Thursday, December 20, Nights of Light continues on Main St in Half Moon Bay, when shops and restaurants will also remain open late for a last minute shopping night filled with carriage rides, music, warmth and Coastside charm. This is a good opportunity to support your neighbors by shopping the Coastside and give a unique gift to someone you love.

We’re seeing more of these illuminated billboards in the Bay Area.  There’s a new one next to the highway just as you get off the Bay Bridge in the East Bay.  And the grandaddy of them all in Redwood City on the 101. Now would be an excellent time for the city and county to take a new look at illuminated signs on the Coastside, including good, old-fashioned internally-illuminated plastic signs. We’re going to make an ongoing project of the “outdoor advertising” that is fighting for our attention and contributing to the shabby highway-strip aesthetics of the Coastside.

The state has determined that local crabs and fist are safe to eat.  However, local fishermen are waiting until they can all set out together. And they’re still not particularly happy, reports Julia Scott in the County Times.

“There’s no particular reason to hurry now that we’ve already lost our market,” said Pillar Point fisherman Duncan MacLean, head of the Half Moon Bay Fishermen’s Marketing Association, who estimated that he could have lost as much as $20,000, or 30 percent of his revenue for the season. MacLean is a plaintiff in one of four class-action lawsuits circulating among fishermen at Pillar Point.

Losing the start of the Dungeness season also means Bay Area fishermen will have to accept a much lower per-pound price for their product from buyers once the season opens north of Point Arena this weekend. Before the Cosco Busan crisis, local fishermen were negotiating a selling price of $3.25 per pound, MacLean said. Now, their wares are more likely to fetch $2.15 per pound or less, MacLean said.

Meanwhile, a fishing boat based in Santa Cruz went aground on the rocks off Pigeon Point early Thursday.

The governor issued an order suspending all fishing in Bay Area waters contaminated with fuel from Thursday’s Golden Gate oil spill, reports Julia Scott in the County Times. The ban is in effect until Dec 1, but htis oculd change if the Dept of Fish and Game decides there is no major human health risk.

The no-catch zones are expected to include all Bay Area counties from San Francisco and San Mateo to Solano County, but the California Department of Fish and Game has yet to determine the exact boundaries of the closure.
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The ban affects commercial and sport fishermen and arriveson the cusp of Thursday’s highly-anticipated Dungeness crab season opener. Fishermen throughout the Bay Area voted to ask the governor to delay the season last weekend due to the chance that someone could become sick from eating a contaminated crab, and thus ruin the season for everyone.

There’s a lot of great detail from Pillar Point Harbor in the original story.

Commercial fisherman voted Saturday to delay Dungeness crab season until it can be determined whether local crabs are safe to eat in the wake of the Golden Gate oil spill. However, the start of the season is set by the state, reports the Daily Journal.

Aaron McLear, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger, said the governor is “looking at” the possibility of postponing crab season but hasn’t yet made a decision.

With the season set to begin Thursday, fisherman are “on pins and needles” waiting for word on what to do, said Duncan MacLean, president of the Half Moon Bay Fisherman’s Association.

By Erin Tormey, organizer of the Coastside Farmer’s Market.

Don’t be afraid of the dark, Marketeers!

Yes, the time change always makes people a little, well, loopy at first, but don’t panic. Nature in her infinite wisdom has taken care of some basics for you.

Did you ever notice how all kinds of Orange things are at their peak during the Autumn?  Oranges, of course, along with tangerines, all kinds of squashes, persimmons, sweet potatoes.  Ever wonder about that? Well I have. And here’s what I know.  Orange food makes it easier to see in the dark. I am not kidding. Orange food is loaded with beta-carotene ( think carrots, people!) - a powerful antioxidant that supports ocular health and development.  Plus, it supports a robust immune system so you can see how great you look at night!

Tons of vitamin C is usually associated with orange stuff too, and when you have tangerines and kabocha squash  at the peak of their season at the same time, why you should eat a lot of them- together!  Because from I can figure,  the combo pack means you can see well in the dark, and should be well armed to go outside in the evenings for a little stroll to the Farmer’s Market without catching cold. I especially recommend this activity to anyone who is going to be any where near Rockaway Beach in Pacifica on Wednesday evenings from now through November.

And if you know that, yes, you are supposed to sup on squash, crunch on carrots,  and snack on sweet-taters, but you are just plain out of ideas about what to do when faced with a pile of the aforementioned, I have some ideas for you that should not keep you up all night fretting.  When you have peak of season tangerines and a butternut squash, you have the makings of one tangy “pumpkin” tarte that you can help but feel good about.  Really, Alice, the awful truth is that the best pumpkin pie I ever made was actually a butternut squash pie with tons of tangerine juice instead of added sugar, and ground raw almonds in the crust.   Oh, my! Think of the fiber!

By Erin Tormey, organizer of the Coastside Farmer’s Market. In Half Moon Bay, the market is at Shoreline Station (at Kelly and Highway 1), Saturdays, 9am to 1pm

The times, they are a’ changin’ Marketeers, but we’ll be here for the month of November to ease you through the Autumn.   Happily for me, I just found a crucial part, quite by accident, to an old clock of my Grandad’s.  The clocks pendulum has not swung like anything vaguely English for quite some time, but it looks like I’ll have it back in operation just in time the set it back an hour and pretend to sleep in on Sunday.

I am a master of the serendipitous, it would seem.  And of late, I have been really fortunate to have encountered a number of surprising developments where I did not expect to find them, with decidedly delightful results.  Last week I was searching for somewhere to get a load of firewood, got a little distracted by all the other interesting postings on the bulletin board and instead I met a mountain man with a penchant for Paphiopedilum.  As a result, I now know a lot more about orchids than I did last week. Yesterday I went looking for a lost set of keys, and while the keys are still among the missing, I am now reunited with my favorite photo of my godson, plus, I finally discovered where the mice have been getting into the shed. And then this morning I was trying to reach my younger brother.  I misdialed, and found myself talking with a farmer of organic pomegrantes, persimmons, pears and maker of honey.  Looks like they’ll be joining the Market for the remainder of the season.

The annual holiday boutique benefiting Senior Coastsiders will be held 9am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday, November 3 and 4 at La Piazza at Main St. and Miramontes in Half Moon Bay.

The annual sales features costume, estate and handmade jewelry; crafts; gifts; and collectibles.

By Erin Tormey, organizer of the Coastside Farmer’s Market. In Half Moon Bay, the market is at Shoreline Station (at Kelly and Highway 1), Saturdays, 9am to 1pm

I don’t know about the rest of you Marketeers, but I am a little miffed at these changing weather patterns. It is wreaking havoc on my wardrobe and temperament.

Really, as a general rule I am all about the fall.  I love the colors, the crisp air, the parade of pumpkin pluckers and the excuses to make all kinds of soup, wrap up in beautiful blankets and wear excellent sweaters. I just like it better when it rolls around a little later in the year.

I know , I know, I should not gripe.  The beginning of the week was glorious, it’s true. Just the other night I was sitting on my front stoop until almost midnight talking on the phone with nothing but a kimono between me, the indigo skies and the bright full moon.

I admit I was not delighted to wake up to a dense chilly mist and a brisk wind from the north.  I was needing just a soupcon more sunshine before soup season.

So when I got home the following night to a dark cold house and wet cold critters I was just a little blue until I got an idea to perk myself up, and it worked really well. I made a soup of roasted pumpkin, carrots, red peppers and toasted paprika.  Oh my goodness, people.  You cannot believe the color. Seriously cheerful. Kinda like the sunsets we we enjoying earlier in the week, only warmer.  I scooped it up with one of Dieter’s pretzels while indulging in a revisit of “Chef’s House”. No better way to truly get the most out of a cold night than a bowl of soup and a good short story. Oh, and a foot massage of you can arrange it, let’s not forget that part.

Reece Computer Systems is running a promotion designed to encourage Coastsiders to donate to local charities. During the holiday season of October through December, 2007, Reece Computer Systems are offering a 10% discount to anyone who presents a valid receipt, for a donation in any amount, to a non-profit organization from the following list:

Coastside Family Medical Center
Coastside Hope
La Honda Pescadero Unified School District
USO at the SF Airport
Hope Services
Coastside Childrens Programs
Friends of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
Senior Coastsiders
Coastside Farmers Market
G.R.A.C.E., Grassroots Alliance for Community Education
County of San Mateo Farm Bureau
Cabrillo Education Foundation