San Francisco

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Chick Splits Up Gay SF Penguins

(Newser) - A male penguin couple that raised a hatchling at the San Francisco Zoo has been split up by the attentions of the amorous widow Linda, UPI reports. Magellanic penguin Harry was apparently smitten by the lovesick female, and he deserted Pepper, his partner of six years. Linda has "her...

Lunch With Buffett Sells for $1.68M

(Newser) - Lunch with Warren Buffett is a little cheaper this year. The anonymous winner of an eBay auction for a steak lunch with the Oracle of Omaha paid $1.68 million, down from last year’s record of $2.1 million. It’s still the second highest bid in the 10-year...

Calif. Gay Marriage Fight Centers on Chinatown

Campaigners hope to repeat success in changing Asian attitudes

(Newser) - Campaigners seeking to bring legalized gay marriage back to California believe their success in Chinatown points the way forward, Reuters reports. The state's Asian communities swung in favor of gay marriage faster than any other group over the last decade as advocates worked to bring taboos into the open and...

SF Library Offers Amnesty to Tardy Book Borrowers

But each has to cough up an excuse

(Newser) - A book amnesty program in San Francisco has inspired many guilty returns and a few entertaining excuses, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The city's public library offered tardy borrowers the chance to return items, fine-free, as long as they came with an excuse. Returning a record 29,228 items worth...

Seoul's Airport Is World's No. 1

None in North America makes top 10

(Newser) - Incheon International airport in Seoul, South Korea, is the world's best, according to a British survey that took into account passengers' experiences with check-in, departures, transfers, and arrivals. Two other Asian airports, in Hong Kong and Singapore, finished second and third, the BBC reports.

Zagat Is Wrong: Peet's Is Better Than Starbucks
Zagat Is Wrong:
Peet's Is Better Than Starbucks
OPINION
Jun 9, 2009 11:27 AM CDT

Zagat Is Wrong: Peet's Is Better Than Starbucks

Bad methodology gave Seattle giant the survey win: Nate Silver

(Newser) - Zagat’s annual fast-food survey served up its usual batch of surprises, but one stood out for Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com fame. Somehow, some way, Starbucks beat Peet’s Coffee for best coffee chain. A travesty of that magnitude can only mean mistaken methodology, Silver contends; Starbucks is fine,...

Gay Marriage Debate Key to SF Mayor's Future

Focus on issue could mount with new ballot initiative

(Newser) - As San Francisco’s mayor looks to become California’s next governor, his gay-marriage activism may threaten his success—especially if voters are again asked to decide the issue for themselves, the AP reports. Though all the Democratic candidates support gay marriage, Gavin Newsom has a particularly strong association with...

Battle Over Prop 8 Moves to Federal Court

(Newser) - California’s gay marriage battle continued today as lawyers for the American Foundation for Equal Rights announced a lawsuit challenging Proposition 8 and called for the restitution of marriage rights while the suit is decided, the Los Angeles Times reports. The lawyers—Theodore Olson, then the solicitor general, and David...

Gay-Marriage Supporters Take to Streets After Ruling

Opponents of marriage ban sad but not surprised

(Newser) - Supporters of same-sex marriage were disappointed but not surprised by the California Supreme Court’s decision today to uphold Proposition 8, the San Francisco Chronicle reports, as a crowd that had gathered at the state courthouse moved through city streets, blocking traffic and prompting arrest. “This is a serious...

Sea Lion Saved on Highway
 Sea Lion Saved on Highway 
May 21, 2009 2:46 PM CDT

Sea Lion Saved on Highway

(Newser) - Cops near San Francisco made an unusual rescue today on a local expressway: They saved a wandering sea lion, the Chronicle reports. After a brief chase, they corralled the 30-pound confused critter, probably only about a year old. The sea lion, named Moody in honor of a fallen officer, is...

SF Smokers May Have to Cough Up for Butt Cleanup

Mayor proposes hefty tax hike to make smokers cover litter removal

(Newser) - San Francisco's mayor believes non-smokers shouldn't have to cover the costs of cleaning up cigarette butts, the New York Times reports. Gavin Newsom has proposed a 33-cent tax on each pack of cigarettes sold, which he says will cover the $10 million a year it costs to pick up after...

Dad Wasn't Zodiac Killer, Says Other Daughter

(Newser) - The half-sister of the California woman who asserted Wednesday that their father was the dreaded Zodiac killer of the 1960s isn’t having any of it, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Janice Hendrickson’s father “couldn’t hurt a fly,” she said today. “He did have a...

'My Dad Was the Zodiac Killer'

Californian claims to offer proof that her father was '60s serial killer

(Newser) - A Californian real estate agent came forward yesterday claiming to offer proof that her late father was the serial Zodiac Killer who terrorized the Bay Area in the '60s, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Her carpenter dad took her along to murder sites where the 7-year-old sat in the car...

Robber Told Bank He Was Fed Up With Bailouts

Gets away after SF bomb-threat heist

(Newser) - Police are looking for a man who robbed a San Francisco branch of Bank of America—ostensibly out of disgust for corporate bailouts, the Chronicle reports. The man requested a meeting with a manager and told him he represented “a corporation” concerned with the bailouts—before threatening to detonate...

US Animal Activist Makes 'Most Wanted Terrorists' List

(Newser) - In a first, the FBI today put an animal-rights crusader on its “Most Wanted Terrorists” list, CNN reports. San Francisco-bred activist Daniel Andreas San Diego is charged with the 2003 bombings of two corporate buildings. Authorities allege he believed the companies were tied to animal testing. The FBI has...

SF Mayor Unveils Run for Calif. Gov on Twitterverse

(Newser) - San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom made his candidacy for California governor official today with nary a word, the Chronicle reports—except on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Though Newsom plans to publicize his run with in-person appearances, an adviser called the old sort of announcement “passé.” The state’s...

Police Hunt Silicon Valley Phone Vandals

50K lose service in attack that highlights systems' vulnerability

(Newser) - Authorities in Silicon Valley are hunting for saboteurs who cut fiber-optic telecom cables, leaving more than 50,000 customers—including police and hospitals—in parts of three counties without phone and internet service, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Ten cables were severed, crippling 911 operations, cellphone service, and businesses depending...

The Best Prison Breaks
 The Best Prison Breaks 
OPINION
Mar 31, 2009 4:43 PM CDT

The Best Prison Breaks

Frenchman's joins infamous company with clever escape

(Newser) - A Frenchman’s daring escape from a London prison—Julien Chautard turned himself in yesterday after busting out by gripping the bottom of a prisoner transport van as it left the courtyard—gets Jon Henley, in the Guardian, thinking about the best such tries ever. His highlights:

In SF, a Center for Female Orgasm

Commune is devoted to female sexuality

(Newser) - Every morning as the rest of us fight sleepiness and traffic, a group of women at the One Taste Urban Retreat Center lie back and let a fully clothed male "research partner" coax them to orgasm, reports the New York Times. The co-ed commune in San Francisco also offers...

Roche Gets Genentech in $46.8B Biotech Deal

(Newser) - Swiss drug giant Roche has succeeded in its quest to own biotech firm Genentech outright, and will purchase the 44% of shares it does not already own for $95 each, the San Francisco Chronicle reports today. The $46.8 billion deal comes after months of haggling, wherein Roche offered as...

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