San Francisco city employees will soon receive tax relief for health benefits they receive for their same-sex partners in legislation given unanimous initial approval today by the city's Board of Supervisors. Health benefits in same-sex partnerships are currently taxed by the federal government as income while heterosexual couples' benefits are not.
Legislation introduced by Supervisor Mark Farrell will reimburse nearly 400 city employees who receive that tax, which can total more than $1,750 annually.
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Firefighters have extinguished a two-alarm fire that burned in an apartment building in the city's Tenderloin neighborhood this morning.
The fire was brought under control at about 12:45 p.m. after burning for just under an hour at a multi-unit building at Golden Gate and Larkin streets, according to the San Francisco Fire Department.
The fire was first reported at about 11:55 a.m., a dispatcher said. There were no immediate reports of any injuries. The cause remains under investigation.
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Former President Jimmy Carter is in San Francisco today for a Commonwealth Club conversation about the challenges facing the U.S. as a world superpower.
During his tenure as the 39th president of the U.S., President Carter helped broker peace between Israel and Egypt, established diplomatic relations with China and signed the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union to reduce the world's arsenal of nuclear weapons.
President Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
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A San Francisco Board of Supervisors committee Thursday approved two pieces of legislation targeting the sale and possession of certain ammunition in the city.
The ordinances would make certain military-grade ammunition illegal to possess in San Francisco and require businesses to notify police when someone buys 500 rounds or more of ammunition in a single transaction.
The board's city operations and neighborhood services committee voted to move both items to the full board with a positive recommendation.
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A local nonprofit is raising money to help the family of a 10-year-old girl who died in a house fire on Treasure Island early Saturday.
Catholic Charities CYO is gathering donations for the family of Cornlina Godfrey, who was trapped in the two-story home at 1223 Mariner Drive during the blaze, which was reported about 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
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A woman who was struck and killed by a San Francisco Muni bus near Lake Merced on Saturday has been identified by the medical examiner's office as 72-year-old Eileen Barrett.
Barrett, a Daly City resident, was struck by an outbound 18-46th Avenue bus at about 4:30 p.m. at Lake Merced Boulevard and John Muir Drive, Muni spokesman Paul Rose said.
She was transported to a hospital with serious injuries, but it was initially thought she would survive, Rose said.
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A Muni bus stuck and injured a woman near San Francisco's Lake Merced on Saturday afternoon, and she is expected to survive her injuries, a Muni spokesman said.
The woman was struck by an outbound 18-46th Avenue bus around 4:30 p.m. at Lake Merced Boulevard and John Muir Drive, according to Muni spokesman Paul Rose.
She was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, but Rose said the injuries do not appear to be life threatening.
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A 10-year-old girl died in a fire after becoming trapped inside her burning family home on San Francisco's Treasure Island early Saturday morning, an assistant San Francisco Fire Department chief said.
Fire crews responded to multiple reports of a fire at a two-story townhouse at 1212 Mariner Drive around 12:30 a.m., said Assistant Chief David Franklin.
Crews arriving on the scene saw the home fully engulfed in flames, with fire shooting out of windows and doors.
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Two people were injured Satuday afternoon when a Golden Gate Ferry boat collided with a smaller vessel near Tiburon, according to a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman.
The ferry collided with a 22-foot pleasure craft around 4:30 p.m., Coast Guard Lt. Mark Leahey said.
The Coast Guard responded to the scene and found two people on board the pleasure craft were injured, Leahey said.
Rather than transfer the two to the Coast Guard boat, a Coast Guard crew member transferred to the pleasure boat and drove it to Sausalito.
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Same-sex couples tried to get marriage licenses Thursday at the county clerk's office at San Francisco City Hall as part of a symbolic Valentine's Day protest against California's ban on gay marriage.
The annual action, organized by Marriage Equality USA, was preceded by a news conference at which organizers said they simply want the same rights as heterosexual couples.
Click on the photo to the right to see more pictures from the protest at City Hall.
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San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi is helping to organize a choreographed dance by inmates and staff at county jails on Thursday as part of an international campaign against domestic violence.
Mirkarimi, whose own domestic violence case nearly led to his ouster from office last year, has invited the group Dancing Without Borders to coordinate a dance in both the men's and women's jails, sheriff's Chief Deputy Kathy Gorwood said today.
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San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee is making one of his biggest bets yet on the 49ers when the team takes on the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl this Sunday, city officials said.
Lee has agreed on a friendly wager with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on the outcome of the big game in New Orleans.
As part of the bet, the winning mayor will host the losing mayor to take part in a day of service with local programs from AmeriCorps, a federal community service agency.
In addition to serving the community, the mayors are putting hometown seafood on the table.
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The former owner of the Masonic Avenue home that was searched by police on Tuesday in connection with the disappearance of 10-year-old San Francisco boy Kevin Collins nearly three decades ago said today he was shocked to hear the house could be tied to the famous case.
Public records show that Daryl McCurry, 63, owned the duplex at 1106-1108 Masonic Ave. in the city's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood from 1977 to 1988. Kevin went missing in 1984 after leaving basketball practice at nearby St. Agnes School.
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The California Highway Patrol is seeking more information about a "sideshow" on Interstate Highway 880 in Oakland on Saturday afternoon where participants were doing "doughnuts," a CHP sergeant said.
The CHP received a call around 4 p.m. about reckless driving on northbound I-880 at Coliseum Way, CHP Sgt. Diana McDermott said.
By the time officers responded, the drivers had left, however videos were posted online later that day.
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A whale was spotted in San Francisco Bay on Thursday afternoon near Pier 39, according to U.S. Coast Guard officials.
The whale was traveling east in the San Francisco Bay when it was seen around 3:30 p.m.
Coast Guard officials said a whale sighting in San Francisco Bay is fairly common in January.
Marin County-based Marine Mammal Center spokesman Jim Oswald said this time of year marks the gray whale migration. The whales are heading down to Baja.
For onlookers, Oswald advised using caution.
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