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| Valley Residents
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Alternatives to Home Depot by Steve Glumaz More than 200 people turned out Nov. 13 at the Visitacion Valley Community Center to learn and voice their concerns about the potential Home Depot hardware giant moving into the neighborhood. Conducted by the Visitacion Valley Planning Alliance, an organization dedicated to improving community standards, people of the community asked what benefits they were ready to receive in exchange for advocating approval to the City and County of San Francisco for the Home Depot to be built. Members of the planning alliance and a majority of a show of hands--from average citizen to successful business tycoon--were in accord that Home Depot personnel reevaluate their position by building businesses connected to their proposed 108,000 square-foot, 14 acre outlet. Certainly such an enormous project could be secured to not only preserve the character of the community, but give future generations within the opportunity for their children to thrive in an environment dedicated to proper growth, attendees proclaimed. The Home Depot plan calls for 200-225 jobs. Urban Ecology, an organization devoted to making cities more livable by designing alternative ways in which land use could benefit residence and employers, created two plans for the proposed Home Depot project. Based on 400 survey responses, Urban Ecology assigned 10 architects as planners to design ways for the site that best accomodate the retail priorities of Visitacion Valley residents. At the former Schlage Lock site, Home Depot proposes to demolish the existing buildings while earmarking the southern portion of the property for parking while Urban Ecology's Concept #1 calls for trajectory oriented mixed use of the property. A City College extension would be erected, with creation of a farmers' market, a supermarket, a day care center and even room for additional retail. Full use could provide more than 800 new jobs, about four times more than proposed by the Home Depot plan. In another Urban Ecology plan, Concept #2 predicts the creation of 788 new jobs and includes a new cinema, which when described to those in attendance produced cries of delight and smiles galore. A final consensus was agreed upon in regards to representation from city officials when people were encouraged to write letters to let Mayor Willie Brown know exactly what the community wants. One Valley resident said, "...he promises a whole lot..." while another stated, "I think it's very important to have the mayor here for at least 30 minutes to hear the plan and what the community wants...not one of his staff members..." Notification of Project Receiving Environmental Review Project Title: 99.151E Sanitary Fill Company Solid Waste Facility Permit Revision Project Description: at 501 Tunnel Avenue; Assessor's Block 4991/Lots 7,8,9 & 82 in San Francisco County; and Assessor's Block 152, Lots 030, 340 and 220 (partial) in Brisbane, San Mateo County. The Sanitary Fill Company seeks to revise its Solid Waste Facility Permit as follows: i) remove restrictions which prohibit hauling of waste from the facility to Altamont Landfill between 2:00 p.m. Friday and 6:30 p.m. Sunday; ii) increase maximum number of permitted daily vehicle trips by 100, from 1,000 daily trips (existing limit) to 1,100 (proposed); iii) increase daily limit on amount of organic waste handled from 31 tons daily (existing limit) to 300 tons (proposed); iv) enclose the Construction and Demolition debris sort line within 37,000 square foot structure; and v) remove the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility from the Solid Waste Facility Permit. The project described above is being studied by the Office of Environmental Review to determine the potential environmental effects of the proposal. Public comments concerning the environmental effects of this project are welcomed. In order for your concerns to be fully considered throughout the environmental review process, we would appreciate receiving any comments you may have about issue to be addressed in the environmental review by December 15, 1999. Reviewer: Paul Maltzer
Phone: (415) 558-6391
Senior Survival School Completes Sessions by Alice Smith Representatives from the District Attorney's Office, Social Security Office, Legal Assistance to the Elderly and Senior Escort were in attendance for the final session of Senior Survival School on Nov. 22 at Visitacion Valley Senior Center to give information to senior participants about their program and services. During four Monday afternoon classes in November, participants received information relating to a number of topics including housing, food stamps, CAPI, medical, transportation, senior safety, and crime and prevention. Commissioner Ray Del Portillo of the Commission on the Aging gave a graduation address and later presented each participant with a certificate, red rose and lapel pin. Class photos and individual photos were also taken with Del Portillo. Musical entertainment provided by the
San Francisco Chinese Cultural Music Institute under the direction of Mr.
John Choy and featured guest soloists. Ai Qun Li, performed China Will
and Love in Cantonese, while Vincent Gagliardo performed China Nights in
Japanese. Both Li and Galiardo were students of the Survival School and
were each photographed in caps & gowns--a very emotional experience.
Translation was provided to the monolingual seniors during the Survival School. Senior Central District #7 thanks Commissioner Del Portillo, Planning for Elders in the Central City, Julie Baron, Shelly Stefanik, the service agencies and their presenters for assisting in the Senior Survival School while making it meaningful to seniors able to participate. Thanks are also given to John King Senior Center for transporting students both to and from Survival sessions, as well as John Choy, Ai Qun Li, Vincent Gagliardo and Hong Kang Yuan for providing musical selections and entertainment. A special thank you is also extended to seniors at Visitacion Valley Senior Center and Pat Crocker, Senior Program Director. Making a Difference in Visitacion Valley by Steve Glumaz Within the Visitacion Valley community exist a unique band of professionals making a positive impact in the lives of those who call Visitacion Valley home. Never mind that these professionals possess advanced degrees or years of meticulous empirical service. What stands out here is rather than seek extreme salaries which they can attain someplace else, their reward lies in the personal satisfaction of aiding others inconvenienced by financial, educational, emotional and language restraints. "I feel a sense of satisfaction to help seniors who are often viewed as invisible in this society," said Frank Mok, information and referral specialist for the Visitacion Valley Senior Central, District 7. "Me in my profession working for a non-profit organization----it's difficult because I have a Masters and the government believes you should make more money. It's very twisted logic." Born in Hong Kong, Mok arrived in the U.S. in 1990 and began Santa Monica Junior College earning a two-year general education degree. Then accepted to Minnesota State University, Mankato, he majored in Sociology with a minor in Criminal Corrections. Fluent in speaking four different Chinese dialects, Mok went on to secure a Cultural Studies Masters of Art in Sociology from the same school. Venturing west to San Francisco, he began his career as a youth program coordinator for the Visitacion Valley Beacon Center, a community resource and aid organization. Mok's duties include preparation and translation of documents, and referral support for the community's elderly who often have no one to aid them in comprehending things. According to Mok, people in society have forgotten about the elderly and in his capacity, he can help them while at the same time preserving their piece of mind. Lea Smith, a teacher at San Francisco City College, an established writer, and a community parks organizer whose expertise lies in teaching English as a Second Language, continues to find her two years teaching ESL in Visitacion Valley rewarding. "Since I'm an ESL teacher, I'm constantly connected with immigrants," said Smith. "It's my second year at the Beacon and teaching ESL connects my teaching with community work. By teaching a credit and non-credit volunteer program at Visitacion Valley Middle School, I feel a different sort of personal reward than at City College." According to Smith, her strength in community was derived as a result of her advocating to members of her Portola neighborhood and beyond, the importance of using city parks to strengthen family and neighborhood ties. According to Smith, "Immigrants really don't have a say in our city parks because a language barrier between those employed by the parks exists. As an ESL teacher, I learned that groups of different immigrants are the only ones using the parks and tend to keep to their own, so I gave them tickets to the zoo and they went together. What a community connection, and to do that kind of thing is rewarding to see. "Being a teacher is like being in social services--the cops and firefighters. It's not something you leave, but take home with you. I'm still connected to the community by grading the papers of my students, so it (the job) turns out to be more like a rewarding hobby." Smith attended Marin Junior College where she majored in English and minored in Film. In 1980, while at UC in Los Angeles, Smith earned a BA in English, She secured a Master of Education degree from the University of San Francisco in 1984. On Nov. 3, the Asian Law Caucus (ALC), an incorporated law firm, provided legal counsel at no charge to clients at the Visitacion Valley Community Center. Representing the firm was attorney Khin Mai Aung, a former intellectual property case lawyer who joined the ALC to work with a more human element--community citizens and merchants. "The more southern part of the city is under served and because the Visitacion Valley area is further from our different financial district clinics, we didn't do much here," said Aung. "We don't limit our expertise. We give everybody general and referral advice, mostly to immigrants." According to Aung, ALC is dedicated in aiding those with concerns involving housing disputes, immigration situations, public benefit counseling and representation, consumer fraud--especially against the elderly, and healthcare plan executions. Aung and her organization possess a proven track record with the citizens and merchants of the Visitacion Valley community. A clinic was once positioned across from the now-demolished Geneva Towers for people to communicate their legal affairs. A drop in foot traffic spawned what is now the ALC's rotating clinics, which allows Aung to reach more people requiring legal aid; her desire. Aung, graduated from Georgetown University in 1993 with a BA in International Relations and minor in Asian Studies. She earned a law degree from UC Berkeley in 1996. Working with immigrants in the Washington, D.C. area helped forge her professional desire to work with people in the community. Mayor Brown Visits Valley Church by Gerry L. Galvan Mayor Willie Brown made a guest appearance at St. James Presbyterian Church at 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 21, shortly after Jerry O. Resus, the pastor, had delivered a Sunday worship message. Seeking a second term in a Dec. 14 runoff election against Board of Supervisors President Tom Ammiano, Brown quickly summarized his administration's accomplishments during the preceding four years, mostly in line with his campaign slogan, "Compare and Decide." Brown also emphasized that extensive renovation is currently being planned for three playgrounds in Visitacion Valley. Ingleside Station Police Report *On Oct. 17, Ingleside officers responded to General Hospital on a call of a rape victim. The victim told officers that she was picked up on Oct. 14 in Sacramento. The suspect was someone she had met previously and she drove with him to San Francisco and dropped her off at a house. She was assaulted there by a second suspect who lived there. There was also a third suspect who appeared with a gun. The second suspect used the gun to force the victim to comply with his demands. She was able to leave three days later. The first suspect is a male approximately 18-19 years old and 5'4", 140 lbs. He is bald and is possibly Filipino or Samoan. He had a silver/brown revolver. The second suspect is a Hispanic male approximately 19-20 years old, 5'2", 150 lbs. The third suspect is a male approximately 25 years old and 6'1", 200 lbs. He is bald and is possibly Filipino or Samoan. He is also the brother of the first suspect. Case 991273190 *On Oct. 21 at 4:30 p.m. on Bayshore Boulevard and Leland Avenue, a robbery occurred on the 9x San Bruno Muni line. Ingleside officers spoke with the victim of the robbery. The victim was on the bus when he was approached by two juvenile suspects. They asked him for money and he replied he had none. One of the suspects punched the victim in the face. Then both the suspects rifled through his pockets taking items. The suspects then got off the bus. The first suspect was a black male juvenile approximately 13-18 years old. He was 5'3", 110 lbs. and he was wearing a camouflage bandanna with SD on it. The second suspect was a Hispanic male juvenile approximately 13-18 years old. He was 5'4", 150 lbs. and he was wearing dark clothing. Case 991293574 *On Oct. 21 at 7:40 p.m. on the 200 block of Leland Avenue, Ingleside officers responded to a call of a robbery. The victim had just gotten off the bus when from behind she felt someone pulling her purse. The suspect ripped the purse from her then fled the area. The suspect was wearing a gray sweat shirt and possibly riding a bike. Case 991294271 *On Nov. 1 at 7:26 a.m. on the 3800 block of San Bruno Avenue, Ingleside officers responded to a call of a robbery. The victim was waiting at the bus stop when two suspects pulled up in a black vehicle. They both exited the vehicle and demanded the victim's purse. When the victim did not give it to them, they took it by force and fled the area. The suspects were both black males in their 30s. They both wore dark clothing. One suspect was 5'10", 168 lbs. and the other suspect was 5'10", 180 lbs. Case 991338017 From the D.A.'s Office Guilty Plea in Elder Abuse Cases District Attorney Terence Hallinan on Oct. 29 announced that Sylvia Marks--also known as Suisie Petersen--had pleaded guilty to a charge of financial elder abuse and that Vilma Peraza had been arrested on similar charges. Marks was charged with felony abuse after she approached an 89 year-old man at a Safeway store and then, over the course of several weeks, duped him into giving her money by convinced him that she need a liver transplant and cash to buy a house. Marks, apparently, has no such medical needs. The scheme came to light after the victim's bank got suspicious because the victim was suddenly withdrawing huge sums of money. A bank official reported the matter to police who, after interviewing the victim, realized that Marks was running a scam. Marks was sentenced to serve two years in state prison on Nov. 10 and ordered to pay restitution. Meanwhile, Hallinan announced, Peraza had been arrested following an indictment by the San Francisco Grand Jury. Peraza was indicted on seven counts including elder abuse, grand theft, attempted grand theft, forgery and perjury. The charges against Peraza stem from the theft of over $200,000 and the attempted theft of a house belonging to an 83-year-old man who had since passed away. Peraza was taken into custody pending a $250,000 bail. Ex-Employee Charged with Theft of Hi-Tech Components District Attorney Hallinan's office has charged a former employee of Nikon Precision, Inc. with six felonies for engaging in trade secret theft by stealing high-tech components worth at least $500,000. Takehiko Tsurukawa surrendered to DA investigators and was charged with the crimes that he allegedly committed while working as an employee of Nikon from 1991 to 1997. According to investigators, Tsurukawa stole the sophisticated electronic components from the company and then altered the computer records to conceal the thefts. He also crated a shell company that contracted to repair Nikon electronic components at highly inflated prices, as well as stole and disseminated Nikon trade secrets. Tsurukawa now faces two counts of grand theft, and one count each of receiving stolen property, computer fraud and trade secrets theft. If convicted on all counts he could receive as much as 11 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. Victim Services Office Opened in Chinatown In an ongoing effort to broaden services throughout the city, District Attorney Hallinan on Nov. 23 opened an auxiliary office in Chinatown that focuses on delivering an array of services to victims of crime. The new satellite office for the Victims Services Program is housed in the Chinese Newcomers Service Center at 777 Stockton St. The office is the latest in the series of such neighborhood-based programs that have been providing similar services in other communities, including Bayview-Hunters point, the Mission and Ingleside districts. 'These kinds of efforts are extremely important because it not only allows us to better understand a particular community, it also allows that community to better understand us," said Hallinan. "Because of cultural, language and other barriers, many crime victims, particularly of Asian decent, are reluctant to seek the help they need, and instead opt to suffer in silence." "It is a vital step towards serving crime victims in the Asian community," said Teresa Wu, executive director of the Newcomers Service Center. "We have been working on this for some time--finally the dream has come true." The satellite office is being staffed with victim services workers who speak Cambodian, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Chou Chow and French. Services include orientations to the criminal justice system, encouraging and aiding victims to talk with police, help with financial losses due to crimes as well as help with referrals to other city agencies and organizations that can offer even more assistance. Sean Do of the Victims Service Program is the district attorney's chief representative and is a victim advocate having the language skills and cultural sensitivity necessary to help crime victims and their families. Since March, more than 300 Asian American crime victims have sought advice and aid from the district attorney's Victim Services Program. With this satellite center, community leaders anticipate that an even greater` number of victims will take advantage of the district attorney's program. Donation Program Brings Books to Library Branches In response to a concern expressed by a citizen at a San Francisco neighborhood meeting with Mayor Willie Brown, the Books to Branches Fund of the S.F. Public Library has developed a new program. The Library offers book lovers an opportunity to be personally involved in strengthening the collection at their favorite library branch while at the same time acknowledging a friend, loved-one or colleague with a personalized bookplate to be displayed on the inside cover of a newly purchased book. In return for a tax-deductible donation of $25 or more, the library will purchase a book (or books). If the donation is a memorial in the name of someone who is deceased, or honors someone's birthday, anniversary, retirement, etc., the library will create a bookplate especially for the person to be acknowledged. In addition, if desired, the library will notify the honoree of the purchase in their name through an acknowledgement letter from the City Librarian. Donations can also be made without the bookplate feature. A book purchase will be made for the Library's collection and the donation will be tax-deductible. Donations can be made in cash or by personal check. Donor forms will be available from library staff at the Main and at all 26 branch libraries. Healthtalk: What is to Blame for Ulcer Pain? One in every 10 Americans will develop an ulcer sometime in his or her life--probably the one with the high-stress job, spicy-food addiction, and love affair with coffee, right? Actually, no. In the past, it's true that stress, spicy food and acid were thought to be the major causes of ulcers. In 1982, however, the true cause of ulcers was discovered: a bacterium known as Helicobacter pylori. Infection with H. pylori is now known to be the cause of more than 80 percent of gastric ulcers (ulcers in the stomach) and more than 90 percent of duodenal ulcers (ulcers in the first part of the small intestine). Many people, about two-thirds of the world's population, are infected with H. pylori, but only a small percentage of infected people develop ulcers. Researchers aren't sure why some infected people get ulcers and others don't. But they do know that treating H. pylori infection in a person who has an ulcer can help heal an ulcer and keep it from coming back. An ulcer is a sore that develops in
the sensitive lining of the stomach or duodenum. This lining is normally
coated with a layer of mucus to protect it from being damaged by stomach
acid, H. pylori causes ulcers by burrowing into and weakening this mucus
layer, allowing stomach acid to flow through. Common symptoms of an ulcer
include:
Some people can have an ulcer with very mild symptoms or even no symptoms at all. An ulcer is diagnosed with an upper GI series, a test that x-rays the stomach and duodenum. An endoscopy may also be done, an exam where a thin tube with a small light and camera on the end (called an endoscope) is eased through the throat down into the stomach and duodenum. The endoscope takes video pictures and can be used to take a biopsy (tissue sample) for testing. Once an ulcer is diagnosed, infection with H. pylori can be confirmed by a blood test, breath test or examination of the tissue sample taken during the endoscopy. Treating H. pylori infection involves a combination of drugs: antibiotic to kill the bacteria, acid suppressing drugs to inhibit stomach acids, and a medication to protect the stomach lining. Treatment often lasts 2 weeks or longer. People being treated may be tempted to stop taking their medication as soon as their symptoms disappear, usually in a few days, but only a full course of treatment can fully eradicate H. pylori from the system. If H. pylori remains, the ulcer is likely to come back. Though the National Institutes of Health released a statement in 1994 confirming that H. pylori does cause ulcers, some in the medical community still debate this point. If you are being treated for an ulcer and have not yet been tested for infection with H. pylori, talk to your doctor about the reasons why. Bison Enthusiasts to Mark 100 Years in Golden Gate Park Celebrating 100 years of bison life in Golden Gate Park's West End, the Tatonka Buffalo Festival will be held Sunday, Dec. 12 from 1-3 p.m. at the Golden Gate Park Senior Center on Fulton Street between 36th and 37th avenues. Historical background on the animals' move to the West End in 1899 will be presented as will updates on future renovations and pasture management in the paddock. Information will also be provided about bison in Yellowstone National Park, where these animals were exchanged with San Francisco at the turn of the century when only five cities had a captive breeding program. |