Headlines
 Mission’s Playgrounds Get Dream Makeovers
By Lori Higa, Neighborhood Newswire, Aug 09, 2008
Bounded by 16th, 17th, Bryant and Hampshire streets, Franklin Square is located at the outer edges of the Mission and Potrero Hill. Well-used by soccer teams from outside the neighborhood, the park is rarely visited by nearby residents, save the occasional dog walker. Once a shining example of Victorian-era design, complete with an athletic field and meandering pathways, the 4.4 acre park is dilapidated and dangerous; a magnet for the homeless, drug use and prostitution. The park’s metal play structure is corroded, its pressure-treated wood pillars rotted and leeching arsenic, and its sandbox polluted with feces, syringes, condoms and cigarette butts. Two years ago, the Neighborhood Parks Council (NPC), a local nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing city parks and green spaces, declared Franklin Square San Francisco’s worst, giving it a grade “F."
 Peaker Plants Still in Play
By Deia de Brito
, Neighborhood Newswire, Aug 09, 2008
Intense politicking by Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resource Defense Council, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has slowed the momentum behind San Francisco Public Utility Commission’s (SFPUC) proposal to site three combustion turbines (CT) in the Dogpatch neighborhood as a way to retire Mirant Corporation’s 1960s-era Potrero Power Plant. Last month Mayor Gavin Newsom asked the Board of Supervisors to delay voting on the CTs to provide more time to consider alternative reliability plans. “I don’t want to live to regret this decision. We may look like fools five years from now,” said Newsom.
 San Francisco International Festival of Short Films
by Tom Mayer, Aug 09, 2008
The 3rd annual San Francisco International Festival of Short Films will be August 6 to 9 at the Victoria Theater and Red Vic Movie House. The festival, is directed by Michael Coyne, short filmmaker and design instructor at Miami Ad School and by James Kenney, professor of graphic design and media arts at California College of the Arts. The festival includes 54 films over a three-day period. Half of the films are from outside the U.S.
 Eastern Neighborhoods Plan on the Fast Track
By Jonathan Farrell, Jul 14, 2008
The San Francisco Planning Commission heard testimony on Thursday, June 19 regarding the status of the Eastern Neighborhoods Plan. As featured in the June issue, the Mission Dispatch noted that Mission merchants question the feasibility and direction of the plan. Phil Lesser of Lesser Enterprises and others fear the plan will drive away existing businesses and will not be able to meet the 21st Century needs of future potential business seeking SF as a home. Fellow local-business owner and property manager, Fred Snyder agreed, as he told the Mission Dispatch in June, “what is missing in this ambitious plan is a genuine dialog between the progressives promoting the plan and the community,” said Snyder.
 Potrero Del Sol Skate Park Opened July 4
By C. Long, Jul 14, 2008
San Francisco’s second public skateboard facility opened July 4 at Potrero Del Sol Park, located at 25th and Utah streets in the Mission District’s southeast outskirts. The skate park will provide much-needed relief to local skaters tired of dodging traffic, thugs and broken glass at the usual street spots, while nearby food, gas and convenience stores can expect a modest bump in their revenues, especially during the summertime and on weekends. San Francisco has been an international epicenter of skateboard culture and industry for two decades. Over the years the City has been home to dozens of skateboard manufacturers, and is arguably the skateboard publishing capital of the world.
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MissionBlog [more]
Is David Campos the "SOLUTION?"
, Jul 18, 2008
Las t night I attended supervisor hopeful David Campos’ gathering at L’s Café on 24th Street — by the way, the food was great. His platform is the same as the ones we have heard from past-and-elected supervisors. He says he can address crime, education, housing and healthcare. I say, “he can address” because he seems to be confident about having the solution to these ever lasting — if not chronic — problems. The only problem: he is not a parent. The only people (most people, I should, again, say, are parents) who can prevent crime, provide education, housing and healthcare, are parents, responsible parents. [more]
Calendar [more]
J. Evert Winburn, artsextra.com, Aug 09, 2008
Friday, August 22: Kung Kosher Comedy Presents the 4th and a Half Annual Cafe con Comedy on Friday, August 22 at 7:30 pm. The event takes place at Dolores Park Cafe, 501 Dolores St. at 18th St., and tickets are $7-$15 (at the door). The Kung Pao Kosher Comedy's "4th and a Half Annual Cafe con Comedy" is a bi-annual night of very diverse stand up comedy at the Dolores Park Cafe in San Francisco's Mission District. The line-up features a half a dozen comics: Mormon, Filipino, African American, Indian, Jewish, Caucasian American, gay/ lesbian/ straight, and more. For more information, visit www.koshercomedy.com. [more]
Kids Corner [more]
Free Summer Lunch for Kids and Teens
, , Jul 14, 2008
Whoever said there is no such thing as a free lunch has never spent a summer in San Francisco. The Department of Children, Youth & Their Families is serving free healthy lunches and afternoon snacks to all children age 18 years or younger every weekday for the next 8 weeks. San Francisco’s Free Summer Lunch program – now in its 12th year – operates Mondays through Fridays until August 15 at nearly 100 sites in every corner of the City. The program expects to feed 5,500 children and teens every weekday. That’s over 200,000 free meals this summer. [more]
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