On September 17, the City and County of San Francisco will submit a request to HUD to release funds to begin construction of the Heritage Homes project at 222 Schwerin St.

The project involves new construction of 148 townhouse and apartment-style dwelling units in one, two and three story structures on a 4.56 acre site bounded by Schwerin Street, Sunnydale and Garrison Avenues.

Estimated federal funding will include $3 million from Community Development Block Grant, $7.8 million from the HUD Multi-Family Property Disposition Upfront Grant Program and $6.8 million in HUD Section 8 Project Based Rental Assistance funds. The project will also receive $8 million in construction financing and $3.8 million in permanent financing from the AFL-CIO Trust Fund.

Heritage homes would replace approximately 25 percent of the 576 units previously contained in Geneva Towers, the twin 20-story buildings imploded on May 16. The proposal is to build 22 four-bedroom units, 62 three-bedroom units, 41 two-bedroom units and 23 one-bedroom units. Included will be a 3,400 square foot childcare building for 45 children with a 2,000 square foot outdoor play area, a 1,800 square foot open space plaza, a 660 square foot maintenance building and a 2,600 square foot community building with offices for management, security, and resident services as well as classroom, kitchen and a multi-purpose room.

A private street system is planned to provide access to the interior of the site from Schwerin, Sunnydale and Garrison Avenues. Some of the existing mature trees on the site have been retained, but more than 100 new street trees would be installed. Parking for  168 cars would be provided on site in garages, designated off-street spaces and private street parking.

A 13,500 square foot community center with a 17-space ground floor garage will be constructed on the Sunnydale Avenue frontage to house The Village, a community social service organization now located at 333 Schwerin St. The Village building will be fully compatible in appearance with the residential structure of Heritage Homes, but will be distinct in location and function from the private community building reserved for residents of the Heritage Homes development. 

Ground is Broken for
Britton Street Family Housing

With the removal of rubble continuing at the former Geneva Towers site across the street, Mayor Willie Brown joined HUD's Art Agnos and a number of other officials Aug. 13 in a large empty lot on Sunnydale Avenue for the official ground breaking of the Britton Street Family Housing.

Entertainment was provided by Cherice Jackson and The Village Players.
Located between Britton and Loehr Streets the new development had been in the planning stages for several years. When completed in late 1999, the new homes will be comprised of 63 two-bedroom, 21 three-bedroom and 8 four-bedroom apartments designed to accommodate families with children.

The townhouse apartments and flats will be grouped in 32 attached two and three story buildings arranged in courtyard clusters. Each of the clusters will share enclosed parking, a secured courtyard, a laundry room and garbage facilities. A community room and child care facility building will provide a central focus along Sunnydale Avenue. When completed, two vehicular entrances to the site from the south will access 122 parking spaces on the premises.

The project was designed by the architectural team of Michael Willis and Associates, and Solomon Inc. Architecture and Urban Design. 

SAT Scores for SFUSD
Show Five Year Improvement

Students in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) are taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in greater numbers and scoring higher over a five year period. This trend represents an eight point increase in the verbal SAT scores and a nine point increase in the math SAT scores since 1994.

In this period, the state of California showed an increase of eight and ten points in verbal and math scores respectively. Nationally, students increased their SAT scores by six and eight points respectively over.

At the same time SFUSD students are scoring higher on the SAT, more students are taking the test. In 1998, 2,436 SFUSD students took the college entrance exam compared to 2,326 in 1994. The greatest increase occurred between 1997 and 1998 when 199 more students were tested. The district's average verbal score in 1998 was 512, the same as the national average, yet down 5 points from 517 in 1997.

Overall, two out of three SFUSD seniors took the test in 1998, or 70 percent compared to 47 percent of the seniors in California and 43 percent nationally.

"When the stock market drops a few points, there is no need to panic. The same is true for SAT scores," said SFUSD Superintendent Bill Rojas. "We are making a long-term investment in our students and they will succeed. We now have a five year trend that indicates more students in San Francisco are graduating and going to college."

A closer look at the test scores indicates that SFUSD students are overcoming the odds to achieve. Seventy-two percent of the students who took the 1998 SAT in San Francisco came from homes where English is not the primary language, compared to 36 percent at the state level and 18 percent nationally.

VERBAL/MATH SAT SCORES OVER LAST FIVE YEARS

SFUSD: 1994: 448/503; 1995:446/503; 1996: 455/510; 1997: 456/517; 1998: 456/512.
California: 1994: 489/506; 1995: 492/509; 1996: 495/511; 1997: 496/514; 1998: 497/516.
Nation: 1994: 499/504; 1995: 504/506; 1996: 505/508; 1997: 505/511; 1998: 505/512. 

Deadline in GASA Essay Contest

All submissions in an Essay Contest for girls ages 8-18 sponsored by Girls After School Academy (GASA) should be received no later than Sept. 15. Prizes will be awarded in four age categories. For more information, call GASA at 584-4044. 

ESL Classes at Community Beacon

Visitacion Valley Community Beacon and San Francisco City College are offering free ESL classes Monday through Thursday, 9-11:30 a.m. For more information, please call 452-4907 or come by the Beacon at Visitacion Valley Middle School, 450 Raymond Ave., Room 101. 

MYEEP Receives National Award

MYEEP was selected in August as one of only 11 recipients of the National Youth Employment Coalition's 1998 PEPNet awards. Programs were judged in showing promising and effective practices. 

Bus Stop Change on 54 Felton Line

Muni recently moved a bus stop on the 54-Felton line from the northwest corner of Bacon Street at San Bruno Avenue to a box zone stop at mid-block on the north side of Bacon. 

An open door of a Sunnydale apartment led investigating police Aug. 25 to the body of John Releford, 22, a former Housing Authority laborer who had worked at the housing complex until May 1998. Releford had died hours earlier of gunshot wounds. 

Attractive Boulevard Would
Replace Obsolete Freeway

After a successful petition drive this summer, supporters are hopeful the rest of San Francisco will be equally enthusiastic about Proposition E, a measure on the local ballot this November that would eliminate the bulky Central Freeway north of Market Street and replace it with an attractive avenue.

Octavia Boulevard would be a new widened, high-traffic volume roadway between Market and Oak/Fell Streets that would distribute traffic both east/west and north/south over a variety of routes. It would consist of two lanes of traffic in each direction, plus an additional lane on each side with parking separated from faster through traffic to serve the local neighborhood.

Timed signals on Octavia Boulevard would be coordinated with lights on Fell and Oak Streets in a plan both Caltrans and the Transportation Authority have agreed would be no slower in reaching Fell Street than the overhead freeway.

According to the plan, new overhead ramps would be constructed to meet the existing freeway at Mission Street and gradually descend to ground level at Market Street. Traffic on the freeway currently only moves northbound past Mission after the seismically unsafe southbound deck was removed a few years ago.

Cost of the project is estimated at $48.1 million, almost $20 million less than the $67.6 it would take to both retrofit, widen and create new exit ramps for the existing structure. Proposed new construction on the freeway would also impact traffic directly below it.
Opponents of the boulevard measure have claimed demolishing the freeway and bringing its traffic to a surface intersection with Market Street would cause a nightmarish gridlock, often citing the passage of passage of Proposition H in 1997 as the will of the voters.

But those if favor of the plan are confident the roadway's design would be helpful in directing commuter and weekend traffic north towards Franklin Street, inaccessible since demolition of the Central Freeway's top portion following the earthquake in October 1989. Supporters also note the resurgence of Hayes Valley, once again flourishing with restaurants and shops after decades ofbeing directly below the freeway, as a major reason to remove it from a residential neighborhood. 

District Attorney Sues Private Parking Enforcement Company for False
Advertising and Unfair Business Practices

San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan announced Sept. 2 that his Consumer & Environmental Protection Unit has filed a civil case against Overtime Parking, Inc., charging the company with unfair business practices and false advertising.

Headquartered in Walnut Creek, the company contracts with private businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area, including Walgreens, to enforce parking limitations posted by owners of private parking lots.

In the lawsuit, the District Attorney alleges that Overtime Parking uses various tactics that mislead consumers into believing that the parking notices issued by the company and placed on their vehicles are actually being issued by local law enforcement. The suit also alleges that the company has been in violation of a statewide injunction entered in Santa Barbara County Superior Court on Dec. 8, 1997. This injunction specifically prohibits the company from issuing parking notices which use the word "ticket," "parking violation," "violation, "penalty," or any other terms which could cause an ordinary individual to believe that the obligation to make payment was created by, or is enforceable by, government authority.

"Unfortunately, Overtime Parking did not heed the injunction entered in Santa Barbara County," said Hallinan. "Rather, it simply focused its business activities in the Bay Area, where it has cited hundreds, perhaps thousands of vehicles, scaring consumers into paying what they thought were parking tickets."

Hallinan said the company also used scare tactics in follow-up letters to consumers who had not paid their parking notices, threatening them with collection actions and, in some cases, impoundment of their vehicles.

The suit seeks to have the company repay to the victims all sums obtained through the use of this scheme, as well as a minimum of $500,000 in civil penalties for the unfair business practice and false advertising, and an additional $6,000 per day in civil penalties for each day in which the company has operated in violation of the injunction. 

Muni Riders Demand Action
For Bad Metro Service

Rescue Muni, a transit riders' association for San Francisco is an organization of concerned riders who seek to make service faster, safer, more reliable, and more responsive to riders' needs. Founded in 1996, it now has more than 320 members throughout the City. Following is the organization's response to delayed Muni Metro service in late August.

Riders are understandably furious at Muni for recent Metro service. Muni made very significant changes in how we use the system without telling us in advance how it would change and how the changes would improve the system after implementation glitches were fixed. This turned a difficult situation of change into a nightmare and brought already frustrated riders far past the boiling point.

If Muni had only used a few of the billboards in the subway stations to explain key changes in advance, the incredible overcrowding at Embarcadero platform would not have happened; most riders would have grumbled but understood what was going on. Instead, only proof of payment (POP) was explained, and only that riders needed to have POP with them on a vehicle or on a platform, forgetting to mention how the white buttons on the Bredas would open the doors while on the street. Also, of course, thousands of riders were left in the dark during the major delays that plagued the first week of ATCS service, not knowing when their cars would arrive of the cause of the trouble.

To regain riders' confidence, Muni must immediately:

1. Apologize for the poor advance communication.

2. Fix the bugs so that all trains can consistently use the automatic train control system (ATCS).

3. Deliver complete, accurate information on the status of the crisis until it is resolved.

4. Make sure that all station agents and operators know the cause and severity of any delays, relay that information immediately to customers, and fully explain Metro alternatives (including BART) where appropriate) to riders.

5. Fully explain to the riding public the purpose and goals of ATCS.

6. Open up its mind and listen to riders when they suggest ways to run the Metro/streetcar system more efficiently.

7. Work out a flexible and efficient agreement with the Transport Workers Union such that trains go outbound in proper sequence instead of sending five K or J or N cars in a row.

8. Work out a reasonable deal with BART on the use of the Fast Pass on BART within San Francisco.

9. Show steady quarterly improvement in outputs (service quantity and quality), not just inputs (employees) before the Board of Supervisors as the full requested funding kicks in starting October 1.

10. Think of Muni riders as customers, not cattle.

Through these steps, Muni Director Cruz and Mayor Brown can cool down the firestorm of anger that erupted in late August and take the first step on a long journey to regain the respect of Muni riders. To encourage such steps, Rescue Muni volunteers gathered well over 1,000 signatures the evening of August 28 at downtown Metro stations in a matter of a little over two hours. 

Outbound Metro Riders Should
Only Board Outbound

In order to provide faster turnaround service in the subway, passengers on all Metro lines other than the N-Judah must get off the car at Embarcadero Station.

N-Judah cars now continue to the Caltrain Station at 4th and Townsend Streets.

Passengers should not ride inbound to the Embarcadero Station in order to get a seat and return outbound. Doing so will delay their trip and may cause delays to the Metro system.

In order for passengers to reach their destination in a timely manner, outbound passengers should board outbound cars at their station of origin.

For further information, call Muni's Telephone Information Center at (415) 673-MUNI. 

New Alliance Formed to Support and Improve S.F. Parks

A new alliance of public and private efforts was recently formed to support and improve park and recreation facilities in San Francisco.
San Francisco Parks Action Alliances not a new organization, but rather a coalition of existing organizations with an interest in revitalizing the City's park system. Goals of the Alliance are to coordinate the various park improvement efforts already underway, to see that recommendations for improvement are implemented, and to devise a long-term strategy to maintain the parks once necessary changes have been made. Emphasis will be placed on the improvement of neighborhood parks and recreation facilities.

Members of the Alliance include representatives of the City's Recreation and Parks Department, the Parks Commission, private and nonprofit organizations that directly support the parks, neighborhood groups that use the parks, organizations with expertise in the field, and philanthropic organizations.

The Alliance is not intended to become a permanent entity. It is anticipated that members will work together for approximately one year. Margine Sako, former director of the Mayor's Office of Community Development, has joined the San Francisco Foundation as coordinator of the Alliance. The Foundation has a long history of supporting efforts to improve the environment and to provide recreational opportunities for residents of the Bay Area. 

State Senate Passes HIV Reporting Bill

The State Senate passed legislation Aug. 27 by Assemblywoman Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) to report HIV cases to local health departments by a unique code system to protect patients' confidentiality. Currently, California does not report HIV cases; AIDS cases are reported. The bill, AB 1663, passed on a 22-15 vote.

"This is a balanced, well-crafted measure designed to address the need for improved data to help fight the HIV epidemic while providing maximum protection for patient confidentiality," said Migden. "It is a strong public health measure that will not deter individuals from testing and treatment."

The Migden bill builds on a system of unique codes used in Maryland and Texas. Several other states, including Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut and Hawaii are also developing unique code systems to report HIV cases.
AB 1663 is supported by the California Medical Association. the California Conference of Local Health Officers, and a broad array of health care organizations and AIDS service providers.

The bill now moves to the Assembly for a final vote on Senate amendments. 

Memory Walk Scheduled for Treasure Island

The nonprofit Alzheimer's Association of the Greater San Francisco Bay Area will hold Memory Walk 1998 on Saturday, Oct. 3 on Treasure Island from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. with registration starting at 8 a.m.

Alzheimer's Association Executive Director William H' Fisher said the event will be, "A day with family and friends exploring Treasure Island and helping defeat Alzheimer's."

"Alzheimer's disease has rightfully been called a disaster-in-progress," said Mayor Willie Brown. It threatens the health of individuals, families, communities, and in the next century, our country. More than 700,000 people in the Bay Area suffer with Alzheimer's disease. Hundreds of thousands of their family members and friends suffer along with them. This is a time for our communities to rally."

Enthusiastic volunteers from throughout the Bay Area are organizing an event expected to draw 1,100 people to Treasure Island. Bay Area families will enjoy:

*A walk around historic Treasure Island on long and short courses, with fabulous views and photo opportunities of the Bay, the bridges, and Alcatraz and Angel Islands.

*Entertainment provided by the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Stanford Harmonies, musician/singer Steve Seskin, clowns, face painters and more.

Tasty foods available for purchase, picnic facilities (no fires allowed), or a pre-order barbecue lunch for $10. To be assured of a barbecue lunch, order by October 1 as part of pre-registration.

*Children's activities, celebrity participants, cable car buses for those who have difficulty walking, and much more.
To pre-register or get more information, call 1-800-660-1993. 

Shanti Volunteer Training

Shanti still needs your help because people still have AIDS. Volunteers are needed at Shanti to help run errands, shop, clean, cook, laugh, cry, talk, go for walks, share, hope and listen, providing emotional and practical support to people with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco.

Comprehensive trainings are held in San Francisco for Shanti Volunteers with the next training taking place over two weekends, Sept. 11, 12, 13, 19 and 20. Call 487-4722 to apply. 

Dry, Hot Weather Drives Ants Indoors

Don't run out to buy that can of ant poison just yet.

In the nick of time for high ant season, the San Francisco Water Pollution Prevention Program has released its new booklet on controlling household pests using less-toxic products.

Control It! Less-Toxic Methods to Control and Prevent Pests in and Around Your Home is a colorful booklet that outlines the best ways to detect, control and prevent pests. Argentine ants, a very common household pest, are covered in depth. What to do about them? Control It! suggests starting out by wiping up ant trails with soapy water and then using baits to get rid of the rest. Best long-term solution is to caulk cracks to prevent the bugs from getting in at all.

Tanya Drlik, an integrated pest management specialist who consulted on the book, concurred, "This handy little guide is an excellent place to start if you have a problem. The book covers 14 pests commonly found in San Francisco and offers specific, less-toxic controls."

But ants aren't the only pest covered in the book. Every page of Control It! focuses on a different pest and features prevention tips. Pests covered include cockroaches, fleas and termites. The booklet includes a shopping list and product guide, hints on finding pests' hiding places and cleaning tips.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Water Pollution Prevention Program developed Control It!, the fifth in a series of consumer guides, because pest control chemicals can pollute the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean when used or disposed of improperly.

"Most of us want to get rid of pests. And we want to offer a less polluting way of doing it," said Paula Kehoe, program coordinator for the San Francisco Water Pollution Prevention Program. "Most of us have had to deal with home pest control at one time or another and sometimes our instinct is to just go out and buy the strongest chemical product around. But you may not need such products to get rid of a simple problem. There are many less toxic methods that really get the job done and help protect the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean."

The book also emphasizes prevention-taking steps now before there's a pest problem to deal with. "Prevention is really the key," Kehoe stressed. "If you make your home uninviting fir ants or any other pests, they'll stay away."

San Francisco residents can get a free copy of Control It! by calling 695-7375. 

Illegal Oil Dumping in S.F.
Drops Nearly Two-Thirds

The amount of oil illegally dumped in San Francisco has dropped significantly, helping to protect the environment and the San Francisco Bay. Reports of abandoned oil dropped from 272 in the year ending June 30, 1996 to 103 in the year ending June 30, 1998--a 65 percent decline.

While the dumping of oil has decreased throughout the entire City, some neighborhoods now have virtually no problem with illegally abandoned oil. In the Richmond District, for example, only one incident of abandoned oil was reported last year--down from 19 three years ago. Oil dumping in the northeast sector of the City (Marina, Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Telegraph Hill, Chinatown, and Downtown) dropped to two incidents from 18. The smallest decline was in the Sunset District, with 18 cases last year--down 33 percent from the 27 incidents in 1996.

At the same time that illegal dumping of oil was decreasing, the recycling of oil through drop off centers and collection events has been increasing. Oil recycled has nearly doubled--from 48,000 gallons in 1994 to 125,000 gallons in 1997.

"We're glad to see that our aggressive oil recycling outreach campaign is having such a positive impact," said Paul Horcher, director of the Solid Waste Management Program. "With more than 50 drop-off sites, monthly collection events and a new curbside oil collection program scheduled to begin next year, residents have a clear alternative to illegally dumping oil."

Residents can call 554-4333 for a free listing of oil collection sites. 

People Service Wire Revolutionizes
Communication Between People and Government

California, one of the most wired states in the country, now has a new web service that lets residents send instant, free e-mail messages to any of 140,000 government officials in more than 7,000 towns and cities nationwide--and get problems solved fast!

This revolutionary new web site, www.e-thepeople.com, was demonstrated to citizens groups and politicians statewide by Alex Sheshunoff, whose Internet launch was profiled in Forbes Magazine. Sheshunoff's bus, the Grassroots Express, will be giving demonstrations to politicians and citizens groups in 40 cities across the U.S. The picturesque bus is decorated like a huge mailbox, complete with flag.

"In the past, it's been hard for people to participate in the affairs of their community because they have so little free time," said Shesunoff, a 24-year-old Yale grad. "And when they have a problem, people usually don't know who to call or how to reach them.

E-The People makes it easy--even fun." According to a recently released study more than 70.5 million (34.9 percent) of the 202 million U.S. adults use the Internet.

This tour has generated enthusiastic response from politicians and citizens groups along the way. Although E-The People's website has been "live" for only a few weeks, it has been eagerly embraced by a wide variety of groups seeking to expand communication between elected officials and the citizens they represent.

"Internet sites like E;The People are exciting because they provide people with another way to make their voices heard and allow elected officials to be more responsive," said Congressman Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas. California Senator Barbara Boxer, who received a demonstration of the service on Aug. 23 said, "I wholeheartedly support any technological advance that increases the ability of the people to actively participate in the decisions made by government. That is the key to our democracy."

The fastest use of E-The People will occur at the local level by people seeking to get quick action on problems ranging from a gaping pothole to a broken park swing. E-The People innovative software pulls up the names of the specific local officials most closely concerned with each specific issue, allowing an instant e-mail complaint to be sent.

Because of this, numerous cities are hopping on board the E-The People bus as well. On Aug. 17, the city of West Hollywood--which created itself through voter initiative 11 years ago--voted to become the first American city to add E-The People to its website. "Not using the Internet to communicate today is like saying you prefer to use the Pony Express," said West.

E-The People also allows citizens groups--from the Sierra Club to the local block club--to post online petitions and seek signatures in support of those petitions via e-mail. Citizens groups in California and other states have begun to make plans to use E-The People to lobby their state legislatures on issues ranging from bicycle safety helmet laws to environmental issues.

Over the past several weeks, Sheshunoff and his Grassroots Express have traveled to cities such as Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles to publicize the innovative new service.

E-The People is free to its users and is financed by the sale of banner ads on the site. More than 40 newspapers reaching seven million readers have decided to incorporate E-The People into their own interactive editions. E-The People expects to link to 100 papers nationwide within the next tree months. 

Radio Show for Cantonese Listeners

Last March 23, Chinatown Community Development Center (CDC) proudly announced the debut of a new radio show entitled Community Forum, a Cantonese language program airing Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 2 p.m. on AM 1400 dedicated to community education and providing a forum for public discussion.

The staff of Chinatown CDC wanted to air a show that would "fill the community" on what happened at City Hall and what's not in the community. Issues ranging from tenants rights to basic immigration laws are discussed on the show. Hosts include Chinatown CDC staff Wyland Chu, Angela Chu, Anna Chang, and staff from the Asian Law Caucus.

Empowering the community--especially the Chinese-speaking community--to call in and voice their concerns and opinions has been a powerful educational experience.

The show began on a daily evening broadcast (as a pilot project) before moving to afternoons. 

San Francisco Wins Award for
Innovative Recycling Program

The California Integrated Waste Management Board has given the City and County of San Francisco the Most Innovative Program award in the first-ever Trash Cutter Awards. The award was given in recognition of San Francisco's successful efforts in two areas--coordinating the Save Money and the Environment Too campaign, and implementing an innovative commercial organics recycling program.

The Save Money and the Environment Too campaign, initiated by David Assmann, senior administrator for the San Francisco Solid Waste Management Program, is the largest recycling campaign in the Bay Area. One hundred and ten cities and counties partner with 400 supermarkets, state agencies and private companies in order to bring shoppers the message about the importance of waste prevention and buying reusable products.

The Board also recognized the commercial organics program, which is a cooperative effort with Sunset Scavenger and the Food Bank. This program collects leftover food from more than 150 businesses in San Francisco. Edible food collected is donated to the San Francisco Food Bank. Inedible leftover produce from the Food Bank is given to a dairy farmer to use as cattle feed. The remaining produce is collected by Sunset Scavenger for composting.

"These efforts show that San Francisco is at the cutting edge for waste prevention programs," said Paul Horcher, director of the San Francisco Solid Waste Management Program. "Under the leadership of Mayor Brown, we have been able to implement many innovative new programs." 

Compost Bin Fall Sale
Anticipated to Set New Records

High-quality reduced-price compost bins are expected to be in demand when the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners (SLUG) teams up with the San Francisco Recycling Program to offer San Francisco residents new compost bins. Two state of the art composters, the Earth Machine and the Wriggly Wranch worm bin, will be available at a one-day compost bin distribution event on Saturday, Sept. 19.

Home composters in San Francisco already divert 5 million pounds of yard and food waste from the landfill each year, and this year's bin distribution is designed to help fulfill a goal of doubling the amount of organic material composted by the end of the decade.

Last year, more than 3,000 San Francisco residents lined up to obtain one of the limited number of compost bins being offered to City residents at two bin sales. This time there will be a truckload of 1,200 Earth Machines for $19.50 each and 600 Wriggly Wranch worm bins for $24.50 each. Every San Francisco resident is eligible for one of these discounted composters. Come early while supplies last.

The sale will be at the Garden for the Environment at 7th Avenue and Lawton in the Sunset District. Free workshops on composting will be held on a continuous basis from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Composting is a simple way to convert fruit, vegetable and plant trimmings to a soil amendment for gardens and house plants. The Earth Machine is ideal for no-fuss, odor-free composting, and is small enough to fit into any back yard. The Wriggly Wranch worm bin is great for fruit and vegetable scraps and can be kept inside. Worms will also be available at the sale for $15 a pound.

More than 11,000 City residents have purchased bins from the Program since 1990 and more than 4,000 have attended composting workshops. Free workshops on composting are also offered several times a month by SLUG. For information on free workshops or more information about the bin sale, call 285-7585. 

Resolve to Stop Violence with the S.F. Giants

You can help the San Francisco Giants and the San Francisco Sheriff's Department strike out violence during Resolve to Stop the Violence Day at 3Com Park during the game of Sunday, Sept. 13 at 1:05 p.m.

Resolve to Stop the Violence Project (RSVP) is a nationally recognized violence prevention program initiated by the San Francisco Sheriff's Department. RSVP succeeds in holding violent offenders accountable for repairing the harm they have done through victim restitution and community restoration. It is the only anti-violence program in the country which focuses on domestic violence, random violence and violence in the community by working with offenders while they are incarcerated and upon their release to the community.

Three dollars from every ticket sold, when you mention RSVP, will be donated to services for victims and survivors of violence.

To order tickets, call the S.F. Giants ticket order line directly at 330-2528, and be sure to mention RSVP to ensure that ticket proceeds benefit the program. 

A Night of Celebration and Remembrance

Supporting the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt becomes a tasteful endeavor on Thursday, Oct. 1 when restaurants from San Francisco to New York and Clos du Bois Winery invite diners to a Night of Celebration and Remembrance.

More than 50 restaurants across the country are participating in this one-of-a-kind national event by agreeing to donate a portion of their food sales from dinners served Oct. 1. They join Clos du Bois winery, sponsor of the event, who will be donating a portion of all wine sales at these restaurants during the month of September. Additional restaurants are coming on board each day.

"We are very excited to support the NAMES Project and its important work," said Elka Gilmore, proprietor of Oodles restaurant in San Francisco. "It is a great opportunity for our customers and others across the country to know their dollars are contributing to a great cause."

Clos du Bois is in its second year of supporting the NAMES Project as the exclusive wine sponsor of the Foundation. Clos du Bois wines were featured st a series of NAMES Project fund raising events throughout the country.

Since 1987, the fabric panels of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt have been shown across the country and throughout the world to ensure that those who have died are never forgotten and to help bring an end to AIDS. Over the past decade, more than a million people have viewed the Quilt. 

Public Library Sponsors Teen Read Week

An award-winning author, teen writers from Juvenile Hall, and a Teen Comic Art Fest are all part of San Francisco Public Library's Teen Read Week, a national celebration of teens and reading held from Oct. 19 through 25.

Created by the American Library Association to encourage teen reading, Teen Read Week at the Library's 26 branches and Main Library will also feature displays of teen materials, put together by the San Francisco Public Library's Teen Advisory Council.

"Teen Read Week presents us with a wonderful opportunity to shine the spotlight on writers and materials which are of special interest to teens," said Toni Bernardi, coordinator of Children and Youth Services at the Library. "The programs being offered highlight the diversity of those interests and the literary collections which support them."

Fall Fest at S.F. Zoo

San Francisco Zoo's Children's Zoo area will celebrate the coming of fall with Fall Fest, a down-home, home-grown family event on Saturday, Sept. 26 from 10:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. Featured will be a corn-shucking contest, butter churning demonstrations, scarecrow-making, a spinning exhibition and more, with the Zoo's goats, sheep, llama, ponies and donkeys on hand to meet and greet guests.

Activities also include a livestock stampede, animal husbandry demonstrations, a barnyard animal noise contest, keeper talks, informational booths, and demonstrations by professional ferriers. The first-time event is also expected to feature an antique tractor showcase, entertainment and food.

The event is open to kids and adults, and is free with paid Main Zoo admission. The San Francisco Zoo is located at Sloat Boulevard at the Pacific Ocean and open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 753-7080 for more information.