potrero view

July 2010

Short Cuts

McKinley

The community garden adjacent to McKinley Square is being repeatedly tagged with graffiti.  And last month someone snipped off some poppy flowers in the garden, most likely in the hopes of using them for a transformative experience.  Next time they should do a little research into the medicinal uses of plants before being meaninglessly destructive…May marked the 100 year anniversary of the official naming of McKinley Square – which had been called Buena Vista – by the San Francisco Parks Commission.  William McKinley, who died in 1901, was the 25th president of the United States, and most notably presided over the Spanish-American War of 1898.

Economics

Two-thirds of the University of California, San Francisco’s (UCSF) employees earn between $25,000 and $70,000, indicating that the academic institution plays a significant role in providing working class jobs… Salesforce.com Inc. founder Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne will give $100 million to UCSF’s new children’s hospital.   UCSF is developing a $1.5 billion medical complex, slated to be open by the end of 2014, including a cancer center, women’s hospital and children’s hospital, which will be called UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital…Last month Moody’s downgraded Trans Bay Cable LLC’s submarine transmission line because of delays in commercial operation.  The nearly complete 53-mile, high-voltage, direct-current line is supposed to bring 400 megawatts of electricity from the City of Pittsburg to Dogpatch via underwater cables.  It was scheduled to be operational in March, but completion has been held up by problems in the voltage converter units that switch the power back to alternating current. Those units are part of the substations at each end of the line, which cost roughly a third of the pre-delay estimated $450 million price tag.  Component developer Siemens AG is replacing the problematic parts, and is liable for liquidated damages covering most of Trans Bay’s cost during the delay. The rating agency said Trans Bay’s parent company, Steel River Infrastructure Fund, has pledged to pay the rest of the bills through at least September. The project could supply up to 40 percent of San Francisco’s load, eliminating the need for the Potrero Power Plant’s largest unit.  

Politics

In response to a Mission Loc@l article that appeared in last month’s paper (“Crowded Race for District 10 Supervisor”) public relations consultant Lynette Sweet contacted the View to clarify that as measured by a poll conducted earlier this year and amount of funds raised she’s the leading candidate in the race.  The David Binder poll apparently indicated that district voters preferred Sweet over other names, with View publisher Steve Moss the next most mentioned candidate.  Of course at this point it’s unlikely that more than a tenth of District 10 voters know who is running.  Sweet has collected in excess of $50,000 from individual citizens, compared to the more than $80,000 Moss has secured, and the at least $65,000 collected by social networking consultant Malia Cohen, through a combination of private and publicly-financed sources.  Other candidates who appear to be steadily raising funds include attorneys Dewitt Lacey and Kristine Enea, biofuels manager Eric Smith, policy analyst Chris Jackson, and magazine production specialist Tony Kelly. Enea announced that she qualified for public financing in late May...Letters to the editor in response to articles written by Mission Loc@l and published in the View should be submitted to Mission Loc@l, which will determine whether and in what fashion they should be printed in the paper.  

Candidates seeking to assert a statement or opinion about themselves are welcome to advertise in the View. The paper will provide a 50 percent discount on ads for candidates receiving public financing. Those who have rejected public financing or haven’t qualified for it will be charged regular advertising rates, including local discounts.

Shout Out

Peter Linenthal, steward of the Potrero Hill Archives Project, wanted to make sure Lia Hillman, the  20th Street Library Branch Manager was acknowledged for her instrumental help in getting the Archives’ copius records digitalized. Thanks, Lia, for keeping our history alive!

Restaurant Update

Skool opened in the Showplace East building at De Haro and Alameda streets last month. Their fish-oriented menu includes sustainably harvested catch with international accents...If it’s sushi you fancy, you may want to head to 18th Street, where Rocketfish, the Japanese “tapistro” by Kenichi Kawashima, owner of Blowfish in the Mission, opened in late-June...Got kids? Head down the street to Plow which opens this month for family-friendly breakfast and lunch fare at 18th and Texas streets.  Owner Joel Bleskacek, of Ruby Wine fame on 18th Street,  is offering sustainably derived, homemade nourishment.

Heavy Metals
Afraid your garden may be giving you more than your daily dose of vitamins and minerals? Jennifer Gorospe, a San Jose State University graduate student and Bayview resident, is looking for 100 participants from the 94107, 94124, 94134, 94110 and 94114 zip codes to have their garden soils tested free of charge. Email sfgardeners@gmailcom for information on the survey, an educational pamphlet on heavy metals and gardening, or to be invited to a community meeting on garden soil and heavy metals. Gorospe’s research is being sponsored by the  California Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Small Grants Program and the Garden Club of America.

 

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