Bayview Workers Challenge UCSF on Local Hiring - SF Bay Citizen

From the SF Bay Citizen,

Aboriginal Blackmen United picketed and barbecued outside the University of California, San Francisco's Mission Bay hospital construction site for the third day in a row Thursday, blocking the main entrance to the work area. The group claims UCSF isn’t hiring construction workers from the nearby Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, though the laborers are qualified.

“This job is in our backyard,” said Leroy Moore, job coordinator for ABU. “Whatever it takes to build that, all that it takes is out here.”

The university is building a 289-bed medical center that will serve women, children and cancer patients. It is slated to open in 2014.

Read more at SF Bay Citizen

Read UCSF's Press release on the issue.

Read article "UCSF agrees to hire more San Francisco residents for hospital project" at SF Business Times.

Local hiring numbers lead to dispute at hospital project

From the SF Examiner,

How many San Franciscans are hired for a project at the University of California San Francisco’s new hospital project in Mission Bay will continue to spur protests, despite the hospital making it clear that they hope to hire at least 20 percent local residents.

The Aboriginal Blackmen United have been picketing the hospital construction site for several days because they say UCSF is not hiring enough workers from the neighboring Bayview-Hunters Point district, where unemployment far outpaces much of the rest of The City.

University staff put out a press release Friday reiterating their goal to hire 20 percent local employees, a goal they set in December. UCSF spokeswoman Amy Pile said that last month, the average exceded that goal, with 22 percent of the workers on the project coming from The City.

The goal falls short of the requirements set forth by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for city-funded projects last month, which will go into effect later this year.

The legislation will not set a goal, but instead set a mandate, that city-funded projects hire 20 percent local workers, with that requirement increasing by 5 percent each year until it reaches 50 percent. The legislation does not affect UCSF project because it is not a city-funded project.

James Richards, leader of the ABU, said the protesters are not satisfied with the goal.

“I don’t think it’s sufficient at all,” he said. “I think we need 50 percent [local hires].”

He said that protests will continue.

“We’re going to take this to a higher level,” he said. “If we have to go to jail, if we have to stop the work – whatever we have to do to be heard. If we don’t work, nobody works.”

Redevelopment key to Visitacion Valley revival - SFGate

From SFGate,

Joaquin Escobar, a produce store owner in San Francisco's southernmost neighborhood, Visitacion Valley, has been waiting for a city-backed economic revival to take hold in the area's shopping district since he opened in 2006.

Chances are he'll have to wait a while longer.

"Business is up and down here more than a lot of neighborhoods in the city," said Escobar, who opened La Loma Produce #2 on Leland Avenue as part of a publicly funded program to attract businesses. "When there's unemployment, the neighborhood feels it really hard because we have a lot of laborers and blue-collar people."

Read more at SFGate

From SF Citizen,

Newly-Elected Malia Cohen On The Job in District 10 Already – How Will the Flowers of Warm Water Cove Look Next Month?
Your Supervisor Malia Cohen dropped by the waterfront other day to check out the commotion at Warm Water Cove.

All the deets.

It’s generally a lot more flowery these days down there.

Impose Heavy Fines on Illegal Dumpers - SF Chronicle

Supervisor Cohen called me the other night to tell me about the grant and to let me know that illegal dumping was one of her top priorities.  Thanks, Supervisor Cohen! Of the 2200+ reports of illegal dumping in 2009-10, I think I must have called in at least a fifth of them!   If you see dumping in your neighborhood, don't let it sit there - call it in to 311!

Jessica Kwon, SF Chronicle, writes,

Every other day now, it seems, Bayview resident Angelo King drives by piles of abandoned construction and miscellaneous debris in his neighborhood.

Truckloads of them.

And he’s sick of it.

“It looks like somebody just rolled up there and kicked crap off their truck,” King said. “People are breaking the law, trying to save a buck at the expense of our neighborhood. It makes it look trashy and drives me absolutely crazy.”

As one of the last major industrial areas in the city, southeast San Francisco is the frequent victim of large-scale illegal dumping. After recently receiving a $350,000 state grant, however, the Department of Public Works — which cleans up using taxpayers’ dollars — may finally be equipped to curb the problem. The two-year grant, awarded by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, will allow the department to clean up and monitor 25 chronic illegal dumping hot spots in the Bayview and work with community organizations to educate neighbors on how to report incidents.

Landlord charged in severe beating of tenant in Visitacion Valley

From the SF Examiner,

The former landlord of a problematic Visitacion Valley home has been accused of the vicious beating of a tenant and shocking two other people with a Taser in an earlier incident, police said.

On Wednesday, Bo En Liu, 35, of San Francisco was booked on charges of assault with a deadly weapon after he brought at least five thugs and a shovel to carry out a revenge smack-down at the two-unit property at 4150 San Bruno Ave., according to Ingleside Police Station officers.

Daly City officer shoots driver in San Francisco

From SFGate,

A Daly City police officer shot and critically injured a woman who, while attempting to flee Saturday night, rammed her car into a home, then backed into officers just across the San Francisco border, police said.

The incident started around 7 p.m. when two Daly City officers in a squad car attempted to stop a white, four-door sedan for an apparent traffic violation near the Cow Palace.

Quesada Gardens Initiative begins regular Saturday Community Volunteer Days

From the Bayview Footprints,

Quesada Gardens, the home-grown grassroots network of gardens, gathering spaces and public art projects, introduces Bayview’s newest tradition:

Saturday community volunteer parties

Meet up every Saturday from 10am to 1pm-ish, beginning this Saturday, January 29th at 1747 Quesada (under the Canary Island Date Palms trees, just west of 3rd Street). Map

Bicyclists enjoy flatland peddling along Oakdale and 3rd. MUNI riders choose between T-Third light rail (Palou stop) and buses (23, 24 and 44 lines).

Volunteers should dress appropriately for weather and gardening. Gloves, tools, refreshments, and team leaders will be provided.

More Info? Contact volunteer coordinator Jacob Watta by email or 415.822.0800.

Not from these parts, but still want to come play? Come on by and experience the best of Bayview, and the best in grassroots community strength as neighbors lead volunteer activities in the neighborhood's gardens and along its sidewalks.

The Quesada Gardens Initiative has always been volunteer-driven, began as an all-resident volunteer organization, and has hosted countless groups of volunteers from schools, businesses and social clubs.

Volunteers enjoy sharing tips about gardening with expert horticulturists, and learning about sustainable local systems that support cultural diversity, food production and healthy environments.

The End of Redevelopment Agencies?

Jerry Brown to Redevelopment Agencies: You're Toast - SFCurbed 1/21/11

Jerry Brown calls redevelopment agencies futile - SFGate 1/20/11

Cities rush to spend redevelopment money - SFGate 1/19/11

How Redevelopment Agencies Subvert Democracy - BeyondChron - 1/18/11

Cities move to wall off redevelopment funds before program is killed - SFGate 1/17/11

Redevelopment cut imperils SF affordable housing - SFGate 1/14/11

Redevelopment projects face funding cutoff - SFGate 1/14/11

Redevelopment plans threatened by CA budget cuts - SFGate 1/11/11

Rec and Park Department Community Budget Presentation

For those of you interested in what goes on in our parks and how the Rec and Parks Department is planning on allocating its 2011-12 budget, mark Thursday, February 3rd on your calendars.  RPD will be hosting a series of four informational meetings around the city, with the last one at the Joseph Lee Recreation Center, 1395 Mendell St, near the Bayview Opera House.

A preview of the RPD presentation can be found online at the SF Rec and Parks website.

Also, there is also a group called 'Take Back Our Parks' that is organizing to ensure some oversight of the Rec and Parks Department, and folks may be interested in checking them out if they have concerns about clubhouse closings, budget allocation issues, etc.

SF Marijuana busts mostly in the Sunset, Ingleside and Bayview-Hunter’s Point

From KALW News,

Last month, we brought you partial statistics for marijuana grow busts by the San Francisco Police Department: roughly 13,500 plants worth an estimated $11.5 million were seized from 59 indoor grows from January through September of 2010.

SFPD Sgt. Mike Andraychak got back to us yesterday with the year-end tally from the Narcotics Division. And those last few months were fruitful. Approximately 19,000 plants were seized from 87 locations in total. The plants are work up to $15.7 million, although street prices for marijuana have since declined since SFPD provided us with their original figures (kudos to SF Weekly).

68 people were arrested in the raids, and 20 guns were seized. Thirty-two percent of the locations, or 27 sites, were electrical by-passes.

Here’s the geographic breakdown of the grow sites by police district. The heaviest concentration was in the city’s southern neighborhoods, from the Bayview to the Sunset. The Sunset (located in SFPD’s Taraval District has been popular among growers for some time now, possibly because of the neighborhood’s detached houses, isolation and relatively low crime rate.

Here is the breakdown by district of 66 sites – the remaining 21 sites raided by SFPD were either “secondary” locations or were located outside of San Francisco County, according to Sgt. Andraychak of the Media Relations unit.

* Taraval District: 26

* Bayview District: 16

* Ingleside District: 10
* Richmond District: 6
* Park District: 4
* Mission District: 4

Read more at KALW

Are San Francisco's gang injunctions working?

From KALW News,

Four years ago, San Francisco faced a stubbornly high crime rate. To fight back, City Attorney Dennis Herrera and the police department turned to a controversial crime strategy – the gang injunction. It’s a public nuisance lawsuit filed in civil court that restricts the movements and actions of individuals accused of membership in a street gang. Violators are charged with a misdemeanor and face fines or up to six months in jail.

San Francisco's first injunction was implemented in the Bayview in 2006, against 25 alleged members of the “Oakdale Mob” street gang.

Over the next three years, further injunctions were obtained against groups in the Western Addition,the Mission District and most recently, Visitacion Valley. The City Attorney and SFPD claim the injunctions have contributed to reductions in crime, but some residents say they result in police harassment of black and latino youth and pave the way for gentrification.

Read more at KALW

San Francisco businesses warned about crime ahead of Chinese New Year

From the SF Examiner,

Businesses in the San Francisco Bayview District were warned Thursday that they should report crimes to the Police Department during Chinese New Year celebrations next month.

"The only way we can ensure a safe community is for everyone to have thorough conversations," District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen said.

San Francisco politicians at the event wished everyone a happy and safe Chinese New Year, or lunar New Year, which begins Feb. 3. The holiday is expected to attract many shoppers and potentially criminals to city streets, authorities said.

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner

SFMTA's board approves financial plan for Central Subway project

From Progressive Railroading,

On Tuesday, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's (SFMTA) board approved the financial plan for the Central Subway, which is the second phase of the SFMTA's Third Street light-rail project.

The board's approval is a crucial step toward submitting the plan in February to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for the New Starts program, SFMTA officials said in a prepared statement. The agency's goal is to obtain a full-funding grant agreement with the FTA by year's end.

SFMTA closed the project's $137 million funding gap with federal, state and local fund sources, and now is on track to receive the full-funding grant agreement that will secure $942.2 million of federal New Starts funds for the project, said Nathaniel Ford Sr., SFMTA's executive director and chief executive officer.

The Central Subway has received $72 million in New Starts funding to date. The FTA granted environmental clearance in November 2008 and granted approval to begin the final design in January 2010. The total project cost is expected to reach $1.57 billion, with the federal government contributing close to $1 billion.

When Central Subway service begins, the 1.7-mile extension of the existing T Third rail line will connect communities from Visitacion Valley to Chinatown with light-rail service.

Read more at SFMTA

I live where, now?

In case you missed it back in August, The SF Realtor's Association redefined their district map.


Electoral district D10's renamed neighborhoods include:

Newly added "districts," created within existing districts:

* 10M (Candlestick Point), carved out of portions of 10K (Bayview Heights)
* 10N (Little Hollywood), carved out of portions of 10K (Bayview Heights)

Districts, renamed:
* 9j (Central Waterfront) is renamed Central Waterfront/Dogpatch

Read more at SF Gate

Visitacion Valley Middle School

This via the Vis Valley Yahoo Group's Edie Epps, a great little video from Visitacion Valley Middle School touting their success as part of our public education system:

Visitacion Valley Middle School from Mark Wieser on Vimeo.

DUI Checkpoints at Potrero and 23rd - SFAppeal

You've been warned...

From SFAppeal,

San Francisco police are holding a sobriety checkpoint Saturday near the city's Potrero Hill neighborhood, officials said.

The checkpoint will begin at 8:30 a.m. at Potrero Avenue and 23rd Street and run into the early morning hours, law enforcement officials said.

"One of the most common excuses we hear when we arrest people at a checkpoint or on the streets is that they didn't realize how impaired they were," San Francisco traffic Capt. Al Casciato said in a statement.

"Don't be fooled that how you feel when you are drinking has any relation to how impaired you are."

Officers from the San Francisco Police Department, U.S. Park Police, California Highway Patrol and San Francisco Community College District will staff the checkpoint.

It is being funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Skool

From the SF Bay Guardian,

When, in the course of human events, you come across a wood-fired pizza oven in a seafood house — in a seafood house tending in the direction of a sushi bar, no less — you probably blink twice, wondering if you've somehow mixed up your meds. But no: step into Skool and there it is, flickering on your left. There is a small catch (!) to stepping into Skool, and that's finding it in the first place. The restaurant, which opened early in July, lies in a nameless border country surrounded by Mission Bay, Potrero Hill, and the gallery district.

Skool: 1725 Alameda St at DeHaro (map)
http://www.skoolsf.com

Read more at SF Bay Guardian

Cohen pledges LGBT support - Bay Area Reporter

From the Bay Area Reporter,

Having grown up in San Francisco, District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen has long supported the LGBT community, from standing by her out friends in high school to helping marry same-sex couples at City Hall during the "Winter of Love" in 2004.

Now that she is an elected official, Cohen has no plans to turn her back on her LGBT constituents and close acquaintances. In fact, as the only black member of the Board of Supervisors, she wants to serve as a bridge builder between the LGBT and African American communities.

Read more at Bay Area Reporter

Portola Foot Patrol Starting Up Again!

The Portola Watch safety group is proud to announce the reinstatement of the monthly Foot Patrol/Neighborhood Watch program in the Portola/San Bruno Avenue area. The group will be meeting this Friday, January 21st, at 6pm in front of the branch library located at 380 Bacon St (at Goettingen). From there we will be walking as a group along the Avenue and through the neighborhood, reporting any crime, graffiti, dumping, etc... that we see. The purpose of this group is to have a community presence in the Portola that encourages awareness and safety of one's surroundings. We will also be handing out fliers promoting safety and encouraging residents to attend our Portola Watch meetings.

h/t Gabriel Haas
Public Safety Coordinator
Excelsior Action Group
Portola Neighborhood Steering Committee
(415) 756-8563 (phone)
(415) 585-0170 (fax)
Haas.Gabe@gmail.com

Go to SF SAFE to set up your own Neighborhood Watch

S.F. supervisors prepare for redistricting battle - SFGate

From SFGate,

San Francisco moderates gained clout at City Hall with the recent selection of Ed Lee as interim mayor and David Chiu as Board of Supervisors president. But now political strategists are looking long term, anticipating that the city may redraw boundaries for supervisors' districts.

The opportunity comes once a decade, and the outcome can strongly influence the city's electoral landscape for years to come.

Read more at SFGate

Sidewalk dumping is costly blight in San Francisco - SF Examiner

Back in November, I posted something about this that was in the SFWeekly, but am posting it again because it's important, and even some friends of mine, who know that I tweet 311 DAILY to report illegal dumping in my neighborhood, have thought nothing of leaving their own trash on the sidewalk for the city to pick up. Thankfully, in the years since I started calling 311, I've actually noticed that the amount of trash dumped near my home has been reduced.  Unfortunately, it hasn't stopped.

Especially in the Bayview, with our freeway and rail overpasses acting as protection for the scofflaws, we have a real problem with people from outside coming into our neighborhood, transients, and with local residents dumping their trash illegally. When you see trash dumped illegally, CALL 311 and report it!

DPW's Mohammed Nuru writes for the SF Examiner,

There is a misconception that if no one picks up your old stuff, there is a planned and budgeted city service that collects the items from sidewalks — things like that old busted fridge or an outdated exercise bike. There is no such service. When The City is picking up sidewalk debris, it is responding to a complaint about sidewalk dumping from nearby residents. The City receives a call and the Department of Public Works sends someone out to pick up and haul items to the transfer station.

What residents do not know is that they are already paying for this service in their monthly refuse bill. In simple math, residents are paying twice to get rid of their junk. It is included in your monthly refuse bill already and we all pay again when Public Works hauls away the items on the taxpayers’ dime.

At a time when The City is tightening its belt, it is paramount that residents take advantage of easy ways to save money, and this is one of them. Save The City $4 million by keeping junk off sidewalks, and that means $4 million more for other services.

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner

Fresh and Easy - SFGate

Andy Ross at SFGate writes,

Promises, promises: To those eagerly anticipating the premiere of Fresh & Easy "neighborhood markets" in the Bay Area, your wait is almost over.
At least nine stores are opening locally, beginning March 2 in San Jose and Danville. They'll be followed, through April, by stores in Pacifica, Concord, Walnut Creek, Pleasanton, Hayward, Napa and a second one in San Jose.
Another two are set in March for Vacaville and Modesto.

As I read through the list provided by Fresh & Easy, which has 150 stores in California, Arizona and Nevada, I couldn't help but notice the absence of the promised San Francisco stores, at 32nd Avenue and Clement Street in the Richmond, and Third Street and Carroll Avenue in the Bayview.

Those opening dates will be announced "in the coming weeks," I was assured by a Fresh & Easy spokesman.

Incidentally, job openings have been posted for the Bay Area stores. Entry-level positions start at $10 an hour in California, with bonuses, health insurance and a 401(k) with a company match.

"We're thrilled by the response we've already seen on our website for these new job positions, and we are proud to bring more good jobs to the area," said Tim Mason, CEO of Fresh & Easy, which is an offshoot of the British supermarket chain Tesco.
Interested? Check out www.freshandeasy.com/joinus.

h/t Russ Morine

Supervisor Malia Cohen's Community Appreciation Day

Saturday, January 15, 11:30AM - 3:3PM
Bayview Opera House
4705 Third Street

Supervisor Malia Cohen celebrates the community with a day of activities for kids and the entire family!

Music, Food and Lots of FUN!!! Please come and support our new District 10 Supervisor.

Hunters View redevelopment struggles to hire locally - KALW

From KALW News,

In the 1940s, San Francisco's Bayview Hunters Point was home to one of the most important shipyards on America's West Coast. The shipyard employed nearly 20,000 workers. They were mostly African-American migrants who came to San Francisco, lured by the Navy's promise of steady work. The buildings they lived in were meant to be temporary - but after the war ended, they became permanent parts of the landscape.

People kept living in them even after the shipyard closed in the 1970s, and the neighborhood became one of the city's poorest.

Now, San Francisco wants to redevelop the area for market-rate housing. And that means demolishing some of those old buildings. New construction means new jobs, but residents are wondering just how many of those jobs are for them.

Read the rest of this article at KALWNews.org

Superfund site in San Francisco proves toxic for Navy, neighbors - SF Public Press

The SF Public Press writes,

A year after the dissolution of the Restoration Advisory Board for Hunters Point Shipyard, the Navy says it will introduce a new community involvement plan that it says emphasizes diversity.

The announcement follows the White House’s reconvened interagency effort on environmental justice, which held its first meeting under the Obama administration in September. The group is creating a four-year road map to develop “stronger community relationships” and targets “overburdened communities.” The next meeting is set for April.

But longtime Bayview residents are skeptical about local agencies’ interest in community involvement since the advisory board’s dissolution. While government officials and activists both say that engaging the community in the cleanup process has not worked as intended, few of those involved are willing to accept blame for the communication failures.

Yee Seeks 'Truth in Naming' on Election Ballots - Bay Citizen

From the Bay Citizen,

State Sen. Leland Yee has reintroduced a bill that would require candidates for elected office to use an accurate phoenetic interpretation of their name when it appears on Chinese, Korean or Vietnamese-lanugage ballots.

The bill comes amid concern that more and more non-Asian candidates are listing Chinese names on San Francisco ballots in an effort to appeal to the city's growing block of Chinese voters.

In this past election, for example, Malia Cohen, who was recently elected supervisor in San Francisco's District 10, was listed as "Kuo Han" on Chinese-language ballots.

Michael Nava, a third-generation Californian of Mexican descent running to become a judge on the San Francisco Superior Court, called himself Zheng-Ping Lee on the ballot. (Nava lost to Richard Ulmer).

In a statement, Yee said his bill, SB 88, "attempts to stop the last-minute, deceptive practice of using a fake name simply to deceive Asian voters to win an election."

Yee introduced a similar bill in the last legislative session, but it was vetoed by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"This unscrupulous practice should be prevented," Schwarzenegger wrote, "however, a change in state policy is unnecessary. Under current law, local election officials have the authority to address this fraudulent behavior and to set policies that are appropriate for their unique jurisdictions. For example, the director of elections in San Francisco has established a Chinese name translation policy to address concerns that improper translations were being used by candidates in local races.”

Low-income voters struggled with ranked-choice voting - California Watch

From California Watch,

Voters from low-income neighborhoods had a tougher time with the complexities of the ranked-choice voting system in November's election.

That’s the bottom line of a California Watch analysis of voting data from the electoral district that arguably faced the most complicated ballot in California: San Francisco’s Supervisorial District 10.

In the first round of the system’s so-called instant runoff, more than 2 percent of district voters – 489 – spoiled their ballots with what are called “overvotes.” That means voters improperly voted for more candidates than allowed. Under the rules, those votes weren’t counted.

Although the voters who didn’t vote in the supervisorial election were distributed fairly evenly throughout the district, the “overvotes” were concentrated in lower-income areas, the data show.

In Bayview/Hunters Point, more than 3 percent of the ballots were spoiled because of overvotes. The rate was almost as high in Visitacion Valley, a lower-income area with a large population of Asian immigrants.

Those rates were triple the spoil rate among votes cast on Potrero Hill, where income and education levels are higher, according to census data.

Brisbane Residents vent at Baylands hearing

From the San Jose Mercury News,

A cadre of residents dug in their heels at a public meeting Tuesday against a proposed development that would radically transform the Brisbane Baylands into a mini-city of homes, retail and office buildings, denouncing the proposal as a "sham."

The well-known group of locals, who fight development they say they believe will harm sensitive wildlife, showed up at a forum for public comments on the scope of an upcoming environmental impact report. They took the opportunity to blast Universal Paragon and its plan to build 4,434 homes, about 7 million square feet of office, retail and industrial space, and 205 acres of open space on the 600-acre Baylands site alongside Highway 101.

It would nearly triple Brisbane's population and could have major traffic effects on Daly City's Bayshore residents and San Francisco's Visitacion Valley. The project would extend Geneva Avenue from Daly City to Hunter's Point and connect a new bus line along that route to Caltrain -- and one day, potentially, to high-speed rail.

Happy Potrero Hill Food News - Piccino, Piqueo, Sanguchon Food Truck

SFGate writes,

Dogpatch gem Piccino (801 22nd St.) continues to make progress on its relocation to bigger environs in a historic building nearby (1001 Minnesota St.). 

Partner Sheryl Rogat says the restaurant will balloon from 44 seats total to 70 inside and 20 more outside. The added room also will allow new executive chef Rachel Silcocks, formerly of Nopa, to expand the menu with more entrees, house-made pastas and some fried items. The ETA for the relocated Piccino - and its new neighbors in the complex, wine shop Dig and apparel store MAC - is March.

SF Weekly writes,

Chef/owner Carlos Altamirano (Mochica, Piqueo's, La Costanera) tells SFoodie he hopes to roll out the truck in 6 to 8 weeks, same spot (17th Street and Carolina) we spotted the sign. The concept: the sanguchon, a modern Peruvian sandwich Altamirano calls "the new thing" in the land of his birth.

The chef already has a street permit for the spot in Potrero, where he plans to park the Sanguchon truck 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, though he'd like to find an additional spot downtown, too. Food prep will happen in the Mochica kitchen in SOMA.

SF Curbed Cup: Potrero Hill WINS!

OK, I'm sure their editorial board just threw darts at a map in the end, but congratulations, Potrero Hill!!

From SF Curbed,

 After counting the votes not once, but three times, we have a winner for the 2010 Curbed Cup. And what a competition! After all the riffraff was sorted out, Potrero Hill beat the Lower Haight by one vote. That's right, folks. 824-823. Will this amazing, life-changing victory go to Potrero Hill's head? More importantly, will listing agents and Craigslist posters work "2010 Curbed Cup winner!" into home and apartment listings? Time will tell. But for now, congrats to Potrero Hill.

San Francisco to close firehouses for repairs - SF Examiner

Brent Begin at the SF Examiner writes,

A bond passed by city voters in June includes money to repair several firehouses throughout San Francisco. (Examiner file photo)

The Fire Department will shutter seven firehouses for seismic renovation starting in 2012 as part of a $412 million bond measure approved by voters in June.

The measure was meant to retrofit the underground water system that helps fight fires, and to fund a new police headquarters and fire station. But the main selling point that led to nearly 80 percent of voters approving the bond was the promise to fix The City’s firehouses.

The first to be fully closed will be Station 44 (at 1298 Girard Street) in Visitacion Valley in early 2012, according to Fire Department spokeswoman Lt. Mindy Talmadge.

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner 

S.F. cops: Homicide up, overall violent crime down - SFGate

Justin Berton of the Chronicle writes,

In 2009, San Francisco saw a significant drop in homicides from the previous year, with the number falling from 96 in 2008 to 45.

At the time, newly sworn-in Police Chief George Gascón credited the change to a revitalized enforcement strategy started by his predecessor, Heather Fong, that targeted high-crime neighborhoods such as Hunters Point, Visitacion Valley and the Western Addition. The homicide unit also had expanded from a dozen detectives to 30, and Gascon introduced a new statistical analysis method that tracked crime more closely and aimed to hold district captains more accountable for results.

In 2010, department statistics show 7,139 violent crimes were reported in San Francisco. That followed a 10 percent drop in reported violent crimes in 2009.

Read more at SFGate

Bidding adieu to Newsom, Harris, and four Supes

4 veterans' last week on S.F. Board of Supervisors - SFGate

Four veterans on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will leave office this week, taking with them a collective 35 years of experience as lawmakers and leaving behind an eclectic legislative record.

Termed out of office, they lose their jobs at noon Saturday when their successors are scheduled to take the oath of office.

Two of the departing supervisors, Chris Daly and Sophie Maxwell, were swept into office with the rebirth of district elections in 2000 amid a call to embolden neighborhood power and loosen then-Mayor Willie Brown's strong grip on City Hall.

Read more at SFGate


Gavin Newsom lived on the political edge - SF Examiner

In a recent interview with The San Francisco Examiner, Newsom talked about both his achievements and missteps during his two terms as mayor.

Newsom cited the redevelopment of the Hunters Point Shipyard, which will be a major job generator for The City’s southeast neighborhood as one of his greatest legacies. He boasted about balancing the budget without raising taxes and repaving city streets. He even pointed out that Muni’s on-time performance is the best it has ever been.

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner

School District Moves Slowly to Manage Its Real Estate - NY Times

1101 Connecticut St

Jennifer Gollan at the Bay Citizen writes,

Despite being one of the largest financially struggling landowners in the city, the San Francisco Unified School District has largely failed to actively manage its holdings, leaving a number of valuable properties idle for years.

Decades of declining enrollment led the district to acknowledge in 2007 that roughly 20 percent of its holdings had little or no educational use. It also designated 10 vacant or underused properties as surplus and concluded that selling them would net an estimated $134 million, plus millions more in property tax revenue.

Read more at NY Times/Bay Citizen 

Read the 2009 SFUSD Evaluation of Potential Surplus Sites

Curbed SF Poll for 'Curbed Cup' Neighborhood of the Year

It's pretty amazing how amped up people can get about their neighborhoods.  People set up automated scripts to stuff ballot boxes, users were resetting their browser cookies and using multiple computers and browsers to try to get their neighborhood into the winners circle of this poll.  Quite a marketing ploy for the folks at curbed.com to get noticed.  In the end, it looks like the webmasters have removed some votes (totals were in the 4000's yesterday, but are now at 1647 as the final tally).  Interestingly, the two neighborhoods are each at 50.0%.  Who won!?!

I have to admit that since joining the Potrero Neighbors Yahoo group, I have been pretty impressed by the people of Potrero Hill in seeing how they manage the PTA at Daniel Webster Elementary, work to get money for Starr King Openspace, etc., and the sense of community that these folks have built. 

In this online poll at curbed.com, Potrero Hill and Dogpatch were the only two D10 neighborhoods in the running.  It'd be nice to see a Visitacion Valley or India Basin get some recognition next time around.

Nonprofit Says City Took Revenge for Airing Views - NY Times

John Upton of the New York Times/Bay Citizen writes,

Saul Bloom is preparing to pack up roomfuls of overstuffed binders in the offices of the small nonprofit environmental organization that he helped form almost 30 years ago. Arc Ecology, whose headquarters in a faded white storefront are protected by metal bars in the Bayview neighborhood’s crime-ridden Third Street commercial district, must move to a more affordable location after losing a key contract with the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency.

The loss in September of the contract — which never exceeded several hundred thousand dollars a year — comes after Arc’s opposition to key elements of the sprawling Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard redevelopment plan that was passed by the Board of Supervisors in August.

Read more at NY Times

When 0.45% of Total Voters Can Translate to Victory - NY Times

Scott James of the New York Times/Bay Citizen writes,

If the new San Francisco Board of Supervisors sworn in Jan. 8 is anything like its predecessor, there will be a time when an unpopular decision will have citizens asking, “Who picked these people?”

The answer will be: hardly anyone. 

A record 8 of 11 supervisors on the new board have an interesting distinction: They were not the first choices of a majority of voters, but prevailed in the city’s ranked-choice voting system.

Read more at NY Times

Trees to greet kids after winter leave - SF Examiner

Andrea Koskey at the SF Examiner writes,

When students at El Dorado Elementary School return to school for the spring semester, they will soon welcomed by two dozen fruit trees.

The elementary school in the Visitacion Valley neighborhood will get up to 25 new fruit trees as part of “Fruit Tree 101” that brings fruit tree orchards to schoolyards so students can improve the quality of the air and water while creating a source of tasty snacks for decades to come, according to organizers.

The trees will arrive and be planted Jan. 10 and will be planted by students and community volunteers.

The tree project is made possible by FruitaBu - makers of all-natural fruit snacks for kids - with the help of the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation.

The grassroots program works school-by-school to address important issues like caring for the environment and proper nutrition by providing students with an outdoor classroom where they can foster fruit trees and shrubs - from planting to harvest.

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner

Brother walks ABC7 through police shooting scene - ABC7

From ABC7 News:

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco police are defending themselves over a fatal shooting. Officers opened fire Wednesday night after being called to a possible stabbing at a home in the Portola District.

A town hall meeting got underway around 6 p.m. Thursday at the Grace Lutheran Church on Woolsey Street. Police Chief George Gascon planned to address the officer involved shooting which took the life of Vinh Bui, a 47-year-old former postal worker.

Read more at ABC7


From Captain Suhr's Bayview Newsletter 12/31/2010:

Chief Gascon holds Town Hall to discuss Officer Invloved Shooting

Last night at Grace Lutheran Church Hall on Woolsey Street, Chief Gascon
convened a Town Hall Meeting to discuss the Officer- Involved-Shooting
that occurred the day before on the 600 block of Bacon Street. Chief
Gascon arranged for President of the Board of Supervisors David Chiu,
District 10 Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, Police Commissioner Angela Chan,
Command Staff Members, and other Community Leaders to be present for the
discussion. Several members of the media were present as well as many
concerned members of the Community.

Details of the Officer-Involved-Shooting

Happy New Year!