September 2008
13 posts
Tuesday PM Linkage
[“Thriller in Dolores Park” courtesy Curbed SF Flickr photog r.wiesenberger]
Some sweet Sunday Streets snaps. [SF Citizen] “Partially successful” Google renovation by Eric Schmidt is pretty universally loathed. [Valleywag] Solar panels on our streets could reduce noise and power the city. [Inhabitat] Seriously, in this market, a 42-year-old murder should be the least of...
Transit Tuesday: Muni Pats Itself On the Back (All...
That much-discussed $1 fare hike at the Golden Gate Bridge went into effect today — and just to rub a little salt in drivers’ wounds, Muni proudly announced that city transit ridership rose 6.5% in the last year. So what are they doing with all those extra fares? Hiring more fare inspectors, natch! Muni more than doubled the number of inspectors riding the rails over the past two...
Broker Babble: Avalon Mission Bay
“Wow! Live here & experience life!” Judging by the low-res photos of this 1-bedroom unit, that experience will be vaguely luxurious, glassy and possibly carpeted — and it’ll set you back $2565 a month. Luckily this place is also “wired for telecommunications”! Score! 255 King Street [Craigslist]
KID NATION MIGHT BE MORE FUNCTIONAL THAN ADULT ONE? Ten East Bay high school seniors have developed a plan for an area of El Cerrito that left city planners stumped for years. The teens were working on the plan as part of their summer internship with the West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee, who should really come up with a catchier name than all that. It makes you wonder what these...
Lennar Increases Cash Flow Not a Moment Too Soon
A new “strategic partnership” will buoy Miami-based developer Lennar Corporation’s big, big plans for Bayview, and keep their dream of wooing the 49ers to Candlestick Point alive. (Yeah yeah, affordable housing this and park-space that — we know what the real priority is here.) After a rocky few months of dismal reports and tanking profits, Irvine-based Scala Real Estate...
Pretty Classy Joint: 10 Carnelian Way
Although you wouldn’t guess it from the boxy gray exterior, inside 10 Carnelian Way is a lofty open floor plan complete with custom built-in cabinetry, storage space and sweeping views of downtown from the living room and deck. This 3-bedroom unit has been remodeled to update the kitchen with stainless steel appliances and add some classy finishes throughout, including a jacuzzi tub and mod...
Greening Alcatraz: Almost as Awesome as Being...
Oh yeah, this is totally 100% worthwhile: the hippies have descended upon the abandoned pastures of Alcatraz in a beautifying effort that might be better focused on a place where people actually, you know, live (cough Tenderloin cough). Maybe they’re bitter about not getting that Global Peace Center? [SF Gate]
SEPTEMBER SALES SLOW? Conventional market wisdom holds that after the last scraps of summer vacations and before the holiday frenzy, September is a big month for home sales. July brought good real estate news less bad news than the first half of the year. But with the country’s continued march toward mass foreclosure, will this autumn really bring its usual bump? Zephyr’s got their...
447 Fraconia Street, Spacious and Shady
This Bernal Heights 5-bedroom boasts three baths, brand-new flooring, decent appliances and sweeping hilltop views of the city — “perfect for large family or people who just wants a lot of space for entertaining” [sic]. But at $829,995 for 2,088 square feet of space in a “serene country setting,” it seems a little underpriced. Might all that lovely shade have...
PUBLIC SERVICE REMINDER: YES, RENTER’S INSURANCE IS WORTH IT, YOU CHEAPSKATE. The Associated Press reminds all non-owners to get one of those handy free quotes online. For less than $200 a year, your household belongings (and your vehicle) will be protected against Tenderloin crackhead break-ins and the damage from Mission blazes (but probably no quake coverage for you Marina dwellers). Now...
How Does Gavin's Garden Grow?
For a bit longer, it turns out. When Slow Food Nation footed the $200,000 to dig up the lawn in front of City Hall and plant a “victory garden,” they were given until September 21 to compost their kale seedlings and scram. But not all the loud hippies were at Burning Man this weekend, and after a significant public outcry, Mayor Newsom has decided to keep the garden around until...
T-MOBILE USERS, YOUR SHINY NEW BARS MAY BE NIGH. The state utilities commission is investigating claims that T-Mobile has violated regulations in their over-enthusiastic building of additional “microwave dishes” on commercial and residential buildings and water towers. (Yeah, that doesn’t sound like cancer!) The new towers span Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara...
ARTSY YOUNGS SHOCKED, AWWED AT STATE OF RENTAL MARKET. Ah, we love the smell of investigative journalism in the morning! SF Weekly sicced its pack of summer interns on 20-somethings in communal living situations to do a little muckraking. “Through interviews with a multitude of people looking to live with a group of soulful strangers, the Weekly learned there are many hurdles in San...
July 2008
5 posts
To Buy or To Rent at the Beacon?
The ginormous Mission Bay Beacon development sold out their 595 units in a flash back in 2005 — but since then, San Francisco residents have had a tighter grip on their wallets, and times have toughened for even the biggest, baddest condo structures. With fewer city residents choosing or able to buy property, the rental market is looking much less like the money pit it did a few years ago....
Greener Than Thou: A Special Infighting Supplement
It was an ugly eco-saga that even the most imaginative writers at Fox News couldn’t make up. Earlier this year, a Santa Clara man took his neighbors to court over the big, leafy redwoods in their yard that were casting oppressive shadows on his new solar panels. The neighbors were convicted of a nuisance, and forced to prune some of the trees. With nearly 30,000 solar-power systems...
SF BUILDINGS: EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COLLAPSERS. Gavin Newsom and the building department’s recent campaign to analyze and retrofit thousands of wood-framed “soft-story” buildings is surely a necessary venture — but it’s holding up plans to also fix hundreds of concrete structures that could prove just as deadly come quake-time. Says David Bonowitz, a structural engineer...
Under 500 Club: "Trendyloin" Jr. One-Bedroom
Now that the neighborhood has been awarded with historic status, this “sexy” junior one-bedroom at the 20-story art deco Hamilton, San Francisco’s first building to go condo, might be a more decent investment than most. For $379,000, you get a glorified studio with sleeping alcove and kitchen with stainless steel appliances and cheap-chic concrete countertops. Other perks not...
HOT FUZZ WORK UP A SWEAT. High gas prices are getting more police officers out of their Fords and out on the streets, walking off all those beignets and burritos. It’s a national trend with some serious local implications: fewer cars on the roads is undoubtedly a positive, but it’s probably a good thing the city police are getting a raise soon, to compensate for their extra efforts....
