Audio: HMB’s sad, Bush-league press conference fails to answer questions

Editorialposted by Barry Parr on Apr 25, 2008 at 02:11 am in
0 comments • Print Share on Mail, Facebook, Twitter…

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.

 

Add a comment

Please Register and Log in to post a comment.

Click here to post your own letter to Coastsider.

Poetry Night at HMB Library, Fri, Sept 10

Letter by Joe Toschik on Wed, Sep 1 at 07:41 pm • 0 comments; click to add your own

Everyone is invited to a night of poetry at Half Moon Bay Library on Friday, September 10th at 7:00PM.  Join us as we celebrate the participants in our 13th annual Teen Poetry Contest.

Read more...

A ballot measure to increase HMB sales tax?

Letter by Bob Poole on Mon, Aug 30 at 01:43 pm • 4 comments; click to add your own

What insanity is this? Raise the sales tax by 1% and drive even more shoppers over the hill. I think that this will kill Main Street shopping for good. Rather than save Half Moon Bay from bankruptcy, I expect it will create a ghost town. Just my opinion.

Read more...

Pacifica DUI checkpoint

Letter by Tim Payne on Fri, Aug 27 at 10:50 pm • 3 comments; click to add your own

I want to start by saying that I think DUI checkpoints are great. They remove dangerous elements from our roadways. What I didn’t like today was being asked to show my drivers license at one tonight.

Under normal circumstances if I commit an infraction and get pulled over I fully understand why I would have to show my papers to an officer in the course of being ticketed. Tonight I was asked to show my papers just because I was on the road. It irked me. I wanted to know if this was legal and

Read more...

African Hybrid Cat (Savannah) Roaming in Montara

Letter by Margot Lowry on Mon, Aug 23 at 09:14 am • 3 comments; click to add your own

In the past month my housecat has been severely sliced up twice.  I wondered if a bobcat and he now had overlapping territories.  Then yesterday afternoon I found this hybrid cat, (I believe it is a Savannah cat which is a hybrid between a Serval and a housecat) just outside my front door. 

The cat has a blue collar with a bell attached.  No normal cat could stand a chance against him.  Triple check your chicken enclosures and do not leave windows open.  I read in Coastsider someone in

Read more...

Earlier letters

...Looking for something even earlier? Try our letter archives.
Get Coastside alerts from Fire Dispatch on Coastsider's Twitter feed...

A Zen Gift
All About Me Retreats
AM 1710 Neighborhood Radio, Half Moon Bay
Annette Merriman, Alain Pinel Realtors
Center for Personal Growth
Coastside Children’s Programs
Coastside Horse Council
Coastside Net, Half Moon Bay
Coastside Pediatrics, Half Moon Bay
Coastside Stuff, T-shirts & apparel, Half Moon Bay
COGL Communications, El Granada
Colquhoun Glass Works, El Granada
Custom Cabinet Refacing, Half Moon Bay
Darin Boville, Montara
Del Mar Properties
EJ Services, Espresso Machine Repair, Pacifica
Ellen Silva Creative Services, El Granada
Gruber Construction
Harbor Vista, vacation home, Half Moon bay
HMB Library, Half Moon Bay
KCD Construction, Half Moon Bay
Marian Bennett, Coldwell Banker, Half Moon Bay
Michael & Kathy Rain, Coastal Real Estate, Montara
Montara Beach Coalition
Montara Dog Blog
Montara.com, Montara
Moonside Bakery and Cafe, Half Moon
Next Step English, Half Moon Bay
Pacifica Gardens, Pacifica
Pacifica Riptide, Pacifica
Patricia McKowen Consulting, Half Moon Bay
Pillar Ridge Manufactured Home Community, Moss Beach
Pragmatos
Pt. Montara Lighthouse Hostel, Montara
Regan Daniels, Photographer
Robertson, Bell & Fisher, Coldwell Banker, Half Moon Bay
Rubber Nation Crafts, Half Moon Bay
San Gregorio Store, San Gregorio
San Mateo - SF Counties Cooperative Extension
San Mateo County Resource Conservation District
Spring Mountain Gallery, Half Moon Bay
Sustainable San Mateo County
The Coast Road
Weddings by the Sea, Half Moon Bay
Wendy Pine Florals, Floral Design, Half Moon Bay
Wild Bay Area Photography

Get your website listed here....