It was a lively scene at the Castro Theater Aug. 8 as leading mayoral contenders -- including interim Mayor Ed Lee, who that morning announced he had changed his mind and was going to run after all -- squared off before a jocular crowd that peppered the politicians with cheering, clapping, booing, hissing, and shouting out of turn. 

"If you can't get booed on the stage of the Castro theatre, you're not breathing," quipped former District 8 Sup. Bevan Dufty, drawing laughter and applause. Read more »

Ed Lee, appointed San Francisco's interim mayor early this year after giving the San Francisco Board of Supervisors his word that he would not seek a full term, filed papers to enter the race as a mayoral candidate on Aug. 8.

"I haven't changed at all," Lee said when reporters questioned his 180-degree turnaround. "I've just made a change of mind in terms of running for this office." Read more »

It was a lively scene on the steps of City Hall Aug. 2, as back-to-back press events featured live performances, lots of cheering, and support for new legislation that supporters hope will benefit low-wage workers, small businesses, and musicians.

Spirits were high at the Progressive Workers' Alliance (PWA) rally, as organizers anticipated strong support for an ordinance they helped craft which aims to prevent wage theft by strengthening the powers of the city's Office of Labor Standards & Enforcement (OLSE). Read more »

An international marine conservation organization is calling on the federal government to protect the world's dwindling shark populations by banning imports of shark products from countries that have weak protections in place.

In an Aug. 1 letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service, Oceana asks the U.S. government to ban imports of shark products, such as dried fins, from China, Japan, Indonesia, and a dozen other countries where conservation regulations governing shark fishing are weaker than in the United States. Read more »

San Francisco Chronicle reporter John Cote's scoop highlighting how Recology executives were working behind the scenes under pressure from Chinatown power broker Rose Pak to encourage Mayor Ed Lee to seek a full term is just the latest development for a committee that's raised eyebrows already, and it may be just the beginning. Read more »

The San Francisco Police Department issued a statement this afternoon announcing that the gun that fired the fatal shot at Kenneth Wade Harding Jr. has been found. Read more »

The Board of Supervisor's Government Audit & Oversight Committee heard from members of the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury this morning about a report it issued on the Parkmerced redevelopment. Read more »

A Pew Research Center analysis based on the latest U.S. Census data has found that Latino and African American households weathered deeper blows in the economic recession, driving the wealth gap between whites and minorities to an historic high. Read more »