The SamTrans board adopted a policy to strive to diversify its board geographically, ethnically and by sex. However, the policy applies only to the three public seats out of nine on the board.  Former Supervisor Mike Nevin, whose appointment to one of the public seats ignited demands for greater diversity, says he’ll step down from the board at the end of the year. One public seat is reserved for a Coastside resident.

An explosion at a fishing boat at Pillar Point harbor sent the boat’s owner to the hospital with minor burns yesterday morning.  The owner had just finished fueling and had untied his lines when the explosion occured, says the San Mateo County Times in an account with plenty of exciting detail.

Cabrillo Unified School District Superintendent John Bayless is now one of three finalists to become superintendent of schools in Somerville, Massachusetts.

At least one committee member liked Bayless a lot more than the other two candidates, according to the Somerville Journal.

The School Committee said they were impressed with Bayless, who stressed in his interview that his “core values” match those of Somerville Public Schools.

“He stuck out to me as one of the top candidates in this search,” said Mary Jo Rossetti, the Ward 7 committee member.

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     Rossetti said she is concerned Pierantozzi does not have adequate experience in culturally diverse communities, and said she received letters from parents stating “the city would eat him alive” because he seems “mild mannered.” Others said they got the sense Pierantozzi “really wants to be here” and liked how he noted he is not currently an applicant anywhere other than Somerville.

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     But Rossetti said she has received “some disturbing phone calls” from people in other communities about Silverman’s past experiences as superintendent. “Without going into detail,” she said, “they do stick in my mind.”

Bayless’s next interview is Monday, February 14 at 6pm EST.

The cost rebuilding the Hetch Hetchy water system is continuing to grow, creating new concerns about the cost and new demands to tear down the O’Shaughnessy Dam, which sits across the Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park and return its reservoir its natural state. The increased cost of this project will show up on County Coastside Water District water bills.

The projected cost has grown 20 percent to $4.3 billion, and suburban customers of San Francisco-owned system will be asked to pick up part of the tab.

Under the plan approved by San Francisco voters in 2002, San Franciscans would see their $14.43 monthly water bill for a typical four-person household rise to $40.85 a month by 2015 to cover the costs of the city bonds.

The remaining $2 billion cost of the Hetch Hetchy rebuilding was to be picked up by the system’s wholesale customers outside the city. In 2002, officials estimated that a typical four-person household outside San Francisco that received Hetch Hetchy water would see their monthly bill rise from $32 to $71 by 2015.

Not all of the Coastside would be equally affected. Coastside County Water District gets 70% of its water from Hetch Hetchy and related systems owned by San Francisco, according to CCWD General Manager Ed Schmidt. Montara Water and Sanitary District gets no water from the San Francisco system.

Wavecrest’s developers have applied with the US Army Corps of Engineers for a permit to build on their property, which has been found to include wetlands and habitat for the endangered California Red-Legged Frog.

The application for a permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act proposes the construction of a couple of California Red-legged Frog breeding ponds within the delineated wetlands on the Wavecrest site. A recreational trail is also proposed.

The Corps has not yet reviewed the application, according to Holly Costa, Regulatory Project Manager with the Corps.

The first step in the process would be a new delineation of wetlands on the property. The last delineation was approved in 1999 and expired after five years. According to Costa, the earliest this could begin would be April.

The process would also require the Corps to consult with the US Fish and Wildlife Service under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act for potential effects on Red-Legged Frogs and San Francisco Garter Snakes.

A section 404 permit also requires a 401 Water Quality Certification, which is issued by the State Water Quality Control Board, via a Regional Water Quality Control Board; and, for projects such as Wavecrest that fall within the Coastal Zone, California Coastal Commission approval.  Without either of these, the Section 404 authorization is invalid.

CORRECTION: The original version of this story said that Wavecrest’s developers were seeking the Corps’ OK for the mitigation of the development. That’s not correct. They’re seeking the Corps’ OK to build the ponds. A correction with more detail is now online.

The Half Moon Bay Beautification Committee is accepting applications for grants from nonprofits, educational organizations, and municipal agencies. Last year the committee awarded more than $100,000. The grants are funded by the Art & Pumpkin Festival. The deadline for applications is February 28.

The grants are a one-time contribution per fiscal year. Applicants must show documentation of nonprofit status and serve Coastside residents, from Montara to Pescadero. Applications will be considered from organizations serving children, youth, families and seniors, as well as Main Street and community projects.

Applications from political organizations will not be considered, nor will requests that include payment of staff salary or consultant fees.

To request an application, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the Half Moon Bay Beautification Committee, P.O. Box 274, Half Moon Bay, CA, 94019.

The night of Sept. 26, 1998, the captain of the Greek tanker M/V Command dumped 3,000 gallons of oil, spoiling 15 miles of San Mateo County coastside and killing 1,000 birds.  Six years later, some of the money from the $9.4 million settlement is coming back to the Coastside for projects to improve beach access and protect seabird colonies. Amelia Hansen at the County Times has a good story about how the money is being used.

The Chroncle has in in-depth article on the role of conservation easements in protecting open space in the Bay Area. The story explores the benefits not only for the public, but for landowners.

Bob Franko of Half Moon Bay was inducted into the California Outdoors Hall of Fame on Satudrday, according to the Chronicle.  A peerless offshore angler, Franko created the Coastside Fishing Club, using the Internet to create the the largest fishing club in Northern California. CFC has placed a member on the Pacific Fisheries Management Council. “My goal is to protect our fishery for our children through conservation, and to protect the rights of the recreational angler,” Franko said.

There is a revolution happening in the farm fields and on the dinner tables of America—a revolution that is transforming the very nature of the food we eat.  Did you know that 60% of the processed food we eat in America currently includes unregulated, artificially created, genetically modified (GM) components?

The Future Of Food offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.

Shot on location in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, The Future Of Food examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world’s food system. The film also explores alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, placing organic and sustainable agriculture as real solutions to the farm crisis today.

Catherine Butler, the film’s award winning producer, will be our guest leading the post screening discussion about the future of food.

The night will open with the short film Flowers in the Snow - The Health Crisis of Children in Tibet Teresa Harris and filmmaker Perry Pickert from the Terma Foundation will take audience questions.  (19 mins- starting at 7:30)

Details: Friday Feb. 11th, 2005 starting at 7:30 pm. Community Methodist Sanctuary, Half Moon Bay 777 Miramontes, Half Moon Bay. Corner of Johnston & Miramontes. $6.00 per person For more information see: http://www.hmbfilm.org