While some of us may be occupied with LGBT pride events the last weekend of June, some of you might like to have a recess flashback instead while also donating to a good cause

Charity Kickball Tournament
6/28/08 - 12:00PM -@ Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park
Map and directions
benefiting ROCK, Real Options for City Kids

Sign up today!

The kickball tourney will have 10-15 teams of up to 20 people. They will publish the schedule of games about a week before the event at www.SFFunraisers.org. If you’re not interested in playing, in addition to watching the action, they will have other great activities and food. Event is BYOB.

If you’d like to hear about the findings from the San Francisco Police Department District Station Boundaries Analysis as performed by the consulting group Public Safety Strategies Group (PSSG), please attend the joint hearing of the Police Commission and the Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee on Monday, May 19 at 6:00pm in the Board of Supervisors Chambers of City Hall.

My quick bullet point for how the suggestions might affect us in the Rincon Hill neighborhood is that they would shut down the 3-4 police stations that serve downtown San Francisco currently and replace them with a single “Northeast Station” that would probably have the most officers because it includes the crime hotbeds of the Tenderloin, Civic Center, Western Addition, and West SoMa. This station would cover the northeast corner from Divisadero and Castro Streets and to the east, basically … along with Treasure Island. I’m all in favor of consolidating the paper shuffling and administrative work that occurs if it would mean more feet on the street in the form of beat cops. However, this is one really big area - and I don’t think it even considers the population growth we’ll likely experience here in the Rincon Hill neighborhood.

To help the MTA shape the TEP’s draft proposals to make Muni into a transit system that works for you, the MTA has scheduled 11 community meetings throughout San Francisco. With your help, a revitalized Muni system will not only benefit current customers, but will improve mobility for everyone who lives, works in or visits San Francisco.

If you’d like to see the 18-month study’s data and analysis used to improve our Muni bus services, please attend this meeting. The problem with apathy from those of us who want changes but who do not show up at the meetings is that folks who do not want changes are the louder voices who do show up, and any progress we thought was happening while we were carrying on with our daily business becomes stuck or killed off. I strongly encourage you to attend! We deserve a better public transit system.

Wednesday, May 14 at 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Bessie Carmichael Elementary
375 Seventh St. at Harrison St.
Nearby Muni routes: 9X, 12, 14X, 19 & 47

First of all, the Infinity graciously provided not only a meeting space, but they also provided refreshments for us. Thank you very much!!

It was great to see all the new faces from Bridgeview and The Metropolitan along with familiar faces from around Guy Place, Lansing Street, Clementina Street, 1st Street, One Rincon Hill, and The Infinity as well as future residents of Millennium Tower. It was also great to meet folks from Yank Sing and The Cosmopolitan restaurants over on Steuart Street - thanks for getting involved in the neighborhood group and hope to see you next month! Maybe we can have a neighborhood event at your restaurant on a typically slower evening or weekend day??

Rob Black from the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce talked with us about the benefits of a Community Benefit District. I’ll try to get a copy of the handout he provided at the meeting so that those of you unable to attend tonight can read up on what this is all about. Rob can be reached at rblack -at- sfchamber DOT com.

We heard from a good neighbor on 1st Street about some concerns he has regarding some future development plans.

Finally, C.W. Nevius told us about his journey into columns about topics that San Franciscans care about. What started as a story on coyotes in Golden Gate Park turned into homeless encampments in the park which led to syringes from drug users left lying around the park …. and on and on. He did welcome your thoughts and comments because many of his columns have started as notes from an impassioned reader. He can be reached at cwnevius -at- sfchronicle DOT com. Chuck also shared possible and planned upcoming changes for the San Francisco Chronicle. Finally, he encouraged us all to get involved - nothing really changes until a small group of folks start making the effort to make the changes. I agree wholeheartedly.

Vitaly mentioned the 2008 Block Party which is welcoming our Rincon Hill neighborhood for the first time. The event was a South Beach/South Park centered event in 2004 and 2006, and I hope that many of you will offer to help with volunteer duties for this 2008 party. It is scheduled for Sunday, September 14, 2008 from Noon until 4:00 p.m. at South Beach Park between Pier 40 and McCovey Cove. You can learn more by visiting the event’s web site at www.2008blockparty.com. You can send an email to Info -at- 2008blockparty DOT com if you’d like to learn how you can help now.

Finally, we’ll have our next meeting on the second Tuesday of June - which I’ve been told is June 10th. In the meanwhile, please visit the official Neighborhood Association web page at www.RinconHillNeighbors.org and sign up for the e-mail mailing list if you haven’t already done so in order to keep up with what is going on … though I’ll be sure to share information here on my blog as well.

I believe today may be the day - the one time a year that the main sidewalks in the Rincon Hill neighborhood get a sparkly fresh makeover from the City in preparation for the Bay to Breakers event. While walking to work this morning, I spotted a couple of gentlemen with garden tools taking out weeds and what not. I assume they’ll be sweeping and picking up the junk that collects in front of the U.S. Parking lots. Would anyone know how to light a fire under the U.S. Parking folks to get them to pick up the litter in front of their businesses the other 51 weeks of the year?

At any rate, I also appreciate the fact that the Bay to Breakers web site and Mayor Gavin Newsom are making a point to ask Bay to Breakers participants to try to leave the areas in which they do their thing relatively clean after the event ends. There’s actually an article in today’s San Francisco Chronicle about it.

For the other 51 weeks of the year, we can each do a little bit by picking up the big (not dangerous to handle) items like newspapers, beer bottles, abandoned pillow cushions (yes, I’ve picked up at least 3 over the last year while walking to or from work), and other junk and tossing those items into the closest public trash can.