Neighborhood Newswire - Featured Articles

Organizers Try to Convince Eastern Neighborhoods Property Owners to Invest in their Community

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:23:20 +0000

A group of citizen-activists, entrepreneurs and property owners in the Central Waterfront, Showplace Square, and Northeast Mission have launched an initiative to create an Eastern Neighborhoods Urban Innovation Community Benefit District. The effort is modeled on the popular community benefit districts (CBD) formed around the City's retail corridors. While those districts focus mainly on sidewalk cleaning and graffiti removal, the Urban Innovation CBD seeks to spur economic development in the recently rezoned eastern neighborhoods.

Housing Crises Dislodges Bayview’s African-American Population

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:03:18 +0000

Over the 20 years Pastor Kenneth Sampson has led the New Home Missionary Baptist Church in Bayview, he’s seen a steady decline in the community’s African-American population. According to Sampson, upwards of a quarter of black residents cashed out their Bayview homes and relocated to the East Bay during the last decade’s housing boom. Now that the market has busted, those same suburbs are dotted with foreclosures.

Refrigerator Shopping: Do Energy Savings Matter?

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:54:03 +0000

During an economic downturn that’s prompting many of us to test out our grandmothers’ secret recipes – who knew tongue could be so tasty – rather than dine out, it isn’t surprising that the Best Buy near the Potrero Hill Shopping Center has strategically placed “No Interest for 18 Months!” signs all along their shiny row of KitchenAide and Frigidaire refrigerators. If there’s extra money to go around, replacing an old fridge may be one of the few shopping indulgences that can be fun and pragmatic.

Sex Workers Suffer During Economic Downturn

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:41:38 +0000

In sexually indulgent San Francisco, many sex workers consider themselves lucky to be free of the harassment, repression, and persecution their profession is subject to elsewhere. But even in the City the sex business is under pressure. Last fall, Proposition K, a municipal ballot measure to decriminalize sex work, lost to a well-funded anti-trafficking campaign led by Mayor Gavin Newsom and District Attorney (DA) Kamala Harris. Then came the financial crisis, resulting in job-loss and steady cuts to health and welfare services. Sex workers and their advocates agree: sex work is not a recession-proof business.

Copra Crane Carries a Piece of San Francisco History

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:04:18 +0000

To many San Franciscans, the old, rusting tower structure on rickety Pier 84 near the Islais Creek Landing is just another crane among many dotting San Francisco’s southern waterfront. But to a group of union pensioners, port officials, architects, and Islais Creek enthusiasts, the relic is a testament to the years of hard labor that helped create the remarkable City around it. The Copra Crane – so called because it was a vital part of the process of moving dried coconut, or copra, from ship to production facility, and back to ship again – is a monument as important as the Golden Gate Bridge, they say. And like the marvel of engineering that is the bridge, the Copra Crane should also evoke awe; that of the longshoremen, shipbuilders, construction tradesmen, and other laborers and their work, which laid the foundation for modern San Francisco.

Public Funding Could Spark Pier 70 Redevelopment

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:59:54 +0000

It’s been nearly a decade since the first serious attempt at revitalizing Pier 70, a joint effort between industrial developer AMB and the San Francisco Arts Commission, fell through due to high project costs. Since then, the need for historic renovation, environmental clean-up, and infrastructure improvements has kept developers away from the 65-acre bay front site. Stretching east of Illinois Street, between 20th and 22nd streets, the pier is mostly vacant, populated by the San Francisco Police Department’s impound lot and a ship repair operation run by BAE Systems.

Rough Times for Wag Pet Hotel

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:51:06 +0000

It’s been said that there are more dogs than kids in the City, and there are numbers to back that up. According to the San Francisco Animal Care and Control Department (ACC), there’s an estimated 120,000 dogs, compared to upwards of 113,000 children. One neighborhood in particular – where the Mission, South-of-Market and Potrero Hill converge, at Harrison and 15th streets – has become a node for catering to pets and their owners. The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) – and its new Leanne Roberts animal hospital – Petco, PAWS (Pets Are Wonderful Support), ACC, Franklin Square park – a favorite of dog walkers – are all located within a ten minute stroll.

Local Businesses Lead the Fight Against Global Warming

Mon, 18 May 2009 20:20:05 +0000

Rene Feliciano clocks in at 6:30 on Monday morning. By nine o’clock, she has helped pack a small fleet of trucks to supply a handful of California’s supermarkets and restaurants. One big rig heads up the Pacific Coast to Eureka; two more traverse the great Central Valley destined for Sacramento and Fresno; another heads south across the Santa Cruz Mountains. Their cargo: organic produce from one of San Francisco’s greenest wholesale distributors.

Seawall Lot 337 Proposal to Incorporate Mixed-Use Development, But Sacrifices Arts Theme

Mon, 18 May 2009 20:15:26 +0000

Representatives from the San Francisco Giants, Wilson Meany Sullivan, and Kenwood Investments convened at the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce last month to outline revisions to their development proposal for Seawall Lot 337 and Pier 48, currently the site of a parking lot just south of AT&T stadium. The speakers reviewed their plans to construct a mixed-use district that will feature family-friendly open space along the waterfront. However, due to economic pressures, the team has eliminated the original Performing Arts Pavilion and multi-use arena from the plan, and reduced the amount of retail space in favor of offices.

Consumer Advocates Concerned Over Carbon Study

Mon, 18 May 2009 20:10:23 +0000

Earlier this year the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) authorized Southern California Edison Company to spend upwards of $30 million on the Hydrogen Energy California study, or HECA. HECA will examine the feasibility of developing a facility to turn petroleum coke, a refinery byproduct, into a gas that could be used to produce electricity. Much of the related greenhouse gases would be captured and stored underground. According to Mark Nelson, the investor owned utility’s director of generation planning and strategy, “It’s got a lot of really strong attributes that make it compelling for the customers.”