Just a posting about a loss that has nothing to do with politics, the environmental, pro or anti anything. Not about any vital or critical social relevant issues. But a thank you I want to share.

Yesterday Laura Ellen Hopper who in 1975, helped found KFAT in Gilroy, a free-form station notorious for its rejection of conservative radio conventions and founder of KPIG in Watsonville, died Monday from complications of lung cancer. She was 57.

KPIG championed emerging singer/song writers, emphasized artists who were often ignored by mainstream radio and provided career-making exposure to performers.

In my opinion, by far the best music and irreverent commercials on radio or the web.

Thank you Laura for providing the environment for endless escape hours for so many years to help get away from things that seem very important but in the big scheme don’t really matter that much. Your influence will be missed but your finger print will remain at ‘Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 7’ in SF.

Within the next two weeks, the first stage of a two stage detour will be in place on Highway 1 near the south portal of the Devil’s Slide Tunnels. Caltrans hasn’t set a firm date for the detour yet.

The detours will be created near the south portal of the planned tunnel. The Stage 1 detour (shown in blue on the first map) will operate until the Stage 2 detour (green on the second map) is built. This second detour creates space needed for tunnel excavation work. Included in the Stage 2 detour plan is a 340 feet long retaining wall on the west side (shown in purple on second map).

Tomorrow, Wednesday May 30, Coastside Hope needs volunteers for a food sorting party from 10am to noon. This is a fun group activity with music, friends, and even pizza for lunch. We’re still short of volunteers and we need your help if you can make it.

Due to very generous community donations, Coastside Hope has 70 barrels of collected food just waiting to go our to low-income clients. We need your help to sort this food into food groups (veggies, grains, soups, etc) and to weed out any expired or damaged food.

Please call Susie at 650-726-9071 to volunteer or email [email protected].

Cheri L. Parr
Executive Director
Coastside Hope

My wife and I just moved to Montara with our 10 year-old son, and we feel like we just entered paradise. Sure, it can get a little chilly when the fog comes in and settles for weeks or months, but we’re coming from a decade in Moss Beach so we know the drill. We’d had our eyes on Montara for a long time because the place just seems so charming. We fell in love with it one Halloween when we discovered the amazing community spirit around the witches’ house, with every home in the neighborhood catching the good vibes and doing their best to joyfully mark the occasion.

The witches’ house is just a few bocks away now and we’re very happy here. There is something a little closer, however, that is more troubling- even scary. I’m talking about a certain house being built at 1050 Acacia. There are obviously some serious issues with this development, and a knowledgeable neighbor by the name of Rob Carey has done amazing work to unearth the details of what has gone wrong with this project. As a licensed civil engineer, Rob is well qualified to read a design spec and see how the building fails to adhere to what was planned and approved. He is particularly motivated because his property is so located to be severely impacted by the developer’s apparent deviousness.

So what’s wrong with 1050 Acacia? Where to start. First off, one can see at a glance that it’s too high. I don’t have anything against the general appearance of the house (from my viewpoint) other than what seems like a clearly anomalous height, sitting upon a hill towering over the neighbors. But apparently the hill is not of natural origin. According to Rob there was a defective survey performed which indicated a much higher natural grade and consequently the house was built with the first floor significantly elevated above the original ground, requiring the developer to bring in truckloads of fill, hence the appearance of the house sitting on its own little hill. This isn’t just a subjective issue; there are zoning regulations limiting how high the house can be and this house unambiguously exceeds those regulations. Rob’s calculations show that the overall height is about 30 feet over the natural grade, though it was approved to be 27’ 1" and the legal limit is 28 feet. This might not seem so egregious to constitute a reason for major concern if not for the impact such a change has on the surrounding properties. Rob’s house, directly adjacent on Tamarind, now seems dwarfed by the structure, and his privacy is markedly reduced as the new neighbors’ backyard patio will be at the level of the top of his fence and will provide a clear view down into his bedroom.

CORRECTION:  An earlier version of the headline said the black bird was a crow.  Ken King tells us that it is, in fact, a raven: "You can determine this without a bird guide in hand by observing the wedge-shaped tail protruding past the wing. Crows tails are squared off, not wedge-shaped."

The early indicators of this year’s Wildfire Season point to an increased potential even here on the Coastside. Fires have already sprung up through out the state and just last weekend a wildland fire broke out behind the SLAC property on Sand Hill Rd. in Menlo Park. As of early May the State/ Federal 2007 Fire Season Outlook was not promising. It predicts an earlier than normal fire season, increased fire activity due to reduced rainfall and freeze killed vegetation from last winters cold snap. It also warns of a possible strain on the state’s fire suppression resources due to the increased Wildfire threat in the Serria and southern part of the state.
 
To help you prepare for this season our Wildland Fuels Reduction Program has returned. This year’s program features a drop off site located near the intersection of Entrada and Ventura in Cuesta La Honda. This site can be used free of charge by any coastside resident to drop off woody fuels removed from their property in an effort to come into compliance with state laws or as a part of a Wildfire improvement project. The site will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through July 8. Fuels dropped off at this location will be periodically chipped up by state fire crews. Information of this program can be viewed at www.Lahondafire.org           
 
We have several tools to help you understand what you can do to make your home as firesafe as possible. The La Honda Fire Brigade has a free Video Lending Library with tapes that show what you can be done to safeguard your home. Two of the best internet sites on this subject are www.firewise.org and www.fire.ca.gov. You can also contact any of the areas Fire Stations where fire personnel will be happy to answer your questions. They can be reached as follows: La Honda Fire- 747-0381, Cal-Fire Skylonda 851-1860, Cal-Fire Pescadero 879-0121. (Cal-Fire is the new name for CDF and acts as the San Mateo County Fire Dept.) PLEASE REMEMBER TO DIAL 911 FOR ALL EMERGENCIES. Do not call the stations directly.
 
Wildfire is a part of this states ecology and you can be assured fires will burn this year and most likely homes will be lost. It’s everyone’s duty to help reduce this threat and now is the time to do it.
 
If the La Honda Fire Brigade can be of any assistance you can reach us at the number shown above or E-mail the Chief at [email protected]

Larry Whitney
La Honda Fire Brigade

Musicians, artists and craftspeople will join together in La Honda to entertain and exhibit at annual La Honda Faire and Music Festival. The Faire is held in La Honda Gardens, in the California redwoods of La Honda. It is a two-day festival of music, celebration, and community.

Admission is free. Proceeds benefit the La Honda Elementary School art and music program. Come soak up some sun, listen to great music, and meet some new friends, including Jami Cassady Ratto and her husband Randy Ratto at the Neal Cassady Booth. No pets, please.

June 16 & 17th
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
La Honda Gardens [Google Map]
8865 La Honda Road
La Honda

Contact: Bonnie Fiedler [email protected] 650-747-0640

CLICK for performance schedule

KGO-TV, Channel 7, will be holding an "ABC7 Listens" meeting in Half Moon Bay at the Adcock Center from 7:30 to 9:00pm. The meeting will be hosted by Heather Ishimaru. They say "Space is always limited", by which I assume they mean the universe is finite. RSVP by calling 415.954.7702 or emailing [email protected].

Venice Beach in Half Moon Bay was the only beach in San Mateo County to receive an "F" grade from Heal the Bay’s 17th Annual Beach Report Card. It was the only beach in the county to receive any grade other than an "A" in dry weather.  A couple of other beaches received poor wet-weather grades (Pillar Point Harbor "C", Surfer’s Beach "C", and Linda Mar at San Pedro Creek "D". Wet weather grades are usually worse because of run-off.  The County’s beaches generally received "A" grades in all weather.

The County Times reports:

A major reason for the fecal bacteria contamination at Venice Beach is that the relatively small area has become host to as many as 10,000 birds, said Carol Ann Towe, a volunteer with the Surfrider Foundation. She said the birds are attracted by food at a nearby landfill and that her
group of volunteers hopes to work with county officials to limit access to the feeding source.

Fitzgerald Marine Reserve at San Vicente Creek historically has been another problem spot for water contamination in San Mateo County, but years of cleanup dating to 1999 have dramatically reduced the levels of fecal contamination there, Towe said. It earned an "A" grade during the dry season this year.

Heal the Bay says that Venice Beach is probably not the only unsafe beach in the county.

One of San Mateo’s most historically problematic beaches, Pillar Point Harbor at Capistrano Avenue, was not monitored this past year as the county health department determined that not enough visitors used the beach to continue monitoring. Heal the Bay believes that the bad publicity surrounding the poor water quality grades at this infrequently visited beach was also a factor in the decision to stop monitoring.