Nice community-oriented monthly free paper. Columns from the…read moreallied neighborhoods, school and new business news. Focuses on good news, which is nice.

The Pleasanton Weekly is a pro-real-estate-development freebie that purports to serve the local…read morecommunity, but which really does not. The competing paper -The Independent, provides much more balanced reporting of and perspective on local events. The only reason to have the PW sent to your home is so that you will have the pleasure of throwing it in the trash unread - at the paper's expense.

Not a bad paper, and it is free. Very local and pretty much only about Pleasanton; produced once a…read moreweek. Wish they had less bias or more viewpoints of both sides.

I love walking up 24th Street from BART, especially on a fantastic October day in San Francisco…read more I step out of BART make the "Boston Walk" up the hill to Dolores, sweat flowing down my face like Niagara Falls. Cell phone glued to my ear talking crap to my friends back East. My daily routine. Finally flat land approach Sanchez/24th, pass Bay Castle Cleaners wondering if my laundry is done but realizing I don't have money to pay for it, get to the newstand and see a new stack of papers. Pass by only to realize the cover of the Noe Valley Voice is a bit different. Could it be? I read that issue already...no wait...it has been a month my favorite little paper has come out with another issue. Grab it...tuck it in my Timbuktu bag....walk a bit faster only to stop and say hello to my new favorite people in Noe Valley, the staff at Bernie's (please see them you will be happy you did), finally my door. I bolt up the stairs clutching my Noe Valley paper like a Marina girl with a new Kate Spade clutch purse. Finally run into my bathroom and jump on the toilet knowing I will have some peace to tear into this black and white local literary gem. I savor my time with Noe Valley Voice. Reading it cover to cover. Wondering how I could ever dream of moving from my Noe Valley, because if I did the Voice would no longer be my monthly guilty pleasure.

Oh, I love the Noe Valley Voice for their effort to add a little spice to the otherwise "beige-y"…read morefeel of Noe Valley. They always crack me up with the list of most recent crimes in the area. It's not that it's funny to see that people are getting ripped off, I'm just entertained by anything remotely like "Law & Order." The Voice gives a lot of information that is prive only to the locals in Noe, which gives others a little peek into the sometimes strange, always appreciated politically correctness of the neighborhood. Although I find their articles to be a bit long winded and preachy at times, they do a fair job at reporting both sides of the story. If you write a scathing letter calling the favorite Noe Valley neighbor a "douche bag" they'll probably print it...and then the next month they'll print 50 scathing letters to counter what you've said. Promoting the local businesses is only one part of this paper's purpose. They also encourage community building, which is lacking in so many other SF "hoods." There is a specific need for independent papers. Every neighborhood in the city needs a "voice," after all.

Wow, meatpaper! This is a magazine dedicated entirely to the fleischgeist, with illustrations that…read morecapture our carniverous fantasies. The mag's articles are fascinating, and include interviews with the meat-obsessed, like Chef Chris Consentino of Incanto, butchers and even vegan philosophers. I think the parties might be the best thing about meatpaper, though. I just got back from an evening at Serpentine, where the hipsterati were out in full force and lined up for beef tartare, tender ribs, and duck pate, not to mention a full salumi bar from Perbacco AND vegetarian nibbles from Leif. No one was wanting for drinks either, with wine from Verge and dark and stormies with ginger beer free-flowing. Meatpaper, I love you, and your parties. I have a feeling one day you're going to help me accomplish my goal of eating a hog whole. G'night. I'm going to dream about flying pigs.

Meat is the new black - or so I learned from Sasha Wizansky a couple of weeks ago…read more She is the co-editor of Meatpaper, the new journal of meat culture. What is that you wonder. Hell, so did I. The one thing I know after tonight is that they can throw quite a party. Slow Club was hopping with meat enthusiasts for their opening party, and guess what: They were all skinny peeps. How's that you're asking? Heckifiknow. Somehow they managed to wrangle some fantastic meat and sausage producers to give away their wares for free (and so were the drinks). The magazine yourself you wonder? I like it - definitely worth checking out. Not for the faint of heart or vegans, that's for sure, but definitely a very interesting read. In their premiere issue they are covering everything from meat art to kosher butchering. Guten Appetit.

I love zyzzyva and the writers and writing community it supports. it doesn't feel fussy; it feels…read morecharming and engaging and intimate, like a good and true and sassy friend. i didn't realize there was a yelp page for it until i belatedly read howard junker's blog asking for people to yelp it, so here i am. when i lived in l.a. (before coming back to the City), i caught a reading of zyzzyva writers at the awesome skylight books, and howard was even there. it was a great night. not just because of the free wine and cheese. it felt familial in a literary way. the wine and cheese did help. i admit it.

With stories and poems that both your…read moreanarchist-genderbending-all-black-wearing-comparative-literature-grad-school-attending friends and your Oprah's-Book-Club-reading relatives can enjoy, ZYZZYVA is San Francisco's best literary journal that doesn't include DVDs, combs, stories by Icelandic authors, and color pages. It's also the city's best literary journal that comes out on time. Yeah, McSweeney's, you know I'm talking to you.

I very much enjoy this paper, largely for the invaluable listing of all kinds of local events. It's…read morehard to find things like what's playing in all the small local theatres otherwise. One quirky but nifty aspect of a local newspaper in a town with a huge physics lab is that there are always interesting articles about the latest LNLL or Sandia news, with a pretty good description of the science behind it. The Independent magazine which is monthly I think is also very informative about local activities. And it's always cool to see your kid's name in print with the complete little league coverage!

Local newspapers are hard to find. Even harder to find is one that hasn't sold out to developers…read moreand political power in the town. The Independent is a good local paper that posts honest reviews, and openly allows debate from all sides of issues. I do not always agree with the editor, but when she states her opinion, she states it AS HER OPINION. So editorial honesty is present. When our City Council sold out to a developer to pack the downtown and ruin its parking and atmosphere, she stated so. And she also printed opposition to her opinion. That is fair journalism. The Independent and Carmel's PineCone are two papers everybody should read. You get a small town approach from people who care. We may have lost control of the two local papers we had, as they are now controlled by outsiders, but we have the Independent. Take a free subscription, you won't regret it.

I saw this free paper, The City Star and gave it a read through…read more Not bad, I thought - and I like their color scheme as it matches my company. *Very seldom used light bulb* I called Benjamin Buggs from the info listed in the paper to see about getting my business an advertising hole. He was very helpful and quick to adjust his conversation with the typical bar, clothing retailer or whatever to understand the needs specific to a 24 hour locksmith service. He gave me a very thorough and very reasonable price list and we hammered out a size and daily run deal. He asked me a few questions and he said that he'd have his graphic arts department look at my web site for design cues and come up with a proposed piece. What they gave me was so near perfect that I only had to make two minor adjustments. For those that don't know - that's incredible. They get it. They very efficiently put all the information that I wanted listed as well as a fairly good print of my bird logo for a great price. All the while, Benjamin was brainstorming and coming up with quality ways to maximize exposure and minimize cost. If you're a business looking to advertise for a good rate - try the Examiner and Daily Star. I could not possibly be happier with the outcome.

Teresa Williamson is one of the most inspiring women of San Francisco. She's the co-founder of…read moreTangoDiva.com and her first book Fly Solo is a must for every woman who wants to travel or was too scare to travel alone. Quote Teresa, "I wanted to empower women to travel" and her website does just that. You can view and read what other Divas think of places they've been from Greece to Haiti to Florida. The website always lists latest travel deals which is a plus. The women and some men I've met through Tango Diva have been inspiring, positive, and very helpful. I went to Teresa's book signing in SF and she said that TangoDiva.com is about to close their doors on open registration within the next month. So sign up quick.