Richmond Roundup

Richmond Resident Throws Hat into Ring
Neil Eisenberg announced May 9 that he would be a candidate in the upcoming race to replace City Attorney Louise Renne.

Flanked by supporters, Eisenberg made the announcement at PG&E's downtown headquarters because he backs a plan to create a Municipal Utility District (MUD) in the City. Supporters speaking on Eisenberg's behalf include former mayor Frank Jordan, former district attorney Arlo Smith and former president of the SF Board of Supervisors, Angela Alioto.

Eisenberg is a trial lawyer who works on many public interest causes. He is chair of the SF Local Agency Formation Commission, a state-created group that oversees the creation of utility systems and chair of the Oceanic Society. Eisenberg was also a member of the city's Board of Permit Appeals for two years and he served as an executive board member at Common Cause for four years.

Eisenberg lives in the District with his wife Susan, a private consultant and former director of Self Help for the Elderly. The couple has two daughters.

Students Sew Sleeping Bags for Homeless
Many people are resting easier these days thanks to the efforts of students at George Peabody and Lafayette elementary schools.

Fourth and fifth grade students at Peabody hand-sewed 12 sleeping bags that were donated to the Richmond Hills Family Center, the Geary Boulevard site for homeless families, for use by the center's clients.

Students at Lafayette also pitched in, when students enrolled in the Richmond District After-school Program made six sleeping bags as a service-learning project for the family center.

Windmill to be Restored with Private Funds
A proposal to restore Murphy's Windmill, located at the southwest corner of Golden Gate Park near Ocean Beach, has been proposed by a newly formed group called "Campaign to Save the Golden Gate Park Windmills." So far the group has raised about $150,000 of the estimated $5 million that will be needed to complete the job.

The windmill is currently in a sad state, with its blades missing and holes in its body. The restoration effort will be directed by one of the world's leading experts on windmills.

The SF Recreation and Park Commission gave its approval of conceptual plans for the project May 8. A representative of the SF Recreation and Park Department, Gary Hoy, told commissioners the department does not have money to fix the windmill and that the private fundraising effort is welcome.

Approval for the windmill plan will also be required of the SF Planning Commission and the Landmark's Advisory Board.

Local Filmmaker Featured
Richmond District filmmaker Sandra Contreras will have her film "The Blessing" shown at the 25th annual San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, held June 14 through June 24.

"The Blessing" is a short film (eight minutes) that is an experimental documentary exploring a Latino woman's recollections of the landscape of her youth. Her memories are seen through a prism of time when her father was in jail.

Contreras, a Third Avenue resident, is currently enrolled in the graduate film program at SF State University.

Free Folk Festival Celebrates 25th Anniversary
The SF Free Folk Festival will celebrate its 25th anniversary with music, arts and crafts, hands-on workshops, dancing and sing-a-longs. Featured performers at this year's event include Shay and Michael Black, Gunnar Madsen (of The Bobs), the Waybecks, Shahrzad Dance Ensemble and numerous other Bay Area performers.

The festival is an outgrowth of the SF Folk Music Club, which was founded in 1948 by high school students who "shared a common belief in mutual understanding through music." Today the club resides in the Haight-Ashbury home of 85-year-old Faith Petric, who is still actively performing. She always performs the final number at the festival.

The folk festival's silver anniversary will be held at the Roosevelt Elementary School auditorium, located at 460 Arguello Blvd., on Saturday, June 16 and Sunday, June 17, from about 10 a.m. to some time in the evening.

For more information, visit the website at www.sffolkfest.org or e-mail: director@sffolkfest.org.

Local Sports Heroes Join Hall of Fame
The San Francisco Hall of Fame inducted several westside residents at its annual awards banquet May 16.

Recognized for their contributions to prep athletic programs in the City were:

Roger Ferrari, who played baseball at St. Ignatius College Prepatory High School from 1951 to 1955;

John Kerrigan, who played baseball at Abraham Lincoln High School from 1955 to 1958;

Ray Paxton, who played baseball and basketball at St. Ignatius from 1950 to 1954;

John "Sid" Phelan, who was involved with the basketball program at George Washington High School from 1947 to 1954;

And Jerome "Jerry" White, played baseball, football and track and field from 1967 to 1970.

Fulton Street group celebrates 50th birthday
Cultural Integration Fellowship, a non-profit group "dedicated to the promotion of mutual understanding of different cultures," is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a series of special events.

Anniversary events kicked off in March with a banquet at Gabbiano's Restaurant and ends in October with a one-day conference. In between, there are numerous weekend-long events celebrating various religious traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Native-American.

The Cultural Integration Fellowship was founded in 1951 by Dr. Haridas Chaudhuri, who was a philosopher and educator. Since he passed away in 1975, Chaudhuri's wife Bina has helped guide the organization. Members of the fellowship participate in a variety of enrichment activities, including lectures, workshops, concerts, film series and classes in yoga, meditation and dance.

There will be a series of free events June 22 - 24 at the fellowship's location at 2650 Fulton St. concerning Buddhist, Theravada, Tibetan, Zen, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese traditions. For more information about upcoming anniversary events, call the Cultural Integration Fellowship at 626-2442.

Stern Grove Festival Kicks Off Summer Series June 17
The 64th annual Stern Grove Festival opens its run of 10 consecutive Sundays of free entertainment June 17 with Dr. John and the "Rhythm and Bayou."

All concerts start at 2 p.m. Performing this summer are:

June 17 - Dr. John;

June 24 - Latin jazz virtuoso Eddie Palmieri and Plena Libre;

July 1 - SF Symphony, with conductor George Daugherty, performing Mendelssohn, Ellington and "Butterfly Lovers Concerto;"

July 8 - SF Opera's Merola Opera Program performing Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi" and "Suor Angelica;"

July 15 - Cheb Mami and Mission District group Los Mocosos;

July 22 - Celtic music with Altan and fiddler/stepdancer Natalie MacMaster;

July 29 - Mediterranean Gypsy music with France's Lo'Jo and Les Yeux Noirs and Greece's Savina Yannatou;

August 5 - San Francisco Ballet highlights;

August 12 - World premiere of the "Tabla Beat Science Project" featuring Zakir Hussain, Bill Laswell, Talvin Singh, Karsh Kale and Ustad Sultan Khan;

August 19 - Jazz in the grove with the Nancy Wilson Trio and chanteuse Ledisi with her jazz band.

Other items of note at this year's festival include blood drives June 17 and July 15 and alternative energy and environmental awareness fairs July 1, July 15 and Aug. 12.

The festival is the longest-running free outdoor summer concert series in the United States. Stern Grove is located at 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard. For more information, call 252-6252 or visit the website at www.sterngrove.org.

Local Entrepreneur takes Rock-N-Roll Venues North
Dave Daher, who founded the Last Day Saloon on Clement Street in 1973, is opening a new location in Santa Rosa.

Set to open in June, the "Last Day Saloon Santa Rosa" will be located in a 8,000-square-foot site in the historic Old Railroad Square area of the city near Davis and Fifth streets.

The new location will feature the latest hi-tech audio equipment and the same mix of bands and D.J.'s that have made the Richmond District saloon a success.

It is unknown, however, whether or not the Santa Rosa site will have the same success rate as the Richmond District site for matchmaking. Daher met his wife Nancy at the Last Day Saloon and Daher's brother and many of the Dahers' friends met their spouses at the popular nightclub.

Advisory Group Named to lead Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences has named members of its newly formed 20-member Community Advisory Group. The group is charged with assisting the academy as it readies a comprehensive rebuilding plan at its location in Golden Gate Park.

Some of the group's west side representatives include Ron Miguel, president of the Planning Association for the Richmond; Pat Christensen, member of the Inner Sunset Merchants Association; and Dennis Antenore, Sunset District resident and former member of the SF Planning Commission.

The academy was founded in 1853 and it is the only science institution in the country that has an aquarium, planetarium and natural history museum.

"Friends" Bash to be Held at Golden Gate Park
The non-profit group Friends of Recreation & Parks will hold its 30th anniversary party at Sharon Meadow in Golden Gate Park on Saturday, June 16, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is free and the public is invited.

Featured at the birthday bash will be face painting, storytelling, clowns, jugglers and arts and crafts. There will also be food and drinks, including a birthday cake.

Among the projects that Friends have tackled in the park include helping renovate the park's west end, opening a visitors center at the Beach Chalet and restoring the Carousel. The group is also responsible for the planting of thousands of trees throughout city parks and for providing some $200,000 in grants to neighborhood groups.

For more information, call 750-5441 or visit the website at www.sfparks.org.

First United Lutheran Church Gets New Pastor
The First United Lutheran Church at 6555 Geary Blvd. has a new pastor, Reverend Lyle J. Beckman.

Beckman was installed to lead First United at a ceremony and reception at the church May 20. The new pastor relocated to San Francisco from Lincoln, Nebraska, where he was an interim pastor at St. John's Lutheran Church.

First United was expelled from Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 1995 because the congregation called a gay pastor to service in 1990. It has maintained an independent posture since that time to "work for justice causes, which promote the equal acceptance of all people."

Group Outlines Spending Priorities for Youth
The non-profit group Coleman Advocates for Youth has released a budget priority plan for the Richmond District.

The plan calls for spending $590,000 in the upcoming budget year that begins July 1 for specific youth programs. The funding would:

· Put two SF Recreation and Park Department supervisors in every elementary school yard from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (cost: $140,000);

· Put latchkey programs at four Rec. and Park sites: Richmond Recreation Center and Rochambeau, Cabrillo and Argonne playgrounds ($200,000);

· Expand teen programs at four recreation sites to include more and improved field trips, snacks and cultural activities ($60,000);

· Place a part-time mental health worker at four recreation sites frequented by teens, the Richmond Recreation Center and Rochambeau, Argonne and Cabrillo playgrounds ($100,000);

· Implement a "transition" program to help elementary school students graduating to middle school and middle school students headed to high school ($90,000).

According to Margaret Brodkin, director at Coleman, the group has been actively lobbying for District 1 Supervisor Jake McGoldrick's support to achieve the aims of its spending proposal.

Beacon Center Summer Program
More than a dozen free programs for high school students will be available this summer via the Richmond Village Beacon. Programs include basketball, breakdancing, web design, badminton, video production and art classes.

There are a variety of classes for adults also available at the center.

The Beacon Center is located in portable Building T-5 at George Washington High School. For more information, call 750-8554.

Web, Animation, Print Design Scholarships Available
The Center for Electronic Arts will award three scholarships, including one for an Asian-American student, to low-income students interested in World Wide Web design and production, animation and print design.

The non-profit group, founded in 1987, offers a full scholarship to the winning contestants in one of the center's certificate programs. The deadline for submitting an application is June 30.

For more information, call 512-9300 or visit the website at www.cea.edu.

St. Clair's Name Now Part of Kezar Lore
Bob St. Clair, who played most of his amateur and professional football games at Kezar Stadium, was recognized May 19 when the city's Recreation and Park Department officially named the stadium's field in his honor. St. Clair played in 189 games at Kezar Stadium over a 19-year career.

The 260-pound, six-foot-nine-inch tall St. Clair played professional football for 11 years, winning all-pro honors three times. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

A successful businessman, St. Clair is also a former mayor of Daly City and councilman in San Mateo.

Unsung Heroes No Longer
San Francisco Tomorrow has recognized several individuals for their environmental protection or enhancement efforts at its annual dinner, held May 16 at the historic Officer's Club in the Presidio.

Greg Gaar was given an Unsung Hero Award for his efforts to save the Sunnyside Conservatory and Tank Hill as open space. Gaar is an historian who gives lectures and presentations about neighborhood parks and open space.

Mike Smith, president of Walk San Francisco, also received an Unsung Hero Award and Sylvia McLaughlin, a founding member of Save the Bay, won the Jack Morrison Lifetime Achievement Award.