Rincon Hill

"Dark Prince" Accomplice Jay Shah Captured

After being convicted of grand theft, money laundering, forgery, conspiracy, and filing forged documents for his part in a $2.2 million condo scam, Jay Shah made a run for it and was on the lam.Until now. For two weeks he traveled up and down the California coast, making it as far south as San Diego ... More >>

"Dark Prince" Accomplices Found Guilty in Rincon Hill Scam

The two men who conspired with the notorious "Dark Prince" were found guilty Wednesday for their part in a $2.2 million condo scam in San Francisco's Rincon Hill neighborhood.District Attorney George Gascón announced today that after a six-month trial, Winston Lum and Jay Shah, both 48, were f ... More >>

Prelinger Archives Show How San Francisco Has Always Struggled with Change

Curbside Coffee Cart Lands a Spot Downtown

Jamie Whitaker/Rincon HillCurbside Coffee, now setting up weekday mornings at Folsom and Spear streets.​Five months after debuting at Off the Grid, mobile java vendor Curbside Coffee has a permanent spot Downtown. In Rincon Hill, actually, that place where the Financial District merges with SO ... More >>

Get fit with a serious yoga workout

Kevin Reed's Pot Party Ruined By The Man

Kevin Reed may have been better off having his pot competition in the bushes​ Kevin Reed can't catch a break. Reed, the CEO of medical cannabis delivery service The Green Cross, has for the past three years hosted an annual pot party/fundraiser called the SF Cannabis Cup (re-dubbed the "Cannab ... More >>

Mistrial Declared in 'Gay Grifter' Murder Trial

Matt SmithWill this case blow up in prosecutors' faces?​Danny Garcia, 28, an alleged mastermind of a purported plot to murder Palm Springs retiree Clifford Lambert and loot his assets won a reprieve this morning. A judge granted his request for several more months to prepare for trial by declaring ... More >>

Winston Lum, Accused Criminal Mastermind and Charming Envelope Artist

Winston Lum, brooding artist​Jail can be a lonely place. So we weren't surprised that Winston Lum would express gratitude for the hours and days we spent interviewing him while he sat incarcerated at the Hall of Justice for the Aug. 4 feature "Is Winston Lum a Criminal Mastermind or a Patsy?"A mon ... More >>

Gay Grifter Henchman Cops Plea in Palm Springs Murder Case

A local henchman of alleged murderer and con man Kaushal Niroula has pleaded guilty to robbery, attempted murder, and other charges in connection with the Dec. 2008 disappearance of retired Palm Springs art dealer Cliff Lambert, The Desert Sun reports. Matt SmithGrifters allegedly hid an old man's ... More >>

Kaushal Niroula, Purported New College Grifter, May Have Ravaged Bank

What's next?​Los Padres Bank -- the Solvang lender hit by a Rincon Hill real estate scam created by alleged con man Kaushal Niroula -- has been taken over and sold by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., according to a Friday press release.The FDIC estimated the cost to the deposit insurance fund ... More >>

Is Winston Lum a criminal mastermind or a patsy?

Oliver Stone, Zsa Zsa Gabor on Witness List in Gay Grifter Trial

Zsa Zsa Gabor in "The Diva Defense"​​Danny Garcia, the 27-year-old alleged San Francisco con man awaiting trial in Palm Springs on murder charges, has produced a defense witness list that reads like a Hollywood A- and B-list.Garcia is representing himself against murder, larceny, and other charg ... More >>

High Times Cannabis Cub Rehash: Buy the Green Door's Candy Jack; HopeNet's Hash is Too Strong

Who wants some?​They shut down the hash bar.High Times shut down HopeNet's hash bar. SF, your hash is too much for High Times (or at least its legal handlers).

Alleged Associates of 'Gay Grifter' Murder Defendant Nabbed in San Jose

Kaushal Niroula​Two alleged associates of notorious "gay grifter" and murder suspect Kaushal Niroula have been arrested, the San Jose Mercury News reports.Jay Chandrakant Shah and his lawyer, Melvin Lee Emerich, were arrested at a San Jose property known as Shah Ranch, according to the Merc. Both ... More >>

SF Gov InAction: Mayor and Supervisors Still Not the Get Along Gang

  Oh bleary eyed passengers on San Francisco's ship of fools: I have to say I'm getting quite the kick out of my vacation. Last week I went a whole six days without thinking of Sean Elsbernd!  Honestly, life is too short to think about Sean Elsbernd. I don't know how he does it. Instead ... More >>

Signs of Progress

San Francisco politics were dysfunctional in the 2000s,but recent changes suggest there's reason for hope.

The S.F. bike plan and its surprising discontents

Building Overtime

Off-duty police officers making time and a half are swarming over construction sites, handing out tickets. Only in S.F.

Local Kitchen & Wine Merchant: Bland Name for Bomb Food

SF State The Hotelier? - New Master Plan Calls for 250 Rooms, Funding TBD

The Daly Show

Even in a summer of discontent for San Francisco progressives, bad-boy supervisor Chris Daly remains unbowed

The View From My Liver

2006 in clubland

Stealth Dollars

Questionable political donations are flowing into the city's most controversial political race

Off of Site, Out of Mind

A preacher and S.F. developers promised 20 affordable town homes in Bayview by Christmas 2003. Many families are still waiting.

Pouring Money Down a Hole

We tried to warn you. A new audit shows how a PGA tournament sucked millions of dollars from city parks.

Reeferzilla Meets NIMBY-Ra

And unfortunately it's not science fiction. It's San Francisco politics, and the winner used some interesting jujitsu.

Letters to the Editor

Week of Wednesday, September 14, 2005

The Daly Deal

How the sordid extraction of $50 million from Rincon Hill developers helps Chris Daly, city bureaucrats, and Gavin Newsom -- and hurts everyone else in San Francisco

The Streets of San Francisco:

A History

Unbalanced Budgeting

The city's proposed parking-rate increases are a scandal. They aren't nearly large enough.

Letters to the Editor

Week of Wednesday, December1, 2004

Mayor AWOL

Gavin Newsom couldn't say enough about the need for workforce housing -- until it came time to back Prop. J

A Tale Worth Retelling

When an elderly man left the city millions to build apartments for homeless old folks, neighbors tried to block the project. Fortunately, they failed.

Letters to the Editor

Week of December 10, 2003

A Pair of Aces

Either Newsom or Gonzalez will make a good mayor, but Gonzalez has the creative edge

According to Plan

If both mayoral candidates keep their promises, San Francisco could build the high-rise housing it needs – and be even more beautiful than it is

Champagne Tastes

Not to be too Ayn Rand-y about it, but Dog Bites loves all the new luxury high-rises downtown

Letters to the Editor

There Are No Bad Books, Only Bad Writers;No New Is Good New;The Pleasure of Pain; Corrections

Out With the New, In With the Old

The fear of change has been an ongoing parable of San Francisco. The city needs a new parable.

Letters

Dog Bites