Planning Association for the Richmond, SF

Family Movie Nights at the Cabrillo Playground Clubhouse

Bring the kids! Bring the family!

The Friends of Cabrillo Playground proudly presents Family Movie Nights at the clubhouse. Our Saturday evening presentations will be free to the community, thanks to our sponsors Supervisor Eric Mar and SF Recreation & Park.

Up next:

• December 13, “The Polar Express” (G, 2004), starring Tom Hanks

(movie suggestions are welcomed / movies subject to change)

Place: the clubhouse at Cabrillo Playground, 851 38th Avenue
Time: doors open at 6:00, showtime at 6:15 - come early
Bring: blankets, pillows & sleeping bags; PJ attire optional
Cook: We have full use of the kitchen, you are welcome to prepare snacks/meals (see House Rules)

Questions/movie suggestions: email Mark at [email protected]

House Rules

• All children MUST be accompanied and SUPERVISED by an adult at all times
• Everyone is responsible to clean up after themselves, that includes keeping your space neat and kitchen clean

Algae bloom at Mountain Lake — important information

Michael Boland at the Presidio Trust writes:

As you may be aware, a large algae bloom is currently occurring in Mountain Lake. Annual summertime algae blooms occur in many water bodies around California and historically at Mountain Lake. Blooms are typically caused by a combination of excess nutrients, warmer temperatures and ample sunlight, and may last several months.

We expected a significant bloom at Mountain Lake this summer due to the recent above average temperatures and the amount of suspended nutrients in the water resulting from the recent dredging of the lake bottom. The current bloom is expected to dissipate in the fall. However we recently identified a type of Blue-Green algae (Microscystis aeruginosa), which has the potential to have adverse effects on human and animal health, in the lake. Out of an abundance of caution and to ensure the safety of park visitors and their pets, we are going to restrict access to the beach until this algae bloom subsides. This morning Trust crews temporarily closed off the access to the Mountain Lake beach, and we will be installing signage by the end of the day. Today we also plan to send an email to the Mountain Lake mailing list to be sure we get the word out broadly.

As you know, we are in the midst of ongoing work on a number of restoration projects at the lake including installation of an aeration system, eradication of invasive fish, replanting of submerged aquatic vegetation, and reintroductions of native plant and animal species. All of these measures will improve the health of the lake and help reduce the likelihood of large algae blooms in the future.

We will keep you informed on the safety of the lake as conditions progress and notify you when the beach is ready to reopen.

Family Movie Nights at the Cabrillo Playground Clubhouse

Bring the kids! Bring the family!

The Friends of Cabrillo Playground proudly presents Family Movie Nights at the clubhouse. Our Saturday evening presentations will be free to the community, thanks to our sponsors Supervisor Eric Mar and SF Recreation & Park.

The tentative schedule of showings are:

• September 6, "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial"
• October 11, "Finding Nemo"

(movie suggestions are welcomed / movies subject to change)

Place: the clubhouse at Cabrillo Playground, 851 38th Avenue
NEW Time: doors open at 6:30, showtime at 6:45 - come early
Bring: blankets, pillows & sleeping bags; PJ attire optional
Cook: We have full use of the kitchen, you are welcome to prepare snacks/meals (see House Rules)

Questions/movie suggestions: email Mark at [email protected]

House Rules

• All children MUST be accompanied and SUPERVISED by an adult at all times
• Everyone is responsible to clean up after themselves, that includes keeping your space neat and kitchen clean

Summer 2014 issue of the PAR newsletter is out

The Summer 2014 issue of the PAR newsletter is out — take a look at it here.

Read about: Solutions sought for parking pressures in the Outer Richmond; Presidio contamination cleanup certified a success; Street Smarts program promotes safer streets; updates on Balboa Street improvements, Clement Street calming, new murals in the Richmond, ATT sidewalk boxes, and more.

And be sure to come to the Summer member meeting, everyone's welcome:

PAR Summer 2014 general meeting
Wednesday, July 16, 2014, 7 pm - 9 pm
Richmond Recreation Center, 251 18th Avenue
(between Clement & California streets)

Summer Concert Season in Golden Gate Park is upon us — hear from representatives from Outside Lands, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, SFPD and SFMTA, and be part of PAR's community conversation.

In and Out of Golden Gate Park by Bike

[filed by Sharon Gadberry, PAR board member]

On Saturday May 24, a dozen Richmond neighbors and local folks joined Andy Thornley, long time member of PAR and the SF Bicycle Coalition, biking all the way from the sunny Panhandle to foggy, windy Ocean Beach. We wove in and out of many of the bicycle-prioritized entrances and exits to the park, north, south, east and west, criss-crossing JFK Drive.

The goal of the ride was to explore bicycle access to the park, surveying the various ways that families and visitors and commuters and fitness riders can get to and through to park by bicycle. We test-rode recent and older bike improvements on the streets, projects and plans meant to help make the streets more bike- and pedestrian-friendly. Unfortunately, we also traveled along some fairly scary streets and intersections which, even though designated as bike routes, were often unmarked with bike lanes, riddled with pot holes, clogged with double-parked trucks, and prowled by speeding autos, buses, and trucks weaving over lane lines and ignoring stop signs.

Sometimes smooth bike connections to the park fall through the cracks between city departments. The Recreation & Parks Department claims park streets, distinct from conventional city roads maintained by the Department of Public Works and managed by the SF Municipal Transportation Agency, so coordinating budgets and operations and perspectives can make the business of providing good bicycle access to and through the park challenging. Of course, Rec & Park's priorities are not necessarily street improvement and parking enforcement, as they are with DPW & SFMTA. For me as a driver, biker, walker, and bus-rider, it was a real eye-opener to imagine a family with children attempting to bike safely into the park on the weekend.

There is definitely more community involvement needed to pave the way for our neighborhoods to pedal to the park, along with tourists and other Bay Area visitors. Janice Li of the SF Bicycle Coalition was on the ride and described some of the ongoing and future projects that the coalition is working on, with the City and public agencies. If you want to get involved, be sure to contact Janice at [email protected] or Andy at [email protected].