Save the Date: Saturday, Sept. 26 at 11am – 1pm
DHIC’s Fall Gathering
All Are Welcome
You are invited to DHIC’s Fall Gathering
on Saturday, September 26 from 11am to 1pm
at Sanchez Street between 21st and Hill Streets
Meet neighbors, learn about DHIC’s work
Meet the candidates for D8 Supervisor
Enjoy snacks and refreshments
Enter our raffle for fun prizes
For over two decades, Audrey’s Bench—located on Sanchez Hill near the corner of 21st Street—has been a quiet sanctuary for our community. This stunning redwood bench, masterfully crafted by acclaimed wood carver J.B. Blunk, invites passersby to pause, relax, and behold the iconic views and green spaces that make Dolores Heights so special.
A Legacy of Preservation
The bench stands as a living tribute to Audrey Penn Rodgers, a tireless neighborhood leader who served as chair of the Dolores Heights Improvement Club during the 1970s and the 1980s. Audrey spearheaded the campaign that successfully enacted the Dolores Heights Special Use District into city law. Thanks to her vision and advocacy, our neighborhood was protected from citywide rezoning that would have flattened our hills and obstructed our breathtaking vistas. Audrey also successfully championed crucial infrastructure improvements, such as moving our utility lines underground to preserve the natural beauty of our streets.
Why We Need Your Support
Weathering the elements takes a toll. While Audrey’s family has gathered in Dolores Heights each year to clean and polish the wood, the bench now requires a comprehensive renovation to its structural elements, protective finishes, and the surrounding planted areas.
This month, we embark on a new partnership with CitySmart — a free weekly briefing that covers key Board of Supervisors votes, decisions, and what’s coming up next, in plain language to keep San Franciscans informed and engaged with what their government is up to. Let us know how you like this new feature!
1. Cliff’s Variety Turns 90, With Your Supervisor in the Room
On June 23, President Mandelman suspended the rules to grant privilege of the floor and personally presented a Certificate of Honor to Cliff’s Variety, accepted by Terry Asten Bennett, marking the beloved Castro Street hardware-and-everything-else store’s 90th anniversary and its run as a neighborhood fixture since 1936. It’s the kind of item that never makes an agenda headline but says something real about District 8: a five-minute ceremonial resolution, sandwiched between charter amendments and lawsuit settlements, honoring a business that generations of Dolores Heights and Castro residents have walked to for a lightbulb, a garden hose, or a Halloween costume. Small institutions like Cliff’s are exactly what keeps a hillside residential neighborhood functioning as a walkable one.
2. The Board Authorized a $200M Lifeline to Keep MUNI Running
The Board voted on June 16 to let SFMTA borrow up to $200 million from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for transit operations over the next 12 years. That’s not a glamorous vote, but for the Mission it matters: the 14-Mission and 14R Rapid are two of the highest-ridership surface bus routes in the entire city, running the full length of Mission Street and carrying tens of thousands of riders daily. Add the J-Church along Church Street through Dolores Park, the 49 along Van Ness and Mission, and BART at 16th and 24th Streets, and the neighborhood has more transit infrastructure per block than almost anywhere else in SF. The loan is a stopgap against service cuts while SFMTA works through a long-term structural deficit — the kind of behind-the-scenes fiscal move that doesn’t make headlines until the buses stop showing up.
If you care about what happens at City Hall, CitySmart makes it easy to stay informed — including what the Board passed this month to make Dolores Heights a better place to live.
DHIC marched with other D8 residents and Supervisor Mandelman in the 56th Pride Parade. The annual SF Pride celebration is one of the largest LGBTQ+ gatherings in the world, bringing over a million people to Market Street for our multi-day parades and festivities. Here are a few photos of the Parade.
Did you know that we have an initiative on the November ballot to raise $1 billion annually to fund Bay Area transit via sales tax increases across five Bay Area counties?
The funds are dedicated to averting massive service cuts and funding capital improvements for BART, SF Muni, Caltrain, AC Transit, and the San Francisco Bay Ferry. Locally in San Francisco, this regional effort is complemented by a proposed SFMTA Muni parcel tax. The city’s measure seeks to raise $160 million annually specifically to protect Muni bus and cable car operations from fiscal cliff cuts.
Without new sources of revenue, the lost revenue from the pandemic and lower ridership in the past five years will cause severe service cuts for the agencies listed above. For SF Muni that translates to:
Supervisor Mandelman and transit officials provide more details and have extended Q&A with attendees.
Mark your calendar for Thursday, October 15th, from 6-7:30pm, in Ellard Hall at Most Holy Redeemer (100 Diamond St in the Castro).
The dog days of summer are approaching. Take a break and have some fun … here’s some local events to enjoy
Fairs and Markets: The Castro Night Market happens monthly! Upcoming dates are Friday July 17 and August 21 at 18th and Castro. Weekly Farmers Markets are held at Noe & Market on Wednesday afternoons from April 1 – Nov. 18 and at Noe Town Square on Saturday mornings. The Castro Art Walk is the first Friday of every month – routes and info here.
Gardening: 20th Street Hillside Gardening at Noe and 20th Streets. For upcoming date & invite, email Dave Dea (ddea888@gmail.com) The Civic Joy Fund – Park Volunteers will be beautifying Dolores Park these Saturdays in August 1, 8, 15, and 22, 10am – 12 noon – register at this link.
The Castro Merchants are hosting a Family Carnival on Saturday, August 29 from 12 noon to 5pm at Noe and Market Streets. Family-friendly with performers and music.
San Francisco Public Library has book-related (storytime for toddlers through to book clubs for adults), films, crafts and many other themed events. For details, go to the SFPL Events Page – select your favorite/ nearby Branch Library and scroll through their offerings. Or search by event topic to find a knitting circle, history talk, health/wellness and much much more.
Neighborhood clean-ups: Refuse Refuse has “tons” of clean-ups throughout the City. EVNA and the Civic Joy Fund host a weekly Saturday Castro clean-up at 10am at HiTops Restaurant
Wine Walks in the Castro during the fall and on 24th Street/Noe Valley in the fall/winter (TBA).
Noe Valley Town Square has great upcoming events in July and August.
Sundown Cinema movies in the parks: Dolores Park hosted Princess Bride in June. Here’s the list of upcoming movies in other SF parks.
And don’t forget to show up at the DHIC Fall Gathering on September 26 from 11am – 2pm on the 800 Block of Sanchez Street
Hi Neighbors,
We’re cancelling the Spring Gathering that was planned for Saturday, June 13, because of delays with scheduling and logistics. We’re sorry to not meet you as planned.
We’ll see you on Saturday, September 26 for our Fall Gathering at the top of Sanchez Hill. Join us then to meet neighbors, enjoy refreshments, and hear from the D8 candidates for supervisor in the upcoming November 3 election.
Thanks to your generosity, our neighborhood just awarded $5000 each to three amazing Mission High 2026 graduates! These “no-strings attached” grants will ease their transition into their futures as college students. As parents of college students know, the incidental expenses (dorm gear, technology, travel) really add up. These impressive Mission High grads have already received scholarships for tuition. They will truly benefit from this help paying for the incidentals. This reduced financial stress is made possible by all of you. (Note: donors sent their contributions directly to the Mission High Foundation, a 501-c-3 non-profit.)
Celeste Perron Oberfest, Peter Harris, and Michelle Cox, the Scholarships Committee members, thanks the donors for being truly great neighbors. Click here [insert link] to learn about the Mission High students receiving these scholarships.
Kaeloni Parks, heading to UC Davis with plans to study biology and art:
“My love for art recently merged with my passion for science through the Cellular Construction Workshop (CCW) at UCSF. Working in a lab, programming robots to mimic cell behavior, and observing scientists opened my eyes to the incredible intersection of art and biology. Translating complex biological concepts into visual representations, like modeling immunotherapy with colored pucks, inspired me to want to become a medical illustrator, using my artistic skills to make science tangible and understandable. Art has been many things for me: a way to express myself, a source of joy, and a path to connect with others. Now, it also represents my future-an opportunity to combine creativity and scientific precision, to explore problems visually, and to tell the stories of science in ways that inspire.”
Cesar Roque, heading to UC Irvine to major in Mechanical Engineering, due to a love of cars from his childhood and a love of math which he acquired at Mission High
“As the oldest son in a Hispanic family, I am responsible for translating all the legal papers, school letters, bills, and other documents that come to my mom, me, and my two sisters. As a beginning reader, I struggled to understand the meanings in the lengthy pages. Translating my parents’ legal papers … seeing my mother’s reactions to her letters gave me a keyhole view into messy adult problems I could not understand. Over time, it taught me how to code switch between cultures, and to lead my family by patiently explaining outside rules. But toggling between languages and cultures made me feel lonely. Being the first to try something new has never been easy but being able to succeed meant my sisters would. I’ve become essential to my family, which makes leaving them daunting, but I’ve been a good example and know they can thrive independently.”
Oscar Morales, heading to UC Berkeley to major in Legal Studies
“Going to college is my way to debunk the current political myth that immigrants are a threat, while in reality, we are really just people looking for better lives. I was born in El Salvador and lived there until I was 5. In that country, education was a privilege that only those with money could afford. Now I am a co-teacher in the AVID ELD Senior Seminar course that is specifically designed for newcomer students. Being a native bilingual Spanish and advanced English speaker, I’m able to help many students with translating their homework and providing them with resources only available to them in English. I have motivated and empowered students to apply to universities and continue their education, and helped students get financial aid through the CA Dream Act. I feel proud of being able to lead a program that helps my community of immigrant students get informed and prepared for college.”
We’re proud to be co-sponsors of a forum with all the leading candidates vying for San Francisco’s U.S. House seat, featuring Saikat Chakrabarti, San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, Marie Hurabiell, and State Senator Scott Wiener .
Eleven neighborhood groups across District 8 are hosting the forum to address issues that matter to neighbors and households across the Castro, Noe Valley, Glen Park, Duboce Triangle, and Cole Valley.
District 8 Neighbors Congressional Forum
7 pm, Wednesday, May 6 (doors open at 6:30 pm)
199 Museum Way
San Francisco, CA 94114
Open to the public with first-come seating
San Francisco Standard reporter Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez will moderate the forum, which will feature questions from neighborhood groups. With mail-in ballots arriving the same week, the forum is the perfect time to make your final choice for the June 2 primary in this once-in-a-generation race.
San Francisco Standard reporter Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez will moderate the forum, which will feature questions submitted by the neighborhood groups. With mail-in ballots arriving the same week, the forum is the perfect time to make your final choice for the June 2 primary in this once-in-a-generation race.
Forum co-sponsors:
Last year we kicked off a meaningful neighborhood initiative, the Dolores Heights Scholarship for Mission High.. Thanks to the generosity of this community we were able to give three seniors from the class of 2025 $5000 each to help with the expenses related to heading off to college. All three were the first in their families to attend college, all headed to UCs. We recently heard from Flory Lopez, now in her first year at UC Berkeley, who told us:
“The scholarship was very helpful for me during my first year of college. With the money that was provided, I was able to buy a new computer, which has been really important for keeping up with my coursework, writing assignments, and staying organized with my classes. The extra financial support also helped relieve some of the stress that comes with starting college and paying for school supplies and other academic needs. It made my transition into my first year much smoother, and I’m really grateful for the support from the community.”
We’re now raising money for the 2026 scholarships!
The Dolores Heights Scholarship for Mission High School
These $5000 scholarships will be awarded to three 2026 Mission High graduates who have been accepted to four year colleges, to help them cover the incidental costs and life expenses that might otherwise stand in the way of helping him or her get there.
It takes only seconds to donate here with Paypal, Venmo, or a credit/debit card, and if you’d like to donate through a DAF we can quickly connect you with the Mission High Foundation. Email info@doloresheights.org to connect with the Mission High Foundation.
