Category: Events

Artistic New Mosaic Stairway for San Francisco – Tony Holiday

I’ve written here about the Hidden Garden tiled staircase that was completed some months ago. Before that, there was the first of its kind in San Francisco, the magnificent 16th Avenue Tiled steps, which was completed in 2005. Recently I learned, (on Facebook!) that San Francisco has a third mosaic stairway. Unlike the other two, which are quite close to our neighborhood, this is over at Innes Street, in the Bayview at Innes and Northridge.

Tony Holiday, who hikes around San Francisco and blogs at Stairways Are Heaven,  attended the opening ceremony. This account below is a summary from his blog post, New Tiled Stairway. (Go there for more – and higher-resolution – pictures of this and other walks. His account of Forest Knolls stairways is HERE.)

[Edited to add: There’s now a third colorful tiled stairway, and we’ve got photographs (Thanks, Tony!): More Colorful Tiled Stairs – Lincoln Park.]

NEW TILED STAIRWAY by Tony Holiday

There’s a new tiled stairway in San Francisco’s Bayview/Hunters Point neighborhood called “Flights of Fancy.” Learned about it from the Hidden Garden Steps Website (16th Ave. tiled stairway in the Golden Gate Heights neighborhood, Inner Sunset) where there are some photos. There’s some interesting info about this latest stairway art project on SF Department of Public Work’s page.

San Francisco’s third tiled stairway is named for Dr. Arelious Walker, a pastor and author who’s known for many good deeds in the Bayview community. I quote from an Internet article:

“One of the most distinguished honors a city can pay tribute to its greatest contributors is naming a street in their honor. Usually when that happens the person is deceased but in this case an exception was made and the great city of San Francisco named in his honor the street “Arelious Walker Drive” in the BayView Hunters Point and New BayView Districts. Dr. Walker is a Community Champion. His ultimate dream is to build TRUE HOPE SQUARE, a housing development with a senior citizens home, child daycare center, and a special home for those men and women that do not have any place to go when they get saved. Dr. Walker is constantly fighting to clean up the neighborhoods, keep affordable housing in every neighborhood, and to keep his dream alive so that it may come to fruition.”

987170_orig - 2 a bay view

During a Bayview “Sunday Streets” a few years ago I had a great time exploring some of the neighborhood’s stairways and Hilltop Park (with the big sundial) but had not gone quite as far east as is the new stairway. I’d heard of Innes St. in the Bayview as it runs off Third St. and is on the T-Third Metro line, so I looked up Innes on Google Maps to see if it runs through to Arelious Walker where the stairway is; it does not. At Innes near Hudson, this seemed a rather long walk from the T-Third. I was, however, able to attend the opening celebration with a friend who has a car. There’s a very nice city-and-bay-view from the top of the stairs  and plenty of other stairways in the neighborhood that snake up to and around the residences. This area is near India Basin Shoreline Park.

While here, however, I noticed that the extremely familiar #19 Polk bus (that also crawls over Potrero Hill) stops right at the foot of the stairs. So I could’ve taken this bus without long waits for a “neighborhood bus” (as in the #36 Teresita and #37 Corbett, for example).

7983072_orig - 5 foot of the stairway

Here’s some detail from the foot of the stairs.

3263449_orig - 6 foot of the stairs

5273362_orig - 7 climbing upClimbing up…

5899206_orig - 8 - 87 stepsAnd further up…

9134398_orig - 9 midstepsMiddle steps…

5057015_orig - 10 it turns hereIt turns here.

7434113_orig - 12 go see this in person

Go see this in person!

9795413_orig -13 nearing the topNearing the top here…

408210_orig - 14 San Franciscos 3rd tiled stairwayA closer look at the designs…

5984512_orig - 19 stairway from across the streetHere’s what it looks like from the foot of the staircase.

I was able to get a shot of the gorgeous (and delicious) cake before it was cut.

630030_orig 3 cake

Before the ribbon was cut, attendees were treated to some bongo playing and several short intros to — and speeches by — people who helped make this artwork possible. The plaque is at the foot of the stairs, attributing “Flights of Fancy” to artists Aileen Barr and Colette Crutcher. (SFAC = San Francisco Arts Commission.)

274436_orig - 4 artists

“The artists were inspired by decorative patterns drawn from various cultures: Adinkra cloth from Ghana, Native American painted potter; Central American textiles; Japanese and Indonesian fabrics; Middle Eastern tile patterns and paisley designs from India.”

Learn to Deal with Emergencies! NERT Training in June/ July 2014

seismic house from NERT flyerSFFD NERT and SFSAFE want you to have skills to be prepared for emergencies big or small, and get to know your neighbors on your block to maximize resiliency after a disaster. The San Francisco Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT) is free training from the San Francisco Fire Department in how to help you, your family and your neighbors prepare for and respond to a disaster by working together.

NERT will be holding several new trainings in various neighborhoods in San Francisco during the month of June and July 2014. We find that citizens will take the NERT training outside of their neighborhoods as it fits into their schedules. Register on Eventbrite or call (415)970-2024 In addition, NERT will hold a Personal Readiness Workshop in the Ingleside and the Richmond Districts in June 2014.

The regular training sessions are once a week for 6 weeks. The 20-hour training taught by First Responders includes personal preparedness, light search and rescue, disaster medicine, shutting off your utilities, and how to participate as a member of a neighborhood response team. NERT also offers continuing training for graduates and activities that support building robust neighborhood teams. For more information, visit the NERT website at http://sfgov.org/sffdnert, or contact Lt. Erica Arteseros at (415)970-2022 or sffdnert@sfgov.org.

Bernal Heights
St. Kevin Church
702 Cortland Ave @ Ellsworth St.
Tuesdays
June 10 ~ July 15
6:30p-10:00p
RSVP for New Student – http://bit.ly/1j8BdER
RSVP for Recert – http://bit.ly/1kT8YcD

Nob Hill
St. Francis Memorial Hospital
900 Hyde St, Lower level, near Bush St.
Thursdays
June 19~ July 24
6:30p-10:00p
RSVP for New Student – http://bit.ly/1tahozD ;
RSVP for Recert – http://bit.ly/RUD317

Potrero Hill
St. Teresa’s Church
19th St @ Connecticut St
Wednesdays
July 16 ~ August 20
6:30p-10:00p
RSVP for New Student – http://bit.ly/1onD48w
RSVP for Recert – http://bit.ly/1oNQmyQ

And here are the one-day workshops:

Wednesday June 4, 2014
Supervisor Cohen hosts
Sunnyside Community Center
1654 Sunnydale Ave
6:00p-8:00p
Enroll – http://bit.ly/1g1oi8m
(Sorry, that was over before I got this posted)

Wednesday June 11, 2014
Supervisor Mar hosts
Richmond Library Branch
351 – 9th Ave
6:00p-8:00p
Enroll – http://bit.ly/1gRWsEC

 

Full Moon

The moon shines bright, which isn’t so usual in San Francisco. Very often, we have fog instead. It’s moody and wonderful but doesn’t give a clear look at the moon. Tonight’s clear (if you’re still up, take a look!)

I couldn’t help pulling out my camera. It’s a little Canon point-and-shoot, maybe just a notch above an iPhone in  ability, and it doesn’t much like low light conditions. In fact, my late lamented Nikon Coolpix did a better job with moon pictures. Like this one, from April 2010.

Forest Knolls Moonrise
Forest Knolls Moonrise

I even learned to get full-moon pictures with that (point it at the moon, make sure there’s nothing else in the field, and – for some reason – set it to flash).

This camera doesn’t do it. Here’s what I got tonight.

moon above eucalyptus forest

It was the more galling because binoculars that show the moon beautifully, down to the Mare Imbrium and the Crater Copernicus. So it was frustrating not to even get the markings one sees with the naked eye.

Until I tried taking a photograph through the binoculars. I lined up the camera lens and the eyepiece (which matched pretty well in size), focused and clicked. Here it is – not a sharp brilliant shot like those on Flickr, but probably the best moon picture I’ve gotten so far.  I’m pleased. I think it’s okay for a PAS camera without an actual telephoto lens.

full moon may 2014

Forest Knolls to Lose its Bus?

36 teresita sm

About a year ago, Joe Humphrys warned us that the SFMTA was planning to abandon the Forest Knolls section of the 36 Teresita bus service.  I wrote about that HERE, and Joe contributed a post HERE.

So, it’s happening, unless the neighborhood manages to get SFMTA to re-think this. The public hearing is on Feb 25th, 2014. (I got another message from Joe, with a link to the public hearing notice.)

Date: Feb 25th,
Time: 6 p.m.
Where: San Francisco State University,
Seven Hills Conference Center,
800 Font Blvd., San Francisco, CA 94132

And then Sara Lu wrote a note. This is important, because clearly if anything is going to change, it will need to come from neighborhood pressure. Otherwise, our bus is gone. Here’s her note (with minor edits and added emphasis):

Dear Web Master,

The posted route 36 notice at the bus stop caught my attention; and I looked into the details. Here is what I found: http://www.sfmta.com/sites/default/files/projects/rte_036_BW.pdf

[Webmaster: This is similar to the map at the top of this post, available as a PDF here: rte_036_BW]

Muni proposed to change route 36 by eliminating stops include Clarendon Avenue between Panorama and Oak Park drives, Oak Park and Warren drives, Lawton and Seventh avenues to Clarendon Avenue. This means no bus will come through Forest Knoll at all, which is completely unacceptable.

I sent in my objections on Muni’s website (http://tellmuni.com); but a singular post is not going to make the difference – we will need as much neighborhood support as possible. I strongly recommend posting the subject on the Forest Knoll website and throughout the neighborhood, encouraging as many residents to attend the public hiring on Feb 25 (6pm) and post on tellmuni feed back as possible.

(public hearing details: http://www.sfmta.com/zh-hant/calendar/meetings/community-meeting-proposed-service-changes-routes-17-18-28-28l-36-and-43)

I am a daily rider on the 36 bus from Devonshire and Warren drive. Route 36 is the only form of public transit through the Forest Knoll neighborhood. For daily commuters like myself and the many elderly residents in the neighborhood, it is the only form of connection to Forest Hill Muni station. A 30-minute bus frequency is already inconvenient enough; eliminating the route through Forest Knoll is completely unacceptable. It will leave the entire community stranded, without any feasible form of public transportation.

The proposed alternative is not at all realistic. Walking to 7th and Lawton or Clarendon may not seem terribly far on flat map; but anyone who knows the area topography would know, the Forest Knoll neighborhood is on a very steep hill. In fact, it is one of the highest points in San Francisco. It is impossible for any elderly resident to talk from the proposed alternative stops (20-30 minutes straight uphill); and completely impractical for daily rider like myself. I, as well as most residents, cannot afford to drive and park in downtown San Francisco, and have no intention to add to the congestion on the road.

I am trained as an urban planning, and fully support public transportation. Leaving a whole neighborhood/community without any form of accessible public transportation is not acceptable.

What would you propose we can do to make sure our neighborhood is not overlooked?

The only way to stop this is to protest. As Sara Lu points out, a few posts will not make a difference, but a whole lot will.

  • Please go to tellmuni.com and explain that there’s a lot of difference between a healthy young person strolling on a level street, and forcing elderly people to climb 30 minutes up one of the steepest slopes in San Francisco.
  • Please attend the hearing if you can and make your voices heard.

Supervisor Norman Yee’s Participatory Budgeting

I just got the details of Supervisor Yee’s interesting plan for participatory budgeting that he mentioned at the West of Twin Peaks Central Council (WTPCC) meeting on January 2014. Read on:

YOUR IDEAS. YOUR VOTE. YOUR DECISION.

Norman Yee fm FacebookWHAT IS PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING?
Participatory Budgeting is a democratic process that gives community members the opportunity to set budgeting priorities and make decisions on what community projects should be funded.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
For the first time, District 7 residents will be able to help decide how best to spend $100,000 for general projects and $250,000 for pedestrian safety improvements in District 7.

KICK-OFF COMMUNITY MEETING
Saturday, February 22, 2014 | 10:30AM to Noon
West Portal Clubhouse | 131 Lenox Way (b/t Ulloa and Verdon)
Join Supervisor Yee and community members to learn more about Participatory Budgeting and the grant application process for projects.
All District 7 residents are eligible to vote on the projects!

PROJECT PROPOSAL WORKSHOP
Wednesday, March 5, 2014 | 6:00PM to 7:30PM
Commodore Sloat Elementary School | 50 Darien Way (b/t Junipero Serra and San Rafael Way)
Learn more about the Participatory Budgeting process and how to develop your project ideas.

QUESTIONS?

MATTHIAS MORMINO Matthias.Mormino@sfgov.org 415.554.6516

VOTE ON THE PROJECTS
End of April (Dates to be Announced)
After proposals are finalized and submitted, community members like you will get to vote on which projects to fund!

West of Twin Peaks Central Council Meeting – Jan 2014

west of twin peaks council meeting January 2014The West of Twin Peaks Central Council (WTPCC)  had its first meeting of 2014 on January 27th, back in its lovely old club-house in Forest Hills. (The WTPCC is an association of associations; it has some 22 member organizations, including Forest Knolls Neighborhood Organization.) Attendance was thinner than usual, perhaps because of the cold. But they got a quorum of 11 delegates and things went quickly.

NORMAN YEE, D7 SUPERVISOR

Our District 7 Supervisor Norman Yee was present, and he spoke about pedestrian safety, and about using some funds he has available for the West Portal playground, and also to expand some open space beside Ingleside library. He’s setting up a system where various projects will be posted, and the ones people want the most will get funded. (Here’s a link to that process.)

RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE ELEMENT (ROSE)

Sally Stephens spoke about the Recreation and Open Space Element of the General Plan. It sets guidelines for how the city will use its open space in years to come. She was part of a working group convened by the Parks and Recreation Open Space Advisory Committee (PROSAC) that made exhaustive inputs into the draft plan. However, when the draft came out, they found they still had significant concerns, and submitted comments. The comment period is now closed, but WTPCC will send a letter in support of the concerns of the working group.

MT DAVIDSON

Jacquie Proctor spoke on behalf of the Miraloma Park Improvement Club about concerns regarding tree-felling in the forest on Mount Davidson by the Natural Areas Program. The WTPCC decided to send a letter in support.

MT SUTRO

I was invited to give a quick update about Mount Sutro Forest. UCSF has made some significant changes to their original plan. First, the range of slightly confusing objectives in the earlier plan have been simplified to focus on Safety. This is good because it enables a rational conversation about what that means and how best to achieve it. Second, and this is important: UCSF has committed to continuing its ‘No Pesticides’ policy on Mount Sutro. It has used no pesticides there since 2008, but the earlier Plan would have used up to 3 times the amount of pesticide used by SF Recreation and Parks Department in its parks – repeatedly, for seven years. There’s also been some reduction of the acreage affected, and the number of trees potentially destroyed has been reduced to around 4-5,000.

Forest Knolls will be most impacted by the new plan, though, with most of the tree-felling in the portion of the forest above our neighborhood – the purple area in the map below. (I will write about this in more detail another time.)

UCSF Revised Plan Map

I also spoke about the Natural Areas Program, which will affect one-quarter of Sutro Forest, including the narrow strip of forest along Clarendon Avenue, and on the Cole Valley side of the forest – and a total of 32 parks in the city. The new management plan (known as the Significant Management Resource Areas Management Plan) includes:

  • Cutting down 18,400 trees,
  • Restricting access to people and pets, and
  • Using increased amounts of herbicides.

PETITION

The San Francisco Forest Alliance has a petition up, asking the Mayor to rein in this program.  (That’s HERE, in case you want to sign.)

NERT Workshop & Training

seismic house from NERT flyerI got an email asking me to signal-boost three new Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT) 6-session training series – and a one-time NERT workshop.

NERT will be holding one workshop and three (3) new training beginning February 13 and March 18, 2014.   Please add our PDF flyer to your E-Newsletter/Website for the coming weeks.  We find that citizens will take the NERT training as it fits into their schedule.

[Here’s the PDF flyer: NERT 14-03-18-14-FebMar_Trainings ]

NEW! Personal Readiness for a resilient Community
One time workshop for you and your neighbors!

WHEN:Thursday February 13, 2014 6:30pm-8:30pm
WHERE: SFFD Division of Training
2310 Folsom St. enter through parking lot gate on 19th St
http://bit.ly/KqZV4g

REGULAR NERT CLASSES

STARTING FEBRUARY

1)  Noe Valley – Thursdays
Holy Innocents Church
455 Fair Oaks St @ 26th St

February 20, 6:30-10:00p: Class 1
February 27, 6:30-10:00p: Class 2
March 6, 6:30-9:30p: Class 3
March 13, 6:30p-10:00p: Class 4
March 20, 6:30p-9:30p: Class 5
March 27, 6:30p-10:00p: Class 6
Register:  http://bit.ly/1cxowvc

2)  Civic Center – Tuesdays
Hiram W. Johnson State Building  (Identification needed)
455 Golden Gate Ave. @ Polk St.
Milton Mark Conference room, lower level

February 25, 8:30a-4:30p: Class 1 & 2
March 4, 8:30a-4:00p: Class 3 & 4
March 11, 8:30a-4:30p: Class 5 & 6
Register: http://bit.ly/1c57A3J

STARTING MARCH

3)  Ingleside – Tuesdays
Lick Wilmerding HS
755 Ocean Ave. @ Howth

March 18, 6:30-10:00p: Class 1
March 25, 6:30-10:00p: Class 2
April 1, 6:30-9:30p: Class 3
April 8, 6:30p-10:00p: Class 4
school closed April 15
April 22, 6:30p-9:30p: Class 5
April 29, 6:30p-10:00p: Class 6
Register:  http://bit.ly/1fn93kq

The San Francisco Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT) is free training from the San Francisco Fire Department in how to help yourself and your neighbors prepare for and respond to a disaster by working together. The 20-hour training taught by First Responders includes personal preparedness, light search and rescue, disaster medicine, shutting off your utilities, and how to participate as a member of a neighborhood response team. NERT also offers continuing training for graduates and activities that support building robust neighborhood teams. For more information, visit the NERT website or contact Lt. Erica Arteseros at (415)970-2022 or sffdnert@sfgov.org.

Thank you,

Diane Rivera
Coordinator Chair
San Francisco Neighborhood Emergency Response Team
KG6QLX
415-753-1443
http://sf-fire.org/index.aspx?page=879

Inner Sunset Halloween – We’re Invited

Barbara Oleksiw, the marvelous organizer who puts on all kinds of interesting events at the Northwest corner of Irving and 6th, is of course doing Halloween – not once but twice over. She asked me to run this.

We’re all invited.  It looks like you could do the Forest Knolls Halloween loop as well as this, if you want.

There’s a pumpkin promenade the evening before:

pumpkins on on parade public domainPumpkin Promenade with Punch!    The Night *BEFORE* Halloween, Wednesday, Oct. 30th, 7 ~ 9pm

Hoping to make this an annual event, we are *this year* offering a creative display along Irving St., near Sixth Avenue, of carved pumpkins, starting at 7p.  We invite YOU to lend us your carved pumpkins (just for the evening).  Or, drop them off earlier, and pick them up later. We’ll have plenty of tea-lights, too.

All adults & kids will be offered warm drinks…and perhaps some cookies will appear.

Questions answered by Barbara: 415/2.46.47.48

halloween-scary-house public domainAnd then there’s a Halloween party on Halloween itself:

An Old-Fashioned Halloween for pre-teens  -Thursday, Oct. 31st  5 ~ 9pm

Spooks, Ghosts, Games & Treats (of course)
SPECIAL: Tricks for Kids to Play on Adults
All Adults Welcome when Accompanied by a Kid!

Photographs for Families with Babies, too!
•  absolutely no admission charge  •  free, free, free  •
NW Corner of Irving & 6th, Inner Sunset

Questions/Volunteer: Barbara 415 / 2.46.47.48

 

Cal Academy of Sciences – 94131 Free Days Fri-Sun

CalAcademy entrance

On the California Academy of Sciences Facebook page:

Do you live in zip codes 94110, 94114, 94117, 94127, 94131, or 94132? We invite you to come to the Academy – for free! – this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. San Francisco Neighborhood Free Days are generously sponsored by Target.

Forest Knolls is of course in 94131, and if you aren’t a member of Cal Academy, this is a great offer. They do these free days from time to time. It’s limited to six kids per adult, and both photo ID and proof of residency are required. (A driving license will do both.)

(We wrote about Cal Academy free days in more detail back in April 2013.)

This time, the free days for our neighborhood coincide with Hardly Strictly Bluegrass music festival in Golden Gate Park, so traffic will be heavy and parking tough. The next neighborhood free day will be in Feb 28 – March 2,  2014.

If you’re planning to go, here’s the relevant page on their website.

July 4th in San Francisco

It starts every year on July 4th morning –  indecision about where to watch the fireworks. The default for me is Twin Peaks or Tank Hill, where we can see the sky blooming from a distance and the city below. But today, we decided to get closer in, so we drove down, in the nick of time, to the Marina. It was crowded, of course, but we maneuvered into a parking spot that was out of the way if not entirely legal.

Darkness falling

People were double and triple-parked; it didn’t matter, we were all there for the same thing. We were all waiting for darkness to fall over the Bay. The Coit Tower was lit in red, white and blue.  Across the Bay, Sausalito’s display started.

waiting for the fireworks

Then there was the first boom! and a fire-flower appeared. Everyone started to move eastward to get closer. I joined them; a street-lamp where I stood was messing up my pictures. I passed a beacon flashing white, and then found a good vantage point.

fireworks start

All around me, people were taking photographs, many with iPads or smartphones, and a few with cameras mounted on tripods.

pix 39 fireworks 023

blue flower

fireworks 1

fireflowers in the sky

I like this picture. It’s such a classic fireworks display shot, but it captures some of the wonder of these night-blooming sky-flowers.  And here it is closer up.

fire mums

The smiley-faces came out beautifully, with no wind to blow them around.

smilies

This one reminded me of a bit from old poem: “lily cups… those flowers made of light…” These literally were.

Lilies made of light

star spattered

The grand finale was an extended burst of red white and blue. Everyone cheered.

red white and blue

Hope you all had a happy 4th!

Traffic Calming for Forest Knolls, Soon?

flensed carReaders of this blog may remember that neighbor Beverly Mack has been working since 2008 to get some traffic calming for Warren Drive and Oak Park. If you’d like to read about that, the details are in my September 2012 post: Traffic Calming on Warren Drive: When?

Well, we have Action! SFMTA will be sending round letters and ballots to us all with a proposal for traffic calming. I’m not sure what it will be (Beverly asked for speed bumps).

But – when you get the letter and ballot, please respond! You could be saving lives.

Here’s what SFMTA wrote to Beverly:

From: “Provence, Dan” <Dan.Provence@sfmta.com>
To: “Beverly Mack (bmack4paws@sbcglobal.net)” <bmack4paws@sbcglobal.net>
Sent: Friday, June 28, 2013 3:17 PM
Subject: Traffic Calming on Warren and Oak Park

Hi Beverly,

I wanted to let you know that soon you and your neighbors will be receiving letters and ballots regarding traffic calming on your street.  The proposal included in the letter has been approved by various City departments and now it is up to residents to decide whether or not they would like to proceed with traffic calming measures.  I will be out of the office next week but I will be available beginning July 8 to answer any questions.

Thanks,
Dan

Dan Provence
Livable Streets Subdivision

SFMTA | Municipal Transportation Agency
Sustainable Streets Division
1 South Van Ness Ave, 7th floor
San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone: 415.701.4448
Fax: 415.701.4343
email: Dan.Provence@sfmta.com

Rainbow Lights in San Francisco

If any city is celebrating the Supreme Court’s recent judgement about the Defense of Marriage Act, and about Proposition 8 (which made same-sex marriage illegal in Calfornia), it would be San Francisco. Everything’s coming up rainbows.

I went to Twin Peaks to see City Hall lit up. I’d been told Coit Tower also was, and some other buildings, but it’s City Hall that really counts. And it was visible, much more so than this shot below would indicate. (My camera really doesn’t like low-light conditions.)

rainbow lit city hall and san francisco lights

The web’s been flooded with pictures, of course. But it was exciting, and I felt I really needed to see it, up close, in person. It was nearing 11 p.m. when I got to City Hall, but it wasn’t deserted. Clusters of people wandered around, looking at the lights, which were spectacular. Everyone was taking photographs, with everything from iPhones to professional quality equipment with tripods.

everyone was taking photographs at City Hall

I took a few of my own with my little Point-and-shoot thingy that doesn’t like night time shots. But City Hall was so bright, they came out okay anyway.

San Francisco City Hall with rainbow lights to celebrate fall of DOMA and Prop8I remember reading, many years ago, a short story that had two gay guys married to each other. Then, it was science fiction. Now, it’s becoming real (again) in San Francisco. One of the marvelous ways in which we live in the future.

Dog People: Here’s the Million Dog March!

kid walking dogSomeone sent this to me, and I thought that dog-friendly Forest Knolls would be interested!

————————————————————

MILLION DOG MARCH

Sunday, June 2, 2013

McLaren Park, San Francisco

We can’t break the world record without you and your dog!

San Francisco Bay Area dog lovers have worked hard to make the Bay Area the most dog friendly place on earth. Yet there are threats to many of the gains we’ve made—from Muir Beach to Montara, Oakland to San Francisco. That’s why dog people are planning to gather one June 2nd at McLaren Park in San Francisco to stand up and be counted, once again, for our dogs and our community—and to have a whole lot of fun at the same time as we try to break the Guinness World Record for largest dog walk.

We hope you’ll join us for the first-ever Million Dog March, a fabulously large dog walk and festival of fun and games, and help us:

  • Break the world record for largest dog walk
  • Show the size and passion of the Bay Area dog community
  • Stand up for our right to walk with our dogs in city parks, federal recreation areas and other public spaces
  • Raise money for Friends of SF Animal Care and Control
  • Enjoy a great time in one of San Francisco’s most beautiful yet underutilized parks

The Million Dog March will be a beautiful three-mile walk in McLaren Park, through grassy fields, around scenic lakes, under redwoods, over charming wooden bridges, and along trails with some spectacular views of San Francisco. After the walk, there will be a festival with music, vendors, information tables and games and activities for you and your dog. Have a photo taken of you and your dog. Let your dog try her paw at some agility equipment, go bobbing for tennis balls to win a prize, or see his furry face as a caricature.

The cost of the event is $25 in advance/$30 on the day of the event, which includes registration for one dog and its human family members as well as one t-shirt for you and a bandana for your doggie. Any proceeds from the event will be donated to Friends of SF Animal Care and Control, to benefit city shelter animals. Because of the number of participants, we ask that you keep your dog on leash during the walk.

REGISTER EARLY!



To register and find out more: http://www.milliondogmarchsf.org

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/milliondogmarchsf

Event sponsors: Zynga, Pet Camp, K9 Scrub Club, Pet Food Express, Yelp, San Francisco SPCA, the Park Cafes, Citipets. Media sponsors: The Bark, 7 x 7, Bay Woof, San Francisco Bay Guardian.

Hosted by SFDOG. Endorsed by Crissy Field Dog Group, DogPAC of San Francisco, Ft. Funston Dog Walkers, Grateful Dogs Rescue, ODOG-Oakland Dog Owners Group, Ocean Beach DOG, Marin Unleashed, McLaren DOG, Montara Dog Group, Muttville, Point Isabel DOG, the Professional Dog Walkers Association, Save Off Leash Dog Walking, Wonder Dog Rescue.

California Academy of Sciences Free Days

CalAcademy entrance

The California Academy of Sciences has a few free days occasionally. (The usual ticket is $30 for general admission; $25 for seniors/ students/ youth 12-17; and $20 for kids 4-11. Under 4s are free.) The last admission on free days is at 4 p.m., but it’s usually crowded so they recommend getting there early.

  • Target sponsors free days by zipcode, and ours (for 94131) are coming up soon: April 12-14th, 2013. If you’re going, the adults will need proof of residence, and can take in up to 6 children.
  • On April 18th, admission is free until 2 p.m. but the place closes at 3 p.m.
  • The next general free day, courtesy Chase, is on 2 June 2013.

Before visiting, check out the details HERE on their website.

CalAcademy is only about 10-15 minutes away from Forest Knolls. (Some people even walk down there, though I guess it’s a bit of a hike back, uphill!) Personally, I find it so interesting and convenient that I have a membership. It takes only 2-3 trips to break even.  The Membership page of their website is HERE.

WalkSF launches “Walk to Work Day” – 12 April 2013

I got this message from Walk SF, which is promoting a “Walk to Work Day.”

walk2workdayOn Friday,  April 12, San Francisco launches the nation’s first ever Walk to Work Day. All it takes to participate is walking fifteen minutes of your commute. Wherever you are in the city, you can share your experience by following us on twitter.com/walksf or instagram.com/walksf and posting with the #walk2work hash tag. You can also like us at facebook.com/walksf and share the attached image on your timeline or make it your profile picture.

Or, you and your friends can stop by one of our official Hubs between 7:30 and 10 a.m. where we’ll also be handing out “I Walked to Work” stickers and FREE Clipper cards pre-loaded with a ride home.

Not only will you get some energy and exercise, you’ll also help reduce the city’s carbon emissions and get FREE perks at certain coffee shops and other local businesses (here’s a map with all the sites and details).

After work, you can head over to Show Dogs for happy hour and a chance to win one of the Walk to Work Day contests:

  • “Best Shoe Bling” – take a picture and post to Twitter/Instagram with #walk2work hash tag, then follow us to see if you’ve won
  • “Longest Walk Commute” – post to Twitter with #walk2work hash tag, or on the Walk SF Facebook fan page
  • “Most Interesting Sight” – take a picture and post to Twitter/Instagram with #walk2work hash tag, then follow us to see if you’ve won
  • “Most Employees Participating” – post to Twitter with #walk2work hash tag, or on the Walk SF Facebook fan page (there’s even a free employer toolkit you can download with resources to encourage participation)

If you’re interested, there’s more information on Walk to Work Day, check out walk2workday.org and they’re happy to respond to questions.

West Portal Arts and Crafts Fair Coming up – April 12-14

west portal sidewalk fine arts and crafts fair 2013I was in West Portal yesterday, and saw this poster for the annual street fair. It’s always worth a visit, if you like arts and crafts, or are looking for a unique gift for someone. I try to go each year. Here are links to my posts from previous years.

Donate Books for Inner Sunset Book Blast!

A message from Barbara Oleksiw, who stages wonderful free volunteer-driven events in her house on the corner of Irving and 6th… she’s collecting books for her annual Book Blast. If you have old books that need a new home… drop them off!

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BooksWe’re now collecting for the Inner Sunset Third Usually-Annual Book Blast.
This year, the event will be a full weekend, Saturday/Sunday, April 27 & 28
at the NW corner of Irving & Sixth; Noon until exhaustion.

Feel free to drop books NOW at 1297 Sixth Ave. in our sheltered doorway, in bags/boxes, not too heavy to make my eyes pop out. If necessary, we can pick up your donations, just call. We’d love kids’ books, fiction, dictionaries, books, psychology, science, cookbooks, travel, maps, books, videos, biographies, books, CDs, DVDs, books, paperbacks, history, and books!

**please note: we canNOT accept text books, encyclopedias or magazines, unfortunately.**
This is not a charity event, or a swap and no money will be exchanged…
It is our neighborhood’s effort to recycle books.
Leftover books will be donated to the SF Public Library for their annual fundraiser.

Volunteers *very* welcome (err…needed!) Pls call Barbara: 2.46.47.48

Crestmont Preservation Coalition Bulletin

The steep hillside above the planned development
The steep hillside above the planned development

This is a critical time for the San Francisco Overlook issue. (Backstory HERE and most recent information HERE.)

Here’s a bulletin from the Crestmont-Mt.Sutro-Forest Knolls Preservation Coalition:

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BULLETIN from

Crestmont-Mt.Sutro-Forest Knolls Neighborhood Preservation Coalition     

SF Overlook Development     

Too large!!!   Not safe!!!   Help Stop or Downscale!!!

Working to Stop or Downscale S.F. Overlook Development

Update February 8, 2013

CRITICAL PHASE!!! NEIGHBORS UNITE!!!

The Planning Commission Hearing is scheduled for Thursday, March 7 and it’s time to mobilize! Any further development on this hillside, at the end of the City’s longest cul-de-sac, is fraught with risk and is wrong for our neighborhood. But if construction proves to be inevitable, instead of the proposed 34 unit development, our goal is to get this project downscaled to a smaller number of single family homes as proposed in Alternative B in the EIR (p. 274).

Please mark your calendars and plan to attend two important neighborhood meetings as well as the critical Planning Commission hearing.

  • Wednesday, February 13 at 7 PM – S.F. Overlook Developer Forum. Location: Midtown Terrace Community Room, 280 Olympia Way (at Clarendon Ave.)  Hear the developer’s proposals and express your concerns.
  • Tuesday, February 19, 7-9 PM – All Forest Knolls and Crestmont neighbors are invited to a get-together to discuss issues and strategy for the Planning Commission Hearing. Hosted by Reed Minuth and Megin Scully, 485 Crestmont Drive. RSVP Jeffrey Eade, eadej@me.com, 415-606-4414.
  • Thursday, March 7, 12 Noon – Planning Commission Hearing, Room 400, City Hall.  Everyone opposed to this project is urged to attend the hearing! Those who wish to speak will have 3 minutes to present their arguments against this massive 34 unit development which threatens our neighborhood.  ATTENDANCE IS IMPORTANT!  Additional information and flyer posted on http://crestmontpreservation.org

PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS!

STOP SF OVERLOOK t-shirts can be ordered here: http://www.zazzle.com/preservecrestmont
We have also posted a link on http://crestmontpreservation.org.

REMINDER: Please display the poster in your window and urge your neighbors to also display the poster! If you need a poster, please email info@crestmontpreservation.org.

Sam Sobol
Working to preserve our neighborhood

Crestmont%20Poster-400w[1]