Linkdump

Linkdump

People's Railway, Reclaiming Wood, Potrero Party and Drilling SF

— By Jackson West (@jacksonwest) |

The Leaning Victorian of Oakland was recently demolished, and just look at all that authentic value we can now extract from the neighborhood in the form of reclaimed wood with which to panel our speakeasies and coworking cafes! It’s the circle of gentrification life. [Oakland Tribune]

Another frightening fire broke out today near Duboce Park at 1:34 in the afternoon, reaching three alarms, damaging multiple buildings, injuring one firefighter and presumably displacing a number of residents. [SF Appeal]

In other Victoriana, Bernalwood takes a look at the sordid, crime-ravaged past of Bernal Heights back in the 80s. The 1880s, when Goat Chasers Great Internal Tonic and Stomach Chaser was the drug of choice and people had a habit of getting stabby. [Bernalwood]

“In our view the current bubble is an echo of the previous tech bubble, but with fewer large capitalization stocks and much less public enthusiasm” says a hedge fund bro, citing “Huge first day IPO pops for companies that have done little more than use the right buzzwords and attract the right venture capital.” Sounds familliar! [Valleywag, WSJ]

“Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction” author Annalee Newitz shares her story of dot-boom San Francisco inmigration, class dynamics on the 48-Quintara and multi-modal transportation conflicts. Spoiler alert: It all ends on an optimistic note! [Muni Diaries]

Meet the people who get to drill San Francisco every night. By which we mean they operate the massive boring machines digging the tunnel for the Central Subway, of course. [SF Magazine]

If you want tickets to the Phono del Sol party on June 12th in Potrero del Sol Park, reserve your spot by buying tickets now and get a sneak peak at the as-yet-unannounced lineup. [The Bay Bridged] 

[Photo Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group]

Linkdump

Warriors Surrender, Gentrifiers Displaced, Activists (Mis)Remembered and Burrito Justice

— By Jackson West (@jacksonwest) |

San Francisco’s “Manhattanization” is cool with columnist Carl Nolte and former planner Jasper Rubin because “the younger people like tall buildings.” And just in case you thought moving to the East Bay wouldn’t mean losing touch with your community in San Francisco, Carla Marinucci left the city so long ago she seems to have missed the fact that no one’s seen a Mission Yuppie Eradication Project sticker in over a decade. [SFGate, SFGate]

Speaking of the Mission Yuppie Eradication Project, in the great gentrification-displacement circle of life, some tenants who moved into commercial spaces that were converted into live-work lofts during the dot-boom are now facing evictions themselves.  [Examiner]

Retired United States District Court Judge Vaughn Walker talks about 2010’s Proposition 8 trial ahead of the release of “Forcing the Spring: Inside the Fight for Marriage Equality,” a new book about the case coming out tomorrow. [SFGate]

Only hours after being called out for trying to keep the douchiest details about self-styled startup playboy and admitted abuser Gurbaksh Chahal off of Wikipedia, his Los Angeles PR firm apparently wouldn’t stop trying to keep hiding his domestic violence conviction from the record. [SF Appeal]

The Golden State Warriors are taking their plans for an arena from Pier 30 to Mission Bay, where it bought a 12-acre lot from Salesforce. The team hopes to have the stadium ready for the season starting in 2018. [Curbed SF]

Justice for Alex Nieto is organizing its first “Burritos on Bernal,” starting at 5pm today in Precita Park and planned for the 21st of following months, as well. Bring your own burrito and then join the memorial march up the hill at 6pm. [Justice for Alex Nieto]

Crushing the dreams of at least one underemployed Uptown Almanac contributor, this listing from Bayview-based City Grazing for a job as a goatherd says “You must have experience handling goats or similar livestock.” Does Goat Simulator count? [Craigslist, via Ken Layne]

[Photo Greg Dewar]

Linkdump

Skunky Jesus, Stoner Tech, Uber Squeeze and Dressing Da Mayor

— By Jackson West (@jacksonwest) |

Sister Roma, pictured above back in 2004, has been hosting San Francisco’s longest-running male beauty pageant, the Hunky Jesus contest, for over a decade.  It’s moving to Golden Gate Park this year due to Dolores Park renovations. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are celebrating their 35th anniversary, with Jesus-related events all weekend. [The Sisters]

The SFPD is also going to be in plainclothes drag at the party to harsh your buzz if you’re caught drinking, littering or smoking at Golden Gate Park for this year’s 420 celebrations after last year’s party proved to be an expensive mess. [Examiner]

Thankfully, Silicon Valley has tasked the best minds of a generation to come up with new and better ways to vaporize, uh, tobacco. Volatilize and carboxylate your cannibinoids the new-fashioned way while you still can. [Wired]

In more anniversaries, today marks the 108th year since The Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906, not to be confused with The Great Fire of 1849, or any of the other, many conflagrations that have threatened to destroy San Francisco since. [The Bold Italic]

Apparently Uber wasn’t bothering to run basic background checks on any of their drivers, so now you’ll be paying an extra dollar per ride for the peace of mind that in case something goes wrong, Uber can further limit their exposure to liability. [GigaOm] (Incidentally, Uber also started charging drivers a $40 monthly “mobile data” fee for the phones required by the service.)

A new Field Poll suggests that support for Proposition 13 might be slipping as young people realize that maybe systematically defunding California’s public sector wasn’t such a sustainable plan after all. [Sacramento Bee]

Say what you will about Da Mayor, and goodness knows we all do, he is a local fashion icon. What does it take to look as good as Willie Brown?  A trip to Wilkes Bashford and lots of money from private-sector consulting arrangements. [SF Weekly]

[Photo: Sister Roma]

Linkdump

Gentricle Reviewed, Landlords Sued, Googler Roasted and Serg Spotted

— By Jackson West (@jacksonwest) |

Burrito Justice laments “oh dear god what have I done” as Vic Wong finds a realtor advertising a 2-bedroom, 2-bath “urban oasis” for $849,000 to folks who want to LiveInLaLengua dot com. [@vicwomg]

A Googler and his Googly friends had enough of a sense of humor about themselves to play the archetype in a comedy roast, but his employer “said they were concerned for (the Googler’s) safety.” In the end, everyone had a good laugh. [SFGate]

The San Francisco Tenants Union is going after seven landlords who have allegedly converted their buildings into illegal hotels using Airbnb, two of whom used the Ellis Act to clear out the pesky tenants first. [San Francisco Tenants Union]

Not afraid to be servicey, TK reviews Laurie Penny’s gentrification article for the New Statesman in the style of Pitchfork, giving it a 5.5 out of 10. No word on whether Coachella is planning a live set of San Francisco thinkpiece readings on the main stage next year. [40 going on 28]

Da Mayor and the mayor are officially at odds over keeping parking in San Francisco metered on Sundays, with Willie Brown in favor and Ed Lee still kind of opposed. [SFGate, SFist]

Now that bros are the new hipsters — an homogenized “other” to be mocked and scorned with impunity — beloved Brolores Park author Kate Losse offers a nuanced deconstruction of the “brogrammer” meme that unites Carles with critical theory. [Kate Losse]

Uptown Almanac contributor and Stay Hatin podcaster Serg Ornelas has been reviewing his wife Stef’s stupid record collection because sexism. [Vice]