http://potreroview.net/ The Potrero View en-us Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:38:40 -0700 http://potreroview.net/news10401.html “Mobile Drug Clinic for Hill Rejected,” “Assault Wave Hits Elders,” “Community Tree Planting Program Gets Underway,” “St. Teresa Welcomes New Pastor,” and “Drug Figures Meaningless.”  With these stories The Potrero View’s first issue was born 40 years ago this month.  In 1970, there was barely a glimmer of the building boom that would affect the neighborhood in ensuing years.  A request in the View’s January 1972  classified advertisement column speaks to the area’s past affordability: “I want to live on the Hill. One bedroom to $100.”  A May 1978 ad – “2 BR Victorian Flat, $385 per month” – would today belong in the “Read it and Weep” column. http://potreroview.net/news10402.html The 20th Street commercial strip has experienced an increase in traffic since the San Francisco Public Library’s Potrero Hill branch re-opened last March. Businesses located on the street had suffered a sales decline as a result of several factors, including the loss of a popular deli in 2006, the closure of the library for renovations in 2008, street repairs that disrupted parking last summer, and the Great Recession. http://potreroview.net/news10403.html In 1973, Potrero View publisher Ruth Passen decided that her newspaper needed what every paper had, a distinctive front page nameplate displaying the paper’s title. And she knew who to call, her old friend Giacomo Patri. Ruth and husband Joe knew a wide circle of artists that included Giacomo in North Beach in the 1960s. Rents there rose. The Patris and many of these artists found better deals in homes and apartments on then quiet Potrero Hill, the Patris at 21st and Arkansas. It was one reason the Passens moved to the Hill in 1969. Patri was well known for his dynamic illustrations for labor movement booklets advocating racial integration in trade unions. Ruth and Joe Passen shared his commitment to social justice. http://potreroview.net/news10404.html For 20 years, many of them as feature editor, Vas Arnautoff brought his special blend of journalistic talent and insatiable curiosity to the stories that animated The Potrero View.  Vas died at age 72 in 1998, seven months after he suffered a massive stroke.  It’s hard to believe that it’s been a dozen years since he’s been gone, not only from the View’s pages and editorial board, but from the Hill as well. Many of us remember seeing his car, with the license plate “APHAYT,” pronounced “Arnaut” in Russian.  As Vas would often remind us, an Arnaut was a fearsome Mongolian strongman, http://potreroview.net/news10405.html The View has covered hundreds of stories over the last four decades, some of which would be unfathomable to modern readers, others that seem to persist.  Helipads, rezoning, Muni cutbacks, new developments and crime have been covered repeatedly and remain pertinent today. Below is a sample of some of our favorite headlines over the years. http://potreroview.net/news10406.html It was a confusing moment in California history. In 1846, after decades of calm with little interference from Mexico, the native Californios became concerned about the steady influx of Americans, and the Mexican government’s neglect of the area.  Mexican forces were thought to be preparing to expel all foreigners from Northern California.  In Sonoma, Captain John C. Fremont singlehandedly declared a state of war on Mexico, and the Osos, the local insurgents of the day, jailed the alcalde – mayor – of Sonoma, Jose de los Santos Berreyesa and his two brothers. The Bear Flag Revolt was in full swing. http://potreroview.net/news10407.html Sixteen years ago my pregnant wife Kristi and I moved to Potrero Hill.  The very next day Katie, our daughter and a fourth generation San Franciscan, was born.  In our new neighborhood we discovered the View, and quickly felt embraced by the community.  Through the View, our gateway to the Hill, we found a nanny, children’s activities, made lifelong friends and became community activists.   http://potreroview.net/news10408.html Have you witnessed a crime and decided it was too much trouble to report? Have you assumed that someone else would call the police about that person rifling through the recycling bins, the kid painting graffiti on a wall, or the gunshots you just heard? According to Al Casciato, San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) captain of investigations, “For every statistic that is in the crime reports, there is another crime that hasn’t been reported.”  Casciato encouraged Potrero Hill residents to call when they see a crime. “It’s not a waste of time to report crimes,” he said. “The beat officers look at the reports, and then they go up the chain of command, and the managers and administrators look at them and allocate resources accordingly.  Once you figure out what types of crimes are going on and can see the pattern, you can make plans to address the problem. It’s very important for us to have accurate statistics, so we can do a better job of protecting the public.” http://potreroview.net/news10409.html The hills   The views   Farley’s http://potreroview.net/news10410.html The Fantasticks, by lyricist Tom Jones and composer Harvey Schmidt, is the longest running musical in history.  Opening in 1960 at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village, this timeless classic is still being performed today on Broadway, and now in an exhilarating revival at SF Playhouse. http://potreroview.net/news10411.html In the cluttered warren of rooms that’s the Archetile Mosaics studio, in a funky Victorian at the corner of 18th and Tennessee streets, artist Karen Thompson explained the origins of her collection of vintage vitreous tiles, displayed in glass jars on a crowded bookcase.  “They were offered to me from the estate of a woman who made mosaics in the ‘50s,” said the artist, “and I snapped them up.” http://potreroview.net/news10412.html De Haro Street resident Jackie Cherry is an aspiring locavore – committed to eating locally and sustainably-grown foods – but her desire to be an urban beekeeper is rooted in her deep love of the earth and all its creatures.  “I have a backyard vegetable garden, and became interested in honeybees after reading about Colony Collapse Disorder. Entire colonies are disappearing at an alarming rate, not just here in the U.S., but throughout Europe as well. Honeybees are responsible for the pollination of about one-third of the U.S. crop species:  almonds, apples, cucumbers, the list goes on and on.  In essence, if we want to continue to eat fruits and vegetables and see the wildflowers blooming, we need to take care of the bees,” Cherry said.She got busy with bees after her spouse, Beth Freeman, brought home a small jar of individually-tended honey she received as a Christmas gift.  “There was such a huge difference in the honey…and the stuff you buy at Safeway. It was the best honey I’ve ever tasted,” she explained.  Cherry has tended her garden for 17 years, complete with tomatoes, cherries, figs, lemons and grapes. Despite its abundance, she figured it could accommodate a beehive or two. http://potreroview.net/feat10205.html The View turns 40 this month, an age I thought ancient when I was in college, but now, as I look 50 in the face, seems young to me.  Yet, in this age of technology, 40 is a lot of years.  When the View was first published mimeographs were state-of-the-art reproduction technology.  Dial telephones were au courant.  Talking, as opposed to texting, was the primary communication mode.  Just six years ago the View was produced through the cut and paste method, using scissors and a glue stick, not an electronic icon. http://potreroview.net/feat10206.html Dear Editor,   I was glad to see the article “Property Owners Grapple with Rent Control Regulations” in last month’s View.  While Sarah Mcdonald presented a number of perspectives in a limited space, I didn’t find the article to be balanced.  It’s my belief that small landlords are being relentlessly harmed by San Francisco’s punitive rent control laws.  You could turn this article into a monthly column and would have no problem collecting examples of small landlords being brutalized by rent control statues.  While tenant evictions garner media attention, where’s the press concerning tenants gaming the system for their own profit? http://potreroview.net/feat10207.html Yearbook   Daniel Webster Elementary School’s Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) was awarded a $23,000 community challenge grant to pay for a tile mosaic mural on the school’s Missouri Street side.  Josef Norris and Kid Serve Youth Murals will work with Webster students to create a two and a half-story mural entitled, “We Have a Right to the Tree of Life.”  The mural will be installed between October 2010 and January 2011, with a community day in which everyone will be welcome to lay tile.  Including the tile grant, Webster’s PTA raised roughly $45,000 for the upcoming academic year, more than 10 times what it secured last year.  Not bad for a PTA that’s only in its second year…In response to the threats of dramatic public school budget cuts Starr King Elementary School raised $70,000 to help pay for educational programs.  All in, San Francisco’s public elementary schools collected more than $5 million for the upcoming academic year, though most of that was garnered by just two dozen PTAs.  Some schools, particularly those located in predominately low-income neighborhoods, raised barely enough to pay for colored pens and paper…In between caring for two-year old Colin, 15-year Mississippi Street resident Brian Scully recently launched www.DVDyou.com, an online, do-it-yourself, DVD yearbook creation website.  DVDyou allows users to upload their photographs, videos, and music, edit them online, and add titles, effects, captions, and other features.  Schools, sports teams, PTAs, and others can produce a Hollywood-style DVDs for $9.99, which is shipped the next day.  Check it out. http://potreroview.net/feat10208.html Through September 17   Art: Me and My iPhone   Gallery 323 presents Potrero Hill artist and filmmaker Lise Swenson’s collection of photographs and text images, which reflect Swenson’s year long pondering on what it means to be fifty.  Wednesdays through Fridays 3 to 7 p.m., or by appointment. 323 Potrero Avenue. Information: 626.4333; 323gallery@att.net. http://potreroview.net/feat10211.html The View asked Hill resident and career expert Mauri Schwartz, President / CEO of Career Insiders, www.CareerInsiders.com, to answer questions from job seekers.  Submit your questions to editor@potreroview.net. http://potreroview.net/feat10212.html Bayview Police Station Captain’s Community Meeting is held on the first Tuesday of each month in the Bayview Police Station Community Room at 201 Williams Street. Enter through the Newhall Street door. Next meeting: August 3rd, 6 p.m.