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SAN FRANCISCO -- The seats of some well used methods of public transportation have been analyzed by a biologist and the results might keep commuters on their feet. A supervisor with San Francisco State University's biology lab recently tested the bacterial content of a random BART seat and a Muni seat. The Bay Citizen commissioned the study. On Muni's plastic seats she found two forms of harmless bacteria, and after using an alcohol wipe on the seat no bacteria was detected. But the cloth seats on BART told an entirely different story: tests of the seats on BART revealed fecal...

Updated 9:35 AM PST, Thu, Jan 13, 2011 Print Share Buzz up! 2retweet 1diggdigg Despite President Obama's speech about healing, shared responsibility and shared pain, conservative pundit Sarah Palin is plastered, unflatteringly, along one San Francisco street (so far). The posters -- found and publisehd by SFist.com -- espouse "Enrage them with fear until they feel justified in their violence."

...In any case, the twenty-first century is undeniably the century science fiction built—if not in utter hands-on reality (though even that proposition is debatable, given the inspiration the genre has provided for influential scientists and geeks), then in the public imagination...

(CNSNews.com) - The Center for Science in the Public Interest said Thursday it plans to go ahead with its lawsuit against McDonald’s to ban children's Happy Meals, which include free toys. On Tuesday, San Francisco became the first major U.S. city to pass a law regulating the practice of giving away free toys with restaurant meals for children. Stephen Gardner, litigation director for CSPI, told CNSNews.com that his group applauds San Francisco’s action, but it won’t have any impact on the CSPI lawsuit, which is close to being filed. “We have been talking with them (San Francisco) behind the scenes,...

The SCI-FI AIR SHOW’s purpose is to preserve and promote the rich and varied history of Sci-Fi/fantasy vehicles.

What is billed as the biggest Fleet Week in San Francisco in 20 years gets started with a roar this afternoon when the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels precision flying team begins the first of four days of ear-shattering flights over San Francisco Bay. The Angels will be making survey flights over San Francisco and the bay starting at 1 p.m. in preparation for a dress rehearsal Friday afternoon and air shows Saturday and Sunday. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/07/BAQ91FONKC.DTL#ixzz11kR9PoZR

OAKLAND, Calif. – Hundreds of protesters condemning Israel's recent raid on an international flotilla bound for Gaza are picketing at the Port of Oakland, where an Israeli ship is due to arrive. The demonstrators gathered Sunday to prevent the incoming ship from being unloaded. The dock's day shift of longshoremen agreed to not cross the picket line. Meanwhile Sunday, Israel said it will immediately allow all goods into Gaza except weapons and items deemed to have a military use under its decision to ease its three-year-old blockade of the Palestinian territory. Israeli officials had decided last week to ease the...

National Security: There seems to be only one thing White House arms negotiators want more than a reduction in U.S. nuclear weapons — a reduction in U.S. missile defenses to protect us from such weapons. The Washington Times' Bill Gertz reports that U.S. diplomats are secretly negotiating with Russia to link nuclear arms reduction to limits on our anti-missile defenses. As Gertz points out, "Pro-arms-control officials within the administration dislike missile defenses, viewing them as an impediment to offensive arms agreements." Ellen Tauscher, the undersecretary of state for international security and arms control, has been talking to Moscow's deputy foreign...

Come to free and wild Arizona. We don't allow open container but we allow open carry. There always seem to be a gun show. Bring your weapon and get it outfitted or buy a new side piece. http://www.tucsonguns.net/Gun_Shows.php This is a reprint of the list of Southern Arizona wineries I posted Wednesday. CALLAGHAN VINEYARDSKent & Lisa Callaghan 336 Elgin Road (Elgin) (520) 455-5322 www.callaghanvineyards.com CANELO hILLS VINEYARD & WINERYTim & Joan Mueller 342 Elgin Road (Elgin) (520) 455-5499 www.canelohillswinery.com CHARRON VINEYARD & WINERYMilton & Susan Craig 18585 S. Sonoita Hwy (Vail) (520) 762-8585 www.charronvineyards.com DOS CABEZAS WINEWORKSTodd & Kelly Bostock...

Coleman said he issued the order as a protest, following several other cities and organizations that are boycotting Arizona. "This law sets a dangerous example for the rest of the country," Coleman said in a press release. "It will create a culture where racial profiling is acceptable, and will create a dangerous wedge between police officers and the communities they serve."

SAN FRANCISCO — Three Hayward cousins have pleaded guilty to shooting a man in the face with a BB gun because they thought he was gay, and were sentenced to six months in jail. Mohammad Habibzada, 24, Shafiq Hashemi, 21, and Sayed Bassam, 21, also will be on probation for three years and must complete as much as 400 hours of community service, including 40 hours of hate-crime sensitivity training, according to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office. Police said the men went to San Francisco on Feb. 26 armed with an air rifle and video camera, targeting people who...

Count our own George Gascon among the nation's police chiefs speaking out against a controversial Arizona immigration bill that would require police officers in that state to arrest anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally. Gascon, who was the top cop in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa before being tapped for the San Francisco job last year, said the Arizona legislation "will have a catastrophic effect on policing and set back community policing efforts for decades." Some cops are warning the law would impede their efforts to fight violent crime because witnesses and victims will be reluctant to...

SF crime is down -- as long as you aren't talking rapes or homicideFrom reporter Nanette Asimov April 19 2010 at 06:38 PM The bottom line at Chief George Gascon's news conference today was that crime dropped 13 percent in the first quarter of this year compared with last year. But turn off the slide projector and look at the rapes, robberies and homicides not featured on the big screen. All were higher in the first three months of 2010 than during the same time last year. Rape was up 33 percent, from 33 incidents last year to 44 this...

JACKSON (AP) — A teen who challenged a ban on same-sex prom dates will get a second chance to don a tuxedo and dance at an event in San Francisco often referred to as the ‘‘lesbian prom.’’ The National Center for Lesbian Rights has invited Constance McMillen and Ceara Sturgis, a Mississippi student who fought to wear a tuxedo in a yearbook photo, to its 33rd anniversary celebration on May 1. The event is often referred to as the ‘‘lesbian prom,’’ said NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell. Nearly 2,000 people are expected to attend the celebration in San Francisco, Kendell...

Pelosi basks in health care victory in S.F. Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer, March 29, 2010 San Francisco -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, celebrating the passage of the health insurance overhaul, said in San Francisco on Sunday that she's not worried about Republicans' plans to take over Congress this fall by campaigning for a repeal of the law.

On March 20, a coalition of communist groups, 9/11 “Truth” activists and anti-Israel extremists gathered in San Francisco to protest against — well, just about everything. The event was in theory an “anti-war” rally timed to coincide with the seventh anniversary of the start of the Iraq War, but since that war is basically over, the anti-war movement now has not only evaporated almost completely but has also lost its focus, as a plethora of tangential issues and petty gripes have taken center stage. Read more: http://pajamasmedia.com/zombie/

Daly wants Lennar to apologize after its security guard is cuffed to pole The flap won't die down over an armed security guard working for Lennar Corp. who was handcuffed to a light pole after being kicked out of a community meeting about the developer's project to remake the former Hunters Point naval shipyard.

The tough call for Gavin Newsom would be to stick around as mayor of San Francisco. It would be difficult, gutty, and a leap of faith into an uncertain future. He's not going to do it. Newsom made it clear at Wednesday's media event in the Tenderloin that a run for California lieutenant governor is a foregone conclusion. Just a few hours after the event Newsom pulled the paperwork at the elections office and paid the fee to run. He'll make it official today or Friday. There are a hundred good reasons why he should leave the mayor's office with...

SNIPPET: "(03-03) 17:42 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- Three cousins from Hayward have been charged in San Francisco with a hate crime and assault for allegedly firing a BB rifle at the face of a man they believed was gay, an attack the men videotaped, authorities said Wednesday." SNIPPET: "Mohammad Habibzada, Shafiq Hashemi and Sayed Bassam, all 24, are scheduled to be arraigned today in San Francisco Superior Court. They are free on $50,000 bond apiece." SNIPPET: "Investigators believe the assailants chose the victim because he appeared to be gay. When the men were pulled over, police found a video camera...

An unimaginably big "megastorm" could hit the Bay Area and California as hard or harder than an earthquake, a researcher with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) warned Thursday in Menlo Park. Dale A. Cox heads an interdisciplinary scientific team investigating anything on Earth that can go wrong -- sometimes very wrong. Speaking at noon to USGS colleagues and staff and to the public Thursday evening, Cox outlined the possibilities and impacts of what he calls an ARkStorm. The term is a play on "Noah's Ark" based on the initials AR. Those stand for a relatively new meteorological term: an...