When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and thus catch more of them, multiplying the fun factor. Paddling back to the wave becomes less of a strain as well. The ability to cruise along on flat inland water, surveying the sights, is another advantage. Finally, it’s a good core workout. If you’re sold on the idea, schedule an intro SUP lesson, free with board and paddle rental, and you may find yourself riding the waves like a Polynesian king.More
Many of us remember coming home from our elementary schools with freshly glazed pinchpots, cups, or whatever else our young imaginations could conjure up. Saturday mornings at the Randall Museum can bring that memory back, or create a new one for the youngsters. Ceramics make great gifts — especially on Mothers' and Fathers' Day. Hop on board for the Randall's once-weekly class, and for $6 and two weeks to have your work fired and glazed, you'll have all the materials you need.More
December is almost over - the New Year is coming up and everyone is busy drying off from the rain or holiday shopping. Let's take a look at what's happened this month.
For someone who lives in the downtown corridor — all right, the Tenderloin — the idea of going to Ocean Beach for pizza is rife with potential pratfalls: high Uber fares, lengthy Muni trips, ever-present fog, jet lag.
PostedByPeter Jamison
on Fri, Jun 4, 2010 at 6:01 PM
Lee Bell has been arrested for the 'suitcase murder' of Pearla Ann Louis
San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon announced this afternoon that suspects have been arrested in two serious police investigations: The case of a rampaging motorist who drove an SUV into four bicyclists on Wednesday night and the murder of Pearla Ann Louis, whose body was found stuffed into a suitcase floating in San Francisco Bay less than a month ago.
Police have not yet released the name of the man who assaulted the bicyclists, but said he was arrested today after he tried to report his car stolen to police in Albany. (SFPD Lieutenant Lyn Tomioka said the man is believed to be an Albany resident.) After the attacks, the car was abandoned and the driver disappeared. He has been charged with four counts of attempted murder, four counts of felony assault, and four counts of hit-and-run, according to police.
Police have also arrested San Francisco resident Lee Bell, 47, for the murder of Louis, whose body was found last month in a suitcase floating near Folsom and Embarcadero. Speaking at today's press conference, SFPD homicide inspector Michael Dudoroff said Bell and Louis "had a relationship" but would not comment on a motive for the killing.
PostedByLauren Smiley
on Fri, Jun 4, 2010 at 3:45 PM
The San Francisco police-contracted phlebotomist who purportedly drew blood from a DUI suspect's neck and told his employer he didn't has been fired, according to deputy public defender Prithika Balakrishnan. A supervisor from Arcadia Health Care, the company that contracts with the San Francisco Police Department to draw blood from DUI suspects, testified that he fired Ian Sedigh on May 5 for falsifying documents.
But it wasn't before one last courtroom showdown with Sedigh, who's picked up a reputation among defense attorneys as a "whack job" on the stand. We wrote before about how Sedigh was declared "unavailable" as a witness after he claimed he was "covered in feces" when he arrived at the courthouse in April. That case is still on appeal on grounds of whether soiling yourself is actually "unavailable."
But Balakrishnan got a chance to cross-examine Sedigh in another DUI trial on May 18. During direct examination from Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Jay, Sedigh made no mention of the fact he'd been laid off two weeks earlier.
Former Rep. Pete McCloskey, right, is filing a suit against the Department of Veterans Affairs on behalf of de Fernandez and other Filipino vets
Romeo de Fernandez, 91, survived the Bataan death march. But now, he says, his own government is shortchanging him.
Philippines-born Romeo R. de Fernandez, 91, served in the United States military and defended Manila during World War II. In 1942, the Japanese Imperial Army took him as a prisoner of war. After surviving the Bataan Death March, he was honorably discharged in 1945. The next day he reenlisted to fight in Luzon.
But the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has no record of this. His presence on the Missouri List -- the government's official database of personnel who served during the 20th century -- was most likely destroyed when a fire in 1973 damaged 80 percent of the records dating from 1912 to 1960.
Former area Congressman Pete McCloskey hosted a press conference in front of the San Francisco Federal Building at 11:30 a.m. with three veterans, including de Fernandez, by his side. McCloskey, along with the San Francisco Veterans Equity Center and the veterans, today filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Department of Veterans Affairs on behalf of Filipino World War II vets that claims the standards for receiving compensation -- utilizing the admittedly incomplete Missouri List -- are a violation of due process.
PostedByJoe Eskenazi
on Fri, Jun 4, 2010 at 2:25 PM
Another obscure painting not found in Terry Helbing's room -- a room that had a reputation
Terry Helbing, the Tenderloin resident accused of keeping more than $100,000 worth of stolen art in his cramped single-room occupancy hotel room, was apparently something of a legend among area housing activists.
Just weeks ago, an employee of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic visited Helbing in his room at the Cambridge Hotel on Ellis Street. Helbing, 53, was objecting to plans to do major work on his room and install a kitchenette; it was soon clear why. It would seem "he had the best SRO room ever," said the Tenderloin Housing Clinic's Paul Hogarth. Helbing's room was resplendent with lush rugs, beautiful paintings, and other eye-catching works of art one normally doesn't see in Tenderloin hotels of last resort.
Helbing pleaded not guilty today to one count of grand theft, two counts of being in possession or receiving stolen property and one count of burglary -- all felonies. He is being held on $95,000 bail. Police removed a cache of rugs and artwork from his room on Wednesday after he was arrested at the Botanical Garden one day earlier; staff there had witnessed Helbing wandering off with art from the Botanical Garden library at an earlier date and summoned police when he returned. A number of pieces missing from the library were recovered from Helbing's flat.
Intriguingly, Hogarth said that a grateful Helbing once gifted him a painting after he'd successfully represented the SRO tenant at a 2001 rent board hearing.
It's Friday night. Everywhere in the city is packed because there's some tech convention in town and not even the communal table at Nopa is open. Fear not, dear reader, SF Weekly is here to help. We're excited to announce the launch of the SF Weekly iPhone app -- SF Weekly has always been your essential guide for where to go, where to eat, and what to do, and now we have, well, an app for that.
PostedByJoe Eskenazi
on Fri, Jun 4, 2010 at 1:30 PM
Oliver Luby, the Ethics Commission's fines collection officer, once told us that he'd fine his own mother if he caught her bending the rules -- and he meant it. In some lines of work, that kind of commitment earns one a ticket straight to the top. In San Francisco -- and all too many other locales, sadly -- it gets you pushed out the door.
After nearly eight years as collection officer -- extracting funds from people who often enjoy showering money upon prominent San Francisco politicians but don't like paying fines for breaking the city's campaign laws -- Luby's last day will be next week. Last year, department managers removed a longstanding requirement for the position of fines collection officer requiring the holder of the job to have at least a year of campaign finance experience. Once that stipulation was discarded, it was a fait acompli that when a more senior civil servant was laid off, he or she would take Luby's job.
During the latest round of city layoffs and "bumping," that's just what happened. So now the city's new fines collection officer may have precious little campaign finance experience -- and Luby, a three-time whistleblower, is out. It's hard to imagine campaign scofflaws or Ethics Commission management being anything but pleased.
San Francisco isn't the best-dressed city in America -- or anywhere else. But we do have certain standards and rules that we thought could go unspoken. Now we are going to explicitly state one of those rules, because apparently some lady in SOMA didn't get the memo.
This is not optional, people. Also, if's for your own good. People in high-heeled sneakers are putting themselves at risk for mental and physical abuse. We're not sure if this is true, but we also heard that they are far more likely to get cancer.
We're not even sure that you should see the following photo. It's highly disturbing, but we've decided that in order to ensure others don't make the same mistake, we've decided to publish it. Below, you will see the lower half of a woman who was walking around in SOMA, wearing high-heeled sneakers. Please sit down to view this photo, and cover the eyes of small children.
PostedByMatt Smith
on Fri, Jun 4, 2010 at 11:28 AM
Kip Burr has known happier, nakeder times...
San Rafael's Kip Allen Burr's last name is pronounced "brrr." This would seem the perfect name for his chosen avocation of baring it all in public, outside, at night, in the winter, spring, and summertime.
As of Friday, Burr was in the Marin County Jail after he was spotted Sunday evening jogging nude near San Rafael's Second Street, reports the Marin Independent Journal.
Apparently, he was displaying his business as usual.
In December, Burr was convicted of committing a lewd act in public and placed on probation. Four months ago he was arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure, and received a court order to cease exposing his genitals in public.
He was arrested again April 16 for streaking. When he was caught walking around naked on Sunday, he told a police officer he'd lost track of his clothes somewhere between Second and Irwin Streets in San Rafael. Perhaps they're still there.
To much media fanfare, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg removed his signature hoodie at D8 conference Wednesday, revealing a strange Illuminati-like diagram printed on the blue silk lining. Interviewer Kara Swisher took one look at the bizarre garment and remarked, "What are you in, some kind of cult?"
The notion of some sort of secret seal struck a chord with the D8 audience -- and raises larger questions: The image is impossible to find on any open Facebook marketing materials, or online at all. When contacted by SF Weekly, the official channels at Facebook held that they had no details on the insignia, despite the fact that they could have just written it off on an over-enthusiastic design team.
Sub Pop recording artists 'clipping.' brought their brand of noise-driven experimental hip hop to the closing night of 2016's San Francisco Electronic Music Fest this past Sunday. The packed Brava Theater hosted an initially seated crowd that ended the night jumping and dancing against the front of the stage. The trio performed a set focused on their recently released Sci-Fi Horror concept album, 'Splendor & Misery', then delved into their dancier and more aggressive back catalogue, and recent single 'Wriggle'.
Opening performances included local experimental electronic duo 'Tujurikkuja' and computer music artist 'Madalyn Merkey.'"
