San Francisco, CA
In Netflix special, Chappelle says San Francisco taught him 'the trick to life'
FILE: Dave Chappelle performs during a midnight pop-up show at Radio City Music Hall on Oct. 16, 2022, in New York City.
Jason Mendez/Getty Images for ABADave Chappelle just released a new comedy special streaming on Netflix called “The Dreamer,” and once again, San Francisco makes a major appearance.
Chappelle has a long history in the city, becoming a regular at the Punch Line after he quit his Comedy Central show. Later in his career, he developed a friendship with the late trans comic Daphne Dorman, a San Francisco resident he has repeatedly invoked in his standup specials. He has drawn widespread condemnation from LGBTQ groups for transphobic comments.
The comic typically returns to San Francisco a few times a year (he once referred to the city as “an ATM machine” that he’d play whenever he needed money). When he comes to the city, controversy typically follows — at Chase Center in 2022 he brought out Elon Musk to boos, and at the Masonic he railed against the state of San Francisco. However, at his most recent appearance at the Punch Line in July 2023, he seemed to have moved past the type of culture war humor that tarnished his reputation among many fans.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Despite a proclamation at the end of his previous special “The Closer” that he was done telling jokes about the trans community, he continues to speak about LGBTQ people and gender identity throughout “The Dreamer.” The tone is less antagonistic, but the punchlines serve as clear dog whistles calling back to the previous controversy. Some jokes come across as lazy; at other moments Chappelle flashes his old brilliance. Whatever your thoughts are about Chappelle at this point, “The Dreamer” isn’t likely to change them.
Halfway through the set, Chappelle leaves the stage for a cigarette and returns to tell an extended story about San Francisco. At 22 years old, Chappelle was offered an HBO comedy special that was filmed at San Francisco’s Broadway Studios, located in North Beach. The venue was located above a nightclub, and 20 minutes into Chappelle’s set the club started playing loud music, which Chappelle thought ruined his show (although in the final product, the disruptive music isn’t audible).
After that SF show, Chappelle kicked in the door to the production trailers outside the venue and started yelling at the staff. The producers blamed one of the people associated with the nightclub, so Chappelle turned his anger toward a man associated with the venue whom he identified as a Russian mobster. Chappelle ended up in the dark kitchen of the club cursing at the mobster, who blamed the producers. When Chappelle realized he was wrong, he apologized.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
“It’s a funny thing if you believe you’re absolutely right. You can get drunk off the feeling of how right you are,” Chappelle says, before slipping in a punchline about gay people.
After apologizing to the mobster, Chappelle says, he had a realization in San Francisco that he explained in the final 10 minutes of his set.
“In your life, at any given moment, the strongest dream in that moment wins that moment. I am a very powerful dreamer …
“That’s the trick to life. You have to be wise enough to know when you are living in your dream. And you have to be humble enough to accept when you are in someone else’s.”
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Bay Area High School baseball fans are treated to a rare opportunity Saturday (April 18) with three games at Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, including the famed Bruce-Mahoney clash between West Catholic Athletic League rivals St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart Cathedral.
The first pitch of the 20th annual Dante Benedetti Baseball Classic starts at 11 a.m. and pits two more San Francisco private schools as University (9-7), winners of four straight, taking on Riordan (5-11).
That will be followed by the Bruce-Mahoney game at 2:30 between St. Ignatius (12-5, 4-2 WCAL) and the Irish (7-10, 1-5) and finished off with a North Coast Section clash between North Bay’s Marin Catholic (9-7) against Acalanes (7-6-1).
The Benedetti Classic, founded by Dante’s Boys Foundation board member Tom Lounibos and Giants president Larry Baer, benefits the DBF which honors the spirit of Benedetti who for nearly 40 years owned San Francisco’s Mr. Baseball nickname for his kindness and generosity to baseball-playing youth in the area.
Among their philanthropic efforts are glove and baseball equipment drives, field renovations and contributions to scholarships and sponsorships.
After starting the season 0-4 — three of those losses were by one run — University, under head coach Andrew Suvunnachuen, has found its way, winning the last four, all in Bay Counties League play, by a combined 51-6 count over Lick-Wilmerding (16-1 and 11-3) and San Domenico (13-2 and 11-0).
Senior catcher and pitcher Jett Messenger leads the way with a .447 average, while getting on base at a .638 rate. He also leads the team with 20 stolen bases. Junior third baseman Tate Gebhart is hitting .419, while Leo Felder and Behbart share the RBI lead with 15 each.
Junior Matthew Foley is 3-2 on the mound with a 2.38 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 17.2 innings.
Riordan, under second-year head coach Craig Sargent, was 5-5 in nonleague games but lost six straight in the rugged WCAL, losing two tough games this week to Mitty (3-2 and 7-4). Junior third baseman and pitcher Santiono Williams leads the team in batting average (.371), on-base percentage (.488) and stolen bases (nine). He’s also been the team’s top pitcher at 4-2 with a 2.84 ERA.
The teams have split two previous games in their history, with Riordan winning 2-0 in 2023 and University prevailing 5-0 in 2021.
St. Ignatius, led by ninth-year head coach Brian Pollzzie, has already secured the Bruce-Mahoney trophy with four straight wins — one each in football, girls volleyball, boys basketball and girls basketball — but this rivalry is always spirited.
The Wildcats, who are ranked fourth in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Chronicle, are coming off a tough 3-0 home loss to No. 2 St. Francis on Friday after beating the host Lancers 10-6 on Tuesday.
The team is led by Stanford-bound Archer Horn, who is hitting .486 with four home runs and a .604 on-base percentage. The shortstop and pitcher also has not allowed an earned run in three pitching appearances while registering one save.
Pitching is a team’s strength with a 2.59 ERA, led by a brigade of strong arms including Leo Rhein (2-0, 2.38), Tycco Giometti (2-1, 2.62), Charlie Stecher 1-1, 0.72) and Chase Gordon (1-0, 2.80). The team is missing standout Finn Demuth, out of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Sacred Heart Cathedral, led by fourth-year head coach Gregg Franceschi, has scored 60 runs on the season and given up 61. The Irish are coming off two losses to eighth-ranked Valley Christian (5-2 and 10-1).
They are led offensively by junior outfielder Brody O’Sullivan (.381) and senior infielder Jacob Vines (.378). Johnny Nepomuceno and Max Nylander are other run-producers. Zach Stallworth (37 strikeouts, 29.2 innings) and Cooper Rogers Lewis (0.25 ERA) have been the team’s top pitchers.
The series has been remarkably close since 2005 with Sacred Heart Cathedral holding a 27-20 edge, though St. Ignatius won both games last season (5-0 and 6-3) after the Irish won 9-7 and 1-0 in 2024.
Marin Catholic hopes to get back to winning after starting the season 9-1, but have since lost six straight, four in Marin County Athletic League play, including 4-2 to Novato on Thursday. Senior outfield Luke Martin is the team’s leading hitter at .478 while senior infielder and pitcher Cooper Mitchell is at .455. Senior infielder Walker Untermann leads the team with 15 RBIs.
Acalanes is at the other end of the spectrum, winners of five of six after a 2-5-1 start. Junior infielder Tyler Winkles, also a highly recruited quarterback in football, leads the team with a .383 average and nine stolen bases. Riley Gates (2-3, 2.49 ERA, 30 strikeouts) is the team’s top pitcher.
The teams have played three times, all since 2022, with Marin Catholic owning a 2-1 lead. Acalanes won last year’s game 8-7.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
Chinatown fatal crash victim ID’d, safety measures proposed
The victim killed in Friday’s Chinatown crash was identified Monday by the medical examiner as Cutberto Zamora-Martinez, 49, of San Joaquin County. At a meeting on Monday, city officials said the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
SAN FRANCISCO – A 76-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and speeding following a crash in San Francisco’s Chinatown that killed a man working in the area.
Zhuo Ming Lu, 76, is accused in the March 27 crash that left 49-year-old Cutberto Zamora-Martinez, of San Joaquin County, dead.
Suspect was trying to park
What we know:
Authorities said Lu was attempting to park near Grant Avenue and Jackson Street when his vehicle jumped the sidewalk and crashed into the landmark New Lung Ting Café, also known as the Pork Chop House. The vehicle also struck two pedestrians, including Zamora-Martinez.
Zamora-Martinez died from his injuries.
He had been working in the area, according to a GoFundMe page. A San Francisco Police Department source close to the investigation told KTVU the victims were carpet installers arriving for work.
The fundraising page described Zamora-Martinez as a husband and father who was the sole provider for his family and “a humble man who wanted the best for his family.”
Before his arrest, Lu had been cooperating with investigators. Authorities have not confirmed what caused the crash.
Some residents questioned whether the driver’s age or a possible confusion between the brake and gas pedals may have been factors.
“Maybe if people hit a certain age, you got to get retested for your driver’s license is something I was thinking about,” said Keith Hong, who works next door to the crash site.
Another case involving an elderly driver
Big picture view:
In an unrelated case, Mary Fong Lau, 80, was sentenced to probation after killing a family of four, two parents and their young children. in March 2024. Authorities said Lau struck the victims as they waited at a Muni stop on their way to the zoo.
Lau pleaded no contest to four felony counts of vehicular manslaughter, and a judge accepted the plea. A Superior Court judge cited her age, remorse and lack of criminal history in the sentencing decision.
She was placed on probation for two years, banned from driving for three years and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service.
The Source: San Francisco Police Department, prior reporting
San Francisco first came to know chefs Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz through their pop-up Istanbul Modern, and later through their breakthrough Presidio restaurant Dalida. The duo’s success is grounded in their take on Eastern Mediterranean food, which they made a conscious decision to champion 10 years ago.
Fast-forward to 2026, and now Laura is taking on a personal project of her own, with Sayat by her side, placing foods from Mexico’s Guerrero and Sinaloa center stage at Maria Isabel. It’s a refreshing menu that combines both Mexican and local ingredients, through the lens of the Ozyilmazes cooking backgrounds.
Reservations are released on OpenTable 30 days in advance, but Laura confirmed that they do take walk-ins depending on space. Smaller parties or solo diners might have better luck sliding in, thanks to the counter in the brighter, “Maria” portion of the restaurant.
The cocktails from consulting bar director Evan Williams are always worth a glimpse, whether at Dalida or at Maria Isabel. They’re well-balanced and have incredible depth and technique behind them. That being said, the team sourced wines from woman-led wine brands such as LOTIS Wines and Amevive Wine, if you’re looking to explore past the usual selections you’ll see elsewhere.
-
Massachusetts5 minutes agoPolice shoot and kill man armed with knife in Lexington, DA says
-
Minnesota11 minutes agoBoldy, Eriksson Ek help Wild cruise past Stars in Game 1 of Western 1st Round | NHL.com
-
Mississippi17 minutes agoGeorge County High School senior killed in Highway 26 crash, MHP says
-
Missouri23 minutes ago
Missouri Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 winning numbers for April 18, 2026
-
Montana29 minutes ago
Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for April 18, 2026
-
Nebraska35 minutes agoGallery: Huskers Run-Rule No. 12 USC to Take Series
-
Nevada41 minutes agoIN RESPONSE: Cortez Masto lands bill would keep the proceeds in Nevada
-
New Hampshire47 minutes agoNew Hampshire grapples with nuclear waste storage – Valley News