Posts Tagged ‘pelosi’
Sunday, June 12th, 2011
[UPDATE: And here's a late entry, from Bluoz: Upper Haight is for Lovers:
Click to expand]
Things really didn’t get hopping until the fog went away in the afternoon, but the 2011 Haight Ashbury Street Fair went off without a hitch, with nary a peep from the notorious NIMBYs of the Western Addition.
(And oh, honorable mention goes to photographers Bob Horowitz (nice) and Dropatan (also nice).)
Let your freak flag fly, baby. From the Eastern Stage:
And here are some great shots.
First, from famous David Yu:
And here are a couple from Brian Brooks:
And here’s one from Chris Witte:
And more from past HASFs, after the jump
See you next year!
(more…)
Tags: 2010, 2011, 33rd, 34th, 420, annual, ashbury, bay area, best, bluoz, brian brooks, california, Chris Witte, clayton, cole, dancing, david, election, faire, Festival, frank chu, gathering, grass, haight, haight ashbury street fair, haight ashbury street festival, haight street, haight street fair, hippies, hippy, hookah, hookahs.com, images, june 8, marijuana, masonic, nancy, parole, pelosi, photographs, photos, pics, police, pot, San Francisco, san francsico, SFPD, sheehan, show us your boobs, shrader, sign, signature, signatures, smoke, smoking, speaker, stanyan, state, tie dye, upper, yu
Posted in events | 1 Comment »
Sunday, June 12th, 2011
There’s a feeling I get/
when I look to the West…
Click to expand
…and the East…
…on Haight Street on the Second Sunday in June.
It’s the Haight Street Fair!
Look up…
…and down…
…and all around:
See you there!
The day is upon us.
Sunday, June 12, 2011, from 11am to 5:30pm. Come one, come all! Once a year, on the second Sunday in June, the Haight-Ashbury community hosts a special celebration and everyone in the World is invited. Music is in the air; people dance in the streets; a festive atmosphere springs up; and Haight Street, once again, becomes the center of Peace, Love and Happiness. This annual event is the Haight-Ashbury Street Fair, one of the most highly anticipated public events in San Francisco.
The 34th Annual Haight-Ashbury Street Fair will be taking place on Sunday, June 12, 2011, from 11 am until 5:30 pm. A variety of activities will be taking place including three stages offering live entertainment; a six-block Vending Area featuring arts & crafts, food and other merchandise; an area dedicated to the entertainment of families with children; and an opportunity to celebrate with many other like-minded people.Directions and Access to the Haight Ashbury Street Fair
Above all things, we highly recommend that you and your friends take the public transportation systems to get to the Street Fair. Parking spaces are very limited and, besides, why spend your time roaming around in your car while you could be enjoying the Street Fair first hand. Here are some leads on how you can make your way to the Haight-Ashbury Street Fair.
MUNI: The Haight-Ashbury is served by six routes that directly serve this neighborhood. They are #6 – Parnassus, #7 – Haight, #33 – Ashbury, #37 – Corbet, #43 – Masonic and #71 – Noriega. Each of these lines travel directly to the Haight-Ashbury District. Other lines that serve the neighborhood indirectly are the N-Judah streetcar, #21 Hayes and the #5 Fulton. Connecting lines vary so please call MUNI (673-MUNI) for information on the best lines to use.BART
For East Bay travelers, your best bet to the Street Fair is to disembark at any S.F BART station on Market Street and catch the #5, #6, #7 or #71. You can also catch the N-Judah streetcar in any Metro Station.If your are coming from Daly City or beyond on BART, catch the #43 at the Balboa Station to the Street Fair. For more information, please call (510) 839-2220 or (650) 992-2278.AC TRANSIT
Coming from the East Bay, you can catch the #6 Parnassus or the #21 Hayes at the TransBay Terminal. For more information, please call (415) 817-1717.GOLDEN GATE TRANSIT
If you are traveling from Marin County, you can take any bus headed to San Francisco and get off at the TransBay Terminal. There you can take the #6 Parnassus or #21 Hayes. For more information, call (415) 455-2000 or (415) 257-4554.SanTrams
Traveling along the Peninsula, you can jump into a bus heading to San Francisco and get off at the TransBay Terminal. There you can catch the #6 Parnassus or the #21 Hayes. For more information, call (800) 660-4287 or (650) 508 6448.Any way you choose to get to the Haight-Ashbury Street Fair, we encourage you to take public transit.
BE HIP & BUS IT!
Tags: 2010, 2011, 33rd, 34th, 420, annual, ashbury, bay area, california, clayton, cole, dancing, election, faire, Festival, frank chu, gathering, grass, haight, haight ashbury street fair, haight ashbury street festival, haight street, haight street fair, hippy, hookah, hookahs.com, images, june 8, marijuana, masonic, nancy, parole, pelosi, photographs, photos, pics, police, pot, San Francisco, san francsico, SFPD, sheehan, show us your boobs, shrader, sign, signature, signatures, smoke, smoking, speaker, stanyan, state, tie dye, upper
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Friday, November 5th, 2010
(Or Minority Leader, that’s what the press calls the position.)
In any event, this recent Tweet from Nancy’s BlackBerry would appear to suggest that she’s is not on the verge of retirement and that she’s not running for Mayor of San Francisco or whatever:
Anyway, that takes care of that – there’ll be no game of musical chairs for a while
“Driven by the urgency of creating jobs & protecting #hcr, #wsr, Social Security & Medicare, I am running for Dem Leader.
8 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry“
Tags: 2010, bay area, blackberry, california, democratic, election, house, Leader, minority, nancy pelosi, nany, pelosi, representatives, running, San Francisco, speaker, tweet, twitter
Posted in politics | 1 Comment »
Thursday, October 14th, 2010
First off, get up-to-speed on the whole House Speaker Nancy Pelosi military jet issue right here at Snopes.
Now, take a look at what Judicial Watch has “uncovered” in their release from this morning, below.
Basically, it says that Nancy travels around a lot under the rules set up under George W. Bush. Does this surprise you? Of course she’s required to fly on military aircraft in this post-9/11 world, so she flies on military a/c. Does this surprise you? And when she flew with a congressional delegation to Iraq, somebody on the plane drank, wait for it, beer! Does this surprise you? Would you like to know which brand? Corona! Does this surprise you? Now, did it come with a lime wedge? Natch! How could it not? But sadly, the report contains no confirmation regarding this important issue…
The crappy C20B military jet that Nancy Pelosi sometimes uses, with noisy, archaic low-bypass engines that would look comfortable hanging off a plane from the 1950′s. This thing is the K-Car of private jets. It’s older than you – it’s straight out of the 1970′s:
(Personally, I’d rather fly coach on JetBlue or the Virgin America. And that way I could land in the bay area at SFO or OAK instead of freaking Solano County, East of the East Bay)
Anyway, maybe I’m missing something so check my work by reading along right here. This report is just a nothing burger with a side-order of nada:
Judicial Watch Uncovers New Documents Detailing Pelosi’s Use of Air Force Aircraft
Records Indicate Pelosi Used Air Force Aircraft for 85 Trips Covering 206,264 Miles from March 2009 through June 2010
Pelosi’s Family Members Included on at least Two Flights
WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 / –Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained new documents from the United States Air Force detailing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s repeated use of United States Air Force aircraft. According to the documents, obtained by Judicial Watch through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Pelosi used Air Force aircraft on 85 flights from March 2009 through June 2010. Members of Pelosi’s family were guests on at least two flights.
Among the highlights from the documents, obtained pursuant to a FOIA request filed on January 25, 2009:
– Pelosi used the Air Force aircraft for a total of 85 trips, covering
206,264 miles, from March 2, 2009 through June 7, 2010. Pelosi, her
guests and Air Force personnel logged a total of 428.6 hours on these
flights.
– Members of Pelosi’s family were guests on at least two flights. On
June 20, 2009, Speaker Pelosi’s daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons
joined a flight from Andrews Air Force Base to San Francisco
International Air Port. That flight included $143 in on-flight
expenses for food and other items. On July 2, 2010, Pelosi took her
grandson on a flight from Andrews Air Force Base to Travis Air Force
Base in Fairfield, California, which is northeast of San Francisco.
According to previous documents uncovered by Judicial Watch, Speaker’s military travel cost the United States Air Force $2,100,744.59 over a two-year period – $101,429.14 of which was for in-flight expenses, including food and alcohol. For example, purchases for one Pelosi-led congressional delegation traveling from Washington, DC, through Tel Aviv, Israel to Baghdad, Iraq May 15-20, 2008 included: Johnny Walker Red scotch, Grey Goose vodka, E&J brandy, Bailey’s Irish Creme, Maker’s Mark whiskey, Courvoisier cognac, Bacardi Light rum, Jim Beam whiskey, Beefeater gin, Dewar’s scotch, Bombay Sapphire gin, Jack Daniels whiskey, Corona beer and several bottles of wine.
On it goes, after the jump.
(more…)
Tags: 2010, 757, afb, Air Force 3, alcohol, bay area, beer, boeing, c20, c20b, cly, congress, foia, gulfstream, house, jet, judicial watch, military, nancy, nancy pelosi, pelosi, report, representative, representatives, San Francisco, speaker, travis, Washington
Posted in aircraft, politics | No Comments »
Sunday, June 13th, 2010
Despite those hating Yelpers, today’s Haight Ashbury Street Fair was, once again, a huge success.
“The Haight-Ashbury Street Fair is held on the second Sunday of June each year, during which Haight Street is closed down between Stanyan and Masonic, with one sound stage at each end. This is a rather crowded event due to heavy tourism.”
Indeed:
Click to expand
San Francisco District Five Supervisor Ross “The Boss” Mirkarimi was on hand, as per usual:
At least the Yelpers like Frank:
“Show us your boobs” above the Haight Ashbury Ben & Jerry’s, as per usual:
Your Bay City Bombers were there, natch. Here’s their montage:
This ganga guy in purple will sue you for $1000 if you take his photo, or something:
via Carnesuarus
And Obama in a Giants cap, just the way they had it at the recent Union Street Festival:
via Carnesaurus
See you next year!
Tags: 2010, 33rd, 420, annual, ashbury, california, clayton, cole, dancing, election, faire, Festival, frank chu, gathering, grass, haight, haight ashbury street fair, haight ashbury street festival, haight street, haight street fair, hippy, hookah, hookahs.com, images, june 8, marijuana, masonic, nancy, parole, pelosi, photographs, photos, pics, police, pot, san francsico, SFPD, sheehan, show us your boobs, shrader, sign, signature, signatures, smoke, smoking, speaker, stanyan, state, tie dye, upper
Posted in streets | 1 Comment »
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
Not that you’d really be able to tell, though. Sutro Tower Inc. has just finished a project that had some of the digital TV broadcast antennas (not “antennae” – that plural term is only used for bugs in our silly English language) gaining a higher altitude.
Not much howver, maybe a seven-percent increase, max. Does that make a big difference? No, not for most people, but at least STI is trying.
Here’s the antenna of KPIX-TV (OMG, that’s the home of Eye on Blogs – big ups, Brittney Gilbert!) a way up top, like 1700 feet above sea level. Now Channel 5 is as high as possible:
Click to expand
The Future is Now, and what’s labeled “CURRENT” is history:
From this:
To this:
Well, they were still wrapping the KPIX, KRON, KTVU antenna assembly, but you get the idea.
So it looks like we’re all set with the Great Digital TV Conversion of 2009. As long as Sutro Tower doesn’t get hit by a shooting star….
…we’ll be all right.
Tags: 11, 12, 14, 2, 2009, 29, 30, 34, 4.4, 41, 42, 45, 5, 65, 66, 7, 9, ABC, analog, analogue, antenna, antennae, antennas, association, auxilliary, AZT, bay area, broadcast, c. w., cable, cbs, channel 2, channel 4, channel 5, channel 7, chronicle, Chronicle Publishing, clarendon, conversion, Cox Broadcasting, digital, dt, DTV, emf, Examiner, Forest Knolls Neighborhood Organization, forrest, Forrest Knolls, Forrest Knolls Neighborhood Organization, fox, gump, High, hill, home, Improvement, inc. sutro tower inc, incorporated, ion, KBCW, KDTV, KFSt TEL, kgo, KGO-TV, KKPX, KNTV, KPIX, kqed, KRON, KTNc, ktvu, law school, low, Midtown Terrace, Midtown Terrace Home Owners Association, mount, nbc, neighborhood, nimbies, nimby, nimbys, Owners, pbs, Peace and Love and Noticing the Details, pelosi, power, radio, re-scanning, red, rescanning, ronald, San Francisco, scan, scanning, Stephen R. Barnett, STI, sutro, sutro tower, Sutro Tower Inc, television, tons, tower, TV, twin peaks, Twin Peaks Improvement Association, UNI, USF, Westinghouse Broadcasting, white
Posted in TV | 1 Comment »
Thursday, September 10th, 2009
The “Public Service Leadership Boot Camp” at the UC Berkeley Extension at 425 Market in San Francisco* kicks off on September 22, 2009. You’ll get learned for 10 weeks every Tuesday for three hours by none other than Christine Pelosi, JD , BSFS.
Is there still room in the class? I don’t know, probably – what am I, your mother? There’s always room for one more, as they say.
There she is, on the right, at the recent Public Service Leadership Forum at the extension. Click to expand.
And here are the deets:
CHRISTINE PELOSI, J.D., B.S.F.S., runs leadership boot camps for aspiring public servants across the country. Her book, Campaign Boot Camp: Basic Training for Future Leaders, emerged from her years of grassroots activism and service on the Democratic National Committee and as director of the AFSCME PEOPLE/New House PAC Congressional Candidates Boot Camp. Pelosi has served as executive director of the California Democratic Party, deputy city attorney and assistant district attorney for the City of San Francisco, HUD special counsel in the Clinton-Gore administration, and chief of staff to U.S. Congressman John F. Tierney.
- 10 meetings
- Sept. 22 to Nov. 24: Tues., 6:30-9:30 pm
- San Francisco: Room 815, UC Berkeley Extension Downtown Center, 425 Market St., 8th Floor (enter on Fremont St.)
- $395 (EDP 321299)
Christine Pelosi to Teach Public Service Leadership Boot Camp Course at UC Berkeley Extension
Will Host Public Service Leadership Forum on September 8
BERKELEY, Calif., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Interested in becoming an effective leader, organizer, or candidate in your community? This fall, author, attorney and activist Christine Pelosi is partnering with the Bay Area Business Round Table to offer a new course at UC Berkeley Extension: Public Service Leadership Boot Camp. The course will be offered at Extension’s downtown center in San Francisco beginning September 22.
Through collaboration with the Bay Area Business Round Table, a local non-profit that bridges societal gaps between business and communities, Pelosi brings the basic training principles of her book to the classroom. Whether you want to run for office, advocate for a cause, or win a public policy issue, this interactive class offers a 7-step program for effective campaigning at all levels of public service.
See you there!
*Oh UC Berkeley, you’ve lost your agriculture school (UC Davis), your medical school (UCSF), your first law school (UC Hastings), and now your Extension? It’s a good thing the Campanile is mortared in place, else you’d probably lose that as well.
Tags: Boot Camp, christine, extension 425, market, pelosi, politics, Public Service Leadership, Public Service Leadership Boot Camp, San Francisco, U.C., uc berkeley, university of california
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Sunday, June 14th, 2009
Not sure what the Yelpers have a problem with, but the Haight Ashbury Street Fair went off today without a hitch, just like last year.
Look at the swirling mass of humanity on just one block of Haight Street:
Can you see the superfluity of nuns in white approaching the Fair? Also note the F430 Ferrari supercar (sans license plates), one of many exoticars that made the journey to the Upper Haight today. Also note the sign: “No Open Containers of Alcohol.” Too bad.
Of course, all you need to get around the alcohol ban is a gallon jug of overproofed white rum and a giveaway “water” bottle. As seen on Ashbury.
District Five Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi was on the scene, gathering names for his newsletter distribution list.
Poorbot was looking for handouts:
“SHOW US YOUR BOOBS… please.” “FABULOUS PRIZES.” “DON’T WORRY (WE’RE GAY)” These inebriates residing above the Ben & Jerry’s at the corner of Ashbury were true to their word, tossing down trinkets to all flashers male and female.
You kmow why this San Francisco Native baby is better than you? Cause he had the foresight to be born in San Francisco, that’s why. He won the lottery/ when he was born.
Bong Hits 4 Jesus
And There Your Have It.
Tags: 2009, 32nd, 420, 430, agents, annual, ashbury, baby, bong, boobs, Bud, california, clayton, cole, dancing, department, dept., election, f430, fair, faire, ferrari, Festival, flickr, gathering, grass, haight, haight Ashbury, haight ashbury street fair, haight ashbury street festival, haight street, haight street fair, haight street festival, hippy, hookah, june 8, marijuana, masonic, Mirkarimi, native, pelosi, photographs, photos, pics, police, poorbot, pot, ross, rum, san francsico, SFPD, shrader, signature, signatures, smoke, smoking, stanyan, state, tie dye, upper
Posted in events | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
This recent post here regarding the Presidio inspired a correspondent to take pen to paper (so to speak) and leave a comment. Below are the words of “PresidioPal” along with some queries. (Surprisingly, he’s not a NIMBY.) Anyway, enjoy.
The mighty, historic Great Parking Lot of the Presidio is jeopardized by the Main Post Plan. The Presidio Trust just might unpave this paradise and put up a…lawn. Heaven forfend. What happened was the Army put it in and then left. Are we bound to have it forever?
Says PP:
“If we are talking about the “decay” of the historic character of the Presidio, which is a rare national historic landmarks district chosen for the layer upon layer of American history visible on Main Post…”
What does that mean to people – landmark status? Why should people care about this? The historic character of the South was Jim Crow laws (not that we didn’t have James Crow laws outside the South, but that’s another story) - would the “historic character” argument be useful for maintaining segregation? Would you like to turn the Presidio itself into a museum, where nothing ever changes? Isn’t it an underpopulated Land of Wind and Ghosts now?
“…the Fisher art museum…”
Isn’t the name of the proposed museum Contemporary Art Museum of the Presidio (CAMP). Isn’t it specifically not called The Fisher? Isn’t that one of its selling points? Isn’t it going to have like a “b” as in boy billion dollars of art in it or something, that’s not otherwise available for public view?
”…a hotel…”
Or lodge, some people are calling it a lodge, in keeping with the whole “park” theme of the Presidio. What’s wrong with a lodge in a park?
“and a modern movie house”
Or “modernized,” I’ll give you that. Didn’t it used to seat something like 1000 GIs back in the day? Do you think your millionaire NIMBY allies would like to have all those blue-collar types back in the Presidio in “their neighborhood” near the houses they inherited from their parents fair and square? Isn’t it true that the Presidio Theatre seats zero people today and that’s the way the owners of competing theatres in San Francisco like it? Isn’t it true theater owners kicked in money to oppose the Main Post Plan because they don’t want competition? Is that a good reason to oppose opening up a small three-screener that would seat far fewer people than the 1000 it was built for back in the day?
“…ADD to the “decay” by introducing non-historic elements that detract from the historic site itself…”
Does the non-historic TransAmerica pyramid detract from historic San Francisco? Should nothing ever change in town? Did a collection of histrionic societies, millionaire NIMBYs and movie theatre owners object to the Louvre Pyramid in Cour Napolean? Probably, but isn’t the pyramid a good thing, despite its “non-historic” status?
“If you take “decay” to mean delaying needed repairs to historic structures, the new buildings have nothing to do with that.”
You and your NIMBY allies are fighting for the status quo, whether you realize it or not. Congress, in its wisdom, could have put your organization in charge of the entire Presidio. It didn’t though, right? Do you acknowledge that? Why should anybody pay attention to your unfunded mandates? Your half-baked if-we-had-some-ham-we-could-have-a-ham-sandwich, if-we-also-had-some-bread-but-only-if-five-million-dollars-fell-from-the-sky alternative plans? Back in the 1990s, Congress did something quite unique with the Presidio. Of course, it could have sold off a lot of land to condo developers. Would you prefer that?
“Let’s get it straight, the proposal is for three major new structures in a national historic landmark.”
Is that really an argument? Shouldn’t you go further and explain why people should care about national historic landmark status? And actually, it’s more than three structures, but I get what you mean. Is the 700-car parking lot historic? Was the Burger King historic? Should we bring it back to honor the military?
“Why not a contemporary museum on Alamo Square?”
The reason why is that millionaire NIMBYs and the Planning Commission would tear that one apart. That’s the short answer.
If I had any advice for the Main Post, it would be this – lively up yourself, mon! This may or may not happen, depending upon the lawyers, the judges and the juries associated with the forthcoming lawsuits.
We’ll see.
Tags: 2009, art, board, camp, chronicle, comment period, contemporary, contemporary art museum of the presidio, contemporary art museum presidio, cow hollow, David Grubb, directors, Disney, don fisher, doris, doyle drive, eir, eis, gavin newsom, hotel, june 1, landmark, lodge, Main Post, Mayor, military, modern-art museum, museum, museum nimbies, nimbies, nimby, nimbys, pelosi, presidio, presidio pal, presidiopal, San Francisco, socketsite, theater, theatre, trust, whit hall
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Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
The Presidio Trust has just announced a last call for comments about ending the arrested decay of the Presidio Main Post – so finish up your drinks and get your comments in by June 1, 2009.
END OF THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
June 1, 2009 is the end of public comment period for several key documents related to the Main Post planning process. Three draft documents have been circulating for public comment since February 27, 2009:
1. Revised Draft Main Post Update
2. Draft Supplement to the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Preferred Alternative
3. Revised Draft Finding of Effect
The Revised Draft Main Post Update reflects the land uses and improvements the Presidio Trust intends to pursue to re-establish the Main Post as the heart of the park. Through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, the Trust identified a “preferred alternative” that is detailed in the Revised Update and analyzed in the Draft Supplement to the SEIS. The Revised Update is also analyzed as the “undertaking” in the Revised Draft Finding of Effect; prepared under the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) as part of the assessment phase of the Section 106 consultation.
In June 2008, the Trust released an earlier draft of the Main Post Update and a Draft SEIS which analyzed a range of alternatives. An earlier Draft Finding of Effect was released in August 2008, which analyzed the effects on historic resources of all the alternatives that were presented in the Draft SEIS. All documents can be found on the Trust’s website: www.presidio.gov.
Comments will be accepted on all documents, both current and past drafts. Commentators are free to organize their comments in any way they choose. They may comment separately on the different documents, or address all documents at one time. Commentators are also welcome to address specific issues or comment on specific proposals. The Trust will consider and respond to comments on all of the drafts when developing the final documents.
NEXT STEPS
NHPA Section 106 Consultation: Finalizing the Finding of Effect and Resolving Adverse Effects
A Final Finding of Effect will be issued early this summer, formally completing the assessment phase of the Section 106 consultation under the NHPA. The Historic Resources section of the Final SEIS will be consistent with the Final Finding of Effect. The Final Finding of Effect will be available on the Trust’s website and will be sent to all consulting parties.
The next phase of the Section 106 consultation process is the resolution phase during which consulting parties identify ways to avoid, minimize, or mitigate the effects presented in the Finding of Effect. The resolution phase results in an agreement document that establishes parameters for how projects can proceed. A schedule for the remainder of the Section 106 consultation will be issued to all consulting parties early in June.
NEPA: Finalizing the SEIS and Main Post Update
Over the course of the summer, the Trust will finalize the environmental review, issuing a Final SEIS and Final Main Post Update sometime in the fall. The Final SEIS includes a response to all comments. A notice of availablity will be issued once the final documents are released. The final documents will also be available on the Trust’s website. After the final environmental documents are issued, a 30-day no action period ensues.
Record of Decision
The Trust will issue a Record of Decision (ROD) only after both the NEPA and NHPA processes are completed. The ROD memorializes the decision made by the Presidio Trust Board of Directors and clearly articulates the actions that the Trust will pursue in the Main Post and the reasoning behind the Trust’s decision. Once the ROD is adopted, the Final Main Post Update will amend the Presidio Trust Management Plan for the Main Post District.
Tags: 2009, art, board, camp, chronicle, comment period, contemporary, contemporary art museum of the presidio, contemporary art museum presidio, cow hollow, David Grubb, directors, Disney, don fisher, doris, doyle drive, eir, eis, gavin newsom, hotel, june 1, landmark, lodge, Main Post, Mayor, military, modern-art museum, museum nimbies, nimby, pelosi, presidio, San Francisco, socketsite, theater, theatre, trust
Posted in parks | 1 Comment »
The Pros and Cons of Progress at the Presidio Main Post – A Kind of Dialogue
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009This recent post here regarding the Presidio inspired a correspondent to take pen to paper (so to speak) and leave a comment. Below are the words of “PresidioPal” along with some queries. (Surprisingly, he’s not a NIMBY.) Anyway, enjoy.
The mighty, historic Great Parking Lot of the Presidio is jeopardized by the Main Post Plan. The Presidio Trust just might unpave this paradise and put up a…lawn. Heaven forfend. What happened was the Army put it in and then left. Are we bound to have it forever?
Says PP:
“If we are talking about the “decay” of the historic character of the Presidio, which is a rare national historic landmarks district chosen for the layer upon layer of American history visible on Main Post…”
What does that mean to people – landmark status? Why should people care about this? The historic character of the South was Jim Crow laws (not that we didn’t have James Crow laws outside the South, but that’s another story) - would the “historic character” argument be useful for maintaining segregation? Would you like to turn the Presidio itself into a museum, where nothing ever changes? Isn’t it an underpopulated Land of Wind and Ghosts now?
“…the Fisher art museum…”
Isn’t the name of the proposed museum Contemporary Art Museum of the Presidio (CAMP). Isn’t it specifically not called The Fisher? Isn’t that one of its selling points? Isn’t it going to have like a “b” as in boy billion dollars of art in it or something, that’s not otherwise available for public view?
”…a hotel…”
Or lodge, some people are calling it a lodge, in keeping with the whole “park” theme of the Presidio. What’s wrong with a lodge in a park?
“and a modern movie house”
Or “modernized,” I’ll give you that. Didn’t it used to seat something like 1000 GIs back in the day? Do you think your millionaire NIMBY allies would like to have all those blue-collar types back in the Presidio in “their neighborhood” near the houses they inherited from their parents fair and square? Isn’t it true that the Presidio Theatre seats zero people today and that’s the way the owners of competing theatres in San Francisco like it? Isn’t it true theater owners kicked in money to oppose the Main Post Plan because they don’t want competition? Is that a good reason to oppose opening up a small three-screener that would seat far fewer people than the 1000 it was built for back in the day?
“…ADD to the “decay” by introducing non-historic elements that detract from the historic site itself…”
Does the non-historic TransAmerica pyramid detract from historic San Francisco? Should nothing ever change in town? Did a collection of histrionic societies, millionaire NIMBYs and movie theatre owners object to the Louvre Pyramid in Cour Napolean? Probably, but isn’t the pyramid a good thing, despite its “non-historic” status?
“If you take “decay” to mean delaying needed repairs to historic structures, the new buildings have nothing to do with that.”
You and your NIMBY allies are fighting for the status quo, whether you realize it or not. Congress, in its wisdom, could have put your organization in charge of the entire Presidio. It didn’t though, right? Do you acknowledge that? Why should anybody pay attention to your unfunded mandates? Your half-baked if-we-had-some-ham-we-could-have-a-ham-sandwich, if-we-also-had-some-bread-but-only-if-five-million-dollars-fell-from-the-sky alternative plans? Back in the 1990s, Congress did something quite unique with the Presidio. Of course, it could have sold off a lot of land to condo developers. Would you prefer that?
“Let’s get it straight, the proposal is for three major new structures in a national historic landmark.”
Is that really an argument? Shouldn’t you go further and explain why people should care about national historic landmark status? And actually, it’s more than three structures, but I get what you mean. Is the 700-car parking lot historic? Was the Burger King historic? Should we bring it back to honor the military?
“Why not a contemporary museum on Alamo Square?”
The reason why is that millionaire NIMBYs and the Planning Commission would tear that one apart. That’s the short answer.
If I had any advice for the Main Post, it would be this – lively up yourself, mon! This may or may not happen, depending upon the lawyers, the judges and the juries associated with the forthcoming lawsuits.
We’ll see.
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