BUSTED! Bernal Marmot Captured After Savoring Sweet Taste of Freedom

August 8, 2013August 8, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 9 Comments

Remember the Bernal Marmot? And remember the intensive effort to apprehend him/her in late June?

Well, you may also recall that Bernalwood never reported news of the marmot’s capture… because as far as we know the marmot was never caught.

Now, courtesy of Neighbor Leanne, we have these EXCLUSIVE photographs (shown above) of the Bernal marmot enjoying the sweet taste of freedom yesterday afternoon near Alvarado Elementary School.

Meanwhile, as if to taunt his pursuers, the Bernal Marmot suddenly became active again on Twitter:

However, there is a late-breaking wrinkle to the story: At 6 am this morning, a comment left on an earlier article about the Bernal Marmot indicated that the creature’s day’s of carefree urban living may have come to an end. Jane told Bernalwood:

He is safely in the custody of animal care and control now. He was captured last night at Alvarado school in Noe Valley.

UPDATE, 9:12 am, Aug 8: The @BernalMarmot has released this statement via Twitter:

PHOTOS: The Bernal Marmot, as seen by Neighbor Leanne on Aug. 7, 2013

Join Bernal Superstar Author Peter Orner as He Launches a New Set of Stories

August 6, 2013August 8, 2013 / Todd_Lappin

Feeling literary? Join in as Bernal Heights superstar author Peter Orner launches his new collection of stories, “Last Car Over the Sagamore Bridge,” tonight (Aug 6) at 7 pm at the Hotel Rex.

Litquake is hosting:

Litquake is proud to host the San Francisco launch of Peter Orner’s Last Car Over the Sagamore Bridge at our Epicenter this August. This book is the long-awaited second short-story collection from a writer whose first was hailed as “one of the best of the last decade” (Kevin Brockmeier). Orner will be in conversation with Isaac Fitzgerald from McSweeney’s.

In this new collection, Orner zeroes in on the strange ways our memories define us: A woman’s husband dies before their divorce is finalized; a man runs for governor of Illinois and loses much more than an election; two brothers play beneath the infamous bridge at Chappaquiddick. Employing the masterful compression for which he’s become known, Orner presents a kaleidoscope of individual lives viewed in startling, intimate close-up. Whether writing of Geraldo Rivera’s attempt to reveal the contents of Al Capone’s vault or of a father and daughter trying to outrun a hurricane, he illuminates universal themes. In stories that span considerable geographic ground—from Chicago to Wyoming, from Massachusetts to the Czech Republic—he writes of the past we can’t seem to shake, the losses we can’t make up for, and how our stories help us reclaim what we thought was gone forever.

Details and reservation link right here.

IMAGE: via Litquake

Neighbor David Praises New Cafe St. Jorge on Mission Street

August 6, 2013August 6, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 9 Comments

Neighbor David has been spending a lot of time lately at the the new Cafe St. Jorge on Mission Street near Cortland. Cafe St. Jorge has been open for just a month, but Neighbor David writes to tell us why he thinks it’s a new neighborhood treasure:

SF has a pretty unique coffee culture: there are at least four major artisanal coffee-roasters in the city, and several more in the bay area overall. Except for Bernal Heights, many SF ‘hoods have almost as many coffee shops as they do traditional restaurants. Happily, Bernal can now bump up the count by one, with the addition of Cafe St. Jorge at Mission & Kingston Streets (in the space previously occupied by “The Nervous Dog”).

I’m an indie software developer, and like many indies, coffee shops are my de-facto office(s). I’ve been coming to Cafe St. Jorge since just after its opening on July 8th, and it has quickly become my go-to hangout.

Cafe St. Jorge is kind of non-traditional for an SF coffee bar. Unlike the industrial loft space of SightGlass in SOMA or the tightly packed, hipster-occupied Ritual on Valencia, Cafe St. Jorge is open, light, and airy, with a nice mix of music that isn’t blaring or jarring. Owner Andrea de Francisco has decked Cafe St. Jorge out in white and blues that evoke the seaside esthetic of the Azores.

The coffee is from Stumptown roasters, so it’s got a different profile that most SF roasts (lighter and sweeter) but the real kicker here is the food: Andrea has put together a unique menu of pastries, salads, charcuterie, and sandwiches, all with a Portuguese inflection geared toward bringing you a little slice of the Azores here in SF.

The pastries range from various Portuguese inspired cookies and other sweets, to coffee-cakes/muffins/cookies (many of which are vegan and/or gluten-free). They’re all great and a little too easy to eat a lot of. The cheese/charcuterie board is really delicious, and it’s more than enough for 2 people.

My favorite however is a sandwich she calls the “Tosta Mista,” which is a panini-pressed grilled cheese with ham that is irresistibly good. There’s even more on the menu, including a wide range of smoothies, fruit juices, and other goodies. They’ve put in for the beer/wine license too, so soon it’ll be a great evening hang-out spot as well.

In its short life, Cafe St. Jorge has already caught on with indie devs like me, as well as moms with kids, and more. The bottom line: it’s nice space, really friendly staff/vibe, awesome food, and best of all it’s right here in Bernal.

PHOTOS: Neighbor David Spector

UPDATED: Prosecution Update and New Hearing Date for Bernal Mugging Suspects

August 6, 2013August 7, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 8 Comments

UPDATE, August 7: The hearings that had been scheduled for Friday and next Monday have been rescheduled. Bernalwood will provide details on new hearing dates when they are available.

Neighbor Sarah is Bernalwood’s official unofficial liaison with local law-enforcement agencies, and she brings this update on the criminal proceedings now underway for the suspects arrested in connection with last winter’s violent mugging spree in Bernal Heights:

I emailed the assistant DA on the Bernal robbery suspects’ cases, and she had a few updates.

– No plea deal was reached at the meeting last Weds. The DA is open to a plea bargain but with serious prison time (10+ years) attached.

POSTPONED: – ~~The evidentiary~~ hearing IS scheduled to go forward this Friday (8/9) and Monday (8/12), but the defense has filed another motion to continue (ie, reschedule). The DA’s office plans to oppose this. The judge will decide whether to move forward or not, and we will not know this before.

So, as was the case before, we want to show community support for our neighbors who were victims or witnesses to these crimes and who must appear if the hearing does go forward.

The suspects have consistently had many supporters in the courtroom, and testifying in any hearing or trial can be an unnerving proposition. So if you have time or can make time to attend on Friday, even if it’s only for an hour or two, I know our neighbors would appreciate it.

Right now, only two people have signed up.

~~Use this form to sign up (ignore the hearing for 7/31, which has already occurred). And many thanks for the community support as this schedule has dragged out (which is, unfortunately, common).~~

Sutro Tower Blast-Off, As Seen from Bernal Heights

August 2, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

Last night, two separate photographers taking pictures from separate locations atop Bernal Hill noticed the very same thing: The sun had set behind Twin Peaks, creating the illusion that Sutro Tower was poised to blast-off into space (which, as we all know, it really wants to do anyway.)

Daniel Cohen took the photo above and posted it on the Instagram after noting that “Sutro Tower [is] ready for liftoff tonight.” A few moments earlier, @MrRoodog snapped the shot below, asking: “Is that the Sutro rocket launch?”

PHOTOS:@Cohen and @MrRoodog

Trendspotting City Blog Discovers That Bernal Is For Lovers

August 2, 2013August 2, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

As Citizens of Bernalwood, we all know that Bernal Heights is for lovers. It’s been our little romantic secret.

Well, now every starry-eyed Millennial from The Marina to Capp Street knows it too, thanks to a recent listicle on the SFist blog that documents “10 Best Unique Dates in SF.”

Bernal Hill was second on the list (right behind that vista at Land’s End):

Bernal Hill
The top of the hill in Bernal Heights is an unsung gem of the city. And given that it takes some travel to get there, and is decidedly more off the beaten path than, say, Twin Peaks, makes it an ideal makeout spot, especially on a clear and non-windy night. We’d suggest bringing along some mulled wine, or port, or a nice Chianti.

Mulled wine? Nice Chianti? Is that what the kids are calling it these days??

On the bright side, Bernal locals know those recommended “clear and non-windy nights” are actually rather unusual, and that gusty exposure and oceanic chill are hardly conducive to amorous enthusiasm the rest of the time.

So the Citizens of Bernalwood probably need not fear this SFist item will trigger the arrival of Chianti-swilling youth hordes seeking a chic, secluded place to consummate their Bang With Friends hookups.

At least not yet.

PHOTO: by Dyche

Saturday: Lost Tribe of College Hill Organizes Bernal Cut Cleanup

August 2, 2013August 2, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

The Lost Tribe of College Hill is an ancient and proud part of the Dominion of Bernalwood, but it is also a world unto itself. Squeezed between Mission Street and the speedway portion of San Jose Boulevard, College Hill’s odd geography has nurtured its independent identity, and a recent (if honorably intentioned) redistricting saw College Hill removed from the David Campos’s District 9 supervisorial district to Scott Weiner’s District 8.

As a frontier district of Bernalwood, the people of the Lost Tribe of College Hill have had little choice but to learn self-reliance. They even have developed their own media delivery system, in the form of the “College Hills News,” an occasional email newsletter produced by the College Hill Neighborhood Association.

The latest edition brings news of a clean-up event in the Bernal Cut that’s happening tomorrow morning, Saturday, August 3:

Tomorrow (Saturday, 8/3): Richland to St. Mary’s path clean-up and green-up with SF Parks Alliance

When: 9:15 a.m. to 2 p.m., and you can join in for any amount of time

Meet at: Bernal Cut Path at Richland Bridge (if arriving at 9:15), or wander down toward St. Mary’s to find a place to pitch in

Bring: gloves and gardening tools if you have them (we should have some to share)

Expect to: help clean and green along the Bernal Cut Path and the College Triangle Garden, including weeding, trimming, and spreading mulch (Thanks in advance for the mulch delivery, Joey!)

More info on the path clean-up, from Julia Brashares at the SF Parks Alliance:
The Clean & Green Crew is scheduled to work along the Bernal Cut Path on Saturday, August 3rd. We’ll meet at the Richland Avenue Bridge at 9:15 a.m. and then work south from the Richland Bridge, heading down toward St. Mary’s Avenue.
Neighbors are encouraged to participate! The Parks Alliance crew will arrive around 9:15 a.m. and work through to 2:00 p.m. (with a 45-minute lunch break somewhere within that time frame).

Also, in other ridiculously charming superhyperlocal news, the newsletter tells us:

Save the date: 8/25 is our next CHNA meeting—and we’re planning a block party!
As you may recall from last year, we try to make our end-of-summer meeting a social one. Last August, Lia and Patrick on College kindly hosted a potluck barbecue in their backyard. This year, we’ve applied for a permit to hold a block party on the “unit block” of Park Street, the cul-de-sac between Mission and the Bernal Cut Path (where the Precita Eyes/kid artists’ mural was recently installed). We’ll find out on 8/8 as to whether the team of city agencies has granted the permit; our backup plan is a neighbor’s backyard. So please mark your calendar for 8/25 and join us in getting to know our neighbors!

PHOTO: Bernal Cut, via College Hill Neighborhood Assocation on Facebook

D9 Supervisor David Campos Will Run for State Assembly

August 1, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 25 Comments

District 9 Supervisor David Campos will seek a seat in the California Assembly. The news comes via the SF Appeal:

San Francisco Supervisor David Campos is announcing today that he will run for state Assembly.

Campos, who represents San Francisco’s District 9, which includes the Mission, is seeking to replace Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, who is being termed out of office next year.

If Campos wins the seat, it would be the second time he followed in the footsteps of Ammiano, who served as District 9 supervisor before being elected to the state Assembly in 2008.

Let the editorializing begin!

PHOTO: SF LGBT Community Center

Alemany Farm Raising Funds to Build Outdoor Kitchen

August 1, 2013August 1, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 5 Comments

There’s some tasty infrastructure news coming out of the Alemany Farm that overlooks scenic I-280 along Alemany Boulevard. Plans are afoot to build an outdoor kitchen on the site, and former Bernal resident Aaron Mckenzie from the California College of the Arts is ~~spearheading~~ involved with the design effort. Aaron writes:

A team of artists, architects and designers from California College of the Arts is working with the Alemany Farm to design and construct an outdoor community Kitchen on site. The team has been awarded a $10,000 grant though the IMPACT Social Entrepreneurship Awards to execute this collaborative, community-based project.

Meanwhile, a Kickstarter campaign got underway yesterday to complete funding for the project:

Our set goal is to raise $5,000 to help cover the cost of permitting fees, contract labor, an ADA accessible walkway, as well as some finishing touches to the kitchen. With the additional funds, we anticipate to finish construction by the end of September. But with this minimum goal, we can only give the farm the bare essentials. So we’re hoping to raise more than just $5,000. The hope for us is to build the farm a fully functional kitchen, complete with natural gas line and stove. This will allow the farm to conduct proper cooking classes in the long run.

Here’s the video:

The fund drive ends on August 19. You can find more information about the project on the Facebook, or visit the Kickstarter page to make a contribution.

PHOTOS: Alemany Farm Outdoor Kitchen

Celebrity Magazine Celebrates Art Collection of Celebrity Bernal Neighbor

August 1, 2013August 1, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

In addition to claiming several famous rockstars as residents and providing a glamorous background for indie music videos, Bernal Heights is also home to meta-rockstar Jordan Kurland of Zeitgeist Artist Management and San Francisco’s much-loved NoisePop music festival.

This week, 7×7 Magazine published an article about Neighbor Jordan’s music-themed art collection:

Growing up in Chicago in the ’70s and ’80s, Jordan Kurland’s bedroom walls were plastered with posters of Michael Jordan and The Who. While this teenage practice of Scotch-taped decor is fairly common, less expected is the transformation of that dedication to visual pop-culture stimuli into a full-fledged art collection. In Kurland’s case, such an impressive assembly of witty street art and classic rock-and-roll photography is a natural extension of his successful music career.

“I started with works from up-and-coming artists who were designing concert posters for Noise Pop,” says the Bernal Heights resident, who cofounded the San Francisco indie-music festival in 1993. “I was just trying to get stuff up on my walls.” In his quest to fill blank spaces, Kurland—who also helms Zeitgeist Artist Management, an agency that represents such celebrated acts as Death Cab for Cutie and the New Pornographers—acquired early graffiti-inspired pieces by the likes of Noise Pop contributors Thomas Campbell, William Swanson, and Shepard Fairey, all now firmly established in the art world.

PHOTO: Jen Siska/7×7

ParkletMania Sweeps Cortland as Vino Rosso Seeks Parklet Approval

July 31, 2013July 31, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 104 Comments

Is it a fad? Or is it… the fuuuuuuuuuuuture?

Suddenly, Cortland is awash in Parkletmania.

It started at Neighbor Mutsumi Takehara’s restaurant at 903 Cortland, where construction of a new parklet is now underway following a successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign. Now several neighbors alerted Bernalwood that the VinoRosso wine bar — just two blocks away from 903 — has posted notices that it too would like to install a parklet out front.

Is this a sudden shower of new-urbanist awesome? Or too much of a good thing? Or is it like one of those “End of the Universe” situations where you’ve got a Starbucks across the street from another Starbucks? Discuss.

PHOTO: Neighbor Sarah. Hat tip: @HurleyMcDingus

Movesoonthanks! Parked Motorcycle Tagged with Classic Parking Note

July 31, 2013August 1, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 63 Comments

Neighbor Ron spotted this doozy of a parking note attached to a classic motorcycle on Eugenia and Wool this morning.

Three observations about the note itself: 1) The idea of reporting motorcycles for 72 hour parking may be true to the letter of the law, but not the spirit, since bikes take up relatively little urban space; 2) Impressive head-fake on the tone, which starts out friendly and complimentary but ends snippy and unmellow; and 3) Best parking note sign-off ever = Movesoonthanks!

PHOTOS: Neighbor Ron

Bernal Heights Real Estate Goes From “Hot” to “White Hot”

July 31, 2013July 31, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 8 Comments

And now, more evidence of what you already knew: Bernal Heights real estate is hot. Average sales prices here have topped $1 million, and according to realtor dpaul Brown, Bernal Heights (along with the Inner Mission, Noe Valley/Castro, South Beach, and Hayes Valley) is not merely hot — it’s actually white hot:

Virtually every area of San Francisco and the Bay Area has been experiencing dramatic home-value appreciation in the past 12 to 18 months. Some that were hard hit by distressed property sales, which experienced the largest price declines, have surged in price but remain 20% – 30% below previous peak values reached in 2006 – 2008. As a state, California is still about 25% below its 2007 pre-crash median home price. And in San Francisco itself, many if not most neighborhoods now appear to have re-attained or moved slightly beyond previous high points.

But in this past quarter, a handful of neighborhoods and districts in the city have leapt well beyond the highest average home values achieved in the past. Interestingly, comparing these white-hot areas with one another, there are often huge differences in property type, era and style of construction, and neighborhood culture or ambiance. But all of them have been very affected by affluent – often newly affluent – high-tech professionals of one age group and level of affluence or another. Naturally, these neighborhoods are highly desired by other buyers too – often professionals in finance, bio-tech, medicine and law – but the high-tech-buyer dynamic has generally super-charged these markets in particular.

The article goes on to add that Bernal appeals to people who want “family-friendly neighborhood ambiance, but at a more affordable cost.” And freeways.

IMAGES: Photo, Library of Congress. Chart, via dpaul Brown. Hat tip: Neighbor Anita