This Week in Noe Valley: Scary Openings, Tricks and Treats - and Other Halloween Mayhem

The latest news from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• A "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to buy a firehouse in Noe Valley - for the third time in five years [SocketSite]
• The NY Times does 36 hours in San Francisco, and visits Dolores Park (but skips Noe Valley) (NY Times)
• Sign of the times on 26th and Sanchez [@Zircean]
• If I still lived here... graffiti turning up all over Noe [@NoeValleySF]
• Hidden grocery corner store sign revealed at “Army” and Noe streets [@localcalifornia]
• Rainbows in Noe Valley [anilla02]
• Found art [@findjkuo]
• Spotted at a garage sale: Google Glass [@NoeValleySF]
• Somi and Tejido lingerie opens in the former Martin Mattox space [@trussandore]
• Lazeez opens next to savor and the first review of the food - and font - is in [@RyanGoodman]
• The primary author of Prop I lives in Noe Valley [Bay Area Reporter]
• Noe resident is claiming a deadly carcinogen sprayed at a Bay Area park killed her dog [ABC7]
• Shocker: Noe Valley is the 15th most liberal SF neighborhood (out of 54) [SF Magazine]
• Is someone who steals bikes in Noe Valley a criminal? Um, yes [SFGate]
• Noe Valley makes the top trick-or-treating hood list again [Zillow]
• The one man bandit on 24th St for Halloween [instabishnu]
• Mayor Ed Lee, Scott Wiener and David Chiu campaign in NV for Yes on A [@Scott-Wiener]
• Yet another nail salon takes over the the Noe Valley Music space [@NoeValleySF]
• ShoeBiz has it’s own line of Sutro shoes [Hoodline]
• Another downer “California is over” piece via New York [NY Times]
• Noe Valley goes all out for Halloween [@pbberro]
• Happy Halloween, Noe Valley [stephng26]

[Photo: Halloweendays via iaranzadi ]

This Week In Noe Valley: Happy Independence Day, Apartment Sadness And The True Cost Of Living With Kids In SF

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Where to watch fireworks tonight in SF (if it's not foggy) [Curbed]
• Apartment sadness: Noe Valley rentals have come to this [SFist]
• Here’s a realtor publicly bragging about pumping and dumping Noe Valley real estate (ugh) [@marco_carvajal_]
• Todd David: To live comfortably in San Francisco and send kids to public school, you need to make $200,000 a year [SF Chronicle]
• Gallery of Jewels is having a sale through July – 20-50% off all designer gems [Racked]
• La Nebbia and La Ciccia are closed for the summer through July 24 [Tablehopper]
• Hamano Sushi honed omakase chef goes big time [Zagat]
• Supervisor Scott Wiener is running for Leno’s seat on the State Senate [SF Weekly]
• Dolores Park: Keep the culture, lose the mess [Scott Wiener on Medium]
• It’s baby spider season [@peteskomoroch]
• Love won [@gerke7]

This Week In Noe Valley: Pride Week And #LoveWins - Plus Some Ridiculousness

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• The story of Noe Valley’s Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, an important piece of pride history [SF Chronicle]
• Noe Valley’s painted ladies [felipefontouraa]
• And the pride house [home_schooling]
• Dolores Park was just a tad crowded today [myfanglicious]
• An interview with Songbird Studios founder Whitney Nichole [SF Station]
• ICYMI: Neighborhood activist Vicki Rosen dies of cancer [NVSF]
• New restaurant to replace burned out Bliss Bar is approved [NVSF]
• Did anyone lose a chicken? [@jheyman]
• Homes in SF are now selling for $1M over asking – including 471 Hoffman in Noe [SF Gate]
• $7 to get from Noe Valley to SOMA via Uber – enjoy it while it lasts and drives alternatives out of business [@peterpham]
• This guy [@iamhenrydodge]

[Photo: Happy Pride and raising money for Glacier National Park sipsnacksweatsf]

This Week In Noe Valley: City Hall's 100th, Another Home Approaches $7M, Valley Tavern Launches Live Music

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Video from the 100th Anniversary party at City Hall this week [Mr Eric Sir]
• Untouched since 1969 when it sold for $25,000, this home is now listed for $1.89 million [Curbed]
• Noe Valley’s second most expensive home: $6.7 million [Socket Site]
• Airbnb colonized the entrance to the Farmer’s Market today [NVSF]
• The Valley Tavern celebrated its live music permit with Heather Combs this week [rockarecord]
• Hip Hop artist Phesto Dee’s photos coming to the pop-up Fort Gallery on 24th June 27-28 [SF Weekly]
• Stylish new bike racks in Noe Valley [@kjbrazil]
• Community Forum on Bikes, Cars and Pedestrians at Noe Valley Ministry on June 22 [Streetsblog SF]
• Interview of Noe Valley native Remy Nelson of Mojo Café on Divisadero [Hoodline]
• Dolores Park’s northern half is back – and so are people peeing on buildings (ugh) [SFBay]
• ICYMI: Starbucks is closing all 23 La Boulange cafés in September – including the one in Noe [NVSF]

[Photo: hidayitsnight]

This Week In Noe Valley: Blender Bomb Scare, June Rain Record, And Housing In The Gayborhood

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Traffic-snarling bomb scare on 24th Street turns out to be … a blender in a box [NBC]
• Training them early in Noe Valley [pbleam71]
• What 10-12 year olds in Noe Valley talk about [@swmajor]
• Noe Valley has a second $7M sale and a new most expensive home [SocketSite]
• In honor of Pride Month, data shows gayborhoods like Noe Valley are “really expensive” [Marketwatch]
• A fifth of an inch of rain fell on Wednesday in Noe Valley – the most in June since 1879 [SFGate]
• The northern half of Dolores Park is reopening Thursday – take the pledge [@Scott_Wiener]
• ICYMI: Rumors of a new parklet on 24th Street in front of Patxis [NVSF]
• Spotted: Classic 1970s VW Vanagon, stickers and all [@blars0n]

[Photo: Noe Valley on lockdown – for a blender in a box via @JosephJPEG ]

This Week in Noe Valley: A Mugging in Broad Daylight, Vintage SF, And Contigo Is Adding A Santa Cruz Outpost

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Woman mugged in broad daylight near Starbucks - sadly, no one offered to help the victim [@sfgirlbybay and @cindyloughridge]
• The view of the Noe Valley Library ceiling [MengChao Wu]
• San Francisco, a visit from 1958 [Jeff Altman]
• Vintage 60s in Noe Valley [thriftaholic]
• Whoa - a particularly nasty Noe neighbor [SFGate]
• Note to tech investors: don't be a dick - restaurants have a longer ROI period [Inside Scoop]
• Semi and a Miata mix it up at 23rd and Hoffman (semi wins) [@pruzicka]
• A la carte Passover menu returns to Firefly [JWeekly]
• Dubious distinction: Noe Valley Voice makes The New Yorker [@alitcatca]
• Yoga Mayu will open Easter Sunday at 4159B 24th St [@yogamayu]
• Contigo is opening a Santa Cruz location [Santa Cruz Sentinel]
• Help keep Dolores Park from becoming a wasteland [Bold Italic]

[Photo: Beautiful San Francisco day gugu_brasil]

This Week In Noe Valley: Mike's Shoe Resurfaces, First Apple Watch Spotted At Toast, And Other Signs Of The Times

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Found: The giant light up shoe from Mike's of Noe Valley Shoe Repair - it’s in these guys’ backyard (um, is that stealing?) [Curbed]
• First Apple Watch allegedly spotted in the wild at Toast in Noe Valley [@LarsenPro]
• NOVY Restaurant will open Monday March 16 for dinner [@novysf4000]
• First NOVY menu review via KCBS FoodieChap: "eclectic but includes pasta" [@liammayclem]
• Noe Valley cleaners at 29th and Noe is closing due to a massive rent increase [@NoeValleySF]
• Not much news in the latest issue of the Noe Valley Voice [NVV]
• Eco-groovy clothing store PoDolls opens on 24th Street [Racked]
• Noir-ish photos of Noe Valley from the Friday Night Drinking and Shooting Club [Flickr]
• Burglary suspects on 100 block of 27th Street nabbed [ABC7]
• Yes, there is a local birthing DJ (oh, Noe Valley) [@amandabuzzard]
• Dogs can’t read - #passiveagressive signs in Noe Valley [esbale]
• From $1.2 million to $4.995 in 3 years [Curbed]
• Dolores Park today (holy ****) followed by this grossness [@flrrent and @TransitMonkee]
• Appreciation for a less crowded city park: Billy Goat Hill [SF Chronicle - and there's a paywall]
• A depressing map of median SF 1 bedroom rents – Noe Valley is at $3,500 [SFGate]
• A new lending library in front of Whole Foods [merrij]

[Photo: Curbed]

This Week In Noe Valley: A New Restaurant, Cute Sad Stuff, And Apple Pay

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Former Ubuntu chef opening a new restaurant at 26th and Valencia Spring 2015 [Inside Scoop]
• Those sirens going off last weekend? Still no good answers on why they went off [KTVU]
• Sad stuff in Noe Valley [@sfstern]
• Local Whole Foods clerk estimates 1 in 15 customers are using Apple Pay [@salwilliam]
• Noe Valley Ministry is moving back into 1201 Sanchez St this weekend [NVM]
• A reminder of what all that fuss in Dolores Park is about [Far Out City]
• New classrooms in James Lick playground for ADA retrofits [thx @mayak46]

[Photo: This little Ewok via joshuarowe]

This Week In Noe Valley: Easter To-Dos, Old Noe Valley, And Modern Sushi

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Here's an alternative for those missing the cancelled Noe Valley Easter Egg Hunt [SF RecPark; related: NVMPA]
• Even better - help the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence clean up Dolores Park [The Snitch]
• A 1906 view of Noe Valley (note the elevated railway in front of St Paul's) [@SF_Historian; more: BurritoJustice]
• Russian Roulette at Tataki South [Refinery29]
• And Saru Sushi in pretty photos [EatsPorkJew]

[Photo: knucklesamwick]

This Week In Noe Valley: First Republic Approved, Summerfest This Weekend, Google Bus Beached

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Planning Commission votes 5-2 to approve First Republic Bank for 24th St [Mission Local]
• Castro grapples with chains stores and banks [Bay Area Reporter]
• SFPD needs your help identifying "people of interest" in Bay to Breakers murder [SF Appeal]
• MUNI's new maintanence yard at 25th and Illinois still not open; trains still running Church to Balboa [SF Weekly]
• Google Bus ignores street use restrictions at its own peril [Uptown Almanac]
• Reminder: Summerfest this weekend in Noe Valley [NVSF]
• You can still pre-order a picnic from Delfina Pizzeria for Saturday's Film Night in Dolores Park [Eater SF; Also: Film Night in the Park]

[Photo: Twin Girls Farm arrives a little later than usual to the farmer's market]

Views from the Edge: Dolores Park Renovation

The local blogosphere blew up this week with word that Dolores Park will close for at least a year for renovations. PBR-drinking fixie riders were in an uproar. Nevermind all those who loved the park long before the others decided it was their holy land. And so it was up to Dolores Park Works to set the story straight - the park will remain accessible:

The renovations will be done in phases. The whole park will not be closed or fenced off for the duration of the renovations. ... [The playground remodel phase] is scheduled to start in October 2010 and end in April 2011. [Phase 2 will start after that]. The goal is to limit the impact on the community while ensuring that the work is done efficiently and safely.

Stay involved and get the full story by following the latest at Dolores Park Works.

Update: Details added to clarify timeline.

People Are Pigs

The full story of the mess (and clean up) in Dolores Park over at Mission Mission.

[MM: Crappy Easter]
[NVSF: Easter a la Dolores Park]

View From The Edge: Easter a la Dolores Park

Trying to get a photo of the pealing of the bells at St Paul's or St Philips is a silly endeavor. And the parade of Sunday Best at Martha & Bros only created a longer wait for coffee. So...off to Dolores Park. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence had a birthday--"30 years of spreading joy and raising heck." With events like the Hunky Jesus Contest and performances by Beach Blanket Babylon how could we miss? As katiehenry put it, "Today I saw: two sheep, 1 donkey, 2 naked ladies, multiple naked men, naked men dressed as Easter Bunnies...typical Sunday in Dolores park."

Ganja Jesus/Mary

We're So There: Red Bull Soapbox Derby

When we first saw signs posted around Noe Valley announcing a hearing about whether or not to grant the Red Bull Soapbox Race a permit to close streets we were skeptical. (Remember the Pac Heights NIMBYs who didn't like the ski jump competition on Fillmore?) But the event received a permit and we shrugged.

And so yeah.... we've seen the signs. And we know a few people making a car for the event. But seriously? Soapbox? Those wooden cars with rickety wheels our dads helped us screw up when we were kids and then never went further than the end of the driveway? Whatever.

All that changed over the weekend when we walked past two of the Soapbox "cars" that will be competing this weekend:

The Bowling Car

This egg is already broken

Now we're, like, totally excited to go. Here's what the promo says:

The live show promises to be a huge hit, complete with announcers Uncle E and Meghan Mongillo on the start ramp, Luv Cheese with the judges and Jerry Bernardo at the finish line. Each of the 39 teams will perform on stage at the starting line to the music of their choice before racing down the course.

What: Red Bull Soapbox Race
When: Saturday October 18, 2008; pits open at 11:00am; races start at 1:00pm
Where: Dolores Park, San Francisco
Route: Race is from 21st to 19th on Dolores St
Cost: Free
Vittles? Food and beverage stands on site, no outside food, beverage allowed - they'll be checking

[Red Bull Soapbox Race: San Francisco]