Short Takes

Migden Speaks to Demo Club
Members of the Noe Valley Democratic Club will ask State Assemblywoman Carole Migden, the featured speaker at their June meeting, to ponder the state budget as well as the mystical ways of Governor Gray Davis.
"We'll also ask her about bringing BART to Noe Valley," says Club President Dave Monks. "[BART Director] Tom Radulovich is pushing hard in Sacramento to get an appropriation for a study of a 30th and Mission BART Station. And Carole is chair of the Appropriations Committee."
The local Demos also will present 25th Street resident Harry Stern with the club's first Award of Merit, "for his longtime commitment to the livability of our neighborhood and to a better Muni," Monks says.
He adds that the meeting -- which will be held June 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Noe Valley Ministry, 1021 Sanchez St. -- is the club's official kickoff for the district elections season. Everybody is welcome, no matter what their political stripe. Call Monks at 821-4087 for more on the summer agenda.
Upper Noe Playground Bustles
Noe Valley kids looking for summer fun will find it at the Upper Noe Playground at Day and Sanchez streets. Children 1 to 5 can participate in adventure gardening, story time, arts and crafts, and gymnastics for the toddler set. Kids between 7 and 13 can work on becoming the next Barry Bonds by joining the Junior Giants team. And 9- to 14-year-olds will be able to refine their hoop-making abilities in the basketball league.
For kids 8 and older, Thursday is outing day, with trips planned to Great America, Santa Cruz, Raging Waters, and Marine World/Six Flags. And on Monday through Friday, the playground will distribute free summer lunches from noon to 1:30 p.m.
Most programs begin at 10 a.m., and some run as late as 6 p.m. For a full schedule, call Upper Noe at 695-5011, or drop by and pick up a flyer.
Summer Reading Is Magic
The San Francisco Public Library is sponsoring an activity that is fun, safe, and free for kids who may be at loose ends during the summer vacation. The library's Summer Reading Club is open to children 13 and younger, and gives them great reasons to pick up a book and go where it takes them, from fairytale kingdoms to outer space.
This year's theme is "Reading Is Magic!" so the program will be kicked off by magician Walt Anthony at the Main Library, on Saturday, June 3, at 2 p.m. Anthony will blend magic and reading from the best-selling Harry Potter books in an interactive performance.
All 26 branches and the Children's Bookmobile will also take part in the Summer Reading Club, which runs June 3 through Aug. 5. Children 13 and under can enroll any time during that period and win prizes for reading for two, four, six, or eight hours. Books in any language count, and preschool kids can participate by being read to. The club gets help from "Kid Power," 10- to 16-year-old volunteers who assist the librarians in signing up the kids and recording their hours.
Prizes include books and tickets to events, museums, and exhibits. The branch libraries also offer activities and performers throughout the summer. The Noe Valley Sally Brunn Library is located at 451 Jersey St., near Castro. For details on "Reading Is Magic!" or "Kid Power," call the branch at 695-5095.
Redesign Harvey Milk Plaza
Here's your chance to put your stamp on the city you love. The San Francisco Arts Commission and the Department of Public Works are teaming up with San Francisco Prize (a group of design professionals) to sponsor a competition for a redesign of the Harvey Milk Memorial Plaza, the space where Market, 17th, and Castro streets converge. The goal is to create a vibrant public space that has street furniture, public art, signage, and a memorial dedicated to the ideals of Harvey Milk, the city's first openly gay supervisor.
There is no funding yet for the project, but the organizers plan to raise funds after the competition, to implement one or more of the aspects of the winning designs. A community survey will be launched on June 19 in conjunction with Gay Pride Week (June 19 25), and posters will go up soliciting entries.
In July, an open meeting and walk-through will be held for the entrants and interested community members. Registration for entries will close on Aug. 11, and entries will be due on Aug. 31. Five designs will be chosen as winners and presented by the winning teams at a community meeting in November.
For information or an entry form, call Edgar Lopez, project manager at the Department of Public Works, at 554-5757.
Is Your Child a Star?
The children's theater program Kid Stock, Inc., will bring its summer day camp to our area for the first time in its eight-year history. The seven-week musical theater camp, called Summer Stock, usually takes place west of Twin Peaks. But this season, July 17 through Aug. 4, the San Francisco program will be held in the auditorium of Mission Dolores at 16th and Church streets. Kids in kindergarten through eighth grade can enroll in the camp, running Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Extended care is also available.)
Since 1992, Kid Stock's creators and directors, the mother-daughter team Jane Anne Sullivan and Noel Donovan, have offered the program to 800 children each summer in four Bay Area counties. Together, they have written 18 musical productions, based on themes such as the building of the railroads, space travel, and the environment. All programs offer workshops in song, drama, art, and dance, and each camp ends with a performance for the families.
Kid Stock offers theater programs during the school year as well as in the summer. "Every year," says Sullivan, "with the help of a nurturing staff, we give children the opportunity to step outside of themselves and pretend -- a moment to shine and become a star."
Cost for Summer Stock 2000 is $450. For more information, contact Sullivan or Donovan at 753-3737.
'Men at Work' Against Cancer
A new campaign to recruit more men to the fight against breast cancer is getting under way, with a midday march and rally on Wednesday, June 7, in downtown San Francisco. Why men? "It's natural that women were the first to come to the fight to end breast cancer," says Andrea Martin, founder and director of the Breast Cancer Fund, the group sponsoring the new "Men at Work" campaign. "But we need the energy and leadership of men if we hope to land the one-two punch to knock it out."
The march begins at 345 California St. at 11:30 a.m., and proceeds down California Street to Justin Herman Plaza. At noon, there will be a program hosted by K101 deejay Don Bleu and KISS radio talk show host and "Voice of the Giants" Renel. Exhibit booths, food vendors, and information sources will circle the plaza throughout the lunch hour.
Official grand marshals for the parade are Mayor Willie Brown and City Attorney Louise Renne, and other notable marchers and performers include the Reverend Cecil Williams from Glide Memorial Church, labor leader Walter Johnson, slide guitarist Roy Rogers, and singer/songwriter Shana Morrison. KPIX's Dave McElhatton and Giants' manager Dusty Baker will also participate in the poster campaign.
Michael Mazzaferro, chair of Men at Work, points out that every man has a woman in his life who has been struck by this disease, and adds, "We need to stand up with the women we love and say, 'No more.'" For more information on the march and rally, call 249-9111 or visit www.breastcancerfund.org.
Calling All Indie Filmmakers
The Film Arts Foundation is looking for entries for its 16th annual Film Arts Festival of Independent Cinema, which will run from Nov. 1 through 5 at the Roxie Cinema and other San Francisco locations. Filmmakers can submit up to three films or videos of any length or genre, from features to documentaries, to experimental shorts. Membership in the foundation is not required.
With over 3,400 members, the Film Arts Foundation is the largest regional organization of independent producers in the country. Its annual festival is unique in the Bay Area. Through its long-term support of the independent filmmaking spirit, the festival is as likely to show works by old veterans as it is those of young upstarts, and gives a good snapshot of the artistic and social concerns of Northern California's diverse and influential filmmaking community.
Entry fees are $10 per entry for early deadline (June 16), or $15 per entry for the final deadline (July 7). For full details on the entry guidelines, call Liz Canning, festival director, at 552-FILM, or send an email to festival@filmarts.org, or visit www.filmarts.org.
Crisis Line Needs Volunteers
Are you a good listener? Caring and supportive? San Francisco Suicide Prevention needs volunteers to staff the AIDS/HIV Nightline, a crisis line that provides emotional support, crisis counseling, and information to anyone with HIV concerns. Volunteering for a few nighttime hours each month lets you help others through a difficult time.
The group provides training, and the next training class will start in mid-June. Call the Nightline at 984-1902 (day or night) to get more information.