Nov 21
Wow, November is the month of neighborhood contributors to the Portola Planet. Stuart Gaffney has just sent us a superb write up of the changing of the seasons in McLaren Park. He even whipped out his camera for some snaps. Thanks Stuart! In the summer, we love walking in McLaren Park to enjoy the green …
Aug 24
April 2012 was the month when heated debates took place over the redistricting of San Francisco’s neighborhoods. Every ten years the city looks at the population of the city and redraws district lines to ensure fair representation for the supervisors who represent them. The Portola used to be split between district 9 and 10. Yet …
Aug 20
Here is your regular update on the $20 millon dollar project renovating the park and recreation center in the middle of the Portola. The Planet took a walk down to the onsite offices and did the usual pleading and begging to get a peak inside the building. To our surprise, a hard hat was slapped …
Jun 28
Work continues at the Palega Playground and Recreation Center. The project is estimated for completion around March 2013. The past month has seen a monumental challenge to the renovation of the main recreation center building. It is getting a brand new basement, heating system and sports floor. The upgrades however required that the existing basement be …
May 30
I am a big fan of breakfast. There is nothing better than eggs over easy, with some crunchy bacon and polished off with some syrup saturated pancakes. I also love being outdoors in the park, especially in the morning, when the air is fresh and the day is just starting. So imagine my delight to …
May 24
Last weekend saw the celebration of parks in San Francisco. San Francisco Parks Alliance has created a Love Your Parks day, where people were encouraged to visit and get involved in activities at their local park. In the Portola, we are fortunate enough to share boundaries with the second largest park in the city, John McLaren Park. …
May 04
Getting this CAT out of a tough spot will require a little more than a few hisses and temptations of catnip. This afternoon, while working on clearing the area around the basement of the Palega Park recreation center, one of the CAT excavators became stuck. The ground underneath the machine, which had held up fine …
May 02
The renovation at Palega Park is well into the serious earth moving phase. Every day for the past week, big machines have been digging, lifting, cutting, scraping and rebuilding the park land. The amount of earth movement is amazing. The main building is also currently undergoing a process to remove all the nasty substances like asbestos. …