Chronic City: Goin' To A Party, Party -- Global Marijuana March 2009

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Courtesy Global Marijuana March
Got plans for this weekend? Well, cancel 'em. Have I got a party for you!

It's time, once again, for the Global Marijuana March, a worldwide event held the first Saturday in May since 2005. An estimated 15,000 revelers are expected to attend the San Francisco edition, which has been a time-honored tradition here for 15 years, predating the global event by more than a decade.

Sure, mainstream media might give you the impression that grassroots (see what I did there?) street activism of the sort represented by the Marijuana March is a thing of the past -- and certainly, counterculture protests and demonstrations are a proud and storied part of our history in the City on the Bay.

But the marijuana legalization movement is stronger than ever. A solid majority of Californians (and an even larger majority of San Franciscans) now support removing all criminal penalties for the herb, and cannabis activists have momentum on their side according to almost any knowledgeable observer of the scene.

If you've ever attended a pot rally, I don't have to tell you what a positive rush such a gathering of the kind tribes can bring. There's nothing like a group of like-minded hempsters united by a common purpose to put a smile on your face, a song in your heart, and a buzz in your brain. If this will be your first time, don't worry -- you won't find a gentler, friendlier, more mellow crowd anywhere.

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SF Staph Infection Spreads to Parks: Gross!

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A new, aggressive staph infection has already affected San Francisco with the Chronicle reporting that the virulent infection has hit everyone from homeless people to schoolkids and “can attack organs throughout the body, forcing doctors to amputate fingers, toes and limbs.” A January New York Times article reports that the artificial turf used in some public parks can be a fertile breeding ground for staph. If you guessed where this is going, you’re right. Photos of San Francisco’s Silver Terrace Playfield showing matter failing to decompose properly on artificial turf have surfaced. Witness all the moldy glory here.
— Andy Wright (photo from sfparks.googlepages.com)

Most Popular Stories on SF Weekly this Week

Categories: SFTopNews

Gay & Transgender Divas Battle for Stardom in Bay Area's Ballroom Scene

Categories: SFTopNews

ballroom%20post.jpgJust in case you were running low on pics of black gay runaways trying to out-vogue each other, check it out. Click here for a slideshow from the catwalk. Then read the torrid story by Lauren Smiley. Photos by Eartha Goodwin

Most Popular Stories on SFWeekly.com This Week

Categories: SFTopNews

The results are in, and you, the reader, are lying when you say you want hard news and analysis. We have the numbers. You click on glory holes, beardos, and technical stories about the #1 porn file-sharing program in the World. So don't give us any of your high-minded shit. We don't want to hear it.

The Top Ten Stories on SF Weekly this Week Are:
10. Chris Rock Brings "No Apologies Tour" to SF April 3 and 4

9. Justice to Throw Massive SF Dance Party with Diplo in March

8. SF Weekly vs. Bay Guardian Lawsuit Updates

(Click 'More' for the #1 story)

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The Chronicle Mashup: An Amalgamation of All the Stories Our Local Paper Has Covered to Death

Categories: Media, SFTopNews

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By Joe Eskenazi

Amazing scenes were witnessed today at the San Francisco Zoo, when alleged aggressive panhandling from a homeless man induced an episode of “Roid Rage” in Barry the steroidal Siberian tiger. The cat escaped his pen and set the Major League Zoo record for maulings with 73, before being shot dead while putting the finishing touches on former Supervisor Ed Jew.

The rampage comes on the heels of a Chronicle investigation of illegal supplements provided to animals via the Bay Area Laboratory Zoo Co-Operative (BALZCO); Barry had been receiving packages of Tiger Growth Hormone since 2002, according to leaked grand jury testimony. Other zoo animals linked to BALZCO include Giambi the elephant, Romo the rhino, and Marion the cheetah.

Reginald Jackson, the homeless man who allegedly touched off the deadly rampage, was profiled last month in a front-page column by C.W. Nevius, “You Know What Grinds My Gears? Homeless People Ruining My Commute from Walnut Creek, That’s What.”

After Jackson told San Francisco police he would “rather die” than leave his Golden Gate park encampment and head to a homeless shelter, Nevius noted, “Well, if he would rather die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.

Jackson is a former Oakland resident (see Chip Johnson’s column in the Bay Area section blaming Mayor Ron Dellums for Jackson’s behavior). After a prolonged legal struggle...

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A Man in Full: Despite Media Myopia and Internet Ghouls, Torrey Kretschman’s Life was About More Than His Death

Categories: Media, SFTopNews

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The final picture taken of Torrey Kretschman in his life, snapped at Sunday's 49ers game.
By Joe Eskenazi

If you Google the name “Torrey Kretschman,” you’ll find dozens if not hundreds of articles with headlines containing the clauses “falls to his death” “Monster Park” and “49ers game.”

Sadly, this has been Kretschman’s hello and goodbye to the world at large. He’s the man who died. His violent death at Sunday’s game has overshadowed his 31 years of life.

For those who knew him when he lived, it’s a maddening turn of events.

“Infuriating is a better word for me,” said lifelong friend Jodi Bazemore. “Torrey is now known as the man who fell — not Torrey the way the family knows him.”

The first thing you would have noticed about Torrey was...

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45-year-old Razor Scooter Rider Nailed by Car Today

Categories: SFTopNews

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Dude, you were too old to be riding that thing, and now God punished you. Yes, we're insensitive. But you would be fine if someone like us had shamed you off that thing prior to today's mishap. Remember, hated readers: If your balls have hair on them, you are too old to ride a Razor Scooter:
From the Examiner today:

"A man riding a Razor scooter this morning was hit by a car as he crossed the street at Folsom and Main streets in San Francisco ... The 45-year-old man was transported to San Francisco General Hospital. ... The extent of the man’s injuries was unknown."

—David Downs

Another Reason To Hate Religion and the Doofs Who Buy It

Categories: SFTopNews

From the AP's 'Calls in Sudan for Execution of Briton':

Thousands of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and knives, rallied Friday in a central square and demanded the execution of a British teacher convicted of insulting Islam for allowing her students to name a teddy bear "Muhammad."

Fozzy Bear from Sesame Street just called us with a comment on the evolving situation in Sudan:
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"Cultural relativism, my hairy ass. These zealots deserve every last smart bomb that finds them. Ditto for Catholic pederasts, Christian fag draggers, Jewish neocons, and all the other intolerant religious fucks that make this world the latrine it is. I'm tired of this shit. What is this, the dark ages? Muhammad was an asshole. Jesus was a prick. And Buddha was a big fat pussy. When can we move on?!"

Trannyshack Calls It Quits, says Heklina

Categories: SFTopNews

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The fat (mannish) lady has sung!

San Francisco's big, old classic Drag Queen show hosted by Heklina, Trannyshack, is throwing in the wig, according to SFist:

On Heklina's MySpace page, she tells us that she plans on shutting down Trannyshack -- San Francisco's longest-running (alternative-y) drag show, etcetera -- soon. Very soon. Heklina says, "I need to feel challenged and no longer feel I have the focus to continue doing a weekly drag night-club much longer." And although her appearances won't stop, the Tuesday night destination for many homos and tranny-chasers will. ... By the end of December, or the beginning of January I will be announcing the date of the big blowout, which will be a massive Miss Trannyshack Pageant/Wigstock scale farewell bash featuring Trannyshack performers past and present, as well as some special guest stars.
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