Joanne Hayes-White

Bomb Scare Relocates Predawn '06 Earthquake Commemoration

A gathering commemorating an earthquake no one could have seen coming at 5:11 in the morning was itself disrupted in the wee hours by a suspicious package no one could have seen comingEvery April 18 at the 5:11 you don't want to be awake for, a contingent of history-minded folk, city officials, and ... More >>

Greg Suhr, San Francisco Police Chief, to Be Nation's Richest

San Francisco politicians like to boast that ours is a "world-class city." It certainly pays like one. Police Chief Greg Suhr will soon become the city's highest-paid employee -- and best-compensated police chief in the nation -- with a pending bump to $307,000. It's been a lucrative year for San Fr ... More >>

How Effective Is Mayor Ed Lee's Anti-Fireworks Message? We Ask a Rhetoric Professor.

Stanford Rhetorician Dissects Mayor's Flaccid Anti-Fireworks "Statement"One of the sad features of modern political life is the proliferation of "statements" written in language that no human would ever say -- and no human would ever wish to read.For some strange reason, these steaming piles of verb ... More >>

Pier 29 Fire Causes More Than $2 Million in Damages

Firefighters still don't know what caused the four-alarm fire that ripped through the roof of Pier 29 yesterday afternoon, stopping traffic along the Embarcadero, and hypnotizing tourists near the Wharf. What they do know is that it caused more than $2 million in damages, Fire Spokeswoman Mindy Tal ... More >>

Pier 29 Blaze Contained, Traffic Backed Up Along the Embarcadero

(Update 4:35 p.m) America's Cup officials released a statement saying they do not anticipate this fire hindering plans for the big race. "We look forward to moving ahead with the future construction of the America's Cup Village at Pier 27/29," the statement read. (Update 4:02 p.m.): Supervisor ... More >>

1906 Earthquake: Three Survivors -- Ages 106-108 -- to Lead Commemoration Events Today

It wold be hard for San Francisco to forget the tragic day on April 18, 1906 when a catastrophic earthquake rocked city dwellers right out of bed at 5:12 a.m. It was a tragedy that left 3,000 dead, more than 200,000 homeless, and much of city's structures reduced to rubble. Luckily, we still have th ... More >>

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

Not in my fire house!​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 looking a gift horse in the mouth.San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White h ... More >>

Two Critically Burned in Mission District Fire

Tough job even without windy conditions​Amid the winds howling around the Bay Area, San Francisco firefighters struggled to put out an apartment blaze early this morning, which left two with critical burns. The fire started at about 4:30 a.m. on the top floor of a three-story apartment building ne ... More >>

Occupy SF: Mayor Ed Lee Wants Protesters to Clean Up

Occupy some thick rubber gloves​Mayor Ed Lee met with Occupy SF protesters yesterday, where he released a set of demands of his own. However, his conditions are less about combating economic inequality and more about dealing with the sanitation disparity in the Financial District. Despite the fact ... More >>

Fire Department Doesn't Favor White Officers, City Says

Who's in charge here?​The Civil Service Commission has rejected accusations that the San Francisco Fire Department purged itself of African American supervisors by helping white officers cheat on an advancement test. Now, chief Joanne Hayes-White is free to appoint new, high-scoring assistant chie ... More >>

Black Firefighters Say SFFD Officer Helped White Colleagues Cheat on Exam

Assessing Our Leaders' Turkey-Serving Skills

This turkey was brought to you by...​These days, if you're a San Francisco politician, mover-and-shaker, or athlete, grayish-brown is the suit color of choice. That way you can match your apparel to the inevitable gravy stains incurred in the season's cavalcade of powerful-serving-the-destitute tu ... More >>

Do We Know How Many Spare Fire Rigs S.F. Has? Maybe. Will We Be Getting Money For Any More? Don't Count On It.

There's one! Count it! ​ Fire rigs are big, red, and noisy. You'd think that counting them would be a task roughly as difficult as tracking a bleeding elephant in the snow. Well, you'd be wrong. Last week, SF Weekly broke the story that, down to its last two spare rigs, the San Francisco Fire Depa ... More >>

S.F. Fire Chief Defends Decision to Not Send Strike Team to SoCal Blaze -- Blames Firefighter Salaries, Benefits for Burning Through Too Much of Her Budget to Afford Equipment

Sorry lads. You're not going to SoCal.​Yesterday we reported that, despite the State Office of Emergency Services' pleas to California counties to send five-engine "strike teams" to battle the ongoing Los Angeles-area conflagration, the San Francisco Fire Department declined to do so. Both Fire Ch ... More >>

Burned: San Francisco Spurns State's Plea to Send Fire Strike Team to Battle SoCal Blaze

​While much of Southern California is currently blazing away like an old Christmas tree, we've got a little bit of a fire going on up here in San Francisco, too. It's a four-alarm blaze under John Hanley's collar. The head of the San Francisco firefighter's union is incensed that the SFFD has spur ... More >>

Despite firefighters' scare tactics, city unlikely to burn to the ground because of proposed cuts

Supes' Proposed $82M Cuts to Cops, Firefighters are 'Symbolic' -- But Portend Bare-Knuckle Budget Battle

The budget battle is under way...A shot across the bow. A brushback pitch. A dropping of the gauntlet. Call it what you will, but when the Board of Supervisors' Budget and Finance Committee yesterday approved $82 million in cuts from San Francisco's police, fire, and sheriffs' departments it was a s ... More >>

Heads of Fire, Police Departments Frown On Proposed Budget Cuts

Last night, the Board of Supervisors proposed cuts of about $82 million to the budgets of San Francisco police, fire and sheriff's departments. Today, those departments got together and called a press conference. Police Chief Heather Fong, Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, Police Co ... More >>

Homeless, Edwardians, Very Old People Mix at '06 Quake Commemoration

All Photos | Joe EskenaziQuake survivors William Del Monte, 103, and Rose Cliver, 106. No, they don't let you wear a hat like that until you turn 100.As a convoy of archaic fire trucks led by an ethereally beautiful convertible Jaguar -- of the vintage that Isadora Duncan may or may not have die ... More >>

Gay Weddings We’d Really Like to See

Angry Neighbor to SF Fire Fighters: Turn That Racket Down

The Bad Lieutenant

Did firefighter Kevin Chavez get thrown in the nuthouse for being an asshole boss?

Where There's Smoke

Yet more allegations of racism and mismanagement reveal smoldering tensions within the Fire Department