If water weren’t a proxy for the development wars on the Coastside, it would still be controversial. It’s precious, the demand is growing, the supply is static, and climate change puts what supply we have at risk.

The Coastside County Water District (CCWD) has enough on its plate without the district picking fights with everyone else on the Coastside.

Coastsider endorses James "Jay" Johnson for CCWD board. Johnson is intelligent, qualified, reasonable, and independent. He’s a political newcomer who’s interested in public service. He’d shake up the cozy consensus in Coastside’s most aggressive public agency.

When you look at CCWD’s efforts to control recycled water on the Coastside, commitment to use recycling to increase (rather than mitigate) development, offer to supply water to a huge and controversial development outside the district, desire to expand their authority to the sewer and water districts they don’t control on the Midcoast, and struggle against the authority of the Coastal Commission, you wonder how they have time to meet the needs of their ratepayers at a reasonable price. Of all the districts on the Coastside, CCWD is the only one that seems to envision itself as an empire on the move.

At the same time, the district faces supply uncertainty and rising prices for the water it buys from Hetch Hetchy, as well as local supply issues due to climate change and planned growth. And then there is the fact that CCWD has more than doubled water rates in less than ten years.

Like I said, you’d think they’d be content to supply water to their customers.

Incumbent Chris Mickelsen’s anonymous hate mail to a member of the Half Moon Bay Planning Commission is symptomatic of CCWD’s aggressive approach toward people who don’t share its vision.

Your best chance for change on the CCWD is to cast a single vote for Jay Johnson even though there are two open seats.  If you want to cast a second vote, you should vote for Jerry Donovan.

Can there be a more thankless task than running a small sewer district?  Granada Sanitary District residents are lucky to have three engaged and knowledgeable incumbents willing to serve another term on its board.

Coastsider endorses incumbents Gael Erickson, Ric Lohman, and Leonard Woren for the GSD board of directors.

In an off-year election with no other major issues on the ballot, it would be easy to neglect to vote.  It’s important that you take the time on Tuesday morning to vote. Every vote matters in what will surely be a low-turnout election.

Thanks to Montara Fog, we have a video of the GSD candidate forum, where the candidates had an opportunity to introduce themselves to the community.

It’s particularly telling to compare the incumbents’ answers to the audience questions to those of the challengers. You can’t help but learn something from the incumbents, particularly from Lohman and Woren.

Griffis and McCaffrey seem unsure of why they’re there or what they’re talking about. Even the developer-friendly Half Moon Bay Review identified Griffis and McCaffrey as potential "puppets" of real estate interests.

The trouble with voting the bums out is that two of the three opposition candidates come to the race with their own baggage. Neither Bill Griffis nor Lisa McCaffrey have ever been to a GSD meeting and are recruits of the property rights faction on the coast. They would find themselves puppets in the longest running turf war on the coast – “growthers” vs. “no-growthers.” That’s too bad.

No one questions that GSD is well run and efficient. The current board is doing a good job of serving its rate payers.

Furthermore, the current GSD board is committed to making the district and the Coastide a better place to live by upgrading their infrastructure in ways that secure the environment, and by allocating recycled water to restoring streams and wetlands.

A vote for the GSD incumbents is a vote for local control, continued good management, and a sustainable Coastside.

You are invited to attend a meeting to learn about ideas for a proposed Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center along the San Mateo County coast. The meeting will be October 28, 2009; 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at Ocean Shore Train Depot, 110 Higgins Canyon Road, Half Moon Bay.

Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary is very excited about having a stronger presence within the Coastside community, and hope the proposed Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center will reflect the unique character, beauty and natural history of this area - the seaside community and unique interface of land and sea in this northern area of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. To that end, we invite your feedback on the concepts being proposed for the Visitor Center exhibits.

The concepts have been developed by grass roots community members including educators, fishermen, merchants, restaurateurs, surfers, biologists, and design professionals—and members of the Farallones marine sanctuary’s advisory council.

"Exploring myths and realities of wildfire along the central coast of California: What can we learn from the past, what is similar and different compared to Southern California, and what can we expect in the future?”

Join Michael Vasey, a research scientist at UC Santa Cruz, who will be giving a fiery talk on this very hot topic!

Mike Vasey has been studying chaparral in the Central Coast Range for the past four years, including mature stands and post-burn conditions.  Mike will share what he has learned about the threat of wildfire along the central California coast and review what is known about fire history in this region compared to other places such as southern California.  Lastly, he will reflect upon changes to fire regimes along the coast that could be in store due to potential climate shifts.  In the process, he will try to dispel some common "myths"  and contrast these myths to what we now know about the ecology of fire in this region.

Lecture and optional fieldtrip
Saturday, October 24th, 1:30 pm
Native Sons Hall: 112 Stage Road, Pescadero Ca 94060
$5 suggested donation per person or family

(children welcome if they do not interrupt the speaker’s presentation)

Please visit our website for more information www.gazos.org, or call Jaime at 650-879-0841 or by email [email protected]

You’re invited to attend the inaugural event for the newly formed Half Moon Bay Police Activities League (PAL) on Saturday, October 24 from 11am to 2 pm at Cunha Intermediate School. Hoops with Cops will feature basketball, food and fun for the entire community.

A talented group of athletes and police officers will lead participants through fun basketball competitions, quick three –on- three games and culminate in a game between the cops and members of the boys and girls Cunha basketball teams. Everyone gets lunch at this event, whether or not they participate.

Sixth to eigth graders are encouraged to register now. There will be t-shirts for the first 50 players. This event is free to the entire community. More information available at 650.726.8297 or by going to www.hmbcity.com.

Pacifica Climate Committee, P-Town Classic and Pacifica Beach Coalition are cosponsoring a fun climate change event at Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica.

Join them as they take part in the world wide day of climate actions focused on the idea that we need to reduce carbon in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million. Participants will spell out "350" with their bodies on the beach at Linda Mar:

11 a.m. on Saturday, October 24

Linda Mar Beach, Pacifica, just north of the bathrooms at Linda Mar State Beach. Look for the person with the red flag on a tall pole.

email [email protected] to say how many people will be coming with you.

Find out more about "350": http://www.350.org

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is forecasting a wetter than usual winter for California, thanks to to El Niño.

"We expect El Niño to strengthen and persist through the winter months, providing clues as to what the weather will be like during the period," says Mike Halpert, deputy director of the Climate Prediction Center – a division of the National Weather Service. "Warmer ocean water in the equatorial Pacific shifts the patterns of tropical rainfall that in turn change the strength and position of the jetstream and storms over the Pacific Ocean and the U.S."

Power is down in our part of Montara, and we’ve set up shop at Caffe Lucca on Highway 1, where they still have power and Internet access.

Share your reports of the Great Storm of ‘09 in comments on this topic, or send us your photos and we’ll post them.

In the meantime, keep dry and stay home if you can.