A ship spilled oil in San Francisco Bay today south of the Bay Bridge, and the Coast Guard is attempting to contain it before it reaches any shorelines to minimize the risk to wildlife. But the Oiled Wildlife Care Network will respond to any reports of sea birds fouled with the oil. Just call them at 1.877.UCD.OWCN. (Thanks, @kmieszkowski)

The incident took place almost two years after the Cosco Busan struck the Bay Bridge on Nov. 7, 2007, releasing over 58,000 gallons of heavy “bunker fuel” and fouling beaches around the bay and up and down the coast from San Mateo County to Sonoma County.

Off Oyster Point near South San Francisco. No traffic jams, no storms, no Twitter.

Little snapshot of life blogpost here. I’m commuting to the East Bay, via bike, from North Beach.

Day 1: Notice the sign on Embarcadero turnstile, “no bikes during commuter hours, 7-9AM” (It’s 10AM). Started this long discussion on FriendFeed. I’m sweaty and exhausted at work, and it’s worst going home- where every staircase is uphill (a quirk of going from an underground station to an overground one).

Day 2: Instead of biking up Embarcadero- which is wind tunnel every which hour or way or day- tack up the streets on the East side of Telegraph Hill. Less wind, a little more distance. I run into an old friend on BART, and I realize the social aspect of public transit cannot be overrated.

Day 3: It all goes by in a blur. It’s faster and becoming rote. I’m not as tired, it’s easier, and I start noticing the signs of approaching fall- ripening fruit on trees, the earlier darkness, and realize it’s great to be outside so much, each day, but still be able to get everything done work-wise and after-work-wise.

Back into the car Monday for the BART strike.

Here are some blog accounts of people who got arrested at yesterday’s Prop 8 protests in San Francisco:
- Will Scott
- David Nahmod
- David somebody.

The Public Press has a straightforward account here (Thanks, Darren). Also, here’s an account from San Diego of a sit-in at the county clerk’s office. Arrests were threatened but everybody decided to leave quietly instead.

If you blogged about getting arrested or being at the demonstrations in San Francisco, email me at prop8protests at yahoo.com and I’ll add a link to your entry.

Recently tweeted by @emergency_in_sf

If you have details, I’m sure some of our readers would love this location.

Just sayin’. Booked my stay this morning- very excited.

Someone on Open Salon asks what to do in San Francisco during a visit next month. Loads of people commented with suggestions, me among them.

A friend of a friend has been visiting during this exact rainy spell. It’s due to stop raining on Tuesday and that’s when he’s leaving. Sorry about the rain, dude. But if you’re getting cabin fever on this very rainy day, here’s what I’d do: go out to the Palace of Legion of Honor (pictured). The art is great, the cafeteria is nice, and the view is fantastic, whether it’s a rainy day or not. In fact it might even be better on a rainy day.

Plum trees, planted on sidewalks and in landscaped areas, are starting to bloom in San Francisco. I took this shot early this morning on Mariposa St. outside St. Gregory Nyssa church. Prunus cerasifera, known as the cherry plum or purple-leafed plum, can be seen throughout the city, many of them planted by Friends of the Urban Forest or by CalTrans.

Oyster Point [map] in South San Francisco on a hazy Sunday morning. The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission has approved ferry service from Oakland to Oyster Point; service could begin as early as late 2010.

The new route is only one of several planned, using new, greener vessels, in an expansion of commute options in the next few years. (Did you know there was something called the Water Emergency Transportation Authority [WETA]?) See all the proposed routes.

Detail of mural on 13th St. and Bernice St. [map] across from Rainbow Grocery. Click the image for a Google Street View showing a wider swath of the mural.