http://potreroview.net/ The Potrero View en-us Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:08:36 -0800 http://potreroview.net/news10691.html Potrero Hill resident Jim Wilkins wants to be sure that Hill dwellers don’t have to feed a meter to park in front of their homes.  Wilkins is circulating a petition to oppose a San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) proposal to install meters throughout Dogpatch, Mission Bay, and parts of Potrero Hill.  He’d collected more than 500 signatures by the time the View’s January issue went to press.        http://potreroview.net/news10692.html Older than the modern-day Olympics, and the hardest competition to win in international sports, the City is hosting the 34th America’s Cup, a series of sailing races, in 2012 and 2013, culminating in a race finale, September 7 to 22, 2013.  The event will also include a youth racing series.  A portion of the competition is being staged in Bayview, and the City hopes to direct tourists to Southside neighborhoods to dine and shop.    http://potreroview.net/news10693.html Last year, Starr King’s student test scores jumped by more than any other San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) elementary school.  Scores for all student groups – demographic, economic, and associated with a disability – who took the Academic Performance Index (API) test improved, according to greatschools.org.  Socioeconomically disadvantaged students and English-language learners advanced the most, increasing their marks by 76 points.  “The test is used to determine how well the school is meeting the needs of various subgroups,” said Principal Greg John.  “It assesses how well the school is keeping its promises to parents, the Superintendent would say.” http://potreroview.net/news10694.html The fifty-four ton, five-story-tall Copra Crane – which was removed for repairs last fall – is the last of its kind on the San Francisco waterfront.  It’s distinct from newer mechanized cargo equipment in that it’s completely hand-operated. The crane, located along Islais Creek, was used as part of the City’s copra industry, in which coconut oils were extracted to make everything from cosmetics to movie popcorn butter.  During the first half of the 20th century copra was big business in San Francisco.  In 1950, only coffee surpassed it in import value. The crane was retired in the mid-1970s, after Pier 84’s coconut trade ceased, along with much of the surrounding industrial activity.    http://potreroview.net/news10695.html The trail of thefts of metal from electricity facilities, construction sites, and even home exteriors leads to San Francisco’s Southside neighborhoods, where scrap metals – particularly copper – are exchanged for cash in a black market that’s thriving despite police efforts to put it out of business.  “They collect a lot of money when they sell the stuff, and it can add up to thousands of dollars of losses for the victims,” explained San Francisco police officer Sue Lavin, who is frequently called to investigate the crimes. http://potreroview.net/news10696.html Potrero Hill began to emerge in its modern state in the mid-nineteenth century.  Because of its foundation of Serpentine rock, many of the oldest buildings from that period survived the 1906 earthquake and fire.  A Hill resident with a little time and curiosity can glimpse a slice of history right next door, or maybe even in their own home. http://potreroview.net/news10697.html San Francisco has long been home to a good brew.  Two of the City’s biggest breweries are Bayview-based Speakeasy Brewery and Anchor Brewing, in Potrero Hill.  The two breweries may be the largest in San Francisco, but they’re small compared with other craft breweries, like Sierra Nevada, which produces 800,000 barrels of beer a year.   Anchor fashioned 105,000 barrels in 2011; Speakeasy made 13,000 barrels.  Despite their size differences, all three breweries are classified as “craft brewers” since they produce less than six million barrels a year. http://potreroview.net/news10698.html Last fall, a dozen San Franciscans gathered in a renovated warehouse next to the Yellow Building in Dogpatch, to learn about heat transfer and sublimation printing from designer-in-residence and French artist, Aurore Thibout.  Sublimation printing is a technique that enables designers to create images on textiles, such as cotton-polyester fabrics.   Through the process a solid is converted into a gas, and back to a solid, without going through a liquid phase. http://potreroview.net/news10699.html Drawn to a “hub of creativity and product” – where products are created and made in the same community – Modern Appealing Clothing opened its second store in San Francisco last May in Dogpatch’s Yellow Building.  Launched as a family business more than thirty years ago at 387 Grove Street, MAC is committed to clothing and products “that honor and respect the hands that make them.  We pay tailor’s wages to several producers in Dogpatch,” said Chris Ospital, who co-owns the store with her brother, Ben, and mother, Jeri.  Jeri has been involved in every aspect of the business, but is now retired.   http://potreroview.net/news10700.html For centuries, salt was the most commonly used way to preserve food.  Salt cured olives, meats, fish and delicacies, like salmon gravlax and the Italian granddaddy of them all, prosciutto. But in today’s modern world of refrigeration and sub-zero freezers why would anyone take a perfectly good piece of freshly-caught cod and go to all the trouble of curing it in salt for weeks, only to have it soak in water for days to reconstitute it? http://potreroview.net/news10701.html In order for a cell to duplicate, it needs to package its DNA into an easily manageable form, copy that DNA, and move it to opposite sides of the cell so that when the cell divides, the DNA is distributed evenly between both new cells.  Dave Morgan’s laboratory studies the process of dividing the DNA between the cells, called “segregation.” http://potreroview.net/news10702.html According to the California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC), a nonprofit organization that advocates for fair banking and financial services for low-income individuals, since 2008 roughly 12,400 homes in San Francisco have gone into foreclosure.  Many neighborhoods – including Sea Cliff, the Marina and Pacific Heights – survived the collapse of the nation’s real estate market relatively unscathed.  Likewise, communities dominated by rental units – such as South of Market and South Beach, where 86 percent of residents are tenants – were less likely to be snagged by toxic mortgages.  Fully half of foreclosures in San Francisco have occurred in Supervisorial Districts 10 and 11, which includes Bayview, Excelsior, and Visitacion Valley. http://potreroview.net/news10703.html Predominately relegated to the City’s Southside, plagued by violence and environmental justice issues, and suffering from a lack of cultural identity, San Francisco’s black community is ailing.   In 2005 then Mayor Gavin Newsom convened the San Francisco African-American Outmigration Taskforce, with a mandate to study outmigration trends and identify ways to bolster the City’s dwindling black population.  The taskforce, composed of civic-minded citizens, academics, and civil servants, among others, released a series of findings, including that the unemployment rate among African-Americans tended to be more than twice that of non-African-Americans; the number of African-American-owned businesses had fallen dramatically; and the population of very low-income African-American households in San Francisco jumped from just over half in 1990 to more than two-thirds in 2005. http://potreroview.net/news10704.html Some Bayview residents have taken heart from the Occupy San Francisco movement, and decided that they won’t let the banks that took their homes continue to determine their fortunes. The group calls itself San Francisco Foreclosure Fighters, and consists of City dwellers that are fed-up with callous financial institutions.  Earlier this winter Carolyn Gage held a press conference to announce that she and her two grown daughters were going to “reoccupy” their home. “I am here today because I am reclaiming my home. My neighbors and I are tired of banks destroying our communities, kicking families out of their homes, and the government doing nothing to stop them,” Gage said. http://potreroview.net/news10705.html Since 2004, San Francisco foodies have flocked to Radio Africa & Kitchen, a pop-up eatery staged by chef Eskender Aseged one or two nights a week in cafes around town. Diners are attracted by the fresh, organic fare, but they also come for the festive, impromptu atmosphere.  Fans no longer have to worry about the when and the where of the restaurant; the beloved pop-up has relinquished its makeshift quarters and settled in a permanent location at the corner of Third and Oakdale streets. http://potreroview.net/news10706.html Last month students enrolled in Downtown High School’s (DHS) Wilderness Arts and Literacy Collaborative, or WALC, participated in a two-hour exhibition of environmental issues at Heron’s Head Park, located at the end of Cargo Way.  WALC is the brainchild of DHS science teacher Catherine Salvin who, with other educators, created it 13 years ago to spread awareness of environmental issues, and spark youth interest in science-based pursuits. http://potreroview.net/news10707.html Launched in 1949, San Francisco Toys for Tots is the nation’s oldest and largest toy giveaway program.  From a handful of firefighters fixing bikes and playthings, the program last year distributed more than 400,000 toys to in excess of 40,000 needy children.  Running between the last week of November to Christmas Eve, in 2011 Toys for Tots operated from a Jerrold Street warehouse, formally a beer distribution site and now a storage and maintenance facility owned by the San Francisco Academy of Arts College. http://potreroview.net/news10708.html Apple’s prospects have been the subject of speculation ever since Steve Jobs died last year. Fortune Magazine’s senior editor at large in San Francisco and 20th Street resident Adam Lashinsky offers some insights into the company in his new book Inside Apple, which reveals how the high-tech enterprise is preparing for a future without its founder. The book emerged from a May 23, 2011 Fortune article written by Lashinsky, a seasoned business journalist who has covered Silicon Valley extensively. Interviews with Apple insiders and industry executives form the basis of the book. http://potreroview.net/news10712.html When I find myself at a roadside restaurant or Fisherman Wharf-type eatery, I practice “defense ordering.”   The strategy, which I acquired after years of bad meals, is simple:  never select a complex entree, or one that relies on sauces or multiple melted cheeses as a key ingredient.  Eggs benedict at Joe’s Snack Shop in Madera is a no-no, as is lasagna pretty much anywhere.  Complexity is the enemy of good, or even edible, food in the hands of ill-trained cooks.  Outside a few select communities, even “fresh made lemonade” still means a powdered-mix drink served with ice cubes, a lesson I learned the hard way. http://potreroview.net/news10710.html Henry Joseph Judnick, 84, passed away peacefully on November 25 in Napa.  A native San Franciscan, he was born to Henry and Sophie Judnick, who operated Henry’s Bar on 17th Street.  He was the nephew of Christine Schwegel – who lived at 20th and Rhode Island streets until her death in 2008 – with whom he enjoyed dining at Goat Hill Pizza, where they were spoiled by former waitress, Andrea. http://potreroview.net/feat10359.html No one likes to pay for parking.  High on the list of San Francisco indignities is taking a $45 parking ticket off your windshield, which is only slightly preferred to handing an attendant half that much for storing your car for three hours in a downtown lot. Up until now, Potrero Hill has been mostly able to avoid this expensive mortification.  With the exception of some residential permit zones — and the need to avoid street sweeping—parking has been free and ample.   http://potreroview.net/feat10365.html Parking   Editor,   I’m a Third Street resident and business owner, potentially affected by the parking changes described in “Parking Meters May be Coming to Potrero Hill” (November issue).  I was in no way notified of the proposed policy, nor can I find any public postings for a neighborhood meeting on the topic.  I’ve scoured the various online governmental websites and find nothing concerning this issue. http://potreroview.net/feat10360.html The first time I read the word “de-accessioning” it was in reference to a museum selling art from its collection.  I soon realized that the term meant getting rid of junk that’d been donated by someone who wanted a tax deduction in excess of an item’s actual worth.  Over the last decade, I grew to understand that it’s a lot easier for my partner Fil and me – as well as Shoji, our cat – to live in 1,000 square feet if there’s as little junk as possible. http://potreroview.net/feat10361.html For Sale   The Potrero Center, on 16th Street, is for sale.  The 227,000-square-foot strip shopping center, which houses Safeway, could accommodate up to 1,800 apartments, and is currently 98 percent leased…Hogan’s Goat Tavern opens this month where the Sea Star Club used to operate in Dogpatch, as does Gilbert’s Rotisserie and Grill down the block… In response to a letter to the editor in last month’s View (“Fire Trucks”) a reader called to inquire whether police officers are allowed to park at bus stops and fire hydrants, or talk on their cell phones while driving.  Our guess is not. http://potreroview.net/feat10363.html The library will be closed January 16 for Martin Luther King’s birthday observance. http://potreroview.net/feat10364.html Through January 13   Art: Ray Anthony Barrett at SOMArts   SOMArts presents Ray Anthony Barrett’s drawings, paintings, prints, sculptures and poems investigating the language, materials and symbols that define the artist’s experience of contemporary consumer culture. Gallery hours: Tuesday through Friday, 12 to 7 p.m.; Saturday 12 to 5 p.m. Free. 934 Brannan Street. Information: www. somarts.org. http://potreroview.net/feat10366.html The View asked Hill resident and career expert Mauri Schwartz to answer questions from job seekers.  Submit your questions to editor@potreroview.net. http://potreroview.net/feat10367.html Assistant District Attorney Michael Maffei, who goes by “Mike” and lives on Vermont Street, likened his job working in San Francisco’s courts to being a restaurant server.  “It’s like being a waiter, you have to multitask,” he said, as he mimed holding two trays filled with plates, and cups, while not letting anything drop. Except Maffei’s days are spent juggling cases; lots of them. http://potreroview.net/feat10368.html Bayview Police Station Captain’s Community Meeting is held on the first Tuesday of each month at the Bayview Station, 201 Williams Avenue.