Both the neighborhood and myself are beginning to open up, but still it's strange to investigate stories as broad as street1 and hood1. Strange because it lacks aim, it lacks sureness. With an actual story, we know our questions, we know what facts we want. Getting them may be tough, but hopefully not as awkward as the broad, sweeping questions we've had to ask complete strangers.
But I've started to spend more time in my neighborhood, just hanging out, doing homework, waiting for sources as much as finding them. They come though, luckily.
Hayes Valley is fortunately filled with other people just hanging out, ready to talk, even discuss. So the only obstacle is me, who doesn't mind asking official questions to official persons, but has problems breaking the ice with people on the streets.
It hasn't been a huge problem, though, just a part of the job I'm still uncomfortable with. What's been some tactics you guys use?
Besides that, I'm definitely getting the lay of the land, which feels like a micro-city. Hayes Valley seems to have all the characteristics, problems, and social strata of an entire city, which makes for a real good practice "arena."
The local politics, mainly the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association, is well organized and easy to reach. The streets are laid out in easy to read grids, with each block fully representing a different crowd. Also, the neighborhood has a definate center, at Octavia and Hayes, where all the shops and the park are.
Nothing much else to report, but I'm looking forward to actual news stories, there are some good ones out here.
I agree the neighborhood is symbolic of the city. As I like to say, the city can install kaleidoscopes for the pedestrians' entertainment but that doesn't solve homelessness, intravenous drug use or the disparity between those who have a lot and those who have little: e.g. Hayes Valley/Octavia Boulevard.
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