After 18 years at the top of the tourist charts, San Francisco has slipped to No. 2 - behind Charleston, S.C. - as the favorite North American destination among the 29,000 readers of Condé Nast Traveler.

The breaker, it seems, is friendliness.

More than 90 percent of the travel readers rated Charleston as a friendly place, compared with 66.9 percent for San Francisco.

"It's like winning the Academy Award for tourism," an ecstatic Helen Hill, head of the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, told the hometown Post and Courier after the city received the top tourist award from comic and Charleston native Stephen Colbert.

Joe D'Alessandro, head of the San Francisco Travel Association - who in the past got to glow in the annual poll - said he's not surprised San Francisco has dropped a notch. He attributes it to the reported rise in homelessness in the city and increased complaints from visitors about aggressive panhandlers.

"When it comes to natural beauty and the culinary scene, we're going to beat Charleston every time," D'Alessandro said. "But when guests come out of hotels and are harassed, many times people interpret that as an unfriendly environment."

Quan curfew change? In what appears to be a significant switch, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan now supports a curfew for teens in her crime-troubled city.

City Administrator Deanna Santana tells us that Quan is "in favor if some sort of curfew," but that the question of implementation still needs to be worked out.

"I'm meeting with staff to begin to scope out what we can do within existing resources and what it would look like. I want biggest bang for the buck," Santana said.

"That's news to me," said City Council President and curfew backer Larry Reid.

Reid noted that it was Quan who cast the tie-breaking vote that sent the matter back to the council's Public Safety Committee after a very long and contentious public hearing this month.

"And I couldn't get her support when it came before the Public Safety Committee last year, either," Reid said.

Quan's office did not return calls on the issue.

We do know, however, that the curfew was roundly supported by a working group assigned to look at the issue during the mayor's recent neighborhood crime summit.

Pension predicament: There's a chance that both of San Francisco's pension reform measures could go down in flames.

A new poll of 500 San Francisco voters shows Proposition C, the "consensus" measure being backed by unions and City Hall, barely squeaking by, with 52 percent support.

Proposition D, the rival measure put on the ballot by Public Defender Jeff Adachi, comes up short at 42 percent.

The poll was paid for by the Prop. C campaign.

With Adachi's measure appearing headed for defeat, the unions must now decide whether to spend big money to pass their measure - or hold back, let both measures fail and thus keep the status quo.

Interesting choice.

Occupational hazard: Three cities, three mayors and three different reactions to the Occupy camps that sprang up on their doorsteps.

In San Jose, police moved in early Friday and removed the tiny band of protesters camping outside City Hall. The only trouble was when a mentally ill homeless guy tried to bite the hood of the police car while he was being arrested.

In San Francisco, where Mayor Ed Leeis facing an election in just over two weeks, it's a bit more complex.

Like San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, Lee has stated his support for the "spirit" of the Occupy movement. But he said he drew the line at open fires and tents going up in city parks.

In reality, however, after two televised confrontations with demonstrators, city officials have pulled back and allowed about 25 tents and a kitchen to remain in Justin Herman Plaza while they assess matters day to day.

In Oakland, Mayor Jean Quan marched with Occupy protesters early on, and Vice Mayor Desley Brooks even joined the camp outside City Hall for a couple of days.

By the end of the week, the city said it had had enough - but no one was setting deadlines.

Apparently, everyone is praying for rain.

EXTRA! Catch our blog at www.sfgate.com/matierandross.