BART has completed its investigation into the bizarre smoke-filled evacuation at Civic Center station a week ago, blaming the incident on a random 1,000-volt arc of electricity.
According to the agency's preliminary report, the arcing was adjacent to a train entering the Civic Center station, which created "smoky conditions" and forced passengers from the train. The BART Safety Department concluded that the arc was most likely caused when the train struck trackside debris that conducted electricity.
In June 2011, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill requiring that out-of-state retailers with an in-state "nexus" collect state sales tax from California residents. At that point, Amazon.com extinguished its in-state nexus -- thousands of California bloggers and website owners who earn referral fees when people click links to Amazon products.
The San Francisco SPCA is once again giving away cats and dogs this weekend. Yes, you read that correctly -- they're FREE.
So leave your wallet at home and head out to Hayes Valley to pick out your pooch. Afterward, treat yourself and your pet to acupuncture, which will be available at this Sunday's street festival, appropriately named DOGMA.
If that's not motivating enough, there will be a pet talent contest, which reminds us that you should definitely check out these awesomely gifted cats.
Sibling rivalry took on a whole new meaning in San Francisco's North Bach neighborhood yesterday when two brothers were injured after allegedly stabbing each other in the head.
Officer Gordon Shyy detailed the crime like this: About 7 a.m., police were called to the 700 block of Broadway Street on reports of a man with a knife.
When they arrived, they found, not one, but two men bleeding from the head.
Every day for the past week or so, upon signing into Facebook, I've been greeted by a cross-eyed baby trying to lure me into taking part in a get-rich-quick scheme connected to Forex trading. (Word to the wise: If you see an advertisement with the word "Forex" in it, it's almost certainly some sleazebag outfit trying to part you from your money. Trading currencies isn't something non-professionals should ever do.)
On Monday, that cross-eyed baby, nonsensically but strategically placed in the Facebook ad to draw my attention, was in my mind when I came across this Atlantic piece by Derek Thompson. He asks: "Can Facebook possibly build a business model that isn't inherently creepy?"
The answer is: almost certainly not.
We revel in the parking drama over in Bernal Heights with the same gross enthusiasm we exercise when we get sucked into bad reality television.
Sadly, it appears our local guilty pleasure is no more. According to Bernalwood, a group of smart and really nice techies have created a new, more polite way to tell your neighbor to suck it, 21st century-style.
It's easy. If your neighbor's car is blocking your driveway, CurbTxt allows you to send a really nice SMS to them asking them to kindly get the hell out of your way. "Kindly" being the key word.
See Also: SoCal Man Nixes Moving to San Francisco After Car Gets Towed in Bernal Heights
San Francisco police tracked down the two guys -- one tall, one short -- who they say are responsible for holding up a slew of restaurants, phones stores, and even a hot tub business over the last month.
Officer Carlos Manfredi says police arrested 40-year-old Ray Faar, of San Francisco, and 48-year-old Bryan Alexander, of Daly City, on suspicion of robbing 11 businesses between Aug. 18 and Sept. 16. The duo became famous, not just for their crimes, but for their size; one guy is 5-foot-6 and the other is 5-foot-11; police had some fun with this one, and named the robbery series "tall guy, short guy."
Type 49ers.com into a browser, and the Internet takes you to the San Francisco 49ers' official website. Same story for raiders.com, as well many other teams, including the Bengals, Steelers, Seahawks, Patriots, Packers, and Redskins.
Back in 2010, local cops caught longtime con man Alan Young's well-worn act. In October of that year, Young was apprehended after a series of cons in which he portrayed himself as Motown singer/songwriter Lamont Dozier, and managed to separate money and goods from those charmed by his anecdotes.
It appears Young may once more be playing that same old song. San Francisco writer Doug Broussard tells SF Weekly that a man claiming to be Motown singer/songwriter Lamont Dozier waltzed into the "Jerk Church" party he was attending Sunday on 11th and Folsom streets, regaled the prettiest and youngest women he could find with stories of his Motown days -- and was later seen picking up a bag a party guest now claims was stolen. Several other bags and backpacks are missing as well.
See also: Alan Young Arrested in 2010
Alan Young Touring San Francisco, Pretending to be Lamont Dozier (2010)
