SUNSET HEIGHTS NEWSLETTER
June 2009
JOIN US AT A TOWN HALL!
Now is your chance to have a say on the state budget. Come tell your state legislators what you want to cut from the budget, and what to prioritize. And let them know what taxes/fees you think ought to be increased. State Senator Leland Yee will listen to us and discuss the state budget crisis; Assemblymember Fiona Ma has also been invited.
WHERE: Taraval Police Station Community Room, 2345–24th Avenue at Taraval
(near the MUNI L-line)WHEN: June 24, 2009 7 PM
SHARP is co-sponsoring this forum. The public is welcome....bring a friend!!
SHARP dues-paying members can get $10.00 tickets for the September 10th Pops Concert by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Our treasurer Chooi-Eng Grosso will take reservations for these tickets at the July meeting.
FARMERS MARKET COMES TO THE INNER SUNSET!! ------- EVERY SUNDAY 9 AM – 1 PM
The new Inner Sunset Farmers' Market has made its debut just in time for the first mountains of cherries, baskets brimming with berries, freshly harvested new potatoes--and summer is just beginning.It may be a tad expensive, but the seasonal produce, local honey, baked goods and locally provided entertainment make this market a community gathering place for Sunset residents and Golden Gate Park visitors. You can walk, bike or take transit to the market, and bring your kids and your shopping bags.
Location: 9th Avenue/Irving Street shopping district, in the public parking lot between 8th and 9th Avenues and Judah and Irving Streets.
Time: Sundays, 9:00-1:00 pm, June 7th – November 22nd.State Senator Leland Yee continues his outstanding work in amongst other things watching out for us citizens. He is especially keen about our rights as consumers. The Senate recently passed his bill, SB 340, to protect consumers from deceptive auto-renewals of products and services. These occur when we buy a product or service and do not read the fine print in the purchase contract that allows the seller to continue charging us for additional products or services that we receive as the result of automatic renewal of the contract. The purchaser has nothing to do with this renewal; it is solely the result of an unscrupulous seller forcing unwanted products or services on a buyer. This is made easier when the product or service is purchased on a credit card and the customer is unaware of the charges until the statement is received. Senator Yee’s legislation will require all marketing materials to display a telephone number, postal address or electronic mechanism the customer could use for cancellation. SB 340 would require similar consumer protections for automatic renewal offers made over the telephone or Internet. And television! As usual vendors will be opposing this legislation so if you are interested contact your local assemblyperson and ask for their support. Meanwhile, watch that fine print—read it!
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer. For members with a foreclosure problem, US Senator Barbara Boxer has authored legislation that requires homeowners to be alerted within 30 days if their lender sells or transfers their home mortgage loan to another party. This legislation passed the Senate unanimously and now awaits passage by the House of Representatives. If you have any feelings on this legislation you should contact your US Representative.
PEDESTRIAN SAFETY. One of the primary goals of the ongoing traffic signal and intersection improvements under construction along 19th Avenue and Park-Presidio Boulevard is to improve pedestrian safety, in keeping with a citywide program for improving pedestrian safety. 19th Avenue happens to have a very bad record in this regard, so much so that State Senator Leland Yee introduced and carried to fruition legislation that doubled traffic fines along 19th Avenue and Park Presidio Boulevard. The success of these higher fines can be measured by the number of traffic accidents along State Highway 1, which includes a large portion of 19th Avenue: according to the San Francisco Police Department there have been seven accidents during the first three months of 2009. If this rate is maintained for the remainder of the year, it would add up to a total of 56 accidents for 2009, half of the 56 accidents recorded for 2008.
Future improvements such as countdown pedestrian signals and curb extensions at intersections to shorten the length of street crossings will aid in maximizing pedestrian safety.However, it would be well to understand that the pedestrian also has some obligations insofar as safeguarding his or her safety. Unfortunately too many pedestrians walk under the false misconception that the pedestrian always has the right of way. This is simply not true and in the next few issues of this newsletter I will explain what the California Vehicle Code (CVC) states about every pedestrian’s obligations with regard to his or her safety on and along public roads and streets in California.
Few of us have any contact with the CVC other through the digest, titled “California Driver Handbook,” provided for us to study in preparation for our vehicle drivers’ license examination. Although this Handbook has a section titled “Pedestrians” under “Laws and Rules of the Road,” this section relates only to the rules governing motorists and little is written of pedestrians’ responsibilities. However this book does provide some information about pedestrians that I will include in the following discussion, which is the first installment of a continuing discussion of pedestrian safety.
Under “Right-Of-Way Rules--Pedestrians,” the Handbook states:
- Respect the right-of-way of pedestrians. Always stop for any pedestrian crossing at corners or other crosswalks, even if the crosswalk is in the middle of the block, and at corners with or without traffic lights, whether or not the crosswalks are marked by painted lines.
- Do not pass a car stopped at a crosswalk, a pedestrian you cannot see may be crossing behind the car.
- Do not drive on a sidewalk and yield to pedestrians while in a driveway.
- Do not stop in a crosswalk. You will place pedestrians in danger.
- Remember if a pedestrian makes eye contact with you, he or she is ready to cross the street. Yield to the pedestrian.
- Allow older pedestrians more time to cross the street.
- Before turning a corner watch for people about to cross the street.
That pretty much tells the motorists of their responsibilities with regards to pedestrians. In the next installment we will begin with pedestrian responsibilities for their safety.
SHARP members at photo shoot for Sunset Beacon Newspaper at the site of our new building which is now under construction
Editor. If you have any information or thoughts you would like included in the newsletter please mail or e-mail it to me at this address:
Vern Waight, Editor, Phone: (415) 564-7760,
Email: vernatsf@aol.com
Address: 1711 10th Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94122-4625
SHARPNewsLtr, Mayl 2009 , VHW
Contact us at
president@sharpsf.com, or, better yet, come to a meeting.
Our web site is www.sharpsf.com
Renew Your Membership Or Join SHARP
The Sunset Heights Association of Responsible People (SHARP) is a 100+ year old neighborhood organization open to anyone who lives or works in the area bounded by Lincoln Blvd, 7th Ave-Laguna Honda, Dewey-Taraval, and 19th Avenue. Dues are $10.00/year. We are a member-supported organization devoted to neighborhood improvement, with dues set at $10 per person annually. Please renew your membership for 2009 or join us by filling out and returning the coupon below in the enclosed envelope.
Mail Coupon to: SHARP, 1661 7th Avenue
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