Spending public money

You know what really gets me, when a government agency (or charity) that has been pleading for funds gets a new makeover. In Contra Costa County, the animal services agency is always after money. Used to be known as the pound. I drove by there last Saturday and there were a bunch of new flags hanging off the light poles. Labeled "Animal Services". This is not like a place where people driving by will see the signs and get in to donate. There are very few passerbys, this is across the street from the sewage plant after all, out in northern Contra Costa county at the end of the creeks that go into the bay.

If you want to donate, please check here. The shelter does good work, no doubt but I wonder. When I drive by on Saturday morning, the most striking feature is the "night depository". Like for a bank I guess where you can drop off a bag into a secure place. But is this case, it's a wall of stainless steel doors of various sizes. I guess for the cat, a small door will do. "See you later fluffy!" as you slam the door behind her. For the larger doors maybe you will be hoisting the big galoot in and hoping he's too tired to care. "Later, Adoph!"

The numbers for the shelter are really disturbing. So many killed and few saved. Total intake last year 15596. Returned to owner 2065. Killed 15442. These are listed as owner/guardian requested but I think if there is no guardian then the county becomes the guardian and requests the kill.

I guess the most disturbing thing is the bright new flags in front of this house of death. I don't see any point in it, but I may be wrong since Maddie's fund is throwing around money right and left to shelters. But I must say, a flag never saved a puppy or kitten at least that I know of.

Walk for this and that

I was out on my bike yesterday after a long time but it felt good. Along the canal trail I expect kids and dogs and strollers and the usual congestion of a Saturday morning and I'm OK with that. This time there were some signs along the way that said something like: Walk with Jerry for... well, something.

I was wondering if Jerry Lewis had a new thing going or what. There were a few people in yellow tee shirts with similar slogans at the intersections but they weren't doing much. In fact I startled a young girl along the path as I went by. Something enthralling on the iphone it seems.

I went out to my usual turn around and then came back the other way. Now there were bunches of these folks coming towards me. Some like the picture above, carrying jerry cans. Huh?

Their route on the path was just a couple blocks so I was soon clear of them. Except the professional looking photographer who was standing in the middle of the path with her back to me taking a shot of the oncoming walkers. Hello! Not a good idea to have you back to traffic leaning down and sticking your butt out to get the shot for your client! I yelled at her as I went by.

When I got home, I looked it up and it seems this group is raising money for clean water in Africa. That's a pretty good cause, but not always a good use of your money. The best thing they can do is a simple well, with a hand pump that provides clean water. Some of these overly ambitious water projects that use an electric pump with no certain source of the power are just a big boondoggle.

The jerry can idea is based on the fact that often these plastic containers are often used in Africa to transport water and not just in rural areas. Seems a little weird to me to carry an empty can for a couple miles in suburban California to collect some money. How about the African who gets out there with a 20l plastic jerry can full of water to bring back to the house when you're a 12 year old girl? That's the reality, and then wash the clothes when you get home.

It might be simpler to just find the right charity and give them some money. Except in this world of donor fatigue (yes, that's a word) charities need to come up with new gimmicks all the time. I wonder is we can come up with a simpler way?

Harrison Street

Maybe named after President Harris but considered more likely to commemorate Henry A. Harrison, who was a member of the Ayuntamiento, or Town Council, in 1849-50, and a member of the pioneer mercantile firm of DeWitt & Harrison.

The city directory of 1850 lists:

Harrison, Henry A., of Dewitt & Harrison, com. merchant, San b P and Bdway .

The second street is most probably Broadway, but what's San b p? I'm guessing Sansome, since between the current Broadway tunnel and what was then the shoreline that's the only street name at all close. Also the advertisement mentioned here from the "Alta California" in 1849 lists photographic equipment for sale at the store on Sansome street.

The store is also mentioned as being in operation in 1848 in a nearly deserted city. More mention of Dewitt here than Harrison however, but the scene of a town developing into a city is quite compelling. In 1899 Dewitt's obituary ran in the New York times and listed Harrison as a "business friend".

In this transcript of an oral history interview Harrison is mentioned only is passing as having "died or something" after the store was founded and a Mr. Kittle took over as partner. This link to a New York historical society newsletter lists the store address more exactly at 187 Sansome street which would put it at Pine street. That sounds more like where the city was at that time, I wonder if the numbering system changed along the way? And sure enough, in 1861 the numbers were redone starting everything at Market street and heading north and south from there. Now again, looking at other addresses in the guide, I think the store address can be decoded as Sansome, between Broadway and Pine.

Harrison street is another of those SOMA routes that takes a big bend southward after crossing Tenth street and peters out in Bernal heights. Not much in the way of restaurants or entertainment listed on Harrison, but I can recommend the (relatively) cheap and convenient parking lots between Bryant and Harrison at Second street, under the freeway. Noisy but dry enough to provide a bedroom for the two to four vagrants that I walk by every morning.

Bryant Street

To my point of view the first of the real SOMA streets, it's south of the freeway, at the top of Rincon hill and the beginning of the downward slide to the bay. Named for Edwin Bryant an early settler and newspaperman. He came across the plains from Independence, Missouri in 1846 as a Second Lieutenant in John Fremont’s expedition. (more about Fremont when we get to his street). Appointed the successor of Washington A. Bartlett as the second American Alcalde in February 1847.

As Alcalde he started the layout of the city grid with Montgomery street along the waterfront. Today's is quite a bit inland but still historic what with being my preferred BART station and all. The next Alcalde George Hyde had all the lots surveyed and then sold off over the next few months.

After his California adventure, Bryant returned to the "East". There he wrote and published "What I saw in California". Bryant's book describing his journey and California became the guide for the later Argonauts (gold seekers) who traveled the overland route and was updated with maps and mining information by the publishers. It makes for very interesting reading today when the landscape he described has mostly disappeared. Elk in Elk Grove? Today only in the name.

For me personally, Bryant street is where my Dad had his own business. Known as Power Mac supposedly because the lawyer that was registering the name had abbreviated Power Machinery on his notepad it was a great joy to us kids and sometimes more of a worry to Father. The address was 1999 Bryant which is way out west almost under highway 101. There is still some state money there to be claimed if you can prove you are owed it.

Dirty Harry had a scene or two on Bryant street since the county (city) jail is there. Whoops! Should have been termed the Hall of Justice. "Do you feel lucky?"

Here's a 1906 earthquake photo between Bryant and Brannan.

South Park, the real park.

When I first arrived in the SOMA scene in 2000 this was still a pretty disreputable area that had started out with gold rush bravado, gone along and then way down and was climbing back up. Laid out between 2nd, 3rd and Bryant and Brannan streets in 1857 it's now a techy millionare dream with houses going for prices above the clouds. I can't really include any links here because they will all be broken so soon. One ad I found described "South Park, a lush green park encircled with interior designer showrooms, boutique shops, notable restaurants and cafes." Perhaps the usual realtor hyperbole but certainly more promising than just a few years ago.

Originally developed in 1865 as an American version of the English crescent it briefly flourished as desirable real estate but industrial development and the influx of foreigners and working people (for God's sake) doomed the location to tenement housing and factories.

George Gordon, the original developer of South Park was in Philadelphia when Brannan declared "Gold, gold" but soon came out west with two groups of adventurers, one by ship and a second land party to prepare the way to Eldorado. They never really managed to meet up as promised since things had changed to much while they were on the way over.

Gordon died in 1869 and is celebrated in one of the curiously dense obituaries typical of the time. One cause of death being "excessive labor".

These days besides the park which is pretty well kept despite the amazingly high dog population there are several notable restaurants and meeting places. I have no actual knowledge of these only that I walk by them everday. There's:

• California Grilled Cheese Kitchen - which you can look up since I refuse to link to yelp and similar. I guess that's what the sell, I do know that the guy who hoses off the sidewalk every morning is not that considerate of walkers like me.
• 21st Amendment - which I will link to despite annoying flash page. Real beer actually made here, I've watched the grain trucks blow their load up to the bins on the roof in the early morning. Right across 2nd street from the above.
• South Park Cafe - supposed to be good, it's right at the actual park.

Of these three above web sites all are just wrong in so many ways. But that's what this area is, a web driven economy that thinks twitter etc is the new gold rush. But maybe they're right, Twitter's main office it right near here too. Working to destroy the world at just a 140 characters at a time.

Brannan Street

Sam Brannan came out to San Francisco in 1846 with a shipload of Mormons. Two years later, on May 12, 1848 he ran through the streets waving a vial of gold dust and crying "Gold! Gold! Gold on the American River". In those two years he had founded a newspaper, The California Star, several stores, and also ran the Mormon community and extracted tithes from them, a real operator. As his wealth soared, from Utah, Brigham Young requested that Brannan in his turn submit his tithe to the church. Brannan demanded a receipt signed by God and was soon out of the Church.

The rush was really on now with Brannan's store in Sacramento perfectly located and stocked with the necessities of mining. Real estate investments in San Francisco also proved lucrative with Brannan supposedly owning a large percent of the city. As a sideline he imported grape stock and tried to start a resort in Calistoga that was not so successful. As his wealth was lost, including a supposed $500,000 payoff to Lola Montez his health failed and he died later in San Diego.

What's Brannan street doing these days? Still home to the wholesale flower market (at Sixth Street) , a Post Office renowned for it's slow service (between 3rd an 4th) and the location of Jack London's birthplace (at Third), now unfortunately an ugly condo building.

Check out this map from1847 where Brannan's house (marked as number 10) is shown as one of the largest buildings in the city. Walking home I usually cut through an alley that comes out right next to cotweet. One of several local web companies cashing in on (what I consider) tweeting idiots, but others consider as the wave of the future, or for at least a year or two.

Townsend Street

Named after Dr. John Townsend, pioneer physician. There's a couple of plaques in the sidewalk at the east end of the street where it intersects the Embarcadero. One mentions the Doctor as being in the first wagon train to travel over the Sierra Nevada mountains and they arrived with 52 persons after leaving Council Bluffs, Iowa with only 50, two were born along the way. (same route was made famous two years later by the ill fated Donner party).

One of the plaques references a Gold Rush era sign that was discovered at that spot reading something like: "There will be cholera here". In 1848 Townsend was appointed Alcalde (mayor) with the task of civilizing a town described with "bloody street fights were of a daily occurrence". Townsend only served a few months before running off to the gold fields with most of the rest of the city. Upon his return he resumed doctoring until he and his wife both died in 1850 from cholera while treating victims in San Jose. His grave marker in San Jose is pictured above.

The street is lined with historic brick warehouse buildings and reproductions too. For example, 178 Townsend, just about across the street from my office is a notable example of reusing/preserving one of the local historic brick buildings. It seems pretty far to go to build an entire new building inside the brick shell just to keep the facade. But keep in mind this is the city that spent $34 million to rebuild a draw bridge to look exactly as before while strengthening it to carry streetcars. This included a fiberglass fake counterweight produced with help from those masters of fakery, the Disney company. Two blocks south of Townsend on Fourth street.

More recently, Townsend street is filled with sorrow. A couple weeks ago my company's payroll manager, which everyone loved, including me, was crushed to death by a concrete pumping truck turning left and catching her in the crosswalk. One of the trucks that was working on the 178 Townsend project. It's certainly a shock and I avoid that intersection or at least that crosswalk. The dear old lady was a widow living with her daughter just a couple blocks away on Brannon street. At 8:45 am she was crossing Second Street at Townsend on the way to work where she had never missed a day in how many years and the truck turned and she was gone. Not immediately since the fire department headquarters is on that corner so she did get immediate attention. But a 71 year old women versus a concrete pumping truck? No contest. Makes me shudder.

Since I brought up the fire department headquarters, it's at the corner of Second Street, on the right of the photo (which is looking west) and Townsend, on the left. The building was authorized for construction by the city supervisors in 1907 after the earthquake as a pumping plant to supply bay water for fire fighting in the next disaster. There was another plant built on the north side of the city that completed the system. There are steel roller shutters that can slide down over the windows to protect the machinery, or at least they once could. Now it's the offices of the fire department.

The fatal crosswalk runs from right to left in the shot the same way Lourdes would have been walking. Rest in peace, Lourdes.