I was still trying to figure out what I would do with my brain when Dan Pulcrano of the Silicon Valley Metro invited me out for really strong martinis at Blondie's Bar in the Mission District and offered me a job writing about tech workers in Silicon Valley.

Published by San Francisco Bay Guardian on July 22, 2008.

The danger of illegal fireworks has prompted San Francisco police to close off several areas in the Bayview and Hunters Point where revelers have set off Fourth of July skyrockets in past years.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on July 4, 2008.

A fire on a power pole in San Francisco's Mission District Friday morning left 235 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers without electricity, a company spokesman said. The outage was reported at 5:55 a.m. after the pole caught fire, PG&E spokesman J.D. Guidi said.

Published by CBS News (Channel 5) on July 4, 2008.

The danger of illegal fireworks has prompted San Francisco police to close off several areas in the Bayview and Hunters Point where revelers have set off Fourth of July skyrockets in past years.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on July 3, 2008.

Last year, California Pacific announced it would close the facility as an acute care hospital within a few years. Under such a scenario, only one full-service hospital would remain south of Market Street - San Francisco General - while 11 hospitals, and possibly a forthcoming 12th hospital, would exist north of Market.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on July 3, 2008.

The San Francisco LGBT Community Center (1800 Market Street, use the F Market Muni Streetcar to get there) is a proud member of the...

Published by Rincon Hill neighborhood blog on July 3, 2008.

"If I were a betting person, I'd be very optimistic" about passage, said the panel's chairman, Stephen Shortell, dean of the UC-Berkeley School of Public Health. "All the data pointed to the need for an acute care community hospital. If St. Luke's were to close, it would leave a big gap south of Market."

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on July 3, 2008.

Since my Pizza Friday blog began in October, I've had scores of suggestions of places I should check out, but more people tried to steer me to Arinell than any other place. Several staffers here are also big fans, so I decided to save this one for last (more on that later).

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on July 2, 2008.

It seems the last chapter of Myth may have a happy ending after all. The Quince group appears to be going ahead with the purchase of the former restaurant space (470 Pacific Ave.), where they'll likely relocate Quince. And last season's "Top Chef" competitor Ryan Scott, formerly of the also out-of-business Myth Cafe, is safely ensconced at Mission Beach Cafe (198 Guerrero St.)

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on July 2, 2008.

Small independent stores like Fatted Calf in Napa and Bi-Rite Market, Golden Gate Market and Avedano's Holly Park Market, all in San Francisco, are producing myriad sausages by hand with natural or even organic meat, sometimes from local farms. Bigger markets like Whole Foods, Draeger's and Berkeley Bowl also make an impressive array of fresh links on the premises.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on July 2, 2008.

Cal students in the 1970s fondly remember Arinell as the place to get a cheap slice of pie. Owner Ron Demirdjian expanded to the Mission District in 1992.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on July 2, 2008.

In fact, event promoters say they've been hit by a quadruple whammy that threatens their livelihoods and the vibrant nature of the city: rising fees charged by city departments looking to close budget gaps, increased concern over alcohol consumption and other liability issues, more conflicts over noise in increasingly dense neighborhoods such as SoMa, and the ability of a handful of complaining neighbors to create event-killing permit conditions.

Published by San Francisco Bay Guardian on July 2, 2008.

"The interesting flavors sell out pretty quick," confirms Tia Harrison, sausage maker at the year-old Avedano's in San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood. Duck sausage, lamb sausage with lavender and a Mexican-style chorizo are among the hits in her repertoire.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on July 2, 2008.

When Indian restaurant Udupi Palace (1007 Valencia at 21st St.) opened a few weeks ago in the Mission space formerly occupied by upscale Chinese spot Firecracker, many foodies wondered: How did San Francisco's only two South Indian joints end up a block away from each other?

Published by SF Weekly on July 2, 2008.

Small independent stores like Fatted Calf in Napa and Bi-Rite Market, Golden Gate Market and Avedano's Holly Park Market, all in San Francisco, are producing myriad sausages by hand with natural or even organic meat, sometimes from local farms. Bigger markets like Whole Foods, Draeger's and Berkeley Bowl also make an impressive array of fresh links on the premises.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on July 1, 2008.

Potrero del Sol/La Raza Skatepark is located at 25th and Utah streets, SF. Open daily. Hours unknown. (Being as the park is lit at night, some...

Published by SFist on July 1, 2008.

San Francisco police say they have been arresting young illegal immigrants from Honduras for several years after catching them selling crack cocaine and other drugs in the Mission and Tenderloin. Until May, the city was quietly sending the offenders back home to Honduras rather than turning them over to federal authorities for possible deportation.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on July 1, 2008.

Jo Cangelosi, who lives in San Francisco's Potrero Hill neighborhood, has changed her recycling habits because of the rustlers."One day, I saw six or seven people going through the trash," she told the paper. "It was ridiculous.

Published by KTVU News (Channel 2) on July 1, 2008.

Mission Skateboards is also located a couple of blocks away from the park at 24th and York streets. The shop will definitely come in handy if you bust a board, bearing or kingpin mid-session and aren’t quite ready to call it a day.

Published by SFist on July 1, 2008.

Mission Beach Cafe

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on July 1, 2008.

8 p.m. // Intersection for the Arts (446 Valencia Street) // $10 - $25

Published by SFist on July 1, 2008.

"The interesting flavors sell out pretty quick," confirms Tia Harrison, sausage maker at the year-old Avedano's in San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood. Duck sausage, lamb sausage with lavender and a Mexican-style chorizo are among the hits in her repertoire.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on July 1, 2008.

In the 21st century, a city street without a sidewalk is like an apartment without a refrigerator or a skyscraper without an elevator. Shouldn't happen. But a stretch of San Francisco's South of Market corridor on Townsend Street has no sidewalks.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on June 30, 2008.

But a stretch of San Francisco's South of Market corridor on Townsend Street has no sidewalks. Several people have contacted ChronicleWatch to complain, saying pedestrians using Townsend Street between Fourth and Seventh streets have to walk in the street- and risk being sideswiped by traffic.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on June 30, 2008.

9 p.m. // Amnesia (853 Valencia) // free

Published by SFist on June 30, 2008.

It happened just after midnight near Third and Holllister in the city's Bayview district. Emergency crews used the "jaws of life" to free the two injured passengers after their car smashed into a fire hydrant.

Published by KTVU News (Channel 2) on June 30, 2008.

360 Guerrero St #213

Published by San Francisco Schtuff on June 30, 2008.

3236 17th St #3

Published by San Francisco Schtuff on June 30, 2008.

2405 Folsom St #2

Published by San Francisco Schtuff on June 30, 2008.

Jo Cangelosi's home office sits at the front of her Potrero Hill house with a view of Mississippi Street. The recycling squads have gotten so bad that she puts her recycling out at the very last minute - when she can hear the regular truck rumbling down the road.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on June 30, 2008.

Thousands of lesbians and their supporters streamed through the Mission District tonight in a parade that stretched for 10 blocks. Onlookers tossed down Mardi Gras beads from apartment windows. Street bands blared on sidewalks. Music blasted from open cafes. From windows hung banners that read, "We Lykes Dykes," "Dykes Forever" and "Dykes Welcome But It's Time for Bush to Go."

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on June 29, 2008.

Thousands of lesbians and their supporters streamed through the Mission District Saturday night in a parade that stretched for 10 blocks. Onlookers tossed down Mardi Gras beads from apartment windows. Street bands blared on sidewalks. Music blasted from open cafes. From windows hung banners that read, "We Lykes Dykes," "Dykes Forever" and "Dykes Welcome But It's Time for Bush to Go."

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on June 29, 2008.

San Francisco police are searching for leads in the fatal shooting of a father of five in the upscale Holly Park area of the Bernal Heights neighborhood.

Published by KTVU News (Channel 2) on June 28, 2008.

The NRA filed in federal court Friday on behalf of an unidentified gay man living in Valencia Gardens Housing in the Mission District, who said he keeps a gun in his home for protection against hate crimes even though his Housing Authority lease forbids possession of guns and other weapons.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on June 28, 2008.

Currently, sheriff's deputies and so-called institutional police officers trained by the sheriff's department provide security at San Francisco General Hospital and other public health facilities around the city.

Published by KTVU News (Channel 2) on June 28, 2008.

The NRA was joined in the case by the Washington state-based Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and by a gay public housing resident using the fictitious name of Guy Doe. Doe, who lives in the city's Valencia Gardens project, says he keeps a gun in his home for protection against hate crimes and that he is using a pseudonym to prevent retaliation.

Published by NBC News (Channel 11) on June 27, 2008.

EnviroSonic, tonight, 7:30 p.m. (doors), $8-15 sliding scale \\ The Lab, 2948 16th St, SF \\ Soundwave>Series 3, June 27 through August 17.

Published by SFist on June 27, 2008.

9 p.m. // Mighty (119 Utah) // $10

Published by SFist on June 27, 2008.

O'Sullivan said his client was a friend of the former head of MS-13 in the city, Luis Fuentes, who was killed at 24th and Hampshire streets on June 26, 2004. Fuentes was described in the trial as the "shot caller" for the gang in San Francisco. His convicted killer, a Norteño street gang member, was represented by O'Sullivan and another lawyer...

Published by San Francisco Crime blog on June 26, 2008.

The victim of a homicide early Thursday morning in San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood has been identified as 50-year-old William Amrull of San Francisco, according to the San Francisco medical examiner's office. Officers found Amrull dead of a gunshot wound on the sidewalk shortly before 3 a.m. in the area of Holly Park Circle and Newman Street, police said. No arrests have been made in the case.

Published by CBS News (Channel 5) on June 26, 2008.

Continue the celebration later at Pop's Bar for an evening of DJs, beer specials and pro skateboarder spotting. 21 and older. Free. 2800 24th St., San Francisco. For more info, call Mission Skateboards at 415-647-7888.

Published by SFist on June 26, 2008.

Any other organic or natural food markets are likely to carry vegan sweets (Rainbow grocery, a vegetarian cooperative grocery store, will definitely have vegan pastries). Also, many local and chain cafés in the Bay Area offer vegan goods (the ginger vegan cookie at Peet’s Coffee & Tea is to die for).

Published by SF Weekly on June 26, 2008.

The folks at La Cocina Community Kitchen (2948 Folsom at 25th St.) know this, which is why tonight they're hosting The Secrets of Salsa: A Guided Tour Through Mexico's Culinary Foundations.

Published by SF Weekly on June 25, 2008.

Restaurants like Delfina in the Mission District and A Cote in Oakland's Rockridge have become so emblematic of their neighborhoods that they've become destinations for diners outside the area. Still, they're comfortable hangouts at the same time.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on June 24, 2008.

Anne Stoll, co-owner with chef husband Craig Stoll of Delfina, a trattoria in the Mission, insists they always intended to be just a neighborhood restaurant.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on June 24, 2008.

Udupi Palace. Fourth Bay Area location. 1007 1/2 Valencia St. (near 21st Street), S.F.; (415) 970-8000. Lunch, dinner daily.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on June 24, 2008.

The Mission is now home to a host of distinguished and distinctive restaurants, including Range and Foreign Cinema, but at the time, Delfina, with its homey Italian cuisine and sophisticated look, broke new ground. Anne Stoll says they didn't design it to reflect the neighborhood, but hired a staff that did. "They had tattoos and piercings, and we let them wear what they want, and it morphed into a Mission restaurant."

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on June 24, 2008.

San Francisco police are looking for suspects in a Tuesday morning shooting in the city's Bayview District.

Published by KTVU News (Channel 2) on June 24, 2008.

In the past few years, San Francisco has seen several instances of so-called guerrilla gardening, when community organizers transformed abandoned private and public lots into minifarms in the Richmond District and Bernal Heights.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on June 23, 2008.

At 6:55 p.m., a man in his mid-thirties was shot near the corner of 24th and Guerrero streets by a suspect who jumped out of a car and started shooting, according to San Francisco Police operations office.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on June 23, 2008.