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Dear ,  It seems fitting to devote part of a meeting that falls on Cinco de Mayo to our neighbors directly to the west, the coalition in the Mission known as Calle 24. The whole May 5th meeting is about fairness, really: allowing the terminally ill the choice to avoid end-of-life suffering, protecting Medicare for everyone, and staunching the bleeding of people and culture from the Mission. Joni Eisen, President
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Meeting Tuesday, April 7th: Calle 24; End-of-Life Options Act; Medicare's 50th birthday
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Calle 24, the stretch of 24th Street running from Mission Street to Potrero Avenue, is in the center of the historic Mission District. The tree-lined street is known as "El Corazón de la Misión", or "The Heart of the Mission." Calle 24 is also the name of the group of merchants and neighbors fighting for the heart and soul of the Mission. Erick Arguello will speak about it.  Jacie Rowe, Northern California organizer for Compassion & Choices, will discuss SB 128, the End-of-Life Option Act (Wolk, D-Davis, and Monning, D-Carmel), which would allow terminally ill Californians to request medication to bring about a peaceful death if their suffering becomes unbearable. The club will be asked to vote on supporting the bill (sample letter here).  This year marks a half-century of Medicare: America's universal, public health plan for seniors age 65 and up. Patients like Medicare better than private health insurance, Medicare provides better financial security than private health insurance, and it's cheaper and more sustainable for society. There are plans afoot for preserving and expanding it, and actions to celebrate its birthday this summer. Speaker will be someone from Healthy California, a coalition of which PHDC is a member.
WHEN: Tuesday, May 5th at 7pmWHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro St @ Southern Heights
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Recent and upcoming events of note
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Thursday, May 14th. 5th Annual Taste of Potrero. Not a PHDC-sponsored event - but still a worthy cause for the neighborhood: an evening of food and drink, featuring some of San Francisco's best restaurants and bars, with all proceeds benefiting Daniel Webster Elementary School. 7 to 11pm at Pier 70.
Saturday, May 23rd. Potrero Hill in Focus: What's the Future of the Hill's Public  Housing? The BAYCAT video will be followed by a panel discussion and audience Q&A. Panelists will include Thu Banh of Bridge Housing, officers of the Terrace and Annex Tenants' Association, and someone from the SF Housing Authority, Supervisor Cohen's office, and the SF Housing Rights Committee. Also invited: Hope SF. Coffee & pastries provided. Co-sponsored by the Potrero Hill Archives Project, Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, BAYCAT, and Potrero Hill Democratic Club. 10am to noon. Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro Street. Free. Information: 415-863-0784,
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April 7th meeting followup
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PHDC members voted to send a letter of opposition to AB 61 (Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach), which would grant legal authority to local transit agencies to allow private shuttles to use public bus stops, to all members of the Assembly Transportation Committee (meeting April 27), as well as to our legislators.
Members also passed a resolution in support of SB 47 (Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo), which would enact a 2-year moratorium on tire-crumb artificial turf to allow further study. The resolution was sent to Senator Hill (the bill subsequently passed the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously). Each of these club actions was taken in response to a presentation by (Sue) Elizabeth Vaughn.
Land-use Attorney Sue Hestor discussed the questionable actions of the ever-expanding entity  known redundantly as the Academy of Art University. PHDC members signed up to attend the Planning Department hearing for the draft EIR on Thursday, April 16. Sue Hestor reports on testimony at that hearing: ☞ AAU is still buying up and occupying buildings to expand their "campus," beyond the sites in the EIR. Commissioners want hearings soon, to deal with AAU illegal buildings not covered by the EIR and their grossly inadequate master plan. Planning staff seems to be saying wait another year to deal with this - after 24 years of illegal operation so far.
☞ Information on sites AAU bought over the past 20 years is being obtained from Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company, the firm of the husband of AAU president Elisa Stephens.
☞ Great testimony from club members JR Eppler (president of Potrero Boosters), on the Wisconsin St bus yard which violates adopted plan for north Potrero Hill, and Ron Miguel (former Planning Commission president), on frustration with AAU ignoring the Planning Commission and refusing to comply with the Planning Code for 10 years.
Activist Tom Gallagher presented a resolution against authorizing further U.S. aggression in or over Iraq. After a debate with a club member and a discussion, the motion to pass the resolution was tabled, ostensibly until the President's authorization request was actually before Congress. But it is before Congress. Hmmm. PHDC held a special election to fill a new position: Congrats Audrey Cortes, elected fourth Officer-At-Large on the Executive Committee. |
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