RECENT HEADLINES AND NEWS

May 2008
In this edition:

• Board of Supervisors Overrides Mayor's Veto of Good Government Law
• Fix Masonic Movement Gains Momentum
• Aerial Moth Spraying Stopped--For Now
• Divisadero Touchless Car Wash Off Hours Parking Approved
• Plastic Bag Ban--One Year Later
• Supervisor Mirkarimi Introduces Legislation to Consolidate and Formalize Ex-Offender Reentry Councils
• Haight-Ashbury Street Fair to Add Family-Friendly "Children's Alley"
• Supervisor Mirkarimi Introduces Legislation to Extend Preference for Certificate of Preference Holders
• Third Friday Art Party: Extension Of East Of the West
• Phone Numbers for Useful City Resources
• Looking for a Job?
• Upcoming Events
• Board of Supervisors Information
• Office and Community Volunteers Needed
• Comments, Suggestions, or Questions?
• Did you miss a previous newsletter?

Board of Supervisors Overrides Mayor's Veto of Good Government Law

The Board of Supervisors voted today to override the Mayor's veto of
Supervisor Mirkarimi's good government measure requiring video and audio recordings of all City Hall hearings. The legislation was originally passed by a 7 to 4 vote on April 29.

The ordinance will dramatically increase the current number of City Hall meetings available to the general public via the City's website. The Entertainment Commission, Department of the Environment Commission, Recreation and Park Commission, Animal Welfare and Control Commission and the Ethics Commission will now have all their recordings archived on the City's website. The ordinance further requires that all recordings be made accessible to the public without charge on a playback device provided by the City. For more information, see this Examiner article.

Fix Masonic Movement Gains Momentum
Supervisor Mirkarimi is pleased to announced, in an exciting turn of events, the very same judge who has previously frozen the implementation of the City's Bike Plan ruled that the Fell and Masonic intersection poses such a significant hazard to public safety that his injunction should not apply. The result: after years, literally, of advocating for a safer Fell and Masonic intersection, we should finally see the fix we have been asking for. This summer, a dedicated bicycle and pedestrian-only crossing light phase should be installed at the notorious intersection. Cars turning left onto Masonic Ave from Fell St. will be held by a red left turn arrow, then given a green arrow once bikes and pedestrians have crossed safely.

Thanks are due to the Fix Masonic group, who have been out on the street in the last year, collecting names on petitions, helping bikes and pedesterians cross, and speaking up at public meetings. Special thanks also to the SF Bicycle Coalition volunteers who participated in the Volunteer Crossing Guard programs which brought attention to the problems. Grassroots community action is making the Panhandle Pathway what it should be: a safe, dignified, and delightful place to ride! For more information on the changes at the Fell Masonic intersection: www.fixmasonic.org and sfbike.org/fellmasonic. A Chronicle article on this issue can be seen here.

Aerial Moth Spraying Stopped--For Now
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi's resolution regarding aerial spraying was unanimously passed by the Board of Supervisors, and it opposes aerial spraying in favor of "least-toxic" ground-based options. The resolution also calls on the City Attorney to prepare litigation against the state should the state insist on aerial spraying.

Thanks to the hard work of concerned citizens and numerous other resolutions passed by City Councils in California, the potentially hazardous spraying for the Light Brown Apple Moth in the Bay Area is on hold. On April 24, Superior Court Judge Paul Burdick ruled that "aerial pesticide sprays must halt over Santa Cruz County until agricultural officials do a full environmental review of their anti-pest program." Even more significantly for us in San Francisco, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, after meeting with Carole Migden and Marin County officials, ruled that "the state would suspend all aerial spraying across the state until Aug. 17."

"This is only a delay in the program, it doesn't end it, we need to have it permanently ended so our work isn't completed," said Emily Levy with the California Alliance to Stop the Spray. Please help fight the spraying by: spreading the word to others about the problem, writing "snail mail" to the Governor, and going to an event to learn more about this issue.

For more information on the LBAM spraying and the fight against it, go to playnotspray.org or stopthespray.org. A Chronicle article about the LBAM spraying plan can be viewed here.

Divisadero Touchless Car Wash Off Hours Parking Approved
In light of the ongoing hassle to find peak-time parking on the Divisadero Corridor, we are happy to report that on April 17 the Planning Commission approved a conditional use request to allow the Touchless Car Wash at Divisadero and Oak to operate as a parking lot. Supervisor Mirkarimi has promoted this use as a way to ease parking problems. The Commission imposed "good-neighbor" conditions including noise restrictions and requiring a neighborhood liaison to facilitate communication with the community. ABC Parking will operate the lot with one valet attendant from 8:00pm to 2:00am. Happy parking!

Plastic Bag Ban--One Year Later
On May 20th San Francisco's plastic bag ban, which already applies to large supermarkets, expands to cover chain pharmacies. These pharmacies were granted an extra six months to comply with the law. The bag ordinance, which was introduced and championed by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, bans traditional plastic carryout bags. The implementation of the ordinance marks a significant victory in the fight to reduce the amount of plastic entering the City's landfills, especially given that similar ordinances in several other cities are facing lawsuits and other pressures aimed at delaying implementation of their plastic bag bans.

Supervisor Mirkarimi's legislation has helped ignite a worldwide interest in banning these ubiquitous scourges of modern life. In addition to the immediate benefits stemming from using and discarding less plastic waste, the law has helped people to become more aware of how their actions affect the environment and led many to realize that the minor effort involved in shopping with reusable tote bags is a small price to pay for improving the environment of the City and the world.

Further information on how the ban is spreading and helping to enhance environmental awareness can be found in this NPR story
and this USA Today article.

Supervisor Mirkarimi and the plastic bag ban legislation he created are featured in the April 28 issue of People magazine (see below). The full-page write up avers that Ross deserves some of the credit for a nationwide re-evaluation of our relationship with disposable plastic grocery bags. The article notes that San Francisco's ban is the nation's first and that now more than a dozen US cities and four states are considering similar bans. It goes on to record that our country consumes between 30-100 billion bags per year, that untold thousands of sea turtles and other creatures are killed by these bags yearly, and that plastic bags have been reported to litter even remote Antarctica. Hopefully this national attention will invigorate and energize the efforts of other jurisdictions!



Supervisor Mirkarimi Introduces Legislation to Consolidate and Formalize Ex-Offender Reentry Councils
In the context of both a US incarceration rate which leads the world with 1 in 100 adults locked up and a frightening surge in homicides in San Francisco this year, Supervisor Mirkarimi has introduced legislation to combine the City's two existing post-incarceration re-entry councils into one body. The unified council will formally advise the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors as to programs which serve ex-offenders, determine best practices for serving this population, and coordinate information and planning among all interested private and public stakeholders. Currently, there exists the San Francisco Re-entry Council, which was created by the District Attorney's Office, and the Safe Communities Reentry Council, which has been run by the Public Defender's Office since 2005 with Supervisor Mirkarimi as Co-Chair.

Both councils exist to promote the implementation of policies and programs that reduce recidivism and facilitate successful reentry for probationers and parolees returning to San Francisco. Participants in the SCRC have included research institutions such as the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice and service providers such as Walden House, SFSU Project Rebound and City College's Second Chance Program. Cooperation and input from formerly incarcerated individuals, as well as parole and probation administrators and service providers, has been a key factor in the Council's success. For information on the SCRC, click here. A link to the San Francisco Reentry Council can be found here. By combining these councils and giving them official responsibility, Supervisor Mirkarimi hopes to build on the important work they have done and to support the safety of the community and the rehabilitation of ex-offenders.

Haight-Ashbury Street Fair to Add Family-Friendly "Children's Alley"
Located on Belvedere Street between Haight and Waller, Children's Alley will host educational and entertainment activities such as the Public Library's Bookmobile (sign up for a library card) and a stage with clowns, music and other activities. Another feature will be booths with free games and prizes, face painting, a hands-on exhibition of exotic creatures, and a talking police car.

Congratulations to Aaliyah Ortega, the 6 year old winner of the Children's Alley kids poster contest. An exhibition of all the contest entries begins on Monday, May 26th and runs through Friday June 7th at 1726 Haight Street. A special Open House to salute the artists will be held there on Saturday, May 31, 2008, from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. All of the children that entered a drawing will be recognized with a special citation and gifts. Families with children are invited to attend the Open House celebrations and enjoy some treats.

Please note that the Children's Alley will be reserved for the enjoyment of pre-teens. Parents are required to accompany their children at all times as childcare is not a feature of Children's Alley.

The Haight-Ashbury Street Fair is Sunday June 8th. Please join Supervisor Mirkarimi at the Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for Children's Alley at 10:50 AM.
More Information: www.haightstreetfair.org

Supervisor Mirkarimi Introduces Legislation to Extend Preference for Certificate of Preference Holders
On Tuesday April 15th Supervisor Mirkarimi introduced legislation providing that all City affordable housing programs give preference in those programs to Certificate of Preference Holders under the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency's Property Owner and Occupant Preference Program. Under existing law, residents who were displaced from the Western Addition and Bayview by the Redevelopment Agency have preference for housing developed within Redevelopment Areas. Under the proposed ordinance, those individuals will receive preference for all City affordable housing programs including but not limited to inclusionary housing units, down payment assistance, and the jobs-housing linkage program. In conjunction with proposed Redevelopment Agency action to extend preference holder status to children and grandchildren of current certificate holders, the legislation constitutes a significant reparations initiative aimed at turning the tide of African American flight from San Francisco and addressing the lack of access to affordable housing by African Americans under the current lottery system. The Land Use Committee will be discussing this legislation on Monday, June 2nd.

Third Friday Art Party: Extension Of East Of the West
This event is free and open to the general public.

When: Friday, May 16th, 5:30 to 8:00pm
Where: Supervisor Mirkarimi's office, Room 282 at City Hall

In collaboration with SomArts Cultural Center, the Office of Supervisor Mirkarimi presents "Extension Of East Of the West". How can we understand a region as diverse and far-ranging as the Middle East? Curators Taraneh Hemami and Anuradha Vikram pose this question to a selection of artists with roots in the region and beyond, working in all visual arts media. Topics of particular concern include how to represent religious, ethnic and cultural diversity within an area of the world too often homogenized in discussions of current events; the roles and status of women and queer or transgender persons within traditional cultures; and the changes to self-identification that immigration engenders.

Accessibility Information: City Hall is accessible to persons using wheelchairs and other disabilities. The Van Ness Avenue Entrance is closed at 5pm each day. The entrances to City Hall that are open after 5:00 pm are the Grove Street and the Polk Street / Carlton B. Goodlett Entrances. The Polk Street / Carlton B. Goodlett entrance is accessible via a ramp and a wheelchair lift. All of the other City Hall entrances are accessible via ramp.

 

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, May 13: Buzz On Biz Winter/Spring 2008 Club
Time: 5-7pm
Location: Jones United Methodist Church, 1975 Post Street (at Steiner)
You are invited to congratulate the Buzz On Biz Winter/Spring 2008 Youth Business Club participants, presented by Urban Solutions. Light refreshments will be served. To RSVP, call 533-4433, ext. 101.

Wednesday, May 14: 5th Annual Public Defender's Juvenile Justice Summit
Time: 9:30am – 4pm
Location: Koret Auditorium, SF Main Library, 30 Grove Street
Less Talk and more Action: Solutions for Safe Schools and Safe Streets
Free event with workshops and speakers that include youth representatives, SFUSD School Superintendent Carlos Garcia, MTA Director Nathaniel Ford, DCYF Director Margaret Brodkin, Community Response Network, and many more.
To RSVP and for more information call 753-8107, or email ilona.solomon@sfgov.org.

Thursday, May 15: Bike To Work Day
Commute to work with over 100,000 fellow cyclists for this annual fun event. Volunteers will cheer you on at 25 Energizer Stations around San Francisco! Stop by one of the stations to load up on free coffee, snacks, and convenient tote bags for future commutes. San Francisco Bike Coalition will also be passing out info about how you can get involved in making San Francisco a better bicycling city. Stations open during morning and evening commute hours.
For more information, visit www.sfbike.org/?btwd.

Saturday, May 17: 4th Annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration
Time: 11:00 AM - 6:00PM
Location: Japantown
The largest gathering of Asian Pacific Americans in the nation is back and bigger than ever, featuring Asian American artists, DJs, martial arts, today's Asian pop culture, j-cars, a Muay Thai kickboxing ring, scrumptious food, a karaoke contest, arts and crafts, anime, free community health screenings and exciting prizes!

Saturday, May 17: Annual North of the Panhandle Block Party
Time; 11am – 6pm
Location: Lyon Street, between Hayes and Grove
Come out to see old friends, meet new ones, and enjoy the community. Kids activities begin at 11am, including a magician, bouncing houses, and face painting, followed by hula-hoops at noon and live music from local bands during the afternoon. Also enjoy the legendary Parkside Market BBQ!

Saturday, May 17: Spring Garden Festival
Time: 10am to 4pm
Location: Koshland Park at the corner of Page Buchanan
Join the fun of the Spring Festival this month. From 10am to 1pm, there will be a work party to weed, plant and clean up Koshland Park and Garden. Then from 1-4pm, celebrate the hard work with music, kids activities and a veggie BBQ.
For more information, contact Community Garden Coordinator: Nora Brereton at 424-5770, or email noraborealis@juno.com.

Saturday, May 17: Hayes Valley Art Dedication
Time: Noon to 2pm
Sculpture dedication for "KOILOS" and the "Chain Link Art"
Location: in Hayes Valley @ Patricia Green, Octavia and Hayes Street
Dedication ceremonies at noon all welcome.

Saturday, May 17: Grattan Elementary Fun Fest and Silent Auction
Time: 12 noon to 4 PM
Grattan Elementary School hosts a Festival and Silent Auction.
This is a great event and the community is welcome. All funds will go directly to support the students and programs at Grattan. 165 Grattan Street. See you there!

Sunday, May 18: Handful Players and Village Project's The Fillmore Five: A Jazz Musical In Rhapsody
Time: 1pm
Location: Yoshi's Jazz Club, 1330 Fillmore Street (at Eddy)
You are invited to this world premiere by award winning playwright Marcus Garvey, accompanied by the renowned Dee Spencer Jazz Trio. Tickets are $5 (under 18 FREE) and there is a reception following the performance.
For more information, visit www.handfulplayers.org.

Saturday, May 24: Sea Food Fest
Time: 5-9PM
Location: Greater Gethsemane Church, 240 Page Street
Back by popular demand, Pastoral Care Ministry presents an all you can eat seafood fest. For a $60 donation, you can enjoy red snapper, catfish, cooked Dungeness crab, Boston Clam Chowder, prawns and fried shrimp. Add Cooked whole lobster for a $75 per person donation. Space is limited, so purchase tickets early.
For more information, call 241-9055.

Friday, May 30: Market/Octavia Plan Party
Time: 5:30 – 9:30
Location: the Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell street (near Van Ness)
It's over, so let's have a party! Join Supervisor Mirkarimi, Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association, Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association and community friends for an evening of refreshments and reflections on the now adopted plan. Everyone welcome including the kiddies. Inquires; pcohen_sf@yahoo.com or jhenders@sbcglobal.net.

Sunday, June 8, Haight Ashbury Street Fair
Time: 10 AM - 6PM
Location: Haight Street between Masonic and Stanyan
A day filled with music on two stages, food, art & crafts for all to enjoy! For more information visit www.haightashburystreetfair.org.

June 4-8 and June 11-15: 10th Annual San Francisco Black Film Festival
Celebrate African America Cinema and view a diverse collection of films from emerging and upcoming artists. The SFBFF will showcase more than 70 films. There will also be panels, workshops, a gala awards event and other activities with special guests.
For more information, visit www.sfbff.org. To volunteer call 415-771-9271, or email film2fest@yahoo.com.

June 23-August 7: Free Tennis Summer Program
Time: 1-3pm
Location: 1050 McAllister Street
Free tennis for all levels of children 5 to 17, with rackets and tennis balls provided. There will be tournaments and ball-kid trainings. The year round program for kids is Monday through Friday at 4pm.
For more information, contact Coach Carl Mendoza at 346-0589, or email volleypro@aol.com.

Every Wednesday: Young Mothers United, support group for Formerly Incarcerated Young Mothers
Time: 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Location: Call Cria at the Center for Young Women's Development for location.
Learn about your rights young mother and community resources. Free food and childcare, and earn $25 dollars for every workshop.
Contact: Cria, 415-703-8800

The District 5 Interfaith Teen Council
Teens in the Fillmore, Western Addition, Japantown neighborhoods
Date: to be determined
Come and join in creating a new and vibrant multi-denomination community in your own backyard. The members are from local schools, churches, and religious institutions interested in sharing in religion, and strengthening the neighborhood with fellow District 5 teens. If you are a teen, or know of teens in your community that might be interested, and want to learn more or come to the next meeting.
Contact: Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman
mgoodman@jchsofthebay.org or 415-345-9777.

Recruiting BEET Rangers- Band of Environmentally Educated Teens
Green Job Training Internships stipend of $1,000+
Date: 8 months Spring-Fall 2008
This is a great opportunity for low income, diverse youth between the ages of 13-19 years old living in the Western Addition. This is an opportunity to become an environmental leader and improve the community's urban parks while making friends and helping others. Events planned include; wilderness adventures workshops in: park maintenance, design and construction, recycling, composting, organic gardening, nutrition, and cooking. park clean-ups, community celebrations, farmer's market, trips to urban and rural organic farms, bike rides/alternative transpiration and more events are planned! For the requirements and to request an application to either be in the program or sponsor/mentor please contact the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Parks Group at 415-643-3638 or 415-431-8112
hvnparks@hotmail.com or 415-345-9777.

Safety Network is Hiring
Safety Network is looking for an energetic, community-minded person who is interested in an exciting opportunity to be a community organizer. We currently have an organizer position now open in the Northern district (Western Addition). For more information, visit click here.

Urban Solutions is Hiring
Urban Solutions currently has 3 job openings: Project Manager, Development Associate, and Summer Green Business Intern. For information about applying, go to www.urbansolutionssf.org/Jobs.

Volunteers Needed, Home Away from Homelessness
13th Anniversary Event, on May 22, 2008
Contact, Sami, sami@siaconsult.com

D5 School Enrollment and Support
Rosa Parks Elementary, the Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program (JBBP) is open for enrollment. The JBBP is a unique, 35-year old Japanese language and cultural program with strong community support. Students receive one hour of formal Japanese each day by Native-Japanese-speaking "Sensei" who also work closely with credential teachers in each classroom. They also have Science Night a partnership with UCSF. 1501 O'Farrell Street
John Muir Elementary, Students benefit from dedicated and experienced principal and teachers, strong community support, variety of programs, gardening program, a structured after-school program: the Beacon Center and a new playground in the Fall 2008. The community can support John Muir by donating clean bottles and cans, drop off between 9 AM – 2 PM. 380 Webster Street.

Garden Park Work Parties

Buena Vista Park - Monthly Clean-up 9:00 AM – noon.
Contact: Richard Magary, of Buena Vista Neighborhood Association (BVNA), and Friends of Buena Vista Park (FoBVP)
BVNA@ix.netcom.com

Haight-Ashbury Stewards Every Wednesday from 9:30 am to noon
Contact: Nature in the City, 415-564.4107 for details and check the http://www.natureinthecity.org/haightashburystewards.php.
The weekly work parties do habitat restoration in the Haight.

Koshland Park - Monthly Cleanup, for more information,
Contact: Hayes Valley Neighborhood Parks Council, hvnparks@hotmail.com

Panhandle May 10, from 9:00 am – noon
Location: Fell and Ashbury aside the bulletin board next to restrooms
NOPNA and Panhandle Residents Association invites the community to come garden every second Saturday of the month. The park provides Gloves and tools but feel free to bring some of your own. Contact 415-346-1448, home@prosf.org.

Patricia's Green -Currently no set schedule.
If you're interested in participating in a clean up contact Russell Pritchard. He has bags and gloves. You can find him at Zonal at 568 Hayes or call 255-9307 or email: madelinebb@sbcglobal.net
or russellsf@earthlink.net

Victory Gardens 2008+
Work with the Victory Gardens team to install a garden in your outdoor space. This Victory Garden Project is a pilot project funded by the City of San Francisco to support the transition of backyard, front yard, window boxes, rooftops, and unused land into organic food production areas. 15 households will be chosen to represent the diversity of SF to participate and Victory Gardens will provide support.
For an application and more information, visit www.sfvictorygardens.org.

Alamo Square Movie Night 1st Thursdays in Alamo Square Park (April-October)
Movie Night took a break for the month of May, but hopes to be back in June. Artists often needed. Wish to help, need more info? etc. please email info@alamosquaremovie.org

Board of Supervisors Information

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