Potrero View 2010: February

BayviewGardenEngagesinEarth-Building

ByMaryPurpura

clay, straw, and sand.

The cob oven came about through a collaboration between Double Rock Community Garden gardeners and members of the Ecology Center of San Francisco, a nonpro t formed in 2006 to promote sustainable communities. On a recent Saturday in January, the two groups came together again to offer a cob-building workshop, this time resulting in a curved earthen bench created under a mature shade tree.

employment.

Adult volunteer Naomi Goodwin comes out on most weekends too. Goodwin believes that it’s an important time for those who care about the garden to keep an eye on what’s going on. “There’s a lot of development planned around here, and we want to make sure this garden space doesn’t get absorbed into all that,” said Goodwin.

a close cousin to cob. While adobe construction involves drying bricks made from clay and straw and then using them for building, cob builders work with a wet mixture of clay and straw, sculpting it into the desired forms. Whole cities in Yemen have been built from earth. Some of those buildings have stood for thousands of years.

Located at Griffith Street and Fitzgerald Avenue at the Alice Griffith Housing Development in Bayview, Double Rock is one of San Francisco’s largest community gardens. Nearly two fenced acres enclose a young fruit tree orchard – including plum, g, apple, lemon, cherry, and mulberry trees – vegetable beds for individual gardeners – some of which feature built-in benches to make gardening easier for people with limited mobility – a greenhouse and compost area, and a wood- red oven sculpted from cob, a building material made from a mixture of

Double Rock Community Garden originally operated under the auspices of the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners (SLUG). After SLUG dissolved in 2006, Alice Griffith resident Jackie Williams took over, and has remained the garden coordinator ever since. “A lot of volunteers have helped to keep the garden going,” said Williams.

Organized groups from Southwest Airlines, Cliff Bar & Company, and Wells Fargo have worked at Double Rock. But a dedicated team of neighborhood young people provide the main source of ongoing labor. “Six teens, from twelve to nineteen years old, all from the Bayview, work here on weekends,” explained Williams, who makes sure her teen helpers go home with fresh vegetables from the garden. The youth participate in the Hunters Point Family Project, a nonpro t organization that helps young community members find

Given Double Rock Garden’s long history of volunteer input, a collaboration with the Ecology Center of San Francisco was a natural fit. The Ecology Center has recently undertaken a number of projects in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood. “We worked with a huge volunteer workforce to build a big cob bench at Bret Harte Elementary School, and we’re teaching a gardening class in the after-school program at Malcolm X Academy in Hunter’s Point,” said Sam Hartman, one of the Ecology Center of San Francisco’s founding members.

“We’re interested in the cultural change that happens when people get outside and do things together,” said Davin Wentworth-Thrasher, another Ecology Center founder. “Earth is the most common building material in the world, and more than 30 percent of the world’s people live in earth houses. This is a vernacular building method and a good, readily available building material that connects us with people around the world,” he said. “I believe that we learn and grow through experience,” he added.

Wentworth-Thrasher pointed out that San Francisco’s oldest standing building is the Old Mission at Mission Dolores, which is made from adobe, an earth-building technique that is

The Ecology Center of San Francisco has partnered with the School of the Arts (SOTA) to create an urban research farm and ecological design demonstration site at the school. “While the farm and design demo site will be used by SOTA students during the week, weekend workshops will be open to the larger community,” said Tori Jacobs, the Ecology Center’s third founding member. The center will also house its lending library—hundreds of titles on all sorts of topics involving sustainability, such as locavore diets, urban homesteading, traditional cultural practices, and survival skills—at SOTA.

“A lot of people think their volunteer contribution isn’t important,” said WentworthThrasher. “But when you’re making something like a cob bench or oven, or a garden bed, two extra hands can really make a big difference in how quickly a project is done. We welcome all volunteers, and I encourage everyone who might consider volunteering to come out and give it a try.”

The Ecology Center of San Francisco will hold a free earthbuilding workshop at SOTA on February 27. Check “upcoming events” on their website for details on this and future workshops: http:// www.eco-sf.org/.

ThecobovenatDoubleRockCommunity Garden.PhotographbyMaryPurpura.

HilltopGrocery

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City, Chinatown’s own version of the Cotton Club, and Charlie Low’s nightspot still reigned supreme. She found work at a club called the Sky Room near St. Mary’s church in Chinatown, where she met her future husband Sam, who worked as a bartender at the business his parents owned. To earn money, she took photographs of club patrons.

She and Sam married and started a family. They bought Hilltop Grocery from an “Italian family who lived at the store” whose name Wong no longer remembers. “I didn’t want to live in Chinatown. We liked it here, it was great back then. We were the third owner,” she asserted. “It was the typical neighborhood general store,” said Joan Park, Linda’s daughter, who looks too young to be a 37-year veteran and recent retiree of the U.S. Postal Service. Park and her three siblings grew up in Potrero Hill, attended St. Teresa’s, and “then scattered.” All got jobs with the post office, “you just can’t beat the bene ts,” Park commented, and all currently live on the Hill.

a week.” She lamented that she’s “had offers, but I don’t want to sell. I don’t know where I’d go. Guess I’ll be here ‘til I die,” she said softly. Still, Wong and her daughter insisted that the store has loyal customers, “neighbors, mostly, but they’re all dying off.” She continues to buy inventory from the “wholesale store and the beer comes in and out.” When asked about the vintage drinking glasses and dishware, Wong explained “that’s all from my husband’s nightclub, the Sky Room. Don’t know what to do with it, just wanted to bring it all up.”

Park remarked that her father, Sam, who is 95, was born and raised in Chinatown. She and all her siblings were born at Children’s Hospital on California, which is California Paci c Medical Center today. One of Park’s most interesting memories is when actor Don Johnson lmed a Nash Bridges episode at the store. “All he did was walk in and out, it took all day to shoot, but it only was a second on TV.” His partner, “Cheech Marin, was real friendly,” she recalled, but “Don Johnson, he was not that nice...”

said Wong, who lives in a small inlaw attached to the grocery. Inside, the the store has dingy lighting and a rummage sale air about it, with many shelves bare, a few staples, like detergent, toilet paper, and cake mixes, looking lonesome and forlorn, next to other shelves stuffed to the gills with vintage glassware.

Wong, who was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, came to San Francisco in the days when Forbidden

“We sold bread, milk, butter, sandwiches, candy, soda, it was real working class, used to have lots of families,” Park recollected. “But they all moved away,” said Wong. “This was years before Safeway, which really cut into our business,” Park remembered, “People counted on the store for everything. Mom and dad hung in there…Mom doesn’t want to leave.”

According to Wong the store is open “Nine to five, seven days

ArtworkcourtesyofNancyRoger www.blueberrydogs.com

Linda Wong in front of her store.

Photograph by Peter Linenthal, Potrero HillArchivesProject.

GetaJob!

ByMauriSchwartz

Potential employers will want to know what you’ve been doing during this time. You’ll want to have a story to tell. Be honest, show them how you’ve been productive during this time, but keep it simple and short. And good luck!

Q: Do you have any recommendations for using LinkedIn as a networking and job search tool?

SanFranciscoBayFaces ManyChallenges

ByMaryPurpura

The View asked Hill resident and career expert Mauri Schwartz, President / CEO of Career Insiders, www.CareerInsiders.com, to answer questions from job seekers. Submit your questions to editor@ potreroview.net.

Q: What’s your advice for people who’ve been out of work for more than a year? How does one respond to that question when asked?

A: I know it must be tough to have been out of work for that long. It’s sad that so many people are having such a hard time in this terrible job market. But before I can answer your question, I have to ask a few. Have you been totally out of work for the past year? Or have you had any short-term contract employment during that time? I would also want to know what type of job you had, and for how long. Finding a new job at a high management level is going to be more difficult and take longer than one at a lower level. It’s not unusual for it to take up to a year, especially if your industry is one that’s cutting back.

A: Your LinkedIn pro le should be consistent with your resume, and focus on what you’re looking for; it’s not a Facebook page. LinkedIn is extremely useful as a research tool to help identify decision makers in the organizations you’re targeting. To do this, you’ll need to build a network of highly networked people. Start with those you know the best, and especially those who work in your industry. When you’re sending out requests to connect on LinkedIn, be sure to personalize your messages. As always, keep you communications warm but professional. Think about how you feel when you receive a canned template message. If you’re requesting a connection with someone you recently met, remind them of how you met and pay them a compliment. For example, “Hi soand-so, it was a pleasure meeting you yesterday at Thinkers Café. I enjoyed our conversation. I thought it would be nice to connect on LinkedIn. What do you think? Thank you, Mauri.”

Last fall’s Dubai Star oil spill, coming less than two years after the Cosco Busan debacle, reminded Bay Area residents of the bay eco-system’s vulnerability. While changes in municipal sewage treatment systems have led to improved water quality, challenges remain related to storm water runoff, invasive species, coastal development, climate change and oil spills. “The bay belongs to all of us living in the Bay Area,” said Jessica Castelli, communications director for Save the Bay, the oldest regional organization dedicated to the bay’s health. “Our economy and quality of life here depend on a healthy bay.”

What happens in one part of the bay can impact the entire water body. “Things spread and move in a uid environment,” said Jackie Dragon, marine sanctuaries campaign director for Paci c Environment, a nonpro t organization dedicated to protecting the Pacific Rim’s environment. Contaminants, oil, and pollutants that nd their way into the bay can quickly move around.

“When we talk about restoring the bay to health, we’re mainly talking about restoring coastal wetlands,” explained Castelli. “At Save the Bay, we’re working to re-

establish 100,000 acres of restored wetlands. That’s the minimum that’s essential to maintain a healthy San Francisco Bay.” According to Castelli, just under 50,000 acres have been restored. “Healthy wetlands provide habitat for endangered species; filter pollutants that flow into the bay from storm drains; and provide natural ood control, which we need to combat rising water levels resulting from climate change,” said Castelli.

Various projects planned around the bay would destroy any future ability to restore the land to healthy wetland status. Coastal development creates a litany of ecological woes, including the elimination of habitat, decreased biodiversity, and pollution. And development projects that impact the bay are typically debated as if they are local issues, rather than activities with potentially farreaching effects for all Bay Area residents, whether human, avian, marine, or plant.

The east bay city of Hayward is planning to allow CalPine, a Fortune 500 power company, to construct a 600-megawatt power plant on the shores of the bay, adjacent to the Hayward Regional Shoreline. Lennar Corporation and

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February4to18

MusicandFilm:SanFranciscoIndie Fest Potrero’sownTheeParksideand BottomoftheHillwillbethetwomain venues for this year’s Winter Music Fest. The Fest, which runs through February 4th,showcasesseveralbands,including BhiBhiman,Duckmandu,Kuma/ Koshka,andDamnHandsomeandthe BirthdaySuits.Theentertainmentbaton willthenbepassedtothe12thAnnual Independent Film Festival, which will takeplaceinvarioustheatres,including RoxiCinemas.Variousshowtimesand ticketprices.BottomoftheHill,1233 17thStreet;TheeParkside,160017th Street;RoxiCinemas,311716thStreet. Information: www.sfndie.com.

February4to26

Art:Love,Art&Chocolate Gallery323’sLove,ArtandChocolate willfeatureJenniferEwing’sSpirit Boatseries,aswellassculptures andpaintings.Openingreceptionon February 4, 6 to 9 p.m. Gallery 323, 323PotreroAvenue.Information: www.323gallery.org.

February6toApril3

Health:Women’sWellnessWorkshops Learnhownaturopathicmedicinecan help you live well. $25. First Saturdayofeverymonth;2:30to3:30 p.m.Upcomingtopics:YourVitalVAnintimatediscussionofvulvovaginal health;KillerCramps-Managing periodpainandendometriosis; EnhancingYourChances-Natural approachesforimprovingfertility.Sign up at www.meetup.com/SFnatmed.

February14

Outdoors:Valentine’sDayKayak Adventure CityKayakoffersanewwayto celebrateValentine’sDay:paddle withyourhoneyatduskaroundSan Francisco’s waterfront. Participants will enjoytheCity’sscenicviewsfromanew perspective. 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets: $79. TheEmbarcaderoatTownsendStreet. Information:www.citykayak.com

February16

Film:TheBlackRock:akaBlack Alcatraz ProjectRebound’scommemorates BlackHistoryMonthwithaspecial screeningofTheBlackRock:aka BlackAlcatraz,byawardwinning documentary flmmaker and Project ReboundgraduateKevinEpps.Epps willparticipateinapost-screening discussion about the flm. 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Free. San Francisco State University,JackAdamsHall,1600 HollowayAve.Information:emailjbell@ sfsu.eduorcpb@sfsu.edu.

Storytelling:HostedbySusanFord Farley’s continues its regular evening of storytelling,poetry,spokenword,music andsong.Bringastory,poemorsong for the open mic. 7 p.m. Free. Farley’s, 131518thStreet.

February18throughMarch6

Art:Presence byJonathanGrover PresenceisasoloexhibitbyJonathan Groverfeaturingsoundart,interactive soundsculptureandvideoinstallation. Opening reception on February 16th, 6to10p.m.LowerdeckGallery,

& ENTERTAINMENT

February2010

2295 3rd Street. Information: www. lowerdecksf.com.

February19

Music:JimboTrout SolomusicianJimboTroutreturnsto Farley’s with his bluegrass, ragtime, blues,swing,honky-tonk,Appalachian androckandrolltunes.Withaguitar, banjoandharmonica,themusician bringsmorethan20yearsofexpertise andahugecatalogofsongsandstyles.

8 p.m. Free. Farley’s, 1315 18th Street. Information:www.jimbotrout.com.

February25through28

Dance:JessCurtis/ Gravity’sIntercontinental Collaborations4 JessCurtisandGravityshowcase aneveningofinternationaldance performancesfortheir10thAnniversary Season,includingtheAmerican premiereofClaireCunningham’sawardwinningsolo, Mobile,andapreview excerptofJessCurtis/Gravity’sDances forNon-FictionalBodies .8p.m. Tickets:$18to$20.CounterPULSE, 1310MissionStreet.Information:www. counterpulse.org.

February27

Music:Blues,BeerandBBQatthe Nabe

ThePotreroHillNeighborhoodHouse’s annualBB&BCelebrationwillfeature legendaryBobby“Spider”Webband theSmoothBluesBand.AnativeSan Franciscan, Webb is renowned for his saxophoneplayingandhastouredwith manyjazzgreats,aswellashisown group,theSmoothBluesBand,formore than 45 years. 4 to 9 p.m. Tickets: $25,includesBBQdinner.PotreroHill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro Street.Information:826.8080.

Community:Childrens’Festival OpenARMShostsacornacopiaof activitiesforkidseightandunder, includingyoga,artsandcrafts,music, andcupcakedecorating/baking.3p.m. $10donationrequested,tobedirected toPartnersinHealth,aleaderinthe Haitireliefeffort,orbringclothingtobe provided to the San Francisco HomelessPrenatalProgram.Beacon Clubhouse, 260 King Street, 4th Floor.

Kids on the Block

ByStaceyBartlett

Cashin Rourke Fischer,daughter of Alaina and Kress Fischer, turned one on January27th.

AntonMichlmayr, sonofSamantha LuksandAndreas Michlmayr, celebrated his secondbirthday on January 15th.

Happybirthdayto Caroline “Firefy” Freeman-Cherry, who turned four on January 27th! MommyandMama Jac can’t believe how big you are, and how much we adoreyou.

HappyBirthdayto ourlittlebigman, Henry Bartlett, who is turning threeonFebruary 19th. We love, love, love you! Mama, Daddy, Big Sis Annabel and BlackKitty.

MakingArtisTheirBusiness

ByGregRoensch

It isn’t easy to make a living as an artist. Yet, long-time Potrero Hill residents Les Seymour and Brenda Cole Seymour have found the ideal niche for doing what they love. As the owners of Mural Arts on Missouri Street, this talented team has been designing and creating magni cent murals for more than 20 years. I asked them a few questions about their work.

GR: What made you decide to create murals?

LS: It’s a challenge—and a lot of fun—to customize art for specific sites, whether it’s inside or outdoors. And it’s a thrill to create art on such a large scale.

GR: What’s the biggest mural you’ve ever made?

BCS: That would be a 12,000-squarefoot mural with a rainforest theme for the Lost City Resort in Bophuthatswana, Africa.

GR: Out of the hundreds of murals you’ve created, do you have a favorite?

LS: I’d say the trompe l’oeil mural for Hotel Villa Florence in San Francisco. This mural blends many of our favorite classical painting techniques, and it ts perfectly with the interior architecture.

BCS: My favorite job was designing and painting a series of 15 murals for the Monterey Plaza Hotel on Cannery Row. The murals depict Palladian Villas in Italy, which meant I absolutely had to spend some time doing research in Northern Italy; at

least that’s what I told Les.

GR: I learned recently that your art was featured in a movie. True?

BCS:Yes. Our work appears in The Hangover. The movie was filmed at the Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas. We made a large mosaic mural, four painted tapestries, and several ceiling murals throughout the lobby. It was great to see our art on the big screen.

GR: If you could paint a mural on any building in San Francisco, what would it be?

BCS: I’ve always thought the back of the Orpheum Theater would be a dynamic location for a mural. I’d lean towards a historical theme, since the mural would face the Civic Center.

LS: I would choose the blank side of the Hobart Building on Market Street. I envision a 1,500-square-foot “re ective mural”, which would be a oating, slightly distorted re ective surface depicting the adjacent skyscrapers, rooftop garden, and sky. The concept is a unique and modern approach to mural painting.

GR: What are you working on now?

LS: We’re making two Italian glass tile mosaic murals for Disney, a portrait for a restaurant in Salt Lake City, and a custom painted tapestry for a private residence in Potrero Hill.

To learn more about Mural Arts: www.muralarts.com. Greg Roensch is a freelance writer and Potrero Hill resident.

143517thStreet•SanFrancisco,CA94107

CATERING&TOGOORDERS: 415.626.7973

PhotographsbyGregRoensch.

ArtSpanOpenStudiosExhibitiondrawsSouth-ofMarketCrowdwithHip,QuirkyArt

ByLoriHiga studio.

Free tastings from Napa winery Artesa, Pernod absinthe cocktails, and a mix of works by local artists – from sculpture and photography to 3-D collage, paintings and lithographs – drew an eclectic, large and lively crowd to a sleek Market Street gallery in a neighborhood more famous for its grime, crime, graffiti, junkies and homeless than art last month. The opening reception for Selections 2010, produced by nonpro t ArtSpan, creator of San Francisco Open Studios, featured the work of 20 Open Studios artists, chosen from a field of more than 300. Selections 2010 jurors included artist Ray Beldner, author and arts writer Alison Bing, and Inga Fischer, director of the California Modern Gallery, where the show was held. Featured artists included Steven Allen, Tim Baskerville, Flora Davis, and Schnetzler Photography.

Launched in 1975 by ArtSpan, Open Studios connects artists directly with buyers and fans four weekends every year, when artists open their studios to the public to sell and expose their work. Open Studios is one of the few opportunities available that gives artists complete control over pricing their work and the ambiance of the exhibit space, usually their own workshop or

According to Fischer, Selections 2010 supports emerging and established artists, providing many with their first experience in a professionally curated exhibit.

“Selections is an exciting showcase not only for local artists but for ArtSpan’s many wonderful programs,” said event director Jennifer Mullen. To help artists, ArtSpan partners with California College of the Arts to host skills building workshops, and offers artists residencies at Bessie Carmichael Elementary School and the Arts for City Youth program.

For more information: www. artspan.org, info@artspan.org or 861.9838.

THE STEPS TOBUYINGA HOME LEARNWHATITTAKES TOREALIZEYOURDREAM

HomebuyersAssistanceWorkshop

Tuesday,February9th,2010 6:30–8:30pm

LennarTrailersontheHuntersPointShipyard 690HudsonAvenue,SanFrancisco

Lightrefreshmentswillbeserved.Formoreinformation, pleasecall(415)822-4847ext.201orvisitourwebsiteat: www.HuntersPointCommunity.com

REMEMBER,ifyouareaSanFranciscoRedevelopmentAgencyResidentialCertificateof PreferenceholderyouhavetoppriorityinthesaleofthenewhomesattheHuntersPoint Shipyard.CertificatesofPreferencewereawardedtohouseholdspreviouslydisplacedby RedevelopmentActivityinHuntersPointandtheWesternAddition.Ifyouthinkyouareentitled totheCertificate,pleasecall(415)749-2432orvisitwww.sfraaffordablehousing.org.Affordable HomeOwnership–Pleasebesuretovisitthefollowinglinkforinformationregardingthe LimitedEquityProgram.http://www.sfraaffordablehousing.org/forsale.html

Marvin Johnson’s KingsCanyon 2009 (top) and Brian McDonald’s The Curious Off-Gassing of Mr. Honey Bunny (bottom) on display at ArtSpan.

Erika Meriaux’s Punishment of Hera.

ITTOOKALMOSTADECADE, BUTPERSISTENCEPAIDOFF

2001: San Francisco Community Powerwasfoundedinparttoclose the Hunters Point and Potrero Powerplants.

2006: Hunters Point Power Plant was shuttered.

2010: The state announced that thePotreroPowerPlantwillclose by the end of the year.

POWER PLANTS DON’T CLOSE EASILY

Clean enegy heroes include:

Mayor Gavin Newsom • City Attorney Dennis Herrera

Supervisor Sophie Maxwell • (Former) Supervisor Aaron

Peskin • Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier • Supervisor Ross

Mirkarimi • Supervisor Chris Daly • Senator Mark Leno

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano • San Francisco Public Utilities

Commission: Richard Sklar (in memorium) • Potrero

Power Plant Citizens Task Force: Philip De Andrade, Chair, Joe Boss, Malik Looper, Richard Millet, Steven Moss, Karen

Pierce • Brightline Defense • Espanola Jackson

Greenaction for Environmental Health and Justice

Environmental Defense • Our City • You

ShortCuts

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father of Brion Moss, a 20th Street resident, and Steven Moss , View publisher and 18th Street resident, was named activist of the year by the Palo Alto Weekly. The Palo Alto resident was honored for his work to address safety issues prompted by the creation of too narrow streets in private developments.

Initiatives

Last month the Potrero Hill Democratic Club voted to endorse a proposed ballot initiative that would amend the California Constitution to enable the state budget and new revenue sources to be passed by a simple majority of legislators, as opposed to the current two-thirds vote requirement. The initiative –signatures to place it on the ballot are currently being collected – is aimed at upending the tyranny of the minority, in which just one-third plus one legislators can block changes in fiscal policy…Another ballot initiative that’s being circulated would increase commercial property taxes by .055 percent and direct the estimated $4 billion in additional annual revenue to fund public education…More than 60 ballot initiatives, roughly half oriented towards solving California’s chronic scal problems, are wending their way to the ballot box. Voters, start studying those public nance textbooks…

Sisterly Love

It’s easy to drive right by Gallery 323 on busy Potrero Avenue, but you may want to pull over next time you’re in the area. Judy West, the gallery’s owner, is now selling gourmet sweets in addition to displaying works from local artists. West is the exclusive San Francisco purveyor of her sister’s award-winning chocolates. Dolce Bella’s confections are handmade by chocolatier Audrey Vaggione using avors she harvests from her Saratoga garden, including berries, citrus, owers and herbs. Try a sample, and see the newest exhibition, Love, Art and Chocolate, on February 4th. Just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Competitive Poets

Poets 11 2010 is sponsoring a contest in which poets can submit up to three poems, with writings that reflect San Francisco’s language

and cultural diversity and written in languages other than English encouraged. Selected poets will win a $50 honorarium, their poems will be published in an anthology, and they’ll be invited to read their work at different branch libraries. A nal event featuring all participating poets will be held at the Main Library’s Koret Auditorium on May 8. Contestants must be eighteen years or older, San Francisco residents, and include a return address, email or phone number with their submissions. Submit by email to poets11@friendsssfpl.org, drop off at any branch library, or post to Poets

11 Book Bay, Fort Mason, Fort Mason Center, Building C, San Francisco, California 94123. Submissions will be accepted until March 1. For more information or to download the submission form, visit friendssfpl. org or call 626.7500.

Coke Is

Last month the Coca-Cola Company unveiled its refurbished, environmentally-upgraded iconic sign at 5th and Bryant streets. The billboard had been disassembled and replaced with an LED display that’s eighty percent more energy efficient than the original. First erected in 1937, the gigantic lit sign is a tribute to the world’s thirst for sugary, carbonated refreshment… East Palo Alto may have a solution to inadequate access to fresh foods in Bayview-Hunters Point and Visitacion Valley. Late last year Mi Pueblo Food Center opened in the 34,000-resident city, which for the previous almost quarter century had no supermarket. At 28,000 square feet the modest-sized market has a lot to offer, including cheerful staff members, fresh prepared foods, and beautifully displayed produce. The East Palo Alto store is one of fourteen in the chain, which was founded by a Mexican immigrant two decades ago, and now generates $250 million in annual sales. Better to have ubiquitous markets happily offering tasty, wholesome foods than international saturation of empty calorie beverages.

Correction

“Hire-Ability Connects Employers with a Diverse Job Pool,” which appeared in last month’s View under Lori Higa’s byline was in fact written by Michael Condiff. The View apologizes to both writers for the mistake.

AIDS

ContinuedfromPage4 public health care system as much as they should.”

Broome said lack of faith in the health care system, combined with the societal stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS, factors into a Center for Disease Control estimate that 25 percent of persons infected aren’t aware of their status. “We have people who come in and discover they’ve been [HIV] positive for eight or ten years,” he said. “Maybe they’ve gotten sick over the years and thought it was just a cold, or maybe deep down they’ve known, but were in denial, were afraid of being excommunicated from their communities or families. Some people think that if they keep it hush-hush, the problem will go away. It doesn’t.”

Moody said despite potentially deadly results, the fear of contracting HIV/AIDS carries little weight in lower-income African-American communities. “It’s just another thing that’s going to kill you,” Moody said. “It hasn’t been elevated beyond violence or diabetes or any of the other things that threaten AfricanAmericans on a daily basis. The threat of AIDS doesn’t hold the same power that it does in the gay, white community.”

According to Dr. Grant Colfax, DPH’s director of HIV prevention and research, reaching AIDS patients in Potrero Hill and Bayview is a priority. “If any place is able to reduce infections by treating people effectively, San Francisco

should have the best chance,” he said. Roughly 80 percent of persons infected with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco are receiving treatment, up from 55 percent in 2005, despite the fact that about 800 new cases are reported each year. “We’re actually doing extremely well for a city this size,” Dr. Colfax said. “So, the question becomes: how do we build on 80 percent? We know that in the Southeast part of the City, we’re way below that number. So, we’ve got to gure out a way to engage these people in conversation, nd out why they’re not getting treatment. How do we get those people in or get treatment to them? We have to explore those questions, and then have conversations with treatment providers and consumers as to what the answers might be.”

ByLuisD.,4thGrader DanielWebsterElementarySchool

ESCO

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we need details that shows the plan’s viable. For example, how large is the market pool? De ne it. There needs to be deliverables, a timeline, xed costs, positive cash ow. How much will it cost to rent a small box retail space? How many appliances, how many repairs, how many jobs will be generated, what are the margins, how will it scale?” Even if the proposal had these speci cs, however, there’s no money to fund it. SF Environment has opted to invest much of its federal stimulus funds to replace large central heating systems in multi-unit buildings. Broomhead suggested that legislation may be the fastest way to jumpstart SF Power’s proposal, or a collaboration with existing retailers, such as appliance dealers or hardware stores, “to get your feet wet, see if it works.”

SF Power has pitched a companion proposal – to enable low-income families to redirect existing state utility bill subsidies to purchase energy efficient appliances – to State Senator Mark Leno’s office. According to Leno, that proposal is “a really interesting idea, the rst of its kind that I’ve seen. I would hope that the California Public Utility Commission or similar organization would move forward with supporting such a program.” State Assembly member Nancy Skinner has pickedup on the concept, and may introduce legislation to conduct a demonstration project this year.

“I’ve worked with Mr. Moss to identify and evaluate micro- nancing solutions to encourage adoption of energy efficiency by low-income families and small enterprises,” said James Fine, a Bay Area-based economist at Environmental Defense Fund. “We found a clear gap between the needs of renters and existing solutions. Steve’s innovative proposal will help to bridge the gap and could deliver immediate economic and environmental bene ts to our most vulnerable populations. Steve has a proven track record of mobilizing and delivering projects quickly. He has the pieces in place with SF Power, understands the issues, has networks in the community, both a grasstops perspective and grassroots experience and is in as good a better position to implement it as anybody.”

“We’ve proven we can work with the community and be pro table. Our demand response program for small businesses is one example. And with our Climate for Community initiative we’ve demonstrated how low-income households and small businesses can step-by-step reduce their resource use, saving money, energy and the environment,” said Moss. In a 2009 View advertisement, SF Power congratulated 250 small businesses, cities, and nonpro ts who received more than $115,000 – in excess of a quarter million dollars in payments over the past three years – through its Demand Response (DR) program. When called on last summer, DR participants reduced their electricity use by seven megawatts, enough to

power 7,000 homes. The program helps protect the state’s power grid from outages during peak electricity use periods, cutting pollutants.

According to SF Power, distribution accounts for roughly half the cost of new appliances. With a small box retail outlet located in hard-pressed neighborhoods, distribution costs could be slashed. White envisions the pilot including up to 1,000 multi-family building owners and single-family households in partnership with a financial institution, utility or municipality, with whom low-cost micro-loans could be set up. “Running a pilot is critical, because there are challenges we just won’t know about until we do it. We need to gure out the right price points, the right people…Once we know the true costs, we can tweak the nancing, the budget, use the approach that really works best. If you think of it as a carbon reduction plan, we can reduce more emissions more cheaply and quickly with energy-efficient appliances than any other way,” said White.

A potential monkey wrench in the works is how payments for efficient appliances would interact with the City’s rent control laws. Roughly 65 percent of San Francisco residents are renters, representing upwards of 270,000 housing units. Many of these San Franciscans reside in rent controlled units, in which the ability of landlords to pass through the higher costs associated with appliance purchases is restricted. Under one residential ESCO approach, tenants would voluntarily pay for efficient appliances through their utility or rent bills, recouping their costs through lower electricity bills. But, according to Broomhead, “There may be issues, complaints from renters, because of not understanding the tradeoffs of having a different kind of energy services model in order to have energy efficient appliances.”

According to Moss, “The program would be completely voluntary for both landlords and tenants. The idea is for everyone to be better off, including the local economy and the environment. An attractive, optional program ensures that only property owners and tenants who want to participate, and understand the bene ts, will sign-up.”

“I would turn the negatives around rent control into positives,” said Davis. “I don’t see rent control as a reason or even related to the issue of energy efficiency. It’s about how landlords don’t make the investments to begin with. The beauty of Steve’s proposal is that an ESCO can be done at no increased cost to a renter. In fact, rent control creates a good argument for an ESCO.” Davis recently made a presentation to the City of Santa Monica, where “they have real severe rent control. Many rental units don’t even come with refrigerators,” he said. “They take rent control to an absurd extreme.

I think having energy efficient appliances makes rental units more rentable, and smart building owners know that.”

While successful ESCOs already exist in the commercial realm, they’ve made little headway into

residential markets because of the higher costs required to service many residential customers and smaller pro t margins. “You might ask why has the market not done this already? We’re beginning to see private rms get into the third-party ESCO business. The challenge is: society cares about environmental emissions, but private rms don’t get the gains from reducing emissions that makes it worth their while. It’s hard to make a go of it when gains are not big enough...there are high administrative costs, large transaction costs, these are some reasons why you don’t see these kinds of ideas arise on their own.

If Steve’s proposal is successful, it will stop the inertia and encourage for-pro t companies to get involved in the residential third-party energy services business,” said Davis. The landlord-tenant challenge and the failure of the marketplace to come up with a solution, Davis believes, results in environmental degradation and resource depletion, to the tune of seven trillion British Thermal Units in unnecessary consumption and 127,000 tons of excess carbon emissions annually.

Fine sees SF Power’s proposal as a potential pathway to enable lowincome renters a way to participate in emerging carbon trading markets, by aggregating small greenhouse gas reductions. “When people can participate in the carbon markets,

they have more choices and options as to their energy use. Community organizations such as the ESCO could serve as third-party aggregators to quantify and trade credits and enter into transactions that return carbon value to the community in the form of cash rebates, incentives, emission reduction projects and other services. Delivering environmental justice benefits are clearly in the language of AB 32. This is very significant since residences and small business comprise about 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in California, not including transportation,” Fine commented.

“We want to own and trade carbon credits,” White asserted, “it would be an important component of the ESCO, putting residential customers closer to carbon trading, with the ESCO becoming a carbon broker. It’s a matter of getting the right price. When people have that data, they can make better decisions about how they use energy. It’s a real bene t, where consumers can get the best value for their money.”

ByTheresaRodriguez,4thGrader DanielWebsterElementarySchool

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View Wants Ads 2325 Third Street, Suite 344 San Francisco, CA 94107 415.626.8723 / office@potreroview.net

* Payments and/or text changes must be received by the 18th of each month for ad to appear in the following month's issue.

VACATION RETREAT FOR POTRERO

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By Diana Arelino, 4th Grader Daniel Webster Elementary School

“AdvertisingintheViewhas beengreatforourbusiness. We’rereallyhappy.” -Gilberth Cab, owner of The NewSpotrestaurantin Dogpatch