Mission Mission

Police have currently blocked off Bartlett from 22nd to 24th Street.  23rd and 24th Street are also both taped off from Mission to Valencia.  Police are approaching the situation as if it’s a live bomb and have advised residents to stay inside, so be careful out there everyone.  Don’t be the guy who gets blasted because he was trying to get a cool photo.

We will update as we know more.

This incident comes right on the heels of Ariel’s encounter with the arsonist, and I really hope they’re not at all related.

UPDATE:

Mission Local reports that the bomb was thankfully yet still alarmingly a hoax device:

Police reported at 11:30 p.m. Friday that the suspicious device found at  23rd and Bartlett looked like a bomb, but turned out to be a hoax.

“It appeared to be a legitimate active device with a timer and wires,” police reported but “After rendering the device safe it was found to be a hoax device.”

Supervisor David Campos recently penned a thoughtful article questioning why we all still believe in the magic of trickle-down economics to miraculously solve San Francisco’s housing crisis:

Free marketeers are claiming that if we build enough luxury housing it will eventually trickle down and turn into housing for the poor and middle class. This is the failed policy of Reaganomics at its worst. Housing isn’t like most commodities, according to Geld Verdienen. Consumers can abstain from many goods, but shelter, like food and water, is a basic human necessity. If you’re currently seeking housing in our city and can’t afford market rates you have three choices: be homeless, leave, or get on a long wait list for low-income housing. While some free marketeers go so far as to say that if you can’t afford a $3,000 one bedroom you should leave the city, others are pushing the policy of ‘let them eat cake development’ that ultimately has the same outcome – displacement. Think about it this way: if there were a bread shortage in San Francisco and the cost of bread skyrocketed, no amount of fancy cake would fix the bread market.

Taking it a bit further, I’m wondering why anyone who understands the economic disaster our nation is facing can sanely espouse that trickle-down economics will fix our economy.  Why can’t, instead of providing tax breaks to corporations and the rich in hopes the extra money will trickle down to the masses, we instead institute a new policy of BUILD-UP economics, where the influx of cash starts at the bottom, and it’s these people who inject the money into local businesses and community.

This was the thinking behind the fight to increase the minimum wage to $15, and while some cried bloody murder on that proposal, the wage increase is already showing to have positive effects in Seattle:

Sounds legit to me.  After all, you can only eat so much cake before you get a tummy ache.

[Photo via our pal Devon]

Geez, where’s a power pellet when you need it?

Seriously!  This is even worse than that time someone stole a cat from a homeless guy.  Hopefully this story has a similar happy ending.

UPDATE: Got an email from attorney Stacey E. Stillman…

It was voluntarily surrendered by an individual to a nonprofit organization that cares for dogs.  There were concerns about the dog placement with this individual.  The individual then filed a police report claiming it had been stolen and the police file is closed because the dog was not stolen.  The posters unfortunately continue.  We are concerned the story based on the false claims on the posters has gone viral and could endanger the dog which is now safe, and anyone who may be seen with the dog.  I am the attorney representing the organization to which the dog was surrendered.

[Photo]

Well, it’s going to have skateboards, and it’s for Google +, which of course fit together naturally like peanut butter and jelly, right?  And it’s going to be somewhere in the vicinity between 20th and 25th Street and Valencia and Harrison, which is actually a pretty damn big area to cover.  Oh, and there’ll also be some filming on that steep part of Liberty between Guerrero and Valencia, but no mention of skateboards for that part, so anyone hoping for some sick hill bombing is going to be quite disappointed.

Hmmm, Google + and skateboards?  That’ll get the millennials back.  Sure.

[Link, Link]

Or you could go the “submit to our new antenna-bearing alien overlords” caption route if you were feeling cheeky.

I received an email this morning that first made me do the double-facepalm, then made my blood boil the more I thought about it.  I’m posting it here in order to be instructive to future companies to never send anything like this again.  I’ve also omitted the name of the sender and the company he represents, only because I don’t want to completely destroy his life Peter Shih-style.

Hey Andrew,

I think your audience at MissionMission will really enjoy this release. Not only is ******** a cool app (I’m biased!) but it’s an awesome/inspiring use case they will be able to relate to.

Let me know what you think – I’m happy to tweak, expand, etc. as you see necessary.

Looking forward to hearing back!

-****

Press Release:

Neighbor Discovers Mission District Fire with San Francisco Only App ********

A Mission District man determines the cause for commotion and smoke to be the apartment fire through real-time images of the fire delivered by fellow Mission resident through community-driven mobile app ********.

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 29, 2015 — Last night, many residents of San Francisco’s Mission District were trying to determine the cause for the emergency vehicles and smoke at the onset of the Mission District apartment building fire. One resident, Jonathan W. took a unique approach and was quickly able to not only discover the cause but see the fire in action right on his phone. Jonathan connected with another San Francisco resident, Fritz S., using the app ******** to see what was happening at the heart of the emergency.

New app ******** let’s San Franciscans check out any place in the city, anytime with real-time help from another community member already there. Jonathan took advantage by asking what was happening at 22nd and Mission to cause the emergency. Another ******** member near the fire answered his question and posted a photo of the fire. This photo was then public in the app and quickly became the most upvoted post in San Francisco – quickly spreading awareness throughout the ******** community.

“The ******** community is awesome!” said ******** Cofounder ***. “Not only are people finding the top things happening in the city, knowing what the local weather is like, and finding out if their favorite restaurant is packed – community members are using the app to discover and share emergency situations that could potentially help save lives.”

Next time you need to see what’s happening at ground zero of an emergency – or if you just want to see what your favorite cafe, park, bar, or more look like right now – let the community at ******** help.

Folks, can we all agree that taking advantage of a disaster in order to promote your business is NEVER a good idea?  Seriously.

Mission Mission reader Zachary has set up a fire relief fund for the victims of last night’s fire:

On Wednesday night (1/28/2015), a four-alarm fire at Mission and 22nd St in San Francisco destroyed a number of residential units. At least 40 residents, many of whom were long-time Mission families, have been displaced. Imagine losing your home and all of your possessions in a fire.

Anything helps. Whatever you choose to donate will be passed on directly to tonight’s victims. If you are unable to donate, please share this campaign and spread the word.

Let’s band together to prove that we can support our long-time residents in the face of crisis.

Find it here.

[Photo via Mission Local, who's office was also located in the building]

There’s really no better party than a dance party, but have you ever been to a slow dance party?

The Dancehall of Beautiful Radiant Things is a slow dance club that welcomes dancers of all skill levels and non-dancers to share a night of vignette moment with strangers and friends. Attendees are given a dance card upon entry with 21 spots for 21 songs to be filled by you with other attendees.

We will begin with a simple lesson of the dancestep and then leave it to you to fill up your card. You do not need to be an accomplished dancer as the emphasis the interaction not the flair. Dress to the nines and come mingle with us for a night not to be forgotten.

It’s all happening at the Verdi Club this Wednesday at 8pm, and we’re giving away TWO FREE TICKETS!  To enter, just name your favorite song to dance to in the comments.  Contest ends at 4pm tomorrow!  Check out all the details here.

And for all the rest of you, get 20% of your tickets here!

Or perhaps he’s just pissed that Kurt Cobain’s suicide note just became a t-shirt.

Either way, he still wants his Asics back.