First, Leah Pimentel (right) of GRID Alternatives described their program, which provides qualifying lower-income homeowners with photovoltaic systems to produce clean electricity – without increasing monthly household expenses.

Next, Saul Bloom, Executive Director of Arc Ecology, and Arthur Feinstein (left) of the Sierra Club explained their alternate concepts to Lennar’s plans for Bayview/Hunters Point/Candlestick open space and development.

Finally, Quintin Mecke, Communications Director for Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, and David Beaupre of the Port of San Francisco sought and won the Club’s support of AB 1176, to enable adequate financing for the cleanup, restoration and development of Pier 70.

Continue reading “Low-cost Solar & Big Plans for the Shoreline” →

The statewide Special Election is Tuesday, May 19th. Speakers for our April 7th meeting were District 10 Supervisor Sophie Maxwell (right) to discuss potential local effects of the budget, plus Rick Wathen of California Teachers Association and Beyond Chron Managing Editor Paul Hogarth (below, left and right), both of whom spoke in detail about the six propositions, for and against respectively.

Club endorsement votes were tallied at the end of the meeting: NO on 1A, 1C, 1D, and 1E, and no position on 1B and 1F.

There was also an update by Chris Jackson of the SF Labor Council, on Bayview/Hunters Point development plans as they pertain to SB 792.

Continue reading “Endorsement meeting on Six State Budget Propositions” →

What do Community Choice Aggregation and rebuilding Potrero Terrace & Annex have in common? They both are in the planning stages, and both are seeking community input to make the ideas become reality.

Laura Hahn of the Sierra Club Bay Area chapter spoke about the former, and Ben Golvin of Equity Community Builders spoke about the latter.

Continue reading “Community Choices” →

Supervisor Mirkarimi, despite feeling under the weather, gave an energetic presentation highlighting some of his main interests, then fielded plenty of audience questions. We heard from Jean Cosby of the Neighborhood House about their upcoming fundraiser, of which PHDC is a sponsor, and also elected officers for 2009.

Continue reading “Special Guest Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi” →

Anti-Prop 8 activist Dave Chandler spoke eloquently and movingly about his family’s experiences before and after the civil rights disaster Prop 8. The ad hoc committee on peaceful neighborhoods described its first meeting about research and potential collaborations to help make our neighborhoods safer. We tabled the District 10 Supervisor candidate speculation – it’s way too early. Members approved a letter to Speaker Pelosi in support of Clean and Fair Elections (full public financing) for congressional campaigns. Officers were nominated; there’s still time for more nominations at the beginning of our next meeting, February 3rd. Old business, new business, refreshments & cameraderie, at the usual time and place.

Continue reading “Prop 8 aftermath & MORE” →

President-elect Obama, you’ve got the job! Now the real work begins. What do we expect from the Obama administration? Let’s savor the victory, but make sure our new President hears from us. At the meeting, we also heard about Greenpeace’s plans for the new administration, as well as the Fair Elections Now Act in Congress. Details on our calendar.

Continue reading “Post-Election Meeting/Celebration” →

Let’s make sure the Club’s endorsements actually mean something. Please donate your time, energy or or other resources to our endorsed campaigns. Links to many of those campaigns are in the sidebar at right. Then celebrate at Election Night Parties!

On October 18th at the annual Potrero Hill Festival, Club members campaign (and sell T-shirts!) as neighbors and friends enjoy a beautiful day on top of our Hill. More photos here.

The time: 5:30. The place: the venerable Connecticut Yankee. This time our first-Tuesday-of-the-month meeting coincided with the second Presidential Debate. We ate, drank and made fun of certain statements. And connected with some reps of the campaigns we’ve endorsed.

The next first-Tuesday is ELECTION DAY. No PHDC meeting. Get out there and make a difference, then celebrate your efforts at a party!

Our September 2nd meeting, starting at 6:30PM instead of 7:00, featured local candidates for Board of Education and Community College Board (read the candidates’ questionnaires here), as well as speakers on four contentious ballot measures. Endorsements from that meeting have now been made.

On September 9th, we considered the other 18 local ballot measures. Those endorsements will be published by Sept 17th.

For MP3 Audio and Photos of the Sept 2nd meeting,
click HERE.

For MP3 Audio and Photos of the Sept 9th meeting,
click HERE. More info about local ballot measures can be found at SFGov.