AltWeeklies Wire
Arrests Cast Doubt on the Prosecution of a San Francisco Mannew
Arrests in Palm Springs cast doubt on the prosecution of a San Francisco man in a sex tourism case.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
03-20-2009 |
Crime & Justice
How Federal Home Loan Banks Exacerbated the Banking Meltdownnew
There are plenty of bad guys in the current banking collapse, but I want to introduce you to some unsung villains: the executives running little-known, federally chartered bankers' cooperatives called Federal Home Loan Banks.
Tags: finance, Federal Home Loan Banks
Faux-Star Reviews!new
A negative review on Yelp is bad for business. That's why some merchants feel they must keep Yelpers happy at any cost.
SF Weekly |
Lauren Smiley |
03-13-2009 |
Business & Labor
Bridge Tolls Will Add Stress to Bay Area's Casual Carpoolnew
Casual carpoolers are about to face a major culture shock. The Bay Area Toll Authority announced last week that it is mulling whether to impose a $2 to $3 toll on carpoolers to help balance its budget. Some fear the fee threatens the future of this morning incarnation of the Bay Area's do-it-yourself ingenuity.
SF Weekly |
Lauren Smiley |
03-04-2009 |
Transportation
Tags: transportation, Bay Area
What Would Clint Reilly Do If MediaNews Tries to Buy the 'Chronicle'?new
Two years ago, San Francisco real estate magnate Clint Reilly successfully blocked an attempt by Hearst Corporation and MediaNews to combine some of their local business and sales operations. That was then and this is now.
An Investigator Re-Encounters an Old Rival in the Latest Banking Crisisnew

Richard Newsom is campaigning against what he sees as corruption among overseers of America's savings and loan industry. He is perennially, and profanely, annoyed: Regulators today "lack both the stones and the expertise" to rein in rogue bankers, he claims.
Gang Leader Blames PTSD for Killingsnew
Defense attorneys will argue that a violent upbringing left Down Below Gang leader Emile Fort, who is accused of 30 federal crimes, with cognitive defects and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which positioned him to commit and attempt murder in self-defense.
SF Weekly |
Ashley Harrell |
02-18-2009 |
Crime & Justice
San Francisco Park Rangers Want More Power, Gunsnew
Not long ago, San Francisco park rangers comprised a mere five part-time guards whose main tasks included giving directions to parkgoers, scolding dog owners, locking park bathrooms at night, and shifting the occasional homeless camper. That was before Marcus Santiago came along.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
02-11-2009 |
Crime & Justice
San Francisco's Flawed System for Counting the Homelessnew
San Francisco's biennial homeless count has long been used as an indicator of how well the city is dealing with homelessness, which would all be fine and good, if it weren't for one small and inconvenient fact for everyone involved: It is a meaningless charade.
SF Weekly |
Ashley Harrell |
02-04-2009 |
Policy Issues
Nurses' Union Joins Antidevelopment Forces to Prevent a New Hospital from Being Builtnew
There's something to be said for exploiting the process of issuing building permits for squeezing public amenities like parks from companies. But in San Francisco, participants in these sorts of tactics sometimes lose sight of all that's at stake.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
02-04-2009 |
Housing & Development
Whose Side Are the Angels On?new
A new generation of activists is fighting to clean up the Tenderloin -- frequently dubbed San Francisco's worst neighborhood. The neighborhood’s churches are standing in their way.
Hope, Change, and Parking: Support for a Modest Condo Project in San Francisconew
San Francisco faces a life-or-death question: Are we willing to behave like a dynamic city and grow, or even flourish? The debate over the Valencia Street project serves as an indicator as to how the city might answer that question.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
01-21-2009 |
Housing & Development
Exporting The Dead in San Francisconew

With 36 percent of the city's residents born outside the United States, a significant portion of the city sees funeral homes as a mere way station before shipping the deceased to graves in their homelands.
SF Weekly |
Lauren Smiley |
01-21-2009 |
Immigration
San Fran's Plastic Bag Ban Has Left the City with More Pollution and Costnew

It has become apparent that many of the rationales used to justify the ban -- such as its benefiting the environment and alleviating the city's litter problems -- are not playing out in the real world.
SF Weekly |
Joe Eskenazi |
01-07-2009 |
Environment
The Scalawags of San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharfnew

With its criminals and poachers, its deviants and scalawags, Fisherman's Wharf is in fact a far more interesting -- if disquieting -- place than any travel brochure would have tourists believe.
SF Weekly |
Ashley Harrell |
12-17-2008 |
Crime & Justice