The waiting period for Mavericks begins Dec. 1, and surfers around the world will be prepared to come to Princeton on 24 hours notice.  The San Mateo County Times’ Amelia Hansen writes that the organizers are expecting “enormous” waves this season.  Last February’s competition was the first in three years.

San Mateo County may be the best place to watch birds in California and the Coastside may be the best place in the county. The San Mateo County Times followed Sequoia Audubon Society members to Pescadero State Beach and Pescadero Marsh Nature Preserve, where they spot 65 species of birds.

Comcast is raising cable rates by 5.7% for nearly all Bay Area communities in the new year, according to the SF Chronicle. This follows rate increases of 5.9% in November 2003 and 6.5% in January 2003, for an average annual increase of nearly 10%. Comcast has 1.6 million Bay Area customers in 128 municipalities, including the Coastside.

While some communities, notably San Jose, will be exempt from this increase, Comcast has not released a complete list of all the affected customers. Expect to be notified by mail whether the Coastside will get hit with an increase.

Comcast cited as justification availability of more programming choices, improvements in customer service and investments in technical upgrades to justify its price increase.  Consumer groups suggested it might have something to do with the fact that Comcast is an unregulated monopoly.

The California Department of Fish and Game has issued a letter recommending suspension of disking [pdf] and other potentially damaging agricultural activity at the Wavecrest site pending further evaluation by state and federal agencies.  Two weeks ago, the California Coastal Commission also asked for the disking to stop.

Addressed to Wavecrest attorneys and copied to a number of city, school district, state and federal authorities, the letter was prompted by extensive mowing and disking at the Wavecrest site two weeks ago in preparation for the cultivation of hay.

The property owners’ attorney says that the disking was monitored by a biologist and that they are “trying to be extra-specially careful”.

The Department says that at this time of year any San Francisco garter snake on the property would likely be underground in burrows not visible to observers and unable to escape disking. The Department said that the biologist would have no real impact on the risk of killing snakes.

“(Our) concern is reinforced by reports that at least three garter snakes (species unknown) have already been killed by the discing carried out to date,” wrote Robert Floerke, DFG regional manager for the Central Coast Region in the DFG letter, dated Nov. 22.

Under federal law, harming or killing an endangered species such the Red-Legged Frog (which has been found in a different part of Wavecrest) is illegal without a specifically designed plan that assesses and mitigates for “take” of protected animals. Under state law, any take of a San Francisco Garter Snake is illegal, except for scientific study or recovery purposes.

“Based on this information, the Department recommends that discing activities cease," the letter said, until the developer, the state DFG and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service evaluate the situation and agree upon a management plan consistent with applicable local, state and federal laws.

The letter in closing also clarified that putting the Wavecrest property into agricultural production did not “significantly change the Department’s existing evaluation that the site should be considered habitat ... based on a number of factors, only one of which is the actual physical condition of the property.”

This weekend’s windstorm kept Southcoast firefighters very busy. Starting Saturday evening, Firefighters from CDF, Half Moon Bay, La Honda and Kings Mountain Fire Depts. responded to multiple wind related calls, four involving fires.

The first fire at Bean Hollow Rd at Highway 1 was reported at 9 pm. Once there, firefighters discovered an approximately 30 foot spot burning in roadside vegetation. It was as a result of downed power lines.

The second fire was reported 9 minutes later and located at 210 Pigeon Point Rd. This fire resulted in damage to a storage barn as well as burning a about a 40-foot spot of the surrounding vegetation. The cause is under investigation.

At 5:49am Sunday, a structure fire was reported at 901 Bean Hollow Rd with a second report of a structure fire in the area of the Cascade Ranch several miles to the south. Firefighters were sent to both locations, however only one fire was discovered at the Bay City Flower facility on Bean Hollow Rd. This fire was also the result of downed power lines that burned stored PVC pipe, plastic sheeting, agricultural equipment and approximately 1/4 of an acre vegetation. No structures were involved in this incident.

Separately, State Highway 84 in La Honda was closed for over 20 hours as a result of downed power and communication lines.

Should the Half Moon Bay Review be required to file as an official Political Action Committee? The actions of this coastside publication beg that question. Following is my experience with them.

During the recent campaign season, I was the campaign manager for school board candidate Jonathan Lundell. During the campaign, the Half Moon Bay Review systematically manipulated their letters page and ad placement to promote an outcome that favored the Wavecrest development.

Along with Lundell, John Moseley and Charles Gardner were running for three seats on the Cabrillo Unified School District board.

This is a chronological account of my experience with the Review:

In early September, I met with the Review’s advertising staff. I reserved space for the entire campaign on page 3A, next to the space already reserved by Charles Gardner, except for the last issue before the election when Gardner had reserved the entire available space on 3A.

Sept 22—John Moseley used the space reserved by the Gardner campaign. We used the space we reserved.

Sept 29—Moseley and Gardner shared the space reserved by the Gardner campaign. We used the space we reserved.

Oct 6—Gardner used the reserved space. Moseley ran no ad. The Review published a letter to the editor by Jolanda Schreurs, school board member, “Wavecrest woes can be overcome” in support of building the Middle School on the Wavecrest property.

Oct 13—Moseley used the Gardner reserved space. Gardener used space on 7A. We used our reserved space.

Oct 16—Jonathan submitted a letter to the editor regarding building a middle school on the Wavecrest property. On Oct 18 the Review rejected his letter and he was told that no editorial letters regarding the campaign would be accepted this year. This is a change in the Review’s prior policy of accepting letters to the editor until the last issue, and inconsistent with the publication of the 10/6 Schreurs letter.

Oct 20—the Review printed an attack ad in Gardner’s reserved space, adjacent to our ad.  In an endorsement titled “Vote for Gardner, Moseley for CUSD”, the Review cited the middle school at Wavecrest as the deciding issue.

Oct 27—In the last issue of the Review before the election, Moseley and Gardner shared the reserved space.  The Review again prints a pro- Wavecrest letter, this time from Jim Larimer ["Make Wavecrest Happen Already”, no link available], but no letters from anyone else about the campaign.

Nov 3—On the day after the election, the Review’s managing editor Clay Lambert evaluated the attack ad in and editorial called “An ad that added absolutely nothing”.

Nov 10—The Review prints a story on page 3A “Ad writers say ends justify means of CUSD campaign” by Clay Lambert. It identified Jolanda Schreurs as coordinating the attack ad with the Gardner campaign and Jim Larimer, Chris Mickelsen and Kirk Riemer having paid for the attack ad.

Throughout this entire time Jonathan’s supporters were sending letters of support for Jonathan and his positions. None of them were printed.

Meanwhile, the Review printed two letters from Gardner’s supporters promoting the Wavecrest development, the very issue identified by the Review as the most critical to their endorsement.

Here we see the Review’s systematic manipulation of the school board election to the advantage of the two candidates promoting the Wavecrest development, and the silencing of any support for the Lundell campaign.

Because the attack ad was not independent of the Gardner campaign, the campaign is required to report this ad as a nonmonetary contribution under California campaign finance law. Because the ad was paid for on or before 10/14, it should have been included in the reporting period ending 10/16. It was not. I have filed a complaint with the FPPC.

The ad raised enough eyebrows that the San Mateo County Times did a page 2 article on the Review’s behavior [No longer online, but reported on Coastsider]. The Review didn’t follow up until after the election.

Unfortunately, election manipulation has become the standard practice of the Review. In the last candidate election in the fall of 2003 the Review scheduled candidate interviews for endorsement then called the candidates cancelling the interviews stating that the Review would not be doing endorsements then did “recommendations” for the voters with no interviews of the candidates. This was misleading to the candidates and unfair. Even candidates who received recommendations from the Review considered this to be an underhanded practice, unfair to the candidates.

It is unfortunate that the Review is beholden to the real estate developers, real estate agents and construction firms here on the coast. Perhaps if they had adequate revenue from another source they would be an ethical publication. They are not now and there is no reason to expect them to change in the near future.

The Sanctuary Advisory Councils of the Monterey Bay and Gulf of the Farallones marine sanctuaries will hold a joint public meeting Dec. 3. The meeting will discuss the sanctuaries’ management plans and policies on personal watercraft at Maverick’s.

The meeting will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Costanoa Lodge and Resort, 2001 Rossi Road at Highway 1, Pescadero.

A magnitude-3.9 earthquake hit Parkfield in Monterey County on Thursday night at 6:56pm. There have been no reports of any injuries or damage. Parkfield had a 6.0-magnitude quake in September.

Last week, 25 coastside citizens, teachers, and school administrators met for two and a half very busy days of creating a strategy for the Cabrillo Unified School District.

The next steps will involve over 100 coastsiders in a process that will deliver a final strategic plan to the CUSD board next year.

I spoke to CUSD Deputy Superintendent B.J. Mackle, who’s managing the process for the District. She says the planning team will break into five committees covering each of the strategies identified last week (roughly: diversity, standards, community participation, curriculum and instruction, and revenue).

The strategies are pretty generic, but appropriate:

• I) We will acknowledge the uniqueness of each individual, insure respect and equity, and provide opportunities for common experiences to build unity.


• ll) We will insure that every student meets or exceeds state and/or district standards by implementing rich and rigorous instructional programs supported by personal learning objectives.


• Ill) We will fully integrate the student, family and community as partners in the educational process. Note: Achievement gap; low performing students; role of family


• IV) We will implement challenging, exemplary curriculum and programs through engaging and inspiring instruction. Note: Recruitment and retention of staff; Staff Development


• V) We will aggressively pursue every avenue necessary to increase the revenue required to achieve our mission.

The proof of the process will be in the plans to come.

This week, letters will go to the schools describing the process. Then solicitation of 20 volunteers for each of the five committees will begin. The committees will meet in January. The results of the committees will be delivered to the board in March for feedback. In April, the formal review of the plans by the strategic planning team will begin so that the final report can be delivered to the board at their meeting on June 2.

“This could result in changing some people’s job descriptions,” says Mackle. The final plans will be assigned to specific people (typically District administrators) for implementation.

This is an exciting process and this is a real opportunity for public participation in the school district’s planning.

BONUS:  I’ve uploaded the entire 50-page packet that was given to the planning team last week [12MB PDF]. Includes a wealth of data about the school district and our community and gives you a good idea of the context of the planning.

Thirty excited Cub Scouts from Farallone View’s pack 255 and 20 equally excited chaparones departed Montara last Friday night for a overnight trip to WWII submarine USS Pompanito. Docked at Pier 45 at Fishermans Warf, the USS Pampanito is a World War II submarine museum and memorial open for visitors daily. Each year the Pompanito hosts over 15,000 kids, but not everyone gets to spend the night on a real submarine.

The leaders of this pack do a remarkable job all year of teaching these kids about the world around them, while keeping it fun.  But an overnight on a submarine poses special challenges. As a mother, I have a hard time coordinating the pandemonium that ensues when my three children are in the same room. So I was impressed with how organized this event was.  The scouts, ranging in age from 6 to 10, worked with the parents to load 10 carloads of supplies onto the sub and unpack and settle the goup into tiny sleeping quarters. 

When den leader Gary Smith told me this was an overnight, I had visions of a nice tour, followed by pizza and lights out at 11.  I had no idea that he meant a full 12 hours straight of activities supervised by rotating teams of adults that ran the gamut from videos in the torpedo bay to fire drills, to challenges of “who can stay awake all night?”, and “look how many cupcakes I can eat at one time!”. What an eye opener!

The staff of the Pompanito kicked off the event with a guided tour of the sub, including a special foray in the conning tower, which houses the fully-functioning periscope and (unloaded) main deck gun. Popanito staff members were exceptional with the scouts, driling them on submarine safety (don’t touch that), tour ettiquite (don’t touch that either) and World War II history.

The next morning, the boys had the privilege of conducting a flag-raising ceremony on the deck of the Pompanito, followed by a group picture with the original ship’s flag on the deck. 

The boys had a great time, and exemplified the values that their Scout leaders have been teaching them all year.  The boys were trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, curteous, kind, obedient, and most of all brave and reverent.  Thank you to all the scouting leaders and volunteers who dedicate so much time and energy to making this an unforgettable experience for our boys.