Mission Mission

We’d pointed out a harrowing case of harassment, and Mr. Bronstein went to work:

So I called Cinthya Munoz-Ramos from the St. Peter’s Housing Committee, the group that’s representing the family. She’s one of six full-time women at the Committee, which takes up tenants’ issues in the Mission, particularly those involving immigrants. Cinthya said the Corado’s problems began in 2003 when they witnessed the same landlady throwing a neighbor down the building’s staircase.

Wow. Lots more at Bronstein at Large, here. And good stuff in the comments too. (Thanks, Doug!)

Reader Jeff writes: “Anyone know why there’s a helicopter circling the Mission all morning? -Or am I getting all Good-Fellas paranoid?”

I was wondering too. Seemed to be hovering right over my 12-Folsom stop.

Update (seconds later): zinzin says “bomb squad 16th & Valencia,” and Christina confirms, “yup. they’ve blocked off the streets surrounding 17th and van ness and have (or had on my way to work this a.m.) pulled over a truck they think has explosives in it. There’s this little robot like guy scanning the car.”

Thanks, all!

Interesting tidbit on the MAC SF blog, from a post about a recent land use hearing:

Also in the audience was local developer/entrepreneur Gus Murad, owner of Giant Value & the New Mission Theater, keeping a close eye on the Supes so they don’t thwart his 100+ units of market-rate condo w/ monster club (think Medjools but bigger) proposal.

Great! Tapas and porno AND market-rate condominiums! I just hope they don’t mess with the signage. Link. (Thanks, zinzin!)

Photo by lomokev.

Previously on Mission Mission:

Medjool Something Something Douche

Eastern Neighborhoods Plan

Better Valencia Project has the scoop, including design details, concerns about the 26-Valencia, and a six-month delay. Link.

Reader Dogfella just wrote in with this news:

COMMUNITY MEETING IN RESPONSE TO 7 KILLINGS LAST WEEK TONITE 5PM

Mission Community Council, SFPD meeting of residents, nonprofits and religious groups on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at the Mission Recreation Center.

Mission Recreation Center 2450 Harrison St @ 20th & 21st
USE 745 Treat St @ 20th & 21st ENTRANCE

SFPD confirms that district Captain Stephen Tacchini will be in attendance. See you there?

Tonight at 5:30pm:

The League of Young/Pissed Off Voters is hosting a debate between the candidates for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in District 9 (the Mission and Bernal). There’s a whole bunch of candidates, but as we all saw from the presidential primaries, it’s hard to have a substantive debate with a large number of candidates. So we’ve reviewed them all, and we’re only inviting the three strongest candidates:
- Eric Quezada
- Mark Sanchez
- David Campos

For a more complete list of candidates, see here. Asked to describe how they decided on this particular trio, the League wrote back:

The League’s steering committee decided that Campos, Quezada, and Sanchez were the strongest candidates based on (1) their experience, (2) their positions on the issues, and (3) the strength of their campaigns.

1. Experience: They all have strong resumes that make us confident that they’re ready for the job.
2. Issues: We feel that they share our views on the most important issues, including:
- Addressing the root causes of the crisis of violence in the Mission (such as lack of jobs, education and community), and reforming the SFPD.
- Maximizing affordable housing (particularly in the new Eastern Neighborhood Plan) to preserve San Francisco’s character.
- Making San Francisco a national leader in the fight against global warming by implementing Community Choice Aggregation and passing Prop H.
3. Strength of campaign: We’ve seen that all three are working hard and that they have demonstrated broad support in the community.

Some of the other candidates are interesting, but when considering the combination of experience, philosophy, and strength of campaign, we decided that Campos, Quezada, and Sanchez are head and shoulders above the rest.

The debate takes place at the Pirate Cat Radio studio and cafe at 21st and Florida. The public is invited to watch in person, or listen in via 87.9 FM or the Pirate Cat website. And it’s over by 7pm, so you can go see Drooker.

Flickr user Notorious S.I.G. took some great shots at tonight’s peace march. See them all here. Participants, was the march a success?

Update: More pics here, from Jesse. Thanks, Jesse!

Brock from SFist just pointed us to this breaking news at CBS 5:

A candlelight peace march is being held Sunday evening in San Francisco’s Mission District following a wave of violence that has alarmed residents and prompted increased police presence. 

Participants plan to gather at 6:30 p.m. at 24th Street and Treat Avenue. 

Full details here. Thanks, Brock!

Over at The Snitch, Masha Rumer tells us about an overhaul of Valencia Street in the works at the Department of Public Works:

Some highlights of this $6.1 million project, according to DPW’s Great Streets Program: the center median will be removed; the sidewalks will be widened from their current 10 feet to 13-15 feet, allowing for more foot traffic, for outside seating in cafes and hopefully for room to push through swarms of bluegrass-crazed people congregating outside busy Mission establishments. The parking lane will grow by 0.25 feet to 9 feet. [...] Also planned are new bike racks, art, trash receptacles, curb ramps and bulb-outs instead of left-turn pockets in some areas.

Full analysis here. Now, I’m open to change, and I love sidewalk seating and pedestrian safety, but I also love Valencia’s narrow sidewalks and crummy old bike racks and trash receptacles. Will improvements curb our beloved boulevard’s fundamental charm?

Update: Subito_Piano informs us that there’s a “status update meeting” regarding this project being held at the Mission Police Station tonight at 6:30pm. More at Better Valencia Project.

Previously on Mission Mission:

Construction Camp on Valencia Street

Amber Bouman has just informed us that the 16th & Mission Open Mic posse is throwing itself into some new endeavors. Firstly there’s The 16th & Mission Review, a monthly lit mag available at the open mic (and hopefully soon in area stores). Nextly there’s the official 16th & Mission website, where you’ll find news items, event listings, photos and other lovely oddities (We’re assured they’re working on getting an RSS feed up and running). And, to review, in case you didn’t know:

[E]very Thursday at 16th & Mission there is a free, and totally democratic, open mic (minus the mic, the sign-up sheet, and the time limit). It’s been happening for over five years, starting at about 9pm (depending on who shows when, some nights it’s definitely closer to 10pm), and features poets, MCs, musicians, comedians, dancers, etc. The kids who perform here have heart, and the event itself is something special that only the Mission has…

Anybody have any stories illustrating exactly how special and unique to the Mission this thing really is?

Photos by wordartsalon (click to enlarge).