The city of Half Moon Bay is stonewalling its residents and the rest of the state on AB1991.
Half Moon Bay Review editor Clay Lambert has blogged that he’s having a hard time getting his calls returned by City Hall. I’ve made several calls to City Manager Marcia Raines since the settlement was announced, asking about envrionmental reviews of the Glencree property, but have never heard from her.
How can the community get its questions answered about AB1991? You’re only allowed to get its predigested spin, such as its most recent letter disputing the Coastal Commission’s arguments from Coastsider. The city will not talk to you.
Thursday, the city held a telephone press conference attempting to dispute the Coastal Commission’s negative assessment of AB1991 [click for MP3 recording].
The city’s spin machine was working overtime this afternoon. A number of folks, including myself, tried to get a question to Mayor Bonnie McClung, but access was so tightly controlled that only three reporters were able to ask a mere four questions. It was more like a George W. Bush White House press conference than a real Q&A about an important issue in our community.
Two of those four questions went unanswered. You can listen to Orrick attorney/flack Lanny Davis fail to deliver the details of a lawsuit which he claimed invalidated the Coastal Commission’s assertion that the inclusion of Glencree was arbitrary. And hear Mayor McClung fail to tell us the city’s cost for lobbying for AB1991.
At the end, Mr. Davis ran out the clock by describing the settlement as a deal which cannot be undone, but failed to mention who cut the deal and why it was structured the way it was.
No further questions were taken.


Congresswoman Jackie Speier in Pacifica, Saturday, Mar 16 2:11pm, Barry Parr — I’m not interested in debating the issue here, but Kevin’s use of the quotes around the word “need” reminded me of these awesome charts from http://fivethirtyeight.com Gallup provided the verbatim responses of the rationales given by people who ...
Congresswoman Jackie Speier in Pacifica, Saturday, Mar 16 1:46pm, Kevin Barron — This should be interesting. I’m guessing she’ll pull her best Ginger Rogers, dancing in synch with the “need” for health care reform, and sashaying skirting around the “way” Obamacare is being pushed by Congress. I’m curious where she REALLY ...
Pacifica examines widening part of Hwy 1 to six lanes, Mar 15 9:49pm, Carl May — No, Route 1 does not become a freeway north of Reina del Mar in Pacifica. There is side traffic from the police station, the orchid nursery/GGNRA trailhead, Mori Point Road, and, especially, the dangerous intersection of Westport after RdM. Then ...
Pacifica examines widening part of Hwy 1 to six lanes, Mar 15 6:16pm, Barry Parr — We use the vet on that stretch of Hwy 1. A couple of years ago, we took Fireball to the vet. Julia was six and as soon as she got out of the car, she put her hands on her ears. I don’t blame her. I’ve been keeping track of sound levels in my ...
The Coastside's uninsured need your help, Mar 15 5:51pm, Suzanne Black — Excellent article, Cheryl. It brings home the national argument over health care reform. So much misinformation in the media and blogs! But it boils down to how we treat our neighbors—and our own and our families’ futures. Your advice is our best ...
Pacifica examines widening part of Hwy 1 to six lanes, Mar 15 5:23pm, Stephen Lowens — A few comments on the proposal to widen Highway 1 through Pacifica: Personal qualifications for these comments: A) 47 years of experience as a traffic engineer; licensed since 1975. B) Attendance at a seminar in El Granada on March 13, ...
Pacifica examines widening part of Hwy 1 to six lanes, Mar 15 3:08pm, Kevin Barron — The meeting is the first step to creating a Draft Environmental Impact Report. I’m curious if the draft EIR will include environmental impact of NOT widening the highway, given the pile of cars and trucks running on idle during the commute ...