Americans with Disabilities Act

Phillip Glass and Joanna Newsom Plan Benefit Show to Help Henry Miller Library

In addition to being a living monument to American writer Henry Miller, Big Sir's Henry Miller Memorial Library hosts numerous events near and dear to the hearts of Bay Area cultural types. Later this summer, for example, the serene bibliothèque will once again be the site of the two-day Woodsist F ... More >>

How the New Path in Dolores Park Will Benefit Disabled People and City Trucks

​​The width of the new path that will snake through Dolores Park after the renovation -- toward the top of the hill on the park's right and then bisecting the park's left-side to reach the playground -- doesn't have many fans. Uptown Almanac has called it a "giant concrete phallus of injustice," ... More >>

City Hall's $700,000 Ramp Will Actually Cost $1.1 Million

Louis' Restaurant Lives to Grill Again

Rosencruz SumeraHello again ... ​The amber tile motif in the bathroom of Louis' Restaurant was the 1970s, every bit as much as the five-note theme of Close Encounters, Oscar Gamble's 'fro, or all the places Dirty Harry shot people that aren't there anymore.   Well, the tile is gone. In o ... More >>

Skippy the Service Iguana Makes the Wall Street Journal

Jake PoehlsCosmie Silfa and Skippy have hit the big time...​Frequent SF Weekly readers -- and riders of the 14-Mission bus -- may be familiar with Cosmie Silfa. Actually, while Silfa is a fine fellow, he's not nearly as memorable as his constant companion, Skippy. Skippy the service iguana. Silfa ... More >>

If I Laugh at That, Am I Going to Hell?

City Hall's $600K Ramp Will Pass -- We Count the Votes

There. That'll be $600,000, ma'am. ​We've written a bit about the proposed $600,000 ramp to atop the dais in the Board of Supervisors' chambers. After years of angry back-and-forth, the supes' budget committee last week approved the expenditure, and passed it on for a full board vote today. With t ... More >>

Will Supes Approve $600K Ramp in Board Chambers?

It'll be a hell of a lot nicer than that...​Tucked away among $48 million worth of funding, the Board of Supervisors Budget Committe yesterday approved the funding of a $600,000 ramp in City Hall. We've written a little bit about this -- the ramp was originally priced at more than $1.1 million, bu ... More >>

Mother of Issiah Downes Suing San Francisco for $50 Million

The family of a dead prisoner is claiming city employees' excessive force turned lethal​The mother of Issiah Downes, an inmate in San Francisco County Jail who suffocated while being restrained by sheriff's deputies, is now suing the city for $50 million, arguing that city employees killed her 6-f ... More >>

Muni's Expensive New Fare Gates Easily Eluded: Call it 'GateGate'

Michael Rhodes, SF StreetsblogYou needn't be Houdini nor Capone to elude this fare gate​By now, everyone and his fare-evading Uncle Phil knows that Muni's brand-spanking-new, $30 million Metro station gates can be evaded with a wave of the hand. Please allow us to be the first to christen this "Ga ... More >>

Chile Lindo Owner Paula Tejeda on the Warpath (VIDEO)

A dark day for empanadas​ Thursday's rally at the 24th Street BART station regarding the bevy of disability access lawsuits recently filed against Mission mom-and-pop restaurants didn't start a revolution. There were no signs or chants. Only three reporters and a handful of onlookers even showed u ... More >>

At Rally Agianst ADA Lawyer, Chile Lindo Owner Sort of Loses It

Our favorite morsel from the blogs. Embattled Chile Lindo owner Paula Tejeda organized a rally yesterday to protest the alleged targeting of small Mission businesses by disability lawyer Thomas Frankovich. And, as this video taken by SF Weekly reporter Lauren Smiley shows, Tejeda just sort of lo ... More >>

Chile Lindo 'Open' Again: But You Can't Get In

Paula Tejeda has a cunning plan...​The owner of Chile Lindo has found a solution to stay in business while not violating the law by keeping folks in wheelchairs out: Now you can't come in either. The cooks will hand you your empanada through the gate and everyone can eat outside. It's been a tumul ... More >>

Chile Lindo Reopens. Only Now, Nobody Gets to Go Inside

Nicholas F./YelpOwner Paula Tejeda will bring your empanadas out to you on the sidewalk.​Our favorite morsel from the blogs. SF Weekly staff writer Lauren Smiley files the latest report in what's been a miserable couple of weeks for Chile Lindo's Paula Tejeda, the empanada maker who closed he ... More >>

Chile Lindo Closes After Landlord Slapped with ADA Violation

Paula Tejeda is hitting the streets once again​At our siister news blog, The Snitch, Lauren Smiley finds that Mission empanada shop Chile Lindo has closed, after the building's landlord has been dinged for failure to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which Smiley reported last week. ... More >>

When Following the Chile Lindo Saga, Don't Forget How Important the ADA Is

​Lauren Smiley's coverage of Chile Lindo's closing in the face of an acrimonious lawsuit regarding wheelchair access makes me prickle in discomfort, torn between feeling for owner Paula Tejada and worrying that readers will excoriate the defendant, glossing over the importance of the Americans wit ... More >>

Chile Lindo Closing Doors After Landlord Caught in Barrage of Disability Suits

Paula Tejeda is hitting the streets once again​"The Lady From Empanada," aka Paula Tejeda, has decided to close her restaurant, Chile Lindo, after her landlord was sued by a wheelchair-using man for not having a ramp leading into the takeout eatery. Tejeda says she wants to save her landlord from ... More >>

Disabled Man Suing Restaurant Returns For Empanadas

Paula Tejeda doesn't take kindly to customers who sue her, then return for more food​ The wheelchair-using man who is suing the landlord of 16th Street empanada destination Chile Lindo for disabled access violations returned this week -- to buy some meat pies. He ended up getting them served with ... More >>

Disabled Proxy Suing Landlord of Chile Lindo, Other Mission Mom and Pops

Nicholas F./YelpThe owner of Chile Lindo says the place is designed for takeout.​The wheelchair-using man who is suing the landlord of Chile Lindo, Paula Tejeda's empanada shop on 16th Street, for disabled-access violations returned this week ― to buy some meat pies. Litigious diner Craig Yates ... More >>

Arthouse movie listings for July 21-27, 2010

Deaf Left Behind During Emergencies, Lawsuit Says

The building is burning down -- but no one told Arthur​If the fire alarm goes off and nobody tells the deaf guy, he's just going to sit at his desk. It's a disturbing image, but according to a lawsuit filed today in San Francisco superior court, that's exactly what's happening in four state agenci ... More >>

August Longo, Democratic Party Official with Checkered Past, Dies at 65

August Longo​August Longo was a man who presents challenges for an obituary writer. The wheelchair-bound 65-year-old died of undisclosed causes on or around April 6 according to his Facebook page. A straight accounting of his past, obituary style, would be to note that he was San Francisco's regio ... More >>

SFPD Fires Dyslexic Cop, Who Sues City for Discrimination

​Being both dyslexic and mayor of San Francisco is apparently no biggie. But according to a civil suit recently filed in San Francisco Superior Court, the city's police department may be a different story. Former officer Joseph Ratti, who says he was fired because he is dyslexic, is suing the city ... More >>

Bingo! San Francisco Court Rules Against Gambling-Loving Charities, Disabled Groups.

Not so fast, Gramps! This ain't Guadalcanal, it's bingo -- there are rules. ​San Francisco's 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last week did not call the numbers a consortium of  charities and disabled activists were hoping for, quashing an order that had been keeping police from enforcing state b ... More >>

Great News: You Can Still Ride BART. If You're Partly Blind, You Can Still Suffer.

If you can't make out this sign, then riding BART is even more hazardous than you might have thought​ Many riders have been pissed off of late about BART's ongoing labor soap opera. But two riders with bad eyesight may hold BART in special contempt now that the the 9th Circuit Court ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

SF Weekly's Joe Eskenazi on KQED's 'Forum' Program Tomorrow

Be sure to tune into "Forum" tomorrow morning (88.5 FM) at 9 a.m. and hear our very own Joe Eskenazi talk about his provocative feature on wacky -- and sometimes temperamental -- service animals, "Service With a Snarl." We're not sure who the other guests will be. We hope they are better-t ... More >>

Service with a Snarl

In San Francisco, lizards, rodents, and vicious Chihuahuas have all been declared service animals.

Music Within

Wheelchairs of Fortune

Attorney Tom Frankovich and his disabled clients sue small businesses to make them accessible - and make millions

Dog Bites

Roller Derby

Ignoring the law, the city lags in handicap access