California

But, the Children: Save California Denounces Harvey Milk Day

Your Kids Should Probably Be More Afraid of Dog Bites Than Gay People

Earlier today, we told you about Save California, that right-wing and totally off-base group in Sacramento that's spending a ton of time and money pleading with parents to keep their kids locked inside on Harvey Milk Day -- May 22.But you know what your children should probably be more afraid of tha ... More >>

State Might Have More Women, Minorities Than White Men in 2013 Congressional Caucus

There's a decent chance that in 2013, white men will not rule California's congressional caucus for a change. Currently, 28 of California's 53 representatives are white men. Of the other 25, 19 are women, nine of whom are minorities, and six are minority men. Because of redistricting, handled by ... More >>

Proposed Bill Won't Allow Therapists to "Cure" Gay Teens

North Carolina's most notorious nut job, Pastor Sean Harris, would be disappointed to learn that not only do we not beat the gay out of our kids in California, but we really aren't interested in trying to "cure" them either.In other words, gay kids will be gay kids. At least that's what Sen. Ted Lie ... More >>

Californians to Decide Whether to Abolish the Death Penalty

The Golden State will finally get a chance to kill the death penalty.A measure to abolish capital punishment in California qualified for the November ballot, Secretary of State Debra Bowen confirmed yesterday evening. The measure -- dubbed the SAFE California Act -- calls for doing away with death r ... More >>

Farmer Says State Shouldn't Force Him to Raise Chickens in Comfort

A SoCal farmer is suing the state over a new law that threatens to throw egg farmers in jail if they are busted caging hens in cruel ways, such as preventing the chickens from lying down, standing up, or moving around. According to a lawsuit filed in Sacramento last week, William Cramer, an egg ... More >>

Manufacturing Group Calls Bay Bridge an "Icon of Embarrassment"

​As a tourist, you might refer to the Bay Bridge as a spectacular sight; as a local, you will probably call it congested. But embarrassing? Now that's one adjective that doesn't come to mind when you stare at one of the city's prized landmarks.However, a group of American manufacturers are calling ... More >>

Ammiano Bill to Allow Marijuana Businesses and Sales That Are Already Legal

Mr Fix-It​Call it an industry, call it a movement, call it a gigantic scam. Law enforcement and politicians can't agree what to call California's medical marijuana scene, except to say it exists in a legal gray area.And how. A dispensary operator in Vallejo was arrested last week -- twice -- becau ... More >>

Haven: Big Portions, Bold Flavors Have Mass Appeal

Mr Fix-It​Call it an industry, call it a movement, call it a gigantic scam. Law enforcement and politicians can't agree what to call California's medical marijuana scene, except to say it exists in a legal gray area.And how. A dispensary operator in Vallejo was arrested last week -- twice -- becau ... More >>

Haven: New California Cuisine Gets Super-Sized

​I've been a restaurant critic for more than a decade now, and I can't say I've ever had the chance to review the same chef twice in one year -- at two different restaurants. In fact, I probably would have avoided it if the chef hadn't been Kim Alter, whose food I enjoyed so much when she was cook ... More >>

Proposition 8 Is Unconstitutional, Appeals Court Says

​A federal appeals court ruled this morning that California's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.  New outlets are reporting that the ban will still remain in effect as the case makes its way to the Supreme Court. Both sides had vowed to appeal the ruling if the outcome wasn't in th ... More >>

S.F. Komen Affiliates "Thrilled" to Continue Funding Planned Parenthood

​The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation relieved its six California affiliates today when it pledged to reverse its unpopular policy to stop funding Planned Parenthood and its breast cancer prevention programs.During Komen's grant review process, the foundation decided that any organizations b ... More >>

Asian American Group Sues to Stop State Ban of Shark Fin Soup

​The Chinese community is hoping a federal judge can force California to stop being a bunch of Soup Nazis. The Asian American Rights Committee of California filed a lawsuit in San Francisco this week, claiming the state's move to ban the sale of shark fins -- which is used to make the gelatinous C ... More >>

"Monstress": Lysley Tenorio Reads From His California Stories

​The Chinese community is hoping a federal judge can force California to stop being a bunch of Soup Nazis. The Asian American Rights Committee of California filed a lawsuit in San Francisco this week, claiming the state's move to ban the sale of shark fins -- which is used to make the gelatinous C ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

​The Chinese community is hoping a federal judge can force California to stop being a bunch of Soup Nazis. The Asian American Rights Committee of California filed a lawsuit in San Francisco this week, claiming the state's move to ban the sale of shark fins -- which is used to make the gelatinous C ... More >>

People Aren't Killing Each Other as Much in California

Fewer opporuntities to say "redrum" in California ​Despite all the horrible crises we read about every day (budget, education, etc), Californians have much to be proud of -- the scenic beauty, the diverse culture, and get this: We aren't killing each other as much as we used to. According to Gener ... More >>

Pot Club Crackdown Continues, Judge Rejects Demands to Stop Feds

​A judge has ruled that she would not interfere with the feds' efforts to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries across California. Oakland U.S. District Court Judge Saundra Armstrong ruled on Monday that pot clubs failed to show that  the federal government was violating their rights by cr ... More >>

Humboldt County Couple Alleges Malicious Tree Theft by Neighbor

​It's no secret that a lot of strange things go on in the far northern reaches of the California coast. Like what, you ask? Well, like a lawsuit involving allegations that a man stole a massive tree from his neighbor's land.The suit, filed in Humboldt County Superior Court, asserts that that Willi ... More >>

Meet and Eat With Your Favorite Cheesemakers

​What: Meet the Cheesemaker, a California Artisan Cheese Guild Fundraiser Where:The Cheese School of San Francisco When: Fri., November 11, 7-9 p.m. Cost: $35 The rundown: Every year, the Cheese School in North Beach hosts a bunch of California's cheesemakers to raise funds for the Califor ... More >>

U.S. Supreme Court Hearing Challenge to California's Pig Protection Law

​Two years ago, President Obama signed a federal law that that would keep "downed" cows -- animals brought to the slaughterhouse too sick or weak to stand -- out of the human food chain. Other animals -- well, the humans who eat them, really -- haven't had the same kind of federal protections, wh ... More >>

California Vintners Infusing Wine with Pot

Wharman/FlickrApparently, it's an easy match with California's other favorite mood altering crop. In a Gourmet Live article last week, Matthew Kronsberg let the Internet in on a little secret that California wine geeks have known for a while: A few of our winemakers are tossing a few ounces of bud ... More >>

Governor Jerry Brown Signs Slew of Illegal Immigrant-Friendly Bills

​While the federal government stagnates on any immigration reform, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bevy of illegal immigrant-friendly bills that will make their under-the-radar way of life less of a headache starting January 1, 2012. Opponents have already started filing in. Perhaps th ... More >>

Governor Jerry Brown Outlaws Open Carry for Guns

​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 B ... More >>

State Launches Investigation of Bay Area Lawyers Involved in Hunger Strike Negotiations

​The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has barred two Bay Area attorneys from entering Pelican Bay State Prison as a hunger strike drags on at the facility, asserting that it is investigating them for alleged illegal activity that compromised prison security.The attorneys are ... More >>

Occupy Wall Street Protest Expands to San Francisco

12 days, plus interest ​Today marks the 12th day of the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City -- and unlike BART protests, there's no sign that this demonstration is dying down. In fact, it's spreading -- all the way to the West Coast, where California is suffering from a staggering 12 perc ... More >>

California Young Democrats' Bank Accounts Frozen in Kinde Durkee Fraud Case

​The California Young Democrats are appealing to supporters for financial assistance after discovering that they cannot access their operating funds, which were handled by a Democratic campaign treasurer now facing fraud charges.Federal and state authorities are investigating the treasurer, Kinde ... More >>

Gov. Brown Decriminalizes Sangria and Infused Vodka

Obscure InternetAs of today, this is no longer illegal in California​Gov. Jerry Brown today ended tension on the part of bartenders by signing Senate Bill 32, which makes it legal for bars to infuse vodkas and other liquors. And the best news? The bill has an "urgency clause," which means it ... More >>

Where Have All the Stoners Gone?

Hey stoners, do you really want Sarah Palin as an ally?​It's hard to say exactly where the American marijuana movement is at present. For every Alabama, where a Republican state legislator will sponsor a medical marijuana bill to legalize medical cannabis, there's an Arizona or a Montana, where la ... More >>

Hey Food Activists: Can We Get a Ban on GMOs and BGH?

PCC Farmland Trust​California's food activists are on the verge of gaining a ban on the import of shark fins. And starting next July, sale of foie gras in this state will be illegal. We care about animal welfare here; we passed a law regulating the size of chickens' cages. But perhaps becaus ... More >>

California Senate May Vote on Shark Fin Ban Today

A​B 376, the bill banning the sale and import of shark's fin in California, may be up for a vote today in the California Senate. According to representatives from the offices of Assemblymember Paul Fong, who introduced the bill this spring, AB 376 is on the agenda.California is the fourth state in ... More >>

Family Winemakers Show Offers More Wine Than You Can Handle

Foodgal.com​Family Winemakers of California Tasting Where: Fort Mason Center When: Sunday, Aug. 21, 3-6 p.m. Cost: $65 advance, $75 at the door We can drink a lot of wine, but we find the Family Winemakers of California annual tasting overwhelming, in a good way. There's always about 50 times ... More >>

Organic Chicken Actually Proven to Be Safer

Alarmed by the recent outbreak of drug-resistent salmonella in ground turkey, which killed one Californian woman? The way to protect yourself might be to buy organic. Yesterday, NPR reported that a University of Maryland study found that big organic chicken farms have much lower levels of antibio ... More >>

Civil Courts Are San Francisco's Newest Endangered Species

Like the California grizzly, another symbol of our state is about to die off: the civil courts.​The warnings of cuts are over. They're here -- for real -- and San Francisco's civil court system will soon be a cozy concept from a bygone era in which the state had the cash to fund such luxuries as ... More >>

Pelican Bay Inmates on Hunger Strike Are Growing Weak and Sick, Activists Say

​The health conditions of inmates who are striking to protest conditions in the California state prison system's maximum-security units have "deteriorated to critical levels," and some prisoners could start to die if immediate action isn't taken, activists say.The strike began two weeks ago at the ... More >>

Amazon.com Goes to War with State of California over Online Sales Tax

​Nobody expected that Amazon.com would take kindly to California legislators' decision to force the mammoth web retailer to collect state sales tax. As part of the recently approved, arduously deliberated state budget, California is now requiring out-of-state companies such as Amazon to slap the t ... More >>

California Death Sentences at 33-Year Low

​Fewer death sentences were handed down by California courts during the first half of 2011 than during any six-month period since 1978, according to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.Just three defendants were sentenced to death from January to June of this ... More >>

What Happens When (and If) State Parks Close

​Fewer death sentences were handed down by California courts during the first half of 2011 than during any six-month period since 1978, according to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.Just three defendants were sentenced to death from January to June of this ... More >>

Amazon to Cut Out California Associates over Sales Tax Dispute

Nice little business you've got going there. It would be a shame if anything happened to it​Internet retail giant Amazon.com informed California-based Web sites, which make money via referring buyers, that they'll soon be cut out if the state forces the Amazon to pay sales tax, as proposed in the ... More >>

Robert Mondavi Woodbridge 2009 California Zinfandel

​This writer made a simple dinner last night of brown rice, freshly pulled chard and kale from the garden, a handful of off-season wild porcini from -- oops, almost gave away my patch! -- and several steaks of a hand-harvested lingcod, which we lathered with coconut oil and sesame seeds and br ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

​This writer made a simple dinner last night of brown rice, freshly pulled chard and kale from the garden, a handful of off-season wild porcini from -- oops, almost gave away my patch! -- and several steaks of a hand-harvested lingcod, which we lathered with coconut oil and sesame seeds and br ... More >>

Fetzer 2010 California Moscato

​Muscat may be the most sensible, down-to-earth grape there is. Unlike so many other varieties, it doesn't play around: Ferment it into wine, age it for a time, and pour it into the glass, and it still smells and tastes like the grapes from which it was made. Muscat, in fact, is said to be the ... More >>

Federal Backruptcy Court Declares DOMA Unconstitutional

Gay couples go broke, too. ​The latest assault on the federal law that only recognizes straight spouses comes from an institution that's not exactly known for making rousing statements about civil rights: the federal bankruptcy court.According to news reports., the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Ce ... More >>

Campus California's Links to International Fugitive Amdi Petersen

IJamie SojaClothing is collected in Campus California's Bay Area dropoff boxes.​n this week's SF Weekly cover story I explore apparent links between clothes donation boxes sprouting throughout the Bay Area and a business empire reputedly run by a Danish fugitive. The story cites credible evidence ... More >>

Californians Are Stifled by Their Own Government

​That's the conclusion, more or less, of a new study that ranks California near the bottom among the 50 American states for the freedoms it grants its citizens.The study from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University ranked California 48th in its "state freedom rankings." Analysts measured su ... More >>

A Field Guide to Sustainable and Delicious Dry Farmed Wines

Whole lotta irrigation goin' on in Napa.​Irrigation is plainly a function of the modern world. Though the ancient Romans built spectacular gravity-driven aqueducts, drip irrigation for agriculture was not invented until the late 1960s in Israel, and only in the 1970s did water-bearing pipes a ... More >>

Amazon Tax Bill Is Gaining Favor Among S.F. Businesses

Read the full story on your Kindle​Business leaders in San Francisco are supporting the same legislation that's made economic behemoths such as Amazon.com threaten to leave California. AB155, also known as the Amazon tax bill, passed the Assembly this week and now awaits the state Senate's vote. ... More >>

California Has 1.1 Million Medical Marijuana Users, NORML Says

We pot more than we need politicians​California is the most populous state in the Union. It's where the nation's medical marijuana movement was birthed, and the Golden State is also where the rest of the country gets most of its illegal pot, judging by law enforcement statistics (lo siento, Britis ... More >>

Californians Aren't Killing Each Other as Much as They Used to

There is more peace in California these days.​Early data indicates that homicides in California dropped to a 44-year low in 2010, declining 9.6 percent from 2009, according to Attorney General Kamala Harris.Of course, law enforcement shouldn't pull out the champagne just yet, since the drop only a ... More >>