Newsom sends gifts to Sacramento mayor

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- A California mayor whose garment bag was swiped during a visit to San Francisco received a gift basket from that city's mayor as a means of mending ties.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said he sent Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson a basket containing two tickets to a San Francisco 49ers game, a two-night stay at the Fairmont Hotel, a baseball signed by San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum and a necktie created by tailor Wilkes Bashford, the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee reported Thursday.

Newsom sent the basket Wednesday, the same day officials announced Johnson's garment bag had been recovered and would be returned.

Johnson said the bag, which contained a suit he wore to the White House a decade ago, was taken Saturday while he was helping an elderly man climb into a taxi cab. The bag and its contents were recovered Tuesday night by a San Francisco resident walking in the area.

Newsom said the items in the gift basket were donated by local businesses.

"We want to encourage Mayor Johnson to come back and visit San Francisco soon, so we're extending the warm hand of hospitality," Newsom said. "When San Francisco's business community heard about Mayor Johnson's misfortune, they stepped up to the plate and donated gifts as an invitation to return to our city."