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Friday, January 1, 2010

Welcome to the New Year. Libertarians Are Still Unhappy.

Posted By on Fri, Jan 1, 2010 at 10:08 PM

All told, you can't blame the stalwarts who still pledge allegiance to the Libertarian Party for being bummed these days.

Is hope dead?
  • Is hope dead?
Their last presidential candidate, Bob Barr, was denounced by one of the national media's most prominent libertarians -- former SF Weekly Editor Jack Shafer -- as "a chowderhead's chowderhead." Both the previous and current occupants of the White House have shown no particular aversion to expanding the federal government for sundry purposes. And let's face it: The postal service, that eternal symbol of totalitarian government that Libertarians love to loathe, is still going strong.

Just in case you weren't assured of Libertarian angst heading into 2010, however, the party yesterday put out a press release detailing the "Top 10 disasters of the Obama administration." Among them: "Post office loses money hand over fist" (!), "War escalation in Afghanistan," and "Cash for Clunkers." (The last program, a federal rebate encouraging consumers to buy more fuel-efficient cars, has surely weighed heavily on the minds of any American citizen of conscience.)

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Have the Sea Lions of Pier 39 Left Earth for Space?

Posted By on Fri, Jan 1, 2010 at 3:34 PM

Few local news stories in recent memory have attracted as much international attention as the abrupt vanishing act pulled by the popular sea lions of Pier 39, who this fall deserted the docks where for decades they were wont to haul out and bask in the attention of tourists.

Yearning for yet more distant shores?
  • Yearning for yet more distant shores?
All sorts of explanations have been advanced for the animals' disappearance, including changing weather patterns and a fluctuation in their food supply. Meanwhile, not everyone on the waterfront is exactly inclined to wring their hands over the departure of these blubbery marine mammals -- their penchant for occasionally biting swimmers and distinctive smell turned off more than a few locals, particularly once they began to colonize Hyde Street Pier.

Now, no less authoritative a news outlet than The Times of London has suggested that the sea lions may have undertaken a much more ambitious colonization project. An article published today on the newspaper's Web site dares to ask what many of us have wondered all along: Have the sea lions of San Francisco departed on an interstellar journey?

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Sparking Interest: The Year in Marijuana Reporting

Posted By on Fri, Jan 1, 2010 at 8:00 AM

In San Francisco, Marijuana is always a topic of interest. This past year saw the city dealing with the ins and outs of medical Marijuana and grappling with a debate over decriminalization. Here are some of our most read posts on the issues.

Get Up, Stand Up: Ammiano Introduces Marijuana Legalization Bill to the Press

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Assemblyman Tom Ammiano's press conference this morning announcing his

Marijuana-legalization bill started punctually and stayed relentlessly

on-point -- thereby denying a barb to every journalist present. Read More.

Chronic City: Yes, I'm a Medical Marijuana Patient. No, I'm Not Sorry.

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There are many among us who obviously harbor some enormous moral

judgments about Marijuana and about those who legally use it as

medicine -- as if we should somehow feel guilty about the relief that

is afforded us through using this herb. Read More.

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Three Bay Rider Motorcyclists Charged With Attempted Murder and Gang Allegations In Broadway Stabbing

Posted By on Fri, Jan 1, 2010 at 12:10 AM

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Three supposed members of the Bay Riders, a motorcycle club that police say is an affiliate of the Hells Angels, have been charged with assault and gang enhancements after one allegedly stabbed a victim during a brawl on Broadway Street in December.

This is the first San Francisco case to bring gang charges against members of the Bay Riders, a self-proclaimed club of "motorcycle enthusiasts" which formed after the shooting death of Mark "Papa" Guardado, the president of the Hells Angels San Francisco chapter in September 2008. Police say the Riders claim at least 30 members in the city, North Bay and the Peninsula, while keeping a clubhouse on 10th Street in SoMa. One of the late Guardado's sons, Dominic, told SF Weekly both he and his brother are Riders members in November, yet wouldn't talk about any affiliation with the Hells Angels. "We're all about the community," he said. "We're not around to intimidate people. We're motorcycle enthusiasts." (Click here to read the November article on the club.)

Police sources say neither of Guardado's sons appear to be involved in the December 18th stabbing. A handful of alleged Riders members had gone to the Broadway Showgirls Cabaret strip club on Broadway. Around 2:00 a.m., three of them got in a yelling match out on the street with another group of men while waiting for the valet. Once the black SUV arrived, the men piled in and followed the other group down the street, then exited to fight them some more, yelling "Get off my street, bitch, or I'll hurt you," according to the victim's statement to the police.

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