Recently, I got an email inviting me to check out a weekly class at the Coastside Fencing Academy on Balboa.

Coastside is a serious fencing school but behind its seemingly benign storefront in the outer Richmond lies an intriguing subculture of futuristic fencing warriors – or rather, knights.

Every Monday night from 7:30pm to 9pm, the Golden Gate Knights take over the Coastside Academy. They describe themselves as “a group of intrepid and dexterous awesomeness enthusiasts who gather for an evening of saber smashing and beer drinking set to epic electric guitar riffs.”

Well of course I was intrigued. A few clicks later, I discovered it’s not traditional rapiers they’re wielding, but light sabers. Yes, you read that right – light sabers. Those infamous glow stick weapons from the Star Wars movies.

Luke vs. Darth Vader, Obi Wan vs. Darth Maul, Obi Wan vs. Darth Vader – you recall those epic battles that took place on the big screen. Well now you too can fire up a light saber and receive professional instruction from Battlemaster “Novastar”, aka Matthew Carauddo who is also a licensed fencing instructor.

The group’s website promises that as an apprentice to Novastar, “you will become an expert at saber choreography, spins, flourishes and a whole lot more.” Check out this video.

Yeah, but what about Jedi mind tricks? Every class includes 5-10 minutes of “mind melting jedi meditation”. Check.

The good news is that the class is not all serious study of the Jedi way. The band of rebels usually goes out for beer and cheeseburgers afterwards at the Tee Off Bar & Grill (32nd & Clement), where they take over the jukebox. I can’t help but think of the bar scene in Star Wars…

The Golden Gate Knights meet every Monday night at 7:30pm at the Coastside Academy, 3201 Balboa. The class costs $15 and you can borrow a saber for free for your first month; after that you can rent one for $5 a class. Age 17 and over only (sorry, Anakin).

The website cautions, “Feel free to bring you own saber but practice caution. Saber blades have different strengths so pairing up your blades against ours might not be good.” Duly noted.

In case your curiosity is peaked, do a little saber browsing at ultrasabers.com. Even if you don’t go to class, you might just want one to wear around the ‘hood.

Sarah B.

[Reprinted from The Richmond Police Station Newsletter of August 26, 2011. To be added to the station's mailing list, email sfpd.richmond.station@sfgov.org.]

CAPTAIN KEITH SANFORD’S MESSAGE
Richmond Police Station will host the monthly Police Commission Meeting at Roosevelt Middle School located at
460 Arguello Blvd. SF., 08/31/2011, 6:00pm. Come and meet your Police Commissioners and the SFPD Executive Staff.

The monthly Police Community Relations Forum will be held at Richmond Police Station in the community room at
1pm and 7pm on September 20th, 2011. Refreshment will be served at both meetings. We will be discussing burglaries, auto break-ins, traffic concerns and open discussion topics.

Also in consideration are discussion venues for events that take place inside the Golden Gate Park and how city departments, event promoters and community can work together in providing an interactive plan(s) to make events safer and enjoyable. I will provide dates, times and location for these anticipated meetings and I look forward to community/business participation.

Target areas for our traffic motorcycle officers (SOLOs) and traffic cars are the Geary Blvd , Arguello, Lake, Fulton and California. We will conduct a traffic enforcement operation on Geary Blvd. and Arguello/Palm during the week of September 11-17th, 2011.

One of our SOLO Motorcycle Officers, James Maginniss will retire on August 31st, 2011. James has served with the SFPD for over 32 years. James worked with me in the Traffic Company when I rode the motorcycle with him as a Lieutenant and approximately 80 other motorcycle officers. I will never forget the members of the Traffic Company as I learned to appreciate all the work these officers do, from traffic enforcement, major escorts and all the community events citywide. James will be missed but not forgotten. “Once a Solo always a Solo”

Two SFPD members will be honored at the Annual Geary Blvd Merchant’s Association luncheon, hosted by David
Heller, on September 14th. Officers Bob Ramos from Richmond Police Station and Richard Jue from Taraval Police Station will be the honored guests for their outstanding commitment to the citizens of San Francisco. Both Bob and Richard have over 50 combined years working in our city and currently are assigned to patrol the Golden Gate Park. These two officers continually interact with our tourists, homeless and residents providing ideas, opinions, discussions, enforcement and outreach. Congratulations to both Bob Ramos and Richard Jue for all your continued efforts and commitment to our communities!

NOTEWORTHY ARRESTS
On 08/20 at 6:00pm, plainclothes officers were in the area of the Japanese Tea Garden when they observed the suspect yelling obscenities at a nearby family. The suspect then continued to walk and he made eye contact with the plainclothes officers in their vehicle. The suspect then swore at the officers who then got out of the vehicle to speak with the male. The officers observed several symptoms which lead them to believe that the suspect was under the influence of a narcotic. The officers found a fixed blade knife in his pocket. The 49 year old male, who has prior arrests for assault and robbery, was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and being under the influence in a public place.

On 08/23 at 5:15pm, a witness called dispatch to report a male breaking into a car in the area of MLK Drive and 9th Ave. The witness provided a description of the suspect and vehicle he was breaking into. Based on the description of the suspect, officers recognized him to be an individual who had been arrested in the past for auto burglary. Officers located the suspect now sitting in his own vehicle with a backpack containing the victim’s property, which included a laptop. The 25 year old male was charged with burglary and possession of stolen property.

On 08/24 at 5:53pm, a witness called in to report suspicious activity in the area of 30th Ave and California. The caller was observing the suspects standing near an open manhole cover pulling out wire from underground. The caller stated that these males did not appear to be legitimate workers.

Officers responded and detained the suspects who had pulled out a long length of wire. One of the suspects attempted to tell the officers that they had a work order for this job, but that was determined to be false. The 3 suspects, a 52 year old male, a 46 year old male and a 31 year old female were charged with burglary, possession of stolen property and conspiracy.

NOTEWORTHY INCIDENTS
Between 08/20/11, 10pm and 08/21/11, 9am on the 4000 block of Balboa, a suspect gained entry into a restaurant
by removing the louvered glass above the front door. The suspect took cash from the register.

On 08/23/11 at 5:45am, the victim was on Cabrillo towards LaPlaya to go to the MUNI bus stop. As she walked she noticed a light colored vehicle parked with it’s headlights on, illuminating the bus stop. She noticed the suspect standing on the passenger side of the vehicle and kept an eye on him as she passed. The suspect then came up from behind her and tried to take her bag from her shoulder but was unsuccessful and he then pushed her to the ground. This caused her to drop the baG which the suspect then took and ran back to the vehicle and fled on Cabrillo. The suspect was described as a male, 40 to 50 years of age, with thinning hair.

On 08/23/11 between 9:30am and 6:15pm on the 3200 block of Clay St, a suspect gained entry into an apartment
by prying open the front door. The suspect took jewelry, a laptop and an e-reader.

On 08/23/11 between 1pm and 2:20pm on the 500 block of 9th Ave , a suspect gained entry into a residence under
construction via an unlocked rear door. The suspect took tools.

On 08/25/11 between 10:15am and 9:45pm on the 2400 block of Post St , a suspect gained entry into a residence,
possibly through an unlocked window. The suspect took jewelry and a camera.

Photo by Wolfgang Schubert

RichmondSFBlog reader Wolfgang hipped me to this bovine that lurks over Lake Street near 3rd Avenue. Whether her official name is Bessie is unknown.

If you don’t look closely, you might miss her perched atop a staircase, overlooking the intersection and ready to “moo” at the approach of strangers.

Who needs a dog when you’ve got Bessie to guard your turf?

Sarah B.

I ran into Baseball Mary this weekend, who is arguably the biggest Giants fan in the neighborhood. After giving me her latest baseball card (she gets one made for herself every season) and showing off her World Series ring, she told me about her special appearance in a promo for The Franchise, a Showtime reality series about the San Francisco Giants’ 2010-2011 season.

Watch the promo above – I love the part where Mary says Brian Wilson of “Fear the Beard” fame asked for her autograph.

Sarah B.

RichmondSFBlog reader tipped me to the arrival of newcomer Green Island Restaurant, located at 4012 Geary between 4th and 5th Avenues. They’ve been open for about a month now, replacing Vietnamese restaurant New Hoa Ky.

I stopped in for dinner this week to check it out. Let me state for the record that I am about as far from a foodie as you can get, so don’t expect great critique or insights about my meal there. Here goes nothing…

The interior of Green Island is clean, nice and brightly lit. We did giggle at the LCD television playing old episodes of Laverne & Shirley, followed by Batman starring Adam West (TV Land maybe?). The overall feel of the restaurant is casual.

The menu is pretty large, and offers a mix of Chinese and Vietnamese dishes. The waitress recommended one of their clay pot dishes which is you’re feeling saucy, you might order the “Frog with Rice in Clay Pot” ($6.75).

It had been a long day and I was not feeling like a culinary adventure, so we copped out and ordered vegetable chow mein ($5.25), crispy egg rolls (6 for $4.85), broccoli beef ($6.50) and sweet and sour pork ($6.25). And before you comment, yes, it was too much food for 2 people but going to Chinese is also about coming home with leftovers, right?

I also tried their fresh lemonade ($2.75) from their varied drinks menu which also includes Red Bean Ice, Jelly-grass Ice, Papaya Milk, Melon Colada, and Ovaltine.

We enjoyed our chow mein dish the best which featured a thinner noodle that was light on the oil. The egg rolls were fine but both of us thought the meat in the broccoli beef could have been better; we encountered some tougher, more sinewy pieces of beef. The sweet and sour pork was average. Two thumbs up on the lemonade.

The service was attentive and very friendly, and I thought the prices were very reasonable (we also got free watermelon slices for dessert).

As I mentioned above, we were very unadventurous with our ordering, so I’ll leave it to the foodies to discover the “wow” dishes on Green Island’s menu. The restaurant also offers a $20.99 chef special where you can order 3 items from a menu of roughly 60 items.

Reader Michelle enjoyed her meal there, saying “I like them because you can request no MSG and light on the oil. It tastes like home cooked and seems like they are very health conscious.”

On Yelp, Green Island is at 3 out of 5 stars after 7 reviews with one commenter saying “This is a no-pretenses, well priced restaurant with good food and quick polite service.”

Green Island is open Monday – Thursday from 10am until 10pm and Friday, Saturday and Sunday til midnight.

Sarah B.

Sweet and sour pork dish at Green Island Restaurant

Oldsf.org is a new website that launched recently, offering users a chance to browse through photos, by location, from the San Francisco Public Library’s San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection.

Site creators Dan Vanderkam and Raven Keller assigned locations to – or geocoded as the techies call it – roughly 65% of the library’s 40,000 historical images.

The end result is an easy to use website that is a ton of fun to browse, offering visitors a trip down the streets of old San Francisco. The photos date as far back as 1850.

As the creators write on their website, “Its goal is to help you discover the history behind the places you see every day.”

There are a lot of images from the Richmond District ranging from simple street views to groups of images that capture a neighborhood landmark throughout the decades, like the Richmond District branch library. They have over 100 photos of Sutro Baths.

Click a dot on the map and you see a preview of the photo or photos on the right sidebar. Click on any thumbnail to expand it. One more click and you’ll head over to the full listing for the photo on the SF Public Library’s website. The site also features a timeline slider – move it back and forth to narrow or expand the results on the map.

I came across a lot of photos of the Richmond District I had never seen before, including several within a few blocks of my house. I especially love the early photos of the district when there was more sand than buildings. You quickly see why they called it the Outside Lands.

Check out oldsf.org – you’ll definitely have some “Aha!” moments as you look back on our early years.

Sarah B.

Group of people swimming at one of Sutro Baths pools | April 12, 1935

Streetcar on Clement Street near 12th Avenue | July 12, 1927

Point Lobos Avenue and 43rd, Dick’s Saloon, 1890

Photo by Adam Chin

• San Francyclo, based in the neighborhood, offers guided bike tours of the city for all levels of cyclists. Owner Jason will soon be opening up a bike shop on Arguello too.
• Attention inner Clement merchants: City Attorney / Mayoral candidate Dennis Herrera will go on a merchant walk on Clement this Saturday, August 27th beginning at 2:30pm. Consider asking him what he plans to do about the ADA lawsuits…
• Not sweet enough: Reader Chrissy wrote in to tell us The Sweet Days Cafe on 18th & Geary closed it doors. They took over the corner location from Joe’s Ice Cream earlier this year. We’re hearing LOL Cafe at 25th & Geary may have also shuttered.
• Owner William Schoepp of Balboa Street’s Crown Hardware passed away earlier this month. He opened the store in 1957, and his sons Greg and Joe intend to keep the store open.
• Remember the saga over Jimmy’s Old Car Picnic keeping their charity event in Golden Gate Park? SFWeekly digs into the ugly politics behind it. You might need a shower after reading it.
• The tea house at Golden Gate Park’s Japanese Tea Garden will be named after Jack Hirose, former supporter and garden concessionaire.
• Snip, snip. 7×7 profiles old-school barbershops, including Rick’s Barber Shop on Geary between 17th and 18th Avenue. “Rick doesn’t have much patience for postmodern haircut requests…”
• Outside Lands is over but here’s one cartoonist’s take on his experience at the music/food/wine festival. Three Days of Babies, Bros and Bands.
• I had a chance to check out the Rayko Photo Center show that contrasts then & now views of Adolph Sutro’s San Francisco. If you’re south of Market, I recommend checking it out; through September 15.

Are you a link lover? Follow us on Twitter or Facebook for more updates like this.

Sarah B.

The Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Cathedral on Geary, reflected from a nearby window. Photo by JLfromSF.