While friends in both cities asked why I planned to return, they asked the same question two different ways. Portland asked with the doubt of a dysfunctional parent, one who knows the answer and resents it. “It’s so expensive there. Isn’t that why you left in the first place?” I

Chicago stubbornly calls their landmark skyscraper Sears Tower, rejecting the Willis name. In Kansas City where I grew up, it’ll always be Sandstone Amphitheater. No matter where you’re from, you no doubt know somewhere/something special that now goes by a shittier name. San Francisco has plenty.  For instance, in an

Step into a world of adventure with the San Francisco Beer Passport. There’s no better way to explore San Francisco than to literally drink it in. This passport is amazing! Each one contains 37 coupons to buy one beer, get a second beer FREE at 37 of the finest locally owned bars,

An incident aboard Singapore Airlines Flight 33 late last night briefly sparked panic. Shortly after takeoff from SFO, crew members encountered an intoxicated, unruly male passenger. The man alleged there was a bomb onboard. The crew reported the bomb threat to the Singaporean Air Force, who promptly scrambled two fighter

San Francisco is not the Windy City, nor is it the state’s deadliest for pedestrians (that nefarious award goes to Concord, California). Nevertheless, the City by the Bay contains several spots where strange weather, extreme geography, and a rigid urban grid intersect. Two maps, one of our breeziest streets, the

It’s Folsom Street Fair, motherfuckers. Whether you’re about to indulge your polite curiosity or debut your sadomasochism, here’s some of what to expect. Citywide traffic. Throughout the city, hotels and AirBnbs run scarce. Traffic standstills accumulate on South of Market streets beginning early Sunday morning. Freaks from every corner of

A series of explosions throughout the city center have finally prompted San Francisco Police to investigate.  For years now, day and night, the booming detonations of so-called “small devices” have added to the downtown soundscape. Last Saturday at around 3:50 PM, Tenderloin residents reported yet another powerful blast. Car alarms

Sunday night’s earthquake was unremarkable by California standards. For some, the M2.9 tremor was their very first seismic experience. A burp of the notorious Hayward Fault, it struck near the mouth of the Caldecott Tunnel directly beneath Highway 24, where it dams Lake Temescal. North Oakland’s Rockridge and Piedmont neighborhoods,

San Francisco just said, “Ugh, If you’re going to do it, I’d rather you do it in the house.” The city’s Board of Supervisors passed a resolution yesterday determining personal use and distribution of entheogenic plants like peyote, ayahuasca, and psilocybin mushrooms “shall be the lowest law enforcement priority.” The