NVV June 2017: 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 other resources. Follow the NVV link at the bottom for full articles and all the ads.

June 2017

Front Page: Noe Valley lawmaker Mark Leno wants to be mayor; Noe Courts is open; BofA security guard James Grant moonlights as a singer and appeared at the Town Square; local filmmaker Jeffrey Braverman will have a short film called David in Brief at Frameline, the SF LGBTQ Film Festival.

Letters: Letter from a neighbor lamenting the loss of Good News newsstand on 24th St; a response to last month's Trump supporter; and a clarification on Karen Oliveto, pastor of Bethany United Methodist Church.

Features: RIP local filmmaker Dan Halas; Julia Ready closing her local daycare business after 27 years.

Cost of Living in Noe: The average cost of a Noe Valley home in April was $2.4 million as more homes came to market; the most expensive sale was a $4.1 million home on the 4300 block of 25th St. which went for 4.7 percent below asking.

Short Takes: SummerFEST is on June 11 this year; the free evening movies in Dolores Park this year are posted; garbage rates are going to rise this year.

Store Trek: The Rabbit Hole Theater Company, 800 Diamond St

Rumors and Tidbits: Urban Remedy, a local chain and purveyor of plant-based foods is taking over the old DavidsTea space and the grand opening is June 24; Cotton Basics is opening up a new annex in the old Green 11 space next to just for fun which will specialize in posters and cotton logo wear. Honeycomb Salon now offers 7AM hair cuts for regulars. The former Good News space is renting for $3,000 a month - owners of a barber, a store selling art stuff and a yogurt shop have so far expressed interest. Savor is undergoing a change of ownership. La PanotiQ abruptly closed last month. Wise Sons Deli in the Mission is selling bread at Whole Foods. Neighbor's Corner at 21st and Douglass has applied to be a restaurant so it can keep its seats. Neutraceutical is being bought by a private equity firm and the Real Foods store is reportedly slated to be sold in the transaction (here's hoping).

[The Noe Valley Voice]

This Week in Noe Valley: Hamlet and Bistro SF Changes, Mission Fire and a Poignant Memorial

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

• Profile of an "ingenious" Noe Valley resident who evicted a tenant to put the home on Airbnb [NY Times]
• Hamlet gets a new chef and menu with some Japanese twists [Eater]
• More details on the Bistro SF move into the former Hahn’s Hibachi space [Hoodline]
• Skeeter Jones has been working for decades to restore Victorians in Noe and beyond [SF Chronicle]
• Girlz for Hillary in Noe Valley [@mikkelsvane]
• ICYMI today was Summerfest on 24th St [@SFEnvironment]
• Multi-floor fire at 29th and Mission this afternoon takes out Cole Hardware [SFist]

[Photo: A poignant memorial of Orlando via @jw]

NVV June 2016: 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 other resources. Follow the NVV link at the bottom for full articles and all the ads.

June 2016

Front Page: A profile of Audrey Cooper, Noe Valley resident and editor -in-chief of the San Francisco Chronicle; Some 24th Street retailers are feeling the squeeze from online shopping; The 35 Eureka bus runs more often; A profile of Kim Nguyen-Ehrenreich, the founder of the Noe Valley branch of Bricks 4 Kidz; A peek inside three Noe Valley Victorians.

Letters: Thanks to the team that put on the Noe Valley Garden Tour; A plea to vote no on Prop B.

Features: The proposed Town Square owl sculptures may finally be approved - with a more literal than abstract design; Local businesses are split on whether the Farmer's Market on 24th St helps or hurts business on Saturdays; SummerFEST is coming on Saturday June 18.

Cost of Living in Noe: Home sales are hot with 15 single family homes selling in April for an average of $2.4 million.

Store Trek: Songbird Studios, 3823 24th St. and VOILA, 1431 Castro St.

Rumors and Tidbits: Still no movement in the former Real Foods space. The former site of The Ark toy store is now a pop-up called The Curious Object which sells luxury items that Noe Valley resident and realtor Stephen Moore procured on a trip to London (including a penny-farthing, a stuffed swan and other curios). Once the pop-up pops down, Moore will turn the space into a more permanent shop called The Mercantile which will sell new and vintage gift items, housewares and antiques (basically, the same stuff). When Modern Was is offering Chalk Paint classes to "give new life to tired furniture"  and owner Donna Taylor is selling her other shop Buttons Bar, which is potentially very bad news for the recently relocated Video Wave. Walkershaw Man sublet its shop to Azil jewelry boutique for the month of May, and Azil is now looking for a new place to pop-up in Noe again. Heroine is leaving Noe Valley and moving to L.A. - Charlie's Corner bookstore will now expand into that space for more room for kids storytime, parties and theater classes (Ed.--Very Noe Valley for a prime corner location to become a child's reading space). Bom Dia is still closed and the owner is not responding to requests for information. The deal that would have put Golden Gate Urgent Care in the space vacated by In-House fell apart (Ed.-- Good) so the storefront is once again for lease. Instead, GoHealth Urgent Care is opening in the brand new commercial space on 24th at Church (Ed.-- Boo). Hahn's Hibachi has closed and is being replaced by Bistro SF Grill.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

This Week In Noe Valley: Wider Sidewalks, Landlord From Hell, And A Sign Of The Bubble

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

• Almost done: The new bus stop and bulbout on Castro and 24th [@Scott_Wiener]
• And a couple of videos of the crosswalk installation [@sfpublicworks, @theoverheadwire ]
• Time travel: Classic Corvette on Church Street [tfaccone]
• "Stunning" [@iamvivita]
• Eviction specialist and Noe Valley landlord from hell being sued by City [SF Gate]
• Scott Wiener on the mission moratorium defeat and where we go from here [SF Examiner]
• SF’s median rent is not $4225 (but it’s still really high) [SocketSite]
• Is the Noe/Mission/Castro TrashDay fake/real startup a sign of the apocalypse bubble? [MarketWatch]
• Does anyone know the history of the Noe Valley Red Light District? [@jlassen]
• The June issue of the Noe Valley Voice is out [NVV]
• Noe Valley SummerFest is coming Saturday June 20 from 11-5 [NoeValleySummerfest]
• Noe Valley – the t-shirt [Etsy]

[Photo: Hey sun, stay a little longer why don't you? ☀️ via hey_im_kate ]

This Week In Noe Valley: Mystery Sculptures, $1M Teardowns, And Summerfest Is Coming

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

• Summer activities at the Upper Noe Rec Center [Friends of the NVRC]
• Like fairy doors but weirder: Small sculpted faces that first appeared in Noe are now turning up in sidewalks in Bernal (and we've seen a few in the Mission) [We Built this City and Bernalwood]
• Father’s Day ideas (not just books) from Folio [Folio blog]
• Crazy (and true) real estate stories from SF by a visitor to Noe Valley [Well Heeled Blog]
• Noe Valley stats: The median is age 41, HHI is $115,700 and most houses are owner occupied [Paragon]
• The Refrain of 2014: That $1M teardown is now a $3.4M modern home [Curbed]
• There’s no community at the Noe Valley Whole Foods says this writer from Palo Alto [The Food Party]
• Wink SF is renting space for a pop-up on 24th St. for $100 per day [Storefront]
• Voter turnout this week was so low (11.98% of the population) that Prop B passed with only 6.6% of SF voting yes [@ptraughber]
• Attorney David Waggoner may run against District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener in the fall election [Bay Area Reporter]
• Next Saturday Is Summerfest on 24th Street from 11-5 [NV Summerfest]
• It's okay, go ahead and let your tourist friends call it (gah) Frisco [Thrillist]

[Photo: the unrideable road gretchenandrew]

NVV June 2014: 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 other resources. Follow the NVV link at the bottom for full articles and all the ads.

June 2014

Front Page: Summerfest and a day of petting zoos, jumpy tents and activities is coming on Saturday June 14 to 24th St.; maggots at Whole Foods have been cleared, plus a poor health score at Safeway in Diamond Heights; remembering the sandlot at 30th that became the Upper Noe Rec Center.

Letters: A reader wants to know why Chloe's on Church is packed for brunch when the excellent Fattoush down the street is empty; a first-world problems poem about Noe Valley (first line: Eat organic, stay focused); resentment for an ad for Google Shopping Express in the May issue that lists all the "wonderful mega-chains one can order from" instead of shopping locally (meanwhile, real estate ads = 17).

Short Takes: The Noe Courts plan was approved; 5 paintings of the Golden Gate Bridge will be at Hill & Co. until the end of July; Noe Valley Garden Tour is this Saturday, June 7; Bethany United Methodist Church will be celebrating Pride with a BBQ at noon on June 29 following the morning service.

Cost of Living in Noe: The Cube House on 26th Street sold for $5.25 million; everything is going for over asking. Average rent for a 2 bedroom? Still $4542.

Store Trek: Holy Kitchen (4166 24th St at Diamond)

Rumors: The Noe Valley Town Square grant was approved; NV resident Mike Adamick published Dad's Book of Awesome Projects which is for sale at the local Folio bookstore; thanks to the residents who helped with the CATs fundraiser on May 15; the old La Sirena Botanica space on Church is for rent again; the Valley Tavern patio and beer garden is open for business; a for rent sign is up at the former Global Exchange space; renovations are planned for the former Sway/Streetlight space; permits should soon be issued for what was Bliss Bar at 4026 24th St. (unclear if Bliss is rebuilding); and in non-news the Asian fusion mystery restaurant is (as always) still a mystery; Daniel Perea, a Noe Valley native is the new police chief at Mission Station.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

Oh Look It's The Noe Valley SummerFest

SummerFest is tomorrow, and if this is the first you've heard of it don't worry. For many people, the first indication that there's a festival is *clip* *clop* and "Oh Look! Horses!!" as the hay ride ambles past. But there's more to it than that, and it's a great time to hang out with others in the neighborhood.

Summerfest runs from 11am-5 pm on June 15th between Castro and Church on 24th St. In addition to the hay ride there's live music, a bouncy tent, a petting zoo, face painting, a ballon artist and SFPCA adoptions. Merchants are offering special sales and activities. Coming from out of the area (or having an especially hard time parking at Whole Foods)? $10 parking at James Lick benefits the JLMS PTSA. Other than that it's a free event.

[NVA: SummerFest]

NVV June 2013: 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 online until the middle of the month.

June 2013

Front Page: Local travel guru Chris McGinnis offers travel tips; A Noe Courts update; Profile of Mike Adamick, author of Dad's Book of Awesome Projects.

Letters: Praise for Scott Wiener's response to every day minutia; Recycling thieves' idling cars causing smog; Praise for the Noe Valley Garden Tour from a volunteer; 1220-1222 Church St is painted but still empty; Does AT&T pay fees for new cabinets on the sidewalk? [Ed.--yes]; In Memory: Jack Garvey.

Features and Short Takes: SummerFest is June 15th; A rundown of the various utilities digging up Noe Valley streets; New manager at the NV/Sally Brunn Library and possible new hours (PDF).

Cost of Living in Noe: Super expensive flips raise the average/median home cost.

Rumors: A detailed history of the Noe Valley Town Square starting with the firing of Real Foods employees 10 years ago to the launch of the farmer's market to the crazy meetings about the Plaza to the founding of Parklets to today's effort to preserve public space; Griddle Fresh opened; Noe Valley resident and founder of Code Pink Medea Benjamin who repeatedly shouted down Barack Obama on May23rd; "I wish this was..."; Kale Chips at Luva Java; That great photo of Drewes before they were always going out of business.

Notable Trend: Realtor ads are taking over the NVV.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

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]

NVV June 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.

June 2012

Front Page: Noe Valley author Sonia Faleria has a book about life in Mumbai; electric cars get a charge out of Walgreens [Ed note: no mention that even non EVs can park there]; SummerFEST is coming; white dots around Noe = sidewalk replacement.
 
Letters: A reader wants to know why not more police downtown; more hate/love for the Examiner; another plea for a Town Square angel; realtors: get a parking clue.

Cost of Living in Noe: A mini mansion sells for $3.4 million; buyer crowds resemble the "dot-com boom of the late 1990s-early 2000s" (and we know what that got us).

Store Trek: Noe Valley Wine Merchants (3821 24th St.)

Rumors: Real Foods may - or may not - have new plans to make the building safe for retail without adding development; NV Town Square has raised over $100,000 - and needs more money asap; some restaurants for sale [Joe's on 24th St, and another: "owner retiring"] ; Chris Cosentino of Incanto has a cookbook; Chloe's turns 25; First Republic not so popular; Sirena Botanica closes; more Facebook zillionaire puffery. 

[The Noe Valley Voice]

Noe Valley SummerFEST 2012

Hawaiian shave ice, Smitten ice cream tasting, a petting zoo, live music, honey bee demos, a magic show ... it can only mean one thing: SummerFEST on 24th Street.

On Saturday June 16 from 11-5 (the day before Father's Day), 24th Street merchants will be throwing a family event in downtown Noe Valley.

There's nothing posted about this year's festival on the NVMPA site yet except last year's poster, but if you've seen the SummerFEST banners high on poles on 24th Street and wondered what they say, click the image above to see a larger version with full details.

Upcoming: Noe Valley SummerFEST and Harvest

Here comes summer. Two seasonal Noe events have been posted on the Noe Valley Merchants website, though not widely promoted yet:

Noe Valley SummerFEST: Saturday, June 25, from 1- 6 p.m.

Noe Valley merchants are kicking off summer with the 2nd annual SummerFEST, Saturday, June 25, from 1- 6 p.m. on 24th Street. Activities include hayrides, chalk drawing, a petting zoo, free live music and entertainment music, food, beer & wine, a honey bee demo, and face painting (not recommended after beer & wine).

Noe Valley Harvest Festival 2011, October 15, 2011 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.

Also announced is the date for this year’s Noe Valley Harvest Festival. The fun runs on Saturday October 15 from 10 a.m. to  5 p.m. on 24th Street near the farmer's market, and will include a pumpkin patch, costume contest, hay rides, jumpy tents, arts and crafts, and a balloon “artist.” Check out last year’s Giants-infused Harvest Fest here.

[Noe Valley Merchants: Events]