The N-Judah Chronicles

This week I'm highlighting links to a number of community websites you may or may not be aware of, all of which provide neighborhood information you might not find elsewhere.

First off, I saw a flyer for the Duboce Triangle Association Transportation Committee while on my way to Comix Experience last Saturday. They will be having a meeting on May 12th to discuss ideas for improving the stops at Duboce Park and Church/Duboce. Click on the link and check out the details.

Also worth checking out is the Sunset District Events Calendar, maintained by one of our Loyal Readers. I've mentioned it before, but wanted to make to include it here once again, as it has many useful links for Sunset residents, as well as the events list, which is integrated with Google Calendar.

Finally, I got word from Reader Mark that the Cole Valley Improvement Association's new website launched just a few days ago, where you can find out all sorts of great news and information about what's going on in Cole Valley. Artist Niana Liu (whose art we've featured before) also has a Cole Valley site at ColeValley.org. Cole Valley may be a small neighborhood, but it's got two blogs. In your face, hipster neighborhoods!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There was no greater fan of the old Canvas Gallery than I - more than once when low-grade home Internet crapped out on me, the Canvas Gallery was a wifi safe haven to continue the bloggy goodness.

However, since it's passing, we've had a new addition to the neighborhood I've found to be a pleasant replacement, Pacific Catch, in the refurbished Canvas Gallery space on 9th and Lincoln.

Now, I have to confess I haven't actually had dinner here yet (although I've seen what others have ordered and it all looks great), but that's because Pacific Catch has been luring me in there with an incredible happy hour, one that's not only from 4-6pm , but also late at night (something we've needed around here for a while), and at both times they serve a great bargain-priced menu of assorted fish and deep fried items, along with some great cocktails.

For example, the spicy tuna roll, which is fairly sizable and quite well made, is only $4.95. I've also tried their sweet potato fries (normally an abomination, but here super awesome), and a friend of mine tried the calamari (also looked good). They also have their own specialty cocktails, which, although costing a bit more than their well counterparts, are made with some pretty exotic ingredients.

They make a great pisco sour, among other pisco-based drinks. But even more amazing? They have more than one kind of pisco! Unheard of, I know! My personal favorite is the "Lime in the Cocoanut" which features toasted cocoanut syrup muddled with limes and pisco, with a splash of soda.

But even if you order a nice, ordinary $4 well cocktail, you're going to get a really well-made drink. No bar mixes, only fresh fruit juice, and the well pours are of good quality. Either way you can have a nice drink and a snack on the way home and get out of there for about $10.

But best of all, this is not some impersonal Tipsy McStaggers "chain" with impersonal waitstaff...everyone that works here is friendly, polite, and makes you feel welcome and want to come back. This is why I've returned as often as I have (about once a week, time and schedule permitting) since I sometimes work a strange schedule and actually have time at the end of the day to do something fun (while other times I'm chained to my desk until late).

Next time you're done with a walk in the park on a warm day, check it out, and you'll find yourself pleasantly surprised!

Pacific Catch
9th Avenue and Lincoln
1 Block from the 9th and Irving N Judah Stop
Right In Front of the 71 Haight Stop

Posted by Greg Dewar at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Reading CW Nevius's column today in the Chronicle regarding MUNI fare collections and budget woes today is kind of like reading the N Judah Chronicles or SFist.com two years ago.

To which I'd simply say, welcome to the party, Chronicle, even if you're a bit late! Let's be real here: way way way more people read the Chronicle than my goofy blog, and if likeminded folks there can prod some action out of the brainiacs around town, fine with me. (I sure wish I got paid to write this stuff the way the pro did, but I do have a day job, and hey, the NJC have t shirts!)

For fun, I've rounded up all the articles we've talked about on MUNI's budget and fare collection follies, test plans to allow "back door boarding," fun with fare inspectors, and ongoing bitching about MUNI budgets. It's a MUNI festival! Woo hoo!

At this rate, maybe I can use my brain waves to get the Chronicle to write more stories about other things I like, such as anime, movies, Comic-Con and happy hours. Just let me get my tinfoil hat and hippie crystals and I'll be all set!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By now, most people have heard something about the Transit Effectiveness Project, a project of the SFMTA to try and make things run more efficiently. The braniacs at City Hall have been touting the process as an example of their commitment to A Better MUNI, and clearly the top brass at MUNI and the SFMTA have bet most of their chips on this thing to try and make things better.

The good citizens at The Transbay Blog have posted some very thoughtful comments on the proposed changes, and it's well worth your while to take a look at what they have to say. I was struck, in particular about their comments about the 36-Teresita line, which I have relied on when house-sitting for a friend up in the hills (and have been stranded more than a few times waiting for a bus as-is).

There are many ways you can get involved with the process and offer praise and critiques of the proposed changes. One way, of course is to attend public meetings, a list of which is provided at the end of this post.

For me, I have found the research they've done to be quite interesting, but often times of the "we knew that" variety. For example, they discovered that people want the buses to run on time so they can plan their time accordingly. Well, um, yeah. Also, while they've done a heck of a job pinpointing the most and least used routes, et al, I haven't seen a lot so far about projections for the future.

One of the problems we have now is that we have lots of people living in places that did not have lots of housing 20+ years ago, the last time we made any real changes. So I wonder how they're gonna try and predict where the up-and-coming regions of Our Fair City will be, and how they'll accomodate those changes in the years to come.

Anyway, here's a list of meeting times and places. You can also contact them via email (and be sure to CC your Supervisor and the Mayor when you do!) or via traditional USPS mail. No matter how, do what you can to learn more and get involved.

They can ignore my silly blog, they can ignore a small band of folks, but if enough people learn more and participate in good faith, eventually they have to listen to someone. Surely the good citizens of our city can offer up good ideas to make things work better for all of us, right?

• Saturday, May 3, 10:30 am, Jean Parker Elementary, 840 Broadway St. (at Powell St.)
• Monday, May 5, 6:30 pm, Visitacion Valley Elementary, 55 Schwerin St. (at Visitacion Ave.)
• Saturday, May 10, 10:30 am, Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, 4235 19th St. (at Diamond St.)
• Monday, May 12, 6:00 pm, West Bay Conference Center, 1290 Fillmore St. (at Eddy St.)
• Wednesday, May 14, 6:30 pm, Bessie Carmichael Elementary, 375 Seventh St. (at Harrison St.)
• Saturday, May 17, 10:30 am, Mission YMCA, 4080 Mission St. (at Bosworth St.)

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Reader Michael wrote in inquiring about a comment I made to the Examiner that appeared in this morning's paper:

I'm not sure if the Examiner quoted you correctly when they wrote:

"'If you board the N-Judah on 48th [Avenue] and get off before downtown, there is no one checking your ticket,' said Greg Dewar, who runs the blog The N-Judah Chronicles."

The statement attributed to you is not correct. Although it is true that MUNI fare inspectors only work the MUNI rail lines; it is not true that they only do so downtown.

I live in the Outer Sunset (43rd Ave.) roughly equidistant from the N and L lines and ride them both regularly...although I tend to favor the N because it is less crowded and runs much more frequently than the L. On both lines, I have encountered fare inspectors well away from downtown.

On the N, I have faced them at 19th/Judah, UCSF, and Church/Duboce. On the L, I have encountered them at 31st/Taraval and 19th/Taraval.

I think when I was speaking to the reporter (while trying to do some work on the computer at the same time) I don't know that I made it clear I was referring to the second train in a two-train N as being where one can board without paying. I don't for a moment think this was an intentional mistake on the part of the reporter - rather I just didn't pick the precise wording with regards to that issue and the mistake would be mine.

One thing I discussed with the reporter that probably didn't fit into this particular story was the fact that once upon a time, on busy bus and MUNI lines, MUNI paid people to collect money and load people on and off the bus at the back doors of said buses and trains, to move things along and collect money they're owed.

However, I think there is a case to be made that having some more fare inspectors on some of the more notorious bus lines is not a bad idea - I think the 71 Haight easily qualifies as one of the biggest fare-evadin' bus lines in the system. Your thoughts? Post 'em in the comments.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 3:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Reader Mark sends us this dispatch from the Sunset, expressing frustration with our Beloved MUNI, and a suggestion to pass the time whilst on a crowded train home:

Hey, I sometimes read your website, but have to say it's been a while. I am a 6 year resident of the sunset and for the first 4 I rode the N Judah back and forth to work. Then, 2 years ago I discovered the 16X. Since I live at 17th and lincoln, i take this in the AM and take the N home.

Now, I am done with Muni. I am buying a bike and will use that as my mode of transportation. Still, I have a suggestion for your site. It boggles my mind how Muni is run...the most heavily ridden metro is always short changed. How can they not fix this? Yet routinely i see 2 K's back to back or 3 M's as I saw one day! What a waste...

So here's the suggestion to see if this gets them going: Encourage riders to capture how stuffed the N gets with cell phone videos. I honestly think none of the officials ride muni. (Newsom, BoS, or the Muni head). So they must be out of touch to the realities of it...so I say let's show them. (ok, i am not going to be one as I have given up...but i have hope and sympathy for those still going to use muni)

Perhaps this might be a fun spring project for all of us on the N, or any MUNI bus or train. Take your cellphone pics, videos, etc. of your crowded-like-sardines commute, and join the MUNI Follies group on Flickr. As submissions are sent in, we'll find particularly entertaining ones and feature them here on the site. Thanks for the suggestion, Reader Mark!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)