Free Republic

Just for the San Francisco Gay Pride 2014, Burger King introduced a new burger: the Proud Whopper.

When I think of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, I think of the decadeslong building of the new eastern span, the shameless political grandstanding for a project that ran $5 billion over budget -- and the construction headaches that live on. Brian Maroney, Caltrans' chief engineer for the bridge, sees something entirely different. He sees a visual stunner that delights drivers as they emerge from Treasure Island to gasp at a skyway with twinkling lights curling toward the East Bay hills. He thrills at the experience to the user, especially at night. Most importantly, he sees a bridge that is...

San Francisco's iconic Golden Gate Bridge moved a big step closer to getting an oft-debated suicide barrier after bridge officials on Friday approved a $76 million funding package for a net system that would prevent people from jumping to their deaths. The bridge district's board of directors voted unanimously in favor of the funding for a steel suicide net. The funding sources are $20 million in bridge toll revenue, $49 million in federal money and $7 million from the state. ... funding for the project remained a major obstacle. A significant hurdle was overcome two years ago when President Barack...

He's done it again. For the second time in less than a year, Tim Lincecum has pitched a no-hitter against the weak-hitting San Diego Padres. Lincecum (6-5) allowed just one base runner: a second-inning walk of Chase Headley. He struck out six on 113 total pitches, using a big-breaking curve to set up his fastball. He also added two hits at the plate and scored two runs. The Giants won the game 4-0. Lincecum threw his other career no-hitter last July, also against the Padres. In last year's no-hitter, he walked four and struck out 13 on 148 pitches. The...

SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco's city attorney issued a cease-and-desist demand Monday to a mobile app called Monkey Parking, which allows people to auction public parking spaces that they're using to other nearby drivers.

With all the crazy stories that have consumed the news cycle this week -- multiple murders, incredibly hot felons, and a pyromaniac drivers -- we decided to bring it down a notch just in time for the weekend. So meet this adorable Golden Retriever named Murphy who was reunited with her family this past weekend -- two years after getting lost in the wilderness in Tahoe. According to news reports, the pup was with her parents -- Nathan and Erin Braun -- in October 2012 when she vanished into the woods. The couple posted flyers and even created a Facebook...

Few onlookers would mistake a Maserati for a Muni -- and, for those experiencing difficulty making the distinction, here's a primer. When a hulking Muni bus parks itself over a mechanics' pit, much-needed maintenance ensues. When a minuscule Maserati attempts to do the same, it finds itself in need of maintenance of a different sort. SF Weekly obtained the above photo of the late May mishap. Bus operators on the scene at the Potrero Muni yard joke that the Maserati driver must have been hit with a sudden and overwhelming desire to work for Muni. That's one explanation for abruptly...

A man was held up by a robber with scissors for his slice of pizza in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood Friday night, police said. The 31-year-old victim was walking down the street near Jasper and Green streets around 9:40 p.m. Friday when a man believed to be in his mid 30s held him up with a pair of scissors, police said. The suspect demanded that the victim hand over his slice of pizza and he complied. The victim then went home uninjured and the suspect got away with the slice, according to police.

Photographer Jeff Chiu took this amazing photograph of a fan catching a home run with his left hand while holding a baby at Sunday's Giants-Rockies game at AT&T Park. Aaron Hernandez Due in Court to Seek Dismissal of Charge The catch came during the third inning. The fan later walked away calmly as people cheered him on, both baby and ball safe in his hands. Here's a close up of the moment. Best Father's Day catch ever? Video at site.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi took the lead this week in a high-profile lobbying effort to pressure San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone not to attend the controversial March for Marriage event, which she characterized as "venom masquerading as virtue." Pelosi, who is one of the country's most powerful Catholic politicians, made a passionate appeal to the archbishop in a letter obtained by The Chronicle not to participate in the National Organization for Marriage's June 19 march on the Supreme Court in Washington. Cordileone, who is one of the featured speakers at the event, was a leader in the campaign for...

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — President Barack Obama said denying climate change is like arguing the moon is made of cheese, as he issued a call to action on global warming to Saturday's graduates of the University of California, Irvine.

A former Northern California transit officer cried on the witness stand Friday while describing how he shot and killed an unarmed man on a train station platform more than five years ago. Johannes Mehserle testified in federal court in San Francisco that he meant to use his Taser rather than his gun to subdue Oscar Grant on New Year's Day in 2009. Mehserle was testifying in a civil rights lawsuit filed by Grant's father against Mehserle, the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency and other defendants.

If the U.S. Olympic Committee decides to enter a city in the selection process, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Washington are the host site contendersSan Francisco is one of four U.S. cities on a short list of possible host sites for the 2024 Summer Olympics, part of a lengthy and expensive process that will not result in a selection for about three more years An American bid would come from Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Washington, if the U.S. Olympic Committee decides to put a city in the running. A United States Olympic Committee process that began 16...

It's a long way from San Francisco to Brazil. But a 1955 Chevrolet 235 pickup truck named "Nellie" got a Dutch soccer fan there in one piece. Ben Oude Kamphuis drove Nellie nearly 13,000 miles to watch his team play in the 2014 World Cup. "Four years ago when we, Holland, lost again in the final I was crying one more time -- that's three times that I cried in the final,” Oude Kamphuis said. “So I was telling my friends and family back in San Francisco, you know what, I'm driving old Nellie to Brazil." His journey began on...

Inmate Escapes SF's Hall of Justice While Taking Out TrashAn inmate escaped San Francisco's Hall of Justice while taking out the trash Saturday morning, according to the San Francisco Sheriff's Department. The inmate, identified as Timothy Midgett, 40, of San Francisco, was being escorted into the basement of the jail at 850 Bryant St. to take out the trash when he ran out a door. Midgett ran east and the deputy tried to keep up but lost him. The sheriff's department and other law enforcement agencies are looking for Midgett, described as a black man standing 6 feet 3 inches...

Ryan Kelly Chamberlain II, the subject of a nationwide manhunt after explosive materials were allegedly found in his San Francisco apartment, was taken into custody by the San Francisco Police Department and the FBI, an FBI spokesman said today. A law enforcement source briefed on the case told ABC News that Chamberlain was taken into custody "right under the Golden Gate Bridge," but he was not certain if he was in a car or on foot at the time. The capture came after a day of dramatic and cinematic cat-and-mouse with the hunted man. "We had been close to him...

Officials from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency are warning riders to expect major delays on Muni Monday morning after a contract dispute prompted a “sickout” by a large portion of Muni workers. […] Muni operators voted on Friday on a proposed labor agreement, but that does not mean that the contract will be ratified. […] Under the proposal, Muni operator’s pay would be raised to about $32 an hour on July 1—making them the second-highest paid transit workers in the country, according to the SFMTA. …

FBI, Hazmat Crew Outside SF Building FBI agents, San Francisco police and fire crews, and a hazardous materials team converged on an apartment building between Jackson and Polk streets Saturday morning. FBI agents, San Francisco police and fire crews, and a hazardous materials team converged on an apartment building between Jackson and Polk streets in the Russian Hill neighborhood Saturday morning, according to San Francisco police. The San Francisco FBI office told NBC Bay Area that the agency is executing a search warrant as part of a criminal investigation. The FBI said that the investigation poses "no threat to...

The FBI is looking for a man who lives in the San Francisco apartment where agents found a large stash of what appears to be the deadly poison ricin. On Saturday, FBI agents searched the apartment, which belongs to Ryan Chamberlain, according to KGO, an ABC affiliate. The FBI said Chamberlain could be armed and dangerous. The apartment search was expected to resume Sunday. Chamberlain owns a Nissan that reportedly could be rigged with explosives. The FBI did not evacuate apartments during the search, and FBI spokeswoman Alice Heller said there was “no threat to public safety.” She said agents...

San Francisco State University (SFSU) spent more than $7,000 to send two of its professors to the Middle East for a series of meetings with two convicted terrorists, according to funding documents obtained from a California Public Records Act. SFSU professors Rabab Abdulhadi and Joanne Barker were awarded the money by the university for a trip to Jordan and the West Bank where they met with two notorious terrorists tied to Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), both of which are designated as terrorist groups by the U.S. State Department. Abdulhadi, an ethnic studies professors,...