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The city of San Francisco has started an advertising push with a very specific target market: illegal immigrants. And while the advertisements will come in a bundle of languages — English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese — they all carry the same message: you are safe here. In what may be the first such campaign of its kind, the city plans to publish multilanguage brochures and fill the airwaves with advertisements relaying assurance that San Francisco will not report them to federal immigration authorities. Mayor Gavin Newsom said the campaign was simply an amplification of a longstanding position of not cooperating...

By Vic Lee SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco is launching a new campaign tonight to tell illegal immigrants they're welcome in the city. San Francisco is a so-called sanctuary city. What that means exactly-- and how officials are getting the word out. The city's message will appear on TV, radio, posters and brochures in five languages. The extensive outreach campaign will be directed at undocumented workers and their families in San Francisco. "We're going to spend resources, time and energy to do PSA's, to do campaign outreach into community clinics, into public schools, into our police stations to let...

Attacks on nuclear power stations, oil and gas terminals, Canary Wharf and Heathrow’s control tower were being considered by leaders of the plot to blow up seven transatlantic airliners in mid-flight, a court was told yesterday. Documents found on computer memory sticks at the home of an alleged terrorist ringleader contained a list of targets across Britain – including the gas pipeline between Britain and Belgium. The man, Assad Sarwar, was said to be in contact with terrorist leaders overseas and visited Pakistan a month before his arrest as preparations for the airline attacks were being finalised. Peter Wright, QC,...

The US Dept of Justice wants San Francisco to repay $5.4M in grant money earmarked to help fight the war on drugs in states bordering Mexico because federal auditors found the city was not eligible for the funding. San Francisco had sought the grant under the Southwest Border Prosecution Initiative, which compensates law enforcement agencies in California and other border states for the costs of handling prosecutions in lieu of federal authorities. As of March of last year, the city claimed it had handled more than 2,241 such cases, but a federal audit released this week found that none of...

Obama fever has overtaken San Francisco. Undeterred by the conspiracy theories, hatred, and vitriol spewed by Obama's 20-year "like an uncle to me" pastor, Jeremiah Wright, local liberals are in thrall to their perceived savior. They seem to think that every problem, no matter how trivial, can be solved by Saint Obama. As a case in point, an elderly man I was chatting with yesterday at a city bus stop about MUNI delays (a time-honored tradition in San Francisco) concluded by stating, "I hope Obama gets elected so these things will be fixed." So, along with ending poverty and creating...

San Francisco anti-war protests yield arrests Bay City News Service Article Launched: 03/19/2008 09:35:11 AM PDT Police arrested more than 20 anti-war protesters in downtown San Francisco this morning, a spokesman said. The protests mark the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq, and dozens of demonstrators armed with megaphones, drums and signs were walking this morning through the city's Financial District. Police Sgt. Steve Mannina said seven people were arrested at the Federal Reserve Building, 101 Market St., on charges of trespassing and delaying arrest. Fire personnel were responding to some protesters who had their arms locked...

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — An aide says science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke has died. Rohan De Silva says Clarke died early Wednesday after suffering from breathing problems. He was 90-years-old. Clarke is the author of more than 100 books, including "2001: A Space Odyssey."

"Harvey will be coming out soon," an extra assured the crowd in front of City Hall on a recent Sunday. They had gathered to be in a scene in "Milk"- the movie about the life and death of Harvey Milk - in which the San Francisco supervisor delivers an impassioned speech. It was really Sean Penn, of course, who plays the martyred supervisor, who would be appearing. But, this extra explained, because he's a "method actor," he wants to be called Harvey. *snip* Appearing on the City Hall steps to deafening applause, Penn looked shockingly like Milk. He had his...

Staff Sgt. Jason Eck has been flipped off, cussed at and told to get out of town for doing his job. The abuse hasn't deterred the two-time Iraq war veteran from donning his uniform, sliding behind the wheel of his government-issued Chevy Malibu and hitting the road almost daily in search of new soldiers. Still, as a recruiter, he faces a daunting task. Almost nowhere in the nation is it harder to find willing and able enlistees than in the Bay Area. The region's nine counties have the lowest enlistment rate of any large metropolitan area other than in and...

When I was about 18, I went to a science-fiction bookstore in Berkeley, Calif., to attend a book signing by Harlan Ellison. I had a couple of well-thumbed paperback collections for Ellison to sign, and was totally unprepared for the long line of fans, many of them bearing 10 or 15 pristinely preserved hardcover books. The college-age woman in front of me had just such a pile, but was carrying something else too. When she got to the front of the line, she cleared her throat and thrust something toward Ellison. "Mr. Ellison, I wrote a story and you're in...

An initiative to require that half of the new homes built as part of a major redevelopment of Bayview-Hunters Point be sold and rented at below-market rates has qualified for San Francisco's June ballot. The developer behind the project says that the measure, if successful, would kill plans to remake the troubled neighborhood. Supervisor Chris Daly is the major backer of the initiative that mandates half of the 10,000 new homes planned for the Hunters Point shipyard and Candlestick Point be priced at rates affordable to people earning 30 to 80 percent of the city's median income, or $64,267 for...

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is considering a 2010 run for governor - a campaign that would embrace many of the same divisive causes he has championed as mayor, including same-sex marriage, universal health care and protections for illegal immigrants, The Chronicle has learned. Newsom has long been rumored to be a potential contender in what is likely to be a crowded field of Democrats looking to succeed Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a list that includes Attorney General and former Gov. Jerry Brown, former state Controller Steve Westly and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. In recent months, Newsom has quietly...

The idea of “green” buildings is a terrific marketing concept. In San Francisco, it has helped grease the political roadway for massive, view-blocking luxury condominiums, implying that building these structures is more environmentally sustaining than leaving land vacant. Few seem to care whether green buildings can be a nightmare for those having to work inside high-rise structures lacking heat or air conditioning. The new Thomas Mayne designed Federal Building at 7th and Mission Streets in San Francisco is a case in point. Lauded by the New York Times as a building that “may one day be remembered as the crowning...

Goodbye and thank you, Melanie Morgan We are sorry to report that Melanie Morgan is no longer with KSFO 560am. KSFO was unable to renew Melanie’s contract because of across-the-board budget cuts mandated by our parent company, Citadel Broadcasting. Other employees have been impacted as well. Melanie has been a valued member of the KSFO staff since its inception of the “HotTalk” format in 1994. Previously, she worked for KSFO’s sister-station, KGO, as a reporter since 1983. She has reported on the scene from the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, Lebanon; the Mexico City earthquake; and the Tiananmen Square massacre...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 3, 2008 CONTACT: Melanie Morgan at: Melanie@MelanieMorgan.com Conservative Melanie MorganCut from KSFO Radio * Vows to Continue Her Role as Conservative Activist * (SAN FRANCISCO) – Renowned radio personality and national conservative leader, Melanie Morgan, delivered her final broadcast on talk radio powerhouse KSFO 560 AM today – Monday, March 3, 2008. The owner of KSFO radio, Citadel Broadcasting, decided not to renew Morgan’s contract as part of the company’s announced across-the-board financial cost cutting. Melanie Morgan has been a fixture on KSFO for the past 14 years, enjoying a run from 1994-2008 that far...

Renowned radio personality and national conservative leader, Melanie Morgan, delivered her final broadcast on talk radio powerhouse KSFO 560 AM today – Monday, March 3, 2008.The owner of KSFO radio, Citadel Broadcasting, decided not to renew Morgan’s contract as part of the company’s announced across-the-board financial cost cutting. Melanie Morgan has been a fixture on KSFO for the past 14 years, enjoying a run from 1994-2008 that far exceeded industry standards for longevity. During that time, Morgan emerged as one of the nation’s most dynamic conservative activists, using the radio airwaves to motivate listeners who shared her passion to take...

SAN FRANCISCO — Although Francisco Velazquez, a 14-year-old freshman with spiky hair and sunglasses, qualifies for a free lunch at Balboa High School here, he was not eating. He scanned the picnic table full of his friends in a school courtyard one day a few weeks ago, and said, “I’m not hungry.” On another day, a group of classmates who also qualify for federally subsidized lunches sat on a bench. One ate a slice of pizza from the line where students pay for food; the rest went without. Lunchtime “is the best time to impress your peers,” said Lewis Geist,...

Google gives homeless free voicemail By staff writers February 29, 2008 11:42am Article from: NEWS.com.au EVERY homeless person living in San Francisco will be given a phone number and voicemail to help them get back on their feet, Google says. The internet giant has promised to provide the life-long services to the city's entire homeless population in order to help them get a job and build self-esteem. Senior project manager at Google Craig Walker said the free services could one day be rolled out across the US, allowing every homeless person to list their own number on job applications. “We're...

SAN FRANCISCO -- City bureaucrats will no longer be permitted to use San Francisco's historic fire chief's residence as temporary housing after a weekend incident in which the new planning director's boyfriend allegedly vandalized the landmark home and set fire to a bed, officials said Monday. Lance Corey Farber, 47, remained in jail on suspicion of arson and felony vandalism after the incident Friday evening, in which furniture was overturned and a can of crushed tomatoes smeared on the floors and walls of the house at 870 Bush St. Farber was arrested later that night in San Mateo County on...

San Francisco's historic fire chief's residence was trashed Friday night in what authorities said Saturday was a case of suspected arson and vandalism linked to the boyfriend of the city's new Planning Department chief, who is temporarily living in the home.