Accidents and Disasters

Study: 3.5 Million People Will Die From Earthquakes This Century

Here in San Francisco, we live under the constant threat of a catastrophic earthquake. It's a subconscious worry, perhaps only creeping to the front of our minds as we drive over the Bay Bridge or step out of the shower (would you grab a pair of shorts before bolting for the nearest doorway?). We ... More >>

Health Officials Launch New Program That Will Hopefully Save More Pedestrians' Lives

In light of the recent holiday accidents, San Francisco health officials are teaming up with the cops, the mayor, and pretty much everyone else who's frustrated by bad drivers to provide targeted traffic enforcement in areas where elderly and youth pedestrians are most at risk. The Department of P ... More >>

Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom Gets Overwhelmed by Two Meetings

It's not news that Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom has not a thing to do up there in Sacramento, a city that he himself has said is boring. But you know what is news: Newsom finally had something to do -- and didn't do it!On Monday, Newsom's morning included showing up to a meeting and casting a vo ... More >>

Occupy, Environmentalists Say No to Nukes

San Franciscans found yet another reason to protest PG&E.Yesterday, on the anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, OccupySF Environmental Justice Working Group, No Nukes Action and Greenaction for Health as well as Environmental Justice gathered in front of the Japanese Consulate ... More >>

Occupy Bohemian Grove: Protesters Bond at Creation of Care

Dig Into Ancient Culture

The Rock 'n' Sock Hop for Jonathan Toubin: Show Preview

Another Earthquake Rocks the East Bay

That's kinda what it felt like ​It's been a tough week to try and get some sleep in Oakland -- amid the downtown protests, tear gas, helicopters circling, and earthquakes.A 3.6 quake rattle the East Bay at about 5:36 a.m., causing buildings to sway and bringing public transit to a screeching halt. ... More >>

Twin Earthquakes Shake the Bay Area, Is the "Big One" Next?

You thought yesterday's quakes were scary ... ​Two nearly identical quakes along the Hayward fault jolted the Bay Area yesterday, which naturally has everyone thinking, "Is this foreshadowing the Big One?"A 3.9 magnitude earthquake shook the East Bay at about 2:41 p.m. yesterday. No damages were r ... More >>

Stanford Wants to Install an Earthquake Sensor on Your Computer

My sensor saw it coming. ​The bad news: The Big One is coming. The good news: At least you can measure it.  Geophysicists are looking for "citizen seismologists" in the Bay Area to install a tiny earthquake sensor in their home, classroom, or office this weekend as part of building the denses ... More >>

We Got Your Back

The New Yorker: Chron Tech Blogger, Yobie Benjamin, Confuses Water with Industrial Poison

Dihydrogen monoxide can kill within minutes of entering a victim's lungs.​Last summer, San Francisco Chronicle citizen blogger Yobie Benjamin covered the waterfront, denouncing perceived failures in BP's oil-spill cleanup, including its penchant for using the then-controversial oil dispersant, Cor ... More >>

Earthquake! S.F. Shaken By 3.8 Temblor on Anniversary of Big One

View Larger Map No, those vibrations weren't everyone running out of the office simultaneously to hit up the food truck. The United States Geological Survey confirmed to SF Weekly that we were moments ago hit with a temblor. And, yes, today is the 105th anniversary of The Big One. The hard-working ... More >>

DJ Kentaro: Show Preview

Earthquake Hits Japan Again, No Tsunami Warning for S.F.

Another tsunami warning in Japan​Sadly, Japan was shaken again by another earthquake Thursday night, and is now under the threat of a tsunami, a month after it was devastated by an 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami that killed more than 25,000 people. Buildings as far away as Tokyo reportedly shook for ... More >>

Dosa's Tuesdays for Tokyo

peter_r/Flickr​Trendy South Indian Dosa has joined the wave of restaurants contributing to Japanese disaster relief, with a promotion called Tuesdays for Tokyo. Dine any Tuesday in April at either the Fillmore or Valencia Street locations and 100 percent of the profits will be donated to the J ... More >>

Chefs Unite Dinner at Prospect Raises $42,000 for Japan Relief

Prospect/FacebookThe six-course fundraiser brought in $42,000 for efforts to rebuild Japan's hard-hit Sendai region.​Sunday's Chefs United benefit dinner at Prospect raised $42,000 for Japanese earthquake and tsunami relief, Prospect chef Ravi Kapur tells SFoodie. Some 120 guests paid $300 eac ... More >>

Japanese Tsunami Debris: Will It Trash Our Beaches?

How many volunteers will this cleanup take?​There are so many alarming side effects to the Japanese nuclear leak -- tainted rainwater, polluted air samples, and let's not forget the possibility of radiation in your milk. But while we are so preoccupied with these immediate hazards, we have yet to ... More >>

Japan Radiation Makes its Way into Milk

It does a body good ... or does it?​Before you pour that next bowl of cereal, read this: Scientists in Berkeley told reporters that indeed the radioactive plum from the disastrous nuclear leak in Japan has made its way into an American staple -- milk.The good news is that scientists said the low l ... More >>

Lyndon LaRouche Volunteers Display Obama as Hitler Signs, Did San Francisco Notice?

Barack "Hitler" Obama will destroy California via earthquakes.​We popped out of the SF Weekly offices to run into Safeway on Fourth and King Streets this afternoon, when we noticed two overly cheerful young people manning a Lyndon LaRouche table outside the grocery store. Or, to be more precise, w ... More >>

Japan Crisis Escalates, S.F. to Join Nation in Candlelight Vigil

It's the least we could do ​As news spread on Friday that Japan is facing a possible breach at the troubled nuclear plant, San Francisco residents and politicians decided they would show their support with a candlelight vigil Monday after sunset. Media outlets are reporting that radioactive contam ... More >>

Yoshi's S.F. Announces Japan Benefit with Anthony Brown's Asian American Jazz Orchestra

As the full scope of the Japan Earthquake disaster comes into view, everyone with a connection to Japan -- and many without one -- are pitching in to help as best they can. Count among those the San Francisco music venue and restaurant Yoshi's, whose Japan benefit event will feature live ... More >>

Radiation Levels Monitored on Japan-California Flights

Old-school decontamination​U.S. Customs and Border Protection is monitoring radiation levels on airplanes, cargo, and passengers on flights inbound to West Coast cities from Japan, federal officials said today.In a statement, Customs and Border Protection said officials were seeking to "evaluate t ... More >>

Ebisu/Hotei Donating Part of This Week's Proceeds to Japan Quake Relief

Ebisu​Another S.F. restaurant is stepping up for Japanese disaster relief. From a message on Ebisu's website: All of us are saddened and concerned to have learned about the destruction of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake which has devastated areas of Japan. Many of us and our staff have family and ... More >>

Tsunami Relief: Here Is How to Help

Help!​Images of the earthquake that devastated eastern Japan on Friday still haunt us; the death toll is rising by the day, and threats of a nuclear meltdown lingers.  Naturally, San Franciscans are flooding organizations with phone calls, curious about where and how they can help victims in ... More >>

Do You Need to Know About Every Last 2.0 Quake?

Now that's an earthquake! ​The search for content in today's media market is constant. So, it would seem, are the number of minor earthquakes rattling the Bay Area. Like chocolate and peanut butter, the marriage of online journalists desperately in need of material and neverending reports of piddl ... More >>

Will Bizarre Quake Prediction Come True?

Our past ... and future?​A self-anointed earthquake predicter's bizarre claim that Los Angeles would be rattled by a 6.0 to 7.0 temblor today has nine-odd hours to come true. At the strike of midnight, Luke Thomas of QuakePredictions.com will either become an object of reverence or revulsion. The ... More >>

Frantic Tweets About 7.0 Earthquake -- Tomorrow

​A much-retweeted "warning" of a 7.0 earthquake that will ostensibly hit Southern California tomorrow has earned a stern tweet of its own from the United States Geological Survey. You can't predict earthquakes, notes the USGS. And there's no Easter Bunny, either. Dire warnings of a massive quake a ... More >>

On Second Thought, Says Scientist, Hair Still Crummy Way to Fight Oil Spill

Nice. But not to fight an oil spill. ​Distinguished scientist Terry Hazen had to be the big, bad killjoy on a story about how local company Matter of Trust could collect your hair and use it to fight the ongoing Deep Horizon oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. "If you shaved everybody in the Unit ... More >>

Willie Speights, 60, Killed Hobbling on Crutches Up 101 Off-Ramp

Jim HerdState Troopers on the scene yesterday following the death of Willie Speights ​Willie Speights, a 60-year-old San Franciscan, was the man on crutches who was struck and killed by an exiting car as he wandered onto a highway off-ramp near Cesar Chavez, according to the city's Medical Examine ... More >>

Dead Sea

An unpublished study shows the surprisingly lethal effects of the Cosco Busan oil spill. Why are government scientists helping the ship's owner keep it a secret?

Earthquake!!! Twitter Gets the Scoop

As any S.F. resident who has a Twitter account may know, a magnitude 4.1 earthquake occurred near Milpitas, CA at 10:09 AM today. Having worked next to a freeway overpass in Los Angeles, we are prone to second guessing ourselves when the earth starts shaking. This morning before we could finish ou ... More >>

In Deep

The Big One: 29 Years in the Making

The Big One: We're Screwed!

Developments in Shaky Town

Have developers killed the possibility of higher seismic standards for new high-rises?

Ding-Dong! Who Is It? EARTHQUAKE! ... Could Alarm's Ring Reveal Quakes?

Hayward Fault Ready to Rock the East Bay, Nerds Warn Today at Moscone

Oil Spill's Coast Guard Commander Uberti Replaced -- Heads Are Starting to Roll

I Survived the Alum Rock Quake and All I Got Was This Lousy Feeling of Imminent Doom

'Pandemonium' 'Screaming' and Other Earthquake Observations

Ready to Rumble

It's the 100-year anniversary of the 1906 earthquake. Are you a fan of all the hoopla? Take our quiz and see.

Katrina Benefits

The Mayor's Quake Insurance Program

Stop the presses: a column in praise of Gavin Newsom's political courage in support of the public interest

Journey to the Center of BART

BART officials scare the shit out of us; local rock legend Paul Kantner says S.F. tap water tastes like shit

A Bridge Too Weak?

A UC Berkeley professor believes the unique new Bay Bridge design is fatally flawed

Rubble With a Mortgage

What could be worse than a devasting earthquake in the Bay Area? The day after, when we all realize that no one is covered by insurance.

Fallout

How nuclear researchers handled -- and grossly mishandled -- the Cold War's most dangerous radioactive substances at a top-secret lab inside the Hunters Point Shipyard. The same shipyard the city wants to remake as San Francisco's newest neighborhood.

Seismic Punt

UC ignores its own engineering report on shoring up the Golden Bears' stadium, but the fans don't care

Masters of Disaster

The San Francisco Office of Emergency Services unveils its new post-apocalypse playbook