Richmond Roundup

Police Seek Serial Robber Who Escapes into Park
Police are searching for a serial robber who has been accosting women and stealing their purses near Golden Gate Park.

The suspect, who has been striking in the Richmond and Sunset Districts (near Lincoln Way), took the purse from a victim at Cabrillo Street and 25th Avenue Dec. 27 and fled into Golden Gate Park.

The suspect has grabbed the purses from 12 women, some of whom were knocked down, since last July with a half dozen of the robberies occurring since the end of November. He has eluded police capture by using the park to escape.

According to Richmond District Police Station Capt. Sandra Tong, the suspect is a black male, approximately 20 to 25 years old, 5-foot-10-inches tall and weighs 200 pounds. He is usually wearing a black cap and dark colored jeans and sweater or jacket.

"This individual will attempt to commit these types of crimes in our district again if he is not arrested soon," Tong said.

Members of the SF Police Department's Honda and equestrian patrols are looking for the suspect. Robbery detail and plainclothes officers are also working on the case.

Man Arrested in Pedestrian's Death
Police have arrested the 21-year-old driver of a vehicle that struck and killed a pedestrian on Geary Boulevard at 1:38 a.m. on Nov. 14.

Gordon Wong was booked on charges of vehicular manslaughter and for failing to yield to a pedestrian after he allegedly failed a field sobriety test at the scene of the accident. His vehicle struck 21-year-old Manmeet Singh at Geary Boulevard and 11th Avenue before careening into a fire hydrant.

Yee Announces State Senate Run
State Assemblyman Leland Yee has announced his candidacy to run for the state Senate in 2006.

Yee, who was formerly elected to the San Francisco school board and the board of supervisors, is currently the speaker pro tempore at the California Assembly. Running for the post because of term limits imposed by California voters, Yee is trying to replace Jackie Speier, who currently represents the Eighth District, which is comprised of the southern part of San Francisco (346,696 voters) and the Northern part of San Mateo County (499,095 voters), in the Senate. Speier is being termed out.

Yee will face significant opposition in the Democratic primary to represent District Eight. He will oppose Mike Nevin, a San Mateo County supervisor and former Daly City councilman, and Lou Papan, a former member of the California Assembly.

Pelosi Appoints 18-Year-Old to Cast Electoral Vote
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi appointed 18-year-old Adam Woo of San Francisco as a California delegate to the Electoral College.  Woo, a senior at George Washington High School, cast his vote for president (John Kerry) based on the state's vote results at the state Capitol in Sacramento in December.

"Adam Woo's achievements and his enthusiasm for making a difference in his community are an inspiration to us all, young and old," Pelosi said. "He is the youngest possible elector and exemplifies the value of young people participating in the political process and the diversity of San Francisco."

Woo was proud to cast the vote.

"Being appointed as Congresswoman Pelosi's elector means a great deal to me," Woo said.  "It allows me to demonstrate that young people care about the issues and are politically involved. Being an elector at such a young age gives me a great responsibility and opportunity to represent my state."

At Washington High School Woo has been the recipient of the Harvard Book Club award for leadership and excellence in academics and has been nominated for a Student Leadership Scholarship.

Therapeutic Swimmers Perform
To kick off the December holiday celebrations at the Janet Pomeroy Center (formerly known as the Recreation Center for the Handicapped), therapeutic swimmers performed a water ballet version of "The Nutcracker Suite."

Swim instructor Ron Jones led the group in their annual rendition of Tchaikovsky's classic in the center's indoor therapy pool. The performance was followed by Christmas caroling and a visit from National Guardsman Barry Mion as Santa Clause.

The Janet Pomeroy Center provides recreational and vocational opportunities to more than 2,000 individuals with disabilities per week from San Francisco and Marin counties. For more information, call 665-4100.

Park Declared Historic Place
Golden Gate Park was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in mid-October because it met the criteria for listing.

Designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the park is one of the  earliest examples of a large urban park. It was created on reclaimed land (sand  dunes) and has the oldest childrens' playground west of the Mississippi River.

The national designation, sought by the SF Recreation and Park Commission, will help protect the park's historic landscape and structures.

Group Seeks Travelers' Help
Working Essentials, a program that provides basic job-readiness items to homeless individuals to help them obtain and retain employment, asks the community to participate in their collection and distribution efforts. These items, such as toiletries, laundry soap, combs, alarm clocks, appointment books, and more, cannot be purchased with food stamps or on extremely low incomes. Ways the community can help include organizing a collection drive, or collecting hotel soaps and shampoos when traveling and then donating them to Working Essentials at one of their drop-off locations. For more information, call 565-20201 or  www.workingessentials.org.

Sixty Plus at SF State
People 60 years of age or older who want to make new friendships, expand learning possibilities and enjoy leisure activities can join the Sixty Plus club at San Francisco State University.

More than 500 men and women already in the program meet twice a month on campus to hear speakers talk on a wide range of subjects, many with a local angle, such as the history of the Sunset District and the workings of the U.S. Mint.

Many members are retired professionals from the worlds of business, education, medicine and government. Uniquely, they can audit university courses, which means sitting with the other students in class without the hassle of entrance forms, fees or homework. Sixty Plus members may attend spring semester classes on Jan. 31, the first day of instruction. Members can use many campus facilities, including the library.

Other Sixty Plus activities include local and overnight tours, and attending the SF Symphony, SF Ballet and many other Bay Area performing arts groups at reduced ticket prices.

Membership is $75 for the full year, Sept. 1 through Aug. 31; however, the fee is $40 for first-time applicants who join after Jan. 1. For more information or an application, call Eileen Ward at the Sixty Plus office at (415) 566-9347.

New Law I.D.s Violent Videos
The new law requiring video game retailers to post signs informing consumers of the video game rating system was initiated by Speaker pro Tem Leland Yee, signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and will take effect this January. Yee hopes the rating system will warn parents about violent video games and the potential harmful effects on their children.

Studies show that 92 percent of children between two and 17 years of age play computer or video games, yet 40 percent of those games are rated mature and designed for adults. In many of the games, players are rewarded for violence that includes killing police officers, maiming elderly persons and running over pedestrians.

The recent MediaWise Video Game Report Card issued by the National Institute on Media and the Family alerted parents of the games they should avoid. Topping the list was Doom 3, followed by Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Half Life 2, Halo 2, Resident Evil: Outbreak, Psi Ops: the Mindgate Conspiracy, The Guy Game and Mortal Combat.

D.A. Creates New Child Assault Unit
San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris recently announced the formation of a new Child Assault Unit in the SF district attorney's office. The unit will prioritize the prosecution of all cases involving adults who commit sexual or physical violence against children.

The model unit will consist of a coordinated team of prosecutors, investigators and victim advocates, including counseling and psychology specialists. The new unit is expected to enhance the office's ability to protect the City's children by improving prosecutions and obtaining more convictions. Cases will be prosecuted by the same team from charging through sentencing, which will develop specialized legal expertise and establish working relationships with police investigators, expert witnesses and medical experts.

Student Makes Positive Impact
Benish Kahn, a member of the Richmond Village Beacon and a student at George Washington High School, was recognized as one of 11 Outstanding Youths of San Francisco for making a positive impact in her community.

Upon joining the Beacon program last year, Kahn took leadership in Transgender Remembrance Day Activities by developing outreach materials, creating a display to honor those killed by transphobia, and introducing speakers at the event. She also facilitated homophobia sensitivity trainings for Presidio Middle School students, the UCSF Young Women's Health Conference Planning Committee, the Latino Club, the Beacon Teen Advisory Board, and the SF Public Health Department's Youth Outreach Worker Program.

Businesses Recognized
Several entrepreneurial enterprises in the Richmond District were recognized in December for their unique contributions to the diversity of the city's economic infrastructure. Recognized by the Shop Outside the Box campaign were Baby Blossoms, JAXHATZ and Oliblock.

Stacie Jacobs, owner and creator of Baby Blossoms, creates aromatherapy products for babies, children and those with delicate skin. All products are 100 percent natural and are crafted in small batches for freshness. Formulated to be gentle for babies, Baby Blossom products can be used from birth. They are free of chemicals and synthetic additives and contain no animal content. Baby Blossoms launched its website, at www.babyblossoms.com, on Mother's Day 2003.

Jacqueline Ryan has always been a wearer and creator of hats. In 1996, after being laid off when the Emporium went out of business, she took her love of design and began creating hats full-time for JAXHATZ. Each design is one-of-a-kind and uses a variety of materials, including straw, wool, fabrics and yarn. Ryan sells her Hatz every December (http://jaxhatz.com) at Justin Herman Plaza and will be distributing unsold winter Hatz to the homeless.

Oliblock began as a one-time gift for creator Daniel Oakley's goddaughter Lilley. He was looking to create a toy to encourage children to think about building things in a new way. Oliblock is a set of four brightly colored organically-shaped building blocks that interact in an unusual fashion by fitting together with an interlocking connection on one end and a magnetic connection on the other. The blocks are sold at www.oliblock.com.

The Shop Outside the Box competition for Entrepreneur of the Year was created by the SF Small Business Commission to promote small business owners who make and sell their products in San Francisco. The event had an emphasis on businesses with fewer than 20 employees and revenues of less than $1 million annually. It is the first of the Small Business Commission's "Celebrating Small Business" events and marked the launch of an enhanced Small Business Commission website, located at www.sfgov.org/sbc.