Timeline San Francisco (H) 1998-1999
Return to home
1998 Jan 1, The lease of the Mission Rock Resort transfers from Norma Wahl, who held it for 22 years, to Jim Kelly, owner of Pat O’Shea’s on Guery Blvd. The new name will be Kelly’s at Mission Rock.
(SFC,12/31/97, p.A13)
1998 Jan 3, James Weeks (75), Bay Area artist, died in Boston. His work in the 1950s was described as “the most violently coloristic and gestural" of the Bay Area Figurative School.
(SFC, 2/9/98, p.A19)
1998 Jan 5, It was reported that there were 71,500 homeless people in the Bay Area. 6-8,000 were in SF County which had 1,399 shelter beds.
(SFC, 1/5/98, p.A8)
1998 Jan 7, Daniel E. Solorzano (28), a carpenter’s apprentice, was hit by a bullet that passed through the shoulder of an intended gang member at the corner of 24th and Capp. He died some 2 weeks later.
(SFEC, 3/1/98, p.D7)
1998 Jan 8, Supervisor Susan Leal became the city treasurer. Her salary jumped from $23,929 to $119,000 per year.
(SFC, 1/8/98, p.A20)
1998 Jan 8, Grazia Massimillo was struck and killed by a Muni bus at Naples and Italy in the Excelsior. In 1999 SF paid a $235,000 settlement to the son and daughter of Massimillo.
(SFC, 5/20/99, p.A17)
1998 Jan 10, The Muni began its E-Line from the Embarcadero to the Caltrain station at King and Fourth streets.
(SFEC, 1/11/98, p.D1)
1998 Jan 13, In SF four to five men robbed a jewelry salesman in Chinatown near 3 plainclothes police officers for some $2 million in jewels and escaped.
(SFC, 1/14/98, p.A16)
1998 Jan 14, Fannie May Barnes (52) became the first female cable car operator in the city.
(SFC, 1/14/98, p.A16)
1998 Jan 15, The SF Symphony premiered the “Brick Symphony" by Michael Torke, that it had commissioned.
(SFC, 1/16/98, p.D8)
1998 Jan 15, The trustees of the de Young Museum voted against moving out of Golden Gate park and planned a new bond measure to rebuild it with an underground garage.
(SFC, 1/16/98, p.A1)
1998 Jan 15, Art collectors Kent and Vicki Logan made a gift of $1 million and 250 artworks to SFMOMA. Another $1.5 million was given to the California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC) to establish the Kent and Vicky Logan Center for exhibitions and public programs on the South of market campus.
(SFC, 1/16/98, p.D1)
1998 Jan 18, The SF Zagat do-it-yourself survey of restaurants named Boulevard as #1 and Postrio as #2. It was the 11th year of the SF edition of the New York based survey.
(SFEM, 1/18/98, p.6)
1998 Jan 18, A major storm hit California and a sinkhole measuring 40 feet in diameter and 10 feet deep swallowed a car on John Muir Drive near Lake Merced.
(SFC, 1/19/98, p.A11)
1998 Jan 20, Mayor Brown announced a $20 million deal to bring Bloomingdale’s to SF at the old Emporium building on Market St.
(SFC, 1/20/98, p.A1)
1998 Jan 23 A kiosk was to open at City Lights featuring “Shaping SF," a new CD on SF history by Chris Carlsson, Greg Williamson and Jim Swanson of Processed World. Also with the book “Reclaiming SF: History, Politics, Culture."
(SFC, 1/20/98, p.E1)
1998 Jan 23, Armed robbers escaped with $100,000 from a Brink’s armored car at Bay and Powell.
(SFC, 1/24/98, p.A19)
1998 Jan 23, The Golden Gate Bridge District Directors designated “The Bridge: Golden Gate," written by Noah Griffin and Bob Voss, as the official GGB ballad. A 1934 song “Golden Gate Bridge" by the late Irene Anderson was designated the bridge’s official historic song.
(SFC, 1/24/98, p.A13)
1998 Jan 24, Zygmunt Arendt, a Polish immigrant and railroad worker, died alone of pneumonia at Davies Med. He left over $4 million in stocks, savings and real estate, with 60% dedicated to the poor, and 40% to the children, and disabled seniors of SF.
(SFC, 4/30/98, p.A17)
1998 Jan 25, The 1726 puppet show “La Grandmere amoureuse" by Fuzelier and Dorneval was a spoof on French opera based on Lully’s tragic 1676 opera “Atys." It was revived in 1998 by the SF Bay Area team of Magnificat and the Carter Family Marionettes.
(SFEC, 1/18/98, DB p.33)(PN, 2/25/98)
1998 Jan 25, Four gang members were arrested when they tried to collect a $2,000 extortion payment from a Post St. bar in the Tenderloin. They were part of a Vietnamese offshoot of Chinatown’s Jackson Street Boys.
(SFC, 2/6/98, p.A20)
1998 Jan 26, The SF Ballet opened its 65th season with “Circus Polka" under director Helgi Tomasson.
(SFC, 1/27/98, p.B1)
1998 Jan 27, The DeBartolo Corp. put the new stadium at Candlestick Point on hold due to an escalating price tag that reached $175 million.
(SFC, 1/28/98, p.A1)
1998 Jan 27, A new design for Union Square was selected by city officials. Architects April Philips and Michael Fotheringham won with an Italian piazza design.
(SFC, 1/28/98, p.A11)
1998 Jan 29, Former Mayor Joseph Alioto died at age 81.
(SFC, 1/30/98, p.A10)
1998 Jan, Dr. Sandra Hernandez was recently appointed head of the SF Foundation, a community trust with assets exceeding $500 million.
(SFC, 1/28/98, p.A16)
1998 Jan, The 5,400-sq.-foot, 1908 home and garden of Mary Fay Berrigan (d.1988) at 2366 Leavenworth St. was offered to the city following the death of her husband. The garden was designed by Thomas Church. If a Jul 2 deadline was not met the property was to offered to the SPCA.
(SFC, 5/1/98, p.A23,27)
1998 Feb 2, A morning robbery occurred at the Bank Of America Mission Branch at 24th St. Three men took over the bank and beat the security guard and attacked a customer who stumbled in on the crime.
(SFC, 2/3/98, p.A18)
1998 Feb 2, Heavy rains thrashed the Bay Area and Northern California.
(SFC, 2/3/98, p.A1)
1998 Feb 2, Melvin John Figoni, owner and operator of the North Beach Figoni hardware Store, died at age 89.
(SFC, 2/7/98, p.21)
1998 Feb 6, Mayor Brown left for Manila and was expected to sign agreements with Mayor Alfredo Lim for workshops on AIDS, student exchange programs, and other deals. Mayor Brown was to continue on to Hanoi.
(SFC, 2/5/98, p.A18)
1998 Feb 6, Three masked men robbed the Embarcadero Federal Credit Union in the Sunset District and escaped with $4,500 in cash.
(SFC, 2/7/98, p.21)
1998 Feb 6, Prince Charles, the 16-year-old, white, Bengal tiger of the SF Zoo, died. He was born at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1981.
(SFC, 2/7/98, p.A21)
1998 Feb 7, A street dispute near Keith and Quesada on the Bayview-Hunters Point area led to the death of Leon Dorsey (23). Three men were later picked up and held on $1 million bale.
(SFC, 2/11/98, p.A19)
1998 Feb 7, Delodie Silva (46), a youth programs worker from Sonoma, was shot and killed at Bayshore and Arleta when an argument arose between passengers in her car and rivals in another car.
(SFC, 2/10/98, p.A18)
1998 Feb 10, A young bank executive, Michael Woo (28), was found shot to death in GG Park.
(SFC, 2/13/98, p.D8)
1998 Feb 13, A 4-alarm fire broke out in the dome of City Hall.
(SFC, 2/14/98, p.A15)
1998 Feb 17, Ronnie Look (15) was shot and killed at the North Beach Amusement Arcade at 447 Broadway. 4 youths were detained for questioning. Clarence Ma (17), aka Qizhan Ma, the suspected killer, was still being sought. Ma was associated with the Seven Stars offshoot of the Jackson Street Boys and Look was a member of the rival Hop Sing Boys. Ma was caught in 1999 and inadvertently released.
(SFC, 2/18/98, p.A14)(SFC, 6/20/98, p.A11)(SFC, 6/17/99, p.A25)
1998 Feb 20, Mayor Brown ordered the hiring of 65 more parking and traffic control officers to direct traffic and clear vehicles blocking traffic.
(SFC, 2/21/98, p.A1)
1998 Feb 22, The Alhambra, city historic landmark # 217, and the Royal Theaters were scheduled to close. In 2000 the Gorilla Sports chain of exercise studios planned to reopen it as a health club.
(SFC, 2/12/98, p.E1)(SFC, 2/18/00, p.C1)
1998 Feb 22, St. Francis Cathedral in North Beach re-opened as a shrine.
(SFC, 2/23/98, p.A18)
1998 Feb 22, Emmy Lou Packard, artist, died at age 84. She painted many murals and worked with Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo.
(SFC, 3/25/98, p.A22)
1998 Feb 25-29, The Noise Pop Festival was scheduled with 35 bands. Performing groups were to be at the Great American Music Hall, Bimbo’s, Bottom of the Hills, and the Paradise Lounge.
(SFEC, 2/22/98, DB p.19)
1998 Feb 27, The documentary film “Kurt and Courtney" by Nick Broomfield premiered in SF at the Roxie.
(SFC, 2/27/98, p.C1)
1998 Feb 27, Jack Micheline (born as Harvey Martin Silver in NY), Bohemian poet, died at 68 of a heart attack on a BART train between SF and Orinda. His first book of poetry was “River of Red Wine," and his last was “Sixty Seven Poems for Downtrodden Saints."
(SFEC, 3/1/98, p.D8)
1998 Feb, The temporary Mission Rock shelter for the homeless opened on land destined for parking for the new Giants ballpark.
(SFC, 8/6/99, p.A20)
1998 Mar 2, Sharon Leuenberger (59) of Hillsborough was reported missing. Her body was found the next day in a stolen cleaning service van in the Mission district with evidence of an attempt to burn the insides. Cirio Cuara Valencia (21), the prime suspect of the murder, was believed to have fled to Mexico. Valencia returned to SF and confessed to the kidnap and slaying Mar 14, and implicated two other people in the crime.
(SFC, 3/6/98, p.A1)(SFC, 3/8/98, A1)(SFEC, 3/15/98, p.A1)
1998 Mar 5, The national Park Service announced that a $10 million grant from the Haas family would help transform Crissy Field to a new shoreline park by 2000.
(SFC, 3/5/98, p.A1)
1998 Mar 5-12, The 16th annual SF Int’l. Asian American Film Festival was held.
(SFC, 2/12/98, p.E8)
1998 Mar 6, Mayor Brown removed Bill Maher from his position as director of parking and traffic. The $96,000 a year job was reported to be taken over by mayoral aide Stuart Sunshine.
(SFC, 3/7/98, p.A1)
1998 Mar 9, It was to be recommended to close the SF Carousel in GG Park for 3 months for $50,000 in repairs.
(SFC, 1/29/98, p.A20)
1998 Mar 9, The bicycle bandits, Edwin James Rowan III (39) and Raymond V. Lopez (46) were arrested after robbing the California Federal Savings Bank on the 4000 block of Geary. They were suspected of robbing 12 North Bay banks and using bikes as get-away vehicles.
(SFC, 3/11/98, p.C2)
1998 Mar 10, The new Hayes Valley North housing development opened.
(SFC, 3/12/98, p.A17)
1998 Mar 12, Brian Wilmes (45), was attacked by Edgard Mora (25) in an anti-gay hate crime near 11th and Mission. Wilmes died 2 days later. A jury deadlocked in 1999 and a mistrial was declared. In 2000 Mora was sentenced to 5 years in jail for involuntary manslaughter.
(SFEC, 3/15/98, p.A1)(SFC, 9/8/99, p.A19)(SFC, 9/25/99, p.A17)(SFC, 4/25/00, p.A15)
1998 Mar 18, The SPCA offered nighttime shelter for about a dozen homeless people at its Pet Adoption Center.
(SFC, 3/19/98, p.A1)
1998 Mar 18, Jonathan Lim (18) was shot to death in the Tenderloin while tagging graffiti outside the 2nd story apartment of William Porter. Porter feared burglary and claimed that Lim grabbed for the gun. Porter (51) was exonerated in Dec.
(SFC, 12/14/98, p.A1,7)(SFC, 12/15/98, p.A21)
1998 Mar 19, A jewel merchant was robbed of $300,000 in diamonds. It was described as “your typical Columbian heist."
(SFC, 3/21/98, p.A15)
1998 Mar 21, Six members of the SF-based Peaceworkers group were arrested and sentenced to 10 days in jail in Kosovo for not reporting their presence to police. 3 were from the Bay Area.
(SFEC, 3/22/98, p.A1)(SFC, 3/23/98, p.A11)
1998 Mar, Jimbo Trout started his bluegrass jam at the Atlas Café in San Francisco.
(SFC, 3/23/13, p.D1)
1998 Mar, The new Barbary Coast Trail was to begin with the emplacement of the first of 150 historical plaques between the old mint and Fisherman’s Wharf.
(SFC, 1/20/98, p.A1)
1998 Mar, Work on the 42-story condo-hotel-retail tower on Market between 4th and 5th was scheduled to begin.
(SFC, 7/2/97, p.C2)
1998 James Herman, SF Port Commissioner and union leader, died at age 73.
(WSJ, 1/20/98, p.CA1)
1998 Spring, The new Starwood W Hotel at 3rd and Howard was to be completed.
(SFEC, 8/16/98, p.B1)
1998 Apr 2, Admission to the Zoo went from $7 to $9 for adults, $4.50 to $6 for youths, and $2.50 to $3 for children.
(SFC, 2/5/98, p.A26)
1998 Apr 3, The California Pacific Medical Center agreed to acquire Davies Medical Center.
(SFC, 4/4/98, p.A17)
1998 Apr 5, Ray Piecuch, a cowboy poet from New Hampshire, completed his yearlong 3,500 mile ride across country on his horse, Bo, with a champagne celebration at Baker Beach.
(SFC, 4/6/98, p.A26)
1998 Apr 13, Bank of America announced a plan to merge with NationsBank Corp. of Charlotte, N.C. The new entity will be called BankAmerica Corp. with headquarters in Charlotte. The deal was valued at $43.1 billion.
(SFC, 4/13/98, p.A1)(SFC, 4/14/98, p.A1)(SFC, 2/19/99, p.A1)
1998 Apr 14, The remodeled Orpheum Theatre opened. The 14-month remodel job cost $20 million and was paid by the Shorenstein Hays Nederlander Organization.
(SFC, 3/18/98, p.E1)
1998 Apr 14, A city summit devoted to women and their issues began with 5000 expected attendance.
(SFC, 4/13/98, p.A15)
1998 Apr 15, A superior Court judge ordered the immediate closure of the Cannabis Cultivator’s Club, the nation’s largest dispenser of medicinal pot.
(SFC, 4/16/98, p.A1)
1998 Apr 15, Jesus Santos (26) was killed by drug dealers in a case of mistaken identity. He was a member of the “Increase the Peace Program," and had just begun a job as a volunteer parent monitor at Everett Middle School.
(SFC, 5/23/98, p.A17)
1998 Apr 16, Janice Racek was run over by a Muni bus and lost both feet. She settled with the city for $3.5 million.
(SFEC, 1/3/99, p.D1)
1998 Apr 17-19, the 2nd annual Terrastock music festival was held in Hunter’s Point at the Custer Avenue Stages. The first festival was held in Providence R.I.
(SFC, 4/20/98, p.D1)
1998 Apr 19, Krikor Krouzian, founder of the Krouzian-Zekarian-Vasbouragan School by Park Merced, died at age 93. He owned and operated the Neon Pharmacy in the marina for 50 years and helped found St. Gregory’s Armenian Apostolic Church.
(SFC, 4/25/98, p.A19)
1998 Apr 20, The Cannabis Cultivators Club of Dennis Peron was closed down. A successor was planned to open the next day as The Cannabis healing Center under the direction of Hazel Rogers (78).
(SFC, 4/21/98, p.A19)
1998 Apr 20, The bodies of 39 pigeons were found in three SF neighborhoods. Poison was suspected and necropsies were scheduled.
(SFC, 4/21/98, p.A21)
1998 Apr 21, It was reported that Microsoft planned its first retail store, an 8,500-sq. foot site, in the Yerba Buena Gardens complex of SF with plans to open in spring, 1999.
(SFC, 4/21/98, p.A1)
1998 Apr 23, The SF Film Festival began with a 14-day schedule that included 103 films.
(SFEC, 4/12/98, DB p.33)
1998 Apr 24, The show “Art.Rage.Us: The Art and Outrage of Breast Cancer" opened at the Main Library.
(SFC, 4/24/98, p.D1)
1998 Apr 24, The American Health for Women magazine reported that Seattle was the healthiest city for women and that SF rated # 2 and Boston # 3.
(SFC, 4/25/98, p.A5)
1998 Apr 28, Supervisor Mabel Tang announced that the Boy Scouts of America will be barred from taking part in a city charity drive due to the groups stance against admitting gays.
(SFC, 4/29/98, p.A15)
1998 Apr 28, Don Fisher, founder of the Gap, pledged $25 million to bring the private Edison Project company to run more than a dozen SF Bay Area schools. The for-profit school project was 1st proposed in 1991 by businessman Chris Whittle. In 2005 Whittle authored “Crash Course: Imagining a Better Future for Public Education."
(SFC, 4/29/98, p.A15)(WSJ, 9/7/05, p.D14)
1998 Apr 28, Public Radio Inc. of SF received a NEA grant for $185,000 to create “Lost and Found Sound: An American Record." The project will produce a series of radio programs for NPR to chronicle, reflect and celebrate the 20th century.
(SFC, 4/29/98, p.E1)
1998 Apr 30, Steven Van Dyke (49) a senior SFFD supervisor was charged with embezzling thousands of dollars from developers that he billed for relocating fire hydrants.
(SFC, 5/1/98, p.A26)
1998 Apr, A 14-screen American Multi-Cinema (AMC 1000) was scheduled to open at 1000 Van Ness in the former Cadillac building.
(SFC, 1/5/98, p.E1)
1998 May 2, It was reported that the Exploratorium was undergo a $15-20 million renovation.
(SFC, 5/2/98, p.E1)
1998 May 3, the 32nd annual Cinco de Mayo parade was held on Mission St.
(SFC, 5/2/98, p.A17)
1998 May 9, Mayor Brown scheduled ‘The Great sweep II," a city-wide cleanup campaign.
(SFC, 4/798, p.A17)
1998 May 9, The first Barbary Coast Trail marker at Union Square was dedicated. The trail was the founded by Daniel Bacon.
(SFEC, 5/10/98, p.A2)
1998 May 10, Hal Riney & Partners was bought by Publicis of France in a deal estimated at $100 million.
(SFC, 2/19/99, p.A1)
1998 May 11, Archbishop Levada planned to start a free weekly newspaper for the 100,000 registered Catholics of SF and San Mateo. He also announced plans to help fund and distribute El Heraldo Catolico, a Spanish-language newspaper for the Diocese of Sacramento and Oakland.
(SFC, 5/12/98, p.A17)
1998 May 11, The SF supervisors approved legislation to allow landlords to temporarily raise rents to recoup certain property taxes. The increases could range from 34 cents to $14 per month.
(SFC, 5/12/98, p.A17)
1998 May 11, Rain broke a record set in 1861 with 44.54 inches since last July. The previous record went back to the 1989-1990 season.
(SFC, 5/12/98, p.A18)
1998 May 12, The sale of the Embarcadero Center to Boston Properties for $1.22 billion ($300 per sq. foot) was announced. Included were the 4 towers and 2 neighboring buildings, 275 Battery St. and the Old Federal Reserve Bldg at Sacramento and Battery.
(SFC, 5/13/98, p.A1)
1998 May 13, A $46 million renovation of Valencia Gardens public housing project in the Mission District.
(SFC, 5/13/98, p.A17)
1998 May 13, A drug bust went awry and Sheila Detoy (17) was shot dead by police. Two men escaped the scene. Raymondo Cox was caught the next day. Michael Negron (23) surrendered in July. In 1999 Negron agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter charges and accept a 7-year prison sentence. In 2002 charges were filed against police officers Gregory Breslin, James Zerga, and Michael Moran.
(SFC, 5/15/98, p.A1)(SFC, 7/14/98, p.A13)(SFC, 3/30/99, p.A13)(SFC, 7/6/02, p.A15)(SFC, 7/9/02, p.A17)
1998 May 14, Raymondo Cox (21) was captured 29 hours after a police-shooting that left a 17-year-old girl dead.
(SFC, 5/15/98, p.A1)
1998 May 14-Jul 31, The first SF Queer Arts Festival was planned.
(SFC, 5/13/98, p.E3)
1998 May 16, The Geneva Towers were imploded at 2:30 PM. A new 341-unit housing complex was planned for the site.
(SFC, 5/16/98, p.A15)
1998 May 16, A home at 1450 19th Ave. exploded and soon caught fire. At least 17 people were injured. The cause was not immediately known. It was later discovered that Tony Seto (25) was using the premises to make M-80 fireworks.
(SFEC, 5/17/98, p.A1)(SFC, 5/19/98, p.A17)
1998 May 17, The 87th Bay to Breakers run was held.
(SFC, 5/18/98, p.A15)
1998 May 19, City officials failed to halt the planned addition of a 10-ton antennae to the Sutro Tower structure.
(SFC, 5/20/98, p.A18)
1998 May 20, The 2nd annual New Asian Cinema festival opened.
(SFC, 5/20/98, p.E3)
1998 May 21, Jack Lynd, San Francisco cab driver, news writer, jazz aficionado, died of cancer at age 71 in his native Denmark. He wrote the book “Leo’s Place."
(CB, 5/31/98)
1998 May 24, The Hello Gorgeous museum, dedicated to Barbra Streisand and owned by Ken Joachim, was closed.
(USAT, 5/5/98, p.1D)
1998 May 24, The Carnival Parade was held in the Mission District.
(SFC, 5/25/98, p.A1)
1998 May 25, SF sheriff’s deputies chained closed the medical marijuana club, The Cannabis Healing Center, of Dennis Peron on Market St.
(SFC, 5/26/98, p.A1)
1998 May 26, There was a fire at the 15th floor Sutter St. condo of Rev. Thomas McCall. McCall was later charged with arson and an attempt to destroy evidence that he defrauded members of his congregation. The fraud charges were dropped in 1999 and the arson charges were dropped in 2000.
(SFC, 2/26/00, p.A15)
1998 May 29, A 19-member advisory panel chose a suspension bridge design to replace the eastern half of the Bay Bridge.
(SFC, 5/30/98, p.A1)
1998 May 29, Robertson Stephens was bought by BankBoston in a deal valued at $800 million.
(SFC, 2/19/99, p.A1)
1998 May, The SF Community Assessment and Referral Center opened as part of an effort to revamp the city's juvenile justice system.
(SFC, 6/29/99, p.A1)
1998 Jun 1, All tobacco advertising was scheduled to be taken down after the city reached an agreement with outdoor advertisers on May 18, 1998.
(SFC, 5/19/98, p.A17)
1998 Jun 2, Measure L on the ballot authorized that the 500-unit Wherry housing complex at the Presidio not be demolished.
(SFC, 4/29/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 2, A vast reconstruction of Golden Gate Park was put to the voters. Voters approved Prop. J for a $40 million privately financed underground garage, but not a bond measure for a new de Young Museum.
(SFC, 5/19/98, p.A17)(SFC, 6/4/98, p.A17)
1998 Jun 2, A gunman killed 1 man, D’Shannon Evans (24), and wounded 2 in the 500 block of Alemany Blvd. near the Ellsworth housing project.
(SFC, 6/3/98, p.A28)
1998 Jun 3, The Salvation Army announced that it would cut back 3 programs for seniors and the homeless and no longer accept city money due to the domestic partner’s law.
(SFC, 6/4/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 4, The SF MOMA acquired $40 million worth of new art, mainly through a donation by Phyllis Wattis. The 23 new pieces included works by Mondrian, Duchamp, Giacometti, Motherwell, Barnett Newman and Rauschenberg.
(SFC, 6/5/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 5-6, The annual Haight St. Fair and the Old Harbor Festival near Aquatic Park were held.
(SFC, 6/6/98, p.A23)
1998 Jun 5-9, Dockers Khakis sponsored an Independent Film Festival at the Castro Theater.
(SFEC, 5/31/98, DB p.48)
1998 Jun 8, Wells Fargo and Norwest Corp. reported a merger plan valued at $31.7 billion to form the nation’s 6th-7th largest bank with headquarters in SF.
(SFC, 6/8/98, p.A1)(SFC, 6/9/98, p.A10)(SFC, 2/19/99, p.A1)
1998 Jun 9, The city had 981 cabs in its taxi fleet and the Mayor’s Taxi Task Force was recommending and additional 300, under protest from cab drivers.
(SFC, 6/9/98, p.A23)
1998 Jun 12, The 20-year-old Conservatory Foundation began a million-dollar fund-raising drive to restore the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. Repairs were estimated at $31 million.
(SFC, 6/13/98, p.C1)
1998 Jun 12, Rev. Thomas McCall, pastor of the Bayview Missionary Baptist Church was arrested in Orange County for nine felony counts of grand theft. He took money from the church and 7 elderly parishioners for his personal use.
(SFEC, 6/14/98, p.B1)
1998 Jun 13-14, The annual Free Folk Music festival was held at Roosevelt School and the 44th annual North Beach Fair took place.
(SFC, 6/13/98, p.C1)
1998 Jun 16, Jim's Coffee Shop at 4468 Mission was consumed by fire. It was run by Johnson Lim. His mother, Juna, purchased it 1971.
(SFC, 3/5/99, p.A17)
1998 Jun 18, The 22nd annual Gay Film Festival opened.
(SFC, 5/20/98, p.E3)
1998 Jun 18, Smoking was banned in SF public parks and recreation centers, but the larger city parks were exempt.
(SFC, 6/19/98, p.A17)
1998 Jun 18, Six teenagers were shot at the Chinese Playground on Sacramento St. It was blamed on a clash between the Hop Sing Boys and the Seven Stars. A 16-year-old was later arrested. A 17-year-old who did the shooting was still being sought.
(SFC, 6/19/98, p.A1)(SFC, 6/20/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 19, Mayor Brown signed the “sunshine law," that forces nonprofit agencies that get city contracts to hold open meetings and expose their inner workings to the public. Archbishop William Levada had asked the mayor to veto the ordnance.
(SFC, 6/20/98, p.A13)
1998 Jun 20, Hanna “Kali" Weynerowska (100), a San Francisco-based Polish artist, died. In 1988 she had bequeathed 78 artworks to a Polish government museum in Switzerland, but they soon disappeared. In 2014 75 of her original works were found in Santa Rosa and shipped to Rapperswil, Switzerland.
(SFC, 4/12/14, p.A1)(http://tinyurl.com/mzjt2v3)
1998 Jun 21, Two women and a 13-year-old boy died at Ocean Beach when they were swept out by a riptide.
(SFC, 6/23/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 22, Louise M. Davies (98), SF benefactor, died in Portola Valley. Her husband was Ralph K. Davies (d.1971), an oil millionaire, for whom the medical center is named.
(SFC, 6/23/98, p.A1)(SFC, 6/14/05, p.E8)
1998 Jun 24, A regional transportation board approved a $1.346 billion, single-tower suspension span to replace the eastern half of the Bay Bridge.
(SFC, 6/25/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 28, Some 200,000 people turned out for the 28th annual gay pride parade on Market Street.
(SFC, 6/29/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 30, The official end of the rainy season showed 47.22 inches of rain, 2 inches shy of the 1861-1862 record of 49.27.
(SFC, 6/29/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 30, In Geneva AIDS specialists from SF reported a patient infected with a strain of HIV resistant to the new anti-viral drugs.
(SFC, 7/1/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun, The new $56 million high-tech arts center at Yerba Buena Gardens was scheduled to open under the name Zeum. The 34,000-square-foor structure at Howard and Fourth streets will include a 200-seat theater.
(SFC, 1/10/98, p.E1)
1998 Jun, Carroll Soo-Hoo, philanthropist and benefactor to the SF Zoo, died at age 84. His animal donations included the gorilla Jackie, whose offspring included the sign-language proficient Koko.
(SFC, 7/3/98, p.D6)
1998 Jul 1, The mayor’s salary went to $148,471 as the 4.1% pay raise went into effect for elected officials as proposed by the Civil Service Commission.
(SFC, 4/11/98, p.A15)
1998 Jul 2, It was announced that SF would buy nine, 1920s Peter Witt street cars from Milan, Italy, for $288,000 and use them on the F Line on Market St. from the Transbay Terminal to 17th and Castro.
(SFC, 7/3/98, p.A21)
1998 Jul 3, Five gunmen robbed guards of the Armored Transport Co. at the Costco store on 10th St. in the middle of the day. A man in San Pablo was arrested on Jul 29th in connection with the robbery.
(SFC, 7/4/98, p.A1,14)(SFC, 7/30/98, p.B2)
1998 Jul 10, A civil grand jury report said that efforts to develop Treasure Island were marred by the mayor’s efforts to consolidate power and political squabbling.
(SFC, 7/11/98, p.A1)
1998 Jul 13, PG&E agreed to shut down its Hunters Point power plant.
(SFC, 7/14/98, p.A1)
1998 Jul 14, The 100th anniversary of the Ferry Building was celebrated.
(SFC, 7/11/98, p.A1)
1998 Jul 18, The first annual Sojourner Truth Third Street Fair was held.
(SFEC, 7/19/98, p.A1)
1998 Jul 19, The 12th annual 10 km. AIDS Walk in Golden Gate Park attracted a record 27,000 people and raised $3.6 mil.
(SFEC, 7/20/98, p.A17)
1998 Jul 23, The Pacific Stock Exchange announced an agreement to merge with the Chicago Board of Options Exchange.
(SFC, 7/24/98, p.A1)
1998 Jul 26, A 3-foot crocodile, Ernie the Croc, was found in the backyard by a homeowner on Cesar Chavez St. A home was later found for the reptile in Boulder, Colo.
(SFC, 8/5/98, p.A13)
1998 Jul 26, The 50-foot wooden Burning Man statue was erected on Grove St. and was to be lit in neon for the “Black Rockin’ SF" street fair.
(SFC, 7/28/98, p.D1)
1998 Jul 29, The SF Police Commission approved a plan to place 175 more taxis on city streets within 2 months.
(SFC, 7/30/98, p.A1)
1998 Jul 31, Thousand of bicyclists rode on the anniversary of last year’s protest.
(SFC, 8/1/98, p.A1)
1998 Aug 3, Local temperatures hit 86, a new record.
(SFC, 8/4/98, p.A1)
1998 Aug 11, Lawrence Ferlinghetti was named the first poet laureate of SF.
(SFC, 8/12/98, p.A1)
1998 Aug 16, An int’l. crew broke the 1995 Steve Fossett record for sailing across the Pacific Ocean. The Explorer twin-hulled catamaran set sail from Yokohama on Aug 2 and arrived in SF after 14 days, 17 hours and 22 minutes.
(SFC, 8/17/98, p.A5)
1998 Aug 16, Joyce Ruger (70) was found slain and her Victorian fourplex at 719 Webster St. was set afire. She had been a tireless worker against violence and drug dealing. In Oct Troy Hayles (30) was picked up for parole violation. He had been sought for questioning in the case. Hayles was charged with murder, arson, and robbery in 1999. Hayles was acquitted of murder in 2000 due to lack of evidence, but was found guilty of receiving stolen property.
(SFC, 8/18/98, p.A11)(SFC, 10/7/98, p.A18)(SFC, 10/5/99, p.A17)(SFC, 8/3/00, p.A17)
1998 Aug 18, The Yerba Buena Ice Skating Center opened at 750 Folsom St. near Fourth. It had limited hours for public skating (777-3727).
(SFC, 8/22/98, p.A18)
1998 Aug 25, Edison School opened under the operation of the private Edison Project.
(SFC, 8/26/98, p.A13)
1998 Aug 27, It was reported that the SF police Housing Task Force was to be disbanded and replaced by substations. New substations would be placed in Hunters View and Potrero Hill housing complexes with the expansion of substations already at the Sunnydale and Aloce Griffiths projects.
(SFC, 8/27/98, p.A17)
1998 Aug 28, The Motor Vessel Del Norte made a ceremonial ride on the Bay. The $7.8 million, 325 passenger ship was scheduled to begin operations Sep 8.
(SFC, 8/28/98, p.A16)
1998 Sep 3, A US postage stamp featured the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time as part of a sheet with 14 other stamps.
(SFC, 9/3/98, p.A19)
1998 Sep 5, The Treasure Island Blues & Art on the Bay Festival drew 15,000 people on its 1st day. Two-thirds of the crowd arrived by public transit.
(SFEC, 9/6/98, p.A1)
1998 Sep 6, The Treasure Island Blues & Art on the Bay Festival drew 20,000 people on its 2nd day.
(SFC, 9/7/98, p.A1)
1998 Sep 9, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Stockton St. was sold to the Host-Marriott Corp. for $161 million.
(SFC, 9/10/98, p.B1,4)
1998 Sep 10, Bicyclists pedaled across the Bay Bridge from the East in morning traffic to protest the lack of a bike lane on the new proposed bridge. 17 were arrested for tying up traffic.
(SFC, 9/11/98, p.A17)
1998 Sep 11, A fire at the Jerry Hotel at 3032 16th left 20 people homeless.
(SFEC, 3/7/99, p.D1)
1998 Sep 15, Dan Chipparone (23) had his leg severed when a crane collapsed and a steel structure fell during construction at SFO.
(SFC, 9/16/98, p.A18)
1998 Sep 18, In SF Rev. John Charles Wester was named as Catholic Bishop of SF and titular prelate of Lamiggiga.
(SFC, 9/19/98, p.C1)
1998 Sep 24, Eddie DeBartolo, co-owner of the SF 49ers, struck a deal with federal prosecutors to keep out of jail. He will pay a fine and testify against former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards.
(SFC, 9/25/98, p.A1)
1998 Sep 25, Hillary Clinton spoke on behalf of Barbara Boxer at the SF Hilton. Pres. Clinton also visited SF and the Bay Area seeking political donations.
(SFC, 9/26/98, p.A1)
1998 Sep 27, The annual Folsom Street Fair expected 250,000 people.
(SFC, 9/26/98, p.A21)
1998 Sep 30, Alfred Addy, a prominent labor figure since the 1930s, died at age 87 in Fairfax. He was also known for his paintings of SF and Marin.
(SFC, 10/15/98, p.C6)
1998 Sep 30, Dr. Charles Shumate, retired dermatologist and the dean of SF historians, died at age 94. He won the 1994 Oscar Lewis award for his contributions to Western history. He authored 11 books and 69 articles on historical subjects.
(SFC, 10/2/98, p.B6)
1998 Sep, The SF Opera performed the world premiere of "A Streetcar Named Desire" with music by Andre Previn and libretto by Philip Littell.
(SFC, 2/2/99, p.A11)
1998 Sep, Del M. Anderson, chancellor of City College, was scheduled to retire after serving 3 years at the nation’s largest multicampus community college. Her salary was $173,000.
(SFC, 1/29/98, p.A19)
1998 Oct 3-4, The Chinese Moon Festival was celebrated in Chinatown.
(SFEC, 10/4/98, p.B1)
1998 Oct 4, The Castro Street Fair attracted thousands.
(SFEC, 10/5/98, p.A1)
1998 Oct 5, The federal government agreed to pay SF $176.6 million for 59 Italian-made Breda streetcars.
(SFC, 10/6/98, p.A15)
1998 Oct 6, Eddie DeBartolo Jr. pleaded guilty in federal court in Louisiana for failing to report that former governor Edwin Edwards extorted $400,000 from him for a casino license. He agreed to pay $1 million in penalties, serve 2 years of probation and testify in future trials against Edwards.
(SFC, 10/6/98, p.A1)
1998 Oct 7, John M. Smart (46), advertising executive, of Napa was shot to death by police at 6th and Howard. He drove at 2 police officers with his Mercedes-Benz after being confronted for fighting with a prostitute. Crack cocaine was found in his pocket.
(SFC, 10/8/98, p.A17)(SFC, 10/9/98, p.A17)(SFC, 3/13/00, p.A15)
1998 Oct 12, The 103rd annual Italian Heritage parade, previously known as the Columbus Day parade, was held in North Beach. A portrait of Herb Caen on the wall of the Big O Tires at 6th and Mission was completed.
(SFC, 10/12/98, p.A1)(SFC, 12/28/99, p.A13)
1998 Oct 17, The Yerba Buena Center was scheduled to open.
(SFEC, 10/11/98, p.D1)
1998 On Columbus Day a 20-by-70 foot mural in honor of Herb Cain was pronounced complete at the side of Big O Tires on Mission between 6th and 7th.
(SFC, 10/23/98, p.C20)
1998 Oct 22, A 48-year-old woman was kidnapped from the Costco parking garage at 10th and Harrison. She was stripped, choked and dumped near I-80 in Crocket.
(SFC, 11/19/98, p.A1)
1998 Oct 24, A shipment of 10,000 books bound for Tanzania and Zanzibar left SF. The shipment was based on a donation by Berkeley Prof. Ed Ferguson with help from the Int’l. Longshore and Warehouse Union.
(SFC, 10/23/98, p.A23)
1998 Oct 24-25, An open house was scheduled at the Albion Castle under the new ownership of sculptor Eric Higgs.
(SFC, 10/17/98, p.A19)
1998 Oct 26, A mayoral proclamation declared this to be Jack’s Restaurant Day. Jack’s closed down in 2000 after 136 years of operation.
(SFC, 12/15/00, p.A32)
1998 Oct 29, Gennady Penskoy (46), a Ukrainian immigrant cab driver, was shot dead in Visitation Valley in an apparent botched robbery.
(SFC, 10/30/98, p.A22)
1998 Oct 29, Sheila Dillahunty, a homeless woman, was killed as she slept in a doorway on 18th St. Her murder was later attributed to a throat-slasher stalking homeless people. Two men had their throats slashed in a similar manner 13 days earlier in Trenton Alley off Washington St., they but survived. Joshua Rudiger (22) of Oakland, who claimed to be a 2,000 year-old vampire, was later arrested for the murder. Rudiger was convicted of 2nd degree murder and was sentenced from 23 years to life in prison.
(SFC, 11/7/98, p.A1)(SFC, 11/24/99, p.A19)(SFC, 11/30/99, p.A19)(SFC, 2/19/00, p.A18)
1998 Oct 30, The Grand National Rodeo prepared for its 54th annual event with the drive of a herd of 75 longhorn cattle down Geneva to the Cow Palace.
(SFC, 10/31/98, p.A1)
1998 Oct 30, Some 90 SF police and federal agents swarmed on the Martin Luther King Jr./Marcus Garvey housing complex in the Western Addition to crack down on the so-called Knock Out Posse gang. 11 arrests were made and one pit bull was killed. Residents later reported that children had been handcuffed and that numerous homes were trashed.
(SFC, 10/31/98, p.A17)(SFC, 11/4/98, p.C2)
1998 Oct 31, The 16th annual SF Jazz Festival began. It was to be an 11-day, 26-show marathon.
(SFC, 11/2/98, p.E1)
1998 Oct 31, The Zeum Art Center in Yerba Buena Center opened.
(SFEC, 10/11/98, DB p.33)
1998 Oct, Thomas Yuen Chen Lai, a counselor at City College of SF, pleaded guilty to submitting 59 false claims to Letterman Army Hospital from 1991-1994. He was later sentenced to 4 years in jail, fined $10,000, and ordered to pay back the $2,875,000 that he stole.
(SFC, 4/17/99, p.A14)
1998 Nov 3, San Francisco voters again endorsed the idea of district supervisors. Tom Ammiano led the Supervisor votes followed by Gavin Newsom, Mabel Teng, Mark Leno and Amos Brown. Voters approved Prop. E, which called for the demolition of the Central Freeway east of Market St.
(SFC, 11/4/98, p.A19)(SFC, 11/6/98, p.A21)(SSFC, 2/28/10, p.E3)
1998 Nov 3, SF voters approved a measure, backed by Supervisor Newsom, for the creation of a Taxicab Commission.
(SFC, 6/29/06, p.B3)
1998 Nov 3, Police arrested Michael Gold (60) for randomly puncturing hundreds of car tires in the Haight Asbury neighborhood. He did it to “blow off steam."
(SFC, 11/13/98, p.A21)
1998 Nov 7, Mayor Brown was hit with 3 pastry pies by the Biotic Baking Brigade in protest for “skyrocketing evictions" and his “collusion with big business to perform an economic cleansing of SF." In Feb 1999 Gerard Livernois, Rahula Janowski and Justin Gross were sentenced to 6 months in County Jail for battery after the 3 refused to accept 3 years probation.
(SFEC, 11/8/98, p.A1,12)(SFC, 2/25/99, p.A1,13)
1998 Nov 10, The SF police arrested Joshua Rudiger (21) of Oakland for the recent throat-slashing attacks in the city. Rudiger claimed to be a 2,000-year-old vampire.
(SFC, 11/11/98, p.A17)
1998 Nov 12, The 23rd American Indian Film Festival opened in SF.
(SFC, 11/11/98, p.E1)
1998 Nov 16, Alice Tennyson (58) disappeared. Her ATM card was used to pull out $300 in Berkeley the next day. She was found safe 3 days later in Laguna Beach after being kidnapped.
(SFC, 11/19/98, p.A1)(SFC, 11/20/98, p.A1)
1998 Nov 18, The New Italian Cinema Events Festival opened in SF.
(SFC, 11/11/98, p.E1)
1998 Nov 19, The SFMOMA paid $6.5 million for the 1952 “Personal Values" painting by Rene Magritte.
(SFC, 11/20/98, p.C1)
1998 Nov 20, It was reported that Billy Getty, oil scion, sold his 2-bedroom penthouse at 1750 Taylor St. for $15 million.
(SFC, 11/20/98, p.A21)
1998 Nov 21, A 2-block section of Duboce was dedicated to bicycles and the Duboce Bikeway Mural was unveiled.
(SFEC, 11/22/98, p.D1)
1998 Nov 24, Anton Segal (28), a doorman at the Roaring 20s strip club in North Beach, died from a head injury inflicted Saturday night, Nov. 21, when he was hit with a car anti-theft device. Daniel Alas (32), a contract plumber at SFO, was arrested in Dec. for the assault and killing of Segal. Alas was convicted of 2nd degree murder in 2000.
(SFC, 11/26/98, p.A25)(SFC, 12/5/98, p.A20)(SFEC, 7/23/00, p.B15)(SFC, 8/19/00, p.A17)
1998 Nov 25, In North Beach Shu Mei Lee, bartender at the Vieni Lucky Spot bar at 1431 Stockton, was shot and killed by a patron. Donald A. Lorman (63) turned himself in a week later.
(SFC, 11/26/98, p.A25)(SFC, 12/5/98, p.C2)
1998 Nov 28, The Café Babar at 22nd and Guerrero celebrated its final night.
(AR, 11/29/98)
1998 Nov, A $79.9 million bond issue for the California Academy of Sciences scheduled for voter approval.
(SFC, 5/19/98, p.A17)
1998 Nov, The Caribbean-themed Cha Cha Cha opened in the renovated Original McCarthy’s bar near 19th and Mission.
(SFC, 12/2/98, p.A9)
1998 Dec 2, The abandoned mail truck of driver Pablo Molina (47) was found on Jessie St. between 3rd and 4th. Molina was reported missing Dec 1. A sack of registered mail containing about $58,000 in cash was also missing. Molina was found at an Oakland restaurant after becoming ill on Dec 10, but the cash was still missing. Molina was charged with mail theft. He was alleged to have consumed large amounts of crack cocaine, heroine and alcohol.
(SFC, 12/4/98, p.A22)(SFC, 12/11/98, p.A32)(SFC, 12/12/98, p.A21)
1998 Dec 4, Former state Senator Milton Marks died in SF at age 78.
(SFC, 12/5/98, p.A1)
1998 Dec 8, It was reported that the 11 streetcars designed by Peter Witts and purchased from Milan, Italy, had arrived. 9 of the cars cost $30,000 each and the other 2, planned for parts, cost $5,000. Shipping cost $38,000 per car.
(SFC, 12/8/98, p.A22)
1998 Dec 8, In the SF Bay Area an electrician’s error in San Mateo caused a power outage along the northern peninsula that lasted some 6 hours.
(SFC, 12/9/98, p.A1)
1998 Dec 10, State and local officials dedicated the new State Building at the Civic Center. It was remodeled for $246 million. It consisted of the original 6-story Earl Warren Building and a 14-story add-on.
(SFC, 12/11/98, p.A26)
1998 Dec 10, The SF Planning Commission voted to remove the Piazzoni murals from the old Main Library and to alter 2 large reading rooms to make way for the new Asian Art Museum.
(SFC, 12/11/98, p.A25)
1998 Dec 13, A farmer’s market and swap meet began on Treasure Island with a $5 parking fee. Some 75 exhibitors and a few thousand customers showed up.
(SFC, 12/2/98, p.A1)(SFC, 12/14/98, p.A17)
1998 Dec 15, Phyllis C. Wattis donated $1.5 million to the SF Ballet.
(SFC, 12/15/98, p.E1)
1998 Dec 15, Emilio Cruz (34) resigned as general manager of the SF Muni.
(SFC, 12/15/98, p.A1)
1998 Dec 17, Joseph Esherick, Bay Area architect, died at age 83. His work included the SF Cannery, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the first Sea Ranch houses on the Sonoma County coast.
(SFC, 12/24/98, p.B2)
1998 Dec 20, Snow flakes fell in SF and low temperature records were made around the Bay with 40 degrees in SF and 35 in Fremont.
(SFC, 12/21/98, p.A1)
1998 Dec 22, Two fires swept through residential hotels at the Leland Hotel on 1315 Polk and a 73-unit apartment bldg. at 980 Bush St. 100 people at the Leland were left homeless.
(SFC, 12/23/98, p.A15)(SFEC, 3/7/99, p.D1)
1998 Dec 24, Esequiel Macias (47) was stabbed to death at his home in the outer Mission by Evan Dickinson (29), a mentally disturbed downstairs neighbor.
(SFC, 12/25/98, p.A21)
1998 Dec 25, Balloonists Branson, Fossett and Lindstrand hoped to fly over SF on their round-the-world trip. Their quest ended near Hawaii.
(SFC, 12/22/98, p.C6)(SFC, 12/26/98, p.A1)
1998 Dec 29, A fire at the Thor Hotel at 2084 Mission left 50 people homeless.
(SFEC, 3/7/99, p.D1)
1998 Dec 31, Paul Joseph Madronich Jr. (44), an employee for PG&E, was arrested for harboring explosives at 2 PG&E buildings in the Mission District. They appeared to be part of a fireworks manufacturing operation.
(SFEC, 1/3/99, p.D3)(SFC, 1/4/99, p.A16)
1998 Dec 31, Hundreds of young people, denied access to Union square, rioted on Grant St. as the New Year approached. 35 people were arrested and a number of cars were trashed.
(SFC, 1/2/99, p.A1)
1998 Dec, Work on San Francisco’s Central Freeway was scheduled to begin.
(SFC, 2/21/98, p.A13)
1998 Dec, Work on the City Hall was expected to finish at a cost of $244 mil.
(SFC, 10/17/96, A21)
1998 Dec, Dora Donner Ide, SF steel heiress, died. It was later reported that she donated her $111 million estate to a wide-ranging group of arts and charitable organizations.
(SFC, 10/18/00, p.A22)
1998 Steve Bitker published “The Original San Francisco Giants," a history of the baseball team.
(SFC, 5/15/98, p.C4)
1998 Jack Lind, a Danish journalist in San Francisco, authored “"Leo’s Place, An Oral History of the Beats in San Francisco’s North Beach."
(SFC, 3/14/15, p.C2)
1998 The Industry Standard began as a business weekly to cover technology. Its last issue was in 2001. In 2003 James Ledbetter authored "Starving to Death on $200 Million a Year: The Short, Absurd Life of the Industry Standard."
(SSFC, 1/19/03, p.M1)
1998 Ave Montague (d.2009 at 64), arts impresario and publicist, founded the San Francisco Black film Festival.
(SFC, 1/28/09, p.B10)
1998 In San Francisco the Fay House at 2366 Leavenworth St., built in 1912, was willed to the the city.
(SFC, 1/2/14, p.D1)
1998 The new $11.6 million Tenderloin Elementary School and Community Center was due to be completed.
(SFC, 11/5/96, p.A13)
1998 Faisal Alam founded the Al-Fatiha Foundation, a support organization for gay Muslims. Islam condemns homosexuality.
(SFC, 6/21/01, p.A3)
1998 The Gateway High charter school opened to 104 SF 9th graders.
(SFEM, 10/18/98, p.8)
1998 The 5 Muni Metro lines were thrown into chaos by a new computerized train-control system.
(SFC, 10/6/99, p.A4)
1998 Samuel Lee Davis, a welfare eligibility worker, was discovered to have embezzled over $200,000 in city funds earmarked for the poor. In 2002 Davis was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
(SFC, 7/17/02, p.A16)
1998 The former Pier 98, an industrial-strength dumping ground was cleared of debris and transformed to create Heron’s Head Park.
(SFC, 7/9/04, p.B1)
1999 Jan 1, Passes for BART were to become available over the internet at the bart.gov site.
(SFC, 12/4/98, p.A22)
1999 Jan 5, It was reported that the police have begun sweeping the Civic Center Plaza and that the homeless, alcoholics and drug users have been moved over to the United Nations Plaza.
(SFC, 1/5/99, p.A13)
1999 Jan 7, The City Planning Commission finalized their decision to remove the Piazzoni murals from the old Main Library, home of the new Asian Art Museum.
(WSJ, 1/19/98, p.A20)
1999 Jan 7, Yolanda Alexander (36) died of stab wounds received at her apartment in Bernal Heights on the 100 block of Highland Ave.
(SFC, 1/9/99, p.C1)
1999 Jan 8, Shopkeeper Arinze Anoruo (51) was mortally wounded at Home Cash market, 1901 McAllister St. He died of a gunshot wound to the head during a robbery.
(SFC, 1/9/99, p.C1)
1999 Jan 9, The SF 49ers lost to the Atlanta Falcons 20 to 18.
(SFEC, 1/10/99, p.A1)
1999 Jan 10, The new $525-650 million 49er football stadium looked like a dead deal and a new plan was reported to convert 3Com to a football-only facility for $350 million.
(SFC, 1/11/99, p.A1)
1999 Jan 10, In SF Xiu Li Jiang (22) was murdered at her Turk Street apartment and was soon reported missing. Her body was found in a Shurgard storage locker in Daly City in 2002. In 2006 Bobby Tran (31), who had brokered a 1997 faked marriage for her, pleaded no contest to charges that he had killed and dismembered her. In 2006 Tran was sentenced to 30 years.
(SFC, 6/21/02, p.A18)(SFC, 8/19/06, p.B2)
1999 Jan 15, An attempted robbery at the B of A on Market and New Montgomery left Buford White (45) dead, 2 police officers wounded and Anthony Garcia critically wounded. Garcia tackled White during the robbery. Antonio Castillo (26) was named as the wounded man who was shot twice in the face when he struggled with Buford White. Captain George Stasko II commanded the police operations and was killed that night in an accident while driving home to Santa Rosa. In 2002 a judge ruled that Stasko died in the line of duty. His blood alcohol had measured .36 after the accident.
(SFC, 1/16/99, p.A1)(SFC, 1/18/99, p.A1)(SFC, 4/29/02, p.B1)
1999 Jan 15, SF based AirTouch was sold to Vodafone Group PLC of Britain in a deal valued at $55-56 billion.
(SFC, 1/16/99, p.A1)(SFC, 2/19/99, p.A1)
1999 Jan 22, Mayor Brown approved a measure for the development of 200 units of affordable housing near the Embarcadero, along with a new police station and a 400-room waterfront hotel.
(SFC, 1/23/99, p.A15)
1999 Jan 24, Mayor Brown swore in Alicia Becerril (49) to the Board of Supervisors.
(SFC, 1/26/99, p.A22)
1999 Jan 26, A man in a wheelchair armed with a gun held up a pedestrian in Chinatown. He had robbed another victim of $17 a week earlier. Cuong Tran (27) was arrested Feb 1.
(SFC, 1/30/99, p.A15)(SFC, 2/3/99, p.A15)
1999 Jan 28, Two diamond robberies netted $100,000 each.
(SFC, 1/30/99, p.A16)
1999 Jan, The KRON "Bay Area 2000" documentary series included 3 films on San Francisco history by Ken Swartz. They included: "SF, Birth of a City: 1850-1899," "SF, Into the Fire (1900-1910," and "SF, Phoenix Rising 1910-1920."
(SFC, 2/9/99, p.E1)
1999 Jan, Roberto Ortega (19), a member of the Surenos gang, was shot to death at 21st and Capp. Salvador Rodriguez (18) and Juan Carlos Romero (19) members of the Nortenos gang were arrested on Aug 19. The same day as the arrests Raul Ortega, brother of Roberto, was shot in the head and killed.
(SFC, 8/21/99, p.A18)
1999 Feb 10, "Bro" gang members, aka Sunset District Incorporated, severely beat up Richard Bailey of San Bruno following a basketball game between St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart. Police were investigating the incident as a hate-crime. In March police arrested Robert Ramirez (20), Michael Hurley (19) and a 16-year-old boy for the attack on Bailey. Kevin Reilly (20) was still sought.
(SFC, 2/12/99, p.A21)(SFC, 3/11/99, p.A15)
1999 Feb 11, Deborah Dodson shot and killed Floyd Hollis (59), her former husband, in the 1500 block of Hayes St. Hollis, a convicted felon, had stalked and threatened Dodson for months in violation of a restraining order.
(SFC, 2/12/99, p.A1)
1999 Feb 12, A fire at the Hartland Hotel at 909 Geary left 150 people homeless.
(SFEC, 3/7/99, p.D1)
1999 Feb 16, Concern was raised over the flock of some 50 wild parrots that lived on Telegraph Hill. Their protector and chronicler, Mark Bittner, was scheduled to move from his cottage and the city's Commission on Animal Control and Welfare asked for ideas on their care.
(SFC, 2/16/99, p.A11)
1999 Feb 17, An agreement in federal court put an end to ethnic quotas in SF public schools.
(SFC, 2/17/99, p.A1)
1999 Feb 18, Transamerica was bought by Aegon NV of the Netherlands in a deal valued at $9.7 billion. The assessed value of the Transamerica Pyramid in SF was set at $190 million.
(SFC, 2/19/99, p.A1)(SFC, 5/29/04, p.C2)
1999 Feb 22, Levi Strauss announced that it would close 11 of 22 US plants and lay off 5,900 factory workers.
(SFC, 2/23/99, p.A1)
1999 Feb 28, An early morning shooting at 1843 Eddy in the Western Addition left Keionta Dean (19) dead and 5 wounded. Roland “Tang" White was indicted in 2001 and arrested in Oakland in 2002.
(SFC, 3/1/99, p.A22)(SFC, 4/24/02, p.A14)
1999 Mar 2, A fire at the Park Hotel at 325 Sutter left 180 people homeless.
(SFEC, 3/7/99, p.D1)
1999 Mar 3, Dirt hauling from the new Pac Bell Park was halted due to high levels of lead in the soil. The lead was from homes and industrial sites filled with lead-based paint prior to the 1906 earthquake.
(SFC, 3/4/99, p.A1)
1999 Mar 3, Potsan Lo (74) was found dead of a head injury inside her Santos St. home in the Excelsior.
(SFC, 3/11/99, p.A16)
1999 Mar 6, The SF Urban Iditarod race was held to coincide with the 27th annual race in Alaska.
(SFEC, 3/7/99, p.D3)
1999 Mar 6, Tony Zachary (32) tortured his common-law wife with a curling iron for over an hour and fled with their 2 children.
(SFC, 3/18/99, p.A20)
1999 Mar 8, Velma Studendorf (86) was raped and killed in her home at 46 Norton St. in the Mission Terrace. David Silva (b.1953)), a homeless man, was later arrested in connection with the crime. Silva was convicted in 2002. In 2003 he claimed responsibility for 4 other killings.
(SFC, 3/11/99, p.A16)(SSFC, 3/30/03, p.A1)
1999 Mar 13, The California Music Awards known as the Bammies was held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
(SFEC, 3/14/99, p.D1)
1999 Mar 14, The SF 147th St. Patrick's Day Parade was held.
(SFC, 3/15/99, p.A13)
1999 Mar 15, Mayor Brown picked Michael Burns (43), the 2nd ranking boss of the Philadelphia transit system, as the general manager for Muni.
(SFC, 3/16/99, p.A1)
1999 Mar 15, The SF Supervisors approved a ban on new liquor stores in the 28-block Tenderloin area bounded by Post, Polk, Golden Gate, and Taylor Streets.
(SFC, 3/16/99, p.A13)
1999 Mar 17, Buster Simpson presented a new rendering of his foot sculpture for the Embarcadero called "Embark" to an art commission panel. An initial design was rejected in 1997.
(SFC, 3/17/99, p.A1)
1999 Mar 22, The SF Int'l. Film Festival opened with David Mamet's "The Winslow Boy" at the Castro. The rest of the 2-week show was scheduled for the Kabuki multiplex at 1881 Post St.
(SFC, 3/10/99, p.C11)
1999 Mar 28, In SF the 15-story Verducci Hall of California State Univ. on Lake Merced Drive was blown up. It was to be replaced by a new apartment complex. The building, which opened in 1969, was named after Joe Verducci, a former CSU athletic director, and had been vacant since 1991.
(SFC, 3/17/99, p.A12)(SFC, 3/29/99, p.A1,5)
1999 Apr 3, In Visitacion Valley Whai Sook Kim (51), the new co-owner of the KC Market at Wilde Ave. and Rutland St. was shot and killed.
(SFEC, 4/4/99, p.B1)
1999 Apr 10, Mary Jane Rathbun (77), aka Brownie Mary, died. She and Dennis Peron had earlier published "Brownie Mary's Marijuana Cookbook and Dennis Peron's Recipe for Social Change."
(SFC, 4/13/99, p.A19)
1999 Apr 13, Mayor Brown premiered "The Willie Brown Show," a monthly episode, on cable Channel 27.
(SFC, 4/12/99, p.A17)
1999 Apr 14, Sam Provenzano, artist, died at age 75. He coined the term SoMa for the South of Market area and sketched scenes of the North Beach and SoMa neighborhoods.
(SFEC, 4/18/99, p.D1)
1999 Apr 15, A fire broke out at 1749 Ninth Ave. near Noriega and over a dozen firefighters were injured when the flames jumped to the 3-story apartment next door.
(SFC, 4/16/99, p.A21)
1999 Apr 15, Jane O'Connell (72) was struck by a MUNI bus at Mission and 21st as she crossed against a red light. She died the next day. The bus was later found to have a faulty brake.
(SFC, 4/17/99, p.A14)(SFC, 5/24/99, p.A17)
1999 Apr 16, The California College of Arts and Crafts planned a public exhibition of its new renovated facility, the 12,000-square-foor Kent and Vicki Logan Center at 8th and Irwin.
(SFC, 4/14/99, p.E1)
1999 Apr 19, Michael Burns of Philadelphia began work as the new Muni chief.
(SFC, 4/19/99, p.A1)
1999 Apr 19, The SF Board of Supervisors rejected the 18-foot "foot sculpture" by Buster Simpson in a 6-4 vote.
(SFC, 4/20/99, p.A1)
1999 Apr 22, The Dallas Board of Education named SF Superintendent Bill Rojas as its choice to run the Dallas school district. The SF Board of Supervisors were not pleased.
(SFC, 4/23/99, p.A1)
1999 Apr 23, Bill Rojas announced that he would move to Dallas and head their school district for $275,000.
(SFEC, 4/25/99, p.C1)
1999 Apr 24, Some 15,000 people marched in SF on behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal (on his 45th birthday), a man convicted in the killing of a Philadelphia police officer in 1982.
(SFEC, 4/25/99, p.A1)
1999 Apr 24, Some 20,000 thousands of Sikhs gathered to march in SF on the 300th anniversary of their religion. The Sikhs were founded by a series of 10 prophets or gurus and believe in one God but many paths to heaven. [see Nanak c1500, 1519]
(SFEC, 4/25/99, p.C1)
1999 Apr 27, Advocates for the SF homeless began distributing personal shopping carts to counter the get tough policies of Mayor Brown and Supervisor Amos Brown. 5 carts were given out by the Coalition on Homelessness and POOR Magazine.
(SFC, 4/27/99, p.A17)
1999 Apr 28, San Francisco-based McKesson Corp. announced irregularities in the books of its newly acquired HBO & Co. The stock plunged 48%. The January merger had cost McKesson $13.9 billion.
(SFC, 10/17/03, p.B4)(SFC, 6/19/12, p.D1)
1999 Apr, P.J. Johnston (29) took over as the director of the SF Film Commission.
(SFC, 5/10/99, p.E1)
1999 Apr, Madeleine Haas Russell, philanthropist and civic leader, died at 84.
(SFC, 11/6/99, p.B1)
1999 May 1, The Puente al Sur exhibit at the SF Zoo opened featuring the exotic creatures of Central and South America.
(SFC, 4/29/99, p.C1)
1999 May 1, The Norway Day Festival was held at Fort Mason.
(SFEC, 5/2/99, p.C7)
1999 May 1, The 2nd annual Reclaim May Day, Reclaim San Francisco festival was held in Dolores Park.
(SFEC, 5/2/99, p.C7)
1999 May 2, SF Superior Court Judge James McBride (47) was arrested on a felony account of spousal abuse.
(SFC, 5/5/99, p.A17)
1999 May 4, The SF Board of Education chose Linda Davis as the interim superintendent.
(SFC, 5/5/99, p.A15)
1999 May 5, SF Superior Court Judge Robert Dondero ruled that a key DNA test, Short Tandem Repeats, was unproven and inadmissible in 5 cases before him.
(SFC, 5/7/99, p.A1)
1999 May 6, The closing night film for the SF Int'l. Film Festival at the Castro was the concert documentary "Buena Vista Social Club" by Wim Wenders."
(SFC, 3/10/99, p.C3)
1999 May 6, Wilfred Ussery, a former member of the BART board of directors, was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of bribery, extortion and lying to the FBI.
(SFC, 5/7/99, p.A19)
1999 May 7, The new 30-story W San Francisco hotel was scheduled to open at Howard and Third. It was operated by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc, the world's largest hotel group.
(SFEC, 4/25/99, p.B1)
1999 May 11, Mayor Brown hired Elizabeth Goldstein at a $90,000 salary as physical plant and operations manager for his "park renaissance crusade."
(SFC, 5/12/99, p.A11)
1999 May 14, San Francisco and Oakland vied in the Great Green Sweep, an effort to sweep the cities clean.
(SFEC, 5/16/99, p.D1)
1999 May 14, In San Francisco Julie Christine Day (24) of Walnut Creek was last seen leaving the Bubble Lounge on Montgomery St. Her body was found a week later in a shallow grave in China Basin. In 2009 Jehad Baqleh, a former taxi driver convicted of her murder, was determined to be legally insane.
(SFC, 5/21/99, p.A15)
1999 May 14, San Francisco police arrested Kevin Keating (38), head of the "Yuppie Eradication Project," on suspicion of property destruction in the Mission. Keating held the pre-WW I Ukrainian anarchist Nestor Makhno as his idol.
(SFC, 6/7/99, p.A13)
1999 May 16, The 88th Bay to Breakers run was one by Lazarus Nyakeraka of Kenya with a time of 34 minutes and 11 seconds.
(SFC, 5/17/99, p.A1)
1999 May 17, SF poet and film maker James Broughton died. He was born in Modesto and moved to Port Townsend, Washington, in 1989. His poetry books included "Graffiti for the Johns of Heaven."
(SFC, 6/24/99, p.E3)
1999 May 20, In San Francisco the body of Julie Christine Day (24) was found partially buried at a construction site in China Basin. Jehad Baqleh (31), a taxi driver, was arrested for the murder and admitted that he robbed and had sex with the victim.
(SFC, 5/21/99, p.A1)
1999 May 24, Mayor Brown proclaimed this day as Rashad Williams Day in honor of Rashad's having raised $18,000 for the family of Lance Kirklin (16), who was shot 5 times at Columbine High School, Colo., on Apr 20.
(SFEC, 6/20/99, p.C1)
1999 May 26, Shayne Worcester (29) of Portland, Maine, was robbed and mortally shot in a Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco. He was a Rhodes Scholar and independent filmmaker visiting the city for a friend's birthday. In 2001 Tremain Collier (30) of Richmond and Santese Edwards (23) of SF were indicted and arrested for the murder. Daniel Mooring (21) was also indicted and sought by police. In 2004 Mooring was found guilty of 1st degree murder.
(SFC, 5/27/99, p.A1)(SFC, 4/26/01, p.A1)(SFC, 1/16/04, p.A21)
1999 May 30, The Carnaval music and dance festival was held in the Mission District.
(SFC, 5/31/99, p.A13)
1999 May, The new 423-room W San Francisco Hotel at Third and Howard was scheduled to open.
(SFC, 1/4/99, p.E3)
1999 Jun 4, Ken Kelton, the Pedestrian Man, was profiled for his late night artistry painting the outlines of pedestrians killed by traffic on SF streets. www.pedsafe.org (SFC, 6/4/99, p.A2)
1999 Jun 6, Bay Area Buddhists celebrated the first national "Change Your Mind Day" at Golden Gate Park. The event began in NYC under the sponsorship of "Tricycle," a Buddhist magazine.
(SFC, 6/4/99, p.A19)
1999 Jun 9, Michael Downing (27) set himself on fire in front of the Lakeshore Elementary School at 220 Middlefield Drive. He was hospitalized with burns on 98% of his body and died the next day.
(SFC, 6/10/99, p.C4)(SFC, 6/11/99, p.A18)
1999 Jun 11, Wallace Brunfield (28) died of gunshot wounds sustained near Webster and Grove.
(SFC, 6/14/99, p.A24)
1999 Jun 12, Mayor Brown announced his official candidacy for re-election.
(SFEC, 6/13/99, p.D1)
1999 Jun 12, Todd Peterson (50) was found stabbed to death in a Hyde St. apartment. A 2nd man was taken to SFG with a knife in his chest.
(SFC, 6/14/99, p.A24)
1999 Jun 13, The 22nd Haight Street Fair was closed by pianist Merl Saunders and His Funky Friends.
(SFC, 6/12/99, p.A19)
1999 Jun 14, Development rights to the former Letterman Hosp. in the Presidio was won by the George Lucas group. Their proposed $250 million moviemaking and technology campus prevailed over a proposal by the Shorenstein/Interland Corp.
(SFC, 6/15/99, p.A1)
1999 Jun 16, The $85 million, 350,000 sq.-ft Metreon shopping and amusement center created by Sony opened at Fourth and Mission. It will have 15 movie screens and an IMAX theater with restaurants and stores. The center included the first Sony PlayStation, a showcase store for home and video games by any game developer.
(SFC, 1/5/99, p.E1)(SFC, 3/3/99, p.E2)(SFC, 4/22/99, p.B1)(SFC, 6/17/99, p.E1)
1999 Jun 16, The board of the Chronicle Publ. Co. voted to solicit bids for all or parts of the company. In pieces it was valued at $2 billion.
(SFC, 6/17/99, p.A1)
1999 Jun 16, The California High Speed Railway Authority recommended that San Francisco and San Jose be part of a $23.3 billion bullet train stretching from San Diego to Sacramento. A link to Oakland was put on study.
(SFC, 6/17/99, p.A22)
1999 Jun 22, R.D. Layman, former Chronicle copy editor and authority on early naval aviation, died at age 71. He authored 4 books on early naval aviation.
(SFC, 6/25/99, p.D6)
1999 Jun 23, The 300-sq.-ft. Telegraph Hill cottage where Bill Bailey lived from 1955-1992 was lifted from its foundation and put to storage on a MUNI repair yard.
(SFC, 6/24/99, p.A19)
1999 Jun 25, The 5th annual extreme sports competition opened at Pier 30 under the sponsorship of ESPN. The X Games ran over 10 days to Jul 3.
(SFC, 6/24/99, p.A1)
1999 Jun 25, Russell Scott (50), a recovering addict and drug rehabilitation pioneer, was found slain in his Sunset home.
(SFC, 6/29/99, p.A14)
1999 Jun 26, The X Games drew an overflow crowd of 25,000 people inside and another 15,000 people outside. The Gay Pride crowd at the Civic Center was estimated at 30,000.
(SFEC, 6/27/99, p.A1)
1999 Jun 28, The Board of Supervisors considered a proposal for a 3.5 mile downtown Gold Rush Trail from Yerba Buena Gardens to Washington Square.
(SFC, 6/30/99, p.A13)
1999 Jun, The 226-unit, 20-story Bay Towers on Beale St. was scheduled to accept residential tenants.
(SFEC, 1/24/99, p.B9)
1999 Jun, Ground breaking was to begin for the new 43-acre UCSF campus at 16th and 3rd. The city will have donated 13 acres and Catellus Development Corp. the other 30 acres.
(SFC, 3/5/98, p.A17)
1999 Jun, A 35-acre section of Treasure Island was scheduled to become a Job Corps training center. It was scheduled to have 780 beds for poor and disadvantaged students from 16-24 years of age.
(SFC, 12/22/98, p.C8)
1999 Jul 3, The 2-day Fillmore Street Fair opened.
(SFEC, 7/4/99, p.B8)
1999 Jul 7, The SF Landmark Preservation Board voted to bestow landmark status to the Doggie Diner restaurant across from the city zoo. Sloat Garden Center, the owner of the property, order the diner operator to close shop in 60 days.
(SFC, 7/8/99, p.A13)
1999 Jul 9, In SF Mark Barton was ambushed and shot to death as he left for work from his Potrero Ave. home. His girlfriend (21) was raped, thrown in a closet and shot. In 2003 police arrested Ivory Morton based on DNA evidence. Morton was convicted Aug 18, 2006.
(SFC, 3/28/03, p.A6)(SFC, 8/19/06, p.B3)
1999 Jul 11, In the first SF Chronicle Marathon Brad Hawthorne won the race.
(SFC, 7/12/99, p.A1,5)
1999 Jul 14, Robert Clayton (43) was shot to death while in his car near 700 Grove St. The murder was suspected to be drug-related.
(SFEC, 7/18/99, p.D8)
1999 Jul 15, Tammy Duperroir (26) was stabbed to death on Harrison St. while going to a store.
(SFC, 7/16/99, p.D6)
1999 Jul 19, Mayor Brown pushed through a $4.2 billion city budget.
(SFC, 7/20/99, p.A15)
1999 Jul 22, The Board of Supervisors approved a 25% pay raise over 2 years for city firefighters. Base pay would hit $71,000 by July 1, 2000.
(SFC, 7/22/99, p.A19)
1999 Jul 30, United Airlines agreed to offer domestic-partner benefits to employees and retirees worldwide following a 2-year legal struggle against the SF domestic-partners law.
(SFC, 7/31/99, p.A1)
1999 Jul 30, Waste Management began hauling lead-contaminated dirt from the Altamont Landfill to the Kettleman Hills hazardous waste site. The dirt was from the SF Pacific Bell Park baseball site.
(SFC, 7/31/99, p.A11)
1999 Jul 31, The FBI probed the SF affirmative action agency over the award of a contested train contract at the SF Int'l. Airport.
(SFEC, 8/1/99, p.A1)
1999 Jul, The Park Merced apartment complex was sold by the Leona Helmsley group to Carmel Companies, a Denver real estate conglomerate, and money partner JP Morgan Strategic Property Fund, for $350 million.
(SFC, 5/27/00, p.A17)(www.cityfeet.com/News/NewsArticle.aspx?PartnerPath=&Id=14379)
1999 Aug 2, The FBI probe in SF was extended to the Housing Authority and the possibility of illegal sale of vouchers for Section 8 subsidized rental housing.
(SFC, 8/3/99, p.A1)
1999 Aug 6, The SF Chronicle and SF Gate was sold to the Hearst Corp. for an estimated $660 million.
(SFC, 8/7/99, p.A1)(SFC, 8/7/99, p.A8)(WSJ, 8/9/99, p.B9)
1999 Aug 12, A grand opening Macy's Union Square was scheduled.
(SFEM, 8/8/99, p.42)
1999 Aug 12, Rick Curry (36) was shot and killed at 751 Webster St., outside King's Super Market.
(SFC, 8/14/99, p.A1)
1999 Aug 12, Dung Quan (19) of Daly City was shot and killed at Webster and Geary in a driveby shooting.
(SFC, 8/14/99, p.A13)
1999 Aug 12, Martin Wong, artist, died of AIDS at age 53. His paintings of tenement life in NYC are part of the permanent collection of the NYC MOMA.
(SFEC, 8/22/99, p.D5)
1999 Aug 15, Foreign Cinema at 2548 Mission was founded by Jon Varnedoe and Michael Hecht.
(SFC, 8/21/99, p.B1)
1999 Aug 15, Hien Nguyen (60), former South Vietnamese army soldier, was beaten to death in Visitacion Valley. Jose Nunez Ortiz Jr. was arrested for the murder.
(SFC, 9/19/00, p.A1)
1999 Aug 17, Two Salvadoran men were found killed in their Ocean View residence.
(SFC, 8/20/99, p.D6)
1999 Aug 19, Raul Ortega (22) was shot and killed at 19th and San Carlos streets 3 hours after police officers had arrested 2 Nortenos gang members for the Jan. murder of his brother Roberto.
(SFC, 8/21/99, p.A18)(SFC, 8/24/99, p.A17)
1999 Aug 26, Nancy Honig (56), wife of former state school chief Bill Honig, was found dead in SF. Vodka and pills were found in her room along with a copy of "Final Exit," a book on how to commit suicide by Derek Humphrey.
(SFC, 8/31/99, p.A22)
1999 Aug 26, Robert Sadler (35) was shot and killed at the Sirocco Club on Judah St. He was a bystander in a confrontation following a pool dispute.
(SFC, 8/27/99, p.D7)
1999 Aug, A 64-foot-long and 8-foot-tall mural by Barry McGee at 1035 Howard St. was stolen. The theft was not reported to police until mid Sept. and not made public until mid Nov.
(SFEC, 11/14/99, p.C1)
1999 Sep 2, David Dunn (22) and a teenager were shot from a moving car at the corner of Eddy and Scott streets, an area known as the Alamo Square neighborhood. Dunn died the next day.
(SFC, 9/4/99, p.A17)
1999 Sep 6, Some 1,000 members of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union demonstrated in front of the St. Francis Hotel and 147 members of Local 2 were arrested.
(SFC, 9/7/99, p.A17)
1999 Sep 7, Mayor Brown announced a property tax cut with a new rate of $1.129 per $100 of assessed value.
(SFC, 9/8/99, p.A21)
1999 Sep 8, A heavy thunderstorm hit the Bay Area.
(SFC, 9/9/99, p.A20)
1999 Sep 9, The 8th annual Fringe Festival opened for an 11-day run.
(SFC, 9/8/99, p.C1)
1999 Sep 10, The Lotta Crabtree fountain at Kearny and Market was rededicated.
(SFC, 9/10/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 10, Officials seized 59 Labrador dogs from Thomas Hammer (50) at his home on Santa Rita Ave, declared his house a nuisance and cited him for cruelty.
(SFC, 9/18/99, p.A24)
1999 Sep 11, The SF Opera season opened with Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera."
(SFEC, 9/12/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 11, Michael Franti, SF musician, organized a concert in Golden Gate Park on behalf of death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal. It became an annual event with a shift of focus following the 2001 terrorist attacks.
(SFC, 9/7/06, p.E4)
1999 Sep 14, UCSF filed a suit against head cashier Marie Taliaferro of Moraga, her husband Paul and daughter Christina, for embezzling a suspected $4.5 million over several years. Taliaferro was arrested in Dec. and charged with embezzling $4.7 million, much of which was funneled into Solimar Inc., a Lafayette company run by her daughter (33), dedicated to the proposition that "angels are spiritual messengers dedicated to our growth and good fortune."
(SFC, 9/15/99, p.A19)(SFC, 12/14/99, p.A17)
1999 Sep 17, Gianfranco Fulvio Giotta, owner of the Café Trieste in North Beach, died at age 55.
(SFEC, 9/19/99, p.C1)
1999 Sep 18, The 27th annual SF Blues Festival opened.
(SFEC, 9/19/99, p.C1)
1999 Sep 18, The Autumn Moon Festival was held in Chinatown.
(SFEC, 9/19/99, p.C3)
1999 Sep 20, Fernando Lozoya (14) of Everett Middle School was stabbed at 17th and Arkansas and soon died from his wound inflicted by suspected gang members.
(SFC, 9/21/99, p.A15)
1999 Sep 20, The body Mohammad Mustafa Elian (37), a Cleveland businessman involved in running the closed Kings Super Market on Webster St., was found bundled off a cliff near Devil's Slide.
(SFC, 9/23/99, p.A18)
1999 Sep 21, Federal officials indicted 24 people in connection with alleged bribery at the SF Housing Authority.
(SFC, 9/22/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 22, It was reported the SF Airport had earned accreditation by the American Association of Museums, the only airport so honored.
(SFC, 9/22/99, p.E3)
1999 Sep 23, The UCSF Stanford Health Care board of directors voted to close the emergency room at Mt. Zion Hospital and convert it to a daytime medical clinic.
(SFC, 9/24/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 28, The SF investment banking firm of Hambrecht & Quist Group agreed to sell out to Chase Manhattan for about $1.35 billion.
(SFC, 9/29/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 30, The SF Giants played their last game at Candlestick/3Com Park before a crowd of 61,389 fans. The Los Angeles Dodgers won, 9-to-4.
(SFC, 10/1/99, p.A1)(AP, 9/30/00)
1999 Sep, Archbishop Levada announced that the National Conference of Catholic Bishops had approved his request to designate St. Francis Church as the National Shrine of St. Francis.
(SFC, 10/4/99, p.A21)
1999 Oct 3, The body of Thorin Butler (19) was found in Mountain Lake. He had disappeared over a week earlier.
(SFC, 10/4/99, p.A19)
1999 Oct 3, The King's Hotel at 663 Valencia was torched and one resident, Rexanne Battershell (46), was killed and as many as 75 left homeless. Sandra Taylor, a former tenant angry at being forced to move, was later arrested on suspicion of arson and murder. Taylor was found guilty Feb 14, 2002.
(SFC, 10/4/99, p.A1)(SFC, 2/15/02, p.A24)
1999 Oct 9, The annual Fleet Week celebration began and 20 warships were scheduled to pass under the Golden Gate Bridge.
(SFC, 10/6/99, p.A19)
1999 Oct 10, Lorenzo "Sol" Silva (63), an airport security guard, shot and killed 3 of his upstairs neighbors and then killed himself at 33 de Montfort St. in the Ingleside district. Noel Ridual and his wife Josephine, both 28, and their friend Maria "Ola" Marquicias (32) were killed. The Ridual's 2-year-old daughter was wounded.
(SFC, 10/11/99, p.A1)(SFC, 10/12/99, p.A1)
1999 Oct 16, The 10th annual SF Book Fair opened at Fort Mason. In Chinatown the 1st Saturday Chinatown Night Market Fair was held at Portsmouth Square and plans were to continue through Nov. 20.
(SFEC, 10/17/99, p.D1)
1999 Oct 20, Matteo Ciuffreda, jeweler, died, 2 days after the Matteucci clock in front of his store was knocked over by a truck.
(SFC, 10/21/99, p.A19,24)
1999 Oct 20-Nov 6, The 17th annual SF Jazz Festival was held.
(SFEM, 10/3/99, p.19)
1999 Oct 25, A groundbreaking ceremony was held at 16th and Owen streets for the new UC biological research laboratory, part of a new 43-acre UCSF campus, itself part of the Mission Bay development.
(SFC, 10/25/99, p.A1)
1999 Oct 29-Nov 7, The 55th Grand National Rodeo was scheduled for the Cow Palace.
(SFEM, 10/24/99, p.4)
1999 Oct 31, A Halloween Party at the Civic Center was expected to attract 20,000 people with 50,000 expected in the Castro area.
(SFC, 10/30/99, p.A25)
1999 Oct, A SF Municipal "Litter Court" began hearing cases on litter and illegal dumping of trash.
(SFC, 11/26/99, p.A1)
1999 Nov 2, In San Francisco elections Willie Brown led with 38.7% of the vote and Supervisor Tom Ammiano came in 2nd with 25.4%. Terence Hallinan led over Bill Fazio. A Dec 14 runoff was scheduled for both mayor and district attorney. SF voters backed Proposition F, a ban on ATM surcharges, and the banks quickly sued to keep the fees. The $299 million bond measure to rebuild Laguna Honda passed and seismic retrofit for the Central Freeway (Prop J) was undetermined as was the plan to tear down the Central Freeway (Prop I). Voters approved an ordnance making it harder for property owners to evict tenants (Prop G). In 2003 a judge weakened the Prop G ordnance. Voters passed a proposition to keep the Transbay Terminal where it is and make sure that Caltrain is extended into the terminal’s basement.
(SFC, 11/3/99, p.A1)(SFC, 11/4/99, p.A1,21)(SFC, 11/5/99, p.A1,18)(SFC, 5/3/03, p.A17)(SFC, 8/7/07, p.A6)
1999 Nov 4, It was reported that the North Beach Finocchio's nightclub, famous for its female impersonators, was due to close on Nov 27 after 63 years of operation.
(SFC, 11/4/99, p.A1)
1999 Nov 4, Shorenstein Co. announced that 25 tenants would be evicted from the Temple Hotel at 469 Pine St. under the Ellis Act.
(SFC, 11/5/99, p.A21)
1999 Nov 10, Three of 4 paintings stolen from the De Young Museum in 1978 turned up in NYC.
(SFC, 11/11/99, p.A1)
1999 Nov 15, A federal judge blocked the San Francisco voter approved ATM initiative to prohibit banks from charging fees to noncustomers.
(SFC, 11/16/99, p.A1)
1999 Nov 15, Young Broadcasting of New York purchased KRON, Channel 24, for $823 million from the SF Chronicle.
(SFC, 11/16/99, p.A1)
1999 Nov 15, John Langley Howard, artist and son of architect John Galen Howard, died at age 97. His work included the Industry mural in Coit Tower and the 1951 triptych "The Rape of the Earth."
(SFC, 11/26/99, p.B9)
1999 Nov 16, Genentech agreed to settle a 10-year patent infringement dispute with the University of California for $200 million. $150 million was to be in cash and $50 million for the construction of a research campus in SF.
(SFC, 11/16/99, p.C1)
1999 Nov 18, The SF Board of Supervisors passed a resolution that urged Coca Cola to use more recycled plastic in the estimated 10 billion plastic bottles that it produced annually in the US.
(SFC, 11/19/99, p.A26)
2009 Nov 19, In San Francisco former McKesson Corp. Chairman Charles McCall was convicted by a federal jury of 5 felonies for inflating the revenues of HBO & Co., a medical software company, before McKesson acquired it for $13.9 billion in January 1999.
(www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/business/20fraud.html)(SFC, 6/19/12, p.D1)
1999 Nov 23, The Emergency Room at Mount Zion was closed.
(SFC, 11/24/99, p.A19)
1999 Nov 26, A fire at the residential Hotel Western on 335 Leavenworth left over 40 people homeless.
(SFEC, 11/28/99, p.A1)
1999 Nov 28, Finnochio's drag club on Broadway closed after a 63-year run.
(SFC, 11/29/99, p.D1)
1999 Nov 30, The SF 1998-1999 fiscal year showed a $126 million surplus.
(SFC, 12/1/99, p.A23)
1999 The sculpture “Pax Jerusalem" by Mark de Suvero was erected In the parking area of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor.
(SFEC, 7/16/00, DB p.33)
1999 Dec 7, Exotic dancers filed a class-action suit against the Broadway clubs: Casbah, Garden of Eden and Roaring '20s. The dancers demanded rights as employees and not independent contractors.
(SFC, 12/8/99, p.A21)
1999 Dec 9, In San Francisco Kameron Sengthavy, a former Univ. of Nevada swimmer, was found stabbed to death in his residential hotel at 447 Bush St. In 2018 police served an arrest warrant for the murder on Roy Donovan Lacy (38), a former SF Bay Area resident serving time for bank robbery in a Florida prison.
(SSFC, 5/20/18, p.C3)
1999 Dec 12, Barbara Amundson (43) was killed during a burglary at Major Lines of California kitchen showroom in the Bayview. Police arrested Clifford Hayter (42) 2 days later on suspicion of burglary and murder. Police had inspected the area following a burglar alarm, which Amundson came to turn off.
(SFC, 12/17/99, p.A1)
1999 Dec 13, Margiree Warren (48) was shot to death in the 1400 block of Baker St. Ex-husband Leonard Jones (49) was arrested for the shotgun slaying.
(SFC, 12/14/99, p.A17)
1999 Dec 14, Mayor Willie Brown won his bid for re-election over Tom Ammiano by a margin of about 60-40. After a week of counting votes Terence Hallinan was declared victor over Bill Fazio.
(SFC, 12/15/99, p.A1)(SFC, 12/23/99, p.A1)
1999 Dec 19, Ramon Calderon (21) of Vallejo was attacked and hit by Hollis Bee Owens, a homeless man free on probation, in Portsmouth Square following an short chat. Calderon died 3 days later.
(SFC, 12/24/99, p.A1)
1999 Dec 19, Joe Jackson (22) was shot by Alton Singleton during an ongoing a family feud on Potrero Hill. Jackson died Sep 19, 2000.
(SFC, 9/21/00, p.A18)
1999 The “Pax Jerusalem" sculpture by Mark di Suvero was acquired by SF and set outside the California Palace of the Legion of Honor.
(SFC, 12/23/02, p.D1)
1999 Alan Kaufman, SF poet, published his anthology of poetry: "The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry."
(SFC, 2/22/00, p.C1)
c1999 David Johnson (46), aka the “bushman," began scaring tourists for fun and money at Fisherman’s Wharf. In 2002 there was a push to end his act following numerous complaints.
(SSFC, 9/8/02, p.A21)
1999 Jim Berk, owner of a residential complex, founded Safe on Sixth (SOS), a volunteer street-sweeping program.
(SFC, 10/22/01, p.A14)
1999 A $51,000 federal grant was used by a non-profit under Charlie Walker to buy a Hunters Point property that was sold to a Nation of Islam affiliate. In 2000 HUD ordered a pay back at market value, $400,000.
(SFC, 3/29/02, p.A1)
1999 San Francisco held its first How Weird Street Faire. It grew out of community of artists in the 1990s known as the Consortium of Collective Consciousness. Brad Olsen founded the "How Weird Street Faire" while living in a warehouse on Howard Street.
(SFC, 4/27/15, p.C3)(SFC, 5/6/19, p.C1)
1999 The SF school district engaged Strategic Resources Solutions Corp. of North Carolina, in a $300 million energy retrofitting contract. Tim Tronson and independent consultant under school Superintendent Bill Rojas, began diverting funds. In 2005 Tronson (48) pleaded guilty to fraud and tax evasion.
(SFC, 6/21/05, p.B2)
1999 The Schlage Lock and Key company, established in 1925 near the rail tracks in San Francisco’s Visitacion Valley closed. In 2000 Home Depot planned a store at the contaminated site. In 2006 new plans envisioned 800 housing units for the 12-acre site.
(SFC, 8/26/00, p.A13)(SFC, 8/28/06, p.B1)
1999 New infections from AIDS in SF doubled to 900.
(SFC, 6/30/00, p.A1)
1999-2000 The ESPN cable network planned to hold the X Games, an Olympic-style event of outrageous and alternative sports, in SF.
(SFC, 9/10/98, p.A1)
Go to SF 2000: http://timelines.ws/cities/SF_I_2000.HTML
Return to home
1998 Jan 1, The lease of the Mission Rock Resort transfers from Norma Wahl, who held it for 22 years, to Jim Kelly, owner of Pat O’Shea’s on Guery Blvd. The new name will be Kelly’s at Mission Rock.
(SFC,12/31/97, p.A13)
1998 Jan 3, James Weeks (75), Bay Area artist, died in Boston. His work in the 1950s was described as “the most violently coloristic and gestural" of the Bay Area Figurative School.
(SFC, 2/9/98, p.A19)
1998 Jan 5, It was reported that there were 71,500 homeless people in the Bay Area. 6-8,000 were in SF County which had 1,399 shelter beds.
(SFC, 1/5/98, p.A8)
1998 Jan 7, Daniel E. Solorzano (28), a carpenter’s apprentice, was hit by a bullet that passed through the shoulder of an intended gang member at the corner of 24th and Capp. He died some 2 weeks later.
(SFEC, 3/1/98, p.D7)
1998 Jan 8, Supervisor Susan Leal became the city treasurer. Her salary jumped from $23,929 to $119,000 per year.
(SFC, 1/8/98, p.A20)
1998 Jan 8, Grazia Massimillo was struck and killed by a Muni bus at Naples and Italy in the Excelsior. In 1999 SF paid a $235,000 settlement to the son and daughter of Massimillo.
(SFC, 5/20/99, p.A17)
1998 Jan 10, The Muni began its E-Line from the Embarcadero to the Caltrain station at King and Fourth streets.
(SFEC, 1/11/98, p.D1)
1998 Jan 13, In SF four to five men robbed a jewelry salesman in Chinatown near 3 plainclothes police officers for some $2 million in jewels and escaped.
(SFC, 1/14/98, p.A16)
1998 Jan 14, Fannie May Barnes (52) became the first female cable car operator in the city.
(SFC, 1/14/98, p.A16)
1998 Jan 15, The SF Symphony premiered the “Brick Symphony" by Michael Torke, that it had commissioned.
(SFC, 1/16/98, p.D8)
1998 Jan 15, The trustees of the de Young Museum voted against moving out of Golden Gate park and planned a new bond measure to rebuild it with an underground garage.
(SFC, 1/16/98, p.A1)
1998 Jan 15, Art collectors Kent and Vicki Logan made a gift of $1 million and 250 artworks to SFMOMA. Another $1.5 million was given to the California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC) to establish the Kent and Vicky Logan Center for exhibitions and public programs on the South of market campus.
(SFC, 1/16/98, p.D1)
1998 Jan 18, The SF Zagat do-it-yourself survey of restaurants named Boulevard as #1 and Postrio as #2. It was the 11th year of the SF edition of the New York based survey.
(SFEM, 1/18/98, p.6)
1998 Jan 18, A major storm hit California and a sinkhole measuring 40 feet in diameter and 10 feet deep swallowed a car on John Muir Drive near Lake Merced.
(SFC, 1/19/98, p.A11)
1998 Jan 20, Mayor Brown announced a $20 million deal to bring Bloomingdale’s to SF at the old Emporium building on Market St.
(SFC, 1/20/98, p.A1)
1998 Jan 23 A kiosk was to open at City Lights featuring “Shaping SF," a new CD on SF history by Chris Carlsson, Greg Williamson and Jim Swanson of Processed World. Also with the book “Reclaiming SF: History, Politics, Culture."
(SFC, 1/20/98, p.E1)
1998 Jan 23, Armed robbers escaped with $100,000 from a Brink’s armored car at Bay and Powell.
(SFC, 1/24/98, p.A19)
1998 Jan 23, The Golden Gate Bridge District Directors designated “The Bridge: Golden Gate," written by Noah Griffin and Bob Voss, as the official GGB ballad. A 1934 song “Golden Gate Bridge" by the late Irene Anderson was designated the bridge’s official historic song.
(SFC, 1/24/98, p.A13)
1998 Jan 24, Zygmunt Arendt, a Polish immigrant and railroad worker, died alone of pneumonia at Davies Med. He left over $4 million in stocks, savings and real estate, with 60% dedicated to the poor, and 40% to the children, and disabled seniors of SF.
(SFC, 4/30/98, p.A17)
1998 Jan 25, The 1726 puppet show “La Grandmere amoureuse" by Fuzelier and Dorneval was a spoof on French opera based on Lully’s tragic 1676 opera “Atys." It was revived in 1998 by the SF Bay Area team of Magnificat and the Carter Family Marionettes.
(SFEC, 1/18/98, DB p.33)(PN, 2/25/98)
1998 Jan 25, Four gang members were arrested when they tried to collect a $2,000 extortion payment from a Post St. bar in the Tenderloin. They were part of a Vietnamese offshoot of Chinatown’s Jackson Street Boys.
(SFC, 2/6/98, p.A20)
1998 Jan 26, The SF Ballet opened its 65th season with “Circus Polka" under director Helgi Tomasson.
(SFC, 1/27/98, p.B1)
1998 Jan 27, The DeBartolo Corp. put the new stadium at Candlestick Point on hold due to an escalating price tag that reached $175 million.
(SFC, 1/28/98, p.A1)
1998 Jan 27, A new design for Union Square was selected by city officials. Architects April Philips and Michael Fotheringham won with an Italian piazza design.
(SFC, 1/28/98, p.A11)
1998 Jan 29, Former Mayor Joseph Alioto died at age 81.
(SFC, 1/30/98, p.A10)
1998 Jan, Dr. Sandra Hernandez was recently appointed head of the SF Foundation, a community trust with assets exceeding $500 million.
(SFC, 1/28/98, p.A16)
1998 Jan, The 5,400-sq.-foot, 1908 home and garden of Mary Fay Berrigan (d.1988) at 2366 Leavenworth St. was offered to the city following the death of her husband. The garden was designed by Thomas Church. If a Jul 2 deadline was not met the property was to offered to the SPCA.
(SFC, 5/1/98, p.A23,27)
1998 Feb 2, A morning robbery occurred at the Bank Of America Mission Branch at 24th St. Three men took over the bank and beat the security guard and attacked a customer who stumbled in on the crime.
(SFC, 2/3/98, p.A18)
1998 Feb 2, Heavy rains thrashed the Bay Area and Northern California.
(SFC, 2/3/98, p.A1)
1998 Feb 2, Melvin John Figoni, owner and operator of the North Beach Figoni hardware Store, died at age 89.
(SFC, 2/7/98, p.21)
1998 Feb 6, Mayor Brown left for Manila and was expected to sign agreements with Mayor Alfredo Lim for workshops on AIDS, student exchange programs, and other deals. Mayor Brown was to continue on to Hanoi.
(SFC, 2/5/98, p.A18)
1998 Feb 6, Three masked men robbed the Embarcadero Federal Credit Union in the Sunset District and escaped with $4,500 in cash.
(SFC, 2/7/98, p.21)
1998 Feb 6, Prince Charles, the 16-year-old, white, Bengal tiger of the SF Zoo, died. He was born at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1981.
(SFC, 2/7/98, p.A21)
1998 Feb 7, A street dispute near Keith and Quesada on the Bayview-Hunters Point area led to the death of Leon Dorsey (23). Three men were later picked up and held on $1 million bale.
(SFC, 2/11/98, p.A19)
1998 Feb 7, Delodie Silva (46), a youth programs worker from Sonoma, was shot and killed at Bayshore and Arleta when an argument arose between passengers in her car and rivals in another car.
(SFC, 2/10/98, p.A18)
1998 Feb 10, A young bank executive, Michael Woo (28), was found shot to death in GG Park.
(SFC, 2/13/98, p.D8)
1998 Feb 13, A 4-alarm fire broke out in the dome of City Hall.
(SFC, 2/14/98, p.A15)
1998 Feb 17, Ronnie Look (15) was shot and killed at the North Beach Amusement Arcade at 447 Broadway. 4 youths were detained for questioning. Clarence Ma (17), aka Qizhan Ma, the suspected killer, was still being sought. Ma was associated with the Seven Stars offshoot of the Jackson Street Boys and Look was a member of the rival Hop Sing Boys. Ma was caught in 1999 and inadvertently released.
(SFC, 2/18/98, p.A14)(SFC, 6/20/98, p.A11)(SFC, 6/17/99, p.A25)
1998 Feb 20, Mayor Brown ordered the hiring of 65 more parking and traffic control officers to direct traffic and clear vehicles blocking traffic.
(SFC, 2/21/98, p.A1)
1998 Feb 22, The Alhambra, city historic landmark # 217, and the Royal Theaters were scheduled to close. In 2000 the Gorilla Sports chain of exercise studios planned to reopen it as a health club.
(SFC, 2/12/98, p.E1)(SFC, 2/18/00, p.C1)
1998 Feb 22, St. Francis Cathedral in North Beach re-opened as a shrine.
(SFC, 2/23/98, p.A18)
1998 Feb 22, Emmy Lou Packard, artist, died at age 84. She painted many murals and worked with Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo.
(SFC, 3/25/98, p.A22)
1998 Feb 25-29, The Noise Pop Festival was scheduled with 35 bands. Performing groups were to be at the Great American Music Hall, Bimbo’s, Bottom of the Hills, and the Paradise Lounge.
(SFEC, 2/22/98, DB p.19)
1998 Feb 27, The documentary film “Kurt and Courtney" by Nick Broomfield premiered in SF at the Roxie.
(SFC, 2/27/98, p.C1)
1998 Feb 27, Jack Micheline (born as Harvey Martin Silver in NY), Bohemian poet, died at 68 of a heart attack on a BART train between SF and Orinda. His first book of poetry was “River of Red Wine," and his last was “Sixty Seven Poems for Downtrodden Saints."
(SFEC, 3/1/98, p.D8)
1998 Feb, The temporary Mission Rock shelter for the homeless opened on land destined for parking for the new Giants ballpark.
(SFC, 8/6/99, p.A20)
1998 Mar 2, Sharon Leuenberger (59) of Hillsborough was reported missing. Her body was found the next day in a stolen cleaning service van in the Mission district with evidence of an attempt to burn the insides. Cirio Cuara Valencia (21), the prime suspect of the murder, was believed to have fled to Mexico. Valencia returned to SF and confessed to the kidnap and slaying Mar 14, and implicated two other people in the crime.
(SFC, 3/6/98, p.A1)(SFC, 3/8/98, A1)(SFEC, 3/15/98, p.A1)
1998 Mar 5, The national Park Service announced that a $10 million grant from the Haas family would help transform Crissy Field to a new shoreline park by 2000.
(SFC, 3/5/98, p.A1)
1998 Mar 5-12, The 16th annual SF Int’l. Asian American Film Festival was held.
(SFC, 2/12/98, p.E8)
1998 Mar 6, Mayor Brown removed Bill Maher from his position as director of parking and traffic. The $96,000 a year job was reported to be taken over by mayoral aide Stuart Sunshine.
(SFC, 3/7/98, p.A1)
1998 Mar 9, It was to be recommended to close the SF Carousel in GG Park for 3 months for $50,000 in repairs.
(SFC, 1/29/98, p.A20)
1998 Mar 9, The bicycle bandits, Edwin James Rowan III (39) and Raymond V. Lopez (46) were arrested after robbing the California Federal Savings Bank on the 4000 block of Geary. They were suspected of robbing 12 North Bay banks and using bikes as get-away vehicles.
(SFC, 3/11/98, p.C2)
1998 Mar 10, The new Hayes Valley North housing development opened.
(SFC, 3/12/98, p.A17)
1998 Mar 12, Brian Wilmes (45), was attacked by Edgard Mora (25) in an anti-gay hate crime near 11th and Mission. Wilmes died 2 days later. A jury deadlocked in 1999 and a mistrial was declared. In 2000 Mora was sentenced to 5 years in jail for involuntary manslaughter.
(SFEC, 3/15/98, p.A1)(SFC, 9/8/99, p.A19)(SFC, 9/25/99, p.A17)(SFC, 4/25/00, p.A15)
1998 Mar 18, The SPCA offered nighttime shelter for about a dozen homeless people at its Pet Adoption Center.
(SFC, 3/19/98, p.A1)
1998 Mar 18, Jonathan Lim (18) was shot to death in the Tenderloin while tagging graffiti outside the 2nd story apartment of William Porter. Porter feared burglary and claimed that Lim grabbed for the gun. Porter (51) was exonerated in Dec.
(SFC, 12/14/98, p.A1,7)(SFC, 12/15/98, p.A21)
1998 Mar 19, A jewel merchant was robbed of $300,000 in diamonds. It was described as “your typical Columbian heist."
(SFC, 3/21/98, p.A15)
1998 Mar 21, Six members of the SF-based Peaceworkers group were arrested and sentenced to 10 days in jail in Kosovo for not reporting their presence to police. 3 were from the Bay Area.
(SFEC, 3/22/98, p.A1)(SFC, 3/23/98, p.A11)
1998 Mar, Jimbo Trout started his bluegrass jam at the Atlas Café in San Francisco.
(SFC, 3/23/13, p.D1)
1998 Mar, The new Barbary Coast Trail was to begin with the emplacement of the first of 150 historical plaques between the old mint and Fisherman’s Wharf.
(SFC, 1/20/98, p.A1)
1998 Mar, Work on the 42-story condo-hotel-retail tower on Market between 4th and 5th was scheduled to begin.
(SFC, 7/2/97, p.C2)
1998 James Herman, SF Port Commissioner and union leader, died at age 73.
(WSJ, 1/20/98, p.CA1)
1998 Spring, The new Starwood W Hotel at 3rd and Howard was to be completed.
(SFEC, 8/16/98, p.B1)
1998 Apr 2, Admission to the Zoo went from $7 to $9 for adults, $4.50 to $6 for youths, and $2.50 to $3 for children.
(SFC, 2/5/98, p.A26)
1998 Apr 3, The California Pacific Medical Center agreed to acquire Davies Medical Center.
(SFC, 4/4/98, p.A17)
1998 Apr 5, Ray Piecuch, a cowboy poet from New Hampshire, completed his yearlong 3,500 mile ride across country on his horse, Bo, with a champagne celebration at Baker Beach.
(SFC, 4/6/98, p.A26)
1998 Apr 13, Bank of America announced a plan to merge with NationsBank Corp. of Charlotte, N.C. The new entity will be called BankAmerica Corp. with headquarters in Charlotte. The deal was valued at $43.1 billion.
(SFC, 4/13/98, p.A1)(SFC, 4/14/98, p.A1)(SFC, 2/19/99, p.A1)
1998 Apr 14, The remodeled Orpheum Theatre opened. The 14-month remodel job cost $20 million and was paid by the Shorenstein Hays Nederlander Organization.
(SFC, 3/18/98, p.E1)
1998 Apr 14, A city summit devoted to women and their issues began with 5000 expected attendance.
(SFC, 4/13/98, p.A15)
1998 Apr 15, A superior Court judge ordered the immediate closure of the Cannabis Cultivator’s Club, the nation’s largest dispenser of medicinal pot.
(SFC, 4/16/98, p.A1)
1998 Apr 15, Jesus Santos (26) was killed by drug dealers in a case of mistaken identity. He was a member of the “Increase the Peace Program," and had just begun a job as a volunteer parent monitor at Everett Middle School.
(SFC, 5/23/98, p.A17)
1998 Apr 16, Janice Racek was run over by a Muni bus and lost both feet. She settled with the city for $3.5 million.
(SFEC, 1/3/99, p.D1)
1998 Apr 17-19, the 2nd annual Terrastock music festival was held in Hunter’s Point at the Custer Avenue Stages. The first festival was held in Providence R.I.
(SFC, 4/20/98, p.D1)
1998 Apr 19, Krikor Krouzian, founder of the Krouzian-Zekarian-Vasbouragan School by Park Merced, died at age 93. He owned and operated the Neon Pharmacy in the marina for 50 years and helped found St. Gregory’s Armenian Apostolic Church.
(SFC, 4/25/98, p.A19)
1998 Apr 20, The Cannabis Cultivators Club of Dennis Peron was closed down. A successor was planned to open the next day as The Cannabis healing Center under the direction of Hazel Rogers (78).
(SFC, 4/21/98, p.A19)
1998 Apr 20, The bodies of 39 pigeons were found in three SF neighborhoods. Poison was suspected and necropsies were scheduled.
(SFC, 4/21/98, p.A21)
1998 Apr 21, It was reported that Microsoft planned its first retail store, an 8,500-sq. foot site, in the Yerba Buena Gardens complex of SF with plans to open in spring, 1999.
(SFC, 4/21/98, p.A1)
1998 Apr 23, The SF Film Festival began with a 14-day schedule that included 103 films.
(SFEC, 4/12/98, DB p.33)
1998 Apr 24, The show “Art.Rage.Us: The Art and Outrage of Breast Cancer" opened at the Main Library.
(SFC, 4/24/98, p.D1)
1998 Apr 24, The American Health for Women magazine reported that Seattle was the healthiest city for women and that SF rated # 2 and Boston # 3.
(SFC, 4/25/98, p.A5)
1998 Apr 28, Supervisor Mabel Tang announced that the Boy Scouts of America will be barred from taking part in a city charity drive due to the groups stance against admitting gays.
(SFC, 4/29/98, p.A15)
1998 Apr 28, Don Fisher, founder of the Gap, pledged $25 million to bring the private Edison Project company to run more than a dozen SF Bay Area schools. The for-profit school project was 1st proposed in 1991 by businessman Chris Whittle. In 2005 Whittle authored “Crash Course: Imagining a Better Future for Public Education."
(SFC, 4/29/98, p.A15)(WSJ, 9/7/05, p.D14)
1998 Apr 28, Public Radio Inc. of SF received a NEA grant for $185,000 to create “Lost and Found Sound: An American Record." The project will produce a series of radio programs for NPR to chronicle, reflect and celebrate the 20th century.
(SFC, 4/29/98, p.E1)
1998 Apr 30, Steven Van Dyke (49) a senior SFFD supervisor was charged with embezzling thousands of dollars from developers that he billed for relocating fire hydrants.
(SFC, 5/1/98, p.A26)
1998 Apr, A 14-screen American Multi-Cinema (AMC 1000) was scheduled to open at 1000 Van Ness in the former Cadillac building.
(SFC, 1/5/98, p.E1)
1998 May 2, It was reported that the Exploratorium was undergo a $15-20 million renovation.
(SFC, 5/2/98, p.E1)
1998 May 3, the 32nd annual Cinco de Mayo parade was held on Mission St.
(SFC, 5/2/98, p.A17)
1998 May 9, Mayor Brown scheduled ‘The Great sweep II," a city-wide cleanup campaign.
(SFC, 4/798, p.A17)
1998 May 9, The first Barbary Coast Trail marker at Union Square was dedicated. The trail was the founded by Daniel Bacon.
(SFEC, 5/10/98, p.A2)
1998 May 10, Hal Riney & Partners was bought by Publicis of France in a deal estimated at $100 million.
(SFC, 2/19/99, p.A1)
1998 May 11, Archbishop Levada planned to start a free weekly newspaper for the 100,000 registered Catholics of SF and San Mateo. He also announced plans to help fund and distribute El Heraldo Catolico, a Spanish-language newspaper for the Diocese of Sacramento and Oakland.
(SFC, 5/12/98, p.A17)
1998 May 11, The SF supervisors approved legislation to allow landlords to temporarily raise rents to recoup certain property taxes. The increases could range from 34 cents to $14 per month.
(SFC, 5/12/98, p.A17)
1998 May 11, Rain broke a record set in 1861 with 44.54 inches since last July. The previous record went back to the 1989-1990 season.
(SFC, 5/12/98, p.A18)
1998 May 12, The sale of the Embarcadero Center to Boston Properties for $1.22 billion ($300 per sq. foot) was announced. Included were the 4 towers and 2 neighboring buildings, 275 Battery St. and the Old Federal Reserve Bldg at Sacramento and Battery.
(SFC, 5/13/98, p.A1)
1998 May 13, A $46 million renovation of Valencia Gardens public housing project in the Mission District.
(SFC, 5/13/98, p.A17)
1998 May 13, A drug bust went awry and Sheila Detoy (17) was shot dead by police. Two men escaped the scene. Raymondo Cox was caught the next day. Michael Negron (23) surrendered in July. In 1999 Negron agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter charges and accept a 7-year prison sentence. In 2002 charges were filed against police officers Gregory Breslin, James Zerga, and Michael Moran.
(SFC, 5/15/98, p.A1)(SFC, 7/14/98, p.A13)(SFC, 3/30/99, p.A13)(SFC, 7/6/02, p.A15)(SFC, 7/9/02, p.A17)
1998 May 14, Raymondo Cox (21) was captured 29 hours after a police-shooting that left a 17-year-old girl dead.
(SFC, 5/15/98, p.A1)
1998 May 14-Jul 31, The first SF Queer Arts Festival was planned.
(SFC, 5/13/98, p.E3)
1998 May 16, The Geneva Towers were imploded at 2:30 PM. A new 341-unit housing complex was planned for the site.
(SFC, 5/16/98, p.A15)
1998 May 16, A home at 1450 19th Ave. exploded and soon caught fire. At least 17 people were injured. The cause was not immediately known. It was later discovered that Tony Seto (25) was using the premises to make M-80 fireworks.
(SFEC, 5/17/98, p.A1)(SFC, 5/19/98, p.A17)
1998 May 17, The 87th Bay to Breakers run was held.
(SFC, 5/18/98, p.A15)
1998 May 19, City officials failed to halt the planned addition of a 10-ton antennae to the Sutro Tower structure.
(SFC, 5/20/98, p.A18)
1998 May 20, The 2nd annual New Asian Cinema festival opened.
(SFC, 5/20/98, p.E3)
1998 May 21, Jack Lynd, San Francisco cab driver, news writer, jazz aficionado, died of cancer at age 71 in his native Denmark. He wrote the book “Leo’s Place."
(CB, 5/31/98)
1998 May 24, The Hello Gorgeous museum, dedicated to Barbra Streisand and owned by Ken Joachim, was closed.
(USAT, 5/5/98, p.1D)
1998 May 24, The Carnival Parade was held in the Mission District.
(SFC, 5/25/98, p.A1)
1998 May 25, SF sheriff’s deputies chained closed the medical marijuana club, The Cannabis Healing Center, of Dennis Peron on Market St.
(SFC, 5/26/98, p.A1)
1998 May 26, There was a fire at the 15th floor Sutter St. condo of Rev. Thomas McCall. McCall was later charged with arson and an attempt to destroy evidence that he defrauded members of his congregation. The fraud charges were dropped in 1999 and the arson charges were dropped in 2000.
(SFC, 2/26/00, p.A15)
1998 May 29, A 19-member advisory panel chose a suspension bridge design to replace the eastern half of the Bay Bridge.
(SFC, 5/30/98, p.A1)
1998 May 29, Robertson Stephens was bought by BankBoston in a deal valued at $800 million.
(SFC, 2/19/99, p.A1)
1998 May, The SF Community Assessment and Referral Center opened as part of an effort to revamp the city's juvenile justice system.
(SFC, 6/29/99, p.A1)
1998 Jun 1, All tobacco advertising was scheduled to be taken down after the city reached an agreement with outdoor advertisers on May 18, 1998.
(SFC, 5/19/98, p.A17)
1998 Jun 2, Measure L on the ballot authorized that the 500-unit Wherry housing complex at the Presidio not be demolished.
(SFC, 4/29/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 2, A vast reconstruction of Golden Gate Park was put to the voters. Voters approved Prop. J for a $40 million privately financed underground garage, but not a bond measure for a new de Young Museum.
(SFC, 5/19/98, p.A17)(SFC, 6/4/98, p.A17)
1998 Jun 2, A gunman killed 1 man, D’Shannon Evans (24), and wounded 2 in the 500 block of Alemany Blvd. near the Ellsworth housing project.
(SFC, 6/3/98, p.A28)
1998 Jun 3, The Salvation Army announced that it would cut back 3 programs for seniors and the homeless and no longer accept city money due to the domestic partner’s law.
(SFC, 6/4/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 4, The SF MOMA acquired $40 million worth of new art, mainly through a donation by Phyllis Wattis. The 23 new pieces included works by Mondrian, Duchamp, Giacometti, Motherwell, Barnett Newman and Rauschenberg.
(SFC, 6/5/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 5-6, The annual Haight St. Fair and the Old Harbor Festival near Aquatic Park were held.
(SFC, 6/6/98, p.A23)
1998 Jun 5-9, Dockers Khakis sponsored an Independent Film Festival at the Castro Theater.
(SFEC, 5/31/98, DB p.48)
1998 Jun 8, Wells Fargo and Norwest Corp. reported a merger plan valued at $31.7 billion to form the nation’s 6th-7th largest bank with headquarters in SF.
(SFC, 6/8/98, p.A1)(SFC, 6/9/98, p.A10)(SFC, 2/19/99, p.A1)
1998 Jun 9, The city had 981 cabs in its taxi fleet and the Mayor’s Taxi Task Force was recommending and additional 300, under protest from cab drivers.
(SFC, 6/9/98, p.A23)
1998 Jun 12, The 20-year-old Conservatory Foundation began a million-dollar fund-raising drive to restore the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. Repairs were estimated at $31 million.
(SFC, 6/13/98, p.C1)
1998 Jun 12, Rev. Thomas McCall, pastor of the Bayview Missionary Baptist Church was arrested in Orange County for nine felony counts of grand theft. He took money from the church and 7 elderly parishioners for his personal use.
(SFEC, 6/14/98, p.B1)
1998 Jun 13-14, The annual Free Folk Music festival was held at Roosevelt School and the 44th annual North Beach Fair took place.
(SFC, 6/13/98, p.C1)
1998 Jun 16, Jim's Coffee Shop at 4468 Mission was consumed by fire. It was run by Johnson Lim. His mother, Juna, purchased it 1971.
(SFC, 3/5/99, p.A17)
1998 Jun 18, The 22nd annual Gay Film Festival opened.
(SFC, 5/20/98, p.E3)
1998 Jun 18, Smoking was banned in SF public parks and recreation centers, but the larger city parks were exempt.
(SFC, 6/19/98, p.A17)
1998 Jun 18, Six teenagers were shot at the Chinese Playground on Sacramento St. It was blamed on a clash between the Hop Sing Boys and the Seven Stars. A 16-year-old was later arrested. A 17-year-old who did the shooting was still being sought.
(SFC, 6/19/98, p.A1)(SFC, 6/20/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 19, Mayor Brown signed the “sunshine law," that forces nonprofit agencies that get city contracts to hold open meetings and expose their inner workings to the public. Archbishop William Levada had asked the mayor to veto the ordnance.
(SFC, 6/20/98, p.A13)
1998 Jun 20, Hanna “Kali" Weynerowska (100), a San Francisco-based Polish artist, died. In 1988 she had bequeathed 78 artworks to a Polish government museum in Switzerland, but they soon disappeared. In 2014 75 of her original works were found in Santa Rosa and shipped to Rapperswil, Switzerland.
(SFC, 4/12/14, p.A1)(http://tinyurl.com/mzjt2v3)
1998 Jun 21, Two women and a 13-year-old boy died at Ocean Beach when they were swept out by a riptide.
(SFC, 6/23/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 22, Louise M. Davies (98), SF benefactor, died in Portola Valley. Her husband was Ralph K. Davies (d.1971), an oil millionaire, for whom the medical center is named.
(SFC, 6/23/98, p.A1)(SFC, 6/14/05, p.E8)
1998 Jun 24, A regional transportation board approved a $1.346 billion, single-tower suspension span to replace the eastern half of the Bay Bridge.
(SFC, 6/25/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 28, Some 200,000 people turned out for the 28th annual gay pride parade on Market Street.
(SFC, 6/29/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 30, The official end of the rainy season showed 47.22 inches of rain, 2 inches shy of the 1861-1862 record of 49.27.
(SFC, 6/29/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 30, In Geneva AIDS specialists from SF reported a patient infected with a strain of HIV resistant to the new anti-viral drugs.
(SFC, 7/1/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun, The new $56 million high-tech arts center at Yerba Buena Gardens was scheduled to open under the name Zeum. The 34,000-square-foor structure at Howard and Fourth streets will include a 200-seat theater.
(SFC, 1/10/98, p.E1)
1998 Jun, Carroll Soo-Hoo, philanthropist and benefactor to the SF Zoo, died at age 84. His animal donations included the gorilla Jackie, whose offspring included the sign-language proficient Koko.
(SFC, 7/3/98, p.D6)
1998 Jul 1, The mayor’s salary went to $148,471 as the 4.1% pay raise went into effect for elected officials as proposed by the Civil Service Commission.
(SFC, 4/11/98, p.A15)
1998 Jul 2, It was announced that SF would buy nine, 1920s Peter Witt street cars from Milan, Italy, for $288,000 and use them on the F Line on Market St. from the Transbay Terminal to 17th and Castro.
(SFC, 7/3/98, p.A21)
1998 Jul 3, Five gunmen robbed guards of the Armored Transport Co. at the Costco store on 10th St. in the middle of the day. A man in San Pablo was arrested on Jul 29th in connection with the robbery.
(SFC, 7/4/98, p.A1,14)(SFC, 7/30/98, p.B2)
1998 Jul 10, A civil grand jury report said that efforts to develop Treasure Island were marred by the mayor’s efforts to consolidate power and political squabbling.
(SFC, 7/11/98, p.A1)
1998 Jul 13, PG&E agreed to shut down its Hunters Point power plant.
(SFC, 7/14/98, p.A1)
1998 Jul 14, The 100th anniversary of the Ferry Building was celebrated.
(SFC, 7/11/98, p.A1)
1998 Jul 18, The first annual Sojourner Truth Third Street Fair was held.
(SFEC, 7/19/98, p.A1)
1998 Jul 19, The 12th annual 10 km. AIDS Walk in Golden Gate Park attracted a record 27,000 people and raised $3.6 mil.
(SFEC, 7/20/98, p.A17)
1998 Jul 23, The Pacific Stock Exchange announced an agreement to merge with the Chicago Board of Options Exchange.
(SFC, 7/24/98, p.A1)
1998 Jul 26, A 3-foot crocodile, Ernie the Croc, was found in the backyard by a homeowner on Cesar Chavez St. A home was later found for the reptile in Boulder, Colo.
(SFC, 8/5/98, p.A13)
1998 Jul 26, The 50-foot wooden Burning Man statue was erected on Grove St. and was to be lit in neon for the “Black Rockin’ SF" street fair.
(SFC, 7/28/98, p.D1)
1998 Jul 29, The SF Police Commission approved a plan to place 175 more taxis on city streets within 2 months.
(SFC, 7/30/98, p.A1)
1998 Jul 31, Thousand of bicyclists rode on the anniversary of last year’s protest.
(SFC, 8/1/98, p.A1)
1998 Aug 3, Local temperatures hit 86, a new record.
(SFC, 8/4/98, p.A1)
1998 Aug 11, Lawrence Ferlinghetti was named the first poet laureate of SF.
(SFC, 8/12/98, p.A1)
1998 Aug 16, An int’l. crew broke the 1995 Steve Fossett record for sailing across the Pacific Ocean. The Explorer twin-hulled catamaran set sail from Yokohama on Aug 2 and arrived in SF after 14 days, 17 hours and 22 minutes.
(SFC, 8/17/98, p.A5)
1998 Aug 16, Joyce Ruger (70) was found slain and her Victorian fourplex at 719 Webster St. was set afire. She had been a tireless worker against violence and drug dealing. In Oct Troy Hayles (30) was picked up for parole violation. He had been sought for questioning in the case. Hayles was charged with murder, arson, and robbery in 1999. Hayles was acquitted of murder in 2000 due to lack of evidence, but was found guilty of receiving stolen property.
(SFC, 8/18/98, p.A11)(SFC, 10/7/98, p.A18)(SFC, 10/5/99, p.A17)(SFC, 8/3/00, p.A17)
1998 Aug 18, The Yerba Buena Ice Skating Center opened at 750 Folsom St. near Fourth. It had limited hours for public skating (777-3727).
(SFC, 8/22/98, p.A18)
1998 Aug 25, Edison School opened under the operation of the private Edison Project.
(SFC, 8/26/98, p.A13)
1998 Aug 27, It was reported that the SF police Housing Task Force was to be disbanded and replaced by substations. New substations would be placed in Hunters View and Potrero Hill housing complexes with the expansion of substations already at the Sunnydale and Aloce Griffiths projects.
(SFC, 8/27/98, p.A17)
1998 Aug 28, The Motor Vessel Del Norte made a ceremonial ride on the Bay. The $7.8 million, 325 passenger ship was scheduled to begin operations Sep 8.
(SFC, 8/28/98, p.A16)
1998 Sep 3, A US postage stamp featured the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time as part of a sheet with 14 other stamps.
(SFC, 9/3/98, p.A19)
1998 Sep 5, The Treasure Island Blues & Art on the Bay Festival drew 15,000 people on its 1st day. Two-thirds of the crowd arrived by public transit.
(SFEC, 9/6/98, p.A1)
1998 Sep 6, The Treasure Island Blues & Art on the Bay Festival drew 20,000 people on its 2nd day.
(SFC, 9/7/98, p.A1)
1998 Sep 9, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Stockton St. was sold to the Host-Marriott Corp. for $161 million.
(SFC, 9/10/98, p.B1,4)
1998 Sep 10, Bicyclists pedaled across the Bay Bridge from the East in morning traffic to protest the lack of a bike lane on the new proposed bridge. 17 were arrested for tying up traffic.
(SFC, 9/11/98, p.A17)
1998 Sep 11, A fire at the Jerry Hotel at 3032 16th left 20 people homeless.
(SFEC, 3/7/99, p.D1)
1998 Sep 15, Dan Chipparone (23) had his leg severed when a crane collapsed and a steel structure fell during construction at SFO.
(SFC, 9/16/98, p.A18)
1998 Sep 18, In SF Rev. John Charles Wester was named as Catholic Bishop of SF and titular prelate of Lamiggiga.
(SFC, 9/19/98, p.C1)
1998 Sep 24, Eddie DeBartolo, co-owner of the SF 49ers, struck a deal with federal prosecutors to keep out of jail. He will pay a fine and testify against former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards.
(SFC, 9/25/98, p.A1)
1998 Sep 25, Hillary Clinton spoke on behalf of Barbara Boxer at the SF Hilton. Pres. Clinton also visited SF and the Bay Area seeking political donations.
(SFC, 9/26/98, p.A1)
1998 Sep 27, The annual Folsom Street Fair expected 250,000 people.
(SFC, 9/26/98, p.A21)
1998 Sep 30, Alfred Addy, a prominent labor figure since the 1930s, died at age 87 in Fairfax. He was also known for his paintings of SF and Marin.
(SFC, 10/15/98, p.C6)
1998 Sep 30, Dr. Charles Shumate, retired dermatologist and the dean of SF historians, died at age 94. He won the 1994 Oscar Lewis award for his contributions to Western history. He authored 11 books and 69 articles on historical subjects.
(SFC, 10/2/98, p.B6)
1998 Sep, The SF Opera performed the world premiere of "A Streetcar Named Desire" with music by Andre Previn and libretto by Philip Littell.
(SFC, 2/2/99, p.A11)
1998 Sep, Del M. Anderson, chancellor of City College, was scheduled to retire after serving 3 years at the nation’s largest multicampus community college. Her salary was $173,000.
(SFC, 1/29/98, p.A19)
1998 Oct 3-4, The Chinese Moon Festival was celebrated in Chinatown.
(SFEC, 10/4/98, p.B1)
1998 Oct 4, The Castro Street Fair attracted thousands.
(SFEC, 10/5/98, p.A1)
1998 Oct 5, The federal government agreed to pay SF $176.6 million for 59 Italian-made Breda streetcars.
(SFC, 10/6/98, p.A15)
1998 Oct 6, Eddie DeBartolo Jr. pleaded guilty in federal court in Louisiana for failing to report that former governor Edwin Edwards extorted $400,000 from him for a casino license. He agreed to pay $1 million in penalties, serve 2 years of probation and testify in future trials against Edwards.
(SFC, 10/6/98, p.A1)
1998 Oct 7, John M. Smart (46), advertising executive, of Napa was shot to death by police at 6th and Howard. He drove at 2 police officers with his Mercedes-Benz after being confronted for fighting with a prostitute. Crack cocaine was found in his pocket.
(SFC, 10/8/98, p.A17)(SFC, 10/9/98, p.A17)(SFC, 3/13/00, p.A15)
1998 Oct 12, The 103rd annual Italian Heritage parade, previously known as the Columbus Day parade, was held in North Beach. A portrait of Herb Caen on the wall of the Big O Tires at 6th and Mission was completed.
(SFC, 10/12/98, p.A1)(SFC, 12/28/99, p.A13)
1998 Oct 17, The Yerba Buena Center was scheduled to open.
(SFEC, 10/11/98, p.D1)
1998 On Columbus Day a 20-by-70 foot mural in honor of Herb Cain was pronounced complete at the side of Big O Tires on Mission between 6th and 7th.
(SFC, 10/23/98, p.C20)
1998 Oct 22, A 48-year-old woman was kidnapped from the Costco parking garage at 10th and Harrison. She was stripped, choked and dumped near I-80 in Crocket.
(SFC, 11/19/98, p.A1)
1998 Oct 24, A shipment of 10,000 books bound for Tanzania and Zanzibar left SF. The shipment was based on a donation by Berkeley Prof. Ed Ferguson with help from the Int’l. Longshore and Warehouse Union.
(SFC, 10/23/98, p.A23)
1998 Oct 24-25, An open house was scheduled at the Albion Castle under the new ownership of sculptor Eric Higgs.
(SFC, 10/17/98, p.A19)
1998 Oct 26, A mayoral proclamation declared this to be Jack’s Restaurant Day. Jack’s closed down in 2000 after 136 years of operation.
(SFC, 12/15/00, p.A32)
1998 Oct 29, Gennady Penskoy (46), a Ukrainian immigrant cab driver, was shot dead in Visitation Valley in an apparent botched robbery.
(SFC, 10/30/98, p.A22)
1998 Oct 29, Sheila Dillahunty, a homeless woman, was killed as she slept in a doorway on 18th St. Her murder was later attributed to a throat-slasher stalking homeless people. Two men had their throats slashed in a similar manner 13 days earlier in Trenton Alley off Washington St., they but survived. Joshua Rudiger (22) of Oakland, who claimed to be a 2,000 year-old vampire, was later arrested for the murder. Rudiger was convicted of 2nd degree murder and was sentenced from 23 years to life in prison.
(SFC, 11/7/98, p.A1)(SFC, 11/24/99, p.A19)(SFC, 11/30/99, p.A19)(SFC, 2/19/00, p.A18)
1998 Oct 30, The Grand National Rodeo prepared for its 54th annual event with the drive of a herd of 75 longhorn cattle down Geneva to the Cow Palace.
(SFC, 10/31/98, p.A1)
1998 Oct 30, Some 90 SF police and federal agents swarmed on the Martin Luther King Jr./Marcus Garvey housing complex in the Western Addition to crack down on the so-called Knock Out Posse gang. 11 arrests were made and one pit bull was killed. Residents later reported that children had been handcuffed and that numerous homes were trashed.
(SFC, 10/31/98, p.A17)(SFC, 11/4/98, p.C2)
1998 Oct 31, The 16th annual SF Jazz Festival began. It was to be an 11-day, 26-show marathon.
(SFC, 11/2/98, p.E1)
1998 Oct 31, The Zeum Art Center in Yerba Buena Center opened.
(SFEC, 10/11/98, DB p.33)
1998 Oct, Thomas Yuen Chen Lai, a counselor at City College of SF, pleaded guilty to submitting 59 false claims to Letterman Army Hospital from 1991-1994. He was later sentenced to 4 years in jail, fined $10,000, and ordered to pay back the $2,875,000 that he stole.
(SFC, 4/17/99, p.A14)
1998 Nov 3, San Francisco voters again endorsed the idea of district supervisors. Tom Ammiano led the Supervisor votes followed by Gavin Newsom, Mabel Teng, Mark Leno and Amos Brown. Voters approved Prop. E, which called for the demolition of the Central Freeway east of Market St.
(SFC, 11/4/98, p.A19)(SFC, 11/6/98, p.A21)(SSFC, 2/28/10, p.E3)
1998 Nov 3, SF voters approved a measure, backed by Supervisor Newsom, for the creation of a Taxicab Commission.
(SFC, 6/29/06, p.B3)
1998 Nov 3, Police arrested Michael Gold (60) for randomly puncturing hundreds of car tires in the Haight Asbury neighborhood. He did it to “blow off steam."
(SFC, 11/13/98, p.A21)
1998 Nov 7, Mayor Brown was hit with 3 pastry pies by the Biotic Baking Brigade in protest for “skyrocketing evictions" and his “collusion with big business to perform an economic cleansing of SF." In Feb 1999 Gerard Livernois, Rahula Janowski and Justin Gross were sentenced to 6 months in County Jail for battery after the 3 refused to accept 3 years probation.
(SFEC, 11/8/98, p.A1,12)(SFC, 2/25/99, p.A1,13)
1998 Nov 10, The SF police arrested Joshua Rudiger (21) of Oakland for the recent throat-slashing attacks in the city. Rudiger claimed to be a 2,000-year-old vampire.
(SFC, 11/11/98, p.A17)
1998 Nov 12, The 23rd American Indian Film Festival opened in SF.
(SFC, 11/11/98, p.E1)
1998 Nov 16, Alice Tennyson (58) disappeared. Her ATM card was used to pull out $300 in Berkeley the next day. She was found safe 3 days later in Laguna Beach after being kidnapped.
(SFC, 11/19/98, p.A1)(SFC, 11/20/98, p.A1)
1998 Nov 18, The New Italian Cinema Events Festival opened in SF.
(SFC, 11/11/98, p.E1)
1998 Nov 19, The SFMOMA paid $6.5 million for the 1952 “Personal Values" painting by Rene Magritte.
(SFC, 11/20/98, p.C1)
1998 Nov 20, It was reported that Billy Getty, oil scion, sold his 2-bedroom penthouse at 1750 Taylor St. for $15 million.
(SFC, 11/20/98, p.A21)
1998 Nov 21, A 2-block section of Duboce was dedicated to bicycles and the Duboce Bikeway Mural was unveiled.
(SFEC, 11/22/98, p.D1)
1998 Nov 24, Anton Segal (28), a doorman at the Roaring 20s strip club in North Beach, died from a head injury inflicted Saturday night, Nov. 21, when he was hit with a car anti-theft device. Daniel Alas (32), a contract plumber at SFO, was arrested in Dec. for the assault and killing of Segal. Alas was convicted of 2nd degree murder in 2000.
(SFC, 11/26/98, p.A25)(SFC, 12/5/98, p.A20)(SFEC, 7/23/00, p.B15)(SFC, 8/19/00, p.A17)
1998 Nov 25, In North Beach Shu Mei Lee, bartender at the Vieni Lucky Spot bar at 1431 Stockton, was shot and killed by a patron. Donald A. Lorman (63) turned himself in a week later.
(SFC, 11/26/98, p.A25)(SFC, 12/5/98, p.C2)
1998 Nov 28, The Café Babar at 22nd and Guerrero celebrated its final night.
(AR, 11/29/98)
1998 Nov, A $79.9 million bond issue for the California Academy of Sciences scheduled for voter approval.
(SFC, 5/19/98, p.A17)
1998 Nov, The Caribbean-themed Cha Cha Cha opened in the renovated Original McCarthy’s bar near 19th and Mission.
(SFC, 12/2/98, p.A9)
1998 Dec 2, The abandoned mail truck of driver Pablo Molina (47) was found on Jessie St. between 3rd and 4th. Molina was reported missing Dec 1. A sack of registered mail containing about $58,000 in cash was also missing. Molina was found at an Oakland restaurant after becoming ill on Dec 10, but the cash was still missing. Molina was charged with mail theft. He was alleged to have consumed large amounts of crack cocaine, heroine and alcohol.
(SFC, 12/4/98, p.A22)(SFC, 12/11/98, p.A32)(SFC, 12/12/98, p.A21)
1998 Dec 4, Former state Senator Milton Marks died in SF at age 78.
(SFC, 12/5/98, p.A1)
1998 Dec 8, It was reported that the 11 streetcars designed by Peter Witts and purchased from Milan, Italy, had arrived. 9 of the cars cost $30,000 each and the other 2, planned for parts, cost $5,000. Shipping cost $38,000 per car.
(SFC, 12/8/98, p.A22)
1998 Dec 8, In the SF Bay Area an electrician’s error in San Mateo caused a power outage along the northern peninsula that lasted some 6 hours.
(SFC, 12/9/98, p.A1)
1998 Dec 10, State and local officials dedicated the new State Building at the Civic Center. It was remodeled for $246 million. It consisted of the original 6-story Earl Warren Building and a 14-story add-on.
(SFC, 12/11/98, p.A26)
1998 Dec 10, The SF Planning Commission voted to remove the Piazzoni murals from the old Main Library and to alter 2 large reading rooms to make way for the new Asian Art Museum.
(SFC, 12/11/98, p.A25)
1998 Dec 13, A farmer’s market and swap meet began on Treasure Island with a $5 parking fee. Some 75 exhibitors and a few thousand customers showed up.
(SFC, 12/2/98, p.A1)(SFC, 12/14/98, p.A17)
1998 Dec 15, Phyllis C. Wattis donated $1.5 million to the SF Ballet.
(SFC, 12/15/98, p.E1)
1998 Dec 15, Emilio Cruz (34) resigned as general manager of the SF Muni.
(SFC, 12/15/98, p.A1)
1998 Dec 17, Joseph Esherick, Bay Area architect, died at age 83. His work included the SF Cannery, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the first Sea Ranch houses on the Sonoma County coast.
(SFC, 12/24/98, p.B2)
1998 Dec 20, Snow flakes fell in SF and low temperature records were made around the Bay with 40 degrees in SF and 35 in Fremont.
(SFC, 12/21/98, p.A1)
1998 Dec 22, Two fires swept through residential hotels at the Leland Hotel on 1315 Polk and a 73-unit apartment bldg. at 980 Bush St. 100 people at the Leland were left homeless.
(SFC, 12/23/98, p.A15)(SFEC, 3/7/99, p.D1)
1998 Dec 24, Esequiel Macias (47) was stabbed to death at his home in the outer Mission by Evan Dickinson (29), a mentally disturbed downstairs neighbor.
(SFC, 12/25/98, p.A21)
1998 Dec 25, Balloonists Branson, Fossett and Lindstrand hoped to fly over SF on their round-the-world trip. Their quest ended near Hawaii.
(SFC, 12/22/98, p.C6)(SFC, 12/26/98, p.A1)
1998 Dec 29, A fire at the Thor Hotel at 2084 Mission left 50 people homeless.
(SFEC, 3/7/99, p.D1)
1998 Dec 31, Paul Joseph Madronich Jr. (44), an employee for PG&E, was arrested for harboring explosives at 2 PG&E buildings in the Mission District. They appeared to be part of a fireworks manufacturing operation.
(SFEC, 1/3/99, p.D3)(SFC, 1/4/99, p.A16)
1998 Dec 31, Hundreds of young people, denied access to Union square, rioted on Grant St. as the New Year approached. 35 people were arrested and a number of cars were trashed.
(SFC, 1/2/99, p.A1)
1998 Dec, Work on San Francisco’s Central Freeway was scheduled to begin.
(SFC, 2/21/98, p.A13)
1998 Dec, Work on the City Hall was expected to finish at a cost of $244 mil.
(SFC, 10/17/96, A21)
1998 Dec, Dora Donner Ide, SF steel heiress, died. It was later reported that she donated her $111 million estate to a wide-ranging group of arts and charitable organizations.
(SFC, 10/18/00, p.A22)
1998 Steve Bitker published “The Original San Francisco Giants," a history of the baseball team.
(SFC, 5/15/98, p.C4)
1998 Jack Lind, a Danish journalist in San Francisco, authored “"Leo’s Place, An Oral History of the Beats in San Francisco’s North Beach."
(SFC, 3/14/15, p.C2)
1998 The Industry Standard began as a business weekly to cover technology. Its last issue was in 2001. In 2003 James Ledbetter authored "Starving to Death on $200 Million a Year: The Short, Absurd Life of the Industry Standard."
(SSFC, 1/19/03, p.M1)
1998 Ave Montague (d.2009 at 64), arts impresario and publicist, founded the San Francisco Black film Festival.
(SFC, 1/28/09, p.B10)
1998 In San Francisco the Fay House at 2366 Leavenworth St., built in 1912, was willed to the the city.
(SFC, 1/2/14, p.D1)
1998 The new $11.6 million Tenderloin Elementary School and Community Center was due to be completed.
(SFC, 11/5/96, p.A13)
1998 Faisal Alam founded the Al-Fatiha Foundation, a support organization for gay Muslims. Islam condemns homosexuality.
(SFC, 6/21/01, p.A3)
1998 The Gateway High charter school opened to 104 SF 9th graders.
(SFEM, 10/18/98, p.8)
1998 The 5 Muni Metro lines were thrown into chaos by a new computerized train-control system.
(SFC, 10/6/99, p.A4)
1998 Samuel Lee Davis, a welfare eligibility worker, was discovered to have embezzled over $200,000 in city funds earmarked for the poor. In 2002 Davis was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
(SFC, 7/17/02, p.A16)
1998 The former Pier 98, an industrial-strength dumping ground was cleared of debris and transformed to create Heron’s Head Park.
(SFC, 7/9/04, p.B1)
1999 Jan 1, Passes for BART were to become available over the internet at the bart.gov site.
(SFC, 12/4/98, p.A22)
1999 Jan 5, It was reported that the police have begun sweeping the Civic Center Plaza and that the homeless, alcoholics and drug users have been moved over to the United Nations Plaza.
(SFC, 1/5/99, p.A13)
1999 Jan 7, The City Planning Commission finalized their decision to remove the Piazzoni murals from the old Main Library, home of the new Asian Art Museum.
(WSJ, 1/19/98, p.A20)
1999 Jan 7, Yolanda Alexander (36) died of stab wounds received at her apartment in Bernal Heights on the 100 block of Highland Ave.
(SFC, 1/9/99, p.C1)
1999 Jan 8, Shopkeeper Arinze Anoruo (51) was mortally wounded at Home Cash market, 1901 McAllister St. He died of a gunshot wound to the head during a robbery.
(SFC, 1/9/99, p.C1)
1999 Jan 9, The SF 49ers lost to the Atlanta Falcons 20 to 18.
(SFEC, 1/10/99, p.A1)
1999 Jan 10, The new $525-650 million 49er football stadium looked like a dead deal and a new plan was reported to convert 3Com to a football-only facility for $350 million.
(SFC, 1/11/99, p.A1)
1999 Jan 10, In SF Xiu Li Jiang (22) was murdered at her Turk Street apartment and was soon reported missing. Her body was found in a Shurgard storage locker in Daly City in 2002. In 2006 Bobby Tran (31), who had brokered a 1997 faked marriage for her, pleaded no contest to charges that he had killed and dismembered her. In 2006 Tran was sentenced to 30 years.
(SFC, 6/21/02, p.A18)(SFC, 8/19/06, p.B2)
1999 Jan 15, An attempted robbery at the B of A on Market and New Montgomery left Buford White (45) dead, 2 police officers wounded and Anthony Garcia critically wounded. Garcia tackled White during the robbery. Antonio Castillo (26) was named as the wounded man who was shot twice in the face when he struggled with Buford White. Captain George Stasko II commanded the police operations and was killed that night in an accident while driving home to Santa Rosa. In 2002 a judge ruled that Stasko died in the line of duty. His blood alcohol had measured .36 after the accident.
(SFC, 1/16/99, p.A1)(SFC, 1/18/99, p.A1)(SFC, 4/29/02, p.B1)
1999 Jan 15, SF based AirTouch was sold to Vodafone Group PLC of Britain in a deal valued at $55-56 billion.
(SFC, 1/16/99, p.A1)(SFC, 2/19/99, p.A1)
1999 Jan 22, Mayor Brown approved a measure for the development of 200 units of affordable housing near the Embarcadero, along with a new police station and a 400-room waterfront hotel.
(SFC, 1/23/99, p.A15)
1999 Jan 24, Mayor Brown swore in Alicia Becerril (49) to the Board of Supervisors.
(SFC, 1/26/99, p.A22)
1999 Jan 26, A man in a wheelchair armed with a gun held up a pedestrian in Chinatown. He had robbed another victim of $17 a week earlier. Cuong Tran (27) was arrested Feb 1.
(SFC, 1/30/99, p.A15)(SFC, 2/3/99, p.A15)
1999 Jan 28, Two diamond robberies netted $100,000 each.
(SFC, 1/30/99, p.A16)
1999 Jan, The KRON "Bay Area 2000" documentary series included 3 films on San Francisco history by Ken Swartz. They included: "SF, Birth of a City: 1850-1899," "SF, Into the Fire (1900-1910," and "SF, Phoenix Rising 1910-1920."
(SFC, 2/9/99, p.E1)
1999 Jan, Roberto Ortega (19), a member of the Surenos gang, was shot to death at 21st and Capp. Salvador Rodriguez (18) and Juan Carlos Romero (19) members of the Nortenos gang were arrested on Aug 19. The same day as the arrests Raul Ortega, brother of Roberto, was shot in the head and killed.
(SFC, 8/21/99, p.A18)
1999 Feb 10, "Bro" gang members, aka Sunset District Incorporated, severely beat up Richard Bailey of San Bruno following a basketball game between St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart. Police were investigating the incident as a hate-crime. In March police arrested Robert Ramirez (20), Michael Hurley (19) and a 16-year-old boy for the attack on Bailey. Kevin Reilly (20) was still sought.
(SFC, 2/12/99, p.A21)(SFC, 3/11/99, p.A15)
1999 Feb 11, Deborah Dodson shot and killed Floyd Hollis (59), her former husband, in the 1500 block of Hayes St. Hollis, a convicted felon, had stalked and threatened Dodson for months in violation of a restraining order.
(SFC, 2/12/99, p.A1)
1999 Feb 12, A fire at the Hartland Hotel at 909 Geary left 150 people homeless.
(SFEC, 3/7/99, p.D1)
1999 Feb 16, Concern was raised over the flock of some 50 wild parrots that lived on Telegraph Hill. Their protector and chronicler, Mark Bittner, was scheduled to move from his cottage and the city's Commission on Animal Control and Welfare asked for ideas on their care.
(SFC, 2/16/99, p.A11)
1999 Feb 17, An agreement in federal court put an end to ethnic quotas in SF public schools.
(SFC, 2/17/99, p.A1)
1999 Feb 18, Transamerica was bought by Aegon NV of the Netherlands in a deal valued at $9.7 billion. The assessed value of the Transamerica Pyramid in SF was set at $190 million.
(SFC, 2/19/99, p.A1)(SFC, 5/29/04, p.C2)
1999 Feb 22, Levi Strauss announced that it would close 11 of 22 US plants and lay off 5,900 factory workers.
(SFC, 2/23/99, p.A1)
1999 Feb 28, An early morning shooting at 1843 Eddy in the Western Addition left Keionta Dean (19) dead and 5 wounded. Roland “Tang" White was indicted in 2001 and arrested in Oakland in 2002.
(SFC, 3/1/99, p.A22)(SFC, 4/24/02, p.A14)
1999 Mar 2, A fire at the Park Hotel at 325 Sutter left 180 people homeless.
(SFEC, 3/7/99, p.D1)
1999 Mar 3, Dirt hauling from the new Pac Bell Park was halted due to high levels of lead in the soil. The lead was from homes and industrial sites filled with lead-based paint prior to the 1906 earthquake.
(SFC, 3/4/99, p.A1)
1999 Mar 3, Potsan Lo (74) was found dead of a head injury inside her Santos St. home in the Excelsior.
(SFC, 3/11/99, p.A16)
1999 Mar 6, The SF Urban Iditarod race was held to coincide with the 27th annual race in Alaska.
(SFEC, 3/7/99, p.D3)
1999 Mar 6, Tony Zachary (32) tortured his common-law wife with a curling iron for over an hour and fled with their 2 children.
(SFC, 3/18/99, p.A20)
1999 Mar 8, Velma Studendorf (86) was raped and killed in her home at 46 Norton St. in the Mission Terrace. David Silva (b.1953)), a homeless man, was later arrested in connection with the crime. Silva was convicted in 2002. In 2003 he claimed responsibility for 4 other killings.
(SFC, 3/11/99, p.A16)(SSFC, 3/30/03, p.A1)
1999 Mar 13, The California Music Awards known as the Bammies was held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
(SFEC, 3/14/99, p.D1)
1999 Mar 14, The SF 147th St. Patrick's Day Parade was held.
(SFC, 3/15/99, p.A13)
1999 Mar 15, Mayor Brown picked Michael Burns (43), the 2nd ranking boss of the Philadelphia transit system, as the general manager for Muni.
(SFC, 3/16/99, p.A1)
1999 Mar 15, The SF Supervisors approved a ban on new liquor stores in the 28-block Tenderloin area bounded by Post, Polk, Golden Gate, and Taylor Streets.
(SFC, 3/16/99, p.A13)
1999 Mar 17, Buster Simpson presented a new rendering of his foot sculpture for the Embarcadero called "Embark" to an art commission panel. An initial design was rejected in 1997.
(SFC, 3/17/99, p.A1)
1999 Mar 22, The SF Int'l. Film Festival opened with David Mamet's "The Winslow Boy" at the Castro. The rest of the 2-week show was scheduled for the Kabuki multiplex at 1881 Post St.
(SFC, 3/10/99, p.C11)
1999 Mar 28, In SF the 15-story Verducci Hall of California State Univ. on Lake Merced Drive was blown up. It was to be replaced by a new apartment complex. The building, which opened in 1969, was named after Joe Verducci, a former CSU athletic director, and had been vacant since 1991.
(SFC, 3/17/99, p.A12)(SFC, 3/29/99, p.A1,5)
1999 Apr 3, In Visitacion Valley Whai Sook Kim (51), the new co-owner of the KC Market at Wilde Ave. and Rutland St. was shot and killed.
(SFEC, 4/4/99, p.B1)
1999 Apr 10, Mary Jane Rathbun (77), aka Brownie Mary, died. She and Dennis Peron had earlier published "Brownie Mary's Marijuana Cookbook and Dennis Peron's Recipe for Social Change."
(SFC, 4/13/99, p.A19)
1999 Apr 13, Mayor Brown premiered "The Willie Brown Show," a monthly episode, on cable Channel 27.
(SFC, 4/12/99, p.A17)
1999 Apr 14, Sam Provenzano, artist, died at age 75. He coined the term SoMa for the South of Market area and sketched scenes of the North Beach and SoMa neighborhoods.
(SFEC, 4/18/99, p.D1)
1999 Apr 15, A fire broke out at 1749 Ninth Ave. near Noriega and over a dozen firefighters were injured when the flames jumped to the 3-story apartment next door.
(SFC, 4/16/99, p.A21)
1999 Apr 15, Jane O'Connell (72) was struck by a MUNI bus at Mission and 21st as she crossed against a red light. She died the next day. The bus was later found to have a faulty brake.
(SFC, 4/17/99, p.A14)(SFC, 5/24/99, p.A17)
1999 Apr 16, The California College of Arts and Crafts planned a public exhibition of its new renovated facility, the 12,000-square-foor Kent and Vicki Logan Center at 8th and Irwin.
(SFC, 4/14/99, p.E1)
1999 Apr 19, Michael Burns of Philadelphia began work as the new Muni chief.
(SFC, 4/19/99, p.A1)
1999 Apr 19, The SF Board of Supervisors rejected the 18-foot "foot sculpture" by Buster Simpson in a 6-4 vote.
(SFC, 4/20/99, p.A1)
1999 Apr 22, The Dallas Board of Education named SF Superintendent Bill Rojas as its choice to run the Dallas school district. The SF Board of Supervisors were not pleased.
(SFC, 4/23/99, p.A1)
1999 Apr 23, Bill Rojas announced that he would move to Dallas and head their school district for $275,000.
(SFEC, 4/25/99, p.C1)
1999 Apr 24, Some 15,000 people marched in SF on behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal (on his 45th birthday), a man convicted in the killing of a Philadelphia police officer in 1982.
(SFEC, 4/25/99, p.A1)
1999 Apr 24, Some 20,000 thousands of Sikhs gathered to march in SF on the 300th anniversary of their religion. The Sikhs were founded by a series of 10 prophets or gurus and believe in one God but many paths to heaven. [see Nanak c1500, 1519]
(SFEC, 4/25/99, p.C1)
1999 Apr 27, Advocates for the SF homeless began distributing personal shopping carts to counter the get tough policies of Mayor Brown and Supervisor Amos Brown. 5 carts were given out by the Coalition on Homelessness and POOR Magazine.
(SFC, 4/27/99, p.A17)
1999 Apr 28, San Francisco-based McKesson Corp. announced irregularities in the books of its newly acquired HBO & Co. The stock plunged 48%. The January merger had cost McKesson $13.9 billion.
(SFC, 10/17/03, p.B4)(SFC, 6/19/12, p.D1)
1999 Apr, P.J. Johnston (29) took over as the director of the SF Film Commission.
(SFC, 5/10/99, p.E1)
1999 Apr, Madeleine Haas Russell, philanthropist and civic leader, died at 84.
(SFC, 11/6/99, p.B1)
1999 May 1, The Puente al Sur exhibit at the SF Zoo opened featuring the exotic creatures of Central and South America.
(SFC, 4/29/99, p.C1)
1999 May 1, The Norway Day Festival was held at Fort Mason.
(SFEC, 5/2/99, p.C7)
1999 May 1, The 2nd annual Reclaim May Day, Reclaim San Francisco festival was held in Dolores Park.
(SFEC, 5/2/99, p.C7)
1999 May 2, SF Superior Court Judge James McBride (47) was arrested on a felony account of spousal abuse.
(SFC, 5/5/99, p.A17)
1999 May 4, The SF Board of Education chose Linda Davis as the interim superintendent.
(SFC, 5/5/99, p.A15)
1999 May 5, SF Superior Court Judge Robert Dondero ruled that a key DNA test, Short Tandem Repeats, was unproven and inadmissible in 5 cases before him.
(SFC, 5/7/99, p.A1)
1999 May 6, The closing night film for the SF Int'l. Film Festival at the Castro was the concert documentary "Buena Vista Social Club" by Wim Wenders."
(SFC, 3/10/99, p.C3)
1999 May 6, Wilfred Ussery, a former member of the BART board of directors, was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of bribery, extortion and lying to the FBI.
(SFC, 5/7/99, p.A19)
1999 May 7, The new 30-story W San Francisco hotel was scheduled to open at Howard and Third. It was operated by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc, the world's largest hotel group.
(SFEC, 4/25/99, p.B1)
1999 May 11, Mayor Brown hired Elizabeth Goldstein at a $90,000 salary as physical plant and operations manager for his "park renaissance crusade."
(SFC, 5/12/99, p.A11)
1999 May 14, San Francisco and Oakland vied in the Great Green Sweep, an effort to sweep the cities clean.
(SFEC, 5/16/99, p.D1)
1999 May 14, In San Francisco Julie Christine Day (24) of Walnut Creek was last seen leaving the Bubble Lounge on Montgomery St. Her body was found a week later in a shallow grave in China Basin. In 2009 Jehad Baqleh, a former taxi driver convicted of her murder, was determined to be legally insane.
(SFC, 5/21/99, p.A15)
1999 May 14, San Francisco police arrested Kevin Keating (38), head of the "Yuppie Eradication Project," on suspicion of property destruction in the Mission. Keating held the pre-WW I Ukrainian anarchist Nestor Makhno as his idol.
(SFC, 6/7/99, p.A13)
1999 May 16, The 88th Bay to Breakers run was one by Lazarus Nyakeraka of Kenya with a time of 34 minutes and 11 seconds.
(SFC, 5/17/99, p.A1)
1999 May 17, SF poet and film maker James Broughton died. He was born in Modesto and moved to Port Townsend, Washington, in 1989. His poetry books included "Graffiti for the Johns of Heaven."
(SFC, 6/24/99, p.E3)
1999 May 20, In San Francisco the body of Julie Christine Day (24) was found partially buried at a construction site in China Basin. Jehad Baqleh (31), a taxi driver, was arrested for the murder and admitted that he robbed and had sex with the victim.
(SFC, 5/21/99, p.A1)
1999 May 24, Mayor Brown proclaimed this day as Rashad Williams Day in honor of Rashad's having raised $18,000 for the family of Lance Kirklin (16), who was shot 5 times at Columbine High School, Colo., on Apr 20.
(SFEC, 6/20/99, p.C1)
1999 May 26, Shayne Worcester (29) of Portland, Maine, was robbed and mortally shot in a Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco. He was a Rhodes Scholar and independent filmmaker visiting the city for a friend's birthday. In 2001 Tremain Collier (30) of Richmond and Santese Edwards (23) of SF were indicted and arrested for the murder. Daniel Mooring (21) was also indicted and sought by police. In 2004 Mooring was found guilty of 1st degree murder.
(SFC, 5/27/99, p.A1)(SFC, 4/26/01, p.A1)(SFC, 1/16/04, p.A21)
1999 May 30, The Carnaval music and dance festival was held in the Mission District.
(SFC, 5/31/99, p.A13)
1999 May, The new 423-room W San Francisco Hotel at Third and Howard was scheduled to open.
(SFC, 1/4/99, p.E3)
1999 Jun 4, Ken Kelton, the Pedestrian Man, was profiled for his late night artistry painting the outlines of pedestrians killed by traffic on SF streets. www.pedsafe.org (SFC, 6/4/99, p.A2)
1999 Jun 6, Bay Area Buddhists celebrated the first national "Change Your Mind Day" at Golden Gate Park. The event began in NYC under the sponsorship of "Tricycle," a Buddhist magazine.
(SFC, 6/4/99, p.A19)
1999 Jun 9, Michael Downing (27) set himself on fire in front of the Lakeshore Elementary School at 220 Middlefield Drive. He was hospitalized with burns on 98% of his body and died the next day.
(SFC, 6/10/99, p.C4)(SFC, 6/11/99, p.A18)
1999 Jun 11, Wallace Brunfield (28) died of gunshot wounds sustained near Webster and Grove.
(SFC, 6/14/99, p.A24)
1999 Jun 12, Mayor Brown announced his official candidacy for re-election.
(SFEC, 6/13/99, p.D1)
1999 Jun 12, Todd Peterson (50) was found stabbed to death in a Hyde St. apartment. A 2nd man was taken to SFG with a knife in his chest.
(SFC, 6/14/99, p.A24)
1999 Jun 13, The 22nd Haight Street Fair was closed by pianist Merl Saunders and His Funky Friends.
(SFC, 6/12/99, p.A19)
1999 Jun 14, Development rights to the former Letterman Hosp. in the Presidio was won by the George Lucas group. Their proposed $250 million moviemaking and technology campus prevailed over a proposal by the Shorenstein/Interland Corp.
(SFC, 6/15/99, p.A1)
1999 Jun 16, The $85 million, 350,000 sq.-ft Metreon shopping and amusement center created by Sony opened at Fourth and Mission. It will have 15 movie screens and an IMAX theater with restaurants and stores. The center included the first Sony PlayStation, a showcase store for home and video games by any game developer.
(SFC, 1/5/99, p.E1)(SFC, 3/3/99, p.E2)(SFC, 4/22/99, p.B1)(SFC, 6/17/99, p.E1)
1999 Jun 16, The board of the Chronicle Publ. Co. voted to solicit bids for all or parts of the company. In pieces it was valued at $2 billion.
(SFC, 6/17/99, p.A1)
1999 Jun 16, The California High Speed Railway Authority recommended that San Francisco and San Jose be part of a $23.3 billion bullet train stretching from San Diego to Sacramento. A link to Oakland was put on study.
(SFC, 6/17/99, p.A22)
1999 Jun 22, R.D. Layman, former Chronicle copy editor and authority on early naval aviation, died at age 71. He authored 4 books on early naval aviation.
(SFC, 6/25/99, p.D6)
1999 Jun 23, The 300-sq.-ft. Telegraph Hill cottage where Bill Bailey lived from 1955-1992 was lifted from its foundation and put to storage on a MUNI repair yard.
(SFC, 6/24/99, p.A19)
1999 Jun 25, The 5th annual extreme sports competition opened at Pier 30 under the sponsorship of ESPN. The X Games ran over 10 days to Jul 3.
(SFC, 6/24/99, p.A1)
1999 Jun 25, Russell Scott (50), a recovering addict and drug rehabilitation pioneer, was found slain in his Sunset home.
(SFC, 6/29/99, p.A14)
1999 Jun 26, The X Games drew an overflow crowd of 25,000 people inside and another 15,000 people outside. The Gay Pride crowd at the Civic Center was estimated at 30,000.
(SFEC, 6/27/99, p.A1)
1999 Jun 28, The Board of Supervisors considered a proposal for a 3.5 mile downtown Gold Rush Trail from Yerba Buena Gardens to Washington Square.
(SFC, 6/30/99, p.A13)
1999 Jun, The 226-unit, 20-story Bay Towers on Beale St. was scheduled to accept residential tenants.
(SFEC, 1/24/99, p.B9)
1999 Jun, Ground breaking was to begin for the new 43-acre UCSF campus at 16th and 3rd. The city will have donated 13 acres and Catellus Development Corp. the other 30 acres.
(SFC, 3/5/98, p.A17)
1999 Jun, A 35-acre section of Treasure Island was scheduled to become a Job Corps training center. It was scheduled to have 780 beds for poor and disadvantaged students from 16-24 years of age.
(SFC, 12/22/98, p.C8)
1999 Jul 3, The 2-day Fillmore Street Fair opened.
(SFEC, 7/4/99, p.B8)
1999 Jul 7, The SF Landmark Preservation Board voted to bestow landmark status to the Doggie Diner restaurant across from the city zoo. Sloat Garden Center, the owner of the property, order the diner operator to close shop in 60 days.
(SFC, 7/8/99, p.A13)
1999 Jul 9, In SF Mark Barton was ambushed and shot to death as he left for work from his Potrero Ave. home. His girlfriend (21) was raped, thrown in a closet and shot. In 2003 police arrested Ivory Morton based on DNA evidence. Morton was convicted Aug 18, 2006.
(SFC, 3/28/03, p.A6)(SFC, 8/19/06, p.B3)
1999 Jul 11, In the first SF Chronicle Marathon Brad Hawthorne won the race.
(SFC, 7/12/99, p.A1,5)
1999 Jul 14, Robert Clayton (43) was shot to death while in his car near 700 Grove St. The murder was suspected to be drug-related.
(SFEC, 7/18/99, p.D8)
1999 Jul 15, Tammy Duperroir (26) was stabbed to death on Harrison St. while going to a store.
(SFC, 7/16/99, p.D6)
1999 Jul 19, Mayor Brown pushed through a $4.2 billion city budget.
(SFC, 7/20/99, p.A15)
1999 Jul 22, The Board of Supervisors approved a 25% pay raise over 2 years for city firefighters. Base pay would hit $71,000 by July 1, 2000.
(SFC, 7/22/99, p.A19)
1999 Jul 30, United Airlines agreed to offer domestic-partner benefits to employees and retirees worldwide following a 2-year legal struggle against the SF domestic-partners law.
(SFC, 7/31/99, p.A1)
1999 Jul 30, Waste Management began hauling lead-contaminated dirt from the Altamont Landfill to the Kettleman Hills hazardous waste site. The dirt was from the SF Pacific Bell Park baseball site.
(SFC, 7/31/99, p.A11)
1999 Jul 31, The FBI probed the SF affirmative action agency over the award of a contested train contract at the SF Int'l. Airport.
(SFEC, 8/1/99, p.A1)
1999 Jul, The Park Merced apartment complex was sold by the Leona Helmsley group to Carmel Companies, a Denver real estate conglomerate, and money partner JP Morgan Strategic Property Fund, for $350 million.
(SFC, 5/27/00, p.A17)(www.cityfeet.com/News/NewsArticle.aspx?PartnerPath=&Id=14379)
1999 Aug 2, The FBI probe in SF was extended to the Housing Authority and the possibility of illegal sale of vouchers for Section 8 subsidized rental housing.
(SFC, 8/3/99, p.A1)
1999 Aug 6, The SF Chronicle and SF Gate was sold to the Hearst Corp. for an estimated $660 million.
(SFC, 8/7/99, p.A1)(SFC, 8/7/99, p.A8)(WSJ, 8/9/99, p.B9)
1999 Aug 12, A grand opening Macy's Union Square was scheduled.
(SFEM, 8/8/99, p.42)
1999 Aug 12, Rick Curry (36) was shot and killed at 751 Webster St., outside King's Super Market.
(SFC, 8/14/99, p.A1)
1999 Aug 12, Dung Quan (19) of Daly City was shot and killed at Webster and Geary in a driveby shooting.
(SFC, 8/14/99, p.A13)
1999 Aug 12, Martin Wong, artist, died of AIDS at age 53. His paintings of tenement life in NYC are part of the permanent collection of the NYC MOMA.
(SFEC, 8/22/99, p.D5)
1999 Aug 15, Foreign Cinema at 2548 Mission was founded by Jon Varnedoe and Michael Hecht.
(SFC, 8/21/99, p.B1)
1999 Aug 15, Hien Nguyen (60), former South Vietnamese army soldier, was beaten to death in Visitacion Valley. Jose Nunez Ortiz Jr. was arrested for the murder.
(SFC, 9/19/00, p.A1)
1999 Aug 17, Two Salvadoran men were found killed in their Ocean View residence.
(SFC, 8/20/99, p.D6)
1999 Aug 19, Raul Ortega (22) was shot and killed at 19th and San Carlos streets 3 hours after police officers had arrested 2 Nortenos gang members for the Jan. murder of his brother Roberto.
(SFC, 8/21/99, p.A18)(SFC, 8/24/99, p.A17)
1999 Aug 26, Nancy Honig (56), wife of former state school chief Bill Honig, was found dead in SF. Vodka and pills were found in her room along with a copy of "Final Exit," a book on how to commit suicide by Derek Humphrey.
(SFC, 8/31/99, p.A22)
1999 Aug 26, Robert Sadler (35) was shot and killed at the Sirocco Club on Judah St. He was a bystander in a confrontation following a pool dispute.
(SFC, 8/27/99, p.D7)
1999 Aug, A 64-foot-long and 8-foot-tall mural by Barry McGee at 1035 Howard St. was stolen. The theft was not reported to police until mid Sept. and not made public until mid Nov.
(SFEC, 11/14/99, p.C1)
1999 Sep 2, David Dunn (22) and a teenager were shot from a moving car at the corner of Eddy and Scott streets, an area known as the Alamo Square neighborhood. Dunn died the next day.
(SFC, 9/4/99, p.A17)
1999 Sep 6, Some 1,000 members of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union demonstrated in front of the St. Francis Hotel and 147 members of Local 2 were arrested.
(SFC, 9/7/99, p.A17)
1999 Sep 7, Mayor Brown announced a property tax cut with a new rate of $1.129 per $100 of assessed value.
(SFC, 9/8/99, p.A21)
1999 Sep 8, A heavy thunderstorm hit the Bay Area.
(SFC, 9/9/99, p.A20)
1999 Sep 9, The 8th annual Fringe Festival opened for an 11-day run.
(SFC, 9/8/99, p.C1)
1999 Sep 10, The Lotta Crabtree fountain at Kearny and Market was rededicated.
(SFC, 9/10/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 10, Officials seized 59 Labrador dogs from Thomas Hammer (50) at his home on Santa Rita Ave, declared his house a nuisance and cited him for cruelty.
(SFC, 9/18/99, p.A24)
1999 Sep 11, The SF Opera season opened with Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera."
(SFEC, 9/12/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 11, Michael Franti, SF musician, organized a concert in Golden Gate Park on behalf of death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal. It became an annual event with a shift of focus following the 2001 terrorist attacks.
(SFC, 9/7/06, p.E4)
1999 Sep 14, UCSF filed a suit against head cashier Marie Taliaferro of Moraga, her husband Paul and daughter Christina, for embezzling a suspected $4.5 million over several years. Taliaferro was arrested in Dec. and charged with embezzling $4.7 million, much of which was funneled into Solimar Inc., a Lafayette company run by her daughter (33), dedicated to the proposition that "angels are spiritual messengers dedicated to our growth and good fortune."
(SFC, 9/15/99, p.A19)(SFC, 12/14/99, p.A17)
1999 Sep 17, Gianfranco Fulvio Giotta, owner of the Café Trieste in North Beach, died at age 55.
(SFEC, 9/19/99, p.C1)
1999 Sep 18, The 27th annual SF Blues Festival opened.
(SFEC, 9/19/99, p.C1)
1999 Sep 18, The Autumn Moon Festival was held in Chinatown.
(SFEC, 9/19/99, p.C3)
1999 Sep 20, Fernando Lozoya (14) of Everett Middle School was stabbed at 17th and Arkansas and soon died from his wound inflicted by suspected gang members.
(SFC, 9/21/99, p.A15)
1999 Sep 20, The body Mohammad Mustafa Elian (37), a Cleveland businessman involved in running the closed Kings Super Market on Webster St., was found bundled off a cliff near Devil's Slide.
(SFC, 9/23/99, p.A18)
1999 Sep 21, Federal officials indicted 24 people in connection with alleged bribery at the SF Housing Authority.
(SFC, 9/22/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 22, It was reported the SF Airport had earned accreditation by the American Association of Museums, the only airport so honored.
(SFC, 9/22/99, p.E3)
1999 Sep 23, The UCSF Stanford Health Care board of directors voted to close the emergency room at Mt. Zion Hospital and convert it to a daytime medical clinic.
(SFC, 9/24/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 28, The SF investment banking firm of Hambrecht & Quist Group agreed to sell out to Chase Manhattan for about $1.35 billion.
(SFC, 9/29/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 30, The SF Giants played their last game at Candlestick/3Com Park before a crowd of 61,389 fans. The Los Angeles Dodgers won, 9-to-4.
(SFC, 10/1/99, p.A1)(AP, 9/30/00)
1999 Sep, Archbishop Levada announced that the National Conference of Catholic Bishops had approved his request to designate St. Francis Church as the National Shrine of St. Francis.
(SFC, 10/4/99, p.A21)
1999 Oct 3, The body of Thorin Butler (19) was found in Mountain Lake. He had disappeared over a week earlier.
(SFC, 10/4/99, p.A19)
1999 Oct 3, The King's Hotel at 663 Valencia was torched and one resident, Rexanne Battershell (46), was killed and as many as 75 left homeless. Sandra Taylor, a former tenant angry at being forced to move, was later arrested on suspicion of arson and murder. Taylor was found guilty Feb 14, 2002.
(SFC, 10/4/99, p.A1)(SFC, 2/15/02, p.A24)
1999 Oct 9, The annual Fleet Week celebration began and 20 warships were scheduled to pass under the Golden Gate Bridge.
(SFC, 10/6/99, p.A19)
1999 Oct 10, Lorenzo "Sol" Silva (63), an airport security guard, shot and killed 3 of his upstairs neighbors and then killed himself at 33 de Montfort St. in the Ingleside district. Noel Ridual and his wife Josephine, both 28, and their friend Maria "Ola" Marquicias (32) were killed. The Ridual's 2-year-old daughter was wounded.
(SFC, 10/11/99, p.A1)(SFC, 10/12/99, p.A1)
1999 Oct 16, The 10th annual SF Book Fair opened at Fort Mason. In Chinatown the 1st Saturday Chinatown Night Market Fair was held at Portsmouth Square and plans were to continue through Nov. 20.
(SFEC, 10/17/99, p.D1)
1999 Oct 20, Matteo Ciuffreda, jeweler, died, 2 days after the Matteucci clock in front of his store was knocked over by a truck.
(SFC, 10/21/99, p.A19,24)
1999 Oct 20-Nov 6, The 17th annual SF Jazz Festival was held.
(SFEM, 10/3/99, p.19)
1999 Oct 25, A groundbreaking ceremony was held at 16th and Owen streets for the new UC biological research laboratory, part of a new 43-acre UCSF campus, itself part of the Mission Bay development.
(SFC, 10/25/99, p.A1)
1999 Oct 29-Nov 7, The 55th Grand National Rodeo was scheduled for the Cow Palace.
(SFEM, 10/24/99, p.4)
1999 Oct 31, A Halloween Party at the Civic Center was expected to attract 20,000 people with 50,000 expected in the Castro area.
(SFC, 10/30/99, p.A25)
1999 Oct, A SF Municipal "Litter Court" began hearing cases on litter and illegal dumping of trash.
(SFC, 11/26/99, p.A1)
1999 Nov 2, In San Francisco elections Willie Brown led with 38.7% of the vote and Supervisor Tom Ammiano came in 2nd with 25.4%. Terence Hallinan led over Bill Fazio. A Dec 14 runoff was scheduled for both mayor and district attorney. SF voters backed Proposition F, a ban on ATM surcharges, and the banks quickly sued to keep the fees. The $299 million bond measure to rebuild Laguna Honda passed and seismic retrofit for the Central Freeway (Prop J) was undetermined as was the plan to tear down the Central Freeway (Prop I). Voters approved an ordnance making it harder for property owners to evict tenants (Prop G). In 2003 a judge weakened the Prop G ordnance. Voters passed a proposition to keep the Transbay Terminal where it is and make sure that Caltrain is extended into the terminal’s basement.
(SFC, 11/3/99, p.A1)(SFC, 11/4/99, p.A1,21)(SFC, 11/5/99, p.A1,18)(SFC, 5/3/03, p.A17)(SFC, 8/7/07, p.A6)
1999 Nov 4, It was reported that the North Beach Finocchio's nightclub, famous for its female impersonators, was due to close on Nov 27 after 63 years of operation.
(SFC, 11/4/99, p.A1)
1999 Nov 4, Shorenstein Co. announced that 25 tenants would be evicted from the Temple Hotel at 469 Pine St. under the Ellis Act.
(SFC, 11/5/99, p.A21)
1999 Nov 10, Three of 4 paintings stolen from the De Young Museum in 1978 turned up in NYC.
(SFC, 11/11/99, p.A1)
1999 Nov 15, A federal judge blocked the San Francisco voter approved ATM initiative to prohibit banks from charging fees to noncustomers.
(SFC, 11/16/99, p.A1)
1999 Nov 15, Young Broadcasting of New York purchased KRON, Channel 24, for $823 million from the SF Chronicle.
(SFC, 11/16/99, p.A1)
1999 Nov 15, John Langley Howard, artist and son of architect John Galen Howard, died at age 97. His work included the Industry mural in Coit Tower and the 1951 triptych "The Rape of the Earth."
(SFC, 11/26/99, p.B9)
1999 Nov 16, Genentech agreed to settle a 10-year patent infringement dispute with the University of California for $200 million. $150 million was to be in cash and $50 million for the construction of a research campus in SF.
(SFC, 11/16/99, p.C1)
1999 Nov 18, The SF Board of Supervisors passed a resolution that urged Coca Cola to use more recycled plastic in the estimated 10 billion plastic bottles that it produced annually in the US.
(SFC, 11/19/99, p.A26)
2009 Nov 19, In San Francisco former McKesson Corp. Chairman Charles McCall was convicted by a federal jury of 5 felonies for inflating the revenues of HBO & Co., a medical software company, before McKesson acquired it for $13.9 billion in January 1999.
(www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/business/20fraud.html)(SFC, 6/19/12, p.D1)
1999 Nov 23, The Emergency Room at Mount Zion was closed.
(SFC, 11/24/99, p.A19)
1999 Nov 26, A fire at the residential Hotel Western on 335 Leavenworth left over 40 people homeless.
(SFEC, 11/28/99, p.A1)
1999 Nov 28, Finnochio's drag club on Broadway closed after a 63-year run.
(SFC, 11/29/99, p.D1)
1999 Nov 30, The SF 1998-1999 fiscal year showed a $126 million surplus.
(SFC, 12/1/99, p.A23)
1999 The sculpture “Pax Jerusalem" by Mark de Suvero was erected In the parking area of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor.
(SFEC, 7/16/00, DB p.33)
1999 Dec 7, Exotic dancers filed a class-action suit against the Broadway clubs: Casbah, Garden of Eden and Roaring '20s. The dancers demanded rights as employees and not independent contractors.
(SFC, 12/8/99, p.A21)
1999 Dec 9, In San Francisco Kameron Sengthavy, a former Univ. of Nevada swimmer, was found stabbed to death in his residential hotel at 447 Bush St. In 2018 police served an arrest warrant for the murder on Roy Donovan Lacy (38), a former SF Bay Area resident serving time for bank robbery in a Florida prison.
(SSFC, 5/20/18, p.C3)
1999 Dec 12, Barbara Amundson (43) was killed during a burglary at Major Lines of California kitchen showroom in the Bayview. Police arrested Clifford Hayter (42) 2 days later on suspicion of burglary and murder. Police had inspected the area following a burglar alarm, which Amundson came to turn off.
(SFC, 12/17/99, p.A1)
1999 Dec 13, Margiree Warren (48) was shot to death in the 1400 block of Baker St. Ex-husband Leonard Jones (49) was arrested for the shotgun slaying.
(SFC, 12/14/99, p.A17)
1999 Dec 14, Mayor Willie Brown won his bid for re-election over Tom Ammiano by a margin of about 60-40. After a week of counting votes Terence Hallinan was declared victor over Bill Fazio.
(SFC, 12/15/99, p.A1)(SFC, 12/23/99, p.A1)
1999 Dec 19, Ramon Calderon (21) of Vallejo was attacked and hit by Hollis Bee Owens, a homeless man free on probation, in Portsmouth Square following an short chat. Calderon died 3 days later.
(SFC, 12/24/99, p.A1)
1999 Dec 19, Joe Jackson (22) was shot by Alton Singleton during an ongoing a family feud on Potrero Hill. Jackson died Sep 19, 2000.
(SFC, 9/21/00, p.A18)
1999 The “Pax Jerusalem" sculpture by Mark di Suvero was acquired by SF and set outside the California Palace of the Legion of Honor.
(SFC, 12/23/02, p.D1)
1999 Alan Kaufman, SF poet, published his anthology of poetry: "The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry."
(SFC, 2/22/00, p.C1)
c1999 David Johnson (46), aka the “bushman," began scaring tourists for fun and money at Fisherman’s Wharf. In 2002 there was a push to end his act following numerous complaints.
(SSFC, 9/8/02, p.A21)
1999 Jim Berk, owner of a residential complex, founded Safe on Sixth (SOS), a volunteer street-sweeping program.
(SFC, 10/22/01, p.A14)
1999 A $51,000 federal grant was used by a non-profit under Charlie Walker to buy a Hunters Point property that was sold to a Nation of Islam affiliate. In 2000 HUD ordered a pay back at market value, $400,000.
(SFC, 3/29/02, p.A1)
1999 San Francisco held its first How Weird Street Faire. It grew out of community of artists in the 1990s known as the Consortium of Collective Consciousness. Brad Olsen founded the "How Weird Street Faire" while living in a warehouse on Howard Street.
(SFC, 4/27/15, p.C3)(SFC, 5/6/19, p.C1)
1999 The SF school district engaged Strategic Resources Solutions Corp. of North Carolina, in a $300 million energy retrofitting contract. Tim Tronson and independent consultant under school Superintendent Bill Rojas, began diverting funds. In 2005 Tronson (48) pleaded guilty to fraud and tax evasion.
(SFC, 6/21/05, p.B2)
1999 The Schlage Lock and Key company, established in 1925 near the rail tracks in San Francisco’s Visitacion Valley closed. In 2000 Home Depot planned a store at the contaminated site. In 2006 new plans envisioned 800 housing units for the 12-acre site.
(SFC, 8/26/00, p.A13)(SFC, 8/28/06, p.B1)
1999 New infections from AIDS in SF doubled to 900.
(SFC, 6/30/00, p.A1)
1999-2000 The ESPN cable network planned to hold the X Games, an Olympic-style event of outrageous and alternative sports, in SF.
(SFC, 9/10/98, p.A1)
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