CAPTAIN SHARON FERRIGNO’S MESSAGE
This morning officers from Richmond Station participated in Bike to School Day with 2 of our local elementary schools. Over 50 children and their families took part in this great event with our officers lending a hand. Last week I was fortunate enough to read poetry with students from Argonne Elementary School as part of Poem in my pocket. Working with youth is one of the best parts of being a police officer.

Today recruit officers will start their careers off by embracing community policing and interacting with Richmond District Youth at the YMCA’s program at William Cobb Elementary. Leading the way in youth engagement is Richmond Station’s Lieutenant Frank Lee who has mentored, coached and been a role model to adolescent boys in San Francisco for the past 31 years. Frank has coached football with hundreds of kids in San Francisco. Our thanks go out to Frank for his commitment and years of service to the children of San Francisco. Franks smile lights up the room when he runs into one of the many kids he has helped over the years.

Our next Community meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 6pm. It will be in the Community Room, here at Richmond Station, 461 6th Ave. (NOTE TIME CHANGE)

NOTEWORTHY ARRESTS
On 04/18/13 at 9:45am, SFPD Mounted Units were in the area of Hellman Hollow and came across a large encampment. They detained 5 subjects who were staying there in tents and under tarps. The officers located numerous bike frames, bike parts and tools. A check of the serial numbers to determine if the bikes were listed a stolen came back negative. The 5 were charged with camping in the park and escorted out. The encampment was cleared out and the bike frames were booked as found property.

On 04/23/13 at 2:52pm, officers were called to the area of 28th and Clement on a report of a victim chasing a suspect he had found in his vehicle. A description of the suspect was broadcast and the officers located the suspect at 25th and Anza St. The victim, who was doing construction nearby had left his vehicle unlocked and when one of his employees went to put some tools in the car, he found the suspect sitting inside. There appeared to be no loss, however the suspect was on probation and was charged with a probation violation.

On 04/25/13 at 11:20am, officers were called to the area of 28th and Geary on a report of a drunk driver. The caller had reported that the driver was entered the intersection passed out with his head resting on the steering wheel and then collided with a parking meter. The caller provided 911 with a vehicle description, partial license plate and description of driver. The caller then reported that the driver was attempting to flee but was stuck on the parking meter. The suspect was eventually able to free his truck and fled south on 28th Ave towards Anza. Officers searched the area and additional calls came in about the vehicle being parked on the Great Highway with the driver passed out at the wheel and his head resting on the horn. Officers detained the male who did not remember being in an accident. When asked how much he had had to drink, the driver replied, “too much.” The 40 year old male was charged with driving under the influence and hit and run.

NOTEWORTHY INCIDENTS
Between 04/18/13, 4:30pm and 04/19/13, 1pm on the 3500 block of Jackson, a suspect broke out the glass on the front door of a residence and took jewelry.

On 04/19/13 at 11:59pm, officers went to a call of an alarm on the 5400 block of Geary. When they arrived they saw that the glass on the front door had been smashed out and conducted a walk-thru of the business but the suspect had fled. While waiting for the owner to respond the officers were approached by a witness who told them they heard the alarm and then saw a black male exit the business through the smashed door carrying a duffle bag. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and gray sweatpants. The loss was cash.

On 04/20/13 at 3:15am on the 1700 block of Lyon a resident awoke to the sound of his dog growling at the bedroom door. Suddenly the door to the bedroom opened and the suspect poked his head in. The victim shouted at the suspect to get out and the suspect fled the residence. The door to a roommate’s bedroom was now open but as the roommate was not home at the time; it is unknown what might have been taken. The suspect was described as a black male, 20-25yrs wearing a brown baseball cap with a flat bill and a dark hooded sweatshirt. There were no signs of forced entry and the front door may have been left unlocked.

Between 04/20/13, 10pm and 04/21/13, 6:30am on the 600 block of Clement St, a suspect entered a business by smashing out the glass in the front door with a brick. The suspect took cash.

On 04/22/13 at 12am, the victim was walking west on Clement St at Park Presidio Bl. She noticed the suspect standing at the corner and as she got closer he approached her with what appeared to be a switch blade knife in his hand and blocked her path. The victim began to back pedal and the suspect put the knife away and put his hands in his front pouch of his sweatshirt and told her he had a gun. She continued to walk backwards and went into the middle of the street and suddenly turned around and walked away, north on Funston. A motorist then drove by and the victim knocked on the window for help and said she was being robbed. The motorist continued but then made a u-turn and came back. She then said the suspect appeared to be gone and made her way home. The suspect was described as a mixed race, 30-35 yrs, 6’3”, with a full beard, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants.

On 04/22/13 at 1:05am, the victim was walking north on the 500 block of 3rd Ave with his head down. He then saw the suspect standing on the sidewalk and then pull out a “big gun” and demanded money. The victim said he “was broke” and ran away. The suspect was described as a black male, 25-30yrs, wearing a white knit ski cap with ear flaps, white sweater and black track pants with white stripes.

On 04/22/13 at 8am, on the 500 block of 46th Ave, the victim left his residence to drive his wife to work. Shortly after he left, his daughter heard the doorbell ring, however she did not answer. At this point she heard loud banging on the door and ran down to lock the deadbolt. The suspect never entered and when the father came home he saw the damage to the front door.

On 04/22/13 at 8:10am on the 500 block of 47th Ave, the victims were home when they heard the sounds of the alarm beeping as it someone had entered the home. Believing it was the housekeeper the owner didn’t check until the alarm continued after a long period of time and had not reset. When he got downstairs he saw that his front door and front gate had been forced open. The bedrooms adjacent to the front door appeared to have been ransacked. Video from the area recorded the 3 suspects, one of whom can be seen forcing open the gate with another acting as a look out. A short time later, two suspects flee the home and go south on 47th Ave and the lookout went west on Geary Bl. A witness approached the officer and said that she had seen these males acting suspiciously on the 500 block of 46th Ave (above incident) just prior to this call. The suspects were all black males, 20-25yrs wearing dark clothing. One of the suspects was noticeably heavier than the other two.

On 04/22/13 at 4:15pm, a witness observed the suspect get off of a 31 Balboa MUNI bus at Balboa and 12th Ave. She observed the suspect walk past an open garage door on the 1000 block of Balboa, then turn around and enter the garage. The suspect then rode out of the garage on a red bicycle and go north towards Anza St. The owner of the home said the garage door had only been open for a couple of minutes. The suspect was black male, 30-35yrs, wearing a black jacket with red detail around the neck area.

On 04/23/13 at 2am, a resident of an apartment building heard the front door slam and went to check on the noise. He discovered his bike was now missing from the garage. The suspect may have gained access to the building via a fire escape.

On 04/24/13 at 12:35am, the victim exited a 38 Geary MUNI bus at 9th and Geary. The suspects, who were also on the bus exited and followed the victim as he walked west on Geary. The first suspect came from behind and pushed him on the ground and when the victim got up, the second suspect pushed him back down. They began kicking and punching his back and leg area and the first suspect took the victim’s backpack off of his shoulder. At some point the victim’s cell phone fell out of his pocket and the second suspect picked it up and they all fled south on 10th Ave. The suspects were 3 black males, all 6’4”, wearing dark clothing.

On 04/24/13 at 4:40pm, the victim drove the area of Walnut and California St, to sell some jewelry he had posted on Craigslist. The suspect was waiting for him when he arrived and asked where the jewelry was. The victim then asked where the money was. The suspect told him that he needed to go to the bank and got into the victim’s vehicle. The suspect asked to see the jewelry and at this point the second suspect arrived and the first suspect told the victim that this was his brother. When the second suspect arrived, he stood on the driver’s side of the car, which was a convertible, and pointed a gun at the back of the victims head. The victim immediately handed over the jewelry to the second suspect who then told the first suspect to get out of the car. The victim then accelerated with the suspect still in the passenger seat, traveled half a block, and then the suspect opened the door and rolled out of the vehicle. Both suspects fled west on California St. The first suspect was described as an Asian male in his 20’s, wearing a plaid shirt and blue jeans. The second was a white male, 26-30yrs, wearing a black sweatshirt and dark jeans.

Photo by David Yu

This Saturday, the Dutch community in San Francisco is celebrating Queen’s Day near the Murphy Windmill on the south end of Golden Gate Park.

The all day, free festival celebrates the restoration of Golden Gate Park’s Windmills, and includes a bike parade, free Golden Gate Park tours from City Guides, live music at Park Chalet, gorgeous tulips, a flea market and all things dutch (including a food and beer garden).

Queen’s Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in honor of the Queen’s birthday. The celebration, called “Koninginnedag”, is known for its nationwide vrijmarkt (“free market”), at which many Dutch sell their secondhand items. It is also an opportunity for “orange madness” or oranjegekte, for the national colour, when the normally strait-laced Dutch let down their hair, often dyed orange for the occasion [Wikipedia]. So if you’ve got any, put on your Giants paraphernalia to get in the spirit.

Check out the full schedule of events for Saturday’s festival here.

On Friday night, the De Young Museum will host Queen’s Night from 5pm until 8:45pm, featuring Dutch DJs, orange costume-making, art-making, and more. Everyone is encouraged to come dressed in their best orange attire, and children can don their prince and princess outfits in celebration of Queen Beatrix’s birthday.

Both Friday and Saturday’s events are free to the public.

Did you know that this will be the last “Queen’s Day” for awhile? That’s because Queen Beatrix announced that she will abdicate the throne on April 30th after 33 years as head of state, clearing the way for her eldest son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, to become the nation’s first king in more than a century. So next year’s celebration will be “King’s Day”.

In honor of the celebratin, we dug out the video below of a man riding the Murphy Windmill. It’s pretty awesome.

Sarah B.

After a piece of the Alexandria came loose during the high winds a couple of weeks ago, neighbors were once again wondering about the status of the planned development for the 18th & Geary location.

This Thursday at 12noon (City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton Goodlet Place, Room 400), there is a public hearing on the owner’s application for a permit to build a mixed residential/commercial/parking structure on the Alexandria Theater property.

As detailed in an article we posted in October 2012, the plan calls for residential apartments to be built on the back lot on 18th Avenue. The first level of that residential complex would be retail space, with parking underground for residents and shoppers.

The theater building would remain, and house retail stores on the first level, with a 211 seat theater and a full service restaurant on the second level. The design features open walkways on both sides of the interior of the building so when you’re on the second level, you can see down to below.

Original architectural elements of the art deco building would be preserved, including the domed roof that was part of the original theater before it was sectioned off when it became a multiplex. The ornamental decoration on the facade of the theater building would also remain, including the blade sign (though the 1-2-3 numbers would be removed from the sign, an addition made in 1976).

Thursday’s meeting is open to the public, but if you cannot make the meeting, you can still submit comments to Mary Woods, Planning Department, 1650 Mission Street, 4th Floor, Suite 400, San Francisco CA 94103, mary.woods@sfgov.org, (415) 558-6315, by 4/25 at 9:30.

You can also watch the hearing live on Cable Channel 78 or online on the SFGTV website (the Alexandria is item #13 on the agenda).

In related news, reader Chantelle M. snapped a pic of some strange graffiti that was painted/posted on the side of the Alexandria. Anyone know what it is? Leave a comment to let us know.

Sarah B.

Photo by steven shpall

Reader Ben L. sent us a link to a meetup group called the “East Bay Night Time Photography Fanatics”. Their meetup last week was at Sutro Baths Ruins. We’ve included a few of the photos here, but visit their meetup page to see even more.

Sarah B.

Photo by Mohammad Abri

Photo by Jean Fernandez

[Reprinted from The Richmond Police Station Newsletter of April 19, 2013. To be added to the station's mailing list, email sfpd.richmond.station@sfgov.org.]

CAPTAIN SHARON FERRIGNO’S MESSAGE
Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and the City of Boston. In light of the attack on the Boston Marathon I would like to remind all of you of the nationwide “If You See Something, Say Something” public awareness campaign. This is a simple and effective program to raise public awareness of indicators of terrorism and terrorism-related crime, and to emphasize the importance of reporting suspicious activity to the proper local law enforcement authorities. The campaign was originally used by New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) after September 11th. Please copy and open the attached link to view the campaign and remember, we are all in this together. Homeland Security means home town security. If you see something, say something.

Our next Community meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 6pm. It will be in the Community Room, here at Richmond Station, 461 6th Ave. (NOTE TIME CHANGE)

NOTEWORTHY ARRESTS
On 04/12/13 at 11:30am, officers responded to a call of a traffic accident at JFK Drive near 30th Ave. The vehicle was traveling east on JFK Drive, crossed over the center line and hit a parked car. A witness on scene had approached the driver to check on his well being and saw that he was intoxicated. The witness took the keys from the ignition to prevent him from driving off. The officers asked how many drinks had he had and he replied, “zero to none.” The 52 year old male was charged with driving under the influence.

On 04/13/13 at 3:35am, a vehicle was traveling west on Clay St approaching Locust. The driver hit a parked vehicle which caused her vehicle to roll-over and land on its right side. The driver, a 29 year old female, was charged with driving under the influence.

On 04/16/13 at 12:30am, officers conducted a traffic stop at Divisadero and Geary. The driver said he had no identification and provided the officers a name. The officers ran the name and found that the driver’s license was suspended. This person also had an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Upon detaining the male, he told the officers that he had lied and given them his brother’s name. He had a warrant for a parole violation and did not want his friend to know. The 38 year old male was charged accordingly.

On 04/17/13 at 11:30pm, officers responded to a business at 10th and Geary on a report of a male employee on the premise with a handgun. Other employees were fearful and had made their way to another part of the building. When the officers arrived they located the employee and the gun which was on a table next to the employee. The gun was currently unloaded. The officers detained the male and ran the serial number for the gun. They responded to the registered owner’s home and he was unaware that the firearm was missing and didn’t know the suspect that was being detained. The 34 year old male was charged with possession of stolen property.

NOTEWORTHY INCIDENTS
On 04/10/13 at 5:10pm, the victim was walking on Balboa near 7th Ave, talking on her cell phone. The suspect came from behind her, grabbed her phone and fled in an unknown direction. He was described as a Hispanic male, 25yrs, wearing a black hat, white shirt and black pants. The victim reported this incident 5 days later.

Between 04/12/13 and 04/15/13, an unknown suspect took copper drain pipes off of a school on the 400 block of 9th Ave.

Between 04/12/13, 5pm and 04/15/13, 8am on the 1600 block of Divisadero, a suspect entered a medical office by prying the door. The suspect took two laptops and a flat screen TV. It is unknown how the suspect entered the main building.

On 04/13/13 at 2pm, the suspect entered a shop on the 3600 block of Sacramento St and took a pair of earrings and ran out of the store. The suspect was described as a white female, 22-29 years, wearing a pink top and blue skirt.

On 04/14/13, between 12am and 10am on the 5900 block of Geary, a suspect broke out a glass door of a business and entered the premise. There appears to be no loss at this time. The owner of the business who lives upstairs had heard a noise that sounded like someone running through the business at 2:15am, but thought nothing of it until she saw the broken glass.

Between 04/14/13, 10:30pm and 04/15/13, 10:20am on the 700 block of Clement St, a suspect entered a restaurant by removing the louver windows above the front door. The suspect took cash from the register.

On 04/14/13 at 9:45pm on the 1500 block of Broderick, the victim was sitting on a step when the suspect approached and shot him once in the chest. The victim made his way to a nearby apartment where he sought help. The victim was uncooperative as were the witnesses that were in the area. The victim, a 47 year old male was transported to a local hospital.

Between 04/14/13, 11pm and 04/15/13, 6:15pm on the 100 block of Wood St, a suspect entered a garage and broke into a vehicle parked inside. The suspect took the car stereo.

On 04/16/13 at 4:45am, on the 2900 block of Washington, the victims awoke to sounds of the hardwood floor creaking outside their bedroom. They got up and checked the home and found the front door ajar. The wife’s purse was missing from a chair and the husband’s cell phone had been taken from the office. The victim then went outside and located his wife’s purse, missing a checkbook on the 2800 block of Washington. There were no signs of forced entry.

Between 04/16/13, 4pm and 04/17/13, 11am on the 100 block of 2nd Ave, a suspect entered an unlocked vehicle and took the garage door remote. The suspect then entered the garage and rummaged around, but it appears that nothing was taken.

On 04/16/13 at 8pm, the victim was on a 38 Geary MUNI bus, sitting just behind the rear door when it stopped at 3rd and Geary. The suspect boarded the bus through the rear door and grabbed the victim’s cell phone and ran north on 3rd Ave to east on Clement. The suspect was a black male, 18-21 years, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and a black backpack.

On 04/17/13 at 12:05am, a patrol Sergeant heard the alarm going off at a business on the 6000 block of Geary. He saw that a brick had been thrown through the glass door and found the register on the floor. The cash from the register had been taken.

On 04/18/13 at 2am, the victim was awoken to the sound of his dog growling and suddenly run into the living room. The victim retrieved his dog and went back to bed. The dog then began to bark again and the victim thought one of his roommates had gotten up and he went into the living room again. This time he saw the suspect standing there carrying a duffle bag. The victim said “What are you doing” and the suspect mumbled a response and fled out the front door. The victim saw that some of the wiring from the entertainment center had been disconnected but nothing appeared to have been taken. The suspect was described as a black male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, dark sweatpants and carrying a black duffle bag.

This Saturday at 5pm, author Anne Lamott will be at St, James Episcopal Church (4620 California Street) for a free event.

She will be in San Francisco to discuss her memoir of grandmotherhood, Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son’s First Son as well as her latest work, Help, Thanks, Wow.

Anne Lamott is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Some Assembly Required, Grace (Eventually), Plan B, Traveling Mercies, and Operating Instructions, as well as several novels, including Imperfect Birds, Rosie and Crooked Little Heart (books by Anne Lamott). A past recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and an inductee to the California Hall of Fame, she lives in Northern California.

Copies of her books will be available for sale and signing at Saturday’s event, courtesy of Green Apple Books. Parking is available at the Peabody School lot on 7th Avenue between California and Clement.

Sarah B.

Mayor Ed Lee gathers with Presidio Middle School students around the $1,000 donation check that Fresh & Easy presented to the Richmond District Neighborhood Center on opening day of the store.

NPR reported today that UK’s largest retailer and owner of the Fresh & Easy supermarket chain, Tesco, announced that they will close all of their Fresh & Easy grocery stores.

One of those stores is located on 32nd Avenue near Clement here in the Richmond District. The store just opened in June 2011, taking over a large space with CVS Pharmacy that had been vacant since 2004.

In January, Tesco told customers via email, “We want to assure you: we don’t have plans to close stores.” At the time, Tesco was on the hunt for a buyer for the nearly 200 store chain. There were even rumors of talks with Walmart.

Tesco will take a huge loss by closing down all of their Fresh & Easy stores – roughly $1.5 billion US – but says it should save them much more in the long run. There are two other Fresh & Easy stores in San Francisco that will also close – one at Silver Avenue and Merrill Street, and one at Third Street and Carroll Avenue.

CVS Pharmacy operates in the other half of the building on 32nd Avenue where Fresh & Easy is located. They do not have any plans to close.

No word yet on when Tesco will begin shutting down the Fresh & Easy stores, but the UK Daily Mail reports that Tesco has “interest from buyers for all or parts of the [Fresh & Easy] business” and that “it would be at least three months before the tender process was concluded, but the group hopes to achieve a sale of Fresh & Easy as a whole to avoid redundancies among its US workforce.”

So it looks like that space on 32nd Avenue – well at least half of it – may once again be vacant. Let’s hope it won’t remain that way for too long.

Thanks to reader Richard R. for the tip.

UPDATE: On April 17, Fresh & Easy sent a message to its email list and posted to its blog with the following statement:
“As you may have heard or read today, our parent company Tesco updated on the future of Fresh & Easy. We appreciate all the support and love we’ve received from our loyal customers and even though our parent company plans to leave the US, we’re pleased to confirm there are no plans to close any portion of Fresh & Easy. While we don’t yet know who our new owner will ultimately be, Tesco announced it has already received interest from a number of parties including groups looking to purchase Fresh & Easy as an operating business.

Sarah B.

A large crowd gathers outside the front entrance of the Fresh & Easy on opening day in June, 2011.

Photo by blugrnlg

This Friday, the 2013 Fly Casting Championship Festival kicks off at the Golden Gate Park Angling and Casting Club (nestled in the forest at the west end of the Polo Fields – map). The event is known as the Jimmy Green SPEY-O-RAMA, the World Championship of Spey Casting.

Spey casting is a casting technique used in fly fishing. Spey casting can be accomplished with either a normal length fly rod, or a rod referred to as a double-handed fly rod, often called a Spey rod. Spey rods can also be used for standard overhead casting.

Spey casting is used for fishing large rivers for salmon and large trout such as steelhead and sea trout. Spey technique is also used in saltwater surf casting. All of these situations require the angler to cast larger flies long distances. The two-handed Spey technique allows more powerful casts and avoids obstacles on the shore by keeping most of the line in front of the angler. [Wikipedia]

In addition to the competition at the casting pools, local and International casting masters will be offering free demonstrations and clinics each day from 1pm to 5pm with both two-hand and single hand rods. There will also be presentations on fly fishing destinations in the event you’re planning your next getaway.

The festival runs from 9am until 5pm all weekend, and it’s free to attend. The festival schedule:

Friday, April 19:
- Exhibits
- Competition Casting Practice

Saturday, April 20:
- Exhibits, Fly Fishing Presentations
- Spey Demonstrations/Clinics
- Competition Qualifying Rounds

Sunday, April 21:
- Exhibits
- Spey Casting Competition Finals

Sarah B.

[via Funcheap]