In what is becoming an election season tradition, Darin Boville has released his videos of candidates for Coastside offices.

Darin’s videos are short statements to the voters by each candidate. They are the best way for Coastsiders who can’t attend a community forum or other meeting with a good opportunity to see each candidate.

San Mateo County Harbor Commissioner

Four candidates for two open seats:

• Robert Bernardo
• Sabrina Brennan
• Bill Klear
• Jim Tucker

Cabrillo Unified School District board member

Five candidates for three open seats:

• Charmion Donegan
• Charles Jones
• Freya McCamant
• Robert Pappalardo
• Kirk Reimer did not participate

County Supervisor, District 3

Two candidates for one open seat:

• Don Horsley
• April Vargas

For 16  years, the San Gregorio Environmental Resource Center and the Coastside Habitat Coalition have hosted visits to the coast for kids from East Palo Alto and Hunters Point—introducing them to the beach, tide-pools, the lighthouse, pumpkins, frogs and snakes and milking cows.

This year we are, as just about everyone, strapped and unable to afford the bus to bring them here.  So we are having a benefit to raise the $500 required to pay for the bus and pumpkins for all.   "Why are all those kids falling down on the sand over and over again/?" "Because it’s not cement."

San Gregorio Store
Friday, October 8th  6-9pm
Kevin Brennan And The Altered Boys
Jenny Kerr And Marisa Martinez

The 37th annual Pumpkin Weigh-Off will take place Monday morning from 7 to 11am at I.D.E.S Hall in downtown Half Moon Bay.

The weigh-off is an important part of the Coastside’s agricultural heritage, and you should definitely attend if you haven’t yet.  The biggest pumpkins are saved for the end, so civilians can safely skip the early morning portion of the event.

The winner takes home $6 per pound. Last year’s winner weight 1,658 pounds. And any pumpkin breaking the world record takes home an additional $5,000

Two weeks worth of reports, including a garbage truck brok a hydrant in El Granada, x cases of public intoxication, several auto vandalisms in El Granada and one in Moonridge, meth, a woman was rescued off the Johnson Pier in Princeton, 2 DUI’s, and identity theft. Then this:

After smoking methamphetamine, the suspect left a blow torch burning in a commercial storage yard which was unlawfully rented as a residential address.  The propane torch and a nearby container of gunpowder exploded and caused a fire next to 1.1 lbs of explosive detonation cord. Fire arrived and discovered numerous hazardous, illegal materials and a variety of health and safety code violations.  Sheriff’s Deputies arrested the subject for being under the influence of methamphetamine, negligently starting a fire, being a felon in possession of a loaded firearm and being in possession of over a pound of explosive detonation cord. The subject was booked into the county jail.

and this:

Deputies responded Seton Coastside on a report of a resident intentionally running over another resident’s foot with her wheel chair.

Today’s listing of Comcast screwups:

1.  Missing analog channels (non-cable box users only)

2.  Comcast.com doesn’t show changed channel lineup

3.  Comcast.com channel lineup display doesn’t work with Firefox

4.  Comcast didn’t pass the lineup change over to wherever TiVo gets it from, so TiVo didn’t send out an updated channel lineup.

From the time that the switch to digital TV was announced, Comcast has been saying that Comcast customers wouldn’t need to change anything.  We now see that that was mostly a lie—they now are forcing most people to get (and most importantly, pay for) cable boxes.  However, I only have "Limited Basic", and I’ve been assured by many Comcast reps over the last year that Limited Basic would remain as-is on analog, with no cable box or DTA converter required.  Well, as of today, that’s also a lie.  I’m missing half a dozen of the higher limited basic channels, specifically including MCTV 27.  And of course the rep on the phone tells me that I have to get a cable box, which is not true.

The only reason I have not switched to satellite is the local cable access channel (MCTV).  I’m sure I’m not alone with my attitude that the only reason to have Comcast cable TV is the local access channel.

Requiring people to pay for cable boxes or converters when they previously didn’t have to is an unauthorized rate increase.  Anybody want to bet on whether San Mateo County and the City of Half Moon Bay (the franchising authorities) care?

For the next two Wednesdays, October 6th and 13th, the MCC in partnership with the League of Women Voters will be hosting Candidate Forums for three elections with significant impact for the Coastside. The events will start at 7:30pm at the regular MCC location, the Fireside Room at Seton Coastside Medical Center in Moss Beach.  The Forums will be broadcast live on MCTV – Cable Channel 27.  In addition each forum will be replayed on MCTV one time.

Board Member – Cabrillo Unified School District (Elect 3)
October 6, 7:30pm with replay on 12 October at 7pm
- Charmion M. Donegan
- Charles Jones
- Freya McCamant
- Rob Pappalardo
- Kirk Riemer

Supervisor, San Mateo County - District 3 (Elect 1)
October 13, 7:30pm with replay on 21 October at 7pm
- Don Horsley
- April Vargas

Commissioner, San Mateo County Harbor District (Elect 2)
October 13, 7:30pm with replay on 21 October at 7pm
(after Supervisor Candidates Forum)
- Robert Bernardo
- Sabrina Brennan
- William T. Klear
- James J. Tucker

For further information and links to information on individual candidates, visit the MCC Home Page.

Coastside Lutheran Church is having their annual Pet Blessing, this Monday, October 4th at 6 pm. This day honors St. Francis of Assisi (era 1226) who was a Catholic deacon and preacher, known as the patron saint of animals.
All are welcome to bring their pets for a blessing by our new Pastor, Rev. Dawn Teuthorn. Please make sure the pet is properly caged or leashed and expect other pets to be in attendance. You can also bring a photo of a pet to be blessed as an alternative. The address is 900 N. Cabrillo Hwy, Half Moon Bay. The blessing will be outdoors, on the lawn area between the church and Headstart."

Here are some of our photos from today’s event at the north entrance to the Devil’s Slide tunnel.  There are even more on the next page.

Also, check out our album of over 100 photos on Coastsider’s Facebook page.

There is a new grass roots movement sweeping the US and other countries. It was founded to address the three challenges of Climate Change, Peak Oil and Economic Instability. Its name is Transition Initiative. Many communities in the Bay Area are already confronting these challenges and the ensuing crises that flow from them. The name of the local group is Coastside Transition.

Organizationally, each community is free to implement its own version of how to build local resilience to energy and economic shocks and to reduce its fossil fuel use. Local conditions and expertise are very diverse. Each community will need to draw its own path to a better future while also working with other Transition Initiatives to share organizational and program ideas. Together we can plot our own direction through the many coming societal and environmental challenges.

Our world is changing as we all know. Planning is needed for modifications in our behavior, life style choices and natural resource management. This is surely much better than letting events overtake us.

The newly formed Coastside Transition group will present a free 50 minute video that was produced by the first Transition Town of Totnes in the UK in 2008. A discussion will follow.

We have a display this month at the HMB Library as well as a brand new web site with links to other US and international Transition sites.

       http://www.CoastsideTransition.org

The meeting will start at 7:00 pm, Friday Oct 1 at the HMB Library and end about 8:30. Doors will open at 6:45. There is no cost.

Please bring a friend or two and learn how you can become more involved in this dynamic grass roots based effort. All ages welcome.

Other Bay Area Transition groups are in Santa Cruz, San Lorenzo Valley, Palo Alto, San Francisco, West Marin, Richmond, Albany and Silicon Valley.

The Transition US headquarters is in the North Bay town of Sebastopol.

      http://www.TransitionUS.org

Please join with your fellow Coastsiders and help us leave a better community for our children and future generations.

The Coastside Transition Team