Appeals court won’t reinstate S.F. handgun ban

(01-09) 11:53 PST SAN FRANCISCO – A state appeals court refused today to revive a ban on handgun possession in San Francisco, saying the measure that city voters approved in November 2005 conflicts with state law.

The First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco agreed with a June 2006 ruling by Superior Court Judge James Warren, who said local governments in California have no authority to prohibit handguns. Warren said a California law that authorizes police agencies to issue concealed-weapon permits implicitly forbids a city or county to ban handgun possession by law-abiding adults.

The San Francisco measure, Proposition H, would have outlawed possession of handguns by all city residents except law enforcement officers and others who needed guns for professional purposes. It also would have forbidden the manufacture, sale and distribution of any type of firearms and ammunition in San Francisco.

Prop. H was challenged by the National Rifle Association, which sued on behalf of gun owners, advocates and dealers the day after voters passed the measure, 58 percent to 42 percent. Enforcement has been suspended since the suit was filed.

In today’s 3-0 ruling, the appeals court cited its own 1982 decision overturning a San Francisco ordinance that prohibited handgun possession within city limits. (…)

Link.

From the Safety Network Park District Newsletter I just received:

City crews are being deployed throughout the city cleaning catch basins as a precautionary measure to prepare for and prevent flooding during heavy rain periods. The City is also encouraging San Francisco residents and businesses to prepare for potential flooding by deploying sandbags and taking other precautionary measures. S.F. residents are eligible for up to 10 free sandbags from the Department of Public Works Corporation Yard at 2323 Cesar Chavez Street, Monday – Friday, 8 – 3 pm. If you see a catch basin that looks clogged, street flooding, down trees or experience a sewer backup, please immediately call 311. For more information, please visit sfwater.org.

It’s not stopping anytime soon, either.

So awesome! It’s tonight, Sunday December 9 at Club Mighty (119 Utah St, San Francisco); cash bar and 21+ over only; doors open at 5 and close at 8;
event ends at 9. Don’t miss it!

Also posted in more detail on Upcoming (event #350506).

My favorite local burlesque dancer Bombshell Betty (on right) is performing in a packed, delicious-looking lineup this monday (that’s tomorrow) at Oakland’s fabulous new Uptown Club, for only $5. They’re promising “Sexy Girls, Variety Acts, Drunken Emcee’s… & a Gorilla!” Sounds like a great way to start the week to me… This week’s lineup includes:

Pookie Patootie, Bombshell Betty, Bombshell Betty’s Burlesqueteers, Margaret France, Peekaboo Burlesque, Heather Von Domhoff, Gorilla X, “and many, many more!”

Doors 8PM, Show 9PM; 21 & Up w/I.D.; five dollars

UPTOWN HUBBA HUBBA! is at… The Uptown Club: 1928 Telegraph Ave, Oakland (1 block from 19th Street BART)

Also: A Burlesqueteer is down — hit by a drunk driver. Give some Love for Amy.

But — I was excited to see this on the Citysearch list: my favorite (and not cheap) gourmet vegan restaurant Millennium is doing a $60 five-course feast from 2:30pm to 7:30pm (the menu is in their events).

Whenever a convention rolls through town, especially the way OracleWorld has bought/taken over SOMA with tents teeming with OracleWeenies(tm), it’s always worth it to troll Craigslist Casual Encounters and search for eager attendees looking for a sample of our San Francisco values. To wit, this week’s faves:

* fuck oracle world – escape to oralworld – m4w – 40 (SOMA / south beach) “wm seeking out of town female to escape Oracle and have some one on one fun. I have an apartment in the city – don;t take a chance with your fellow attendees :)”

* Any Oracle OW visitors want to hook up today/night – m4m – 33 (financial district) “maybe we can hook up with more than one person and have an orgy at a hotel room? If you’re comfortable with that.”

* Clift Hotel – m4w – 34 (downtown / civic / van ness) “Come on you naughty Oracle ladies in town (…)”

* GENTLE MASSAGE WITHOUT SEX FOR WOMEN – m4w “My tender hands gently touching your inner energy to release your most intimate desires. Oracle attendees welcome.”

* ORACLE OPEN WORLD..R u a LADY VISTING , want safe fun may not be sex – m4w – 35 “I am M/35 in a senior position…responsible.. not seeking anything unsafe or anything that gets us tense ”

* I have a free ticket to Bill Joel tonight at the Cow Palace – m4w – 34 (financial district *NSFW pic*) “In town for Oracle and not real interested in attending the big event tonight….Billy Joel, Stevie Nicks, and Lenny. If your interested in going it’s at the Cow Palace and there is free food and beer/wine. Come to my Hotel room and fuck me and it’s yours”

Spotted a few of these last night in the Mission: apparently Scientology’s “antichrist” figure Xenu has some gangsta-style supporters in our trendy hipster neighborhood. This one’s on an SF Weekly box, photo snapped and uploaded with my Ocean.

Martial law has just been declared in Pakistan; the president (of “our” strongest ally in the Middle East in the ‘war on terror’) has declared a state of martial law and suspended the constitution. Wait — isn’t that what a constitution is supposed to help prevent!? This was after the legality of his re-election was brought into question by a judge (who has now been put in confinement with other judges). What does this have to do with Metblogs SF? Well, Pakistan is one of our biggest Metblogs countries — we have three cities there with very active local bloggers. According to Metblogs Islambad, all press and TV are in blackout, except of course for the state-run station.

* Here’s the breaking BBC News story with lots of details on Pakistan’s President General Pervez Musharraf’s action to declare martial law (he is also conveniently head of the police). I see most US headlines are calling it “emergency rule”. That sounds much nicer.

Mini-update: “Emergency rule” is what the president is calling martial law, so that’s how it’s being reported. Except according to IM info I just read via Metblogs communications with Metblogs Paki authors right now, CNN is blocked, and so are local calls. So the MSM headlines and softened jargon don’t matter for Paki people. Let’s just hope the Internet stays up.

Watch for posts from Pakistani people, some are in English:

* Metblogs Islambad
* Metblogs Lahore,
* Metblogs Karachi

Seen in Metblogs News.

Update 11.05: Yes, it’s all over the news now and the situation’s gotten much worse: The Guardian UK has crazy video of lawyers being tear gassed and beaten; as many as 3500 people have been detained. If you check the Metblogs news post, Sean relays from Paki bloggers exactly what “emergency rule” means. Meanwhile, since there’s been a news blackout for Paki people, in MSM, Metblogs is being specifically cited as one of the main sources Paki people are getting news of their own situation out. Read:

* TV channels still off air, Pakistanis resort to blogs (sify.com)
* Online, shock and awe (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
* When channels were off, the Internet was on (thenews.com.pk)
* Little English-Language Blog Reporting on Pakistani Martial Law Arrests (blog.wired.com)

Spotted this flyer in Upper Haight an hour ago… (shot + uploaded with my Ocean.)

Anyone going? I might run down to see what it looks like; we’re already swamped here with news vans and helicopters :(

Update: I just ran out and took the image below, with a couple more of what it’s like right now, after the jump. Yes, it’s freezing outside. Thank you Jonathan, for lending me a camera.

* * * * * * *

Amber is a locally-focused phenom; Citizen Cake is making pastries with it, Absinthe is re-inventing cocktails around it (“Absolute Sacrilege” is muddled blood orange, Amber, bitters, tequilia and ice), Miette has made butterscotch with it, Last Supper Club is making Hot Toddys with it, and the list goes on and on. It’s either good marketing, or the stuff is just drop-dead delicious (it is). You can get it at BevMo, but Amber doesn’t seem to have a website, doh.

At any rate, I just had to rave for a minute — and give a heads-up on an Amber tasting this Monday October 22nd at Citizen Cake, from 4-6pm (390 Grove @ Gough). Pastries and cocktails on a Monday sounds do-able to me…