Vol. XLVI, No. 6
June 2022
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THE NOE VALLEY VOICE The Kids (at James Lick) Are All Right
Neighborhood Has an Advocate At City Hall
Student Artists Put the Pandemic In Perspective
Noe’s Jackie Prager Working to Address Local Concerns
By Heidi Anderson
By Matthew S. Bajko
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he pandemic shutdown was hard on kids, with remote classes, loss of social interaction, and increased anxiety over masks, Omicron, vaccines…well, everything. At James Lick Middle School, in the middle of Noe Valley at 25th and Noe streets, the return to in-person learning last fall included, among other cutbacks, a diminished theater program. “We were coming out of the first pandemic year, and in the middle of another pandemic year,” said Keith Carames, theater arts instructor and arts coordinator for the school, which enrolls about 600 students in sixth through eighth grades. “Student attendance was still spotty due to outbreaks, we didn’t have the resources to mount a full spring musical, and our theater happened to be structurally uninhabitable.” As Carames assessed his resources, the prospects looked grim for a spring 2022 show. But then he had an idea. With the help of local playwright and actor Sedrick Cabrera, Carames could hold a weekly after-school Zoom playwriting workshop as an alternative to the typical preparation for the show. The class could focus on the students' experiences during the pandemic. The workshop was a hit, eventually
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Art Immersion: One half of the artist duo behind the moniker BLECHMEKI is Max Blechman, pictured above. Blechman and husband Kazu Umeki have amassed a collection of ceramic figurines that fills their Castro Street home. See the story behind their passion on page 7. Photo by Art Bodner
Slow Sanchez Eases on Down the Road Meanwhile, Group Suggests Guidelines for Shared Space By Kit Cameron
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he pace is picking up on Slow Sanchez, with events, projects, and hopes for city improvements. There is even the start of an open-air art gallery. Back in the day, which in fact was just about two years ago (April 2020), the citizens of San Francisco came up
with the bold experiment of opening up spaces previously used to get from one place to another to a variety of uses and activities. As we saw on Sanchez Street, the response was immediate. Bikes, strollers, dogs, and people all began to enjoy a shared open space and learned to get along with delivery trucks, parking cars, and slowly moving Uber
escribed as a “superstar” by her hometown newspaper a decade ago in a profile about her heading to the University of San Francisco, Jackie Prager had told the San Mateo Daily Journal that she wanted to attend law school after graduating from the Jesuit college. Her goal was to become a prosecutor working on cases concerning women’s and children’s rights, she had told the reporter. Yet Prager ended up taking a different path, one that led her into the middle of the city’s rough-and-tumble political scene. She took on leadership roles in local Democratic clubs and the California Democratic Party while working for several nonprofits serving predominantly minority women and youth. Prager also helped to elect District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman in 2018 and District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston a year later. Last summer, the San Francisco Democratic Party hired her as its new executive director. Within months, Mandelman had hired Prager to work for him as one of his legislative aides at City Hall. She was assigned to be the main point of contact for Noe Valley residents who called the office with any issues or concerns. “I like that I get to hear from my
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Big Honor for Small Frys Children’s Store Named a San Francisco Legacy By Julie Zigoris
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mall Frys children's store at 3985 24th St., which has been outfitting Noe Valley kids for 38 years, became an official San Francisco Legacy Business, after winning final approval from the city's Small Business Commission on April 25. The store was formally placed on the Legacy Business Registry, which recognizes longstanding, community-serving businesses that are cultural assets to the city. “If there were any business that deserved to be a legacy business, Small Frys is definitely one,” said District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who nominated the shop for the registry. “It’s an important community institution in Noe Valley, as are the Yennes. They have made incredible contribu-
Azia Yenne manages her family’s Small Frys at 3985 24th St., where for close to four decades Noe Valleyans and shoppers from all over the Bay Area have found toys and gifts for their favorite youngsters. Photo by Art Bodner
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