Three decades ago—in between the enactment of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, then amended to become commonly known as the Clean Water Act in 1977—the coastside’s “clean water pioneers” signed a Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement (JPA) that institutionalized Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside (SAM) as the cornerstone of the community’s water quality protection efforts.  The JPA, a monumental cooperative action between SAM’s current member agencies:  the City of Half Moon Bay, Granada Sanitary District, and Montara Water and Sanitary District, created a consolidated system of collecting, transporting and treating wastewater to protect public health and safety, and preserve our natural environment.
 
On May 10th, SAM honors their founders, and the contributions of many who followed, who had the optimistic vision and foresight to provide the coastside community with reliable high-quality wastewater treatment services.

Click for details.

An abandoned house at the end of Church Street in Half Moon Bay caught fire late Wednesday afternoon.  All three engines from the Half Moon Bay Fire Department responded.

The fire involved two rooms in the one-story structure.  The captain on the scene said that because there was no power to the building that "someone was likely to be involved".

Because the building was abandoned, firefighters fought the blaze defensively, knocking down the fire from outside before entering.  The interior of the building was hazardous, with rotted floor boards. A stove blocked the front door.

By 6:15pm, the crew was going through the building, looking for hotspots.

Two firefighters, Clary and Moorhase, were in the firehouse for their first day after graduating from the academy when the call came in.  To show you the Half Moon Bay Fire Department in action, Coastsider has set up a photo gallery of this fire.

Occupancy rates and revenue per room at the Half Moon Bay Ritz-Carlton are up in the first quarter of 2006, compared to the same period in 2005, according to a quarterly report by Strategic Hotels & Resorts, which owns the hotel.

         
Definitions:

• EBITDA: Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization
• Average Daily Rate (ADR): Room revenue divided by rooms sold
• Revenue per available room (RevPAR): Room revenue divided by total rooms
• Total revenue per available room (RevPAR): Total revenue divided by total rooms

Behind a chain-link fence Caltrans is in the process of restoring wetlands in Montara.  Tuesday afternoon, Caltrans took interested members of the Half Moon Bay City Council and Planning Commission, media, and a few citizens on a tour of the site.  The weather was perfect for an outside event, and Coastsider was there to take video of the tour for Coastsiders who couldn’t be there.

Caltrans is building the wetlands to mitigate the taking of some wetlands in the construction of the Devil’s Slide tunnel.  They’re restoring about 5 acres, roughly three times the size of the wetlands they’re eliminating.

The new wetlands are nestled between two existing wetland areas. This area was probably a wetland itself in the past, but was filled in at some point.  The plantings are all native species that were collected locally. The property is owned by the Peninsula Open Space Trust, which plans to sell it to either the federal government for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area or to a farmer with a open space easement.  The deed will include a provision to maintain the wetlands.

The project, which was six years in the planning, will take another three years to complete and cost about $2 million. Most of the planting has taken place, but the fences will remain until the completion of the project to give the plants time to establish themselves. The site will be monitored for ten years.

Riffing on the traffic congestion caused by the closure of Highway 1 at Devil’s Slide, the newly-formed Coastside Community First announced itself by proposing the revival of the idea of building two more major roads on the Coastside [pdf of proposal]:  Eastward from Highway 1 about halfway between Terrace Ave and Kehoe Ave (to be called Bayview Drive) and behind the high school (Foothill Boulevard) to connect with Highway 92.

The proposal cites a number of benefits: reduction of commuter traffic, speeding weekend visitors to the coast, improving access to the high school, improving access to Half Moon Bay’s new park, reducing traffic from Pacific Ridge on Terrace Avenue, making it possible to build the Beachwood subdivision, and improving access to downtown via Stone Pine Road, improving access to a future Boy’s and Girl’s Club near the Lutheran Church on Highway 1, and integration with the Highway 92/Main Street improvement project.

The new roads would be two lanes wide, but would include paved shoulders and bike paths. One suggestion in the proposal is to build an underpass at the intersection of Bayview Drive and Highway 1.

This is proposal has been around since Half Moon Bay was incorporated in 1959, but has always been problematic. In addition to its cost, Foothill Boulevard’s route contains known wetlands, and the addition of a underpass on Highway 1 will certainly change the character of spot on the Highway that is dominated by farmland and open space. This site currently has a view from the foothills to the ocean. The project is certain to increase the pressure for development along its route. The proposal says "Construction costs could be equitably shared between planned development owners and the public".

The proposal also does not address the issue of moving the current bottleneck from Main Street to the two-lane portion of Highway 92 and worsening weekend traffic on Highway 1 in El Granada.

The Coastside Community Orchestra’s spring concert includes a world premiere of Jeremy Cohen’s Suite for Violin & String Orchestra, Lauren Speeth, soloist.  Montara virtuoso Charles Clavert will play Schumann’s Cello Concerto in A minor.  The full orchestra will perform Saint-Saens’ Symphony No. 3 in C minor with Patricia McNutt as organ soloist.

The concert will be at the Community United Methodist Church, 777 Miramontes, Half Moon Bay.  Tickets available at the door.  Doors open at 7:30 p.m., $10 general admission, $7 seniors, students and children free.  For info. contact Mr. Kay Raney, conductor, 408/244-3834, [email protected] or www.coastsideorchestra.com

In the wee hours of the morning, a handful of people gathered on the southside of Highway 92.  Waving mostly American flags and holding signs with slogans such as "No Human Is Illegal", "Dignity For All" and "We Are America", the small sleepy crowd grew in number and enthusiasm as dawn gave way to an uncharacteristicly sun-drenched day on the Coast and the morning commute drug on.  It soon became apparent that the day would be no ordinary one.

Practically everyone heading over the hill from the Coast Monday morning saw it.  Perhaps traffic slowed a tiny bit because of it.  Yet few seemed to mind.  It was "Un Dia Sin Immigrantes", (A Day Without Immigrants), a national day of boycott and action to celebrate the contributions immigrants make to American society.  While thousands gathered in major metropolitan areas nationwide, immigrants and supporters in Half Moon Bay also served as a reminder that we are a nation of immigrants.  What the local gathering lacked in numbers compared with the events in big cities, it more than made up for in heart with a pleasant mix of love for their new country and pride in the culture from where they came.

"I love America," protestor Martin said, holding a flag from his adopted country.  "That’s why I raising my family here."  He and his young daughter were just two faces in the tapestry that made up the morning rally…young and old…men and women…Mexican and "gringo"...citizens, legal residents and undocumented.

It was a sight to behold!  A transformation was taking place.  In front of the entire coastside, thousands of whom expressed their support through smiles, honks, waves and enthusiastic thumbs up, a community walked out of the shadows in which they had been living and lifted their heads high into the sunlight.  The occasional obscene gesture or derogatory comment tossed their way only served to lift spirits higher.  "Grab onto that negative energy and turn it into positive," urged one woman.

The protest, organized over the weekend, was scheduled to take place only between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m.  As the morning passed, however, the crowd became energized and few wanted to walk away from the moment.  Up until 10:30, people were still arriving to lend their support.  Over 150 people took part in the organized rally between 6:30 and 10:30, coming and going as their work and family responsibilities dictated.  The rally then gave way to a march with several dozen making their way down Main Street to the mostly supportive honks of the downtown traffic.  Continuing on Kelly Avenue and then Highway 1, the march picked up more walkers and a police escort.

Isolated by geography, even more so with the recent closure of Devil’s Slide, few would argue that the economy of the San Mateo County coast is not affected by immigrant labor.  The local floraculture, agriculture and fishing industries rely on it as does the service industry.  If you eat out on the Coast, chances are that your meal was prepared and/or served by somebody from Latin America.

The day culminated in the evening with a 3-hour march with an estimated 500 people taking part.  (See story and video by Darin Boville: May Day march in Half Moon Bay)

Kudos to local law enforcement the entire day!  They responded to the unfolding events with calm and professionalism even though the marches were spontaneous and a bit unpredictable, making their way through Half Moon Bay with no formal plan or designated route.

Tuesday was business as usual on the Coast but, in the hearts of many local immigrants, the swelling of pride in finding their voice in their new country continues.  "My family…we love it here in Half Moon Bay," Jose said.  "This is our home."

Progress continues on the Devil’s Slide tunnel—or "tunnels", as Caltrans calls the twin-bore project—despite the closure of Highway 1. Caltrans gave the following schedule in a press release:

End of May: Contract to be advertised for bid

August: Bid opening

October 2006: Tunnel construction beings

According to the Caltrans release: "On April 26, 2006, a pre-bid contractor outreach meeting was held at District 4 offices in Oakland. This meeting was for prospective contractors planning to bid on the tunnel portion of the project. Attendance surpassed expectations. Fourteen prime tunnel contractors showed up. All indications suggest there will be at least three bids from contractors by bid opening day in August."

A new nonprofit organization and companion political action committee have been formed on the Coastside.

Organizers will announce the formation of Coastside Community First— a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions—and Put Community First, a political action committee at Tuesday’s Half Moon Bay City Council meeting. 

Charlie Gardner, who will direct the tax-deductible organization, is a director of the Cabrillo Unified School District.  The political action committee, Put Community First, will be headed by Ev Ascher, a director of the Coastside County Water District.

Gardner sent us the following mission statement:

Coastside Community First, founded by concerned Coastsiders committed to ensure that the best long-term interests of our community are always at the forefront of public decision making. Coastside Community First stands for a high-quality infrastructure sensitive to the environment; with transparent and responsive local government; and with all-inclusive, moderate political solutions that balance the various interests of our diverse community."

Gardner wrote Coastsider in an email, "It is our intention to provide educational information via web based access, and conduct various public outreach endeavors which will address public education, transportation, emergency preparedness, economic sustainability, and environmental sensitivity as these issues directly relate to our Coastside."

Gardner told me that the PAC would be able to to be involved in political endorsements, which was not possible for the tax-deductible organization he would be heading. As its first action, the PAC was endorsing Measure S, the school parcel tax.  "We were going to wait until after the parcel tax election to avoid confusing the issue, but we went ahead of schedule because of the Devil’s Slide closure." Transportation is a key element of the organizations’ mission.

The directors of Coastside Community First are:

• Charles Gardner, President
• Nathan Serdy, Treasurer
• Stephen Wilson, Secretary
• Don Bacon
• Mary Bordi
• Terry Gossett
• Silvia Prewett

I asked Gardner if this was an attempt by one side of the local divide to shift the local debate from the problems of development to the need for infrastructure, and if representatives from both sides were included in the organizational meetings. Gardner said that it was his desire to include all sides and that he would be asking members of the League for Coastside Protection to participate.

While Caltrans still isn’t giving an estimate of how long it will take to repair Highway 1 at Devil’s Slide, Caltrans expects to have a design for the new repair and a schedule for completion in "on the order of two weeks", according to Caltrans spokesman John Cunliffe.

This should come as good, if uncertain, news for the community. Coastsiders have been hearing plenty of rumors that the repairs will take a very long time, or even that the highway will never be repaired.  The Half Moon Bay Review Monday debunked an unsubstantiated rumor that the Pumpkin Festival is going to be cancelled.

Geologists report that the rate of the Slide’s movement has "slowed significantly", and a third inclinometer has been installed at the site.  While the movement is never going to stop, it does have to slow to a more normal pace for repairs to begin.

Several designs for the repair are under consideration, and engineers are waiting for data to plug into their models.  "The repair will be designed to last beyond the opening date of the tunnel," Cunliffe told me.  This will assure that the highway will be in service if tunnel is delayed, and that Caltrans will turn over a working road to the county when it opens the tunnel.