Surfing the Sunset

A look into the history, culture and future of surfing in San Francisco

reporting_finalproject_day1-18 — Ocean Beach in the Sunset is a favorite among surfers. The aggressive tide and freezing temperatures can make for dangerous surfing conditions, although people began surfing here nearly a century ago and continue to this day.

On the western side of San Francisco lies a historic stretch of surf that inspired and battered athletes for nearly a century.

From the dunes of the early Sunset District to inventions that changed the world, surfers worked against strong factors to develop their own culture that continues today.

The waves along the Great Highway, the westernmost roadway completed in 1929 that runs along Ocean Beach, can be elusive and dangerous to even the most accomplished of surfers.

This past week the National Weather Service predicted waves from 20 to 40 feet, with some over 50 feet. Safety officials issued a High Surf Warning on Friday, Dec. 14, although some surfers decided to take their chances.

“I’ve never said this before but I think the ocean forgot how to make waves,” said Chris Siedensticker, a 45-year-old father working in tech finance. Siedensticker said he began surfing with a friend when he moved to the Bay Area 15 years ago, and he surfs about 70 percent of his time at Ocean Beach.

“There was just water randomly moving in an unorganized fashion. And then when it did figure out how to make a wave, the wave shape was awful,” he said. “But it was nice. I was the only one out there and that’s always pretty rad, actually.”

On Dec. 7, 2018 surfer Jay Siedeman drowned at Ocean Beach near Sloat Boulevard. He was retrieved from the water around 12:30 p.m. and taken to the hospital. He died later that day.

In order to support his wife and two sons, Siedeman’s co-workers from Oath, a branding company owned by Verizon, created a GoFundMe account with a goal of raising $50 thousand. At the time of print the account raised $167 thousand in donations for the family.

“He brought out the very best in his friends and family – not to mention you could always count on Jay for some light-hearted fun,” said his coworkers on the website. “Our lives will forever be changed by Jay and his laughter will be deeply missed.”

“You never know, something unpredictable can always happen,” said 24-year-old air quality instrument specialist Jack Connor. Connor began surfing with his father when he was five years old in his hometown of San Diego.

“In my opinion it’s a matter of statistics. There’s some risk and I feel like I’m competent and capable in the ocean,” he said. “And I trust myself to not put myself in a situation where something bad can happen.”

“I think that it’s more dangerous to drive a car, to get in an automobile than to surf here, so I also rationalize it that way,” said Connor.

This week the Mavericks Challenge surf contest was postponed due to dangerous conditions. Some surfers still took to the water to see swells up to 35 feet, although the World Surf League officials determined that they could wait until around January for better conditions.

For the first time 10 women will compete in the Mavericks Challenge contest, along with 24 men. The contest is part of the Big Wave Tour, which already stopped in Portugal and Hawaii.

Surfing is a dangerous sport, and it’s mostly practiced alone. This goes especially for a place like Ocean Beach, which has a “beach break.” The beach is sand bottom, and there are no rocks or jetties to break the waves in certain places.

So in addition to the strong force of the water, the waves can break anywhere at anytime.

“There’s no danger of hitting something out there, besides another human. The main danger is how much water is moving out there,” said Cody Moore, who works at Sunset Shapers, a surf shop on Noriega Street.

“There are some days where you spend the whole surf session a little, like, nervous,” he said. “If you panic, then bad things happen.”

Other than the force of the waves, another major issue for early surfers was the sheer freezing temperatures of the Pacific Ocean.

In order to regulate their body temperatures, early Sunset surfers would build a bonfire during their sessions. One person would remain behind to tend to the fire while others surfed, and surfers would switch out and return to the fire after short bouts in the water to warm up.

One man recognized the need for protective gear that would combat the freezing cold and changed the world of cold-water surfing forever.

reporting_finalproject_day1-1 — Surfer Aleksey Myagkov wears a wetsuit like those designed by O’Neill as he sets out to the water, Dec. 10. The freezing cold water and the aggressive surf in San Francisco make surfing dangerous for the unexperienced.

Jack O’Neill is opened the first “surf shop” in 1952 and is credited with the commercial success of the wetsuit. The neoprene material he popularized in his brand O’Neill is used by surfers to this day, and his name is celebrated in the Ocean Beach community.

O’Neill was born in 1923 and died in June of 2017 in his home in Santa Cruz. He and his late wife Marjorie Bennett lived in Ocean Beach before making Santa Cruz their home.

Surfers began trying to tame the Sunset waves in the mid-1930s. The documentary film “The Great Highway,” directed by Mark Gunson, brings light to the long history of surfing in the Sunset District.

Before the area was included in the city of San Francisco, the Sunset was an expanse of sand dunes. In the 1890s a community of horse-drawn street cars turned affordable homes called Carville grew along the ocean.

By 1910, the accessibility of cable car lines made it possible to people to live away from downtown and commute to their jobs. Slowly people began to build more “real homes” and the transit car neighborhood of artists and outcasts faded into the sand.

The beginning of surfing in the Sunset is credited in part to the lifeguards at the Fleishhacker Pool. A gift to the city from City Parks Commissioner and financier Herbert Fleishhacker, the world’s largest heated salt-water pool opened to the Sunset community in 1925.

The pool was 1,000 feet in length and up to 160 feet wide, and held an impressive 6,500,000 gallons of filtered saltwater. Only the best swimmers served as lifeguards for the pool, and shortly after its opening, they began to body surf in the waves.

When the lifeguards of the Fleishhacker Pool took to the ocean, they wore only speedos. Realizing that they needed more protection, they switched to long underwear or sweaters coated in oily sealant.

Later, with the tutelage of Hawaiian surfers, the early Sunset surfers began to shape their own boards. One spot in particular became popular with the community, the northernmost point of Ocean Beach called Kelly’s Cove.

Since around the 1940s, people flocked to surf at Kelly’s Cove, and the culture of community endures the test of time. While technology, politics, and the cost of living change drastically, the collective love for the ocean never falters.

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“The connection you get with a wave is unparalleled,” said surfer and student Keelan Gardner. The 31-year-old moved to San Francisco from Washington State in early December and spends his mornings at the beach with his rescue dog, Ollie.

“There is a nice community and working at this shop is a really great way for me to be a part of that community,” said Cody Moore at Sunset Shapers.

A staple in the Sunset coffee community

Java Beach at the Zoo is a favorite among the locals

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Across the street from the San Francisco Zoo lies a favorite among Sunset locals, a cafe with organic, locally sourced, and homemade eats served with a smile.

Java Beach at the Zoo on Sloat Boulevard is the second location opened ten years ago by owners Patrick and Buffy Maguire. The first location, Java Beach Café on La Playa Street, is a staple in the neighborhood, serving the community since 1993.

“I think it’s more important to us to be nice to people that come in instead of just following a script,” said cafe manager Max Christian Pruitt. “I think a lot of places you go to, especially in the city, you get a vibe where you’re not good enough or not cool enough. But you come in here and we’re so approachable.”

Pruitt began managing the location at the zoo two months ago but has worked for the company for three years. He said his sister got him his first job at Java Beach when he moved from San Diego for school, and the siblings both moved up the ladder into leadership positions.

“They’ve been busy since they opened,” said Pruitt. “I think a lot of that does have to do with location, because they get a lot of business from the zoo, but again I think that has a lot to do with how they treat their customers.”

The location on Sloat is small, but what it lacks in space it makes up for in character. The colors of the facade, light blue with sunset yellow trim, can be spotted from down the street, as well as the neon red surfboard sign. The inside of the cafe is sunny with large windows and warm colored, comfy furniture.

Java Beach at the Zoo lies next door to the Irish Cultural Center, and they sell some traditional Irish breads. In addition to a multitude of coffee drinks they serve breakfast foods and sandwiches, traditional cafe eats but locally sourced and organic.

One loyal customer began her 25th birthday in the sunlit cafe. Myri Janae William graduated with a degree in Sociology from San Francisco State University in May, and came to Java Beach nearly every morning before her classes.

“My best friend works here, she’s been working her for like seven years, since she was 18,” said William. “I know like everyone who works here.”

For the past three years she’s loved Java Beach and shares it with the people in her life. Currently working as a nanny, William takes her charges to the shop for breakfast.

“It’s really good, it’s not like Starbucks or Peets, like a fast-food chain restaurant, it’s fresh ground coffee and I think it’s really good,” she said. “Java Beach is the best coffee in San Francisco!”

“With Java Beach it feels good to support a local coffee shop,” said Nathan Sablan, who works for the San Francisco Police Department. “I love the coffee here, obviously, that’s why we come too. They have a great product.”

Sablan is a Sunset resident and brought his son Michael and his sister Tina, who is visiting from Saipan. Tina Sablan was recently elected as an Independent to the Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature House of Representatives.

“I like to bring family, whenever they come out, to try something that’s unique to San Francisco and to our neighborhood,” said Nathan Sablan.

From grassroots organizing to City Hall

The Sunset’s new District Supervisor’s history of activism and plans for the future

The newly elected Supervisor for District Four hopes his long history of political activism, community organizing, and environmental conservation will help him serve and connect with the Sunset community.

Gordon Mar’s fight for representation for marginalized communities spans decades, and he plans to continue this work once he is inaugurated as Supervisor on Jan 8, 2019. His efforts with multiple non-profit organizations provided opportunities for immigrants, access to higher education, and lower levels of air pollution across the Bay Area.

“I’ve basically been able to, it’s kind of weird to say it, but make a career out of organizing and activism for close to thirty years now here in San Francisco,” said Mar.

Most recently Mar worked as the Executive Director for Jobs With Justice, an organization promoting workers’ rights through campaigns and grassroots coalitions. Mar was in the process of relinquishing his role as Executive Director when the incumbent District Four Supervisor, Katy Tang, announced she would not be running for reelection.

Mar moved to the Sunset with his wife Celia to raise their daughter 13 years ago and jumped at the opportunity to serve his community. Celia, who grew up in Hong Kong, helped him translate for monolingual Chinese voters. His daughter, an eighth grader, was very active and involved her class friends in the campaign.

“It allows me to continue my advocacy work for economic and social justice in a new role. Also it is exciting to bring my activism back to the neighborhood that I’ve lived in for so many years,” Mar said. “It is exciting to just to think about connecting my personal life to my political activism.”

Mar’s history of work is much different than the moderate and conservative Board of Supervisor representatives for District Four since the city returned to district elections in the year 2000, but he doesn’t agree with the progressive label his opponents and the media used to describe him during his campaign.

“It’s very inaccurate to say the Sunset District or District Four is a conservative district,” said Mar. “The Sunset is a very diverse neighborhood, and there’s a diversity of political perspectives here in the neighborhood.”

“Through my campaign I had to deal with this issue. There were efforts by my opponents and even special interests in the city to label me as a progressive and not in tune with the neighborhood,” he said. “The kind of issues that I’ve worked on for over 25 years here in the city are issues that are important to Sunset residents.”

Mar said the basis of his work has been promoting fair working conditions and better access to good jobs, improving public education and access to higher education (including making City College tuition free for all San Francisco residents), and expanding services (particularly for seniors and people with disabilities in the city).

“So if you really focus on my track record and the issues that I’ve worked on and not political labels, I feel like I’m very much in tune with the neighborhood,” he said.

Born and raised in South Sacramento, Mar and his family was a part of a large Asian American community that supported his Chinese culture. While studying Resource and Conservation Studies at UC Berkeley, he found a passion for community organizing.

“One of the bigger issues and campaigns that had a big effect on me was around South Africa and ending the racist apartheid government in South Africa,” Mar said. “I think that campaign really inspired me to get more involved politically, and also to see how actions and campaigns we could do on a very local level on campus can be part of a broader movement.”

Mar started working with the Chinese Progressive Association, a non-profit organization that works to educate and organize lower income and working class communities, during college and became an organizer for them in 1991. He served as Executive Director for CPA a total of 15 years.

He said he moved to San Francisco after college because he was very attracted by the diversity of the city and the long history of political activism: the labor movement, the Asian American movement, and the LGBT movement.

After CPA, Mar served as the Director of the Northern California Citizenship Project, where he worked to register immigrants to vote and get them engaged in the political process. For two years the project fought to represent immigrant political interests and maintain access to federal welfare benefits.

“You have a history of accomplishments, and experience, and relationships that really put him ahead of any of the competition,” said Union Organizer and veteran Alan Wong in a phone conversation. Wong works for the Service Employees International Union, United Health Care Workers.

He met Mar in 2008, when Mar served as Campaign Manager for his twin brother Eric’s run for District One Supervisor. Wong said he did “whatever he could to help” the campaign, including serving on Mar’s personal advisory board called a “kitchen cabinet.”

“I’ve met so many teachers that said when City College was about to lose its accreditation, he was there, going to meetings every day to help save the community college,” said Wong.

Mar was a leader in the campaign to make City College free for San Francisco residents, and works to make classes more accessible for English as a Second Language (ESL) students, older adults, and high school students. His recently met with the chancellor for CCSF to discuss plans to open a satellite campus in the Sunset for the underserved residents in the west side of the city.

“His daughter is a Hoover Hawk, I’m a Hoover Hawk,” Wong laughed, he attended the same middle school as Mar’s daughter. “Basically I’m born and raised here and it’s so important for me to see somebody that cares about the community being elected to be the representative for my neighborhood.”

Mar’s efforts in community organizing span the entire Bay Area. Beginning in 2008, he worked with the Bay Area Environmental Health Collaborative, an organization working to lower air pollution particularly in “overburdened communities, which are lower income, working-class communities of color in the Bay Area,” such as Bayview Hunters Point, Richmond and West Oakland.

After leaving the organization in 2010, Mar served as Executive Director for Jobs With Justice for eight years. The position is now held by Kung Feng and Mar said he is “totally confident” in Feng’s capabilities as director.

“[Mar] is a brilliant thinker,” said lawyer, community leader and campaign volunteer Ralph Lane in a phone conversation. “I’ve become extremely impressed with the sophisticated nature of the way he puts coalitions together. It’s not about how slick and cool and clever he is, it’s about people really listening to what he says.”

Once Mar announced his campaign, Lane immediately got in contact to volunteer his efforts to a candidate he believed shares his political values. Lane’s family history spans four generations in the city, and he used his connections in the community to endorse Mar’s campaign and serve on his “kitchen cabinet.”

“I have a check ready to send it to whoever you set up as your treasurer, I have a window that I need a window sign for, and I have an incredible amount of energy to ring doorbells. So let’s do this,” Lane said he wrote in his first email to Mar.

Lane spent hours working for the campaign, with meetings every Sunday, working the phone bank 2-3 times per week, and even holding signs at bus stops. He said that he enjoys being a part of something bigger than himself.

“If you just put in a couple hours of civic engagement, of ringing doorbells, of talking to people, it’s like going to the gym. It’s amazing how that exercise makes you feel better about being in our civic republic the rest of the week,” said Lane. “On the other level I do believe it’s like recycling or picking up litter, I have an obligation.”

While Mar’s supporters are steadfast, his campaign was the object of controversy when a paid staffer was caught tearing down competitor Jessica Ho’s campaign poster. The staffer, Mitchell Enfinger, apologized and said his reasoning was that a special interest group paid nearly half a million dollars to “prop her up.”

Mar’s campaign manager Edward Wright said that the behavior was not condoned, and the campaign re-trained their staffers to refrain from acting out emotionally.

Another controversy occurred when Mar held a press conference in front of a proposed cannabis business. Mar said the “very complex, contentious and divisive” issue of cannabis kept coming up in his campaign, and he wanted to take the opportunity to state his position.

“These businesses could not win support of the residents,” Mar said. He said he thought it was because of their location in more family-oriented areas of the Sunset with schools and parks. “There are places where people may be more willing for cannabis business, like in the west side of the district past Sunset.”

Mar said that before he begins his first term as District Four Supervisor in January, he is going to take some time off to relax with his family after a grueling campaign. He said he plans to foster more community building in the Sunset through street fairs and festivals.

“I want to ensure the Sunset remains a diverse place,” Mar said.

Controversial murder trial of former attorney continues

The complicated and controversial murder trial of a former tenant rights’ attorney continued on Monday in of the Hall of Justice.

Carlos Argueta, 34, is accused of fatally stabbing and burglary of a street merchant named James “Rick” Thomas, 61, during a drunken confrontation at 6th Street and Market on September 3, 2015.

The night of the incident Argueta, who worked for an organization that provides counsel to lower-income residents called Eviction Defense Collaborative, was out at the now-defunct Showdown Bar celebrating the departure of the intern he was supervising, Pascal Krummenacher.

Argueta, Krummenacher, Thomas, and three other men were involved in an aggressive argument which escalated to Argueta pulling a knife and stabbing Thomas in the heart. After Thomas slumped over, Argueta went into the Tu Lan Vietnamese restaurant on 6th Street and waited there till the police arrived.

Argueta and public defender Jeff Adachi assert that he acted in self defense, while prosecutor Adam Maldonado maintains that Argueta was the aggressor in the incident and robbed Thomas of his backpack.

“There’s a very interesting law that applies in cases like this,” said Maldonado in a phone call after the court session. “You may have a situation where someone doesn’t necessarily intend on killing someone, but kind of engages in behavior that creates a pretty dangerous circumstance where someone does die or get hurt.”

Many friends and family occupied the courtroom to provide support for the defendant. One friend named Val Davidson has a personal connection to the intern, Krummenacher, and said that the younger man “knew Carlos to be the most mild-mannered, socially conscious man, very concerned for the poor.”

This trial has already been the object of contention, as the case was thrown out by a judge in 2016 due to lack of evidence. The District Attorney’s office was able to secure an indictment from a grand jury brought Argueta back to the Hall of Justice.

Before the trial date was set, Adachi attempted to have the charges against his client dropped because he felt the previous prosecutor “presented incomplete and false testimony.”

A large part of the proceedings on Monday was the examination of the people’s witness, George Robert Compton, a friend of Thomas and witness to the events on that September night in 2015.

“He wasn’t himself,” Compton said of Thomas. “I’ve never seen him act like that. I’ve never seen him attack nobody.”

Compton was asked to identify himself and the other people in security camera footage gathered by the police. In the videos he followed behind Thomas and Argueta, walking with and brandishing a silver cane, and said he attempted to diffuse the situation.

“On the street, if someone swings a cane like that, could it be seen as an aggressive action?” asked Adachi during cross-examination, to which Compton replied, “So is holding the knife.”

Adachi and Maldonado both brought Compton’s issues with his memory before the court. Compton suffers from memory loss due to head injuries from when he was younger and years of drug abuse, namely marijuana, cocaine and heroin.

Compton admitted that he had injected heroin on the day in question, although that had been hours before. At the time he was using heroin about twice a week and was also taking a heroin synthetic drug called methadone to lessen his amount of opioid consumption.

He said that while Thomas was acting aggressively and attempting to punch Argueta in quick, round movements, “like a speed-bag,” he never saw Argueta swing, punch or try to hurt Thomas.

Next the prosecution brought in Officer Paul Ruetti, who serves San Francisco City and County. He was one of the first officers on scene following the incident, and was assigned to monitor Argueta outside of the Tu Lan restaurant after his arrest.

According to Ruetti, Argueta showed signs of intoxication including slurred speech, drooping eyelids, and repetitive statements and questioning.

“He said, ‘What was I supposed to do? I was being attacked. Was I just supposed to stand there?” Ruetti explained. “He made the same statements over and over again, despite me telling him to stop and be quiet, and that he could make a statement later if he wanted.”

During cross-examination, Adachi questioned whether Ruetti could tell that Argueta was drunk without knowing him prior to his arrest. Ruetti replied that he knew the defendant was intoxicated from, “being a police officer for approximately 12 years and coming in contact with hundreds of drunk people.”

The defense found that although Ruetti believed Argueta was intoxicated, he did not include that in his official report, as well as the fact that Argueta had repeated those statements multiple times.

The first witness of the day refused to testify once on the stand. His testimony was stricken from the record but he was not held in contempt of the court.

The witness’ attorney, Alexandria Carl, said she had warned her client of the consequences of refusing of to testify. “I give them their options and they make their choices,” Carl said.

Seven Stills hosts release of brews and bikes in Bayview

Seven Stills is quickly growing out of their Bayview location and will soon be moving to a 18,000 square foot warehouse on 100 Hooper. The new location will feature a brewery, distillery, bar, retail store, and restaurant.

Dan McSwanson learned of the event through the Seven Stills email list, he says, “I wasn’t thinking about buying a motorcycle but now I am. Life is short!” He is a San Francisco native that recently moved back from Atlanta, Ga.

Bar Director and Bar Manager Justin Carr joined the Seven Stills team a month ago. He will hold the same position at the new location at 100 Hooper and says, “This is a dream job.”

Alex Leahy works in operation for E-commerce and says he appreciates another American manufacturer for quality motorcycles. He rides a Ducati and says that he appreciates the tech and performance that the new Indian bikes feature.

The release of two new beers and the showcase of the new line of Indian FTR 1200 motorcycles brought a number of San Franciscans to their brewery and distillery in Bayview on Wednesday night.

Seven Stills Brewery and Distillery released two new beers on Wednesday, Zour Grapes and Beer Money. A flight of five tastes of their craft beers is $15.

Avid rider and industrial designer Isaiah Jones tries out the Indian FTR 1200 while his coworkers watch on Wednesday night.

Indian West Coast Event Planner Tina Hurley turns on the FTR 1200 and revs the engine to Isaiah Jones’ delight at the Seven Stills Brewery and Distillery in Bayview.

Assistant to the West Coast Event Planner for Indian, Ashley Summerford, polishes the Indian Scout Bobber. Summerford is originally from San Diego.

The smell of hops and diesel fuel, the sounds of motors and the clinks of glass enticed craft beer and motorcycle lovers across San Francisco last night at the Seven Stills brewery and distillery in Bayview.

On Wednesday night Seven Stills released two new beers and hosted a showcase of the new line of Indian Motorcycles to be released in 2019. Customers tasted the Altbrau collab Zour Grapes, and tried their luck with the brew and investment opportunity Beer Money while they checked out Indian’s new release of smaller, tech-savvy bikes from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

“They definitely get 5.5 stars instantly for having motorcycles as soon as I walked in,” said industrial designer and first-timer to Seven Stills, Isaiah Jones. “I don’t think I’ve ever gasped the way I gasped.”

Jones arrived with coworkers on the South Side Beer Ride shuttle, a free service provided by local breweries each first Wednesday of the month that takes customers to eight stops: Triple Voodoo, Harmonic, Ferment Drink Repeat (FDR), Barebottle, Speakeasy, Magnolia, Laughing Monk and Seven Stills.

An avid rider, Jones bought a 2014 Ducati Monster just two weeks ago and was surprised to see the four Indian 1200 FTR Wrecking Crew motorcycles on display.

“I already texted like three of my motorcycle buddies like, ‘Dude you’ll never guess what I just saw,’ because we’ve all been drooling over this bike on Instagram,” he said. “I’m an industrial designer so aesthetics are a lot to me for materialistic things and seeing that thing made me die a little bit. And I was like, ‘F—, why’d I buy the Ducati?’”

“As far as the demographic for our FTR, we believe our consumer goes to breweries and coffee houses and those sort-of hipster areas,” said Tina Hurley, West Coast Event Planner for Indian. “People know us for our heavyweight motorcycles, which are our bigger motorcycles, bigger engines. This is a turn for us, these are smaller engines and these are more dirt bike engines, if you will, other than street. Even though it is a street legal bike.”

Hurley and her team showed customers different features on the bikes and chatted about riding. They also encouraged people to sign up for a raffle to win either a brand new FTR or the cash equivalent of $13,000. Whoever signed up also received a free drink token.

“People are loving what we’re doing, they love the direction we’re going as a company,” she said. Hosting these events is a dream job, Hurley said, “I get to ride motorcycles. I get to meet people. I get to travel. I get to literally hang out and talk motorcycles all day long, it’s the best job in the world. There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.”

For the event at Seven Stills, Hurley contacted owners Tim Obert and Clint Potter directly and set up everything within a day. Her schedule happened to coincide with the brewery and distillery’s release of two new cans.

The collaboration with Altbrau’s Tim Decker, Zour Grapes, blurs the line between beer and wine featuring sauvignon blanc grapes. They call it a “Nelson dry-hopped kettle sour saison ale,” which is a name as complicated as the taste is incomparable.

“Beer is typically made from grain but we are combining grape and grain to make this beer. It makes it sort of sour, a higher acidity than most beer has,” said Bar Director and Bar Manager, Justin Carr. Zour Grapes is refreshing yet bitter, a tad sweet but biting, and while it tastes strong it clocks in at an average 6.5 percent ABV.

The other release, Beer Money, is the second installment of the company’s Initial Can Offering investment opportunity, which is helping fund their move to a much larger warehouse in the near future. This delicious New England double IPA has a higher ABV of 8.5 percent but the hops are well balanced and don’t overwhelm your taste buds.

Beer Money comes in a 4-pack and the can is designed with a scratch-off sticker that awards you at least two shares of Seven Stills, with the grand prize equivalent to $1000 of shares. In order to redeem your shares you will need to invest the minimum amount on their Wefunder site, which currently is $503.

The proceeds go to the development of the company and the construction of an 18,000 square foot warehouse brewery, distillery, bar and restaurant at 100 Hooper. The company has grown exponentially since founders Obert and Potter began brewing and distilling in their garage in 2013. Now they release new beer three times a month while the releases of whiskey distilled from their beer take longer since they age for eight months to a year in small barrels.

“I feel honored to be able to work underneath them and pick their brain,” said Carr. “I’ll be the Bar Director and manager of the bar [at 100 Hooper] so I’m super excited to be involved with these guys and do that.”

Xpress Yourself: How do you feel about the upcoming election?

This story was originally published on the Golden Gate Xpress website

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Bianca Mendoza

Diatetics 4th year

24 years old

I feel so and so. I’m not completely 100 percent prepared, probably like 50 percent. I’m getting my information from a professor at San Francisco State who actually sent us links to read up on the propositions and just getting more aware. Even though we don’t understand it, it’s a better way of becoming more aware of what’s going on. This club on campus is called Up 2 Us and it’s about raising awareness of the national debt. We’re asking students to sign our petition saying that we, as students, are interested in the national debt because it will affect student loans and if we’re entering the workforce it will affect salary wages, as well as health care. We’re a non-partisan organization, and this is getting me more interested in what is going on in the world and the news.

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Sebastian Vuskovic

Civil Engineering 1st year

18 years old

I just turned 18 in June, and one of the main reasons I registered is my grandma hammered down on me for the past three weeks to register to vote. My mom is very politically active, well both my parents because they work in school districts. They have a lot of props they strongly agree with because they will help them with their jobs and the school district funding in general. I always watched the news as a kid. I like the local news, KTVU, CNN, MSNBC. Sometimes I do dabble in FOX. So I get my voting advice from the news and my parents. I see a lot of young people who don’t like to vote, especially in California because we live in a bubble. Like, “Why vote? We’re all democrats anyways.” It’s the civic duty of a civilian to vote, and it’s important to have your voice heard.

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Nathan Bowman

Labor Studies/Sociology/Political Science 4th year

22 years old

I just mailed out my absentee ballot. I’m in a club called Up 2 Us that works to raise awareness about the national debt and issues related to fiscal policy. Now more than ever it’s important for people to get registered and civically active. I think a lot of people our age, ages 18 to 25, they’re not taken seriously in terms of politics or by local leaders. But this is a good way to get students civically active because issues surrounding the national debt really affects everybody, it’s just a matter of how you relate it to the students. And once you initially engage with people, I find that a lot of students are really interested. And not everybody can vote. There’s a lot of DACA recipients on our campus, so community involvement affects everyone and a lot of people feel marginalized by that.

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Adam Hoang

Physiology 3rd year

20 years old

I feel really indifferent about it. I haven’t really been giving it much thought because I’ve been studying a lot and a lot of things are happening in my life. That’s pretty much it. I voted in the 2016 election, and I am registered to vote. My roommate tells me what to vote for because he’s studying criminal justice. He just tells me what I’m gonna vote for. And I’m just gonna Google it. But I do believe it is important to vote, I feel that it’s something we can do as citizens of the United States. I feel like it’s our obligation to vote. I’m not really sure about the issues, I have no idea what’s going on. I’m sorry.

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John Hanson

Mechanical Engineering 4th year

21 years old

I definitely need to do my research this weekend. I don’t know anything, honestly. I just know it’s important, this is an important election. We just need to show up, basically. For my political beliefs, I would like there to be more of a liberal, democratic presence in Congress and everywhere in this country. And I’m not appreciating what the Republican Party is doing to our country. So, I would like to vote them out. I also want to get informed on the props here in San Francisco, because I’m not really aware of those. I’m just ill-prepared because I’ve been focused on school and not really focused on the election. I have this website saved, I don’t remember the name, but it does a good job of giving you non-partisan views on props and what candidate’s platforms are. You can usually filter through what is partisan and what is not.

xpressyourself_tatiannacruz

Tatianna Cruz

Anthropology 3rd year

20 years old

Am I prepared? Mentally? No… All around unprepared. But I already voted absentee. I’m registered to vote at home in Santa Barbara so I don’t vote like San Francisco issues but statewide, obviously. I was talking to one of my anthropology teachers and she recommended the pissed off voters guide and other ones like that. So I guess I talk to other people about it but my friends usually know as much as me. In California, it’s a little less important to vote than in swing states but it’s still important.

Police urge San Franciscans to “Park Smart”

A few moments of forethought could help prevent burglaries

jour300_meeting-3 — Captain Robert Yick of the Taraval Police Station in the Sunset gives a presentation on demographics of his station, crime statistics, and his focus on community engagement at the Police Commission meeting, Oct. 17.

Organized property crime is an epidemic in San Francisco, and the Sunset is no exception. According to FBI data released late September, San Francisco had the highest per-capita rate of property crimes among the 20 most populous U.S. cities in 2017.

While the Sunset may be a quiet, residential area in the city, its residents still suffer from property crime frequently. Since the beginning of October there have been 191 reports of arson, burglary, motor vehicle theft, theft or larceny, and vehicle break-ins in the district, and the San Francisco Police Department are working to combat what Police Chief William Scott has called “a huge problem.”

“It’s not easy,” said Taraval Station Captain Robert Yick, during a presentation covering their priorities, community engagement and crime statistics at the Police Commissioners meeting on Wednesday. “There are a number of crews that are working together that are very well organized that are committing these property crimes including retail theft, auto burglaries and residential burglaries.”

Capt. Yick said he hopes to lower the frequency of theft from autos through the “Park Smart” campaign the Taraval Station started implementing early this year, which advises residents to either hide their valuables in their cars out of plain sight or leave them at home. The campaign aims to educate residents to be conscious of where they park, a parked car on a busy street is less of a target than one in a dark alleyway.

“I think he’s doing a great job,” said candidate for District Four Supervisor, Jessica Ho. “I’ve actually lived here for years and I felt that crime has always been an issue. My dad’s car did get broken into on 20th and Taraval when we were living there. It was… an eye opening experience.”

Ho currently works as legislative aide to current Supervisor, Katy Tang. Their office attends the Taraval Station community meeting each month to update residents on things other than public safety, such as events or initiatives.

“I think the Park Smart campaign has been really effective because if we want to protect ourselves the best way to deal with crime is to prevent crime,” she said.

Community Outreach Officer for Taraval Station, Officer Fred Kwan, said these burglary suspects are looking for an “easy hit” and will risk stealing if they can do it very quickly.

“It takes them less than 30 seconds to break your windows, grab your belongings, and they’re off,” he said.

Kwan says another reason San Francisco has more theft from cars is that, “we have a lot of tourists that come into the city that have a lot of valuable stuff that sits in their rental car, and it’s an easy hit for [the suspects].”

Organized crews often target parked cars at the Stonestown Galleria right next door to San Francisco State University. Capt. Yick has been working with the general manager to make the mall more safe for shoppers.

“They’ve stepped up their security, they’ve increased their patrols and changed their patrols as a result and I’m pleased with the results,” said Capt. Yick. “My Taraval neighborhood team has been working with them and we continue to see the numbers drop in the number of larcenies and auto burglaries as a result.”

jour300_meeting-5 — Police Chief William Scott was appointed by the late Mayor Ed Lee in January. He comes from serving 27 years on the Los Angeles Police Department, where he moved up the ranks to the position of Deputy Chief.

Students voice perspective at Police Commission community meeting

San Francisco Police Chief William Scott answers questions from St. Ignatius Preparatory School seniors during a Police Commission meeting Oct. 17.

The younger generation voiced a refreshing perspective when around 50 high school seniors asked questions and shared their opinions in the San Francisco Police Commission meeting on Wednesday.

Held at St. Ignatius Preparatory School (SI) in the Sunset, this Police Commission meeting centered upon updates from Police Chief William Scott and Taraval Station Captain Robert Yick, including the rise in human trafficking and auto burglary crimes. This was the first community meeting for two new commissioners and students from a criminal justice class at SI attended for extra credit.

“I think that when you make something relevant to the students, like this topic, they naturally are inclined to engage and get excited. I mean, this was optional and probably 50 kids came on their night right before quarter break and they stayed for two hours,” said the students’ criminal justice teacher, Danielle Devencenzi.

Devencenzi said that the class is in their policing unit and is discussing reform and the changing culture surrounding the SFPD, including community policing and the commission.

This is the second year SI has offered this course for seniors and Devencenzi said that what she covered in class “aligned perfectly” with the meeting held at their school.

“They loved to be able to be free and ask any questions that they want,” she said, referring to one of her student’s questions. “What makes you qualified to be on the Police Commission?”

The commission is comprised of seven members that are mostly lawyers, led by their Vice President, Paul Mazzucco. Mazzucco responded that the legal expertise of the team helps them to push for reform that benefits both the officers and the community, and that the diversity of the commission helps them better understand the people’s needs.

For two commissioners, this was their first experience hearing from the public. Commissioners Damali Taylor and Dion-Jay Brookter were appointed by Mayor London Breed in September, and attended four weekly meetings before Wednesday’s meeting at SI.

jour300_meeting-6 — Commissioner Damali Taylor was appointed by Mayor London Breed in September. A partner at the O’Melveny law firm, Taylor said she believes her work experience has prepared her to be a liaison between the San Francisco Police Department and the community, Oct. 17.

“Sometimes we have a tendency to have very high level conversations that get very robust,” said Brookter. “And so to have somebody on the commission that can also say, ‘Okay I can take that information, break it down, and then give it back to [the] community,’ is what I really feel like I bring to the table.”

Brookter is the only commissioner that does not work as a lawyer. He serves as Deputy Director of the non-profit Young Community Developers, which provides employment and education opportunities to the Southeast San Francisco community. While he was born and raised in Fresno, Brookter has worked in the Bayview Hunters Point area for the past decade.

“When you’re able to come to the community and hear questions and hear our youth actually voice their opinions and their thoughts, I mean there’s nothing like it,” he said. “That’s what helps push for these reforms we are supposed to be working on.”

The progress on these reforms Brookter referred to was covered by Police Chief William Scott, who was appointed this January by the late Mayor Ed Lee.

Scott gave a presentation on citywide crime statistics, stating that violent crimes, homicides, robberies, assaults, larceny theft, and arson were on the decline in San Francisco compared to last year’s numbers. The two crimes that were on the rise were human trafficking and burglaries.

The chief explained that many victims of human trafficking do not want to report because they are involved in sex work. He implored the audience to look at the data with compassion and not cynicism.

“Sometimes when we talk stats, it’s easy to lose the point of this,” he said. “These numbers represent people.”

“Our biggest challenge are of course property crimes, including residential burglaries and auto burglaries,” said Taraval Station Captain Robert Yick during his presentation on his station’s priorities and community engagement. In order to combat these issues, Taraval Station is focusing on repeat offenders and is implementing a campaign to educate drivers on parking safe.

Yick explained that many of these crimes are committed by organized crews, and they are difficult to catch because a break in lasts mere seconds. The SFPD’s Park Smart campaign is being implemented, teaching drivers to not make themselves easy targets by hiding valuables or storing them in trunks, and parking in more populated areas.

The questions asked by the SI students covered how the Police Commission and SFPD operates, and what they can do to prevent human trafficking and property theft. According to their teacher, these questions and the level of involvement reflects what the students discuss in class.

“They just love it, and they own it, and they’re interested,” said Devencenzi.

jour300_meeting-7 — The San Francisco Police Commission shares a laugh, they were surprised by an SI student’s question, “What makes you qualified to be on the Police Commission?” during their meeting on Oct. 17.

Mayor London Breed endorses candidate for District Four Supervisor

londonbreed

San Francisco Mayor London Breed speaks at the 2018 Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown. Creative Commons image by Flickr user Mark

The November election approaches, and San Francisco Mayor London Breed has endorsed Jessica Ho as her pick for new Supervisor for District Four, the Sunset.

Ho works as legislative aide to current District Four Supervisor Katy Tang, and just recently moved back to San Francisco from Los Angeles in March. Her campaign website says she is focused on issues such as providing services for the homeless population, more affordable housing, and support for small businesses.

Many of Ho’s campaign goals are in line with Breed’s policies. The mayor announced on Thursday an executive directive that calls for hundreds of outstanding applications for in-law units, or accessory dwelling units, to be expedited. According to Ho’s campaign website, she “would like to work with homeowners to better understand the barriers to both legalizing these units and offering them to renters.”

Seven other candidates are vying for Tang’s spot as Supervisor including Gordon Mar, Executive Director for the non-profit Jobs for Justice, and Lou Ann Bassan, retired lawyer. Ho, Mar, and Bassan have each received at least $10,000 in contributions to their campaigns. Each filed a Qualifying Request on Tuesday for the city’s public financing program, which can provide tens of thousands of dollars to fund their campaigns.

“I would like to work with homeowners to better understand the barriers to both legalizing these units and offering them to renters,” says District Four Supervisor Candidate Jessica Ho on her campaign website.