We are very excited to announce that will be premiering our movie
“Skate Dreams” at the Roxie Theater on June 27th at 12:00 noon. We
will also have one of a kind skateboards and T shirts for sale at the
event to support the cause. We hope that you can all make this event.

The kids are very excited to see their
skateboarding efforts showcased on the big screen as well as knowing
that they are helping raise money for a great organization that serves
homeless youth in the city that they live in.

If you have not already, please take a moment and make a donation at
our campaign page…

http://atthecrossroads.org/campaign/sfskateclub

Also, if you have not had the chance to watch our teaser clip to show
everyone our progress,
please do so by clicking here….http://vimeo.com/11466847

Thanks,

Shawn Connolly
SF Skate Club
sfskateclub.com

The odd couple who ruled this bookstore-from-Hades, have relocated to Albert, CA, where, so they said, they don’t expect to sell many books.

Not a soul knew they were leaving. It seemed strange, what with them moving in the middle of the night, like, with none of the books in boxes. It was backanfo’ fo, backanfo’ fo three days. They had three vans lined up.

I’ll miss ’em. As they left there was much idle debate amongst us village-gossips about the relationship between the two principals. There was speculation as to how they met, was it a chance meeting? Was she the landlord’s daughter and was he from the street? Or was it a Craig’s List romance? Both were renowned for their amusingly grouchy behavior. It was a real book mystery. Some said they were…

As for the reasons for their removal to the Sierra, I think the simple reason is that her dad sold the building to a nephew of a local equity guy and they had to go, so they moved to Albert, Ca. The guy who now owns it is the nephew of the guy who owns the building on the corner of Haight and Masonic, you know, that garish place with the Playland inspired pillars with the bulging entasis and the store, Positively Haight, with the beautiful Buddha in the window. The nephew is now doing massive reconstruction in what was the book-store, big boards and timber arrive, volcanic red cinder chips arrive for the garden, he has ideas to profit from improvement, no doubt. Today they were moving a lot of dirt in small black plastic bags tied with string. We’ll miss the bookstore.

Park Police Captain Teresa Barrett has held two meetings in as many months to discuss the proposal with residents and merchants in the neighborhood. Barrett said she has examined numerous other cities that have imposed such laws, and has recently met with city officials to discuss the best course of action.

If passed by the Board of Supervisors, the measure would prohibit sitting or lying on the ground along Haight Street for extended periods of time.

The proposal is currently being drafted by the City Attorney’s Office; however, District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi has been slow to endorse the ‘No Sit/Lie’ law. A representative from Mirkarimi’s office said at the January 12 police community forum that the supervisor was still examining whether there was a real need for this new law.

“Many ‘No Sit/Lie’ laws have problems,” Mirkarimi’s aide admitted, adding that the supervisor believes increased foot patrols in the neighborhood and stepped up community policing are the answers.

As it is, police need someone to sign a citizen’s arrest in order to get anything to stick, but most residents don’t want to have to do that, fearing it could put them in danger. The new ‘No Sit/Lie’ law would give police the power to arrest individuals without involving the residents of the neighborhood.

“The importance of a ‘No Sit/Lie’ law is the immediacy of action it will create,” said Haight Ashbury Improvement Association President Ted Loewenberg.

However, others argue that the Haight Ashbury is known for the bizarre and reckless behavior of its inhabitants, and that this is just one more law on the books that will kill the Haight’s unique culture and turn it into another place like everywhere else in America.

In a blog on his Bay Guardian web site, publisher Bruce Brugmann called the proposal “a move to criminalize a behavior that, for the most part, over many years, has not been a serious law-enforcement problem.” Brugmann also calls for increased foot patrols, something Chief Gascon says is not always possible.

“I cannot in good faith as Chief stand by idly and assert that the only answer to this problem is an around-the-clock beat officer presence that is, quite frankly, not possible given the competing demands for officers,” Gascon wrote on the police department web site in response.

abrody(at)haightbeat.com

There are tasks for all ages and all levels of agility and gardening skill. It’s a great experience for younger kids with adult supervision.

We provides gloves and all tools; please wear sturdy shoes. You’ll have a choice this month of working with BVPark gardening staff on a project to help maintain the Park, or with Rec/Park’s Natural Areas staff, helping to maintain the Native California Oaks Woodland above Haight Street.

If you can’t join us this weekend, make a New Year’s Resolution to be there next month on a special date – January 9 (since our usual first Saturday that month is New Year weekend), same time, same place. Or on every first Saturday after that through May. Watch for posters in the Park and BVNA’s email announcements.

The Haight-Ashbury neighborhood is history. At least, so think two groups of residents who are planning museums to capture memories of the 1960s hippie movement before they fade with its aging participants.

One, led by Haight-Ashbury Free Clinics founder David E. Smith, will function as a “library museum” of the free-clinic movement, which began in the Haight in the 1960s to provide free health care to residents. The other effort, led by local artist David Wills, will chronicle the neighborhood’s history from its farming days in the late 1800s to the Summer of Love in the 1960s.

If the museums launch — neither is slated to open until after 2011 — they would be the latest in a recent push by San Francisco groups to better document the city’s history. The San Francisco Museum and Historical Society has been working to renovate the old Mint Building in the South of Market neighborhood into a San Francisco Museum by 2013. Last year, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Transgender Historical Society opened a museum in the Castro district. Another half a dozen local museums have expanded in the past five years, according to the San Francisco historical society.

Despite its rich history, the Haight lacks something similar. Once a refuge for wealthy San Francisco residents after the 1906 earthquake, the neighborhood — a 20-square-block area just east of the Golden Gate Park — fell into disrepair in the 1960s. Cheap rent helped draw beatniks and students to the area in the late 1960s, culminating in the 1967 “Summer of Love” when tens of thousands of people converged on the neighborhood, many practicing free love, using drugs and advocating for the creation of a money-free, utopian society.

These days, the neighborhood has evolved into a bustling tourist attraction featuring psychedelic murals and hippie-themed head shops that sell marijuana-related paraphernalia.

Residents say they are eager to move past the neighborhood’s “hippie theme park” reputation emphasized by the head shops. With new museums, “We hope to educate people about what it was like here at the time, and try to get more into the philosophy of the free society that people don’t get,” said Jim Siegel, who owns the Distractions head shop and who likely will contribute items to Mr. Wills’s museum.

The groups, which are seeking funding from a mix of sources, estimate it will take millions of dollars to get the museums off the ground, though they declined to be specific. Mr. Wills’s museum is seeking donations from high-tech entrepreneurs, while Mr. Smith’s library museum would be funded mostly from his own resources and membership fees.

Although Mr. Smith said his effort is more about organizing and maintaining the history of the free-clinic movement than making money, the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau says added attractions such as museums in the Haight could help entice visitors. The tourism industry is one of San Francisco’s largest, bringing in about $8 billion in spending in 2008, according to the bureau.

The idea for creating a museum in the Haight has percolated for years. Mr. Smith said he began considering a library museum after visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland in the 1990s. “Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, all did benefits for our clinic, and why is there this great museum in Cleveland and not in San Francisco where it all happened?” Mr. Smith said.

Mr. Smith said he waited until his retirement two years ago before investing in the museum effort. He plans to put his museum at a building he owns at 1692 Haight St.

Mr. Wills, meanwhile, came up with his museum idea at a local art show two years ago and kick-started the effort in January. With another Haight resident, Andy Bayowski, the two started a seven-month site-selection process and now are in talks with a property owner in the neighborhood. Donors said they won’t give money until after a property deal is reached, said Mr. Bayowski.

For over 32 years, we have been producing this yearly event that celebrates the Haight-Ashbury’s cultural and historical contributions. From the San Francisco Sound in rock-n-roll to developing the basis for the Green Movement to the promotion of self expression, the Haight has always encouraged innovation and creativity.

But times are tough and the Haight Street Fair has taken a financial hit in the past two years due to a couple of significant factors: sponsorships are down while costs continue to rise.

So, we are asking our friends and supporters for a financial shot in the arm. With your help, we can weather these challenging economic times and continue to provide this once-a-year celebration for everyone to enjoy.

HASF has created two ways you can assist us in raising funds:

HASF STORE – Visit our merchandising page on our website (click here) – and purchase any of the official HASF products. Currently, we are selling HASF posters and postcards and “Pablo’s Chocolate Factory” blotter art prints. Other items will be added in the near future.

DONATION DRIVE – You tax deductible donations will give us an immediate “shot in the arm” towards next year’s street fair. Choose the amount you can donate from the donation sidebar to your right. As a token of our appreciation, a “Donor’s Gift List” was created for each donation category.

Visit the Haight Ashbury Street Fair website here to help.

UCSF Milberry Union, 500 Parnassus Avenue

Please attend the community meeting and support responsible ecological management on Mt. Sutro!

There will also be a walking tour of the reserve on OCTOBER 24 at noon if you are interested in learning more about Mt. Sutro and the proposed project area! For more
Information, go to the UCSFwebsite, http://campusplanning.ucsf.edu/physical/mountsutro.php
You can also call 415-476-3206, or e-mail community@cgr.ucsf.edu

I am urging you to support other open space users and volunteers who know that the key to Mt. Sutro’s transformation is the implementation of responsible management practices. Fire mitigation/prevention is a critical component of responsible land management and is essential to the safety and peace of mind of Mt. Sutro’s surrounding neighborhoods. It’s time once again to actively participate in the public process to ensure that the management plan priorities can continue to be fulfilled.

Opponents of the project appear to ignore the fire danger to UCSF Hospital and campus, ant to neighbors and other San Francisco residents. We need people to speak out FOR the fire prevention projects.

If you cannot attend, please send an email letter to the address above.

Thanks, Tes Welborn

Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council
The Progressive Voice of the Haight Ashbury For 49 Years
www.hanc-sf.org