United States

But, the Children: Save California Denounces Harvey Milk Day

Another Poll Shows Marijuana Legalization Has Overwhelming Support

If only President Barack Obama was marijuana, then he'd win reelection by a landslide.Marijuana legalization enjoys a 20-point advantage in the polls among American adults, according to a recent survey Rasmussen Reports. Fifty-six percent of Americans polled support the notion of marijuana being tax ... More >>

Your Kids Should Probably Be More Afraid of Dog Bites Than Gay People

Earlier today, we told you about Save California, that right-wing and totally off-base group in Sacramento that's spending a ton of time and money pleading with parents to keep their kids locked inside on Harvey Milk Day -- May 22.But you know what your children should probably be more afraid of tha ... More >>

State Might Have More Women, Minorities Than White Men in 2013 Congressional Caucus

There's a decent chance that in 2013, white men will not rule California's congressional caucus for a change. Currently, 28 of California's 53 representatives are white men. Of the other 25, 19 are women, nine of whom are minorities, and six are minority men. Because of redistricting, handled by ... More >>

Proposed Bill Won't Allow Therapists to "Cure" Gay Teens

North Carolina's most notorious nut job, Pastor Sean Harris, would be disappointed to learn that not only do we not beat the gay out of our kids in California, but we really aren't interested in trying to "cure" them either.In other words, gay kids will be gay kids. At least that's what Sen. Ted Lie ... More >>

Sean Harris, Nut Job Pastor, Makes California Look Less Shameful on the Gay Marriage Thing

Californians have good reason to hang our heads in shame over the fact that the Republican-loving state of Iowa allows gays to get married and we somehow don't. But, hey, at least we aren't living in the gay-hating state of North Carolina, where apparently there is no limit to public homophobia ... More >>

Californians to Decide Whether to Abolish the Death Penalty

The Golden State will finally get a chance to kill the death penalty.A measure to abolish capital punishment in California qualified for the November ballot, Secretary of State Debra Bowen confirmed yesterday evening. The measure -- dubbed the SAFE California Act -- calls for doing away with death r ... More >>

Masturbation Not a "Protected Activity," Judge Rules

Masturbation will not make you go blind. Legal arcana related to masturbation, however, could do just that. In San Francisco, the "Masturbatathon" is a cherished, local tradition: Men and women are sponsored to jerk and thrust for as long as they can in order to raise funds for a worthy (and, no dou ... More >>

Farmer Says State Shouldn't Force Him to Raise Chickens in Comfort

A SoCal farmer is suing the state over a new law that threatens to throw egg farmers in jail if they are busted caging hens in cruel ways, such as preventing the chickens from lying down, standing up, or moving around. According to a lawsuit filed in Sacramento last week, William Cramer, an egg ... More >>

One Direction: After Ignoring so Many Brit Boy Bands, Why Does America Like These Twerps?

If you're a regular viewer of Saturday Night Live, chances are high that you found yourself confused and aghast last weekend, when the show's musical guest turned out to be British boy-band sensation One Direction. The band members grinned their way through two songs -- one of which, incidentally, d ... More >>

Gustavo Arellano on San Francisco Tamales, Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dogs, Taco Bell, Part 2

According to this week's cover story, written by Gustavo Arellano, San Francisco played a surprising and key role in the spread of Mexican food across America. The story is an excerpt from Arellano's new book, Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America, which comes out this week. Arellano's book c ... More >>

When We Were Red Hot: S.F.'s Tamale Industry Once Ruled America

According to this week's cover story, written by Gustavo Arellano, San Francisco played a surprising and key role in the spread of Mexican food across America. The story is an excerpt from Arellano's new book, Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America, which comes out this week. Arellano's book c ... More >>

Soup to Nuts: Crazy Food Taxes Penalize the Poor, Benefit the Rich

According to this week's cover story, written by Gustavo Arellano, San Francisco played a surprising and key role in the spread of Mexican food across America. The story is an excerpt from Arellano's new book, Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America, which comes out this week. Arellano's book c ... More >>

James Hooker and Jordan Powers Should Maybe Move to Arkansas Where Student-Teacher Sex Is Legal

It just occurred to us that perhaps Modesto teacher James Hooker and his teenage girlfriend, Jordan Powers, are better suited to live in a state that's apparently even more sexually liberal than California, and that'd be Arkansas.You see the ass backwards state of Arkansas has declared it perfectly ... More >>

Manufacturing Group Calls Bay Bridge an "Icon of Embarrassment"

​As a tourist, you might refer to the Bay Bridge as a spectacular sight; as a local, you will probably call it congested. But embarrassing? Now that's one adjective that doesn't come to mind when you stare at one of the city's prized landmarks.However, a group of American manufacturers are calling ... More >>

Mexican Border Crossings Lowest in Decades, Study Finds

​A new study by researchers at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs upends a lot of the conventional thinking about the effects of U.S. immigration policy -- most notably the contention that harsher security measures along the U.S.-Mexico border have kep ... More >>

Ammiano Bill to Allow Marijuana Businesses and Sales That Are Already Legal

Mr Fix-It​Call it an industry, call it a movement, call it a gigantic scam. Law enforcement and politicians can't agree what to call California's medical marijuana scene, except to say it exists in a legal gray area.And how. A dispensary operator in Vallejo was arrested last week -- twice -- becau ... More >>

Boxing Room Does New Orleans Brunch Due Diligence

​Traditional Sunday brunch in New Orleans is something special, from the white tablecloths and Eggs Sardou to classic cocktails and live jazz. But the Boxing Room, Hayes Valley's lively Cajun/Creole restaurant, isn't trying to imitate any of that with its recently added brunch menu. Turns out, ... More >>

Haven: Big Portions, Bold Flavors Have Mass Appeal

​Traditional Sunday brunch in New Orleans is something special, from the white tablecloths and Eggs Sardou to classic cocktails and live jazz. But the Boxing Room, Hayes Valley's lively Cajun/Creole restaurant, isn't trying to imitate any of that with its recently added brunch menu. Turns out, ... More >>

Haven: New California Cuisine Gets Super-Sized

​I've been a restaurant critic for more than a decade now, and I can't say I've ever had the chance to review the same chef twice in one year -- at two different restaurants. In fact, I probably would have avoided it if the chef hadn't been Kim Alter, whose food I enjoyed so much when she was cook ... More >>

Worst Cooks in America: A Hater's Guide

​Each week (except last week) we take a quick, cautious look at what's going on with televised cooking. This week: Worst Cooks in America, a one-hour documentary about Arizona, Sundays at 9 p.m. on the Food Network. The premise Imagine a competition in which the worst cooks in America -- let' ... More >>

At the Weekly's DRINK Event, Taste All You Want to Benefit Your Beloved Bartender

If your bartender is your hero, drink in his/her honor at our tasting event.​Do you love your bartender so much, that sometimes you wish you could crawl over the bar and just fix him (or her) a drink? SF Weekly feels your love. On March 10, the Weekly is hosting our second annual DRINK event at th ... More >>

Proposition 8 Is Unconstitutional, Appeals Court Says

​A federal appeals court ruled this morning that California's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.  New outlets are reporting that the ban will still remain in effect as the case makes its way to the Supreme Court. Both sides had vowed to appeal the ruling if the outcome wasn't in th ... More >>

S.F. Komen Affiliates "Thrilled" to Continue Funding Planned Parenthood

​The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation relieved its six California affiliates today when it pledged to reverse its unpopular policy to stop funding Planned Parenthood and its breast cancer prevention programs.During Komen's grant review process, the foundation decided that any organizations b ... More >>

Asian American Group Sues to Stop State Ban of Shark Fin Soup

​The Chinese community is hoping a federal judge can force California to stop being a bunch of Soup Nazis. The Asian American Rights Committee of California filed a lawsuit in San Francisco this week, claiming the state's move to ban the sale of shark fins -- which is used to make the gelatinous C ... More >>

"Monstress": Lysley Tenorio Reads From His California Stories

​The Chinese community is hoping a federal judge can force California to stop being a bunch of Soup Nazis. The Asian American Rights Committee of California filed a lawsuit in San Francisco this week, claiming the state's move to ban the sale of shark fins -- which is used to make the gelatinous C ... More >>

The Super Bowl Prostitution Hoax

Indianapolis mobilizes for an epic battle with an urban legend.

"Man on a Ledge": Wrong-Man Thriller Goes Thud

Indianapolis mobilizes for an epic battle with an urban legend.

SF Weekly Letters

Indianapolis mobilizes for an epic battle with an urban legend.

Lisa Ling Looking for Bay Area Swingers -- Just Not Freaky Ones

​Here's a good chance for Bay Area swingers to satiate America's legion of voyeurs. The producers of Our America With Lisa Ling on Oprah's new TV network, OWN, are coming to town, looking for some swingers to shock and awe America's less sexually adventurous viewers.A producer wrote to the local s ... More >>

The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Into

​Here's a good chance for Bay Area swingers to satiate America's legion of voyeurs. The producers of Our America With Lisa Ling on Oprah's new TV network, OWN, are coming to town, looking for some swingers to shock and awe America's less sexually adventurous viewers.A producer wrote to the local s ... More >>

This Land is Our Land

​Here's a good chance for Bay Area swingers to satiate America's legion of voyeurs. The producers of Our America With Lisa Ling on Oprah's new TV network, OWN, are coming to town, looking for some swingers to shock and awe America's less sexually adventurous viewers.A producer wrote to the local s ... More >>

The 1952 Baton Twirling Magazine That Dared to Address the 'Sissy' Question

Your Crap Archivist brings you the finest in forgotten and bewildering crap culled from Golden State thrift stores, estate sales, and flea markets. Majorettes on Parade magazine Date: April, 1952 Publisher: International Baton Twirling Foundation Discovered at: Mission estate sale The Cover P ... More >>

Bama Glama, The Terrible Food Network Show to Hatewatch at 4 a.m.

Bama Glama: One part cupcakes, one part "Break Stuff"​Each week we take a quick, cautious look at what's going on with televised cooking. This week: Bama Glama, a half-hour show not about food, Fridays at 4 a.m. (yes!) on the Food Network. With Bama Glama, the Food Network pivots from food-ce ... More >>

Panhandling Man Robbed by Men in the Mission

​Aside from the fact that it annoys tourists, panhandling also makes the homeless targets of crime, because, well, everyone knows they have money!Such is the case with a 41-year-old man who was panhandling on the corner of 24th and Alabama streets last night when he was approached by three Hispani ... More >>

People Aren't Killing Each Other as Much in California

Fewer opporuntities to say "redrum" in California ​Despite all the horrible crises we read about every day (budget, education, etc), Californians have much to be proud of -- the scenic beauty, the diverse culture, and get this: We aren't killing each other as much as we used to. According to Gener ... More >>

Pot Club Crackdown Continues, Judge Rejects Demands to Stop Feds

​A judge has ruled that she would not interfere with the feds' efforts to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries across California. Oakland U.S. District Court Judge Saundra Armstrong ruled on Monday that pot clubs failed to show that  the federal government was violating their rights by cr ... More >>

Ridiculous Weight-Loss Procedures From a Soviet Textbook (pics)

A lot of us believe that the wealthiest .01 percent of people are conducting class warfare on the human species. Have you noticed that ass warfare (keeping us all worried about our weight) is a big part of their world-domination plan? Let me demonstrate: In the United States, Americans spent $60.9 b ... More >>

Top 5 Reasons Californians Are Moving to Texas

The word "crisis" has become a ubiquitous term to describe California: Budget crisis, education crisis, water crisis, immigration crisis. Even state parks are, sadly, in a state of "crisis."  With all these crises, it doesn't really surprise us that Californians picked up and left in droves las ... More >>

Judge Grants Feds Access to Twitter Accounts as Part of WikiLeaks Investigation

Only you and the government know your passwords​In a major blow to Internet privacy, a district court judge ruled today that federal investigators were allowed to collect private records of three Twitter users as part of their investigation related to WikiLeaks.According to the Electronic Frontier ... More >>

Wrought from Tradition

Only you and the government know your passwords​In a major blow to Internet privacy, a district court judge ruled today that federal investigators were allowed to collect private records of three Twitter users as part of their investigation related to WikiLeaks.According to the Electronic Frontier ... More >>

Humboldt County Couple Alleges Malicious Tree Theft by Neighbor

​It's no secret that a lot of strange things go on in the far northern reaches of the California coast. Like what, you ask? Well, like a lawsuit involving allegations that a man stole a massive tree from his neighbor's land.The suit, filed in Humboldt County Superior Court, asserts that that Willi ... More >>

Meet and Eat With Your Favorite Cheesemakers

​What: Meet the Cheesemaker, a California Artisan Cheese Guild Fundraiser Where:The Cheese School of San Francisco When: Fri., November 11, 7-9 p.m. Cost: $35 The rundown: Every year, the Cheese School in North Beach hosts a bunch of California's cheesemakers to raise funds for the Califor ... More >>

U.S. Supreme Court Hearing Challenge to California's Pig Protection Law

​Two years ago, President Obama signed a federal law that that would keep "downed" cows -- animals brought to the slaughterhouse too sick or weak to stand -- out of the human food chain. Other animals -- well, the humans who eat them, really -- haven't had the same kind of federal protections, wh ... More >>

Another Student Suspended for Dissing Teacher on Facebook

​We've seen a few times over the past year that the casual contact facilitated by Facebook is proving to be a sticky wicket for teachers and their students. Now a Louisiana high-school senior is arguing in federal court that he's the latest victim of unfair policing of online social space.The stud ... More >>

Anthony Bourdain Whines, Baby Dolphins are Adorable, and the World's Best Spaghetti Sauce!

​ ​• Anthony Bourdain is running his mouth again about how much he hates vegans because he can't stop because he loves press OH WAIT. ​• Matthew Herbert made a CD of pig noises in factory farms. It is hella super depressing. If you're a person with a heart or brain, be prepared to ... More >>

Governor Jerry Brown Signs Slew of Illegal Immigrant-Friendly Bills

​While the federal government stagnates on any immigration reform, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bevy of illegal immigrant-friendly bills that will make their under-the-radar way of life less of a headache starting January 1, 2012. Opponents have already started filing in. Perhaps th ... More >>