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Jan-29-2010

Double features back at the Balboa

Word is that the weather this weekend will be mixed. So you might want to catch a double feature at the Balboa Theater. From today through next Thursday, you can see “Me and Orson Welles” with “The Hurt Locker”, or “The Young Victoria” with “The Fantastic Mr. Fox”, a terrific animated film that my friends have raved about. George Clooney voices a fox – hardly a stretch, right? :)

I saw Hurt Locker when it was first in theaters and it’s a nailbiter about a U.S. bomb squad operating in Iraq. One of the best films of the year that has been nominated for several awards already.

Sarah B.

ME AND ORSON WELLES (PG-13)
(2:05), 6:45
PLUS
THE HURT LOCKER(R)
(4:15), 8:55

THE YOUNG VICTORIA (R)
(1:15), 5:00, 8:45
PLUS
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
(3:15), 7:00



11:20 am | Posted under Uncategorized | Add comments
Jan-13-2010

Richmond restaurants participating in “Dine About Town”

The San Francisco Dine About Town program is back for its ninth year. The 2 week event (January 15 – 31) offers diners a discounted meals at some of the best restaurants in the city. And it gives the restaurants a chance to attract some patrons who may not have tried them before.

Restaurants in Dine About Town offer either a 2-course lunch for $17.95 or a 3-course dinner for $34.95, or both. Many of them prepare special menus for the event.

Here in the Richmond, the following restaurants are participating:

Aziza, 5800 Geary at 22nd Avenue | Moroccan
Dinner: Sun – Thurs (closed Tues)
Aziza is the mover and shaker of Richmond District restaurants these days. They received a covered Michelin Guide star, made EaterSF’s Top 38 last week, and diners can’t seem to get enough of Chef Mourad Lahlou’s modern Moroccan cuisine.

Chapeau!, 126 Clement | French
Dinner: Sun – Thurs
After a recent change of address, Chapeau! continues to serve up excellent French cuisine and warm, stellar service led by owner Philippe Gardelle. Back in October, Chronicle food critic Michael Bauer gave Chapeau 3 out of 4 stars.

Cliff House, 1090 Point Lobos Avenue | American
Lunch: Sun – Thurs | Dinner: Sun – Thurs
You can’t go wrong with the views and good food at the Cliff House (they also made EaterSF’s Top 38 last week). They just recently celebrated their 100th anniversary and for a few years now, even locals are saying great things about their meals at their two restaurants, The Bistro and Sutro’s.

Click here to see all the San Francisco restaurants participating in Dine About Town.

Bon apetit!

Sarah B.

10:58 am | Posted under Food, Uncategorized | Add comments
Oct-21-2009

Community meeting about graffiti issues, Oct. 26

Who hates graffiti? I’m raising my hand up high on this one.

Next Monday night, Supervisor Eric Mar and his staff will host a public meeting to discuss the issue of graffiti vandalism and litter in the Richmond District. Officials from the Department of Public Works will also be on hand for the discussion. Find out how to prevent graffiti, what to do if you encounter it, and give your feedback about your experiences with it in the neighborhood.

The meeting will take place at the Richmond District Recreation Center, 251 18th Avenue, beginning at 5:30pm.

See the picture below? I took it back in June and have reported this graffiti twice to 311. This building at 12th and Geary is STILL covered in graffiti. Sigh.

Sarah B.


4:28 pm | Posted under Uncategorized | 4 comments
Jun-24-2009

A closer look at our earthquake risks

The CA.gov website has a new service called MyHazards, where you can enter an address and see what the potential earthquake, fire and flood dangers are and how to best prepare for them.

Of course I had to try this for the Richmond District and you’ll be glad to know that we are in pretty good shape for earthquakes. This suprised me a bit considering how much of our neighborhood used to be sand. A quick search on 94118 showed that we are in area of high earthquake probability and are subject to “HIGH ground shaking”. In other words, get ready to shake, rattle and roll if a big one rolls through.

Even so, the Richmond District is excluded from other scary labels such as “Earthquake-Induced Landslide Hazard zone”, “Liquefaction Seismic Hazard zone”, and “Earthquake Fault zone”. When you look at the map, you’ll notice that nearby areas like the Marin, Baker Beach and Ocean Beach are labeled as earthquake-induced liquefaction areas.

The MyHazards site also lists out things you can do to prepare and try to mitigate the damage from earthquake, fires and floods. The site did not have flood or fire hazards mapped out for our area, but for earthquakes they recommend things like securing tall furniture and bookcases and other unmounted appliances and items around your home and garage (including links to detailed how-to pages on daretoprepare.org).

Go here to use the MyHazards site; just enter a street address, zip code, or city in the top search box to get started.

Sarah B.

[Via Curbed SF]

3:25 pm | Posted under Uncategorized | 1 comment
Jun-4-2009

Police Blotter – June 4, 2009

[Reprinted from The Richmond Police Station Newsletter of June 4, 2009. To be added to their mailing list, email the station at SFPD.RICHMOND.STATION@SFGOV.ORG or visit their website.]

CAPTAIN RICHARD CORREIA’S MESSAGE

A suspect is in custody in connection with the hit and run of a pedestrian on the 4900 block of Anza Street on March 10, 2009 at 10:30 in the evening. The suspect was arrested pursuant to a warrant charging felony hit and run, driving under the influence of alcohol and driving on a suspended license. Bail was set at $250,000.

On May 28, 2009 a Richmond District resident went to her bank to arrange a wire transfer of $9000.00 to an individual in Malaysia. The bank teller became suspicious and inquired into the reason for the transfer. The teller learned that the customer had won the “lottery” and the funds were needed in advance of collecting the prize to pay the “taxes”. In fact, the funds were the second installment of “taxes”. The first installment of $3774.00 had already been sent via Western Union. The alert teller dissuaded the customer from completing the transaction and the police were notified.

Remember two things: If it seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t. And, no legitimate contest or lottery will ever require payment as a condition precedent to collecting your prize.

During the past week, there were 12 traffic accidents, 2 involving injuries. There was also 1 arrest for driving under the influence.

NOTEWORTHY ARRESTS

On 05/29/09 at 6:15pm officers responded to the area of Geary and Arguello on a call of two males doing graffiti on a bus shelter. While the officers were en route the caller told dispatch that the suspects had just gotten on a 33 Stanyan MUNI bus. The officers stopped the bus at Fulton and Stanyan. The caller reported that while she was stopped in traffic, she saw the suspects “tag” the shelter with purple marker. The caller also saw them tagging the window of the bus. The officers recovered several bottles of shoe polish, markers and bottles of liquor. The liquor was found in the purse of a 15 female subject. The two male suspects (a 23 year old and a 19 year old) were charged with vandalism and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The 15 year old female was released to her father.

On 05/30/09 at 5:53am officers were in the area of 6th Avenue and Cabrillo when they observed a person wrapped head to toe in a blanket lying on a couch on the corner. The officers conducted a well being check. The male subject said that he had gotten into a fight with his girlfriend and slept on the couch. He also told the officers that the couch belonged to him and that he had moved it to 6th Avenue and Cabrillo from Geary and Divisadero. As the male stood up from the couch, the officers saw a prescription bottle with marijuana in it lying there. The male was also in possession of numerous prescription medications with someone else’s name on them. The 32 year old male was charged with narcotic violations and had several outstanding warrants for his arrest.

NOTEWORTHY INCIDENTS

On 05/27/09 at 12:41pm officers responded to a call of a burglary on the 600 block of 14th Avenue. A neighbor had been alerted by the mailman that the glass on the front door of a home had been smashed in. Officers saw that large metal pipe was lying on the front porch and the front door was open. The suspect had fled the scene prior to police arriving and the loss is being determined.

On 05/29/09 at 12:30am the victim was walking in the area of 2nd Avenue and California Street listening to music on his IPOD. The two suspects came from behind the victim. The victim turned around and saw one of the suspects holding a gun. The suspect said something but because the victim was listening to music he was unsure of what was said. The victim believed that the suspects wanted to take his IPOD, but he thought the gun was a fake. The victim pushed the suspect and grabbed the barrel of the gun. After a brief struggle the victim ran off and the suspects fled in an unknown direction. There was no loss or injuries. The suspects were described as two males in their late teens or early 20’s wearing black clothing.

On 05/29/09 at 2:57am officers responded to a call of suspects breaking into a business on the 3100 block of Geary Boulevard. The officers determined that the suspects, who had fled the scene, had pried open the front door and stolen an ATM machine that was inside the business. The ATM machine was later located near the tennis courts inside Golden Gate Park.

On 06/03/09 at 5:27am an officer observed a vehicle parked on the 800 block of the Great Highway. Upon checking the vehicle it appeared that the female occupant was asleep. Several attempts were made to awaken the female by banging on the window, as all doors were locked. Forced entry was made and it was determined that the occupant was deceased.

11:11 pm | Posted under Uncategorized | Add comments
Jun-3-2009

A timeout to say hello and thanks

Thanks to everyone who has visited the blog and told your friends, family and neighbors about it. Those of you that have emailed or tweeted me about it, I really appreciate it! Your tips on the neighborhood are invaluable and extremely appreciated.

In this first month of existence, I’ve added a few things here and there to “gussy it up” as they say. I’ve added new images to the header of the site; they’re are about 30 in total that randomly rotate in there. If your favorite Richmond landmark is missing, let me know and I’ll photograph it and add it in! Or if you’re willing to lend me a photo you took, let me know.

I also added a Videos section that lists out the various videos I’ve produced for blog posts. So pop in there to see what’s playing when you have a spare moment. I also added a Shop section which has info and links to the Richmond District neighborhood gear that is offered by the Western Neighborhoods Project. The WNP puts any proceeds from sales back into their preservation efforts which is a great thing.

And if you aren’t already, please follow the blog on Twitter. I don’t twitter that often, mostly to let followers know when a new blog post is up or when I see or hear about an interesting event happening in the neighborhood. Thank you to those followers who have jumped on early – I really appreciate the support and re-tweeting. :)

And last but most importantly, please comment and please share! I know you’re reading the articles, but it helps me to know what you think about them. Do you agree or disagree with a post? Have any extra info or opinion about something? To comment, just click the “Comment” link at the bottom of each article. To share an article with friends via email, Twitter, Facebook etc., click the “Share this” link at the end of a post for all your options.

If you ever have a general comment about the blog, a tip about news or an event or just need to contact us for any reason, please do! Click the “Contact Us” link on the right hand side of the blog or at the top. You can email me or use the Pingbox to catch me on Yahoo! Messenger for a real-time (private) conversation.

Thanks again for stopping by the blog and telling your friends about it!

Sarah B.

4:06 pm | Posted under Uncategorized | Add comments
May-27-2009

Richmond Town Hall Meeting – May 30

This Saturday, a Town Hall neighborhood meeting will be help at the Richmond Rec Center from 10am to 12pm (full details below). Join Richmond Supervisor Eric Mar, Richmond Police Dept. Captain Corriea, and representatives from the Planning Department and the Municipal Transportation Agency to discuss traffic calming proposals and pedestrian safety. All community members are invited to share their suggestions for better streets, transportation and neighborhood improvements.

A similar topic was addressed in Captain Correia’s weekly newsletter:

>>During the month April 2009 there were 25 injury automobile collisions in the District, which brings the year to date total to 100. We continue to address this problem through education and traffic enforcement. Year to date officers have issued 4,272 moving violations, which is 32% more than were issued last year at this time. During April 2009 ten individuals were arrested for DUI in the Richmond District. During the past week, there were 21 traffic accidents 6 involving injuries. There was also 1 arrest for driving under the influence.<<

Clearly something needs to be done to address the increasing number of traffic-related incidents in our neighborhood. School is almost out and more kids will be walking the streets and using neighborhood facilities during the day. If you have ideas on how to address our growing traffic problems, please attend the meeting.

Richmond District Town Hall Meeting
Saturday, May 30th, 10am – 12pm
Richmond Recreation Center

251 18th Ave (Between Clement and California)
Accessible by MUNI lines 1, 2, 31 and 38

Meeting info in Chinese
Meeting info in Russian

Sarah B.

5:18 pm | Posted under Uncategorized | Add comments
May-4-2009

Picture it – a new blog about the Richmond District

Hello everyone,

Thanks for stopping by our new blog. This is the first official post of the Richmond SF Blog, so what better way to kick it off than with some great images of the neighborhood. A quick search on Flickr for the tags “richmonddistrict” and “sanfrancisco” yielded these nice snaps (apologies for all foodnut clutter in the beginning but well, we do love our food in the Richmond). Enjoy the show!

Sarah B.



11:35 pm | Posted under Uncategorized | Add comments