SF Weekly readers can't forget last year when Assemblywoman Fiona Ma quickly cast herself as the state's biggest party-pooper when she tried to outlaw raves across California. She only renegged on her legislation after deciding to do some more "research" and attend a pacifier party herself.
And while Ma introduces herself as a CPA, she is far from a "certified party animal" herself. Last night, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a trifecta of Ma's bills that crack down on the basics of modern day teenage rebellion: Alcohol, tattoos, body piercings, and raves.
When Albert Schweitzer passed into the great beyond, the obituary writer's task was relatively straightforward. That's not to say it was easy -- but penning a remembrance for a man whose name has become synonymous with benevolence is a unique endeavor.
More indicative of the challenges of blending honesty with respect for the dead were the recent passings of a pair of titans: Steve Jobs and Al Davis. Both men created a product, so to speak, that won the allegiance of millions of followers. Countless Mac People offered paeans to the man who "invented our world." Similarly, the inhabitants of Raider Nation wept as if for a lost grandfather.
Both reactions are, in part, appropriate. But, though it runs counter to societal pressure to all but canonize the recently deceased, it's dishonest to not note that both Jobs and Davis were largely defined by prickly and even downright nasty personalities. In fact, one could argue that if they'd been made of Albert Schweitzer stuff, they'd have never been so successful.
Whether you believe the Second Amendment is essential or outdated, the law in California used to allow anyone to carry a gun in public or in vehicles -- as long as it was openly displayed and unloaded.
California became the fifth state to make it illegal to openly carry guns after Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill into law Monday morning. Despite opposition from gun advocates, AB144 will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2012, making any open-carry act in a public place a misdemeanor with possible jail time or a $1,000 fine.
Open-carry advocates in the Bay Area -- and nationwide -- began asserting their constitutional rights to carry an open and unloaded gun back in January 2010, when they staged informal gatherings in Starbucks coffee shops while packing (unloaded) heat.
Traffic was backed up early this morning near Geary Boulevard after a pedestrian spotted a body in the street by St. Mary's Cathedral.
The body was found in the bushes near Geary Boulevard and Gough Street at about 7:30 a.m. Police have very few details about the incident; however, Officer Albie Esparza told SF Weekly that a gun was found near the unidentified body.
An overly excited fan made headlines over the weekend when he tossed his hot dog wrapped in a crusty bun at Tiger Woods as the pro golfer putted his final round at the Frys.com Open at CordeValle in San Martin, just down the street from Stanford.
"When I looked up, the hot dog was already in the air," Woods said with a chuckle. "He was pretty far away from me."
Fortunately, it wasn't a chili dog. Even more fortunately, nobody was hurt by the hurling meat.
In New York City, they Occupy Wall Street movement has drawn thousands of people to the lower Manhattan area to protest "corporate greed." On one occasion, more than 700 protesters were arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge, sparking what some are calling a new era of dissenters. Meanwhile, in San Francisco, where the make-banks-pay movement has spread, things have been a little more, well, zen.
In case you don't work anywhere near the Financial District and haven't had the chance to see this group in action, here is what an average day for OccupySF protesters looks like:
A California Maritime Academy instructor was jailed over the weekend for allegedly drugging one of his male students at a party and then performing oral sex on him.
Some might say Scott Saarheim, 46, made his first mistake when he threw a party at his house a week ago, inviting his own students. Police say things got out of hand when at some point in the night an out-of-state student was instructed by Saarheim to another part of the house where he was "introduced to some intoxicating substance," according to Vallejo police.
"At that point he realized the professor was orally copulating him," Lieutenant Kenny Park told reporters.
