2008 in Review: Historic highs and tragic lows

The San Francisco leg of the Olympic torch run was notable largely for the absence of the torch. (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO — 2008 was a busy year in The City and beyond. Whether it was same-sex marriage, the historic election of the nation’s first black president or the tragic shooting of a San Mateo mother, the headlines were sad and sometimes strange. The Examiner staff rounded up some notable news from the year, ranging from the quirky stories you’ll find only in San Francisco to major events that affected your life.

Only in San Francisco

The mayor IS just like the rest of us

Those who consider the hybrid sport utility vehicle an oxymoron quietly celebrated in October, when the most famous such vehicle in The City, a parked and unoccupied Chevrolet Tahoe used by Mayor Gavin Newsom, was sideswiped by a Muni bus while the mayor was being interviewed inside a Spanish radio station. Newsom’s beloved green machine, which was parked on Mission Street between 24th and 25th streets, suffered only a broken side window and a few body scuffs. No one was injured.

The all-new Password game

In one of the most technologically advanced regions in the world, one city employee managed to hold San Francisco’s computer network hostage for more than a week last summer. On July 23, police arrested Terry Childs, a computer network administrator suspected of locking down The City’s central network — home to payroll documents, sensitive law enforcement records, officials’ e-mail and other data. Mayor Gavin Newsom would make a personal jailhouse appearance July 22, and Childs recited the password from memory to the mayor, who delivered it to administrators. Childs is now facing trial on four felony counts of tampering with the network.

Torch torture

If dodgeball were an Olympic sport, San Francisco city officials would have won gold last summer. In April, when The City hosted the Olympic torch run, an estimated 10,000 people flocked here to either protest against China’s human-rights record or to cheer The City’s role in the games. But Mayor Gavin Newsom, who said he feared rioting and violent clashes, made a last-minute decision to change the torch’s advertised route, leaving crowds of protesters and flag-wavers separated from the action.

No peace for the rock

The majority of San Franciscans want peace on Earth — but very few wanted it on The Rock. In one of The City’s more perplexing ballot measures in recent memory, a proposal to turn Alcatraz into a global peace center sank like a stone in February’s elections. More than 70 percent of voters killed an idea to transform the once-famous prison and Civil War-era fortress into a park of everlasting tranquility. Exactly what a peace park would’ve meant aside from trees, benches and a possible monument was unclear. In the end, all the measure produced was a war of words.

Never-ending election news

Same-sex marriage crusher

The gay capital of the world was stunned Nov. 4 when Californians voted to amend the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, just as it was elated May 15, when the state Supreme Court legalized same-sex unions. Proposition 8, which passed with 52 percent of the vote, set off protests in the state’s gay community, especially in The City, where Mayor Gavin Newsom had defied state law by marrying same-sex couples in 2004. The state Supreme Court will again decide the issue when it hears challenges to the proposition in spring.

Obama-rama in city streets

Buoyed by a campaign fueled on the promise of change, Americans in November elected their first black president. Barack Obama, the democratic senator from Illinois, snagged 53 percent of the vote to Republican challenger John McCain’s 46 percent. City streets filled spontaneously with celebration after Obama’s history-making victory speech. Local results show 322,220 San Franciscans voted for Obama.

Newsom begins building a bid

Mayor Gavin Newsom, whose notoriety outside San Francisco is linked to the battle for same-sex marriage rights, announced he was eyeing the state’s top executive office. On July 2, the 41-year-old mayor opened an exploratory committee for California governor. Newsom will be facing a tough crowd, with Attorney General Jerry Brown, who has already governed the state, expected to run, among others.

Stories that defied belief

A bed in a shed

Siblings everywhere shuddered Nov. 18, when a Redwood City brother and sister were arrested on suspicion of keeping their developmentally disabled sister in a tiny backyard shed. The pair also allegedly kept the $700 per month Social Security checks meant for the 58-year-old woman.

A bad day to bike

On Bike to Work Day, May 16, Judy Castillo told her boss that a newspaper should profile her husband, who rode his bike 22 miles to work each day. A half-hour later, she got a call from the San Mateo Police Department: Her husband, Joseph Castillo, 66, had died in a cycling accident on his way to work.

From an impound lot to Mexico

One of the most confounding homicide cases in San Francisco history began in December 2007, when Leonard “Milo” Hoskins was last seen. On Jan. 24, San Francisco police went to his home after hearing reports that Hoskins had fought with his roommate, Richard Carelli, the night he disappeared. They found blood on the premises and towed a van belonging to Carelli and his girlfriend, Michelle Pinkerton. It took more than a week for officers to search the van and find Hoskins’ body in the back — but Carelli and Pinkerton were long gone. Police said they had gone to Mexico, where they had no jurisdiction, but James Spring, an amateur sleuth living in San Diego, discovered the couple near El Rosario on April 7 and alerted authorities. Pinkerton and Carelli are now facing murder charges in San Francisco.

Tragedies

Stalker’s horrible decision

A Nov. 25 standoff on the Peninsula ended in a tragic shootout when Raymond Gee invaded the San Mateo home of Loan Kim Nguyen, 24, and her children, ages 1 and 3. After Nguyen barricaded herself and her children in a bedroom, Gee shot her dead as she passed the kids out a window to waiting police officers. Gee, 22, then fatally shot himself. Police said Gee had been stalking Nguyen.

Rising tide of Homicides

Killings in The City — which reached a decade high of 98 in 2007 — didn’t slow in 2008. Police officials blamed a rise in gang and drug activity and said their efforts in the city’s most violent zones helped quell homicides there. But other areas of The City saw increased violence, and city leaders have offered few fresh solutions.

Truck kills boy

An out-of-control debris-carrying truck careened into the parking lot of Mollie Stone’s market in San Mateo on Sept. 22,
killing 9-year-old Tyler Fahy, injuring three others and damaging at least seven cars. The truck driver has been charged with vehicular manslaughter.

An Angel in flames

Human activity sparked a massive wildfire Oct. 12 on Angel Island that burned some 380 acres — more than half the island — before it was contained nearly two days later. No one was injured.

Stories that sparked conversations

‘The Franchise’ hits it big

At 5 feet 11 inches and 160 pounds, Tim Lincecum is often dwarfed by his pitching contemporaries, but this season the diminutive fireballer proved to be a giant (in more ways than one) on the diamond. On Nov. 11, the San Francisco’s plucky second-year pitcher became just the second Giant to capture the Cy Young Award, given annually to each league’s top ace. Giving Giants fans a reason to cheer during a glum season, Lincecum led Major League Baseball in strikeouts and finished second in the National League in wins and ERA.

A rose is a rose is a rose?

Former Giant Barry Bonds may be baseball’s greatest home run hitter, but fashion designer Mark Ecko, who bought the ball the slugger hit for his record-breaking 756th homer, opined otherwise. Ecko, who purchased the ball for more than $750,000, donated it to the baseball Hall of Fame, after holding an online poll to decide its fate. Based on the results, Ecko opted to brand the ball with an asterisk to permanently symbolize the swirling steroid rumors surrounding Bonds.

Put down the phone and drive!

On July 1, gabby drivers’ lives changed forever. A new state law went into effect that forced people to choose between talking on their cell phones without a hands-free device or driving. The news brought a windfall to companies that produce the hands-free devices, as cell phone stores suddenly looked like a Wal-Mart on Black Friday at the end of June.

‘Newbel?’ ‘Siesom?’ ‘Gavifer?’

Mayor Gavin Newsom and Jennifer Siebel tied the knot at her family’s Montana ranch with a riverside ceremony and outdoor reception July 26. The private event drew a host of influential politicians and business leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, billionaire Gordon Getty and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. About 250 invitations went out to the private event, and several guests hitched a ride on the luxurious Google jet.

Reiser falls

Software engineer Hans Reiser was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison Aug. 29, capping a two-year legal odyssey that began Sept. 3, 2006, when his wife, Nina Reiser, went missing from his Oakland home. Hans Reiser, 44, denied killing his wife throughout the bizarre six-month trial — at one point, his father suggested Nina Reiser had ties to the Russian mafia. A jury eventually found Reiser guilty of first-degree murder, but — in an unusual deal — Reiser later led authorities to his wife’s body in the Oakland Hills in exchange for a lesser conviction of second-degree murder, which precluded a
25-years-to-life sentence.

Government runs amok

Muni money moves to mayor

An ailing transit system and a multimillion dollar budget deficit did not stop Mayor Gavin Newsom from dipping into Muni dollars to pay for six-figure salaries for top aides. Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin exposed the spending practice, which ignited yet another colorful feud between the two political foes. Newsom defended the spending as a long-held practice of previous mayors and noted Peskin had voted in favor of the city budget.

Big-bucks border blunder

District Attorney Kamala Harris paid back $5.2 million to the U.S. Justice Department on Oct. 17 after federal authorities realized money given to the prosecutor between 2004 and 2007 for fighting border crimes was not used for that purpose. Harris had spent the money on drug-related prosecutions with the idea that drug trafficking must be connected to border-related crime. Harris said her office has since been checking grant criteria more diligently.

The $1 Million ramp that wasn’t

When the Board of Supervisors looked into building a wheelchair ramp to the president’s dais in the Legislative Chamber, the price tag made jaws drop across The City: $1,175,000, not including the cost of relocating the board for meetings during the estimated four-month construction. The plan was voted down — even after three years of planning and debate — leaving disabled Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier angry and threatening a lawsuit.

Five stories that lingered all year

Now pitching: federal prosecutors

Former Giants slugger Barry Bonds was indicted Nov. 15, 2007, on charges he lied to a grand jury about his steroid use, and his high-priced team of attorneys spent all of 2008 sparring with federal prosecutors. His trial is scheduled to begin March 2.

Still spreading

The legal cases are still ongoing from the Nov. 7, 2007, oil spill in the Bay, and both the Cosco Busan’s pilot and the shipping company that owns it spent 2008 preparing for a trial. Pilot John Cota, who faces fines and 11½ years behind bars if convicted of environmental crimes and of allegedly lying about prescription medicine use, is scheduled to go to trial April 6, along with Fleet Management Inc.

A wish for metal mesh

After years of back and forth and pros and cons on the aesthetics of a local landmark, supporters of a suicide-prevention device on the Golden Gate Bridge finally won. The bridge’s board of directors voted 15-1 on Oct. 10 in favor of a $50 million metal net that wolnd hang underneath the bridge and prevent jumpers from making it to the water below.

He kept lying and lying and lying ...

Ed Jew was forced to resign from his District 4 supervisor seat in January amid charges of public corruption and that he lied about where he lived to run for office. Jew was in and out of the courtroom throughout the year, maintaining his innocence until one day he decided enough was enough: He showed up in federal court and pleaded guilty to extorting $80,000 from local businesses and then pleaded guilty in state court.

Tatiana’s legacy

The fatal mauling by a tiger that escaped from its zoo enclosure on Christmas Day 2007 put the survivors of the attack — brothers Paul and Kulbir Dhaliwal — in the limelight, with questions raised about whether they provoked the tiger to escape. The brothers have enlisted the legal services of famed attorney Mark Geragos and are now suing The City in federal court. The family of a third teen, who died, has also sued.

Leaving the scene

Bay Meadows: Suffering from dwindling attendance, the 74-year-old racetrack’s final event was Aug. 17.

Mike Nolan: In the end, the coach wasn’t able to dress up the 49ers. He was fired Oct. 20, with a dismal 18-37 record.

Peter Magowan: As managing general partner, Magowan presided over some of the Giants’ finest recent seasons.

Bernie Ward: The longtime radio talk show host and former priest pleaded guilty to Internet child porn charges.

Heather Fong: Well, she’s not exactly gone, but the embattled police chief announced Dec. 20 she would retire April 30.

Notable passings

Tom Lantos: The Peninsula lost its longtime congressman Feb. 11 to esophageal cancer. The Holocaust survivor was 80.

Charlton Heston: The film legend — best known for “Ben-Hur” — and gun-rights advocate died April 5 at 84.

Heath Ledger: The actor, 28, was found dead Jan. 22 in his New York bedroom next to a bottle of sleeping pills.

Robert Mondavi: The vintner was credited with the rebirth of the Napa Valley wine industry. He died in May at 94.

W. Mark Felt: The former FBI official — and Watergate tipster “Deep Throat” — died Dec. 18 in Santa Rosa. He was 95.