Today marks the 105th Anniversary of the 1906 earthquake. Having grown up in San Francisco, ColeValleySF team members remember the periodic earthquake drills ("drop, duck and cover!") in school and the constant reminders of how important it is to practice Earthquake Safety. It has been so ingrained in our minds that something somewhat unusual, as bolting heavy bookcases to the wall, becomes common sense for any California native. But it can be so easy for us to forget the effects of a large magnitude earthquake until we see the devastation a big one can bring to an area far away. There are very few living survivors (if not only one) of the 1906 earthquake, but the March 11 earthquake in Japan has been a clear reminder for any of us who were present for the 1989 Loma Prieta.

It's actually very eye-opening. A ColeValleySF team member used to work at a university down in the South Bay. While attending a training for student leaders about emergency response, the trainer asked the audience who was present for the 1989 earthquake. Only 2 out of the 75 people in the room experienced that disaster, the trainer and the ColeValleySF team member. Something that is so fresh in many of our memories doesn't even exist in the generation that is moving into the area. What is our responsibility to pass this information on to the next generation?

Then comes another question... while doing research for this particular entry, we came across a somewhat disturbing fact. First, some background. The Marina district was one of the hardest hit areas in San Francisco during the 1989 earthquake. Mainly because of the fact that the area is build on landfill. When the earthquake hit, liquification of the land-filled soil occurred causing the waves from the earthquake to be magnified, thus causing more damage to that area than others not built on landfill. Many of the houses that were greatly damaged fell under the "soft story housing" category.  These are buildings usually built on garages or open store fronts on the 1st story and have 3-4 floors of apartments above, causing 70-80% of the buildings weight to be resting on very a very weak 'foundation' in relation to other buildings. Surprisingly, after the 1989 earthquake, only a few of these types of homes were retrofitted. Take into consideration that retrofitting a house usually incurs a cost of 1%-3% of a home's value. That usually equals about 2-4 years of earthquake insurance, however, that will greatly diminish the cost of repairs should an earthquake happen. (Keep in mind that there's usually a cap with earthquake insurance repairs.)  Whose responsibility, then, is it to make sure this happens? Without retrofitting a building, not only would you endanger those living in the building, but potentially neighbors and passersby. And although there are laws in place to require certain codes to be met for businesses, the same may not hold true for the residential side.

In anycase, today brings with it a piece of San Francisco History that will always remind us to be prepared. So take some time today to check your first aid kit and emergency supplies. No need to scrimp on safety.

The fees for resident’s booth spaces have decreased as we’re hoping to attract more local artists. The fees for non-food vendor booths have increased by $10 to help defray the increased cost for City permits and the food booth costs have been reduced to insure delicious fare.

Click here for a food vendor application; non-food vendor application; Cars on Cole application or a musician application. Applications will also be available at Postal Chase, 912 Cole Street.

From day one, we here at ColeValleySF.com have talked about the nuances of parking in the neighborhood.  With our bustling businesses and Grattan Elementary to our local residents, parking has definitely become a premium in our neighborhood. But that doesn't mean that we have to forget the "neighbor" attitude.

As an example, a ColeValleySF.com team member comes back after a wonderful dinner with some friends, parallel parks the car in between a car that she supposes is blocking the neighbor's own driveway and a small hatchback.  Being the thoughtful neighbor, she parallel parks so that the resident can re-park in that spot (not that she really had a choice), leaving about 6 feet between her bumper and the driveway. Fast forward a few days, after some torrential downpours, the team member returns to her car to find a note on her windshield claiming she was a lousy neighbor, that she should learn to park so that other people in the neighborhood could fit and to not take two spots.  (In otherwords - you suck as a neighbor!)

This is a prime example of the "neighbor" attitude disappearing altogether behind the anonymous letter viel. I'm quite sure this person was trying to be a good neighbor by simply pointing out the unfairness of it all, however, if you're truly a resident of the neighborhood, you will notice the cars that try to squeeze into spots and those that take up more than enough space. I, for example, commend the Jeep Wrangler in our neighborhood that always seems to park in the smallest spaces.  Kudos to you neighbor, for being a responsible parker. An additional Kudos to any neighbor that has a compact car. In a city like San Francisco, I'm perplexed why there aren't more VW Lupo, VW Polos, Smart Cars or Peugots.  Call me Euro-centric, but sometimes having a small, compact car, just makes sense!  And sure enough, those of us that live here, will definitely notice those neighbors that take up more than enough room when they park.  They are notorious, they are obvious. 

So give people a break angry parking neighbor... your notes do no good. Finally, one must ask... How big is the car you're driving angry parking neighbor?