Ode to the Precita Playground Satellite Spinner

/ Todd_Lappin / 7 Comments

The citizens of Precitaville breathed a big sigh of relief when we learned that the upcoming glamorous makeover of Precita Park would not jeopardize the future of the playground’s much-loved “penultimate satellite spinner.”

The satellite spinner has been here for a long time, and it occupies a special place in the hearts of many Bernalese.

Neighbor Orlando has also been here for a long time, and he recently wrote a moving ode to the Satellite Spinner that reveals it to be not just a piece of playground equipment, but an essential link to life’s essentials:

I am relieved and thrilled with joy that the “penultimate satellite spinner” is not to be messed with. I held on to it with a death grip as I learned to walk as a toddler,  fearing of a hard landing in the sand beneath it. I sat on it holding hands with a girlfriend, dipping our tender toes in the cool sand as a teenager when I fell in love for the first time. And not too long ago, I visited it as a middle aged man when I was grieving the end of my fathers hard life. It is included in the background of many sets of kodak film of two generations in my family. Family that have passed away as the years have gone by. The cars, clothing, and hair dos of the folks in these pictures tell the story of what life was like in the years when they where taken. This “penultimate satellite spinner” has outlived many of the playgrounds make overs. It will outlive me. I hope it is there for me to sit on as I approach the final years of my life. I hope and I wish that perhaps, as I grow older and my life comes closer to its end, it will be there so I can once again hold on to it with that familiar death grip that I learned so well in the beginning.

PHOTO: Precita Playground Satellite Spinner, June 2012, by Telstar Logistics

Let Us Now Celebrate Bernalwood’s Spectacular Light

/ Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

Yesterday turned out to be rather lovely. Warm sun and fluffy clouds. Not too hot and not too chilly. Most striking of all, though, the spectacular clear light made everything look electric and vibrant.

Here are two random photos from yesterday. The top one was taken from a southbound Caltrain in the morning, as Bernalwood woke up for the day; The one below was taken at sunset, as the sky exploded in a Martian orange halo:

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Paging Reverend Lovejoy: 1960s Church For Sale on Norwich

/ Todd_Lappin / 10 Comments

There’s a church for sale at 30 Norwich, just south of Precita Park:

6,213 square feet on two floors. 7,425 square foot parcel. 4,300 square foot parking lot. Dining Hall, kitchen, deck, study room, child care room, seats over 200 in Church area, heavy power, spinklered.

Built in 1967, the building was most recently home to the Grace Korean Presbyterian Church. It’s now offered at $2.4 million. Start passing the collections tray.

PHOTO: San Francisco Multiple Listing Service

Aviation Disaster at the Alemany Flea Market

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

There was a big plane crash at the Alemany Flea Market last Sunday.

Sprawling across several display tables, one of the merchants was selling dozens and dozens and dozens of scale plastic model airplanes.

Plane Crash

Plane Crash

The models had all come from the ceiling-suspended collection of a geeky aviation enthusiast. (I know, I know… that’s redundant.) The collection spanned decades, eras, nations, and types, and most of the models had been built with loving attention paid to paint schemes and insignia.

Plane Crash

Plane Crash

There were just so many planes, all stacked and arranged haphazardly, sometimes a few  planes deep, so it looked as if a tornado had struck a desert aircraft storage yard.

Plane Crash

Plane Crash

Bernalwood’s Cub Reporter wanted to pick out an airplane to take home. She selected a lovely Lockheed Super Constellation in Lufthansa colors, circa 1955.

Plane Crash

A very tasteful choice. Daddy was impressed.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Before and After: Backstage During the Curb Appeal Home Makeover on Bocana

/ Todd_Lappin / 14 Comments

Bernalwood is all about the celebrity star-sightings, so you probably remember when we told you about the home on Bocana that was getting a big makeover as part of a reality TV show called Curb Appeal.

The project and the show are done, and Bernalwood is told that the episode about the home on Bocana will air tomorrow, Saturday, June 23 on HGTV-HD at 2:30 pm.

Meanwile, in an exclusive interview, Bernalwood asked the owner of the house, Neighbor John, to tell us what it was like to do a remodel and shoot a TV show all at the same time:

Oh, it definitely got weird. Besides the fact that we were about to give up control of the renovation process (with a little input), my downstairs neighbor and I had to be sure we were available to talk about how everything was going on camera, then watch big chunks of our front yard disappear and come back as a totally (and wonderfully) different house, all while keeping a smile on our faces.

That last part was a little hard when they pulled out some framing on the side of the house and discovered that water damage that had rotted out one of the support beams in front. The time that it took to replace that beam that was very…interesting. I think I spent most of it on tiptoes trying not to trigger an earthquake!

The hosts were great to work with.  John Gidding is incredibly talented at both design and hosting, very professional and willing to listen to us when we had questions or request. And they also knew when to tell us to just relax and trust them – not an easy task when paint colors are going on. I have to mention too that the contractor and his workers were amazing as well, staying late and making sure that it was done in a way that would last far beyond the last camera shot. I hope he can do projects for me in the future.

Add in being recorded throughout all of this, miked up and posed all sorts of ways for angle and lighting, second and third takes because the 24 bus wheezed and blatted it’s way across the street, and it’s a complete whirlwind. We would come home every night and everything had changed all over again. We spent a lot of time just staring at the house every night, going from “Wow, do you think this will look good?” to “Wow, I hope the house doesn’t fall over!” and finally to just “Wow, that’s my house.”.

We are definitely spending a lot more time in the front yard now, and a LOT more time watering plants. There are still times it’s hard to believe this is our house. With all the chaos and the trepidation, the excitement and fantastic experience of it all is something I would do again in a heartbeat!

PHOTO: After shot, courtesy of Neighbor Sarah

Your SFPD Crime Summary for June, 2012: A Sergeant Shortage, Register Your Bike, and Illegal Dumping CSI

/ Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

Car 040

Neighbor Sarah, who valiantly covers the Bernalwood Crime Beat, attended the SFPD’s Ingleside Station Chief’s Meeting this week (so you didn’t have to). Here’s her invaluable summary of the latest Bernal Heights crime news:

RNotes from Ingleside Community Meeting, 6/19/12

Captain Mahoney was away, so Lt. Trina Wearing led the meeting.

STAFFING

The station has recently lost several sergeants, who were promoted to lieutenant and reassigned, as well as another officer who was promoted to sergeant and reassigned. Four new sergeants have just arrived, with one more awaiting confirmation.

One new Lieutenant (Engler) arrived and will be on the day shift with Lt. Yee. Lts. Wearing and Delgadillo also work the day shift (different parts of the week from Engler and Yee).

UPDATE ON ILLEGAL DUMPING

The Ingleside Station has been working with Supervisor Campos, DPW, and Park and Rec to install signs and lighting where Folsom passes Bernal Heights Park. They are also working with the DA’s office on the investigations. Officers have been making passing calls regularly to check for illegal activity.

CRIME STATS AND TRENDS:
For the period May 13 to June 9, 2012:

Incident/# Incidents/% Change vs Prior Month/% Change YTD 2012 vs YTD 2011/# Arrests
Aggravated Assault/15/-48%/10%/5
Robbery/25/-14%/-26%/15
Sexual Assault/0/NA/25%/0
Burglary/35/-34%/46%/4
Auto Theft/44/-35%/26%/7
Theft from Auto/34/-38%/-26%/0

Bicycle thefts continue to be high. The Ingleside/CPAB bike registration program is now up and running. PLEASE register your bicycles so that if they are stolen and the police encounter someone with your bike, they can match it back to you:http://www.inglesidepolicestation.com/#!__bike-registration. You’ll need your serial number.

The police have also started posting photos of recovered bikes. If your bike has been stolen, please check here to see if it has been posted:http://www.inglesidepolicestation.com/#!__bike-recovery.

In addition, several local bike shops will have registration information available onsite. Two of the participants are Ocean Cyclery (http://www.oceancyclery.com/, 1935 Ocean at Keystone Way) and The New Wheel (http://www.newwheel.net/, 420 Cortland at Wool).
Sgt. Kumli recently made an arrest that led to the seizure of 115 stolen bicycles. They are pictured at the above website for recovered bicycles.

Lt. Wearing reminded everyone not to wear headphones or become distracted by email on your phone when you’re on BART (or going to/from BART). Robberies continue.

OTHER INFORMATION

Lt. Wearing reminded the group of the Ingleside Anonymous Tip Line: 404-4035. It is available 24 hours a day. If you need help now, however, still call 911. But the tip line can be used in, for example, circumstances where you want to report something that’s going on but you don’t want uniformed officers showing up at your house. They can send plainclothes units instead. Give as much information as possible on the message that you leave – what activity was going on, where, even names of people involved.

A member of the community reported that the city parking lot at 4550 Mission (behind the Dollar Store) has become quite unsafe because of a large population of homeless people living there. He cited numerous incidents in which people parking there had incidents with this group.

Another member of the community reported aggressive/threatening panhandling occurring at the fast-food places on Bayshore near Cortland.

Another person reported several incidents involving fights at Mission and Eugenia, and someone else reported large groups of teens regularly gathering on Russia between Mission and London.

PHOTO: Telstar Logistics

Who Is Leaving Anonymous, Passive-Aggressive Notes On Coleridge?

/ Todd_Lappin / 43 Comments

nothing says "i love my neighborhood" like taping passive-aggressive anonymous notes to your neighbors's houses.

Neighbor Ellen wonders WTF:

I’d love to know who is leaving these notes on our houses on Coleridge.

They appeared on houses between the mini-park and Fair Avenue sometime early this morning (or very late last night).

One of my neighbors had apparently gotten a similar anonymous note and had put up a note a week or so ago saying she’d like to talk about it and leaving her name and phone number. This new note was just taped above hers, ignoring her request to speak to them directly.

Recently, we got hand-written note on one of our scooters. It was legally parked, but not in the motorcycle parking spaces by the mini-park, where we usually park it. We have to move it for street cleaning, of course. This note said we were bad neighbors for parking anywhere but the motorcycle spaces. There was no name on it, but there was a phone number — of an out-of-town Hertz rental car agency, and nobody knows anybody there who lives in Bernal Heights.

Who could be angry anonymous note-poster be? They sure aren’t making any friends. One idea we had is that it could be a real estate agent or broker who doesn’t live in the neighborhood.

Another possibility: Mitt Romney moved in down the street.

PHOTO: Neighbor Ellen

Newfangled Gas Pump Converts Sunlight Into Text Messages

/ Todd_Lappin / 6 Comments

Just in time for tonight’s glamorous Summer Solstice Stroll, a clever new fixture has been installed in front of the exceedingly clever New Wheel Electric Bicycle Shop on Cortland.

As you no doubt recall, The New Wheel sells newfangled electric bicycles that make it easy to pedal up Bernal Hill without really breaking a sweat. The bikes run on batteries, and the batteries need recharging, and recharging requires electricity. So our newfangled bicycle shop has installed a newfangled solar-powered recharging station out front, to recharge bicycle batteries.

The solar pump will also be available for use by all the Citizens of Bernalwood as a refueling stop for our luxurious personal electronic devices.

The pump on Cortland was custom-built by Sol Design Lab, and it’s the same solar -powered recharging pump that was last seen hanging out inside the fence at Hayes Valley Farm:

The SolarPump Charging Station is a self-contained island of free solar power available for the public to charge any electronic device (electric bicycles to cellphones and laptops, etc.) using a standard 110v AC plug. The bus stop-sized station inspires conversation about energy consumption, solar power and growing adoption of electric mobility.

The SolarPump was originally envisioned to combine a repurposed American car culture symbol (a 1950s Citgo gas pump) with an interactive display harnessing solar energy to charge electric bikes and mobile electronics.

The station has standard 110v outlets, so anyone can walk up and charge a cell phone, laptop, electric bike or scooter. The power is collected by Sanyo Bifacial solar panels on the roof of the station.

Finally! No longer will you have to worry about running out of juice on Cortland as you send text messages while batch-processing photos to send by email as you upload your star-sighting videos to YouTube and geolocate all your friends within a 500′ radius! Right??? If all that gets to be just too much for your poor little battery, rest assured that you can now use the SolarPump to perk back up.

Just remember: It’s BYOC (Bring Your Own Cord).

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

The 2012 Summer Solstice Stroll on Cortland, TOMORROW

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

Cortland Summer Stroll 2011

Tens of thousands of years ago, an ancient tribe of druids gathered in the area that we now know of as Cortlandia for an annual event to mark the longest day of the year. During this yearly ceremony, our proto-Bernalese ancestors celebrated the arrival of the summer season with a gala festival of food, music, fermented drinks, and handicrafts.

Fast forward to 2012, and our local merchants have opted to revive this prehistoric ritual by inviting all the Citizens of Bernalwood to gather on Cortland Street during the longest day of the year, tomorrow evening, June 21st, to enjoy the glamorous 2012 Summer Solstice Stroll!

The Bernal Business Alliance and Bernal Bucks invite you to the second Summer Solstice Stroll on Cortland Avenue:

Thursday, June 21, 6pm – 9pm on Cortland Avenue

Summer Solstice Stroll in Bernal!

The evening will include food tastings, business promotions, shopping, drinking, performances, and music!

If this year’s Stroll is anything at all like last year’s, it will be good clean fun for modern druids of all ages.

PHOTO: 2011 Summer Solstice Stroll, by Telstar Logistics

Occupy Bernal Protesting Today to Halt Foreclosure of Neighbor’s Home

/ Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

Those street-savvy social activists from Occupy Bernal are organizing a protest against Wells Fargo Bank today to (hopefully) halt a Bernal Heights foreclosure that will likely result in the eviction of Neighbors Maria and Washington from their home:

Occupy the Auctions to Save the Home of Washington and Maria Davila
Stop Wells Fargo From Selling Our Neighbors’ Home

What: Save the Home of Washington and Maria Davila
When: Wednesday, June 20, 1:45 pm
Where: City Hall sidewalk, rear side (400 Van Ness Ave.)

Occupy Bernal and supporters will protest a foreclosure auction on June 20 to prevent the eviction of our neighbors Maria and Washington Davila. We will also leaflet potential home buyers, calling on them not to buy the Davila’s home.

Maria and Washington Davila have been living in a house they have been renting in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood for the past seven years. Because their Las Vegas landlord Felisa Yambao — who is suffering from cancer — is in foreclosure, Wells Fargo is planning to sell their house at auction today. A new owner-occupant of the house could evict the Davilas and the Davilas would like to continue renting from Ms. Yambao.

“I want to help the owner because she is sick, she has cancer,” Maria said, speaking through a translator. “I have a special interest in helping her because she is very nice, and I don’t want another owner.”

Washington works as a delivery truck driver, and Maria loves to cook Peruvian food. They love Bernal for its parks, quietness, and good neighbors.

PHOTO: Maria and Washington Davila via Occupy Bernal

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