J-Church Delay Cleared, Stabbing Victim Taken to Hospital (updates)

J Church Muni Dolores Park
Photo by Flickr user Transit Nerd

Update 3:58 p.m. Tuesday: CBS and others are reporting that the SFPD has, in fact, arrested a suspect in the case.

Update 2:48 p.m. Tuesday: SF Appeal reports that ABC 7 reports that the police have a suspect in custody. SF Appeal cannot confirm the report. we shall see whether it’s true, and whether there’s a good chance that it’s the right guy.

Update 12:36 p.m. Tuesday: SFGate has a few more details and quotes from the victim.

Update 10:58 a.m. Tuesday: KTVU has an interview the victim, as well as a sketch of the suspect.

Update 8:58 p.m.: According to SF Appeal, the SFPD will be releasing images from the surveillance video sometime soon. Let’s hope lynch mobs or vigilante committees don’t form, but that with the public aware of what the perp looks like, he is brought to justice somehow.

Update 5:49 p.m.: MTA says it handed surveillance video of the stabbing over to the SFPD. The video will be used to help the police in their investigation. There is no word on whether or when the video will be made available to the public.

Update:
As of 12:50, SFMTA says that the incident has been cleared.

Original post:
We received an alert from SFMTA that, as of 10:40 a.m., regular J-Church service has been disrupted due to police activity on an outbound J light rail vehicle on Church and 18th Street. Bus shuttles are running between Church/16th and Church/22nd Street.

The alarming part:

“According to initial reports, one female passenger was stabbed by another passenger. The female who was stabbed was transported to San Francisco General Hospital. The severity of her injuries is unknown.”

(from SFMTA).

We will keep you updated.

Muni Party recap, with photos

We got a report Tuesday about the Muni party earlier this month. Quite the rowdy scene, as the video above attests. Here it is, from the organizers’ perspective:

We are excited to say that the Muni Party (November 12, 2009) was a great success. We were greeted at the M-Train stop at 19th and Holloway with a huge crowd of people, photographers, press, and police. We boarded the two car M-Train with 150+ people, and filled up the whole space. We rode toward downtown with high spirits screaming, chanting, and even singing songs by Journey and James Brown. On the way, we even picked up some bystanders who were waiting at Muni stations. We rode all the way to Montgomery Station, and as a group walked to the Muni Party After Party at Otis Lounge, chanting all the way. We had a great time dancing and mingling at the after party. It was an awesome experience, and we are planning on doing this again early next year. This time, we are going to have a ‘secret’ Muni Party by keeping the exact location secret until the day of the event so we can have a little more freedom. The amazing part of the whole Muni Party event is that we did not spend any money in planning this event, just lots of time, and help from sites such as Muni Diaries. Thanks for all of your support and helping us make this all possible!

MUNI PARTY
Brianna & John

BART Photos: The Ground View

Ground View: BART
Photo by Flickr user Alex H.

Pretty slow week in BARTlandia. Aside from everyone taking a collective deep breath following the BART cop/drunken guy/smashed glass incident from last weekend, and “news” that BART would be running longer trains for everyone-shop-go-nuts day, yeah, slow.

Enjoy these photos from the BART Photos Flickr pool, and let them courier you into a totally rad weekend.

BART train speeding by in San Francisco
Photo by Flickr user Jonathan.vail

back and forth and back again
Photo by Flickr user mikedthorn

Ground View: South Hayward BART
Photo by Flickr user Alex H.

Blackberry Breaks

(Old) Blackberry
Photo by Flickr user rwkvisual

Editor’s Note: Rider Eric sent in this diary on the 6-Parnassus, where he couldn’t help but notice a heart wrenching exchange on the Blackberry phone next to him.

It’s 6:30pm and I’m getting on the 6 bus to go home. Usually, on my way to work, I catch the underground, but coming home, unless I’m getting produce at the market, I like to get door to fucking door.

I nab my favorite seat-towards the back on the right just behind the back doors. I forgo my iPod for a change, look in my bag for a magazine I know I don’t have, check my watch, and slide down into the glossy brown plastic seat.

I look out the window as we pass Powell.  There’s the standard crowd with pocket cameras and fanny packs circling around a group of street performers corralling the tourists like a herd.  I think back to these two boys I once saw dancing for money on the F train in Brooklyn.  One was moving to the beat of the other’s hands. As we approached the stop at Smith and 9th, they came around with a hat and people pulled out change without even looking up from the newspaper. When the doors opened, they ran to the next car.  I watched them through the connecting car windows as the train went underground, the other one now dancing. I look back at the performers at Powell and shrug off the thought that I live in a town that wants to be a city.

I haven’t noticed it until now, but the guy next to me is fiercely thumbing away on his Blackberry. He’s young, unshaved, in ruffled jeans. I never understand why anyone would want a Blackberry if they weren’t a business man.  It’s sort of like a 16 year old choosing to drive a Ford Taurus.

Did I mention how big and bright the fucking screen is on a Blackberry?  So I can’t help but look over at what he’s typing, it’s practically in my face—“You look at things all wrong…that’s not what I meant at all”. He fires it off, drops the phone between his legs and stares ahead, wistfully.

30 seconds later, a buzzing tone comes from his lap. I try to make out what the message says, but he’s cradling the phone towards the window—unaware of me, but still hiding it.  He reads it, lets out a sigh: this isn’t good.
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