San Francisco's Latest Community News

     What’s a large retail store doing in a national park? What Sports Basement does at its 80,000-square-foot store in San Francisco’s Presidio National Park is cater to every need of the outdoors-minded folks who use the park. Just outside its doors, walkers, runners and cyclists stream past on the paths alongside the bay to the Golden Gate Bridge. Quite a few of them stop: for an energy bar, a bike tube or a sporty windbreaker.
     Before the U.S. Army handed over the Presidio to the National Park Service, this building was the base commissary—still evident in the words painted on the walls: “Produce,” “Fish,” Meat.” They compete with other signs: “Bike,” “Run,” “Swim.” How big is the store? Big enough that the bike area alone, which includes rentals and repairs, is much larger than most bike shops—yet without the narrow aisles you’d find

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“The Harvard of the West” is no mere slogan. Stanford University has earned this boast for its academic prowess, with 16 Nobel Laureates on its faculty. Stanford’s law and business schools are routinely ranked in the top three in the country and the medical school isn’t far behind. Yet its greatest contribution in recent decades has been the graduates who have helped turn the Santa Clara Valley into “Silicon Valley”: ground zero for the computer, Internet, and most recently, social networking revolutions. The founders of Hewlett-Packard, Google and Yahoo are all Stanford grads. Take that, Harvard.

Another boast this 1891 university has over Ivy League schools is its long tradition of great sports teams. It’s routinely among America’s best in an array of sports, especially tennis, swimming and water polo. Stanford has won more than 500 NCAA Division I team and individual titles, more than any school in the country. Heard of Tige

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Takara Sake USA, Inc. in Berkeley does more than produce plum wine and sake. If you haven’t been there yet, you’ve got a unique cultural experience waiting. A visit to the Takara brewery facilities makes a refreshing change from wine tasting.

At Takara’s Sake Museum, you’ll learn the history of sake production and see tools of the trade, and right next door in the Tasting Room, you’ll continue learning about sake as you sip different varieties of the rice wine in a beautiful, environmentally friendly space that evokes traditional Japan and the natural world.

Takara has more than a century-long history of making sake in Japan, and the company’s USA headquarters were established in Berkeley in 1982. Sho Chiku Bai is produced here, and according to the company, this brand is the best-selling sake in the U.S.

Sake types available for tasting and purchase include full-bodied, undiluted Genshu, sweet unfil

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Kara’s are not your mother’s cupcakes, the box-mix or store-bought confections that mom whisked to your classroom birthday parties and youth-sports banquets. No, Kara Lind—who’s far younger, slimmer and hipper than Betty Crocker—has raised cupcake cooking to a fine art.

They look good and taste better. Most popular is the Chocolate Velvet, an all-chocolate dream topped with a velvety, dark-chocolate buttercream dollop. Most colorful is the Raspberry Dazzle, a raspberry-cream filled and frosted ensemble. Most nostalgic is the Sweet Smores, combining chocolate cake, graham cracker crust and (of course) a toasted-marshmallow cap.

We could go on describing the sweet tastes and textures of the Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate, Meyer Lemony Lemon, Banana Caramel, Kara’s Karrot and Java (with espresso buttercream), but that would be cruel. These cupcakes are smooth, rich without making you feel stuffed, and fresh hourly. Organic and local ing

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     Visitors to the International Spy Shop range from the curious to the serious: Fisherman’s Wharf tourists strolling past who want to buy the CIA T-shirt in the window as well as private investigators who have their eye on the latest GPS tracking device that they can use for surveillance.  
      It’s an odd, but intriguing, shop to visit. The fun, inexpensive items are at the front for casual visitors, like the T-shirts that read “Border Patrol” and “I Was Never Here”; the surveillance sunglasses that let you see sideways; and fake mustaches. But as you walk further into the store, the products get pricier and more serious.
      The biggest variety of products are the hidden recording devices—tiny cameras and microphones hidden inside everything from pens and watches to teddy bears and smoke alarms. There are high-tech spying products, like GP

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It’s difficult to pinpoint just one good thing about Julie’s Coffee & Tea in Alameda. For some, the garden patio is the kicker, propelling the café’s likeability factor a mile ahead of other, “ordinary” cafes. Julies’ outdoor space is a hybrid between a secret, storybook garden with crawling, flowery vines and the backyard garden you always wish you had, with plenty of shade for afternoon reading.

For others, the café’s organic goodies take the cake. Speaking of cake, locally made pastries are served here daily, including thumb-print cookies, vegan brownies, and fresh-baked, house-made scones. Ask for them warm, with Devonshire cream for dipping on the side. Seasonal veggies are served with your organic egg breakfasts, and locally harvested honey lines the shelves in country-style jars tied with a ribbon.

Julie’s definitely has the owner’s personal touch stamped on every detail &nd

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Even if they’re not destined for Olympic Gold Medal fame, kids can still benefit from the rewards of gymnastics training. Bay Island Gymnastics (BIG), which has offered beginning to advanced gymnastics classes for the past 20 years, believes the sport helps students become happier and healthier individuals. Some of the benefits include increased flexibility, strength, coordination and self-confidence.

In 2004, BIG moved from the historic Alameda Theatre to a 12,500-square-feet, state-of-the-art facility in Oakland. Fully matted and equipped with everything from a bars area, large and small floor areas, kindergarten gym, and foam pit, the gym has an open, safe, and spacious feel, with rolling doors that open for those warm Bay Area days.

Classes at BIG include preschool-level Explorer classes covering basic fundamentals with games and creative obstacle courses for toddlers; recreational classes for students 6 years of age and over and adults of e

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Is “Rosemary Candied Bacon” an ice-cream flavor? It is at Ici, a unique ice cream shop where everything is made by hand from scratch and with choice, organic ingredients. What up with the flavors? You’d be surprised at how good they taste, and at the same time, these flavors will be different from anything you’ve had at other creameries in the Bay or elsewhere.

Take Burnt Caramel, an offering which will remind you of the crispy topping on a crème brulee, except darker, richer. Or Coconut Toffee, a blend of sweetness with a coffee-like aftertaste. Eleven more ice cream flavors are on the menu, from Brandied Cherry and Green Tea to Strawberry-Lime-Mint Sorbee. Ice cream here is made daily, with toppings and to-go pints available.

Besides ice cream by the scoop, Ici has what they call Bombes, specialty ice cream cakes with extra layers and flourishes you’ll need a special occasion to justify buying. (For an at-home ind

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HomeRoom Racing Café claims to have the largest and longest standing Carrera track in the country. It’s easy to believe – the track easily takes up two rooms. Most people you know probably aren’t slot car racing enthusiasts. But as you pass by this cafe and see that giant, looping racetrack through the window, your curiosity will get the better of you, whether you are a hobbyist or just someone on the look-out for new forms of entertainment.

HomeRoom Racing Café seems designed for friendly competitions as opposed to serious racing, with racers age 3 to 103 invited to test out the track. Racers are required to bring their own 1/24 scale replica cars or can purchase one at the café at a discount price. The cars must have a full body, chassis and cockpit, and four wheels that turn. Racers must follow the rules of the track, completing five qualifying laps without touching any other cars. Winners are determined by points, with

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Wine tasting in Healdsburg will remind you of what it used to be like in Napa – picturesque and completely serene, without the distraction of overwhelming crowds to keep you from enjoying wine country the way it’s meant to be enjoyed. Just north of Healdsburg in the tiny town of Geyserville, Stryker Sonoma Winery is the perfect introduction to that setting, with a newly constructed estate built to embrace the natural landscape.

A long, romantic walkway covered in lush, green climbing vines leads to the winery entrance, imitating rows upon rows of grapevines that are well within view. Balcony spaces and slotted screens throughout the perimeter of the building enable you to see the story of the winemaking process all around you, beginning with the sun-drenched vine, and ending in your wine glass. As you sip fine wines, the floor to ceiling window with a view of the vineyard creates an unmatched experience in the Stryker tasting room.

One thin

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There’s a secret in northern Sonoma County, in the quaint little town of Healdsburg. It’s wine tasting the way you always imagined it – in a family-owned winery surrounded by miles of vineyards. At Alexander Valley Vineyards, you’ll discover more than just fine wines and genuine service, but the perfect place to have your wine country picnic.

Wines here consist of 17 varieties and proprietary blends, the majority of which are reds. If you’re coming for a tasting, you’ll see nearly everyone in the room leave with a bottle of the 2005 Cyrus, the winery’s signature bottle and winner of several awards, including Double Gold in the 2009 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, Best of Show Red in the 2009 Hilton Head Wine Fest, and Gold in both the 2009 and 2010 Houston Rodeo Wine Competition.

Other notables include the 2007 Sin Zin, one of the most popular zinfandels in the country, and the 2006 Estate Viognier, an expre

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One of the bigger wineries in Alexander Valley, Hanna attracts a crowd, but there’s plenty of room to sip wine and enjoy conversation with friends in the spacious, Mediterranean style tasting room. With lofty wood ceilings, a red tile roof, formal dining area, and elegant wrap-around veranda, the tasting room itself is pretty, but you may be too busy to notice with views of the winery’s “Red Ranch” vineyard distracting you. But don’t take our word for it – this tasting room was also listed as one of America’s Top 25 such venues by Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

Hanna sets itself apart as a 100% estate winery, with ownership of 252 acres of vineyards in Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley, and Sonoma Valley. Established in 1985, the family-owned business run by Christine Hanna produces 13 award-winning wines, including the lively and complex 2006 Russian River Valley Chardonnay, 2004 Bismark Mountain Cabernet,

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One of the first three parks established by the East Bay Regional Park District, Lake Temescal is an easy drive from Broadway, Telegraph, and College Avenues and just off the Caldecott Tunnel on Highway 24. If you’re in the mood for hiking on flat ground and maybe some fishing, Lake Temescal is a peaceful oasis near the edge of Oakland.

Some of Lake Temescal’s most popular attributes include a swimming beach, numerous fishing docks spread out along the 10-acre perimeter, a wide selection of picnic tables, and multiple walking and biking trails. Swimmers love this alternative to rough Bay Area beaches, open three seasons a year, with a historic beach house lending access to bathrooms, gardens and vending machine snacks. (The beach house is also available to rent, accommodating up to 130 guests for weddings or other events.)

The lake is stocked with rainbow trout, catfish, bass, and bluegill, and it’s usually peaceful enough here that t

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While there’s much to be said about Cordonices Park, the 40-foot hillside slide gets top mention. There are always pieces of cardboard at the base of the slide, so find a good size square and climb up the wooden stairs leading up to the top. From there, it can be intimidating to look down – it’s quite a drop on the winding, sometimes slippery concrete. This ride is nothing like the one on typical playground slides. It will remind you of slipping down a snowy hillside. Without the cardboard, the way down is slower, and some kids are even brave enough to fall backwards.

But it wouldn’t do Cordonices Park justice to focus on the slide alone. There are more than three acres to wander here, and much of it is hidden at first glance. Near the entrances, there’s an athletic field for soccer and baseball, and the basketball court usually has a game going on. Playgrounds include a toddler area with a tot train that multiple kids can clim

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Piedmont Park was once a very different place, home to the grandiose Piedmont Springs Hotel from the late 1800s to the 1940s. Mark Twain was a regular visitor and the teahouse that still stands on the premises was the biggest of its kind in the United States.

Today, the 15-acre park consists primarily of green space, with a playground, recreation facility, plaza, and dog run. But a series of markers located throughout the park commemorate the rich history of this East Bay hills destination.

Located in a central Piedmont neighborhood, this park is hidden among giant redwood trees. If you aren’t one of a small community of residents who live in this affluent city, you’ve likely never heard of the park. With a bowl shaped lawn, looped forest path, woodsy dog run, waterfalls, and a flowing creek that once held mineral water, it’s well worth knowing about, especially if you’re looking for a local, dog-friendly park that’s also pleasan

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Is Nob Hill a neighborhood, a hotel district or a tourist attraction? The San Francisco district that some envious residents call “Snob Hill” is all of this, but the one word that sums up what it takes to make it to Nob is money. It takes money to live in one of the Hill’s luxury apartment buildings, to stay at one of its five major hotels, or even to get up the Hill—because unless you have the lungs and calves of a bike racer, you’ll pay the cab or cable-car fare before puffing up the steep slope to the top from downtown.

Most of a visitor’s options on Nob Hill involve food or drink. Some of the city’s most unique, historic and finest restaurants and bars are found in the Hill’s landmark hotels. These have traditionally drawn an older crowd, but that’s beginning to change with updated dining and imbibing options. Visitors of all ages are awed by the views from the top-floor bars, not to mention the food in the restaurant

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In addition to Parkside and the Outer Sunset, West Portal is one of three main neighborhoods tucked away in the hills of southwestern San Francisco. Some tourists may never see it, and not because it’s blanketed in fog for much of the year. The area is somewhat off on its own, connected to the thicker downtown crowds through the West Portal Muni Metro Station. But don’t spread the word too much, because that’s just the way most residents want to keep it.

A great many who call the greater Bay Area home only know “West Portal” as words on the Muni map. But with a bustling row of unique neighborhood shops, restaurants and a theater gathered along the district hub of West Portal Avenue, the area boasts some good buys and delicious eats well worthy of a regular visit. Eateries include Toasties, claiming the "best crab sandwich in San Francisco," and the Squat & Gobble Cafe & Crepery, and shops include West Portal Antiques, Ir

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Coming into Alameda is like entering a time warp, people say. It’s both an island and a small town, home to a former naval base and the highest concentration of Victorian-era houses on the West Coast. Needless to say, it’s a little bit different from the rest of the Bay Area, but for many, that uniquely Alamedan vibe gives the city its charm.

While non-Alameda residents once had little reason to visit, aside from a day trip to Crown Beach or a friendly house call, they now have several. Those reasons primarily consist of the various shops and restaurants lined up in the now-bustling Park Street neighborhood of downtown Alameda.

Park Street has come a long way in recent years, stretching several blocks from the Park Street Bridge to Crown Beach. Along that stretch and on intersecting streets, there’s enough gourmet fare and couture culture to sway crowds from Piedmont, Berkeley, and San Francisco, but at the same time, Alameda has mana

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The Marina district’s three retail rows on Chestnut, Lombard and Union Streets feature a healthy mixture of shops and restaurants, old and new, for tourists and locals alike. People visit from throughout the Bay Area to shop; only Union Square is a more shopping-intensive district in San Francisco. But besides its reputation for shopping and recreation on the bay, the Marina is a neighborhood, where you can pick up a screwdriver at Fredericksen Hardware (“Since 1896”) or check out a book at the branch library.

Nowhere is this more evident than on Chestnut, which has been transformed through the decades from a locals-only “Main Street” to a hot shopping district even more bustling than better-known Union Street nearby. The transformation isn’t yet complete, attested by the juxtaposition of All Star Donuts and Naked Fish Sushi Grill on opposite corners, but it’s getting there. There’s only the one donut shop, but more sushi resta

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North Beach boasts a rich history, from the Italian immigrants who built it in the early 1900s to the Beats who created a new literature in the 1950s. Generations later, the Italian and Beat influences persist in the form of many Italian restaurants, pizzerias and coffeehouses, where espresso-fueled poets still produce counterculture verse.

The heart of North Beach can be found on Columbus Avenue, which slices through the neighborhood like a butcher’s knife through salami. The boulevard slashes diagonally from Chinatown to Fisherman’s Wharf, and in the middle of that stretch is Washington Square. It’s on the Square where you’ll find locals enjoying their daily rituals, whether it’s practicing Tai Chi, sketching or just sitting on the grass. The park is literally lorded over by the twin spires of the cathedral-like Saints Peter & Paul Church.

There is a substantial effort to preserve the flavor of the neighborhood against the forces o

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 Earlier this month, the 165-foot, 12,000-ton piece, known as a lift arrived from China. Crews are ready to begin installation of this piece today. This new piece will be one of five pieces that will complete the first section of the 525 foot tower. This will be the centerpiece to the new, improved $6.2 million eastern span.

Worried about traffic? Officials say construction of the new span will not affect driving. However, drivers will have a new view of the eastern span project.

The first section is said to be completed in the next two weeks. The complete eastern span is expected to be finished by  late 2013.

     When Harvey Milk became the first openly gay man to win elective office in California in 1977 by winning over its electorate—a story retold in the Academy Award-winning “Milk,” District 8 became the most famous local electoral district in America. The Board of Supervisors district encompasses the predominantly gay Castro district, along with Noe Valley, Duboce Triangle, Glen Park, Diamond Heights, Dolores Park and other neighborhoods in the geographic center of the city.
     More than three decades later, sexual orientation is now a non-issue in the district, as well as citywide. Indeed, most of the candidates in the November 2 election are gay, and it’s only outside the tolerant boundaries of San Francisco that sexual identification is still a wedge issue. Instead, the topics debated among the district’s contenders now are rather mundane: business development, public safety and transit.
&nbs

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Why is U.C. Berkeley also called Cal? Cal is short for California, and chartered in 1868, U.C. Berkeley represents the state as the oldest major campus in the U.C. system. But Cal represents more than the state – it is highly regarded as the premier public research university in North America and even the world.

Known for more than academics, Cal has a personality to go with its nickname. The campus embodies the spirit of innovation and free speech. In the 1960s, student activists held spirited demonstrations and organized for the right to use Sproul Plaza. As a result, several U.C. campuses dropped restrictions on student speech and political activities. When issues of human rights are on the line around the globe or in their home state, Cal students are often among the first to gather and protest.

Approximately one-third of the students entering Cal are the first in their families to go to college. According to the university, there are more low-incom

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