Sunset Spotlight

Senior Resource Center Moves
The Outer Sunset Resource Center for Seniors and Adults with Disabilities, a program of Self Help for the Elderly, has moved across the street from its old location, to 2436 Judah St., between 29th and 30th avenues. The center held its grand opening Jan. 8.

The Inner and Outer Sunset Resource Centers are one-stop neighborhood resource centers for senior and disabled information. They provide free information and referral services, including information on housing, transportation, meals, activities, legal services, home care and safety. The staff speaks Cantonese, Mandarin and Russian. For more information, call 677-7550.

Oakes Center Gets New Director
Oakes Children's Center, which helps developmentally-delayed and emotionally-disturbed children develop the independence and self-awareness necessary to live and continue learning, recently hired a new executive director.

Norman Hering has been a contributor to the mental health field for 20 years. The new director has worked as a clinical director at the Fred Finch Youth Center, working in psychiatric and chemical dependency units for youth and adults, and he ran an outpatient children's program in South San Francisco.

Open Space Opens
The parkland area bordering the Sunset Reservoir on Ortega Street, between 24th and 28th avenues, is now open to the public. Besides landscaping, a row of benches has been installed for local residents.

Work to seismically reinforce the northern part of the reservoir will continue over the next two years as the SF Public Utilities Commission, which oversees the property, continues to upgrade the city's aging water infrastructure.

Buckets Fight Global Warming
The SF Department of Environment will have people going door-to-door in the Sunset during the month of February to distribute small green buckets for food composting.

"We are trying to reach 6,000 to 9,000 homes to encourage people to use the little green bucket for food scraps," said Alexa Kielty, speaking on behalf of the SF environment department. "Compost is a usable resource."

Kielty noted that since the three-bin system was introduced to the Sunset District in 1999, recent studies have determined that 75 percent of garbage can be made into compost. She also said landfill space is from a bygone era and that any amount of landfill is a "toxic tomb."

"Even with biodegradable materials, such as a banana or orange peels, those materials in mass are still contributing to greenhouse gases," Kielty said.

The goal of SF Environment is to improve, enhance, and preserve the environment by promoting the City's long-term well being. For more information about the SF Department of Environment, visit its Web site at www.sfenvironment.org or call Sunset Scavenger at (415) 330-1300.