'Santa John' Toomey appears in Union Square

Amid applause and shouts of, "We love you, Santa!" from crowds on the sidewalk, John "Santa John" Toomey did a quick spin around Union Square in an antique fire truck Friday and was deposited at his new North Pole substation for the rest of the season - Lefty O'Doul's. Owners of the landmark bar and hofbrau snagged Toomey, 68, to help with their annual San Francisco Fire Department toy drive after they learned he was fired last week from Macy's, just one block away, for telling a mildly risque joke to an adult couple. He'd been a popular Santa Claus there for 20 years, and the resultant furor at his firing became so widespread he was booked onto "The Tonight Show" Thursday night to crack a few jokes with Jay Leno. Macy's declined to comment on the matter, citing personnel privacy rules, until Friday. That's when the chain issued a statement saying, "Mr. Toomey has moved on and so has Macy's."

- Kevin Fagan

This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle