Politics of Neighborhood Naming and Plastic Bags

I found a couple of interesting articles. The first is about my neighborhood and the politics of neighborhood naming. Actually, it's about three neighborhoods. One is where the art museum is, on the other side of Market from downtown (South of Market, or SoMa). Another is the nightlife area near Agnieszka (Polk Village/Polk Gulch/Lower Nob Hill). The third is about my neighborhood (North Panhandle/NoPa/Anza Vista/Western Addition) and how it has related to its neighbor district, which starts accross the street from me (Western Addition/The Fillmore/Lower Pacific Heights). It's interesting, but less so if you are not interested in city planning or looking at maps, which I would recommend if you are not very familiar with the city.

It is from the San Francisco Apartment Association, and you'll have to copy it to the address bar in your browser, cuz I don't know how to make links work.

http://www.sfaa.org/magazine/archives/06/nov/0611.landes.html

The second is about how San Francisco is the first American city to ban plastic bags in supermarkets and drugstores. While I agree with the sentiment expressed by Ed Jew, I also think it's a good thing that should happen. Apparently, Ireland has already done this?! Well, anyway, enjoy!

This one is from today's Chronicle.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/28/MNGDROT5QN1.DTL

Current music: Big Brother and the Holding Company - Down on Me (Live at Winterland '68)