Category Archives: San Francisco

Harvey Milk’s murder is a stark reminder of the persistence of police brutality

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Few realize Milk and San Francisco mayor George Moscone were killed in part due to their opposition to police violence and abuse

Like millions around the world, last May the image of the Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killing George Floyd sickened and angered me and drove me to the streets to demonstrate in support of Black Lives Matter. It also reminded me of events that occurred in my hometown of San Francisco 42 years ago on Friday.

Many people know who Harvey Milk was, are familiar with his contributions to the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement and remember that he was assassinated on 27 November 1978 after being in office for less than a year. Fewer people are aware that one of the proximate reasons why Milk and San Francisco’s progressive mayor George Moscone were killed was because of their opposition to police violence and abuse.

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Nancy Pelosi says she was ‘set up’ in hair salon mask dispute – video

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House speaker Nancy Pelosi says she was 'set up' after she was photographed in a San Francisco hair salon without a face covering, breaking the city's coronavirus prevention rules. 'I take responsibility for trusting the word of a neighbourhood salon that I have been to over the years many times,' she said. 'I don't wear a mask when I'm washing my hair. Do you wear a mask when you're washing your hair?' Security camera footage of Pelosi in the salon was obtained by Fox News, sparking outcry over the incident which was pounced on by Donald Trump

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‘A giant wheezing kazoo’: Golden Gate Bridge starts to ‘sing’ after design fix

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Strange sound coming from bridge explained by new bicycle-path railings that make ‘music’ as wind passes through

San Francisco’s famous Golden Gate Bridge has started “singing” following recent changes to bicycle-path railings that appear to make music as the wind blows through them, residents have reported.

Related: George Floyd killing: Washington expecting biggest march yet as mourners prepare for second memorial service – live

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San Francisco: D-Day ship saved from huge fire on Fisherman’s Wharf

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  • No injuries reported after 130 firefighters tackle blaze
  • SS Jeremiah O’Brien is among tourist attractions on piers

A huge fire engulfed a warehouse on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco early on Saturday, sending a thick plume of smoke over the waterfront and threatening to spread to a historic second world war ship before firefighters brought the flames under control.

No injuries were reported but firefighters were making multiple searches to ensure no one was inside the building on Pier 45, San Francisco Fire Lt Jonathan Baxter told reporters.

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Drone footage shows San Francisco deserted under coronavirus lockdown – video

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The effect of the three-week-long lockdown on daily life in San Francisco is revealed in drone footage showing empty streets and deserted landmarks. The city was the first in the US to announce a 'stay-at-home' order on 16 March, restricting all but essential activities

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Queer activists escorted out of Pete Buttigieg event in San Francisco – video

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Queer activists were met with chants of ‘Boot-Edge-Edge’ after they disrupted a private fundraiser for Pete Buttigieg in San Francisco on Friday evening. The activists, escorted out of the event, reflected unease among the LBGTQ+ community over the Buttigieg campaign

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Why are California’s mayors lining up to endorse Mike Bloomberg?

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London Breed, San Francisco’s first black female mayor, joins campaign following support from Stockton and San Jose mayors

There’s nothing surprising about a billionaire winning the support of the mayor of San Francisco, a city flush with tech wealth and new money.

But when the billionaire is Mike Bloomberg – and the endorsement is the latest from a string of California mayors he mentored and supported – the vow of support raises some eyebrows.

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Changing violence requires the same shift in understanding given to Aids

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Violence is a contagious and epidemic health problem and those exposed to it deserve treatment, compassion and care, writes Gary Slutkin

When the Aids epidemic first hit in the early 1980s, I was beginning my career in epidemiology at San Francisco general hospital. There was fear everywhere, especially in cities with large LGBT populations such as San Francisco. People didn’t understand what was happening and where Aids would strike next.

Today, Aids remains a major public health threat, but anxiety over the spread has largely abated. The thing that made the biggest difference in getting us here was the shift in how the world looks at people affected by Aids: from immoral people or bad people, to people with a contagious health problem who deserve to receive compassion and care.

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San Francisco transit boss apologizes to rider detained over a sandwich

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Encounter between police officer and man eating on Bart platform prompts protests and allegations of racism

The head of a San Francisco Bay Area commuter train system apologized to a black rider who was detained and cited by police for eating a breakfast sandwich on a train platform. The official promised an investigation after an outcry from people who assailed enforcement of a no-food rule as racist.

More than two dozen people staged an “eat-in” at a Bay Area Rapid Transit (Bart) station over the weekend and others continue to protest the 4 November encounter, which ended with a 31-year-old man who was headed to work in handcuffs and unable to leave until he had told Bart police his name.

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Giant Greta Thunberg mural to watch over San Francisco’s downtown

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Project by Argentinian artist Andrés Iglesias is poised for completion next week in eco-conscious city

San Francisco, a city that prides itself on its eco-consciousness, will soon have a giant likeness of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg gazing upon its downtown, reminding residents to respect the planet.

Related: 'Greta Thunberg effect' driving growth in carbon offsetting

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After a Halloween party shooting, focus on Airbnb policy draws outrage

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A community is frustrated by the lack of empathy for the five victims shot at an event in an affluent San Francisco Bay area city

Five days after a mass shooting at an Airbnb in a small, wealthy community left five people dead, residents across California’s Bay Area are frustrated by the response from law enforcement and news media and their focus on Airbnb policies rather than the victims of the killing.

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Airbnb to ban party houses in wake of Halloween shooting in California

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Airbnb’s CEO said the company ‘must do better’ after five people were killed at a party in San Francisco

Airbnb’s chief executive has said the company will ban “party houses” following a deadly shooting at a Halloween party held at an Airbnb rental home in California.

In a series of tweets, Brian Chesky said on Saturday that the San Francisco-based company would expand manual screening of “high risk” reservations and remove guests who fail to comply with policies banning parties at Airbnb rental homes.

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Thirty years after devastating quake, is San Francisco ready for the next?

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The 6.9-magnitude Loma Prieta quake killed 63 in 1989. Decades later, the Bay Area is still plagued by structural threats and flammable fuels

On the afternoon of 17 October 1989, a 6.9-magnitude earthquake rocked the San Francisco Bay Area, killing 63 people and causing $13bn in damages as it toppled a chunk of the Bay Bridge, colapsed a section of freeway in Oakland, and crumbled thousands of buildings from San Francisco to Santa Cruz.

Thirty years later, California will launch an earthquake early warning app, the first to cover the whole state, developed by UC Berkeley and the California Office of Emergency Services. The decades since the Loma Prieta quake have been remarkably quiet – yet it’s not a matter of if, but when, the next large earthquake will rattle the Bay Area, and the consequences will undoubtedly be severe.

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Native American canoes circle Alcatraz to honor 50 years since occupation – in pictures

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Native American tribes from up and down the west coast came together on the San Francisco Bay to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day on 14 October. Starting at dawn people rode traditional tribal canoes around Alcatraz Island – the famous former prison site which was occupied by Native Americans from 1969-71. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the historic act of resistance that launched the modern era of indigenous rights

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Police order evacuations as fast-moving wildfire spreads near San Francisco

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Cal Fire said flames consumed about 60 acres in little more than two hours in the hills of a Bay Area community, Sanders Ranch

Police ordered evacuations early on Thursday as a fast-moving wildfire spread in the hills of a San Francisco Bay Area community.

The flames surged despite the area being part of a large parcel of northern California where more than 1.5 million people have had their power deliberately cut off to try to prevent the kind of blazes that have devastated parts of the state in recent years.

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Obama says presidents should avoid social media in apparent Trump jab

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Former president also said TV should be avoided: ‘Those are two things I’d advise, if you’re a good president, not to do’

Barack Obama appeared to take a swipe at Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying he would “advise, if you’re president” to avoid social media and cable news.

The former US president was speaking as a guest at an event for Splunk, an international data and software firm, when he was asked how he parsed information while in office. He touted the importance of building a solid team to stay informed.

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‘Every day, it is a risk’: immigrant communities paralyzed by fear of impending Ice raids

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Mayors in major cities have pledged to support those targeted by Sunday’s ‘enforcement operations’

When CG heard that Donald Trump had announced raids by the immigration enforcement agency Ice a few weeks ago, she turned to her husband. Get groceries, she told him, like a storm is coming.

“Bananas, milk and bread,” CG lists off, remembering what she told him, “Because who knows when we’ll leave the house.”

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New York leads way as Pride marches mark 50 years since Stonewall – as it happened

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That’s all for today – thanks for reading, everyone. Here’s what happened:

And, before we close down for the evening, a quick look at festivities in Seattle, which also hosted a Pride parade today.

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New York leads Pride parades as LGBTQ activists debate state of movement

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New York’s massive LGBTQ Pride march kicked off Sunday with attendees cheering the cast of Pose, the FX show about late-20th century ballroom culture, and a car representing the activists Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P Johnson as the procession moved through Manhattan.

Related: We've been to a marvelous party: when gay Harlem met queer Britain

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Extra-mural studies: why students should not look away from uncomfortable art

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The case of George Washington high school in San Francisco is mirrored by the covering of harsh images in Harlem. But such images must be seen

Even urging a “truer history”, Paloma Flores, a member of California’s Pitt River tribe, questions the validity of showing an image of a murdered Native American. She’s disturbed by the message of a mural at George Washington high school in San Francisco, where she works, that has been in place for 84 years.

Related: A school's mural removal: should kids be shielded from brutal US history?

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