Free Republic

FRISCO (CBSDFW.COM) – The Frisco School District has told coaches not to stop any athletes who decide to take a knee before the National Anthem this weekend. The directive hasn’t come because the district has any indication, or notice that students may emulate recent professional football player’s protests on bended knee… but a spokesperson for the district said it wants to protect coaches from getting into any trouble should something happen. Here’s the message they sent to coaches: Over the weekend, many pro football players expressed their First Amendment right by choosing to kneel during the national anthem, before the...

Have you ever felt like those crosswalk buttons were placed at intersections around the city only to test your patience? For 8 in every 10 crosswalk buttons in San Francisco, your frustration may be valid. The Boston Transportation Department revealed that buttons scattered throughout Boston do absolutely nothing when pressed. When officials were asked why these buttons lacked function, they had a simple explanation: One person shouldn't be able to change complex traffic patterns in a major city. In San Francisco, 251 of the 1,222 intersection crosswalk buttons are "pedestrian actuated,"meaning they actually affect the traffic lights and can change...

San Francisco (AFP) - Home sharing site Airbnb is suing San Francisco over a new law requiring that anyone who offers their home through the rental site first register the dwelling with the city. Under the new rule, Airbnb would be fined $1,000 a day for each listing on its site that has not been registered in advance.

A Texas man who got busted driving nine miles per hour over the speed limit paid his fine entirely in pennies - as an act of protest against what he thought was 'extortion'. Brett Sanders, of Frisco, took his case to trial after going at 39 mph instead of 30 in his neighborhood. But he lost and a jury decided he should pay a $212 fine. Sanders, a full-time IT professional and a first and second amendment activist, gathered thousands of pennies to honor his debt.

An East Bay neighborhood terrorized by a swarm of aggressive bees over the weekend is safer now, authorities said. Concord police told residents Sunday the bees have been mostly eradicated after an amateur beekeeper got rid of a hive Saturday night. A bee expert called to the neighborhood also declared the area safer. The bees began terrorizing the 3800 block of Hitchcock Drive on Friday, attacking residents, dogs and even a mail carrier. Concord police received a number of reports of "aggressive bees" in the area. According to one neighbor, two dogs died as a result of numerous bee stings....

The owner of Jamba Juice, which makes specialty beverage and food items including fruit smoothies, will move its headquarters from Emeryville to a Dallas suburb over the next six months, the company announced. Jamba Inc. chief executive David Pace said in a press release and a regulatory filing that the high cost of doing business in the Bay Area is a large reason why the company is moving to Frisco, Texas.

The owner of a Frisco medical company regularly directed nurses to overdose hospice patients with drugs such as morphine to speed up their deaths and maximize profits and sent text messages like, “You need to make this patient go bye-bye,” an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit for a search warrant obtained by NBC 5. The executive, Brad Harris, founded the company, Novus Health Care Services, Inc., in July 2012, according to state records. Novus’ office is on Dallas Parkway in Frisco. No charges have been filed against Novus or Harris. Harris, 34, did not return messages left with a...

Hear the one about Wendy Davis going to hell? A Republican state representative got a big laugh Saturday from Abbott and a roomful of supporters with a joke at Davis’ expense. Abbott faces Davis, a Democratic state senator, in next month’s general election for governor. On Saturday, Abbott and GOP attorney general nominee Ken Paxton were campaigning at a Tex-Mex restaurant in Frisco. Abbott was introduced by Frisco state Rep. Pat Fallon, who opened with a joke in which Wendy Davis visits a grade school and sees a boy reading a book about whales. Here’s the joke Fallon told: The...

The CareNow clinic in Frisco where Dallas County Sheriff’s deputy Michael Monnig was treated for possible Ebola-like symptoms is closed. This after it reopened only hours after Monnig was transported to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. The clinic will undergo a deep cleaning and remain closed until Friday. Frisco’s fire chief Mark Piland said Monnig is being treated “out of an abundance of caution” and the response was appropriate based on Monnig’s symptoms and his indirect contact with the Ebola victim...

FRISCO — A patient exhibiting "signs and symptoms of Ebola" has been transported from a Frisco CareNow. [snip] Patients are currently being held inside the clinic as crews at the scene examine staff and others inside the building. "The patient claims to have had contact with the Dallas 'patient zero,'" according to a statement from Dana Baird-Hanks, a spokeswoman with the city of Frisco. Officials say a conference will be held at 3:30 p.m. (Central time)

People in the Bay Area gave a smaller percentage of their income to charity than residents of most large cities, according to a study published Monday by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Among the nation’s largest 50 metro areas, San Francisco and San Jose metro areas ranked 45th and 48th, respectively, in 2012. The only two large cities that ranked below San Jose on the generosity list were Providence, R.I., and Hartford, Conn. Their residents gave just 1.9 percent of income to charity. Among the 50 largest metro areas, the most generous was Salt Lake City, whose residents gave 5.4 percent...

Long lines have formed in front of a U.S. Post Office in San Francisco’s Castro District this morning as supporters of assassinated city Supervisor Harvey Milk rush to get a stamp dedicated to the gay rights leader, a postal service spokesman said. The stamp with Milk’s laughing face, name and a small strip of the rainbow flag, first became available this morning at post offices throughout San Francisco and nationwide. Gay civil rights activist Cleve Jones is at the Castro District post office, located at 4304 18th St., along with filmmaker Dustin Lance Black, who wrote the 2008 movie about...

One may think twice after receiving unsolicited advice from a laundromat. And yet, the joint at Hayes and Laguna made a fair point. Locals toting sacks of soiled clothing or just out for a stroll while wondering what the neighborhood washeteria would demand of them were regaled by the Don't Call It Frisco Laundromat. Obeying the pronouncements of a laundromat is a matter of personal choice. But it's less so when the identical dictum emanates from the mouth of a judge — which happened in San Francisco. A 1918 article in the Examiner recounts the opprobrium heaped upon a divorce...

Real-life wild dogs are on the prowl in San Francisco, which has itself a coyote problem. "More than 100" coyotes are alive in well in the City by the Bay, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, which notes a marked increase -- there was just 15 "a little more than a year ago," according to outdoors writer Tom Stienstra. That figure is based on "crops of pups" as well as a field study and photography by Natures Lantern, the newspaper reported. Coyotes have been seen crossing busy streets like Sunset Boulevard, and have been seen in populated areas from Telegraph...

An elementary school in Frisco, Texas is believed to be the first in the state to violate “The Merry Christmas Law” after they banned Christmas trees and the colors red & green from an upcoming “winter” party. Boys and girls who attend the Nichols Elementary School “Winter Party” will not be able to make any reference to Christmas or any other religious holiday. Christmas trees are also banned—along with the colors red and green. … Ironically, the school is located in the district of state Rep. Pat Fallon, the author of a bill signed into law in June that codifies...

SAN FRANCISCO, July 5, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Weeks after their male counterparts stoked controversy by changing their rules to allow openly gay members, Girl Scouts USA made history in their own way after some 90+ of their members and their families marched in San Francisco’s recent Gay Pride Parade - the first time they have ever done so. Girl Scouts of Northern California announced their participation in the parade in a post on their official Facebook page, accompanied by a photo of the girls in uniform carrying a Girl Scouts banner.  "I want them to be able to tell their children they...

The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward making lots of money. That's Jamen Shively's thesis, anyway. The former Microsoft manager, 45, is embarking on a publicity tour for the marijuana enterprise he's happy to label the "Starbucks" of pot. "Yes, we can" is for Shively "yes, we are big marijuana" -- and he's getting ready for what he believes is The Next Big Thing: legal pot -- everywhere. With his trusty sidekick, former Mexican president Vicente Fox -- a partner of Shively's in Diego Pellicer, Inc., the nation's first "premium marijuana" retail brand -- in...

As if the morning commute couldn't have gotten worse for everyone. A big-rig driver reportedly slammed into the toll plaza at the Golden Gate Bridge as he tried desperately to make his way to San Francisco. The bizarre crash happened during rush hour at about 8:43 a.m. along the third southbound lane from the left at the toll plaza on the southern end of the bridge, CHP Officer Andrew Barclay told KTVU. Naturally, the toll plaza was damaged, as was the front of the truck, and everyone's mood about the morning commute. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. Now for the burning...

Perhaps you, like me, assumed that the City of San Francisco, California would avoid any governmental sponsorship of a particular religion, and would never house a place of worship of a specific religion on its own property. And if such government sponsorship ever came to light, you would be certain that the ACLU and the atheist activists would raise their voices in protest. But not when it comes to Islam. The San Francisco Chronicle's investigative duo Matier and Ross tell us: Muslim cabbies now have their very own place at San Francisco International Airport to wash their hands and feet...

It’s hard to imagine that life could get worse for Kerri Steele in the months after her husband died of cancer at age 36. But then the Internal Revenue Service came calling. An IRS audit is something we all dread. But imagine facing one in the midst of profound grief. Imagine preparing for one while trying to hold life together as the now-single mother of three young children. “This was horrible,” Kerri said in simple summation. And now she wants to prevent any other grieving person from facing such an ordeal. The whole tragedy was something Kerri never saw coming....