http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/sf/ en-us Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:41:09 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280675/posts San Francisco celebrates diversity with the 39th annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Parade & Festival this weekend. Dozens of pride-related events take place throughout the Bay Area during the week to entertain the thousands of celebrants making the pilgrimage to San Francisco, but the big weekend party at Civic Center Plaza has been known to draw vast crowds in the hundreds of thousands. This year's event theme keeps the recent struggle for the legalization of same-sex marriage at the forefront of the celebration, drawing the theme concept “In Order to Form a More Perfect Union” from the Preamble to... KTVU (Fox) San Francisco http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280675/posts#comment Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:41:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2278214/posts Readers of Catholic Online are familiar with the group which calls itself the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.” They claim international membership. One of their most active chapters is located in San Francisco, California. They summarize their mission as “Defining San Francisco Values Since 1979” on their outlandish San Francisco web site. In an editorial in 2007 entitled “Scandal in San Francisco”, I wrote an account of their sacrilegious activities during Holy Mass on October 7, 2007 at the Most Holy Redeemer Parish in San Francisco, California. They hate the Catholic Church because she stands for the truth concerning the dignity... Catholic Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2278214/posts#comment Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:35:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276784/posts Reporting from San Francisco -- The assault on Amanda Kiefer at dusk in San Francisco's posh Pacific Heights was extraordinary enough for its cruelty. A stranger, later identified as Alexander Izaguirre, snatched her purse and hopped into an SUV, police say. The driver sped forward to run Kiefer down. Terrified, she leaped onto the hood and saw Izaguirre and the driver laughing. The driver slammed on the brakes, propelling Kiefer to the pavement. Her skull fractured. Blood oozed from her ear. Only after the July 2008 attack did Kiefer learn of the crime's political ramifications. Izaguirre, police told her, was... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276784/posts#comment Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:10:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276529/posts She will be in San Francisco to help kick off a new White House push toward volunteerism. Mrs. Obama will deliver the keynote address to the "National Conference on Volunteering and Service" at 5 p.m. More than 4,000 national and international volunteer and service leaders are expected for the three-day conference at the Moscone Center, but the First Lady is clearly the headline act. The visit kicks off United We Serve, a national call to community service from President Obama. Before she hits Moscone, Michelle Obama will join California's First Lady Maria Shriver to help participate in the building of... NBC Bay Area http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276529/posts#comment Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:38:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2273305/posts Looking to bring new blood into the San Francisco Police Department, Mayor Gavin Newsom has reached outside the city and selected George Gascon, police chief of Mesa, Ariz., to replace outgoing Chief Heather Fong. San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2273305/posts#comment Wed, 17 Jun 2009 02:54:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2271753/posts Pride Parade, celebration has a political bent Julian Guthrie, Chronicle Staff Writer Sunday, June 14, 2009 The 39th annual San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Parade is June 28 and is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m., traveling west along Market Street from Beale Street to Eighth Street. The party will continue at Civic Center, with live music, speakers, food and drinks. All ages are welcome. The event is free. The Pride Parade caps a month of gay-themed festivities and is expected to draw its regular cast of colorful characters and city leaders, gawkers and cheering spectators. There will... SFChronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2271753/posts#comment Sun, 14 Jun 2009 22:55:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2270988/posts A prisoner who says he was tortured while being held for nearly four years as a suspected terrorist can sue former Bush administration lawyer John Yoo for coming up with the legal theories that justified his alleged treatment, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled Friday. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White's decision marks the first time a government lawyer has been held potentially responsible for the abuse of detainees. "Like any other government official, government lawyers are responsible for the foreseeable consequences of their conduct," White said in refusing to dismiss Jose Padilla's lawsuit against Yoo. If Padilla, now serving... SF Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2270988/posts#comment Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:17:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266600/posts When the San Francisco school board voted last month to restore the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program, it seemed that sanity had prevailed -- three years after the board voted to kill the popular program. Finally, the board had put students' welfare ahead of its ruthless political correctness. Wrong. Unless the school board votes to recognize that JROTC fulfills students' high school physical education requirements at Tuesday's board meeting, the board's vote to keep JROTC could be viewed as a conniving stunt and a cruel hoax. If students cannot get PE credit -- as they could before the board... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266600/posts#comment Sun, 7 Jun 2009 13:53:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2261615/posts This Friday would have been slain San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk’s 79th birthday, and California state senator Mark Leno has introduced legislation to mark the date with a state holiday. The bill doesn’t call for a furlough from work, but instead instructs the governor to proclaim a “Harvey Milk Day” and designates “that date as having special significance in the public schools and educational institutions” and encourages them to “conduct suitable commemorative exercises.” The legislation passed muster with the state senate in overwhelming fashion last week. Though only about one in five Californians polled supports the measure, and Governor Arnold... City Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2261615/posts#comment Sun, 31 May 2009 14:58:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2258868/posts Around 175 people were arrested in San Francisco while taking part in peaceful protests against a California Supreme Court decision to uphold a ban on same-sex marriage, police said. A spokeswoman for the San Francisco Police Department said the arrests came as demonstrators blocked an intersection near the court building. Those arrested were released at the scene, Sergeant Lyn Tomioka told AFP. California's Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a referendum that outlawed gay marriage, but said 18,000 same-sex weddings carried out before the ban would remain valid. Gay and lesbian activists had sought to overturn the result of a November... Yahoo! News (AFP) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2258868/posts#comment Wed, 27 May 2009 06:00:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2258033/posts SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Gay marriage supporters are holding a prayer service on the eve of the California Supreme Court's expected ruling on the legality of a voter-approved ban on same-sex nuptials. The group Marriage Equality USA plans to hold the interfaith event Monday night at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. On Tuesday morning, the state's high court plans to rule on a series of lawsuits seeking to overturn Proposition 8. Opponents of the gay marriage ban argue that the issue was improperly put before voters; they say it revised the state constitution's equal protection clause to such a dramatic... CBS 13 SACRAMENTO http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2258033/posts#comment Mon, 25 May 2009 22:59:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2256533/posts A controversial plan for a suicide barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge is expected to move forward today. The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District Board of Directors will likely approve a proposal on a plan that calls for a net extending 20 feet below and 20 feet from the side of the bridge. But the design cannot detract too much from the span's graceful, historic look. The barrier would cost $40 to $50 million and take up to three years to complete. But, before funding can be figured out, the bridge district has to get state and federal... NBC11 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2256533/posts#comment Fri, 22 May 2009 20:28:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2256107/posts Lionized by Hollywood and California state legislators, the real Milk was a demagogue and pal of Jim Jones. This Friday would have been slain San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk’s 79th birthday, and California state senator Mark Leno has introduced legislation to mark the date with a state holiday. The bill doesn’t call for a furlough from work, but instead instructs the governor to proclaim a “Harvey Milk Day” and designates “that date as having special significance in the public schools and educational institutions” and encourages them to “conduct suitable commemorative exercises.” The legislation passed muster with the state senate in... City Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2256107/posts#comment Fri, 22 May 2009 05:38:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2250510/posts The San Francisco Police Department says it will no longer tolerate lewd behavior – including public sex acts and nudity – at a July street fair sponsored by Folsom Street Events, the same group that puts on the annual Folsom Street Fair, a public celebration of sado-masochism. The event in question, the Up Your Alley Fair, is scheduled for Sunday, July 26, in San Francisco's South of Market District on Dore Alley between Folsom and Howard streets. Last year’s event resulted in multiple complaints to the Office of Citizen Complaints against patrol officers assigned to cover the event. Citizens complained... http://calcatholic.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2250510/posts#comment Thu, 14 May 2009 02:55:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2231938/posts Rolling Stone closes last S.F. office James Temple, Chronicle Staff Writer Friday, April 17, 2009 SAN FRANCISCO -- Rolling Stone Magazine has severed its last tenuous link to San Francisco, the city where Jan Wenner co-founded the irreverent biweekly 42 years ago to cover the psychedelic rock scene and counterculture movement flourishing in the region. New York publisher Wenner Media will shutter its three-person office at 1700 Montgomery St., spokesman Mark Neschis said. It housed one Rolling Stone sales representative, who will relocate to Los Angeles. The other two employees, a Men's Journal representative and an assistant, are being laid... SFChronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2231938/posts#comment Sat, 18 Apr 2009 00:34:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2230151/posts Size Of San Francisco Tea Party Protest Shows Obama's In Hot Water April 15, 2009 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - Despite a concerted effort by the MSM to ignore and or belittle the burgeoning conservative Tea Party movement, on this bright April tax day at least 1,200 citizens showed up in the belly of the beast, San Francisco, to protest the Obama administration. Led by a citizen coalition including KSFO firebrand talker Melanie Morgan, the group assembled in front of Civic Center and then marched on Speaker Pelosi's office at 450 Golden Gate Avenue. In dramatic contrast... PipeLineNews.org LLC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2230151/posts#comment Thu, 16 Apr 2009 01:29:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2223785/posts San Franciscans have recently been finding themselves in the uncomfortable position of riding around on public buses plastered with the words “ISLAM - Submission to God.” I say “uncomfortable” because San Francisco is famously amongst the most secular and non-religious cities in the nation. But there has been nary a peep of comment or protest about these ubiquitous in-your-face ads, which are shown here in photos taken on March 2 in San Francisco. Such was not the case a few weeks ago in Ft. Lauderdale, however, which is one of the cities where the ads first appeared on buses. As... zombietime.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2223785/posts#comment Tue, 7 Apr 2009 01:47:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2222249/posts The family of a father and two sons slain last year in San Francisco filed a lawsuit Friday, blaming the city's sanctuary policy for illegally shielding the suspected gunman from earlier deportation despite his record of "extreme violence." The suit - lodged in San Francisco Superior Court - asserts that the city sanctuary policy was a "substantial factor" in the June 22, 2008, slayings of Tony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16. The city attorney's office declined to comment. Lawyers for Bologna's wife and his two surviving children assert in the suit that the alleged gunman,... San Fran Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2222249/posts#comment Sat, 4 Apr 2009 14:50:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2211784/posts The protest remained peaceful until the main group arrived at Civic Center Plaza. There, a couple hundred pro-Israel protesters waving Israeli flags were waiting for the larger contingent, which included many pro-Palestine protesters. The pro-Palestine group broke off from the larger demonstration to confront the Israel supporters, who were carrying signs including "Hamas, stop using children as human shields." Both sides yelled angrily at each other and some protesters got into a physical fight, shoving each other. Police arrested at least two people. About 100 police in riot gear were at the scene, and a dozen police vans were parked... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2211784/posts#comment Sun, 22 Mar 2009 01:35:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2207975/posts n the 2008 calendar year, the City and County of San Francisco had nearly 9,000 employees who were paid at least $100,000. Find out who they were, what departments they worked for and how much they made by searching the database below. To perform a search, you can leave the fields blank or on "select" if you want broad results. For more narrow results, you can enter a person's name or select from the drop-down menus. San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2207975/posts#comment Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:00:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2207959/posts House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, worried about the fate of The Chronicle and other financially struggling newspapers, urged the Justice Department Monday to consider giving Bay Area papers more leeway to merge or consolidate business operations to stay afloat. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, released by Pelosi's office late Monday, the San Francisco Democrat asked the department to weigh the public benefit of saving The Chronicle and other papers from closure against the agency's antitrust mission to guard against anti-competitive behavior. "We must ensure that our policies enable our news organizations to survive and to engage in the... San Francisco Cronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2207959/posts#comment Tue, 17 Mar 2009 01:34:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2207276/posts San Francisco Even in a culture in which sex toys are a booming business and Oprah Winfrey discusses living your best life in the bedroom, a coed live-in commune dedicated to the female orgasm hovers at the extremes. The founder of the One Taste Urban Retreat Center, Nicole Daedone, sees herself as leading “the slow-sex movement,” one that places a near-exclusive emphasis on women’s pleasure — in which love, romance and even flirtation are not required. ... A core of 38 men and women — their average age the late 20s — live full time in the retreat center, a... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2207276/posts#comment Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:20:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2206604/posts If you'd like a reading on how the economy is affecting the average San Franciscan, you could call an economist. You could study wages and layoffs. You might even graph the rise of foreclosures. Or you could stop into the Provident Loan Association on Mission Street behind the Old Mint. "It's heartbreaking," said manager Ben Shemano. "We have people bringing in their last treasures, filled with unrealistic hopes and expectations." Shemano and others at Provident don't like to think of it as a pawn shop. There are no handguns, toaster ovens or electric guitars in the window. The store -... San Francisco Chronicle / sfgate.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2206604/posts#comment Sat, 14 Mar 2009 18:16:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2204785/posts The San Francisco Police Department Park Station bombing occurred on February 16, 1970, when a pipe bomb filled with shrapnel detonated on the ledge of a window at the San Francisco Police Department's Golden Gate Park station. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "Investigators in the early '70s said the bombing likely was the work of the Weather Underground, and not the Black Liberation Army,"but the crime was never solved. Brian V. McDonnell, a police sergeant, was fatally wounded in its blast; Robert Fogarty, another police officer, was severely wounded in his face and legs and was partially blinded. No... Campaign for Justice for Victims of Weather Underground Terrorism/Yidwithlid http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2204785/posts#comment Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:48:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2203759/posts San Franciscans concerned with a lack of government transperancy rest easy. Twitter is coming to the rescue. Everybody's favorite mayor running for governor, Gavin Newsom, was at Twitter's headquarters on Tuesday morning to twitterfy San Francisco. Newsom is no stranger to the Twitter phenomenon as he seeks all the attention he can get ahead of his run for governor. He often tweets what he is up to from his cell phone. In fact he tweeted his meeting with the head of Twitter and his recent apperances on network television and his radio show. "Heading over to Twitter HQ tomorrow --... NBC11 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2203759/posts#comment Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:33:27 GMT