At our November general meeting we will be discussing the erosion of civil liberties and the shrinking of democratic engagement with San Francisco communities. We have seen public input ignored in decisions such as the move of the Civic Center Farmers’ Market, limitations on remote call-in to public meetings, and streamlining attempts to do away with conditional use hearings, appeals and neighborhood controls. The redistricting fiasco and decision making by the Mayor and her departments (Rec & Park, SFPD, Planning, SFMTA, and MOHCD) are further examples of attempts to diminish the public’s voice.

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The Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting is taking place in San Francisco from November 11 through November 17. It will be the largest meeting of world leaders in San Francisco since the United Nations Charter was signed in 1945. This is considered a National Special Security Event, and the US Secret Service and the SF Police Department will restrict access to areas around the Moscone Center, the Embarcadero, and Nob Hill. This will involve security screenings for those needing access to those areas, transit reroutes, and traffic congestion. Although the Haight-Ashbury is not directly impacted, we anticipate that there will be disruptions to MUNI service, and that traffic could be slower than usual.

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We are updating our Articles of Incorporation to reflect changes in California’s non-profit law since our original Articles of Incorporation were filed with the Secretary of State in 1966 (we operated as an unincorporated association from October, 1959 to November, 1966). When we first incorporated, all nonprofit corporations were considered mutual benefit corporations. Since then, the law has changed, and this amendment changes our status to a nonprofit public benefit corporation.

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Nominations for the HANC Board are open through the election at our November Meeting. All current HANC members (those who have paid membership dues within the past twelve months) are eligible to serve and to nominate other members.

If you would like to serve, or would like to nominate someone, you can do so before the vote at the November meeting. The term is from December, 2022 through November, 2023. The current HANC Board has made the following recommendations for officers and Board members for the upcoming term:

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By Nate Horrell and James Sword, HANC Board

HANC’s October General Membership meeting was held in person at Flywheel Coffee and on zoom on the topic of public education and labor, featuring representatives of SEIU 1021 who represent secretaries, janitorial and food service workers at SFUSD, and parents group San Francisco Education Alliance. The topic was timely as the teacher’s union United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) and SEIU 1021 had both previously voted nearly unanimously to authorize strikes the week before, and were entering the final heated stages of collective bargaining going into an election year. Teachers and paraprofessionals were pushing for wages to catch up with other public school districts in the Bay Area (SF lags far behind other Bay Area districts on teacher pay), and much needed support for paraprofessionals, who the district is struggling to attract and retain. With three public elementary schools which serve as community centers in our neighborhood (Grattan, Chinese Immersion, and New Traditions), HANC has a keen interest in supporting these vital public institutions. 

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Friend, activist and Haight Ashbury resident Louise Dunlop transitioned peacefully in the presence of her family on Monday October 9, 2023. Louise chaired the Coalition for a Complete Community’s Senior Working Group, and engaged tirelessly with community members on the affordable housing project at 730 Stanyan.

Born in Eugene, Oregon, Louise attended the University of Washington where, in July of 1969, she participated in the gorilla theater style “aquatic invasion” of Fort Lewis; students rowed across American Lake and landed on the Fort’s beach in order to hand out antiwar leaflets to inform soldiers of their right to dissent to the Vietnam War.

Louise moved to Colorado and worked for Governor Richard Lamm in the 1970s-80s in his press department. During the pre-Internet Age, Louise was charged with responding to handwritten letters from constituents and citizens.

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By Christin Evans, HANC Board

In October, a new advocacy group for small businesses will launch. Founding member Justin Dolezal, co-owner of Bar Part-Time in the Mission, says the new organization will give a voice to small business owners and workers centering their policy concerns.

While other business organizations exist, the Chamber of Commerce in particular has dominated at City Hall giving large businesses a disproportionate voice in the political discourse. San Francisco is home to thousands of small businesses including neighborhood commercial corridor retailers and restaurateurs.

Under significant strain prior to the pandemic due to rising rents and costs of doing business, many small businesses have folded leaving vacancies scattered throughout the city. But a majority of small businesses have been resilient and have come through the pandemic. Some but not all were able to obtain government grants and loans which primarily supported payroll expenses while sales were depressed. As small businesses continue on a path of recovery, paying off back rent owed and supporting their staff with retirement, health benefits and a living wage, Small Business Forward will give a voice to their urgent needs.

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