It smacks of white elitist paternalism that the staff at The Guardian still stands resolutely against what the people of district 10 want while Sophie Maxwell, the supervisor who actually represents and lives in the district, is supporting this. Do you feel African-Americans are too dumb to know what's good for them and that the staff at The Guardian knows better?

I thought the issue was that this district has the highest unemployment rate in San Francisco and desperately needs the jobs this project would bring. I thought the issue was that the Supervisor for this district supports the project. Now the issue is pollution from cars? How do you expect people to pick up construction materials, bags of soil and plants, lumber etc... sold by Lowe's if they're not driving their cars to do so?

The car argument is really a red herring Tim. The real issue is that The Guardian is opposed to any corporate-owned business occupying the site. Be honest here.

What -- thousands more cars a day driving through a neighborhood where pollution and respiratory problems are already a serious health concern is something District 10 residents aren't going to worry about?

Stop with the name calling and let's talk about the substantive issues.

Does the Bay Guardian have an economics editor on their staff? If so can he/she explain what is meant by "sustainable economics" ? As for the thousands of new cars driving into the district, if you want business to open and grow in Bay view this is one of the costs. I know there is such a thing as buses and bikes, I have never owned a car, but I am also a realist and know that most people will use cars, especially to make purchases at Hardware stores.

I guess people can carry the lumber they buy on their bikes - or perhaps drag it to the nearest MUNI stop and go from there. I know I'd LOVE carrying a 10 gallon rhododendron and a sack of planting soil on the bus.

This is ridiculous - I would be very happy to go to Lowes in Bayview and give San Francisco my sales tax money instead of having to drive to Daly City but it's quite clear the Guardian doesn't want that to happen. Now we know who to blame when all of those social services are cut because of the revenue shortfall.

Chris, I guess the economics editor is me, be default. I've been writing about urban economics for 25 years. I did a piece recently that explains exactly what we mean by a sustainable economy, and you can find it here

http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=7345&catid=&volume_id=398&issue_id=402&volume_num=43&issue_num=04

For: 'White elitist paternalism'
Read: HomeDepot/Lowes/Lennar/Maxwell/Newsom/Yuppie arrivistas/neo liberals ...ad nauseam.
While many of us at times disagree with some of the positions that SFBG has taken over the years, I think most of us who have been here over the last many decades would agree that they have been the most consistent voice for humane and progressive policies in the face of overwhelming odds. Despite the fact that we sometimes give you guys a hard time, it is all done out a burning desire to make things better for all of us. I salute you.
1) I assume Chris and Shane were living here in the '60's & '70's when many of the current residents of BVHP were 'relocated' out there after Urban Renewal/Redevelopment destroyed their community and leveled their homes leaving a wasteland for a decade. The policies of Maxwell/Newsom/Lennar are just the latest step in the relentless whitewashing, gentrification and homogenisation of our neighborhoods for the financial gain of the same crowd that has brought us to the brink of financial disaster that we are now confronting. Anyone who believes the bullshit promises made by the likes of HomeDepot/Lowes is obviously not familiar with the well documented negative effect that they have had on local small business whenever they move into an area. Apart from which there are already at least two HD's about ten minutes south, so get in your godamned SUV's and drive down there to pick up the materials you need to renovate your TIC's, whose purchase has driven rents sky high, removed thousands of affordable living spaces from the market and made many families homeless. But then I guess you would argue that is just free market capitalism, supply and demand, or some other such lame support of the trickle down theory. Dont look up because its you who's next to be trickled on. The 'jobs' they promise to 'locals' are low wage, non union, no benefits, no security, usually low skilled and invariably disappear within a year or so. Anyone who honestly believes their PR hype .. well I have some ocean view property in Arizona that I can let you have cheap.
My work takes me out into BVHP every day, my first stop is usually one of the benches at 3rd 'n P where I make phone calls to set up my visits and check in with some of the folks I have got to know over the years. The rest of my day is spent in peoples homes in the neighborhoods. I suggest you get out and talk to some of these folks face to face before you even presume to use such phrases, in any context, like "african americans are too dumb to know whats good for them" - your words.
Lennar/Home Depot/Lowes and their ilk, are not the answer. Maxwell does not 'represent', neither did Slick Willie, the best interests of the majority of black folks in BVHP who have been criminally underserved, red-lined, marginalised and criminalised for decades. She does ably represent the corporate interests who see the opportunity to reap the benefits of years of deliberate economic racism and abuse. She is little more than a wet nurse for her masters in the big house, though I'm sure she is being well recompensed for her services. Mama Enola must be weeping in her grave seeing how her baby girl has tarnished her wonderful legacy and brought the family name into such disrepute.

Please don't ever presume to know who I am or what I stand for. Were you here when the latino population displaced the Irish from the mission, or when the families were pushed out of the Castro? San Francisco is an ever changing city, and to stand in the way of progress is to tilt a windmills. It is ironic that Peskin who is considered a progressive argues that his greatest achivements on the BODS was to impede developers.

If you truely want to serve the communities, why do we underfund the schools in Bay View, while schools like McKinnley are able to raise money for themselves with such things as the DogFest; this fund raising should be for all schools in the whole district. McKinnley is privalaged to be in an affluent neighbourhood, why can they not share their luck with schools not so well situated?

It may be too late for many of the adults, but the children can still be helped; yet these same arguments have gone on and will continue as long as we don't empowering the next generation, every child should feel he or she can do anything, but currently SFUSD accepts that some kids will fail, and we contiue to underfund the schools.

Shane: Have you been to Home Depot recently, or to a Lowe's? The vast majority of what people carry out of those stores fits in shopping bags. Yes, you need motor vehicles to carry lumber, but there's a decent lumber yard right in the Mission. Most of what Lowe's will be selling -- to people in cars -- is discount home-improvement supplies, the same stuff I buy at Cole Hardware, where there is no parking and everyone walks or takes transit.

We could have had a Home Depot here, for the last eight years! What will you build instead? Or do you just like vacant lots?

I made no presumptions though I did make some assumptions. You, like my dear wife, may very possibly be native born and raised, more power to you, I on the other hand have only been here for 40 years. While it pains me to quote anything from the SF.Kronikally Challenged, my out is that the following statement by Rev Howard Moody, minister emeritus of the Judson Memorial Church in NYC, was apparently taken from a Herb Caen column dated Nov 11,1962. You remember Herb dont you.
" A city is dying when it has an eye for real estate values but no heart for personal values, when it has an understanding of traffic flow but no concern about the flow of human beings, when we have competence in building but little time for ethical codes, when human values are absent at the heart of the decision-making and planning and governing of a city - it is dead and all that is left is decay".
And hovering like vultures are the likes of Newsom, Lennar, Maxwell, their apologists and enablers. There is nothing necessarily personal here intended, unless of course you fit into one of the few categories I have mentioned; eg. Yuppie arrivista, neo liberal, apologist, enabler,etc, blah, blah.

This comment by Patrick is dead right: "The 'jobs' they promise to 'locals' are low wage, non union, no benefits, no security, usually low skilled and invariably disappear within a year or so."
Just look at the jobs deal that Home Depot signed with the city if you want to know the truth about what this deal is all about. There were NO guarantees in it. No penalties of any kind if HD didn't live up to the promises. The people of Bayview absolutely need jobs, but that Home Depot "deal" had no guarantee that the employer would hire or retain workers from Bayview.
Instead, this development will mean we get all the "downside" from a huge, out-of-state big box, without getting the jobs-for-San Francisco upside.
Just go to Lowes in San Bruno, and see how many workers you can find there. It's like a ghost town. They even make you use self-check out counters, and have almost no checkers.
Surely we can support a solution that both provides jobs to Bayview AND doesn't create huge problems for the neighborhood.

The former Goodmans' site is in the Bayview Redevelopment area and as such there are many more options available to the CIty.

The City can, through redevelopment, capitalize businesses. Rather than invite in a multinational or capitalize a crony, the City could capitalize several cooperative businesses, lumber, plumbing, electrical, flooring, etc.

Cooperatives keep wages, taxes and profits local and are a proven example of sustainable business.

The other problem with this is that Bayshore is not as much Bayview as it is Bernal. Bernal was not invited to the planning table for parcels adjacent to Bernal but miles from Bayview,

-marc

Shane is some tool hired by Home Depot's
PR department to post comments