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“Ganbare Japan” Concert, Clarendon School, 16 March 2011

Clarendon Elementary School, which has a Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program, is staging a charity concert to send aid to Japan. It’s open to everyone. If you can’t go to the concert, you can still donate to the same cause. (This notice courtesy of the ISPN message board.)

Charity Concert for Japan at Clarendon
“Ganbare Japan!”

Date: Wednesday March 16th, 2011
Time: 6:30-8:30 (Performance starts at 7pm)
Place: Clarendon Elementary School Auditorium (500 Clarendon Ave., San Francisco, CA)

We will have a Taiko performance by GenRyu Arts featuring Gen Taiko School, Shamisen (Japanese lute) and singing performance by Fujimoto Hideki Kai Minyo School, and Choral performance by San Francisco Forest Choir, Chorale May, and Ensemble Shiki, and singing by Clarendon students.

Children of all ages are encouraged to come and participate in the concert.

We will be collecting donations that will be sent directly to the relief efforts in Japan through a fund established by the JCCCNC (Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California). Checks should be payable to JCCCNC (note to Earthquake Fund) and cash donations will also be accepted.

If you cannot attend the concert but would like to donate to the Northern Japan Earthquake Fund, please visit www.jcccnc.org .

The concert will be preceded by a Potluck dinner. Please bring a dish to share.

We hope to see you on Wednesday night. Please invite your family and friends as this event is open to all.

Thank you!

All of us at Clarendon Elementary School

Fixing the Power Lines

This is a follow-up to my post here about trees down on the power lines along Clarendon Avenue…

Here’s PG&E fixing the power lines. (If some of the pictures are a bit fuzzy it’s because I’m taking them through glass, at an angle…)

The tree-fall occurred around 3.35 p.m. It involved two trees — one a cypress, I think, and one a stump of a eucalyptus that had already been trimmed of all its branches. I called 911 at 3.40 p.m.

By 5.50, PG&E had a cherry-picker out there, with two workers ready to chainsaw the trees out. Presumably they’d shut off the power along there much earlier.

First they tackled the cypress, carefully trimming off the branches. They piled up underneath, looking like the remnants of a Christmas tree lot. The workers freed each wire from the mass, letting it spring back to its original position. Finally, the trunk was resting on a single wire. Then they tackled the eucalyptus stump.

They sliced it off into logs, each dropping to the road with a thud.

When it was done, they returned to the cypress. By now, most of the power lines had been freed up.

Once they removed that, the lines all sprang back into place. They were apparently pretty resilient, despite the spectacular blue sparking I’d seen earlier. None of them had broken or even sagged visibly from where they normally hang.

All that was left was to inspect the lines. It was 6.07 p.m. and they were pretty much done.

A Blue Spark on Clarendon

So there I was, working away at my computer, when my room suddenly lit up with a bright blue light. It was gone before I turned to the window. Then there was another, and another, and this time I saw it. Trees or branches from the hillside above Clarendon Avenue, destabilized by an earlier fall there last year and the ongoing rain — and perhaps by the maintenance work that’s been happening along the avenue — had fallen onto the power line. A thin column of smoke rose from where the spark had been, and I wondered if there would be a fire. Nope.

I called 911 anyway. The power lines looked scrunched. There’s a fire truck parked across the street from them now. Wonder what they’ll do next.

Okay, PG&E is on the scene with red flares to block off the road for a bit. Men in bright yellow jackets are talking on the phone. Guess the next step is to cut the branches off.

ETA: Things have settled down. PG&E is still on the scene, but now the rain’s abated and the guys are in standard orange vests. I’m putting up a better picture now that I don’t have to photograph through rain and mist.

ETA2: Follow-up story here.

Twilight Adventure in Golden Gate Park: Raccoons and Janet Kessler

There are a couple of really neat blogs I follow. One is Golden Gate Park: View From the Thicket, with articles about our neighborhood park.

The other is Coyote Yipps, an observational blog by Janet Kessler, who observes and documents a clan of San Francisco coyotes. (Had Jane Goodall kept a blog about her chimpanzees, it might have looked something like this.) [ETA: She’s been interviewed by the New York Times: click here for the story; and featured in an Associated Press story on coyotes by Robin Hindery, which has appeared in a large number of publications.]

Janet Kessler is also a wildlife photographer with a local focus; her website has wonderful animal pictures taken in and around the city. So imagine my delight when I found a convergence of the two: View From the Thicket published Janet’s story about photographing raccoons in Golden Gate Park. Here, for your enjoyment, is the article (reprinted with permission).

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a wildlife photographer shares twilight adventure in golden gate park

Janet Kessler took this delightful photograph of a raccoon in Golden Gate Park for an exhibit at the main San Francisco library last summer. The following is her description of capturing these elusive animals on film . . .

“I had been invited to put on a photographic wildlife exhibit at the main library — what an honor! As I began preparing the photographs for the show, I realized that I really needed more animals — more animals that everyone would know about. For starters, I decided that I needed a shot of a raccoon. Raccoons normally come out after dark, so I roped my husband Jack into coming with me, because, also, I would be visiting unknown parts of the park. We had an early supper and headed out well before dark: me with my camera, and Jack with a powerful emergency flashlight which we bought years ago for, well, not exactly this kind of activity, but it was the best we had. I had no special nighttime photography equipment — the emergency flashlight would have to do.

Jack also carried his brand new iPhone — it can do anything. We started walking in the park, not knowing anything at all about raccoons, just relying on hope. Jack wanted a little more guidance — he didn’t want to stay out all night, and we couldn’t decide on where to find raccoons. So, as we walked, he looked up “raccoon” on the internet. Of absolute relevance, but a complete surprise to us, was that raccoons live in trees. Come on, give me a break! We argued this, back and forth, but finally decided to “look up” as we walked — “just in case” — maybe we would see something. As it got darker, I eventually noticed a denser area up in one of the trees. I looked and looked, and decided, without really being able to see anything, that this might be a raccoon way up there, 75 feet above the ground.

So, we settled down and waited — until Jack had had enough and said it was time to go. After all, there were unsavory fellas roaming around, too close for comfort, and they were even looking at us. He did not like it. But I felt safe with him, and decided we needed to stay a little longer — I think my enthusiasm and sense of adventure may have overpowered him. We decided to sprawl out on the ground at the base of the tree, to avoid neck-cramps. Here we enjoyed looking up into the tree branches — the way we all have when we were little.

We had arrived in the park at 6:00pm, and now it was 10:00pm, when slowly we began to notice movement. Ahh, something was happening. The movements occurred infrequently at first, but slowly, ever so slowly, there was more. And then, YES, we saw a raccoon tail — you could barely make out the stripes, but they were there! Yes, this would be my chance to take a raccoon photo. The raccoon was still high up in the tree, so we remained in our prone positions so as not to cause alarm. There was more movement. And then we noticed something very strange. That tail over there couldn’t possibly be connected to that raccoon, could it? Noooo — there were two raccoons! We could feel our excitement mounting.

The raccoons were still high up in the tree when, oh no, could it be? We now counted three of them!! It is at this time that we got up. My husband shined the light on the raccoons and I tried taking photos as they all slowly made their way down the tree trunk. A flashlight hardly produces enough light for taking photos, but we were able to get some fairly decent shots. After reaching the ground, the mom moved off, as did the larger of the cubs. But the smallest, the runt, actually turned around and came back to examine us from a high log on the ground. Hi there! The shutter of my camera kept getting stuck because of the lack of light, but we did get the photos I wanted, which I am including here.

We went home that evening, not only with a few raccoon photos, but also with an adventure to remember and a story to tell! Golden Gate Park at Twilight!”

Here’s a link to Janet Kessler’s [photo] website: http://www.urbanwildness.com/urbanwildness.com/Index/Index.html

Laguna Honda Reservoir – Neighbors’ Meeting 3/2/2011

This notice was sent out by a neighbor’s group, calling a meeting on Wednesday March 2, 2011 to discuss the SFPUC’s plans for Laguna Honda Reservoir. (I’d posted about those plans here.)

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Dear neighbors:

We have invited our fellow neighbors from Midtown Terrace and Forest Knolls to the Social Center this Wednesday for an urgent meeting regarding the PUC’s plans for Laguna Honda Reservoir. The meeting is at 7:30 PM, this Wednesday, 3/2/11.

On 2/18/2011, the PUC filed a Categorical Exemption with the SF Office of Planning and SF County Clerk for the Laguna Honda Reservoir that, if upheld, will allow the PUC to move forward with their plans to install the 20 x 40 trailer next door to The Woods.

The deadline to appeal the Categorical Exemption is March 25th. If we don’t take action by then, this exemption is permanent. Please attend to lend a voice and discuss how our neighborhood can work together to preserve this site and our property values.

We look forward to seeing you at the The Woods’ Social Center on Wednesday at 7:30 PM.

The Woods of San Francisco HOA

[Edited to Add: I attended the meeting, led by Judy Clark of The Woods and Walter Kaplan of Forest Knolls Neighborhood Organization. Well-organized and interesting. The website for the Friends of Laguna Honda Reservoir is here. They’re on Facebook here.]

Signal Boost: 10-week SF Community Police Academy Course

This came from the Parks Station Police Academy newsletter:

Join the San Francisco Community Police Academy

The Community Police Academy is a 10-week program that meets once a week and is designed to inform and teach interested participants various aspects of municipal policing, including patrol and investigations procedures, vehicle operations, arrest and control techniques, firearm procedures and emergency communications. The Academy’s goals are to develop community awareness through education and to develop a closer understanding and working relationship between the San Francisco Police Department and its communities. Members of the community are encouraged to join and learn about the San Francisco Police Department. Participants can ask questions and offer comments within each class.

The next class is scheduled to start on Tuesday, April 19, 2011. We encourage high school students 15 and over to attend. The Community Police Academy participants are selected by the program coordinators after an application process. Enrollment is limited to twenty-five students per class.

For more information, including the application process, visit our website or please contact:

Ms. Lula Magallon at (415) 401-4720 or

Officer Maria Oropeza at (415) 401-4701.

Laguna Honda Reservoir: SFPUC note, Exemption Notice

The SFPUC has apparently decided to stop using the area next to the reservoir as a gravel yard, and use it mainly as a Dive Team HQ. We received a note (reproduced below) from the SFPUC regarding the Laguna Honda Reservoir, following the neighborhood meeting on Feb 9th, 2011.

The SFPUC is asking for an exemption from the Planning Commission that would permit them to operate a Dive Team office. This would involve having two structures, one a trailer 20 x 40 and ten feet in height (the office and prep site); and the other, a shed 10 x 20 feet and eight feet high (for storage). Electricity has already been connected.

They have already filed for the exemption, on 18 February 2011. If anyone has comments, this would be the time to send them in. ~~The person to contact appears to be Bill Wycko.~~ [ETA: No, he’s the SFPUC person. I guess the SF Office of Planning and Research would be the place to send comments. And the County Clerk. Addresses in the notice at the bottom.]

THE SFPUC NOTE ABOUT THE LAGUNA HONDA RESERVOIR MEETING

Here’s the note (emphasis added):

The SFPUC and Laguna Honda

February 2011

In June 2010 the SFPUC provided information about the planned use of an area at the Laguna Honda Reservoir, here are some updates from our Feb. 2011 community meeting.

Prior purchase and placement of a trailer at the Laguna Honda site, the SFPUC applied for and was granted:

1. A Categorical Exemption from the Planning Department – the Planning Department determined that the proposed project was exempt from environmental review – Pending Filing of the Notice of Exemption, see below.
2. General Plan Conformity Determination – for the placement of the Dive Headquarters at Lake Honda – “with consideration of removal of structures and improvements and site restoration if the proposed PUC Dive Headquarters Facility is relocated in the future, as described further in this case.”

A Notice of Exemption will be filed with the County Clerk/Recorder, confirming that this project has been granted a Categorical Exemption by the Planning Department. Once filed, anyone objecting to this Exemption will have a period of 35 days to file suit challenging the Planning Department exemption determination under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
The Categorical Exemption and General Plan Conformity Determination can be found at the link below:
https://infrastructure.sfwater.org/fds/fds.aspx?lib=SFPUC&doc=634937&data=244450745

Community representatives and neighbors expressed deep concern regarding the lack of communication from the SFPUC, in particular because of the filing of the Categorical Exemption request and issuance of the exemption determination by the Planning Department. The community members felt that the SFPUC was not honoring its commitment to communicate throughout the process.

The SFPUC will notify the community and neighborhood stakeholders when the Notice of Exemption is filed at the Office of the County Clerk.

Community members indicated a willingness to pursue any and all options to prevent the SFPUC from using any of the space within the fence along Clarendon Ave. for any maintenance, staging or other operations, including but not limited to activities of the Dive Team.

Several questions were asked about other potential locations throughout the City. Suggestions included use of a portion of the Laguna Honda Hospital Parking Lot, as well as an area adjacent to the Summit Pump Station below Sutro Reservoir.

The valley below the Sutro Reservoir is not suitable because the area will be used for a project to seismically upgrade the reservoir will begin sometime later this calendar year.
There were questions about the P – Public zoning district and the Open Space height and bulk district designation of the reservoir parcel. The Categorical Exemption and General Plan Conformity address this designation and the proposed land use.
The trailer/Dive Team Headquarters would be in operation under the guidelines below:
Although the Categorical Exemption document says normal work hours are 7:00am – 5:00pm, activities at the site would be limited to the hours of 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, although emergencies and operational needs may require off-hour operations. These events are infrequent, usually no more than a few times per year. The Divers are working at dive sites throughout the city. The Dive Team has three passenger trucks, and it is anticipated that only these vehicles would be parking on-site on a regular basis.
The trailer will provide office space for dive team staff and a small workshop to repair and maintain items such as air stations, helmets, dry suits, ROVs , cameras, power and light units, and filling air cylinders.

Additional installation activities at the trailer site will be limited to placement of lattice screens/fences to obscure the structure from view and additional landscaping.

Access to the area via the Clarendon Avenue gate will continue to be limited to members of the San Francisco Beekeepers Association and authorized SFPUC City Distribution Division personnel.

SFPUC is pursuing landscape and property improvements at Lake Honda/Laguna Honda:

Plant and maintain vines and other greenery to soften the appearance of fencing as much as possible, including both the fence along Clarendon and the interior fence. Attach green fabric to the interior fence gate because planting near the fence is not feasible. Also, since the fabric would be attached to the interior fence, graffiti tagging should not be a issue.
The SFPUC is working to identify plants that will thrive along the interior fence.
The bee boxes have all been painted and relocated along the walkway/fire access road adjacent to the reservoir.
There was some concern expressed about the possibility of bees swarming away from the reservoir and the risk to people and animals if they are allergic to bee stings. Paul Koski, one of the beekeepers can be reached at pkoski7@netscape.net if there are questions about the bees.
The City Distribution Division Landscape Supervisor is investigating the feasibility of planting more native plants inside the fence lines.
The sand and gravel piles and other construction materials will be moved off-site as soon as possible and should be completed in coordination with the Dive Team Headquarters installation.

In addition to the area adjacent to Clarendon Avenue, other landscape and vegetation management projects are underway at Laguna Honda:

A draft tree health and hazard report has been received and is currently being reviewed by SFPUC staff. Based on the report findings the SFPUC will draft a plan of action to trim and remove diseased, dying and dead trees within the watershed to reduce the fire hazard, thin the forest for sustainability, and remove invasive plants and possible replanting with native species. The scope of the project has not yet been determined.
Removal of invasive species in the Franciscan Scrub above the reservoir should occur within the next two to three months. The SFPUC has initiated discussion with representatives of Nature in the City, the California Native Plant Society and the Golden Gate Audubon Society regarding the proposed invasive species removal effort.
Unauthorized use of the site as a homeless encampment is being regularly monitored and has been significantly reduced.

For more information e-mail Suzanne Gautier, SFPUC Communications at sgautier@sfwater.org.

THE EXEMPTION FILING

Here’s a picture of the Exemption filing notice.

sfpuc exemption laguna honda — (Click on image for a larger version.)

Glen Canyon Glorious

Last February, I was celebrating the brilliant oxalis flowers on Twin Peaks…

If San Francisco were to have its own version of Napa’s mustard festival, surely ours would be the Fair Oxalis. These flowers herald our spring more clearly than the daffodil (which are also starting to bloom) and mark the sunshine months (or month!) before summer arrives with its cooling fog. It may be a weed, and spread easily (though I’ve heard say that it doesn’t set seed in San Francisco). But it is undeniably gorgeous.

[ETA: I got a friendly email saying, “it sure feels like spring, but actually the first day of spring isn’t til march 20…”

Oh, I know… but no one told the flowers! That’s why I called it “our spring.” My East Coast friends assure me their spring is still someplace else.]

Right now, the place to go is Glen Canyon. The meadow areas are golden with Bermuda Buttercup (alias oxalis) and wild mustard.

If you want to see this wild flower spectacle, the place is the eastern slope at the north end of the park — easily accessed from Turquoise Way (or the parking lot of the nearby Diamond Heights shopping center).

Go soon on any sunny day (oxalis furl their bells in shade), before the Natural Areas Program decides to spray this invasive non-native weed with toxins. They’re already at work on Twin Peaks.

[ETA2: Someone told us the spraying of Garlon 4 Ultra in Glen Canyon will start 18 Feb 2011.

ETA3: It’s been further postponed, we hear; apparently parents of preschoolers who play and hike in the canyon oppose the use of toxic chemicals there. Or it may have been the weather.]

Laguna Honda Reservoir: 9 Feb 2011 meeting with PUC

I posted about the Laguna Honda Reservoir a few times (here, here, and here and here). The SF PUC wants to put in a gravel yard and a Dive Team office in a space they had said they would restore into a green area.

The neighbors are meeting with the SF PUC on 9 February 2011 from 6.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m, at the Woods Social Center, 600 Clarendon Avenue, San Francisco CA. It’s a public meeting, open to everyone. If you’re interested in the reservoir, it may be helpful.

Copyright and Sutro Stewards

As some of you already know, I received a letter from a major law firm on behalf of Sutro Stewards whose Executive Director is Craig Dawson. (It was actually for San Francisco Parks Trust and Sutro Stewards.) It said two things: First, that I had defamed Craig Dawson and the Sutro Stewards; second, that I had violated copyright on two maps. Most the of the allegations pertained to another website, www.sutroforest.com, which is a website fighting for Sutro Forest.

(Anyone who is interested can find my discussion of their allegations here.)

However, the copyright issue touches this website via a map I published in my post on hiking in the forest. I believe the map I used was based on one that was non-copyright. Nevertheless, I have taken down the map. For now, I’ve provided a link to a trail map; later I’ll add back a map for readers of the post to reference. [ETA: I’d also used it to explain what UCSF plans to do with the forest. That’s also been removed for now and will be replaced later.]

WHAT WAS THE ISSUE, ANYWAY?

The Letter said I had violated a Sutro Steward copyright.

This was confusing on several levels.

1. The map I used was distributed at a meeting called by Rec & Park. Rec & Park circulated it as Exhibit B of a memo for an agenda item before the Parks Commission, cropped exactly as described above. It carried no copyright information or attribution. [ETA: This memo can be obtained from Rec & Park under the Sunshine law. Anyone can get a copy.]

Did Rec & Park steal the map without the Sutro Stewards’ knowledge? No. The minutes show that both Craig Dawson and Ben Pease were at the hearing and were thus fully aware of how it was being used. In fact, Craig Dawson is mentioned in the memo under “People to Contact.” (Maybe one of them actually provided the map to Rec & Park?)

In my understanding, this has the effect of making it non-copyright: It is part of a memo prepared by a Rec & Park employee, whose (official) work cannot generally be copyright; and it wasn’t attributed to any other source. That’s why I felt free to use and make derivative maps as the Letter described.

2. How was it ever owned by Sutro Stewards? The copyright of even the original map is owned by Ben Pease and Pease Press. (That’s what the Letter says, I don’t know because the map I’ve been using has no copyright info.) While I believe Ben is a member of the Sutro Stewards, he is an independent entity. Did Ben Pease assign his copyright to Sutro Stewards? If so, shouldn’t the Letter mention it? If not, why isn’t it Ben Pease writing to me through his lawyer (or directly), instead of the Sutro Stewards through their lawyer?

3. So why did I take down the map? Well, I enjoy a discussion of copyright issues, but honestly, this is trivial. If it makes them happy, I’m okay with removing it. The map made the post easier to understand, and so I’ll look to replace it; but it wasn’t crucial to its value. The idea of that post was to share how to visit the forest, and I think it still does that.

And — I’d like to put in a plug for Pease Press Cartography. The Sutro Trail map (a PDF file) isn’t the only map he has on his site. If you’re a hiker, check out his trail map of the whole city. It’s the kind of amazing, a local business based on one person’s cartographic skills. Even the name is cool, and he has a really delightful logo… look out for it.

[I’d welcome comments here — just bear in mind they’re moderated and won’t show for a few hours or even a day. Or of course by e-mail at fk94131 at yahoo dot com.]

Report: JP Murphy Clubhouse Meeting

I attended this evening’s the Rec & Park Department (RPD) meeting about the plan to lease out the JP Murphy clubhouse. I’ve written about it twice, (here and here) but hadn’t attended the earlier meeting.

The opening was dramatic.

A large number of neighbors attended (I’d estimate 80-100) — the room was full. There was some annoyance at the layout. Instead of theater-style seating, it was restaurant style. Chairs surrounded a number of plastic kiddy tables arranged all about the room. It was awkward, especially for anyone in a wheelchair or with movement issues, because there were no clear aisles. No one could understand why.

When the meeting started, it was explained. Speaking for Rec & Parks, Bob Palacio (present there with Nicole Avril, Lev Kushner and Alex Randolph), told us the planned format for the meeting: Breakout groups, coming together at the end to report on what they’d discussed.

It didn’t fly. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a vociferous and instantaneous rejection of a plan. Bob tried to explain it was because people had complained of the format of previous meetings. “It wasn’t the format,” someone pointed out. “It’s that Rec & Park was not listening to us. No one from Rec & Park was taking notes.”

Bob tried to push through the format that had been decided on; no one was buying. “It’s our meeting,” someone yelled. “We pay your salary.” For a minute, it looked like Rec & Park would walk out.

Saner counsel prevailed. Once it was decided this wasn’t going to be a meeting to vent dissatisfaction with Rec & Park, and we’d stick to the agenda, Bob salvaged the situation. (He offered to meet with anyone who wanted to complain, one on one.) We moved forward — in a single group, not broken out.

FIVE QUESTIONS

They were seeking answers to five questions, said Bob. The idea was that if the clubhouse was leased out, it would be leased to a non-profit that would provide services the neighbors want. (We presume for a fee.) The questions:

What sort of recreational programming do you want to see at JP Murphy?
Thinking of another recreational facility you liked, and what did you like about it?
What age groups are a priority here? (The choices were tots, pre-kindergarten, youth, afterschool, tweens, teens, adults, seniors.)
When did you last use JP Murphy, and for what?
Do you know of any non-profits that offer these types of programs?

The idea, Bob said, was to find a lessee who could provide the kind of programs neighbors want. Currently the clubhouse is rented out for birthday parties and the like. If it were leased out, only the clubhouse would be leased. The lessee could use public areas like everyone else, not exclusively. The bathrooms, outdoors and indoors, would remain open and available to the public.

Would such a lease ever preclude access? people wanted to know. Apparently, in other RPD leases, if there’s a conflict, the lessee takes precedence. Nicole said it wouldn’t ever happen that way; external areas would not be blocked by a lessee. Someone else pointed out that at Diamond Heights, a program ropes off an area at parent pick-up time, apparently to clarify who’s to be picked up. “It’s a concrete walkway,” said Nicole, “with no recreational facilities.”

“It has tables and benches,” someone said.

“There are other tables and benches…” responded Nicole, and there was silence. The point had been made. Even one trivial instance cast doubt on the earlier assurance.

The meeting moved on to Question 1: Ideas for recreational programming. Ideas started flying. Lev Kushner noted them down on butcher paper. Many of them were for small children, and someone noted that the playground’s configuration — enclosed, back from the road — made it especially safe for little ones. That value, she suggested, should be preserved.

From the applause, it sounded like the most popular ideas (besides things like Tiny Tots and other kiddy activities) were Community College classes (suggested by John Rizzo, who’s on the Board of City College); and NERT emergency preparedness in cop-operation with the Fire and Police Departments. There was talk of involving Neighborhood Empowerment Networks (NEN).

BUT HOW?

All these ideas were good, but how could they be implemented? How much money was required?

Bob said that a part-time director, 20 hours a week, would cost $36-38 thousand (fully loaded cost to RPD) annually. A full time person would cost $74 thousand per year (including benefits, pension etc). If there wasn’t money for that — and right now it doesn’t look like it — they would find a non-profit to lease the clubhouse and provide those activities.The non-profit would have to be approved by the community. (Of course, they hadn’t yet figured out how to determine or measure “community approval.”)

Would it be all or nothing, someone wanted to know. Would one non-profit have to provide all the services?

Nicole said that one could act as a sort of “lead agency” and allow others to provide the classes or activities they didn’t. Apparently, at one clubhouse, Self-help for the Elderly uses the clubhouse in the mornings, but then keeps it open for other activities in the afternoon. This sounded like a reasonable arrangement (though some people had some negative things to say about that organization in its South Sunset location).

WHAT PEOPLE LIKED

The list of what people liked at other centers was quite diverse: Swimming programs; “Parks Sessions” for young adults with dancing, skateboarding, poetry-reading and other activities; tennis; latchkey with pottery and soccer; picnic tables and benches. One person mentioned Sharon Art Studio in Golden Gate Park before it raised its prices and restricted its hours.

Then it was on to Question 3: What have you used JP Murphy for?

The answers were predictable:

Private birthday parties
Community meetings
Kids’ playground time
Tennis
Teen basketball
Adult basketball
Preschool graduations
And someone remembered the teen dances.

A RED QUEEN RACE?

Someone pointed out that RPD’s drive to raise money to fill budget gaps ($6.4 million shortfall in 2011) is self-defeating. The following year, the city assumes that RPD can raise fees or start charging for formerly free activities, and reduces its support still further. Though San Franciscans are very supportive of their Parks — every bond measure has passed — they’re not getting the services they paid for. The only way around this is for citizens to advocate for RPD with City Hall.

NEXT STEPS?

The Next Steps part was unclear. RPD is taking this information back to evaluate it, and will look for ways to fill the community’s desires for programming. “JP Murphy has been dark for way too long,” said Bob.

When? people wanted to know.

Lev didn’t want to commit to a time table. “Six weeks is too short, and two years is too long,” he commented.

By this time, people were starting to leave, so Bob attempted to determine priorities. It seemed like programs for tiny kids and latchkey kids were a priority, but also classes and activities — like aerobics — for adults and seniors. There was talk of providing classes led by volunteers.

There were some questions about how meetings would be publicized; people had missed the earlier one since they didn’t know about it. Bob said they would work with community groups, email lists, The Friends of JP Murphy Playground Facebook page, and put a large door sign at JP Murphy.

Then we all left, including the meeting’s cutest attendee: The best-behaved little poodle it’s been my pleasure to meet.

The Prettiest Day in San Francisco

Now that the spell of Spring-in-January weather seems over, I can post this without jinxing it… I wanted to talk about the 17th of January. The day dawned bright and blue, and in the afternoon, I went out to Glen Canyon.

Most of the year, it’s dry and brown, punctuated with hillside bushes and rock formations. Not now. The winter’s rain has transformed it to a vivid green.

The sun slanted through the trees. A few people sat around, gazing at the beauty of the place, the sea of eucalyptus trees below.

And then the fog started to roll in, rather like the Sandburg poem. The light softened, became pinker. The view through the trees took on a magical tint, like a portal to a fantastical world.

I drove home via Twin Peaks, and this was the view:

And this was the view from the other side…

It may have been the prettiest day of my life (which has encompassed many pretty days in many pretty places). Of course the photographs don’t begin to do it justice.

But it wasn’t just me. A few days later, I mentioned it to a friend. “You’re telling me!” she said. She’d been driving to Cavallo Point that evening, and behind her saw San Francisco under the fog. “I couldn’t sleep that night. The intense beauty of that image…” She sighed.

JP Murphy Clubhouse: Why it Matters

I wrote earlier about San Francisco Rec & Parks plan to lease out the newly (and expensively) remodeled JP Murphy Clubhouse on 9th avenue at Pacheco. There’s a lot of opposition. The Sunset Beacon carried an article about it. There’s a Facebook page for the Friends of JP Murphy Playground.

The article suggest this is important not just for the would-be users of that clubhouse (currently locked); it’s a change in the way Rec & Park functions, with revenue as a driver. It could thus presage more such actions, with leases of other Park properties to private parties.

(It’s interesting that at almost the same time, Rec & Park has budgeted $82 thousand for a new trail through Sutro Forest, starting at Stanyan. The forest already has a number of trails, including one starting nearby at Belgrave, and another at Edgewood Way. So far, they seem to have cut down a lot of trees. But I digress.)

Rec & Park is holding another meeting at the Clubhouse to discuss its future, on Monday, Jan. 31st, from 5:30-7 pm.

Meanwhile, the West of Twin Peaks Council (which is a group of all the neighborhood organizations on San Francisco’s west side) has passed two resolutions on the matter. They’ll be up on their website soon.

Gas Flare in Daly City

So the other evening, I was driving home from Westlake Mall, and instead of taking the freeway or the Great Highway, I took Lake Merced Boulevard. As I turned, I saw a jet of fire behind the gas station. It looked like a chimney emitting flames from a furnace. I drove closer to see what it was, and couldn’t figure it out. It was behind the fire station, which was closed. (It was pretty late at night.)

So I called 911 and said I could see this column of fire. After they nailed down the exact location, they said it was a gas flare.

A gas flare? In the heart of Daly City? Behind a gas station and a fire station? I’d only ever encountered gas flares in petrochemical factories or oil-fields.

But it’s true. It’s part of Daly City’s Wastewater Treatment plant, which sounds pretty amazing. There’s a virtual tour on their website, here.

A Barn Owl’s Sad End

One of San Francisco’s ace birders, Dominik Mosur, works at San Francisco’s Randall Museum, and occasionally gets calls from people finding birds in distress. On this occasion, it was worse than distress. The barn owl in a pine tree at the Mission High School was dead. The bird had lived around there for some months, hunting and perching. Now it was dead.

dead barn owl (Dominik Mosur) SF — Photo credit: Dominik Mosur

He retrieved the body and found the cause of death. Some netting, possibly from a Christmas tree, had caught on the owl’s foot, and snagged on a branch, trapping it.

This is a message to please think about discarded materials — particularly things like plastic netting, fishing line, or six-pack holders. If this had been rope, maybe the bird could have bitten through it and escaped. With plastic, there was no way.

According to Rebecca Dmytryk of WildRescue, a wildlife rescue organization in Moss Beach:

“Sadly, this sort of accident is not unusual. Birds can become tangled in discarded fishing line, kite string, or netting, then the material catches on a branch and then they’re stuck, sometimes hanging upside down. The worst part about this story though, is that no one knew it was in trouble I guess, and it starved to death.”

A press release on the subject said:

Dmytryk hopes this story will prompt people to be more vigilant and quicker to report wild animals in distress. If they do not know whom to call they can use Wildrescue’s toll-free hotline that will provide the number to the nearest rescue organization – that’s 1-866-WILD-911. They can also report injured wildlife directly to rescue@wildrescue.org or paging a rescue team at 831-429-2323.

Anyone interested in learning more about what to do when they find an injured wild animal may be interested in attending their Wildlife Search & Rescue class being given in coming weeks.

Learn what to do when you come face to face with a wild animal that’s in trouble and needs help. Learn how to become part of a team of trained and qualified rescuers who respond to emergencies involving wildlife on a regular basis. This class is the ONLY one of its kind and is tailored for those who work with animals and want to better their skills and those who have an interest in becoming a volunteer wildlife rescuer.

The lecture part of the class covers laws and regulations governing wildlife rescue, human safety and animal safety concerns, capture strategies, proper animal handling techniques, basic first aid for wildlife accident victims, and initial care of healthy wild babies. The afternoon portion of the program gives students the opportunity to try out equipment and practice their skills with Robo-Duck.
To REGISTER : w i l d r e s c u e . o r g (831) 840-3896 rebecca@wildrescue.org

ALAMEDA: FEBRUARY 5, 9:00 – 3:00, Shorebird Nature Center, 160 University Ave. Berkeley
SANTA CLARA: JANUARY 28, 9:00 – 3:00, Morgan Hill PD, 16200 Vineyard Blvd. Morgan Hill
MONTEREY: JANUARY 15, 9:00 – 3:00 Elkhorn Yacht Club, 2370 Highway 1 Moss Landing
SANTA CRUZ: JANUARY 29, 9:00 – 3:00, Santa Cruz PD, 155 Center Street,Santa Cruz

Presidio Parkway Overnight Closures (to Golden Gate Bridge), Jan 7-9

The West of Twin Peaks Council circulated a warning about overnight road closures on January 7th and 8th (i.e. Friday and Saturday nights). There’s a north bound closure on Jan 7th, 10 p.m. to 10 a.m., and a southbound closure on Jan 8th, 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. on Jan 9th. “Optional trips should be avoided during these closures,” warns the Presidio Parkway organization.

Here’s the map, from the Presidio Parkway folks. The red bits are the closed roads. (Click on it to get a larger version.)

And here’s what the traffic flows are meant to look like on January 9th.

[We’re including this as “fair use” to inform the public, but if Presidio Parkway requests us to remove it, we will do so.]

They also warn:

USE CAUTION: Drivers should be aware of the new roadway alignment and southbound merge.

View the advisory for a map of the closures and detour routes. [NOTE: This is a PDF file.]

Please be aware that the first 400 feet of southbound Hwy 1 will be reduced to one lane for approximately 4-6 months during this new traffic alignment. Southbound traffic will return to two lanes before entering the MacArthur Tunnel.

Happy New Year in 2011!

Right now, looking from Twin Peaks, downtown is a lovely blaze of lights. The dome of City Hall, only recently lit in orange for the Giants, morphed to green with red stripes below (perhaps for Christmas?), and then to red with green stripes below, maybe for New Year?

Question of the moment: will remain clear for the fireworks on the Embarcadero? It’s looking good so far. And whatever the weather, where ever you’re reading this, here’s wishing everyone a very happy 2011!

[Edited to Add: It started raining just around midnight… the fireworks went on anyway. I could hear them but didn’t go to watch.]

West Portal Mystery

We went to West Portal last evening with a couple of simple errands that would take us to St Francis Market or Eezy Freezy and Walgreens. When we got there, we found several fire-trucks, lights flashing, on the first block near the Chase Bank branch.

There was no sign of fire or smoke, but there were half a dozen emergency response vehicles out there, and fire-crew. Someone came out of the Chase branch, talked to them, went back in.

It looked quite normal. Soon, he came out accompanied by another person, probably another bank employee. Meanwhile, the crew had placed a ladder against the other side of the building, between Bookshop West Portal and the Chase building.

I asked the bank person what happened. “Someone smelled something,” he said. “Something burning. We called 911 just to be careful. They have it all under control now.”

We left to do our errands, with a small detour via the Bookshop. (It’s difficult to avoid small detours via bookstores.) I headed for St Francis Market.

That’s when the lights went out. The whole of the first block went dark.

“It’s like the beginning of a mystery story,” my companion said. “When the lights come back on, there’s a corpse.”

“There’s an author who writes West Portal mysteries,” I said. “Maybe she could use this.”

It looked like the rest of the street had lights, so we went on to Walgreens, in the middle of the second block. Despite the fact that stores on either side had power, Walgreens was dark. Curiouser and curiouser.

Over coffee (and a gingerbread man) at West Portal Bakery, we decided to go to the Safeway at Taraval. It turned out that several blocks of homes were also powerless. But from about 14th avenue and Taraval, the lights returned.

Except, Safeway was also dark. Curiouser and curiouser and curiouser yet.

We couldn’t figure out whether the power loss was incidental to whatever brought the firetrucks, or if it was part of the same problem. We couldn’t understand the pattern of power failure, either: Why Walgreens and Safeway, both standing amid buildings that apparently had normal power?

If it were a novel, this would be the Coincidence that was Not a Coincidence.

In the event, nothing happened. A couple of hours later, we drove through again. The lights were back on. I presume there was no corpse.

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Edited to Add: The story has an interesting coda. Since Bookshop West Portal was in darkness after our failed errand, we went to Borders at Stonestown. We bought one or two books (or it might have been three or four), then went home.

This morning, my email in-box had a message from Bruce Black (not someone I know) headed “Your wallet.” Someone had turned in my wallet that I’d apparently dropped or abandoned at Borders.

They tracked me down by my Borders membership card. I got my wallet back intact, and they wouldn’t accept a reward.

Thanks, Bruce (and whoever turned it in). You’re terrific.

Season’s Greetings!

Here is a selection of decorations from around our neighborhood. They’re delightful, (even if not as ubiquitous as those at Midtown Terrace especially the wonderful Santa’s Court). Happy Holidays, everyone!
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West Portal Has Christmas Windows

Everyone knows about Union Square and the decorations there. Macys has puppies and kittens in its windows. Tiffany has a fairy-tale in paper-sculpture. But our own local shopping village, West Portal, has Christmas windows too.

(“You keep writing about West Portal,” a friend said. It’s true. I go there nearly every day. It’s an easy place to run almost any errand, once you figure out the parking. The meters accept parking cards, and there’s street parking on the streets around. And it still feels sort of small-town… quite different than going to a mall.)

So, the windows.

Shaws, the confectioner’s, has giant nutcrackers turning their heads, and a funny reindeer.

West Portal Antiques has a lovely traditional tree and doll’s house, as well as toys on a sled and a silver candelabra.

Citipets has Christmas in one window, and Chanukah in the other.

But the one I thought was the most amusing was the Zombie Outbreak in the window of the hardware store Papenhausen. Santa Zombie Claus!

I only took pictures of a few – and if anyone wants to add their favorites, I’d be happy to do it.