This morning Bernalwood received a crime report from a reader who lives on the 1500 block of Alabama near Cesar Chavez:
At 10:15 last night my wife and I were watching a noisy action movie in the front room when seven shots were fired close by. We hit the floor, but when nothing else happened — I didn’t hear any car zooming away, if indeed the shooter escaped via a car, because it took me a minute to shut off the noisy movie — I looked outside while calling 911. The strange thing is that all was quiet for about three minutes, and then
some female screaming started. The cops started pouring into the block about a minute later. Even though I couldn’t see any details, it was clear that someone had been hit, because the whole block was blocked off for a couple of hours and the cops were going around putting down those numbered yellow evidence cones. I don’t see any news about it yet this morning but given the spate of recent shootings I wouldn’t be surprised if the Chronicle has something soon.
A San Francisco man was shot in the Mission district Sunday night and rushed to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, a police sergeant said.
The 27-year old man was sitting in a car in the 1500 block of Alabama Street at Cesar Chavez at around 10:20 p.m. when suspects approached, shot the victim multiple times, and then drove away, Sgt. Mike Andraychak said.
Living in a back yard near Crescent and Andover in Bernalwood, the chickens are named Notorious R.E.D., Checkers, and Garuda. And though they have exceptionally small brains, they are typical Bernal residents in that they have a stylish home, gourmet aspirations, and their own blog. The blog is called Yolk Tales, and it describes a typical day’s quest for fresh-laid eggs as follows:
I was opening up the coop this morning to fetch the newly laid egg, and Checkers darted out into the yard. With sleep in my eyes and my pajamas still on, I chased that little bird around the yard for a good five minutes before grabbing her and tossing her back into the run. I’m sure it would’ve been rather amusing had there been an audience. I love having the ladies roam around in the yard, but they get a taste of freedom and crave more and more. And they’re fast.
But not fast enough. The chickens are already producing eggs, and our sources tell us these homebrewed eggs pair nicely with Niman Ranch center-cut bacon:
Keep an eye on Yolk Tales for further developments.
While the City Planning Commission runs on bureaucratic autopilot and Supervisor David Campos thinks really, really, really hard about whether Bernalwood’s vintage Coca-Cola mural is worth saving, homeowner Richard Modolo is making plans to cover up the historic mural to avoid facing $100 daily fines.
After being notified last month that the billboard didn’t have an advertising permit from The City, Modolos was given 30 days to either remove the sign, apply for a permit or request a reconsideration notice.
But choosing the latter option would have required Modolos to pay $3,400 up front for the initial hearing and possible fees, according to the notice. “Just as I’m reading this thing, I’m thinking how can you possibly do anything,” Modolos said. “They’re making it so difficult.”
So Modolos opted to cover the sign for the time being. He said he’ll find out later this week if the department approved his plans.
Bernal Heights residents who support the billboard have expressed interest in seeking help from Supervisor David Campos, who represents the area, to protect it by creating a “historic sign district.”
Planning Commission vice president Ron Miguel said that although the sign isn’t currently legal, there are ways that it could be made legal. “Somehow, it’s got to be resolved,” Miguel said.
Ya think?
Bernalwood has been receiving regular updates from both Richard Modolo and the City Planning Department. Only Supervisor David Campos has yet to weigh in, and yet only he can now save the mural. But after two weeks of uncertainty and controversy, Campos has yet to declare a position. Apparently, this is a difficult decision, so he needs still more time to think about it…
Notice the fresh tracks on 14 Limited at Ski Bernalwood
Wow. That was an intense storm that blew through early this morning. And when I went downstairs to make a cup of coffee, I noticed some snow(ish) accumulation in the back yard:
“If there’s snow(ish) here, there might even be fresh powder at altitude!” I exclaimed. So I piled into the Jeep, dropped it into 4WD, and set a course for Ski Bernalwood.
The lifts were running when I arrived, but conditions were still pretty extreme on the North Face:
It was a similar scene on the South Face, where the earlybirds had already tracked-out the cornice at Cornelio’s Folly:
By that point, my caffeine levels were dropping into the red zone, so I decided to head back home to recharge. Along the way, I noticed whitewater on Cesar Chavez, and a few of the local kayakers were out shooting the rapids on their way to work.
Darcy Lee (of Heartfelt) wrote to Bernalwood to summarize the process:
There is a community meeting that will be held from 2-4 this Saturday at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center regarding the artwork that is going to replace the current mural on the Bernal library. This is after more than a year of negotiating different opinions on the future of the appearance of our beloved civic building. There are many members of our community who would love to see the mural restored, and others that would like new artwork, and others that would prefer none at all.
When the differences got heated and the Arts Commission and the Library Commission were not sure what to do, Supervisor Campos and some community members suggested that we form a group of members of the community to hash it out with the renowned facilitator Beth Roy (who happens to live in Bernal).
We reached a consensus, after hours of meetings week after week. Community Activist Mauricio Vela was an integral part of our process and we are sad to say he passed away. We formed a task force out of the original group to deal with the next difficult part- raising money and choosing artists. We are now holding community meetings with the artists to get the community’s voice.
The meetings will be held at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center on Saturday Feb. 28 from 2 to 4 pm and Tuesday, March 1 from 6 to 8 pm. More information and backstory at the Bernal Library Art Project website.
I don’t know which came first: the immaculate 1949 Ford pickup or the beautifully restored house on Wool Street. Whatever the order, the truck was blocking the driveway of the house, so it’s safe to assume they’re a pair.
And so well paired, don’t you think? It took a lot of commitment to harmonize both those elements, but the results are so very sweet. Nicely done, neighbor.
Now the bad news: Supervisor David Campos is apparently unsure if the Coca-Cola mural is worth saving. Dozens of Bernal residents have told us that the mural generates a tangible sense of joy and connection to the neighborhood. But Supervisor Campos says he’s worried about the theoretical risk that a 70 year-old mural might encourage childhood obesity. Or something. (Why am I experiencing such an unpleasant sense of deja vu?)
“We haven’t really taken a position either way,” Campos said. “We want to hear more from the neighborhood.”
He said he’s already received a handful of passionate e-mails from both sides.
“We’re trying to fight childhood obesity,” he said. “We don’t want to promote kids drinking Coca-Cola.”
Campos will need to make a decision quickly.
Indeed he will. Because while he mulls, the clock is ticking, and the City Planning Department continues to demonstrate an unsettling myopia about the mural. Both the letter and the spirit of the law are obviously open to interpretation in a scenario like this, yet such subtleties are lost on the City’s zealous apparatchiks — history, context, common sense, and neighborhood sentiment be damned.
Campos, meanwhile, says he needs more time to lick his finger, point it in the air, and take the measure of the political winds.
That suggests he needs you to offer guidance, fellow citizen. Campos told the Chron that he wants to “hear more from the neighborhood.” So why not deliver some of the clarity that he finds so elusive? Supervisor Campos can be reached here:
One final note: Bernalwood attempted to contact Supervisor Campos last week, but our email to him received no reply. However, if Supervisor Campos feels that he was misrepresented in the Chronicle, or if he would like to clarify the record regarding his position on the historic Coca-Cola mural, Bernalwood would be pleased to publish his statement in full. Our email is bernalwood at gmail dot com, and operators are standing by.
On some level, anyone who lives in this City learns that there are really two San Franciscos: The public City we see at street level, and the secret City that’s only visible from private back yards.
Though not much distance ever separates them, the quiet spaciousness of backyard San Francisco is often a world apart from the shoulder-to-shoulder bustle of life on the street. That’s even more true in hilly parts of town, where the topography of the City’s steep grades is fully revealed only within the sheltered perimeter of the surrounding homes.
Here’s one such place: Precita Valley, on the north slope, between Mirabel (above) and Precita (below). It also happens to be the view I wake to every day from my bedroom window.
It’s a whole ecosystem that only the locals get to see.
As you may recall, after a whinging NIMBY complained to the City about the presence of the vintage Coca-Cola mural at the corner of Tompkins and Banks, the City gave the property owner a February 24 deadline to present evidence that the artwork at 601 Tompkns pre-dates San Francisco’s 1965 sign ordinances.
In our quest to acquire said evidence, we got some big help from the sleuths at Burrito Justice, who proved conclusively that the property at 601 Tompkins was a corner store called Tiptons Grocery until roughly the late 1960s. But today — three days before our City-imposed deadline — we are happy to report that Bernalwood obtained conclusive proof that the sign is, in fact, way old.
Over the weekend, Bernalwood established contact with the homeowner, Mr. Richard Modolo. Mr. Modolo was away on vacation last week, but now he’s tanned, rested, and ready for a bureaucratic tussle. Even better, he’s got the historic goods. Let’s establish the facts:
FACT: Mr. Modolo has lived in Bernal Heights since 1954. He attended Paul Revere School, right across the street from the disputed Coca-Cola artwork, and he has vivid memories of Tipton’s Grocery store from when it was still in operation. Actually, “Mrs. Tips” (as the kids caller her) made his lunch every day. As we chatted in the very space that Tipton’s Grocery once occupied, Mr. Modolo gestured toward the spot where Mrs. Tips used to stand behind the counter, and told this story:
FACT: The vintage Coca-Cola artwork is, properly speaking, a “ghost sign.” Mr. Modolo explained that the mural re-appeared in 1991, when he removed the asbestos siding that had long covered the building. A thick layer of tar paper preserved the handpainted artwork through the decades, so it looked almost-new when it finally saw the light of day again.
Here’s how the building looked when the asbestos siding was still in place:
And (… drumroll…) here’s how the Coke artwork looked in 1991, immediately after the siding was removed:
At the time, Mr. Modolo added, he simply planned to paint over the ghost sign. But neighbors intervened, begging him to keep it in place. And so he has, repainting it three times during the last 20 years.
FACT: The ghost sign pre-dates the City’s 1965 regulations by at least a decade, and almost certainly more. How do we know this? Simple: The asbestos siding at 601 Tompkins was installed in 1949 and 1956, which means the sign was in place before it was covered over. And how do we know those dates? That’s simple too: Mr. Modolo has the permit history from the City’s Department of Building Inspection:
FACT: The design of the mural suggests it dates from the mid-1940s. Burrito Justice has stayed on the case, and he’s been Tweeting with an archivist from the Coca-Cola company, who says “The “silhouette girl” logo was used as early as 1939.”
The girl in the image is referred to in “Coke Lore” as Silhouette Girl. She was used from 1939 until around 1950 when she fell out of use. She is significant in dating items as she was one of the few characters that was used during the time we transitioned our “Trademark Registered” statement from the tale of the C in “Coca” to being placed under the words “Coca-Cola.” This transition occurred between 1941 and 1942.
The first thing I noticed with the sign was the mark was under the words so it had to be later than 1942.
So, game, set, match, right?
Not quite. Bernalwood has been in touch with Mr. Dan Sider from the Planning Department’s General Advertising Sign Program. This situation regarding our Coca-Cola is “entirely novel” and without precedent, he says. “Our staff has processed nearly 1,800 general advertising signs in the City,” Mr. Sider says. “Not once have neighbors wanted to preserve a sign, much less have they taken the initiative to repaint and restore a sign on their own accord.” Hey, what can we say, other than Welcome to Bernalwood.
Much now hinges on how the City decides to classify the artwork. Is it a “general advertising sign” or a “business sign?” Neither approach is ideal, as each comes with significant legal downsides. So perhaps Bernalwood can suggest an easy solution? Maybe it’s not a sign at all! And maybe it stopped being advertising sometime during the Truman Administration. Perhaps it’s really a “historic commercial mural!”Or something like that.
FACT: Homeowner Richard Modolo wants to keep the vintage Coca-Cola mural in place, as is, and if the dozens of comments Bernalwood has received are any indication, a nontrivial number of his neighbors do as well. Mr. Modolo says, “For better or worse, this building was once a grocery store, and this is part of the history of this neighborhood.” That’s now a confirmed fact too.
That’s how SFist described this photo by Bernalwood’s own Troy Holden. We’d beg to differ, because the photo omits a small dog, a Ferrari, an opulent mansion, and a supermodel lounging by a swimming pool. But perhaps we quibble…
While rained in Bernal Heights last week, it snowed hard in Lake Tahoe — so much so that some ski resorts got more than 100″ of snow. It was cold here, too, so snow even fell on nearby Mt. Tam and Mt. Diablo. But when I climbed to the top of Bernal Hill on Sunday, there was no snow to ski on, and that made me sad.
It’s too bad, because (as I’ve argued before), with a few feet of snow piled on top, Bernal Hill could deliver some epic rides. Indeed, as I looked down from Bernal, I began to visualize what it would look like after a big dump, and which lines would offer the best runs. And then — NIMBYs be damned! — I began to envision how to turn Bernal Hill into San Francisco’s premier destination ski resort.
Highlights of my proposal include:
Two High-Speed Chairifts: The Stoneman Chair, which zips up Bernal’s northwest corner from the foot of the hill near Coso Street, provides unparalleled access to the mountain’s advanced terrain. For beginners and intermediates, the Vista Pointe Chair carries kids of all ages up the gentle slopes of Ski Bernalwood’s eastern face.
Xtreme Terrain: Ski Bernalwood has the vertical drops that will keep adrenaline junkies coming back for more.
14 Limited is the mountain’s longest and most challenging run. A steep plunge down Bernal’s northwest face, the ride is as intense as the MUNI bus line from which it takes its name. The line down 14L takes you off the nose at the top of the hill, shooting you through the tree glade below the former roadbed and all the way down to the base of the Stoneman Chair.
Here’s the view from the top of 14 Limited:
Cornelio’s Folly, named after Jose Cornelio Bernal, is home to the Ski Bernalwood Air Force. A rock-faced cornice on the hill’s south face, Cornelio’s Folly drops into a perfectly sloped landing zone that makes it ideal terrain for hucking backflips.
Summit Lodge, Restaurant, and Cocktail Lounge: With only modest modification, the microwave antenna control facility atop Bernal Hill could be converted into an alpine lodge and eatery with commanding views of the surrounding cityscape. I propose outsourcing food services to Baby Blues BBQ and Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack, while recruiting Royal Cuckoo to operate the bar.
There’s an old saying: “When hell freezes over, I’ll ski that too.” With an investment of just a few million dollars, Bernalwood can be ready whenever that finally happens.
