The Blogger Challenge runs through the month of October and we’ve selected a few projects that were requested by teachers from Daniel Webster Elementary School in Potrero Hill.

One of the teachers has the following to say about the school in their proposal:

We are a STAR school which means we are one of the under performing schools. Our students are from low-income families and many speak a second language such as Spanish and Cantonese. Our students are challenged socially as well as academically.

Please help us fund these projects by clicking on the green ‘donate to my challenge’ button.

Sat Oct 13
Potrero Hill Festival 2007

Sat Oct 27
Farley’s 17th Annual Pet Fest + PhotoBooth
8th Annual Potrero Hill History Night

Speaking of the Potrero Hill History Night, Channel 7 recently featured the Potrero Hill Archives Project.

Peter Linenthal of the Potrero Hill Archives Project, on how this piece came to air:

Channel 7 held an ABC Listens meeting at out 20th St. library in July looking for overlooked neighborhood stories. One ABC reporter assured the audience of about 20 that Channel 7 avoids the “drive-by shooting du jour” format of much local TV news. There were several interesting suggestions for stories. A childless couple trying to improve the local public schools for their future children. And there was a member of a local rowing club. Who knew? I told Channel 7 about the Potrero Hill Archives Project.

The piece on the Archives aired on the 6 o’clock news, Friday Sept. 7. I was impressed by all the work that went into it. Channel 7 interviewed me and Abby Johnston of the Archives, Keith Goldstein, president of the Potrero Merchants Association, and Lia Hillman, our librarian. Vintage video clips were included, one by Thomas Edison, and a great bit with Hill artist Charles Griffin Farr. And lots of historic photos. The result was a real overview of our project. It’s even generated the donation of photo-digitalizing services from a local company. Thank you, Channel 7 !

We’re helping out with the effort, by collecting funds online. Help support our local schools by making a donation to purchase basic supplies such as clipboards, binders and dry erase markers.

You can make a donation by clicking on the orange ChipIn! button below or visiting this page (all donations are tax deductible).

Dr Gilson is also hosting a fundraiser party on Wednesday July 11 from 6 - 9pm at 290 Division St. Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94103. View map. There will be plenty of food (catered by Klein’s Deli), beer and wine.

Owner Erin Rooney got the keys to the space — it formerly housed the Third Street Cafe — just last week. She’s hoping for a Sept. 1 opening.

Slow Club chef Chris Kronner, a 2007 Chronicle Rising Star chef, will oversee the menu at the new location.

“It will be the same Slow Club style,'’ says Rooney. That means stylish California/American comfort food on a daily changing menu, with ingredients sourced directly from local ranches and farmers.

In the meantime, she says, there’s some remodeling to do. Eric Heid, who designed Range, Spork and Citizen Cake, is in charge of creating a look that takes advantage of the 18-foot ceilings and exposed brick walls. When the remodel is complete, the restaurant — which is still unnamed — will have 50 seats, about the same as Slow Club.

“We’ve been looking in Dogpatch for two years,'’ Rooney says. “It’s a very comfortable move for us because the neighborhood feels similar to the Slow Club neighborhood'’ — with a mix of artists’ and designers’ lofts, light industry and some residential buildings.

The folks at Tablehopper are also reporting that:

The A16 folks are currently incubating a concept that they hope to launch next year in the Esprit Park complex, a project from developer Build Inc. at 900 Minnesota. The concept is still quite up in the air (like which region they even want to focus on—I cast my vote for Calabria) and they are working out preliminary permitting matters, so stand by for more later.

• Area restaurants branch out [ SF Chronicle ]

I’ve posted the following question on LinkedIn Answers (it’s a site where you can post your business-related questions and receive answers from your friends and other members of LinkedIn):

Economic and environmental impact of Whole Foods?

My neighborhood of Potrero Hill, San Francisco will soon be home to San Francisco’s largest Whole Foods.

• What impact, if any, will this have on the surrounding neighborhood, as well as mom and pop stores?
• Will the value of commercial real estate increase in the surrounding areas?
• Will this impact parking and traffic? (They’ve allotted 100 parking slots for Whole Foods customers)

Both first hand observations or hard data would be great.

Answer this question or view answers

For some tips on using LinkedIn, check out My LinkedIn Life (a 9 week side project of mine).

The website for Potrero Hill’s newest residential development, The Potrero, has launched, and includes a neighborhood film featuring residents and business owners lauding Potrero Hill for it’s great weather, views, and amenities.

Featured residents in the film include Avery McGinn (Klein’s) and Roger Hillyard (Farley’s).

Check it out:
Potrero Hill Neighborhood Film

Dogster was recently highlighted in a Business 2.0 article for it’s Agility and Creativity … the article also name checks our neighborhood:

Along the way the site has become a case study in how to fail well - by launching features quickly, seeing what works, and fixing things on the fly. “When we roll out a new feature, we know we’re probably not going to get it right the first time,” Rheingold says, perched in the startup’s loft office in the Potrero Hill section of San Francisco, close enough to the Anchor Steam Brewery that you can smell the hops.

Speaking of Ted … check out his blog post from 2 months back about the ‘T’:
3rd Street Light Rail Spotted in Action!

• A startup’s best friend? Failure [ Business 2.0 ]

The Trust for Public Land plans to begin renovation of the Potrero Hill Park (located near the tennis courts at 22nd & Arkansas) this March or April.

The renovation will include demolition of the old playground, removal of the asphalt path, and some of the trees and plants in the playground. Then the new playground will begin to take shape. By the end of the summer, the playground will be finished and ready for the neighborhood.

Improvements will include:
• Tot play area
• Play area for 5-12 year olds
• Swings
• Central Gathering Area
• Picnic Tables & BBQs
• Lawn
• Colorful, low planting

Once the park is built, TPL will host a celebration event with community involvement & entertainment.

For more information about the park or to volunteer contact Jennifer Worth at (415) 495-5660 x386 or jennifer.worth [at] tpl [dot] org.

The Examiner reports that the Potrero Hill Whole Foods is scheduled to open this summer, and will have 100 dedicated parking places.

One neighborhood business which will surely be affected is the Good Life Grocery on 20th St, which has been on the Hill since 1974.

Several customers, particularly those online, have lamented that the new arrival may worsen business substantially. But Good Life President Lester Zeidman said he still sees opportunity, though he expects sales to dip initially after Whole Foods opens this summer. He recently upgraded his store’s refrigeration, widened the aisles and began bringing in new products.

“We believe right now that people are shopping at multiple locations. We’re not their single source,” Zeidman said. “We believe that will continue. I’m sure they’ll succeed, but I think we’ll succeed as well. We’re a neighborhood serving business, and we’re employee owned.”

• Potrero Hill gets Whole Foods [ The Examiner ]

The SF Guardian ran an editorial and an article about the resolution on development in the eastern neighborhoods put forth by Sophie Maxwell:

Sophie Maxwell has introduced a resolution that would make it official city policy that all new housing built in the eastern neighborhoods — ground zero for new development in the next decade — meet the goals of the San Francisco General Plan. That would mean that city planners could only approve new housing if 64 percent of the units were sold for prices that working San Franciscans can afford.

Her legislation isn’t perfect — for one thing, it’s just a policy resolution, which means that Mayor Gavin Newsom and the City Planning Commission can ignore it. But it’s a powerful statement about the extent of the city’s housing crisis, the utter failure of the mayor’s housing policy, and the complete inadequacy of virtually every new private housing development proposal now on the table.

Supervisor Chris Daly has criticized the resolution, blasting it as unnecessary during a Dec 12 meeting.

Daly said he supports the basic goals of the resolution — and even said at the meeting that he will ultimately vote for it — but he told the Guardian he would rather find creative ways to work with developers on increasing the amount of affordable housing than draw bright lines that might block market-rate housing.

“I’m not sure it’s the right resolution at the right time,” Daly told us.

• The Next Big Fight [SF Guardian]
• Pass Maxwell’s Bill [SF Guardian]
• Plan Potrero Hill SF