I am delighted to tell you that the Verizon Wireless antenna at the Montara Water and Sanitary District is at last up and running.  They installed the original antennae on December 7th and it never worked. I drove up Highway 1 yesterday and got a wonderful signal.  In fact, I got a signal over a pretty considerable part of the slide.  I would be interested to know how far back into Montara this signal penetrates.

Jo Laster

I’m hosting a Super Tuesday Watch Party in Half Moon Bay, on Tuesday, Feb 5. Join fellow Coastsiders for a night of fun, food and politics. 6:30 for a potluck dinner or 7:30 to watch returns. To sign up for this event through moveon.org, please click here:

http://political.moveon.org/event/supertueswatch/42597

or contact me at 726 9234.

Gail Evenari

Blue Blanket Improv, an improvisational comedy theater troupe based on the Coastside, is offering Coastside teens an opportunity to participate in an internship program providing real-world performance experience and a cash scholarship.

Interested Coastside high school students must complete an application form and audition for an internship position with BBI. Interns chosen to join BBI will practice and perform with the troupe and will be eligible for the BBI scholarship. Interns will be selected by members of the Blue Blanket Improv comedy troupe in February and the scholarship winner will be announced in June.

Scholarship applications must be returned to BBI by February 5, 2008. Auditions for the BBI internship will be held at Enso Yoga Studio in Half Moon Bay at noon on February 9, 2008.

To learn more about BBI and the Blue Blanket Improv Performing Arts Scholarship Program, visit the BBI website and download a copy of the scholarship application. Or email BBI directly at .

The County Times tells the story behind the hand-made tutus that Susan Hayward creates for her students in her Montara dance school.

Hayward has made hundreds of tutus in her 40 years of teaching. Each costume, covered in colorful sequins and lively patterns, can take her anywhere from 25 to 100 hours to make, depending on the level of embellishment.

Before she starts she must first understand whom she is creating the tutu for and what music they will dance to. Once she understands the ballet repertoire, she takes measurements and orders
the base of the tutu.
...
Most schools require their students to buy the costumes, which can cost from $500 to $1,000, not including labor. As the students usually have more than one dance number, the process can become extremely costly.

I had no idea.

An informal Volunteer Recruitment meeting will be held at Seton Coastside on Saturday, February 9 from 9:30 to 11:00am. Refreshments will be served. Volunteers are greatly needed for:

• Friendly Patient Visiting Program


• Activity Assistance


• Clerical Duties


• Special Projects


• Occupational and Physical Therapy Depts.

The Fireside Room
Seton Coastside
600 Marine Blvd.
Moss Beach, CA 94038

Info: Marilyn Levene 650-991-6567

The Fitzgerald Marine Reserve has gotten $669,750 in the latest federal appropriations bill to build an interpretive center, which includes a visitor center shaped like a keyhole limpet, reports the County Times.

The county’s parks department now must find the rest of the estimated $2.5 million to $3 million it will cost to complete the project at the entrance to Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, a narrow 3-mile strip of rocky coastline and tide pools near Moss Beach.
...
The San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Foundation, a nonprofit fundraising group, has already spent $117,000 developing concept designs for the Fitzgerald project and completing early site work. Holland said the department is also applying for state and federal grants.

June Morrall’s Princeton-by-the-Sea is a compact history of a compact part of the Coastside. From the unincorporated neighborhood of Miramar, up the coast to the radar antenna at the Air Force tracking station, these few square miles are San Mateo County’s connection to the Pacific. At the end this Review, we’ll tell of you how you can win an autographed copy of this interesting book.

June’s photo history shows many of the buildings in today’s Princeton in their original settings, complete with the cast of characters who made their lives there. June Morrall is the author of the Half Moon Bay Memories blog and wrote and produced the film Mystery of Half Moon Bay (1981).

Princeton is a peculiar piece of land. It features million dollar views and some of our most popular tourist destinations, but it is also littered with storage lockers, the rusting remnants of its industrial past, and a big chunk of the Coastside’s criminal element.  While it has been a destination since the days of the Ocean Shore Railway and still serves thousands of tourists, it has never lived up to its potential.

June’s book captures some very special moments in Princeton: When it was a much more vital fishing port than it is today, when Pete Douglas founded the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society as artists converged on the Coastside, when surfers discovered Mavericks, when bootleggers landed liquor bound for San Francisco, and when the Coastside was an important center for drag racing.

Most dramatic are the photographs of the damage caused by a tsunami on April Fool’s Day, 1946. It’s a reminder of how vulnerable this part of the Coastside is to another devastating big wave.

Princeton’s not the most thrilling piece of real estate in the world and it has always been kind of scruffy, like any working harbor. June’s book is a good introduction to the way that many Coastsiders then and now made their living from the sea.

You can get it from Amazon if you must, but you really should drop by your favorite Coastside bookstore to get your copy.

How to win a copy from Coastsider: The publisher sent us five copies of June’s book, which she has graciously autographed for us. Share your memories of Princeton with us, or your dreams for its future by attaching a comment to this story. We’ll award copies to the best comments as well as to a couple of randomly chosen entries—so you can win either by being the best, or simply by showing up. Remember, you can’t post unless you’re a registered user and you use your real name.  Click here to register. It only takes a few seconds.

We received an interesting suggestion from a reader:

In the light of Congressman Tom Lantos’ announcement yesterday that he will not seek re-election because of illness [County Times], I would really like to see the Tunnel named for him. If others agree with me, I think the place to start would be e-mailing State Senator Leland Yee. Lantos has represented us for almost thirty years and was highly influential in funding and getting the work under way on Devil’s Slide.

After visiting the tunnel construction site with Congressman Lantos back in May, it was clear to us how closely he identifies with the project.

The results from “Lighten Up for Christmas” in Montara are in.  The judges spent almost four hours over two nights combing the city and looking at all the neat light displays.  You can see the results at http://greenhousemontara.com/.  Thanks everyone for participating.  Hop in your car and check out the winner - Hill Street is really worth checking out at night!

One of the judges counted over 280 houses with lights with lights on the “lower” Montara streets.

We had lots of fun judging this year.  We had some wacky, and not so wacky recommendations for new categories such as “most tropical”, “most eco-friendly”, “best soundtrack”, and “best consistent theme”. 

Have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Pacifica School Volunteers (PSV), a nonprofit organization devoted to helping children succeed in school, has received a request for a Portuguese speaking volunteer.  A fourth grade teacher made the request explaining that a girl in her class speaks only Portuguese and is really struggling in school.  The volunteer could give one hour a week or more to help explain schoolwork and assist the girl in class.  The teacher will supply all course work and materials.  If you can help, please contact Pacifica School Volunteers at (650) 355-9432.