Several years ago my neighbor on
Church Street had to relocate to another state. She named many
wonderful things she would miss in this neighborhood, but
ended by saying, “At least I won’t have to cross 24th or
Church streets again.” That intersection needs a traffic
light.
Lloyda A. Murphy
Occupy Noe Finds a Home
Editor:
Noe Valley neighbors rallied on
a rainy March Saturday in front of Wells Fargo Bank to try to
stop the eviction of Kathy Galves, a neighbor who lived in a
lovely purple Victorian at Church and 24th streets for 40
years.
Kathy, an African-American
military widow, was the recipient of a large,
impossible-to-repay loan.
Hundreds signed petitions asking
that Kathy’s loan be renegotiated or that a friendly investor
be able to buy the property so that she could stay. She was
evicted in April, and Wells Fargo paid her $7,500. We believe
community pressure facilitated those moving expenses. Her home
just sold for $1.2 million.
Recently, a few Noe Valley
residents scrutinized the radar list, a document that lists
residential properties scheduled for foreclosure and auction.
We were dismayed to find 70 such properties in zip codes 94131
and 94114 with an auction date. There have been about 12,000
foreclosures in San Francisco since 2008.
In response to this
disheartening situation, we are starting an Occupy Noe to
explore the possibility of pressuring the banks to offer
reasonable, affordable, modified loans to those who would
otherwise lose their homes in the above zip codes. We are
inspired by Occupy Bernal, which has gained national
recognition for its ongoing anti-foreclosure campaign.
We would welcome the help of
local residents. Please contact us for more information.
Kathy Lipscomb
Cesar Chavez Street, 415-641-1997
Susan McDonough
27th Street, 415-734-0061
Angel Still Needed
Editor:
The slogan goes something like
“Noe Valley needs a hero” . Most people probably don’t realize
how true that is.
As a resident of Noe Valley for
17 years, I have seen the difference the Noe Valley Farmers
Market has made to our neighborhood. Don’t get me wrong; it
has always been a nice place to live, but the farmers market
added something more than just fresh local produce. It added
“joy.”
It used to be that people in
Downtown Noe Valley just went about their business as usual on
a Saturday morning—grocery shopping, laundry, perhaps joining
friends for brunch or coffee. It was nice but could be a
little quiet, even lonely and disconnected for those who
didn’t already have a lot of friends here. But once the
farmers market came into being, suddenly there was an overall
sense of belonging, of joy, in our neighborhood.
The farmers market has brought
cohesion to our community. It provides a place to see and talk
to people, to make new friends and visit with old ones, have
an outdoor breakfast picnic, find out what’s going on, hear
live music, absorb the light of day (even sun!), and
experience the seasons via the produce being sold. It’s a
happy place in which to hang out and start your weekend. This
is the joy of the farmers market, and that joy follows you for
the rest of your day and beckons you a week later.
For those who have lived here
since before the farmers market, you know what I’m talking
about, but perhaps you’ve forgotten. For those who moved here
after the farmers market, you probably can’t imagine it any
other way. But if the parking lot of the farmers market
becomes another storefront/condo building, you’ll realize what
we’ve all lost. It will be a huge loss.
If the grassroots group trying
to raise $2 million fails to raise it by the end of summer,
it’s over. They only have a fraction of that now. Please, can
someone be the hero to save Noe Valley’s joy?
Christina Sauvageau
P.S. I am not a member of the
group, but you can find information at www.noevalleytownsquare.com
Editor’s Note: For more
background, see “Town Square Searching for Heroes,” April
2012 Voice at
www.noevalleyvoice.com.
Spare Muni Stop at Liberty
Editor:
I was alarmed to read in your
May issue that the Muni Transit Effectiveness Project is
entertaining the notion of discontinuing the passenger stop of
the J-Church on Liberty Street to save a minute [“Tinkering
with the Stops Along Church Street,” May 2012]. Evidently,
they have no idea of the area concerned.
This stop is located in a
dangerous position—a blind intersection—and is unique on the
J-line. Even the stop on 21st is not as bad, and several years
ago there was a very bad accident there with the driver of a
truck colliding with the J. I saw the mess after the accident
and was told the truck driver was either killed or badly hurt.
However, this intersection is not nearly as blind as the
Liberty Street one, which is blinded onboth sides
by high walls, buildings, and vegetation.
Drivers not familiar with this
area can hardly be expected to see a streetcar appear out of
nowhere. This J “cut” is unique and is thus very dangerous.
The stop is therefore very necessary, and it would be
unthinkable to eliminate it to save a minute in the Muni
schedule.
Another concern is for the
elderly and the handicapped, who have to deal with a
neighborhood with many hills. Anything to make our lives a
little less painful is worth a lot. This area is all hills.
A minute or even two or three
minutes’ saving is not worth the damage it would cause in the
form of deadly accidents or unnecessary misery for the elderly
and handicapped.
Please help us on Liberty
Street.
Virginia Mehegan
Liberty Street
Garden Tour Bounty
Editor:
This year’s Noe Valley Garden
Tour on May 19 was a great success. We received very positive
feedback from many of the people on the tour. We sold over 200
tickets and had a good mix of ages this year, including many
families. The proceeds will benefit arborist work at Upper
Douglass Dog Park, as well as “Alvarado Al Fresco,” a
landscaped area outside the cafeteria at Alvarado Elementary
School.
The winning garden in the tour
was Jana and Geoff King’s garden on Cesar Chavez Street.
Congratulations!
Linda Lockyer
Friends of Noe Valley
Board Member and Events Chair
White Dots Far from Green
Editor:
Blame Larry Ellison for the
white dot frenzy!
Noe Valley, Bernal Heights, and
other “tony” parts of the city where property values are
rising will bear the burden of “upgrading the sidewalks,” at
the property owners’ expense. I’ve been hit for about 28
squares.
If you think it is bad here in
Noe [see “White Dots Have Residents Seeing Red,” June
2012 Voice], check out the Marina District. The
Department of Public Works spray cans are white-spotting like
you wouldn’t believe.
This is a full employment game
that is not particularly environmentally friendly. Forget
carbon credits or debits, think carbon units, as in how many
Btu (an obscure measurement of heat produced by gas, coal,
etc.) square removal takes. Cement, the active constituent of
concrete and mortar, is a high-Btu material. Let’s not even
measure the trucks and jackhammers.
There is a “mo betta” way to
sidewalk repair that is far more green than the “I tag you,
you pay dearly for the contractor replacement” (which always
bids the max and rips out all the squares tagged).
At least, as pointed out in the
article, there are alternatives to replacement, including
grinding uplifted edges, cutting out offending sections,
strategic patching of cracks, and even salvage of intact
squares for use elsewhere (flagstones in a park?). We need a
Doctor of Sidewalks. Even recent repairs are cracked and
uplifted. I won’t even get into the intimately related tree
issue.
Finally, the apparently
required, blinding white of replacement squares is a physical
annoyance to the elderly from glare, and changes our
neighborhoods into a uniform dull gray instead of the
multihued tans and beiges of the existing sidewalks. It makes
a difference. Is anyone used to the gray and red of our
streetcars that used to be a colorful green and yellow?
Anyway, we the citizens of this
great city of San Francisco better wake up or soon we will be
paying for the streets, too. Oh, I forgot. We use bonds (the
taxpayer credit card) for that.
Richard Peterson
Valley Street
Fan of First Republic Bank
Editor:
I am one Noe Valley resident who
will happily welcome First Republic Bank to 24th Street. I’d
be the first to protest another Wells, Bank of America, Chase,
or Citibank, but First Republic is one of the good guys. I
have an account with them, as well as with Circle and Sterling
(I like to spread my vast wealth around), and I find that
First Republic is superior in terms of both service and
products.
I fail to see how another bank
on the street will make it more “sterile.” [See Rumors, June
2012 Voice]. There are spaces going begging on 24th Street and
nearby, and why not have an occupant that can be used by
anyone, in contrast to the nail parlors and real estate
offices that spring up like mushrooms? We also have plenty of
restaurants in the neighborhood, and I say that as a foodie.
Are there other establishments that are clamoring for that
particular space?
Kristin Anundsen
27th Street
Dangers of Rat Poison
Editor:
Within the last three to four
months, in the backyard areas between Duncan and 28th streets
and Church and Dolores, we have found four dead and obviously
poisoned rats—their stomachs distended, bleeding from both
ends. In one case, a pet dog got to the rat and ingested
enough of it (it takes a tiny amount of poisoned vermin to
kill a dog) to be fatal. The beagle was discovered by its
owner when she returned home...too late to save.
The rat problem in our valley
(in the whole city, I hear) is worsening, but poison is not
the answer and is very dangerous to pets and children. If you
don’t want rats in your back yard, it’s probably because you
like to enjoy it with your family and friends and/or let your
pets do so. Poisoned rats go elsewhere to die and you are
endangering the yards of others when you use poison.
Disposable traps are not too
expensive and available at any hardware store, and once
occupied can be trashed in your black garbage can. Please
think of the big picture and be kind to your neighbors or
enlist them to help you to solve everyone’s problem.
Duncan Street neighbor
First Amendment Not Absolute
Editor:
In response to Don Schultz’s
thoughtful reply to my whining about the San Francisco
Examiner, as a retired lawyer, I do believe I’ve heard of the
First Amendment, but I’m not sure it protects the Examiner’s
method of distribution. The First Amendment is not absolute,
but subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions
that might apply here.
No one is trying to stop
publication of the Examiner, or to impede its delivery to
anyone who wants it. But the plastic-clad issues littering the
street every week are obviously not wanted. One can rather
easily place one’s phone number on a national “do not call”
registry, without impinging on the First Amendment rights of
telephone solicitors.
By contrast, the Examiner has
made it extremely difficult to halt individual delivery, which
does not, in any case, solve the litter problem. The Examiner
could distribute only to subscribers, or place its publication
in one of those ubiquitous newspaper racks of which Schultz
has reminded me.
If anyone is interested in
making a concerted effort to pursue this issue, please let me
know.
Leslie Wellbaum
lrwell@earthlink.net
Girl Scout Champions
Editor:
The San Francisco Girl Scouts
were the top-selling group in the Northern California Council,
which includes 10 counties from Santa Clara to the Oregon
border. Laura Z. sold 5,051 boxes to be the top salesgirl. The
top salesgirls and the girls who received the top Scout awards
were honored at a ceremony Sunday, May 20, at the West Portal
Lutheran Church.
Girls who sell cookies earn
credit and funds they can use toward Girl Scout activities of
their choice. Laura plans to go to a national Girl Scout
gathering in Washington, D.C., to sing along and celebrate the
Girl Scouts’ 100th anniversary, then on to visit the
birthplace of the founder, in Savannah, Ga. Next year, she’ll
visit Pax Lodge in London.
Trina Merriman
Girl Scouts of Northern California
The
Weidman family of 24th Street bid a fond farewell last
month to Miss Kit, their loyal companion and tireless
conveyor of parcels from Bernie’s cafe and other local
establishments.Photo courtesy
Misha Weidman
Now Delivering in Doggie Heaven
Editor:
Miss Kit, reputed to be the
oldest dog in Noe Valley, died peacefully on June 15,
surrounded by her family—longtime Noe Valley residents Misha
and Nina Weidman and their children, Adam and Maya. She was
171/2 years old (or 122 in people years).
The SPCA cattle-dog mix could
frequently be seen carrying purchases home from her favorite
24th Street merchants. She was also an avid reader of the Noe
Valley Voice.
Misha Weidman
24th Street
THEVOICE welcomes
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THE NOE VALLEY VOICE
P.O. Box 460249
San Francisco, CA 94146
www.noevalleyvoice.com
The Noe Valley Voice is
an independent newspaper published monthly except in January
and August. It is distributed free in Noe Valley and vicinity,
on or before the first Friday of the month. Subscriptions are
available at $30 per year ($25 for seniors) by writing to the
above address.
The Voice welcomes
your letters, photos, and stories, particularly on topics
relating to Noe Valley. All items should include your name,
address, and phone number, and may be edited for brevity or
clarity. (Unsigned letters will not be considered for
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if accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
The Noe Valley
Voice is a member of the San Francisco Neighborhood
Newspaper Association.
Email: editor@noevalleyvoice.com
Editorial: 415-821-3324
Website:
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Distribution: Call Misha,
415-752-1726
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415-608-7634, or email PatRose@noevalleyvoice.com
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Display Advertising Deadline
for the September Issue: Aug. 15, 2012
Editorial/Class Ad Deadline:
Aug. 15, 2012
CO-PUBLISHERS/EDITORS
Sally Smith, Jack Tipple
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS AND EDITORS
Olivia Boler, Other
Voices Editor
Corrie M. Anders, Associate
Editor
Heather World, Associate
Editor
Heidi Anderson, Karol Barske,
Helen Colgan, Chrissy Elgersma, Jan Goben, Liz Highleyman,
Rebecca Huval, Laura McHale Holland, Florence Holub, Tim
Innes, Jeff Kaliss, Doug Konecky, Bill Leeman, Rhiana
Maidenberg, Roger Rubin, Shayna Rubin, Karen Topakian, Nicole
Wong
