Despite pleas from school, cell phone antennae get OK

by Ed Moy

The SF Planning Commission voted unanimously on Dec. 8 to approve plans for the installation of new AT&T cell phone antennae on the roof of the Bureau of Jewish Education (BJE), located at 639 14th Ave.

According to David Waksberg, the CEO at BJE, the Bureau has had a cellular antenna on the roof of its building for the past 14 years. To earn extra income, the Bureau wants to install new antennae on the roof in fake chimneys.

However, parents, faculty and administrators at the Lisa Kampner Hebrew Academy, located next door to BJE, have protested the proposed project, claiming the antennae will emit dangerous levels of radiation, which could compromise the health of the school’s students. About 80 people concerned about the project met in October.

Representatives from the school say they did not know there was a cell antenna on the roof next door, but object nevertheless to the proposed intensification of the project that the new antennae would bring.

“Last spring, when we were in negotiation with AT&T, all neighbors in close proximity were invited to an informational session. Only a handful showed up,” Waksberg said. “As we have had a cell antenna on our building for 14 years, we never imagined this would be a controversial move.

“When it came to our attention that the project provoked concerns among parents at the neighboring Hebrew Academy, we requested that AT&T revise its original plan, removing two antennas that were planned to be closer to the school and facing the school,” Waksberg explained. “As a result, the remaining antennas are at the far corner of our building (away from the school), facing east and north (not south toward the school). In essence, the new antennas are at the same location of our existing antennas (at the northeast corner of our building).”

Waksberg said an engineering firm that conducted tests to determine the level of radiation emitted from the new antennae determined that radiation outside the school at the point nearest the antennae would be at a level 20,000 times below the FCC standard.

Nevertheless, during public testimony at the Planning Commission hearing, several Hebrew Academy staff members and parents made pleas to reject the project because of potentially harmful affects on children from antennae radiation.

Waksberg told the commission: “We have no intention of harming the school. We have, with AT&T’s support, significantly changed our proposal in a way that we believe is not going to harm anyone at the school, and is supporting of the view that there is really no radiation going to be beamed toward the school.”

With the plan’s approval, those opposed to the project have 30 days to file an appeal with the SF Board of Permit Appeals and/or the SF Board of Supervisors to overturn the Planning Commission’s decision.

According to Lane Kasselman, spokesperson for AT&T, the project could be completed as soon as April or May of 2012, pending the approval of the building permit some 30 – 45 days after the end of the appeal process.

“Each Planning Commission meeting reviews and approves multiple requests for cell antennae construction,” Waksberg said. “These antennae are all around us and each person who claims to be concerned about the project uses a cell phone (which emits much more radiation to the user than the radiation they would receive from the antennae). No credible evidence has shown any health or safety risks.”

Doug Loranger, organizer of the San Francisco Neighborhood Antenna-Free Union (SNAFU), a grass-roots citywide coalition that focuses on the impacts of wireless facilities, stated he opposes the project, and that the school and nearby residents’ best recourse now is to appeal the installation to the Board of Supervisors on “land use” grounds, rather than potential health impact grounds.

Loranger said the World Health Organization has classified the kind of radiation the AT&T antennae emit as “Class 2B,” a possible human carcinogen. He also pointed out that since 2001, a total of 14 such “Conditional Use” appeals of wireless facilities have been decided by the Board of Supervisors in favor of residents and against various wireless carriers.

“Unfortunately, getting AT&T to voluntarily respect residents’ concerns about wireless facilities at sensitive locations and withdraw from these sites has about as much chance for success in San Francisco as convincing them to change the name of AT&T Park to Willie Mays’ Field,” Loranger stated.

Express Bus for N-Judah Extended Past Trial Period

By Jonathan Farrell

The bus shuttle express that was introduced to supplement the Muni N-Judah streetcar line this past summer has been extended past its six-month trial period. The bus picks up passengers in the Outer Sunset and takes them directly downtown, and vice versa.

Muni created the service because N-Judah streetcars were already at full capacity at rush hour when they arrived at Inner Sunset and Cole Valley locations. With Outer Sunset commuters riding the express buses, there is now room for those passengers.

According to the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (Muni), the N-Judah streetcar is the most heavily used light-rail line in the Muni system. It serves as a main artery of transit from Ocean Beach, at La Playa and 48th Avenue, to Fourth and King streets at AT&T Park.

The streetcar line has almost 40,000 people boarding daily.

As a working middle-class neighborhood, the Sunset relies on the N-Judah as its transit lifeline to the Financial District. Delays and “switch-backs” during peak commuting hours have caused problems and frustration for residents who use public transit.
The goal of the Judah Express Route is to provide residents in the Outer Sunset with an additional transit choice while helping relieve crowding. The morning bus operates every 10 minutes inbound from Ocean Beach starting at 6:30 a.m. on weekdays. The bus makes all 11 local stops along Judah Street between 48th and 19th avenues. Then, it continues nonstop to Bush and Montgomery streets in the Financial District. The last eastbound bus leaves Ocean Beach at 9 a.m.

The afternoon commute for the Judah Express going outbound begins at 4 p.m., picking up passengers at Montgomery and Bush streets on weekdays and making its way to the Sunset District while stopping at all stops between 19th to 48th avenues.

According to the SFMTA, the Judah Express has exceeded expectations. Since its pilot program implementation in June of last year, the express bus has increased ridership on the N-Judah line by about 2,000 passengers a week.

The SFMTA considers the shuttle express so successful that it is considering using it as a model for future service expansion.
According to Cammy Blackstone, a legislative aide to SF Supervisor Carmen Chu, there has been some talk about expanding the bus shuttle service to the Muni L-Taraval streetcar line, but Muni officials concede they do not have the money to do that at this time.
“Customer response was based on feedback we received through 311. A large majority of all responses were positive. Others indicated that they would like to see the time period extended, which we did,” said Paul Rose, a media representative for SFMTA. Rose said most responses were positive and many people wanted to extend the express service, which Muni did.

According to the report, in the initial planning phases for the shuttle bus express different groups within the Transit Division worked together to map out the route. A comprehensive customer information program was developed in which transit ambassadors were deployed in the initial days to introduce customers to the service. The express route along Judah Street is served by a dedicated fleet of Gillig motor coaches painted with a distinctive blue stripe along its top. The N-Judah Express logo is fixed on the bus’s exterior to alert riders of its arrival along the route.

Political consultant and transit blogger Greg Dewar sees the new shuttle bus as a good effort.

“It’s a smart public relations move on the part of the SFMTA and worthy of some applause,” he said.

But, Dewar pointed out that a shuttle is only a short-term fix to Muni’s overall transit failures serving the avenues. Dewar, who lives in the Outer Sunset not far from La Playa, knows the frustrations of residents as they struggle to rely on a transit line that has been plagued with troubles for years. To document those troubles, Dewar maintains a blog on the Internet called “The N-Judah Chronicles.”

“This shuttle is really a hack solution. It was never mentioned in the Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP), which is estimated at a cost of $3 million,” Dewar said.

For more information about the Judah Express Shuttle, visit the website at http://www.sfmta.com or call 311.

Fight to Create Green Hairstreak Butterfly Habitat Continues

By Ryder W. Miller

In an effort to help create more habitat for butterflies in San Francisco, students from Hoover Middle School have been conducting habitat restoration in the Sunset District.

Kids In Parks has returned to Herbert Hoover Middle School for the fourth consecutive year to work on the Green Hairstreak Butterfly Habitat Restoration Project.

Much of the school work has been done during school days, but there has also been community work over the weekends. The site is at Hawk Hill, which is adjacent to Hoover Middle School, located at 14th Avenue and Rivera Street, on SF Unified School District property.

The primary goal of the project is to restore habitat for the Green Hairstreak Butterfly. The plan is to remove invasive plants and replace them with native species.

Nature in the City posts: “Discovered by modern science in the late 1800s from ‘the hills of San Francisco’ the Green Hairstreak (Callyphors dumetorum) is a small, nickel-sized butterfly isolated in three remaining remnant habitats within the City: Hawk Hill, the Rocky Outcrop overlooking the Sunset District and the coastal bluffs of the Presidio.”

“We are creating a native plant demonstration garden and an outdoor classroom,” said Jeffrey Brown, the lead organizer for the restoration project.

The educational aspect of the project is very important. Related topics include “watershed biodiversity,” “bird watching” and others.

Brown said the students present a Green Hairstreak Festival each spring, and maybe this year it will be open to the public.
Liam O’Brien, one of the compilers for the “San Francisco butterfly count,” said he thought the students should get credit for the work they have done.

“A truly wonderful amount of work has been done there,” O’Brien said.

Such projects can provide opportunities for students to learn things in non traditional ways by providing an impetus to explore a variety of disciplines. The project also teaches stewardship.

Sarah McConnico, the site steward at 14th and Pacheco, explained that it is important to note that even though they are active at sites during the winter months, they are careful not to disturb the sensitive areas, which are located around buckwheat. There is always the possibility that there are green hairstreak instars just below the surrounding leaf litter. Wikipedia posts that an instar is a developmental stage for arthropods, such as insects, between each molt (ecdysis) until sexual maturity is reached.
McConnico pointed out that it is this potential that gives them hope and propels them to move forward as stewards of the sites. They do their best to recreate the mosaic patchwork of upland dune communities that where present before urban expansion. McConnico said it is exciting when they are able to tell people about the butterfly and the habitat restoration that is going on right in their neighborhood. 



“We saw our first adult Hairstreak in the spring of 2010 at 14th and Pacheco. It was evident by the pristine nature of his wings. He had just emerged and was basking on a buckwheat leaf on one of the most blustery, cold days you could imagine for April. This glimmer of hope stands as an example of how it is possible to restore what has been lost and provide a habitat corridor for not only the Green Hairstreak, but other native biota that have been edged out,” McConnico said.

Signs have been ordered and the corridors being restored will allow butterflies to more easily fly from floral site to floral site in the City.

Assisting with numerous restoration projects in the City is SF Parks Alliance.

University to Decide Fate of UC Hall, Oldest on Campus

By Ed Moy

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) held a community planning workshop on Nov. 16 to discuss options for the re-development of the UC Hall site at the Parnassus Campus, including the potential for its retrofit and reuse.

According to UCSF, the original long-range development plan called for the demolition of UC Hall, both because of seismic safety requirements and to help bring the campus closer to its space ceiling, which – in addition to campus boundaries – was established by the UC Regents in 1976 to control growth at the campus.

The UC Hall structure is not up to current seismic standards for withstanding an earthquake, and if the building is to continue being used, it must be retrofitted to meet current seismic standards.

Since 1996, several surrounding buildings at the campus have been demolished, including the old central services, generator, heating plant, laundry storehouse, and medical research sites.

New buildings that have been erected or rebuilt include Aldea Housing, Aldea Center, Kirkham Child Care Center, Parnassus services building, central utility plant and Regeneration Medicine Building.

Built in 1917, UC Hall is the oldest building standing on the UCSF Parnassus campus. The building currently houses offices, labs, clinics and classrooms.

UC Hall currently stands as a six-story building located on the south side of Parnassus Avenue, between Third and Fourth avenues. It was constructed as UCSF’s first teaching hospital. The steel and concrete structure was designed in the Beaux-Arts style by local architect Lewis Hobart and originally occupied 141,700 gross square feet. Various additions to UC Hall, including an elevator tower on the west wing, have increased the overall building’s square footage to 146,900 gross square feet.

UCSF Community Relations Director Barbara Bagot-Lopez stated that a study group made up of members of the UCSF Community Advisory Group has been meeting with UCSF staff over the past several months to research, analyze and discuss various options, which will be made available for review during public meetings with the local community before decisions are made.

At this time, UCSF’s current timetable calls for further analysis with a developed “preferred plan” ready by the end of 2012, which would then be presented to the general public along with holding an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) scoping meeting. The project would move on to the release of a published draft EIR at the end of 2013 along with further public hearings, leading up to a published final EIR in 2014. Then, UC Regents would vote on the final EIR.

Issues surrounding the proposed retrofit and reuse of the site include financial costs, historical preservation value, seismic standards, traffic, energy and use sustainability, and future faculty office needs.
To be kept informed about UCSF projects, call 476-3206.

Supervisor Shines Spotlight on Muni’s Light Rail Service

By Ed Moy

Supervisor Carmen Chu addressed concerns over Muni light rail service in the Sunset District during a hearing at the SF Board of Supervisors’ City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee in October.
Chu said the hearing was productive because it included a review of performance data gathered on Muni light rail service for the N-Judah and L-Taraval lines between February and April of this year. Her office is analyzing the data.
Among the concerns Chu covered were the number and reasons for missed train runs, on-time performance, frequency and causes of train switchbacks, and how the SFMTA plans to address those issues.
Muni management claims it is working to alleviate or minimize disruptions to the public.
Chu pointed out that a key reason for delays along the N-Judah and L-Taraval lines is a recurring problem with malfunctioning stairs aboard the light rail trains coming out of the downtown tunnel to street level. She stated that repairs have been on-going to correct the stair problems.
She also stated that a lack of qualified Muni light rail operators will be addressed by SFMTA through the hiring and training of new operators.
Chu said the new N-Judah shuttle buses operating as a downtown express bus route have helped improve service during peak commute hours.
Earlier this year, Chu addressed the issue of Muni light rail train switchbacks, a policy of “short-turning or early turn-around” of trains headed to the Outer Sunset, with the City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee.
The early train turnarounds are a cause for concern for many elderly and disabled passengers, who are sometimes left stranded along the N-Judah line waiting for the next train to arrive in order to continue with their commute.
Other topics up for review included the bus service along 19th Avenue and Sunset Boulevard on Muni’s 28 and 29 bus lines.
Chu said Muni conducted an extensive analysis of the two bus lines to monitor on-time performance, frequency and passenger loads. The data compiled is being utilized to improve the service along both the 28-line and 29-lines, which run along the two major commute corridors linking the Sunset and Richmond districts.
Sunset and Parkside residents with Muni concerns can contact Chu at (415) 554-7460 or chustaff@sfgov.org.

Beach Preservation Plan Released

By Thomas K. Pendergast

The future of Ocean Beach is beginning to take shape and the first glimpse of it came when the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research association (SPUR) made its recommendations for a new Ocean Beach Master Plan at an Oct. 29 community workshop.

The recommendations include rerouting the Great Highway around the east side of the San Francisco Zoo, avoiding a section of the beach starting at the end of Sloat Boulevard that’s been eroding severely over the last few years. Both that intersection and the intersection at Sloat and Skyline boulevards would be completely reconfigured and that section of that Great Highway would be reduced to one lane in each direction with another lane between them for a turning lane.

If this draft of the plan moves forward, the Muni L-Taraval light rail line would be extended to a new terminus at the San Francisco Zoo.

The Great Highway would also be reduced from four lanes down to two starting at Balboa Street and running all the way south to Sloat. With the two southbound lanes no longer being used, the open space would be used for public amenities, like bathrooms, etc.

Parking along the beach would be revamped, with small pockets of parking distributed at key access points and the Zoo.

“With the road absent in the area immediately in front of the Zoo … we then get the opportunity to withdraw from the existing bluff’s edge, the existing revetments and so forth, and incrementally demolish the roadway, restroom and parking at Sloat and really pursue a managed retreat strategy,” said Benjamin Grant, program manager at SPUR.

Grant explained that the process for coming up with a new Ocean Beach Master Plan, which started in January, is now nearing the end.

“We are actually coming toward the end of the process,” said Grant. “We will take your input from these draft recommendations and work to develop a draft document by the end of the calendar year. There will then be a period in which that’s open for comment by the public and by all affected stakeholders and agencies and so forth. We will be trying to finalize that by the end of February of next year.”

The Army Corps of Engineers regularly dredges a section of sand from a sand bar off the coast of the San Francisco Bay to keep a large ship channel open. The Corps is planning to use that dredged sand to create sand dunes in the heavily eroded area, essentially sacrificing those artificial dunes to the ocean forces and hopefully taking pressure off the cliffs and bluffs to help preserve them.

“The dredged sand from that ship channel represents one of the major opportunities in terms of managing sand at Ocean Beach because that sand can be placed directly on the beach,” Grant said. “There’s a process underway with the Army Corps of Engineers to permit that and figure out a way to deliver a lot of sand right on the beach.”

Another issue is the sewage and utility infrastructure south of Sloat that is being threatened by erosion. Grant said the most visible part of this system is a wastewater treatment plant with most of its infrastructure below ground.

There is the Lake Merced sewage tunnel, a 14-foot-diameter sewage and storm drain pipe running from north to south though the bluff at about the same level of the nearby beach that’s being eroded.

There are also two transport boxes that handle water overflow from storms about where Lincoln Way ends at the beach and another where Wawona Street ends.

“The reason that’s so important is that infrastructure is also immediately adjacent to the coast and hence very, very threatened by the erosion that’s taking place,” said Grant.

There are also two bird species listed by the federal government as threatened that use the beach around that area as a breeding ground, the snowy plover and the bank swallow. The former uses the dunes for nesting while the latter burrows into the bluffs near the southern end of the beach.

Alma DuSolier, a principal landscape designer with AECOM, a consulting company advising the planners, said a balance between all these issues and the public’s desires for using the beach needs to be struck and this in turn requires public input and dialogue.

There is also the challenge of coordinating this plan with several different, local, state and federal agencies, including the city’s Department of Water and Power, California Coastal Commission, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and National Park Service, which runs the publicly-accessed areas of Ocean Beach.

“This is why we have a combined system of outreach, so there’s public events like this workshop, this is the third one that we’ve had,” said DuSolier. “We have a steering committee that has representatives from all the different agencies. We have a PAC, which is a planning and advisory committee that provides a lot of input at the staff level, gets into the details and keeps us in check. We’ve had a lot of work sessions with them that are separate from these public meetings. We also have input that we collect through the SPUR website.”

Grant added that the PAC includes representatives from advocacy organizations and local community group leaders.

Although most of the Lake Merced sewer tunnel is drilled through the hard material of the cliffs and bluffs near Fort Funston, some of it is not and instead it is covered with sand and therefore is especially vulnerable to further erosion, especially when rising sea levels due to global warming are taken into account.

For this section, SPUR is recommending the sewer pipe be covered by a cobblestone berm, which in turn will be covered with more sand by the Army Corps of Engineers.

“We would use a revetment made of softball-sized stones,” Grant said. “It’s excellent at diffusing wave energy but it also can move and can take shape according to the natural process.”

Cost estimates for the alternative, moving the entire pipe, run up to $160 million.

Battle over rooftop cell phone antennae near school

by Paul Kozakiewicz

A fight has erupted between two Jewish organizations over the installation of cell phone antennae.

The Lisa Kampner Hebrew Academy of San Francisco, located at 645 14th Ave., is an orthodox Jewish school with about 250 students, many of them immigrants from Russia and the former Soviet Union. It is located next to the Bureau of Jewish Education, a non-profit group that promotes Jewish education, promotes connections to Israel, and provides student scholarships.

The Bureau of Jewish Education wants to install six AT&T antennae on the roof of its building in fake chimneys to earn extra money and has applied to the SF Planning Commission for a Conditional Use Permit, which is scheduled to be heard Nov. 3.

When teachers, administrators, parents and students got wind of the plan, they organized to fight it.

According to Rabbi Pinchas Lipner, dean at the Hebrew Academy, two meetings with the leadership at the Bureau of Jewish Education failed to produce results. The Bureau claims the antennae are safe because scientists have been unable to make a solid link between electromagnetic radiation from cell phones and cancer or other health-related issues.

On Oct. 26 about 80 concerned people gathered at the Hebrew Academy to plot strategy.

“We’re up against tremendous forces,” Lipner told the crowd. “We have to tell them our lives are in danger.”

Numerous people volunteered to attend the Planning Commis­sion meeting to oppose the antennae and some said they would write letters, sign petitions and contact elected officials.

If the Planning Commission approves the permit, the group plans to take its appeal directly to the SF Board of Permit Appeals and/or the SF Board of Supervisors.

The Planning Commission was originally slated to hear the permit application at its Oct. 13 meeting, but that date was during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, which lasts eight days and restricts the ability of Orthodox Jewish people to drive or ride in vehicles.

When Lipner complained about the timing of the hearing, AT&T rescheduled it for early November.

According to David Waksberg, an AT&T representative, there are already two antennae located on the Bureau of Jewish Education and he did not anticipate any problems adding six more.

Lipner said he did not know there were already antennae on the roof of the building or whether or not he will pursue the removal of them. Because the agreement between the Bureau of Jewish Education and AT&T is private, it is unknown what the two parties have agreed to.

Mayoral Candidates Take On Park Issues

By Thomas K. Pendergast

In front of a standing-room-only crowd at a recent community meeting, most of the San Francisco mayoral candidates talked about two controversial proposals for the western end of Golden Gate Park that city government is advocating for.

There is a project by the SF Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), which wants to build a $152 million water treatment plant, in which partially-treated water from the Oceanside plant near the SF Zoo would be subjected to additional treatment before being distributed for non-potable irrigation uses in the park. The water would be used at the Golden Gate Park Golf Course and the California Academy of Sciences.

As well, the plan calls for the pumping of water from an underground aquifer to augment water the City gets from its Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.

Then there’s a proposal from the SF Recreation and Park Commission to install artificial turf and 60-foot-tall lights at the soccer fields near the Beach Chalet restaurant.

Both the water treatment and turf replacement projects are currently under environmental review.

“I would oppose the water plant,” SF Public Defender Jeff Adachi told the forum crowd. “It’s 40,000 square feet. It’s got 30-foot-tall walls. It’s got lights and it’s going to be owned by Homeland Security. That’s not exactly why we come to the park. In terms of the artificial turf and the soccer fields, I don’t think that it’s a good idea to have seven acres of Astroturf; I think that it should be grass.”

Many in the audience burst into applause at this and shouted their approval, although at least one person booed.

“I don’t favor having all these bright lights out there. This is Golden Gate Park. It’s not just a parking lot somewhere.”

Another candidate, Cesar Ascarrunz, said he used to play professional soccer.

“I hate artificial turf. You can kill yourself on it,” he said. “The 60-foot lights, it’s not very proper for Golden Gate Park. San Francisco is a tourist town. Tourists come because San Francisco is the most beautiful city in the world. Millions of people come to see Golden Gate Park. Artificial turf in the Golden Park, I don’t think so. It’s not healthy.”

San Francisco Supervisor John Avalos also expressed a dislike for the proposed artificial turf and lights.

“I’d feel like I was right smack dab in the middle of civilization. We certainly are a civilization, but we would lose a lot by having a park with lights on at night. That could cause a lot of glare for people who live in the area,” Avalos said. “I also don’t really think it’s a good idea to put an industrial use, the water treatment plant, within Golden Gate Park. I think we’d be losing a lot in terms of what the park has to offer.”

Terry Baum, the Green Party candidate, said the water treatment plant went against the goals of those who created the park and she also did not think the artificial turf was healthy for people.

“I have a report here that was done that summarizes the toxic effects of the artificial turf, potentially,” Baum said. “Some of it’s been proven, some of it’s not: severe irritation of the respiratory system, systemic effects on the liver and kidneys, irritation of the eye/skin, cancers, developmental affects. We need these kids to be playing on real grass.”

Board of Supervisors President David Chiu was approaching both issues with an open mind.

“I have a very healthy skepticism of both of these projects,” Chiu said. “With regards to the water treatment plant … I have serious questions about whether we want to put such a heavy-duty industrial use in our park. I’m going to be looking at the EIR (Environmental Impact Report) when it comes to us, through that lens.

“With regards to the soccer fields, I got to tell you, when I was a kid in elementary school I did play soccer as well. I was not a professional soccer player like my fellow candidate but I got to play on real grass. If we can find a real alternative, which is what an EIR is supposed to do, we should look at that very seriously.”

Former SF Supervisor Bevan Dufty did not directly answer the water treatment question but he supports the concept of artificial turf and said a parcel tax would be a good idea to pay for Rec. and Park needs.

“We passed park bonds to renovate our facilities but we don’t have staff at them,” Dufty said. “Now, I’m willing to have an honest conversation, and there’s not a lot of that when you run for office in this town, that we need to talk about a parcel tax dedicated for our Recreation and Park system. … I think we have a responsibility to either pony up and stand up and say you’ll support a parcel tax for the parks or step aside and let’s have fields that kids and young adults can play on because they need something positive.”

Former SF Supervisor Tony Hall, who is running as an independent candidate, joined the majority of the candidates in opposition to both proposals.

“I’ve got seven children. Five of them have gone through college on athletic scholarships. I was very careful as a parent to watch the surfaces they were playing on,” he said. “Cesar’s right. You can’t cut when playing soccer. You can’t curve. Your knees go out on you. And those growing ligaments, it’s so important to play on natural ground. In Golden Gate Park, artificial turf, are you crazy?

Hall would not pump water from the underground aquifer in the park. As a member of the Board of Supervisors Hall helped create a plan for raising the water levels at Lake Merced.

“I know all about water treatment plants. They do not have to pull water from the underground aquifer. In fact, the way we replenished Lake Merced was stopping the extraction of water from the underground aquifer.”

Entrepreneur and candidate Joanna Rees said she’s been canvassing the city in her election campaign.

“What I’ve heard loud and clear from all the neighbors is: ‘We don’t want big bright lights and we don’t want Astroturf.’ And these are the people we should be listening to and supporting,” she said.

“So much of this is due to how we budget because we don’t do bottom-up budgeting in San Francisco, where we go department by department to figure out what’s the investment we have to absolutely make, because we have to support critical services for the community, and what are some things that we’re funding that are no longer meeting their intended purpose and we should not continue to fund,” Rees said.

“There’s no reason in a budget of $6.8 billion, granted we’re a city and a county, for a city of 800,000 people, that we can’t afford to keep our parks and make great open spaces for all in our community,” Rees said.

Other candidates attending the forum, which was held at the Richmond Recreation Center on Sept. 19, included SF Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, state Sen. Leland Yee, SF City Attorney Dennis Herrera, SF Supervisor John Avalos, Public Defender Jeff Adachi, Paul Currier, and Wilma Pang.

Two candidates, Michela Alioto-Pier and SF Mayor Ed Lee, were invited to the forum but did not attend, citing previous commitments.

New Book about Playland at the Beach Covers Early Years

By Jonathan Farrell

Memories of Playland at Ocean Beach were alive and well as people gathered Aug. 30 to listen to historian and author James R. Smith talk about his new book, “San Francisco’s Playland at the Beach – The Early Years.”

The downstairs auditorium of St. Phillips Church on Diamond Street was filled almost to capacity as people from all parts of the City attended Smith’s presentation, sponsored by the SF History Association. Displaying old photographs of Playland from his book on a projector screen he pointed out the attractions, like “The Big Dipper,” “Ship of Joy,” “Dogem,” “The Chutes,” “Midway,”  “Topsy’s  Roost” and “The Fun House,” with old “Laughing Sal.”

“Trying to gathering information was not too difficult because everyone has so many memories of Playland,” Smith said.

When he was a kid, Playland was so much fun because it was a place for youth to roam and families could afford to go there with no worries financially because of the low cost of admission.

Smith explained that in the early years, before Playland became that special place to San Franciscans, it was simply referred to as “the concessions.” Concessions emerged in the 1880s as a series of beer stands and other attractions to draw people out to the beach on the weekends. The Cliff House and Sutro Baths were popular so the concessions were a welcome addition that grew and evolved over time.

The Great Earthquake of 1906 delayed the arrival of a carousel build by Loof & Sons. When Loof had a falling out with the owners of an amusement park in Seattle because they served alcohol, so he decided to remove their installation and replant it in San Francisco. By 1915, when the Panama-Pacific Exposition was celebrated, a full amusement park with a special carousel – “The Hippodrome” – was constructed.

San Franciscans were enjoying updated incarnations of The Chutes and other rides and in 1922 when “The Big Dipper” roller coaster was introduced with more than 3,000 feet of track. Eventually Loof and partner John Friedle let the amusement park be taken over by an enterprising concessionaire from the Midwest by the name of George K. Whitney.

Loof and Friedle remained in the background, with Friedle making regular appearances at events. Some rumors claim that Friedle had been swindled as there are no records of a sale. Yet, Smith mentions in the book that Friedle was upset by lawsuits because many accidents did happen back then. It is surmised that because of this fear of lawsuits, Friedle sought the help of Whitney and others. As the Great Depression hit, Whitney and his brother Leo purchased most of the land in the amusement park as individual concessions folded or were struggling.

By 1930, the amusement park had nearly 100 concessions and rides and was officially known as Whitney’s at The Beach. Yet it was advertised as “Playland at the Beach.”

People at the lecture had dozens of questions, all of which Smith was happy to answer, including: “Was there more than one “Laughing Sal? What happened to her?” Actually spelled as “Laffing Sal,” Smith said she had lots of sisters and even a few brothers, named Sam, all spelled with the name “laffing.”

Some in the audience were a bit disappointed because the book looks at the early years, not the later ones.

“This book is more about Playland before any of us here knew it,” said John Freeman. “We all remember the Playland from the 1940s until it closed in 1972.”

Many in the audience live or had lived in the Sunset and Richmond districts and have happy memories of the amusement park.

“While I have some good memories of Playland, I was strong-arm mugged for pocket change there when I was 12,” said former Richmond resident John Martini.

Playland’s glory days were gone by the 1960s. Larger venues, such as “theme parks” like Disneyland, lured people away from the local attractions and Playland fell into decay.

“The park was sold to a developer. At that time, the City didn’t care much about preserving its history,” Smith said.

Smith is preparing a follow-up book entitled “San Francisco’s Playland at the Beach: The Golden Years,” which is the Playland that most Baby Boomers remember.

For more information or to obtain a copy of “San Francisco’s Playland at the Beach – The Early Years,” go to the website at CravenStreetBooks.com.

George Washington High School to celebrate 75th anniversary

by Judith Kahn

Five hundred people are expected to attend George Washington High School’s (GWHS) 75th anniversary celebration on Oct. 15.
The school’s alumni association is working to make sure the event is a success. It will be held at the school, located at 30th Avenue and Anza Street.
Many events will take place during the gala celebration, which starts at 5:30 p.m. and runs through 9:30 p.m. One such event that will take place during this festive day is the variety showcase, where an all–star lineup of alumni will perform in the GWHS auditorium. Singing, dancing and comedy promises to be part of the repertoire. A reception before the performance will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
A long-time tradition of GWHS is to have a football game (Bell Game) the day prior to the anniversary. This year’s football game is to take place on Friday, Oct. 14, at 3 p.m., as the Washington Eagles take on a team from Abraham Lincoln High School.
Washington High School, a comprehensive high school built on a former rock quarry, opened its doors to the students of San Francisco on Aug. 23, 1936. It was designed by the distinguished architect Timothy Pflueger, who also designed the Castro and Paramount theaters among other well-known buildings in the City. Even though over the years many modifications have been made to the building, all changes have been faithful to the original intent of Pflueger’s design.
One third of the funding for Washington High School’s construction came from funding for public arts – Works Project Administration grants. One of the artists commissioned to create at the school was Victor Arnautof. His most notable works were his bas relief sculptures of Thomas Edison, George Washington and William Shakespeare, which are seen at the main entrance. His other works, located in the interior of the building, are murals entitled “The Life of George Washington,” which depicts scenes from the life and times of George Washington.
In the second floor library, there is an other mural produced by Lucien Labaudt, entitled “Advancement of Learning through the Printing Press.”
Washington High School’s Alumni Association, created in 1951, has 18 board members and is integral to the high school’s growth and development.
John Rothmann, a 1966 graduate, says what makes the alumni association work so well is that it is a team, with everyone committed to seeing Washington remain a comprehensive high school – where every student entering its halls has the right to an education to maximize his or her potential.
Tammy Aramian, a 1974 graduate, is vice- president of the association. Both Aramian and Rothmann have fond memories of their alma mater.
Rothmann remembers a school with great teachers, an outstanding administration and excellent student body. His principal, Ruth Adams, was the second women principal in San Francisco and of exceptional quality.
“She was confident, knew the students and faculty well, and knew how to laugh and to be of help,” Rothmann said.
At a time when there are drastic cuts in public education funding, Washington has been able to maintain a high academic standard and provide many extra curricular clubs for its diverse student body. In 2011, the school had a graduating class of 530, with a 96 percent college acceptance rate for those who applied.
Aramian credits both of these achievements to a dedicated staff and excellent administration, a spirited, diverse student body, and an active, committed alumni association. The goal is to see Washington remain a comprehensive school, which offers many extra curricular clubs for its diverse student body.
At Washington there are four types of endowment funds, each created to enhance the growth and development of students. If a contributor has a particular interest in science or English, they can donate money to the Departmental Endowment Fund, where the money will be used for that particular department. At present, there are departmental funds for English, science, social studies and visual and performing arts. Departments that do not have endowments are world languages, English language learners (formerly ESL), and special education and gifted student programs. There is also a student award endowment, which is given to a graduating student by a teacher’s recommendation. The money can be used for college.
In addition, students who meet departmental criteria can receive one of 20 awards at the end of the school year. Other awards, for leadership in specific areas and honoring seven of Washington’s former principals, are granted to seniors during commencement festivities.
There is also a permanent endowment fund, which provides money to individual teachers for classroom supplies or for taking courses to enhance their teaching skills.
As Washington High School approaches its 75th anniversary, it will continue to provide an educational experience for all students in both the academic arena and through its extra curricular activities.
At George Washington High School’s 75th anniversary celebration on Oct. 15 there will be a reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by a variety showcase at 7 p.m., classroom reunions at 8:15 p.m., and a concluding ceremony at 9:30 p.m. The cost for the event is $75 if paid by Oct 1. Participants can pay at the door on Oct. 15, but the cost is $80, payable by cash or check. The goal of the alumni association is to raise $75,000 for the event, so donations are currently being sought. For more information, visit the website at http://www.sfgwhsalumni.org or contact Tammy Aramian via e-mail at tammy@artamstudio.com.

Alumni and supporters can also shop at Fresh & Easy until Oct. 19 and ask that 5 percent of their purchase be donated to the Washington High School PTA. They can also turn their receipts from the store over to the PTA before Dec. 31 to get 5 percent of their sales donated to the school.