San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said on Tuesday he would ask the local sheriff to consider taking a leave of absence, after the lawman was charged with domestic violence and another woman added fresh abuse allegations against him. The criminal case against newly elected Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi has thrown the city’s politics into turmoil.

Mirkarimi pleaded not guilty earlier this month to misdemeanor counts of domestic violence battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness in an incident stemming from an argument with his wife on New Year’s Eve.

San Francisco’s newly elected sheriff has hired a new attorney to defend him against three misdemeanor charges related to a New Year’s Eve domestic violence incident with his wife. Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi (meer-kah-REEM’-ee) retained Berkeley defense attorney Lidia Stiglich on Wednesday.

He previously had been represented by San Francisco lawyer Robert Waggener, and is scheduled to appear in court Thursday for a hearing on a judge’s order to stay away from his wife and their 2-year-old son, Theo.

The star prosecution witness is on the stand in the triple-murder trial of an alleged gang member accused of gunning down a man and his two sons in San Francisco traffic. More >

An ex-girlfriend of San Francisco’s new sheriff, Ross Mirkarimi, who will stand trial next month on misdemeanor domestic violence charges stemming from a New Year’s Eve dispute with his wife, has told police Mirkarimi was also abusive toward her when they were dating.

Mirkarimi’s ex-girlfriend, Christina Flores, told police Sunday that the recently elected sheriff shoved her against a wall and bruised her arm when the couple was dating several years ago, CBS San Francisco reports. Flores and Mirkarimi dated before the sheriff met his wife, Venezuelan former telenovela star Eliana Lopez, in 2008.

San Francisco authorities have evacuated a condominium building at the base of San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill after several boulders slid down the hill and crushed a parked car.

The boulders apparently were loosened by the weekend rain. They slid down the hill near Lombard and Montgomery streets on Monday morning. A parked car at the multistory condo complex was destroyed, but there were no injuries.

San Francisco’s new sheriff is scheduled to appear in court on allegations he mistreated his wife in front of their toddler son and told her not to tell anybody about it.

Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi (meer-kah-REEM’-ee) is expected to plead not guilty at his arraignment Thursday afternoon in San Francisco Superior Court. Mirkarimi’s lawyer, Robert Waggener, says he will likely ask for a speedy trial.

Weather didn’t affect any of the division-round playoff matches that unfolded over the past two days. The biggest concern came in San Francisco, where a sloppy track could have kept the Saints’ offense from getting untracked.

With the 49ers nevertheless victorious and the Giants winning on the unfrozen tundra of Lambeau Field, the NFC title game will be played at Candlestick Park.

Ross Mirkarimi, San Francisco’s new sheriff, has some people wondering if he understands the law he just swore to uphold. Mr. Mirkarimi took his oath Sunday amid news reports that he faced a police investigation for domestic violence for an alleged incident involving his wife, Eliana Lopez, in their home on New Year’s Eve. More >

Under the Chinese zodiac 2012 will mark the Year of the Dragon. The strongest of the 12 animals in Chinese astrology, the mystical creature is associated with personalities that are driven and unafraid to tackle thorny issues. More >