I captured this forked rainbow from the Linda Mar Shopping Center parking lot, at 5:18 PM on Friday - light rains moving through, with clouds extending maybe a mile offshore, but clear beyond that to the west, rains to the north and east, very calm seas.

I’ve enhanced the photo a bit in Photoshop, but still not anywhere as impressive as in person. At least a dozen people were standing in the parking lot staring at it. I’m not sure if this was visible from anywhere else.

My best guess is that the larger bow, which appeared first, is from the reflection of the sun off the ocean, the tighter, sharper one to the right (appearing after the sun had moved below the cloud layer extending offshore) from the actual sun.

EDITOR’S NOTE: There’s a lot more information on the formation forked and other unusual rainbows in Light and Color in the Outdoors, by M.G.J. Minnaert.

Chuck Kozak

Click on the picture for a larger version.

Nearly half the US Fish and Wildlife Service Scientists responding to a survey say they have been directed, for non-scientific reasons, to refrain from making findings that would have protected species, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.

The UCS reports that 56 percent of all respondents reported cases where “commercial interests have inappropriately induced the reversal or withdrawal of scientific conclusions or decisions through political intervention.”

The LA Times has a good article on this survey, which points out that the assistant secretary of the Interior in charge the Fish and Wildlife Service, has been critical of the Endangered Species Act, because it has created hardships for developers while failing to restore healthy populations of wildlife.

Eco-Pop Designs, a Moss Beach company, received the State’s top waste reduction environmental award yesterday, according to the Pacifica Tribune.  Located in Moss Beach, Eco-Pop Designs uses art, ecology, and invention to create environmentally friendly products that promote recycling. Eco-Pop uses the maximum amount of recycled materials to make recycling containers.

Wavecrest isn’t requesting Section 404 permit for mitigation of the development.  According to the Army Corps of Engineers, they’re seeking the permit to create the ponds and the trail in the wetlands portion of Wavecrest.  The development is believed to be outside the Corps’ jurisdiction, and the wetlands delineation will determine if that is correct.

According to Holly Costa of the Corps, “asking for mitigation for impacts to areas outside of our jurisdiction is complicated, but not impossible if considered necessary.  Whether that’s a necessity for this project will be determined through the project review and through consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.”

So, I don’t think the Review was incorrect to say that Wavecrest is talking to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. They’re apparently still talking to the USFWS about the development itself and the breeding ponds may be part of that negotiation.

More as I learn it, but I wanted to make sure to set the record straight.

The Sheriff may have arrested the folks responsible for a lot of the auto burglaries on the Coastside.  If you’ve been reading the Sheriff’s log on Coastsider, you know that there have been a lot of things stolen from cars recently.  Responding to a suspicious vehicle call in 200 block of Bridgeport Drive in El Granada, Sheriff’s deputies checked out a tan 1989 Jeep. Inside they found handbags, cell phones, electronic equipment and other things stolen recently from Coastside cars. They arrested Alexander Roth, 19, of Half Moon Bay and Jonathan Porter, 18, of El Granada on charges of possession of stolen property, grand theft and criminal conspiracy.

The Solar Photovoltaics working group is meeting Saturday, Feb 12, 9:30 to 11:30 am.

Brian Sullivan, of Palo Alto Hardware/Ocean Shore Hardware Solar Systems will speak on determining the design and economics of installing roof top solar panels on homes along the coast.

The meeting will be held at 229 Correas, HMB, at the corner of Potter, 2 blocks south of Kelly and one block west of Alsace Lorraine. To RSVP and for more information, call Dennis Paull at 712-0498.

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.

...

     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.

...

     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.