August 2000



Notes from Kerry
Good Luck Marie
Teachers in Unusual Places
Donating Blood is a Good Thing
Presidential Reception
I’ve Got My Cake and We’re Eating It Too!
Art in the City
Good Luck Keely!
Painting Basics 101
New Faces at City Hall

Notes from Kerry
As I look through this issue of the City Scoop, I realize that there seem to be a lot of parties happening lately. Maybe that"s what summer is all about—a time to appreciate the fruits of all of our work here in this great building. City Hall has truly blossomed into a wonderful place for the citizens of San Francisco, tourists, and those of us who have the privilege of working together here. Twice in the past month, visitors have expressed their positive experiences to me. One was a gentleman who came in to book an event. He told us that every employee he dealt with was extremely helpful—including the Sheriff deputies at the front desks, the staff at our information stand, and several other employees. He said,

"This building is so happy and organized, that it feels good to be here." The second message arrived by email from a tourist from Germany. He couldn"t say enough about how clean and beautiful the building is and how friendly and informative the tour guides are. He said his family enjoyed the visit immensely. Our civic pride is apparent to people who come into the building. As we celebrate this summer, let"s also celebrate our professional lives and the wonderful people we work with every day as well. There is much to celebrate.

Good Luck Marie!
Marie McKecknie retired this July, after 20 years of public service. I’m sure you recognize Marie as the "organizer" of the Board of Supervisors. She assisted the Board when they left City Hall in 1995, and again settle them back to their shiny new home November 1999. Now Marie’s off to garden, relax and read. Everyone in City Hall will surely miss her.

Marie’s position has been filled by Madeleine Licavoli. She can be reached at 554-7722.

Marie Mckecknie retired after 20 years with the City and County of San Francisco

Teachers in Unusual Places
Three outstanding employees from the Controller"s office, Monica Wu, Carolyn Lew and Winnie Woo graciously tutored the Asian-speaking custodians in English for the past three months. Each morning, they dedicated 20 minutes of their time to help custodians learn working terms so they can better read labels and communicate in English. It is the little things we do for others and the unexpected ways in which we mentor that leave the biggest lasting impressions.

On behalf of the staff, thank you so much for your helpful kindness.

Donating Blood is a Good Thing
City Hall Blood Drive
Wednesday
August 16, 2000
Conference Room 201

Save four lives with one donation. Please call Sara Gigliotti at 554-6614 or e-mail for an appointment.

Presidential Reception
His Excellency Joseph Estrada, President of the Philippines and Dr. Luisa Estrada were welcomed to San Francisco City Hall last Tuesday by Mayor Willie Brown and the San Francisco-Manila Sister City Committee. This was the President’s first official visit to San Francisco. The audience of 600 guests enjoyed a song performed by the San Francisco Opera that had been written by former-actor President Estrada and a performance of "San Francisco" by Beach Blanket Babylon. The President will go on to Washington D.C., New York and Los Angeles. Mayor Brown was the only mayor to host a reception for the Philippine President.

I’ve got my cake and we’re eating it too!
Kerry Painter was given a surprise ice-cream birthday cake by her staff and friends last July 12. It was her second birthday celebration as City Hall’s Building Manager.

Art in The City
By Rupert Jenkins, Gallery Director

Following the success of our one-man show by Robert Cameron we return to smaller exhibitions of work from individual artists and arts outreach programs. Lisa Kristine"s color portraits of indigenous people from across the world continue through August 20, as do paintings from the South of Russia Art School. Picture the Girl, photographs and interviews by Audrey Shehyn; James Gleeson"s vivid paintings from SF neighborhoods, and Insights, an annual juried show presented by the Rose Resnick Lighthouse for the Blind, continue through September 30. Todd Herman"s poetic photographs from Nepal open in the cafe corridor August 30.

No receptions are scheduled for City Hall shows during August but mark your calendars for Thursday, September 7, 5.30 – 7.30 p.m., when we celebrate our artists from the Rose Resnick Lighthouse for the Blind, Audrey Shehyn, and Todd Herman. Meet us in the lower level for food and drinks, and conversations with the artists. Free.

For those of you interested in printmaking, you might want mark your calendars for a visit Friday, August 11, 5.30 - 8.30, to the Arts Commission Gallery across the street in the Veterans Building. A new exhibition entitled "Radical Printmaking" opens that night, featuring works by 19 artists from the California Society of Printmakers.

As always, if you have comments, requests, or advise to share, please e-mail me at rupert_jenkins@ci.sf.ca.us
For more information, visit our web site at http://sfac.sfsu.edu/gallery

Lisa Kristine"s "Pilgrim" portrait on display at City Hall

Good Luck Keely!
City Hall Building Manager’s office threw a going-away party last June 30 for Event Coordinator Keely Hong (center), who has accepted a position at Wells Fargo Bank. She will be Product Manager for the brand new web-enabled ATM’s that will be coming to California soon. You might have seen a preview of this new promotion at some ATM’s when they advertised the movie, The Gladiator.

Painting Basics 101 By Douglas Bias, Painter at City Hall

Paint Roller Preparation:
Using a brand new roller cover without "de-furring" them first can lead to a finish product that looks like it hasn’t had a good shave in about three days. To avoid this type of problem use the following steps:

1. Using 2" masking tape, attach one end to a stationary object like a doorknob and pull out from two to three feet of tape without tearing.

2. Slide roller cover on roller handle.

3. Hold the roll of tape in one hand and keep tension on the strip of exposed tape.

4. Take the roller in your other hand and roll back and forth on the exposed piece of tape until fur from roller comes off onto the tape.

5. Repeat process until the tape no longer pulls fur from your roller.

If this process was overlooked on your do-it-yourself job, then simply buy a high-powered Norelco and go to it. No shave cream necessary.

For more painting tips feel free to email me at DaUnionPainter@cs.com

New Faces at City Hall
Say hello to Win Htut (on the left) and Robert Lyons (on the right), if you happen to see them walking around City Hall. Win is our new Stationary Engineer and Robert our new Apprentice. You might even get a visit from them sometime as they check on things at your office.