Reader Nate sent us this photo he took recently on Precita Avenue near Mission Street, adding:
All this time I had no idea that David Campos was a tagger!
Either that, or perhaps he has established a new North Bernal field office? Either way, Bernalwood applauds Supervisor Campos for taking such an intimate interest in this portion of our community.
Bernalwood brings you this legal analysis from our Pregnant Reporter, Jennifer Phillips
A few days ago, MissionLoc@l ran a story about the anti-abortion protesters in front of the new Planned Parenthood clinic on Valencia Street. I live just a few blocks from the clinic, and I’m annoyed at the protesters’ presence in my neighborhood. But the protesters’ time on the sidewalk may be limited: There’s a law on the SF books that says they may be liable for 3 months in jail or a $500 fine for being too close to the clinic.
San Francisco municipal code, Article 43, Section 4302 states that health clinics must have a “buffer zone” around them. Specifically, protesters must not be located within “an 8-foot radius extending in all directions from the individual seeking access to, passage from, or services within the healthcare facility.”
But as you can see by this video and these pictures, the sidewalk in front of the clinic is only about 9 feet at its widest. Since the protesters are on the sidewalk, and because the buffer zone extends in all directions from a person or their outstretched arm, there’s no way they’re 8 feet away from clinic patients.
The penalties for violating San Francisco’s buffer zone law is $500 fine or 3 months jail for the first offense, and $1000 fine or 6 months in jail for subsequent offenses. In addition, if someone did choose to sue the protesters under the law, the protesters would be liable for the plaintiff’s legal charges, $1000, and possibly punitive damages. The protesters seem very confident they know the Lord’s law, but in the meantime they’re in violation of man’s law.
Adrienne Verrilli, Director of Communications and Marketing for the local Planned Parenthood, says the clinic is very aware of the law, but “we really just don’t have a way to have eyes and ears on the street to see if it’s being enforced. And if there are more peaceful ways to deal with this, we want to find those ways.”
She says the clinic’s 15-some staff members have been so busy providing services like family planning and STD tests that it just hasn’t become a priority yet. She said staff is still growing, but if it comes down to “taking care of the client or dealing with crazy people, we choose the clients.”
Verrilli believes that it would be necessary to prove that the protesters had been consistently violating Article 43, Section 4302 in order to have a solid case against them. However, the clinic will have an escort program up and running in 2 months that could allow for more rigorous observation. Verrilli expects that the clinic will be ready to enforce the buffer zone “next year… unless we’re able to get a buffer zone through the Board of Supervisors before then.”
On a more personal note, as a local resident and currently cranky pregnant lady, I asked Verrilli if it would do any good to give in to my impulse to give the protesters a piece of my mind next time I pass. Don’t bother, she said. “It is not worth anyone’s breath to engage with the protesters. Facts are not something they are interested in hearing.” So while debate might not change much on the street, there is a legal way to battle the protesters. And whether they believe in the law or not, the protestors are subject to it.
IMAGE: Screen grab from peephole’s video
Bernalwood resident Peephole filmed the anti-choice nano-protest yesterday, and she has the story:
Five guys outside a new (??) Planned Parenthood location on Valencia @ Mission. When they stood just right, two of their signs lined up to read: Your Mom The Baby.
I asked if they knew what Planned Parenthood did, and they prayed at me. I asked if they knew about the exams, testing, and women’s healthcare they provided as well as all sorts of family planning education and they prayed some more. Then it started raining harder and I guess they left.
Supervisor David Campos’s office called today to share some very good news: Campos plans to introduce new legislation that will amend the City’s planning code to create a straightforward mechanism for preserving the historic-but-endangered Coca-Cola mural in Bernal Heights — as well as other historic signs throughout San Francisco. Wooot!
The legislative digest of the Campos proposal explains why this matters:
The look and style of signs have evolved over time. For that reason, a sign that has existed in a particular place for years gives continuity to the public space and becomes part of the community memory. In an era where signs are mostly uniform, a historic sign can add some individuality to the neighborhood in which it exists and also to the City as a whole. Michael J. Auer, in his article “The Preservation of Historic Signs,” notes:
Signs often become so important to a community that they are valued long after their role as commercial markers has ceased. They become landmarks, loved because they have been visible at certain street corners — or from many vantage points across the city — for a long time. Such signs are valued for their familiarity, their beauty, their humor, their size, or even their grotesqueness. In these cases, signs transcend their conventional role as vehicles of information, as identifiers of something else. When signs reach this stage, they accumulate rich layers of meaning. They no longer merely advertise, but are valued in and of themselves. They become icons.
Yes. Precisely. Just as Bernalwood and so many of our neighbors have argued all along.
In a nutshell, the new legislation would:
This is great news, because it holds out the promise of a lasting solution not only for Bernalwood’s beloved Coke mural, but for historic signs throughout the city. Bravo!
Kudos to Supervisor Campos and his aides for making this happen, to the City Attorney’s office for the assist, and a round of snaps to every Bernalwoodian who raised hell to make it clear that the eradication of Bernal’s Coca-Cola mural was intolerable.
Supervisor Campos plans to introduce the legislation during the Board of Supervisors meeting that will take place this afternoon. From there it will go to a committee (probably Land Use), yadda yadda, then (hopefully) it will secure approval during two votes of the full Board of Supes before heading off to the Mayor for his John Hancock. Or his Edwin Lee. Or whatever.
We will keep you posted on the status and progress of this proposal as it moves through the lawmaking process, but for now, this is great news for our neighborhood, and for the fate of other historic signs all over town.
Photo: Coca-Cola mural by Telstar Logistics
The case of Anonymous NIMBY vs. Vintage Coke Mural has been exasperating for (almost) everyone involved.
It has been exasperating for homeowner Richard Modolo, who has had to deal with the inconvenience and expense of responding to the City’s notice of violation about the old mural. It has been exasperating for the City Planning Department, which has become the object of national scorn and ridicule as a result of its decision to declare the mural illegal. And today Bernalwood learned that it has also been exasperating to Supervisor David Campos.
Indeed, the only one who probably feels empowered by the debacle is our Anonymous NIMBY. One complaint, and — boom! — an all-consuming controversy ensues. Not bad for a lone voice in a city of many tens of thousands.
This evening Supervisor Campos returned a phone call from Bernalwood. The Supervisor did not explain his long silence on this issue, but he reiterated that he has been trying to get a sense of how the neighbors in Bernal Heights feel about the vintage Coke mural.
The results of his fact-finding were clear and directional.
Campos received exactly one (1) email — perhaps from our Anonymous NIMBY? — expressing concern that the presence of the Coca-Cola mural so close to Paul Revere School might encourage childhood obesity. To gauge the depth of this sentiment, Campos says he reached out to a group of parents with children at the school. Were the parents worried the nearby mural might send their little ones careening down a path of sugar-fueled gluttony and lifelong corpulence???
Hardly. “None of the parents had an issue with the sign,” Campos reports.
Campos says he is now “moving in the direction of protecting the sign.” He also said he has been in discussion with the City Attorney’s office, and that he intends to make the details of his plan clear during the Board of Supervisors meeting that will take place tomorrow afternoon, on Tuesday, March 1.
“We need a solution for the city as a whole,” Campos says. “There is value in preserving our history, and that’s true city-wide. Creating a historic preservation district may help in this particular case, but we need a broader mechanism.”
Bernalwood couldn’t agree more. In fact, hasn’t this incident shown that the current law is more than a little ridiculous?
Campos readily agreed. “As a matter of law, I don’t think it makes much sense, given the lack of nuance,” he said. “We want to inject some common sense into this.”
Wouldn’t that be novel! Stay tuned tomorrow, when we will finally learn the details of the Campos Plan to Save Bernal’s Coke Mural.
Photo: via Supervisor Campos
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.
The San Francisco Examiner reports:
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…
Photo: Supervisor Campos, via Guillaume Paumier via Wikipedia
First, the good news: The effort to save Bernal’s historic Coca-Cola mural is gaining widespread media attention, spreading from this blog, to the SF Examiner, to the San Francisco Chronicle.
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?)
From today’s San Francisco Chronicle:
Campos is still mulling the issue.
“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:
Voice: (415) 554-5144
Email: David.Campos@sfgov.org
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.
Photo: Supervisor Campos
Ed Lee, our City’s interim mayor, went for a stroll along Cortland Avenue with Distruct 9 Supervisor David Campos last weekend, and Sing Tao Daily was on hand to cover the scene:
天氣晴朗，春意盎然。三藩市市長李孟賢昨天展開首次巡街「走透透」的行程，以步行的方式挨家挨戶探訪Bernal Heights社區商家與市民，希望藉此了解民眾需求，作為政府施政與建設考量的方針。據悉李孟賢下一站可能前往訪谷區巡街。
受第9區市參事坎帕斯（David Campos）之邀，三藩市市長李孟賢昨天前進Bernal Heights社區，沿著Cortland大道訪問商家與市民，李孟賢除親切問候外，也向商家們詢問三藩市當局是否有可以幫手改善市況與街道硬體設施的地方，期望能夠在眾人齊心協力下，改善市民生活品質與促進地方小商業的經濟發展。
一路上民眾都向李孟賢的到來表示歡迎，不少人更要求合影留念。喜歡甜食的李孟賢更掏腰包跟一名為學校籌款義賣的小女孩買了5條巧克力棒，表示要與家人分享。
Bernal Heights社區除了住宅外，更是許多小商業蓬勃發展的地區，書店、雜貨店、影碟出租店、咖啡廳、寵物店皆是小本經營模式商家。
李孟賢表示，所謂刺激地方商業，首先就要以行動支持本地店家做起。
這是李孟賢首次以社區為單位進行步行尋街訪問，接下來他的足跡也將擴展到市內其他社區，正在考量的下一個地點為三藩市南面的第10區，有許多華人聚集的訪谷區可能是屆時確切的巡街地點。
UPDATE 9 Feb, 2011: Darcy from Heartfelt on Cortland managed to get some facetime with hizzhonor Mayor Lee during his visit, and sent this photo along. Work it, Darcy!
Photo: Top, Mayor Ed Lee on Cortland, with supervisor David Campos and a typical fashion-obsessed Bernalian, via Mayor Ed Lee’s Flickr account
Although this song has nothing to do with Bernal Heights per se, there’s something about it that seems congruent with the spirit of our neighborhood — precisely because it also runs contrary to the spirit of our neighborhood.
Written and performed by an earnest singer-songwriter, the tune describes his surprise at finding automotive salvation, kindness, and human connection at a WalMart in a remote corner of Texas. It’s a story of stereotypes defied and gratitude expressed, which is a feeling that I suspect that many in Bernalwood will understand first-hand.
During her unfortunate “Tania” phase, did Patty Hearst hole up in this house on Precita Aveneue? Perhaps. In court, she later testified that she’d visited this house at 288 Precita once.
In 1975, during the Patty Hearst kidnapping, this was one of two San Francisco safe houses used by the Symbionese Liberation Army. (The other was 625 Morse Street.) Here’s how Time magazine described the scene in the Sept. 29, 1975 issue:
Charles Bates, head of the FBI’s San Francisco office and the man directing the overall search for Patty, ordered a watch to be kept on both dwellings. On Precita Avenue, four agents sat in a light green Ford LTD parked at the curb, and three more waited in a yellow and white camper just down the block. The agents wore sandals, beards and beads, hoping to blend in with the inhabitants of the area. Still, neighbors spotted the stakeout and watched with considerable interest to find out who was being trailed. No one appears to have suspected the athletic and pleasant young couple who had just moved into an apartment in the neo-Victorian structure at 288 Precita.
At 1:15 p.m. last Thursday—a clear, cool day that was perfect for running—the couple from No. 288 came down the stairs and went loping off to nearby Bernal Park. The agents thought they knew who the two were from sightings the day before, but they still were not sure. “Our pictures of them were almost two years old,” says an agent. But when the pair came jogging back home, there was no longer any doubt. The four agents leaped out of the LTD, and the other three came sprinting from the nearby camper. They were armed with pistols, a sawed-off shotgun and submachine guns. One watching neighbor later recalled, “They [the agents] seemed very nervous and shaky.” The woman tried to get away, only to be caught within 20 ft. But the man calmly put up his hands, says another witness, “like a little kid who had been caught doing something wrong.” His attitude seemed to be, she adds, ” ‘Well, I’m caught.’ ” Swiftly, the FBI agents handcuffed William and Emily Harris.
Then, as city police cars closed off both ends of the block, some agents hurried into the apartment; while others, guns drawn, burst into a few of the neighboring houses to look unsuccessfully for Patty Hearst. In the Harrises’ apartment, the FBI found 40 pounds of black explosive powder, three .30-cal., fully automatic carbines, two shotguns, two pistols and a substantial amount of ammunition.
Patty Hearst was found less than two hours later at the house on Morse Avenue.
You may not have voted for him, but Ben Calvin recently became the new mayor of Bernal Heights Park. That is, he’s the new mayor of Bernal Heights Park on Foursquare, the location-based social media thingy. Since it seemed unlikely that our *other* new mayor would entertain our probing questions — come to think of it, we didn’t vote for him either! — Bernalwood asked Ben to tell us about his new title, his political agenda, and his four-legged aide-de-camp.
Congratulations! You’re now the Foursquare mayor of Bernal Hill. How does it feel?
I treasure both my Foursquare mayoralities — in addition to Bernal Hill I am also the mayor of Pastores, the tiny Mexican restaurant on Mission Street at Cortland. Both are special to me.
How hard did you campaign to win the title? Did you get any help along the way?
I owe it all to my dog Tennyson. Without him there is no way I would be out there everyday at 7:00 AM. I may be the mayor, but Tennyson is the King of Bernal Hill. (Editor’s note: Tennyson may have to fight for the throne.)
What’s your favorite thing about Bernal Hill?
There is a real community of dogs (and their owners) who are a pleasure to know. We have a 10 year-old son, so I already knew the kid side of Bernal, but thanks to Tennyson I’ve met a lot of other great people and their dogs.
We got Tennyson through Wonderdog Rescue. They are a (mostly) small dog rescue organization, so if you’re thinking of getting a dog I recommend them highly.
What’s your least favorite thing about Bernal Hill?
The periodic midnight trash dump, and the occasional police activity. However in the early morning that’s fairly rare.
Now that you’re mayor, what’s your political agenda?
I’d like to see the Illegal Soap Box Derby return to the hill. There was one in November 2009, which the police curtailed. I don’t think we’ve had one since.
If you could change anything about the park, what would it be?
There is a certain amount of nefarious nighttime activity which comes and goes. Keeping that in check needs to be a priority.
How do you plan to stay on top?
Photo: Ben Calvin and Tennyson
NextMayorSF.com has compiled a collection of interviews that capture opinions on what San Franciscans want their next mayor to do.
Kevin was invited to represent Bernal Heights, and he represents with gusto:
I don’t like Chris Daly, and I don’t want Tom Ammiano. I get really tired of those progressives who only have one issue: the poor, the poor, the poor. Well, I’m a middle class guy who spent 19 years saving money to buy a house in San Francisco, and they don’t care about me. No one really cares about the middle class in San Francisco. You’re either really poor, or you’re really rich. The rest of us in San Francisco — no one really cares about us.
History will record that the Great Bernal Hill Antenna War of 2010 was actually just one salvo of a larger conflict over our telecommunications infrastructure that is beginning to rage all over the City and County of San Francisco.
The next battle will take place in the lame-duck chambers of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, where progressive Supervisor John Avalos will hold public hearings today on a piece of legislation he introduced (with backing from Bernal Heights Supervisor David Campos) to “regulate the placement of [mobile antennas] in order to prevent telecommunications providers from installing wireless antennas and associated equipment in the City’s rights-of-way either in manners or in locations that will diminish the City’s beauty.”
Now, to be clear: I’m pro-beauty. And I’m all for common-sense regulation designed to minimize the visual impact of wireless installations. But San Francisco already regulates antennas on aesthetic grounds, and Avalos’s proposal reads like it was written by a committee of NIMBY nitpickers. You can curl up with the full text (pdf download) of his plan, but the executive summary is that the new legislation would add lots of new red tape to new wireless antenna installations, effectively adding another layer of City bureaucracy to an antenna-permitting process that is already thick with City bureaucracy.
Supervisor Avalos will hold a hearing on his proposal today at 1 pm in front of the City’s Land Use Committee. If you can’t attend the meeting (because you have, you know, a job and a life) public comment can be submitted via Alisa Somera in the Clerk’s office at 415.554.4447 or Alisa.Somera@sfgov.org. (NOTE: Be kind to Alisa, please. The legislation isn’t her idea, nor her fault.)
Meanwhile, I tried to call Supervisor David Campos on Sunday night, to learn more about his apparent support for the Avalos proposal. I placed the call from my home on Bernalwood’s north slope.
Alas, I didn’t get very far…
Images by Telstar Logistics
Bernalwood 
