Free Republic

'Suicide net' for bridge October 12, 2008 12:00am Article from: The Sunday Telegraph SAN FRANCISCO: A giant suicide net will be hung beneath San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge in a $75 million bid to catch people trying to jump to their deaths. Authorities voted almost unanimously for the stainless steel structure, which will not disrupt views from the landmark bridge. The prevention net, estimated to cost from $A60 to $A75 million, is hoped to save the lives of the 20 people who jump from the bridge every year, on average. After considering a range of methods to stop suicidal people...

A group of San Francisco first-graders took an unusual field trip to City Hall on Friday to toss rose petals on their just-married lesbian teacher - putting the public school children at the center of a fierce election battle over the fate of same-sex marriage. The 18 Creative Arts Charter School students took a Muni bus and walked a block at noon to toss rose petals and blow bubbles on their just-married teacher Erin Carder and her wife Kerri McCoy, giggling and squealing as they mobbed their teacher with hugs. Mayor Gavin Newsom, a friend of a friend, officiated. A...

Lawyers for the city of San Francisco told a federal judge Thursday that the city's ban on cigarette sales by pharmacies has nothing to do with free speech. Attorneys for the city made the argument in a brief filed with U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland to oppose a bid by Philip Morris USA Inc. for a preliminary injunction blocking the ban. Philip Morris, the nation's largest tobacco company, claims the ban violates its First Amendment right of free speech by putting an end to cigarette advertising and displays in the pharmacy stores. But city lawyers wrote in their...

Catholic Charities of San Francisco plans to end a controversial two-year-long relationship with an adoption agency that specializes in placing children for adoption with homosexuals, the Catholic newsweekly Our Sunday Visitor reports. [[AdoptArt100308.jpg]]In 2006, Catholic Charities of San Francisco announced its partnership with Family Builders by Adoption, which calls itself “the gayest [adoption] agency in the country.” In the meantime, Family Builders by Adoption had just begun fulfilling a $1,755,000 contract with another “partner” -- the City and County of San Francisco. That contract required Family Builders to increase the number of children adopted by lesbians, homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender...

To Kirsten Brydum, a passionate 25-year-old community activist from San Francisco, one person's junk was another's treasure. Brydum, who wanted to change the world, certainly changed Dolores Park. Because of her, there is something called the Really, Really Free Market. People bring their rummage to the park on the last Saturday of the month and give it away. Nobody gets any money and everyone walks away a little richer. That was how she liked it. -SNIP- In Manhattan, she spent a long time examining trash bins, marveling at the useable stuff that New Yorkers threw away. In St. Paul, Minn.,...

An organic wine from Chile has oenophiles in San Francisco turning up their noses. But there’s nothing wrong with the wine. It’s the name that bothers them: Palin Syrah. The wine from a boutique vineyard in Chile was once a strong seller, but now it’s an outcast in the City by the Bay because its name comes way too close to a certain governor from the state of Alaska, says Celine Guillou, co-owner of the Yield Wine Bar. Palin Syrah — pronounced Pay-LEEN — takes its name from a ball used in a Chilean-style hockey game, and it has been...

The Examiner endorses McCain-Palin Examiner Editorial 9/24/08 Republican presidential candidate Arizona Sen. John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, on the stage at a campaign event in Lancaster, Penn., on Sept. 9. ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images America is at war overseas and in an economic crisis here at home. Many of her citizens believe the country is on the wrong track. It is for times such as these that men like John McCain are made, to put country first so that it can be put right in its time of need. For this reason, The Examiner endorses McCain...

Fleet Week 2008 Press Releases FLEET WEEK HAS A STELLAR LINE UP The Blue Angels Return along with the Canadian Snowbirds SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Sept. 2, 2008 -- Fleet week is proud to announce that the Navy’s Blue Angels will be returning to the skies of San Francisco. Fleet week makes its 28th annual appearance, October 9-14, 2008 -- attracting an estimated one million spectators along the San Francisco waterfront. The show will be bigger and better this year with the Canadian Snowbirds joining the Blue Angels. The Snowbirds’ performance features nine jets showcasing remarkable tactical aviation. Their show...

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is being invited by her hometown archbishop to discuss her erroneous views on the Catholic Church's teaching on abortion. In a statement released today, Archbishop George Niederauer of San Francisco joined the list of bishops who have responded to Pelosi's misrepresentation of Church teaching, which she expressed during an interview Aug. 24 on NBC-TV's "Meet the Press." Catholic San Francisco, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, published Archbishop Niederauer's text.Pelosi, when asked to comment on when life begins, said that as a Catholic, she had studied the issue for "a long...

'Bout a minute and a half ago, felt like ~4-4.5 here in Lafayette.

whooaaaaaa dogggie!

Earth quake SF Bay Area

Muslim beliefs are barely understood in the United States, if not intentionally distorted. It can also be hard for outsiders to know who speaks for Muslims, a diverse and complex group still finding its footing in America. **snip** Leaders hope that someday they will create a statewide body, a coalition for what may be the largest Muslim population in the nation.

BAY AREA (KRON) -- The unsolved murder of two San Francisco police officers has languished as cold cases for 30 years until now. A federal grand jury has been looking into the murders. Many of the people now under investigation both as potential targets and witnesses in this case are scattered across the country. Many of them are now in their 50s and 60s. Investigators believe the crimes were politically motivated and committed by militant radical groups. On August 29, 1971, sergeant John Young is killed in a barrage of gunfire when two men walk into the Ingleside police station...

A San Francisco radio host billed by his station as the "Lion of the Left" was sentenced yesterday to seven years of prison on a charge of e-mailing images of child pornography. Bernie Ward, a former Catholic priest who is now married with four children, hosted a Sunday radio program called "God Talk" on San Francisco-area radio station KGO-AM 810 and another program on weeknights devoted to news and politics. According to several reports, Ward earned his "Lion of the Left" nickname for his outspoken and staunchly liberal viewpoints. Ward came under FBI investigation last year after a woman with...

SAN FRANCISCO – Bernie Ward, the popular radio talk-show host disgraced by federal child-pornography charges, was sentenced Thursday to seven years and two months in prison. Ward, who is married and has four children, was fired in December 2007 from KGO-AM in San Francisco after a grand jury indictment accused him of actively uploading and sharing images of child pornography on the Internet. His KGO-AM shows included the Sunday morning “God Talk” program.“I feel very sorry for you and your family,” Judge Vaughn Walker told Ward. The judge said he was troubled by Ward’s hypocrisy — while the former priest...

Kaiser Permanente is contacting 960 mothers whose babies may have been exposed to a health care worker in San Francisco who has an active case of tuberculosis. The worker was assigned to the postpartum unit in the maternity ward of Kaiser's San Francisco Medical Center to care for mothers and infants. Kaiser officials say the infection risk for patients is very low, but testing will be provided along with treatment if necessary. Kaiser also is notifying 115 employees who may have been exposed. The Oakland health maintenance organization learned of the worker's infection Aug. 18. The part-time night shift employee...

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama used his own name and heritage to make a point about change at a fundraiser that raised a record $7.8 million for his campaign in San Francisco Sunday.Others wrote checks for as much as $14,000 for the special Asian-Pacific Islander VIP reception filled with CEOs, executives and spouses - a few in elegant saris - that included a meeting and individual picture with Obama.Obama told the group - which included many Indian and Pakistani immigrants - that he is not only familiar with their cultures - but also proud of his lifelong association with them....

A quick reading of the measure that will go before San Francisco voters in November to decriminalize prostitution easily could leave you with the misimpression that the measure is an exercise in fairness that demands that prosecutors go after men who abuse prostitutes and implement policies "to reduce institutional violence and discrimination against prostitutes." A careful reading of the initiative, "Enforcement of Laws Related to Prostitution and Sex Workers," however, shows a measure that shields child prostitution and traffickers of human beings. "If I had just heard from the proponents, I would probably vote for it myself," said the Rev....

In early June, a handwritten note appeared on the front door of Bing Ling Zeng's San Francisco apartment, written in a language she couldn't understand. "You will be needing to vacate this property soon," it said. The following month, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. shut off the power. The food in the refrigerator spoiled, forcing Zeng to go out several times a day to buy groceries and milk for her three young children. Her 62-year-old mother-in-law couldn't recharge her electric wheelchair. Zeng and the other Chinese family sharing the space hadn't fallen behind in their rent or bills. The only...