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn. As a result of the cancellation, the northbound train 215 experienced 30 minute delays, and the northbound 217 was 11 minutes behind schedule, according to Dunn. The two delayed lines were both very crowded, because passengers who normally took the 319...

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Journalist recalls lessons of Jonestown

Tim Reitman, a former Examiner journalist, was wounded 30 years ago Tuesday in an ambush by Peoples Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana, that killed five people. He later wrote a book on the church’s cultish leader, Jim Jones, titled “Raven.” Are you constantly thinking of Jonestown, or do your memories become more focused when big events like anniversaries arrive? I think about Jonestown every day; there is no question about it. But, my thoughts are a lot more extensive when these milestone anniversaries come up. What were your thoughts as you were preparing to visit Jonestown? I was expecting two things. Part of me was thinking that I would get down there and they...

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Woman killed in Russian Hill fire

A quick-moving blaze on Russian Hill killed an elderly woman and left 11 people looking for a place to call home Tuesday. Neighbors said the victim, whom they identified as Susan Pugliese, lived with her husband Joseph on the middle floor of the three-story residence at 1262-1272 Union St. The two-alarm fire appears to have originated at the Puglieses’ unit before spreading to the top and bottom floors of the building, according to San Francisco Fire Department spokesman Lt. Ken Smith, who said there was heavy black smoke coming out of the residence by the time firefighters arrived at 11:42 a.m. Smith said the responding units used aggressive tactics to tackle the inferno, which...

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Teen injured in Western Addition shooting

A man was in stable condition after being shot in the Western Addition neighborhood last night, police said. After hearing reports of gunfire at 9:20 p.m., police arrived at the 400 block of Rose Street and found a 19-year-old male suffering from a gunshot wound to the right thigh. The victim was uncooperative, but was transferred to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries, police said. No suspects have been arrested, and the case is being...

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Cause of blast at Sunnyside home investigated

A creaky and unstable home is preventing authorities from investigating what caused an explosion to erupt in the garage of a Sunnyside residence on Monday night. After the explosion an ensuing fire broke out at a two-story wood-frame home on 108 Congo Street at 7:45 p.m., according to Sgt. Wilfred Williams of the San Francisco Police Department. Five people were injured in the explosion, including one man who remained hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, Williams said. The damage to the garage, which is the base floor of the home, made it too risky for investigators to get inside and survey the scene, Williams said. “The explosion knocked out the support, so we...

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Jonestown memories die slowly

It has been more than 30 years since she left the Peoples Temple, but Yulanda Williams feels no more secure now than she did in 1977, when she narrowly escaped the steamy jungles of Jonestown, Guyana, and the clutches of its doomed cult leader, Jim Jones. “Even now, I won’t answer the door if someone comes by I’m not expecting,” said Williams, now an inspector with the San Francisco Police Department. “To this day, there are still people around here who believe in Jim Jones.” Williams, like many of Jones’ followers, is from San Francisco, where the Peoples Temple had a church on Geary Boulevard and Fillmore Street. Thirty years after the tragedy...

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Person fatally struck by Caltrain in San Mateo

A Caltrain passenger train fatally struck a woman on the railway tracks near San Mateo Friday, marking the second death and fourth incident within the last 16 days involving the commuter line. The collision occurred about 3:30 p.m. near 25th Avenue in San Mateo, when a northbound train hit the woman at a crossing intersection, according to a release by Christine Dunn, spokeswoman for Caltrain. The woman was transported to Stanford Medical Center, but she died soon afterward, Dunn said. The death was the 13th time this year someone was fatally injured involving a collision with a Caltrain. The intersection where the accident occurred had a crossing with gates, lights and bells, said...

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Former 'Idol' contestant to perform in S.F.

Tennessee native Josiah Leming gained fame earlier this year on “American Idol,” where his music and story of sleeping in his car as a struggling artist made him an instant favorite among the TV show’s fans. Now, Warner Bros. is slated to release his debut album early next year. The singer-songwriter will make a tour stop at the Red Devil Lounge on Sunday. You have a record deal with Warner Bros. and you’re about to head out on tour. Did you ever expect something like this two years ago? I had no idea how it would happen, or even if it would happen, I just knew that it was something I wanted more than anything in the world. I’m incredibly amazed and grateful...

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Officials want to curb pet euthanasia at city shelters

City officials want shelters to start killing fewer stray cats and dogs. In 2007, The City’s official animal shelter, operated by Animal Care and Control, euthanized 1,311 animals. The shelter must accept any animal delivered to it, which in 2007 totaled 6,507 cats and dogs. The Animal Control and Welfare Commission on Thursday committed to finding a way to reduce the number of homeless animals that are euthanized in The City. The intent is not to establish a no-kill policy in San Francisco shelters, but to hear from experts on ways to improve the percentage of animals that are released to new homes after being brought into the shelter, Commissioner Angela Padilla...

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Family discovers grenades in home

A family in the Sunset district had to call the bomb squad Wednesday night after they discovered a cache of grenades while cleaning out the belongings of a recently deceased family member. Officers received a call about 11 p.m. from a residence on the 2000 block of 20th Avenue, according to the San Francisco Police Department. The police department dispatched its bomb squad to the scene. The unit then took the grenades to a safe location and detonated...

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Rising sea levels could endanger development around Bay

Two years ago, state scientists released a report concluding that a 33-inch rise in Bay Area sea levels by 2100 was a real possibility — a potentially devastating development for an estuary that features 240 miles of low-lying shoreline as a result of landfill. Few Bay Area agencies, however, have taken much action to mitigate the potential dangers of flooding and water damage since the report was released, according to one state official charged with overseeing conservation and public access to the region’s waterfront. “Sadly, there is very little shoreline development in the Bay Area addressing rising water levels,” said Will Travis, executive director of the...

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Woman hospitalized after being struck by Muni bus

On the last day that Muni was receiving bids to help the agency improve its safety, a woman on a bicycle was struck by a bus in the SoMa district. The female cyclist was hit about 9:15 a.m. Wednesday by a 10-Townsend on Townsend Street between Third and Fourth streets, according to Muni spokesman Judson True. The woman was transferred to San Francisco General Hospital, but her injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, according to Mindy Talmadge of the San Francisco Fire Department. The driver of the bus has been tested for drugs and alcohol and placed on nondriving status, which is standard department procedure following an accident, True said. The accident came on the same day...

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Bridge toll may rise to raise funds for seismic retrofit of Doyle Drive

Higher tolls for some drivers could come as a result of $80 million in regional transportation funds that were given preliminary approval Wednesday to help replace the seismically unsafe southern approach to the Golden Gate Bridge. The funding, from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, is part of a tentative agreement to help rebuild Doyle Drive, and would require the Golden Gate Bridge District to make a matching contribution of $75 million. On Nov. 26, the transit commission is expected to echo Wednesday’s approval — from one of its committees — of the funding deal. The bridge district board is slated to vote on whether it will pitch in its $75 million share...

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Gas prices down $1 since last month

Drivers recently aghast because of high gas prices may still be in for a shock: how low the cost is now. The average price of gasoline in San Francisco plummeted $1 in the last month, and the decrease could continue through Thanksgiving, analysts say. The falling prices are largely due to consumers buying less, according to AAA Northern California. In the last month, prices have fallen more than $1 in San Francisco, from $3.68 a gallon Oct. 12 to the current citywide average of $2.60, according to AAA. San Francisco’s prices are still nearly 40 cents more than the national average, but are a far cry from when drivers paid an average of $4.62 per gallon in June. People have...

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Harris set to run for attorney general

Kamala Harris, who broke barriers by becoming the state’s first African-American female district attorney and the first woman of Indian-American descent to hold that position in the country, formally announced today that she will seek the position of attorney general, California’s highest legal office. “I started my career out of law school as a prosecutor for the Alameda DA’s Office, and I can tell you from the frontlines we need tough new ideas for strengthening our criminal justice system in California,” Harris wrote on her Web site. On the site, Harris confirmed that she had filed papers to run for California attorney general in the June 2010 primary...

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Police chase ends in crash, arrest in Bayview

A high-speed pursuit ended dramatically Monday night in the Bayview district, after police arrested a man who started the chase by trying to run down a pair of bicycle officers in the Tenderloin. At 7:45 p.m. on Monday two bike officers initiated an investigation with a man driving a sedan on O’Farrell and Leavenworth streets, according to the San Francisco Police Department. When the officers approached the vehicle, the driver swerved at both of them, police said. While the officers were able to elude injury, one bicycle was run over and dragged a block to O’Farrell and Jones streets. The suspect then drove off, eventually getting onto southbound Highway-101, police said....

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Health center opens up on Sixth Street

About 200 people attended the grand opening of a community development center on Sixth Street on Monday, a rare piece of good news for The City’s beleaguered public health department. The Sixth Street Self Help Center will feature substance abuse treatment, a medical clinic, case management, and peer-counseling services, according to the Jackie Jenks, executive director of Hospitality House, a city agency that manages several different health programs. Sixth Street features high rates of impoverished residents with substance abuse problems, making the development center an essential gathering point, Jenks said. Many people in the neighborhood live in single-occupancy rooms or on...

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Crowds mob Stonestown for 'Twilight' star's appearance

A scheduled autograph session at the Stonestown Galleria with the star of an upcoming vampire movie drew an unexpectedly large and unruly crowd Monday, resulting in the injury of at least one girl. Organizers cancelled the autograph session with 22-year-old Robert Pattinson, the star of "Twilight," a movie about a campire and a human teenager, after a crowd of about 3,000 people-- mostly teenage girls-- showed up early Monday morning and rushed the mall to buy wristbands needed for admittance. The books on which the movie is based are hugely popular with teen readers. However, a police spokesman at the San Francisco Police Department’s Taraval Station said crowds...

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Police reconsider procedures in wake of prisoner's escape

The San Francisco Police Department is investigating ways to improve its prisoner-transfer procedures after a 19-year-old burglary suspect escaped from custody and spent 20 hours on the lam. Despite having both hands shackled behind his back, Carney Taylor managed to break free from police officers at the Northern Police Station on Thursday night, according to Capt. Al Casciato. Casciato said Taylor was among several suspects being processed into a police wagon for transfer from the station at Fillmore and Turk streets to the county jail on Bryant Street. While waiting to enter the vehicle, the fleet Taylor dashed down Turk Street, eluding a number of pursuing officers, before taking a...

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Man in critical condition after being struck by train

A man was in critical condition after being struck by a Caltrain passenger line near Mountain View this morning, the third incident in the past eight days involving the commuter rail that carries passengers from Gilroy to San Francisco. The injured person, a white male in his 30s, was hit by a northbound train about 5:15 a.m. near the Highway 85 overpass, according to Victor Lopez, a detective with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office’s transit division. The man walked onto the tracks near Mountain View where there were no crossing points and numerous “no trespassing” signs visible, Lopez said. “Signage there makes it very clear that pedestrians are not...

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1 dead, 1 hurt after being hit by car in Mission

One man was killed and another was injured after they were struck by a vehicle while crossing the street in the Mission district early Thursday morning. Nelson Aguilon, a 23-year-old San Francisco resident, was fatally injured after colliding with a red Toyota sport utility vehicle traveling south on Mission Street at Virginia Avenue, according to Dean Taylor, an inspector with the San Francisco Police Department’s hit-and-run division. The other pedestrian, whose identity has not been released survived with non life-threatening injuries, Taylor said. Preliminary reports indicate that the Toyota SUV was passing through a green light when it struck the two men, according to Taylor....

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Accident delays Caltrain service northbound to S.F.

An accident involving Caltrain and a vehicle near San Jose caused delays for commuters heading northbound to San Francisco this morning. A passenger train hit a car driven by a woman near the Blossom Hill station at 6:50 a.m., according to Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn. As a result of the collision, two San Francisco-bound trains — the 221 and 225 lines — scheduled to leave at 6:30 a.m. and 7:05 a.m. from Gilroy were canceled, Dunn said. The northbound 319 train, which takes passengers from Tamien station in San Jose to San Francisco, is experiencing 15-minute delays as a result of the accident. The woman driving the car survived and was transferred to a local...

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Emergency response funds retained

A monthly fee for emergency response that used to be tacked on to phone bills in The City — generating approximately $42 million annually for 911 services — has been retained, but is now called a tax, after voters approved Proposition O. The ordinance was placed on the ballot by city officials after a similar fee in Union City was deemed illegal by a state appeals court, that said it was a tax that needed to be approved by...

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Voters reject sewage plant slight

San Francisco voters rejected a suggestion to rename one of The City's water treatment plants the George W. Bush Sewage Plant. The not-so-subtle dig at the current commander-in-chief would have required the change to become effective upon the inauguration of the next president. The name change would have been required on the facility's signage as well as on city maps. Backers of Proposition R gathered the required 7,000-plus signatures to place it on the...

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City determined to keep rocking in park

Police recorded more than 250 noise complaints and handed out 272 parking tickets during the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in August, the first multiday evening concert ever staged in Golden Gate Park — an event city officials want to happen every year. The strain from the 150,000 attendees on The City’s Sunset and Richmond districts required 28 extra police officers and two sergeants, according to a report submitted to the Board of Supervisors by Deputy Chief Kevin Cashman of the Police Department. The department spent $12,308 in labor costs for the extra officers, although police spokeswoman Sgt. Lyn Tomioka said the money will be reimbursed by concert promoters...

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Complaints won't stop multi-day festivals

Police recorded more than 250 noise complaints and handed out 272 parking tickets during the Outside Lands Music Festival, the first multi-day evening concert ever staged in Golden Gate Park — which city officials are hoping to make an annual event. The strain on the adjoining Sunset and Richmond neighborhoods from the 150,000 concert-goers required 28 extra police officers and two sergeants, according to a report submitted to the Board of Supervisors by Deputy Chief Kevin Cashman of the San Francisco Police Department. The department spent $12,308 in labor costs for the extra officers, although police spokeswoman Sgt. Lyn Tomioka said that total will be reimbursed by the...

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S.F. man arrested in fatal Bernal Heights shooting

Police have arrested a 24-year-old San Francisco man in connection with the Monday night shooting death in Bernal Heights. Police officials confirmed that Max Reyes was arrested Monday in connection with the death of John Rodgers, 36, who was one of two people shot while in a residence on Fair Avenue, a small side street south of Cesar Chavez Street and east of Mission Street. Rodgers was pronounced dead at the scene by police officers, while the other gunshot victim, an unidentified 48-year-old male, survived with non life-threatening injuries. Rodger’s death was the 93rd homicide in San Francisco this year. In 2007, when The City recorded a decade-high 98 homicides, there were...

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Strike anniversary brings back memories for dean

S.F. native Laureen Chew participated in the 1968 student strike at San Francisco State University and is the associate dean at the School for Ethnic Studies — which was created in the wake of the protests. Thursday marks the 40th anniversary of the strike. What was the atmosphere like at SFSU leading up to the student strikes? This was in the ’60s, when civil rights, anti-war and other issues were very much in the forefront. There was a large sense of upheaval in the country, so the strike did not come out of the blue. The minorities on campus really believed that we were being underrepresented in our learning curriculum, and even though we were all quite different, we all...

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City-backed Halloween party in Mission Bay didn’t draw big crowds

Low attendance, a light drizzle, and long queues for food dampened the party spirit at a free Halloween event Friday that was backed by The City in a less-than-successful effort to draw crowds away from The Castro. Set in a parking lot adjacent to AT&T Park in Mission Bay, the festival drew a sparse crowd of teens and young adults scattered between its three stages at 10 p.m., but the crowd displayed little enthusiasm for the musical acts and DJs who filled the open-air event with music. “I expected to see more people here,” said Don McChesney, a young man who appeared in his 20s dressed as Captain Hero from the animated TV comedy “Drawn Together.” Just...

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Castro revelers and police find a peaceful balance

The Castro was filled with celebratory revelers on Halloween, watched closely by a heavy police presence meant to prevent the violence and drunk-and-disorderly behavior that has marred the gathering in recent years. Unlike last year, when city officials urged Castro businesses to close their doors at night to discourage people from flooding the neighborhood on Halloween, a number of bars, restaurants, cafes and stores maintained regular store hours and turned a swift trade. “It’s a lot better than last year,” said 18-year Castro resident Ken Hauser, who was decked out in leather garb. Hundreds of riot-ready police officers and barricades kept revelers on sidewalks...

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Critical Mass costumes make monthly ride more festive

Hundreds of bicyclists, most dressed in garish costumes unlikely to be seen on the backs of Tour de France competitors, cheered in jubilant celebration before embarking on the monthly Critical Mass rally — this ride with a Halloween theme — from Justin Herman Plaza Friday evening. The parade of local bicyclists, regularly scheduled for the last Friday night of each month, took off down Market Street at 6:25 p.m. Bunny rabbits, robots, skeletons, clowns and numerous Sarah Palins were all part of the evening show, which brought together a sizeable number of participants, despite early predictions of rain and wind. Every year there is usually a Halloween-themed Critical Mass...

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Revelers come to Castro for Halloween, but in smaller numbers

Scores of police officers manning barricades in the Castro kept revelers off the streets early Friday night, but despite warnings from the police and city officials that there would be no official event this year, costumed revelers came ready to celebrate Halloween. Efforts to shut down the large gathering began last year, in response to violence and problems with rowdy, drunken behavior. In 2006, gunfire erupted in the Castro on Halloween, injuring nine people. Unlike last year, however, when city officials urged Castro businesses to close their doors at night to discourage people from coming to the neighborhood on Halloween, a number of local businesses, including bars, restaurants,...

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Halloween festival in Mission Bay attracts families

Streams of parents with costume-clad children trickled into the parking lot adjacent to AT&T Park early Friday evening for a city-backed Halloween party that appeared under-attended. An estimated 1,500 festival-goers were in attendance at the event by 6 p.m., although vender stands remained empty and various musical acts played to audiences of a few scattered individuals. The festival, funded privately and organized by a local group, Latin Zone Productions, was backed by city leaders as a family-oriented, safe alternative to an annual gathering that has taken place in the Castro but was cancelled this year and last due to increasing violence and disorderly behavior. At the Mission...

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Caltrain reaches deadly dozen

A 56-year-old San Mateo man killed in a train collision Thursday, after apparently driving his pickup onto the tracks, was the 12th fatality of the year — and the second this month — along the Caltrain line that runs from San Francisco to Gilroy. The incidents come even as Caltrain is in the midst of a $7.2 million program to increase safety conditions along tracks. Initial reports indicate the man drove his truck around a set of downed crossing gates at 5:25 a.m. at the intersection of Ninth and South Railroad avenues in San Mateo, said Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn. The San Mateo County coroner identifed him as Wayne Proia. The truck was dragged 200 yards following...

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Filmmaker is 'Wild at Heart'

San Francisco filmmaker Melissa Peabody’s 55-minute documentary about The City’s resurgent coyote population, “Still Wild at Heart,” will be shown Saturday at the Main Library. What prompted you to start this documentary? It began in the late summer of 2003, when, unbelievably, a wild coyote showed up in Bernal Hill. All sorts of questions flooded my mind, [like] how did this four-legged creature get to a tiny hill surrounded by freeways and dense urban housing areas? What is the cause for the recent coyote population growth in San Francisco? Coyote populations nationwide are expanding, and we know the coyotes in San Francisco are from Northern California. Like...

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Weather could dampen holiday

Halloween in San Francisco will be a mixed bag of tricks and treats with no organized party in the Castro, predictions of rain, a heavy police presence and events planned throughout The City. The Police Department has put out an advisory that there is no city- sponsored event in the Castro, and officers will be enforcing a “zero-tolerance policy” against public drinking and any other criminal activity. In recent years, The City has tried to crack down on Halloween festivities in the Castro due to violent and disorderly behavior, including shootings in 2006 that left nine people injured. Unlike last year, when bars closed their doors early, the Castro will operate as...

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Woman is killed in hit-and-run

An elderly woman was killed Tuesday afternoon after being struck by a motorcycle while crossing the street near the Presidio. The woman, whose identity has not been released, was hit about 3 p.m. at the intersection of Chestnut Street and Richardson Avenue, according to the Police Department. The woman was transferred to a nearby hospital, but she died from her injuries a few hours later, police said. The case is being investigated as a hit-and-run....

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Pedestrian fatally struck by motorcycle

An elderly woman was fatally injured when she was struck by a motorcycle while crossing a street near the Presidio on Tuesday afternoon. The woman, whose identity has not been released, was hit at the intersection of Chestnut Street and Richardson Avenue about 3 p.m., according to the San Francisco Police Department. The woman was transferred to a hospital, but she died from her injuries a few hours later, police said. The case is being investigated by the police department’s hit-and-run...

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Woman hit by car in Richmond district

A woman was hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries after being struck by a vehicle while crossing Fulton Street at 30th Avenue this morning. The woman, whose identity has not been released, was hit by a car about 7:10 a.m., according to Sgt. Lyn Tomioka of the San Francisco Police Department. The woman, described only as “elderly,” was transferred to San Francisco General Hospital following the collision, Tomioka said. A report was being filed concerning the accident, but no arrests had been made, Tomioka said. Westbound traffic was closed on Fulton Street for about 30 minutes following the accident while police cleared the scene, Tomioka...

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Shooting kills man in Visitacion Valley

A San Francisco man was fatally shot in Visitacion Valley on Sunday night, according to the San Francisco Police Department. Officers responded to the scene at 8:40 p.m. after receiving a call about shots being fired and found Daniel Gomez, 33, with multiple gunshot wounds near the intersection of Hahn Street and Visitacion Avenue, police said. Gomez was pronounced dead at the scene. No arrests have been made and the case is under investigation, police said. There has been no information released about the suspect's description. Gomez was the 93rd homicide victim in San Francisco this year and the second in the past three days. Last year, when The City recorded a decade-high 98...

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Nine people displaced by Mission district fire

Nine people were left homeless after a fire destroyed three units in a two-story Mission district residence Sunday night. One resident and one firefighter were briefly hospitalized with minor injuries due to the two-alarm blaze, which was first reported at 9:40 p.m. at 1655 York St., according to Lt. Mindy Talmadge of the San Francisco Fire Department. It took approximately 60 firefighters to corral the blaze, which was contained at 10:55 p.m., Talmadge said. Residents of two of the three units in the building were present at the time of the blaze, including a family of four with two children, Talmadge said. There was some initial confusion about the status of the children because the...

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Coach points USF in a whole new direction

Flanked by two framed jerseys from his playing days — one from the NBA’s Miami Heat and another from Kansas University — newly hired University of San Francisco men’s basketball coach Rex Walters lets out a brief, reactionary laugh before exhaling a bemused sigh while fielding questions in his sparsely decorated office at the War Memorial Gymnasium. When asked how he will turn around a once-proud program — which boasts three national championships but is coming off its worst season in 21 years — Walters confesses that he alone cannot be the savior. “This is not about me,” said Walters, who led Kansas to the Final Four in 1993 before...

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Traffic down on Golden Gate Bridge, but transit ridership up

Car traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge has been decreasing for seven straight months, but money lost from those missing tolls is being partially offset by an increase in ridership on the bridge district’s transit fleet, according to its governing body. Slightly more than 1.6 million vehicles traveled into San Francisco from Marin in September, a figure that is nearly 5 percent less than the number of drivers in September 2007. High gas prices and overall economic uncertainty are among a number of factors attributing to the drop in traffic, said Mary Currie, spokeswoman for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. There were also 93,000 fewer vehicles on the...

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Mechanical problems delay N-Judah commute

Passengers traveling from the Sunset district to downtown San Francisco aboard the N-Judah train experienced delays this morning after a mechanical problem disrupted service on the line for 30 minutes. The problem occurred about 8:40 a.m. and shut down rail service from Ninth Avenue and Irving Street to Hillway Avenue and Carl Street, near UCSF’s Parnassus Heights Campus, according to Judson True, spokesman for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Trains outbound from downtown San Francisco were redirected and turned inbound at UCSF, True said. Muni dispatched buses to replace the downed light-rail line, but many passengers on the inbound trains were forced to walk...

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Police search for South City robbery suspects

Two men accused of committing armed robbery Thursday night are being sought by South San Francisco police officers. The men approached a 25-year-old man on Randolph Avenue about 10 p.m., according to a report released by the South San Francisco Police Department. One of the suspects pointed a handgun at the victim and demanded that he give up his possessions, according to the report. After stealing the victim’s valuables, the two fled the scene on foot and were last spotted near the stairs that access Sister Cities Boulevard, the report said. One of the suspects was described as 6 feet tall and wearing a baseball cap, white shirt and blue jeans, according to police. He carried a...

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Weekend in The City should be beautiful

Daylight hours may be dwindling, but summerlike weather is still around — for now. Forecasts for this weekend are calling for clear skies and temperatures in the 80s, ideal for a weekend filled with events in The City. The warm weather continues a recent spate of unusually balmy days, but this weekend might offer the last chance for San Franciscans to get out and enjoy the sun, as temperatures are expected to dip Monday, according to Tom Moore, lead meteorologist for the Weather Channel. Moore said a large, high-pressure ridge that’s dominating the western part of the country is responsible for the warm weather. Highs are expected to be in the low 80s on Saturday and...

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South City man arrested in connection with brother's stabbing

A South City man was hospitalized after being stabbed in the head and torso by his brother Wednesday night, according to the South San Francisco Police Department. The victim, whose name has not been released by authorities, and his brother, Juan Francisco Salazar, 41, were involved in an argument at 7:20 p.m. that escalated into a physical confrontation, according to a police report. In the fray, Salazar stabbed his brother twice before fleeing the scene, according to the report. Salazar’s brother was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was being held in serious but stable condition. Two hours after the fight broke out, police located and arrested Salazar on Grand...

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I-880 returns to normal after blaze

- Drivers who faced a traffic nightmare Wednesday on Interstate 880 in Oakland due to a tanker-truck explosion should find the roads open and back to normal today. As of 7:40 Wednesday night, after more than 13 hours of work by CalTrans and gridlock for commuters, all lanes of the freeway had reopened, California Highway Patrol officials confirmed. A massive fire was sparked when a black sedan rear-ended the tanker, causing it to crash about 6:15 a.m., according to Trent Cross, spokesman for the CHP. After the two vehicles collided, the sedan spun into the center divider and the tanker, carrying 8,600 gallons of gasoline, overturned and erupted in flames, Cross...

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Problem with track causes BART delays

For the second straight day, San Francisco passengers traveling on BART are experiencing delays during the morning commute due to mechanical malfunctions. A problem with BART’s track between the 16th Street and Civic Center stations initially caused 15 to 20 minute delays for trains traveling in and out of San Francisco, according to BART’s command center. The problem was discovered at 4:40 a.m. and cleared by 6:30 a.m., but there are still 10 to 15 minute residual delays in all San Francisco stations, according to command center. The maintenance crew is now off the track, so service is expected to return to normal shortly, BART officials said. On Monday, a malfunction...

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Mechanical problem causes BART delays

BART passengers traveling from San Francisco to the East Bay are experiencing 10-minute delays as a result of a mechanical malfunction on a train early Monday morning. The problem with the BART train was first diagnosed about 7 a.m. on Monday as it was traveling through San Francisco’s downtown stations. BART officials have moved the train off the track, but residual delays remain. It is unknown how much longer the delays will be in place, according to BART’s central...

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Cable-car injury could cost Muni $750,000

A Chicago woman who was injured four years ago while traveling aboard an out-of-control cable car is set to receive a $750,000 settlement from The City. Susan White was visiting San Francisco on Oct. 8, 2004, while working for Sony when she boarded a Powell-Hyde cable car at Ghirardelli Square about 10:30 p.m., according to White and Municipal Transportation Agency documents. The cable car weaved southbound through Russian Hill before taking a left on Washington Street, where it steadily picked up speed, according to transit agency documents. Eventually the pace of the car increased, forcing one of the operators onboard to abruptly pull the emergency break near Mason Street. The sudden...

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S.F. man identified as victim of fatal stabbing

The man who was fatally stabbed in the SoMa district on Tuesday night has been identified by medical authorities. Garland Alston, 55, of San Francisco, died from multiple stab wounds after being assaulted at a parking lot on Beale and Howard streets. Just hours after the stabbing, police arrested William Anaya, 42, in an area near the homicide scene. Alston was the 89th homicide victim in San Francisco this year. On Thursday, authorities confirmed that 16-year-old Jonisha Tucker had died from gunshot wounds she suffered on Tuesday, making her the 90th person to be killed in San Francisco in 2008. No suspects have been arrested in Tucker’s case, but police said the she was shot...

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Angel Island blaze caused by people, fire officials say

The blaze that consumed more than half of Angel Island State Park and took 43 hours to contain appears to have been started by human activity. Fire officials have ruled out natural causes in the blaze, which first ignited about 8:30 p.m. Sunday night and raged until Tuesday afternoon, according to Mike Giannini, Battalion Chief of the Marin County Fire Department. Giannini said the Marin County Fire Marshall, who is leading the investigation into the blaze, has ruled out “natural causes” — such as downed electrical lines or machine malfunctions — for the fire’s eruption. “Through the process of exclusion we’re able to say that a person on...

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Motorcyclist dies in accident on 19th Avenue

A San Francisco man was killed after the motorcycle he was driving collided with a car at a busy intersection on 19th Avenue, a corridor known for its perilous driving conditions. The accident occurred about 8:15 a.m. at the intersection of Holloway Avenue, according to Sgt. Wilfred Williams, spokeswoman for the San Francisco Police Department. The motorcyclist, a 40-year-old San Francisco man, was traveling east on Holloway when he collided with a vehicle being driven north by a 34-year-old woman, Williams said. The man was thrown about 20 feet after colliding with the car, according to Williams. He was transported to San Francisco General Hospital , where he was pronounced dead a...

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Cable problem shuts down Powell cable-car service

Tourists looking to board the historic San Francisco cable car lines on Powell Street will be out of luck today. A frayed underground cable has shut down portions of both the Powell-Mason and Powell-Hyde Cable Car lines, according to a release by Judson True of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. The problem, first diagnosed at 5:55 a.m., will likely put the cable cars out of commission on Powell Street until the end of service tonight, True said. The two lines are extremely popular with tourists, who usually board the cable cars at their southern terminus on Powell and Market streets. Passengers will not be able to board there today, True said. “We understand...

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Big rig blocks Bay Bridge commuters

Drivers entering San Francisco from Oakland are experiencing lengthy traffic delays after a big-rig truck broke down, closing a lane on Interstate 80 near the Bay Bridge. The truck, carrying 10,000 pounds of seafood, first pulled over at 7:25 a.m. on I-80, blocking a lane near Gilman Street in Berkeley, according to reports from the California Highway Patrol. Traffic heading westbound on the Bay Bridge is backed up from Powell Street in Emeryville to Gilman Street because of the incident, according to CHP...

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Man arrested in fatal SoMa stabbing

San Francisco police arrested a suspect in the fatal stabbing of a man in the SoMa late Tuesday night. Officers found the victim in a parking lot at Beale and Howard streets about 11 p.m. with multiple stabbing wounds, according to the San Francisco Police Department. The victim, who has not been identified but was decribed as a black male in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene. On Wednesday, police took William Anaya, 42, into custody about 12:45 a.m. at the location where the homicide occurred. The homicide took place a half block from the Beale Street Grill, a restaurant and bar on Beale Street. The bar was open at the time of the homicide, but a worker who answered the phone...

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Mountain lion hit by car in San Mateo County

A mountain lion limped away after being struck and injured Tuesday morning by a sport utility vehicle on Highway 92 in unincorporated San Mateo County, authorities said. The lion, estimated to be 85 pounds, was crossing Highway 92 when it was struck at 7:30 a.m. by the eastbound SUV near the unincorporated Crystal Springs Lower Lakes area, said sheriff’s Lt. Ray Lunny. Deputy Duane Brumfield arrived and saw the cat laying in the roadway, Lunny said. The lion then stood up on all fours and walked off into the Skyline Quarry area, which is filled with thick, low brush, he said. It appeared the animal sustained either a broken leg or hip, he said. A subsequent search for the animal...

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Sunset district shooting leaves one man dead

Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a 46-year-old man in the Sunset district Monday night. Units responded to the scene at 17th Avenue and Noriega Street at 11 p.m. after hearing reports of shots fired, according to Sgt. Neville Gittens of the San Francisco Police Department. When officers arrived at the scene, they found an Asian male with multiple gunshot wounds in the driver’s seat of Mercedes sports utility vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Gittens said. The man has been identified as Hung Pham of Daly City. Pham had been shot through the window of the SUV, which had been parked at the corner of the intersection, according to police. No suspects have...

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Fire burns more than half of Angel Island

A brush fire that started on Angel Island on Sunday night raged throughout Monday, burning more than half of the 740-acre state park as firefighters fought to contain the blaze and protect more than 120 nearby historical structures. More than 380 acres of the state park were burned by the fire, and as of Monday evening, 25 percent of the fire remained uncontained, according to Battalion Chief Mike Giannini of the Marin County Fire Department, who estimated that the fire would be entirely contained by 6 p.m. today. Approximately 400 firefighters from Marin County fire departments, Cal Fire, and the California State Parks combated the blaze, Giannini said. The vegetation fire started at...

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Safety net approved for Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge, an iconic San Francisco landmark that has also been a magnet for suicide attempts, will soon feature a safety net 20 feet below its surface to protect and deter people from taking their own lives. In a surprise vote Friday, the bridge district’s board of directors voted 14-1 in favor of the safety netting, a suicide deterrent that was one of five barrier options, according to Mary Currie, spokeswoman for the district. The bridge district will now complete its final environmental impact studies on the netting, and begin the important task of finding funding for the barrier, which is expected to cost $40 million to $50 million to build, Currie said. The final...

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Pedestrian killed Thursday night in S.F.

A 20-year-old San Francisco woman died after being struck by a car in a crosswalk on Alemany Boulevard on Thursday night. Stacey Krause was walking westbound on Alemany when a man driving a Saturn northbound on the street hit her near San Juan Avenue, according to Dean Taylor of the San Francisco Police Department’s hit-and-run division. Krause was pronounced dead at San Francisco General Hospital shortly following the collision, which occurred at 7:52 p.m. Taylor said the driver “just didn’t see” Krause as she was crossing the street. No drugs or alcohol were involved, and initial reports indicate the accident happened because of driver inattention, Taylor said....

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Electrical fire causes major BART delays

Delays persist on BART after an electrical fire near the track at the West Oakland station halted service temporarily from San Francisco to the East Bay and prevented two lines from traveling to The City. All trains were operating 20 to 30 minutes behind schedule, according to Jim Allison, spokesman for BART. The fire at West Oakland station was first reported about 7:30 a.m. BART officials are working on repairing the problem, Allison said. Along with the problems caused by the fire, a coverboard came off the track near Pittsburg/Bay Point about 10 a.m., adding further 15-minute delays for passengers traveling into San Francisco. BART commuter Jeff Fleming said he watched as two...

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Suspects questioned in pipe-bomb explosion

Two suspects in their early 20s are being questioned by police for their role in a pipe bomb that detonated in The City’s Bayview district early Friday morning. The explosion was reported at 5:22 a.m. near the intersection of La Salle Avenue and Newhall Street, according Sgt. Lyn Tomioka of the San Francisco Police Department. After the incident, police put out a description report of a vehicle seen leaving the explosion site. An officer on duty recognized the vehicle while patrolling near Eddy Street and Van Ness Avenue. After following the car for a few blocks, the officer called in additional units were and the vehicle was pulled over for a felony traffic stop at 7 a.m. on...

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Man stabbed, robbed in SoMa motel room

A man was stabbed in a robbery in a motel room after he let one of the suspects use his bathroom early Wednesday morning in the SoMa district. About 3:45 a.m., the victim, a 36-year-old man, answered a knock at his motel room door on the 900 block of Harrison Street, according to Sgt. Lyn Tomioka of the San Francisco Police Department. The woman at the door asked to use the bathroom, Tomioka said. The victim complied, and while the woman was in the motel room, she opened the door for the second suspect, a man who forcibly entered and began stealing items in the room. The victim attempted to stop the robbery, and in a struggle, the suspect stabbed the man numerous times in the back,...

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Suicide determined cause of death for man found in Bay

The death of an Asian man discovered in the Bay on Tuesday morning has been determined to be the result of a suicide, according to the San Mateo Police Department. “We are certain that this death is a suicide,” said Lt. Mike Brunicardi, spokesman for the police department. “It’s an unfortunate and tragic death.” A passerby jogging on an athletic trail near Anchor Road first reported the body at 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday. The body was floating in a slough near the athletic trail at the intersection of Anchor Road and J Hart Clinton Drive. Police initially treated the death as suspicious and were following procedures normally related to homicide...

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Van flips, injures one person at Hyde and California

A van has overturned at the intersection of Hyde and California streets this morning, injuring one person, according to the San Francisco Fire Department. Emergency officials responded to the accident about 6:30 a.m., fire dispatch said. The person in the vehicle has been extricated, but the extent of injuries is unknown. No other vehicles were involved in the accident. No other details were available concerning the cause of the accident. Officials are working on clearing the...

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Report: Violent crimes on Muni on the rise

While riding a Muni bus late last month, a 24-year-old man said he was robbed at gunpoint by three individuals in the Visitacion Valley neighborhood. One was allegedly carrying a shotgun and reportedly made off with the victim’s belongings. Violent incidents such as these are increasing, according to a recent police report, although overall crime has dropped significantly on Muni vehicles since last year. The report states that violent crime — including robbery, rape and aggravated assault — has seen an uptick on Muni vehicles since last year. There were 204 reports of violent crimes from the 2007 fiscal year to the 2008 fiscal year, an increase of 36. Aggravated...

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Boating accident victims identified

Medical authorities released the identities of the man and woman who were killed after the boat they were fishing on capsized in rough waters near Maverick’s Beach in San Mateo County on Sunday. Dong Luong, 68, of San Jose and Biet Le Nguyen, 58, of San Bruno both perished in the accident, which occurred after the 20-foot sailing vessel they were aboard overturned in a large swell off the coast of Princeton-by-the-Sea, a small community in San Mateo County. Two other passengers aboard the boat lived, including Guip Nyugen, the 61-year-old husband of Biet Le. The other survivor was 39-year-old Tuan Huyntt. Both men were conscious when rescue authorities arrived at the scene...

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SEC sues disgraced Democratic fundraiser

Federal regulators have sued former Bay Area resident and disgraced Hillary Clinton-fundraiser Norman Hsu for allegedly operating a Ponzi scam in which he duped investors out of $60 million. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed the lawsuit against Hsu on Monday in a Los Angeles federal court. The suit alleges that Hsu illegally used investor funds to “pay sales agent commissions,” and finance his “luxury living and entertainment expenses.” The suit also alleges that Hsu misappropriated investor money to fund various Democratic candidate campaigns, notably New York Sen. Hillary Clinton’s quest for the presidency. Hsu told his investors that they...

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Man rescued from burning home in Castro

One man was rescued from a two-alarm blaze Monday morning in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood. Employing a ladder-rescue technique, firefighters retrieved the man after he became trapped in an upper-story bedroom at a residence on 18th and Market streets, according to San Francisco Fire Department spokeswoman Lt. Mindy Talmadge. Rescue units transferred the man to San Francisco General Hospital with non life-threatening injuries, Talmadge said. The man, who has not been identified, was one of five residents in the single-family dwelling, Talmadge said. The four other residents did not need to be rescued, but all five have been displaced because of the fire. The fire was...

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Condo lottery slow to convert

Craig Schlossberg, who lives in a four-unit building on Cumberland Street near Dolores Park, beat the odds. While 1,844 San Francisco residents applied this year to convert purchased apartments into more profitable condominiums, only 200 units were allowed to make the switch, according to city law that metes out the number annually. Worsening the odds, The City now sets aside half of the slots to those who have waited the longest for the opportunity to “condo-convert.” The other 100 approvals are selected by random lottery from the remaining hundreds. The ability to convert a multiunit building into individual condos allows a group of buyers to enjoy the benefits of...

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Maintenance would boost price tag for suicide barrier

Along with the projected $40 million to $50 million in initial building needs, four of the five options for a suicide barrier on Golden Gate Bridge would cost more than $400,000 annually because of new maintenance obligations. The four costly alternatives — all variations of extensions on the bridge’s 4-foot railing — would range from $428,000 to $465,000, according to Denis Mulligan, the district’s chief engineer. The extra costs come from cleaning and repairs procedures the district would have to implement with the advent of the extended rails. Instead of scaling the 4-foot rail at the point of operation as they do now, workers would have to enter through...

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Gas leak in Potrero Hill

Safety officials are working on fixing a gas leak in Potrero Hill this morning. Workers from The City’s water department were doing work in the street at little before 6 a.m. when they accidentally hit a gas line at Mariposa and Hampshire streets, according to the San Francisco Fire Department. Fire fighters and employees from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. are on the scene to fix the...

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Expo gathers animal advocates

As a wildlife advocate with 43 years experience protecting elephants in Africa, Iain Douglas-Hamilton has participated in an array of conservation efforts — some with success, some without. Still, he can’t help but express optimism in the potential of the Wildlife Conservation Network’s annual exposition, which is set to take place Saturday in San Francisco at the Mission Bay Conference Center. “This conference is amazingly important,” Douglas-Hamilton said. “I think it’s an entirely fresh idea, and so far it’s been phenomenally successful.” The exposition, in its seventh year, is staged by the WCN, a Los Gatos-based nonprofit...

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Spate of killings puts city's total at 86

A man opened fire on another man and a woman in a parked car in the Crocker Amazon neighborhood Wednesday night, killing the man and wounding his companion, according to police. The victim, 32-year-old Wesley Simpson of Daly City, is San Francisco’s 86th homicide of 2008. Last year, when The City recorded a decade-high 98 homicides, there were 83 at this time. Simpson’s death is the third slaying in three days. September has been the bloodiest month in San Francisco this year; there were 17 homicides — five more than the previous month high of 12, which came in March. Of the 17, just two have resulted in arrests by the Police Department. The second victim in...

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Park may be stage for more fests

Radiohead made a memorable stop in Golden Gate Park this summer, but does that mean more arena-rock headliners are on the horizon? Based on the success of the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in August, the first nighttime event in Golden Gate Park, city officials are pushing to make multiday concerts annual events in the park. But architects of the concert that brought nearly $1 million to city coffers are fuming at the proposal. “This [proposal] very much jeopardizes the idea of Outside Lands festival returning to San Francisco,” said Gregg Perloff, one of the co-founders of Another Planet Entertainment, the group that produced the three-day festival featuring artists...

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Arrest made in fatal Tenderloin stabbing

Police have arrested a suspect accused of fatally stabbing a man in the Tenderloin early Wednesday morning. Officers in the homeless outreach program were able to contact key witnesses who had information about the slaying, according to Capt. Gary Jimenez of the Tenderloin police station. After some investigation, officers got the suspect's first name, Jimenez said. By going through public records, they were able to match the name with a local resident who had a history of frequent police contact. By 3 p.m., the officers apprehended the suspect at his home not far from where the stabbing took place, Jimenez said. The suspect’s name has not been released by...

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1 dead, 1 injured in Excelsior shooting

Police are investigating a Wednesday night shooting that killed a man and hospitalized a woman in The City’s Excelsior district. Leslie Simpson, 32, of Daly City was killed at 9:35 p.m. at the 700 block of Brunswick Street, according to police. Simpson and a 29-year-old woman were in a car when they were both shot by a suspect who had walked up to the vehicle, according to police reports. After firing several shots the suspect then fled on foot, police said. Both victims were transferred to San Francisco General Hospital, where Simpson died. The woman sustained injuries that were not life-threatening. No arrests have been made, and police are investigating the...

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Police: Slayings in S.F., South City linked

A single shooter killed a man in Visitacion Valley and another in South San Francisco an hour and a half apart Tuesday, police said. The fatal shootings were followed Wednesday by a fatal stabbing in the Tenderloin, which brought the homicide tally for San Francisco to 85 for the year. A suspect in Tuesday’s slayings was being detained by police on unrelated charges Wednesday, police said. At 2 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, 44-year-old longshoreman and East Bay resident James Starghill was shot multiple times as he stood in front of his mother’s house at Brussels and Maynard streets in The City’s Visitacion Valley neighborhood, San Francisco homicide Inspector Mike Johnson...

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Woman hospitalized after being struck by hit-and-run driver

Police are looking for a hit-and-run driver who struck a woman on Mission and Sixth streets Wednesday afternoon and have the license plate number of the car due to a quick-thinking cyclist who sped after the car. The vehicle was heading north on Sixth Street when it ran a red light and hit the woman, according to police at the scene. The woman was thrown back about five feet by the impact of the collision, police said. She had some minor head injuries following the accident, according to police. She was transferred to San Francisco General Hospital for precautionary measures. The driver of the vehicle did not stop following the incident, instead opting to turn right on Stevenson...

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South City sees first killing in more than three years

South San Francisco police officials Wednesday were investigating a Tuesday afternoon killing — the first reported homicide in the city in more than three years. Police responded to the scene at 3708 Radburn Drive after Andre Jamil Townsend’s 9-year-old son notified authorities about a problem with his father, according to South San Francisco police spokeswoman Sgt. Joni Lee. By the time police arrived, they found Townsend, 29, lying in his doorway, already dead from multiple gunshot wounds, according to Lee. Police also found Townsend’s other child, a 3-year-old son, who was upstairs watching television, Lee said. Neither of the children had any injuries. Lee said...

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Police investigate fatal Tenderloin stabbing

Police are investigating the fatal stabbing of a man in the Tenderloin early Wednesday morning, the second reported killing in The City in a 14-hour span. About 3:45 a.m., the victim, a man who has not been identified by authorities, was having an argument with another man on the 300 block of Ellis Street, according to the San Francisco Police Department. The argument escalated, and the suspect stabbed the victim multiple times before fleeing on foot. The victim was transported to San Francisco General Hospital, where he died. Both the victim and the suspect were black males, according to a report from the police department. No arrests have been made and the case is under...

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Fire burns Bayview home

A two-alarm fire burned a home in the Bayview district Monday night but did not damage two buildings nearby, according to fire department officials. The blaze, first reported about 10:40 p.m., fully engulfed the first and second floors of a residential home at 1537 Revere Ave., according to Lt. Ken Smith, spokesman for the San Francisco Fire Department. By the time fire personnel arrived on the scene, the fire had already reached the roof of the residence. However, despite two buildings being just “inches apart” on each side of the affected structure, the fire did not spread, Smith said. By 11:15 p.m., the inferno was completely contained by 65 firefighters on duty, Smith...

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Immigration raids pay off

Federal authorities said Monday that they arrested more than 1,150 illegal immigrants during a three-week “enforcement surge” across the state, including seven undocumented fugitives in San Francisco who had criminal records. Officials with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, called it the largest special-enforcement operation ever carried out in the state by the agency’s Fugitive Operation Teams. The enforcement operation ended Saturday. It registered 436 arrests in Northern California, including 14 in San Francisco, according to Craig Meyer, assistant field operator at ICE’s San Francisco branch. Of the 14 illegal immigrants arrested in...

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Man dies after being struck by errant driver on Mission Street

A driver of a Jaguar convertible with an expired registration plowed into a Mission district sidewalk Monday morning at a high rate of speed, killing a cafe worker and forcing pedestrians to run for safety. The fatal incident occurred at 8:09 a.m., when a man driving the gold convertible northbound on Mission Street crashed into a crowded sidewalk between 21st and 22nd streets, San Francisco police spokesman Sgt. Neville Gittens said. The driver of the convertible, 35-year-old Jason Yantas of San Francisco, allegedly hit four parking meters and the victim before colliding with a tree on Mission Street, Gittens said. The victim was thrown up in the air by the collision and then run over,...

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Missing 12-year-old now considered a runaway

A 12-year-old San Francisco girl reported missing this weekend has contacted police authorities and is now considered a runaway. Dyhemia Young, whose nickname is Malaysia, contacted a police investigator Sunday night and seemed to be in good health, according to Sgt. Neville Gittens of the San Francisco Police Department. Gittens said the investigator is working on getting Young to return to her family, and hopefully by the end of the night she will have a face-to-face meeting with police officials. Young was last seen near Page and Buchanan streets at 6 p.m. on Saturday. A Bayview District resident, Young is a student at KIPP San Francisco Bay...

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Fund established in name of boy killed in truck crash

Two youth sports organizations and a local bank are gathering donations to set up a memorial fund for Tyler Fahy, the nine-year-old San Mateo resident who was killed in a car accident Monday. Fahy was with his mother were in a mid-sized sport utility vehicle when a runaway debris truck crashed into their car at the intersection of 43rd and Olympic avenues. The momentum of the crash sent the two vehicles careening into a parking lot outside of the Mollie Stone’s grocery store. By the time the vehicles had come to a stop, seven more cars and a pedestrian were struck. The wreck killed Fahy and hospitalized three women. One of the three women, 62-year-old April Bisgaard of San Mateo,...

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Cab driver hospitalized after assault

A San Francisco taxi driver was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after being assaulted in a robbery Thursday night in the Sunset district. The assault and robbery occurred about 10 p.m. on the 800 block of Taraval Street, according to San Francisco Police Department spokesman Sgt. Wilfred Williams. The cab driver picked up three men who flagged him down. One of the suspects said he didn’t have any money and asked to be taken to a nearby ATM, Williams said. While dropping the man off at the ATM, the cab driver was assaulted by the two other passengers, who fled the vehicle without paying the fare, according to Williams. It remains unclear what possessions, if any, the...

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Suicide survivor advocates for bridge barrier

Kevin Hines, the 27-year-old San Franciscan survived a suicide attempt off the Golden Gate Bridge in 2000 and is now one of the most well-known advocates for a suicide-prevention barrier on the iconic span. The bridge district could vote on the barrier next month. Why do you believe there needs to be a suicide barrier on the bridge? There have been countless studies that prove barriers are the most effective means of preventing suicides on bridges, period. Suicide is innately impulsive, and a difference of 20 minutes can change the life of someone who is contemplating suicide. If you take away lethal means, you can save lives. An advisory panel put together by Mayor Gavin Newsom...

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Domestic dispute turns into knife fight at South City party

Two men were arrested and one woman was hospitalized following a domestic dispute that turned into a knife fight at a South San Francisco party early Wednesday morning. Police found out about the altercation at 3 a.m., after being called to Seton Medical Center in Daly City, where a woman was being treated for injuries on the right side of her head. The woman, whose name has not been released, had a two-inch gash above her forehead, a one-inch laceration to her head, and a substantial amount of hair missing, according to a report from the South San Francisco Police Department. When officers interviewed the woman’s husband, 38-year-old Eric Herrera of Daly City, he appeared evasive...

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High-speed chase ends with crashes in S.F.

A high-speed chase that started in the East Bay ended dramatically early this morning with both the suspect and a pursuing California Highway Patrol officer crashing their vehicles on the streets of San Francisco. No one was seriously injured in the crashes, which occurred a little after 4 a.m. near the intersection of Sagamore Street and Orizaba Avenue, according to CHP spokesman Trent Cross. Other CHP officers on the scene arrested Jorge Martinez, 28, of San Francisco and booked him on charges of possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of stolen property, false identification and evading the police, Cross said. While being chased, Martinez lost control of his vehicle and crashed...

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Teenager nabbed after theft spree in The City

After an alleged nightlong robbery spree Tuesday night, one man was arrested in the Mission district but his accomplice escaped. Police said 18-year-old Kareem Lacayo of San Francisco approached two men as they walked on Beacon Street near Noe Valley’s Billy Goat Hill Park at 10 p.m. Lacayo allegedly robbed the men at gunpoint and jumped into a getaway car driven by another man. At 11:45 p.m., Lacayo allegedly held up a 33-year-old man in the 300 block of Waller Street in the Lower Haight as the victim waited for a ride. Lacayo again fled in a car, described as a black sedan, that was driven by another man, police said. Just before midnight, police said Lacayo struck again, this...

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Boy, 9, who died in truck accident identified

The boy who was killed in a tragic multivehicle car wreck on Monday in San Mateo was identified Wednesday as nine-year-old Tyler Fahy. The accident occurred when a debris-hauling truck ran through a stop sign at 43rd and Olympic Avenues, hitting an SUV in the process. The two vehicles, carried by momentum, spun into the crowded parking lot at a Mollie Stone’s grocery store between 42nd and 43rd avenues on El Camino Real, crashing into at least seven cars before coming to a stop. Fahy was with his mother in one of the parked vehicles when it was crushed in the accident. Witnesses at the scene said that Fahy’s mom appeared to be pregnant at the time of the crash, although...

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Potrero Hill homicide victim identified

The Medical Examiner’s Office has released the identity of the man shot and killed in Potrero Hill on Tuesday. Armando Rodriguez, a 32-year-old San Francisco resident, was shot near a taco stand on the 1400 block of Arkansas Street about 1:40 p.m. Wednesday. Police said the suspect, a man in his 20s, fired at Rodriguez multiple times before fleeing west on 24th Street. No arrests have been made. Rodriguez was the 82nd homicide victim in San Francisco this year. The homicide tally for this year puts The City on pace to match the decade-high 98 killings recorded in...

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Woman hospitalized after being hit by cable car

A woman was hospitalized with head injuries after being struck by a cable car early Wednesday morning. The woman, who hasn’t been identified, was hit by the cable car on Mason Street near Broadway at 5:57 a.m., according to the San Francisco Fire Department. She was transported to San Francisco General Hospital, although the extent of her injuries remain unknown, the fire department said. The cable car was traveling on Mason Street toward Fisherman’s Wharf when it struck the woman, according to San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency spokesman Judson True. No other details were immediately available about the incident, which is being investigated by the San Francisco...

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Questions linger in fatal truck crash

Bouquets, stuffed animals and balloons piled up at a makeshift memorial Tuesday in the grocery store parking lot near where a truck accident killed a 9-year-old boy and critically injured several others less than 24 hours earlier. The boy, whose identity was being withheld Tuesday pending family notification, was killed when a debris-hauling truck careened down a hill through an intersection, hitting an SUV. The truck and SUV then slid about 100 feet, hitting seven cars and a pedestrian in the parking lot of Mollie Stone’s at 43rd and Olympic avenues. Two of the three people injured, a 30-year-old woman and a 53-year-old woman, were taken to the Intensive Care Unit at Stanford...

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Accident slows I-280 traffic in S.F.

Traffic is slowing considerably for drivers traveling north on Interstate 280 in San Francisco due to a two-car accident that has shut down two lanes, according to officials from the California Highway Patrol. The accident occurred at 7:53 a.m., when a black Cadillac collided with a Nissan on I-280 just north of John Daly Boulevard, according to CHP reports. One of the drivers involved in the accident complained of some pain, but the injuries did not appear to be serious, CHP officials said. Both left lanes were shut down so emergency vehicles could attend to the drivers. Traffic was backed up to Mission Street in Daly City as a result of the accident. The two lanes should re-open in...

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Three killed, two injured in violent weekend

The slayings of three men during the weekend has put San Francisco on pace with last year’s murder toll. The weekend killings bring The City’s 2008 homicide tally to 81. Last year, San Francisco had 82 killings at this time and eventually reached a decade high of 98 homicides. On Sunday, officers in the Tenderloin were searching for an assailant who stabbed 59-year-old Ralph Ruiz to death during a 10:45 a.m. argument on Hyde Street. Tenderloin Police Station Capt. Gary Jimenez said witnesses had come forward in the brazen daylight killing and police had obtained evidence from video cameras. “Our plainclothes and uniformed officers have been canvassing the...

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Card game may cost man’s life

A friendly game of cards nearly turned deadly Wednesday night in the Excelsior district after a man allegedly stabbed his playing partner in the back amid a fit of rage related to accusations of cheating, police said. San Francisco resident Augusto Soriano, 51, was booked on charges of aggravated assault for allegedly stabbing a 36-year-old man, said Capt. Denis O’Leary of the Ingleside Police Station. The victim was teaching his girlfriend how to play cards at a residence on the 400 block of Pope Street when the violent outburst from Soriano occurred, O’Leary said. Instead of innocently tutoring his girlfriend, Soriano thought the victim was skimming cards and the two began...

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