Headlines today were "Experts upgrade storms to bomb cyclone" and "Powerful storms across region," so it was wonderful to have clear blue skies enhanced with fluffy white clouds instead of what we've had for several days and will have again.

These are pictures I took coming back from Larkspur today, February 6th.  At the beginning of my journey I was facing in the opposite direction, also beautiful:

 I had a mission in going to McLaren Park.  I wanted to see whether the new Shelley Promenade would be accessible for people with disabilities.  When I got off the #29 bus, my gps lead me through a dog park and down muddy hills.  But it was an error.  The bus stop on Shelley and Marston is right on it!  Also, at the other end of the 1/2 mile stretch, there's a parking lot!

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/shelley-drive-mclaren-park-18459839.php

 I read the SF Chronicle every day.  It's my way to begin each day.  I appreciate the letters to the editor,  which give us readers the chance to have our say.  But I wish they wouldn't take out huge hunks of what I say and not even use an ellipsis.

I've put in red what I wrote that they took out.

As a 78-year-old woman who identifies her arthritis as rigor mortis setting in, I share Ray Cardoza’s concern for seniors and people with disabilities and have several friends with mobility issues.  But for safety, health, environment, and equity we need to think outside the car.  I belong to several organizations that consider themselves progressive but disagree with one another on issues like JFK Drive’s becoming JFK Promenade.  I was disappointed that the most vocal opponents didn’t show up for the accessibility tours offered in September 2021, which I’d urged them to attend to make sure their needs were met, their voices heard and also so that they could see possibilities they apparently hadn’t considered:  Additional blue zone parking spaces,  ADA-compliant shuttle buses.  But the only person with a disability who showed up was a woman on a mobility scooter who favored no cars.   A friend who swears by his mobility scooter, which cost less than $800, says it’s easier for him to take Muni than to be driven.    If people have disabilities too severe for them to take public transportation, let’s see whether Paratransit is as much improved as some say it is.  Let’s advocate but not obstruct needed change. 

A friend who reads the SF Chronicle as religiously as I do spotted my letter, and when I showed him all they'd left out, he said the omissions  "de-Tinafy your letter."  He also noticed (which I didn't' at first) that they'd left out everything I had to say about mobility scooters.  I really want people to know about this option!

I'm glad that in the study with identical twins--one given a vegan diet and the other an omnivore's--the twin following the vegan diet showed the most health gain. I'm also glad the out of 26 cookies, the vegan cookie got the most votes in the blind taste test.  

But why don't the headlines draw attention tot his.  Vegan didn't appear in the headlines or in the caption!

 

I wrote to Recology Customer Service after finding out that the behemoth Safeway (at least the one on Taraval) doesn't carry compostable bags.

Dear Staff,

I was surprised to find no compostable bags at the Safeway, and when I asked about it, I was told they didn't carry them.

This seems very strange from a huge chain in San Francisco, where we need to use compostable bags.

Could someone with clout contact the buyer(s)?

Tina Martin

 

 The Out of Order Elevator at Hallidie Plaza

Yahoo/Sent

• 

  Tina Martin 

  From:tina_martin@sbcglobal.net

  To:John King

  Tue, Dec 5 at 11:54 AM

  Dear John King,

  
  

  I enjoyed your talk at the SFPL, and my son and I are making Portal our book of the month for January.  

  
  

  What do you think of the Out of Order sign on the huge elevator at Hallidie Plaza--decorated with snowflakes now?  This is in an area that the mayor says she wants to revitalize, but I've seen tourists take too many suitcases precariously up the escalator, and parents with strollers on 5th and Market can't get down to the Plaza, which is supposed to be a winter wonderland.  

  
  

  People arriving in wheelchairs can't get down from Fifth and Market  to the plaza either, and if they arrive in a streetcar, they can't get up unless they go to 4th street, and that can be a hike for someone on a walker.  I tested this out with a friend who has a balance problem, and she really had difficulty getting from 5th and Market to the small, badly ventilated elevator on Fourth and Market.  

  
  

  We have had "Rise Up for Elevators" rallies, and the Mayor's Disability Council has been advised.

  
  

  Wouldn't it be a doom loop to bloom loop sign if that broken (for years)  elevator would rise again?

  
  

  An Urban Design Reader,

  Tina Martin

  

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

Maxine treated me to lunch at the Golden Era on Golden Gate Avenue in the Tenderloin, where we enjoyed a delicious 100% vegan lunch (good for the planet and good for the palate), but we also wanted to explore downtown SF--my birthday wish.  After lunch I led her to the Exploratorium's social science exhibit now on the north side of the Public Library.  She did what I did the first time (four years ago) that I approached  My Side Bias.  She chose the question "Should the US have universal health care?" and went right to the Yes box.  When we moved on to the "Flip Side," she chose Gaza as the open topic and wrote her opinion:  "They should stop bombing Gaza."  When asked for the flip side, she said, "They should bomb the hell out of Gaza."  She told the facilitators, Robert Dixon and another of the Urban Alchemy, that she didn't want to state the flip side.  She wasn't pleased when I lingered, but when they asked us to join hands with the metallic hands--one with each, of course we couldn't read that far, so they joined in with us and with the music.  Maxine and I both left feeling happy.