http://potreroview.net/ The Potrero View en-us Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:57:11 -0700 http://potreroview.net/news10030.html Born in San Francisco’s Fillmore district, at Mt. Zion hospital, Ruth Passen née Elkind is a native San Franciscan and true progressive.  Now 82 years old, the petite, spunky, silver-haired former View publisher lives on the top of Rhode Island Street, with a breath-taking view of Twin Peaks from her living room.  Her cozy apartment, like her life, is chock full of tschotkes, awards, books and mementos of more than three decades of publishing San Francisco’s longest-running neighborhood newspaper, and being one of the Hill’s most dedicated community, peace and social justice advocates. http://potreroview.net/news10031.html Intense politicking by Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resource Defense Council, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has slowed the momentum behind San Francisco Public Utility Commission’s (SFPUC) proposal to site three combustion turbines (CT) in the Dogpatch neighborhood as a way to retire Mirant Corporation’s 1960s-era Potrero Power Plant. http://potreroview.net/news10032.html When the San Francisco Department of Parks and Recreation was preparing Proposition A – a $185 million bond for park maintenance and acquisition – Tony Kelly, an Open Space Task Force member and president of the Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association, was asked to be on the bond’s working group.  While evaluating the bond before it was placed on last February’s ballot, Kelly stumbled across a three year-old proposed deal that blew his mind:  half of City-owned Channel Street in Potrero Hill would be turned over to Norcal Waste Systems, Inc., a privately-held company that manages all waste and recycling in San Francisco, in exchange for an acre of Little Hollywood Park in Visitation Valley. http://potreroview.net/news10033.html   State Senate, District 3:  In this competition between three Democratic Party stalwarts there is no truly bad choice, but we recommend Mark Leno as the best candidate to help lead the state to a more just, environmentally-friendly, and fiscally-sound future. http://potreroview.net/news10034.html The San Francisco Planning Department is moving forward with its program to rezone large swathes of land currently used for industrial purposes in the Eastern South-of-Market, Mission, Showplace Square/Potrero Hill and Central Waterfront neighborhoods.  Last month both the Planning Department and Board of Supervisors Land Use Committee held hearings on the Eastern Neighborhoods Plan, with a focus on land use and jobs.  Four more hearings are scheduled to discuss other rezoning elements, such as housing, public benefits and program implementation. http://potreroview.net/news10035.html The ongoing construction of a 53,000 square foot building at 1250 Missouri Street has sparked controversy amongst nearby business owners, who believe that the building violates zoning regulations.  The street is located within the Islais Creek Industrial Protection Zone, in which residential development isn’t allowed.  However, the installation of fireplaces, mezzanine bathrooms, and extensive kitchen plumbing in the four-story building – which were not in the original floor plans authorized by the San Francisco Planning Department in 2001 – has prompted neighbors to question whether the developer is attempting to illegally transform the light industrial building into 32 units of residential housing. http://potreroview.net/news10036.html Daniel Webster Elementary School received a much needed facelift in April.  Potrero Residents Education Fund’s (PREFund) Stacey Bartlett led the application process that resulted in the school being selected by Rebuilding Together San Francisco (RBST) out of more than 100 applicants for rehabilitation services.  RBST relies on volunteers from Bay Area corporations and community groups to repair, remodel and clean-up community facilities and homes for low-income and disabled people.  RBST volunteers will return next year to paint the school’s classrooms and fix appliances. http://potreroview.net/news10037.html Last month the Potrero Branch Library closed for what’s likely to be a two-year renovation process.  Built in 1957, at a cost of $97,000, the building is slated for a $5 million face-lift, including seismic, technological, and accessibility upgrades. http://potreroview.net/news10038.html Earlier this year some Hill residents lost part of their view.  The utility wires strung across tall poles that’d been a part of the scenery for more than a century were removed from several northeast slope streets.  The wires were taken down; the crossbars with their insulators and other paraphernalia were unbolted and lowered to the ground.  Acrobats with chain saws lopped off sections of the poles starting near the top.   The remaining stubs were left standing for a few days before trucks carrying powerful cranes arrived to yank the wooden remains from their concrete casings.  Though it took Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) several months to dismantle the overhead infrastructure, the action was the culmination of almost two decades of planning and community advocacy.   http://potreroview.net/news10039.html Tom Price has worried about his carbon footprint for years, but his concern increased substantially after the birth of his first child six months ago.  So he sat down in his Potrero Hill apartment where he lives with his daughter Juniper Grace and wife Andie Grace and sketched what would eventually become a plan to bring free solar energy to the neighborhood.  “Babies make a lot of laundry, and you don’t always have the energy to hang it outside once it’s through the washer,” Price explained, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the cafe table at Progressive Grounds on Bryant Street. http://potreroview.net/news10040.html San Francisco’s second public skateboard facility is set to open July 4th at Potrero Del Sol Park, located at 25th and Utah streets in the Mission District’s southeast outskirts. The skate park will provide much-needed relief to local skaters tired of dodging traffic, thugs and broken glass at the usual street spots, while nearby food, gas and convenience stores can expect a modest bump in their revenues, especially during the summertime and on weekends.   http://potreroview.net/news10041.html One, two, three – One, two three – One, two, three. The instructor counts the rhythm to the waltz as a dancer elegantly glides across the floor.  Though many Hill residents were disappointed when long-time neighbor Metronome Ballroom departed the community last year, they will be gratified to know that ballroom dancing has not left the neighborhood altogether.    http://potreroview.net/feat10023.html One of our society’s most fiercely protected tenets is the sanctity of private property.  By and large if you own something you can do what you want with it.  In most places in America an owner can let their property remain vacant, allowing it to molder into dust, or sell or rent it for whatever price someone’s willing to pay.  Non-owners are left to the mercy of the market to dictate where they can live, for how long, and in what conditions. http://potreroview.net/feat10024.html Friends of Potrero Hill Nursery School     Dear Editor, http://potreroview.net/feat10025.html Go Fish   Dogpatch-based Moshi Moshi Sushi and Grill, which has been serving sushi and teriyaki for more than two decades, is now open for Sunday dinner, from 4 to 9 p.m.…The new nighttime hours may not sit well with a blogger at sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/potrerohill.shtml, who, in a seven-year- old posting, wrote “The fog lifts over Potrero Hill before most of the rest of San Francisco, and daytime walks are one of its great draws. However, nighttime is a different story; besides at nightclubs and around 18th Street’s restaurants and cafés, Potrero Hill can get deserted in a hurry, and care should be taken in deciding where to go for an evening stroll.”  While there are periodic crime waves in San Francisco – and a recent rash of muggings and car thefts in Bernal Heights, Liberty Hill, and Potrero Hill suggests we’re in one now – the remedy isn’t to stay home.  By and large Potrero Hill is a safe community in which to perambulate, and what’s the point of living in a city if you don’t go out at night?  If you don’t feel safe walking, then let our local police and District 10 supervisor know about it. http://potreroview.net/feat10026.html My team climbs into heavily armored vehicles for the trip northward along the banks of the Tigris River.  The convoy slowly snakes along the river’s edge behind a detachment of oddly shaped vehicles that search for Improvised Explosive Devices and Explosively Formed Penetrators.  A sniper’s shot dents the bullet proof glass on one of our vehicles as we enter the small remote village of Shinsoi on the far end of our area of operation.   http://potreroview.net/feat10027.html May 16, Robbery, with a Gun, 20th Street:  Officers Teper and McGuire responded to a call regarding a robbery with a gun.  The officers spoke with two victims who stated that they’d pulled their truck over when a suspect walked up and lifted his shirt, revealing a gun in his waistband.  The suspect demanded money; the victims gave him all their cash and their cell phones. The suspect then told the victims to drive away quickly or he’d shoot them. The victims drove away and then went around the block to see if the suspect was still there.  Officers searched the area for the suspects and witnesses, without success. http://potreroview.net/feat10028.html June 1, 5-7   Opera:  Mordake   San Francisco International Arts Festival presents the opera Mordake at this year’s festival.  One of the weirdest and most melancholy stories of human deformity is that of Edward Mordake, said to have been heir to one of England’s noblest peerages. Tickets $20.  June 1st 2 p.m.; June 5-7, 8 p.m., Shotwell Studios, 3252-A 19th Street.  Information:  800.838.3006; sfiaf.org. http://potreroview.net/feat10029.html Isla Ferguson, 4.5 years, says, “I think it will be a little strange at my new school because I won’t know any of my friends, and they’ll know I’m not from Texas. But I will tell them I live in Potrero Hill.” Isla and her parents Natalie Freeburg and Brian Ferguson leave in July for a year-long adventure in Austin, Texas. Isla thanks all the kids and the merchants for being her friends. All y’all take care, y’hear?