A St. Anthony Scarving Artist Knitter takes a stand against the San Francisco Sit-Lie Ordinance (Prop L)which is on is also known by its supporters as the Civil Sidewalks proposition.

The ordinance would restrict sitting or lying on sidewalks citywide from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Police officers must give a warning before they can give a citation and the ordinance cannot be used to restrict the people’s rights to free speech and peaceful assembly (if they have bought city permits). A single offense will result in \$100 ticket, while subsequent ones may result in 30 days in jail.

However this knitter joins others who believe:

1. That it is always wrong to write laws that criminalize people just for being poor;
2. That it is an especially bad idea when those laws make criminals out of all of us; and
3. That the focus on sit/lie is making it harder for San Franciscans to find out about the real solutions that our
   communities are putting forward

And don’t forget to join us for a “Flash Mob Knit” on Saturday, September 25th promptly at noon —we’ll be there and gone in  a flash! at the Powell St. turn-around—for an adventure in domestic activism!

When we knit together together we can improve the world one scarf at a time. Those who will receive our scarves as gifts will know that there are people in the world who care for others and that love not ignorance trimuphs.

What’s cooking this week at St. Anthony Dining Room!

Monday August 23th – Pork Sausage Cassoulet
Served with pistou and white beans

Tuesday August 24th – Chef’s Choice
St. Anthony’s Dining Room turns Iron Chef as we churn out dishes made from seasonal ingredients

Wednesday August 25th Turkey & Vegetable Casserole
Cooked in a light cream and cheese sauce

Thursday August 26th Pad Indian Chicken Curry
Lightly spiced chicken in a tomato and yogurt sauce

Friday August 27th Chicken Sausage Pasta
Served with summer vegetables and parmesan cheese and herbs

Sunday August 28th Orange & Chinese Black Bean Chicken
With a rice and vegetable salad

Tuesday August 29th – Chef’s Choice
St. Anthony’s Dining Room turns Iron Chef as we churn out dishes made from seasonal ingredients

Check back for weekly installments of On The Menu!

People from all over the world come to SF and the Bay Area to visit and to live. In fact, meeting folks who were actually born here is rarer than not. The Tenderloin, with its significant 1st generation Immigrant population only amplifies our global community. Our guests, volunteers, and staff naturally reflect this diversity. Personal connection to what’s going on all over the world can typically be found in the lives of St. Anthony Foundation community members. In this spirit of the REAL World Web, our hearts go out to the people of Pakistan who are suffering desperately from the massive flooding—estimated to be affecting 20 million people!

Far from being insulated from global affairs, our community members are integrally linked. Frequently I hear from our dedicated volunteers how moved they are by those, who struggling with enormous challenges of their own are quite tuned in to far reaching events and are very concerned about the welfare of others. And just as often, I hear from volunteers how it is that serving others in need helps them to cope with their own personal challenges.

Being here at St. Anthony’s is a daily and genuine reminder that the heart doesn’t shrink with caring—it expands, and seems only to be more intent on doing what we can to care for each other and to recognize our “family” locally and world-wide.

Wow!  So far we have received 660 pledges for hand knit scarves, reaching 26% of our total goal of 2,500.  Great progress!

We have received 251 scarves to date That’s 10%of our goal. Thanks to all you early knitters for getting us off to such a good start.

We welcome these new organizations who have joined the St. Anthony Foundation Scarving Artists project. Thank you!

National Charity League
Bobbin’s Nest Studio
Pearlessence Yarns
SF Renegade Craft Faire

Do you have an organization who would like to participate? Let us know!

On Wednesday August 11th, State Legislators & other politicians in Sacramento met with everyday people to discuss alternative ways to balance the CA budget with out cutting money from vital social programs. Residents at Father Alfred Center, St. Anthony’s inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, residents went there with the Jusice Education, Volunteer and Advocacy program and The Health and Human Services Network to show the face of those in treatment.

HHS Came to the talks with three stated goals.
• “To Invest in and protect the health and human services vital to California’s economy and families.”
• “To champion alternatives to dismantling our health care and human services including targeted state revenues and federal recovery funds.”
• And finally, “To reform and re-invent the states broken budget process.”

Father Alfred Center Residents who attended spoke on a number of issues related to these goals.

For example, California currently imposes a lifetime ban on food stamps for individuals who are convicted of drug related felonies (even those in recovery). One resident who spoke at the event told me, “Food Stamps help Stimulate the economy among other things. By keeping them from those seeking treatment, the economy is denied that stimulation effect.”

Other ideas proposed were a nickel tax on all alcoholic beverages sold in CA, and a tax on imported oil.

When I asked her to comment Colleen Rivecca of St. Anthony Foundation’s Jusice Education, Volunteer and Advocacy program told me:

“One of the budget balancing strategies in the Governor’s Budget Proposal is to cut the benefit levels for people receiving SSI/SSP grants. SSI/SSP recipients are low-income blind, elderly and disabled people, and they are ineligible for Food Stamps. People receiving SSI/SSP have already received 3 grant level reductions within the past year. The guys talked about the growing numbers of seniors and people with disabilities that they see every day while working in at St. Anthony Dining Room – they said that these people are already struggling to make ends meet, and a further reduction in their benefits would make it even more difficult for them to survive.”

A lot of good ideas were exchanged at the meeting, and as always Father Alfred Center Residents and St Anthony Foundation was there to do their part.

Below is one example of the many talent’s of Willie Warren. Willie is a regular in the Tenderloin Tech Lab and is liked by both staff and guests. With the usual smile on his face, Willie submitted some of his writing to share on our blog.

According to a UCSF study, obesity rates have dropped in Caucasian and Asian children and leveled out for Hispanic/Latino children for the first time in 30 years. Though this may point out successes in recent public health campaigns aimed at reaching youth it also highlights the fact that campaigns are not reaching all children: obesity rates in African American and Native American children continue to rise.

The study states that 20 percent of California schoolchildren were obese and 3.6 percent were severely obese as of 2008. Severely obese children are at high risk of experiencing life-threatening health complications such as diabetes and hypertension.

At St. Anthony Free Medical Clinic we now have an obesity treatment and management program for our pediatric patients and their families in response to the growing number of overweight children in our community. Diet and nutrition are crucial in healthy childhood development; limited access to nutritious food and poor education on how to make healthy food choices leave many in our community at a disadvantage.

Clinicians here at St. Anthony Free Medical Clinic have begun focusing care on children who qualify as overweight and obese in order to medically manage their health and weight-loss plans. We recognize that children are impacted by the health of their family members, thus families of overweight children are also enrolled in the obesity management program. We believe treating families holistically so that all who are involved in a child’s life receive the tools necessary to make healthy lifestyle choices, such as nutrition education and weight management education, is vital to successful weight management for our low income, uninsured pediatric patients.

What’s cooking this week at St. Anthony Dining Room!

Monday, August 23: Pork Sausage Cassoulet
Tuesday, August 24: Chefs Choice
Wednesday, August 25: Turkey & Vegetable Casserole
Thursday, August 26: Indian Chicken Curry
Friday, August 27: Chicken Sausage Pasta
Saturday, August 28: Orange & Chinese Black Bean Chicken
Sunday, August 29: Chefs Choice

Check back for weekly installments of On The Menu!

Net Neutrality has recently come to the national spotlight after the New York Times ran an article reporting or claiming, depending on how you look at it, that Verizon and Google were striking a backdoor deal in which Verizon would give preferential treatment to Google’s content over other media networks. This could potentially spark a number of partnerships between major media networks and Internet Service Providers, ultimately hurting the consumer by making it more difficult or more expensive to access certain information. Net Neutrality has long been a topic of discussion and is often seen as a right – not a privilege – to access the same information regardless of color, class, race, etc. Advocates of Net Neutrality argue on the basis of equality; individuals, no matter how much they pay or who they pay, should not be given an advantage or priority over any other internet user. Google and Verizon claim the NYT article was not completely accurate because it was a discussion between the two parties about the type of data packet (voice, video, audio, etc.) and the possibility of prioritizing by type to enhance quality, and not the content of the data. However, it did raise some questions about the future of the internet.

Opponents of Net Neutrality argue that this is a simple business decision – because Internet Service Providers such as AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon lay the ground work, create the infrastructure, and maintain the intricate network of wires, modems, switches, and all the other gear necessary to make the internet work. These folks look to similar models used by FedEx or UPS, who charge different rates for shipping based on the material, weight, and, most relevant to Net Neutrality, how quickly these goods are delivered. You can find a more detailed argument here from The Business Insider.*

There is no doubt there are many layers to this issue, including equal access to information, business interests, and the role government has to play in all of this as mediator, regulator, or spectator depending on how you look at it. The most recent uproar had to do in particular with the FCC’s recent meetings with Verizon and Google which some perceive as the FCC simply letting the industry take the lead on the issue. Regardless of the outcome, which does not seem to be immediate since congress has not shown much interest at the moment, the larger issue is why the FCC, a government agency created to regulate business, is taking a seemingly passive role as the industry makes moves to alter the relationship of ISP’s, internet users, and media outlets. It will be interesting to see how this unravels, but it is most important to make sure the FCC is at a safe distance from the powerful corporate interests that frequently dominate government policy.

Here at the Tenderloin Technology Lab we believe everyone should have equal access to technology. Staff and guests alike will keep a close eye on how this unravels and what kind of impact it will have on us here.

* The author the article you are reading now did a little research and found that both Comcast &, AT&T do exactly that (charge by the speed), so the supply and demand argument is already actually in play here.

Restaurateur Ed Moose died this morning at California Pacific Medical Center at the age of 81. With Washington Square Bar & Grill maitre d’ Hal Thunes, Ed Moose started the annual Penny Pitch in North Beach to benefit St. Anthony’s. It has so far run for 33 years.

While Hal Thunes thought the idea up as a social event to strengthen ties with other Washington Square establishments, Ed turned it into a charitable event. He expanded the entry list to include not only bars, but also athletic teams, like the Giants, A’s and Warriors, and invited the civic leaders, sports figures, and other stars who frequented the Washbag to compete and to bid on auction items, all proceeds to go to St. Anthony’s.

The first Penny Pitch, on Washington’s Birthday of 1977, drew huge crowds to watch a lively competition, eventually won by now retired police inspector Chris Sullivan. In the intervening years, the event has moved to Memorial Day and transferred across the street from the WSBG to Ed’s new restaurant, Moose’s, later Joey & Eddy’s, and back again. Over 33 years, it has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for St. Anthony’s to help our poor and homeless neighbors.

Moose, a former sportswriter, was also founder of the Lapin Sauvages softball team. He suffered only one loss in 15 years of playing around the world. Just a few months ago, he put up much of his old Washbag memorabilia on Ebay, again to benefit St. Anthony’s.

We at St. Anthony’s are so grateful for all Ed and Mary Etta Moose have done for our work over three decades.