Mr. Aboud is correct. The new flag poles are cell towers according to an employee at Nob Hill who uses a Cingular phone and reports she now gets great reception inside the store.

When I left the store tonight around 9:30 PM the US and California flags were still flying in the dark. According to the American Flag Code at the the American Legion web site:

It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flag staffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed twenty-four hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness.

As our flag is more than just a cell phone tower decoration, the Nob Hill patriots should show an ounce of respect for the flag and take it down each night at sunset.

The flag code can be found at: http://www.legion.org/?section=our_flag&subsection=flag_code&content=flag_time