If Trinity officials are correct in their estimate that it will take two years to finish the first phase of the new Trinity Plaza (1188 Mission), then the first tenants of Trinity Plaza might just be in their new homes before the end of 2009. For as a plugged-in tipster notes: "Digging has begun at 8th and Mission for the first phase of rental units at Trinity Plaza next to the Soma Grand."

∙ JustQuotes: Phase I Of Trinity Plaza About To Break Ground [SocketSite]

-- Smell that? It's the stench of awards season underway. And the San Francisco Film Critics Circle nominees are... [Hartlaub, Maximum Strength Mick]

-- Rincon Hill? Is fit to be tied. [Curbed]

-- The Hayward fault is coming to get you, us. [The Snitch]

-- Mark and Carole and Tim and SFist. [SFBG]

-- "[C]od sperm crostini." (Also: barf.) [Eater]

-- Will you buy us this incredibly well lit house? [The Front Steps]

-- That Giuliani guy was in SF. [SFGate]

-- Sandoval to support... [FCJ]

-- ...Daly's affordable housing measure. [Daly Blog]

· Supe Sandoval supporting affordable housing, Daly [FCJ]
· SF development investors "get" green, shell out accordingly [PI Online]
· Choosing lot proves difficult; look for sun, views, the obvious [Chron]
· Heavy hitting restos on Rincon Hill; more moola to come [Eater SF]
· Girl invites Craigslisters to pillage mom's house, all is taken [NY Times Magazine]

Rincon Hill Nabes Association: not happy. Rincon Hill SF kvetches about open space- or lack thereof- in the area, fuming that while $2 per square foot of commercial space is collected by city developers solely for the improvement of public spaces, that figure skyrockets to $11 for residential real estate. By Rincon Hill blogger Jamie Whitaker's estimate, such development in the Rincon Hill and the Transbay Area should net around $50,000,000 for open space improvements in the area. Problemo? The fundage is being funneled to other parts of the city- namely, to those with strong merchant or nabes associations (hello North Beach!). While Whitaker does place some culpability on Supervisor Chris Daley, he ultimately blames the nabes itself: "it really comes down to the residents of Rincon Hill not chewing somebody's ass to pieces in City Hall on a regular basis and fighting to make sure those funds are spent within Rincon Hill." Saddle up, and ride . . .
· Development Impact Fees Collected in Rincon Hill Used in Other Neighborhoods Because We Don't Have a Voice in City Hall [Rincon Hill SF]

["Rincon Park" courtesy Flickr photog aurmanita]

And then things like this make us fall in like-like with Los Angeles all over again.

This brings up a good point, what happened to intriguing public access shows in San Francisco? Although we must admit that while "Farrakhan Speaks," "Combat Mortal," and "Diva TV" look promising, we've never seen them. Are they any good? Are there any interesting locally produced cable access shows like the one above? Preferably ones with poop/hurtful humor? And by "interesting" we mean anything lacking political discourse, tech talk, or -- ugh -- dialoguing.

New to the code scene for 2008 . . . Plus one: permits issued for the new year no longer demand an exit on the third floor of a single family home. Minus one: walls less than five feet from the property line have door/window restrictions, and also must be fire rated. Good luck with that one. [Redfin]

The chosen one has arrived: Curbed SF readers voted EDAW Inc.'s Roji Scheme as the best overall plan for Japantown, which is already morphing into its new-and-improved self. Roji garnered 48.7% of your votes (57) while the Hiroba Scheme stands second in line at 42.9% (49 votes). Both the Baseline Scheme (3.4% or 4 votes) and Torii Scheme (6.0% or 7 votes) have joined One Rincon Hill as members of the Not Well Liked club. Well done; fine show of sportsmanship all around.
· Poll: Best Redevelopment Plan for J-Town? [Curbed SF]
· Japantown Plans Revealed [Curbed SF]