Fiona Ma: Help Save a City Landmark

The two windmills anchoring the western edge of Golden Gate Park are so majestic and imposing that it is hard to believe that at one time their function outweighed their stately beauty. Powered by the winds blowing off the Pacific, these "San Francisco Giants," as they are known in the Netherlands, pumped as much as 1.5 million gallons of water daily from underground wells into the Strawberry Hill reservoir, transforming the western end of Golden Gate Park from sand dunes to a sylvan sanctuary.

The North, or Dutch Windmill (city Landmark #147), was built in 1902 and renovated in the '80s. It now shows signs of damage from beetles and water.

The South, or Murphy Windmill, (Landmark #210), was built in 1905. It is the largest windmill of its kind in the world. The Campaign to Save the Golden Gate Park Windmills was launched in August 2000 to make the South Windmill operational once again and to create pedestrian and bicycle paths and landscaping improvements surrounding the two windmills.

Current fundraising efforts are focused on rebuilding the South Windmill by September 2004 so that the dome and mechanism can return from the Netherlands and be directly placed on the windmill tower. Storage of these massive parts will result in certain damage, further delay and considerably more expense.

The California Coastal Conservancy and the William G. Irwin Charity Fund have granted $825,000 towards the rebuilding of the windmill. An additional $1.2 million is needed by this April in order to keep the project on schedule. This highly popular project offers significant sponsorship opportunities. Also, consider recognizing an important birthday, anniversary or person by making a donation to the windmill restoration.

The campaign encourages any interested groups or individuals to help at this critical time. Contact the Steering Committee at marchpartners@hotmail.com or (415) 668-0763 or go to the website at www.goldengateparkwindmills.org.

Help Take Back the Neighborhood

The Sunset is planning to launch a Community Court. This is a mini court staffed by neighborhood volunteers and designed to handle misdemeanors and, generally, first-time offenders (there are approximately 30,000 misdemeanor cases per year). There are currently nine other community courts (Western Addition, OMI, SOMA, Ingleside/Excelsior, Tenderloin, Bayview, Chinatown, Polk Street, Mission District) working with the District Attorney's office in collaboration with the SF Board of Supervisors, Police Department, CA Community Dispute Services, Pretrial Diversion Project, community-based organizations and the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice.

We are looking for volunteers who live in the neighborhood, are open minded and able to work collectively to hear cases for two hours, once a month. Volunteers must go through an initial four-hour mandatory training program. We are also looking for a private location big enough to accommodate 6 - 8 people with a nearby waiting area.

If you are interested in serving or have questions, call Megan Agee at 759-3690 or Ryan Sheets at 939-8056.

Types of violations heard in Community Courts citywide:

· Penal Codes: battery, trespassing, resisting arrest, shoplifting, petty theft, littering, selling tobacco to minors, vandalism and graffiti, gambling, disturbing the peace;

· Park Codes: selling without a permit;

· Municipal Penal Codes: drinking in public, taxicab fare evasion;

· Health Codes: dumping, commercial garbage, animal nuisance, leash law, dog bite;

· Safety Codes: possession of marijuana (less than an ounce), possession of paraphernalia, no smoking;

· Business and Professional Codes: minor in possession of alcohol, selling alcohol to minors; and

· Various Permit Violations.

Supervisor Fiona Ma represents District 4.