San Francisco will open a drug sobering center on Monday where people on the streets can temporarily ride out highs and get connected to treatment, the latest initiative to address the overdose crisis and complaints about drug use on city streets.

The center, called SOMA RISE, will operate out of a former office building the city is leasing at 1076 Howard St. in the South of Market Neighborhood, one of the epicenters of the drug crisis, along with the Tenderloin.

It will have 20 beds where people from the Tenderloin and SoMa are expected to stay between four and 12 hours, longer if necessary. People can access beds and chairs, bathrooms and showers, food and water, clothes and connections to “services and housing support,” according to information online.

The city designed the center in 2019 to mainly serve users of methamphetamine, which can cause bad reactions including paranoia or hallucinations and can prompt aggressive behavior. The increase in meth use over the last decade contributed to skyrocketing overdose deaths and flooded San Francisco’s emergency rooms with people in a mental health crisis. The center will also help users of the powerful opioid fentanyl, a factor in a majority of the city’s more than 1,300 overdose deaths over the past two years, and other drugs.

The program will be voluntary. People can walk in or be transported by ambulance or city outreach teams that respond to people who are homeless or in mental health crises.

Staff on site will monitor participants’ vital signs, respond to and reverse overdoses and help them find and navigate services. Once people come down from their highs, staff can transport them to their next destination, such as a shelter, treatment program, medical clinic or “home location,” information said online. The site will be run by nonprofit drug treatment provider HealthRight360, but funded by the city.

The center will initially be open daily from 8 am to 8 pm and scale up to 24 hours a day.

Officials hope the opening of the long-awaited drug sobering center — after three years of planning — will provide long-term solutions to people suffering from addiction and reduce the number of people acting erratically or dangerously while high on the streets.

“The rise in drug use and overdoses in San Francisco shows that we have to take action and try new things to get people the help they need,” Breed said in a statement in June 2021. “Opening a sobering center provides our outreach teams with a place to take someone who shouldn’t be left alone on the street where they can sober up, settle down, and get connected to other services.”

The need is far greater than 20 beds: In the last comprehensive count in 2019, the city counted 4,000 people who struggled with substance use, mental illness and homelessness.

The 18-month pilot program finally comes to fruition as San Francisco continues to try to grapple with reducing public drug use and fatal overdoses. The center’s opening follows Mayor London Breed’s emergency declaration in the Tenderloin in December to address the overdose crisis. It also comes a week after the news that the centerpiece of the emergency – a drop-in center to connect people to services in UN Plaza – will close at the end of the year.

The Tenderloin center was meant to help people get off the streets, receive basic services and find long-term housing and treatment, but critics took issue with the city allowing drugs use in the outdoor area of ​​the center, saying it enabled addiction. Supporters said it provided a low-barrier space for people to get help.

The debate could be reigned at the sobering center. Last year, the city said people would not be allowed to use drugs at the new sobering center, but would not be kicked out if they were caught using them.

Tom Wolf, a recovery advocate, said he wanted to reserve judgment on the sobering center to see how it goes. He supported the idea three years ago, but was more hesitant after the city allowed drug use at the Tenderloin center, which he opposed as counterproductive to recovery.

“I appreciate the fact that (the city) is trying to do something to address drugs and people in crisis,” he said. “I’m not 100% sold that this low-barrier approach where they give people a space to use dope, when it’s not a clinical setting like a drug consumption site, is really the best approach.”

He expects all the beds will be full, but said the key is to see what happens after visitors leave the center.

“What happens to that human being?” he asked.

The federal government prohibits supervised drug consumption sites staffed by medical professionals, but New York City has opened two. City officials, including Breed, have been talking for years about also opening a consumption site in San Francisco similar to New York’s, but the plan hasn’t moved forward, frustrating harm reduction advocates.

Her spokesman Jeff Cretan said Tuesday the city was still talking with the Department of Justice as they worked through “very real issues.” He said it was “an option” to have a nonprofit run the site, as New York does, to avoid liability, but the city was still “working with the federal government and finding a path forward.”

The city started planning the drug sobering center in 2019, but the pandemic delayed the planned opening in 2020. The city announced last June that the center would open in the fall. It wasn’t immediately clear why the opening was yet again delayed.

Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who co-chaired the city’s meth task force, which recommended opening such a site in 2019, told the Chronicle in the spring of 2021 that while he was glad the site was in the works, he was concerned about delays and that this tiny pilot wouldn’t be enough to meet the needs.

“I’m sure we’re going to find that we need more than just one,” he said at the time.

Information online about the center said experts are developing criteria to evaluate the program’s effectiveness, which will guide improvements and “may support initiatives to create additional drug crisis response centers in other neighborhoods where we know the need exists.”

The program’s costs, what long-term services would be offered and other details weren’t immediately available Tuesday.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Mallory Moench (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@mallorymoench

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San Francisco Mayor London Breed pledged Wednesday to confront the city’s most pressing issues — including homelessness, public safety, police reform and a COVID-battered economy — during her annual state of the city address, the first she has delivered in-person to a crowd since the pandemic began.

She vowed to add more police officers while continuing to pursue reform in use-of-force issues, to continue her efforts to address drug dealing, mental illness and homelessness on the streets of the tenderloin and to clear the way for more housing construction.

Breed, who is halfway through her first full term, touted her administration’s progress on housing and job creation but acknowledged the city still faces significant challenges. In a year in which discontented voters brought an unprecedented two recalls to the ballot, residents remain deeply divided over how to best solve the city’s biggest problems.

“We cannot sugarcoat it,” Breed told city leaders and employees at the Mission Rock residential and commercial development under construction near Oracle Park. “We have work to do. Our recovery will not be quick, or easy. But it is coming. San Francisco is coming back.”

Breed has become one of the most watched big city mayors in America. Over the last two years, she went from being praised nationally for her handling of the pandemic to being questioned by some over her response to the city’s struggling tenderloin neighborhood and its street conditions.

The mayor gave her speech as San Francisco emerges from yet another COVID-19 surge and on the day the city announced it would lift its vaccination mandate for businesses. She emphasized the city’s response to the pandemic, not just in health outcomes, but changes to the city’s landscape such as allowing outdoor dining and closing roads including JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park to car traffic.

But she acknowledged San Francisco is still struggling in its recovery, with emptier-than-usual office buildings, vacant storefronts and recovering small businesses. Breed has been trying to lure back tourists, conventions and remote workers downtown while battling perceptions that the city isn’t safe, with stories about viral shoplifting and the drug overdose crisis grabbing headlines.

Breed didn’t shy from confronting some of the city’s most divisive issues in Wednesday’s speech.

The mayor started her talk with a recent political win — the landslide recall of three school board members. Breed, who endorsed the recall, is now poised to appoint three new members, potentially tipping the board in a more moderate direction. She argued the recall underscored that public officials should deliver on the essentials, instead of getting distracted by big ideas. She and others who supported the recall criticized the school board members for renaming 44 schools during the pandemic and being slow to reopen classrooms while vulnerable children struggled with online learning.

Breed stressed that the school district’s focus should be on helping families and children who’ve suffered.

Breed also dove into her own perspectives on policing and crime, which have become huge issues for city residents.

Outrage over crime fueled the upcoming June recall vote on progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin, whose policies critics view as too lenient. Data shows that crime in San Francisco is complicated. During the pandemic, some reported crimes including robberies and larceny thefts went down from previous years, while homicides, burglaries and motor vehicle thefts increased since 2019.

Breed hasn’t yet stated her position on Boudin’s recall, but has previously said “I am not necessarily on the same page with a number of things that he’s doing.”

In her speech, Breed mentioned Asian seniors fearful of leaving their homes, Tenderloin families terrorized by drug dealers and Bayview families dealing with gun violence.

“These are complicated problems, with twisted roots that reach well below surface-level solutions,” she said. “But, again, we have the tools to deliver both the basics and the big ideas.” First, she said, “we need law enforcement.”

Breed directly addressed to her critics who oppose an increase in policing.

“And to those who say we don’t need the police — again, I say, listen to the residents. They are speaking louder than ever,” she said. “No, not for a return to the past, like when I was growing up, and there was often a deep mistrust between the community and the police. Even then, we needed the police. We needed them to cease the gunfire. We needed them to protect victims of violence. We just needed them to help us live our lives—not undermine us in our community.”

Breed gained national attention in December when she pledged to step up policing against drug dealers — and users who refused services — as part of her state of emergency to clean up and reduce overdose deaths in the Tenderloin neighborhood. She’s reiterated that she’s open to police getting involved in clearing the Tenderloin’s streets, but data earlier this month showed arrests for drug crimes hadn’t increased since the emergency began.

One issue that’s hamstrung that effort is police staffing shortages, which Breed highlighted Wednesday. San Francisco was 540 officers short of a recommended staffing level as of early March, with 1,636 officers.

Breed also emphasized alternatives in some situations are needed. She mentioned the city’s street crisis response teams, started last year to send mental health professionals to calls of people in mental crisis, and community ambassadors.

Breed also said police were working on reform, which was also critical. Data shows police use of force has decreased in recent years, but Black residents are still between 9.5 to 17 times far more likely to have used force upon them than white residents. Police are completing reform recommendations from the state and federal governments.

Breed also touted her investment in the Black community to address historical inequities, highlighting the Dream Keeper Initiative she created with Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton to 2020 to pour $60 million annually into Black-led community organizations.

“These are programs that recognize the root causes of crime are driven by poverty. By decades of disinvestment and systemic racism. These are programs that will heal our communities with housing, mental health, education, job training and economic empowerment,” she said. “Let’s be the national model: For reform, for alternatives and for safety.”

While the mayor dove into policing, she didn’t dwell too much in her speech on her push in the tenderloin and the drug crisis that prompted it. Overdoses killed nearly twice as many people in San Francisco as COVID-19 over the past two years. Close to two people a day die of overdoses in the city.

She acknowledged her emergency has stoked debate, but said “the main takeaway is that we can’t continue to accept things as they were.”

“I’m done arguing if it’s okay for people to remain on the streets when we have a place for them to go. Because it’s not. It just isn’t,” she continued. “And to be honest, there are some folks who cannot — or will not — do what’s safe for themselves and for others, so we have to be honest about the need to deal with those struggling with mental illness and we need to make serious changes to our state laws.”

She said she’s been meeting with state leaders to talk about mental health laws — potentially a reference to the ongoing debate about conservatorship, mandated treatment for someone who is a danger to themselves or others.

In 2019, a report found 4,000 people who were homeless and struggling with mental illness and substance use disorder. The city has made slow progress to increase the number of treatment beds — with only 89 of the 400 planned added so far — and to make the care system more cohesive and easier to navigate.

Breed focused more on another challenge prevalent in the Tenderloin: homelessness.

The mayor has highlighted the city is pouring $1 billion into tackling homelessness over the next two years. Most of that money comes from a voter-approved tax that breed didn’t support in 2018.

Her administration will spend some of the funds to reach her goal of creating 1,500 new permanent supportive housing units by June. Breed said the city is on track to exceed by 70% that goal of creating subsidized housing with services for formerly homeless people.

But the city struggles with quickly filling available units, with 10% — or around 850 units — vacant this week, the spokeswoman said. That number covers units getting repaired and those ready for referral, including some where a tenant is already scheduled to move in.

The city is also working to add new shelter beds and reopen beds still shuttered during the pandemic to get to 2,100 short-term shelter beds by July.

Despite the progress, between permanent and temporary housing, there simply isn’t enough for the city’s homeless population. In 2019, a count found around 8,000 unhoused people, but the health department recently estimated 18,000 people citywide are experiencing homelessness.

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San Francisco is facing a worrying rise in family violence and growing disagreement over how to respond.

During the course of 2020, the number of jury trials in San Francisco fell sharply and was completely suspended for several months. Domestic violence incidents also fell as victims had fewer opportunities to seek help due to pandemic-related closures, according to a recent San Francisco Department report on the status of women.

However, the decline in coverage has been accompanied by myriad research showing that incidents of domestic violence increased during the pandemic. The United Nations Population Fund estimates that intimate partner violence has increased by 20% worldwide due to quarantines and lockdowns.

The trend was a living reality for Lennette who managed to escape a violent and abusive relationship that began in 2015. (She declined to give her last name for privacy reasons.)

Last November, her abuser was convicted of incidents involving burning his girlfriend’s face and neck with a lighted cigarette, stabbing her thigh and abdomen with scissors, and handcuffing and gagging her last November when he gave her one electric drill held to his temple.

“There is too much in life to remain in a relationship that no longer serves any of you. Happiness means realizing that you’ve broken a toxic cycle. I know a traumatic bond is real, but once you break your bond with an abuser, you begin to see all of these possibilities and you can be successful, ”Lennette told about 30 prosecutors, law enforcement officers and community members at one of them The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office held an event honoring domestic violence survivors.

District Attorney Chesa Boudin and Evanthia Pappas, senior attorney for the Domestic Violence Division of the San Francisco District Attorney, lead a march in honor of domestic violence survivors on October 27. (Sydney Johnson / The Examiner)

Lennette’s story is one of hope and bravery, but it’s also rare, especially in the wake of the San Francisco pandemic.

“In San Francisco we have an amazing number of vendors offering services,” said Catherine Stefani, District 2 supervisor, who previously served as a district attorney in Contra Costa County. “But in my opinion we fail to hold the perpetrators accountable and provide them with the services they need to take responsibility and leave the cycle of violence so that they no longer abuse their partner.”

In 2020, around 24% of total domestic violence cases filed with prosecutors were prosecuted and prosecuted, a significant decrease from 2019 (32%), 2018 (35%) and even 2017 (27%). on the data provided by the office.

Earlier this year, Stefani requested data on domestic violence-related arrests and charges, which revealed that 131 aggravated domestic violence arrests were made and 113 of them were released in the last three months of 2020.

“When I got those numbers back, I have to tell you that I was absolutely shocked,” said Stefani.

In 2021, the percentage of indictable cases has already risen back to 31%. But at a San Francisco Public Safety Committee hearing Thursday held to investigate the city’s response to domestic violence, it was clear that some have no confidence in the system designed to hold perpetrators accountable.

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin told The Examiner that during the pandemic it would be more difficult to gather evidence to prove domestic violence cases. Other DA officials described the numbers as “selected”.

“If you see any differences in fee rates, it reflects the quality of the research we are receiving,” said Boudin. “Often times survivors are unwilling to attend law enforcement, and that means we have witnesses or other evidence to use in court. And unfortunately we didn’t have that much of it during the pandemic. “

Stefani and other lawyers for domestic violence victims do not accept the argument. Instead, they fear prosecutors will drop cases and let repeat offenders off the hook, citing examples like in April 2021 when a 7-month-old boy in San Francisco was murdered by his carer arrested twice earlier on suspicion of the crime at home Violence. Both times he was released without charge.

“Domestic violence cases are difficult, but any good prosecutor knows how to prosecute a DV case and you don’t have to rely on a victim’s testimony,” Stefani said. “These cases can be prosecuted. End of the story.”

Still, domestic violence cases are among the most difficult crimes to prosecute. Victims can be afraid to testify because retaliation is possible. And because of the intimate nature of the crimes, it is often difficult to confirm stories or find witnesses.

“We recognize that not every survivor wants to continue criminal proceedings. But we certainly hear from survivors facing severe domestic violence that their cases are not moving forward. We have to find a balance, ”said Beverly Upton, executive director of the San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium. “I don’t see prosecutors as an enemy, but the criminal justice system is there to protect the survivors and to protect the public.”

Evanthia Pappas, Senior Attorney for the Domestic Violence Division of the Prosecutor’s Office, understands the challenge she faces.

“The pandemic has undoubtedly impacted domestic violence law enforcement,” Pappas told The Examiner. “Anecdotally, I can tell you that once the restrictions were lifted in June 2021 and more vaccines became available in the spring, we had an immediate spike in coverage and there were more cases of SFPD and we are indicting more cases.”

Pappas, a national expert on prosecuting domestic violence cases, said the likelihood of a case being prosecuted often depends on what happens when law enforcement officers arrive on the ground. She is currently focused on providing new training and recommendations to the San Francisco Police Department on how to safely assist victims and gather vital information that can later be used in court, even if the witness later decides not to testify.

Even if the charges appear to be rising back to pre-pandemic levels, attorneys at the hearing on Thursday said there was room for improvement, including investing in alternative approaches to assisting victims and offenders outside of law enforcement.

The San Francisco District Attorney has launched a handful of emergency shelters and transportation for victims of domestic violence, including partnering with Lyft to offer free rides and another with Airbnb, which opened 20 furnished apartments for survivors for 90-day stays. It also introduced a text service so that victims can discreetly try to get help.

“At the start of the pandemic, we were immediately concerned about what local shelter would mean for domestic violence survivors. It is one thing to have shelter on the spot, it is another thing to have shelter with a perpetrator, ”said Boudin.

However, looking back over the past two years, some proponents say it wasn’t enough.

In 2020, 79% of clients seeking shelter because of domestic violence were turned away, according to the report by the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women. 70% of domestic violence victims were women, to whom the police responded, and black and Latin American communities were over-represented among the victims, the report shows.

Stefani is now introducing a law requiring quarterly reporting on incidents, arrests and domestic violence charges on the ground. Without such data, Upton and groups like the San Francisco Women’s Political Committee say it is difficult to understand the full extent of the problem.

Some proponents say an increased focus on law enforcement isn’t the answer either. Instead, they promote approaches that focus on improving access to basic needs such as housing and food, and promote community-based violence prevention and recreation programs such as Men In Progress, a peer-counseling program run by the Glide Foundation.

“The most common reason patients didn’t seek help in our emergency department because of medical emergencies was fear of the police,” said Leigh Kimberg, San Francisco Department of Public Health’s Interpersonal Violence Prevention Coordinator and professor of medicine at UC San Francisco. “We invest heavily in police work and not in structural security measures such as housing, food and income.”

The different approaches, protracted debates and calls for political change underline the complexity surrounding the issue of domestic violence.

For survivors like Lennette, however, the personal rather than the political is more in the foreground.

“It is brave to walk away from something unhealthy, even if you stumble on the way out. Not everyone will understand what it’s like to walk in your shoes, but you do, ”she said. “Take care.”

sjohnson@sfexaminer.com

Correction: In an earlier version of this story, Lennette’s name was misspelled. It has been updated.

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The high demand and limited space for preschool places in South San Francisco raised the waiting list to 700 with only 134 children at three program locations, leading officials to discuss plans for a new facility in the Westborough neighborhood.

The Parks and Recreation division currently operates three pre-school program locations, Siebecker, Westborough and Little Steps. The city council met on July 28th to discuss plans for the new preschool, which would add about 80 places. The Carter Preschool Project would have four classrooms, two student toilets next to the classrooms, a third staff toilet, office and administration rooms, a break room for teachers, a kitchen and a staff support area and a partially protected open play area on the terrace for exclusive use through preschool. It would also have an adjoining playground that would be shared by the public but used exclusively by the preschool for about three hours a day. And there are two in-house parking lots with around 22 parking spaces as well as street parking spaces around the entire square.

“We decided that this location, centrally on Carter Drive, so to speak, is the best. Not only does it provide convenient access to both car parks, but it also has the least amount of disruption to existing parking facilities, ”said Greg Mediati, Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation.

The team studied and compared traditional and modular construction methods and concluded that modular construction would be a desirable option as it could save between $ 1.5 million in costs.

Modular means a prefabricated building that is manufactured, delivered and installed off-site.

“The type of module we’re looking at uses the same materials and the only real difference is that it’s made in a workshop rather than on-site,” said Greg Hielsberg, project manager and architect at Ittner Architects.

One of the downsides is that it would be more difficult to redesign.

“There are definitely size constraints on what can be carried from the construction site to the actual project location,” said Hielsberg. “With just a traditional design being built, you have the flexibility and the ability to change things, even if we’re on construction documents. It’s a bit different with Modular because we’re basically at the end of the design development. “

Vice Mayor Mark Nagales raised concerns about modularity as there was no flexibility in use and space.

“If we go for the modular layout, we have to get it right,” he said.

He also raised concerns about the possible noise of the playground.

“We definitely took this into account when considering the location, which was one of the factors that prevented it from being directly adjacent to the residential properties in the east,” said Philip Vitale, Deputy Director of Capital Projects.

The location of the project was also decided based on its data in order to meet a high demand, Mediati said. However, Councilor Buenaflor Nicolas said she wanted the nearest preschool to be in a fairer area.

“If you look at the latest census tract, it shows that the Westborough area has the highest median income,” she said.

Councilor James Coleman said he would like to use local union workers on the construction whenever possible to ensure they get fair wages and use this as a way to invest in the community.

The project was originally introduced for three classrooms but was changed to four after Mayor Mark Addiego said he preferred to make more space. With the fourth classroom, the entire facility is designed for up to 80 children, with 20 students in each classroom of almost 900 square meters. The classrooms have a storage area, refrigerator, and sink for adults and children for groceries and craft activities.

The employees recommend further investigating the modular structure with a focus on cost and deadline savings and confirming product availability and the modular procurement process. And it will request a mid-year or stand-alone budget change for a revised project budget amount.

It is planned to use the impact of childcare fees to fund the project, which currently has a balance of $ 6.7 million. And it’s forecast to be $ 15.7 million by the end of fiscal year 2023 or 2024.

The department is working with SIM Architects to create a master plan for childcare. And it is currently doing research and interviewing stakeholders to better understand the state of the country. It is planned to return to the city council with a draft plan by December 2021 or January 2022.

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A 139 year old Victorian house in San Francisco finally has a new address.

On Sunday the Englander House, a historic building in the heart of the Golden City, was loaded onto giant dollys and transported from 807 Franklin St. to 635 Fulton St.

Videos and photos showed the beautiful greenhouse moving – at a constant rate of a mile per hour – to its new location six blocks away.

Hundreds of onlookers admire and photograph this huge relic from San Francisco’s past.

A man watches from a balcony as a truck pulls a Victorian home through San Francisco on February 21, 2021. The house, built in 1882, was relocated to a new location about six blocks away to make room for a condominium.Noah Berger / AP

Phil Joy, a seasoned relocation worker who oversaw the move, told the San Francisco Chronicle that it took several years to plan the quarter mile of the home.

“We had to get 15 different city agencies to agree,” Joy said, according to the newspaper.

Joy said the move was difficult because the house was 25 meters long. He added that part of the trail would be downhill.

A truck pulls a Victorian house through San Francisco on February 21, 2021. The house, built in 1882, was relocated to a new location about six blocks away to make room for a condominium.Noah Berger / AP

Tim Brown, a San Francisco realtor who owned the six-bedroom home, paid about $ 400,000 in moving costs and fees, the Chronicle reported.

An eight-story apartment complex with 48 units is to be built on the old property on which the house stood, the newspaper reported. The Englander Haus is now being combined into a 17-unit building with an old morgue next door at the new location.

Wilson Wong is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.

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On February 20, there was a strange sight in San Francisco when a 139 year old house rolled through the city streets. Lots of people came out to watch the unusual sight of a huge house coming down the street. The structure is beautiful, so it is good that the building can stand, even if the location is different.

The move of the house was careful and deliberate. The team that accepted the challenge lifted the house from the foundations and onto a huge dolly. They then dragged it about seven blocks to the new location. This happened very slowly as obstacles such as parking meters, street lights, power lines and trees had to be dealt with.

This wasn’t even the only building that had to move during this endeavor. This house stands next to what is currently a morgue, and this structure had to be moved about 12 feet to make room.

Planning for this arduous process began in 2019. The move was originally scheduled to take place in January 2021, but bad weather forced the move to be postponed, according to SF Gate.

The developer intends to convert the moved house and morgue into a 17-unit residential complex. A new multi-family house with 47 units will also be built on the former site of the house, reported SF Gate.

The reason for the move has to do with San Francisco’s notoriously expensive real estate. The land on which the house stood was worth more than the house itself. However, the structure had enough historical significance not to be demolished. The building originally belonged to the owner of a trading company that carried cargo through the city at the end of the 19th century.

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A historic home was rolled through the hilly streets of San Francisco to its new location after 139 years at the same address.

The Victorian mansion was loaded onto huge transport trucks and slowly moved at a top speed of a mile an hour to a new address six blocks away.

Crowds of onlookers lined the streets to watch the procession, which reportedly took years of planning to be cleared by authorities.

Relocation worker Phil Joy told the San Francisco Chronicle that he would need to get permits from 15 city authorities before accepting the job.

Mr Joy said the route was challenging as the first part was downhill.

“It’s always difficult for a house,” he told the newspaper.

Before the move, parking meters and traffic signs could be passed and relocated and branches cut back.

The owner of the six-bedroom home had to pay $ 400.00 in permit fees and relocation costs, the Chronicle reported.

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Can it really be Summer is finally just around the corner. And after a year of stuck indoors, you likely have plans to seriously enjoy the warm months and live life as carefree as possible. Your home’s plumbing probably isn’t high on your list of things to think about right now. But preventative maintenance before those summer days come can give you peace of mind all season long.

“You could host families and friends in the summer and the use of your home’s plumbing will increase. “Be proactive instead of reactive.”

Make sure you do the following projects to ensure a disaster-free summer.

1. Clean any debris from your home’s drains

Drains can become sticky and build up residue over time from daily hand washing, showering, and other chores. While doing your pre-summer maintenance, it’s important to clean the drains to avoid unexpected clogs.

“While some homeowners rely on commercial drain cleaners to get their job done, it’s not always the best or safest option,” says Pruitt. “Consider using an all natural and cheaper option to clean your drains.”

He suggests pouring half a cup of baking soda down the drain, then half a cup of vinegar. The chemical reaction helps clear blockages. After 10 to 15 minutes, slowly pour hot water to remove any remaining residue.

“If you don’t like the smell of vinegar, swap it out for lemon juice – the acidity of lemons can have a similar effect on cleaning your drains,” says Pruitt.

2. Clean the gutters from summer rain

Many plumbers consider gutters to be part of their plumbing system because they move water away from your home. If the gutters become overfilled with water, it can damage the foundation of the house and the walls of the basement, creating cracks that can grow over time.

Pruitt says all kinds of dirt can end up in your gutters, including leaves, twigs, seeds, and even wind-carried trash like plastic bags.

“When this happens, the first part of your home at risk of water damage is the roof, as water buildup can rot your facade, clapboard, and the edge of your roofline,” he says.

“To clean your gutters, use a ladder on level ground that clicks into place,” he says. “Hang an empty bucket at the top of the ladder to catch the debris you want to remove, and be sure to use work gloves when removing the debris.”

Using a hand-held garden tool like a trowel can be useful in cleaning gutters and help scrape up mud from the gutter bottom. Once the gutter is clear, use a hose to wash it completely clean and make sure the water flows freely through the downspout.

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Reputation: Fix Your Own Garbage Disposer – Without Calling the Plumber

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3. Test your toilets for leaks

A likely source of pipeline leaks is a broken flap, a small piece of rubber that acts as a stopper and separates the tank from the bowl. When the toilet is flushed, the flap lifts so that water can flow into the bowl below and wash away the rubbish. However, over time, the rubber can degrade, wear out, and crack.

“A good way to test for a leaky valve is to put a few drops of food coloring on top of the tank where the valve and flush valve are. Check that the water in the bowl turns the color of the food coloring you added, ”said Aaron Mulder, co-owner and operations manager of Mr. Rooter of San Antonio.

If you see paint, you have a leaking / surrendering door. Mulder says you can expect to replace your flappers every two to three years. They can be purchased at a local hardware store or home center.

4. Rinse the water heater to remove any buildup

This is one of those annual chores that should be tackled with the rest of your spring cleaning. As the year progresses, calcium and magnesium that can build up in your water heater solidify and potentially mix with dirt and other inclusions and become sediments that build up at the bottom of your tank. The sediment could increase the chances of a leak coming from the bottom of the tank and preventing your water heater from heating as effectively.

“Flushing your water heater is generally an easy task. All you need is a hose that attaches tightly to the flush valve on the side of your tank and a large bucket, ”says Don Glovan, Franchise Consultant at Mr. Rooter Plumbing.

He says that you first close the gas or power connection to your tank and connect the hose to the drain valve. Make sure the other end of the hose is in a large bucket or rain drain, open the drain valve, and let the water drain. Open your temperature and pressure relief valve at the same time.

If there are sediment crystals in the bucket, continue to drain the water. When no more crystals appear at the bottom, close the drain valve and allow the tank to refill.

“Then restart your indicator light or turn your power back on and your tank should heat up again,” he says.

5. Inspect and maintain your septic tank

If your home has a sewage treatment plant, it’s a good idea to make sure your septic tank is ready for additional summer use. This means that you maintain your system well and practice good septic hygiene.

“Regular maintenance can help prevent problems before they happen so that sewage doesn’t get into your garden or home,” says Pruitt. “How often you need inspections and maintenance will vary depending on the type of system you have, but most of them need to be checked by an inspector at least every three years.”

He says a septic inspector will check for leaks, clogs, and other malfunctions and determine if the tank needs to be pumped to remove the solids, the frequency depending on the size of your system, how many people are using it, and how much waste you produce.

The post 5 Plumbing Upkeep Duties To Deal with Earlier than the Summer time Months appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

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The name of the central music venue 528 Live in Phoenix is ​​based on the address of the house where the porch concerts are held: 528 West Granada Road.

Now the name stays the same, but the place changes.

528 Live owners Alison Daniels and Nick Harper announced on the venue’s Facebook page this afternoon that they are moving to a new home in the same neighborhood.

The new address of the venue is 541 West Palm Lane.

Daniels tells Phoenix New Times that the couple love the Willo neighborhood and wanted to stay there; Your new home is just down the street and bigger with more updates.

Nick Harper and Alison Daniels

Alison Daniels

However, the new home does not have a veranda. While Daniels and Harper build a stage and put lights up in their new driveway, 528 Live will have a temporary home.

There are 528 live shows across the street at 537 West Granada Road for the last three Saturdays in March.

A neighbor offered to host the shows while the couple got the new performance space ready, Daniels says. She believes the transition will help the audience adapt to the new location.

“It won’t be that shocking,” she says. “When people walk down Grenada, they’ll see it’s just across the street.”

The three shows that will be staged in 537 West Granada are Palo Brea on March 13th, Nolaz Band on March 20th (with Gumbo and Jambalaya for sale) and Vinyl Station on March 27th.

The shows begin in Palm Lane on the first weekend of April. As always, attendees should bring their own chair or blanket to sit on, and while the concerts are free, it’s a good way to put some cash in the virtual artist tip jar.

Stay up to date on the venue’s Facebook and Instagram pages via 528 Live.

Keep Phoenix New Times Free … Since we started Phoenix New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we want to keep it that way. We offer our readers free access to concise coverage of local news, food and culture. Produce stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands with bold reporting, stylish writing, and staff everything from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi Feature Writing Award to the Casey Medal for the Deservable Journalism have won. Given that the existence of local journalism amid siege and setbacks has a greater impact on advertising revenue, it is more important than ever for us to raise support for funding our local journalism. You can help by joining our “I Support” membership program which allows us to continue to cover Phoenix without paywalls.

Jennifer Goldberg is the Arts Editor and Best of Phoenix Editor for Phoenix New Times.

The post Central Phoenix Porch Music Venue 528 Reside Is Transferring to a New Handle appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.