Comments by Peggy Emrey

Rat Poison Kills More Than Rats

Professionals are better able than many homeowners to crawl into hard to reach spaces repeatedly to work with traps and such. Professionals told me how to manage my huge hidden infestation, and their assistance included bait. Traps were not enough to kill them all. We used several methods, with the professionals' help, to get rid of them before the damage could be repaired. These rodents were indoors, none were found outside. Removing all such options when they are needed opens up a potential disease…

Rat Poison Kills More Than Rats

Rat bait may be the only way to mitigate very large infestations, especially indoors. Rats and mice learn quickly to avoid traps when they see the results. In such infestations the rodent population has established indoor breeding colonies and do not necessarily go back outdoors if they find sustenance indoors, including plastic, wiring, etc. All bait should be set out in locked bait boxes that children can't open, in areas where pets do not have access. Bait is harmful to pets and children, so extreme…

Video: Coasting Devil’s Slide

Great video! Reminds me how much I miss driving that road. The tunnel's nice, but certainly lacks the view! Is there a shuttle that can take cyclists back to the north end if they're not up to riding uphill that far? Welcome back, Coastsider!!!

The Nascent Financial Crisis at Coastside Fire

Carl, I understand your thinking, but the fact is that we have an enormous amount to lose in safety, peace of mind, property values and everything else if this Board majority gets its way. With CAL FIRE, we have the best trained firefighters out there, in terms of both structure and wildland fires, plus EMS services. No small local department can match them, and you only need to look back on what we had before to realize this. We may be a minority here, but the reality is that HMB pays $35/year and…

Coastside firefighters’ pay averaged $155,000 per year in 2007

This is the same model that our current Board majority in 2012 want to go back to, and The President, Doug Mackintosh keeps bringing up how it's cheaper to have fewer employees and more overtime, than to have a fully staffed department. However, in San Carlos, whose salary and benefit package our consultants have sold the Board on can't find enough qualified people to hire, and has had to "brown out" engines and request CAL FIRE to cover over the holiday. We currently have a stable fire service with…