The Montara Water and Sanitary District will hold an informational hearing on its new Master Plan [download pdf from Coastsider], on Thursday at 7:30pm. This includes an end to the district’s 30-year-old moratorium on new water connections.
The meeting will be at Seton Medical Center Coastside, 600 Marine Blvd, Moss Beach.
The National Weather Service forecast that another Pacific storm will bring widespread rainfall Friday as a cold front moves into california.
Isolated thunderstorms with small hail…And wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph. Rainfall amounts on friday could exceed 2 inches for higher elevation locations with up to an inch possible for urban communities. This could lead to minor flooding near small streams and in urban locations.
Strong southwesterly winds could topple some trees and bring down power lines.
West to northwest swells of 16 feet at 14 to 15 seconds are forecast for Friday afternoon and evening which could lead to local beach erosion and dangerous conditions.
Snow levels will drop down as low as 2500 feet behind the front with a mixture of rain and snow expected as low as 2000 feet friday night.
A high surf advisory is in effect from 11am to 11pm Friday.
Large west-northwest swell of 14 to 16 feet with periods of 14 to 15 seconds. ... People visiting area beaches should use extra caution and expect rip currents in the surf zone. In addition minor coastal flooding will be possible.
You can download comments to the Board of Supervisors regarding the Big Wave development. The board will next take up the proposal at its next meeting, on Tuesday, March 29.
You can download these comments (196 pages of them), or those from the previous Planning Commission hearings on Big Wave’s environmental impact report from Coastsider:
About 300 of the San Mateo County Farm Bureau’s 1000 members appear to have been falsified by former executive administrator Jack Olsen in a effort to earn his recruiting bonus.
This was part of the revelations of beloved civic leader Jack Olsen’s alleged misdeeds finally revealed by the Farm Bureau and reported by Julia Scott in the County Times.
When the Farm Bureau started digging into its records, it found more than missing money. Directors discovered that about 300 members were unaccounted for—because they didn’t exist.
According to Pastorino, Olsen led the board to believe that the farm bureau had about 1,000 members, but the number is closer to 700. Members enjoy benefits such as car insurance, a health plan and discounts on everything from hotels to propane deliveries.
Olsen was apparently using credit card payments to send annual membership dues to the Farm Bureau office in Sacramento, but made it look like there were more members so as to meet a recruitment goal. Pastorino explained that local Farm Bureau administrators could earn bonuses for meeting or exceeding an annual membership goal. He said Olsen could earn up to $3,500 per year by exceeding this goal.
“It seemed like we were always making goal—but he was using Farm Bureau money to make goal,” [Former Farm Bureau President Stan] Pastorino said.
Those manipulations are reflected in the nonprofit’s most recent budget report, filed after a careful financial review following Olsen’s death. Revenues from membership dues and assessments slid to $73,679 from $130,444 the year before.
Described as being “soulful, swinging and yet utterly modern”, New York based alto saxophonist Jim Snidero‘s music seems to encapsulate what is both unique and compelling about jazz. Called an “alto sax virtuoso” and “master musician” (Downbeat), as well as a “genuinely significant figure in jazz composition” (Penguin Guide to Jazz), Snidero is a veteran recording artist (EMI, Milestone, Savant, etc…) and sideman (Mingus Big Band, Frank Sinatra, Eddie Palmieri, Jack McDuff, etc…) that can truly say “been there, done that”.
Jim Snidero- Alto Sax, Bill Cunliffe- Piano, Paul Gill- Bass, Jason Tiemann- Drums
New Yorker “alto sax virtuoso” and “master musician” (Downbeat), highlight music from new release “Interface” (Savant).
March 20, 2011 – 4:30, $35
Douglas Beach House on Miramar Beach
307 Mirada Road, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
650 726-4143, www.bachddsoc.org
I hiked across the bluff above Moss Beach over to Ross’ Cove to have a view of the harbor. While the forecast was for a 3 ft. tsunami, I know that we don’t have a lot of data on the subject, so I wanted to make sure I was at high enough elevation in case a 10 footer came in. After the first couple of surges, I realized that it was about as forecasted, so I hoofed it around to the bluff above Mavericks Beach to get a better sun angle on the harbor entrance.
The first 3 surges were very dramatic, with a river of water flowing in and out of the harbor entrance. Timing was about 7 minutes from high to low. Subsequent surges were smaller (about 2-3 ft of water change), but the period was much shorter. In the photos of the surfer at Mav’s Beach, there was only about 45 seconds between high and low water.
There were several surfers out at Mavericks that morning. While the waves were rather small and slow by Mav’s standards, the guys who were out had quite the experience. I spoke to one of them when he came in. He indicated that during the first several surges, the ocean water moved significantly, and they had a hard time holding position because the currents were so strong.
Brian Lynch
San Jose Developer Barry Swenson Builder has made a “contingent” offer on the Rockaway Quarry in Pacifica, reports Pacifica Patch:
San Jose-based developer Barry Swenson Builder has notified city staff that it submitted an offer to purchase the old 86-acre limestone quarry on Highway 1 near the Rockaway area of Pacifica.
“I was contacted by the Swenson group (Barry Swenson Builders) last week to advise me that they had submitted an offer on the site, not purchased, but submitted an offer,” said City Manager Stephen Rhodes. “Up until this time they asked that this be kept confidential. That’s now changed.”
[...]
City Manager Stephen Rhodes said that Barry Swenson Builder has not revealed any details about their offer other than that it is “contingent.”
The story notes that the site would be difficult develop because of regulatory restrictions on the property.
Fellow Montara residents,
GGNRA Proposed Access Portal at the end of Le Conte in Montara.
Residents of Montara should be aware that with the transfer of ownership of the Rancho Coral de Tierra from POST to the GGNRA, the GGNRA is planning on establishing access points to this land by creating Trailhead Portals at the end of Le Conte Avenue adjacent to the Farallon View Elementary School in Montara and the end of Coral Ridge St. in El Granada. The proposed Portals will provide parking and Restroom Facilities for an estimated 10,000 Visitors a year. GGNRA Consequences of this action will have serious impact on community infrastructure and current public use models. Montara residents can anticipate the following:
1. A significant increase of traffic up and down, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 8th, 12th, Farallon, Main and Le Conte Streets
a. None of these streets are currently wide enough to handle two way traffic and residential parking
b. None of these streets currently provide pedestrian walkways for the continuity of the street
2. An increase risk of security to property and residents
a. The portal poses both a increased threat of traffic fatalities and or child abductions to children using and crossing Le Conte Avenue and adjacent trails to access Farallon View Elementary
b. The portal provides a convenient, remote and unsupervised location for unwanted visitors to stage drinking parties, use drugs, dump garbage, vandalize property
3. With the increased traffic from visitors, residents of Montara can anticipate changes in current use models for open space areas and trails for
a. Pedestrians
b. Dog Walking
c. Cycling
d. Equestrians
e. Hiking/running
If you wish to get involved in action to oppose this measure you can join the Google group by clicking on this link for the Farallon View Action Committee.
Purpose of this group is to inform Montara, CA citizens of GGNRA activity to establish access portals on Le Conte Avenue. in Montara. And, also, to gain citizen consensus and provide Montara Residence Guidance to GGNRA in establishing access to Rancho Coral Tierra lands adjacent to Montara, CA.
Please forward this email to anyone else you think might want to be informed.
Kevin Stokes
UPDATE: It has been confirmed that the hearing will be continued to 9am on Tuesday, March 29.
A hearing before the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors on the Big Wave project scheduled for today, will be be continued. The hearing covering the project’s environmental impact report, permits, and development agreement will resume at the board’s next meeting on March 29. One member of the board was called away to an event with the US Surgeon General.
Pacifica Riptide has confirmed that Barry Swenson Builder is interested in the Rockaway Quarry, most recently the graveyard of the dreams of R. Donohue Peebles.
Then on March 11 we posted an email (below) sent to a local contact, confirming that Barry Swenson Builder of San Jose has an eye on the quarry.
Date: Friday, March 11, 2011, 2:42 PM
It is the 88 acre site. I would love to schedule a sit down with you. I will be back after the 21st. Christy, Jessie and I will all be leading this project and we cant wait to get your full perspective. Are you available on the afternoon of the 21st? Thanks, Jessie
Jessie O’Malley
Senior Development Manager - BARRY SWENSON BUILDER
777 N. 1st Street, 5th Floor, San Jose, CA 95112
www.BarrySwensonBuilder.com
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