Obsessed over last night's Dan Noyes vs. Laguna Honda PR flack showdown? We sure are. It's uncomfortable. It's touchy-feely. It hints, but never reaches the point of, fisticuffs. It's everything we want from our local news outlets. ABC 7's Dan Noyes, as most of you know by now, got into an awkward confrontation with Director of Community Relations Marc Slavin (who, along with Hospital Director Mivic Hirose, ignored ABC 7's request for an interview, hence this surprise interview.)
Laguna Honda Staff Memo; Photoshop Challenge
Blocker: 1800 8th Ave.
A flier on a telephone pole at the corner of Ortega and 8th Ave. screams for vengeance: “$2500.00 reward to the person who can positively identify the shooter of a red-tail hawk in the canyon behind the houses on the east side.” The phrase “dastardly deeds” even emerges from the fist-shaking archives. It’s surprisingly strong conviction for this southeasternmost block of the Sunset, where the catch of the day is otherwise tranquility, with a side of handsome sidewalk lampposts and a few plum tree chasers.
South of Ortega, 8th follows a few bends before petering out altogether once it enters leafy Forest Hill, and hopefully nobody’s been illegally gunning down predatory wildlife over that way lately. On this block between Noriega and Ortega, the street parallels Laguna Honda Canyon, which 7th Ave. slices through downhill to the east. The eastward elevation drop isolates this corner of the Sunset more than you’d think. Trying to get up here from down there? Trek through Forest Hill, where the Sunset’s street grid dies a sweet death, or head up to Lawton before doubling back around the north slope of the crest. Allow an extra few minutes, either way.
Political Junkie: Gavin's Rubber, We're Glue
Update: When we originally called this post "Gavin's Rubber, We're Glue," we didn't mean THAT kind of rubber. How the hell did we miss this? Check out the first few seconds of anti-Gavin gumshoe Dan Noyes's ABC 7 video -- what the heck's Gavin doing with that Channel 2 mike?
Animal Roundup
Jake! Jake! Jake! This adorable golden retriever came in the top 20% of the 400 swimmers that participated in Saturday's Alcatraz Invitational swim meet. (Jake placed 72nd, with a time of 41 minutes and 45 seconds.) Jake's owner, Jeff Pokonowsky, is the CEO of the company Wiggle Wireless, and pledged $1 to the Guide Dogs for the Blind for every person who signed up for wireless updates on Jake's progress in the bay. (Awww, check out the video footage of Jake balancing a cheeseburger on his nose!!) According to the press release, Jake swam the doggy paddle, and politely declined the medal he was offered for completing the race.
Also, Matier and Ross report that Laguna Honda has finally gotten approval to use goats to clear out the dried underbrush on their hillside that posed a fire risk to the hospital (and obscured several homeless encampments) -- but, because of the International Migratory Bird Act, they only got approval to do so after the completion of the mating season for three endangered birds: the California towhee, the white crowned warbler and the bushtit. We are totally naming our next indie rock band "Bushtit."
We Read The Weeklies
Last week's winner, the SF Weekly: the "winner" for the female synonym for cock-block is "clitoris-no-more-us." SFist Jackson's snatch-latch was so much better! Matt Smith hates the Chron (Laguna Honda overrun edition). Cover article: Roller derby girls. Meredith Brody goes back to the Ferry Building, and the vegan also goes to Cafe Gratitude. Music: Sleater-Kinney, one week late. And Savage Love: politics.
The Bay Guardian: Dude, you gotta check out the letters! dreamy Matt Gonzalez on his commitment to gay rights, the phrase "punk Chris Daly school-yard bullies," and high dudgeon at the SF School District! Plus: editorial by the original punk school-yard bully himself, on homelessness! And a dude in Berkeley almost-just-quite managed to squat his way to full-out home ownership! Man, what have we done this week? Nothing. Also, there's lead-tainted candy in the Mission. Annalee Newitz loves Vader, J-town hates Starbucks. Cover article: Mission Creek Music/Arts Fest!
Chocolate in the East Bay and the pick of the week after the jump.
From the 1 California to the 108 Treasure Island
If your weekend was anything like our weekend, you spent three days mewling like a kitten about the heat and canceling all plans to go anywhere at all. Not these four SFSU students -- Gil Hackel (singer-songwriter), Nate Maas (cinema major), Trammell Scruggs (sound engineering major), and Zhenya Warshawsky (literature major) -- who launched and completed their Labor Day Weekend mission -- to ride every single MUNI bus line from end to end. Its name: Operation MuniCon.

