Richmond Roundup

Firm gets OK to show outdoor movies at park
A plan to show movies in Golden Gate Park won approval in January from the SF Recreation and Park Commission.

The contract to operate the movie nights was awarded to Summer Entertainment Inc., an Australian company based in Southern California. According to the terms of the agreement, Summer Entertainment will pay the City $33,600 and a cut in the concession business for the rights to show up to 48 movies over an 8-week period between August and early October.

The SF Recreation and Park Department will get a percentage of vendor sales, which could include alcohol if Summer Entertainment applies for a liquor permit. The entertainment company, which will show first-run features, will charge $8 to $10 admission to view the movies under the stars.

The movie nights will be held at Peacock Meadow, located near the Conservatory of Flowers.

The Rec. and Park commissioners approved the lease for movie nights, in part, because they felt the movies would not directly compete with local movie theaters, like the Balboa and 4 Star theaters, because those movie houses usually do not show first-run movies.

Students flee Balboa gas leak
A gas leak at Balboa Street and Sixth Avenue Jan. 22 prompted the evacuation of students attending the nearby Frank McCoppin Elementary School.

The leak occurred when a construction crew broke the underground pipe about 10 a.m. Initially, Balboa Street was closed from Fourth to Eighth avenues, causing some Muni buses to be rerouted.

The leak was fixed by PG&E workers within two hours but many students did not return to school, opting instead to give the school time to air-out to remove the smell of natural gas.

Fire pits OK'd for Ocean Beach
The National Park Service has approved a plan to install new public-use fire pits on Ocean Beach.

As a response to criticism that the beach is littered with trash and debris from bonfires, the measure is intended to allow fires while keeping the mess they create confined to the fire pits. The structures have yet to be designed and must meet certain weight and height requirements and be easy for the park service to maintain.

Final designs for the pits will be selected by Jan. 28. An estimated 12 to 20 structures are expected to be installed on Earth Day, in April. For more information, e-mail tomprice@burningman.com.

Yee highest ranking Asian in state Senate
California Senator Leland Yee was appointed as the Assistant President pro tem of the state Senate, making him the first Asian-American to ever hold the number two leadership position in the Senate.

Yee will serve on the Democratic Caucus' leadership team for the 2007-2008 legislative session, serve as the presiding officer during Senate floor sessions, and perform the duties and possess the authority of the President pro tem in his absence.

Previously, Yee served in the number two post in the Assembly as Speaker pro tem.

Yee, who represents the Sunset and Richmond districts, was also named to five key legislative committees, including the Senate Appropriations Committee, which is influential in its role overseeing all fiscal bills, bonds and alternative public financing. The other committees on which the freshman Yee will serve are the committees on business, professions and economic development; governmental organization; health; and human services.

Argonne students read for Africa
For the second year, third, fourth and fifth grade students at Argonne Elementary School enjoyed an entire day of reading in early December, to benefit the learners at Nkomo Primary School in Mnqobokazi, South Africa.

Teachers Kim Towsley and David Allyn organized the activity. After reading for more than 3 hours and 30 minutes, the Argonne students took time to write letters to their new friends at Nkomo School.

During the past year, the students in both schools exchanged pen pal letters. Last May, Mrs. Zikhali, the Principal of Nkomo Primary School, visited the Argonne students while she was in San Francisco to be honored by the Friends of Africa Foundation for her successful achievements.

Zikhali founded the Nkomo School in 1998 under four trees. Today, the 800 students, including more than 200 orphans and vulnerable children, have classrooms to house them.

Last year's Argonne Read-A-Thon helped build two new classrooms for the South African school. This year's Read-A-Thon at Argonne generated $1,500 from family and friends of the young Argonne readers. The donation will help purchase books and educational supplies for the orphans and vulnerable children at Nkomo.

Book thriller set in Richmond
The Richmond and Sunset districts are the setting for a recently published thriller entitled "Death Game," by Bay Area author Cheryl Swanson.

After working in and visiting the City for years, the foggy and mysterious districts inspired Swanson's imagination to write this debut novel, which has received good reviews from Mystery Scene magazine, Midwest Review, and Foreward, one of the leading reviewers of small and academic press books.

Local trivia abounds, with mentions of sites and activities well-known to those who know the area, such as St. Ignatius Church, several of the area's Irish pubs, and famous city chefs frequenting the markets in the evening hours to select produce for their restaurant menus.

"Death Game" is available at San Francisco Mystery Bookstore and City Lights. For more information, visit the Web site at www.cherylswanson.net.

Safeway closes for remodeling
The Safeway at Seventh Avenue and Cabrillo Street, the local market for many residents and businesses in the inner Richmond District, recently closed for a planned rebuilding as a new state-of-the-art facility set to reopen in the second half of 2008.

While customers have the option of ordering groceries through a temporary site during the closure, many have been forced out of their neighborhoods to less convenient market locations where grocery prices are often more expensive.

In an effort to compete with higher-end stores such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Mollie Stones, the revamped supermarket is expected to create a more pleasant shopping experience with warmer colors and lighting.