Pleasant Hill

Ryan Andresen, Gay Teen Denied Eagle Scout Honor, to Give 400K Signatures to Boy Scouts

Ryan Andresen, the incredibly cool scout who was recently booted from the Boy Scouts because he's gay, is taking on his troop like no other gay has before. Today, the Bay Area teen is planning to deliver 400,000-plus signatures from people across the nation who say the Boy Scouts of America should g ... More >>

School Officials Apologize Over Racist Comic in Newsletter

A Pleasant Hill school secretary reminded us today why it is so very important to proofread before hitting send. The substitute secretary accidentally sent out this racist cartoon below along with the school newsletter, somehow mistaking the offensive image for a harmless comic. Of course, it hasn't ... More >>

Contra Costa Cop and Private Investigator Indicted on Charges of Running Brothel

Well, that didn't really go the way they imagined ​SF Weekly readers might recall the crazy story of a former CoCo County cop and PI who were busted for stealing drugs and operating their own brothel --  it's just not that kind of story you forget. After three months of investigation, the two ... More >>

CoCo Private Investigator Admits He Helped Run a Brothel

Everyone breaks the law, but someone has to enforce it ... even with cops​The crazy story of two former Contra Costa County cops who are at the center of a major drug scandal just got crazier.A private investigator admitted to the Chronicle that he and a drug task force commander were responsible ... More >>

Ti Couz may become Giordano Bros., Koko Cocktails not done yet

The past 24 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco food scene. As Ti Couz's closing date hangs in the air, Inside Scoop reports the space (3108 16th Ave.) may have a buyer. Giordano Bros. has filed a liquor licenses for the address, but sandwich lovers should remain ... More >>

David Douglas, MMA Fighter, to Talk Pot on Showtime

How high?​At a fighting gym in Pleasant Hill, there's a gallon of ointment that was originally developed for horses, although David "Tarzan" Douglas cannot live without it. Its name is Xternal and it's his sponsor, which means it'll be printed on the gear he'll wear Friday when he fights in the St ... More >>

BART Back on Track for Morning Commute ... Just in Time to Cause More Delays

Just in time​A few hours after fixing a massive derailment that shut down BART service in parts of the East Bay yesterday, separate mechanical issues set off new delays this morning. Officials are now reporting 15 minute delays on the trains after mechanical problems between the Embarcadero and Mo ... More >>

Burlesque Performing Professor Gets Fired

You learn something new everyday ​A female college professor was fired from her teaching job after university officials found out she had a fetish for performing burlesque shows. Sheila M. Addison, an Alameda County resident, received a termination letter from John F. Kennedy University in Pleasan ... More >>

Brady Campaign's New Push to Ban Open Carry in California Restaurants

formatted_dad/FlickrThe CA Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is planning a protest Jan. 20 in Manhattan Beach.​The Jan. 8 shooting massacre at a Tucson mall is giving new impetus to a drive to make California eateries gun-free zones. State chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Vio ... More >>

Brian Erb Found Dead in Idaho

Brian Erb in happier days​The friends and family of Brian Erb, who put out the hue and cry when the Concord man went missing earlier this month, have had their worst fears realized. The 33-year-old married father of two was found dead Friday in a lodge in the far northern Idaho town of Sandpoint.

The Giants Cheer That Failed To Launch (VIDEO)

​The two-note "Let's Go, Gi-ants!" dum-dum dumdumdum cheer has become almost a salutation in the streets this week -- randomly loosed by fans swarming AT&T park, streaming out of bars, erupting from merry costumed masses flocking to Castro Street for the Halloween festivities this weekend.&nbs ... More >>

BART Votes To Change Station's Name -- But Not Pay For It

Cheers! Now let's go to the Centre...​Legions of future BART riders will misspell the name of the forthcoming Contra Costa Centre -- yes, Centre --  station following a vote by the transit agency's board of directors yesterday. The board voted 7-1, with only Carole Ward Allen objecting, to re ... More >>

Will BART Spend Big Bucks To Change Station's Name?

Take us to the 'Centre'! Tally-ho!​BART's board of directors is scheduled today to vote on whether the name of one of its stations should be made longer, more complicated -- and more expensive. At the behest of both municipal and corporate interests, BART may today opt to change the name of Pleasa ... More >>

Terminal People

The closure of the Transbay Terminal was a chance to help some of the city’s most hardcore homeless. But many didn’t want help, and others couldn’t be helped.

Five Bay Area Hip-Hop Stars Who Should Be Really Stinkin' Rich

Is this what it takes?​On Tuesday, Forbes published its list of hip-hop's 20 highest earners: Jay-Z at number one, naturally, with $63 million, and Senegalese crooner Akon edging out Lil Wayne by a milli -- Weezy's cash-accruing steez have been impressively unabated by his recent jail sentenc ... More >>

Top Chef's Ash Fulk Got Kicked to the Curb. He's Not Bitter -- Except About Padma

Fulk: He won't be inviting Padma over for snacks.​In case you were glued to Glee last night, you missed Ash Fulk getting bounced from Top Chef. Fulk might be the nicest contestant ever. "I was outcooked," he said this morning by phone. And he wouldn't diss anybody on the show -- except for Pad ... More >>

Our Handicap for 'Top Chef' Season 6: Will S.F. Root for the East Bay's Little Bear?

Ash Fulk/Facebook Ash Fulk: Will the Bay Area native prove a local fave? In case you've turned to reading and misanthropy lately, allow us to break the news that Season 6 of Top Chef begins on Bravo tonight (9 p.m., channel 48 on Comcast). It's based in Sin City this time around, so expect pl ... More >>

Misdeeds

An investor finds that he has been swindled, and that the schemer was aided by a mortgage industry lacking oversight.

San Francisco Snuggie Pub Crawl Secedes, Saves Attendants $20

For someone wearing a pearl necklace and an evening gown fashioned out of a Snuggie, a woman standing near the entrance to Rouge nightclub was pretty mouthy. "Snugger, please," she told a guy in a Snuggie wizard costume, who had seemingly just refused to buy her a drink.  A ... More >>

BART Accused of Being Late -- in Paying Out to Survivors of Track Inspector Killed by Train

When it rains, it pours -- and, right now, BART is in the middle of a veritable monsoon. Atop the ongoing unrest that comes with BART police beating and shooting an unarmed man (and, more tellingly, video of said offense hitting the news), now the widow and child of a former BART employee killed by ... More >>

Disgraced BART Cop Hires Barry Bonds' Lawyer -- But Don't Expect a Legal Home Run

It was only a matter of time before Johannes Mehserle, the ex-BART officer accused of murdering unarmed passenger Oscar Grant, hired Pleasant Hill-based attorney Mike Rains. While the general public probably recognizes Rains primarily for his work representing Barry Bonds, in local legal circles he' ... More >>

Shoot First: Mehserle Likely Only Bay Area Cop Ever Charged With Murder for On-Duty Killing

Just like Johannes Mehserle, we can't give you a straight answer -- but the former BART police officer appears to be the first Bay Area cop to ever find himself charged with murder following a job-related shooting. Jim Chanin, a veteran Berkeley attorney who has prosecuted more than 20 police shooti ... More >>

SF Weekly Interview: E-40

By Tamara Palmer It's now been more than 20 years since Earl Stevens (aka E-40) put his first independent record out on the streets of the Bay Area and set out on a mission to put his hometown of Vallejo on the international rap map and his colorful phraseology into the mouths of society at large ... More >>

2008 High School Battle of the Bands Semi-Finalists Announced

Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Weigh-Off: Now With Bigger, Uglier Squash

Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Weigh-Off: Now With Bigger, Uglier Squash

SF Mayor Wannabees: Goat Slaughterers, Big Booty Butts and 'Fems' into 'Brain'

No Justice, No Peace ... Whatever

In the country’s putative activist capital, all the protests and rallies may do more to sow apathy than draw people to the cause.

My Name Is Earl

E-40 blows up, and takes the rest of the Bay Area with him

Knockout/Tapout

Why mixed martial arts -- a bloody blend of disciplines often called ultimate fighting -- may replace boxing as America's mayhem of choice

Band Directory

Reel World

The decimated S.F. International Film Festival gets a new team of programmers

Letters to the Editor

Power Point;The Chronicle Chronicles;Outlawing Landlords and Other Amusements

Side Dish

A Bad Mix

Dog Bites

Let Them Eat Cake, and Lots of It; On the Town

Letters

Riff Raff

Riff Raff

Home Improvements

Renovation tricks from our slippery, deadbeat mayor

Fire Trek

Why do San Francisco emergency workers live so far away?

Communication Breakdown

Pacific Bell's Message Center is flawed by design