Lauren Smiley

Occupy SF: Protesters Reoccupied Justin Herman Plaza -- Sort Of

Lauren SmileyLooking for a place to occupy​The reoccupy scene down at Justin Herman Plaza was dramatic last night, but nothing like what we saw in Oakland when protesters tried to retake Frank Ogawa Plaza after being booted out. No flash-bang grenades or pepper spray that we saw. But as expected, ... More >>

Occupy SF: A Stand-Off with Cops (Slideshow)

On Wednesday night, Occupy SF protesters gathered at their outpost by the Federal Reserve Bank where they organized a march back to Justin Herman Plaza for a general assembly meeting -- and hopefully a reoccupation of the camp site, which had been raided by cops early that morning. The tents had bee ... More >>

Occupy SF to Reoccupy Justin Herman Plaza

Lauren Smiley Round 2 ​Update (2:10 p.m.) Protesting makes you hungry, which is why Occupiers have taken their cause back to the Federal Reserve building where there's rumors of pizza on its way. After they regain their energy, the group is planning to reoccupy Just Herman Plaza later this evening ... More >>

Occupy SF Taunt Police After Eviction (Slideshow)

The one immediate drawback to clearing out the Occupy SF camp was that it didn't do much to deter protesters; in fact the group only grew louder and more visible. In other words, they might have packed up, but they didn't go home. Rather, they crowded the streets, blocked Muni, and made enough noise ... More >>

Occupy SF Protesters Storm Justin Herman Plaza, Refuse to Leave

Lauren Smiley​Update (7:10 p.m.) Eighteen motorcycle cops have pulled up near the plaza while two more rows of cops in riot gear have lined up around protesters. A group of 40 protesters are in a circle, refusing to leave the plaza, noting that it is a public facility.Update (6:45 p.m.) Two people ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

SF Weekly Letters

SF Weekly Letters

SF Weekly Letters

BART Reopens After Woman Run Over by Train in Possible Suicide Attempt

UPDATE: Officials say a woman got onto the tracks early this morning and lay down between the rails before a train ran her over. The operator of the train, which was entering the station at 35 mph, saw the woman on the tracks and hit the "stop" button, but the train didn't halt in time, according to ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

SF Weekly Letters

SF Weekly Letters

SF Weekly Letters

SF Weekly Letters

About City Clinic, Beneficiary of SFoodie's One Love Bake Sale

​If you're planning to come down to the Mission this Sunday, Feb. 13, to buy boxes and boxes of pastries from some of SFoodie's favorite bakeries, we figured you should know a little more about the agency you're going to be donating all your money to.Century-old S.F. City Clinic has been one of th ... More >>

Newsom Baby No. 2: The 25 Worst/Least Likely Names

Jim HerdThis one's mine. Get your own.​It seems Mayor Gavin Newsom will soon have something else to distract him from elected office: Another kid on the way! It's impossible to guess the naming propensities of a couple who saw fit to christen their first child "Montana." But we offered the 25 wors ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

Transbay Terminal Meets the Wrecking Ball (VIDEO)

San Francisco's once-sleek, Art Deco Transbay Terminal commenced its transition into rubble today when a wrecking ball crashed into the main edifice. SF Weekly had a number of photoshoots and walkthroughs of the veritable building in its last days:

Behind the Cover Shoot: Castro Nudists (VIDEO)

​This week, Lauren Smiley's cover story, "Overexposed," tells the tale of a group of Castro nudists who have met opposition from neighborhood residents displeased with their very public nudity. SF Weekly art director Andrew Nilsen assembled three of the men in a studio for a photoshoot with p ... More >>

Illegal Mission Vendors 'Skeptical' of Proposed Changes to Street-Food Rules

Danster L./YelpEven if the city makes it easier for street-food vendors, this guy's unlikely to be moved.​As we reported earlier today, there's a good chance San Francisco's street food laws will soon be amended to make it easier for vendors to become licensed, and increase the scope of where ... More >>

Water Polo Players' Goal Befouling Mission Creek

Lauren Smiley...Now it's garbage​The notion of leaping into Mission Creek is about as appealing as casting a fishing line into a cesspool. But leap into Mission Creek is just what a troop of water polo players did prior to Game 1 of the World Series. That game is now a fond memory. We are less fon ... More >>

Watch a Stop-Motion Video of this Week's Cover Being Created

​Artist Scott Bakal created this week's cover image for Lauren Smiley's feature story "Wounded Pride," about hardships faced by gay teens in San Francisco. For more video, subscribe to SF Weekly's YouTube channel. Video after the jump.

Rainbow Grocery Votes to Kill Midweek Discounts

marispacifica/FlickrCo-op workers voted to scrap the 20-percent-off coupons, redeemable Tues.-Thurs.​Let the outrage begin. After Mission Loc@l reported today that Rainbow Grocery workers voted to kill the store-clogging midweek discounts, at least one unnamed worker is telling SF Weekly repor ... 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 >>

SF Weekly Letters

SF Weekly Letters

SF Weekly Letters

SF Weekly Letters

SF Weekly Letters

SF Weekly Letters

SF Weekly Letters

Check the Box: The Plot Thickens

​The always alert Lauren Smiley was one of the first to notice that SF Weekly boxes are victims of countless abuses. This box was spotted early this morning prone on Bryant Street. This time, the Weekly wasn't the only publication to fall victim to random violence. Laid out beside it was the Adver ... More >>

Pat on the Back: SF Weekly Cleans Up at Peninsula Press Club Awards

It's awards season yet again, and the SF Weekly took home a grand total of eleven at this weekend's ceremony for the Peninsula Press Club Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards. (All awards were granted in the Non-Daily Newspaper category.) Want to peruse our award winning stories? The whole list is bel ... More >>

SF Weekly Told Off By Wanker At Masturbate-a-Thon

Lauren SmileyThis group was not camera-shy, however...You know what they say about sex and politics -- you just can't separate the two.Well, the same turned out to be true at Saturday's Masturbate-a-Thon at the Center for Sex & Culture on Mission Street. Now in its ninth year, the event is an ou ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

SF Weekly Letters

SF Weekly Letters: Web Extra

Election Day Photos: Part 3 (Around Town)

Video: Anonymous Protests in the Bay Area

SF Weekly Letters

Video: SF's Top Eccentrics - Dane Johnston

SF Weekly Letters

GLAAD Nominates SF Weekly's Lauren Smiley for '2008 Media Award'

SF Weekly Letters

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

Proof That Hipsters Will Eat Anything

FEATURE Follow-Up: More Info for Gender Variant Children and Their Parents