Neighbor Isaac used an iPhone to capture this bucolic little scene atop Bernal Hill earlier this week. Loovley!
Author: Todd_Lappin
Stylish Man Creates Custom Bernal Bike Helmet
Our friends at The New Wheel electric bikery on Cortland sent us photos of this stylish gentleman who created a customized a bike helmet to add some local flavor:
C’est sportif, non?
PHOTOS: The New Wheel
Final Redistricting Plan Welcomed by Lost Tribe of College Hill
In the comments to our recent post about the redistricting proposal for the Dominion of Bernalwood and District 9, Neighbor Erika posted an excellent summary of the final redistricting plan — and why it’s a welcome thing for Bernal residents who live between Mission Street and the Bernal Cut. Her summary was so good, in fact, that we are reposting it in its entirety here:
What Beyond Chron called “Glen Bernal” is really the College Hill neighborhood of Bernal Heights. We mostly ID as Bernal, but so many Bernalwood denizens have snorted at our historically accurate claim that we College Hill residents have jokingly nicknamed our hood “Glernal.” And it’s particularly apt now that we’re part of Supervisor Wiener’s D8. Yep, we joined D8. Here’s the final map, settled over the weekend and published today.
This boundary shift into D8 was consciously requested by several neighbors and the College Hill Neighborhood Association for a few reasons:
1. Now we have one supervisor covering both halves of the Bernal Cut greenbelt path, the paved walking and biking trail that runs above both sides of San Jose Ave. On the Bernal side, it starts at St. Mary’s and climbs up and past College to Richland, Park, and Highland, and then back down to Appleton at Mission. It has great potential as a free community recreation resource (see our “Heal the Cut” efforts here), but for years it’s been tough coordinating cleaning-and-greening efforts because it was split between both D8 and D9. (The trash and crap—literal crap—are mostly on our Bernal side of the path, but Glen Park residents have to look at it). Neighbors have enjoyed working with both Supervisor Wiener’s and Supervisor Campos’s offices and with DPW on clean-up efforts, but we look forward to the entire Cut falling within just one supervisor’s district.
2. Now our D8 boundary at Mission St. better mirrors SFUSD’s “neighborhood school” boundary, which points College Hill kids who want a local English (instead of immersion) program to Glen Park Elementary instead of to nearby J. Serra Elementary (which was “redistricted” in September 2010 to soak up more kids in South Bernal). Here’s SFUSD’s Attendance Area map.
3. Now South Bernal has two supervisors covering its streets and its denizens, and we like the thought of 2 supervisors (Supervisor Wiener and Supervisor Campos) caring about our corner of the city.
Bravo Neighbor Erika! Her excellent executive summary clarifies the logic of moving College Hill into District 8, while also affirming the area’s longstanding allegiance to Bernal Heights. (The SF Chronicle also has a political analysis of the final redistricting plan.)
One final note. To be clear: The Dominion of Bernalwood does proudly include The Lost Tribe of College Hill in our sovereign domain, independent of any divergent supervisorial allegiances, and even as we apologize for any inadvertent periods of neglect. Bernal Über Alles, and all that.
Bernal Heights Marsupial Makes Rare Daytime Appearance
Neighbor Ken on Rutledge writes:
Marsupial in the hood!
This guy’s been puttering around our north slope yard late at night. My Jack Russell has been on to him, but no confrontations as yet. I’ve only caught glimpses of his beady reflective eyes every now and then shining back at me in the darkness. I guess he must have heard about the brash, Bernal raccoons. This morning he was cruising our fence looking for the best way to take advantage of our wild bird feeders. Out in the bright daylight, he didn’t even flinch when I approached him to grab this shot. (Fact: Opossums have been known to play dead for 40 minutes to 4 hours before coming back to “life.”)
He seems healthy but then, what the heck do I know about Opossums?
Note: We’ve lived on the hill for over 22 years and this is a first for us. We’ve seen Opossums at night but never in the day.
PHOTO: Neighbor Ken
Awesome Parody Rap Video Spoofs Noveau San Francisco
Hey bro, SFist tips us to this lolz video:
PBR, Dolores Park, Madrone, salted-caramel, guys who wear those brightly colored sunglasses, Bi-Rite Creamery, start-ups, average-size penises — Chris Avery’s parody rap video ‘SF Playa’ pokes fun at San Francisco’s current state of insufferable smugness.
Redistricting Plan Will Alter Geopolitical Landscape for Bernal
It’s been a decade, so the City is now finalizing a redistricting plan for our Supervisors that will likely have some interesting political implications for Bernal Heights.
The crux of the plan would revise boundaries of the current district by adding the northern half of The Mission and the southern half of The Portola to our District 9, creating a contiguous band of awesomeness that stretches from McLaren Park to Rainbow Grocery — with Bernal Heights occupying the strategic highlands in the middle. The downside is that the Dominion of Bernalwood may lose some of our brothers and sisters from the Bernal Cut in the D9 reshuffle.
It’s all rather geeky and complicated, but fortunately the scribes at Beyond Chron have been paying attention:
The most controversial move – about whether to put Portola in District 9 or 10 – has been partisan, with moderates advocating for D10 and progressives pushing for D9. But at this point, a majority of Task Force members appear to want it in District 9 for a non-partisan reason: math. D10 and D11 must lose people, and D9 has to grow. Because everyone agrees we must make Portola “whole,” moving a neighborhood with 16,000 people into District 10 would require moving Potrero Hill out of D10 – causing a ripple effect at this late hour.
Last week, the Task Force made no major changes to the Draft Map – but instead had extensive debate about various district boundaries, balancing neighborhood unity with an attempt to “equalize” the numbers. Legally, all 11 districts must be within 5% of the population median (73,203 people.) And while the Draft Map has all eleven districts within that deviation, there’s a consensus among Task Force members to avoid too much “imbalance” – so tweaks have been, and will be, made.
So that’s why the entirety of The Portola is likely to join us here in glamorous District 9. But to make the population numbers work out, one part of Bernal Heights may be moved out of District 9 and into Glen Park’s District 8. Beyond Chron, again:
With Portola currently in District 9, the Task Force has focused on wanting to make the neighborhood “whole” by putting as much of it into D9. At the same time, they have tried to “re-unite” the Mission District – by moving up D9’s northern boundary with District 6, with the current Draft Map putting the boundary at 14th Street. As a result, D9 is dangerously close to being 5% above the median – currently at +4.7%.
So the Task Force has considered removing parts of District 9, and one logical place would be “Glen Bernal” – the neighborhood between Mission Street and San Jose Avenue, just north of the I-280 – by putting it in District 8. The Task Force did not do this last week, but competing priorities might make such a move inevitable.
I rode my bike down there this weekend, just to get a feel of the area. On Bosworth Street, I asked a resident what neighborhood he lived in – and he said, “Glen Park.” If we moved that area south of St. Mary’s Avenue into D8, it would shift 940 people. Moving everything south of Richland would move 1,560 people – but I don’t think anything north of Richland would be appropriate. People up there told me Bernal Heights ends at Mission Street, but that they have less in common with Glen Park.
The redistricting process is now in the final stretch, and most of the work will wrap-up this weekend:
The Redistricting Task Force meets tonight at 6:00 p.m. in Room 416 at City Hall, and again on April 11th at 6:00 p.m. in Room 416. The final meeting is on Saturday, April 14th at 10:00 a.m. in Room 400 – with a midnight of deadline of completing the map. For more details, check for updates here
Likewise, be sure to explore the interactive redistricting map to take a closer look at the proposed district boundaries.
Yesterday’s Weather Report: Heavy Downpours with Periods of Exceptionally Bright and Shiny
You probably noticed that yesterday’s on-again-off-again rainstorms featured two very special guest stars: Mr. Thunder and Dr. Lightning.
But during the day, the interplay of light, sun, water, and Bernal Heights created some beautiful scenery. I took these phonecam snaps on my way to work in the morning.
PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics
Glamorous New Gallery Show for Bernal Artist Colette Crutcher
Lisa from Inclusions Gallery in Cortland sent Bernalwood a telecommunication about a new show opening tomorrow:
Colette Crutcher is Bernal Heights resident and an incredibly talented working artist. She is known in and around the city for her numerous public works, collaborative and solo (which by chance, I’ve spotted on international blog sites about SF, and have floated thru my Tumblr dash a number of times).
She’s participated in a number of group shows at Inclusions, but this will be her first solo show. I’m really hoping folks will make the connection with her as a working artist in our community, and for her public works.
Colette has done a lot of residential work around the community too. Several neighbors have front doors/walkways or gardens adorned with her beautiful, fanciful mosaics.
“Stairways Doors & Windows: Recent works by Colette Crutcher”
Opens this Saturday April 14, with a reception for the artist, from 6-8 pm
Colette Crutcher will also give a talk and presentation about her many public works (with a Q&A to follow): Thursday April 19th at 7pm.Inclusions Gallery
627 Cortland Av.
PHOTOS: Top, Colette Crutcher in her studio. Below, “Go Ask Alice,” by Colette Crutcher. Photos from Inclusions Gallery
Photographer Makes 280-101 “Spaghetti Bowl” Look Delicious
Photographer Toby Harriman has taken what may well be the definitive photo of the 280-101 Spaghetti Bowl in southeast Bernal. You can see it above: A crisp, long-exposure shot taken last week that animates the flow of traffic in vivid arterial detail.
When I see this photo, I also gain a new appreciation for why “Spaghetti Bowl” is such a perfect name for this interchange. Admittedly, I’m a pastaphile; but to me this picture looks like perfect strands of al dente spaghetti threading through an endless river of tangy marinara sauce. I’m not exaggerating when I say that Toby’s photo triggers a Pavlovian response whenever I look at it. Yum.
Equally delicious, if somewhat less Pavlovian, is the ultra-crisp and sparkly photo Toby took that same night looking north from atop Bernal hill:
Really, you must look at the photo in supersize to appreciate how much texture it contains. (HINT: The street in the center of the image is Alabama.) This view is familiar to us all, yet this perspective reveals details you probably have never seen before.
Bravo, Toby, and thanks for sharing your glamorous images with Bernalwood.
PHOTOS: Toby Harriman
New Marijuana Dispensary “Takes Bernal Heights Up A Notch”
Marijuana criticism is not confined solely to droopy-eyed amateurs; Like the rest of the medical marijuana industry, the field has also developed its own cadre of professionals. One such pro, from the East Bay Express’s Legalization Nation blog, recently took note of the soft-launch of the Herbal Mission dispensary on Mission Street, and in an article entitled “New San Francisco Dispensary Herbal Mission Takes Bernal Heights Up A Notch,” the early reviews are in:
Herbal Mission was still working out the opening kinks last last month. Intake was smooth, but the point-of-sale system seemed new to the employees. There’s no art, or music, or flatscreen menu monitors. And they had what we’d call the “dispensary starter pack” of strains: some Girl Scout Cookies, Lemon Haze, GDP, Blackberry Kush, Blue Dream, and about ten other popular names. Herbal Mission had just a smattering of concentrates and edibles, but they’ll likely stock up quick.
For now, they’re happy to finally be open. And we’re happy to see some much-needed competition come to the southern half of San Francisco. Nearby Bernal Heights Collective is groovy but natty by comparison, with passable cannabis at so-so prices, dispensed by often-baked, lackadaisical cashiers.
Also, MissionLocal has a typically thorough article on how Herbal Mission came to be.
PHOTO: MissionLocal
Bernal Heights Is for All-Weather Lovers
We know that Bernal Heights is all about the love, but our romance is not just a blue-sky phenomenon. Andrew Curry took this wonderfully atmospheric photo during yesterday’s rainstorms, and he rather brilliantly titled it “Lover Cover.”
1940 Census Reveals Domestic History of Bernal Households
There’s been a lot of chatter lately about the recent release of the raw data from the 1940 U.S. Census. From New York to Santa Cruz and everywhere in between, Americans are digging in to the data to understand more about what life was like 72 years ago.
Locally, there’s been a lot of that going on as well. In the La Lengua Autonomous Zone, rebel blogger Burrito Justice created a magnificent, must-read post that visually recreates the lives of several residents who lived on Mission Street between Valencia and 29th Street in 1940.
Also, on KQED’s Forum, The Kraz hosted a show devoted to the 1940 Census, with a celebrity guest appearance by Bernal Heights resident Michael Nolan, who described his effort to use the census data to learn who lived on his stretch of Elsie street way back when.
Bernalwood reached out to Neighbor Michael and asked him to describe his research for the rest of us. In an email, he said:
The 1940 Census for my side of the 200 Block of Elsie between Cortland and Eugenia reveals a neighborhood of low-income working class families emerging from The Great Depression.
Their occupations included tavern owner, longshoreman, baker, shoe repairer, building watchman, plasterer, cab driver, janitor, sewer in a suitcase factory, bacon packer, curtain folder, foundry molder, and railroad freight handler.
The occupants of my house both worked at a lock factory, no doubt Schlage Lock in Vistitacion Valley. Mostly women worked as housewives, but George and Margaret Mastro both worked at the lock factory. In the year before, he had 26 weeks of work and earned $754; she had 42 weeks of work and earned $1000. George, 42 in 1940 had a 6th grade education; Margaret only 4 years. George was born in Italy and Margaret in Pennsylvania.
Several years ago their daughter Frances, age 13 in 1940, came to visit 212 Elsie, the house where she grew up with her younger brother, Frank. I happily took her on a tour of the house. She asked if the basement, where her father made wine, still had a dirt floor. I told her it had been cemented over. Before they lived at #212, they lived in the house at the northwest corner of Elsie-Virginia-Eugenia.
The 1940 Census also indicates where people lived five years previous. The majority on this block of Elsie lived in the same place. There were many Italians, some Irish, and Austrians. Some were Californians, others were natives of Arizona, Louisiana and Pennsylvania. The name of the census enumerator was Louis Pavia, probably chosen because he spoke Italian.
There were usually more people living under one roof than there are today.
Neighbor Michael is lucky to have photos of the former occupants of his house (shown above), as well as the data contained in the 1940 census. For my house, I only found the data. Here’s what a typical page of the 1940 census looks like:
Zoom in a bit, and I can read about the occupant of my house:
What this tells me is that in 1940, my house was occupied by Sam Piazza, his wife Anna, and their son Salvadore. Aged 34, Sam owned the house, which had an estimated value of $3500. Eighth grade was as far as Sam got in school; Anna, 25, completed Ninth. Both had been born in California (but a supplemental survey revealed that they spoke Italian at home).
Here’s the family’s work status:
Sam was a clerk in the fruit and vegetable industry; he worked 54 hours during a typical week in March, 1940. During that same week, Anna had put in 36 hours as a cutter at a local cannery. They walked the same floors I walk each day in this house, so I’m glad to know their history.
Want to find out who lived in your home? It takes a little patience and some digging, but Burrito Justice explains how to get started:
None of these files are scanned or indexed yet, but you can most easily find your “Enumeration District” by searching at the site Steve Morse and Joel Weintraub have set up. Once you get the ED narrowed down, you can download the original census forms for that area, which will only be two or three blocks of homes, at least in San Francisco.
PHOTOS: Michael Nolan via the Mastro family
Back of Liberty Cafe to Become Bistro-Style Outdoor Cinema
As you may recall, last fall the Liberty Cafe on Cortland was purchased by the owners of Vega, the Italian restaurant across the street. Now that the new owners have had some time to settle in, they’re preparing to make some changes to the bakery zone in the back. The food-obsessed Inside Scoop blog has the details:
The front cafe area isn’t changing. It will still serve the Liberty Cafe lunch, dinner and beloved brunch.
But in the back bakery area, there will be some changes. During the day, Liberty Cafe is working with nearby Sandbox Bakery for the baked goods. The bakery is still open with the same hours, but all the goods coming out there are Sandbox’s. (Sandbox’s Mutsumi Takehara is using the oven there for bread, too.)
During the evenings, the plan is to screen movies and serve thin-crust pizzas — almost like an extension of owner Vega Freeman-Brady’s pizzeria (Vega) across the way. They’re putting in heat lamps and new beer taps.
Innnnnnnnnteresting. Baked good from Sandbox during the day, with a smaller-scale Foreign Cinem-type thing happening after dark. All that sounds like a rather tasty combination.
PHOTO: Telstar Logistics
