By Michael Condiff
Decommissioning the Potrero Power Plant, the City’s largest single source of polluting air emissions, continues to be elusive. Technical flaws discovered in the Trans Bay Cable may delay the plant’s expected closure at the end of this year. Last month tests found a component of the 53-mile long cable wasn’t working properly.
By Deia de Brito
In 2008 San Francisco experienced an alarming number of homicides – 98 – matching a similar number committed the previous year. Five of the murders took place on Potrero Hill; 25 in Bayview. One Potrero Hill incident was particularly shocking. In broad daylight in early-April of that year, two men opened fire into a minivan, killing the driver, a Fairfield resident, and sending the vehicle into the Oscaryne Williams’ Infant and Toddler Center’s playground on Turner Terrace Road. Fortunately, the kids were safe inside the center for naptime.
The violence prompted Daniel Webster Elementary School students – a large number of whom live in Potrero Annex and Terrace – to launch a peace march. “The students started asking why there are guns and shootings on the street,” said Terra Gauthier, Webster’s learning support professional who initiated Peacekeepers, a program in which kids learned how to use words instead of fists. “The peace march stemmed from a discussion about why people in their community weren’t using their words.”
Between 2005 and 2007, the homicide rate within a quarter mile of Annex-Terrace was double the citywide rate, according to a Bridge
Housing Corporation report. This year, the number of murders committed in San Francisco is significantly down from 2008. To date, no murders have occurred on Potrero Hill. But the students continue to march.
“What side are you on, peacemakers, what side are you on? We’re
on the freedom side!” shouted hundreds of students from Webster, Starr King Elementary School, Live Oak School, International Studies Academy and Downtown High School, along with their teachers, parents,
see CRIME page 20
Google District 10 Supervisor Sophie Maxwell and you’ll get the standard biographical information. Wikipedia lists her terms in office: elected to a transitional two-year term in 2000, re-elected to two four-year terms in 2002 and 2006. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ website provides a description of her work related to environmental justice, clean energy and equitable distribution of public resources. But, if you continue down the list of entries you’ll find links to blogs and
articles calling for her ouster. In fact, a recall petition failed as recently as February, just 10 months before Maxwell’s final term will come to a close. It seems that even as she prepares to leave office, some believe that exit can’t come soon enough.
According to Maxwell, it’s all part of the political package.“I knew coming in, years ago, that there was no way to make everyone happy,” she said during a 40-minute interview with the View. “I don’t take any of it personally. Those people don’t know me and I don’t know them.”
Now 60 – her birthday was April 9 – Maxwell’s spent most of her life in District 10. She’s daughter of the late activist and Potrero Hill Neigh-
see MAXWELL page 10
The cable runs along the Bay floor from Pittsburg to San Francisco, and is expected to provide enough electricity to allow the Mirant-owned Potrero Power Plant to cease operations of Unit 3, the plant’s largest generating unit, which emits pollution 24 hours a day. The California Independent System Operator (CalISO), the body that governs the state’s grid reliability, had recently agreed that three smaller units – 4, 5 and 6 – can be closed after several Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) intra-City transmission upgrades are completed this fall.
City leaders had all but promised that plant closure would come by year’s end. Now, they’re angry and frustrated. “This is unacceptable,” said District 10 Supervisor Sophie Maxwell. “Here we are with no real idea of when this will happen. We want [the Potrero Power Plant] closed this year and we are going to have to figure it out some way.”
The Trans Bay Cable is 10 inches wide and includes two electric transmission and one fiber optic communication lines. It’s designed to transmit up to 400 megawatts of power, or 40 percent of the City’s electricity needs. The project is estimated to cost $505 million. Sean O’Reilly, the Trans Bay Cable project’s chief financial officer, told the Board of Supervisors Land Use and Economic Development Committee that the cable’s flawed component was installed by Siemens Power Transmission and Distribution Inc., and that Siemens
see PoWER page 18
Californians have been concerned about urban sprawl – lowdensity, land-intensive, highway dependent development – virtually since the first ranchette was built on a quarter acre lot in the southern reaches of Santa Clara County mid-century last. Since then tens of thousands of pages have been written about the evils of sprawl: it gobbles up scarce farm land and wilderness areas, prompts a dependence on pollution-spewing cars, increases public infrastructure costs, and creates soul-deadening suburbs. I’ve contributed to this paper indictment, having written anti-sprawl analyses for American Farmland Trust and Bank of America, among others.
Over the last two decades “smart growth” – also known as compact, or transit-oriented, development – has emerged as the antidote to sprawl. Smart growth principally consists of higher density housing, with good access to public transit and pedestrianfriendly communities. The theory is that greater density enables mass transit and carless travel to operate more efficiently, getting people out of their vehicles, and conserves land in rural areas. A premium is placed on achieving these elements within urban neighborhoods, and, in particular, along existing rail corridors and freeways.
Many smart growth candidates –including West Oakland and Southeast San Francisco – previously hosted light and heavy industries. Now they’re home to high concentrations of low-income households, living amidst the toxic legacy of a previous age, in neighborhoods that are deficit in almost any amenity you can name, including open space, high-quality schools, and employment opportunities (see “Publisher’s View: Toxic Development,” in the November View). From the perspective of the status quo, change, even in the form of higher population density, could be an improvement.
Although smart growth sounds good on paper, its intelligence will be measured by how it performs on the ground. And early indications, at least in Southeast San Francisco, are alarming. The problem is that, in a good economy – when there’s an active demand and available financing for real estate – private sector developers have every incentive to build dense housing complexes in places where land is expensive. Density, it turns out, isn’t that hard to achieve within the cities people want to live. But smart growth policies are being implemented in a period in which the public sector’s ability to create the associated necessary public infrastructure is deeply compromised by wall-to-wall deficits. There’s a substantial risk that higher densities will be forced into areas that already lack sufficient high-quality parks, schools, and transit without any significant increase in funding for, and the capacity of, the essential elements to serve the increased population. The results would be much less livable cities, increasing conflict over scarce public resources, and a general degradation in the quality of life. These miseries would be visited on the same working class families who’ve already suffered under years of environmental injustices and neglect.
There is a way to ensure that growth is indeed smart. And that’s to invest, disproportionately and substantially, in creating the host of public amenities necessary to support thriving, densely-populated communities. That is, to mimic the population tilt back towards urban areas with an equivalent amount of public investment. Under current economic conditions this would require a realignment of local, regional, state, and federal spending priorities, including focusing a large portion of air quality – and
page 16
San Franciscans have put up with late buses, fare increases and service cuts for too long. Now we have the opportunity to stand up and say that enough is enough: we need to Fix Muni Now! To improve Muni service and oppose unjust fare increases and unnecessary cuts, hardworking San Franciscans are joining the Fix Muni Now campaign and signing the petition to place a reform measure on the November 2010 ballot. The transit-first measure will prioritize riders’ needs by removing from the City Charter salary guarantees for bus drivers and reducing work rules that impair transit operations.
San Francisco is a world-class City that deserves a world-class transit agency. Unfortunately, the Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) has little ability to deliver an efficient transit system because the City Charter guarantees bus operators the second highest salary in the country, and labor agreements restrict the MTA’s ability to deploy bus operators in a manner that reflects riders’ needs. The MTA has no ability to negotiate Muni operator wages because operators’ salaries are set in the City Charter. As a result, Muni drivers routinely receive raises when the transit agency is facing cutbacks. This year, Muni drivers will be awarded an $8 million raise while the MTA management is forced to balance a $50+ million deficit on the backs of Muni riders by raising fares and reducing service 10 percent
Dear Editor,
So your shorts are in a bunch because there are more cannabis clubs than farmers markets in San Francisco (“Short Cuts,” April issue)? Please! Perhaps that joint you smoked in your dorm room 40 years ago has impaired your ability to reason effectively.
Farmers markets involve dozens of vendors and serve thousands of people each day, while dispensaries are usually one or two small rooms and serve 200 or so people, at most. And they are voter approved.
There are 54 laundromats in San Francisco; are clean clothes interfering with people’s nutrition in any way? Please stick to editorials about NIMBY parking-whiners and rummage sale announcements.
Barbara Bettenburg Boardman PlaceDear Editor,
The Recreation and Parks Commission recently approved a request to put in a disc golf course at McLar-
citywide.
The measure will remove from the City Charter reference to Muni operators’ wages, enabling MTA to negotiate salaries and benefits through the collective bargaining process used by all other employee bargaining groups. This change will prevent drivers from receiving huge pay increases in deficit years, which will help to preserve Muni services when the budget situation is bleak.
The measure will also reduce outdated and inflexible work rules that have impaired transit operations for years. It will encourage new and improved work rules that are responsive to riders’ needs. Currently, there’s no incentive for Muni operators to change antiquated work rules that are counterproductive from a service and ridership perspective. Giving the MTA the ability to negotiate salaries and benefits will increase systemwide efficiency and effectiveness through improved work rules.
With the MTA facing record deficits, and considering further reductions in services, now is the time to fix Muni. We’re asking San Franciscans to support the Fix Muni Now campaign, so that the MTA has the tools to provide world-class service to San Francisco.
For instructions on how to sign the petition or more information on the campaign to improve Muni service, visit www.FixMuniNow, or call 640.7278.
en Park. I’m not against disc golf, but I believe that the commission could have found a better location for the course that wouldn’t disrupt established park usage. The proposed course cuts right through one of the park’s wildest parts and the off leash dog area. John McLaren – a one time Golden Gate Park director and a friend of John Muir’s – dedicated the park that now bears his name with an expressed desire that people have “unspoiled alpine joy in the City.”
I’m all for shared use. But I cannot imagine two more incongruous groups. Folks that want to just be in nature, to wander through the hills and smell the wildflowers; and disc golfers who are intent on making it to their next goal. The disc group’s website is excited about McLaren for its “challenging course”. That seems to read many wayward flying Frisbees to me. I’m concerned that walkers will be hit by Frisbees, and I’m concerned for the dogs. I’m also worried about the altercations that will occur when a dog runs off with a disc. In addition, many of the park’s users are seniors. Can you imagine them ducking to get out of the way?
There are other options. The
Fritz Maytag has sold Anchor Steam, the neighborhood’s brewery, to the Griffen Group. The new owners, who created Skyy Vodka, say that they’ll remain dedicated to the beer’s historical context and culture nurtured by Maytag since he bought the brand in 1965. So far there’s been no indication that significant changes will be made to the Mariposa brewery...A number of Potrero Hill residents are displeased by the distribution of complimentary telephone books, delivered to their door. In this age of ready-access via the Internet to pretty much everything, there’s little need for the tree-gobbling behemoths. An opt-out website is available – http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/ - but according to those who’ve tried it’s not particularly effective at stopping the onslaught of paper bricks. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has periodically examined ways to slow the flow of waste paper to residential doors, including restaurant menus, free newspapers, and telephone books, with workable opt-out programs and noticeable sanctions high on the list of popular policies. While not delivered door-to-door, the View hopes it wouldn’t be placed directly into the recycling bin if it was…Last month
Mayor Gavin Newsom endorsed Lynette Sweet, who previously worked for HMS Associates, a public relations firm, to replace Sophie Maxwell on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. With Willie Brown an early Sweet supporter, Newsom’s endorsement wasn’t surprising, though it may have disappointed another District 10 candidate, Malia Cohen, who had previously worked for the mayor’s re-election campaign.
When the new Starr King Openspace (SKOS) board was elected a year ago – a revolutionary act, after several years in which the board consisted of just one or two individuals – the understanding was that board members would serve staggered terms. Three seats were for three-year terms; three two-year; and three one-year. Future elections would be for three-year terms only. The idea was to create overlapping tenures, so only three seats would come up for election each year. However, review of public benefit nonprofit law and the most recent and verifiable SKOS bylaws – adopted in 1997 – indicate that each of the nine recently elected directors should be serving only two-year terms. As a result, the next board elections will be held in May 2011. During the first quarter of the year the board raised $4,300 to help pay for its operating expenses, a big chunk of which came from the Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association, as well as the View. Stay tuned for more news from SKOS as the board continues to unravel years of incomplete financial and operational records...Speaking of the Boosters, Audrey Cole is taking over as president of that long-standing
organization, relieving Tony Kelly, who has served for the past six years, of that duty.
Torrential rains didn’t dissuade upwards of 600 thrill seekers – along with a few dozen families who participated in a pre-event Easter egg hunt – from bringing their own big wheel to the windy part of Vermont Street last month. Even the San Francisco Police Department was all smiles, with officers donating a few dollars to the cause and saying they’ll race, without uniform, of course, next year…In a report released in March, the San Francisco Controller’s Office identified modest improvements in the conditions of the City’s parks. However, significant quality disparities exist between neighborhoods, with the highest rated open space located in the Marina, Pacific Heights, and the Presidio, and the lowest in Bayview, Portola, and Visitacion Valley. McLaren Park received the second lowest score of all of San Francisco’s parks, with Little Hollywood Park also in poor condition. However, citizen efforts focused on McKinley Square and the Utah and 18th Street Mini-Park have noticeably improved their condition.
Molinari & Sons opened last month at the corner of 17th and Utah streets. The old-style Italian delicatessen offers “good meats, good food, and good service,” according to its San Francisco owners…Zoon, featuring home-style Japanese cooking, will open in the former Lingba space in June…Just for You now offers wheatfree breads and French toast…The Mission Bay Farmers’ Market reopened for the season last month. In addition to fruits and vegetables, the market offers kettle corn, Asian produce, olives and spreads, among other items. The market, which is open on Wednesdays, is located across from Mission Bay Housing, on the plaza at Gene Friend Way… Permits are now required to park on the west side of the University of California, San Francisco-Mission
Bay campus, along Sixth Street, near where the golf range used to be. The area includes roughly 80 parking spaces, and is stripped and signed for parking. Permits, costing 75 percent of the on-campus parking fee, can be purchased from the Owens Street garage cashier window on a first-comefirst-serve basis, though they may have already been snapped up by the time the View goes to press.
Last month the embattled Entertainment Commission granted an after-hours permit to Danzhaus, a dance studio located at Connecticut and Cesar Chavez streets, to the dismay of Bayview Police Captain Greg Suhr. Suhr is concerned that club patrons from the suburbs, who may return to their parked cars in the early hours near the Potrero Annex and Terrace housing complex, may not be aware of the dangers associated with nearby rival gangs. Two homicides occurred on Connecticut Street in 2008. Danzhaus doesn’t have a liquor license, but drinks can be served at special events until 2 a.m. The afterhours permit will allow parties to go on until 4 a.m. The City Attorney’s Office is investigating the Commission’s vote to determine if one of the “yeses” was inappropriately made by Commissioner Terrance Alan, who previously had a financial relationship with Danzhaus.
In 1845 the U.S. Congress declared that elections were to be held on Tuesday, to avoid disrupting weekend religious services, and to give farmers sufficient time to ride into town to cast their ballot. Elections are still held on the second day of most people’s busy work week, which may partially explain our dismal turn-out levels. The United States ranks 132nd out of 179 nations in terms of the percent of eligible citizens who vote in elections. Less than half of eligible San Francisco voters participate in any given poll. One way to expand participation would be to add Saturday as an election day. To support that cause check-out www.whytuesdaysf.org.
Elections can feel like the seasonal visitation of a flock of crows. State and local ballot initiatives and candidates for everything from Democratic Party Central Committee to the U.S. Senate fly into our television screens, newspapers, and community meetings cawing for attention. Some warn of potential catastrophe; others crow about their political abilities. In the cacophony of shrieks and warbles it’s difficult for citizens to decide how to vote, or even to understand what the birds are saying. In the face of this chaos many of us choose to stay home: less than half of eligible San Francisco voters participate in a given election. We do so at our own risk – some of these birds will have a significant impact on our future.
Next month voters will be presented with five state and seven local ballot initiatives and a host of candidates running for judge or in party primaries. It’s impossible for most of us to make fully informed decisions about who would make the best Democratic County Central Committee members, or Superior Court Judge. Instead, we need to study the candidates and initiatives we can, and turn to trusted sources to help us decide on the others, including the Potrero Hill Democratic Club.
While the View faces similar constraints on its capacity to render fully informed opinions on all of the issues and candidates, the paper does have some thoughts about the June election. Let’s give our U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi a big vote of confidence for muscling through federal health insurance reform. There are plenty of judges running, but the View only knows one: Linda Colfax, in Seat Six. Colfax, who works in the public defender’s office, is energetic, compassionate, and thoughtful. She’ll make a fine judge.
Proposition 13 – Yes – which amends the eponymous granddaddy of initiatives so that seismic upgrades don’t trigger higher property tax assessments, is a sensible fix to a flawed initiative. Proposition 16 –No – is a ridiculous power grab by monopoly electricity and natural gas supplier, Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Proposition 17 – No – could result in notably higher automobile insurance costs for some California motorists without a strong basis in equity or efficiency.
Measures A – Yes – and B generally provide needed capital support for schools and earthquake retrofits. A extends an existing $32 a year parcel tax, which generates $7 million a year, for school earthquake safety measures. However, Southeast San Francisco voters need to be mindful that our section of the City requires substantial capital investment – in public transportation, schools, and open space – to match the expected on-
In 2006, Gap founder Don Fisher’s sons – Bob, Bill and John – established the nonprofit City Fields Foundation. The Foundation quickly partnered with the City to form the Playfields Initiative, dedicated to installing synthetic turf and lighting at San Francisco’s athletic fields. Within the year two athletic fields, Garfield Park and Silver Terrace, were outfitted with synthetic turf, lights, and new fencing. Over the next two years the Playfields Initiative invested $45 million, a bit less than half of which was paid for by the City, to install synthetic turf at more than 15 playing fields in the Sunset, Mission, Excelsior, Visitacion Valley, and Western Addition neighborhoods. In 2008 San Franciscans passed Proposition A, the Clean and Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond, which allocated $185 million in bond money for capital improvements to parks. A portion of the funds was earmarked to match private money to renovate athletic fields with synthetic turf and lights.
When a natural grass field is replaced with artificial turf bulldozers remove the upper two feet of soil and sod. The remaining surface is tamped down. A trench is dug around the periphery of the field to accommodate PVC pipes for drainage. A layer of gravel and a layer of plastic sheeting are laid down, which is then covered with the turf and infill, which is often rubber.
In late 2007 the Playfield’s Initiative identified the playing field at Potrero Hill’s Arkansas Street Recreation Center as a possible candidate for artificial turf. “At a meeting in the community in November 2007, representatives from Rec and Park and from City Fields Foundation came to talk to us,” said Hill resident Leah Grant, a founding member of Friends of Potrero Hill, a neighbor-
hood group that opposes the installation of artificial turf. “One of the people from RPD said he represented the stakeholders who wanted to convert the field to artificial turf; as if we, the people who live here and use the park every day, were not stakeholders. We organized a petition and collected hundreds of signatures from neighbors opposing the installation of artificial turf.”
Community opposition kept artificial turf off of Potrero Hill and the Louis Sutter Playground in McLaren Park. Debate over the turf now centers on its proposed installation on four soccer fields at the western end of Golden Gate Park, known as the Beach Chalet soccer fields. “Our goal is to provide play spaces for children in San Francisco,” said Patrick Hannan, City Fields Foundation’s director of communications and planning. “In 2004, Rec and Park commissioned an independent recreation assessment,” explained Hannan. “The results showed that we were short about 35 soccer fields and 30 baseball fields.”
By replacing natural grass with artificial turf and adding lighting to athletic fields “we can address the shortage. Ground sports – like football, soccer, and lacrosse—really tear up a field,” explained Hannan. At the Beach Chalet soccer fields one field is always out of play so the grass can rejuvenate. All of the fields are locked on Mondays, and for four months of the year, the fields are closed to allow them to revitalize. Synthetic turf, according to Hannan,“can absorb more play without degradation of the site.” Hannan pointed out that last year a 14-year-old girl playing soccer broke her ankle on one of the Beach Chalet fields, which are uneven from wear and gopher holes.
Synthetic turf opponents acknowledge the shortage of safe playing fields. But they’d like to see
the problem addressed in a different way. “In every situation where synthetic turf has been installed in San Francisco, it’s replacing natural ground with what is essentially a paved surface,” said Pinky Kushner, an executive committee member of the Sierra Club’s San Francisco Bay Chapter, which opposes the replacement of natural grass with artificial turf anywhere in the City.
In 2008, the City formed the Synthetic Playfields Task Force, a
16-member committee of residents and government employees that reviewed the available literature on synthetic turf. One of the Task Force’s recommendations was to cover spaces that are currently asphalt with synthetic turf as an alternative to covering natural areas. “Why can’t we put synthetic turf on top of a parking lot?” asked Pinky Kushner. “Why not atop a parking garage? Why do we have to
Two popular Potrero Hill eateries are leaving the neighborhood even before they’d really settled in. Bento 415 and Pinkie’s Bakery, which shared kitchen and retail space at 300 De Haro’s Suite 342, left the building at the end of April, along with co-tenants 4505 Meats and Mi2Sweets. According to Patience Elfving, co-owner of Bento 415, the businesses were subletting from a primary tenant who’d been in the space for roughly five years. When the primary tenant’s lease expired, they rented the space month-tomonth while negotiating a new lease with the building’s owner. The parties weren’t able to reach an agreement, and the primary tenant gave them 30 days notice at the end of March.
“It’s not easy to find something in 30 days,” said Elfving. However, both eateries have found a new space to share at Folsom and 8th streets. Elfving was sorry to leave Potrero Hill.
“That’s the unfortunate part, because we really like the area,” she said.
Kellie Parker, a frequent customer at Bento 415 and Pinkie’s, heard that the businesses would be departing when she went in to get a bento box, a single-portion takeout meal comprised of several dishes, based on a popular concept in Japan.
“I was very sad,” she said. Parker,
who works at SEGA on Rhode Island Street, said she first patronized the eateries because of their location, but would visit them on Folsom Street. “I’ll seek them out wherever they land for sure,” she said.
Elfving is excited to grow into a larger space, and hopes her customers will follow. “We love this area, we love the people who come here, and we hope they’ll all come and visit us on our new location.”
Suite 242 has been leased to John Campbell’s Irish Bakery, which will offer traditional Irish baked goods, such as potato and soda bread. Campbell’s has existing locations in the Richmond and Cow Hollow, and expects to open their Potrero Hill outlet in June.
Le Sanctuaire, the sanctuary in French, is a hidden oasis on Potrero Hill where patrons are privy to the healing hands of skin care specialist Rebecca Whitworth. While her facial treatments and proprietary blend of organic essential oils and masques have long been the focus of local raves,Whitworth is now receiving global acclaim.
Recently featured in San Francisco magazine, Whitworth is one of a breed of Bay Area skin care eco-entrepreneurs who've launched internationally successful ventures from the neighborhood. Along with Susan Griffin-Black, a former Esprit executive who co-founded the lotion line EO – essential oils – from her Potrero Hill garage, Whitworth is reaping financial rewards from her signature product, L'huile de Grace –“oil of grace” – a restorative moisturizer made with ingredients sourced from the Amazon to Sonoma.
Eight years ago, and after six formulations, the longtime Hill resident created L'huile de Grace, which is comprised of mostly organic rare plant, herb and flower oils. According to Whitworth, one ingredient - rainforest tree sap Sangre de Drago - is a powerful antioxidant, helping to protect and rapidly heal the skin. L'huile de Grace also contains Bio-Lumière - a proprietary ingredient of luminescent compounds extracted from botanicals - that helps to stimulate collagen production, and enhances cellular repair.
“Everything is done by hand,
from formulation to bottling,” said Whitworth's husband Greg Goodwin, who helps with Le Sanctuaire’s business operations while maintaining a technology and management consulting practice. Whitworth manufacturers her products at a laboratory located at a friend's organic farm in Middletown, California, where batches of L'huile de Grace are handmade, using coldpressed oils to maintain their potent, energetic and nourishing properties. At her combination live-work loft, office space and spa, hidden away on 22nd Street, Whitworth and a small staff hand-pour the precious, $62 an ounce product for shipment around the world.
Whitworth's creations are made
Hula classes for children June 6-August 29, 2010. Space is limited!
Ages 5-7: 10-10:50am
Ages 8-12: 11-11:50am
Cost: $150 for the 12-week session
Location: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House at 953 De Haro Street, San Francisco
Contact: Aunty Bobbie Mendes at auntybobbie@naleihulu.org
More info: www.naleihulu.org or mail@naleihulu.org
with ingredients sustainably grown by eco-conscious farmers and harvesters in far flung and exotic places, such as Corsica, Guatemala and Madagascar, as well as Oregon and Sonoma. Whitworth relies on three online retailers, a brick and mortar store in the City - Clary Sage Organics on Fillmore Streetand additional distribution outlets worldwide to sell her product. L'huile de Grace is a hot commodity.“December was the busiest month in our history,” Whitworth explained.
Whitworth doesn't advertise her spa's address, which she's operated since 1994, moving from another San Francisco neighborhood to her current location on the border of Potrero Hill and Dogpatch in 1999. According to Whitworth, the hidden nature of Le Sanctuaire creates a special feeling among her clients. Things are changing, however, with the influx of families, who are drawn to the community's new residential developments. Mostly through word-of-mouth, more locals are finding Le Sanctuaire, including moms bringing their 10-year-old daughters, with husbands in tow. While 95 percent of her customers are female, Whitworth says her products and services are designed for both men and women, with increasing numbers of men attracted to the benefits of organic, natural skin care. “I never did anything to take care of my skin until I met Rebecca. Having a Le Sanctuaire facial is a transcendent experience, it really is,” Goodwin said.
In an elegantly appointed environment, filled with soothing
music, soft lighting and enchanting aromas, Whitworth pampers clients with services ranging from facials to peels, replete with aromatherapy and acupressure neck, shoulder and foot massages on a massage bed embedded with magnets. The 90-minute sessions are $140.
Originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Whitworth arrived in San Francisco in the 1980s, right after the “oil crisis,” she recalled. She spent her 20s “getting an education, going to night school,” working day jobs in reinsurance and steamship industries, studying business at Golden Gate University and ultimately earning her aesthetician's license. “I wanted to be in San Francisco, because people said you could buy flowers on every corner!... It's funny, because I'm sort of in the flower business myself,” Whitworth said with a smile. She developed an interest in acne, which led to studies in aromatherapy, nutrition, alternative healing modalities, the launch of a skin care practice and her own product lines. The aesthetician credits her inspiration to create L’huile de Grace to three things: a friend who “talks to plants,” a dream she had, and a trip to Paris, accompanied by her beloved gray poodle, Nadine, who is quietly present at Le Sanctuaire.
If enthusiastic reviews on Yelp, winning the San Francisco Chronicle Best of the Bay “Best Facial” award in 2009, and an outpouring of media attention are any indication, Le Sanctuaire has arrived, blossoming from a neighborhood secret to a global phenomenon.
For more information: 401.6930; www.lesanctuaire.com.
Have the View delivered to your home for just $36 a year. Call us at 626.8723 for a subscription or mail your check, with complete address information to: 2325 Third Street, Suite 344 San Francisco 94107
Nigel a few questions about bartending on the Hill.
GR: How long have you been a bartender?
Nigel: You writing my biography?
GR: Um, yeah. Sort of.
N: Oh, okay then. It feels like I’ve been a bartender my whole life. Actually, though, it’ll be ten years on the 4th of July, 2010.
GR: Anything planned for this momentous occasion?
N: Yeah, I think we’ll have a BBQ at Blooms. Everyone’s invited.
GR: What’s the deal with your accent?
N: I’m from the deep South, a place called Australia. I also spent some of my early years in Buenos Aires and Montevideo, then back to Australia. Yes, I’m a man of the world.
GR: What did you study in school?
all walks of life and all sorts of backgrounds, including lawyers, plumbers, doctors, teachers, writers, skaters, waiters, French, German, Belgian, Californian, Mexican, Mississippian, cops, criminals, handsome, pretty, gay, straight, Dodger fans, Giant fans, 49er fans – were regulars there also. Plus, my good friend Sheila was working at Blooms at the time and put in a good word with the owner. That’s how I decided, nay, how I evolved, into a becom-
ing a bartender.
GR: What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen while working the bar?
N: Having a gun to my back was kind of crazy.
GR: If you could have your dream job anywhere else where would it be?
N: Bartender in heaven would be good. Roving reporter for the Potrero View comes in a close second.
Greg Roensch is a freelance writer and Potrero Hill resident.
Nigel, who serves drinks to Potrero Hill residents and visitors to Blooms Saloon, won’t say why he only goes by one name, but a little mystery is a good thing in a bartender. Nigel is everything you want in a neighborhood counterman. He blends stiff concoctions with sparse yet witty and intelligent conversation; sometimes in French, sometimes in Italian, but mostly in his native Australian-tinged English. I asked
N: After high school I went into a college for dramatic arts. That’s where I realized that acting was not my calling.
GR: How did you get into bartending?
N: I’ve had many jobs and a few different careers. I’ve been hired and fired, promoted and demoted, wealthy and poor. No matter what, I’ve always been welcome at the neighborhood bar.
At some point I became a regular at Blooms and the [Connecticut] Yankee because my friends – people from
Roughly 50 people attended an open space workshop for the proposed redevelopment of Potrero Terrace and Annex last month. Rebuild Potrero project director Charmaine Curtis, and project architect Chris Sensenig, facilitated the gathering. Upcoming Rebuild Potrero meetings include a community-building group, 6 p.m., May 6, at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House; and on open space, 6 p.m. June 9, also at the Nabe.
By Sarah K. Mcdonald
Sherri Franklin is a rescuer at heart. The Potrero Hill resident founded Muttville, an organization that fosters and finds permanent homes for dogs too old to be considered adoptable by many shelters. Muttville’s dogs are more than seven years old, and considered dog- and people-friendly. Many come from shelters that would otherwise euthanize them; others come from owners who have gotten sick or passed away.
Since its inception in 2007, Muttville has rescued more than 600 dogs from throughout California. Franklin and her team of 150 volunteers and 27 foster homes care for the animals and assess their placement needs. Grooming and veterinary care are especially important, Franklin said, particularly for dogs that have been abused or neglected. She said Muttville sometimes gets dogs whose hair is so matted they can’t see or walk. After proper grooming, she said, “it’s like a different dog.”
Franklin began her animal rescue career as a dog behavior volunteer at the SPCA in 1994. She soon began fostering, taking special interest in older dogs. “It feels really great to rescue an animal and give them love in the second half of their lives,” she said.
Franklin served on the San Francisco Commission of Animal Control and Welfare, where she was elected vice chairman in 2001. As a member, she worked on the “backyard dog ordinance,” which mandated minimum requirements for the care of outdoor dogs. In 2004, Franklin received the Guardian Award from In Defense of Animals. “In my dreams I would start an organization that would deal with the population of senior dogs,” she said.
Today, Franklin’s dream is a reality. She said she grew Muttville out of “blood, sweat and tears,” in addition to contacts through her previous volunteer work and day job as a hairdresser. She partners with several Bay Area animal organizations, who provide her with discounts on food, medication, and veterinary and grooming services. Among them is Pawtrero Hill Bathhouse and Feed, which threw a Halloween fundraiser
for Muttville last October. “We’re both on the Hill so we support each other,” Franklin said.
Franklin’s Kansas Street home has a revolving door for dogs she fosters through Muttville. Among them are Lucy and Ethel, nine-year-old chihuahua-dachshund mix sisters Franklin picked up from a shelter in San Jose. Franklin was immediately impressed with how friendly the dogs were, commenting that they were always wagging their tales. “I can’t see these happy guys walking back to get euthanized,” she said.
Franklin also tells the story of Charlie, a former Muttville dog. Charlie was rescued from a home near Tracy, where he’d been chained, abused and neglected in a yard. “He was a wreck, emotionally and physically,” said Franklin. “He didn’t want to come in the house because he’d never been in a house. He didn’t want to get into a bed because he’d never seen a bed. He didn’t know how to play.”
Charlie was befriended by a volunteer named Matt, at the time a Potrero Hill resident. Matt walked Charlie daily, slowly gaining his trust. He eventually adopted Charlie, and brought him with him when he moved to Lake Tahoe. Franklin still gets email from Matt, with pictures of Charlie playing in the lake. “He was supposed to be euthanized,” she said, “and instead he has this great life.”
Franklin works as a hairdresser at Shapes Studios downtown. She cares for her foster dogs before and after work, and performs Muttville’s administrative duties between clients. “It’s taken over my life,” she said. “I am Muttville. I’m not anything else anymore.”
Muttville can be found online at www.muttville.org.
For workers and visitors to the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House (Nabe), Jack Jacqua is the fellow who drops by almost daily while making his rounds, with stops at juvenile hall, prisons and courtrooms. He’s regarded with affection at the Nabe – nicknamed “Father Christmas” – mixed with no small amount of respect. Jacqua co-founded the Omega Boys Club in San Francisco more than two decades ago to detour young people from a dead end life path.
While Jacqua has been demonstrably down with the cause of helping youth reach their best potential, throughout his long career as a community organizer he’s shied away from the organizing part. “I’m not a team player,” said Jacqua, who also isn’t eager to take credit for the work he’s done, preferring to share a broad perspective on the issues he’s addressed for most of his working life. According to Jacqua, there’s a distinction between advocates on the streets – “we’re out there doing the work” – and the “experts” who regard problems from loftier positions. He’s particularly impatient with government officials and those he calls “poverty pimps” who stigmatize young people as “at risk” youth needing “special education.”
“Nothing’s wrong with these kids if they are given some inspiration and the right information,” he said. “It [the advice to choose college over crack] may be the right message, but they don’t listen to the messenger…the kids will pay attention. But you have to be real.” The people who listen, and talk, to Jacqua are those he refers to as the “disoriented, disenchanted, disillusioned.” Those conversations occur in places like San Francisco’s juvenile hall and the county jail. He sometimes introduces the young people with whom he works to “lifers” at San Quentin.
Jacqua arrived in San Francisco in the 1960s with a degree in business administration from the University of California, Los Angeles. He was drawn into community work, starting with labor groups before shifting his focus to kids who needed direction. “It’s my spiritual work, although I’m not religious.” In the 1980s, while handling several responsibilities – teacher, coach, counselor –at Potrero Hill Middle School, Jacqua became increasingly concerned about the worsening crisis in the City’s poorest neighborhoods. “That was the ‘A-C’ time: after crack,” he said
“Before crack cocaine became the big problem – that was ‘B-C’ –mothers were around for their kids. No dads. We all know about that. But we had the mothers. Then ’A-C’, and we lost the mothers.” According to Jacqua, whatever influence was exerted over their families by mothers when they were sober, “was pretty much non-existent when mothers were strung out on drugs.” One consequence was increased warring between factions of young people
in poor, mostly African-American San Francisco neighborhoods. “The government couldn’t do much of anything to deal with the violence. It was a terrible time in the City.”
Feeling the need to do something, in 1987 Jacqua reached out to 30 young men, ages 13 to 18, inviting them to “drop in” to talk over the issues that troubled them.
“That first time we told everyone they could come back next week if they wanted to. The majority did come back. From there it grew into an extended family.” The organization that emerged from these efforts was modeled after Vallejo’s Omega Boys Club, founded years before by Philmore Graham, who’d been a member of Omega Psi-Phi, the first African-American fraternity. A fraternity brother, Joe Marshall, helped start the San Francisco Omega Boys Club, taking on management responsibilities.
Jacqua served as the “street soldier,” holding twice-weekly meetings and weekend events in various spaces around the City. “I believe in tough love. We love you, we try to help. But if you do the crime, you do the time,” said Jacqua. The group ultimately found a home at the Nabe.
From his seat in a cramped borrowed Nabe office, Jacqua made a sweeping gesture around the room to emphasize his words: “The Neighborhood House is a very spiritual place. Even at the height of the war among the gangs, during the worst of it, we were in the middle of it here, but this was neutral territory. It was a ‘safe house.’” Initially digging into his own pocket to keep the effort going, and taking inspiration and guidance from the Nabe’s then executive director, Enola Maxwell, Jacqua encouraged kids to show up, to join in the conversations, to watch films – everything from a Walter Cronkite-narrated television essay on Dr. Martin Luther King to videos of wrestling matches – and listen to motivational speakers, including then-mayor Art Agnos and
State Assemblyman [later Mayor] Willie Brown. A feature story about the club appeared on Channel 7 in 1988. Reporter Steve Davis suggested that viewers make donations to help keep the organization alive, prompting thousands of dollars in contributions. The publicity wasn’t initiated by the club – garnering media attention isn’t on Jacqua’s “to do” list – but by a serendipitous connection made by then San Francisco Supervisor Doris Ward with a producer at the station. According to Jacqua, none of the steps that led to the club’s development were planned. “People who start something, they think you have to have it all planned,” he said. Jacqua described his organizing process as “go with the flow.”
The Omega Boys Club moved to Dogpatch in 1994, where it continues its mission to keep young people
“alive and free.” Upwards of 182 club members have graduated from college. Marshall received a “Use Your Life” award from Oprah Winfrey in 2001. Meanwhile, Jacqua has focused on the work that needs to be done. “It’s not about solving the problem. You can’t solve the whole problem.” When asked if it bothered him when someone he tried to help gets killed or incarcerated, Jacqua responded, “They do what they do. I don’t take it personal [sic]. I’d go crazy if I took it personal. And I just do what I do. It’s one life at a time. One life at a time.”
cover our precious open space with synthetic turf?” Rec and Park did not respond to the View’s inquiries about whether the possibility of asphalt conversion had been fully explored.
Hannan pointed out that “every regulation soccer field” that’s covered with synthetic turf “saves 1.5 million gallons of water per year.” Kushner countered that the City exhibits “inconsistency over the water issue. San Francisco uses a lot of water to keep lush lawns—for example, in Civic Center—and for the non-native plantings along Van Ness Avenue.” Why, she asked, doesn’t the City use water to properly irrigate and maintain natural grass playing fields and emphasize native, low-water plants elsewhere? A properly cared-for field would provide a much safer playing surface than an uneven, poorly maintained grass field, she added.
Last month San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission unanimously approved plans to proceed with the installation of artificial turf and lighting at the Beach Chalet fields. The changes are expected to cost $12.5 million. “If that money were spent on planting and maintaining natural grass, it would go a long way,” said Mark Welther, executive director of the Golden Gate Audubon Society, which opposes installation of synthetic turf at the Beach Chalet fields. “Under CEQA [California Environmental Quality Act],” said Welther, “whenever a project will
have significant environmental impacts, an EIR [Environmental Impact Report] is required. But in the case of the Beach Chalet project, the SF Planning Department has granted an exemption to the EIR process. As it stands now, the plan includes removing about 60 trees, adding 60-foottall stadium lights, and replacing the grass with synthetic turf.” According to the City Fields Foundation’s web site, the changes will result in nearly 9,600 hours of additional use every year. “CEQA guidelines don’t apply when a project involves negligible or no expansion of use. But I don’t see how you can call 9,600 hours of additional use negligible.”
“We’re in favor of soccer,” said Welther. “And we’re realistic about the use of artificial turf. But it definitely seems that there are better and worse places to install it. We want a complete environmental review of the potential impacts of this project as part of a fair, open, legal, and transparent process. That way, the public will have access to full information so they can make an informed decision about whether or not they’d like to see this go forward.” An EIR would address a number of questions, including whether drought-tolerant or lowwater grasses could be used instead of synthetic turf; how synthetic material will impact the migratory pattern of birds on the Pacific Flyway; and potential aesthetic implications.
A previous concern of synthetic turf opponents – that pigment used to color the turf contained unsafe levels of lead – seems to have been ad-
dressed, thanks to the efforts of the Center for Environmental Health (CEH). CEH tests products for toxic chemicals and heavy metals, and promotes products and practices that are safe for public health and the environment. The Oaklandbased nonprofit bases much of its work on Proposition 65—the California State Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act—which was passed by voters in 1986.“Prop 65 allows what is called private enforcement of the law, which means that anyone can take legal action to enforce it,” explained Caroline Cox, CEH’s research director. When testing revealed potentially unsafe levels of lead in synthetic turf, CEH issued letters to synthetic turf manufacturers operating in California. “Our notices said, ‘We think you’re in violation of Prop 65. We’ll sue you in 60 days [for exposing California residents to lead],’” said Cox.“When we started litigation in summer 2008, most of the companies reformulated their turf process to remove the lead. At this point in 2010, most of the concern about lead in turf products has to do with synthetic turf that was installed in the past. Within a few weeks after initiating our legal action, we had meetings with artificial turf com-
panies that told us the lead was gone from their products; this reformulation wasn’t difficult for them, which raises a question: Why hadn’t it been done earlier?”
“Our next step is to appeal the Planning Department’s categorical exemption of the EIR in the Beach Chalet project to the Board of Supervisors,” said Kathy Howard, a steering committee member of both the Golden Gate Park Preservation Alliance and SF Ocean Edge, an organization of San Francisco environmental, preservation, and neighborhood groups. “We don’t want to see a unique multi-use area with natural beauty and views become a single-use area,” she added.
Check SF Ocean Edge’s web site to learn about their appeal of the Planning Department’s categorical exemption: sfoceanedge.org. CEH offers free dropin lead testing. If you have concerns about the lead levels of artificial turf at your home, playground, or school, Cox recommends bringing in six loose blades of turf for testing, without cutting or tearing the turf. Drop-in testing is available Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from noon to six at CEH, 2201 Broadway, Suite 302, Oakland. To learn more about Proposition 65: http://oehha.ca.gov/prop65.html. For information about CEQA: http://ceres. ca.gov/ceqa/more/faq.html#who.
course could be redesigned so that it would take into consideration the park’s current use patterns and the neighborhood’s desires. Additional traffic would make parts of the park safer. An 18-hole course may not be feasible, but the Golden Gate Park course started with a limited number of holes. Or the commission could find another site. Why not incorporate this sport into the new greenway or Treasure Island? Areas better suited to organized recreation and where the course wouldn’t be disturbing an already authorized recreational area?
I go to McLaren, not just because it’s off leash area. I go for the solitude. I go to be in awe of nature. I’m often stopped in my tracks at the park’s beauty, the wildflowers, the magnificent trees, and the quietude after being in the City all day. Putting up a bunch of concrete slabs with metal baskets among untamed nature seems like a travesty.
If you want to learn more or get involved go to savemclarenpark. org.
Nancy Cech Rhode Island StreetDear Editor,
I’m very happy to announce that Starr King Openspace has met our matching grants! In December the Potrero Boosters challenged us with a matching grant to raise $3,000 by the end of March 2010. The View added an additional $500 challenge in March. Thanks to the overwhelming support of neighbors and local businesses, we raised $4,308.48 during that time, plus an additional $1,100 in early April.
The biggest success of this fund drive was that so many different neighbors donated. Whether the donation was for $15 or $1,000, we were delighted every time we received a new envelope in the mail. Thanks to all of the individuals who contributed. Thank you to local businesses the View, Goat Hill Pizza, and M&M Grocery for creatively and generously encouraging community support. And, especially, thanks to the Potrero Boosters for their generosity, for spearheading this drive, and for understanding that Starr King Openspace needs to be cared for by us all.
Caroline Bird President, Starr King Openspace Board of DirectorsUnder Construction Notice something different? We’ll be making some changes to the View’s design over the next few months. Let us know what you think.
MAXWELL from front page
borhood House executive director
Enola Maxwell. Within the district she’s suffered great loss: Maxwell blames local power plants for the Hodgkin’s lymphoma that killed her son, Rama, at age 30. And she’s experienced great triumphs: the Hunters Point Power Plant closed in 2006; the Potrero Power Plant may shut down by the end of this year. “I love these communities,” Maxwell said. “We might not all get along all the time, but when something really important comes up, for the most part, everyone here thinks of the greater good. Because of that, I really haven’t experienced that many disappointments. So much more has happened than I ever believed could. It’s been a wonderful experience.”
View: How thick was your skin when you started in this office, and how many layers have been added since?
Maxwell: Well, I’ve never felt alone or by myself, and that’s been a big thing for me. When I came into office, I realized there was going to be a lot of thought about politics. I was old enough to know that everybody is not always going to be happy with you. But, you have to have a direction, someplace that you’re going, and most importantly, you have to have people with you. I believe in consensus leadership, collective leadership, in people making decisions together. So, when I ran, it was always “We,” and “Us.” “We can make a difference.” So, therefore, I didn’t come into this by myself; I came here with people and we made the decisions. People have come after me at recall. But, when that happens, there have been people out in the parking lot arguing and fussing with them on my behalf. People saying, “Hey, wait a minute. We’ve done this together.” So, when they attack me, they’re also attacking them and what they’ve done. So, I’ve never really felt alone and by myself in all of this…because it’s not about me. I try to keep it on issues and not take this job personally. People don’t know me and I don’t know them. It’s not personal for me. And, I had a mother who was smart and terrific. And she told me that you don’t let just anybody make you angry, because you don’t know these people and they can control you that way.
View: You mentioned your mother, Enola Maxwell, who was a very prominent community figure. What was it like growing up with someone who was so active? How did that shape you?
Maxwell: I really didn’t know until now what it was like and what she gave me so much of. Because, you know, at the time I was growing up and it was more about, “Why aren’t you home?” and, “No, I do not want to go with you to this meeting.” But, as I got older, I started understanding that she was making changes. She was being a participant in her life and in democracy. So that really helped me tremendously and allowed me to never feel victimized by anything . When my son (Rama) contracted cancer, I started thinking, “You messed
with the wrong mother’s son.” And, I got really active and started working on power plants and sewage plants and decided I was not going to let this happen to anybody else’s child. So my mother really empowered me to realize that I can change my circumstances. And, you know, she was just this little lady. I mean my mother was 90 pounds wet. But, she was really, really something. Just over the weekend I had an opportunity to go to the opening of the Potrero Library and there was a picture of her in the hallway, and then the kids from Enola D. Maxwell International Studies Academy sang, and I just thought, “Wow, Mom, you were really something.” I am in this position because of my mother. People did not know me in Potrero Hill. They knew her. They listened to me because of her. So, really, she gave me the opportunity to be in this position. And, then, there were other things. She had this quietness of the spirit and this willingness to try to think things out to a logical conclusion…realizing that some things are emotional, but thinking about them in a logical manner. I’d like to think she passed some of those traits down, as well.
View: Was losing your son to cancer a wake-up call for you in terms of environmental issues and the way what’s around us can affect our lives?
Maxwell: He had Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which is cancer of the lymph glands. But, I always felt it was the power plant, the sewage plant, all those things. Lymph glands filter. They clean. And so I thought, whatever this is, it got into him and his body could not filter, couldn’t clean. So I started thinking about the environment and realized I had to do more. And, so, if any one thing has been my mission, it’s been cleaning up our environment, passing legislation on dust control and fighting to get the Bayview power plant and the Potrero power plant closed and those types of things.
View: Given hindsight, anything you’ve voted for in the past decade that you wish you could take back?
Maxwell: Yes. You know that big monstrosity in front of the Bay Bridge? That big building, big cylinder. I think about that. I do. I think we did the best with the information we had, but that big thing…I look at that and think, “Did we do that?” That bothers me. You can almost spit on it from your car and they can almost spit on you if the window is open. It’s terrible.
View: As you mentioned, you have been the subject of, and survived, recall campaigns from parts of your constituency. Do you have a sense as to what motivated those efforts?
Maxwell: Well, it was over an issue: the [Hunter’s Point Naval] Shipyard. And they didn’t want any clean up. It was, “No. Just, no.” And, so, I talked with them many times in my office, spent hours and hours in my office, in their office, everywhere. And so it wasn’t about talking. It’s not about facts with them. It’s very emotional with them. So, there’s nothing that you can really work on. If I’m going to stop something, I’ve got to be able to tell people why. I have to be able
to do that. And they never gave me enough information, so I could not support them. But, they were helpful in a lot of ways, because we were able to strengthen up a lot of things and clear up ambiguity in things, so that people could understand exactly what was going on. In that way, they were helpful. It’s important to have those voices. They help you keep things in check.
View: What have been your proudest accomplishments from your decade-plus as a Supervisor?
Maxwell: The Bayview power plant is gone. There’s a date for closure of the Potrero power plant. The Eastern Neighborhoods Rezoning. The shipyard is getting cleaned up more so than I ever thought. And, the redevelopment plan for the Bayview.
View: In your mind, what remains to be done?
Maxwell: Making sure that San Francisco understands that diversity cannot just be in food. It has to be in everything that we do. It has to be in our labor base…in our job market, from beginning to end. We have to have a road map for people to become middle class. We have to educate everybody…including the hardest of those. We have to educate Latino and African-American children or their parents will not stay here. And, we have to understand that diversity is not just an economic tool or something that we say. It’s something that we live, everyday. Nob Hill, Potrero Hill and Bayview Hill should have something in common and that’s beautiful and great neighborhoods and people.
View: How do you feel about the state of the redevelopment process at the shipyard?
Maxwell: It’s coming along. There are glitches in everything. It’s a huge project…over 500 acres. Huge. We could do better at certain things, of course. We could have stronger project management on our side. I’d like to see the City get a greater rate of return for all the money we’ve put in.
View: Outside the involvement in shaping a City and a district, what are the advantages of being Supervisor?
Maxwell: People. Going somewhere, not knowing anybody, and having people willing and wanting to talk to you.
View: When you’re out in the district and you get hungry, what are your favorite places to stop in for a quick bite?
Maxwell: Well, I’m a vegetarian and I’m very conscious of my eating, so I usually don’t eat out a lot. But, when I do decide to meet people, I like….oh, I can’t remember the name. This sweet little café on 23rd, it’s on the left-hand side, it’s owned by some women and I can’t think of the name. But, I like that place. And, in the Portola, I like Breakfast at Tiffany’s. And, in the Bayview…oh, I don’t always remember these names…but it’s right across the street from the little mall and they have coffee and a light lunch.
View: What about at the end of the day? Is there a favorite place you like to go to relax with a glass of wine?
Maxwell: I don’t drink and I like going home. But, sometimes on a Sunday, I like Kelly’s. I can watch the pelicans dive in and get fish. So, Kelly’s Mission Rock on Sunday afternoons.
View: How do you think the City, moving forward, should cope with its budget deficit?
Maxwell: My main concern right now is how we deal with revenues coming in. Sometimes we have more revenues than expected and there’s a policy that we’ll be able to consider soon that will say that if you have extra money coming in, a percentage of that would go into another kind of rainy day fund, to be used when times are tough. Right now we spend every dime coming into the City. That’s why we’re so volatile and we have this kind of dolphin syndrome, going up and down and up and down. So, if we had something that would kind of level us off…that’s what this fund would do because you could not spend everything you make. You’d have to save it. Right now, our rainy day fund is set up so that you use 49 percent and then the next time you have 12 percent and then 3 percent… so spending is all at the top. In this new kind of fund, it would be a little more evenly distributed. Right now, within a two-year period we’ve laid off over 600 people and are looking at reducing hours when people need it most. Other municipalities have found a way to get by without doing that. I think with this new type of policy, we can, too. View: There’s a long list of candidates to fill your seat, and we’ve read that you’re not yet supporting any particular one. What qualities would you like to see in the next Supervisor?
Maxwell: Somebody who really has a good, in-depth understanding of the
district they are serving. Not their little fiefdoms, but the entire district…a knowledge of the binding thread. We have a large Asian population, Latino population, African-American population, poor, well-to-do, working class…
I’m looking for someone who’ll find the common thread. Also, somebody who understands small business. If it is the cornerstone of San Francisco, how are we dealing with it? Someone who understands the 3rd Street corridor and the 20th Street corridor and the 18th Street corridor, and the San Bruno and VisValley and Bayshore corridors. Not just one or two of them…all of them. We’ve set some things up. Now, how are they going to continue with it and make it better? That’s the person I’m looking for.
View: As you mentioned, it is a diverse district, with the largest cultural groups being Asian- and African-American. In your mind, is it imperative that the next supervisor emerge from one of those groups?
Maxwell: Well, I think if we want diversity and voices being heard, it’s important that we have people from those different cultures and ethnicities and districts of our City. Because it brings a perspective. I bring a perspective that wouldn’t be if I wasn’t there. Just because I’m in the room, people don’t say certain things or they think differently about certain things. Just because I’m in the room and they have to deal with that. Because if not, they can push it off on “those” or “that” or “them.” So, yes, it’s extremely important. I mean, for me, as an African-American woman,
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1025 Rhode Island Street Listed: $879,000
I really have to check myself and say, “OK, what baggage am I bringing in here? How am I thinking about things? Am I bringing the baggage, or am I hearing it? And, how am I dealing with it? And, what can I say that will get people to think differently?” And, you have to understand…they didn’t go to Africa and get slaves and say, “Well, we’ll turn them loose after a while and let them do whatever they want to do.” No. We were supposed to be used up. Well, we changed that plan. So, as an African-American woman, I realize we can change the plan for women, for children, for poor people… we can change the plan. And that’s an important perspective to have. And the women’s perspective in San Francisco? It’s a voice you very seldom hear or you don’t hear loud enough. And so that’s important, too. We have to have that perspective and that balance on the board, so that people can use each other for reference.
View: Do you have any advice for voters as they sift through this long list of candidates vying to fill your seat?
Maxwell: I do. First of all, as we all do, let’s think about ourselves. Our needs. Our community. What kind of person would we want to sit across from? What kind of person would we want making decisions for our brothers, our sisters, our aunts and our uncles? What perspective do they bring and who are they connected to? Who are they going to listen to? And those folks that they listen to, how close are you to them and their values? We need to think about all of that. What they
say. What they’ve done. Who they are. Then, also, think about the balance of our city. What’s important for our city?
You know, Potrero, for me, has been such a gift. And I remember doing redistricting…Willie Brown and his folks were trying to change some things… and Potrero folks fought to stay connected to the Bayview. I’ve always appreciated that. And when it comes to the redevelopment of the housing projects – yeah, there have been a few folks who have been sort of nasty about it, but overall people have wanted the integration, and wanted it to be better. So, I’ve appreciated those folks for their perspective and thinking outside the box and thinking about the whole. When we were talking about the issues with the power plant…I never had to broker a deal with people in Potrero. Nobody said, “Well, let’s do Potrero power plant first, instead of Bayview.” It was never like that. They looked at the worst one, the oldest one, in the Bayview… and Potrero folks worked with me and with people in the Bayview to close that plant first. And that’s what I mean by thinking about what’s best for the balance of the City.
View: What’s next for you?
Maxwell: I’m excited about the possibilities. And, I’m not quite sure. I haven’t really pinpointed anything, but I’m exploring any number of things. I mean, who’s to say I would be here. So, I don’t know. But, I’m excited about it and hopefully it will be something about our natural resources and about people and about how we’re going to use those resources for now and for the future.
Susan is both your PotreroHill neighbor and Realtor®. With her keen business sense and warm approach to client service, she is at once upscale and down to Earth. Kind of like PotreroHill.
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Home
And with nearly 30 years of San Francisco real estate expertise in the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods, and of course her own home base of Potrero Hill, it’s no wonder she’s the first person so many San Franciscans turn to for guidance when they decide to buy or sell property.
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Happy Birthday to Adam, who is turning seven on May 2. His sister Olivia, who is celebrating her eight-and-a-half birthday, will have her work on display at De Young’s “Young at Art” exhibition this month.
Happy fourth Birthday, Daniel!! Lots of love, Mom (Jennifer) and Dad (Piers)
Cashin Fischer took her first steps this month and is now officially a toddler!
Third grade Leonard Flynn student and Carolina Street resident Jasper Liles will be performing as the Cheshire Cat in a production of Alice in Wonderland on Friday, May 28, produced by Linda’s Musical Theater Group. This will be the third play that Jasper has performed in, and his first feature role and solo song and dance performance. Break a leg, Jasper! The View is delighted to publish local kids’ birthdays, accomplishments, and milestones. If you’d like to submit an image and/or caption, please email it to graphics@potreroview.net by the 18th of the prior month. High resolution photos, please!
Lovely home with original detail and partial views of Downtown and the Bay!
2 bedrooms plus sunroom, 1 full bath, large eat-in kitchen. Bonus rooms down plus garage and nice yard. Ne w paint, hardwood floors.
Great opportunity!
Please call Melinda for details and showings.
Deborah Slater Dance Theatre’s world premiere performance incorporates dance, text, visual design, original score and video inspired by the beauty and fragility of the natural world and W.S. Merwin’s poetry. Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 5 p.m. Tickets: $25 general admission; $20 student, seniors and group discounts; advanced purchase at www.brownpapertickets. com. Z Space at Theatre Artaud, 450 Florida Street. Information: www. deborahslater.org.
Through May 14
Art: Oktogon at Ping Pong Gallery
Ping Pong Gallery presents Gwenael Rattke’s second solo exhibition, a series of paper-based collages and drawings that focus on the artist’s longing for a collective spirit and community. Open Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6 to 9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by appointment. 1240 22nd Street. Information: www.pingponggallery.com.
May 6
Benefit: Alvarado Night at Goat Hill Pizza
Goat Hill Pizza will donate 20 percent of your check to the Alvarado Elementary School Parent-Teacher Association; just be sure to mention to your server that you’re with Alvarado. Take out included. 5 to 10 p.m. 300 Connecticut at 18th.
Community: Free outdoor Screening of uP
UCSF Mission Bay Campus presents UP, from the Academy Award winning director Pete Docter. Find your seat on the grasss and grab the free popcorn, while it lasts. Screening begins at 7:45 p.m. UCSF Mission Bay Campus, Koret Quad, between 4th Street and Campus Way.
May 7
Art: Los Angeles LoterÍa: An Exploration of Identity San Francisco Center for the Book’s exhibit features letter pressed, fine art edition Lotería cards produced by Gary Ocon and Rick von Diehl. In the
spirit of the traditional Lotería game, several artists were asked to identify their experiences in Los Angeles within the design frame and layout created for them. Free. 6 to 8 p.m. 300 De Haro Street. www.sfcb.org.
Music: Live Jazz at Farley’s Catch jazz originals, standards and improvisation played by Bay Area legends Terry Haggerty, Randy Craig, Steven Strauss and Peter Tucker. 8 p.m. Farley, 1315 18th Street.
May 8
outdoors: Starr King openspace
(SKOS) Spring Wildflower Walk Number Three
The annual blooming of the wildflowers in Starr King Openspace continues, with more than one hundred dif-
Studio program at the Bayview YMCA and Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy. Families are invited to join in an art workshop led by After School Studio Teaching Artist, Marcela Florez. Free. 1 to 3 p.m. The Imagine Bus Project, 342 9th Street, Suite 201. Information: www.imaginebusproject.org; 252.9125.
May 9
Mother’s Day: Free Coffee!
Honor thy mother and bring her to Farley’s for a free coffee drink of her choice. 1315 18th Street.
May 14 & 15
Art: San Francisco Dump Artists in Residence Program Exhibition
Ben Burke and Josh Short exhibit the artwork they created while spending
May 2010
Featuring Mary Norris telling Oliver Hyde’s Dishcloth Concert by Richard Kennedy, about a fiddler who went into seclusion after his wife’s death but agreed to play at a wedding only to find sacks of grain around to listen. Bring your stories, poems, songs and music to share. 7 p.m. Farley’s, 1315 18th Street. Information: contact Susan Ford, 474.5580, suford@ earthlink.net.
May 22
Benefit: Hearth Homes’ Stand up for the Future Hearth Homes is a San Francisco nonprofit that advocates for inclusive, intergenerational, universally-designed and green affordable housing. Help the organization raise money to continue their mission by attending their comedy event, featuring top Bay Area comedy talent, including a VIP Meet the Comics reception and door prizes. 6 to 10 p.m. Tickets: $15 for students and seniors; $25 advanced purchase; $35 general admission; $100 VIP with comics reception. Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro Street. Information: www.hearthhomes.org.
May 23
Community: Hidden Gem’s Garden Tour
ferent kinds of plants growing in the area. Join SKOS volunteers for their third and final wildflower walk of the 2010 season. Free. 11 a.m. Meet on Carolina Street at Coral Road, across from Starr King Elementary School. Information: starrkingboard@gmail. com; 6336-SKO (756).
Family: Exhibition and Family Art Workshop
An exhibition of artwork by roughly 50 students who participated in The Imagine Bus Project’s After School
the last four months at Recology’s Tunnel Avenue facility scavenging materials from the dump. A retrospective exhibition celebrating the life of artist and former Artist in Residence Program staff member Henri Marie-Rose (1922-2010) will be held concurrently. May 14 from 5 to 9 p.m.; May 15 from 1 to 5 p.m. 503 Tunnel Ave. Information: dmunk@recology. com; 330.1415.
May 18
Community: Storytelling at Farley’s
Here’s another change to support the new Potrero Hill Branch Library. Tour 10 private gardens and four public spaces, with docents and master gardeners on hand to answer your questions. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets: $25 for one person; $40 two persons. Tickets can be purchased at Christopher’s Books, 1400 18th Street and All States Best Foods, 1607 20th Street. Information: contact Mary Abler 626.7512 x107; mary.abler@ friendsssfpl.org.
May 25
Community: Potrero Boosters Annual Installation Dinner
Join your neighbors as they usher in new and returning leadership to the Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association. Seats are limited; buy your tickets early. Free childcare from 5:30 to 9:15 p.m. 5:30 to 9 p.m. Tickets: $40. Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro Street. Send a check to Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association, 1459 18th Street, PMB 133 San Francisco, CA 94107.
May 29
Music: Rozzi Crane and Luke Walton Farley’s presents a night of nouveau R&B and pop music talent. Described as a “Christina Aguilera-inspired siren”by the Bay Guardian, Rozzi Crane is a San Francisco native breaking into the R&B scene. Joining her is Luke Walton, a singer/songwriter studying Pop Music performance at the University of Southern California. 8 p.m. Farley’s, 1315 18th Street.
Last month, Bayview-based Old Skool Café (OSC), which was profiled in the View’s March, 2010 issue, held a successful fundraiser at Club Cocomo on Indiana Street. The event was the third annual gala for the violence prevention project, which provides mentoring, training and jobs to “at-risk” youth between the ages of 16 and 22.
Young people from the program served a delicious meal prepared under the supervision of Eddie Blyden, Executive Chef of Hotel Durant in Berkeley.
In keeping with the evening’s 1940s theme, stylish OSC waiters in red fedoras, black suspenders black bow ties, and red shirts, served patrons sweet potato soup with walnut and blue cheese, risotto, assorted vegetables, beef stew with smoky peanut sauce and a mind-blowing chocolate tart dessert. Female servers, also dressed in red and black, sported various approximations of 1940s hairstyles.
After a pre-dinner performance by the Old Skool Café house band, which played mid-20th century jazz numbers, OSC director Teresa Goines led the audience in singing Happy Birthday to Desiree Moldonado, a member of what
Goines called “the Old Skool family” who was turning 17. Master of ceremonies Dwayne Jones and Kendrick Miller then took the stage and introduced three celebrity judges: KMEL DJ Chuy Gomez, NBA great Nate Thurmond and veteran broadcaster Barbara Rogers. The judges gave supportive comments in response to performances by six young people. That positive feedback never felt forced, as the acts’ uniformly excellent quality wooed the crowd.
The crowd chose 19 year old Tammy Vaitai as grand prize winner over such impressive competition as singer and guitarist Kylie Rothfield, cellist Jerry Liu, and 11-year-old orator Lumumba Diop, who vividly recited passages from a Nelson Mandela speech.
Vaitai delivered an electrifying spoken word piece about a girl abused by her father. According to Vaitai, during the event she “was more focused on getting my work across to listeners” than in winning the $500 prize. She didn’t know what she’d spend the money on - she didn’t need anything – but stressed that Goines has been like a second mother to her.
If you’re interested in donating to OSC’s capital campaign to find a permanent home, contact contact@oldskoolcafe.org.
DENSE from page 2
climate-related, if they ever materialize – fees, gasoline tax revenues, and federal transportation funds to smart growth communities.
City building requires the full attention of local politicians, plutocrats, and citizens. San Francisco’s greatest assets – Golden Gate Park, Golden Gate Bridge, and the Golden Gate National Recreational Area, to name a few – were created by visionary leaders supported by the region’s still great wealth. For a half-century Southeast San Francisco has been written off as a place that’s best not to visit, where second rate public investment is delivered to last class citizens. That attitude needs to change, replaced by a new era that replicates the golden future the City’s founders – and thousands of immigrants drawn to our city on a hill – once envisioned.
Southeast San Francisco and other smart growth targets are being asked to double their population densities, mostly to help solve regional air quality, affordable housing, and other public problems. If we’re going to be the solution, then our problems need to be solved too. Higher density development combined with a rich diversity of public amenities could produce a rainforest of benefits, and create 22nd century communities for which we’ll be proud. Or, smart growth could end up being the dumbest thing policy makers have ever forced upon already hard-pressed neighborhoods. Our grandchildren will let us know.
ELECTIoNS from page 3
slaught of high-density development. Yet hardly any of our political leaders seem to be aware of this pressing need. We should be cautious about approving capital measures that eatup the political will and bonding capacity that, at some point soon, is needed to support proper investment in our backyards.
Measure D – Yes – Retirement Benefit Costs, is fiscally prudent. Measure F - No – Renters’ Financial Hardship Applications, while wellintended, adds another awkward burden on property owners without providing reciprocal opportunities for relief. There are fairer ways of helping individuals during hard times than shifting the burden to other citizens, who may similarly be facing difficulties.
While our new District 10 Supervisor will be elected in November, through ranked-choice voting, the View encourages its readers to start studying the candidates now. Who we choose for that position may be the single most important vote for our community that we’ll make for the next four years. Community and arts groups should band together, throw down some sawdust in a large space, provide peanuts and veggiedogs, and let the kids run around between the adults’ legs while the various candidates tell us who they are and what they stand for. Democracy is a serious kind of circus; at least once in a while everyone needs to get inside the big tent.
June 8th PRIMARY ELECTION ENDORSEMENTS Endorsements require 60% of votes cast.
California Lieutenant Governor: No position
California Attorney General: KAMALA HARRIS
California Insurance Commissioner: HECTOR DE LA TORRE
California Superintendent of Public Instruction: TOM TORLAKSON
Superior Court Judge, Seat 6: No position
Superior Court Judge, Seat 15: MICHAEL NAVA
San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, District 13
KEITH BARAKA • DAVID CAMPOS • DAVID CHIU • HOPE JOHNSON
RAFAEL MANDELMAN • AARON PESKIN • DEBRA WALKER
This June, San Francisco voters will nominate candidates for partisan offices in a statewide primary election, as well as vote on 5 state and 7 local ballot measures. san Francisco, your vote is your voice! register, get informed, and make your voice be heard! Visit sfelections.org for useful election resources, including:
Voter registration forms
Vote-by-mail applications
Candidate statements
Ballot measure summaries
which the country is well-known, but it also produces terrific medium- to full-bodied table wines, most retailing for $7 to $13. Their acidity and tannins pair beautifully with rich grilled meats, such as a well-marbled New York strip steak.
Vinho Verde is a popular wine from northern Portugal. The name describes its dry, crisp and aromatic style, not its color, which can be either red or white. Vinho Verde is fermented briefly, creating a spritziness. It has low alcohol content and a refreshing tartness that makes it a welcome companion on a sunny Potrero Hill porch. Served chilled, it’s an excellent accompaniment to grilled seafood, light vegetarian meals, Caesar salads, Asian dishes or fruit.
Despite its small size, Portugal ranks eighth in the world in vineyard acreage – the United States is sixth – seventh in per capita wine consumption, at 15 gallons a person annually – the U.S. is 60th, just behind New Guinea – and boasts more than 200 indigenous grape varieties. While Portuguese wine production has been modernizing, the country’s wines still have a distinctively old world flavor. The fruits tend to take a back seat, and the wines are generally dry, with a high concentration of tannins. But they can also be floral, fragrant and demonstrate a surprising sense of place. One really can taste the minerals in the soil nurturing these old vines. Best of all, Portuguese wines are a terrific value in today’s economy.
Red Vinho de Mesa is made with Touriga Nacional, one of Portugal’s most famous grapes. This red grape is essential to the fortified wines for
Portugal’s greatest wine is Port. This sweet fortified – meaning a distilled spirit has been added – wine can come with a steep price tag depending on its age, but a little goes a long way. Whether you’re enjoying white, tawny, ruby or vintage port, there’s no better pairing to summer’s favorite desserts. Ports go well with blue cheeses and cheddars, dark chocolate and fresh fruit tarts. My favorite is a Sandeman twenty-year tawny port which retails for about $45 and can last six to eight weeks once opened. It’s smooth caramel in a sleek black bottle. Hello crème brulee.
If you think ports are too sweet and taste like a headache coming on, try mixing white port with tonic on the rocks, garnish with lemon or mint sprigs, for a refreshing summer drink.
Portuguese wines provide classic old world tastes at an appealing price. These affordable wines offer the opportunity to experiment and expand the range of wines in your repertoire. Cheers to your perfect summer!
It appears that some utility is storing their extra distribution wires around Potrero Hill. What, they ran out of space in their cupboards? The cable will likely become a permanent part of Potrero Hill’s skyline, adding to the already crowded visual blight, and posing an earthquake hazard. Photograph by Lew Epstein.
Evermoreonerouslegislationaffectingrentalhousingis causingtheconversionofmanysmallincomeproperties toTICsandcondos.SMALLPROPERTYOWNERSOFS.F. INSTITUTEisworkingtobuildamoreviableeconomicand legalclimateforhousingprovidersofalltypes.Whether youownasmallrentalproperty,singlefamilyhome, condo,orTIC,orhopetodosointhefuture,yourrights maybeaffected.SPOSFIisalwaysthere,fightingforyou.
will pay a daily penalty until the problem is fixed. “It’s too early to tell when we are going to get the facility placed into commercial operations,” O’Reilly said. “But, we hope it will be this year.”
Following years of pressure from residents, community activists and City officials, Cal-ISO’s Chief Executive Officer Yakout Mansour sent a letter to Mayor Gavin Newsom in February detailing the organization’s decision to remove Potrero units 3 through 6 from Reliability Must Run status. The decision came after PG&E provided data demonstrating that the Trans Bay Cable could reliably replace energy production from those four units. “Once the Trans Bay Cable comes up and we’re convinced it’s reliable, we can remove Potrero 3, 4, 5 and 6 from must run status,” said Gregg Fishman, CalISO’s public information officer. “It remains up to the plant owner whether or not to keep it in operations, but it is assumed they will take it off line.”
Mirant has promised to do just that, and has been working with community leaders to determine the best use of the 27-acre power plant site in Dogpatch once the generating facility is closed. Under a shut-down agreement brokered by City Attorney and Dogpatch resident Dennis Herrara, Mirant will receive a $2 million credit to offset planning and development costs charged by the City in exchange for closing the plant.
Blanche Thebom, renowned operatic mezzo soprano and longtime Potrero Hill resident, died in her home March 24. She was 94.
Thebom was born on September 19, 1915 in Monessen, Pennsylvania, and raised in Canton, Ohio. An opera accompanist discovered Thebom singing in a shipboard lounge in 1938 while she was traveling with her parents to Sweden. She studied with famed mezzo soprano Edyth Walker, and sang her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in Philadelphia in 1944. She performed 356 times during her 22year career at the Met. Thebom also performed in Atlanta, and debuted at the San Francisco Opera in 1947 as Amneris in Verdi’s Aida. She was known for her warm voice, acting ability, and beauty.
Thebom sang the part of Carmen at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow
during a three-week tour of the Soviet Union in 1957. She was the first American to sing at the historic venue. “She said, ‘you don’t play Carmen unless you can act the part and look the part,’” said John Anderson, a Potrero Hill resident who knew Thebom.
After her retirement, Thebom briefly ran the Southern Regional Opera Company in Atlanta, before settling in San Francisco. According to Thebom’s longtime friend and neighbor Aida Anderson – no relation to John –Thebom chose the neighborhood deliberately. “With her prestige and her money, she could have lived anywhere,” said Anderson, “and she chose Potrero Hill.”
Thebom worked closely with the San Francisco Girls Chorus, starting the Opera Arts Training Program in 1989, an annual three-week workshop for girls aged 16 to 18. She mentored blossoming opera singers in the bel canto style she practiced,
an Italian-originated vocal approach that prevailed in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. Thebom taught students in her home on 19th Street. “You’d hear someone down the block singing their heart out,” said Ed Lortz, a former neighbor.
Thebom was a member of the Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association and active in efforts to underground electric utility infrastructure as a way to beautify the neighborhood. “She was interested in all the activities going on in the Hill,” said John Anderson.
“I was engrossed with her,” said Aida Anderson. “She was so well educated. She could talk about anything. She knew everything.” Anderson recalled a story Thebom often told of her performance in a production of Salome in Buenos Aires. Thebom performed the Dance of the Seven Veils, and came out appearing “stark nude” in the end. After the show, Thebom tried to leave her hotel, only to be stopped by a crowd of men clamoring outside. Alarmed, she asked the concierge if there was a revolution happening, but the concierge said the crowd was for her. “You are the revolution,” he said.
Thebom lived in a New Englandstyle house she had built on 19th Street. She has no surviving immediate family members. Aida Anderson said she and her husband Rollin were her closest friends in the City. “I consider myself very fortunate that we got to know her as well as we did,” she said. “You always knew you were in the presence of a true diva.”
Date & Time: Wednesday, May 12th
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro St.
Come help shape the future of your neighborhood!
Located on the south side of Potrero Hill, Starr King Openspace is the undeveloped land bordered by De Haro, 23rd, and Carolina streets, where the community can enjoy walking paths, rock outcrops, wild fl owers, and unobstructed views. This land is owned and maintained by the people of Potrero Hill. For nearly 25 years, Potrero residents have tended this unique hilltop land and made it an integral part of our community. We look forward to your continued input and support!
For more information about the upcoming meeting and Starr King Openspace, visit www.starrkingopenspace.org , e-mail starrkingboard@gmail.com, call (415) 6336-SKO (756), or join our online discussion group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/starrkingpark
POTRERO BRANCH 1616 20th STREET 355.2822
Tuesday 10 am - 8 pm, Wednesday 12 noon - 8 pm
Thursday 10 am - 6 pm, Friday 1 pm - 6 pm
Saturday and Sunday 1 pm - 6 pm
Monday CLOSED
Abby Bridge, Potrero Branch Librarian
Jasmin Springer, Mission Bay Librarian52ND ANNuAL ART E XHIBITIoN
Potrero Branch Library hosts the 52nd Annual Art Exhibition from May 1 to 30. Featuring artists who live, work, or study on Potrero Hill, this is the oldest annual art show in San Francisco, and owes its longevity to a group of artists who painted with, or under the tutelage of, the late Charles Farr. Opening reception May 1, 1 to 4 p.m.; Crosspulse Rhythm Duo will perform at 2 p.m.
MAY CHILDREN’S
Baby Rhyme and Play Time. Tuesdays, May 4, 11, 18 and 25, 1:15 p.m. For infants up to eighteen months old and their caregivers.
Family Storytime, featuring stories, songs and rhymes. For children from birth to five years old and their caregivers. Thursdays, May 6, 13, 20 and 27, 10:30 to 11 a.m. and 11:15 to 11:45 a.m.
All Potrero Branch Library programs are held in the second floor meeting room. Additional branch information can be found at http://potrerolibrarysfpl.blogspot.com.
Hidden Gems: Potrero Hill Garden Tour, May 23, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tour 14 private gardens. Tickets are available at Christopher’s Books and All States Best Foods for $25/each, $40/pair. Proceeds benefit the newly renovated Potrero Branch Library.
The Potrero Neighborhood Library Campaign Committee meets monthly to discuss fundraising strategies and progress. If you’d like to join the committee, contact Mary Abler at Friends of the Library: 626.7512, extension 107; mary.abler@friendssfpl.org.
The Mission Bay Library is located at 960 Fourth Street, at Berry, near AT&T Park. The library is open Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wednesdays noon to 8 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Sundays 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Public transport to the library includes the N, T, 10, 30, 46, and 47. There’s unmetered one-hour street parking on Channel Street, a block away. Additional branch information: 355.2838; hhtp://missionbaylibrary.blogspot.com.
MAY PRoGRAMS
Baby Rhyme Time and Play Time. Interactive music, rhymes, books, and more for infants to 24 months and their caregivers. Afterward, there will be toys and play time. Thursdays, May 6, 13, 20, 27, 10:15 a.m.
Toddler Tales and Play Time. Music, movement, rhymes, books and more for 18 to 36 months and their caregivers. Afterward, there will be toys and play time. Fridays, May 7, 14, 28, 4:30 p.m.
Preschool Storytime. Stories, songs, rhymes and more for children ages three to five. Thursdays, May 6, 13, 27, 4:30 p.m.
Sing-A-Long with Dan Goldensohn. A bouncy, interactive program with fun guitar tunes for children of all ages. Saturday, May 15, 2 p.m.
Legacy Film Series: New Perspectives on Aging. Join Sheila Malkind, series director, will screen and discuss several short films that showcase older adults telling their stories. May 11, 3 to 4 p.m.
The best way to reach Dogpatch, Mission Bay, Potrero Hill and SOMA residents, with advertising opportunities that meet all budgets and needs. Visit www.potreroview.net for rates and more information.
and community members at the third annual peace march, held last month. This year’s march echoed a peace vigil, held a week prior, which brought Asian- and African-American residents of Bayview-Hunters Point together on Third and Palou to speak out against a series of attacks by young boys along the T-Third rail. At the top of people’s minds at that gathering was the murder of 83 year old Huan Chen, who was severely beaten by five boys in January, and died from the injuries in March.
While homicide and crime rates are down in Potrero Hill – possibly because the most likely culprits are dead, incarcerated, or driven away, residents say – many AnnexTerrace residents believe that crime will never be extinguished until their community breaks its isolation from the rest of the City. “No pizza place will deliver up here,” said one woman who didn’t want to be named as she waited for the 10 Townsend bus. “If you’re sick and can’t go buy food, your kids will go hungry.” “Not every one of us is violent, but that’s all you see in the newspapers. There are really good people here,” said Uzuri PeaseGreene, adding that she’s reached a year of sobriety not through substance abuse services but through the support of her community.
According to Joe Tasby, Potrero Hill Family Resource Center’s (PHFRC) director, of all the public housing projects and low-income neighborhoods he’s worked in as a service provider – including Bayview, Visitacion Valley, Mission, and Western Addition – Potrero Hill is by the far the most isolated, both geographically and in terms of access to support services. To receive comprehensive, one-stop services, Annex-Terrace residents need to travel to Bayview or the Mission District, and few do. “It’s a fishbowl; a lot of people don’t even know where the beach is,” Tasby said.
Since a crucial bus line that served public housing’s residents – the 53 – was cut last year, AnnexTerrace residents find it hard to get to the resource center or St. Gregory’s food pantry on De Haro Street. Seniors and disabled have been hardest hit; about a third of the residents have a long-term disability. “They’ve cut us off from the outside world,” said Sarah, an Annex-Terrace resident, recalling how an elderly man flipped over in his wheelchair on his way down a hill where he used to catch the bus. According to Laticia Erving, Starr King’s parent liaison, the bus route change has left many public housing residents stranded in their own neighborhood. Erving, who taught a black parenting class at PHFRC, said parents stopped attending the class after bus service was reduced. She now offers it at Starr King.
According to Tasby, public programs average the 1,200 Annex-Ter-
race residents’ typical family income of roughly $15,000 with neighboring wealthier households, disqualifying complex residents from receiving many needed services. The result, in Tasby’s words, is that Potrero has become the “ugly stepchild of District 10.” One potential public benefit for hard-pressed families, the low-income housing tax credit, is based on average income levels within a census tract. “You get a bonus for being in one of these qualified census tracts,” said Craig Adelman, the Mayor’s Office of Housing’s deputy director, adding that Potrero Hill doesn’t qualify because census tracts don’t take into account income differences from one street to the next.
While Potrero Hill has steadily gentrified, demand for local food pantries remains high. “The food pantry lines are getting longer and longer and people can’t find work,” said Tasby.
PHFRC receives roughly 2,000 emergency food requests a year. Just five percent of Annex-Terrace residents were employed fulltime in 2008, a rate that hasn’t likely improved. “Your stomach’s growling and you go around the corner and people are throwing food away,” said Tasby. Larry Ellis, a thirty year Terrace resident, believes that some of the car thefts and robberies that occur around the Annex-Terrace are crimes of need.
One Annex-Terrace resident, who preferred to go unnamed, works as a homecare provider outside of the neighborhood and minds her own business when she comes home. Even though there’s grass and sunshine as far as the eye can see, she doesn’t allow her three children to stray from her unit or from her eyesight. According to Ellis, serious crime at Annex-Terrace began after the crack epidemic hit in the 1980s.
“It tore people down, especially the women,” he said. “Kids were raising themselves.” Ellis believes that much of the lingering violence is the drawn out effect of that drug. “It’s the younger generation, ages 12 and up, who are getting into trouble,” said one resident who didn’t want to be named. “They don’t have any guidance or support.”
Bayview District Captain Greg Suhr regularly receives phone calls from Annex-Terrace residents, but the callers are cautious as a result of what he terms “the domino effect.”
“People who have lived there for generations don’t want to have everyone else’s kids getting arrested,” he said. Sometimes waiting things out – and not acting – is the safest option.
“Do I live in fear in my home or do I wait for things to quiet down?” said Suhr, describing the dominate sentiment he’s seen among public housing residents.
But some residents say the police need to be more proactive about preventing crime among youth. “The police need to come out and talk to
young black boys,” an older resident said. “They shouldn’t harass them and walk around with their guns out; they stand by people who aren’t doing a damn thing.” According to Pease-Greene, there are so many routes in and out of the complex that by the time police respond to a call, the suspects are often gone. There are five different ways to descend the hill from Pease-Greene’s unit. “The police sometimes don’t have the manpower to take on all those directions,” she said. “The majority would fall, but I can go down that mountain in heels.”
“There’s a lot of poverty on the other side of the hill,” said Lauren, a six-month 19th Street resident whose housemates have been mugged or had their car broken into multiple times. “Neighbors assume crime is coming from the public housing.” One long-time Hill resident, Sophia Antipas, who lives across the street from Annex-Terrace, was mugged six years ago, and has found her car windows smashed six times. She said she doesn’t want to blame public housing, but that’s her “best guess” as to where the crime on the Hill comes from.
According to Herb Dillard, director of the Oscaryne Williams Center, crime is largely contained inside Annex-Terrace, and doesn’t spill into the surrounding neighborhood. Suhr believes that Annex-Terrace residents aren’t chiefly responsible for the crimes committed in adjacent streets. “If it happens outside of
public housing, it’s usually not done by people from here,” Suhr said. A quarter of the crimes committed in the Bayview District occur within public housing complexes, with another ten percent taking place near public housing. Annex-Terrace residents haven’t been implicated in any commercial robberies occurring in Potrero Hill this year.
On a rainy February night a little after nine p.m., two men entered Chez Maman on 18th street. Wearing ski masks, they held a gun to owner Olivier Setian’s head, taking money and cell phones from Setian and his customers. The gunmen asked the cooks for their cash, but they didn’t have any to give. According to Suhr, the perpetrators were from outside the neighborhood, and later robbed another store at gunpoint in the Sunset District. Setian never thought the men were from Annex-Terrace. “Even if it’s the most dangerous projects, they never come here,” he said. “You don’t do that in your own neighborhood.”
Last month eight grandmothers and a father gathered around a table with chicken, salad, and soda. They come to the Potrero Hill Family Resource Center every week to discuss community issues, or vent about personal goings-on in their lives. The group spoke frankly and made no apologies, but also reminded one another of the “one person on the mike” rule. “If people are concerned about the violence, why don’t they come to some of these meetings?”
“Not every one of us is violent, but that’s all you see in the newspapers. There are really good people here.”
-uzuri Pease-Greene
Uzuri Pease-Greene asked.
“Residents only call if it affects them. If there’s an auto burglary in a nice neighborhood or a window smashed or someone’s speeding, that is the center of that block’s universe,” said Suhr.
According to Mary Jue, Starr King’s school nurse, one of the biggest concerns about the school from parents who don’t live in AnnexTerrace is crime. “Because the public housing is right across the street, people assume there are a high number of incidents here,” she said, adding that the school has never had a lock-down. “But a lot of the crime is gang-related and it’s not just random.” Starr King brings together parents and kids from distinctly different socio-economic environments. One-third of the students live in Annex-Terrace, a handful are from other parts of the Hill, and the rest come largely from the Mission and the Sunset. “Violence in their community does affect the students – but does that mean my child should be insulated from that?” asked Jue, whose daughter attends third grade at the school.
According to Evangeline Abouabdalla, Starr King’s family services coordinator, one of her students witnessed the murder in front of the daycare two years ago. Another family opened their front door to a man with a slit throat falling at their feet. Abouabdalla has a caseload of fifty families. About forty-five of them are Annex-Terrace residents; almost all of them single mothers. Many come to her needing food and housing, often after getting evicted. Abouabdalla
says the school’s Wellness Center – which provides on-site services, advocacy, and referrals – has had a huge impact on the lives of the public housing residents. Since the center opened five years ago truancy has steadily, if modestly, declined, and referrals to Child Protective Services dropped from fifteen a year to one. The center serves as a neutral location where parents from AnnexTerrace can come without risking being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Despite these improvements, Tasby is concerned that crime rates may rise this summer. “There’s no summer school, Park and Rec has been slashed. What are the options for kids?” asked Tasby, who will be running a small summer program this year at Webster. Dillard is concerned about kids who would stay out of trouble if they were engaged in a summer school program, but who could start hanging out with the wrong crowd without it. He recalled a time in the early-1970s when local crime dropped by forty percent because of a summer school program that served 500 kids. “It can be done if people come together and put their minds to it,” he said.
Hope in a New Start
David Glober, a 15 year Potrero Hill resident who serves on Starr King Openspace’s board, and is a Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association member, visited AnnexTerrace for the first time just two months ago. Through his participation in Rebuild Potrero, the planning effort to redevelop Annex-Terrace,
Glober has become friends with public housing residents. He says the process has helped him overcome some of his fears after being robbed near the Annex six years ago.
One of Glober’s new friends, Maripousa Taufetee, who is Potrero Terrace Resident Council president, is no stranger to crime in her neighborhood. Two years ago, her 25-year-old niece visiting from Samoa was walking from the parking lot to Taufetee’s Annex-Terrace home when she was shot twice. She survived. “We don’t know who he was or where he was from,” said Taufetee, who chased after the suspect until she heard her injured niece calling her name. Taufetee, who is completing her associate degree in criminal justice, hopes to start a Crime Watch network this month.
“People think the crime comes from public housing residents, but it can come from other places and people use the space as a base of operations,” said Glober. “What’s a breeding ground for crime is substandard housing.”
The redevelopment process has inspired residents like Pease-Greene to join Annex-Terrace’s Safety Through Lighting Committee. She hopes to get residents to cooperate with the maintenance crew to install their own light bulbs. “When it’s dark, you’re leery. You want to be able to see someone coming,” she said. According to Taufetee, the redevelopment process is bringing out Annex-Terrace public housing residents who were previously afraid to get involved. Most have been victims of crime, but felt they couldn’t do anything about it, she said. While some residents have doubts about whether the redevelopment will benefit them, many hope that their input about safety issues will help
lower crime.
“There’s a lot of social issues that have the result of kids not having opportunities to stay in school, get job training, and get acculturated to the rest of the world,” said Ben Golvin, a principal at Equity Community Builders, which is providing outreach services as part of Rebuild Potrero. Part of the problem, according to Golvin, lies with the Housing Authority. “They are not set up to be a property manager,” he said. “Operating housing for low-income folks requires that the management company set firm rules and follow them.” He added that redeveloped public housing projects have demonstrated that tighter controls can have a positive effect. According to Suhr, when Bernal Dwellings was rebuilt a few years ago crime dropped by 80 percent.
While some residents are hopeful that criminals might be screened out after redevelopment is completed, they worry that harsher rules could evict them for such things as an inability to pay rent, or for playing their music too loud. At North Beach Place, only 40 percent of the former residents moved back in once the new complex was reopened. Since the new housing was occupied in 2004, an additional 20 households left, half of them evictions.
At a recent community meeting held at Starr King Elementary, residents from Annex-Terrace and the surrounding neighborhood discussed open space plans for Rebuild Potrero. Several small groups sat at tables with markers and wrote down “fruit trees”, “climbing rock”, or “benches.” “People want to see a new Potrero Hill,” said Tasby. “When you come outside to trash, gunshots, people cussing; it doesn’t make you proud.”
BAYV i EW POLiCE STAT iON CAPTA i N’S COMMUN i TY M EET i NG is held on the first Tuesday of each month in the Bayview Police Station Community Room at 201 William Street. Access can be gained by entering through the Newhall Street door. Next meeting: May 4th, 6 p.m.
DOGPATCH NEiGHBOrHOOD ASSOCiATiON usually meets the second Tuesday of each odd-numbered month. The next meeting is May 11th, at the University of California, San Francisco building at 654 Minnesota Street from 7 to 9 p.m. Voting membership is open to anyone living in or owning property or a business in Dogpatch. For more information or to join/pay online: mydogpatch.org.
MCKiNLEY SqUA rE COMMUNiTY GrOUP is a communication and discussion group regarding events and activities, clean up days, improvement and beautification, and other concerns, such as crime in the neighborhood. Next board meeting: May 12th from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Downtown High School, 693 Vermont Street. Board meetings open to the public. Visit www.mckinleysquare.com for more information.
POTrErO BOOSTErS meets the last Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. (social time begins at 6:30 p.m.) in the wheelchair-accessible Game Room of the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro Street. For more information: www.potreroboosters.org or email president@potreroboosters. org. Next meeting: May 25th.
POT rErO HiLL ASSOCi ATiON OF M ErCHANTS & BUSiNESSES meets the second Tuesday of each month at 10 a.m. at Goat Hill Pizza, corner of Connecticut and 18th streets. Visit www.potrerohill.biz or call 341.8949. Next meeting: May 11th, 10 a.m.
POTrErO HiLL DEMOCrATiC CLUB meets the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House. 953 De Haro Street. For more information: 648.6740, www. PHDemClub.org. Next meeting: May 4th, 7 p.m.
POTrErO HiLL GA rDEN CLUB usually meets the last Sunday of the month at 11 a.m. for a potluck lunch in a local home or garden. Discussions are held on organic, edible, or ornamental gardening appropriate for Potrero Hill’s microclimate. Call 648.1926 for details.
The SKOS Board is holding its Annual Meeting on May 12th, 7 to 9 p.m., at the Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro Street. Included in the agenda will be the annual report, updates on the 1321 development project and a presentation on the proposed bylaw changes. Time will be set aside for public comment. SKOS Volunteer Work Day is held the third Saturday of every month. Meet your neighbors, get some fresh air, and care for this unique oasis of nature in the heart of the big City. Meet at the Openspace on Carolina Street, across from Starr King Elementary School. Next Work Day: May 15th, 9 a.m. to noon. For more information: http://www.starrkingopenspace.org/ or contact the SKOS Board by at skosboard@gmail.com.
STArr KiNG OPENSPACE
Art and Music
PIANO LESSONS with patience and humor. All ages, all styles. Former member of the Pickle Family Circus and SF Mime Troupe. Randy Craig 415.334.2451.
ATTENTION ARTISTS Goat Hill Pizza is looking for local artists to show their work at the restaurant. Please call Alicia Wong at 415.641.1440 if you are interested.
Business Services
BOOKKEEPING/FINANCIAL MANAGE-
MENT bookkeeping, cash flow, budgeting, monthly reports. Quickbooks and Excel. 15 years experience. I can organize your business finances! schwartzconsulting@ gmail.com.
GRAPHIC DESIGN/PROMOTION FOR YOUR BUSINESS OR PRODUCT Web sites new & updates. Ads, Logo/Identity, Display, Brochure, Sell Sheet, Flash Animations, more. On the Hill. www.jcarpinelli.com 415 282-5516.
Community Activities
SENIORS (60+) DON’T EAT ALONE Join us for daily lunch and add to your social life. Mon-Fri, hot nutritious meals--your first time with us you get a free lunch! Bingo, cards, birthday celebrations, special events, and other activities. For more information, call Dolores Maghari at 415.826.8080. PH Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro St.
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND YOGA IMMERSION AT YOGA SITA with Nancy Clarke, May 28, 29, 30, Fri., Sat., Sun., 79am, $135. Special small group session in our beautiful Potrero Hill studio: practice asanas, breathing, focus. Yoga Sita, 1501 Mariposa St., #308. Registration, more info at www.nancyoga.com 510.735.1345.
TUTORING Get help with tests & homework. See www.myStudyBuddy.org. Jane Radcliffe, M.A., CA Credential #150007. 415.586.4577.
HOME BUYING SEMINAR Learn how to buy a home in today’s market & get the best loan rate. 1st & 3rd Wed. each mo., 7-8:15pm on Potrero Hill. RSVP: Michelle 415.637.1898, Zephyr RE DRE #01224725.
COMPLETE GARDEN CARE I will help your garden evolve into a natural paradise. Maintenance, renovation, organic soil building. Calif. Native plants a specialty. Call Jeannine Zenti, 415.642.0246.
LANDSCAPE DESIGN Growsgreen Landscape Design offers a custom design for your garden. Award winning designs, featured HGTV designer. Portfolio: www. growsgreen.com, beth@growsgreen.com 415-336-9829.
DAN’S GARDENING SERVICE.Year round maintenance. Expert care. Garden design, installation, renovation, clean up. Specialize in Native plants, child friendly gardens. Call Dan at 415.994.7342.
PERSONAL FITNESS TRAINER Have a plan for your goals ? I can help you to improve cardio, strength, flexibility, quality of life! Train near Potrero Hill. Susan Sullivan, 786-9939. susan@binkysbarn.com.
YOGA BASICS AT YOGA SITA Start or re-start your practice in a friendly 2-hour class with Nancy Clarke. Offered May 19; June 9; 6 - 8pm. $25/per. Yoga Sita, 1501 Mariposa St. #308. www.nancyoga.com 510.735.1345.
HANDYMAN MIKE Electrical, Carpentry, Custom woodwork, Decks, Doors, Dry rot Fences, Garbage disposal, Locks, Siding, Molding, Painting, Plumbing, Toilet, Sheetrock, Stairs, Tile. 415.756.9896.
ORGANIZE YOUR HOME/HOME OFFICE and feel calmed, inspired, happy. Rates sensitive to economic times. Phone Your Home Organizer, Linda James at 415.285.3266.
TOM’S PLUMBING Tom has been satisfying Potrero Hill customers for over 30 years. All plumbing needs handled promptly and efficiently at a very low cost. Keep it local and call Tom Keats: 415-8243538.
J.A. EMMANUEL CONSTRUCTION License #861994 is organized to provide service with optimum efficiency and flexibility. Quality work with experience in residential construction can help make your dreams a reality. New construction, house addition, remodeling and conversion. House, apartments, condos, kitchen, bathroom & more. Reasonable rates. All insurance necessary for the projects. Call 415.902.2469 for FREE ESTIMATE or visit www.jaemmanuelconstruction.com.
HANDYMAN EXTRAORDINAIRE! 20 years experience repair and remodeling. Elec, plumbing light fix. Anything doors! Windows. Cabinetry. Decks, staircases. $40-50/hr MMcQuate@gmail.com Mike (415) 308-2380.
Housekeeping
CLEANING PROFESSIONAL Cleaning
Professional. 24 years Experience. Apartments, homes, or offices. Roger Miller 415.664.0513 or cell 415.794.4411 (9 am - 5 p.m.).
DO YOU NEED HOUSECLEANING? We will do it. Just Call Marco & Sara 415310-8838.
TRU-LUV CATSITTING ON HILL SF/ SPCA volunteer (10 years) and Cat Lover. Complete care for your cat(s) for your complete peace of mind while you are away, including medication if needed. References (see Yelp). Low Rates. Trudi 415.285.5526.
SPACIOUS AND BEAUTIFUL Furnished guest garden apartment. Private. 1/2 blk. to restaurants. Non-smoking. 2 adults only. 2 night minimum. 415-861-3208.
VACATION RETREAT FOR POTRERO
HILLIANS. Calistoga/St Helena area 3 bdrms 2 baths sleeps 6 (max). Lrg decks w/ views of stream woods & meadow. Frplace w/wood, 30 acres trails, all-year stream. Dogs OK. 3 night wkend=$500 Week=$900. Discount for repeat guests. Photos: spot02. googlepages.com. 415.647.3052.
CHARMING GARDEN APARTMENT One BR, 2-night minimum. Fireplace, patio, deck, French doors. 415.641.4488.
ACTIVSPACE, FOR ART, HOBBY & BUSINESS. Rent from $395 a month utilities included. Private, Secure, Affordable, 24/7 access. Call Tama for further details 415355-1515.
SPECIAL OCCASION COMING UP? Host your celebration at Slovenian Hall! Great rates and convenient location on Potrero Hill, just off Hwy 101. Ideal for birthdays, graduation or wedding receptions. Capacity up to 250. Space also available for seminars, meetings or classes. Short or long term rentals available. Call 864-9629 or email slovenianhall@gmail.com.
COMPUTER PROBLEMS DRIVING YOU BUGGY? Problems fixed! 25 years of industry experience Personal IT consulting to small businesses or busy professionalssetup/troubleshoot wireless networks. We can install and/or help you shop for new a new computer/network/printer or shows how to use yours. If you’re not technical, don’t worry - we are. Rob (415)244-3305 www.sfcomputech.com rob@sfcomputech. com.
