NVV July/Aug 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.

July/August 2012

Front Page: Noe neighbors nix the idea of losing a Muni stop at 30th; First Republic approved for 24th St; merchants are noticing an uptick in petty crime, shoplifters and "unbalanced homeless men" in the neighborhood as beat cops are spread too thin.
 
Letters: A reader opines that 24th and Church needs a traffic light for pedestrians; a plea for Noe Valleyeans to be Town Square heroes; Liberty resident alarmed that Muni wants to nix the Liberty St stop (reason: it's a scary blind corner if Muni doesn't pause there); the 2012 Noe Valley Garden Tour sold 200 tickets this year and the winning garden was Jana and Geoff King on Cesar Chavez; a Valley St resident rails against the white dots requiring sidewalk repair (choice quote: "the blinding white of replacement squares is a physical annoyance..."); a fan of First Republic chimes in; a Duncan neighbor warns of the perils of rat poison to other local pets (use traps instead); more Examiner grumping; SF Girl Scouts (Ed.--and more likely their parents as anyone who works in an office knows) are the top Cookie sellers in Northern California; and farewell Miss Kit, the much-loved "oldest dog in Noe Valley."

Cost of Living in Noe: Buyers are routinely paying 5% to 10% over asking. It's hot out there. Good luck renting.

Store Trek: Philz Coffee (4298 24th St.)

Short Takes: A $1700 sandbox cover was installed at Upper Noe Rec Center to keep out the late-night feline visitors using it as a litter box. (Ed.--It's an old problem not likely to go away.)

Rumors: La Boulange is now owned by Starbucks; Radio Shack will open "sometime toward the end of August" and the 2 upper units will be ready for renters in July; Tuggey's is closing at the end of the summer at which point the new tenant will be revealed ("in negotiations"); rumors that First Republic could have moved into the Real Foods space are wishful thinking so Real Foods remains a black hole; Noe Valley Town Square needs $3.6 million and so far Patxi's has pledged the most at $24,000, matching grants are materializing and residents are organizing house parties "hosted by people who work for for large Silicon Valley companies;" US DHS director to speak July 18 at St. Philip's Church; news from the blogosphere covered here at NVSF and elsewhere; and kudos to the St Philip's baseball team for 1st and 3rd places in the citywide tournament.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

This Week In Noe Valley: Free Cream Puffs, Town Square Gaining Momentum, O'Greenbergs Sold

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

• Nearby Dianda's Bakery turns 50 on July 7 with free cream puffs [Twitter]
• Copper Thief out of jail and wreaking havoc once again [SFGate]
• Noe Valley Town Square hits $250k in pledges and gains mass media attention [Andrew S. Ross]
• O'Greenbergs sold to "Gino & Carlo, vets and ex-cops" [Inside Scoop]
• May single family home sales confirm seller's market in Noe Valley [Downing Co]
• Ocean Beach master plan released, goodbye Great Highway south of Sloat [Ocean Beach Bulletin]
• Got two kids and a dog? [The Bold Italic]

[Photo: Bethany United Methodist Church reborn in stucco, AD 2012]

Photo: Play Ball!

Addison Brewer-Hay, daughter of Elizabeth Street Brewery owners Alyson and Richard Brewer-Hay, announces "play ball" at the June 25, 2012, Giants/Dodgers game at AT&T Park. The Giants won 8-0, but Addison brought home a night for the record books.

Also: video.

[Photo: Richard Brewer-Hay]

What's Up With Noe Valley's Angry Little Birds?

Lots of angry birds in Noe Valley these days. We first heard from Lenny over the weekend:

Ok, what's the story with these dive bombing birds in Upper Noe Valley?! They're tiny little black sparrows that sneak up behind people, fly into their head and then flee. It's nuts. I was attacked and then watched, one after one, they kept going like clockwork. We saw them in two places: 24th between Castro and Diamond and then on 23rd and Diamond.

Then on Twitter yesterday: "Birds attacking peeps just past Barney's on 24th btw Diamond n Castro. Happening since May. Prob springtime babies."

And then today Curbed pointed out this post on Boing Boing: "I spotted this somewhat disconcerting sign at a playground yesterday." The sign from the Upper Noe Rec Center shown in the above photo reads "Beware of attack birds! Incidents of small black birds pecking at public."

We don't have a photo of the offending birds, but we're guessing it's the European (or Common) Starling. First introduced to the US in the 1890s they are now the "most hated bird in North America." Yes it hurts when they peck at your head while defending their nest, but consider this: they've been known to take down airplanes.

We'd still like a photo if anyone has one.

[Update 7/7: @oddnoc believes he knows what they are: "They're not sparrows, but Brewer's blackbirds. They're not being "bizarre," but are defending their nests."]

Witnesses Wanted: Party Poopers On 24th St

This from the Noe Valley Parents email list:

Did anyone notice the drunk/messed up couple who wreaked havoc in Noe Saturday night? They were trying to find parking by waking up residents and crashing their car into a parked vehicle and a garage door on 24th street between Noe and Castro.

They were generally very loud and threatening and possibly attending a party in the area. I am looking to figure out the licence plate on their Ford (which had a big Giants sticker on the rear window) which also is missing a rear tail light.

Any help appreciated.

See something? Know the perps? Are you the perp and feeling guilty? Send us what info you have and we'll pass it to the originator of the above plea.

[Photo: Babble]

This Week In Noe Valley: Unreal Estate, Firefly Revisited, Ladies Behaving Badly

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

• Scott Wiener prompts Mayor Ed Lee to get tough on playground vandalism [SFGate]
• Firefly revisited: Michael Bauer gives it 2.5 stars despite need for a makeover [SFGate]
• District 5c modern studio finally sells for $845/sf (yes this is Noe Valley) [Socketsite]
• Realtors weigh in on the best things about living in Noe Valley [Trulia]
• Noe Valley condo prices climb for 5th month in a row (hello $1M apts) [Downing Co]
• More recovered stolen bicycles [SFPD Mission]
• Attention ladies taking high tea at Lovejoy's: you don't have to steal the curds [SF Weekly]
• Matt Cain supposedly still lives in the "Noe Valley suburb of San Francisco" [Shelby County Reporter]
• Gallery of Jewels and Elizabeth Street Cosmetics both have shopping events this weekend [Refinery 29]

[Photo: Infinite City, Rebecca Solnit via San Francisco Magazine]

Construction and Community Garden at NV Branch Library

We received an email from Michelle Jeffers, the PR officer for the SF Public Library that DPW is going to be doing some construction work on the rear retaining wall behind Noe Valley Branch Library.

A flyer is being distributed to neighbors [PDF] - this bit caught our eye:

"This project will improve the safety of the Library’s rear retaining wall. Once construction is completed, the community garden project at the Noe Valley Branch Library will resume."

According to Michelle, there was some clean up work behind the library about two or three years ago with local neighbors and a Boy Scout troop. Then because of the retaining wall work, it was put on hold. The idea is that a community garden project can get back on track once the retaining wall is repaired.

Stay tuned for more details on the community garden.

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]