A new proposal by UCSF regarding the management of the Mt. Sutro Open Space eliminates all of the community-negotiated habitat restoration and reforestation elements of the plan.  Instead the University proposed to "mow" over 25 acres of understory and trees, including native species to reduce the fire hazard, throwing 15 years of planning out the window along with more than 40,000 hours contributed toward habitat and trails restoration by Sutro volunteers and the countless hours spent at Mt. Sutro meetings by members of our community.  More to come!

Bette Mosias, owner of Mendel's, HANC member, friend, and neighborhood icon, passed away on Monday, October 7.  She was surrounded by family and very close friends.  We are saddened by her death but thankful that she is no longer in pain.  There will be a celebration of her life on Sunday October 13, from noon to 5 p.m. at her house in San Francisco.  Stop in at Mendel's (1556 Haight Street) by Saturday for the address (Mendel's will be closed on Sunday so the employees can attend).

Bette was never a fan of cut flowers, preferring instead that they lived on so all could enjoy their beauty. Donations to support research toward finding a cure and for supporting women who have breast cancer would be appreciated. There will be a canister for donations that will be forwarded after the celebration.

By Colleen Rivecca, HANC Board member

This is just a quick follow up to the article from September’s Voice about District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener’s proposed ordinance to establish uniform park closure hours for all of San Francisco’s 220 parks. The proposed ordinance, which is co-sponsored by District 2 Supervisor Mark Farrell, would close all parks from 12:00 midnight until 5:00 am.  Exceptions to the law are made for Balboa, Golden Gate, Lincoln, and McClaren parks, where people are allowed to use a vehicle on park roadways or to walk on paved sidewalks adjacent to those roadways for purposes of crossing the park.

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The Children's Halloween Hootenanny is a free event scheduled for Saturday, October 26, 2013, 11AM until 3PM. It will take place at the Waller Street cul-de-sac at Stanyan and Waller Streets. There will be games, activities, a jumpy house, art, costume contest, a raffle, music and performances. This year’s theme is “DAY OF THE DEAD.” This is a really fun time for everyone and it is completely free. HANC is proud to be one of the sponsors as we have been in past years.

All HANC members are eligible to submit nominations for the HANC Board. All positions on the Board except two Members-at-Large are open to nominations.

The HANC Board meets once a month with various committees and working groups formed by the Board meeting more often as the work load requires. The Board plans the monthly general meeting and seeks new members.

The election to the Board will be held at our November meeting and all nominees for the Board will be announced in the October Voice. If you have a nominee in mind or would like to nominate yourself please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

By Karen Fishkin, HANC Board Member

AT&T is in the process of siting new, refrigerator-sized boxes within 300 feet of existing boxes, in order to upgrade its broadband. Specific locations will be finalized after discussion with neighbors.

Below are initial locations that fall within HANC's boundries.  We have invited a representative to speak with our members at the next HANC General Meeting.  Come with your questions and concerns for an opportunity to join the discussion.

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The Community CEQA Team, represented by Tes Welborn for HANC, has won some victories in the nine-month battle attempting to gut CEQA.  Supervisor Weiner wanted to eliminate the public's current right to appeal projects at any point in a project, and succeeded in limiting appeals to the first time a project is approved.  Because of Supervisor Kim's work with the Community Team, and then Supervisor Chiu's work, we did gain the right to appeal a major change to the Environmental Review Officer in a public, televised hearing.  We also secured increased noticing, both on the Planning Dept.'s website and by informing those who request notices of neighborhood projects.  Thanks to all whose letters helped the Community team's work!

By Colleen Rivecca, HANC Board Member

On April 10, 2013, SFPD Chief Greg Suhr announced that he was dropping his proposal to arm certain SFPD officers with Tasers. The SFPD has tried, under four previous police chiefs, to arm part or all of the department with Tasers. The Taser issue was revived by Chief Suhr in the summer of 2012, after police fatally shot a mentally ill chocolate factory worker who was armed with a box cutter. Chief Suhr’s proposal was to arm Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trained police officers, officers who are specially trained to de-escalate situations involving people with mental illness, with Tasers.

The SFPD held a series of community forums in early 2013, where community members shared their concerns about arming SFPD with Tasers. Community members opposed to Tasers explained that Tasers, while seen by the police as “less than lethal” weapons, have actually been shown to be dangerous weapons and that their use can lead to fatalities, especially when used on vulnerable people, including people with mental illness. Community forum participants also brought up an independent study from researchers at UCSF, which shows that, in the first year after Tasers were introduced in cities across California, sudden deaths in custody increased by 500%.

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