Comments by Brian Dantes

Aircraft over Montara

Susan,

I agree with your comments—but can you point me to a source that backs up what these pilots are doing is illegal? I agree that it should be—but from what I’ve seen so far it looks like the noise abatement guidelines are just that—and voluntary.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Aircraft over Montara

Thanks for the link (although I had to cut and paste it—the direct link from this page fails). I notice that the referenced noise abatement procedures are “voluntary.” Why is that? I certainly see few planes observing any of those procedures. We’re outside any of the “extremely noise sensitive areas” (as is Montara)—but sometimes it feels like these aircraft are going to land on our roof. I don’t need a telephoto lens to read their markings. The other day a BIG multi-rotor helicopter passed over that set off sonic vibrations that actually rattled the dishes in our cabinets. It was that close.

But I have to say that I believe the reason for apathy is that given the huge number of violations and disregard by these pilots, it’s clear there are no teeth to the “guidelines” and no one is policing them.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Aircraft over Montara

Is said map available on line somewhere? I live in the El Granada Highlands, and the noise from those airplanes is frequent and annoying.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Letter: Verizon Montara tower still not online

Thanks for posting this. Your contact at Verizon obviously knew more than mine. If you (or anyone else) hears any updates on this, please post them. I am really looking forward to having cell phone coverage in that area. Now if only they could get Devil’s Slide covered…

I offered to let Verizon put an antenna on our house (we’re up high in a great location for it) at the same price they’re paying MSWD—but so far I haven’t heard anything. ;->

Photo: Maybe now we can hear you

Anyone? I certainly have noticed zero improvement in cell phone reception using Verizon in Montara.

Photo: Maybe now we can hear you

Hallelujah. Does anyone know details on a) when this will be operational, an/or b) how far it will extend coverage?

Letter: What can be done about power outages in Montara?

Kevin Lansing wrote:
> Note to all those complaining about the (rare)
> power interruptions on the Coastside: this a small
> price to pay for the priviledge of living in a
> unique rural coastal area that is in close
> proximity to two major urban centers.
>
> Want more power reliability? Then move to one of
> those urban centers. It never ceases to amaze me
> how some people think they can have everything.

And it never ceases to amaze *me* how public officials in this area like yourself are constantly equating improving the quality of services here with death, doom and destruction.

And I echo Ms. Krpata’s comments—the power outages are frequent and annoying. There is no reason that we should have to abide sub-standard electrical grids simply because we have a nice view. Give me a break.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Letter: What can be done about power outages in Montara?

Stephen,

You are not alone - and I don’t know what is to be done other than to commiserate with one another. We seem to keep electing the same set of do-nothings over and over again, so I guess we have no one to blame but ourselves.

There are neighborhoods in El Granada and I suspect up and down the Coastside that have the same issue. I grew up in Houston where there was a *lot* of wind and rain and it basically took almost a hurricane to cause an outage. Thus, I find it laughable how often the power blips around here. The grid is yet another example of the exceedingly poor infrastructure and services we have on the Coast. My block is also frequently without power when everyone around us is not. The grid in El Granada in particular is a spaghetti nightmare—so a tree falling in one place may affect seemingly unrelated houses blocks away but nothing in the immediate vicinity.

Along with road and other infrastructure improvements, we should be investing in moving these lines underground.

Would you like to guess how much I believe either of those is ever going to happen?

Brian Dantes
El Granada

San Mateo County will get free wireless internet

Leonard,

I’m sure 1 mega*byte* downstream has to be a typo/error. I’m sure they mean 1Mbps (which is 1 Mega*bit* per second - which is about 128KB(ytes) per second).

1024KB per sec over wireless would indeed be nice. ;->

Brian

Coastal Commission alerts HMB to problems with Foothill Bypass

My gut feeling is that a bypass would certainly help the westbound afternoon commute heading north, as long as another light was not added. The Main Street light really makes life miserable on 92 during rush hour - even when Devil’s Slide is open. I wish the roadwork beginning to start there included an underpass for Main Street.

What can CCF recommend to Caltrans and HMB to mitigate the westbound 92 afternoon commute *now*? It is stacked up even at 8pm.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Video: How is business?

Mr. McCall,

I agree that we *should* be pulling together during this time—I believe it is HMB officials and merchants who are displaying the selfish attitudes, not I. The SR1/SR92 exchange belongs to all of us—and there are far more people that want to *get home to their families* at the end of the day than to get onto Main Street from 92 westbound. I was disgusted when I heard about the petition to resist the closure during peak commute hours to mitigate the traffic. And equally disgusted that Caltrans caved due to political pressure.

Someone on another thread suggested what sounded to me like a very viable compromise. Only prevent interruptions of SR92 eastbound traffic in the mornings and westbound traffic in the afternoons. In other words, in the evening hours, westbound SR92 traffic could still turn left onto Main Street—only eastbound SR92 traffic turning north onto Main Street and southbound Main Street cross traffic would be blocked. Asking that traffic to go around during those hours I think would be a small sacrifice that wouldn’t hurt business at all and would help traffic flow a lot.

And I do partially blame HMB citizens for the actions of their elected representatives—because they continue to elect the same people with the same attitudes over and over again. That wouldn’t happen if those officials didn’t reflect the majority opinion in that city.

I do respect your point about some innocent bystanders getting caught up in the mess. How else do you suggest a non-citizen of HMB protest the actions and attitudes of HMB City Council and some merchants? In all fairness, I will concede that I should find a copy of the petition and only boycott those businesses that signed it. Anyone have a copy?

It’s takes reciprocation to be good neighbors. I feel like Mid-Coasters are suffering *more* than their fair share of this Devil’s Slide mess both in terms of the impact on commute times and local businesses.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Video: How is business?

Mr. McCall,

As I’ve indicated several times, the Main Street merchants have actively resisted a perfectly reasonable closure of Main Street during the westbound evening commute. Not only is no one in the mood to shop after sitting in half an hour or more of slow traffic, but at least one extremely reasonable alternative has been offered here. I haven’t heard anything more about that.

The attitude of those merchants combined with the fact that every citizen of HMB is responsible to some degree for continuing to elect such representatives makes I think a pesudo-boycott justified. In addition, what other power do non-HMB citizens have to make their voice heard other than their wallets?

I sent a note protesting this whole metering light thing a couple of weeks ago to every member of the HMB City Council (except the City Manager, whose email address I could not find—that seems the most important one to have on the web site!). Only Bonnie McClung had the cordiality to respond - it was polite but completely unsubstantive.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Video: How is business?

Mr. MacQueen,

It is not the metering lights that I am waiting for—because Caltrans officials made it clear to me that those would be enabled when and if they and they alone judged the need was clear. What I am waiting for is a shift in attitude on the part of the HMB government and some of the Main Street merchants (regarding the Main Street closures during the afternoon). I still see an underlying attitude on the part of many in HMB that the SR1/SR92 exchange somehow belongs exclusively to HMB - and I also feel that a lot of improvements that could have benefitted everyone on the Coastside have typically been resisted by the HMB government (better/wider/more roads, movie theatre, etc.).

I do feel sorry for *all* of the local merchants on the Coastside. But I don’t recall the merchants in Princeton’s Landing raising hullaballoo when Caltrans restricted the right turn lane *24x7* into their shopping area.

For me, it really is a long culmination of HMB isolationist and ostrich like attitudes. I’m sure there are many in HMB who are more neighborly than this - I’ve even heard a few of them speak. But the council does not reflect that - and the citizens of HMB continue to elect such representation year after year. To be perfectly honest, I have never been too impressed with most of the businesses anywhere on the Coastside. The vast majority of our shopping is done online or over the hill, with the exception of groceries at Safeway (which is also pretty sub-par).

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Video: How is business?

Mr. Steger,

Amen to everything you said.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Caltrans is less certain a new traffic light is needed

Mr. Nelson,

It was nice meeting you last night.

I haven’t seen the recording of the meeting, but I thought I remembered Caltrans giving Councilman Grady some positive feedback on his query. I definitely feel that there was some overly fancy political footwork going on. I would much rather that Caltrans be blunt and state their authority as it is - but at the same time I can appreciate their position in wanting to preserve the spirit of cooperation until it just simply no longer works.

I didn’t realize that Caltrans was refusing to release copies of the study. That’s ludicrous.

The data for their study was during the holiday week - which even they admitted was skewed as a result. Mr. Moghbel made a presentation to the HMB Council at the same venue on May 16th. At that time, they said their traffic engineer had already established that the merge was chokepoint for the traffic and that they would be enabling the lights in a few days as a result. Why didn’t they do it? Why did they feel the need for more data? I’ve stated my belief on that score multiple times - HMB political bullies.

I remain convinced that those metering lights would have been quite helpful during the week of May 21st.

I deeply regret not speaking last night. I got there late (due to the backup on 92 ironically), and by the time I realized that there was no mid-coast representation, it was too late to turn in a green sheet. While I absolutely expect the HMB Council to represent their core constituents, alienating their neighbors doesn’t strike me as serving the overall needs of their community.

As far as fairness goes, I believe what Mr. Sean Nozzarri was trying to say (and I agree with this) is that traffic at the intersection should be balanced so that the total sum of cars approaching it from all directions never exceeds its maximum capacity. I recall that Mr. Nozzarri said that capacity was 1500 cars per hour, and even during the holiday week morning commute from 6am-8am, this capacity was exceeded. In the first of those hours, the southbound traffic *quadrupled* the northbound traffic (so clearly the metering lights would have helped) and in the next hour, the northbound traffic slightly exceeded the southbound (so the metering lights would have hindered).

I hope no one reading my posts has ever construed that I claim the metering lights are a panacea. I just take extreme issue with the facts that HMB resisted even the attempt to *try* a solution and continues to persist in this attitude of exclusive ownership over a shared critical artery. I agree that the metering lights have not seemed necessary in light of the recent traffic I have personally experienced - but I still think the 511 numbers are a bit wonky. I have had significantly longer wait times than that data sometimes indicates.

Going forward, I hope that Caltrans will be more direct in communicating and asserting their authority on serving the needs of the Coastside community as a whole on SR1 and SR92. I would still like to see Main Street closures in the afternoon commute as well - I think that would really help. (Perhaps with the announcement of Federal disaster aid money, HMB merchants will be a little more reasonable about this?) I would also like to see law enforcement out actually directing traffic—we wouldn’t need to rely on metering lights if they were doing that during the worst peak times.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Caltrans is less certain a new traffic light is needed

That traffic data was based on light Memorial Day holiday traffic - which Caltrans also stated. But you are right, now that HMB has succeeded in wasting three weeks of precious time with bureaucratic nonsense - during at least two weeks of the school rush hour of which those lights would have done a world of good—the point has become moot.

I find it ironic that you cite the correspondence between school traffic and the need for these lights when Councilman Gorn asserted essentially the reverse at the last council meeting.

I think Caltrans has bent over backwards to try and keep the peace with HMB (too much politicking in my opinion), but this Mid-Coaster will remember the obvious way in which HMB officials mispresented and bullied their selfish views to the exclusion of their neighbors. We Mid-Coasters are at a distinct disadvantage because HMB officials are much better organized with the direct ear of Caltrans through their City Manager.

I was very disappointed to see no representation of Mid-Coast views directly to the HMB Council tonight. I did my best to represent Mid-Coast concerns to the Caltrans folks directly. But I am no elected official, so other Mid-Coasters must contact them and let our collective voices be heard. And members of the MCCC, please speak up on our behalf against these HMB assertions of inherent ownership over the SR1/SR92 exchange.

While I think Caltrans is trying to build consensus and not be drawn into local wars (and thus allowed themselves to swayed), I have learned HMB’s assertions about Caltrans lack of power to unilaterally impose traffic mitigations on state roads is completely false. They have the emergency CDP they need already and absolutely have the authority to enable those lights and other traffic mitigations if and when they see fit. No permits of any kind from HMB or any other local authority are necessary. It is obvious to me that they are trying to be inclusive and seek public input (as they wisely and ethically should) - but they are in no way legally obligated to be beholding to the one-sided and biased interests of HMB or any other specific group.

I heard some notes of neighborly sympathy and a sense of fairness from at least one of the podium speakers, but so far nothing from any HMB officals with any power. That is sad.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Measure S loses with 61% of the vote

Mr. Berman,

Please don’t take your teacher’s perspective from this forum. I for one very much appreciated (and enjoyed) your “rant.”

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Measure S loses with 61% of the vote

Mr. Pettengill,

You and Mr. Olson have cited two different sets of numbers, both of which appear in the data referenced. At this point, I am fairly certain that the spin you put is misleading at best (both in this forum and in the ballot arguments). The numbers you cited I believe are the *total* property taxes in this area as compared to statewide averages, which of course are higher due to the outrageous property values. But only a fraction of those taxes go to the school district, so using property taxes as a metric of school funding is bogus.

I am sorry that you have chosen to evade the question - which only further convinces me that you are incorrect.

Mr. Olson, would you care to weigh in here? I’d really like to know if you agree with my analysis in my post in this thread on Jun 08, 06 at 11:10 pm?

Brian Dantes
El Granada

Measure S loses with 61% of the vote

Mr. Pettengill,

Could you please read my post in this thread dated Jun 08, 06 at 11:10 pm? I’d like to know specifically why you believe my read of the data is wrong. From what I can tell, Mr. Olson is correct.

Thanks,
Brian Dantes
El Granada

Measure S loses with 61% of the vote

Mr. Olson,

One other thing...you wrote:

“And now we are seeing the real agenda behind voting No, which is to try and make a negative impact on the Board. Come on, they have not lost anything. Because of this election I don’t think I trust or believe what the NO faction states.”

I was part of the NO faction literally until the moment I got to the voting booth. My pen literally wavered above the ballot for a minute. With all of the discussion that has happened since, I think I ultimately made the right vote—but were the same measure to come up again, the choice would still be difficult.

What I’m asking you to accept is that if a parent with children in the system can be this torn then the concerns are legitimate and sincere. I know I am not alone in these concerns. I think a grass roots effort can fix the failings of the past proposals—and then I think it will pass well beyond the required super-majority.

Brian Dantes
El Granada

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