Calamity

One Year Later, Remembering the SFFD’s Lt. Vincent Perez

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

It’s been only slightly more than a year since the death of San Francisco Firefighter Lt. Vincent Perez. As you may remember, Perez was the SFFD veteran who was raised on Wool Street in Bernal Heights; he died a hero on June 2, 2011 while battling a residential blaze in Diamond Heights.

But here’s a spooky wrinkle to the story: Recently, someone on Flickr pointed out to me that Perez featured prominently in a picture I’d taken in 2008 with Bernalwood’s Cub Reporter, when she was just a year old:

That’s Vincent Perez on the right. The photo was taken on Cortland Street, just a few months after the Cub Reporter had learned to walk. I’ve always loved this pic because Perez looks like a Central Casting vision of a firefighter. Plus, the Cub Reporter clearly had a thing for guys in uniform.

Well, as you can see at the very top of this post, someone from Local 798 found my photo as well, and they used it in a poster for the memorial fund created in his honor. Which is an honor unto itself. It was just a passing moment for the Cub Reporter and me as we walked down Cortland that day in 2008, but I’m glad it stands as a fitting way to remember one of Bernal’s Finest.

UPDATE, 20 June, 2012: We just received this note from Victoria Terheyden, Director of Communications at Archbishop Riordan High School:

Your Tuesday tribute to Lt. Vincent Perez on Bernalwood put a smile on my face. I was charged with putting together a poster for the event with some photos given to me by Local 798 and Vincent’s friends and families. We couldn’t get over the one of him and Cub Reporter–so cute! I know that will be a lovely keepsake for her and for your family.

The event on Saturday was a great day to honor a great man, and we are pleased to partner with Local 798 to establish the Vincent Perez Scholarship Fund at Archbishop Riordan High School. Donations in his honor can be made by visiting http://www.riordanhs.org, or by contacting Local 798, 415-621-7103.

PHOTOS: Top, Local 798. Below, Telstar Logistics

Prepare: Next NERT Training Session Starts in June

/ Todd_Lappin

NERT

As wonderful as our beloved chert is, Bernal Heights is not impervious to earthquakes. When the Big One comes, professional emergency personnel will be overwhelmed, and the rest of us will have to work together to stay safe and begin the process of disaster-recovery.

That’s the basic premise of the San Francisco Fire Department’s Neighborhood Emergency Response Training (NERT) program, which provides regular civilians with in-depth training in emergency preparedness and response. It’s a superb program (I matriculated in 2002), and the next series of training sessions will start next month in Diamond Heights.

Neighbor Edward Whitmore, the NERT Coordinator for Bernal Heights South, tells us:

NERT (Neighborhood Emergency Response Training) is FREE training given by the San Francisco Fire Department. Learn how to prepare yourself, your family, and your pets for an emergency. Learn how you can help your neighbors in the event of an emergency. The next training is nearby – Diamond Heights

Contact neighbor Edward Whitmore (NERT Coordinator of Bernal Heights South) with any questions. He can be reached at 415.254.3357 or ekw171@comcast.net, or drop by his home at 171 Park Street.

NERT Training:

Diamond Heights
St. Aidan’s Church
101 Goldmine Dr

Tuesdays 6:30pm-9:30pm

June 12: Class session 1
June 19: Class session 2
June 26: Class session 3
July 3: Class session 4
July 10: Class session 5
July 17: Class session 6

PHOTO: Erik Wilson

BREAKING: Power Failure Cripples Cortland!

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

** Breaking News ** Breaking News ** Breaking News **

The electricity went down on Cortland this morning, and as of 9:35 this morning… it’s still down. Bernalwood sources report that caffeine delivery systems are inoperative in cafes up and down the street. Citizens are urged to remain calm and seek alternate beverages.

UPDATE: This just in from PG&E:

 PHOTO: Good Life Grocery this morning, by Neighbor Mason

Last Vestiges of Infamous Nasser Market Disappear

/ Todd_Lappin / 13 Comments

Neighbor Lessley brings us this update on the evolution of the former Nasser Market space on the corner of Crescent and Anderson:

Nasser Market, the infamous Crescent Ave. liquor store that inspired a 2008 murder and served as a drug dealing front, is now gone for good. Vacant for the past several years, the owners finally decided to turn it into an apartment building. As you can see from the picture, the sign came down last Saturday, erasing what had been a shameful blot on South Bernal’s reputation.

For those not familiar with the sordid tale, here are the lowlights: Four years ago owner Tong Van Le was held up at gun point at the seedy market, then tracked down and shot on the doorstep of his house in Novato by six accomplices who didn’t want him to testify in court about the hold up. Next, the market was taken over by drug dealers, who used Nasser as a front for their marijuana operation.

There had been hopes among some neighbors that Nasser might be turned into a small produce market for overflow from the Alemany Farmer’s Market, but these rumored inquiries apparently went nowhere. Instead, a ground level apartment has been carved out if the former storefront, with a familiar Lowes-style vinyl window in front. It’s not particularly pretty, but for the moment it’s a big improvement.

PHOTO: Neighbor Lessley

Community Meeting to Halt Illegal Dumping, Tuesday Evening

/ Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

Illegal Dumping on Bernal Hill

In response to the recent, wretched spate of illegal dumping incidents on Bernal Hill the San Francisco Department of Public Works has joined forces with the Police to hold a community meeting TOMORROW, May 15, at 7 pm at the SFPD’s Ingleside Station.

From the DPW’s announcement:

After three incidents in the last week and a total of five incidents since the beginning of the year of large piles of construction debris and green waste weighing several tons dumped at the base of Bernal Heights Park on Folsom Street, the Department of Public Works (DPW), the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department (RPD) and the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) are asking the public to be extra watchful for suspicious trucks and activities in the area, and also has called for a community meeting that invites neighbors and city departments to meet and discuss the recent rash of illegal dumping in the area.

The public is invited to attend a Community Meeting on May 15th, at 7:00 p.m. at the San Francisco Police Department’s Ingleside Station, 1 Sgt. John V. Young Lane, to discuss and learn more about cleanup efforts and strategies to deter future incidents.

Bonus Fun Facts:

  • The material dumped on Bernal Hill during the weekend of May 5th weighed 6.3 tons.
  • The SFPD  says it has stepped up patrols on Bernal Hill to combat the dumping.
  • Looking ahead, the SFPD’s Capt. Mahoney from Ingleside says: “Residents should report suspicious persons and vehicles by calling the non-emergency dispatch line: (415) 553-0123″

PHOTO: Dumping incident on May 7, by Telstar Logistics

Chaos on Precita as Speeding Car Flips Over on Saturday

/ Todd_Lappin / 6 Comments

Some of you may have noticed all the commotion in North Bernal late Saturday afternoon. There were a lot of sirens, and the thump-thump-thump of the Bernalwood ShadowTraffic helicopter hovering overhead. Most unhappy of all were those motorists who tried to drive along Precita from Shotwell toward Mission street… and ended up getting stuck in a full-stop traffic jam.

The cause of the chaos was a vehicle that somehow managed to flip over near the intersection of Precita and Coso. Neighbor Christel was live on the scene, and she filed this report:

Accident on Precita. Road blocked. Cops everywhere. Look at that car!

Cop told me car was speeding and hit one of those trucks that collect junk, then rolled over. No one was hurt.

After the beflipped vehicle was finally berighted, here’s how it looked. Ouch!

PHOTOS: Top, Neighbor Christel. Below, Telstar Logistics

Local TV News Covers Illegal Garbage Dumping in Bernal

/ Todd_Lappin / 10 Comments

The TV people from CBS5 Eyewitness News saw the Bernalwood story this week about the problem we face with sleazy contractors and other forms of human lowlife dumping huge piles of trash at the foot of Bernal Hill. CBS5 sent a crew over to do a story about it, and along the way that prompted The City to clean up the mess ASAP. (Thank you, DPW!)

But the bad news is… it seems there’s not much that can be done to address the problem in the long term. A video camera might work once or twice, but thereafter the vermin are likely to either disable the camera or hide their license plates. Regardless, it might be worth a try, eh?

I can’t embed the video here, but click to view the CBS5 video about Bernal’s illegal dumping problem.

PHOTO: Neighbor Regina

Another *&^%$#@!!! Dumping Incident on Bernal Hill

/ Todd_Lappin / 27 Comments

If you wander up to the Folsom Gate on Bernal Hill this morning, you will be greeted by this awful pile of trash dumped there by a thoughtless douchebag.  Our vigilant reporter on the hill says:

It’s now time for torches and pickaxes.

That’s a good idea, but an infrared video surveillance system might do some good as well.

UPDATE: Neighbor K tells us there was a dumping incident on Crescent last night as well:

And Now, Your Deepest, Darkest Nightmare…

/ Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

Eeeeeeeeeeeek! It’s a image of hell! A full-color vision of the darkest nightmare that lurks in every Bernalista’s deepest subconscious.  A photo that could convert even the most laissez-faire YIMBY into a foaming NIMBY reactionary. And even more frightening: This isn’t one of Bernalwood’s goofy Photoshop stunts!

No, it’s very real. But fortunately, it isn’t here.

Instead, Reader Mason snapped this photo in Pleasanton, an entire town which is more or less founded on the idea of being the antithesis of everything Bernal Heights is about. So pinch yourself, close your eyes, rock gently back and forth, and repeat after me:

“It’s not here! It’s not here! It’s not here! It’s not here! It’s not here! It’s not here…”

PHOTO: Mason Kirby

… In Which I Am Revealed to Be Only Marginally Prepared for a Very Big Earthquake

/ Todd_Lappin / 10 Comments

A few months ago, I volunteered myself, my daughter, and my home to serve as on-camera crash-test dummies for a series of earthquake-preparedness videos produced by Totally Unprepared, a public-awareness organization which describes itself as…

… what happens when you put forward-thinking state agencies, earthquake geeks, social media nerds, a web analytics genius, a professional filmmaker, a hot firefighter or two, and a bunch of unsuspecting Californians in a blender and hit frappe.

During their visit to our home, Totally Unprepared pretty much put us through a blender and hit frappe. But that’s what we’d signed up for, to foster better earthquake preparedness in California — and the Dominion of Bernalwood.

The videos have been now released as a series of installments optimized for Web-length attention spans, and they feature both me and Bernalwood’s brave Cub Reporter. In the first episode, our home is given a thorough inspection, and we are subjected to a somewhat terrifying jostle in an earthquake simulator — which the Cub Reporter endured with true native-Californian aplomb:

In the second installment, we hone our duck-and-cover technique in various awkward and uncomfortable places throughout our home:

The third episode reveals (somewhat embarrassingly) that I had neglected to properly secure the bookcase that sits next to the Cub Reporter’s cute little Hello Kitty bed. DOH!

Thus, with my humiliation complete, I now encourage you to find out more about how to prepare for the Big One.

Great Bernal Sinkhole of 2011 Becomes Much Much Greater

/ Todd_Lappin / 14 Comments

Sure, it was a funny little joke at first. A pothole on Ellert near the intersection of Bennington opened a few weeks ago, and a neighborhood wag dubbed it “The Great Bernal Sinkhole of 2011.”

Well, there’s actually some truth to that, because since we first reported the story in early October, the hole has gotten bigger, and bigger, and BIGGER. As a neighbor posted recently on the bernalsafe mailing list:

There’s a small sinkhole which opened up a few weeks ago on Ellert just off Bennington. DPW seems to know about it, as they keep coming and patching it, but it always re-opens in a day or two.

Indeed, the fissure that started as a cute little pothole has now blossomed into a crater so massive it requires five heavy steel plates to cover. Adding to the spectacle, neighbors report that repair efforts only take place at night, beginning in the early evening and continuing until about 11 pm. It’s great fun if you’re a fan of  compressed-air tools and diesel machines; not so much if you’re trying to get some sleep.

Yet still the hole keeps getting bigger. On the bright side, Bernal Heights may soon have its very own express tunnel to China, which would offer numerous exciting opportunities for the expansion of commerce and local service industries — assuming it doesn’t engulf several of the surrounding homes first.

PHOTO: Telstar Logistics

Wicked Witch Meets Sudden Demise in Pre-Halloween Crash

/ Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

Witch Misdirected

Tragedy struck on a recent evening in Bernal Heights when a wicked witch perished in an aeronautical mishap. Neighbors reported hearing the witch cackling as she flew on her signature broom, before her cruel taunt was cut short by an apparent pilot error that sent the witch careening into a telephone pole at the corner of Anderson and Eugenia.

“I heard the whole thing,” recalls neighbor Dorothy Oz. “I heard the witch cry, ‘I’ll get you my pretty, and your little do—‘ But she never finished the sentence.  I just heard a whooshing noise, and a dull thud, and then we found the witch wrapped around the pole.”

Representatives from the San Francisco Police, the National Transportation Safety Board, and the Department of Homeland Security are investigating the incident, which has preliminarily been deemed an accident, although experts will also search for any evidence of foul play.

Upon hearing the news, neighborhood youth responded with glee, and at several local elementary schools, teachers report that children spontaneously started to sing the chorus of “Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead” over and over and over and over again.

PHOTO: Telstar Logistics