NVV Dec - Jan 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 highlights from the latest issue. Links are to items we've covered here on NVSF or outside sources as the Voice doesn't post stories online until mid-month.

December / January 2011

Front Page: Noe Courts at Douglas and Elizabeth is set for a much needed upgrade thanks to a $210,000 grant - the new design and upgrades should be realized over 2012; live reindeer and other festivities are planned for 24 HoliDAYs on 24th St - including six visits by Santa; Circle Bank has benefited from local discomfort with big banks ("dozens if not hundreds of neighborhood residents took part in the nationwide protest and switched their money from big banks to smaller instituions."); and up to 11,000 groups and people in Noe Valley may have unclaimed assets (money,stocks, etc.) sitting in a database.  

Letters: None. Weird.

Features: Noe Valley lamp designer Jennifer Slepin plies her craft on Etsy; get your geek on and raise money for local schools at the 3rd annual Tech Search Party on Feb 4; Bevan Dufty clocked in an abysmal 7th place in the mayor's race.

Obits: Former PlumpJack Wines manager Drew Spaulding dies by his own hand after wrestling with depression [Here's a picture of the staff mentioned in the obit; from the left are Josh, Elio, John and Drew.]; Nicky Salan, founder of Cover to Cover dies at 77 after a long illness.

Cost of Living in Noe: 14 single family homes sold in October - all for more than $1 million. Home values were up 12% year over year in the hood.

Rumors: Cookie wars erupt in the Ministry Parking lot [update: whether Cookie Time will be able to be a regular at the Farmer's Market is up in the air - until decided/accepted they will not be part of the market]; Only 51% of the 20,031 registered voters in Noe cast their vote this past Nov. - among those that did cast their vote Avalos was the top vote-getter for Mayor; Pixie Hall Studios is becoming a preschool and will be sponsoring a Date Night (hello, kid sitting) with Firefly; Fattoush has decided not to sell after all; The Vietnamese/Thai fusion restaurant on Church is going slow and may - or may not - open in 2012. A parking stall in the Walgreen's parking lot is now a charging station for electric cars [Ed note - Since a reader sent us this photo before Thanksgiving we've been trying to figure out how it works - apparently nobody knows, including the management at Walgreens which is waiting for instructions so they can "tell the customers how to use the dang thing." It also edges out a handicap spot.]

Also of note: A longtime Noe resident takes out a quarter-page ad looking for a "Woof Friendly Noe Valley Rental." Is it that bad for rentals in Noe?

[The Noe Valley Voice]

Obit: Necia Salan

A reader sent along the obituary for Cover to Cover founder Necia Salan, who died last month:

Necia (Nicky) Salan Mar. 27, 1934 - Oct. 10, 2011 Beloved San Francisco bookseller Nicky Salan died peacefully at home after a long illness. The bookstore she founded, Cover to Cover, a San Francisco institution, grew out of her love for children's literature and the small, Saturday sales of children's books from her long-time home on Edgewood Avenue in Parnassus Heights. Even before the bookstore opened, initially on Clement Street and later on 24th Street in Noe Valley, Nicky was known as the Book Fair Lady, providing books to hundreds of school fund-raising events and befriending many elementary school teachers. She soon became a nationally recognized expert on literature for children and youth. She was proud to count among her closest friends many of her devoted staff as well as publishers' book representatives. When Nicky retired in 1999, the Noe Valley store passed into employee hands. Born in Baltimore and raised there and in Ellicott City, Maryland, a graduate of Barnard College, Class of 1955, Nicky is survived by her daughter, Debra (and Ken Maki), son Fred (and Toni Barba-Salan) and adored grandsons Aram Hava Salan, Daniel Fine Salan and Marco Barba Salan. Nicky moved to San Francisco in 1958 with her former husband, Martin Salan, who predeceased her, working initially as a social worker at the Jewish Community Center on California Street. A lifelong Giants fan (her move and theirs in 1958 was merely a coincidence) and long-time season ticket holder, Nicky lived to see her team bring home a World Series trophy. She was a superb and inventive cook, a gracious hostess, and a most generous friend. The family would like to thank and acknowledge Nicky's devoted caregivers, Fay Gustilo and Juanita Russo and the wonderful hospice staff. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, October 12, at 10:00 a.m. at Sinai Memorial Chapel, 1501 Divisadero St., SF, followed by burial at Home of Peace Cemetery in Colma. In lieu of flowers, contributions are welcome to Grattan School: Nicky Salan Library Fund, 165 Grattan Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 or the charity of your choice.

NVV May 2011: 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 highlights from the latest issue. Links are to items we've covered here on NVSF or outside sources as the Voice doesn't post stories online until mid-month.

May 2011

Front Page: St. Paul Church is 100 years old; local artist Eli Noyes designs a sheet of green stamps; car vs. ped accident at 24th and Church spurs local resident Kevin Daniels to pursue better enforcement (or lights) at the 4-way stop.

Letters: Cover to Cover closure lament; Gallery of Jewels adds a ramp for handicap access.

Features: Local resident opens mail-order basket business - the Noe Valley Day Break basket features Noe Valley honey, coffee beans, pastries and a Cafe XO mug; more ADA lawsuits targeting Pasta Pomodoro, Bacco Ristorante and Mailboxes Etc.; food gardening will be showcased at the Noe Valley garden tour on May 21; and 32 AT&T communications boxes are headed for Noe sidewalks if the supes vote yes on May 24 (for more info email AT&T's Mark Blakeman).

Cost of Living in Noe: Zephyr reports 13 homes changed hands in March, including 3 for over $2 million.  High-end homes are hot again in Noe.

Store Trek: Tango Advanced Nutrition (1311 Church St. at 25th); The Urban Chair hair salon (3650 24th St @ Fair Oaks) 

Rumors: None. Mazook's on vacation.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

NVV April 2011: 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 highlights from the latest issue. Links are to items we've covered here on NVSF or outside sources as the Voice doesn't post stories online until mid-month.

April 2011

Front Page: Cover to Cover closes - the remaining inventory, fixtures and playhouse are in the hands of a bankruptcy trustee; a profile of Dorothy Noe, great granddaughter of Jose de Jesus de Noe; cherry trees in bloom on 24th Street; update on Chabad of Noe Valley's expansion. 

Letters: A call to support Phoenix Books with the closure of Cover to Cover; laments of MUNI service cuts to the 35-Eureka bus; a rant about dog owners that bring their dogs into stores - and don't curb them either; a request for case numbers with the crime beat reports; more stolen planters at Sanchez and 24th.

Features: How to speed the J Church? City transit officials at a March 28 public hearing suggested converting 4 way stops to 2 way along Church Street, consolidating some stops, and installing traffic signals in select areas. SFMTA may set up a pilot to determine the feasibility of these ideas - any changes would require further public meetings to implement. Our district 8 supe Scott Wiener was "pleased" at the immediate and long-range proposals. [Ed note - for a different perspective check out StreetsblogSF's post on this meeting.]

Cost of Living in Noe: Zephyr reports 4 houses and 5 condos changed hands in Noe in February. One of those was a pricey "ultramodern" home on Hoffman that was bought last year for $3 million and sold 11 months later for $2.97 million. 

Short Takes: Noe merchants are pitching in with donations for the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund; the Easter bunny returns to Noe on April 23 for the annual Easter Egg Hunt (10 to noon at Douglass playground); Noe Garden Tour is on May 21.

Store Trek: Russo Music (2072 24th St. at Castro); Two Birds (1309 Castro at 24th St.)

Rumors: SF Giants pitcher Matt Cain is loving family life in Noe - you may see him with his daughter, wife and 2 dogs at the Noe Valley Farmer's Market or at Toast.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

Closing: Cover to Cover Books

We had hoped the recent tweets weren't true, but unfortunately they are. Cover to Cover is closing its doors for good today or tomorrow. The shelves are nearly bare, most of the kids' books are gone, and it's a sad day for the staff and customers at 1307 Castro St.

Cover to Cover has had it's share of closing scares before. During the dot com bust in June 2003, when the store was at 24th St. near Church (where Shoe Biz is today), a sign in the window read: "Now sadly, regretfully, we have to inform you that soon we will be closing our doors and saying goodbye to the neighborhood that has been so nurturing for so many years.... Times change, and you move on." The neighborhood rallied with a grassroots fund-raising campaign and the bookstore was saved, relocating to the current Castro St. spot. The Noe Valley Voice chronicles some of the bookstore's other moves and owners dating back to it's first incarnation in 1976 on Clement St.

Alas, this time it looks like Cover to Cover may be closing for good. Sad to see it go.

[Cover to Cover Booksellers]

Noe Valley Celebrates The Book

From Friends of Noe Valley:

"April is a special time to celebrate reading and our local independent bookstores. Each venue has planned an interesting event to bring neighbors together with the joy of books. All events are free."

Friday, April 17th, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m
The San Francisco Mystery Bookstore
Local authors Cara Black and Lisa Lutz share their latest adventures
4175 24th Street between Castro/Diamond
(415)282-7444

Sunday, April 19th, 2:30 - 4:30 p.m.
The Noe Valley Sally Brunn Branch Library
Share a Story--Middle schoolers will share some favorites with younger children in this drop in reading fest
451 Jersey St. between Castro and Diamond

Thursday, April 23, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Cover to Cover Booksellers
Date Night at the Bookstore--20% off purchases for couples, complimentary wine and cheese
1307 Castro at 24th
(415)282-8080

Friday, April 24, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Phoenix Books
Gardening in SF with author Alex Hatch,author of Cracks in the Asphalt
3850 24th Street at Vicksburg
(415)821-3477

Saturday, April 25, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Omnivore Books
Cookbook signing with Gerald Hirigoyen, author of Pintxos
3885A Cesar Chavez Street at Church
(415)282-4712

"Co-sponsored by Friends of Noe Valley, your local independent booksellers and branch public library."

[Friends of Noe Valley]
[NVSF: Noe Valley Library Wins Preservation Award]