Farewell, and thanks for all the fish treats I wasn’t generally given to vandalism as a child growing up in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, but when I was 7 or so, I took a marker and defaced our game of “Monopoly.” The instructions on one square said “Go to jail.” I crossed that out and wrote “Go to San Francisco.” I never stopped dreaming that it was possible to roll the dice and transport yourself to a place where you could rewrite the rules. After college, I followed my own direction and moved to California. It was 1995, when San Francisco and the internet were having their first collision. I came to the city to sling HTML for Mother Jones magazine — I was a couple of decades too early and probably too gay to be a tech bro — but somewhere along the way, a very clever boss of mine noticed I was bubbling over with story tips. She suggested I start writing them up myself, instead of just adding tags to others’ words. I became a teller of stories. I worked for a few web … [Read more...]

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — The mood across San Francisco was celebratory Tuesday night. There was a lot to cheer to at Jaranita on Steiner Street in the Marina, after more than 15 months of restrictions. READ MORE: Heat Wave: Mother Nature Turns Up The Heat; Soaring Temperatures To Strain Power Grid The Peruvian restaurant was buzzing with activity at dinner time – the wait time for walk-in was about 30 minutes. “It just feels so good you can look at people, you can smile,” said diner Kat Luther of San Francisco. “This morning I worked out indoors, I did a Pilates class without a mask on and it was amazing, and then I went and worked in a coffee shop all day and I just miss what life used to be like.” Vaccinated customers do not have to wear masks at restaurants. Workers are still wearing masks at many establishments to make diners feel comfortable. “We have reservations packed for the whole month, so we know it’s going to be great,” said Jaranita Manager Masha Prikhojko. … [Read more...]

A San Francisco firefighter died after fighting a fire at San Francisco International Airport last week, department officials said Tuesday. Longtime firefighter Christopher Yock, 58, died after responding to a fire involving six cars at an airport parking garage around 6:30 a.m. on June 8, the fire department said in a statement. Yock suffered an apparent cardiac arrest at his San Rafael home after returning from the incident, said fire department spokesperson Lt. Jonathan Baxter. It was not immediately clear whether Yock died as a result of injuries sustained in the fire. Paramedics from the San Rafael Fire Department attempted life-saving measures, Baxter said, but Yock died at his home. A representative for the Marin County coroner’s office said the cause of death remains unclear, pending an autopsy. Born in the Westborough neighborhood of South San Francisco, Yock worked as a firefighter in Alameda and the Presidio before joining SFFD in 2000. He spent most of his … [Read more...]

A woman died and a man was injured in a possible hit-and-run collision Sunday afternoon in Oakland, according to the California Highway Patrol. At about 3:10 p.m., CHP Oakland received a call about a collision on eastbound I-580 just west of Edwards Avenue, said Officer Sean Layton. A damaged green Pontiac Plymouth Breeze was found on the right shoulder of the freeway. An adult female passenger in the car was pronounced dead at the scene, and a male driver was transported to a hospital for moderate injuries, Layton said. Authorities believe another vehicle rear-ended the Plymouth Breeze and drove away. They do not have any information on the suspected driver or vehicle. As of 7:30 p.m. Sunday night, there were no updates on the investigation. Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to call California Highway Patrol on (510) 457-2875. Shwanika Narayan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @shwanika … [Read more...]

4 A parolee driving a stolen car struck and killed two pedestrians in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood Thursday and was captured after fleeing the scene on foot, police said. Police said the suspect, a 45-year-old San Francisco resident, was on parole for robbery and was driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen at about 4 p.m. when he struck a car, then two pedestrians at Second and Mission streets. One of the victims died at the scene “despite the lifesaving efforts of emergency responders,” and the second victim died after being taken to San Francisco General Hospital, police said. After striking the pedestrians, police said, the suspect got out of the vehicle and fled into a nearby commercial building, where police found him within minutes and detained him. “Absolutely awful and tragic fatal hit-and-run today in SOMA,” San Francisco Supervisor Matt Haney wrote on Twitter. “A person should not need to risk their lives … [Read more...]

A lab analyst for the San Francisco medical examiner’s office has been arrested and charged in Utah after he was allegedly found with an evidence bag of methamphetamine, a case that’s touched off a sweeping review by the district attorney. The allegations against Justin Volk, 40, could potentially impact hundreds of criminal cases in San Francisco, as prosecutors work to determine the degree of Volk’s involvement in each case and whether they might be tainted. “When individual law enforcement officers or staff at the medical examiner’s office engage in serious misconduct or potentially criminal misconduct ... it substantially undermines my office’s ability to prosecute cases,” said San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Prosecutors rely heavily on the credibility of the witnesses and investigators who help build each case. If that credibility is tarnished, it can have major impacts on the underlying case, including a dismissal. An initial assessment shows Volk was … [Read more...]

2 BART has a problem with its crackdown on fare evaders, one that even many board members didn’t know existed: The transit agency’s new team of blue-vested enforcers can’t ticket cheats at any of six stations in San Mateo County. Riders in Daly City, Colma, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae and at San Francisco International Airport will not encounter the sting operations that regularly occur at other stations, in which civilian inspectors stand atop stairwells or in front of elevators, checking everyone who comes by and issuing $75 citations. BART police officers can still cite fare evaders under the state penal code. However, it turns out the agency cannot impose any of its internal ordinances in San Mateo County or at the planned Silicon Valley extension in San Jose, which would be operated by BART but owned by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. San Mateo County opted out of the system back in 1961 — years before trains began … [Read more...]

The U.S. Navy command that oversees the SEALs is investigating a video of dogs attacking a man in a Colin Kaepernick jersey at a 2019 event in Florida, the authorities said this week. The Naval Special Warfare Command on Sunday condemned the incident, which it described as “a military working dog demonstration” that took place at an “independent organization’s event” last year. A pair of videos of the event surfaced on social media over the weekend, and the recordings were soon seen more than four million times. The Naval Special Warfare Command said it had become aware of the footage on Sunday. In one video, four dogs attack a man wearing protective equipment and a red and white football jersey with Mr. Kaepernick’s name and number when he played quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. Another man can be heard describing the dogs leaping at and biting the man in the style of a play-by-play announcer. “The inherent message of this video is completely inconsistent with the … [Read more...]

What do homebuyers have to do to get a house in this cutthroat real estate market ? Offer sellers a Caribbean vacation ? Bid $1 million over the asking price? Pay a competing bidder hundreds of thousands of dollars to walk away? What about buying two homes just to live in one? More from Financial Empowerment How much house can I afford? How does inflation affect my standard of living? How much do I need to save for retirement? Believe it or not, these are real offers. And sometimes, they actually work. "You hear about buyers throwing sweeteners into the mix -- wine, dinners -- to get the house," said Esty Perez, an agent with Knipe Realty in Portland, Oregon. "Then, along comes a buyer that is like, 'Hold my beer.' Let me take this up." Perez said one of his clients was in a bidding war on a $530,000 home, and offered $25,000 over the asking price. Read More The other top offer was only $15,000 over. But that … [Read more...]

17 When Salman Khan began posting videos on YouTube more than a decade ago, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur had no idea of the celebrity he would gain, nor the impact he would have. His online tutorials in math, with their encouraging counsel informed by degrees from Harvard and MIT, were made for friends and family struggling in school. But his audience quickly grew. Before long, Khan had quit his day job in finance to carry out a goal of delivering free Internet instruction to the world. His educational website was called Khan Academy. On Tuesday night, Khan, 41, was presented the fourth annual Visionary of the Year Award, an honor announced by The San Francisco Chronicle at a gala at the War Memorial Veterans Building. The award recognizes individuals who use their business savvy and entrepreneurship for social benefit. It carries a $25,000 grant from The … [Read more...]