NVV July/Aug 2012: We Read It So You Don't Have To

The Noe Valley Voice is published ten times a year and has been a neighborhood fixture since 1977. Here are notable highlights from the latest issue. Links are to stories we've covered here on NVSF or outside sources as the Voice doesn't post stories until the middle of the month.

July/August 2012

Front Page: Noe neighbors nix the idea of losing a Muni stop at 30th; First Republic approved for 24th St; merchants are noticing an uptick in petty crime, shoplifters and "unbalanced homeless men" in the neighborhood as beat cops are spread too thin.
 
Letters: A reader opines that 24th and Church needs a traffic light for pedestrians; a plea for Noe Valleyeans to be Town Square heroes; Liberty resident alarmed that Muni wants to nix the Liberty St stop (reason: it's a scary blind corner if Muni doesn't pause there); the 2012 Noe Valley Garden Tour sold 200 tickets this year and the winning garden was Jana and Geoff King on Cesar Chavez; a Valley St resident rails against the white dots requiring sidewalk repair (choice quote: "the blinding white of replacement squares is a physical annoyance..."); a fan of First Republic chimes in; a Duncan neighbor warns of the perils of rat poison to other local pets (use traps instead); more Examiner grumping; SF Girl Scouts (Ed.--and more likely their parents as anyone who works in an office knows) are the top Cookie sellers in Northern California; and farewell Miss Kit, the much-loved "oldest dog in Noe Valley."

Cost of Living in Noe: Buyers are routinely paying 5% to 10% over asking. It's hot out there. Good luck renting.

Store Trek: Philz Coffee (4298 24th St.)

Short Takes: A $1700 sandbox cover was installed at Upper Noe Rec Center to keep out the late-night feline visitors using it as a litter box. (Ed.--It's an old problem not likely to go away.)

Rumors: La Boulange is now owned by Starbucks; Radio Shack will open "sometime toward the end of August" and the 2 upper units will be ready for renters in July; Tuggey's is closing at the end of the summer at which point the new tenant will be revealed ("in negotiations"); rumors that First Republic could have moved into the Real Foods space are wishful thinking so Real Foods remains a black hole; Noe Valley Town Square needs $3.6 million and so far Patxi's has pledged the most at $24,000, matching grants are materializing and residents are organizing house parties "hosted by people who work for for large Silicon Valley companies;" US DHS director to speak July 18 at St. Philip's Church; news from the blogosphere covered here at NVSF and elsewhere; and kudos to the St Philip's baseball team for 1st and 3rd places in the citywide tournament.

[The Noe Valley Voice]