The world has enough problems with actual, inept TSA agents who have never heard of our nation’s capital. We don’t need jerks posing as airport security just to molest female travelers. [More]
san francisco
Company Vows To Fight San Francisco Over App That Auctions Off Public Parking Spots
By 6.27.14
Last week, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera sent a cease-and-desist letter to mobile app company MonkeyParking, telling to quit allowing users to auction off their public park spots. But now the company’s CEO is all, “Bring it, because we’re not quitting without a fight,” if I might paraphrase his response. [More]
San Francisco Sends Cease-And-Desist Letter To App That Auctions Off Public Parking Spaces
By 6.23.14
Selling off the parking spot you’re about to vacate sounds like a win-win — you get some money and someone else gets a place to put a car. Oh but the thing is? It’s probably not legal if that’s a public spot, like in San Francisco, where the city attorney has warned a mobile app that it can’t help people auction off such spots. [More]
San Francisco Voters To Consider $15/Hour Minimum Wage
By 6.11.14
In the wake of the Seattle City Council approving a plan to gradually increase the local minimum wage to $15/hour over the next three-to-seven years, the residents of San Francisco will be asked to decide on a 4-year schedule for raising pay in the city to the same level. [More]
Uber Driver With Battery Conviction Charged With Punching Passenger
By 6.4.14
Ride-sharing service Uber is already drawing fire from established taxi and livery services who allege that its drivers are not held to the same standards as professional drivers. So it’s not great news that one of its drivers has not only been arrested for allegedly punching a passenger, but that he has a criminal history that does not bode well for one in this line of work. [More]
Airbnb Wants You To Have Strangers Over For Dinner
By 6.4.14
Airbnb has had a lot of success turning homeowners into semi-professional innkeepers, so why not see if it can do the same for users’ kitchens? That’s the idea behind tests the home-sharing service has been performing in the San Francisco area. [More]
Landlord Demands Current Tenants Prove They Make At Least $100K To Keep Apartments
By 5.6.14
A lot of apartment buildings in pricey cities have strict income and credit requirements for potential tenants, but once you’ve got the apartment all that generally matters is that you pay your rent on time and in full. The landlord of one building in San Francisco recently posted a letter telling current tenants that they will have to be re-screened to make sure they are earning at least $100,000 a year and have sterling credit. [More]
San Francisco May Consider Paying Residents To Rat Out Neighbors With Illegal Airbnb Rentals
By 4.29.14
Most of the headlines about local governments fighting over the legality of short-term apartment rental services like Airbnb and VRBO have focused on New York City, where many of the rentals listed arguably violate subletting regulations. But there are folks in San Francisco who have a problem with these services and are pushing the city to rein them in. [More]
49ers Fan Sues NFL For $50 Million For Letting Teams Sell Locals-Only Tickets
By 4.28.14
During the most recent NFL playoffs, some teams opted to only allow people in certain areas to buy tickets. The idea was to make sure as many home team fans had access to these important games as possible, but some claim it’s an illegally discriminatory practice. [More]
Airbnb To Start Collecting Taxes In Portland, San Francisco, Maybe New York City
By 4.2.14
Airbnb is a site that lets people rent rooms or entire apartments or houses, directly from the homeowner or renter. It has proven popular with travelers, but less popular with landlords, the hotel industry, and local governments. Why do local governments care? Airbnb rentals aren’t subject to sales and hotel changes. In some cities, that’s about to change. [More]
Couple’s $10M Gold Coin Find Could Be From 1901 San Francisco Mint Heist
By 3.4.14
Finders keepers, right? Maybe not in the case of a California couple who found $10 million in gold coins while hiking with their dog. A newly found century-old news item has shed light on where the huge treasure may have originated. [More]
Coffee Shop Owner: Limiting Laptop Squatters Has Boosted My Sales
By 8.19.13
Ever since the advent of the whole coffee-shop-as-satellite-office thing, some have operated under the notion that java joints should do what they can to cater to and keep customers sitting in seats for hours on end while they toil on their laptops. But one store owner says his business has actually seen an increase in sales after he decided to put limits on the laptop-lugging squatters. [More]
Another Reason Why Travelers Don’t Trust Airlines Not To Steal Their Stuff
By 7.29.13
As if checked-bag fees and stories of luggage vanishing into the ether weren’t enough to have you going carry-on only, here comes the story of a lovely couple who decided to take advantage of delays caused by the July 6 Asiana Airlines crash to allegedly help themselves to passengers’ goodies. [More]
Sick Of Losing Dinner Reservations To Bots, Engineer Creates A Better Bot Of His Own
By 7.26.13
Like tickets to a Justin Bieber concert, dinner reservations at some restaurants are so desirable that people will go out of their way to insure they get a table. But while many of us just wait until the hype dies down and dine out at eateries where you don’t need a reservation, there is a war waging online to see who can create the better reservation bot to game the system and score seats as they pop up. [More]
New 49ers Stadium To Carry The Levi’s Name
By 5.8.13
After several pleasant seasons of not having to remember which company had paid to slap their name on Candlestick Park, fans of the San Francisco 49ers will have to get used to the Levi’s name, as the clothing company has ponied up the cash for the naming rights to the Niners’ under-construction stadium. [More]
San Francisco Can Now Ban Passengers Who Treat The Subway As A Personal Toilet
By 5.7.13
As of yesterday, if you’re thinking of taking a ride on San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit, known as the BART, you better make your pit stop at the potty before you get on the train. Because if you’re one of those people treating the cars as your own personal bathroom, BART officials can now ban you. [More]
Google Launches Same-Day Shopping Service With Target, Staples, Toys R Us, Others
By 3.28.13
Taking aim at Amazon, Google has launched a service for consumers in the San Francisco area that allows them to browse items from a selection of major retailers then get them delivered the same day. [More]
ACLU Files Suit To Stop Police From Searching Cell Phones Without Warrant
By 3.20.13 — Updated: 1.17.14
A decade ago, searching someone’s cell phone would give you a list of names and numbers, maybe some recent texts. But now, the average smartphone could contain as much personal and sensitive information as a desktop computer, yet many law enforcement agencies argue they don’t need a warrant to search these devices. That’s why the American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit against the city of San Francisco and its chief of police. [More]
