News
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Experiencing holiday gifts in a whole new way

12.13.2010
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Gretchen Wustrack’s family asked her for a Christmas list. But like many people, she found herself thinking,”I didn’t know what I wanted. I have enough stuff, and so do they.”
Rather than come up with a handful of half-hearted suggestions, Wustrack, a San Francisco designer, asked her family if they would consider exchanging experiential gifts – classes, tickets or certificates for new, hands-on experiences.
The Wustrack family has been trading experiences ever since, and this summer Gretchen and her long-time friend Lisa Carey, a Bay Area native and marketing consultant, decided to take experiential gifts to the public.

Environment
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Treasure Island building plans draw fire

11.29.2010
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Foes say development would choke bridge traffic and worsen air

Proposed redevelopment on Treasure Island would increase traffic jams on the Bay Bridge, lengthening commute times and exacerbating Bay Area air pollution, critics say.

Residents, environmental organizations and local agencies voiced those concerns this fall in almost 700 written comments on proposed new residential and commercial development that planners have said would make the island a world-class green neighborhood.

Comments about the project’s draft environmental impact report submitted by the September deadline expressed deep misgivings with the plan by the city and the developer to limit driving on and off the island.

Health
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Unveiling the Presidio’s new green neighborhood

09.23.2010
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The Presidio will open a green chapter in its storied existence this weekend when it invites the public to explore the restored and sustainably upgraded Public Health Service District. The Marine Hospital and a handful of residences near 15th Avenue and Lake Street on the southern edge of the Presidio have been converted into a residential neighborhood after decades of debate about the district’s future.

Community
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Environmental groups concerned about Treasure Island traffic

08.16.2010
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After a string of environmental groups and Treasure Island redevelopment critics requested more time to analyze the San Francisco project’s complex and lengthy draft environmental impact review last week, the Planning Commission granted them an additional two weeks. The public now has until Sept. 10 to submit written comments about the 2,000-plus-page report, first released in mid-July, which discusses environmental concerns ranging from transportation and greenhouse gas emissions to accommodating sea level rise and girding for earthquakes.

Environment
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Pollution: experts concerned about Treasure Island cleanup as seas rise

06.29.2010
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Many Treasure Island sites have been decontaminated through soil removal or capping, which entails covering the remaining toxic soil with a clay cap. But there is growing concern that coastal sites once considered sufficiently remediated may become problematic as sea levels rise. Contaminated soil could come in contact with ground water as the sea pushes it higher. Bay Area scientists and regulators are beginning to explore the problem given the large number of former military sites in the region.

Read more…

Land use
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Sand and silt require $137 million fix for Treasure Island

06.29.2010
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There is a high probability that a Loma Prieta magnitude or greater earthquake will shake the Bay Area during the projected 18-year redevelopment of Treasure Island. However, city development officials say the island will ultimately be safer than the liquefaction-prone areas of downtown San Francisco and the Marina.

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Climate Change
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Uncertain about rising seas, developers using mid-range estimate to build up island

06.29.2010
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Most of Treasure Island will be inundated by the end of this century, if the documented progression of the ocean’s rise caused by climate change continues as predicted. Studies foresee sea-level rise ranging from as little as five inches to as much as six feet. The lowest parts of Treasure Island lie just four feet above the Bay’s low tide.

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Economy & Business
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Seeking to Help Budding Researchers With a Click of the Mouse

04.02.2010
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Eureka Fund, based in San Francisco, is one of a handful of new nonprofit organizations created to give the general public an opportunity to pay for scientific research that is not fully supported by government or private sources. They are part of a fledgling movement to take the idea of crowd-sourcing and crowd-financing, which has worked in arenas like small business and education, to scientific research.