Richmond Roundup

Council wants to minimize Rec. and Park cuts
The Neighborhood Parks Council (NPC) is hosting a series of District Park Planning (DPP) meetings in each supervisorial district to generate ideas about maintaining city parks during a $8.5 million budget shortfall. The NPC will also present findings from its recent open space study, "Green Envy: Achieving Equity in Open Space," at the meetings.

Sponsored by the NPC, District Park Planning is a forum for community members and representatives from the SF Recreation and Park Department to assess and improve the city's parks and recreation services in the city's neighborhood parks.

A meeting geared towards the Richmond District (District 1) will be held Thursday, March 25, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., in the Richmond Police Station's Community Room, located at 461 Sixth Ave.

Another meeting, for the Sunset and Parkside (District 4) districts, will be held Monday, March 4, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the Sunset Recreation Center, located at 2201 Lawton St. (at 28th Avenue).

A meeting for the Twin Peaks, West Portal, Inner Sunset, Golden Gate Heights and Sunnyside neighborhoods (District 7) will be held Monday, March 8, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Stonestown YMCA Annex, located at 3150 20th Ave. (at Buckingham Way).

For more information, contact Justina at 621-3260 or go to www.sfneighborhoodparks.org.

Hearing on sewer rates
Throughout the month of March, the SF Public Utilities Commission's Rate Fairness Board will conduct a series of public hearings concerning proposed sewer rate recommendations.

Members of the public who attend the hearings can provide written comments on sewer rate policy recommendations and adjustments, which will become part of the public record.

Attend a hearing or write to: Rate Fairness Board, c/o SF Public Utilities Commission, 1155 Market St., 11th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103. A hearing for the westside will be held in the Sunset District on Wednesday, March 24, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the West Sunset Recreation Center, 3223 Ortega St.

For more information, call 554-1539.

Richmond Branch Library needs money for interior
The Friends of the San Francisco Public Library will be holding a Richmond Library Campaign Planning meeting on Thursday, March 4, at 6:30 p.m., to inform participants about the overall purpose and goals of the fundraising campaign and to begin the process of organizing a Richmond Library Capital Campaign Committee. A light supper will be provided.

While the planned renovation of the Richmond Library is primarily funded through a bond approved by San Francisco voters in 2000, money for the interior of the library - furniture, fixtures, tables, chairs, lamps, desks and computers - cannot be provided by public bond funds. The Friends of the San Francisco Public Library aims to address this concern at the meeting.

The committee hopes to attract a representative group of Richmond neighborhood leaders and library advocates.

For more information, contact Marian Chatfield-Taylor at the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library at (415) 437-4859 or e-mail her at marian.ctaylor@friendssfpl.org.

'Guys and Dolls' at Presidio
The Drama Club at Presidio Middle School will perform the musical "Guys and Dolls" on Friday, April 2, at 7 p.m., in the school's auditorium.

Based on a Damon Runyon's short story, "Guys and Dolls" tells a humorous, romantic tale about gamblers, chorus girls and a Salvation Army band set in '40s New York City.

Student actors will sing, dance and play musical instruments in the classic, which was one of the longest-running Broadway musicals in the '50s.

Presidio Middle School is located at 450 30th Ave., between Geary Boulevard and Clement Street. Tickets, $6 for adults and $3 for seniors/students, may be purchased at the performance or in advance by contacting anno@jps.net.

For more information about "Guys and Dolls," contact Jeanie Poling at (415) 386-6978.

New Mini Medical School kicks off at UCSF in March
The University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) kicks off its sixth Mini Medical School - a six-week series of lectures every Wednesday, from March 17 to April 21 - focusing on the theme "learn and discover."

The Mini Medical School is open to the public and designed for people who want to learn more about science and the intricate workings of the human body. The course will meet at UCSF's Cole Hall, located at 513 Parnassus Ave., from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Each class features a one-hour lecture followed by a question-and-answer session.

Participants also have the option of signing up for "elective" classes on Saturday, April 3, that include one-hour visits to various UCSF Medical Center units and explanation of campus research and computer labs.

"Mini Med is structured to approximate some of the core learning that health science students experience in their first two years of study," said Allan Basbaum, Ph.D., UCSF professor and chair of the Anatomy Department. He serves as Mini Med course director and series moderator.

The Mini Med faculty will include UCSF teachers and scientists who have received teaching awards. The faculty will discuss the latest findings in health sciences research and patient care.

Participants are not required to do homework or take exams. Tuition for the course is $75. Space is limited to 400, so early registration is encouraged. Parking at the UCSF campus garage is $3 per session.

For registration information, call the UCSF Public Affairs office at (415) 476-2557 or e-mail sgettys@pubaff.ucsf.edu. For more information about UCSF, visit www.ucsf.edu.

Network turns trash into treasure
The San Francisco Freestyle Network, which operates according to the old adage that "one person's trash is another person's treasure," has launched a new online group and an accompanying message board, SFFN.

The program, which was established in December 2003 by Richmond District resident Jesamyn Angelica and hosted by Yahoo Groups, aims to connect people who are looking to discard and acquire the same items. Items are listed free and no selling or trading is allowed.

To date, approximately 180 people have joined the program, mostly via word of mouth. To sign up or for more information, visit the website at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SFFN/.

Exhibition at Presidio
The National Park Service is hosting an exhibit at the Presidio Officer's Club featuring the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. The exhibit, open Wednesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., runs through April 18. For more information, call 561-4404.

Washington student wins student speakers contest
Bradley Dunn, a senior at George Washington High School, was the winner of the Park Presidio Lions Club's annual student speakers program. Dunn wins a $50 stipend and moves on to compete at the next level in the Lions student speakers contest.

Jean Li, a freshman at St. Ignatius College Preparatory High School, and MacAllister Jeffrey, a freshman at Archbishop Riordan High School, also participated in the competition. Both received a $25 stipend.

All of the 67th annual Lions' Student Speakers Program participants are allowed up to 10 minutes to present a position concerning various topics. This year's topic was entitled, "Democracy - Is it for everyone?"

Judges for the Park Presidio Lions' competition were: Victoria Hutchings, a nationally-ranked debater working in theater; Sophie Clavier, an international relations professor at SFSU; and Kevin Samples, a retail management executive.

Mayor a no-show at merchants' luncheon
New SF Mayor Gavin Newsom was a no-show at the Greater Geary Boulevard Merchants and Property Owners Association luncheon Feb. 24 because he was on national radio and television shows defending his controversial decision to allow same-sex marriages. Newsom was supposed to be the keynote speaker at the event.

More than 400 people attended the luncheon, which was held at the Cathedral Hill Hotel.

At the luncheon, several long-time merchants and neighborhood leaders were honored for their community contributions, including: Ernie Louie, from State Farm Insurance; Bert Bomersine, from the House of Flowers; Isabel Kazemi and Surveen Singh, from Richmond Vision Care; Dr. David Werdegar and Ken Donnelly, from the Institute on Aging; and Albert Levy, from Aladdin Rugs.

Ron Miguel, president of the Planning Association for the Richmond, and David Heller, president of the Geary Merchants Association, made presentations recognizing the merchants and the SF Police Officers Association, which showed a film about the arrest of a scam artist trying to take merchants on Geary Boulevard.

Geriatric Depression Workshops to be held at UCSF
UCSF Mental Health Professionals are holding two discussions to help seniors identify and get help for symptoms of late life depression and how to cope with stress.

The first discussion, "Understanding Late Life Depression," will be held Friday, March 5, at 6:30 p.m., at the Langley Porter Hospital's auditorium, UCSF Parnassus Campus, located at 401 Parnassus Ave.

The other discussion will be held at the same location on Monday, March 8, at 3 p.m.

Specific services and programs for seniors at UCSF will also be discussed.

For more information about this program or other social services available to seniors, call (415) 476-7439.

Business Recycles Old Greeting Cards
Old holiday, birthday and other types of greeting cards can be donated to St. Jude's Ranch in Nevada, where the children living there cut them up and paste them onto a pre-printed card stock. The youths get 15 cents per usable card, which is put into a college or other fund for the youth.

St. Jude's Ranch for Children is a non-profit group that provides a home for abused, abandoned, neglected and other "at risk" children.

To donate cards, drop them off at the Standard 5&10, located at 3545 California St. in the Laurel Village Shopping Center. For more information, call 751-5767.

Become an International Folk Dancer
Chang's International Folk Dancers, the oldest operating folk dance club in the nation, invites couples and singles of all ages and levels to join its March dance group. The class encompasses music and dance from the Balkans, Israel, China, Finland, Sweden, Philippines, Scotland and the U.S.

The final evening of the three-Friday series is a "party night" of dancing, feasting on a potluck dinner and socializing. The group meets at the Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church Social Hall, 1329 Seventh Ave., Friday nights, 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., $4 admission at the door. For more information, call 332-1020.

Public Urged to be Smart When Hiring Contractors
As Californians prepare their homes for the cold winter season with new roofs, insulation, outdoor lining, weather stripping and so on, the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) is urging homeowners to exercise their rights in hiring and managing contractors.

Contractors who perform work on a project priced at $500 or more must be licensed by the CSLB. CSLB has also just produced a new consumer guide, Tips for Hiring a Roofing Contractor: A Consumer's Rights and Responsibilities. This pamphlet gives consumers the basics on repairing versus replacing their roofs and the responsibilities of a roofing project. For more information, call 1-800-321-2752 or visit the web site at www.cslb.ca.gov.

Ombudsmen Needed to Help Seniors
The California Department of Aging is expanding protections for people living in nursing homes by recruiting additional volunteer long-term care (LTC) ombudsmen, who will be trained and certified. The program plans to train hundreds of new ombudsmen to help nursing home residents, their families and friends understand and exercise nursing home rights guaranteed by state law.

Ombudsmen act as advocates to improve the quality of life for residents at LTC facilities, regularly visit local facilities, monitor conditions and provide support and resolve problems. In 2003, more than 1,400 ombudsmen statewide received complaints from nursing home residents and successfully resolved more than 15,000 of them. For more information, call (800) 510-2020.

Exchange for Hazardous Thermometers
Helping rid households of a toxic but little known hazard, UCSF and the city of San Francisco have launched a program enabling residents to exchange mercury thermometers for safer digital versions at no cost.

Thermometers containing mercury, a liquid metal, have become an increasing environmental concern in recent years. The UCSF bookstore at 500 Parnassus Ave. is the first permanent safe disposal site in the City.

Thermometers can be exchanged during normal business hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, call 476-1666.