Keyword: sf
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Elvy Musikka lives in a pot-smoker's dream: She's one of seven people in the United States who receive pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes each month from the federal government as part of a drug study. No wonder she was smiling Thursday, hobnobbing at the Cathedral Hill Hotel in San Francisco with hundreds of others who share her quest to legalize the leaf. Through Saturday, the hotel is the place to be for marijuana enthusiasts, as the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws holds its annual conference in what the organization's Web site calls "America's most hemp- friendly city." The scent...
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A series of ugly run-ins between girls soccer teams in San Francisco's high schools has prompted a ban on that proverbial act of good sportsmanship -- the post-game handshake. Not only that, but "all soccer players will be barred from saying a single word to their opponents, opposing coaches
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San Francisco - As a shining light of The City's new Care Not Cash program, the All-Star Hotel has become a welcome home for dozens of hardened transients escaping drug-infested shelters and street corners. So it was a shock this week when residents of the Mission District facility, many of whom are recovering drug addicts, learned exactly what kind of "health clinic" would be opening in a retail space downstairs — a medical marijuana clinic. Resident manager Robert Williams said he only learned of the pot dispensary Friday when he smelled the telltale odor drifting up into his office. "The...
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San Francisco’s Gay Marriage Ruling Will Be Short-Lived Just as Newsom’s arrogant decision to sidetrack California’s laws on marriage was struck down, the state’s high court should overturn Kramer’s contentious decision to redefine marriage without the people’s consent. Same-sex marriage supporters lined the streets of San Francisco to celebrate a ruling that attacked California’s traditional marriage laws on Monday, in a manner reminiscent of last February’s scenes of gay-nuptial parades and rallies. However, the gay marriage proponents’ jubilant celebrations are premature, and no one should think for a second that the battle for marriage is over. First off, the ruling...
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San Francisco is pressing hard to catch a bit of Hollywood and hip- hop glitz, with MTV brass in town today for the second time since December to look over possible venues for the cable network's annual video music awards show. For the culturally untuned, that's the same glamour show immortalized a couple of years back by the infamous Britney Spears-Madonna smooch. Sites in the MTV sights range from the Opera House, Davies Symphony Hall and the Fillmore Center to Treasure Island and Fort Point. The idea is to televise the late-August festivities from several locations, using San Francisco as...
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San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom looked out at a roomful of city workers newly conscripted in his war against litter and described the act of picking up garbage unceremoniously dumped on the streets by others as an "exhilarating experience.'' It was part of his pitch Thursday to get city employees tuned in and turned on to his "SF Can'' initiative, in which they will have to spend 16 hours a year patrolling the streets tracking down litterbugs and citing them for breaking the law. "I want you guys to have some fun,'' Newsom said to about 200 city workers summoned...
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Job constraints, politics make White House unappetizing to many Bay Area food stars - The White House is shopping for a new chef. But despite the Bay Area's national status as a culinary capital, no one really expects the search to focus here. "I don't think they'll be calling,'' says renowned chef Nancy Oakes of Boulevard in San Francisco. "I think my name is on a list of fund-raisers for John Kerry.'' Even food, it seems, comes in red and blue. The idea of going to the White House drew guffaws from many local chefs, staunch Democrats who say they...
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An engrossing tale of two congressional districts By William Mulgrew IMMEDIATELY after Election 2004, elite liberal pundits criticized Bush voters, labeling them what a friend of mine calls "the four R's: Rich, Religious, Redneck, and Retarded." Maureen Dowd achieved the greatest level of hysteria, accusing the GOP of pandering to "isolationism, nativism, chauvinism, puritanism and religious fanaticism." Others decry that President Bush supposedly "divided" us. But is our country "divided"? If so, to what extent and how? By looking at a county by county showing of the 2004 presidential election, the split between red and blue is mainly between city...
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San Francisco's homeless population plummeted by more than a quarter in the past two years, the city reported Monday, a dramatic change Mayor Gavin Newsom says is a credit to his policies of cutting cash assistance to street people and aggressively moving them into housing with counseling services. San Francisco's new figures are based on a one-night homeless count, taken between 8 p.m. Jan. 26 and about 8 a.m. the next morning. It showed the city now has 6,248 homeless people living on the streets or in jails, shelters, rehabilitation centers or other emergency facilities -- a 28 percent decline...
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A crowd of 3,000 gay men and lesbians packed into the San Francisco City Hall rotunda on Saturday for a raucous event that became as much a pep rally for the mayor as a commemoration of the same-sex marriages that were performed in the same venue one year ago. "Happy anniversary," Newsom said to the cheering audience. Unquestionably the star of the party that one celebrant compared to a "family reunion," the mayor was repeatedly drowned out by wild applause during the defiant speech he delivered from the rotunda staircase. "I've never felt more resolved," Newsom told the crowd....
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Marking the anniversary of his decision to sanction same-sex marriages, Mayor Gavin Newsom on Saturday urged gay couples to back politicians who support gay marriage, saying it is time "to hold our elected officials accountable." "It is no longer acceptable for politicians to come to you every election cycle and ask for money and then say, 'It's too much, too soon,'" Newsom told about 3,000 gay and lesbian supporters during a ceremony to remember the anniversary of last year's "Winter of Love," the four-week period when his administration granted marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The licenses were later voided by...
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400 city workers to be deputized to ticket S.F. scofflaws, assess fines of $80-$1,000. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom declared war on dirty streets Thursday, saying he will deputize hundreds of city workers to hunt down litterbugs and to punish them with hefty fines. "I think it's time to recognize that litter comes from someone,'' said Newsom. "You have got to change people's behavior.'' That will be a mighty task, given that city street-cleaning crews removed 23,451 tons of trash from city streets last year -- a 35 percent increase from the year before. The plan calls for giving more...
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Mayor Gavin Newsom lobbed a direct-hit Tuesday night in a speech at Harvard University. "My name is Gavin Newsom, and I reelected George Bush," he said to laughter. "Just wanted to see if you were paying attention." It's true that because of his stance allowing gay weddings in the city exactly one year ago, Newsom has been blamed by fellow Democrats for helping Mr. Bush win reelection. But Newsom went further in the speech. "I can't stand my party right now," he said. "They offend me. I have no interest in the majority of the Democratic Party line that becomes...
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Norwegian special forces which served in Afghanistan, have received the Navy Presidential Unit Citationer. The honours were presented by US Ambassador to Norway, John Doyle Ong, on behalf of President Bush. The Navy Presidential Unit Citationer were given to soldiers from special Army and Navy units which served as part of the international coalition forces in operation Enduring Freedom from December 2001 till April 2002. It is the first time since the Vietnam War that this distinction has been given to a special force unit. - This shows that the Norwegian forces have been appreciated and noticed. It also shows...
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Those who favor smaller government will likely be familiar with the term "nanny state." A nanny state is defined as "a government which tries to give too much advice or make too many laws about how people should live, especially about eating, smoking or drinking alcohol." Perhaps not coincidentally, nanny states and blue states tend to go hand in hand. Indeed, if you're searching for the epitome of the ultimate nanny state, look no farther than San Francisco. With plenty of time on their hands and an exaggerated sense of self-importance, the 11 members of the San Francisco Board of...
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The 10-year fight to bring the battleship USS Iowa to San Francisco's waterfront is heating up once more, with an East Bay congressman offering some competition and The City set to instate a policy for historic ships at the port. A handful of veterans and naval enthusiasts have long fought to bring the 48,000-pound ship, or one of its sister vessels, to the San Francisco Bay. In 1996, The City lost its bid, supported by then-Mayor Willie Brown and the port, to house the USS Missouri. On Tuesday, the Port Commission is considering a policy that would set out requirements...
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WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 - The Defense Department has approved a series of incentives for members of elite Special Operations Forces who remain in the military, including a $150,000 bonus for the most experienced and highly trained combat personnel who promise six additional years in uniform, military officials said Saturday. The pay and incentives package was devised to stem an exodus of senior sergeants, petty officers and warrant officers to higher-paying civilian security jobs in places like Baghdad and Kabul, just as they are needed to continue playing a pivotal role in combating terrorists and training indigenous security forces worldwide. "Our...
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The measure will only increase violent crime, opponents say RESOURCES LITTLE SUCCESS BANNING GUNSThis isn't the first time San Francisco has tried to outlaw handguns: • In 1978: After the shooting deaths of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, the city enacted a similar measure.• Four years later: That ordinance was overturned by the courts, which said it violated state laws that prohibit licenses or registration for gun owners. SAN FRANCISCO - Last year, Lateefah Simon went to nine funerals, all for friends and acquaintances killed by handguns.As the executive director of a women's outreach center here, "I've...
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Session with terrorist stirs outrage By Tad Whitaker, IJ reporter Local religious leaders are expressing outrage over a meeting that occurred last summer between members of the San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo and a commander of the terrorist organization Hezbollah. The meeting occurred June 1, when the seminary group was touring the Middle East as part of a course, "Christianity in Context: Palestine/Israel," which focused on the Middle East, its cultures, issues, people and religions. Seminary officials say the meeting was inadvertent. "It could well be an accident, but I find it hard to believe," said the Rev....
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A decision to expand anti-discrimination laws in the San Francisco Bay area is drawing fire from pro-family groups who say it will lead to conflicts between transgendered people and the public at large. At a heated hearing in Oakland yesterday, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve a resolution prohibiting discrimination based on a person's "gender identity." It applies to Alameda County employment, services and facilities, according to Bay City News. Randy Thomasson The measure is being blasted by the likes of Randy Thomasson, president of the Campaign for Children and Families, who says the action will...
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