This Week in Noe Valley: Hamlet Closing, New Vietnamese Pop Up and More Real Foods Drama

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

• The remaining Real Foods Company stores in Cole Valley and in the outer Richmond close abruptly [Hoodline]
• A Noe Valley native muses about what might have been at Real Foods on 24th St [SF Examiner]
• Easy Breezy’s Castro outpost relocates to “safer” West Portal [ABC7]
• This could get interesting: Diamond Heights Shopping Center on the edge of Noe gets new investors/owners [CPExecutive]
• Meet the mayoral candidates at the Noe Valley Ministry on January 31 [Noe Valley Democratic Club]
• Is District 8 Supervisor Sheehy’s campaign in disarray? [SF Chronicle]
• Hmmm… Hamlet for sale and will close soon [Eater via @NVSF]
• New Vietanamese lunch pop up launches at the Noe Valley Farmer’s Market [NVFM]

[Photo: Winter SF via shalaco] 

This Week in Noe Valley: Dolores Park Is a Mess, Eviction at Old Fattoush Space and Other Midsummer News

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

• Eviction notice on the old Fattoush space [@ingerhogstrom]
• Triple shooting in broad daylight at Dolores Park [NBC]
• Neighbors worry that Dolores Park is now just cesspool of drugs and violence [SFGate]
• Noe Valley’s newest Wishing Tree at 24th and Fair Oaks [Hoodline]
• St. Paul’s dates back to the 1800s [National Catholic Register]
• Lots of Noe Valley rental buildings still aren’t seismic [SFist]
• Sheehy is in the lead for District 8 supes race fundraising [SF Chronicle]
• Or maybe Mandelman is? [48Hills]
• Cliché Noe gift shop adds a Made in SF corner [Hoodline]
• Noe Valley Wine Walk Returns August 17 [Eventbrite]
• Noe Valley has one of the best burritos and one of the best sushi spots in SF [SFist]
• The Town Square sauna pop-up returns [leftcoastsauna]

[Photo: Summer in the Town Square via Frankedsonsf]

Noe Valley 2010: Year in Review

2010 was a busy year in our quiet village. Lots of community meetings, retail change-ups, civic improvements and local activism. Here's a look at some highlights and themes from 2010.

More Restaurants

In January the planning commission lifted the restaurant ban in 24th St commercial district. Although we didn’t see that ruling turn into new permits in 2010, it did send a message that Noe is restaurant-friendly again. New additions food-wise this year included Patxi's and Little Chihuahua. Tataki South also opened for sushi on outer Church. Not a restaurant but happy news for foodies, Blue Bottle Coffee also debuted at Spin City.

More Green

Pocket Parks, Parklets and Plazas were big items this year. Not everyone liked the plaza idea, but the tea party fillibuster and ensuing kerfuffle did pave the way for 2 parklets and discussion of a possible town square.

Quieter Trains

The J-Church rail at 30th got an upgrade and neighbors rejoiced: “Just as I was thinking it, a neighbor nearby noted with happiness, 'Hey, it doesn’t make noise anymore.'”

Orange Wins

Noe resident Matt Cain helped take the Giants to a World Series victory. And Scott Weiner – whose campaign color was orange – replaced Bevan Dufty as disctrict 8 Supervisor. Noe Valley was also voted # 1 for Halloween trick-or-treating, and the orange-themed Harvest Fest was a hit.

Crime Files

Sadly, it was also a busy year for crime in Noe including vehicle thefts, stolen iPhones, a homicide, identity scavengers, and a Wells Fargo bank robbery (which may explain the armed guard in front of BofA these days).

Storefront Changes

We lost some retail stores this year on and near 24th St. including Cooks Boulevard, Lisa Violetto, Urban Cellars, and Apple Blossom (and the genie went back into the bottle). We also lost useful retail space to Circle Bank, Alain Pinel and the soon-to-open Noe Valley Smiles. New shops in the area include: When Modern Was (via Church), Sway in the old Streetlight Records space, Heliotrope, Design Quarter, Re:Construction Salon, and Joseph Andrade Floral in the old Artsake space.

Lively Debates

Finally, it was a year of lively debates. We all got exercised about lots of things besides plazas. Favorite topics were passive aggressive parking, shuttle buses, dogs, pedestrians, strollers, a new mayor, and local color.

Here's to more fun in 2011. Happy New Year, Noe Valley!

Preliminary Ranked Choice Results: Supes Race District 8

The short version: Scott Weiner leads with 12,985 total votes or 55.65% of the vote in Round 2 (Mandelman has 44.35%).

In case you were confused by the ranked choice voting, here's how it works:

The Ranked-Choice Voting Report for Round 1 combines the accumulated totals of first-choice rankings as well as the second- or third-choice selections transferred to the first-choice ranking selections when the first-choice ranking was skipped as required under San Francisco Charter Sec. 13.102: "If a voter casts a ranked-choice ballot but skips a rank, the voter's vote shall be transferred to that voter's next ranked choice."

The numbers are not final, and Mandelman has not conceded. The department will release final results on November 30, 2010.

[SF Department of Elections: Preliminary Ranked-Choice Results Report, Board of Supervisors, District 8]

Early Returns: District 8 Supes Race

Via SF Appeal:

San Francisco's elections for four new members of the 11-member Board of Supervisors remained undecided.

With no candidates achieving a 50-percent majority of votes in races in District 2, 6, 8 and 10, San Francisco's ranked-choice voting system will determine the winners in the coming days.

District 8 in the Castro District and Noe Valley will be led by either Deputy City Attorney Scott Weiner, who got nearly 42 percent of the vote, or public law and affordable housing attorney Rafael Mandelman, who received 36 percent.

[SF Appeal: 2010 Election: Newsom Probably Headed To Sacramento, Other SF Candidate Results]
[Images: Twitter]

NVV Oct. 2010: 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.

October 2010

This month's Voice is mostly a lightweight collection of what you'd expect: A half-page photo of trick-or-treaters from last year's Halloween on 24th St, a thinly-veiled press release from Alain Pinel Realtors (no mention of the Sue Bowie sellout), and notes on the second Town Square meeting.

But the real (only?) reason to pick up this month's issue is on pages 11-12. The District 8 supes candidates answer some questions about where they stand on key issues this election. Worth a look before you vote.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

Supes Race: Bill Hemenger Opening Campaign Office In Noe Valley

From the press release:

Bill Hemenger, Democratic candidate for District 8 Supervisor, will open a second campaign office in the heart of Noe Valley, at 4128 24th Street, between Castro and Diamond. This location will serve as an outreach center and information hub for the residents of Noe Valley, Diamond Heights, and Glen Park. Bill is the only candidate in the District 8 race with two campaign offices.

Bill’s new Noe Valley office will complement the campaign’s official headquarters at 2324 Market Street, between Noe and Castro, serving Duboce Triangle, Upper Market, and the Castro. Bill saw the need to reach out to the residents of Noe Valley and beyond, who often feel overlooked in supervisor elections. The opening of the second office is in response to the flood of requests for information from voters in the more residential neighborhoods of District 8.

[Official Site: Bill Hemenger for District 8]

NVV Sept. 2010: 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.

September 2010

Front Page: A love note to high-end modern homes in Noe; notes from the Town Square meeting on July 15; the plaza proposal is dead, now the debate is where to put (or nix) the parklets.

Letters: A 16-year Noe resident on the mob-rule mentality that shut down the plaza proposal: "Are these people not homeowners or do they simply not realize how much more desirable their homes would become were they lucky enough to live on a newly dead-ended street?"; thanks to the person randomly planting poppies on Elizabeth St.; hi and we miss you from the Andiamo Deli brothers; Robert Roddick, president of the Noe Valley Merchants and Professionals Association distances himself from the NVMPA support for the plaza trial now that it's been squelched.

Features: Billy Goat Hill gets a $50,000 facelift this month – improvements include path updates, erosion control and native plant restoration.

Cost of Living in Noe: Market cooling but the average home in Noe still costs more than $1 million. Rents are up slightly year over year.

Short Takes: Supes debate coming on Sept. 16 at Upper Noe Rec Center; Harvest Fest will be on Saturday Oct. 23, including some local music talent you'll recognize from the farmer's market; cops close Noe murder case.

Traveling Voice: Consumer confidence is up - this summer the the Voice made it to South Africa for the World Cup, Cinque Terre and Paris.

Store Trek: Heliotrope SF; The Little Chihuahua.

Rumors: The Plaza to Parklets drama continues – the NVMPA says merchants want a say in where the parklets will be located, with several retailers vowing (off the record) to fight them outright. The locations being considered are: 24th Street in front of Martha's, Noe Bagel,Toast, and the Noe Valley Ministry lot near Vicksburg. [Ed- Fasten your seatbelts… it's going to be bumpy.] The next Friends of Noe Valley meeting will be on Sept. 28 at James Lick where you can vote on the officers and board. There will also be a presentation on the Town Square and supes candidates have been invited to weigh in. The Noe Valley Farmer's Market board had a "special meeting" in August to discuss market vendors and volunteers supporting supes candidates (not allowed). Rebecca Prozan opened her campaign headquarters a block away from the Market in July. Harry Aleo's Twin Peaks Property is becoming a music store – opening date is mid Oct. The colorful Twin Peaks/Aleo memorabilia went to family, Noe Valley archivists Bill Yenne and Joel Panzer, an estate seller, and to the NVMPA. Accent on Flowers (next door to the future music store) is consolidating to Flowers of the Valley across the street; Blue Bottle Coffee and Design Quarter open.

[The Noe Valley Voice]