Ryan Allen and Salvador Tovar, co-owners of ‘Sparky’s Fun & Joy’ receive a ‘Certificate of Congressional Recognition’ on their 5th anniversary in Inner Richmond neighborhood.

Last Saturday, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi took a merchant stroll along Clement Street to visit local small businesses and talk with their owners.

The Congresswoman’s office said she believes small businesses are the engine of our economy, and this was an opportunity to support and meet small business owners in her Congressional district.

Pelosi was accompanied by Cynthia Huie, head of the Clement Street Merchants Association. The visit included stops at Seedstore, Park Life, Toy Boat, Green Apple Books, and Nourish Cafe.

Sparky’s Fun & Toys received a special ‘Certificate of Congressional Recognition’ from Congresswoman Pelosi in honor of their 5th anniversary in the neighborhood.

Pelosi is a fan of dark chocolate, and we noticed that Toy Boat owner Jesse Fink is offering her up a chocolate ice cream cone in one pic. We also gave her a dark chocolate chip cookie at Nourish.

Sarah B.

Kevin Hunsanger, co-owner of ‘Green Apple Books and Music,’ and Cynthia Huie, President of the Clement Street Merchants Association speak with Leader Pelosi on her visit to the Inner Richmond neighborhood.

Cynthia Huie (middle), President of the Clement Street Merchants Association, and her sister Jennifer welcome Leader Pelosi to their store ‘Seedstore’.

Co-owners David Song and Jaime Alexander (left to right) welcome Leader Pelosi to their store Park Life

Leader Pelosi meets Jesse Fink, owner of Toy Boat Dessert Cafe

The owners of Nourish Cafe with Leader Pelosi

Loosen (or tighten) your belts Richmond District folks, because there’s lots of restaurant changes happening in the neighborhood of late:

Reader Adriana reports that sushi favorite Shimo (2339 Clement) has closed their doors. A note on the front entry said they are closing due to [personal] health issues and thanked customers for their long time support and loyalty. “Sushi life in the richmond will never be the same!” Adriana said.

Blissful Bites Bakery (397 Arguello) also closed. We have not heard why, but we know many people will be sad about that.

On the opening front, three new spots threw open their doors recently:

Nourish Cafe (189 6th Avenue), a plant-based eatery featuring salads, sandwiches, juices, smoothies and baked goods opened its doors last week. This is one of our personal projects so thank you to all the neighbors that came out to support us in our first week!

The Flame (Hot Pot) opened on the corner of Clement and 19th Avenue. They’re putting a personal spin on the hot pot concept. “Instead of sharing with other people like traditional hotpot, you get your mini pot served on a box with a live flame,” writes one Yelper.

What was formerly, albeit briefly, De Place at 5700 Geary is no longer empty. Dragon Beaux, a new spot from the owners of Koi Palace, opened just last week. They serve morning dim sum and evening hot pot and shabu-shabu according to EaterSF.

Bon appetit!

Sarah B.

Photo by Adriana G.

Photo by Benton R.

On Saturday around 11am, a SUV backed over a fire hydrant, resulting in a flooded mess.

Witnesses report the woman driving the SUV said she got in her car, started it up, and the next thing she knew she had backed over the hydrant.

Water flooded out for about an hour until SFFD could move the car and cap the hydrant. Nobody was injured in the incident.

Sarah B.

Photo by Benton R.

Saturday, February 28, 2015. Photo by Rob R.

2015 is the Year of the Sheep according to Chinese zodiac. The Year of the Sheep starts from Feb. 19, 2015 (the Lunar New Year / Spring Festival of China) and lasts to Feb. 7, 2016.

SFPD Richmond District Police Station
Weekly Update 02-27-2015
Captain Simon Silverman

Here are some of the 732 incidents handled by officers in the Richmond Police District this past week:

RECENT INCIDENTS:

ARREST: POSSESSION OF METHAMPHETAMINE FOR SALE
Fulton & 16th Ave
02-20-2015 11:39 AM
Undercover officers saw a suspect who was on probation for burglary. As a condition of his probation, the suspect is required to submit to warrantless search by police officers. The officers searched him and found 7.6 grams of methamphetamine, two scales (both with methamphetamine residue on them) and 22 small empty baggies (typically used to package individual amounts for sale). He was booked at County Jail.
CAPTAIN’S NOTE: Although recently passed Proposition 47 made possession of methamphetamine for personal use a misdemeanor, possession with the intent to sell is still a felony. In this case, the intent to sell was established by the quantity of drugs, the presence of packaging materials, the presence of scales and the absence of paraphernalia used to smoke or inject the methamphetamine.

ARREST: MISDEMEANOR WARRANTS
Pierce & Sacramento
02-20-2015 12:00 PM
Officers responded to a report of people shouting. The only person present was the complainant who was under the influence of drugs. She also had warrants for drug related charges out of Sunnyvale. She was booked at County Jail.

WELL BEING CHECK
Clay & Presidio
02-20-2015 2:42 PM
Officers responded to check on the well being of an 81 year old woman who lives alone. They found that her caregiver had departed three weeks ago and that she had neither food nor electricity in the home. A social worker from Adult Protective Services arranged for her to stay with a responsible family member and will be handling her case.

ARREST: MISDEMEANOR WARRANTS & RESISTING ARREST
Fulton & 2nd Ave
02-20-2015 10:33 PM
Officers saw a suspect who was looking into cars (a precursor to breaking into cars). They detained him to investigate and ran a records check which showed that he had warrants for his arrest for theft charges. When the suspect realized he was going to jail, he took off running into a wooded area of Golden Gate Park with the officers in pursuit. As they caught up to him, he turned to fight, but the officers restrained and handcuffed him. He was booked at County Jail.

ARREST: MUNICIPAL CODE VIOLATION & FELONY WARRANT
Geary & 15th Ave
02-21-2015 8:34 AM
Officers were on patrol when they saw the suspect drinking alcohol in public (a violation of the SF Municipal Police Code). They stopped to issue him a citation and a records check showed that he had a felony warrant from Missouri for failing to register as a sex offender. He was booked at County Jail.

ARREST: MUNICIPAL CODE VIOLATION & PUBLIC INTOXICATION
Geary & 26th Ave
02-21-2015 11:40 PM
Officers were on patrol when they saw the suspect urinating in public (a violation of the SF Municipal Police Code). They stopped to issue him a citation and found that he was so drunk that he could not care for his own safety. He was booked at County Jail.
CAPTAIN’S NOTE: The penal code allows for the arrest of a person who is found in any public place under the influence of intoxicating liquor…in a condition that he or she is unable to exercise care for his or her own safety or the safety of others. Usually, the person is released without charges once they are sober.

MISSING / FOUND PERSON
Balboa & 15th Ave
02-22-2015 9:30 AM
A man reported that his elderly wife who suffers from severe dementia had been missing from their home for about 20 minutes. After nearly three hours of searching, officers found her in Golden Gate Park and returned her safely home.

ROBBERY OF A STORE WITH A GUN
Balboa & 45th Ave
02-23-2015 5:52 PM
CAPTAIN’S NOTE: Sometimes I won’t include details about an incident because doing so might jeopardize the investigation. This is one of those times.

MENTAL HEALTH CALL
Sutter & Broderick
02-23-2015 1:45 PM
A mother called the SFPD to report that her adult daughter was highly agitated. Responding officers found the daughter to be paranoid and hallucinating. She was transported to the hospital.

THEFT
Geary & 28th Ave
02-23-2015 12:15 PM
The victim was shopping and had her purse in a grocery cart. She walked a short distance away from the cart and an unknown suspect stole her purse.
Suspect: Black male, 30-35 years old, 5’8” 155lbs, wearing a black baseball cap with orange writing, a red hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, black and white tennis shoes, and carrying a black jacket. The suspect had a black beard.

ATTEMPTED BURGLARY OF A GARAGE
Funston & Balboa
02-23-2015 7:00 PM to 02-24-2015 9:00 AM
An unknown suspect drilled a hole in the garage door in an apparent attempt to defeat the lock, but was unable to gain entry.

BURGLARY OF A RESIDENCE
Cabrillo & 5th Ave
02-24-2015 1:20 PM to 7:40 PM
An unknown suspect entered through an open window then stole computers and speakers.

ARREST: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE STALKING & VANDALISM
Balboa & 7th Ave
02-24-2015 2:00 PM
The victim’s ex-boyfriend sent her a series of threatening and harassing text messages over the course of several weeks. He then showed up at her home demanding that she come outside. He continued to make threats and damaged the gate in an attempt to enter the home. She called 911 and the suspect fled. Officers arrested him at his home nearby. He was booked at County Jail.

ARREST: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & CHILD ABUSE
Geary & 4th Ave
02-24-2015 9:01PM
A man was arrested for punching his domestic partner in the face and for abuse of her 8 year old child (he is not the child’s father). He was booked at County Jail.
CAPTAIN’S NOTE: A person may be charged with child abuse for inflicting mental suffering on a child. In this case, the suspect inflicted such suffering by punching the mother in front of the child and screaming at the child.

ROBBERY
Transverse & Crossover
02-25-2015 2:00 AM
The victim met the suspects earlier in the evening and was drinking alcohol with them in Golden Gate Park. The suspects attacked her without warning and stole her purse.
Suspect 1: White male, 18-24 years old, 5’7” 150lbs, brown hair, wearing a silver jacket and jeans
Suspect 2: White male, 18-24 years old, 5’11” 180lbs, brown hair, wearing a dark blue hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

ARREST: MISDEMEANOR WARRANTS
Lincoln Way & 34th AVE
02-25-2015 2:42 PM
Officers on patrol of Golden Gate Park detained a male who was smoking which is a violation in the park. A records check showed that he had several warrants for his arrest from Tulare County for a variety of charges including threats, theft and violation of probation. He was booked at County Jail.
CAPTAIN’S NOTE: The SF Health Code prohibits the “smoking of tobacco or any other weed or plant” in parks.

BURGLARY VIA SCAM
California & 26th Ave
02-25-2015 4:00PM
Two men dressed in work clothes and claiming to be PG&E workers approached the homeowners and asked to go into the backyard to inspect sewer pipes. One suspect went into the yard while the other distracted the homeowners in conversation. Shortly after the suspects left, the homeowners realized that they had been burglarized.
CAPTAIN’S NOTE: We have described variations on this scam in previous newsletters. If you have any doubts about the authenticity of someone claiming to need access to your property DO NOT LET THEM IN! Call the SFPD and we will come out to investigate.

ARREST: FELONIOUS DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE & HIT AND RUN
Post & Webster / Geary & Masonic
02-26-2015 1:05 AM
A citizen waved down officers to tell them that he had just witnesses a white car hit a taxi on Post Street, then speed away and hit another car while parking at Geary and Masonic. The driver had fled into a nearby residence. Officers contacted her and found that she was under the influence of alcohol. She was booked at County Jail.
CAPTAIN’S NOTE: Because the taxi driver from the first collision sustained an injury, both the DUI charge and the first Hit & Run charge are felonies.

THEFT FROM A LOCKED VEHICLE
Geary & 22nd Ave
02-25-2015 4:41 PM
The victim waved down a passing officer to report that his car had been broken into and his computer equipment had been stolen. The theft was witnessed by an employee of a nearby business.
Suspect: Black male, 20-22 years old, 5’4” 170lbs, wearing a black jacket. The suspect had short hair.
CAPTAIN’S NOTE: In this case, the victim had hidden the stolen property underneath a mat. This did not fool the thief who broke the car window to have a look inside anyway. Never leave valuable items in your car.

ARREST: STOLEN CAR, FELON IN POSSESSION OF A PROHIBITED WEAPON, DRIVING WITH A SUSPENDED LICENSE, TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS
Westbound Turk to Laguna
02-26-2015 2:51 PM
Officers saw a car weaving in and out of traffic and running red lights on Turk. They detained the driver and found that the car was stolen. They also found that the driver had a suspended license and that she had previously been convicted of a violent felony. They discovered a Taser (electrical charge weapon) in her possession. Her conviction for a violent felony prohibits her from possessing this weapon. The officers also discovered merchandise that they suspect was stolen from clothing stores. The suspect was booked at County Jail.

ARSON
Balboa & 48th AVE
02-27-2015 2:00 AM
Residents awoke to see a burning couch outside near the exterior wall of their apartment building. The fire department extinguished the couch and SF Fire Department arson investigators are investigating.

NEXT COMMUNITY MEETING:
Tuesday 03-17-2015 @ 7:00 PM
Richmond Station Community Room
461 6th Ave.

CONTACT US:
Call 911 for emergencies
Call 415-553-0123 for non-emergency police service
Richmond Station
461 6th Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94118
415-666-8000
E-mail: SFPDRichmondStation@sfgov.org
Follow us on Twitter: @SFPDRichmond

KPIX 5 News ran a story recently on a disturbing trend – 5 San Francisco teens who have gone missing in recent years, disappearing without a trace.

One of them was 19 year old Richmond District resident Sean Sidi, who disappeared 1 year and 9 months ago. On the day he disappeared, he called a family member and said he was headed to Golden Gate Park.

To this day, his family has not been able to get any concrete leads as to Sean’s whereabouts.

“It’s hard,” Lynn Ching, Sean’s mother, told KPIX. “Humans are prepared for death, but not for someone going missing.”

On Tuesday, May 21, 2013 Sean called his father around 1:30pm and said he was “catching a bus to the park”. That was the last time that anyone heard from Sean, and he was last seen during a visit to a former high school teacher at the International High School on Oak Street earlier that day.

Sean’s family is especially concerned because several months before his disappearance, Sean suffered a severe traumatic brain injury that left him medically fragile.

Police traced the last ping from his phone on May 21, 2013 to an area “near and/or around Alvord Lake (Golden Gate Park), Stow Lake (Golden Gate Park), and the Inner Richmond”.

According to KPIX News, “four other young men, Crishtian Michael Hughes, Shawn Dickerson Tyler, Cameron Remmer and Jackson Miller had also gone missing in San Francisco in the three years before Sean disappeared, all about the same age as Sean. Together they became known as the California 5, and all are still gone without a trace.”

Watch the video above to get the full story.

For more information on the efforts to find Sean Sidi, visit http://www.seansidi.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/findseansidi.

Sarah B.

The community valentine wall that sprouted up on Valentine’s Day at 23rd Avenue and California has continued on, and it caught the attention of KTVU news.

They did a nice piece with residents talking about what the wall inspires in them, and why it’s very San Francisco. Go Richmond District!

Sarah B.