Email Author Lauren Smiley

Awards

• 2011 - Education Reporting Awards/National Education Writers Association, published February 3, 2010

  "The ABC's of Ditching School"

• 2010 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published January 21, 2009

  "Exporting the Dead"

• 2009 - Peninsula Press Club Awards, published May 14, 2008

  "Score!!!"

• 2008 - GLAAD Media Awards, published July 11, 2007

  "Girl/Boy Interrupted"

• 2008 - Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma, published October 3, 2007

  "Escape from San Francisco"

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2011 Stories by Lauren Smiley

• Sperm Donor Smack-Down: Trent Arsenault vs. the Gay-Hating Bill Johnson

  published Dec 26, 2011

  The SF Weekly newsroom boasts the strange distinction of sitting above a fertility clinic. That means the morning elevator ride is often shared with anxious females gripping the hand of their nervous ... More >>

• Library Asks Teens to Help Grandma Close the Tech Gap

  published Dec 26, 2011

  My mother, now in her 60s, has just never grasped any part of the computer age. She still drives to Barnes & Noble to buy books at full price instead of getting the latest deal on Amazon. She's un... More >>

• Berkeley's Sgt. Mary Kusmiss Regrets Stoking High School Prostitution Hype

  published Dec 22, 2011

  The source of the Berkeley High School prostitution hype has fessed up, and believe it or not, the informant is a cop. Actually, the frenzy over talk of teen prostitutes at Berkeley High can be chalke... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Fire Chief Uncomfortable Getting Strip Clubs' Holiday Money at Fire Station Ceremony

  published Dec 21, 2011

  Update (4:53 p.m.): Firefighters will be picking up the check from strip clubs at the union's distribution center today, followed by a reception at the Gold Club.Original Story ( 3 p.m.)Talk about loo... More >>

• Mayor Ed Lee, Police Say Feds Didn't Order Them to Evict Occupy SF

  published Dec 21, 2011

  Both Mayor Ed Lee and San Francisco police deny that they received marching orders from any federal agency to evict Occupy SF protesters and arrest resisters at Justin Herman Plaza on Dec. 7. SF Weekl... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Embarcadero Center Threatened to Sue City Over Occupy Encampment

  published Dec 19, 2011

  The Hyatt Regency and Vitale hotels complained of foul camp conditions, "sexual harassment," and an employee getting coffee thrown on him by OccupiersThe 99 percent might wage war with drum circles, s... More >>

• The Real Life Superhero Files: Do-Luck

  published Dec 14, 2011

  In this week's cover story, we presented The Ray, a Target employee from Antioch who was arrested in the general strike march in Oakland last month while acting as a Real Life Superhero. The Ray is ... More >>

• The Real Life Superhero Files: Rock N. Roll

  published Dec 14, 2011

  In this week's cover story, we presented The Ray, a Target employee from Antioch who was arrested in the General Strike march in Oakland last month while acting as a Real Life Superhero. The Ray is ... More >>

• The Real Life Superhero Files: Motor Mouth

  published Dec 14, 2011

  In this week's cover story, we presented The Ray, a Target employee from Antioch who was arrested in the General Strike march in Oakland last month while acting as a Real Life Superhero. The Ray is ... More >>

• The Real Life Superhero Files: Mutinous Angel

  published Dec 13, 2011

  In this week's cover story, we presented The Ray, a Target employee from Antioch who was arrested in the General Strike in Oakland last month while acting as a Real Life Superhero. The Ray is far from... More >>

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  COVER STORY

  Enter: A Superhero: The Ray Faced Down Cops to Help Occupy, But His True Mission Is Darker

  published December 14, 2011

  Illustration by Sam Kennedy. Around 11:30 p.m., The Ray stepped onto... More >>

• Reports of Prostitution Referrals from Berkeley High School Hyped - But By Whomr

  published Dec 12, 2011

  The Berkeley police are disputing a KTVU report last week -- that SF Weekly then blogged -- about the number of possible cases of student prostitutes that Berkeley High School refers to the Berkeley P... More >>

• Donate a Toy for Christmas, Get a Beer or a Lap Dance

  published Dec 09, 2011

  In San Francisco, we are apparently more charitable when we are a little drunk. Hell, we would even donate a toy or two to a needy kid if we're promised a lap dance in exchange. C'mon. Like the k... More >>

• Occupy SF Taunt Police After Eviction (Slideshow)

  published Dec 07, 2011

  The one immediate drawback to clearing out the Occupy SF camp was that it didn't do much to deter protesters; in fact the group only grew louder and more visible. In other words, they might have packe... More >>

• Robert Tunnell, Former San Francisco Attorney, Admits to Ponzi Scheme

  published Dec 06, 2011

  A former San Francisco attorney with a tony resume recently pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in federal court for operating a Ponzi scheme that targeted his own friends and family.Robert Tunnell,... More >>

• Glee, San Francisco-Style: Pony Up $200 and Sell 25 Tickets, Kids

  published Dec 05, 2011

  No doubt, with the wild success of Glee. the TV show -- coupled with a bombastic cultural event that is American Idol  -- kids everywhere are dying to ride their nascent singing talent to fame. T... More >>

• Occupy Injuries: Campers Gone Wild

  published Dec 02, 2011

  Did you hear the latest from Occupy SFr A camper set fire to his tent because his neighbors were making too much noiser Point for the 1 percent, who are probably chuckling all the way to the, well, b... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Occupy SF: Should Protesters Stay or Should They Gor (Video)

  published Dec 01, 2011

  rNoon came and went without action at Justin Herman Plaza today, the deadline by which the city wanted the Occupy SF tents to move to a new site near 16th and Mission streets -- and still there was n... More >>

• Roberto Acosta, MS-13 Snitch Convicted of Lying to Government, Seeks New Trial

  published Nov 30, 2011

  The MS-13 snitch who provided federal agents with information that led to the mega-indictment of the transnational gang -- and recorded alleged murder confessions that will be allowed as evidence in a... More >>

• Danilo "Triste" Velasquez, San Francisco MS-13 Gang Leader, Convicted In Federal Court

  published Nov 29, 2011

  An MS-13 gang member who rose to a leadership position and demanded others continue the violence even after a federal take-down drained the gang's San Francisco ranks was convicted in federal court of... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Boozing at the Library: Friends of the Library Hosting Happy Hour

  published Nov 28, 2011

  If you've ever heard the representative of Friends of the San Francisco Public Library drone on during Board of Supes' meetings until he's gonged off the public comment podium, you'll know that then k... More >>

• Black Friday: Occupiers Join Indigenous People to Protest Mall on Burial Grounds

  published Nov 25, 2011

  The Occupy movement is all about raising consciousness of the dark colonial underpinnings of Thanksgiving. Yesterday morning, Occupiers were up before dawn to broadcast the Indigenous People Sunrise C... More >>

• Ugly Thanksgiving Sweaters: Tonight Is Your Last Chance to Find Them on eBay

  published Nov 23, 2011

  The hours until Thanksgiving morning are nearing, and soon you will awaken to the smell of turkey and stuffing wafting through a house chock-full of relatives and the sound of football droning from th... More >>

• Heroin-Overdose-Halting Drug Saves 600 Lives in San Francisco

  published Nov 22, 2011

  For the last eight years, the city's Department of Public Health has been dealing a drug that can stop a heroin overdose in its tracks -- and it appears to be working. The city has just ticked off it... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Thanksgiving 101: How Not to Burn Down Your House While Cooking

  published Nov 22, 2011

  Editor's Note: The author writes this from a pre-Thanksgiving pecan pie coma in the office. rI'm not dissing anyone, the disgustingly cloying pie I just ate was store-bought -- by me -- as will be all... More >>