Robert Bowman scanned the aisles of a downtown Target. It was May, and the 49-year-old man with congestive heart failure was about to become homeless. He needed to buy a tent he could pitch on concrete, with fabric strong enough to withstand San Francisco's summer winds. He had lived on the streets before, in a life waylaid by trauma, loss and illness. But four years ago, he moved inside when the city's Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing offered him a room at the Elm Hotel in the Tenderloin.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2022/sf-sro-evictions/

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Out of deference to his wife, Yoko Ono, John Lennon liked to refer to the period of their 18-month separation (1973-1975) as his 'lost weekend.' But the valuable documentary, 'The Lost Weekend: A Love Story,' shows that that characterization was utter nonsense. That two-year separation was a great period of creativity for Lennon. The Beatles member finished one solo album, wrote and recorded two others, re-established friendships with previously estranged friends (including Paul McCartney) and began a close working relationship with Elton John.

https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/event/movies-tv/the-lost-weekend-a-love-story

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A man is imprisoned in a room for 15 years. Who kidnapped him, and why? Suddenly, the man is just as inexplicably released. Is this some sort of cruel social experiment? Dae-Su (Choi Min-sik) doesn't care what it was. He just wants revenge, and sets out to get in Park Chan-wook's hyper-violent 2003 cult classic 'Oldboy,' which is returning to eight Bay Area theaters in a 4K restoration. It's best to go into this out-of-left-field thriller as clueless as Dae-su, and let it all unfold. The film caused a sensation at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, with a jury led by Quentin Tarantino awarding it the Grand Prix, the festival's second-place prize, and it became a worldwide cult hit.

https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/event/movies-tv/oldboy

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Each circle represents a place that no longer exists or has a different name. Hover or tap on a circle for details. Select a button to filter by a feature type. Source: Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) All features appear as points on the map, even if they took up acres of land. GNIS stopped collecting data on the following location types in 2014: airport, building, cemetery, church, dam, harbor, hospital, mine, park, post office, school. As a result, the map may not include places of these types that closed after 2014.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2022/sf-bay-area-historical-names/

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I used to think that brunch was a scam, engineered to convince the public that paying $18 for two eggs and bread was a mark of sophistication. (I say this as someone who used to be the egg poacher for a popular brunch spot.) But in the course of working on this list, I got to know the unique brunch cultures of the Bay Area. Here, the menu of dishes you might leisurely tuck into with a cup of coffee include Eritrean stews, squidgy rice rolls, beet hummus or oysters fresh from Tomales Bay. Brunch is exciting here, and never the same — though there are a wealth of options for the Benedict lovers out there.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2023/best-brunch-restaurant-sf-bay-area/

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Where will Shohei Ohtani play in 2024? It's baseball's half-a-billion-dollar question. The Giants' Alex Cobb declared that Ohtani "was coming to San Francisco" at the All-Star Game. Columnist John Shea presented 10 reasons why the Giants must get Ohtani. But at what cost? Some project Ohtani's next contract to top $50 million per season. The Giants have the money, but are they willing to give that much to one player? And what about a trade? The Angels are languishing around .500 and many believe Ohtani could be available prior to the Aug.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2023/giants-shohei-ohtani-poll/

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Operating out of a squat red truck, Dos Raicez puts a contemporary spin on tacos and tostadas. Carnitas tacos (three for $13.50) draw inspiration from Michoacan and honor the tradition with melty pork. Similarly, the beer-battered fish tacos ($14) pay homage to Baja California with an airy crunch, while the crisp chicken taquitos are a tribute to home cooking ($12). Another highlight is the ceviche tostada ($10) that's full of fun textures. Resting over a fried corn disk are tender chunks of yellowfin tuna, creamy avocado mousse, crisp jicama and smoky salsa macha.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/best-food-trucks-san-francisco-bay-area/

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Sales of electric vehicles in California soared to a new high in early 2023, accounting for more than 21% of all new vehicles sold in the Golden State so far this year. The portion of the new vehicle market composed of EVs — which include fully electric, hydrogen fuel cell and plug-in electric hybrid models — has more than doubled over the last two years. Electric models were less than 8% of the state's new car market in 2020, according to vehicle registration data from the California Energy Commission.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2023/ev-tracker-california/

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Berkeley is far more than a bohemian college town. It's one of the leading cities in the East Bay's culinary scene — a famously produce-obsessed community and a diverse area with noteworthy Persian, Ethiopian, Mexican, Indian, Thai and Japanese restaurants. Chez Panisse, chef Alice Waters' seminal restaurant, put Berkeley and farm-to-table cooking on the map. Chez's legacy can be seen with a generation of alumni who have struck out on their own, still cooking with seasonal ingredients but in more casual formats.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/best-berkeley-restaurants/

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What's playing at your favorite Bay Area music venue? Likely, some form of 'indie' music. The Chronicle analyzed more than 4,500 concerts that took place in the Bay Area since the start of 2020 to determine the common genres played at 27 popular music venues in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley. The five most common genres were 'indie pop,' 'indie rock,' 'pop,' 'modern rock,' and 'indie folk,' according to the music streamer Spotify's classification system. While the top spots went to familiar genres, things quickly got more interesting.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2022/music-venue-genres/

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The in West Marin By and Lauren Segal | It can be hard to keep your jaw from dropping while driving around West Marin, a pastoral paradise where oyster shells gleam from sandy beaches and farm stands tout fresh eggs. Stunning attractions like Point Reyes National Seashore and Stinson Beach summon hikers, surfers and nature enthusiasts to the quiet coastal region. Beyond the forests of moss-covered eucalyptus trees and waves crashing against dramatic cliffs, this slice of Marin County is also notable as a place to eat.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2023/west-marin-restaurants/

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