Vision of a Greenway: Hikers hope creation of a trail network all the way from Glen Park to Twin Peaks will be the next goal in the city’s renovation of Glen Canyon Park. Photo by Beverly Tharp
Volume XXXIX, No. 7
September 2015
THE NOE VALLEY VOICE Patxi’s Packs Up Plans for a Parklet
Hiking Trails in Glen Canyon Make the Grade
Pizza Place Would Rather Not Land in a Pickle
Work on Recreation Center To Begin in September
By Corrie M. Anders
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owntown Noe Valley is not going to get a third parklet—at least not in front of Patxi’s Pizza on 24th Street. The owner of the pizza restaurant last month abandoned his efforts to win city approval for a parklet project, saying the request had become too controversial. Patxi’s CEO William Freeman said he would rescind the store’s application for the curbside mini-park in order to avoid a public spat with fellow merchants and CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
By Matthew S. Bajko
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Pavement to Parking: This parklet design may be looking for a new home, now that Patxi’s has decided to withdraw its application to build it on 24th Street. Graphic by Matarozzi Pelsinger
Donate Books to Schools with BookMentors By Olivia Boler
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Frida Is a Fave. Izzy Soriano, 5, holds a favorite book from the BookMentors program for public schools. Photo by Lilli Lanier
an Francisco public school students returned to classes on Aug. 17, armed with tools like new backpacks, pencils, and binders. Teachers readied their classrooms with fresh supplies of markers and paper. But what about new books? According to an American Library Association report, during the recession that hit in 2008, because of budget reductions, school libraries in high-poverty areas saw a decline in the size of their book collections. Even though the economy has recovered somewhat, many schools are still suffering from a dearth of new reading materials for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. That’s where BookMentors.org comes in. BookMentors is a nonprofit online
“micro-patronage” program that connects public and charter school teachers and librarians with people who want to donate new books or money for books. On its website, donors can look for their local schools or browse hundreds of requests from educators all over the nation.
nce part of the sprawling Rancho San Miguel private estate established in the late 1690s, Glen Canyon was a magnet for cattle rustlers and smugglers, who would hide out in caves and rock outcroppings amid the hilly terrain. In the late 1880s, the new owner of the land attracted city dwellers to the area with amusements that included a zoo, air balloon rides, and a tightrope line across the canyon, according to a park department history of the canyon property. By the 1930s, new roads made it easier for San Franciscans to reach the canyon and CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
The First Chapter Noe Valley resident Debra Hannula is the executive director of BookMentors, and her husband David Bienvenu is on the board of directors. Hannula is a retired attorney who worked for years as a public defender and as director of legal services for a battered women’s shelter. Bienvenu, a software programmer, works for Google. The couple got involved in BookMentors CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
Traveling Beyond Martha’s? John Sichi and Julia Lam, co-founders of Enchanted Labs, want to help you organize your trip ideas with a new website called Bucket. See story, page 21. Photo by Pamela Gerard