Feature: The Crazy Stranger (Gadjo Dilo)
French and Romany with English subtitles

Tony Gatlif is a wonderful French/Roma (Gypsy) film maker.  When the Film Society screened "Latcho Drom", Gatlif’s documentary about the many styles of gypsy music in Jan 2007, the audience asked for more.  This month they are going to give HMB more.

On June 20th The Film Society is screening one of Tony’s feature films about the Roma (Gypsy) life.  Gadjo Dilo (The Crazy Stranger) follows a young Frenchman who finds himself living among Romanian gypsies.  This plot about a stranger living among the Rom gives Gatlif the chance to explore the passions of Rom culture, music, and mores in a way that he could not do using the documentary format of Latcho Drom.

This story touches upon adult themes and the Rom actors are not afraid of using authentically salty language. So the Film Society was a little concerned about screening it at their usual venue at the Methodist Sanctuary. So they are moving this screening this month down the road to their our old haunt South of town at the Depot at Johnson House.

When: Friday June 20th at 8:00 pm
Where: The Depot at Johnson House,  Half Moon Bay 110 Higgins Purisima Road
Donation: $6.00

"A fresh and vibrant surprise. A film that pulsates with consistent energy, humor and an unexpected pathos. There have not been many films that succeed in capturing the reality of the gypsy life, and Gadjo Dilo works beautifully. It’s a classic fish-out-of-water story which miraculously evolves into a boisterous, sometimes comic look at a particular Romanian tribe." Paul Fischer Urban Cinefile

Director Tony Gatlif’s award-winning film about a young French man trying to come to terms with his father’s death. Searching for clues about his distant Dad he travels to Romania hoping to meet the reclusive Nora Luca, a legendary gypsy singer whose music was his father’s greatest obsession.

In hopes of tracking down the diva he ingratiates himself with the local Gypsy community. Initially suspicious of the stranger, the villagers gradually come to accept him. He, in turn, falls in love with beautiful, spirited gypsy dancer.  The film’s complex story line weaves around the couple’s affair, revealing the rich world of gypsy custom and musical culture.

"The performances are all startling, from the superb work of French actor Romain Duris, the magnificent Isidor Serban, who is hypnotic as the elderly gypsy leader with a lust for life, and the seductive, earthy and foul-mouthed Rona Hartner who lights up the screen as the sensuous Sabrina.  All in all, an exhilarating experience not to be missed."  Paul Fischer

* Winner of the Caesar Prize for Best Music for a Film *

For more info and a streaming video trailer see: www.HMBFilm.org

Warning: This film features adult themes and language

The recent floods and fires taking place throughout the country should be a wake-up call to all homeowners to dust off their insurance policy and check out your coverage.  In most cases,  you will find that your home is underinsured.  Home prices have gone up from several years ago.  You may have done additions or renovations to your home (like new kitchen or new rooms) and forgot to tell your insurance agent.  Construction costs have also risen a lot over the past few years.  You may even have bought your wife or special person some expensive jewelry that wasn’t added to your policy.

If there’s a fire or some disaster and you haven’t updated your policy,  you are in a world of hurt.

This is pretty easy to do.  Call your agent and have them review your policy and changes you’ve done to your home. You’ll sleep a lot better knowing your biggest investment is well covered.

And if possible,  try and use one of our local agents.  They do a lot for the Coast with their support of so many causes.

To Whom it may concern and the GGNRA Board Members,

It is my intention to speak out for future generations as I write you today. We are requesting you leave Rancho Corral de Tierra as pristine and untouched, after you complete the transfer of ownership from POST, as the explorers that first discovered it .

In the past, I have been a proud supporter and financial contributer in helping the GGNRA’s Board Members realize their visions for such areas as Fort Point, Morri Point, Sweeny and Milagra Ridges for the recreational use by their respective communities’ members and their visitors. You should be commended on the implementation of those visions and are rightfully deserving of those accolades. What I am most proud of is the Board’s ability to preserve and restore the topography to it’s natural balance. In Rancho Corral de Tierra’s case, that would mean removing the Pampas Grasses Cal-Trans planted decades ago to prevent soil erosion when building Highway One through Mount Montara. It does not mean removing the horses, building outhouses and concessions, but restoring and leaving the area as undisturbed as it has remained through the millenniums.

In short, this is a historic piece of land that needs to be respected and preserved by it’s visitors and by it’s stewards. It is for these reasons that I humbly beseech the Board to leave this land to the future explorers and to their discoveries whether they are made on foot, horse or bicycle.  The smaller your foot print the mightier your legacy will be to the people of the community, state, countrymen and those whom venture around our planet visiting our pristine slice of heaven the Spanish explorers named Rancho Corral de Tierra.

Please help us keep Rancho Corral de Tierra the precious gem it is, and make it one of the crown jewels of the GGNRA legacy, not some sort of tourist trap.

Thank you for helping us. I look forward to speaking with you further at the June 17 Open House you are hosting in Woodside.
Joel Colletti
Montara

A new "Montara Dog Group" is being formed to represent the interests of all those who walk their dogs in the open space around Montara.  As this open space transitions from POST jurisdiction to GGNRA control, dog owners need to keep informed of meetings and formal documents under review, so that input can be provided.  It cannot be assumed that dog walking privileges will automatically be granted under GGNRA. To join the group, or for more information, e-mail Bill Bechtell at

or phone (650) 728-3946.  Also, you may visit the Montara Dog Blog.

The Senate Local Government Committee hearing for AB1991, scheduled for Wednesday, has been delayed until Wednesday, June 25. This could be a significant inconvenience for all Coastsiders and others who made time to attend the hearing in Sacramento.

Half Moon Bay’s representative for AB1991, Lanny Davis, has joined the staff of Fox News, reports Alex Koppelman in Salon.

Davis has been trending Fox News’ way for some time now, first as a supporter of Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman during his reelection fight in 2006 and then as a Clinton surrogate this year. During one appearance he made on the network in May, under prompting from conservative radio host Laura Ingraham about allegations of bias against Clinton, Davis said he "now know[s] what it feels like to be a Republican" and added that, in his view, Fox was the most balanced of the cable networks. Separately, Davis told the Politico’s Michael Calderone that one appearance he made on rival CNN was "the worst experience I ever had on television."

And Davis fits with the general pattern of Democratic guests on FNC. In an article I wrote last year about so-called Fox News Democrats, who often seem to be picked by the network to make Democrats look bad, I discussed Davis’ general attitude on the network, where he often appeared as what I termed an "enabler." "This category of guest", I noted, "is ‘on-screen to prove to viewers that even Democrats agree that a radical left wing dominates the Democratic Party, not to mention the media.’" Davis was a prime example of this phenomenon.

NOTE: You can see Lanny’s famous performance on Fox over at Talking Points Memo.

Three Half Moon Bay High School students were recently honored in two separate events. Nancy and Gissel Ronquillo each received a $2400 scholarship to attend a two-week summer science camp in Berkeley, Ca.

Ric Lohman arranged for the J. David Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco to expand its scholarship program this year to allow students from Half Moon Bay High to apply and compete for the 21 scholarships. Biology teachers Barbara Lohman and Leigh Detweiler each nominated one student from their respective classes.

The students had to write an essay about their career goals in science and go through competitive interviews at the Gladstone Institutes. A wide range of San Francisco schools were represented, but both HMB students were selected. Nancy and Gissel will live on the UC Berkeley campus for two weeks, attend classes, and visit local companies that work in the areas of medicine and health care.

The Gladstone Institutes continue to track all scholarship awardees and invite them back for alumni gatherings and even offer internships to those who decide to continue with careers in medical research. The Gladstone Institutes do advanced research in Alzheimer’s disease, AIDS, and cardiac studies.

On a much larger biological scale, Jennifer Steger will be doing glaciological research this summer through the Juneau Icefield Research Program (affectionately called JIRP by its participants). Begun in the 1940’s at the University of Idaho this program allows students to participate in research on the movements and composition of glaciers. The students will spend 2 months trekking between research sites on cross-country skis, carrying their belongings with them. Ice and glacier safety is an important part of the training. Only a few high school students are included in this program which accepts applicants from all over the United States. Jenny will be working with undergraduate students, graduate students and scientists to learn the rigors of scientific research while contributing to global databases on glacier data.

The Bush administration proposes to pay for mess it created in the Census Bureau by taking funds designed to help salmon fishermen hurt by its water policies, reports Truthout.

The Bush administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Monday, June 9, sent a proposal to Congress to amend the president’s budget and take back $70 million of the $180 million West Coast representatives had put into the farm bill for disaster assistance for fishermen devastated by fishing closures off California and Oregon and in Central Valley rivers.

West Coast Democrats reacted to the proposal by sending an angry letter to President Bush. They called "unconscionable" his proposal to deny the disaster funding to fishermen and use it to pay for a failed contract with the Harris Corporation. Harris, assigned to do the 2010 Census, was forced due to serious mismanagement to abandon its plans for using handheld computers to conduct the census and will have to conduct a costly paper census.

"This proposal is especially egregious when you consider that your administration’s water policies on all of the Pacific Northwest’s major salmon rivers are the reason this disaster funding is needed in the first place," the letter said.

"So much at risk, so much to save"

Join the Committee for Green Foothills on Saturday, June 28, for a tour of Santa Clara Valley agriculture and learn more about the heritage and sustainability of local farming. We’ll meet local farmers, hear first-hand about the challenges they face, and enjoy fresh-from-the-field delights.

The city of Half Moon Bay has received $5 million from the Association of Bay Area Governments insurance pool.

Although the city says at least six times in the three-paragraph release that the money will go toward its litigation expenses, this is $5 million that the city did not have before.

Since the city has already budgeted and spent the money for past litigation, this $5 million could be applied to the $18 million settlement with developer Charles "Chop" Keenan, significantly reducing the amount they would have to borrow.

Here’s the release:

Half Moon Bay Mayor and ABAG Announce Settlement of Beachwood Litigation Insurance Claim

Payment will Reimburse City for 10 Years of Litigation Expenses

HALF MOON BAY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Half Moon Bay Mayor Bonnie McClung and the risk sharing pool to which the City belongs, the Association of Bay Area Governments Pooled Liability Assurance Network (ABAG PLAN), announced today that they had reached an agreement under which ABAG PLAN would pay the City $5 million to reimburse it for expenses incurred during 10 years of litigation over the Beachwood property. The City expects that the $5 million will fund most of the litigation costs that it has already incurred or anticipated.

"We appreciate the decision by ABAG PLAN to pay the City the entire $5 million under our coverage, which covers the incurred and anticipated litigation costs related to Beachwood. This money will be used to reimburse the City for the almost $5 million in total legal and administrative costs of the litigation over a period of more than 10 years, but will not reach the $18 million that will be owed should AB 1991 fail," said Mayor McClung. The $5 million is the entire coverage available from ABAG PLAN.

AB 1991 passed the California Assembly 46-18 on May 28th and will be heard by the California Senate Local Government Committee on June 18th.