Pacific Film Archive's Packed 'In the Mood for Love' Screening

My cinematic bucket list nicked off the 48th movie on Sight & Sound's 50 top greatest films of all time list. Proud to say I've seen each of those forty-eight movies in a theater and not on DVD or a monitor. Only two more flicks on Sight & Sound's list for me to see.

Last Wednesday, April 9, I caught Wong Kar-wai's lushly photographed and extremely pleasurable "In the Mood for Love" with dozens of regular costume changes for ultra-glam Maggie Cheung.

The newly-struck 35mm print I saw at the Pacific Film Archive seemed on the big screen to have just come from the processing lab, it was so fresh and luminous. The house was packed, with a decent number of under-30s in the audience.

Another hope-for-cinema episode at our cherished PFA, with an excellent choice unspooling on the silver screen and an appreciative audience watching Kar-wai make his movie-magic.

Don't let the fact that "In the Mood for Love" is on this important film-lovers list or hails from Hong Kong with subtitles deter you from seeing it. A fine, humorous and humane thwarted love tale, with terrific acting and an intriguing awaits you. See it!

Homeless Center Boss's Pay; Number of Clients; SRO Evictions

Mayor Ed Lee has created the Navigation Center (NC) on Mission Street near 16th to offer homeless people various services including a warm place to sleep at night and a secure location to store their belongings, and bring pets.

This pilot program is managed by Bevan Dufty, the homeless czar, and his HOPE office at City Hall, was funded by an anonymous $3 million donation, as the mayor's reelection campaign gears up for November, and I believe the NC is an election year Potemkin Village allowing him to point to the facility as evidence he's addressing homelessness.

Thanks to a public records request, Mayor Lee has released several informative responsive documents shedding light on the NC's operations thus far.

The newly-hired director of the NC is Julie Ledbetter, who previously worked for Mission Neighborhood Resource Center and the Mission Housing Development Corporation, and her annual pay is $113,000.

Dufty received an email about the March 12th NC coordinating meeting from a staffer at the Human Services Agency (HSA) regarding number of homeless people reached, 60 total, who expressed interest in the center. Figures were also given about baggage info. I wonder how much of those 60 folks have made their way to the NC.

Via a tweet, Dufty informed me today that 16 clients accessed the NC in its first week and the number jumped to 31 a week later.

A March 12th email from HSA complained about the Hospitality House homeless shelter nonprofit displeased they had to evict their clients from two SRO hotels, in order to make units available to Dufty and Ledbetter at the NC.

On March 18th, the director of housing and homeless programs at HSA, Joyce Crum, wrote to Dufty explaining the pre-trial diversion office of municipal court needs shelter beds to offer homeless defendants not taken into custody at hearings.

Crum writes that HSA is "not carving out any additional shelter slots or housing slots because they are all going to the Navigation Center."

So, a few formerly homeless people who were being housing in an SRO were "moved out" to make their units available to the NC and HSA admits no new shelter or housing units are being created. This plays into my scenario that Mayor Lee isn't actually creating lasting or genuine solutions to the homeless problem, and the Mission and 16th Street Navigation Center is little more than Potemkin Village gloss.

Seniors Act Up at SF Housing Authority Hearing

The obstacles blocking full transparency for the San Francisco Housing Authority are Mayor Ed Lee and every member of the Board of Supervisors. For all their talk about how wonderful the tech explosion is for the City and accountability to taxpayers, neither the mayor nor the supervisors have endeavored to wire every hearing room at City Hall.

Leaders at the SFHA and the San Francisco Fire Commission very much want their meetings made available for viewing by the public via all the media platforms available through SFGovTV.

But because our elected officials have not budgeted City funds nor asked for tech assistance from business leaders to install video cameras in hearing rooms at the People's Building, and hire enough staffing (perhaps graduates of City College's excellent new media courses) necessary to operate them, there's a waiting list for commissions to be assigned a wired room.

At the April 9 meeting of the SFHA, I was reminded by agency leaders that they'd be pleased to have their meetings on SFGovTV and I requested that they lobby Mayor Lee to upgrade all meeting rooms. During public comment, I pushed for TV transparency and suggested the agency's web site get a serious overhaul and made more user-friendly.

Right now, there is no page on the SFHA site just about elevators in public housing projects. Much time was taken up on April 9 about the status of elevators, which are broken and under repair, and efforts to modernize them, and the horrors of residents getting stuck in malfunctioning elevators.

I was shocked to learn SFHA depends on third-party mechanics to deal with stuck elevators, and they malfunction outside of weekday business hours, and the repair folks don't live in the City. When they're called in to get residents free from broken elevators, especially on weekends and holidays, their long travel time adds to the agony of those in the elevators.

Here's my video from the meeting. Glad I was there to see a few seniors acting up at the mic, speaking truth to power, and demanding better services from SFHA.

Today's Housing Authority Meeting Won't be Televised

The battles and crises over all the complex housing issues of San Francisco are of deep concern to many, yet a City agency with tremendous power and a lot of real estate, the Housing Authority, is not fully transparent. This must change.

Today's SFHA meeting is at 4:00 pm in Room 408 at City Hall and the agenda for it is posted here. Unfortunately, it won't be televised on SFGovTV and part of the reason for this lack of transparency is the meeting room is not wired for TV.

As I know from my successful campaign persuading the SF Fire Commission to move to City Hall and hold their meetings in a room properly wired, this commission and the SFHA may desire airing, streaming and archiving for vid-on-demand viewing via SFGovTV but not enough rooms at City Hall are wired.

Stop and let this sink in. In the midst of a tech boom, with dozens of super-wealthy tech titans pushing their agendas with pals at City Hall, and TV wiring costs amounting to mere peanuts to the City budget and billionaires, The City That Knows How doesn't know how to camera-equip every hearing room at the People's Building and have _every_ commission and agency holding meetings there and on TV and the web.

How can San Francisco have a robust and fully effective public discussion about housing matters, especially for the poor and low income populations, if the public Housing Authority isn't broadcasting their hearings where they set public policy?

I plan to attend today's hearing and raise these issues, and will report back possibly with video footage.

Pit Stop Toilet Coming to BART's 16th Street Plaza

Before leaving the house recently to catch a BART train to Berkeley to catch a movie at the Pacific Film Archive, I emptied my bladder. Due to a new drug in my cocktail that occasionally requires more than usual peeing, I need to relieve myself when I got to the 16th Street and Mission BART station. Since there are no public toilets at the station and the kiosk restroom was out of order, I had to wait until arriving in the East Bay to pee.

This week, I got in touch with the public information offices of BART and the San Francisco Department of Public Works to request porta-potties at this plaza. Needless to say, when both agencies informed me that the Pit Stop program was in the works.

In January, I blogged about the need for a Pit Stop in the Castro. Pit Stops are not only places to pee and poop but also provide wash-up materials, are locations for dropping off used syringes and dog waste, and provide trash and recycling containers. We need more of them around San Francisco.

Here's the good news today from Alicia Trost of BART:

"[My colleague] asked that I provide you with details regarding Pit Stop bathrooms near 16th BART. The City (Public Works) is leading it with a funding match from BART.

"The Pit Stop will be located on City property near the BART station and will not be on the BART plaza.

"Here are the details I have: Pit Stop · BART and City partnering on pilot for staffed portable restroom facility.

"· $50K for 6 months ($25K from each party).
"· Includes needle disposal, waste receptacles.
"· Aiming for 2015 implementation."

Weekend Woof #99: Pizza Boy, Mohawk Man, Grass Skirt Queen

It's been a good week for capturing colorful dudes on the streets of San Francisco. My latest video in this continuing series is now up for your viewing pleasure.

The young fella at the Oz Pizza Shop on Castro Street really made my week, when he talked about "The Wizard of Oz" movie and practiced a bit of gay religion - Judyism!

I hope you have as much fun watching the videos as I do filming the guys and editing the footage. As always, a note of thanks to the dudes for gracing the lens of my camera. How was your week for male eye-candy?

Write-In Petrelis 4 Mayor Business Cards Are Here

There are more folks preparing runs for San Francisco mayoral election this fall and my philosophy about the race is simple: the more the merrier.

Let's give Mayor Ed Lee a run for his money (which will equal buckets of cash from his developer and tech industry pals), and also use the democratic process to organizer better at the grassroots level.

I've slightly reworked my graphics from last year's campaign for District 8 supervisor. Here's the new business card that arrived this week.

My goal is a write-in campaign for Room 200 at City Hall, the mayor's office, and won't be paying the $5,000 or gathering signatures to get on the ballot.

Check out my Facebook campaign site. Let the campaigning begin!

McCoppin Plaza Closed Over Damage by Homeless & A Stabbing

Opened in late summer of 2014 as part of a package of urban redesigns in the McCoppin, Valencia, Market and Duboce intersections of Western SoMa, the McCoppin Hub Plaza has been an encampment for the homeless and scene of many troubles, day and night.

The nearby residents have documented numerous problems at the plaza located at where McCoppin dead-ends at Valencia Streets, and keep pressuring City officials to deal with the dangerous elements of the area. From defecating and urinating, drinking and drugging and loud music and arguments, barking dogs, blocking the bike lanes with sharp debris or passed out people, to a recent stabbing, complaints have mounted to the point that the Department of Public Works has taken action.

Here's there statement: "San Francisco Public Works has temporarily fenced McCoppin Hub Plaza in order to perform needed short-term construction upgrades, primarily to repair vandalism-damaged concrete and irrigation and electrical systems. During the closure, other maintenance issues also will be addressed and McCoppin Hub will get a deep cleaning. The work is expected to last no more than three weeks. Thank you for your understanding and patience."

These are excerpts from the note Supervisor Jane Kim sent to a constituent this morning. FYI, the hub area falls into both District 6 and District 8:

"I was not invited to today's meeting with Supervisor Wiener but I am glad that our residents are meeting with him as well. I have been hosting meetings with many of our neighborhood associations and residents in West SOMA over the last year and have been working with the McCoppin Valencia Neighborhood Watch. In fact, I lived in the neighborhood when I came into office-- I only moved mid-way through my term because my landlord sold the unit my roommate and I lived in.

"The Southern Station Police Captain and I have been actively engaged with this neighborhood and I believe we had been making great strides up until the Skateboard Park and McCoppin Hub opened.

"I do support hours and rules for the Hub and a gate to close this park at night.I appreciate your feedback and agree that the City has a lot of work to do after we create new parks to ensure they are successful and safe." 

Check out my video shot this afternoon of the now-closed park:

High Above San Francisco in POPOS: What's That?

Our beautiful City is blessed with spectacular views from an elevated location and I've discovered two new sites to enjoy some of the scenery.

The San Francisco Chronicle's urban design critic John King has long called for much-appreciated attention to POPOS, which stands for privately owned public open spaces, and folks visiting the spaces. 

POPOS were created by downtown developers as part of the City's incentives to construct more public spaces in congested areas. Accessing some of the locations is now easier since large signs are now posted outside the buildings with a POPOS inside.

The executives at the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research group, SPUR, have a terrific guide to most of the POPOS available as a PDF for printing or an app, to better assist people who want to visit the semi-public spaces. Check out their "Secrets of San Francisco" guide and map here.

While these public spaces with great views are breathtaking and relaxing oases in the urban jungle, and well worth a visit, don't overlook all the street level POPOS sites. Videos of those locations coming soon.

Sup. Campos to Hold Market Rate Housing Moratorium Meeting

[UPDATE: Happy April Fool's! Hope you had a few laffs reading this prank post. Sure was fun to write!]

Thanks to a public records request, I have obtained this important information from the office of Supervisor David Campos and trust it is of interest to you and many others across San Francisco.

-----Original Message-----
From: Campos, David (BOS)
To: Allbee, Nate (BOS) ; Goossen, Carolyn (BOS) ; Ronen, Hillary (BOS) ;
Sent: Wed, Apr 1, 2015 8:01 AM
Subject: Mission Moratorium Meeting

Staff: Post to our social media this afternoon.

STATEMENT & ANNOUNCEMENT

It's with utmost pride that I today am announcing another step on the road toward enacting a market rate housing moratorium in the Mission District.

My office has arranged a town hall meeting to be held on April 15th, Tax Day, in close collaboration with community-based stakeholder nonprofits and grassroots activist groups.

Draft language for new legislation I will introduce at the May 1st Board of Supervisors meeting at City Hall of the Neighborhood Services and Safety Committee, will be presented at the town hall.

The forum will be at the Brava Theater, and the sole topic is our proposal to limit certain high-density housing construction in the Mission for an 18-month period.

Brief remarks will be made by Tom Ammiano, Tommi Avicolli Mecca, Tim Redmond and Tom Temprano about dismantling political echo chambers and engaging folks outside of our base of support, in order to cool off the heated luxury condo construction boom. Steven T. Jones will moderate the forum.

The legacy of my City Hall career will rest on retaining the proud Latino elements and heritage of District 9. I stand on the shoulders of giants - MEDA SF, the sorely-missed Bay Guardian, PODER, Causa Justa, the Harvey Milk LGBT and San Francisco Latino Democratic Clubs, and countless individuals - who invest their trust in me. A market rate housing moratorium is but one ingredient of my legacy.

I have to give the people hope, and remind them that when a handful of people understand the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice for all, then they are ready to climb every mountain, ford every stream, and follow every rainbow till we find our dream.

Come join us on April 15th at the Brava Theater!