Police officers arrest 'surfer car booster' at Ocean Beach
A man suspected of burglarizing numerous automobiles at Ocean Beach has been arrested.

Plainclothes officers were in the Ocean Beach parking lot Oct. 9 when they saw the 49-year-old suspect looking for potential vehicles to burglarize. The modus operandi of the suspect was to watch surfers as they hid their keys near their cars before entering the ocean. The suspect would then retrieve the keys, enter the vehicle, and take whatever was of value. His style earned him the knick-name "surfer car booster."

When the officers approached the suspect, they discovered that he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest issued out of San Mateo County. He was taken into custody on the outstanding auto burglary warrant and booked.

"It was an outstanding job by the station's plainclothes officers," said Richmond Station Capt. Tony Fotinos.

The investigation is ongoing, with both San Francisco and San Mateo officers working on the case.

Ancient Plant Garden to open
The San Francisco Botanical Garden Society recently announced that it is nearly complete with its Ancient Plant Garden renovation project at Golden Gate Park's Strybing Arboretum, an effort to showcase a collection of plants that tell the story of botanical evolution.

The Ancient Plant Garden, formerly known as the Primitive Plant Garden, has been redesigned and divided into five epochs of geological time: the Devonian, Pennsylvanian, Jurassic, Early Cretaceous and Eocene. The new layout allows visitors to move chronologically through the five different time periods and see plants in each section that represent samplings of those that existed during the particular epoch.

For more information about the Ancient Plant Garden, visit www.sfbotanicalgarden.org.

HRC to promote plan for students
The SF Human Rights Commission will hold a hearing Nov. 13 to promote equal opportunities for all students in the SF Unified School District.

Earlier this year, the school board adopted a five-year plan for San Francisco students. The Human Rights Commission's hearing will focus on several aspects of the plan, including:

- Promoting public awareness that education is a fundamental human right and that each person's access to this right affects every San Franciscan and the public at large;

- Discuss the measures and factors that reflect achievement of optimal education;

- Identify the enumerated disparities in graduation rates and present recommended solutions;

- Compel overall community participation in achieving successful educational experiences for all children.

A panel of experts will be assembled for the hearing, including those from government, community organizations and academic institutions. The results will be published in a report in an effort to serve all students in the district.

The hearing will be held at City Hall, Room 250, from 4 to 8 p.m. For more information, call Linda at (415) 252-3208.

Restaurant offers fundraising plan
School fundraising groups, facing the problems of a stormy economy, may be able to get some help from a local restaurateur.

Those responsible for school fundraisers, such as PTSAs and foundations, can keep half of the money they raise by selling $10 cards to dine at the Richmond District's Kansai Bistro on Geary Boulevard.

Those who purchase the card will get a 10 percent discount on meals when they present the card at the bistro, says owner Ray Medeiros.

Medeiros says he wanted to implement a simple idea that could help schools meet goals and maintain standards.

"Students, parents and others commonly need money to obtain equipment and essentials for sports and other activities," said Medeiros. "I wanted to introduce our business to neighbors in a way that would directly help schools. People will know that they'll be helping when they buy the dining cards."

The fundraising organization keeps $5 from each $10 card and the restaurant gets the other $5 to help offset the costs of the discounted meals. Card buyers will also get other special offers during the year.

Further information can be obtained at the Web site at kansaibistro.com or by calling (415) 206-1701.

Local craftswomen featured
The Women's Building's 30th annual "Celebration of Craftswomen" event will be held at Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason Center on the weekends of Nov. 29 and 30, and Dec. 6 and 7. Among the female artists who will exhibit and sell their work at the City's largest holiday fine crafts retail fair are some from the Sunset and Richmond districts.

Richmond District residents Susan Gould and Yuriko Takata will each showcase their fine art creations at the event.

Representing the Sunset District are: Eileen Goldenberg, ceramics; Mendy Marks, jewelry; Heidi Paul, fiber; Barbara Sebastian, ceramics; and Kelly Smith-Wong, soaps.

The show will be open each weekend from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event benefits the programs of The Women's Building. For more information or tickets, call 248-1373 or visit www.womensbuilding.org.

'Final rule' on Plover published
The National Park Service has decided to continue the current seasonal protections for the Western Snowy Plover population at Ocean Beach and Crissy Field.

The protections will be in place from July 1, 2008 until May 15, 2009 and continue until the protections for the threatened species are deemed no longer needed. During this time, Dogs must be kept on a leash no longer than six feet in length. For more information, call 561-4728 or go to www.nps.gov.

Toys for Tots starts
To help Toys for Tots this holiday season, bring new and unwrapped toys to the San Francisco Scottish Rite Masonic Center, located on the corner of Sloat Boulevard and 19th Avenue, Mondays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 664-4700.