mural mania - studycentert he mounting pressure to res- urrect market street was evi-dent in a...

THE mounting pressure to res-urrect Market Street was evi-dent in a critical April memo-

randum the Mayor’s Office of Eco -nomic and Workforce Developmentmailed to the Central Market Com -munity Benefit District, accusing itof foot-dragging and being uncoop-erative in collaborative efforts tomake timely neighborhood im -prove ments.

The OEWD, which oversees allnine CBDs in the city, sent a single-spaced, nine-page memo to theCBD board April 6 that shocked atleast one board member at the April12 meeting at the Whitcomb Hotel.The memo reviewed the office’soverview of the CBD and its projectsthrough February. Major areas werefound lacking.

OEWD “is very concerned,” thememo said, that theinaction jeopardiz-es a $50,000 grantfor an expansion ofthe communityguides program tonorth Market Streetfor a six-monthpilot because theCBD didn’t raisethe $25,000 neces-sary for full fund-ing. OEWD wor-ried this would jinxfuture fundraising

for a permanent expanded guidesprogram.

“The CBD did not meet its con-tractual reports requirements for2008 and 2009” and didn’t submit its2010 annual report on time, either,the memo by Lisa Pagan, managerof CBD Technical Assistance, andAmy Cohen, Neighborhood Econo -mic Development director, said. Theletter said they had “received peri-odic complaints and requests forassistance from several OEWD andArt Commission staff working withthe CBD on a regular basis.”

CBDs are self-drawn districtswhose property owners voted topay an additional tax to support

S A N F R A N C I S C O

CENTRAL CITYno. 111

PUBLISHED BY THE

SAN FRANCISCO STUDY CENTER

MAY2011

‘ C R E A T I V E E N E R G Y ’

Mona Caron, above, is the artist who painted the mural that has become a community magnetand inspired a colorful film documenting the daily work and the people who became part of it.

Blunt letter detailsCBD shortcomings in revitalization effortB Y T O M C A R T E R

Mayor’s officechallenges theCentral Marketbenefit district

“The grantobligations …are not being

met.”Mayor’s officememo to CBD

PHOTO BY LENNY L IM JOCO

WHEN artist Mona Caron gotthe job from the Tender -loin CBD to paint a muralat the gritty intersection ofGolden Gate Avenue and

Jones Street, she thought the city’s poorestneighborhood didn’t need a work of art,assuming it was too snarled in survivalstruggles.

“Maybe it’s the last thing they need,”Caron said.

But then-CBD Manager Elaine Zamora,who chose Caron, believed a mural wouldbring something positive. Zamora was right.

The making of the mural was like alight to moths, drawing hundreds of peoplethroughout the year it was in production,helping to prime the walls and serving as adhoc technical advisers until finished inMarch 2010. For TL habitues, it was and isan enduring source of identity and pride,defining the neighborhood as never before.

Videographer and journalist PaigeBierma captured its creation and the livelyinteraction of its motley supporting cast in a22-minute film, “A Brush with theTenderloin,” a project that took her nearly

three years to finish.Bierma spent a year filming on the

street, a “heartening” experience, she calledit, with what outsiders consider invisiblepeople, “the homeless folks you step overor cross the street to avoid” and poor onesbarely keeping it together.

A print journalist for 15 years, five as anAssociated Press stringer in Mexico, Biermaturned to video five years ago. In 2010, shecame to film Caron’s sidewalk work a bitapprehensive because of headlines aboutcrime in the rough and tumble Tenderloin.She worried about being mugged and her$5,000 Panasonic camera stolen.

But the opposite happened. “Nobody threatened me or tried to steal

my camera,” she said. “And I was surprisedat how much creative energy there is: streetpoets, political revolutionaries, artists andmusicians. Rappers came and sang to usone day. It’s a strong community with arichness and action every day. It was aneye-opener for me, and I hope it is for theviewers.”

In the mural’s expansive streetscapepanels — one a serene scene of the future— are nearly 300 figures. One of them,“Indian Joe” Plamondon, with his cascading,below-the-shoulder black hair and trade-mark stovepipe hat, shows up twice.

“You see a lot of garbage graffitiaround,” Plamondon says, standing in frontof where the mural shows him loungingunder a street sign; elsewhere he is pushinga cart across Golden Gate Avenue. “But thisshows what the neighborhood is like andcan be — so people can see it and enjoy it.It tells a life story. And it opens up friend-ships when people see it and start talking to

➤ C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 6


New film showsZamora legacy a rallying pointfor communityB Y T O M C A R T E R

PACS BET BIGBUT LOSE INDISTRICT 6Sparks, Walker

get 93% ofcontributions

PAGE 4

MURAL MANIASIT/LIE A

NONFACTORIN THE TL

Police have yetto issue citation

PAGE 6

The Furniture Mart, 1355 MarketSt., future home of Twitter.

PHOTO BY LENNY L IM JOCO

2¢NOT ALLMERCHANTSENTHUSIASTIC

Market St.revival gets

mixed reactions PAGE 3

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their own street and sidewalk cleaning, graffitiremoval, community guides, beautification,music in public places and other enhance-ments. The diversity of projects sets the CBDsapart from traditional business improvementdistricts called BIDs. The Board of Supervisorsapproves each independent district, which isgoverned by a board of directors made up ofproperty owners, merchants and residents elect-ed from within the district’s boundaries.

The Central Market and Tenderloin CBDsare of particular importance as players nowbecause of the city’s Market Street makeoverand arts district push. In January 2010, MayorNewsom and OEWD began the Central MarketPartnership initiative in collaboration with theprivate sector to help the area revive.

ART IN STOREFRONTS DELAYEDThe memo complained that in 2009, OEWD

gave the CBD a grant to install 13 art works invacant storefronts along Market Street. But,because the CBD had gotten only one windowinstallation ready a month before the openingdate, OEWD had to push the Art in Storefrontsopening back six months. Then, when the CBDwanted approval of window content, the ArtsCommission offered it a seat on the artist-selec-tion committee. But the district’s first two choic-es for membership backed out. At the lastminute CBD Executive director Daniel Hurtadostepped in.

Another OEWD grant, $4,000, wentunclaimed because the CBD didn’t organize sixmeetings between merchants and landownersfrom both sides of Market Street. One meetingwas held. “The grant obligations … are notbeing met,” the memo said.

The memo caught the CBD directorsunawares.

“Some of these remarks are shocking,” saidboard member Ralph Lee. He turned to

Hurtado: “In the future, any recommendationsfrom OEWD, bring it to the board. I wonderedhow long this had been going on.”

David Fariello, one of three CBD executivecommittee members who approved Hurtado inhis annual performance review in December, saidthe issues “are making it hard to deal with OEWD.We need to be partnering with OEWD.” Hewished the memo had come to the board earlier.

“The highlights in the memo reflect myview (that we’re) not taking leadership roles inthe community,” Fariello continued. “We needto see what kind of leadership role we canhave.”

Hurtado said he was making “improve-ments,” but didn’t list them. His salary and ben-efits for 2010 were $82,000, according to theCBD’s expense report. His pay is comparable tothe TL CBD manager’s but with half the district’sarea and a fraction of the property owners.

“This (memo) hasn’t come about in arespectful way,” Hurtado added. It has “beenhurtful to me.”

HURTADO EXPLAINS“I’m the first to admit the failure in some of

these things that were brought up,” Hurtadosaid. “We need to set priorities and I need sup-port from the board. We’ve had no conflicts inthe four years I’ve been here. I love my board.But I didn’t know for a couple of weeks if I hadthe support of the board.”

He said the CBD has “done a lot with asmall budget of $535,000,” which is less thanhalf the TL CBD budget.

Word of the memo had spread and morethan a dozen visitors attended, a big crowd com-pared with most Central Market CBD boardmeetings. No one spoke against Hurtado.Several, who represented arts organizations thatget grants from the CBD, spoke favorably of him.

Mary Alice Fry from the Market Street Arts

➤ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Mayor’s office pushes Central MarketCBD to be major player in revival GOOD

NEWSfor... ART LOVERS Painting of the new mural on thePost Office at 101 Hyde St. starts this month, whilefive more will be unveiled May 13 on MarketStreet. The Post Office mural is a Tenderloin CBDproject by Johanna Poethig. The other five are partof Street SmARTS, funded by the Department ofPublic Works, and Art in Storefronts, a program ofthe San Francisco Arts Commission, to reinvigoratethe shoddy central Market district. The new cityprojects, which also include original art install-ments in six underused storefronts, will be cele-brated from 5 to 7 p.m. Mayor Ed Lee will attendthe festivities that begin at Gray Area Foundationfor the Arts at 998 Market St. with the unveiling oftwo murals. A Balinese ensemble, Gamelan X, willlead a procession up Market to U.N. Plaza, whereother entertainers will perform. The murals will beat 998 Market St. on the Taylor side of theWarfield, the Golden Gate side of Show Dogsrestaurant, the Strand Theater, the Merrill’s build-ing, and next to it, the Grant Building at Seventhand Market. The Street SmARTS projects and Art inStorefronts and will be on view through Aug. 13.The Post Office mural, which the CBD is fundingwith a $50,000 grant, will be permanent. Alsoshowing the CBD’s substantial investment inTenderloin beautification is the $63,000 MonaCaron mural two blocks away that was funded byanother grant to the CBD from the Mayor’s Officeof Economic and Workforce Development and theCommunity Challenge Grant Program. ■

— TOM CARTER


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2¢by Heidi Swillinger

Is Market Street on the way up?Asked of Market Street merchants between 5th and 9th streets.

Naomi Lucente, Marinello School of BeautyWithout question. We have a better quality ofbusinesses coming into the neighborhood. Anart museum just opened up, which is bringingmore culture into the neighborhood. If Twitterand Burning Man move in as well, it will be a much-needed face-lift to this amazing area.We just moved here from Mission Street, andas the flagship campus of our company,we’re very happy to be on Market Street.

Al Choi, Piperʼs JewelersThat’s a tough question. It seems like a lot

has been going on here lately, like renovatingbuildings. It would help if they’d make sure

the street is cleaner, and a night patrol would be good, too. But the main problem is

the condition of Market Street: There’s noplace to park. If they had diagonal parking

on Market, I’m sure it would bring the neighborhood up. It would bring people in

from other parts of the Bay Area – they wouldknow they had a nice safe place to park.

Muklis Marta, World of StereoI think it will improve the neighborhood. It can only get better.

Anonymous retailer, Market Street clothing storeDepends on how you look at it. From the city’s point of view, it’s probably good. But from the retailers’ point of view, it could be badbecause it will bring in a different type of clientele than shops herenow. They’re trying to get new people in and existing people out. Onthis street, you can only get certain types of businesses now. Theywant green businesses, and they want to get rid of the check-cashingspots. They want to get rid of businesses that serve low-income people.

Javier Lopez, Bay 1 FitnessI think it would be absolutely great to have a large-volume company like Twitter. Localbusinesses would appreciate and want toserve that type of clientele. That’s what wewant as our member base – we want to caterto the executives and work force of the area.

Erin Sherwood, Dolce and SalatoI think this area is overlooked and under-

appreciated. A company the size (of Twitter)moving in is a great jump-start. Places likethe Mission and the Haight have so much

foot traffic, which we don’t have here. I thinkthat’s why small businesses have been

hesitant to move in. Bigger companies mov-ing in is exactly what the neighborhood needs

– it will make people notice this area more.

Rami Keishk, KicksI hope it’s a start of being good. We need

more traffic here. It could be good for all thestores in the area – not just for me. But this

could raise our rents. That would be bad.Hope they don’t do that.

Festival and Lynne Valente of People inPlazas, CBD grantees, said they enjoyedworking with Hurtado.

Property owner Stan Herzstein saidthat when the CBD was formed he hadbeen “skeptical” it would work out. But it’s“much better than it was,” he said, espe-cially street security and cleanliness.Hurtado does a “fabulous job,” he said.“You should pat yourself on the back.”

The memo asked the CBD to step upand play a bigger role in resurrectingMarket Street and suggested it start withexpanding its Website to become the “on-line destination for Central Market.” Add alocal events calendar, create a video tourof the neighborhood and start promotingthe Central Market Arts District. It urgedthe CBD to consider merging with theTenderloin CBD and consider managing aSixth Street CBD, if one forms.

The $50,000 grant for communityguides to pacify the north side of Marketfrom Fifth to Ninth streets was the meet-ing’s most complex issue. The CBD districtruns that distance on Market on the southside with jogs north only on Mason for ablock and between Eighth and Ninth, andjogs south on Fifth and Eighth to Mission.

In September, OEWD told the CBD ithad a $50,000 grant for a six-month pro-gram to start in January, but it was for out-side the CBD’s district. In November,OEWD, Central Market CBD and MJMManagement Group — which trains andfurnishes the guides — met to discussdetails. The envisioned $75,000 budgetincluded $25,000 that Central Market wasexpected to raise from North of Marketproperty owners. Pagan said Hurtadoagreed to “update the CMCBD board andsolicit $25,000” and report progress toOEWD by Dec. 15.

OEWD heard nothing in December orJanuary from Hurtado, according to thememo. Pagan met with him in February toreview all CBD contracts and found thatproperty owners hadn’t “been asked direct-ly” for donations. Instead, Hurtado said hehad asked the Tenderloin CBD, whosebudget is twice the Central Market’s, if itwould contribute the money on behalf of

its Market Street property owners. “It is unclear,” the letter said, whether

Central Market ever got an answer from theTenderloin CBD in that strategy, which was“not agreed upon” at the November meet-ing. In any case, OEWD said, the TL CBDwas prohibited by its own rules from limit-ing a service to just one street instead ofdistrictwide, and also hadn’t provided forcommunity guides in its management plan.

The soliciting of north Market Streetproperty owners took Dina Hilliard, actingmanager of the Tenderloin CBD, by sur-prise. “This is the first I’ve heard of it,” shesaid from the front row. “I’m concernedabout the way this came down. Weweren’t involved.”

Hurtado said he called four North ofMarket property owners and they all said:Why should we kick in extra when we’realready paying? He said MJM had told hima six-month pilot lacked “momentum,” buta yearlong program, which Hurtado saidhe favored, would work.

The board asked Pagan, who was sit-ting in the back of the room, to come upfront to comment. She said her notes fromher February meeting with Hurtado dif-fered from his recollections.

“OEWD is not requiring the CBD to doanything,” she said. “We bring initiatives tothe table. All you have to do is say no. I’dappreciate a committee working with theOEWD. We go to the staff of every (bene-fit) district; we don’t go to the boards. TheCM/CBD is a major player. We don’t wantto force you to do anything you don’t havethe capacity for.”

O’Brien said she would turn the proj-ects listed in Pagan and Cohen’s memointo action items for the board at the nextCBD meeting, May 10.

The last agenda item before adjourn-ment was retaining legal counsel to repre-sent the CBD. The board voted to hireManatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP at $600 anhour.

Two days after the meeting, O’Brienresigned as president, and from the board,citing in a letter “professional and person-al obligations.” In a special, open meetingApril 19, the board elected Secretary DavidFariello, a property-owner representative,as president. ■

Central Market CBD on hot seat➤ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2


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Political action committees spend more than $425,000on Sparks’ and Walker’s campaigns, yet lose

REAL estate interests and labor organizations,using political action committees, a looselyregulated mechanism, were the biggest

spenders in the most recent election.PACs contributed more to four campaigns for

supervisor in District 6 than the district’s 14 candi-dates combined received from any other sources,$439,773 or more than 35% of the $1,243,882 totalcandidate spending in the November election.

Citywide in the four supervisorial races, PACfunding, one of three funding mechanisms availableto campaigns, totaled $1.5 million, meaning District6 candidates got more than their share, nearly 30%of PAC money spent citywide in the 2010 races.

PACs operate under a different set of rules thanindividual contributors, and sometimes featureextravagant and loosely regulated spending. Record-keeping and filing requirements are such that track-ing PACs requires a lot of time and tenacity. TheExtra’s numbers come from Ethics Commission cam-paign filings through Jan. 31, 2011, the candidates’and PACs’ final report deadline.

WHY SPECIAL INTERESTS LIKE PACSA key aspect of PAC campaign financing is that

there is no limit to how much individuals, corpora-tions and special interests can spend trying to influ-ence voters through a committee. Candidates areallowed to take no more than $500 from an individ-ual, but that same person contributing to a PAC isfree to spend $5,000 — or even $45,000 — to boosta candidate or tear down a rival. In District 6’ssupervisorial campaign, two individuals spent exact-ly those sums.

Former Mayor Willie Brown donated $5,000 toNew Day for SF, a PAC that raised $30,200 to sup-port Jane Kim, the winner. And real estate mogulThomas J. Coates, the city’s top PAC contributorwho also chucked in six figures in District 2, gave$45,000 to support Theresa Sparks. Neither Brown

nor Coates returned The Extra’s calls to ask whythey care so much about District 6 and why theybacked their respective candidates.

Of the four District 6 candidates with PACmoney, Sparks and Debra Walker combined took inmore than $425,000 in funds from a dozen PACs.winner Kim got 7% as much from a single PAC.Contrast this, too, with what all 14 District 6 candi-dates received in direct contributions — $401,230 —and in city matching funds — $403,163 — that justsix candidates qualified for: James Keys, Kim, JimMeko, Sparks, Walker and Elaine Zamora.

State election law insists PACs operate inde-pendently of the candidates they support — oroppose. If the candidate or candidate’s staff partici-pates in “making any decision about the content,timing, location, mode, intended audience, distribu-tion, or placement of the communication” — a hitpiece, for instance — it is deemed a campaign con-tribution, and thus can’t exceed $500.

But a PAC — which can be, and sometimes is anindividual — is allowed to interview the candidateon issues affecting the PAC, obtain campaign mate-rial from the candidate or candidate’s “agents,” orinvite the candidate to make a presentation to themor their “employees, shareholders or family,” provid-ed there’s no discussion about the expenditures tobe made on the candidate’s behalf.

WILLIE BROWN NO. 2 CONTRIBUTORNew Day for SF, to which former Mayor Brown

chipped in $5,000 — making him the second-largestindividual contributor in District 6 — ran afoul ofthose rules early on, when its treasurer listed aphone number for Left Coast Communications asthe PAC’s contact number in Ethics Commission fil-ings. Left Coast was Kim’s campaign consultant, thusprohibited from PAC activity on her behalf.

The fourth and final District 6 supervisorial can-didate to get PAC support was Keys, on whosebehalf the Coleman Action Fund for ChildrenCommittee spent $284. Coleman sent the sameamount to Walker and Kim in District 6, to four

Board of Education candidates and to supervisorialcandidates in Districts 8 and 10 as well.

PAC money flowed freely in District 2. In mid-October, Coates coughed up $141,000 for a PACcalled “Common Sense Voters San Francisco 2010,Vote for Mark Farrell for District 2 Supervisor.” Thisis the same Coates who in 2008 gave $1 million tostate Prop. 98, a losing bid to repeal rent control.

Another big Common Sense PAC benefactor wassocialite fundraiser Dede Wilsey, who, city EthicsCommission records show, shelled out $50,000 tohelp beat Farrell’s rival Janet Reilly.

Final Common Sense filings show numerous five-figure expenditures for campaign materials opposingReilly, as well as a $5,000 contribution that was fun-nelled to the “San Francisco Republican CountyCentral Committee Political Party Committee.”

Reilly got the most first-place votes, but Farrellwon his seat on second- and third-choice voting.

REAL ESTATE INTERESTS WENT FOR SPARKSIn District 6, real estate interests went for Sparks.

Coates’ $45,000 contribution to her cause was madethrough the Alliance for Jobs and SustainableGrowth PAC, which raised an additional $45,000 forSparks from the Building Owners and ManagersAssociation of San Francisco. The Alliance ultimate-ly spent $176,800 in a fruitless attempt to persuadeDistrict 6 voters to support the Human RightsCommission executive director. This PAC also spent$193,199 on District 8 winner Scott Wiener and$184,303 on District 10 also-ran Steve Moss, publish-er of the Potrero View. Coates gave $10,000 to thePAC for Wiener and $45,000 for Moss.

Another PAC that went to bat for Sparks was theCoalition for Sensible Government, funded by theSan Francisco Association of Realtors, which shelledout more than $30,000 for Sparks — and nearly$60,000 for Wiener.

PACs supporting Walker tended to be labor-ori-ented. The Friends Supporting Debra Walker PAC

BY MARK HEDIN AND JONATHAN NEWMAN


DISTR ICT 6


got $55,000 from the San Francisco Labor Council,$26,628 from the California Nurses Association and$50,660 from another PAC, Standing Up to Save SF,whose executive director, Tim Paulson, is also exec-utive director of the S.F. Labor Council. At presstime, Paulson had not returned The Extra’s calls.

The world of PAC financing, however, is amurky one. Ethics Commission staff say they need amore powerful computer system, which they can’tafford, to effectively parse the massive electronicfiles and pounds of paper that constitute campaignfunding reports. There are various filing deadlinedates throughout the campaign, so a sizable PACmight have to file 300 or more pieces of paperpacked with names and numbers.

As an example, The Extra set out to determinewhat the smallest PAC that contributed to District 6candidates — the Coleman Action Fund for ChildrenCommittee — did with the $852 it reported spend-ing in District 6.

The Extra called the nonprofit ColemanAdvocates for Youth, which had formed this PAC. Astaff member said all the candidates had been senta questionnaire about how they stood on variousballot issues, and from those results the PAC print-ed a postcard listing the candidates who supportedits stand on those issues. Then the PAC apportionedan equal share of the cost of that postcard to eachcandidate listed on it. Coleman didn’t endorse anyof those candidates, the staffer said. To have learnedthis from Ethics Commission documents, however,would have required sorting through nearly 100separate Coleman filings.

ETHICS STOPS KEEPING TRACKEthics Commission oversight of the PAC filings

diminishes greatly once the election is over. Ethics’final reports on the election document only spend-ing reported through early November, though manyPACs continue to settle accounts and file reports onthose transactions through the end of the year. Inthe cases of PACs that will live on to fight in futureelections, the book-balancing continues even now.

Various PACs also transfer money betweenthemselves. For instance, Friends Supporting DebraWalker listed a $7,000 contribution to a PAC called

“Teachers, Nurses, Muni Riders,Neighbors and Working Families sup-porting Mandelman for Supervisor 2010sponsored by labor organizations” thatwas primarily concerned with theDistrict 8 race. But, in turn, filings showthat this PAC made a nonmonetarycontribution of consulting and $1,000worth of election-week “field organiz-ing,” a total value of $3,634.07 toFriends Supporting Debra Walker andthe Walker campaign itself.

Similarly, the Alice B. ToklasLGBT Democratic Club shows up inEthics Commission filings as both aPAC, funding Sparks to the tune of$15,000, and as the recipient of fundsfrom other PACs: $1,000 from theBuilding Owners and ManagersAssociation and $5,000 from theAlliance For Jobs and SustainableGrowth’s Sparks account.

Much campaign money isn’t spentin San Francisco. The Alliance for Jobsand Sustainable Growth, for instance,reported paying almost $26,000 toStanford Campaigns, an Austin, Texas,company, for polling and surveyresearch. New York’s BenensonStrategy Group is still owed $4,600 ofthe $27,600 of work it did for theAlliance, according to filings of Jan.31. The PAC did, however, send$10,000 to San Francisco UA Local 38Plumbers and Pipefitters, apparentlyfor office expenses.

New Day for SF, in supporting Kim, raised$30,200 — including $2,500 in free rent — andspent $27,951. About $8,000 of that went to SaraPowell, owner of a Mission District art/music/poetryvenue called Kaleidoscope Free Zone, for “fieldwork” and almost $10,000 went to Li Chang Yu forvoter registration.

Besides Brown’s $5,000, New Day also got$5,000 from attorney Steven Kay, who has represent-ed the 49ers, a group trying to purchase the OaklandA’s, and numerous sports stars. His firm, Kay andMerkle, has offices adjacent to Brown’s. San

Franciscan Florence Kong, president of Kwan WoIronworks, gave $2,500. Peter Bosma and AlastairMcTaggart, both of the prominent SoMa buildersEmerald Fund, each contributed $2,000. UrbanRealty principals David Rhoades and Martin Sawa,the driving force behind the proposed mid-Marketretail showcase CityPlace, together gave $1,500.Lawrence Lui, president of the Stanford Hotels Corp.,gave $1,000; Dublin’s Kho Corp. and San Francisco’sElectric Current Construction each kicked in $1,000.Henry Karnilowicz and the South of Market BusinessAssociation supplied the free rent. ■

PAC contributions to District 6 supervisoral candidates

Four of the 14 candidates received a total of $439,773 from13 different PACs.

Theresa SparksAlice B. Toklas Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club $15,012Alliance for Jobs and Sustainable Growth $176,800Coalition for A Safer California $12,715Coalition for Sensible Government $33,619San Francisco Coalition for Responsible Growth $500 TOTAL: $238,646

Debra WalkerAffordable Housing Alliance $1,172California Nurses Association $9,990Coleman Action Fund for Children Committee $284Friends of Debra Walker $149,514Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club $5,159San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee $606Teachers, Nurses, Muni Riders $3,634TOTAL: $170,359

Jane KimColeman Action Fund for Children Committee $284New Day for SF $30,200TOTAL: $30,484

James KeysColeman Action Fund for Children Committee $284TOTAL: $284

Source: S.F. Ethics Commission

Willie Brown gives $5,000 to Kim; Sparks gets $45,000 from rent control foe➤ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4


others about it.”Indian Joe is a main character in the film

and part of “the most lively and interestinginteraction” Caron says she’s had in 12 yearspainting street murals. Every day people cameup to her to ask technical questions, or to blurtout “what is this?” before realizing it was theirneighborhood appearing before them. Thenasking, “Can I be in it?”

“People were open and willing to share,”Caron said, who recently completed murals inBolivia and San Mateo. “I learned a lot. There

are nearly 300 people in it. I tried really hardto get everyone in but I just had to stop. It wasnever-ending. Maybe I’ll come back and addsome more someday.”

Caron says that as she painted she becamea “slow motion performance act” watched dailyby a “Greek chorus” — the food line from St.Anthony’s Dining Room across the street.

In a film preview on the Internet, The Extrasaw the community enthusiasm grow as scenesand characters developed and whimsy like apassing antic bicyclist were added to the twowalls on the northeast corner. BesidesPlamondon, other neighborhood characters

getting prime time are kitemaker Jeff Marshall,the ever-present Didi Crane and HueyNewton’s grandson Richard Rice.

While Bierma’s lens catches most of thecharacters in lively sidewalk talk — includinga comically staggering pair of arm-in-armsinging drunks — she takes us into Marshall’scramped SRO room in the Boyd Hotel justacross the street where he constructs colorfulkites and lets him tell his story of being home-less and strung-out. In the mural he’s a lonefigure atop the Boyd, flying a kite.

One of Bierma’s favorite scenes is whenCaron discovers that an unprotected part of the


Caron mural a showcase for characters

THE hand-smacking sit/lie ordinance thatgrew out of troubles the Haight-Ashburycops couldn’t solve doesn’t appear to be

used much by Tenderloin police or by com-plaining residents in the neighborhood wherehundreds of people hang out on sidewalks,some to escape the tight confines of their SROrooms.

The “Civil Sidewalks” law voters passed inNovember became effective Dec. 17. But offi-cers had to undergo a special training on itscomplexities, so enforcement didn’t begin untilMarch 1.

Tenderloin police have yet to write a sit/liecitation, according to TL Capt. Joe Garrity.

The law prohibits sitting or lying on side-walks, or on objects on them, between 7 a.m.and 11 p.m.

A spot check by The Extra of three police

districts for the week of April 16-22 showedthat the Tenderloin had just four “calls for serv-ice” from people phoning in for suspectedsit/lie violations; Southern District, whichincludes Sixth Street, had 25; and Park District,which includes the Haight, had 30.

“Four to five is about normal for us,”Garrity said.

Police only keep calls for service in eachdistrict, said Lt. Troy Dangerfield, SFPDspokesman. “There is no breakdown of arrests,

City’s new sit/lie law has yet to yieB Y T O M C A R T E R

Left: “Sarge” Hayesis a regular on JonesStreet and was achatty presence inthe film. Center: A dreamcame true for “IndianJoe” Plamondon,center left, becauseof the mural. Withhim in the 107.7radio studio arecameraman MichaelDunston, rock starAlice Cooper and themural’s videographerPaige Bierma.

These photosdepict people onTenderloin sidewalkswho could possibly besubject to the city’snew sit/lie law. Policehave yet to cite any-one in the neighbor-hood under this law.

PHOTO BY TOM CARTER


mural has been defaced. Near the image of aprowl car, in the street, was scrawled: FUCK.Caron, obviously hurt, says as she paints overit that she was warned this might happen.What Bierma’s camera catches next is the out-rage of Caron’s sidewalk supporters, who feelinsulted that someone would so diss theirneighborhood. “They take ownership (of themural),” she says.

In the 14 months since the mural was com-pleted, Plamondon estimates, 10 of the 300depicted have died.

Out of this project, too, grew Indian Joe’sonce-in-a-lifetime experience of meeting rock

star Alice Cooper, one of his favorites eversince a friend years ago drew imitative blacklines down from his eyes. When Plamondonheard that Cooper was going to play theWarfield last year he was beside himself. Brokethough he was, he turned food stamps into aticket. But the real surprise for the ShuschwapCanadian Indian was when Bierma took him toradio station 107.7 on Hawthorne Street inSoMa to meet Cooper.

“You know the first thing he said when hesaw me?” Plamondon says. “ ‘Am I looking intoa fuckin’ mirror?’”

Their videoed meeting made the film, but

not the language. The year of filming “was a good experi-

ence — both ways,” Bierma says. “A Brush with the Tenderloin” may have an

afterlife. Bierma intends to enter it in the EastCoast’s Silverdocs festival, the San FranciscoInternational Shorts Festival, Mill Valley FilmFestival and possibly others. ■

and source of pride for the community

PHOTOS BY LENNY L IM JOCO

citations or warnings per district.”That same week citywide there were no

sit/lie arrests, but six citations and 49 “advise-ments” — warnings to move or the cops cancome back and cite you. But nobody can becited without first being warned in writing.

“Every case is different,” Garrity said. “Itcould be medical, or drunk or a number ofthings. Having experience helps. ”

The law has eight exceptions that Garritywants the public to know. Most are obvious:

prostrate people needing medical attention,folks in wheelchairs, customers at outdoorcafes, people attending performances, parades,demonstrations and so on, sitting on street fur-niture, sitting in line for goods and services (ifnot impeding pedestrians), children in strollersand folks lounging in a Pavement to Parksproject.

The first offense is an infraction. If convict-ed, a fine ranges from $50 to $100 and/or com-munity service. Incurring a second citation

within 24 hours is a misdemeanor and a con-viction brings a $200 to $300 fine and/or com-munity service, and/or up to 10 days in jail.Anyone cited within 120 days of a conviction,and is then found guilty of the misdemeanor,faces a $400 to $500 fine, and/or communityservice, and/or up to 30 days in jail.

In Garrity’s weekly community newsletterhe offers to furnish anyone a summary of thelaw and a page of FAQs. ■

eld any citations in the Tenderloin

“A Brush with the Tenderloin” will beshown May 13 at 3:30 p.m. and at 8 p.m.in suite A at 134 Golden Gate Ave. Q andA’s with Bierma will follow.

Top: Marvin Debowand his wifeDavonne are elatedto be in the mural.He points to theirspot in the painting.Photos far left andright are by PaigeBierma. Center photocourtesy of FM RadioStation 107.7

RAYMOND DYER‘A good brother’

There was no shortage of tears atCoast Hotel the crisp, sunny afternoonof Feb. 23 as more than 30 friends andrelatives gathered to rememberRaymond “Ray Ray” Dyer, a fun-lovingresident of the hotel who’d died theweek before at age 54.

“(He was) always smiling andlaughing about everything. Fun to bearound. … He was very easy tobefriend, loved his grandchildren,” fel-low Coast resident, Cindy, said.Turning toward Mr. Dyer’s family, shesaid, “I know all about you. Y’allmeant the world to him.”

Jeffrey, another Coast tenant,addressed the family: “I know yourbrother real good, too. He just lost $20trying to bet me with the Rams. … Hehad his ways, everybody do. …There’ve been so many deaths, I don’t

go to all of these, but I had to go tothis one. Ray was a good brother.”

“He was a flirt, we’re gonna misshim a lot. He was a big spirit in thisbuilding,” Diane Correa, case managerat the hotel, said. “Some we get closerto than others; Ray was one of theones we didn’t have a choice, he’d justwalk into the office and start tellingjokes.”

“He was a protector of the weak,”said a nephew, who also cited Mr.Dyer’s love of family and efforts to doright, before breaking down in tears,unable to continue.

Person after person testified to Mr.Dyer’s love of family and high spirits,and of his love of food — “Ray Ray’sribs” and Benihana were mentioned.Ronald Dyer, his older brother, alsorecalled his brother promising to takehim to dinner, and doing so – atGlide.

“He wasn’t necessarily the bestman I ever knew, but he was the bestbrother I ever had.

“I guess all you guys know Raycould make you laugh and piss youoff in 60 seconds. He’d get real mad,but five minutes later it was on to thenext thing,” his brother recalled. “He’dalways do the right thing when it wastime.”

Mr. Dyer had been a doorman atHoliday Inn, a courier and a hotelshuttle driver. He had a number ofhealth problems and was a longtimedrug user and drinker as well. He’dhad a collapsed lung, and “probablyhad a heart attack,” his brother said.

Mr. Dyer had attended PatrickHenry Elementary School, EverettJunior High and Mission High. RonaldDyer remembered their childhood onPotrero Hill, and escapades such as

one night when Ray snuck out thewindow. “He went out with a naturaland came back with a conk” — andacted surprised when someonenoticed his new look at the breakfasttable the next morning.

As a young man, he’d played thetrumpet and liked Tower of Power,James Brown and the Temptations.“He thought he was one of them,” hisbrother recalled. “He wore whiteshoes, the hair, did the dance steps.”A band he played in cut a now all-but-forgotten 45 rpm single. Before mov-ing to the Coast, he’d lived at theHenry Hotel on Sixth Street for 19years.

“He lived a full life,” his only child,Ashaunti Redd, said as she thankedthe gathering “for being his family.”“I’m going to miss him a lot. I talkedto my Dad all the time. Dad didn’twant to get off the phone a lot oftimes.”

Also attending, besides his broth-er, daughter and nephew, were hisgrandsons Joshua Raymond West,Brandon West and LeAndre Thomasand granddaughters Jasmine West,Aryana Redd and Tianna West. Mr.Dyer is also survived by two sisters,Antoinette Lewis and Lillian Freeman.

“He was just like an uncle to me,”said Daniel Coffman, who lived a cou-ple of doors down from Mr. Dyer. “Wewould always look at the footballgames; sometimes I would cook.” ■

— MARK HEDIN

JAMES “PETE” LANEHandled intense pain well

James “Pete” Lane was a courte-ous, cultured man who lived withgreat pain, and took great pains toshow his appreciation for the help he

sometimes needed. This was the col-lective memory of those who attendedhis memorial service Feb. 23 at theHamlin Hotel.

“He wouldn’t let us know that hewas in pain, just that he was strug-gling,” said resi-dent and care-giver CassidyBlonsky, whoknew Mr. Lanefor the last sixmonths of hislife. “He didn’twant to burdena n y b o d ybecause it wasburden enoughto him.”

Mr. Lane, who moved into theHamlin in 1992, was 56 when he diedFeb. 19. He was born Feb. 3, 1955, inAlabama. He studied political scienceat Emory University in Atlanta andplanned to become a lawyer.Ultimately, however, he worked inmenswear at San Francisco depart-ment stores, helping fit clothes.

“He loved that,” his friend, RichieCarlson, recalled. “He always talkedabout that — and history. He was avery smart man, liked to tell jokes.

“He was great. He had a lot ofconditions that made it hard for him todo much, but he handled it with a lotof grace. He asked for a lot of help,but cared about being independentand didn’t want to burden anybodyelse.”

Mr. Lane struggled with cancerthat had reached his bones and wasmostly bed-ridden in his final years.Pearl Durmas, who knew him for


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CMCBD Board of Directors MeetingsSecond Tuesday of Every Month, 3-5 p.m.,

Hotel Whitcomb, 1231 Market Street, Second Floor

The Central Market Community Benefit Corporation (CMCBC) is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) community-based organization formed in 2006 to

provide programs and services to improve the quality of life experienced in the public realm of San Francisco’s Central Market Community

Benefit District (CMCBD)

All CMCBD Meetings are open to the public.Help us create a clean, safe and inviting Central Market.

Get connected to the Central Market Community Benefit District (CMCBD).

All CMCBD meeting notices and agendas available at the

San Francisco Public Library and at www.Central-Market.org.

Learn more about the CMCBD’s Board of Directors Meetings and Committees,

and how you can get involved.

415 957 5985 | www.central-market.org

All CMCBD M ti

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Hotel Whitcomb, 1231 Market Str

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CMCBD Board of Directo

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OBITUARIES

➤ C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 9Raymond Dyer

James Lane

more than a decade in her work as adesk clerk and case manager at thehotel, said that Mr. Lane would get outinto the neighborhood using his walk-er and wheelchair, taking cabs towhere he needed to get, spend timelounging in the hotel’s communityroom, or receive guests and fellowhotel residents in his second-floorroom at the Hamlin after rebreakinghis shoulder. He was hospitalized atCal Pacific Medical Center on Feb. 17and died there two days later.

John Franklin of the CommunityHousing Partnership said Mr. Lanewas an Alabama University fan andthat, as an Auburn fan himself, theyenjoyed a lot of friendly banter overcollege football.

“As much as I’m sad about it, Ikinda feel like he was ready,” RomaEisenstark said. “He seemed a lotmore peaceful, accepting.”

Others who knew him recalled aman who displayed plenty of spark.One hotel resident, Mary Mathews,said Mr. Lane was “always sending meto get Miller Genuine Draft.”

He’d made a lot of friends at aLarkin Street bar. One of them, John,was in daily contact, either by phoneor through frequent faxes. “Everymorning on his fax machine, Johnwould have sent a poem or some-thing,” Carlson said.

“He was a great guy,” Durmasrecalled. “He would have his momentsand he would call, saying, ‘Pearl, Ineed this done today. T-O-D-A-Y,’today!’ I still get laughter, joy fromthat. But he would always make thatextra effort to let you know he wasthankful and appreciative. He was a

wonderful tenant.”Durmas also took care to speak

for Mr. Lane’s custodian Sunny, whocouldn’t attend the memorial. “She istaking it really hard. She’s really kindof torn up right now.”

Mr. Lane is survived by a brother-in-law. He lost his sister about threeyears ago, Carlson said.

“He had a painful life,” Blonskysaid. “He could handle pain and hewas really tough and he went througha lot of stuff. He’s probably feeling themost peace he’s felt most of his life.” ■

— MARK HEDIN

SAUNDRA CASIMERETelephone operator

Head-strong Saundra Casimerepulled a “great escape” in her finalmonths so she could be at home inthe Alexander Residence with peoplewho loved her.

The mother of two and formertelephone operator got the news thatshe had terminal cancer in Decemberwhen she was bedridden at S.F.General. She couldn’t stand thethought of wasting away in the hospi-

tal. So she plotted her escape withhotel social worker Betty Duran.

Duran told three dozen mournersat Ms. Casimere’s memorial April 7that she was concerned about liabilityissues if Ms. Casimere just left the hos-pital in her condition and came backto the Alexander. But Ms. Casimereassured Duran she would have a care-giver and her daughter to see herthrough to the end. So Duran had awheelchair and a taxi waiting Dec. 23for what she called Ms. Casimere’s“great escape.” But it was with herdoctor’s consent, of course.

Ms. Casimere received threemonths of attention from BillieValbuena, her longtime caregiver, hos-pice folks and her daughter, KellyMarie Noss, who lives at theAmbassador Hotel a block away andvisited her every night. Ms. Casimeredied March 27. She was 70.

“She was cantankerous, self-suffi-cient and stood her ground,” said Rev.Michael Peterson, a resident whoknew Ms. Casimere all 22 years shelived at the hotel. “And she was mydear friend.”

“She could kick ass with the bestof ‘em,” piped up a neighbor, drawinga ripple of laughter.

A dozen mourners, many longtimeresidents, told what a wonderfulfriend Ms. Casimere had been, sharingher experiences, listening to othersand mixing in her good sense ofhumor. Valbuena said Ms. Casimerehad become her best friend; they usedto joke that they were so close it waslike they were “married.”

Peterson “glorified” Noss for herdedication to her mother.

Noss was seated in front with herbrother, Vince, near a table holding

five bouquets and a cardboard panelon which were mounted photos ofMs. Casimere, some from her hippiedays in the 1960s, others of her withher two grandchildren.

Rev. Glenda Hope, who conduct-ed the memorial, said it was a tributeto Ms. Casimere and the residents thatthey are a strong community holdingeach other in high regard.

Ms. Casimere was born inMissouri, came to Sacramento as a lit-tle girl and at 21 arrived in SanFrancisco. She worked eight years as aMark Hopkins Hotel operator in the1970s. Her daughter said she wasgood at crafts, especially making sandcastles at the beach. Ms. Casimere’solder brother, Max Green, precededher at the Alexander. He died there inthe late 1980s.

The memorial opened with gui-tarist Gaudioso Galicia accompanyingthe group’s singing of “How GreatThou Art.” At the end, the mournerssang “Amazing Grace” and a Filipinohymn, “We Will Never Forget You.”The TNDC-owned Alexander treatedeveryone to cookies and snacks. ■

— TOM CARTER

DONALD HANDGlide volunteer

The William Penn Hotel communi-ty room overflowed with 50 mournerswho remembered Donald Hand, anexemplary man who extended hishelping hand to everyone and was alongtime Glide Memorial UnitedMethodist Church volunteer.

Mr. Hand, known as Donnie, devot-ed the last 15 years of his life to feedingand caring for the poor as a Glide vol-


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OBITUARIES

➤ C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 1 0Saundra Casimere with her granddaughter.


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unteer. He loved music, had a rich bassvoice and sang in the Glide Choir.

“Among our 12,000 members, hewas an integral part of the church,”said Glide pastor Donald Guest, whobrought condolences from Glide Revs.Cecil Williams and Douglas Fitch whowere ill at home. “I knew him fouryears. And he volunteered every dayhe was able.”

Good deeds, Guest said, are likepebbles dropped in a pond, sendingout eddies of good will, and Mr. Hand“made quite a ripple.”

In October, Mr. Hand began tosuffer a series of heart attacks over sixmonths. He died March 31 of conges-tive heart failure in Bruns House hos-pice in Alamo. Mr. Hand was 60.

Twenty of Mr. Hand’s relatives —brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces andgrand nephews — attended thememorial conducted by Buddhistpriest Jana Drakka. A dozen mournerslit incense and everyone sang threeverses of “Amazing Grace” beforesharing their memories.

Mr. Hand was born in Oakland,eldest of three brothers who hadseven sisters. Family members said hetook on the role as family protectorand would fight anyone, “especiallywhen it came to his sisters.” Hemoved to San Francisco in the 1980sand into the William Penn in 2003.

Mr. Hand helped start the hotel’srecycling program, a woman said. Themoney from bottles and cans left in thelobby and around the SRO he donatedto Glide’s children’s programs.

He was “the eyes and ears” of thehotel, someone said.

“He helped us when we needed

help,” said Nancy, a resident. “I lovedhim and my husband loved him.”

“He was always the first one tosay, ‘Can I help?’” Roberto Mejia,hiscounselor, said. “He wanted to touchpeople.”

Margaret Dagovich, another coun-selor, had taken him to the hospital.She described him as “stubborn” but“a beautiful man with a heart of gold.When he found you needed help hesaid, ‘I can do this.’”

Mr. Hand’s nephew, Mike Mills,said: “I see how much you loved myuncle Donald. I remember even whenI was a little kid how he could put asmile on your face. I loved him.”

Mr. Hand kept his illness from hisGide friends until his massive heartattack, the family said. The day Glidelearned of his condition, with his per-mission, Guest and some ensemblemembers visited him, then, to his joy,filled his room and the hospital corri-dor with their singing.

Drakka said Mr. Hand had

“entered vast silence” and his gift ofgiving was his “real treasure in life.”She urged the mourners to counter thedebilitating isolation of others andreach out to them, “like Donnie did,and play it forward.”

She knew Mr. Hand’s “connectionto the lord was important.” So, atDrakka’s request, Guest came forwardand read the 23rd Psalm. Then, hesang “Blessed Assurance,” the familiarphrasing, “This is my story, this is mysong,” filling the room.

At the end, the mourners headedto a corner, where a big chocolatecake and other refreshments from thehotel awaited. Pam Taylor fromModesto, Mr. Hand’s youngest sister,recalled a vision of her brother fromher last visit to Glide.

“I remember he was out there onthe food line in his yellow gear in therain,” she said. “He’d raise his hand,whistle and yell ‘10 more!’ And they’dlet 10 more inside to eat.” ■

— TOM CARTER

STEVEN HANSONGave away books

Steve Hanson, a quirky, generousman with an astonishing library, wasfound lying unconscious on the side-walk next to his wheelchair March 18,bleeding from a head injury, his bicy-cle helmet nowhere in sight.

Mr. Hanson, 60, was a 12-year res-ident of the William Penn Hotel onEddy Street.

The exact circumstances of Mr.Hanson’s death were unclear. JoseJauregui, his case worker for threeyears, said paramedics found him on aTenderloin sidewalk but he didn’tknow where. He said Mr. Hanson hadtrouble breathing and had passed outon several previous occasions. Themedical examiner said cause of deathwas pending.

“He had more paperbacks than I’veever seen,” said his friend, PercyColeman, at Mr. Hanson’s memorial inthe hotel where three vases of whiteroses and a dozen upturned playingcards were placed on a table in hismemory. “They were in big milk cartonsall stacked everywhere. Must have been10,000, all of them were categorized,like science, religion, beat poetry.”

Mr. Hanson, quiet and attentive topeople, was a voracious reader of fic-tion and poetry, and “a guy on a mis-sion” to share the written word. Theformer taxi driver gave scores of booksand magazines to his friends. Theysaid his heart was big and his giftseven bigger — sometimes they didn’tknow what to do with the volume.

“He’d bring bags of 200 books” toweekly tenant meetings, said JamesTracy of the Community HousingPartnership, where Mr. Coleman was

OBITUARIES

➤ C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 1 1

Donald Hand with his youngest sister, Pam Taylor.


COURTESY FAMI LY PHOTO


an avid volunteer in neighborhoodoutreach.

Mr. Hanson was also a much-appreciated volunteer at the SpeedProject, part of the AIDS Foundation,said Terry Morris, who heads the proj-ect. Another mourner said he was sen-sitive to how drugs affected people.

Another mourner told how Mr.Hanson had tried hard to find theowner of a stray black cat with whitemarkings wandering on Turk streetbut had no luck. He took it in andcalled it Tuxedo. Someone in frontheld the cat during the memorial.

Coleman, who drank a lot of beerwith Mr. Hanson, said that earlier thisyear Mr. Hanson went to the hospital

and returned in a wheelchair. A cou-ple of times afterward Coleman sawhim stand and then fall. Mr. Hansonwasn’t looking very good and was inand out of Veterans Hospital withbreathing problems, Jauregui said.

Coleman gave him his bicycle hel-met. “He wore it every day, too,except the day he died.”

Mr. Hanson had “moments” of sar-casm but he was “a beautiful person,”said one woman. “He made sure peoplegot what they needed,” said another.

Because he had a “quirky” sense ofhumor, said Pat Murphy, they “clicked.”He once described himself as “a red-neck against racism” and, on a form hefilled out, “a hetero-flexible,” adding, “Idon’t care who I hang out with.”

Jauregui said Mr. Hanson was a

remarkably “diverse” person. Whenthey first met, Mr. Hanson was soinspired by the art on Jauregui’s officewalls — some were Freda Kahloposters — that he returned the nextday with a present — a deck of play-ing cards from the Mexico CityModern Art Museum that featuredimages of Mexico’s famous artists.

Rev. Jana Drakka, the Buddhistpriest who officiates at memorials forTHC residents, said that Mr. Hanson’sfamily from Bellingham, Wash., hadsent their sentiments. She read fromhis mother’s: “After I read you‘Robinson and Crusoe,’ you startedreading everything ...

“Now you are the captain of yourship and the master of your soul.”

Mr. Hanson’s older sister, Barbara,

whose comments lay on the table,wrote that as a child he seemed “filledwith sunlight — our golden boy —and as he got older life’s changessometimes overwhelmed him, but thecore of sweetness remained.”

As the memorial began, Drakkainvited mourners to light incense atthe table as an offering for thedeceased and to linger there in prayeror remembrance, a custom that favorsanyone too shy to speak in a group.Two people accepted.

At the end, Jauregui gave the roseshe bought, and the cards, to themourners. And Coleman, who gaveaway Mr. Hanson’s books to the MainLibrary and the hotel’s library, gaveTuxedo a home. ■

— TOM CARTER

OBITUARIES



COMMUNITY CALENDARCOMMUNITY: REGULAR SCHEDULEHOUSINGSupportive Housing Network, 3rd Thursday of the month, 3-5 p.m.,Dorothy Day Community, 54 McAllister. Call: 421-2926 x304.

Tenant Associations Coalition of San Francisco, 1st Wednesday ofthe month, noon, 201 Turk St., Community Room. Contact MichaelNulty, 339-8327. Resident unity, leadership training.

HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTHCBHS Consumer Council, 3rd Monday of the month, 5-7 p.m.,CBHS, 1380 Howard St., room 537. Call: 255-3695. Advisory groupof consumers from self-help organizations and other mental health consumer advocates. Open to the public.

Health & Wellness Action Advocates, 1st Tuesday of the month, 5-7 p.m., Mental Health Association, 870 Market St., Suite928. 421-2926 x306.

Healthcare Action Team, 2nd Wednesday of the month, 1010Mission St., Bayanihan Community Center, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.Focus on increasing supportive home services, expanded eligibilityfor home care, improved discharge planning. Light lunch. CallJames Chionsini, 703-0188 x304.

Mental Health Board, 2nd Wednesday of the month, 6:30-8:30p.m., City Hall, room 278. CBHS advisory committee, open to thepublic. Call: 255-3474.

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill-S.F., 3rd Wednesday of themonth, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Family Service Agency, 1010 Gough St., 5thFl. Call: 905-6264. Family member group, open to the public.

SAFETYNeighborhood Emergency Response Team Training (NERT).Central city residents can take the S.F. Fire Department’s free disaster preparedness and response training at neighborhood loca-tions. www.sfgov.org/sffdnert, or Lt. Arteseros, 970-2022.

SoMa Police Community Relations Forum, 4th Monday of themonth, 6-7:30 p.m. Location varies. To receive monthly email info:Meital Amitai, 538-8100 x202 or [email protected].

Tenderloin Police Station Community Meeting, last Tuesday of themonth, 6 p.m., police station Community Room, 301 Eddy St. CallSusa Black, 345-7300. Neighborhood safety.

NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENTAlliance for a Better District 6, 1st Wednesday of the month, 6 p.m., 230 Eddy St. Contact Michael Nulty, 820-1560 or

[email protected], a districtwide improvement association.

Central Market Community Benefit District, board meets 2ndTuesday of the month, Hotel Whitcomb, 1231 Market St., 3 p.m.Information: 882-3088, http://central-market.org.

Friends of Boeddeker Park, 2nd Thursday of the month, 3:30 p.m.,Boeddeker Rec Center, 240 Eddy St. Plan park events, activities andimprovements. Contact Betty Traynor, 931-1126.

Gene Friend Recreation Center Advisory Board, 3rd Thursday ofthe month, 5 p.m. Board works to protect SoMa resources for chil-dren, youth, families and adults. Gene Friend Recreation Center,270 Sixth St. Information: Tim Figueras, 554-9532.

North of Market/Tenderloin Community Benefit District.Full board meets 3rd Monday of every other month, 5:30 p.m., 134Golden Gate Ave., 292-4812.

SoMa Community Stabilization Fund Advisory Committee, 3rdThursday of the month, 5:30 p.m., 1 South Van Ness, 2nd floor.Info: Claudine del Rosario 749-2519.

South of Market Project Area Committee, 3rd Monday of themonth, 6 p.m., 1035 Folsom St. Health, Safety and Human Services

Committee meets monthly on the 1st Tuesday after the 1stMonday, 1035 Folsom, noon. 487-2166 or www.sompac.com.

Tenderloin Futures Collaborative, 3rd Wednesday of the month,11 a.m.-noon, Tenderloin Police Community Room, 301 Eddy.Presentations on issues of interest to neighborhood residents, non-profits and businesses. Information: 928-6209.

Tenderloin Neighborhood Association, 2nd Friday of the month, 842 Geary St., 5 p.m. Nonprofit focuses on health and well-ness activities to promote neighborly interactions. Info: [email protected].

SENIORS AND DISABLEDMayor’s Disability Council, 3rd Friday of the month, 1-3 p.m., CityHall, room 400. Call: 554-6789. Open to the public.

Senior Action Network, general meeting, 2nd Thursday of the month, 9 a.m.-noon, Universal Unitarian Church, 1187Franklin St. Monthly programs, 965 Mission St. #700: SeniorHousing Action Committee, 3rd Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. Call for health program and Senior University: 546-1333 andwww.sfsan.org.

What Self Help Is

Office of Self Help Drop-In Center, 1095 Market Street, Suite 202This behavioral health education message is underwritten by Bank of the West.

Self help is what you want. Self help is what you do for yourself.

Self help works really well if you have someone who knows your options and has answers toyour questions. Someone who talks the same talk and walks the same walk. One person helpsanother person by sharing experiences. It gives you perspective.

Self help is you deciding you want more out of life, and having the initiative to go after it. You are what you want to be. We will give you resources to help you to achieve that goal.

It’s your choice.

Nonjudgmental feedback can help you make positive choices, and compassionate guidance can bolster your self-confidence.

That’s self help.

Office of Self Help is a safe place staffed by your peers who also struggle with mental health and substance abuse issues. We’ve been where you are. Here you can work on daily living skills and other options to improve the quality of your life.

Self help is an option to clinical services, though we will connect youwith a compassionate clinician, if you wish.

Come on in, have a cup of chamomile tea and a warm place to sitand talk.

575-1400

NEWS IS A COMMUNITY SERVICE

PHONE: (415) 626-1650FAX : (415) 626-7276 EMAIL: [email protected]

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER: Geoffrey LinkADVERTISING DIRECTOR: Heidi SwillingerSENIOR WRITER/EDITOR: Marjorie BeggsCOMMUNITY REPORTER: Tom CarterREPORTERS: Ed Bowers, Jonathan Newman, Mark Hedin,Anne Marie Jordan

DESIGNER: Lenny Limjoco PHOTOGRAPHER: Lenny Limjoco CONTRIBUTORS: John Burks, Diamond Dave, CharlieWormhoudtDESIGN CONSULTANT: Don McCartneyDISTRIBUTION: Mark HedinEDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE: David Baker, MichaelNulty, Debbie Larkin, Nicholas Rosenberg, Brad Paul,Tariq Alazraie

Central City Extra is a member of the SAN FRANCISCO NEIGHBORHOOD NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION,SOCIETY OFPROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER, AND SAN FRANCISCO PENINSULA PRESS CLUB

CENTRAL CITY EXTRA is published monthly by San Francisco Study Center Inc., a private nonprofit serving the com munitysince 1972. The Extra was initiated through grants from the S.F. Hotel Tax Fund and the Richard and Rhoda GoldmanFund. The contents are copyrighted by the San Francisco Study Center, 1095 Market Street, Suite 601, San Francisco, CA94103.

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