This Week in Noe Valley: Daylight Savings, Pop-ups Popping Up and Rainy Day Politics

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

• Noe Valley’s Dorian Clair will reset San Francisco’s grandest clock for daylight savings time [SF Gate]
• A tribute to former NV resident and LGBT activist Charlotte Coleman [SF Bay Times]
• ICYMI: Art proposal for the Noe Valley Town Square [SFAC]
• Guggenheimish at the edge of Noe [kristynaarcher]
• Word Week, Noe Valley’s annual lit festival starts March 20 [Word Week]
• The stories behind SF neighborhood names [SF Gate]
• Spotted all around Noe Valley #IDKNotTrumpTho [merrij]
• The top 10 (!) brunches in Noe Valley [The Culture Trip]
• A massive price cut on a completely remodeled home for sale [SocketSite]
• Fair Oaks Halloween is a selling point for this new home? [7x7]
• Surprise! Study finds the Bay Area housing crisis is fueled by greed [SF Chronicle]
• Spin City Coffee hosts a cute pop-up dinner [spincitycoffee]
• A community pop-up at The Root on March 13 includes food, palm reading and shopping [millielottietotes]
• Hamlet adds Happy Hour weekdays from 4-5:30 [hamlet_sf]

[Photo: Rainy days via larsenpro]

Crime Beat: A Close Call On Fair Oaks Street

From the Fair Oaks Street Group email list, this description of an incident early Saturday morning on 6/2/12:

I thought it was important to let the Fair Oaks Community know what happened to me last night.

Sometime between 12:15-12:45 a cab dropped me off outside my apartment on Fair Oaks Street. My cell phone was stolen this same night so I'm not 100% sure of the time. The cab left me off in the middle of the street and as soon as it drove away I noticed a man hiding behind a tree next door to the entrance of my apartment. All I could see was his head peeping out behind the tree. I decided to wait because I did not want this man to follow me in. As soon as he realized I had seen him, he made a run for me. I screamed as loud as I could down the middle of Fair Oaks Street between 23rd and 24th running towards an oncoming car. The car stopped and four complete young strangers saw how distraught I was and let me inside their car. The man from behind the tree ran to his volvo station wagon and took off within seconds. The police came about 5 minutes later after my next door neighbor heard my scream and came outside to check on me. The police said a similar incident happened on 22nd and Bartlett. I really would like all of the women in the Fair Oaks Community to know what happened. My next door neighbor where the man was hiding has absolutely no lighting and his trees have been marked to be cut down. I think it's time we start to take action and have people install more lighting on the street. I have no idea what this man looks like because it was so dark. All I could see was the outline of his body.

In addition to all the usual advice for how to stay safe, one Fair Oaks resident had this great reminder:

Supervisor Scott Wiener has called a hearing on street lighting with PGE and various City departments in attendance on Monday morning (TOMORROW!) June 4, at 10 AM at City Hall – either Room 263 or in the Board of Supes chambers. Scott invites all Fair Oaks folks to attend, to make our needs known to the authorities, and to press for improvements. The more neighbors who show up, the sooner we’ll get action on our street. Please try to attend – and spread the word, too.

Scott's official announcement:

What: Hearing on streetlight reliability in San Francisco, including problems and delays fixing burned out lights and plans by PG&E and PUC to improve the system.

When: Monday June 4, 2012, at 10 a.m. (Note that the hearing was originally scheduled for two weeks ago but was delayed.)

Where: Board of Supervisors City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee, City Hall

Details: Supervisor Scott Wiener called for a hearing on streetlight reliability in San Francisco, so that the public can better understand how the system works, how streetlights are maintained and by whom, how requests for maintenance are processed, and why there are frequent delays in getting streetlights fixed. Persistent burned-out streetlights are a significant source of frustration for the public. The PUC, PG&E, and other City departments will be present to address the issue.

Contact: Supervisor Scott Wiener, (415) 554-6968, scott.wiener@sfgov.org

[Photo: sfist]

Crime Beat: Rape

Via the Fair Oaks Community Coalition:

Dear neighbors:

Today at 6:30 AM, a woman was attacked on 24th Street and raped around the corner on Fair Oaks Street. The woman has been hospitalized and is under care in San Francisco. The SFPD cordoned off the northwest corner during their investigation, and the fire department was later called to wash blood from the sidewalk. [A neighbor] who lives across the street found a bloody undergarment in shrubs near her home and gave it to the police, who have classified this as a “very violent crime,” and are giving it their utmost attention.

There were apparently no witnesses, and are no suspects at present – however, in the event that you may have heard or seen something in this area at that time, PLEASE NOTIFY THE POLICE DIRECTLY. Believe it or not, the preferred contact method is not by phone (which ties up the station’s switchboard), but by email or Twitter:

• Email: SFPDMissionStation@sfgov.org
• Twitter: SFPD_Mission

But if your only contact method is telephone, please call the TIP LINE: (415) 392-2623.

Three Fair Oaks neighbors went to Mission Station late this morning to ask how our community might best offer support and assistance to the woman. Officer Salvador suggested that cards and notes could be forwarded to her from Mission Station. Needless to say, her identity will not (and should not) be made public, but assuming that she’s unable to work for a while, some financial assistance might be welcome, particularly at this time of year. As soon as a fund can be established, contribution information will be provided to this email list.

While the case is under investigation, the police strongly advise all of us neighbors not to discuss any “facts” that we may have heard or believe to be true. The reason is simple: Misinformation made public can prejudice a case, and could provide the perpetrator’s defense attorney grounds for dismissal when it comes to trial.

In the meantime, Officer Salvador recommends that extra attention be paid to the personal safety of our families and our homes in the following ways:

• Never, ever walk down a public street while talking or texting on your phone! C.W. Nevius’ recent column in the Chronicle explains why. Doubters should note that at Mission Station this morning, two young women walked in to report exactly this sort of attack. One of them had just been mugged from behind while talking on her phone on busy Mission Street at 10:30 AM!
• Lock the doors and windows of your home! Burglars are looking for holiday gifts, and will be delighted to take yours.
• Lock your car, and leave nothing of value on view inside. Even a trash bag full of used tissues may prompt a smash-and-grab – especially if it’s a recycled bag with an interesting label. The thief will get nothing for his efforts, but you’ll still have a broken window to replace.
• When you’re away from home, leave the lights on, inside and out. And always keep your porch lights on when it’s dark outside (morning & evening commute hours). Set them on timers, if possible, and add a radio for sound effects. Like germs, burglars thrive in the dark.
• If you’re going out of town, cancel mail, package and newspaper deliveries, or ask a neighbor to pick them up from your front steps. Why advertise that no one’s at home?
• When you see something suspicious – even a little bit suspicious – call 911 immediately! The police will never, ever scold you for giving them the opportunity to stop a crime while it’s happening. And if it’s a false alarm, they’ll still thank you for staying alert.

These are commonsense precautions that should be heeded by all. For more ideas, please check http://www.sfsafe.org.

In the interval since the above email went out a suspect has been identifed: "a black male, mid 30’s, 5’9” – 6’00”, medium build last seen wearing a black hoodie, and dark pants." More info on the SFPD website. 

Update (12/13): Get involved. Go to the community meeting on December 14.