Photo by Tito Perez

Just because it’s Friday the 13th doesn’t mean you won’t have luck finding the perfect gifts!

Tonight, merchants along the early blocks of Clement Street are hosting a “Holiday Stroll” from 4pm until 9pm, featuring special deals, libations and treats for shoppers.

Here’s a list of what you’ll find on Clement Street stretching from Arguello to 6th Avenue:

Ingenious Organic concept salon (389 Arguello): Buy 1 hair product get one 30% off, Makeup Buy 2 get 1 free, makeup touch ups, 20% off future hair cut appointments, 50% off hair cut with any color service, free deep conditioning with color service. Also Snacks and Drinks.

Covet (391 Arguello): Cupcakes, champagne, & a free jewelry gift with purchase of $30 or more.

Period George (7 Clement Street): Sale on all Christmas and holiday candles, 15% off!

The Mysterious Rack (12 Clement): The Mysterious Rack will be offering 25% off all accessories, jewelry, books, magazines, records, & more! Also featuring vintage by Heidi Spanier. Also libations, and live music by Rick Quisol aka the Dimestore Dandy.

Sparky’s Balloons & Toys (115 Clement): Sparky’s will be offering champagne & chocolate covered strawberries.

STORY SF (202 Clement): Story will be offering free gift wrapping, snacks, & hot apple cider.

Kisha Studio (210 Clement): Kisha Studio is offering 10%, a small gift with purchase over $30, and champagne.

Seedstore (212 Clement): Seedstore will be debuting one of their stylist’s Gene Duven and her boyfriend Michael Mapp’s repurposed vintage clothing line, WRN FRSH. Featuring vintage clothing for men as well, two dj’s and libations.

Raissa Bump Jewelry & Knitwear / Anzfer Farms (248 Clement): 20% off all knitwear

Toy Boat Cafe (401 Clement): Ice cream cones of sea salt caramel truffle for $1 between 5-6pm.

Foggy Notion (275 6th Ave): Foggy Notion will be showcasing vintage from Heritage Mercantile Vintage (Robyn Miller of HM was just featured in Refinery 29!) and Our House Vintage & Design, also refreshments and a free tote bag with any purchase over $20.

[Reprinted from The Richmond Police Station Newsletter of December 12, 2013. To be added to the station's mailing list, email sfpd.richmond.station@sfgov.org.]

CAPTAIN SHARON FERRIGNO’S MESSAGE
Officers from Richmond Station celebrated the holiday season together last Friday along with their spouses and significant others. It was a wonderful time to reflect on their many accomplishments over the past year. Richmond Station personnel continue to make arrests in some very complex investigations. The leadership by Lt. Deborah Gizdich and her talented Station Investigations Team is making a big impact in our district. Lt. Dean Ries and Lt. Walt Cuddy have developed complex operations orders to apprehend offenders and strategized to with our investigations team to address the issues. Lt. Milanda Moore’s supervision rounds out our team with updates of crime trends.

We will not be having a community meeting in December. We will see you again after the New Year.

NOTEWORTHY ARRESTS
On 11/26/13 at 11am, the victim parked his car on the Great Highway near Fulton St. When he returned at 12:15pm, his vehicle was gone. The victim had hidden his cell phone under the driver’s seat and was able to track his vehicle. He contacted 911 and was providing updates as to the location of his car. Officers located the vehicle on the 1900 block of Lombard St with the suspect in it. In the vehicle were numerous pieces of property that had been taken from auto burglaries and stolen vehicles. It was determined that the suspect had driven a stolen vehicle to the Great Highway, left it there and took the victim’s vehicle. This investigation is ongoing and vehicles are still being recovered that are attributed to this suspect.

On 12/07/13 at 8:50pm, the victim was sitting is his vehicle at 45th Ave and Geary. He observed the suspect graffiti an a-frame sign. He then saw the suspect go over to his landlord’s car and bend down out of sight. Believing the suspect was going to vandalize the car, he confronted the suspect. The suspect swore at him and ran down the alley between two houses on the 8000 block of Geary. The victim kept telling the suspect to stop and he eventually trip the male. When the suspect got up, he pulled out a knife and swung it at the victim who was able to get out of the way. The suspect took off again with the victim following and the suspect entered Sutro Park. Officers located the suspect and victim in Sutro Park. The 24year old male was charged with aggravated assault and vandalism.

NOTEWORTHY INCIDENTS
Between 12/06/13, 9pm and 12/07/13, 7:30am on the 200 block of Parker Ave, a suspect entered a garage by unknown means. The suspect then broke the windows of two vehicles parked inside and took property, including sunglasses, cash and a garage remote.

Between 12/06/13, 9:30pm and 12/07/13, 10am on the 400 block of 25th Ave, a suspect entered an apartment building through the front door which is always left unlocked. The suspect entered the garage and gained access into a vehicle parked inside. The suspect took a GPS. The victim located her keys in the now open trunk of her car. She believes she may have left her keys in her apartment door lock when she got home.

On 12/09/13, between 7:45am and 6:15pm on the 300 block of 26th Ave, a suspect entered an apartment through an unlocked window. The suspect took a laptop and TV.

On 12/10/13 at 3:00am, numerous officers responded to the area of Sutter and Baker on a call of shots fired. One of the callers reported seeing a burgundy vehicle fleeing from the scene. Officers searched the area to look for victims but did not find anyone. One woman reported that one of the rounds fired went through her bedroom window. She felt the glass land on her face and she rolled out of bed onto the floor. She was uninjured.

Between 12/10/13, 5pm and 12/11/13, 7am on the 3500 block of Sacramento, a suspect entered a home under construction and took tools. The rear of the home is unsecured.

On 12/11/13 at 4:45am, on the 700 block of 31st Ave, a tenant in an apartment building heard the garage door open. When he looked outside he saw a white SUV parked in front of the garage. Thinking it was another tenant, he went back to sleep. When he went into the garage later that afternoon, he saw that two of his bikes were missing.

On 12/11/13, between 6:40am and 6pm on the 700 block of 11th Ave, a suspect entered an apartment via a window off a landing. The suspect took two laptops.

215 6th Avenue, 1951. Courtesy of Western Neighborhoods Project

The history-minded folks at the Western Neighborhoods Project recently acquired a photo collection from a local historian; he had saved them from being discarded in the early 1980s.

The photos are from the San Francisco Assessor’s Office and were all taken in 1951. WNP explains:

The Assessor’s Office periodically photographed buildings around the city for property tax purposes. The photos are documentary in nature and were taken without regard to the scenes on the street. As a result, in addition to showing the buildings, other things were recorded too, such as parked cars and people going about their daily lives. We think these make for an excellent view into what life was like on our streets over 60 years ago.

The WNP team has created a new website just for the photo collection at 1951.outsidelands.org, that includes a handy Google Map that allows you to see where the photos are across the city.

There are many in the Richmond District, a few of which we’ve included here. As is the case with San Francisco, some things have changed a lot, while others not so much. Check out the map – you may see a slice of life from your very own block in 1951.

Thanks to the Western Neighborhoods Project for digitizing and sharing the 4×5 inch negatives, which will also be donated to the San Francisco History Center at the San Francisco Public Library, adding to its large collection of Assessor’s negatives.

Into local history? The WNP is a non-profit and always welcomes donations and new members (they have an awesome quarterly newsletter).

Sarah B.

522 35th Avenue, 1951. Courtesy of Western Neighborhoods Project

594 18th Avenue, 1951. Courtesy of Western Neighborhoods Project

5717 California, 1951. Courtesy of Western Neighborhoods Project

Still a BofA! 3701 Balboa, 1951. Courtesy of Western Neighborhoods Project

673 26th Avenue, 1951. Courtesy of Western Neighborhoods Project

35 27th Avenue, 1951. Courtesy of Western Neighborhoods Project

Longtime tenant Citikids moved out of 144 Clement on the corner of 3rd Avenue this summer, and neighbors were concerned about who would move into the large space that was also the original home of Lombardi’s Sports.

Turns out it will be ACE Hardware, which is currently located at 1019 Clement near 12th Avenue. The store is packed to the gills with over 20,000 hardware and houseware SKU’s that stretch from floor to the ceiling in the packed store. To say they could use more space is an understatement.

ACE has been near 12th Avenue for 28 years, and expects to open at their new 114 Clement Street location in February 2014, as a “Home Improvement Center”.

In addition to more space for nuts, bolts, lightbulbs and the like, ACE will gain parking spaces in front for their customers – a big score.

No word yet on who will take over the 1019 Clement space one ACE departs.

Sarah B.

Mark Fiore posted a cartoon last week spoofing the new delivery drones that Amazon is developing. At the :44 mark, the animated cartoon features our very own Green Apple Books with some funny voiceover:

“Imagine the convenience of hundreds of thousands of drones delivering millions of products through the skies of Techopolis… Why, you don’t even have to be driven in your driverless car to a musty old store of books.”

Fiore takes a few stabs at Google in the video as well. In the post he writes, “Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the internet and technology – it’s how I’ve made my living for the past twelve years or so – but I definitely have some luddite-induced skepticism in my bones.”

Thanks to reader Derek for the tip.

Sarah B.

[Reprinted from The Richmond Police Station Newsletter of December 6, 2013. To be added to the station's mailing list, email sfpd.richmond.station@sfgov.org.]

CAPTAIN SHARON FERRIGNO’S MESSAGE
Richmond Station officers and investigators routinely coordinate their efforts. The result of that coordination has resulted in some amazing arrests over the past month. Investigations can sometimes be painstaking. That was certainly the case in our recent arrest of persons wanted in connection with stolen autos and auto burglaries, the investigation encompassed several police districts and we are sharing the information with those officers. With the weather dropping to freezing levels our roadways are more treacherous. Slow down and look for pedestrian and bicyclist who are bundled up due to the cold and may not be as visible as usual. Frosty steamed up windows can also block our visibility. In this cold weather you probably need more time to get where you are going and when the weather is wet and freezing its important to reduce your speed.

We will not be having a community meeting in December. We will see you again after the New Year.

NOTEWORTHY ARRESTS
On 11/25/13 at 12:38am, on the unit block of 18th Ave, a caller reported hearing the sound of glass break and when she looked out her window, she saw the suspect reaching into the front passenger window of a vehicle. The caller provided a description and officers located the male at 16th and California. He was in possession of a bag which had been taken from the vehicle and the registered owner identified the property as hers. The 35yr old male who is on probation was charged with burglary and being a sex registrant out of compliance for not registering within the proper time frame.

On 11/28/13 at 3:45pm, a footbeat officer was called to a beauty salon on the 400 block of Clement St. The salon was reporting that there was a male inside refusing to leave and yelling at the staff and customers. When the officer arrived he recognized the male from many prior contacts. The male was intoxicated and holding a shaver in his hand. The officer told him to put it down and leave the store. The male said, “I just want to cut my f*****g beard!” The officer attempted to detain the male; however he began to fight with the officer. With the assistance of other officers, the male was taken into custody. He was charged with trespassing, resisting arrest and several outstanding warrants.

On 11/29/13 at 12:10am, officers responded to a burglary in progress on the 2600 block of Sutter St. The caller stated that the suspect was breaking in from the rear of the premise. Officers arrived and saw that the back door had been pried open. As officers set up a perimeter, the suspect exited the building from a side door and was detained. A bag was located with items taken from the store. The 24 year old male was charged with burglary, possession of stolen property and burglar tools.

On 12/01/13 at 9:40pm, an officer was near the front desk of Richmond Station and saw a male in the lobby. The officer recognized the male as he had arrested him for burglary on May 15th. The suspect was apparently at the station to retrieve some of his property that had been booked at the time of his arrest. The officer ran the male through the system and discovered he had two outstanding warrants for his arrest from Modesto, CA. One was for burglary, the other was narcotic violations. The suspect was detained and charged accordingly.

On 12/02/13 at 9pm, officers observed a vehicle traveling east on Balboa towards 6th Ave. The vehicle was traveling with the driver’s door open and the driver holding onto the door handle. The vehicle continued south on 6th Ave at a high rate of speed, with the door open and passed the car in front of him. Officers stopped him at 6th Ave and Fulton. The driver said he was on his way to pick up his wife. He had an outstanding warrant for his arrest from Orange County and was booked accordingly.

Back on 02/28/13 on the 100 block of 25th Ave, a home was burglarized with the suspect smashing in the glass of the front door. Several pieces of jewelry were taken from the home. On 12/03/13 the suspect was identified by forensic evidence left at the scene and on 12/04/13 the 56yr old suspect was arrested on the 1700 block of Mission St.

On 12/04/13 at 11pm, officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle on the 2800 block of California St. The officer could smell marijuana emanating from the vehicle. The driver is on probation and is subject to search conditions as a result of his probation. Officers located several Ziploc baggies of marijuana and in the trunk of the vehicle was a shotgun. The 28 year old male was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and narcotic and probation violations.

NOTEWORTHY INCIDENTS
On 11/26/13 at 2:30pm, the victim was walking on Bush St when a vehicle pulled up alongside of him. The driver, who spoke Italian and broken English, rolled down the window and asked for directions to the airport. After speaking for a few minutes, the driver told the victim that he worked for Armani and was a manager in a store in Milan, Italy. He told the victim that to repay him for his help; he would give him two leather jackets. Believing that it was genuine, the victim accepted the jacket. They continued the conversation and the suspect asked how much the victim thought an iPad would cost as he wanted to bring one back to Italy for his son. The victim told him around $200 dollars. When the suspect said he had no money and could he borrow it from the victim, the victim agreed and gave him the cash. The suspect provided his business card and said he would reimburse him as soon as he got back to Italy. When the victim got home he realized that the jackets were fake and he would most likely never see the $200 returned to him. The suspect was a white male between 45-50yrs, balding, with a darker complexion. He was driving a tan colored Infinity with Nevada license plates.

It should be noted that the same scam occurred on 19th Ave and Geary on 12/03/13 at 12:45pm. The male who was approached by the suspect was suspicious of the whole story and did not buy into it. The description of the male in this incident was similar, but this victim said that the vehicle was a dark colored Jeep SUV. In both incidents the suspect said his name was “Rocco.”

On 11/29/13, between 11:30am and 3:20pm on the 500 block of 33rd Ave, a suspect entered a garage and took a bike. The door may have been left open.

Between 11/29/13, 6:45pm and 12/02/13, 9am on the 4600 block of Geary, a suspect entered an office buy unknown means and gained access to the safe. The loss was cash.

On 11/29/13 between 7pm and 11:30pm on the 100 block of Commonwealth, a suspect entered a residence by smashing a glass door off of the patio. The suspect took a laptop, camera, desktop computer, laptop and two tablets computers.

Between 11/30/13, 9pm and 12/01/13, 9:45am on the 1900 block of Clement St, a suspect hopped the fence to the nursery and stole 10 Christmas trees.

On 12/02/13, between 2am and 5:15pm, on the 2700 block of Golden Gate Ave, a suspect pried open the front door of an apartment a took a cell phone, laptop and iPad.

On 12/02/13 at 5:25am, the victim was waiting at the bus stop on Geary at 28th Ave. She heard someone walking up behind her and as she turned around she heard a “buzzing” noise. She saw that the suspect had what appeared to be a stun gun in his hand and he placed it at her side. The next thing the victim knew was that she was on the ground and began kicking and screaming at the suspect. The suspect then used the stun gun on her left cheek and the victim then knocked it out of his hand. He picked it up and ran to a dark colored car and drove off. The suspect was described as an Asian male, 25-30yrs with short black hair. The victim received minor injuries and refused medical treatment.

This Saturday, the Balboa Theater is hosting a benefit sing-a-long and holiday marketplace.

Bring the family for screenings of the sing-a-long versions of classic films “Frosty the Snowman” and “The Jungle Book”.

The films start at 1:15pm but beginning at noon, there will be a holiday marketplace in the lobby of the theater featuring crafts by local artisans, beer and wine, homemade sweets and holiday gifts. The market runs until 4pm.

Admission is $10 for adults, and $7.50 for kids 11 and under. Proceeds from the event benefit the Balboa Theater and the Sunset Cooperative Nursery School.

Sarah B.

A conceptual, overhead rendering of the four renovated fields at Beach Chalet

City Fields Foundation issued a press release today about a legal ruling that will finally allow the Beach Chalet Soccer Fields renovation project to proceed:

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The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department and the City Fields Foundation announced today that Superior Court Judge Teri L. Jackson has ruled in favor of the renovation of the Beach Chalet Athletic Fields in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

Judge Jackson found that the City’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR) adequately reviewed the project under the California Environmental Quality Act. Recreation and Parks and the City Fields Foundation can now bid the project and then initiate construction.

San Francisco Recreation and Parks and the nonprofit City Fields Foundation are jointly funding the $14,000,000 renovation of the Beach Chalet Athletic Fields. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2014 and the fields are expected to reopen in 2015.

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On their website, City Fields posted “The lawsuit challenging Beach Chalet’s environmental review has been denied! Congrats and thank you to all of you, the City Attorney’s Office and our partners at Recreation and Parks! Yahoo!”.

More about the renovation from the City Fields website:

City Fields and SF Recreation and Parks are proposing to install synthetic turf, field lights and on-field spectator seating – bleachers on either end of the field and low profile bench seating between the two center fields. A new viewing plaza will connect to the restored restrooms with new paths leading from JFK Drive in the Park to the athletic fields.

A children’s play area will occupy the little ones while spectators watch the games from adjacent barbeques and picnic areas. With neighbors in mind, field light heights were reduced by 20 feet so the light standards will not be visible from surrounding neighborhoods and “open play” hours will be posted to ensure community access to the new fields.

A new pick-up & drop-off area near the restroom will increase safety for kids and athletes and 81 bike parking spots will be installed. Twenty new spaces will be added to the existing car parking lot to keep additional cars off park roads and a pathway will encircle the fields to provide disability access and to make it easier for everyone to enjoy the fields. The current eight foot fence will be lowered to four feet around most of the fields and rise to 16 feet behind the goals to keep balls in bounds.

Sarah B.

An overhead view showing the renovated parking, playground and seating area.

Instead of tall bleachers, an 18-inch raised walkway featuring built-in spectator
benches runs across the center of the fields.