We’re opening an album of photos related to the Big Wave development in Princeton. We’ve started with the slides from a presentation by Midcoast Community Council member Sabrina Brennan, but you’re invited to send us your photos and graphics for inclusion.

It’s difficult to get a handle on just how big Big Wave is and what its impact will be on the Coastside.  Your photos can help us understand what’s being proposed.

The Advisory Council of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary will hold a public meeting in Pacifica next Thursday. The sanctuary manages marine resources from from northern Marin County, southward to waters along the San Mateo County coast. Residents of the coastal areas and inland communities will be interested in many issues and actions affecting the general region.

For more information on the Sanctuary Advisory Councils, please visit the website: http://farallones.noaa.gov/manage/sac.html

For more information on the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary please visit the website: http://farallones.noaa.gov/

Agenda after the jump.

Half Moon Bay needs a miracle if it’s going to avoid a crushing debt of $18 million to pay off its Beachwood settlement. The city needs to convince two-thirds of the state legislature to give it $10 million in parks bond money, in a year when our legislators really should be paying attention to more important matters.  The good news is that the city has the support of its state senator and its assemblyman.

The bad news is that the city does not have the support of the property rights zealots who play an outsize role in Coastside politics—particularly with the current city council majority.

At Tuesday’s Half Moon Bay City Council meeting, Senator Leland Yee and Assemblyman Jerry Hill demonstrated they understood the significance of AB- and SB-650 by showing up for a Half Moon Bay City Council meeting and speaking on its behalf. This is something only one citizen bothered to do.

However, one wanna-be city council member and a cluster of property rightists rose to condemn the plan, armed with only two talking points:

• If the city were to change its definition of wetlands, it could "build the homes we need".
• Houses produce tax revenues, and parks do not.

There is no evidence that the city can solve its problems by redefining the meaning of "wetlands". The city attorney has said that if it were possible, they would have done it last April, instead of settling for $18 million. Does anyone believe that if it were possible, this city council majority would not have done it?

Moreover, no serious person believes that houses produce more revenue than costs for any city.

Anybody who cares about the future of Half Moon Bay and the Coastside as a community recognizes that any workable solution to this problem is going to involve bringing the community together and sharing the pain. And it’s reasonable for citizens to wait until they know more about the details and implications of AB/SB 650 before deciding whether to support it.

But in their irrational, reflexive opposition to a flawed but honest compromise to save the city from a crushing debt, the Coastside’s defenders of property rights have shown us their single-mindedness.  They would rather see the city crushed than see a wetland go undeveloped.

Activists bused in from around California will hold a protest against the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) proposed five-year plan for oil and gas development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Demonstrators will be making speeches, waving signs, and speaking at the hearing to tell the MMS and public how the increase in offshore oil drilling and this proposed plan could critically impact some of the world’s most pristine marine ecosystems and lead to the destruction of important habitats that are home to a diversity of wildlife.

Join Surfrider Foundation activists, members, volunteers from California, Oregon and Washington, surfers, beach enthusiasts, and local, regional and national elected officials

Thursday, April 16, 2009
Doors will open at 8:00 AM
Hearing begins at 9:00 AM and will conclude by 8:00 PM

Noontime rally and demonstration that will feature speeches from
various elected officials and activists, along with live music.

University of California, San Francisco
Mission Bay Conference Center
Robertson Auditorium
1675 Owens Street
San Francisco, CA

In order to speak at the hearing, RSVP to [email protected]

For the second year in a row, the Pacific Fishery Management Council today closed commercial and most recreational salmon fisheries off the coast of California in response to the collapse of Sacramento River fall Chinook.

The Mercury News carried the story yesterday from Julia Scott on Tuesday’s tentative vote to close the fishery.

Half Moon Bay fisherman and salmon advisory council member Duncan MacLean said the closure was necessary given the numbers, but he is worried about the survival of the industry and his livelihood.

"I fear for my future in fishing," MacLean said. "I just hope I get to do it again in my lifetime."

MacLean is leading an effort to get another round of federal subsidies for small fishermen hard-hit by the closure. About $48 million may be left over in last year’s fund.

Full press release after the jump.

Montara photographer Robert Buelteman will be exhibiting his work at the Seed Gallery of Photographic Art, in the Thoreau Center at the San Francisco Presidio from April 9 through June 6, 2009. The opening will be Thursday from 5-7pm.

Says the photographer in a letter on the exhibit: "This exhibition is special to me, as I sought out this opportunity to express my commitment to the preservation of our biosphere.  I first found my voice in the 1970’s volunteering my time for a variety of service organizations, and later, with the visionary guidance and support of Audrey Rust at the Peninsula Open Space Trust, learned the joy of giving my art a purpose bigger than myself."

With the window closing for Mavericks in 2009, organizer Jeff Clark has extended the deadline for waves by a week, reports NBC Bay Area.

That’s because he extended his permit to hold the contest until April 8 and there is a chance that the waves will be big enough Sunday or Monday.

The ideal conditions would be waves around 30 to 40 feet.

"At this point, the storm season and winter are breaking down and  we’re going into spring now, and summer is soon to follow," he said. "We  don’t get snow in the summertime, and the same storms that bring us snow  bring us big waves in the winter."

Mavericks has been skipped three times since it began: in 2002, 2003 and 2007.

Become a Volunteer Naturalist & Sanctuary Ambassador.  Share Your Passion for the Ocean Become a sanctuary volunteer and inspire others to discover the San Francisco-based Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary—one of the richest marine ecosystems in the world.

During our 4-day training, you will learn how to interpret sanctuary exhibits, feed animals in our cold saltwater aquaria, and collect and view plankton from the historic tide station pier in the Presidio. Join us and discover the sharks, whales, seabirds and all the diversity of life just outside the Golden Gate!

Training will be at the sanctuary San Francisco office in the Presidio; with a field trip to the California Academy of Sciences. Volunteering will be at the Gulf of the Farallones Visitor Center & special outreach events.

Training schedule; applicants should save the following dates & times:

April 23rd, 7 pm - 9 pm (Thurs)
April 25th, 9 am - 1 pm (Sat)
April 30th, 7 pm - 9 pm (Thurs) 
May 2nd, 9 am - 1 pm (Sat)

Applications must by received by 5pm, April 10th Applications can be downloaded at: http://farallones.org/documents/NC2009.pdf or requested by contacting Justin Holl at (415) 561-6622 x308 or [email protected]