Benny Barth and Eddie Marshall, first-call drummers of touring jazz soloists, have consistently performed at the Bach Society more than any other single musician over the past three decades.  This dual trio appearance will undoubtedly be a celebration of Benny and Eddie’s contributions to some of the grandest jazz legends to appear on the Bach stage since the early 60’s. 
 
First Set: The Benny Barth Trio:  Randy Vincent, guitar; Chris Amberger, bass; and Benny on drums.

Second Set: The Eddie Marshall Trio:  Joe Gilman, piano; Glen Richmond, bass; and Eddie on drums. 
 
Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society
307 Mirada Road, Half Moon Bay, CA  94019
$30.  Tickets at the door – Reservations for Members
Doors Open at 3 PM, Music from 4:30 to 7:30 PM, with intermission.

The Pacifica Riptide has picked some pertinent quotes from the new book by Don Peebles, the developer who failed to get Measure L passed in Pacifica. They give some insight into the thinking of this East-coast developer licking his wounds over his recent defeat on the Pacific:

"Pacifica is a peculiar town: they like to say no just to say no."

"The concept Trammel Crow had proposed would have greatly benefited the city, but the no-growth side was blind to it."

"Their virulent antigrowth philosophy had almost bankrupted the city."

"Pacifica had a reputation for an antigrowth attitude that was extreme even by Bay Area standards."

"I even held a debate with a former mayor who was against the project because it would bring too much traffic to Pacifica."

" ... she even paraded around the city’s annual arts and crafts Fog Festival, dressed as a big frog. The Pacifica Tribune ran a front-page photo of the frog hugging me."

" ... the opposition fought me literally to win nothing, rather than new opportunities for their community. They were blinded by fear of change, misinformation, and a distrust of developers."

"Without the cap on the number of rooms, we can develop time-share and condo-hotel units and, as business grows, expand the hotel by adding more rooms and suites."

"Ultimately the ‘no’ side will wake up and realize just what they lost, and will likely try to get me back to the table with incentives."

Peebles is right about one thing. Pacificans had to fight like dogs to win nothing.  Merely to maintain their hard-won status quo from any further change.

Return to the Labyrinth

Ancient wisdom of the Celts will come to life in Half Moon Bay, Saturday, July 28, in an event hosted by The Visionary Edge. "The building of the labyrinth and with teaching by Celtic Druid David Patten was our most popular event last year.  We have had many requests for his return," said Reba Vanderpool, co-founder of The Visionary Edge.  Participants will celebrate, create, and walk a dromenon, the sacred labyrinth of the druids. Today, the labyrinth is a potent symbol of healing and transformation throughout the world.

The event will include "hands-on"  participation on instruction on creating a labyrinth by David Patten, one of the few contemporary living druids, whose lineage goes back to Celtic ancestors from the Scottish Isles. Patten will personally direct participants in building the dromenon, and at dusk will guide them in walking its sacred path.

As stated by Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, "from ancient origins to contemporary applications, the labyrinth is a crucible for change, a blueprint for the sacred meeting of psyche and soul, a field of light, a cosmic dance."  But what has remained unknown to the world at large is the origin of the dromenon as well as the ancient healing methods used by the Druids long before the dromenon was built in Chartes Cathedral in France.  "Teachings on the Druid methods of healing using the dromenon labyrinth was revelatory for everyone in attendance last year" said Vanderpool.

"Return to the Labyrinth" will take place at The Johnson House Depot, 110 Higgins Purissima Road, Half Moon Bay. Doors open at 7:00, event at 7:30 pm, Saturday, July 28. Tickets $20 in advance adults, $8 advance children, adults $25 at the door, children $12 at the door.  Call 650-560-0200.

CLICK for more information.

Darin Boville continues his one-year anniversary celebration of the re-opening of Devil’s Slide with an explanation of the geology of the Slide.

Geologist Explains the Slide | Quicktime | Flash  |

When I first moved here three years ago I heard all of the stories about the closure of Devil’s Slide in 1995. But I didn’t really understand what was happening in terms of what was causing the Slide to move. As far as I know there had never been a proper explanation made to the public about the geologic issues.

That changed shortly after the 2006 closure when Grant Wilcox, the geologist with Caltrans assigned to lead a geologic team at the Slide, came to the coast. His unexpected presentation at a Midcoast Community Council meeting offered an outstanding layman’s education on the technical issues involved in getting the Slide open.

Before this video was published on Coastsider there were all sorts of demands by frustrated coastsiders, wondering why a bridge could not be built, wondering why a permanent solution could not be found, wondering out loud that maybe Caltrans wanted the Slide to stay out to teach us a lesson in return for frustrating their plans to build a highway behind Montara into Moss Beach.

After this video was published all of that talk evaporated. People now had the information they needed. The questions didn’t stop—but the questions got a lot better.

So here, once again, is Grant Wilcox explaining the geology of Devil’s Slide.

I don’t know what your experience with mobile phone coverage on this coast is, but mine has been pretty miserable. I’ve been searching for a way to improve reception and think that I might have found an answer from across the pond.

http://cochrane.org.uk/opinion/articles/silicon/2007/18-07-2007.php

Dr. Peter Cochrane is the former CTO of British Telecom and his solution seems pretty straightforward (though the frequency in the US 850Mhz and 1900Mhz for GSM.)  He lays out a simple method for a cellular antenna that might work for many Coastside homes.

I’m thinking of trying this out since I have a similar situation where it’s 5 bars on the roof, but spotty below. Has anyone tried such an arrangement? And if so, do you recommend it?

For the past year, I have been taking snapshots of Old Paint, the Lemos horse, on Highway 92.  Here are some of the pics, plus a slideshow:

http://www.debw.com/oldpaint.html

I will be adding to the collection as time goes on, when the fiberglass stallion gets new coats.

The county Resource Conservation District has released a management plan designed to improve our understanding of steelhead populations and recommend ways to reduce our consumption of water and remove barriers to fish migration.

Gilbert Gossett remembers watching the hundreds of silvery steelhead trout traveling up Apanolio Creek in the early 1970s, passing through a culvert near his home.

"You couldn’t walk 20 or 30 feet in the creek without running into a school of fingerlings," he recalls.

In those days, Apanolio Creek ran strongly. Fishermen downstream caught healthy, 8- to-10-inch steelhead, and Gossett’s culvert sat flush against the stream bed, with plenty of room for thefish to jump up and follow the creek to their primordial spawning grounds.

...

Whether in the form of dams — some of which date back to the 1800s — or culverts, fish barriers are common on the San Mateo County coast. Apanolio Creek contains three culverts alone. Although they each pose problems for fish, the third and final one — near Gossett’s home — is the definitive barrier.

Julia Scott has a must-read story in the County Times on the district’s work to help salmon populations.  The two remaining culverts on Apanolio Creek are at the top of the list for removal.

The San Gregorio father charged with murdering his two young sons by setting fire to their home has been denied bail. The judge sat that the circumstantial evidence is compelling and experts believe the fire was deliberately set reports the Daily Journal.

The experts also told the criminal grand jury Charles Schuttloffel Sr. had methamphetamine in his system that "may have affected his judgment" at the time of the fatal blaze, he and his wife argued that morning and discussed the possibility of divorce and the couple’s two children could not have set the fire, Judge Barbara Mallach said.

Mallach’s comments prior to denying Schuttloffel bail were a rare peek into the grand jury transcript on which his murder indictment is based and which have been temporarily sealed for months.