August 2008

Short Cuts


New Eats

Baked, which may describe your college years, opened last month on 18th Street, at the storefront mostly recently occupied by the Petite Patisserie.  The new bakery features old-fashioned cakes, and plans to offer pies. ...The Sports Basement’s Block Party last month raised $1,650 for Friends of Franklin Square.  The money will likely be invested in constructing a kiosk to increase awareness of park activities.  And Horizons Unlimited, a youth center located around the corner from the park, will be conducting monthly park cleanups on Friday afternoons.  Feel free to join them.  

 

 

Hell-o-Pad

Those opposed to a helipad at San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) were relieved to hear that Mayor Gavin Newsom transferred $6.8 million from proposed SFGH helipad funding to other health and human service programs.  But with seven medical helicopter crashes reported across the country since the beginning of the year, accounting for 17 deaths and 11 injuries, helipad detractors are uber unhappy that a likely November bond measure could provide for helipad funding.  With budget cuts most likely to reduce the number of operating rooms at SFGH, and two fatal helicopter crashes in Livermore and Fremont last month, there’s no doubt that anti-helipad Potrero Hill and Mission Bay residents will be grabbing their protest signs, megaphones, and soap boxes come election time.

 

 

District Does Damage

Last month the San Francisco Unified School District notified the parents of 23 prospective Leonard Flynn and Alvarado Elementary school students that they’d been mis-assigned to the schools as a result of a computer error.  The parents were told that their children had been re-assigned to Daniel Webster Elementary School, which in most cases was not on their original list of preferred campuses.  It turns out that Flynn and Alvarado don’t have enough desks for the kids, and neither school has the resources to add a new class.  The incoming parents are understandably confused and angry, and by all accounts the District isn’t handling the mini-crises any better than it normally does.  That said, with Webster on the rise the parents, and their children, may in the end be in for a quite pleasant surprise.  

 

 

Ad Hominid

If you think the debate over what to do with the Potrero Power Plant has been civil, you’d be wrong.  Plenty of mud has been slung during the almost decade-long fight from almost all sides, which may explain why few people seem able to see the issue clearly.  Most recently Eric Brooks, who’s a member of the Green Party’s Sustainability Working Group, has accused Dogpatch resident, community activist, and sometime developer front man Joe Boss of trying to profit from his position supporting a plan to site City-owned combustion turbines as a way to close the Potrero Power Plant.  Brooks relied on a “Publisher’s View” article that appeared in the View last November to support his assertion that Boss is only motivated by money.  That article focused on an agreement Boss and others reached with 650 Townsend LLC to allow the property to be rezoned as office space in return for a $1.5 million donation to what is now called the Eastern Neighborhoods Benefits Trust Fund.  The article alleged that a portion of Fund monies were given to Green Trust, a nonprofit on which Boss’ wife, Janet Carpinelli, sits on the board.  It turns out that at least on this point the View story was incorrect:  Green Trust hasn’t received any monies from the Fund, and in any event Carpinelli has never been compensated for her work with the organization.  Green Trust’s website address is: http://gtsfcw.org/index.html.

 

 

Cover Art

Potrero Hill resident Scott Springer’s cover art is a finalist in KFOG’s 15th annual “Live From the Archives” CD release. Performers featured on the CD donated their tracks, and proceeds from CD sales will benefit Bay Area Food Banks.  If Springer wins he’ll likewise donate the $1,000 cash prize to the nonprofit.  To vote for Springer go to http://www.kfog. com/music/ lfta/cover_ art_contest. asp.

 

 

Sustainable Swag

Long-time Dogpatch resident, View reporter, and community activist John Borg launched Eco Imprints earlier this year.  The web-based company sells memorable, less environmentally harmful, and customer-tailored promotional items.  One example:   Custom Message Bean Plants, in which the beans can be laser-inscribed with a company name, logo, or simple message.  Distributing boatloads of knick-knacks may not be the most sustainable thing to do, but better to give away a pen made of bamboo or recycled plastic than the same old same old.  And check-out Borg’s blog at http://sustainableswag.blogspot.com.

 

 

Death at Pier 70

Edward Howell’s body was found floating in the water off Pier 70 last month.  A pier worker found the body, which was retrieved by the Coast Guard.  How Howell, a 48-year-old San Francisco resident died and ended up in the bay is being investigated by the San Francisco Medical Examiner.  Pier 70 consists of roughly 65 acres located between 18th and 22nd streets, east of Illinois street.  More than 150 years old, it’s currently used for ship building and repair, and is home to Auto Return San Francisco, which stores towed cars and conducts weekly vehicle auctions.   

 

 

View Credentialed

The View has obtained a coveted media credential to attend the Democratic National Convention in late-August.  Airfare is expensive, one-star hotels are going for the price of a Four Seasons, and forget about renting a car, but your neighborhood newspaper will be bringing home the historic story of the first African-American to be nominated by a major party to be President of the United States.  Look for our coverage in next month’s paper.

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