Mission Mission

If anyone can provide some perspective on all the changes that have been occurring in the Mission as of late, it’s Michelle Tea, a local author who’s been around to witness the progression since at least the ’90s.  Her refreshingly honest writing on everything from drugs to gentrification strikes a personal nerve in anyone who’s lived in this neighborhood for a while (as does her tales of adventures at the Albion before it became Delerium) .

Anyway, tonight’s your chance to meet her!

Published in 2000, Valencia brought fame and critical acclaim to local writer Michelle Tea. This autobiographical slice of life of the late 90s Mission explores topics like queer culture, kinky sex, and obsession. Recently, chapters of Valencia have been made into a series of short films known as The Valencia: Movie/s

Join Adobe Books and Michelle Tea for this love letter to Mission subcultures! The reception will begin at 6:30pm; screening at 8pm. Michelle Tea will be in attendance and introduce the film.

Snacks provided Rainbow Grocery, beer donated by Speakeasy.

Tickets available at the door, and more details here.

Billy and Bruce of Polaroid SF are celebrating another year of daily instants with another show at 111 Minna, and they shared with us a sneak peek of some of their favorite shots from our neighborhood. I was stoked to see that good ol’ Flat Top and Mohawk (formerly Flattop and Mohaw) made the cut! Go ahead, click and zoom in to see them in full glory.

Here’s what they had to say about shooting in the Mission:

The light in the Mission is some of the best in the city. The ‘golden hour’ always seems to last a little longer in this part of the town. And there is never a shortage of characters out on the street to engage with. A day out shooting in the Mission is almost always rewarding.

Another Year in Polaroids opens this Friday the 13th, 5-10pm, and of course it includes a Polaroid photobooth. The show is up for one night only, so add this to your calendars now!

And here’s a version aligned by bike. (Might be a bit jumpy for some — I suggested starting at the front wheel.)

From Lost & Found:

I found a skateboard sitting up against the wall on the southbound side of the 16th & Mission BART station at around 6:45 PM on 8/22/2013

I’ve obscured the brand of trucks. Please email me with the brand of wheels and trucks or describe the pattern of the grip-tape cut out so I can get it back to you.

I ride a similarly practical skateboard for travel around the Mission so my heart is broken to see it orphaned!

[link]

Larisa, from Factory 1 Design, writes in to respond to the heated debate raging on the post about treetopping on Stevenson Street. She writes that:

We all work really hard to keep our little corner of the mission awesome and the church blighted our street in an instant.

Two bits of info that were missing are 1) this was done by the greek church and 2) they hired a hauling company to do it. The urban forest guys may not have passed on that info.

There were at least 40-50 nests in those trees.

Ben Carlson from Friends of the Urban Forest informs us of some extreme pruning on Stevenson Street, near The Armory, that basically leaves the trees for dead. The process, known as topping, is illegal in San Francisco, with fines of $1,754 per tree.

Before

[Google Street View]

After

[San Francisco DPW]

The San Francisco Department of Public Works issued a fine this week of $17,540 to the owner of property in the Mission where trees were “topped” in June. The fine is for $1,754 per tree for 10 topped trees. Topping is an excessive form of pruning that damages and often kills trees, severely diminishes the benefits trees provide, and is illegal in San Francisco (Article 16, Sec. 811 of the Public Works Code).

The DPW and Friends of the Urban Forest were notified by concerned neighbors that the trees, on Stevenson Street adjacent to the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, had been “massacred.” One resident observed birds trying to find their nests among the piles of discarded foliage on the ground.

“We’re afraid that incidents of tree topping are likely to rise, because the city is transferring its tree maintenance responsibilities to property owners who don’t know how to care for trees,” said Doug Wildman, program director of Friends of the Urban Forest. “The city’s tree maintenance program is understaffed and underfunded, and consequently our urban forest is in decline. We’re working closely with city officials to identify possible solutions.”

That looks pretty harsh. Why would you want trees that look like that? I happen to really like those trees. Ficus Microcarpa, I believe? They’re what the trees in The Secret Alley are built to resemble. I mean, I’m a plant eater, so obviously I’m not against killing plants, but this just seems lame.

Ben adds:

Anyone who sees a tree being topped, or that has already been topped, should report it to the city, along with the address of the tree, the name of the company or individual responsible for the topping (if known), and a digital photo (if possible). Topping may be reported by calling 311, or by writing to urbanforestry@sfdpw.org.

Property owners can ensure the proper maintenance of their trees by using only ISA-certified arborists. Friends of the Urban Forest maintains a list of such arborists at http://www.fuf.net/resources-reference/arborist-referrals/.

For more information about the fine for the Stevenson Street trees, or about the city’s urban forestry program, contact DPW spokesperson Rachel Gordon at 415-554-6045.

This map bounced around Twitter last night (made perhaps by @david_luzer). It’s supposed to help New Yorkers understand the Bay Area.

I get where the map creator was coming from, but some of it is horribly, comically wrong.

First, SF needs to be subdivided, since the first thing I think of when in the Sunset is MANHATTAN. And the Berkeley-New Haven analogy is ridiculously wrong.

Wouldn’t the Peninsula be more like Connecticut? Woodside like Westchester County? What about Palo Alto?

I really don’t know enough about New Jersey / Pennsylvania / The Bronx / Queens to comment. Though what about San Jose? Would that be Newark?

Anyway, I look forward to your hysterical comments.

Our pal Keli (not pictured) sums it up:

So I walk into the Lex and ask the door person how the night is going.

“It’s midnight in San Francisco but warm enough I’m wearing short shorts. AND I can get married if I want to. What’s not to like?!”

Nothin’!

[Photo by @tifaniemayberry]