Menlo Park

UC Berkeley Helps Facebook Be as Emotionally Rich as Possible

Whether it's posting pictures of breakfast cereal or "liking" a Change.org petition on immigration reform, Facebook has become one of the primary vessels through which we express sentiments and emotions. In some ways, that's deeply problematic -- and even Facebook knows that. Which may explain why ... More >>

Study: 3.5 Million People Will Die From Earthquakes This Century

Here in San Francisco, we live under the constant threat of a catastrophic earthquake. It's a subconscious worry, perhaps only creeping to the front of our minds as we drive over the Bay Bridge or step out of the shower (would you grab a pair of shorts before bolting for the nearest doorway?). We ... More >>

Menlo Park Cop Busted "Killing Time" With Prostitute Gets His Job Back

A Menlo Park police detective who was caught with his pants down -- literally -- is back patrolling the streets after prosecutors dropped charges against him for soliciting a prostitute. Officer Jeffrey Kenneth Vasquez was arrested in Feb. 2011 in Sunnyvale after he was found naked in a Motel 6 wi ... More >>

Facebook's Security Guard Allegedly Ransacks HQ, Steals 49 Laptops

Facebook's own security guard and a cohort were "checked in" to jail after the pair allegedly broke into the social-networking site's former headquarters and made off with dozens of company laptops.  According to press reports, 20-year-old Brandon Simon and 21-year-old Travis Calhoun were arres ... More >>

Facebook's Oldest User Is 101 Years Old

Florence Detlor was just a year old when the Titanic sank; a year later the first crossword puzzle was invented, and two years after that, the first long-distance phone call was placed in the United States. Needless to say, Detlor has no trouble adapting to fast-changing technologies.The 101-year-ol ... More >>

Facebook vs. Nursing Moms: Bay Area Breastfeeders Protest Deleted Photos

​You don't want to piss-off nursing mothers, who are already sleep-deprived. But Facebook is braving a fight with breastfeeding women who are joining a worldwide protest this morning, calling on the Bay Area company to stop deleting their nursing photos on Facebook. As we write, Bay Area mothers a ... More >>

Draeger's Makes American Kobe Beef Pastrami Sweet

​Viognier restaurant, atop the impressively upscale San Mateo grocery store Draeger's, is moving into meat production, and was kind enough to drop us off a taste of its first product, American Kobe Beef Pastrami. The idea is fascinating. Pastrami, usually made from beef brisket -- one of the ... More >>

Sir Kensington's Takes Ketchup Upscale

​ Everything goes upscale eventually. Mustard long ago moved from yellow and Dijon to an array of artisan flavors. Ketchup, however, has remained mostly moribund, with only the variety of a few brand names to distinguish between otherwise indistinguishable squeezable red pastes. Now some Bay ... More >>

Airbnb Raises $112 Million from Investors, Is Now Valued at $1.3 Billion

Lichtenstein: Available to rent​It's a simple idea: Set up a clearinghouse for people to informally "rent" out their homes, or rooms in their homes, to travelers. But it wasn't until 2009 that a group of San Francisco entrepreneurs tried to base a business on this idea, launching a website, Airbnb ... More >>

San Francycle: Bike to School Day Is More Popular Than You Think

​At last, an answer to the question that has long intrigued San Francisco: Is it a good idea to ask kids to bike to school? As it turns out: Yes. Yes, it is. When we were young, "Bike to School Day" happened five days a week. But here, in San Francisco, it's only an official affair one day every ... More >>

Local Food Community Mourns Two

Today in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco restaurant scene. Losses: Yesterday brought word of two deaths in the food world: Joseph Alioto, third-generation member of San Francisco's most recognizable restaurant family and front-of-house manager of Alioto's on the Wharf, ... More >>

Caltrain Suffering a Slow Monday Morning

​ "Dead in the water" isn't a term one often hears in reference to a train, but it did come up this morning with regard to Caltrain. A southbound train broke down in Menlo Park, forcing its passengers to stumble off and hop the train behind it, says Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn. The switcho ... More >>

Ready to Splurge? The Romililly 2008 Pinot Noir is a Gem

Neeta Lind/FlickrA $43 wine should deliver brilliance, and Romililly Pinot Noir does. This is the 2006.​I certainly appreciate a good deal on wine, and try to expose as many bargains as I can. But as a wine lover, sometimes you just want the comfort of a treasured favorite, whether or not you ... More >>

This month's literary events

A Guide to Mostly Free Events During SF WhiskyWeek

thirstycactus/FlickrWhiskyWeek events celebrate everybody's favorite brown spirit.​If you can't make it to Friday's WhiskyFest or simply can't wait, there's a multitude of special events breaking out over the next five days in bars and retail shops all over the Bay Area. Here are a few of our ... More >>

Prepare to Get Stains: Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival Drops Sept. 11-12

​Save the date for a weekend of Bay views punctuated by chocolate nibbles, sweets, wine, and music. The 15th Annual Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival lays out its temptations later this month, Sept. 11-12. Proceeds benefit Project Open Hand. What to expect: ice cream sundae-eating contes ... More >>

Chris Cohan's Worst Screwups As Warriors Owner

​With the end of Warriors owner Chris Cohan's 16-year tour of mismanagement here, long-suffering fans of the franchise are jubilant. The team was sold for a record $450 million to a group led by Joseph Lacob, a Celtics part-owner and partner at the Menlo Park venture capital firm KPCB; and Mandala ... More >>

Teen Accused of Detonating Bomb at Menlo Park School

​ A 17-year old is in police custody after he detonated a "homemade explosive device" behind a Menlo Park middle school on Wednesday night, according to police (via Bay City News).

Sunset Celebration Weekend's New Street-Food Alley

​These days, you're not a proper lifestyle magazine if you can't throw a proper party. Next weekend, Sunset, the Menlo Park-based West Coast lifestyle magazine, is holding its annual Celebration Weekend. The event will take place on the venerable publication's seven-acre grounds ― yeah, magazine ... More >>

Sergey Brin's Robot Pals to Line Dance in 'Graduation' Ceremony

Battlestar Galactica fans might want to take note: The Age of Robot comes a step closer this week, as a squad of line-dancing, Sergey Brin-befriending robots from the design shop Willow Garage will "graduate" in a ceremony in Menlo Park.Renee Blodgett, a spokesperson for the company, tells us in an ... More >>

Eric Byrnes: Softball God

We recently wrote a pair of articles about how former Oakland A's fan favorite Eric Byrnes is now being paid $11 million to sell sofas and play beer-league softball on the Peninsula. After the wheels came off the 34-year-old's Major League career in Seattle, we were hoping Giants general manager Bri ... More >>

Former Oakland A's Fan Fave Eric Byrnes Earning $11M to Play Beer-League Softball

Now batting for the Dutch Goose softball squad...​You could say Eric Byrnes was demoted -- but that's a very un-dude way of looking at things. The former Oakland Athletic-turned journeyman left his pro baseball career with both a bang and a whimper this week. After, for lack of better words, fucki ... More >>

It's Your Friday Morning News Quiz -- Incentivized Via a Prize!

Wham! A Homer! ​That's right! Answer our five questions correctly, send me an e-mail, and you could win THE CAR OF THE FUTURE. No gimmicks! No shit! 1. What former Bay Area Major League ballplayer turned up this week playing beer-league softball in Menlo Park? A. Barry BondsB. Luis PoloniaC. Eric ... More >>

'Happy Aquarium' Facebook Game Spurs Not-So-Happy Lawsuit

​A Facebook game in which users must remember to feed virtual fish will now feed some very real, flesh-and-blood lawyers. Menlo Park social gaming company CrowdStar International yesterday filed suit against San Francisco competitor WonderHill, Inc., claiming the latter swiped CrowdStar's "Happy A ... More >>

Friday at Draeger's, S.F. Culinary Classics Revealed

T. PalmerShrimp Louis, the San Francisco treat.​We heart the demonstration classes at Draeger's Cooking School (locations in San Mateo, Blackhawk, Menlo Park, and Los Altos). It's a great evening -- you plop behind a very studious desk, but instead of doing any real work, sip a glass of wine as be ... More >>

Missing 86-Year-Old Dementia Patient Found in S.F.; Unsure Where He's Been For Two Weeks

Menlo Park's Paul McAdoo turned up safe and sound -- but no one really knows how​Yesterday we urged readers to call the cops if they saw 86-year-old Paul McAdoo of Menlo Park, a dementia patient with a yen for hopping on buses or trains and taking them to parts unknown. Since McAdoo went missing f ... More >>

With S.F. Critical Mass Mojo in Tow, Tesla Motors To Open Store in Biketown USA

Tesla's next endeavor? ​Fresh off the revelation that the company's top publicist is an avid fan and participant in San Francisco's Critical Mass monthly bicycle parade, Tesla Motors announced  it will be opening an electric car store in America's top bicycling city, Boulder, Colorado.Last mo ... More >>

Road Trip Pit Stop: Weimax

Among other things, probably the widest selection of raki, arrak, and ouzo in the area.

Road Trip Pit Stop: Beltramo's

... has one of the broadest selections of liqueurs anywhere.

Dem Hoodstarz' Rapper Charged in Gang Sweep

Busted: Dem HoodstarzAs the Chronicle reported on Sunday, 42 members of a South Bay gang known as "the Taliban" have been arrested following a joint task force raid conducted in 14 Bay Area cities Friday night and Saturday morning. The suspected Taliban members--who have no religious affiliation, ... More >>

Campaign: Don't Throw Out Your Chemical-Spewing TV -- Recycle It

Oliver KurmisOnce it showed 'Trash TV.' Now it's just trash ... or is it?With the February 17 digital TV deadline fast approaching, many of you are probably planning the haul of your dinosaur boob tube out to the curb for the Sunset Scavengers. But as any enviro-conscious San Fra ... More >>

Penzeys Now in Bay Area

Some of Penzeys' spices are sufficiently superior that they're worth the extra trouble.

Last Night: Charge of the Light Brown Apple Moth at Town School for Boys

Einstürzende Neubauten: The Industrial Revolution Has New S.F. Headquarters

Bay Area's MySpace Top Ten

This Ain't Your Children's YouTube ...

Google bought YouTube for something like a bazillion dollars last week. Is this a deathknell for the popular video clip service, or the start of an even bigger, better Internet library?

Literary Events

Our guide to readings, spoken word, and other literary events

Reps Etc.

And a Teen Shall Lead Them

How 15-year-old Ben Casnocha brought e-government to Cupertino, Menlo Park, Burbank, and other cities across California

It Should Happen to You

S.F. novelist Noah Hawley becomes Hollywood's newest writer/director

Dog Bites

Dance away the energy blues, then worship at Sunset’s gardening headquarters

Zoom Lens

Not Politics as Usual: The Jewish Film Festival

Dog Bites

You Hate Me! You Really Hate Me!; Harry Potter and the Imaginary Suitcase of Cash; Lite Reading

Best Chef

Roland Passot of La Folie

Worst of the Lot

Bay Area nursing home regulation lags behind state

The Man Who Came to Dinner

Environmental Eating Action Team

TheirNameHere.com

New domains -- including .store -- likely to multiply Internet trademark conflicts

Science of the Lambs

Buying Dolly the duplicated sheep has brought researchers at the Bay Area's Geron Corp. to the threshold of remarkable frontiers in transplants and cloning. Do we want to follow their lead?

Tripmasters

The Bay Area's chemical gentry