Gpn Fall 2008

Fall 2008

GLEN PARK NEWS Volume 26, No. 3

Official Newspaper of the Glen Park Association www.glenparknews.org

Published Quarterly

ENOUGH!

Buddies Market Attack Draws Huge Crowd to Anti-Crime Meeting

We filled the auditorium

San Francisco police have saturated Glen Park with patrols after the brutal robbery at Buddies Market last month in which owner Paul Park was stabbed and left for dead and by one of his employees Rachel was briefly kidnapped Gordon by the assailants in their getaway. The robbery came less than a month after 39-year-old Luis Diaz was shot and killed on the sidewalk outside a home on the 800 block of Chenery Street. It has been reported that the killing may Inside: Glen Park Merchants speak out and crime fund set up for victim. Please see stories on Pg. 8

Photo by Michael Waldstein

have been the result of a love triangle. Police arrested a suspect, who voluntarily turned himself in, but prosecutors declined to charge him pending further investigation. Capt. Denis O’Leary, commanding officer of Ingleside Station, told the Glen Park News that the homicide inspector in charge of the Diaz case “is confident that an arrest will occur.” The stepped-up police presence serves a dual purpose: to help ease neighbors’ fears about the unsettling crime wave that has hit the neighborhood over the past year—there have been spikes in street robberies, home burglaries and car thefts—and to send a clear message to the criminals that Glen Park will not be as easy a target. “You’re going to see more officers in Glen Park. That’s my promise to you,” O’Leary told a crowd of more

than 500 concerned residents and merchants who packed a community forum Sept. 8 at St. John’s Parish School on Chenery Street—one of the largest

neighborhood meetings in San Francisco in recent years. “This could not be a more positive sign for Glen Park,” said Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who represents the neighborhood on the Board of Supervisors. “This is an incredible turnout.” Some people attended to demand more from City officials; others wanted to learn more about what they could do personally to help tamp crime in the neighborhood; and there were some who simply showed up with no agenda other than the need to be with their community after the shockingly vicious holdup at a neighborhood mom-andpop grocery store in the heart of the village. The meeting, organized by the Glen Park Association and the Glen Park Merchants Association, was called in response to the late-night robbery at Buddies Market on Aug. 29, that put Park, 53, in the intensive-care unit at San Francisco General Hospital with CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

Glen Park Association Quarterly Meeting Come and Meet Your Neighbors! Dessert Potluck and Community Get-Together Local groups, schools & agencies will have tables. Glen Park Recreation Center In Glen Canyon Park Thursday (note day change) October 23, 2008 7:00 p.m.

Glen Park News

Fall 2008

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From the Editors Last month s astounding community meeting at St. John s was a wonderful reminder that Glen Park is not just a neighborhood: It s also very much a community. But did you know we also do desserts? Once a year the Glen Park Association hosts a quarterly meeting/hors d'oeuvres and dessert potluck extravaganza. This year s is on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. at the Rec Center in Glen Canyon Park. Several neighborhood organizations and institutions have been invited to attend so we can find out what they do and what we can do for them. Among them: San Francisco SAFE, Friends of Glen Canyon Park, Glen Park Merchants Association, Glen Park Parents, Glen Park Elementary School, St. John s Elementary School, Fairmount Elementary School and Sunnyside

Glen Park News

2912 Diamond St. #407 San Francisco, CA 94131 (415) 908-6728 [email protected]

Editor-in-Chief Deputy Editor Photo Editor Design Editor Copy Editor Advertising

Elizabeth Weise Rachel Gordon Liz Mangelsdorf Mary Mottola Denis Wade Nora Dowley

Reporters

Gail Bensinger Dolan Eargle Jean Halprin Ashley Hathaway Andrea O’Leary Murray Schneider Bonnee Waldstein Molly Wright

Columnists

Vince Beaudet Bevan Dufty Susan Evans Alma Hecht Miriam Moss Michael Rice Denise Sanderson Michael Walsh

Photographers

Elizabeth Mangelsdorf Ellen Rosenthal Michael Waldstein

people who deliver it also volunteer Elementary School. This will be an opportunity for their time. Revenue from advertising you to find out what helps make Glen pays for printing. We want to take the Park the special place it is, chat with time to thank our advertisers during neighbors, and get tips on how to keep this troubling economic downturn, and we also want to welcome two your family and your home safe. new advertisers to You ll also get to the fold: Canyon show off your cooking Come on the 23rd Market and the Uniskills if you want to. versity of San FranHowever, showing up and meet your cisco. with a dish to share is So if you not a prerequisite to neighbors, have use ads in the Glen attend. This is about Park News to check meeting neighbors some dessert and a store s operating and getting to know hours, to find a real the neighborhood find out what’s estate agent s phone better. number or simply to It’s all about happening in our discover a business community-buildyou didn t know was ing, something with community. right here in the vilwhich the Glen Park lage, let our adverAssociation long has tisers know you saw been involved. The Glen Park News, which you re them in the Glen Park News. Some now reading, is published quarterly by of our ads come from folks who the association with one aim in mind: simply want to support the paper, to inform the neighborhood about what but most businesses these days can s going on next door, down the street, t afford to do that kind of pro bono around the block the good and the altruism. They need ads that bring them customers. So please support bad. The editorial content of the paper is them and tell them you support us n produced by an all-volunteer crew. The your neighborhood newspaper.

Glen Park News Classifieds ö End Homework Hassles Family time’s better spent! www.mystudybuddy.org Jane Radcliffe 415-586-4577.

ö August Moon Massage Jana Hutcheson, Swedish, Shiatsu, LomiLomi, Deep Tissue, Sports Massage. Bernal Heights 415-647-7517

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The mission of the Glen Park Association is to promote the collective interests of all persons living in Glen Park, to inform and educate about neighborhood and citywide issues, to promote sociability and friendships and to support beneficial neighborhood projects.

GPA Board of Directors and Officers for 2007 President

Michael Rice 337-9894 [email protected] Vice-President Michael Ames [email protected] Treasurer Dennis Mullen 239-8337 Recording Secretary Kim Watts 902-4767 Corresponding Secretary Tiffany Farr 215-2320 Membership Secretary Heather World [email protected] Health & Environment Volunteer needed [email protected] Neighborhood Improvement John Walmsley 452-0277 Glen Park News Elizabeth Weise 908-6728 [email protected] Public Safety Carolyn Deacy [email protected] Recreation & Park Richard Craib 648-0862 Traffic, Parking & Transportation Volunteer needed [email protected] Zoning & Planning D. Valentine [email protected] Program Volunteer needed

Join the Glen Park Association Only $10 per person PO Box 31292 San Francisco, CA 94131 or online at www.glenparkassociation.org

Glen Park News

The Glen Park News is published quarterly by the Glen Park Association. Signed articles are the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Glen Park Association. To advertise in the Glen Park News call 908-6728 or e-mail advertising@ glenparkassociation.org.

Fall 2008

Page 3

Glen Park News

Glen Park Association News Three months ago, this column recounted my personal reflections as one victim in the spate of street crimes in those months that splashed the papers, by Michael aroused the neighborhood and made me and Rice many others aware how being part of a big city had its good moments, and its not-sogood moments. Now, since the Aug. 29 robbery at Buddies Market that left Paul Park with life-threatening wounds, we are coping with a new level of concern and anxiety, mitigated by the overwhelming productive responses from our neighborhood. • More than 500 of us filled St. John’s School gym on Sept. 9 to listen and ask questions with Supervisor Bevan Dufty, Ingleside Station’s Capt. Denis O’Leary and others about the police investigation, new patrols and resources needed. This was one of the largest community meetings in San Francisco, but also remarkable for the constructive, thoughtful, emotional but not adversarial tone of your questions and statements. • The community has supported for the Park family—at the store and

with generous donations to the Glen Park Merchants Association Paul Park fund. • Elizabeth Wiese, editor of our quarterly Glen Park News, saw an unmet need for “live” news. Within days, Beth had glenparknews.org up, and we are posting stories and links on the crime follow-up, block-club and SAFE groups and general news. Next, even before the brutal Buddies robbery, we had been planning the October GPA meeting as a community forum, offering our friends at the Glen Park Merchants Association, Glen Park School, St John’s School, Friends of Glen Canyon Park and others an open house to reach out to the neighborhood and share ideas. GPA will set up smaller meetings on practical steps on block organizing and City resources. Together, we can make a difference. Let’s spend in time in the village, talk to our neighbors and turn on our front porch lights. And join me, the GPA board, and our 200 members in keeping our neighborhood great. n

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Michael Rice is president of the Glen Park Association.

Opinion:

We all need the General—It’s our only trauma center, sees one in five San Franciscans One of the reasons Paul Park, who was so brutally attacked at Buddies Market, is alive today is because he by Dr.Lisa was whisked in to Murphy the Emergency Room at San Francisco & Hospital, Dr. Eleanor General two miles from Glen Drey Park. General Hospital has the only trauma center in San Francisco, where lives are saved every day. But the hospital doesn’t meet California’s new, stricter seismic safety standards. So if it’s not rebuilt, it will shut down in five short years -- 2013 -- and we in Glen Park, and the entire city, will have no access to what is arguably one of the best trauma centers on the West Coast. Which is why we are urging

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everyone to vote yes on Proposition A, a bond measure on the November ballot in San Francisco that will build a new seismically safe San Francisco General Hospital. The General is something most people who don’t use it never think of, until they or someone they know is hurt. If you are in a bike accident, a car wreck, have a heart attack or run into a stray pit bull, you want to be taken to the General’s emergency room. We handle 15,000 ambulance runs a year and 45,000 ER visits more than any other hospital in the city. The General has the only Trauma Center in the city (one of only seven in the state,) providing twenty-fourhour-a-day care seven days a week, with top-notch trauma surgeons, neurosurgeons, critical care specialists, and other highly specialized ser-

vices available to anyone who comes through our doors. Prop. A will keep those doors open. Not to mention the role the General will play when The Big One finally hits. Every year SFGH takes care of one out of every five San Francisco residents -- almost 100,000 patients each year. So even if you weren’t one of them, we took care of some of your neighbors. We’re there when you needs us and we’ll be there in the future, as long as Prop. A passes. Vote Yes on A! n

Dr. Murphy directs the Endocrinology Division at the General. Dr. Drey is an ob/gyn who is the medical director of the Women's Options Center at the General. They both live in Glen Park.

Glen Park News

Fall 2008

Page 4

Fund for Crime Victim Paul Park Grows by Gail Bensinger

Merchant’s caption...

Photo by ?

Merchants Ponder Crime in Wake of Buddies Market Attack The merchants of Glen Park say they’re relieved to see more police on the streets since the big September community meeting on neighborhood crime. But more than a few wonder whether the overburdened officers of Ingleside Station will be able to sustain the effort. Mike Leonard, a bartender at Glen Park Station, the village’s sole tavern, says that officers “occasionally come in just to say hello.” He has noticed an uptick in foot patrols and officers in cars, on motorcycles and on bikes, but he says they disappear from view at about midnight. The bar is open from 10 a.m. till 2 a.m., and Leonard says the aftermidnight hours are of most concern to his customers. He says he’s heard that plain-clothes officers are around occasionally, but he’d still like “to see a squad car or two.” The police are responding to community pressure, he noted not long after September meeting. But he speculated about whether the same presence would be on view in a month: “Glen Park residents have to keep up a sustained effort.” Down the block at Glen Park Cleaners, owner Tommy Baik says that before his friend Paul Park was tied up and stabbed across the street at Buddies Market on Aug. 29, he hardly ever saw police walking a beat. It’s different now, with more uniformed officers who occasionally pop in “to say hi and bye.” In the 24 years that the youthfullooking Baik has owned the shop, he’s had only one crime—someone once robbed the till when nobody was manning it. “We’re very lucky,” he said. “This is a very nice neighborhood.” In fact, despite the concern about

muggings and other problems, none of the merchants interviewed had ever experienced any serious crime of the sort Park endured. Neither of the other mom-and-pops, Chenery Market across from Fairmount School and Glen Park Delicatessen near the BART station, has had a robbery since the current owners took over. At Chenery Market, a steady stream of customers files in to buy made-to-order sandwiches, milk, soft drinks and cigarettes or to check out an impressive inventory of boutique beers. Michel Rantisi, whose wife and collegestudent son sometimes help out behind the counter, stays open until 11 p.m. on weekends, but closes earlier during the week. He has an alarm and a camera, but has never been robbed. The police occasionally stop by, he says, but he has called 911 only to seek help for someone on the street. Even though he’s blocks away from the downtown shops, he likes CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

The robbery and assault that took place at Buddies Market on the night of Aug. 29 was a frightening and unsetby tling event for many of Ashley Hathaway us all in our tight-knit neighborhood—particularly so for the victim, Paul Park who owns and operates Buddies. Park’s assailants brutally beat and stabbed him during the robbery and as a result Park, in critical condition, required surgery and a lengthy hospital stay. The first business day after the robbery took place, Ric López— President of the Glen Park Merchants Association—set up a fund through the Association’s Citibank account for donations to be made in the name of Paul Park. The fund has been created to raise money to help with medical bills Park and his family will continue to incur through this ordeal, and for safety upgrades to the store. Canyon Market began collecting donations within a week of the robbery. A plastic donation jug that had been previously designated for the Glen Park Library changed over specifically for the Paul Park Fund. Customers began dropping cash and loose change into the jug that lives at the center cash register. Soon, not only were coins and dollar bills being dropped in the jug, but Richard and Janet Tarlov, owners of Canyon Market, were soon finding personal checks in the jar written out for far more than they ever expected. Recently, a Canyon Market customer gave them a check for $180 to go to the fund. Canyon Market alone collected

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over $400 in the week after the crime; by late September their total exceeded $1,000. In addition, the Canyon Market staff has opted to donate $100 from the ‘staff appreciation fund’ (tip money from the coffee bar) to the Paul Park fund. That tip money is normally used for a yearly staff appreciation event. All cash and check donations are deposited into the Glen Park Merchants Association account for Paul Park at Citibank. GPMA flyers were recently distributed in Glen Park with information on how to make donations to the Paul Park fund. Donations can be made (cash or check) by visiting the Citibank branch at Chenery and Diamond streets or by visiting any GPMA member venue. Checks also may be dropped into the mail slot at the home of Attorney Nelson C. Barry III at 32 Sussex St. Funds will be deposited the same day or next business day and your cancelled check will serve as your receipt. Checks should be made out to Glen Park Merchants Association – Paul Park Fund. n

SUPPORT THE PARK FAMILY, RECEIVE A YOGA CLASS Kirklan Taber, owner of the Kiki-Yo yoga studio at 605 Chenery St., has come up with his own unique way to raise donations for Paul Park and his family: a benefit yoga class. On Sunday Oct. 19, 1-2:30 pm, Kiki-Yo Taber will lead a yoga class suitable for all levels of experience. Suggested donation is $15–$150, with all proceeds to be donated to the Paul Park fund. Kiki-Yo is also accepting regular donations to the fund.

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Glen Park News

Glen Park Parents Score Grant Money will bet kids into the park

A group of parents living in and and appreciation for Glen Canyon, around Glen Park was which we are so lucky to have in our recently awarded a neighborhood. by First Five Grant Parent We also want to make sure neighRebecca ACTION grant. Parent borhood parents have the tools and Murray ACTION, a small grants support needed to raise healthy, happy Metzger program kids. Perhaps most adminWe want importantly, we istered by the San want to contribute Francisco Children to provide to the ongoing and Families Comdevelopment of mission, aims to neighborhood the close-knit, supdevelop parent portive community leadership, promote children with that is Glen Park.” awareness of parentBecause of child interactions and opportunities to the nature of the child development, grant, these activiand build commudevelop a deeper ties will be primarnity with parent-led ily targeted toward efforts. appreciation of families of children The group, which ages five and under. formed from the Glen Park, which However, families Glen Park Parents with older children Yahoo group listserv, we’re so lucky to may be able to is planning numerattend for a small ous activities for have in our fee. Glen Park families D e t a i l s over the course of neighborhood. including time, the next year. Events date and location will include a series for each activity of caregiver education workshops will be publicized via the Glen Park facilitated by local experts. Parents Yahoo Group listserv, as well Topics will include preschool as on posters at neighborhood estabselection, understanding and man- lishments. n aging your child’s behavior, family financial planning, emergency preparedness, and child nutrition. The For more information, contact glenpar workshops are expected to take place [email protected]. in the evenings in the community room of the Glen Park Library. The Glen Park Parents e-mail list, which The group will also offer several began in September 2004, now has 752 nature-based parent/child activities, members. To join, e-mail glenparkparwhich are tentatively planned for [email protected]. various Saturday mornings (watch the e-mail list for more information) in and around Glen Canyon Park. Themes include Birds, Bugs and Bees; Glen Canyon Wildlife; Native Plant Species of Glen Canyon; and Islais Creek: Where Does it Come from and Where Does it Go? The program will wrap up in September 2009 with a celebratory park clean-up and potluck picnic in Glen Canyon. Karen Goore, one of the parent organizers, explains, “Our purpose is threefold. We want to provide neighborhood children with opportunities to develop a deeper understanding of

Glen Park resident Bruce Conner was well known in the Beat circles and beyond. Photo courtesy of Bird & Beckett Books

Long-Time Glen Park Resident and World-Famous Artist Dies Bruce Conner, longtime Glen Park was “Crossroads,” from 1977, which resident and one of the showed multiple slow-motion repetilast of the San Francisco tions of a hydrogen bomb detonating by Elizabeth “Beat” artists, died on at Bikini Atoll. July 7, 2008. Later he created detailed abstract Weise Over the years he drawings, collages and photo monassembled a diverse body of work. His tages. Conner was known for movmany shows and ing from medium to exhibits included a medium. turn-of-the-century Conner had He is survived by a traveling exhibison, Robert, and his tion of his art, titled exhibitions at wife of more than 50 “2000 BC: The years, Jean Conner, Bruce Conner Story, major American who from 1994 to Part II,” which was 2007 wrote the “In displayed at four museums including Glen Canyon Park” major American column for the Glen museums including San Francisco’s Park News. San Francisco's de A showing of Young. de Young. Conner's films at Conner was born Berkeley's Pacific in Kansas in 1933 and came to San Film Archive is planned but not Francisco in 1957. He began produc- yet announced. Information on ing movies in the late 1950s using found PFA's current film schedule is at film. Perhaps his most well-known film bampfa.berkeley.edu/filmseries. n

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Fall 2008

Did you move your car? Street cleaning changes coming There’s good news and bad news when it comes to street cleaning in Glen Park. The good news, if you hate having to move your car every week when the street cleaners come by, is that street cleaning is moving to an every-two-weeks schedby ule in much of Glen Elizabeth Park. The bad news is Weise that the streets won’t be as clean. Other bad news might be that it’s harder to keep track of bi-monthly cleaning than one-a-week. The change comes as the Department of Public Works works to make its residential street cleaning program more effective and efficient. “We are taking action based on an exhaustive study the department has undergone that suggests we can reduce the frequency of mechanical sweeper passes on some residential streets without making a significant difference in that street's cleanliness. In other words, we are using more resources now than necessary to keep some streets clean.” The changes began in late August and will be fully rolled out

by December. The day of the week and the time of day of sweeping will not change, but instead the sweeper will visit some residential streets only twice monthly and not once per week. Parking restriction signs will be changed to alert the public to the new schedule. DWP says: “We do not want to waste your tax dollars sweeping at a level that is not necessary. In addition to the monetary savings, we hope that residents will appreciate a byproduct of the program: parking relief. Cars will need to be moved less frequently due to the adjusted schedule.” So watch the signs where you park for changes in the coming weeks. “Parking relief” may be a benefit of fewer sweeps, but the new system will complicate the task of remembering when the sweepers—and ticket-writers—are coming. n

The Dalere Salon in its previous site, now La Corneta Photo courtesy the Dalere Family

Four Decades of Cutting Glen Park’s Hair “If you work hard, you’ll progress, and I did really work very, very hard,” declared Glory Dalere during our phone conversation to discuss the 40th anniversary of her Glen Park beauty salon. Mrs. Dalere immigrated to the United States from the by Emma Philippines in 1956, at the Bland age of 19. After attending Smith beauty school near Union Square, she married, had a son and began working at her friend’s Mission District hair salon. In 1960 the family moved to Glen Park. “We said, ‘This is such a nice place,’” she remembered. “We had a yard, and a school right there for the kids.” But it wasn’t until she’d had her second son, then her daughter, working all the while, that Mrs. Dalere considered opening her own salon. In 1968, at a friend’s urging, she rented the spot La Corneta Taqueria occupies today. In 1974, worried by rumors that the landlords were going to tear down the building to build a mall, she purchased the store at 660 Chenery, next to the Cheese Boutique. She installed two stations and a row of hair dryers, and there they sit to this day. Mrs. Dalere (Duh-lair-ee) sent her three kids down the street to Saint John’s Elementary School (she did all the nuns’ hair), and worked long hours to pay the tuition. Getting business wasn’t a problem. “Back then everyone had their hair done, so I was very busy. I worked six days a week, from 9 a.m. to midnight.” Her daughter, Marian, “grew up in the salon,” and in her sophomore year of high school, started classes at the same beauty school her mother had attended. “They taught her

the basics, but I taught her the rest,” confided Mrs. Dalere. Marian began working for her mother in 1985. How has the neighborhood changed, I asked Mrs. Dalere. “I’m the only one still here,” she said, rattling off what businesses used to be where—a drapery store where ModernPast is, a dime store instead of Tyger’s. But other things remain: “It used to be like a family here, and it still is, even now. We all know each other, and we help when something happens.” Her clients are like family, too. Even when they don’t have an appointment, “people like to come in here, bring some beer or wine and some food to share, and relax.” When locals move away, many keep coming back to have their hair cut, from the Peninsula, Marin and the East Bay. Today, Marian has taken over most of the business. Mom still works one or two days a week, however, for her regular customers—the “shampoo and set ladies,” said Marian with a smile, gesturing toward the hair dryers, when I dropped into the salon to talk. Mr. Dalere (who worked as a janitor at the Fairmont Hotel) passed away two years ago at the age of 100, but all three children still live in the neighborhood. “Hal and Susan at the hardware store, Manhal at Higher Grounds, Tommy at the cleaners, they all watched me grow up,” said Marian. “We love it here, and we have everything we need. Why would we leave?” n Dalere’s Beauty Salon is at 660 Chenery Street. Stop and say hello, or call 5863980 for an appointment.

Fall 2008

La Fete!

Page 7

Glen Park News

Photo by Michael Waldstein

J o y e a u x A n n i v ersaire, L e P ’ t i t L a u r e nt! Is it possible for a restaurant to become a neighborhood institution and tradition in one by Bonnee short year? Mais oui! Le Waldstein P’tit Laurent, Glen Park’s French bistro in the heart of the village, has done just that. In early July, Glen Park neighbors were treated to a birthday bash to celebrate the phenomenal success of Laurent Legendre’s jewel of an eatery. Hors d’oervres were passed, the wine flowed, and people filled the place wallto-wall and spilled out onto Diamond Street. Legendre estimates that 350 or so took advantage of the opportunity to mingle and talk up the wonderful influence Le P’tit Laurent has had on the neighborhood. Noting the overall renaissance of Glen Park that Le P’tit Laurent has helped to create, Sussex Street resident Paul Farr quipped, “It’s nice to be trendy in our lifetime!” Wendy Nemeroff, who’s lived in Glen Park since 1982, is so happy with the bistro, she doesn’t dine out anywhere else. She feels at home in the quaint atmosphere. “It’s the closest thing to Paris, especially in Glen Park,” she says. Louis Dorsey of West Portal visits France two or three times a year and thinks Legendre’s is the most authentic French-style restaurant in the U.S. During the past year, locals have expanded their culinary horizons, thanks to the neighborhood menu that Legendre features on weeknights. Barry and Eva Jan, residents of Nordhoff Street since 1952 and perhaps the first Chinese-American residents of Glen Park, order whatever is the special of the week, a bottle of wine, and enjoy a wonderful meal. How did Glen Park get so lucky?

Legendre, 40, lives five minutes away in Ingleside Terrace but had never known of Glen Park at all when he answered an ad for the space on Craigs List. He was previously the restaurateur of Clementine and Bistro Clement in the Richmond. Having worked eight years nonstop, three years ago he sold out to spend a couple of years with his growing family: daughters Manon, 12; Camille, 11; and son Vincent, 3-1/2. Since Le P’tit Laurent opened, Nicolas, 6 months, has joined the family. In returning to business, Legendre wanted a small place, nothing touristy. He changes his menu with the season, though the neighborhood menu changes every week. While any passerby can see that the restaurant is full night after night, Legendre says reservations need only be made two or three days ahead during the week and four or five days ahead for weekends. He hasn’t changed much in the past year, except discontinuing the weekend brunch so he could focus more on dinner. The staff is looking familiar now— Eliseo Soto, the chef, who trained in Fringale under Gerald Hirigoyen, and worked at Plouf, Farallon, Rubicon, and Bistro Clement. The staff is mostly French and came through networking in the French community of San Francisco, which, surprisingly, is the second largest in the U.S. outside of New York; there are seven French schools in the Bay Area. Legendre is so happy to be a part of Glen Park that he wanted to do something for the neighborhood that’s given him such a warm welcome, so he threw us a party to celebrate his first year. One hopes to be celebrating many more anniversaires with Legendre and his staff in coming years. n

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Glen Park News

Page 8

Fall 2008

Glen Park’s Cultural Powerhouse It doesn’t take bread crumbs to findof Bird a ing Bookstore his bookselling skills by haunting and Beckett, housed in its cozy Glen Moe’s as an undergraduate at U.C. Park quarters. Simply your lobes Berkeley. Eventually apprenticing at the keeps thekeepmusic playing open on Friday evenings Green Apple in the Richmond District, for the tenor saxophone by Murray sounds of Martha Street Schneider resident Chuck Peterson. Peterson’s sonorous notes waft along Chenery Street from a venue in which Charlie “Bird” Parker could have comfortably blown his alto horn. Eric Whittington, who established Bird and Beckett in 1999, recently relocated his Diamond Street shop to the building that earlier housed the Glen Park Branch Library. Whittington has brown hair flecked with gray and a professorial nonchalance. Comfortable in jeans, T-shirts and running shoes, he does casual well, but cerebral just as well. “Chuck came to me six years ago and told me he’d ensure I had a band every Friday night no matter what. He said he needed to play to keep his chops,” Whittington says, sitting on a stage where his Friday evening jam sessions usurp shelves of literary criticism and reference books. Peterson, a retired San Francisco jazz player, was preaching to Whittington’s choir. In this case, Thelonious, Gerry and Chet were the choir boys. Brubeck, Desmond and Guaraldi were backups. Peterson, a white goatee tickling his chin, looks a bit like an ante-bellum southern gentleman from a Civil War history book Whittington might sell. “The Friday night sessions provide jazz in a safe and friendly setting where women can feel comfortable,” Peterson says. One such woman, Marlene Aron, who frequents the Friday events several times a month, agrees, but she expands the Bird and Beckett music appreciation pool. “You know,” she says, “people of all ages—toddlers and people in their nineties from nursing homes—come here to listen.” Bebop. West Coast jazz. Take your pick. Both are available on Friday evenings between 5:30 and 8 p.m. A little California red and a slice of French brie close the melodious deal. Eighty people flow through the Bird and Beckett every Friday, each opening their wallets to help pay the performers. “I’ve trained the audience to kick in a buck or two,” says Whittington, whose boyish good looks complement a Steve McQueen cool. Whittington cut his teeth on the American musical vernacular in jazz clubs across Japan as a teen while hon-

Whittington, who has been living in San Francisco since 1976, believes there is a synergy between books and jazz. “Culture is culture,” he says. Whittington punctuates his Friday jazz sets with neighborhood poetry readings. He book-ends these recitations with an open mic, freeing up his PA system to all comers. “Music fills out our lives,” he says of West Coast jazz and bebop, both derivative of the “cool” jazz concocted by Miles Davis that relies on low-key swing with complex harmonies in instrumentation. “It is not simply an accoutrement, not just an entertainment. Jazz makes you think, keeps you engaged.” Anyone who has ever deciphered the mercurial chords of Charlie “Bird” Parker wouldn’t disagree. For that matter, anyone who has ever decoded a Samuel Beckett existential dilemma wouldn’t disagree either. We’re not talking Harry “Sweets” Edison or George Bernard Shaw here. Both Bird and Beckett require serious concentration. Whittington is very serious about jazz and poetry being part of our cultural DNA. He is even more serious about preserving it. Push the fast-forward button on your iPod to Whittington’s Cultural Legacy Project, a nonprofit he recently established to underwrite Bird and Beckett’s neighborhood music and literary scene. His goal is to digitally record his Friday evening performances and upload each onto his web site for eventual podcasting and streaming. The resulting catalog would become an archival community record of both song and sonnet. Judy Nemzoff, Program Director for Community Arts and Education at the San Francisco Art Commission, who has lived on Surrey Street for nearly 22 years, says no other independent book store does what Whittington is attempting. “Eric’s beautiful little business is building a neighborhood cultural center. He believes arts bring Glen Park together,” She says. Nemzoff’s neighbor, Stephen Shapiro, echoes her view. “Bird and Beckett is no longer simply a bookstore,” says Shapiro, Executive Director of the Capp Street Community Music Center and a Chenery Street resident for 30 years. “The bookstore is now a community arts center, a gathering place, a welcoming place and a huge asset to what any vital neighborhood should have.”

Jazz Photo?

Shapiro, who sometimes drops by and listens to the vinyl records Whittington spins, and also sits in at the piano on Friday evenings, adds, “Glen Park’s quality of life is enhanced by Bird and Beckett. Every nice neighborhood must have a place you can walk to and come together as a community.” Bringing the community together was certainly the case in May. The Miraloma Improvement Club overflowed with jazz aficionados, an eager audience anticipating Bird and Beckett’s Big Bash, a five-hour fund-raiser for Whittington’s Cultural Legacy Project. The event permitted Whittington an opportunity to funnel his repertory jazz troupe on and off the clubhouse stage throughout the afternoon. The Bird and Beckett All Stars topped the bill. Misisipi Rider, an American-roots guitar trio with uniquely spelled name, preceded them. The Noah Frank Quintet opened the show. Noah Frank, an 18-year-old School of the Arts graduate, blows a wispy, muted trumpet. He entered the prestigious Boston Berklee College of Music this fall. Frank leads a group consisting of a tenor sax, bass, piano and a drummer, his father, Tom, a music teacher at Herbert Hoover Middle School. “It is important to keep music and

Photo by Michael Waldstein

literature alive,” Frank says, thinking of Dizzy Gillespie, the player who most influenced him. Whittington glides more than walks, floating back and forth between his seat and the microphone, introducing acts, asking his mellow audience to dig into their pockets for $10 donations and to continue eating and drinking. San Franciscans Don Prell, Howie Dudune and Chuck Peterson back the incomparable Dorothy Lefkovits, who lives in ParkMerced and who is on loan from The Henry Irvin Quartet. The regal Lefkovits caresses the microphone with a velvet hand, charisma cascading from her manicured fingernails as she harmonizes “Summertime,” a favorite from her jazz songbook. Her two-year -old grandson, Marcus, scampers between chairs in the front row, ensuring that the All Star’s rhythmic set becomes not just a community but a family affair. Bird & Beckett is not Amazon, thank God. “My main strength is my neighborhood base,” Whittington says. “People hip enough to think of my space as their living room. They put their kids here where they can look at books.” As a result, a lot of five-yearolds now know who “Bird” is. Whittington is working on introducing them to Samuel Beckett. n

Fall 2008

Page 9

Glen Park News

The Glen Park Festival Lives! Indoor Haven for Toddler Parents to Close Rec & P a r k C i t e s Budg e t C u t s Parents and caregivers of young children in Glen Park are intimately familiar with the playground in Glen Canyon Park. On cold and rainy days they head by Elizabeth inside and bless the City Weise for the wonderful indoor play space for toddlers in the Recreation Center, where kids play with a plethora of toys and generally keep themselves amused, warm and dry, for hours on end. (And perhaps, if they know of her, they give a short thanks to park advocate Miriam Moss, whose unstinting efforts paid for most of the toys their children enjoy there.) But that astoundingly popular space may not be available much longer. At a recent Recreation and Park Department meeting in Noe Valley, Marianne Bertuccelli told a small audience of parents that because of budget cuts and staff shortages, the indoor play space will soon be off limits except during two weekly, fee-based toddler classes: Tot Time, Wednesdays 10–11:30 a.m. and Tot Playgroup, Fridays 10–11:30 a.m. Currently at Glen Park there’s usually only one Rec and Park staffer on duty during the day, according to Gil Rocha of the department. That

Merchants

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

the friendliness of the neighborhood. “Everybody says, ‘Hi, how are you?’ when they come here.” Jung Lee, of Glen Park Deli, says there is the occasional shoplifting. But the store has stepped up security and has changed the staffing so nobody ever works alone—during day two people work, and after dark three people are on hand until the shop closes at 10 p.m. Park’s ordeal has made the merchants more watchful of their neighbors—a “positive side” to the tragic stabbing. Shoplifting is also an occasional worry at Glen Park Hardware, where Susan and Hal Tauber usually doubleteam the duties. But there have been “no personal confrontations, thank

staffer must oversee all park activities and so isn’t able to properly supervise the free play area as well. (Parents who’ve spent time there note that staffers, even when there were more of them, seldom hung out in the room when it was full of one-, two- and three-year-olds.) Rec & Park says it’s willing to allow parents to use the play area “on a limited basis when there is no other programming in the room” if they can find volunteer staff to oversee it. The volunteers would be required to go to the Rec and Park Department headquarters for fingerprinting so a background search can be completed. Glen Park parents are trying to get the area open at least on Thursday mornings for now, and are looking for volunteers to staff the room from 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. If you’d like to be part of that effort, please e-mail [email protected]. The closing of the free play space at Glen Park is part of an overall move on the part of Rec & Park toward fewer free activities and more fee-based programming. This shift is starting with children’s programs but eventually all programs, including those for adults, will be fee-based. n

God. That’s what we’re worried about,” says Hal. He adds that once in a while, a child will come in to get away from other kids causing trouble on the street; the Taubers are happy to call parents, if necessary. Showing the sort of camaraderie that Lee praised, the Taubers have donated a motion detector and some light bulbs to Buddies Market for enhanced safety there. Susan says that the police mostly drive through the streets rather than walk the beat—“except Officer Mike (Michael Walsh), who lives here.” Perch’s Zoel Fages, one of Glen Park’s newest merchants, says he has had no trouble, even from shoplifters. Of the increased police presence, he says, “While it’s here, it’s great—it makes the community feel a little more safe.” n

After a hiatus in 2008, the popular Glen and Big City Montessori School. Park Festival will be back in 2009! Funds from the festival also helped Plans are under way purchase equipment for the Tiny Tots for this free neighborhood program at the Glen Park Recreation by Rebecca street fair to return to the Center. ???? center of Glen Park on Lack of volunteers torpedoed plans Sunday, April 26. The fes- for a festival this year. To make next tival brings residents, April's fair successful neighbors and friends and keep it going in the together for a day of Mark Sunday, future, individual support entertainment, music, from the neighborhood is dancing and good April 26th on crucial. Volunteering for food. The day prothe planning committee motes neighborhood your calendar or helping on the day of restaurants and artists the event are both great and craftspeople, both for the return of ways to help your comfrom Glen Park and munity while getting to well beyond. the Glen Park know your neighbors. But it does someAnyone interested in thing more: The Glen Festival. helping—even if you're Park Festival is now a not sure how you might recognized 501(c)(3) contribute—should connonprofit organization tact Rebecca_______ at (Yes! All contributions to the festival are [email protected] or call tax-deductible.) and it raises money for 835-2112. children’s programs based in the neighn borhood. Grant recipients in 2007, the festival's latest year, included the Aidan's Way After School Program at St. Aiden’s church, the Glen Park Branch Library, Glenridge Cooperative Nursery School

San Francisco Services Abandoned Cars Building Inspection Info Bus Shelters (repair/clean) District 8 Supervisor Bevan Dufty Garbage (oversized item pickup) Graffiti Hotline Mobile Assistant Patrol (MAP) (Homeless Outreach/Transportation) Mobile Crisis Team (Mental Health) Muni Information Muni Complaint/Compliment Parking Enforcement Police (non emergency) Potholes Rent Stabilization Board Street Construction Complaints Street Lighting Tree Problems Towed Cars

553-9817 558-6088 882-4949 554-6968 330-1300 28-CLEAN 431-7400 355-8300 673-6864 923-6164 553-1200 553-0123 695-2100 252-4600 554-7222 554-0730 695-2165 553-1235

Glen Park News

Fall 2008

Page 10

Local Lanes Looking Lively Back in January 2007, I wrote about class over Poppy Lane. Residents John and Roberta Rohosky were incensed about plans to build a five-story house behind theirs, with access provided by the 13 foot wide alley. Many thousand of dollars and many hours were spent in legal efforts to reduce the size of the building. The effort was largely successful, the by house is only two stoDolan ries, with a low-level Eargle two-car garage. The necessary excavations for water, utilities and foundation were made during 2008, then covered. Aside form size considerations, there had been great concern that the surface of the alley would be paved and serve as an introduction to more housing (illegal for this size alley.) Instead, a very light inlaid, no-cement dark brown brick pavement has been employed, and cannot be used by heavy vehicles. Installation was done rapidly by Brazilian workers accustomed to inlaying brick and stone mortarless pavements. John Rohosky says he's reasonably pleased with the appearance and solution to the problem. Poppy Lane is becoming an attrac-

tive byway now available to walkers, but you can't go all the way through since it's a dead end. During 2008 several dead trees were removed and others trimmed, a definite plus for the neighborhood. We hope that neighbors will remove some accumulated trash, now that access is assured. The green National Wildlife Federation’s “Certified Wildlife Habitat” plaque awarded to Roberta and John’s rear garden remains. They hope that their abundant bird life will return in full force this winter and spring. The Lippard Spur (a City lane on the old plats) has now been opened to access construction of a deck behind a residence on Surrey St. Perhaps neighbors will offer to beautify short lane this with flowers or other plants and leave it open for visitors to admire. Ohlone Way has lost one of its major caretakers, Jill Potter, who married and was carried away to Oakland. This author appreciates the extreme efforts of all persons who refrain from throwing bits of trash as well as the follow-up efforts of dog walkers. We miss Jill's attentions to the beautification of the lane. Winter rains will help. (Some neglected rosebushes are available for

rescue. Call Dolan Eargle, 334-8352.) Kudos to the persons who have planted and maintain the connector trail between the end of Penny Lane and Sussex St.. The lower connector trail from Penny Lane to Surrey could use some trimminganybody listening?? I did miss a trail, not a lane, in the first

article. The precious community flower plot just above Buddie's Market on Diamond has steps beckoning to a narrow trail which continues (with some brushing by overgrown bushes) along the fence line to Chenery, whereupon one encounters a quaint wooden gate openable to the sidewalk.

Follow the yellow brick road

Photo by Dolan Eargle

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Fall 2008

Page 11

Glen Park News

Bejing’s Well and Good, But She’ll Take Glen Park

News Editor’s Month at Olympics Leaves Her Craving Pizza, Burritos Glen Park did not send any athletes to the Beijing Olympics, but we had eyes and ears on the scene. When not editing the by Bonnee Glen Park News, ElizaWaldstein beth Weise works as a science writer for USA Today. She landed an assignment to help cover the Olympics, with her focus on life in Beijing. But however plum a job, Weise missed Glen Park a lot during her month-long posting in Beijing, mostly, of course, her family, partner Lisa Espiritu and daughters Ellie and Margaret. She also missed the weather. Beijing summer weather is brutal. A few days it was 95 degrees and 98 percent humidity, says Weise. “You walked outside and were instantly drenched in sweat. I’d check the weather back home every day and dream of a nice 58 degree, grey Glen Park afternoon.” While there must be hardware stores in Beijing, she was never able to find one. So a simple search for a grommet to repair a bag became a major quest,

with two cross-town subway rides to failure. “You can t imagine how I wanted to just stop in to Glen Park Hardware and ask Hal or Susan and have them reach up and pluck exactly what I wanted off of their shelves,” she says. And the food: “They had something pizza-like at the cafeteria in the Olympics Press Center, which was open 24 hours a day. But it was so far from Gialina s that I hesitate to put it in the same food group. “ We put some questions to her about her working adventure. Glen Park News: So you'd been to China before this? Elizabeth Weise: When I graduated from college in 1987, I worked there as a tour guide so I saw a lot of China, but it was a different country. The China that I went to this summer and the China I visited 20 years ago are two different countries.

GPN: What was China like?

Chinese people you met?

EW: It was reminiscent but it was really surprising to me. Beijing, which before was a low, gray city, now is like a hundred Chicagos! Unfortunately, it feels like a city planner from Dallas in the '90s got to them. There are 20 million people in Beijing, it goes on forever. They're out to the sixth ring road and when I was there before, they had two. They've built a lot of high towers with ribbons of parkland around them, which is pretty, but you can't get the density you need for mass transit. There's no real way to get from A to B except by car, which is insane, because you can't have 20 million cars.

EW: We need to watch out. There is such a hunger for education and a hunger for getting ahead, and they are so hard working. There are three big bookstores the size of Cody's on Beijing's main shopping street, and there would be children draped everywhere. They realize if you have an education you have a future.

GPN: Were you free to pursue your stories and interview your subjects? EW: I felt very free. There were a couple of things that were very touchy: anything regarding Tibet and Falun Gong. Mostly what I ran into was a remarkably developed bureaucracy when getting information. The Chinese have no concept of "off the record." They're afraid to say anything that might get them in trouble. They didn't want their name in the paper and we don't use anonymous sources, so that was very hard. GPN: One of the biggest concerns was about the air, so how was it to breathe? EW: It was fine, because it rained. It was lucky weather. They had cut out half the cars, they turned off all the factories and it was still like L.A on a bad day. But then it started raining and it was great because the rain cleared it out and the next day there'd be a beautiful blue sky. GPN: What impressed you about the monumental tourist sites? EW: After awhile they all look alike, like when you're in Europe and you see four or five cathedrals but cathedrals feel like something happens in them; all the big Beijing monuments are like relics, big empty spaces. They're huge. The Forbidden City is like the size of the National Mall. But the Great Wall is amazing. I refused to go see Mao in his tomb. I'd seen him before. He's still dead! GPN: What can you say about the

GPN: Do you think the Chinese achieved their objectives in terms of showing the Chinese image to the world? EW: They represented China as a First-World country. It has transformed itself. I think it presented China to the world as, We've arrived. They have an inferiority complex dating back to the Opium Wars, that sense of national humiliation that's been played up by the government at certain points, and they're getting over that. Now they're to be taken seriously.

Glen Park News

Fall 2008

Page 12

Memo from City Hall I returned from vacation Labor Day loop for updates several times weekly weekend to get a call about prosecutions of crimes affecting from Joe Kowal of District 8. by Just this week, Deputy DA Gerald Supervisor Chenery Park, telling Bevan me of the brutal assault Norman secured a 25-year conviction on Glen Park grocer Paul for an armed robbery that occurred on Dufty Park, owner of Buddies Guerrero Street in 2006. The frustration Market at Chenery and Diamond I felt at the meeting has been replaced streets. with a closer sense of communication The severity of the crime and the and coordination with the DA’s office. forethought was unlike anything that I’d At the Glen Park meeting we talked experienced since joining the Board of about the general frustration with the Supervisors. It was also so uncharac- justice system and I talked about my teristic of Glen Park, which feels like a work supporting the mayor and courts village nestled in an urban city. to establish a Community Justice Center The response of the neighbors and (CJC) focusing on misdemeanors and merchants of Glen Park simply has been nonviolent felonies. This week I was amazing. named by the mayor to the Community Neighbors and merchants mobilized Advisory Panel overseeing the CJC as in ways large and small it begins hearing cases to provide a sense of This crime has later this fall. I remain security to the Park famcommitted to the reform ily and the greater neighbeen a turning of the front-end of our borhood. It brought out justice system to break the best in people who point in the the cycle of crime in have spent time helping San Francisco. out in Buddies Market. neighborhood. I recently received an And it emerged e-mail from Janet Tarin the well-attended Collectively, lov of Canyon Market community meeting on telling me of their supGlen Park has port for the Park FamSept. 8, where hundreds ily and the suggestion of people showed up to taken a stand that we should get the ask that City government City’s facade improvestep up in response to against crime ment program to help this vicious crime and make Buddies Market to the concerning trends in robberies generally. and violence. more visible from the Given the intensity of street and safer. This emotions and size of the has been a huge percrowd, it could have been a very dif- sonal loss and an economic one for the ficult evening. store. I have spoken with Adrienne Pon, Capt. Denis O’Leary of Ingleside Director of the Mayor’s Office of ComStation did an excellent job under munity Investment, which manages the difficult circumstances outlining the facade improvement program. We will San Francisco Police Department’s follow up to try to make this possible. response. I commended Denis’ lead- I encourage everyone to patronize the ership and handling of the meeting store to help the family recover and to Police Chief Heather Fong. SFPD move forward. has increased staffing to 120 officers In some respects, this crime has been at Ingleside Station and the feedback a turning point for the neighborhood. I’ve heard from Glen Park is that the Collectively Glen Park has taken a stand difference is visible. against crime and violence in the neighSimilarly, we received commit- borhood. I have heard this, as have others ments from BART Police and other in city government. Working together we branches of SFPD to help solve this can make meaningful change. I’ve been crime and restore a sense of security invited to newly formed block watch and safety to Glen Park. meetings and look forward to working It was unfortunate that requests to with everyone to achieve these goals for the District Attorney’s Office for a rep- our community. n resentative did not result in attendance that evening. I have spoken frequently with District Attorney Kamala Harris, Bevan Dufty is Glen Park’s representawho apologized that the message was tive on the Board of Supervisors. He can routed to a staff member on leave. More be contacted at [email protected] important, her office has put me in the or 554-5646.

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Page 13

ü Get to know your neighbors and expand your circle of care and concern. Become a stakeholder in their safety. San Francisco Safe is the absolute best step any block can take to increase its influence on safety in their immediate community. ü Follow the small laws, especially in the company of your children. Stop at stop signs; leash your dog where mandated; don’t double park for that burrito; don’t play your music too loud, etc. We handle hundreds of incidents a day like these, taking precious time from patrol. San Franciscans tend only to follow the laws they like. Start a trend. ü Call when you see a crime. People tell me all the time what they witnessed, but they are afraid to call. Call, stay on the line, provide a description, identify the suspect, give us your name, write a statement, be responsible, get involved—it works! Otherwise, they win. For emergencies, call 911. The Police Department’s non-emergency number is 553-0123. ü I’ve recently been assigned as the district’s Juvenile Offender/School Patrol officer. Help me by demanding of our officials that children be in school and that consequences be levied immediately if they’re not. Children’s advocates will say that the police should not be part of the truancy equation, but I’m here to tell you

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ture by escalating the level of violence and fear. They return to their communities seeking admiration, not anonymity. They are validated by a music and fashion culture which has elevated thug trappings into a billion-dollar industry. And, lest anyone attempt to apply worn-out stereotypes to this cruel phenomenon, the perpetrators cross all societal and racial boundaries. If you review national crime synopses, you’ll see that cities and suburbs share more crime similarities than differences. What should be our response in Glen Park? Don’t put all your eggs in the police basket. If we had all the answers and unlimited staffing, it still wouldn’t be enough. As a community, we must engage in practical and political transformations and not look for quick fixes. It took a couple of generations to get into this mess; it’s going to take some time to de-escalate. Here are just one man’s suggestions:

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I had a late arrest on Sept. 8 and was late for the meeting regarding crime in Glen Park, arriving around 7:40 p.m. and missing the earliest comments. I must admit I was astonished by the turnout. I’ve attended many community meetings in my time as a police officer and I’ve by never seen a crowd that Officer Michael large. Some were there to listen, some to offer Walsh suggestions, others to ask questions and seek solutions. Still others came to vent and display anger and frustration with the Police Department, the mayor, the district attorney and whomever else was in earshot. The overwhelming majority of the comments were thoughtful and sincere, with a few head-scratchers thrown in to keep it entertaining. I understand the frustration some attendees displayed with the answers they received from the representatives of the department and the mayor’s office. The attack on Paul Park at Buddies Market was as brutal and cruel as any I’ve experienced in my career. The level of needless violence associated with the robbery highlights the worst aspects of the evolving nature of crime in the 21st century. The anger and fear of the public was loud and clear at the meeting. We in the Police Department expect and accept that type of challenge to our competence. It’s part and parcel of police work and we understand that people want quantifiable results. The calls for increased patrols and foot beats are a natural and justifiable reaction and their implementation can help, it’s true. Safe to say a crook probably won’t rob someone or burglarize a house or car if a cop is present. Unfortunately, that crook doesn’t forego an agenda of crime due to a moment in time. More likely, he simply moves to a place where there’s less chance of being apprehended. With hundreds of intersections in Glen Park and Diamond Heights alone, and 12 to 35 cops from Ingleside Station working at any given time in the entire district, the math is not in any of our favors. As noted, crime in this century is evolving. No longer is the property or monetary reward enough for the modern thug. The crooks have added domination and terrorism to their bags of tricks. Not only do they want your property, they want to gain stature and credibility within their sick little cul-

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On Patrol in Glen Park

Glen Park News

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Fall 2008

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������������������������������������������������������������������� that the old devil’s workshop is in full production when fannies aren’t in their seats at school. Johnnie can’t read if Johnnie is on Mission Street snatching purses. ü Elect politicians whose concern for the civil liberties of the crook is outweighed by their desire to see less victims of violent crime. Throw the ideologues out, no matter their party, and replace them with pragmatists with common sense and compassion. Work as a community to eliminate the

Community Meeting on September 8th.

root causes of crime, not pander to and perpetuate them. Poverty is a reason for crime, not a justification. ü Please turn those doggone porch lights on! Get a 14 watt fluorescent and for 60 cents a month your house will be the one passed by. Don’t leave things visible in your car. Don’t display your prosperity by waving your cell phone or iPod after leaving the ATM. Lock your doors and windows. ü

Refuse to live in fear.

n

Photo by Michael Waldstein

Glen Park News

Fall 2008

Page 14

Check It Out at the Library! Enough to get through the month.

Photo by Rev. Tommy Dillon

St. Aidan’s Food Pantry Fills Neighborhood Need Few Glen Park residents scooting up the hill to Safeway to fill their cupboards realize by that the church a block Murray Schneider down the hill, at the corner of Diamond Heights and Gold Mine Drive, is keeping hunger at bay for many of their neighbors. Every Friday afternoon from 1–2:30 the food pantry at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church distributes food to 100 lowincome and disabled men and women, each of whom lines up patiently to be served by more than 20 of the Rev. Tommy Dillon’s unsung volunteers. Jeanette Simpkins, who lives on Diamond Heights Boulevard., has been coming to St. Aidan’s since the food pantry opened in May 2007. “St. Aidan’s gets me over the hump each month,” she says in appreciation. Simpkins is joined each Friday by Penda Gordon, who lives on Addison Street, and who routinely pushes her two adopted daughters, Rhayna and Aurian, into St. Aidan’s main sanctuary, where she gathers up the pantry’s bounty of San Francisco Food Bank groceries. “Rhayna loves the fruit,” Gordon says, placing some onions and potatoes in the stroller next to her children. Anne Lundbom, who is disabled and lives on Church Street, is making her third weekly trip to St. Aidan’s. “It’s hard to make ends meet,” she says, holding a loaf of sourdough French bread. Al Wong, a retired electrician who remembers hunger from firsthand experience growing up in Chinatown, volunteers weekly at the church food pantry, overseeing the baked goods table. Wong brings pastries to St. Aidan’s from the Inner Sunset’s Arzimendi Bakery. “St. Aidan’s is for working people who either have been laid-off or are retirees who can’t make it on their social security checks,” he says

Rev. Dillon, 39, wears formal ecclesiastical vestments during services. But when he’s busy at this particular ministry, he favors a Yale sweatshirt, cut-off cargo shorts and sneakers and looks more like he’s headed over to the Haas dog park across the way to toss a Frisbee to his two whippets, Beamer and Frankie. But the importance of their mission is never far from his mind. While the pantry is supposed to serve only residents with a 94131 zip code, no one is ever turned away. This is true community outreach. “St. Aidan’s provides spiritual and physical food in a sacred space,” Dillon says. Grace King, a volunteer and a retired Abraham Lincoln High School vice principal, doesn’t disagree with her rector. King, who volunteers twice a month, says: “Tommy makes us walk the talk.” Dillon earned a degree from Yale Divinity School in 1995. He came to San Francisco a decade later from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he witnessed firsthand Hurricane Katrina’s chaos. In the interim, Dillon won his clerical wings helping felons and the homeless at Manhattan’s Church of Holy Apostles. Many of the people who use the pantry live within blocks of his rectory office. Some come from the United Farm Workers-owned, 104-unit Vista Del Monte apartments across the street, whose residents are used to stretching their incomes. All of this takes place within shouting distance of the Diamond Heights Safeway, which is a generous corporate giver to the food pantry. In its Gold Mine Drive location since 1964, St. Aidan’s 240-member congregation has been a partner with UFW since 1998. Originally housed at the Vista Del Monte apartment complex, the food pantry

How fast time flies! Already the new location of the Glen Park by Branch Library has been Denise open a year. It feels like Sanderson yesterday when we had our Opening Day party on that beautiful October day. We have received many wonderful comments over the past year from our patrons, including how they really like all our natural light, wireless access and expanded collections. We are happy that so many people are pleased with the new library. With our new location, we also gained a Program Room. In the past year we have had many computer classes, author visits, story-times and community groups using the room. In keeping with our first year, we hope to continue having exciting events in the library. Here are some future events that I would like to highlight. All programs are free. Saturday, Oct. 11, 3 p.m., “Tillie Olsen: A Heart in Action”: This documentary presents a touching portrait of a fascinating woman who lived and worked in San Francisco for much of her life. Tillie Olsen was an activist, a labor leader and a renowned author. She is also a former Glen Park resident. Filmmaker Ann Hershey will present the film and answer questions. Wednesday, Oct. 22, 6:30 pm., The Climate Project: Volunteers trained by former Vice President Al Gore will present a new slideshow based on the film, “An Inconvenient Truth,” to

increase public awareness of the climate crisis throughout the United States and abroad. Thursday, Oct. 30, 4 p.m., Altoid Tin Crafts for Teens: Make an Altoid tin altar (mini-shrine) in honor of Day of the Dead. Or make up your own theme. Bring a few miniature items or pictures to the workshop. All other materials provided. For ages 11–18. Space is limited; to register call 3552858. Saturday, Nov. 1, 4 p.m., Photographing Children: Local photographer Fima Gelman will offer advice on photographing children. Wednesday, Nov. 5, 6:30 p.m., Caring for Your Aging Parents: Provides information on various aspects of caring for an older relative. Thursday, Nov. 6, 4 p.m.. SAT Intensive Series: This workshop will cover everything you need to know to improve your scores on SAT. Register at http://successlinktutoring.com/ SFPL.html. And we will have our usual storytimes, lapsits and family story-times. Check the Community Calendar in this issue for dates. You can find out what is happening at the Glen Park Library by visiting our blog at http://glenparklibrarysfpl.blogsp ot.com/, or visit www.sfpl.org for more information.

moved across the street when the UFW converted the original space for an afterschool education center. The St. Aidan’s-UFW partnership persists today, each entity contributing $2,500 per year to ensure that neighbors who live in affordable, low-income, federally designated Section 8 housing can continue supplementing their nutritional needs. St Aidan’s is nothing less than a community resource, one of a thousand points of light that shines a municipal beacon upon the city’s underprivileged and underserved.

Dillon relies on the ecumenical assistance of Donald Casella, 73, a former Roman Catholic priest, to manage the week-to-week pantry operation. The former Father knows Thanksgiving is only weeks away now. He also knows each Friday is Thanksgiving at Dillon’s church. From his pantry, not his pulpit, Tommy Dillon is prone to cite scripture: “I am the bread of life,” he says, crediting his Lord. Volunteer Al Wong puts an equally celestial spin on it:.“St Aidan’s is a little like paradise!” n

Denise Sanderson is the Glen Park Branch Librarian.

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Glen Park News

Digging the Dirt: News from the Garden Club

Glen Canyon

Photo by ?

In Glen Canyon Park Walking through Glen Canyon is an even more enjoyable experience now, thanks to recent trail improvements. On June 28 and 29, Volunteers for California, VoCal, joined Friends by of Glen Canyon Park Alma and a bevy of neighbors Hecht in widening, realigning and resurfacing many of the canyon’s trails. San Francisco Police Department Capt. Richard Correia and Police Academy Squads 1 and 2 were instrumental in this work. Carol Wong and Huo and Gina Kuo prepared a delicious lunch. Power Bar donated snacks, and REI gave financial support. “The VoCal experience was absolutely wonderful for all of us who participated. Not only did our park end up with safer trails—many of the worn trails were leveled, raised above marshy areas and new stairs were built where rough spots existed—but the real beneficiaries were the volunteers who were given the opportunity to participate in this fun, intense, out-of-door adventure,’’ said Janet Keller, a Friends of Glen Canyon Park member and author-photographer of Myca of Twin Peaks, which recounts her experiences with a coyote. “And what a variety of volunteers we were: young teens to octogenarians, of all ethnicities and from all walks of life. Kudos to Cathy Moyer who owns and runs VoCal. She let me be the photographer!” On a less pleasant note, you may have noticed one of the canyon’s informational signs is defaced with “this is not a garden” scratched into its protective cover. In Glen Canyon the signs inform about wildlife, plants and geology—hardly the stuff of gardens. Actually, if you think about it, informa-

tional signs are throughout the world’s national parks and recreational areas. Perhaps the small restoration areas that demonstrate what grew before our interference with the natural habitat could be thought of as gardens, but then so could all of Mt. Tamalpais. Glen Canyon is an interactive space for neighbors, well-behaved dogs, frolicking kids, birds, snakes, butterflies and the thousands of unnoticed microorganisms. It is yours to enjoy and steward. So if you have ideas of signs or other things that would augment your experiences, we welcome your input with a letter to Friends of Glen Canyon Park or the author of this column. After all, “the pen is mightier than the sword.” Incidentally, the grasses that escaped the goats’ grazing have dry seed heads— foxtails— that wreak havoc on dogs. So stay on the improved trails and avoid a visit to the vet. If you are considering a holly or cherry tree, consider the Holly-leaf cherry, Prunus ilicifolia. This evergreen native cherry grows to 25-feet. They also make excellent foundation plants and/or privacy hedges. The leaves are holly-like, hence the name hollyleaf cherry. In early spring showy white flower clusters delight. You can prune some of the branches for floral arrangements. Prunus ilicifolias like full sun, have low water requirements and tolerate our clay soil. Birds love the fruit, so you get free entertainment. n Alma Hecht, a member of Friends of Glen Canyon Park, neighbor, and owner of Second Nature Design, looks forward to helping you have a garden that works for you. Please enjoy her website www.secondnature.bz and call for a consultation or garden design.

September and October are our driest neighborhood just wasn’t made for months. Before I had a garden in my croquet or lawn darts. backyard, I used to go Are you interested in more of a out and pull up the dead garden, but don’t have much space and by Susan stuff in these months. That don’t want to water much? Jane Martin Evans meant raking pretty much of www.plantsf.org promotes the idea everything. So it’s a good of “permeable landscapes.” This means time to start clean-up. If you’re starting transforming solid surfaces into permefrom scratch (literally), raking up will able ones, like your sidewalk or your give you an idea of where to put your driveway. Granite block, interlocking first plants. concrete pavers, or large gravel can be After the first rain, you’ll notice your medium. little green things growing; these are The benefits of getting water to probably native weeds. If you want soil are many. The surfaces still need good native plants, try the Native Plant to be level and even to avoid accidents, Society annual plant sale, Nov. 6, 7:30 but these good people will consult with p.m., at the County Fair Building in you and walk through the permit process Golden Gate Park near Ninth Avenue for you. They recommend the plants or and Lincoln Way. (More information actually plant them, and natives are can be found at http://www.cnps- some of the best. It increases property yerbabuena.org). You can buy plants values, deters crime, and reduces parkwhose DNA shows that they are native ing on the sidewalk. to San Bruno Mountain! Yerba Buena Nursery in Woodside is another good Those are things we can all enjoy! n source. It is preferable to plant soon after the If you’re Susan Evans is a first rain in the fall, member of the Glen so the plants will have concerned about Park Garden Club, time to grow new which welcomes new roots. That’s true for your water bill, members. E-mail her all but the most sensiat [email protected]. tive-to-frost plants. native plants In Glen Park, our members have been are the way to go. happy with native Susan Evans is a shrubs such as snowSkip the member of the Glen berry, coffeeberry and Park Garden Club, pink currant. Successmanicured lawn; which welcomes new ful native flowering members. E-mail her perennials include Our neighborhood at [email protected]. coral bells, western bleeding heart and just wasn’t made for Douglas iris. Susan Evans is a Garden Club croquet or member of the Glen members will be out Park Garden Club, cleaning up at the lawn darts. which welcomes new village garden on members. E-mail her Diamond Street near at [email protected]. Chenery Street on a November Saturday morning. We have been watering our new-this-year native plants once a week during the summer, but next year the plants will be established and we won’t water in the summer much at all. In the garden you can see matilija poppy—the fried egg flower—and fremontodendron—flannel bush— flowers, among others, including succulents. If you are concerned about your water bill, native plants are the way to go. Skip the manicured lawn: Our

Glen Park News

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Anti-Crime Meeting CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

multiple stab wounds and left many in the neighborhood on edge. The robbery occurred at closing time, around 11 p.m., on a Friday night. Three or four suspects, described by police as black males wearing dark clothing, apparently broke into the store through the back door. Park confronted the group and ended up beaten and stabbed. The robbers bound and gagged him and left him for dead. He managed to

stagger across the street to the Le P’tit Laurent French bistro, where owner Laurent Legendre summoned help for the bloody and badly injured shopkeeper. In their escape, the robbers stole the store’s van and kidnapped an employee, a 21-year-old man, who was found on the street by police in Daly City. Officers initially detained him for disorderly conduct. They later learned he was suffering from a head injury sustained in the course of the crime. He was taken to the hospital and released on Saturday. Park, meanwhile, is home recov-

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ering from his injuries which were life-threatening. More than a month after the incident, a handful of neighbors continue to volunteer their time at Buddies Market. The family takes comfort in having concerned neighbors spend time in the shop so they aren’t alone. Police have made no arrests in the case. O’Leary said the SFPD has sent forensic evidence to a state crime database for comparison. While police inspectors search for the suspects, O’Leary has ordered his officers to walk foot patrols in the Glen Park commercial corridor on a regular basis. A steady stream of marked police cars has been cruising the streets, as well. SFPD’s motorcycle contingent has been active in the neighborhood making traffic stops, and O’Leary said plainclothes officers also are on the scene. In addition, BART police are expanding their patrols in Glen Park beyond the station. But no one should expect the beefed up police presence to last indefinitely in Glen Park, given the San Francisco Police Department’s limited resources and Police Chief Heather Fong’s strategy to deploy specialized units to crime hot spots as they crop up around the city. Normally, the entire Ingleside police district—which is generally bounded by Cesar Chavez Street, the San Mateo County line, Highway 101 and Faxon Avenue—has 12 to 20 officers on duty at any given time. Glen Park is in the mix with such neighborhoods as Visitacion Valley, Crocker-Amazon, Diamond Heights, the Excelsior and Bernal Heights. Some of the city’s most dangerous areas, including the Sunndydale and Alemany public housing projects, are part of the Ingleside police district. “What’s on your wish list?” Gary Orenstein, a Glen Park resident for 21⁄2 years, asked of his neighborhood’s top cop at the crime meeting. “And what can we do as a neighborhood to help you get it?” When pushed, Capt. O’Leary finally acknowledged that he could use more officers under his command and told the crowd that he could use their help in making the case. “Put it in front of your supervisor. Put it in front of your mayor. Put it in front of your police chief,” O’Leary said. He is in the politically charged position of having to answer to the crime-weary public on one hand and his bosses at the Hall of Justice and their bosses at City Hall on the other.

Fall 2008

The reality, he said, is that police alone cannot make Glen Park safer. He warned people to keep robber-luring cell phones, laptops and iPods out of plain sight when walking down the street. He also urged the formation of block-watch groups. Doug Betten, a Chilton Avenue resident, said that’s exactly what his block did more than a decade ago and the collective effort of neighbor watching out for neighbor has paid off. “The take-away message isn’t what the police and Board of Supervisors are doing,” he said. “It’s what the hell are we doing as a neighborhood?” The merchants association circulated a petition asking City Hall to install a surveillance camera at Diamond and Chenery streets, but the Police Commission—a body appointed by the mayor and the Board of Supervisors—has put the installation of any more anti-crime cameras on hold pending an assessment on the efficacy of the ones already up. Mayor Gavin Newsom did not attend the Glen Park crime meeting, which was one of the largest neighborhood meetings the city has seen in years. Instead, the administration dispatched Mike Farrah, who runs the mayor’s office of neighborhood service, and Kevin Ryan, the head of criminal justice programs for the mayor’s office. Neither could offer assurances that the crime problems in Glen Park would be abated. Noticeably absent from the meeting was District Attorney Kamala Harris, the city’s chief prosecutor. No representatives from her office attended, despite an invitation. Harris later said the meeting notice was inadvertently directed by her staff to an employee who is on leave. Supervisor Dufty said the crime problem has his attention. He vowed to help coordinate a sustained city response to the problem. “I think this is a very engaged neighborhood,” Dufty said. “I’m frustrated that things are not better.” n

Fall 2008

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Glen Park News

Glen Park News

Fall 2008

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GP Growler????

Glen Park E-mail Lists

Real Estate in Glen Park

The Glen Park Association hosts a free electronic mail list open to all Glen Park residents. It is moderated by membership coordinator Heather World and consists of a weekly calendar and news update, with very occasional late-breaking news stories and police updates. To subscribe, send e-mail to [email protected]. Also, don’t forget the allnew Glen Park Association website at www.glenparkassociation.org.

The Glen Park real estate market appears to be weathering the economic tumult. Our summer selling season was a busy one, with many properties getting multiple offers. Still, several properties sold near or below by asking price. The 23 properties sold from May 26 through Sept. 20 Vince showed an increase from the 20 homes sold in the previous three Beaudet months.

Other neighborhood lists include:

Following are the 23 Glen Park properties sold in the last quarter:

Ingleside Police Station Crime Report Straight from the desk of Capt. Dennis O’Leary. To receive a copy of the Ingleside Station Newsletter please send an e-mail to: [email protected]

Address

List Price

Sold Price

24 Addison 319-321 Arlington 336 Arlington 381 Arlington 252 Chenery 851 Chenery 2576 Diamond 37 Elk 197 Laidley 542 Laidley 186 Lippard 120 Moffitt 1741 Noe 43 Nordhoff 283 Randall 67 Randall 161 Randall 180 Randall 220 Randall 261 Sussex 130 Swiss 48 Whitney

$1,029,000 $1,268,000 $849,000 $949,000 $599,000 $1,995,000 $829,000 $875,000 $949,000 $1,095,000 $799,000 $1,500,000 $1,395,000 $1,269,000 $767,000 $939,000 $1,550,000 $1,595,000 $1,099,000 $925,000 $849,000 $1,195,000

$975,000 $1,250,000 $868,000 $950,000 $695,000 $1,825,000 $850,000 $785,000 $726,000 $950,000 $775,000 $1,020,000 $1,605,000 $1,269,000 $753,000 $975,000 $1,500,000 $1,595,000 $1,025,000 $950,000 $825,000 $1,220,000

Glen Park Parents Over 550 families in Glen Park and environs. Includes groups for new parents and parents-to-be. Moderated and spam-free. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/glenparkparents/ Glen Park Expectant Parents group E-mail [email protected] for information. Gay Glen Park A low-traffic list for gay and lesbian residents, their friends and families. Moderated and spam-free. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gayglenpark/ Glen Park Dog Owners [email protected] Glen Park-Fairmount Heights Neighbors Association [email protected] Fairmount Heights gay neighbors [email protected]

Realtor Vince Beaudet works for Herth Real Estate. He can be reached at 861-5222 x333 or [email protected].

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Glen Park News

Glen Park News

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Fall 2008

Community Calendar Glen Park Association

Quarterly meetings are held in January, April, July and October. Everyone is welcome, members and non-members alike. Annual dues of just $10 support the Association’s important work on behalf of the neighborhood. Next meeting: Thursday, Oct. 23, 7 pm, Glen Park Recreation Center in Glen Canyon Park. Come and meet your neighbors at this special dessert potluck and community get-together. Local groups, schools and agencies will have information tables.

Friends of Glen Canyon Park

Meetings and Plant Restoration Work Parties: Third Saturday of each month, 9 am–noon. Next dates: Oct. 18, Nov. 15, Dec. 20. Meet behind the Recreation Center. Tools, gloves and instruction provided. Learn about botany and ecology, exercise your green thumb, enjoy entertaining camaraderie or examine public-lands management issues. Weekly Work Parties: Every Wednesday, 9 am–noon. For the current week’s meeting place contact Richard Craib, 648-0862. To join Friends of Glen Canyon Park or learn more about their activities, contact Richard Craib at 648-0862 or Jean Conner at 584-8576. Special Community Events: Bird Walk in the Canyon: Sunday, Nov. 16, 9 am. Meet behind the Rec Center. Birdwatcher extraordinaire David Armstrong will again point out the feathered denizens of our park, on an easy walk. Bring your binoculars. Pancake Breakfast: Sunday, Nov. 16, 10:30 am. Richard Craib’s excellent al fresco breakfasts in the park are a highly anticipated fixture following the Bird Walk. $5 donation suggested.

Glen Park Branch Library

Denise Sanderson, Glen Park Branch manager, lists a variety of coming events in her column on Page 14. Regularly scheduled programs for children include the following: Lapsit for ages 0-3: Tuesday Oct. 14, 21, 28 & Nov. 4, 10:30 am Preschool storytime for ages 3-5, Tuesday Oct. 14, 28 & Nov. 4, 11:15 am Preschool videos for ages 3-5, Tuesday Oct. 21 & Nov. 18, 11:15 am Family storytime, Wednesday Oct. 15 & Nov. 19, 7 pm For More Information: An online

“blog” lists upcoming programs, library news and spotlights on books. Visit http://glenparklibrarysfpl.blog spot.com/. The general library web site also has event listings, at http: //sfpl.org. The Glen Park Branch has flyers for all its programs, as well as the monthly newspaper At the Library, which includes news and events of all the libraries in the San Francisco Public Library system.

SFPD Community Forums

Third Tuesday of each month, 7 pm, Ingleside Police Station, John Young Way off San Jose Avenue. All residents are encouraged to participate in the informative monthly Community Relations Forum hosted by Capt. Denis O’Leary. Drop in and get acquainted with the dedicated people who keep our neighborhood safe. Meetings are subject to availability of the captain; to check, call the station at 404-4000. Next dates: Oct. 21, Nov. 18, Dec. 16.

Kiki-Yo Fundraiser

Paul Park Fund Benefit Yoga Class: Sunday Oct. 19, 1-2:30 pm. Owner Kirklan Taber will lead a yoga class suitable for all levels of experience. All proceeds go to the Paul Park fund. Suggested donation: $15–$150. Kiki-Yo fitness studio, 605 Chenery St., kiki-yo.com, or

587-5454.

Neighborhood Emergency Response Training

Citywide Earthquake Drill: Saturday, Oct. 18, 9 am–noon, Upper Noe Valley Recreation Center, 30th & Sanchez streets. Look for the yellow helmets! The Glen Park NERT group will participate with teams from throughout the city. Volunteers will practice setting up a disaster response plan modeled after the one pioneered by Cal Fire to deal with wildfires. All NERT volunteers are needed to fill the roles that are vital in coordinating an effective response to a disaster. Observers are welcome.

City Guides

Glen Park History Walk: Sunday, Oct. 26, 10 am. Meet at the Glen Park Library on Diamond Street for a fascinating and fact-filled stroll through the neighborhood. No charge, but the volunteer guide will gladly accept donations to help defray City Guides’ expenses.

St. Aidan’s Food Pantry

Food Distribution: Every Friday, 1–2:30 pm, St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, Gold Mine Drive at Diamond Heights Boulevard, for low-income and disabled clients who live in the 94131 ZIP code.

CCE Painting Studio

Neighborhood Open House: Saturday, Oct. 18, noon–5 pm, 300 Chenery St. People of all ages are invited to visit the Center for Creative Exploration (CCE), which “offers a safe place for children and adults to explore the creative process through painting.” Classes began Sept. 29—for children ages 5 and up on Monday afternoons and Saturday mornings, for adults on Monday and Thursday evenings and at midday on Fridays. For more information, visit www.ccesf.org or call 333-9515.

California Native Plant Society

Native Plant Sale: Thursday, Nov. 6, 7:30 pm, Hall of Flowers (County Fair Building) in Golden Gate Park at the 9th Avenue entrance.

Bird & Beckett Events

Bird & Beckett Books & Records, 653 Chenery St., presents a potpourri of free literary and musical events. Donations help support the series. Check online for the latest information at birdbeckett.com, or call owner Eric Whittington at 5863733. Shop hours are 10 am–9 pm every day. Live music options are expanding in Glen Park. Friday evening live jazz, a bookshop fixture for six years, is now supplemented by regular Sunday afternoon concerts with an eclectic array of performers. All this culture is presented under the auspices of the nonprofit Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project. Your purchases help the bookstore stay open. Tax-deductible contributions to the Cultural Legacy Project help keeps cultural programming alive in Glen Park Coming Events: Children’s Story Time: Every Friday, 11 am. Ruth Maginnis and Jenny Gerard, both educators as well as readers, read a variety of stories for the preschool set. Ruth was the librarian in Glen Park for many years. Øwhich way west?: Every Sunday, 4:30–6:30 pm. This concert series

features Americana roots bands, jazz groups, world music performers, classical music, and more. Artists are already booked for every week till Christmas. Oct. 12, the Rick Elmore Quartet; Oct. 19, traditional jazz by clarinetist Larry Stein and his quartet; Oct. 26, songwriter showcase hosted by Misisipi Mike Wolf. ØJazz in the Bookshop: Every Friday, 5:30–8 pm. Oct. 10: The Jimmy Ryan Quartet, featuring Joel Ryan, trumpet; Rick Elmore, trombone; Scott Foster, guitar; Bishu Chatterjee, bass; and Jimmy Ryan, drums. ±Poetry with Open Mic: 1st & 3rd Mondays (note the new day), 7–9 pm: & Three book groups meet monthly at 7 pm; everyone is invited. Note that some days of the month have changed. Bird &Beckett Book Club: 1st Wednesdays. A book is discussed each month; participants choose the next month’s selection. Political Book Discussion Group: 2nd Thursdays. Call for the title. Eminent Authors’ Birthdays: 4th Thursdays. For these open readings, bring a short piece from the works of a favorite writer born during the month to read aloud. & Literary Talks: Last Sundays, 2:30 pm. Oct. 26, 2:30 pm: Walker Brents focuses on Henry David Thoreau. Special Events: Sunday, Oct. 12, 3 pm: Ira Teller reads from and signs copies of his madcap Hollywood mystery, Master of Disaster. Sunday, Nov. 9, 3:30 pm: Jeff Kaliss presents his new biography of Sly Stone, I Want to Take You Higher. n

Special Event Bird & Beckett, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 7 pm: Dennis McCullough, MD, discusses his book, My Mother, Your Mother: Embracing “Slow Medicine,” the Compassionate Approach to Caring for Your Aging Loved Ones, followed by a panel discussion with participants from On Lok, Eldercare Services and the Gilbert Guide.