With Adobe Book set to close down at the end of August, everyone has been busy mourning the loss of yet another community book store and event space—a major bummer, indeed.  But I can't help but be even more concerned about Lone Star Swan (real name John Ratliff) and the flock of pigeons that follow him.

The old Clarion Alley mural dedicated to John. (Photo/Pete Veilleux)

Chuck Moody sums up Lone Star Swan's tale:

He told me he used to be a reporter for the Associated Press. He has been a resident of the 16th and Valencia area for at least 20 years, I first met him in 1987. He writes very bizarre, rambling typewritten and xeroxed 'newsletters' which he hands out to everyone, donate what you will. He feeds the pigeons, mice and all creatures. He is a gentle soul but is not always there in the present moment. He ties magnets into the headband that he always wears. The kind folks at Adobe Bookshop on 16th and Valencia allow him to come in and use the typewriter, and have known him since they opened their store in about 1987.

With Adobe Books closing, presumably the new tenants won't be quite so friendly towards a homeless, schizophrenic poet hanging outside the shop and feeding hundreds of pigeons—never mind offering up a place to come in and write.  So what will become of John and his flock?  We're not sure, but we imagine one of the Mission's staple characters won't be calling that block home for much longer.

[Photo by The Bold Italic]

Medjool, the recently shuttered bro bar and famed rooftop patio drink spot, is slated to become a distribution center for the noted terror drug known as marijuana.

According to a plan circulated to neighbors by the SF Planning Department, the so-called “medical cannabis dispensary” (to be called “Morado Collective”) will move into the front half of the building. The remaining second half will be left untouched as a restaurant space, scheduled to become Beretta's new Argentinian-influenced concept “Lolinda.”

Given that two Mission District pot clubs have been shut down in recent months (including the Shambhala Healing Center, just one block north), our tipster, Jonathan, doesn't believe that the building owner actually intends to open a pot club.  He theorizes:

This isn't [Gus Murad's] plan at all; he's putting this up for approval so it'll be shot down, as part of a longer negotiation for something else. We weren't going to approve your Marina-crowd tapas bar, but since the alternative was a pot dispensary, here's a rubber stamp.

While that's entirely possible—after all, Gus Murad has been known for his planning antics in the past—it seems as though a lot of work has been put into the potential dispensary.  According to an interview in the SF Examiner with the operator of the club, Eduardo Morales, “the dispensary would be part of a 'pharmacy and respite care' complex for the gay Hispanic community,” with a portion of the revenues going towards the HIV/AIDS prevention non-profit AGUILAS.

No word yet when they plan to open, but the Planning Commission is set to review the application on August 16th.

I've heard a lot about these mythical eviction parties, where tenants tossed to the curb by their money-grabby landlords celebrate their former homes with beer and destructive mayhem. Fortunately, I had never once come across one for myself until yesterday evening.

Sadly all-to-common throughout the turbulent late-90s, when social justice activists were booted to make room for open source activists, they seem to have died off in recent years (one notable exception from two years ago notwithstanding).  However, the eviction of the Capp Street Commune at Capp and 20th seems like a particularly eery omen of what's to come, given the Commune was right next door to the SF Tenants Union.  If their neighbors, arguably one of the most adept organization at protecting tenants in the city, couldn't help them, what does that say for the rest of us?

I invited myself into the party, hoping to catch someone light the first match, or at least take a swing of the sledgehammer of “fuck yous.”  But there was no retributive property destruction, just melancholy and boxed belongings.  Not much of an eviction party, at least in the eyes of a kid who spent his youth burning matchbooks for fun.

On my way out, I asked a guy clearly suffering from a case of the bummers if he lived in the house, hoping to get the story behind the eviction.

“Naw man, no one lives here.”

Beloved Mission lubricant Tecate has expressed their regret and sorrow for igniting a flurry of faux-outrage surrounding the controversial public urination/man of character ad campaign along Valencia Street, according to The Tens (taker of the above photo):

Hi all, this is Felix Palau, VP of Marketing for the Tecate Brand.

We have an internal process whereby every ad is reviewed for compliance with our local code for responsible commercial communication. As a part of that process, this ad concept was rejected by our US team but unfortunately, an error was made and the ad was mistakenly released and posted. We sincerely thank consumers for bringing this to our attention and have immediately removed the ad. We regret the error and are taking a look at our internal controls to ensure this does not happen again.

Thank you!

And immediately remove the ad they have, with this jarring PSA on the high school drop-out rate:

Demands for Mr. Palau's resignation have not been met as of press time.

[The Tens]