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San Francisco -- One police officer was suspended and others faced discipline after making videos that used racist, sexist and homophobic stereotypes, officials said Wednesday. About 20 officers participated in creating or performing in the videos, intended as a spoof of life on the force, according to Mayor Gavin Newsom and Police Chief Heather Fong. "The content ranges from immature and vulgar to sexist, racist and homophobic," the two said in a joint statement.

San Francisco officials decided Wednesday to keep open a lot that has been used to sell Christmas trees during the holidays for the past 40 years. The five-member Board of Appeals unanimously voted to turn down resident Monio Pilpel's appeal of city permits that allow Cyril Hackett and his family to sell trees at the corner of Sloat Boulevard and 19th Avenue before Christmas. Hackett's popular lot is also transformed into a pumpkin patch around Halloween. The case drew an emotional standing-room crowd to City Hall, with most supporting Hackett's claim that the lot is a city "tradition." Hackett will...

SAN FRANCISCO -- City officials are set to decide tonight whether to shut down a lot that has been used to sell Christmas trees during the holidays for the past 40 years. The Board of Appeals, which meets at 5 p.m. at City Hall, will take up resident Monio Pilpel's appeal of city permits that allow Cyril Hackett and his family to sell trees at the corner of Sloat Boulevard and 19th Avenue before Christmas, and to transform the spot into a pumpkin patch around Halloween. Pilpel has complained that during the eight months of the year the lot isn't...

In San Francisco, a rally will be held at Justin Herman Plaza (near the Ferry Building at Market St & Embarcadero) at 4:00 PM. Speakers will include Aimee Allison of Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors and the Prop I Committee, College Not Combat, the Campus Antiwar Network, and others. Local artists and drummers will play music. The crowd will then march to the Davis Street Recruitment Station at 670 Davis Street to voice its outrage. Creative acts of solidarity are encouraged and welcome. Berkeley Stop the War Coalition will meet at 3:00 at Berkeley BART on Shattuck, and taking BART...

While we gear up for our next major pieces, here's a roundup of the latest fodder: --- Did Al Franken really mock a disabled Vietnam Vet during a recent Asheville radio interview? BoreAmerica has the details, we'd like to hear the audio of this interview, if the host could please make it available. BoreAmerica also believes Janeane Garofalo has a promising future doing public service announcements, especially for booster seats. --- Lots of tension at ABC Radio, as worried staffers ponder who will be taking over some of America's largest talk radio stations (KGO, KSFO, WLS, WBAP, WABC, WMAL and...

To our mild surprise our daughter has expressed an interest in attending church. Not, as Jerry Seinfeld would say, that there is anything wrong with that. We've just sort of fallen out of the habit and have been spending Sunday mornings sleeping in, going to the dog park and reading the newspaper. But we certainly weren't busy, so we've set off on a small tour of local churches, picking them pretty much at random. We haven't gone to any synagogues or mosques, so we can't say that we are making a comprehensive survey, but the diversity among the Protestant choices...

Testimony shows indicted fundraiser sought political power. Jeffrey Chen, former attorney for San Francisco political fundraiser Julie Lee, suggests that her desire to help her son resulted in an alleged campaign finance scheme that drove former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley from office. A redacted transcript of Chen's grand jury testimony that was made public this week shows Chen participated with Lee in an alleged scheme in which part of a state grant was diverted to Shelley's campaign. Portions of the transcript were kept sealed based on the judge's ruling that they revealed confidential communication protected by attorney-client privilege. Chen...

Pleasing activist groups bent on revenge, San Francisco's Board Of Supervisors is now lobbying the Federal Communications Commission to pull the license of Bill O'Reilly's San Francisco affiliate KNEW-AM, according to Bay Area radio columnist Brad Kava. The move, in the form of an official city resolution, comes after the FOX News Channel host's recent controversial comments about San Francisco's increasingly extreme stances on issues such as military recruitment. Last month, East Bay-based protestors from a group called the Youth Media Council picketed Clear Channel Radio's (KNEW's owner) San Francisco studios, demanding conservative shows be removed from the airwaves. Sure...

There's something about Thanksgiving that truly brings out the hate in America's most miserable extremists. Some of the most notorious fresh examples: From Bill Schechner at San Francisco's KPIX: Arab-Owned Liquor Stores Attacked In Oakland OAKLAND Security tapes from the San Pablo Liquor Market on 23rd and San Pablo Ave. in Oakland show 11 men dressed in the manner of members of the Nation of Islam walking into the market at about 11:30 Wednesday night. After confronting the clerk behind the counter they push him aside, topple some groceries, open the wine, soda and alcohol coolers and throw the goods...

ALCATRAZ ISLAND, United States (AFP) - A tribal chant rose from a thousands-strong prayer circle on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay as Native Americans held a sunrise "Unthanksgiving Day" ceremony. "What we call it is Unthanksgiving," Bear Lincoln of the Wailikie Tribe told AFP as he waved burning sage to purify the area and ward off evil spirits. "It was the saddest day for us. It was a big mistake for us to help the Pilgrims survive that first winter. They betrayed us once they got their strength." Traditional Thanksgiving feasting in the United States is a tribute to...

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- A 119-year-old Italian restaurant in San Francisco, reopening after a disastrous fire, treated its customers to an afternoon of food at 1886 prices. Word of the bargain spread quickly, and a long line soon formed outside Fior d'Italia, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. For a nickel, customers could get a plate of tortellini, chicken was 20 cents and steak the most expensive item on the menu at 30 cents. Fior d'Italia claims to be the oldest Italian restaurant in the United States. But the restaurant was forced to shut down temporarily in February when...

Toll collectors at San Francisco's landmark Golden Gate Bridge have been issued body armor to guard against armed bandits. "We did a review of safety procedures and added this tool to the toll box for collectors," bridge authority spokeswoman Mary Currie said Tuesday. "This is really the right thing to do." The "bullet resistant" protective vests have been bought for all 42 toll collectors at a total cost of 21,000 dollars, Currie said. Wearing vests is optional, but about half of the collectors have chosen to be protected while on duty. The vests are reportedly most popular with those working...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Toll collectors on the Golden Gate Bridge have been given bulletproof vests to wear while on duty. Bridge officials say the vests were issued to 42 employees last week in response to the shooting and robbery of a toll worker in April. Bridge district spokeswoman Mary Currie says about half of the toll takers are now wearing the $500 vests, mostly night shift workers. She says the vests "give the toll takers a psychological edge." An armed guard was posted at the toll plaza immediately after the shooting, while bridge officials discussed ways to protect workers. Officials...

Thank Goodness He Does Not Live in San Francisco Robin Mullins Boyd I have a new hero. His name is Harry Carpenter and he is 83 years old. Mr. Carpenter suffers from chronic pulmonary disease and requires oxygen. He has been married to Jackie Carpenter for 57 years. On Wednesday November 16, 2005, Mr. Carpenter took on 2 young thugs and refused to be a victim. According to a story by Bret Bell in the Savannah Morning News, the Carpenters were at home on Wednesday night when someone knocked on their door. Expecting a delivery of oxygen from the medical...

I have a new hero. His name is Harry Carpenter and he is 83 years old. Mr. Carpenter suffers from chronic pulmonary disease and requires oxygen. He has been married to Jackie Carpenter for 57 years. On Wednesday November 16, 2005, Mr. Carpenter took on 2 young thugs and refused to be a victim. According to a story by Bret Bell in the Savannah Morning News, the Carpenters were at home on Wednesday night when someone knocked on their door. Expecting a delivery of oxygen from the medical equipment company, Mr. Carpenter opened the door. It was not the medical...

With a Web site that allows its users to post classified ads for jobs, housing, companionship and other activities, "Craigslist" helped lead South San Francisco Police to a small prostitution ring. Over the last couple of months the Police Department has arrested at least eight juveniles involved in various forms of prostitution throughout the city, the Police Department reported. The most recent arrest came on Wednesday when detectives located an ad on Craigslist showcasing a woman who appeared to be under the age of 18, the Police Department reported. After making contact with the girl, undercover officers were directed to...

COMMENTARY Bill O'Reilly vs. The People's Republic of San Francisco By Jim Kouri Nov 13, 2005 The bad boy of cable news, Bill O'Reilly, touched a raw nerve when he angrily told his substantial audience that as a result of their latest anti-American legislation, San Francisco deserved to be struck by rabid terrorists. O'Reilly's anger was on display on national television for all to see after residents of  San Francisco passed two ballot initiatives: one prohibited military recruiters from visiting schools, while the other banned citizen ownership of handguns. What really got the goat of the popular host of Fox...

Let the obligatory thunderous, self-righteous editorializing over Bill O'Reilly's recent San Francisco tirades begin, the Radio Equalizer can't wait. Why? Because Bugs Bunny will prove them all wrong. How is that, you say (with a puzzled look)? To put to rest the idea television talk shows have made the medium less "responsible" and "civil", only Bugs can help. Think cable talk shows are over the top? Just get a load of what passed for children's programming 50 years ago. The Radio Equalizer thanks Perry Simon for this history lesson, more on Bugs in a moment. Already, San Francisco County Supervisor...

Not everybody took Fox News host Bill O'Reilly's on-air comments this week about terrorists bombing Coit Tower as the hyperbole that fills the talk-radio ether. One of the ticked off was San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly, who Friday called for O'Reilly to be fired. "For an anchor on a major station, Fox News, to be saying those kinds of things, it's just not OK," Daly said Friday. "It was just over the top." Agreeing with Daly was San Francisco firefighters union president John Hanley, and not just because the hose-shaped tower is a tribute to firefighters. "Who is this guy,...

Conservative Broadcaster Bill O’Reilly is making no apologies for his inflammatory comments about San Francisco. "I'm from New York,” O’Reilly said on the radio Friday. “There are dozens of people in my neighborhood, on Long Island, who are dead because of 9/11, and you people are telling me you're not going to allow military recruiting out there. Hey, it's serious, and I think you guys need a wake-up call." O’Reilly is upset about the city’s proposition discouraging public schools from allowing military recruiters on campus. On his national radio show Tuesday, he said San Francisco should not get a nickel...