Dennis Herrera

Forbidden-Fruit Flavored: The City's Efforts to Prevent Kids From Guzzling Monster Drinks May do the Opposite

Dennis Herrera Presents City's Argument Against Prop. 8 in U.S. Supreme Court Brief

"Asserting the inferiority of same-sex couples was the purpose and effect of Proposition 8," City Attorney Dennis Herrera states in a brief filed today in the U.S. Supreme Court. "But relegating gay couples to a lesser status simply to brand them as different and less worthy than opposite-sex couple ... More >>

List of Restaurants Implicated in Health Insurance Fraud Crackdown Released

On Friday, City Attorney Dennis Herrera sent letters to several dozen businesses under investigation for consumer fraud for pocketing surcharge funds meant to go toward employee health insurance. Yesterday the Chronicle released the list of the businesses who received letters from Herrera, including ... More >>

City Attorney Cracks Down on Restaurant Health Insurance Fraud

If you've ever wondered whether the health care surcharge on your restaurant bill is actually going toward funding health insurance for the restaurant's employees, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that the vast majority of S.F. restaurants are in compliance. The bad news is that a ha ... More >>

City Attorney to Sue "World Series Hooligans" Who Trashed S.F.

For those of you who are miffed, pissed, hurt, or whatever adjective aptly describes how you feel about the destruction that descended on San Francisco after the Giants won the World Series on Sunday, well, you are about to get some relief. Financial relief, that is. The City Attorney has said he wi ... More >>

Were You Ripped Off by a Payday Loan Company? Go Get Your Refund at City Hall

Well, this is odd. The City Attorney's Office is having some trouble getting consumers to come down to City Hall and claim their free money.So now we're publicizing it: If you've been ripped off by payday loans, here's your opportunity to get some of your hard-earned cash back. Today, City Attorney ... More >>

Tenderloin Deli Must Pay Fine for Selling Crack Instead of Sandwiches

A San Francisco judge has made it that much harder for Tenderloin delis to be one-stop shops for sandwiches, crack, and a hooker. Today, Judge Harold E. Kahn ordered a 2-year injunction at Barah's Market, located on the corner of Leavenworth and Turk streets, and said it has 45 months to pay $30,000 ... More >>

City Attorney Dennis Herrera Defends Medical Marijuana Permitting

Medical marijuana does not grow on trees (pot plants are much smaller). And cannabis does not fall from the sky: In order for marijuana users to access their preferred medicine -- and in order for the will of the voters to be respected -- "patients" need to acquire cannabis from somewhere. In Califo ... More >>

City Won't Pay for Ross Mirkarimi's Defense Team, City Attorney Says

City Attorney Dennis Herrera today denied Ross Mirkarimi's request for the city to finance his defense attorneys during the Ethics Commission proceedings, which are looking into whether the suspended sheriff committed official misconduct. Mirkarimi, who was elected sheriff in November, had stated ... More >>

Ross Mirkarimi's No. 2, Ellen Brin, Is Dennis Herrera's "Cousin"

​Could a situation in which the county's sheriff has been sentenced to a day in his own jail grow any more awkward? Perhaps it can. As Mayor Ed Lee takes stock of his legal grounds to remove Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi from office, he's been in close consultation with City Attorney Dennis Herrera. Herr ... More >>

Last Call at Drug-Dealing Tenderloin Market

​San Francisco is no fool -- the city knows a bodega when it sees one. And Razan Market and Deli, at Ellis and Jones streets in the Tenderloin, has all the telltale signs.For starters, the store is open 24 hours a day at one of the city's least savory corners -- though the doors do get closed and ... More >>

Republican S.F. Chair: I Never Wanted to Sic Government on SF Weekly

No, no, you guys at SF Weekly are fine...​Last week, we told you about how the head of San Francisco's Republican Party threatened to sic big government on our newspaper. Harmeet Dhillon, the boss of the local GOP, now tells SF Weekly that was never her intention. She didn't want to abridge our Fi ... More >>

Ed Lee's Alleged Money-Laundering Is Manna From Heaven for Dennis Herrera

​City Attorney Dennis Herrera is calling for a criminal investigation into new allegations against his rival Mayor Ed Lee, whose donors are accused of  laundering money for his campaign through business associates as a way sidestep campaign contribution limits.The Bay Citizen broke the story ... More >>

SF Log Cabin Republicans: There Are More Than Three of Us

anoldent via Flickr​Much ado has already been made about Dennis Herrera slamming Ed Lee for contributions from a Republican -- one that has also supported Herrera over the years. But a comment in the Chronicle from Herrera's spokesman, Matt Dorsey, prompted the SF Log Cabin Republicans to as ... More >>

Dennis Herrera Scores Another Likely Vote -- His Intern!

Raking in the votes​We told you last week about how City Attorney Dennis Herrera, not surprisingly, managed to lock down his wife, Anne's, vote for mayor. Well, the support is pouring in as a result. The other day, he got another ringing endorsement from someone close to his campaign: His summer i ... More >>

Circumcision Ban Is Unconstitutional and Anti-Semitic, City Attorney Says

Now things are really becoming uncomfortable ​City Attorney Dennis Herrera has weighed in on San Francisco's proposed circumcision ban issue, saying that, among other things, it's patently unconstitutional and should be removed from the November ballot. In a brief  filed Thursday afternoon, H ... More >>

Dennis Herrera Called Out Over Pension Reform Ethics

Deciphering what's legally dumb​Public Defender Jeff Adachi's crusade continues ... but now he's turning his sights on City Attorney Dennis Herrera, claiming he is using his role as the city's chief lawyer to influence pension reform. Adachi's SF Pension Reform group, fired off a letter to Herrera ... More >>

Will Stow Lake Affair Sink City Attorney?

Is the S.S. Dennis Herrera taking on water?​Will the city attorney's office be kicked overboard as the latest casualty in the ongoing Stow Lake controversy? The answer may come as soon as next week. The lake's concessions have been run by the McClellan family for generations. Bruce McClellan sued ... More >>

Dennis Herrera Gets Injunction Against Crime-Ridden Bridge Motel

No bed bugs allowed anymore​The famously toxic Bridge Motel,  a zit upon the otherwise clear visage of the Marina District, has been Oxycuted. After years of inaction, City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed a lawsuit in October 2009, claiming the motel's ongoing neglect had blossomed into serious ... More >>

Dennis Herrera Implies Homosexuality Is a Choice; Upsets Gays

Weighing the gay vote​The gay-friendly, Dennis Herrera, San Francisco's city attorney who last year filed a lawsuit challenging the state's ban on gay marriage, "accidentally" referred to homosexuality as a sexual preference rather than an orientation. In other words, he made it sound like being g ... More >>

San Francisco Circumcision Ban Unconstitutional, Professor Says

Perform a brit milah, go to jail? ​San Francisco can have its proposed circumcision ban, or it can have the First Amendment. But it can't have both. That's the opinion of Peter Keane, dean emeritus at Golden Gate University School of Law and a constitutional law professor. The potential ballot mea ... More >>

Zynga-Hired Advertiser to Pay City $45,000 for Illegal Guerrilla Marketing

Meyer Lansky would not be impressed.​The company hired by San Francisco-based social game developer Zynga to promote one of its games has agreed to pay the city $45,000 in fines for illegal marketing tactics, City Attorney Dennis Herrera announced today.Back in August, the city attorney's office w ... More >>

Gang Injunction Includes Three Men Acquitted Murders This Year

Forty-one more men are now forbidden from flashing gang signs​Three men acquitted of first-degree murder charges earlier this year aren't out of the legal spotlight. Emon Brown, Joc Wilson, and Floyd Jackson are among the 41 alleged gang members listed in the gang injunction that City Attorney Den ... More >>

City Attorney Dennis Herrera to S.F. Employees: No Campaigning on City Time

Whatever you do, don't say "I gave at the office..."​Dennis Herrera, who not long ago announced plans to move his operations down the hall from the city attorney's office to that of San Francisco mayor, has issued a warning to city workers feeling particularly enthusiastic about his or anyone else ... More >>

Dennis Herrera, Running for Mayor, to Farm Out City Attorney Cases

Dennis Herrera doesn't want to hear your legalistic questions about the mayoral race...​City Attorney Dennis "He's Running For Mayor!" Herrera last week announced that, yes, he's running for mayor. Less publicized was a memorandum Herrera sent around the city announcing he plans on recusing both h ... More >>

Michela Alioto-Pier Ruled Ineligible By Court of Appeal

Luke ThomasThe city has shaken its Alioto-Pier Magic Eight Ball once more...​The city's Brett Favre-like quandary over whether Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier is eligible to run for another term swerved once again today. The state court of appeal this afternoon overruled superior court Judge Pe ... More >>

Was Dennis Herrera's Op-Ed on Alioto-Pier Term Limits Case Ethical?

Can Dennis do what he did? ​It's not every day Dennis Herrera will launch a media onslaught to publicize his appeal of a long-running case in which he was legally licked -- but that's just what San Francisco's city attorney did yesterday. Herrera was on TV, his 42-page appeal in the Michela Alioto ... More >>

City Attorney Dennis Herrera Appeals Ruling, Fights to Keep Michela Alioto-Pier off Ballot

Luke Thomas, Fog City JournalIt's not over yet, Michela...​City Attorney Dennis Herrera will this morning file an appeal of Judge Peter Busch's ruling that Michela Alioto-Pier is eligible to run again for District 2 supervisor. Herrera told KTVU-TV he was compelled to make this move on behalf of " ... More >>

City Attorney Tries To Save City From Invasion of Incredibly Dumb 'SmartMeters'

Running interference with your electricity bill...​City Attorney Dennis Herrera petitioned the California Public Utilities Commission today to stop PG&E's invasion of "SmartMeters," the electricity meters that purport to calculate your energy intake and wirelessly transmit it to the company th ... More >>

Calling for Arizona Boycott Now the Politically Hip Thing to Do

Back on Monday morning, SF Weekly was the first to confirm that David Campos would introduce an Arizona boycott measure at the Board of Supervisors meeting due to that state's draconian new immigration policy. Since that time, however, Campos has been trampled by a cavalcade of other city and state ... More >>

Hot ticket: Politicos pitch in — unwillingly — to alleviate city deficit

City Attorney Wants PG&E Muzzled On Government-Run Clean Energy Plan

City Attorney Dennis Herrera is asking state energy regulators to shut PG&E up when it comes to a controversial overhaul of San Francisco's power system that proponents say would provide greener electricity.A city brochure for CleanPowerSF​In a petition filed today with the California Public U ... More >>

City Attorney May Seek Court Ruling on Legality of New Sanctuary Policy

City Attorney Dennis Herrera indicated today that he might seek a ruling from a federal court assuring the legality of San Francisco's newly minted sanctuary policy, shortly after supervisors voted to override Mayor Gavin Newsom's veto of the law. The new city policy establishes a more permissive ap ... More >>

What Other Cereals Can City Attorney Crunch?

Evidence!​San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera is getting plenty of congratulations for thinking outside the cereal box and scaring the cocoa pebbles out of the Kellogg's corporation. Herrera's "show me the science" letter forced the cereal company to cease its advertising line that Cocoa Kr ... More >>

Kellogg's Stops Touting Rice Krispies As Medicine

Now with less bullshit! ​Sorry folks: turns out eating more chocolate cereal may not prevent you from getting the flu. Last week, SF Weekly reported that San Francisco's city attorney Dennis Herrera cracked down on Snap, Crackle, and Pop and sent a letter to Kellogg's CEO David Mackay demanding to ... More >>

Judge Orders Pink Diamonds Strip Club Closed for One Year

The wild nights are over​San Francisco Superior Court Judge Peter Busch ordered today that the Pink Diamonds be closed for one year, a victory for City Attorney Dennis Herrera in his efforts to crack down on the notoriously violent strip club."I am gratified that Judge Busch clearly recognized the ... More >>

Oh, Snap: City Attorney Demands Proof of Cocoa Krispies' Immunity-Boosting Claim

Get a flu shot, kids​Kellogg's just can't get a break. First, one pissed-off cereal consumer realizes that Froot Loops cereal contains no actual fruit and decides to sue for false advertising. Now Kellogg's is dealing with more false advertising claims, this time from San Francisco City Attorney, ... More >>

Superior Court Mandates Heaven To Immediately Close Its Doors To Sinners

​And they thought they could fool everyone with the innocent name. This morning, a Superior Court judge issued an injunction to shut down Heaven, the North Beach strip club that has faced multiple notices of violation, cease and desist orders, and citations for prostitution.Judge Charlotte Walter ... More >>

City Attorney Dennis Herrera Announces Mystery Press Conference Regarding Settlement With ... He's Not Telling!

Roll up, it's ... Dennis Herrera?​In a bizarre turn of events, the City Attorney's office yesterday sent out a news release devoid of news. At 10:30 a.m. today, City Attorney Dennis Herrera has something to say -- but he isn't giving any hints as to what it is. A settlement in a "prominent and lon ... More >>

No Smoking: City Attorney Announces Settlement to Shut Mirant Potrero Power Plant 'Irrevocably' By 2010

Joe EskenaziCity Attorney Dennis Herrera delivers the big news, backed by (from left) PUC head Ed Harrington, Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, and former Board of Supes President Aaron Peskin​The answer has been revealed to the "mystery settlement" announced yesterday by City Attorney Dennis Herrera ... More >>

City Attorney Dennis Herrera Ups Ante in S.F.-Minnesota Credit Card Credit-Hogging Dispute

Don't worry, hypothetical Michigan Tech alum Chris L. Martin! Dennis Herrera has got your back.​When Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson hogged credit last month for attacking a loophole companies use to prevent consumer lawsuits, observers said San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera was g ... More >>

Tenderloin Residents Offer Affidavits to City Attorney in Problem Strip Club Case

Are the wild nights numbered?​More than 70 Tenderloin residents have given statements to the city attorney's office as part of a campaign to close Pink Diamonds, a notoriously violent strip club at 220 Jones Street, according to North of Market/Tenderloin Community Benefit District Manager Elaine ... More >>

Can Dennis Herrera Shut the Gates of Heaven? City Attorney Declares War on North Beach Strip Club.

Heaven is a place on earth. But maybe not for longCity Attorney Dennis Herrera has filed papers in San Francisco Superior Court asking for an injunction that would close down Heaven, the North Beach strip club that Herrera says has stayed open in defiance of city and state laws and despite repeated ... More >>

Why Must Bike Activists Continue to Roll Over the English Language?

Dennis Herrera -- and his fun but ungrammatical T-shirtLook, we're tickled by Dennis Herrera's photo of himself showing up to work on a bicycle today -- he looks like he's getting ready to wave a kid around third base while coaching his son's Little League team, and we like that casual look in a cit ... More >>

Red-Letter Day: City Attorney Follows Through on Threat to Sue Post Office

You're sued, palIn an extremely fitting move, City Attorney Dennis Herrera last month sent a letter to the local U.S. Attorney's office -- informing them of his threat to sue the post office. His follow-through today came not via post but the more traditional venue of a press conference. Herrera tod ... More >>

Ammiano Says There Was No 'Wink-Wink, Nod-Nod' Behind Ruling Giving Him 14 Years as Supe

Tom Ammiano says neither winking, nodding, nor a combination of both benefitted his political careerEarlier this week, SF Weekly reported on how Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier is prepared to take the city to court if City Attorney Dennis Herrera doesn't reverse a 2008 ruling that deems her termed ou ... More >>

City Attorney Joins "SF Weekly = Nostradamus" Bandwagon

By Matt Smith Knowing a bandwagon when he sees one, City Attorney Dennis Herrera today indirectly proclaimed SF Weekly to be a newsprint-based All Being, All Knowing, Mistress of Sight and Sound.In a Dec. 18 press release titled "Herrera, AGs Reach Pact with MillerCoors to Stop Producing Alcoho ... More >>

He's No Menace

Gay marriage has been very, very good to Dennis Herrera.

Ed Jew Submits Records On Where He Lives

Tapioca and Water

An aide to Supervisor Ed Jew believes PUC officials released his house's water records, which cast doubt on whether he lives in SF, to get payback