We’re having a large bake sale from which all proceeds will go to fund the building of a new play area for the kids in our community.  There will also be a big rummage sale - lots of great items!!

It’s on Sunday June 1st - from 9am until 1pm - at the Pillar Ridge Mobile Home Community Clubhouse on Culebra Lane in Moss Beach (right behind the Half Moon Bay Airport - parallel to highway 1). There’s plenty of parking and an indoor space too.

I’ve found that quite a lot of people who live here on the coast are unaware of the existence of our little community - or have no clear idea of who we are that live here. We’re a varied bunch - lots of interesting and different people, many who help support the greater community. I know a few post on these very boards!

There’s a lot of kids here and many are not able to be taken (for many reasons) over to the wonderful Moss Beach park, or to the other parks in the area. We have a very old, decrepit play structure at the moment which desperately needs upgraded. Therefore, any support with this venture will be much appreciated. Any and all donations of rummage/baked goods will be received greatfully and all proceeds will go to the play area! If anyone has any free time to distribute flyers or help out on the day, that would be wonderful!

Are there maybe any local musicians out there, willing to donate an hour of time to provide entertainment? I’m sure with the generosity and inventiveness of the folk in this area we’ll have a great event. Thanks in advance for your help.

Julie Sarab

Please feel free to contact me directly at:
treetattoo (swirly at sign) yahoo.com

Every year, Coastside Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts join scouts from all over the Bay Area on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend to decorate the 138,000 graves of veterans and their families at the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno. We participated in this important activity yesterday. The day started out drizzly and cold, but dried up as it proceeded. Click on any photo to see our album.

At it last meeting on May 21st, the Coastside Democrats unanimously passed a resolution supporting Measure O.  Local Democrats are often participants in non-partisan initiatives for progressive actions. Measure O—Parks for the Future will provide a much needed source of funding for Parks and Recreation for old and young in all of San Mateo county for the bargain price of about $2 per month per person.  Join Democrats in voting for measure O on June 3rd.
Merrill Bobele
El Granada
Member, Loma Prieta Chapter Executive Committee
Sierra Club

Bay Area kid-rock sensation The Sippy Cups first performed on a whim at the fundraiser for community built Moss Beach Park.  Four years later, Farallone View Elementary School parents Paul Godwin and Doug Nolan tour nationally with their "rock & roll circus for families".  Paul is also the music teacher at Farallone View, and Doug is an environmental educator who performs juggling shows on topics such as recycling and water conservation at schools from San Francisco to Sacramento. 

Friends, fans, and other curious locals can use the password COASTSIDE for a discount ($2 off every ticket) to see The Sippy Cups perform close to home on Sunday June 1st, when they will appear for two shows at Woodside High School’s shiny new Performing Arts Center.  Details and the full press release below:
                                       
WHAT: The Sippy Cups LIVE
WHEN:  Sunday, June 1st, 2008 at 1:00 & 4:00 pm
WHERE: Woodside High School Performing Arts Center, 199 Churchill Ave, Woodside, CA 94062
AGES: All
COST: $16 Adults, $10 Kids 1-12, Babes-in-Arms free
DETAILS & ADVANCE TICKETS: www.thesippycups.com (415) 335-4422

The Sippy Cups return to the national stage with a musically fresh, theatrically ambitious whirlwind of a show for kids and families.  The addition of a pair of show-stopping acrobats and a star aerialist to the beloved cast of juggling unicyclists, oversized puppets, sensitive super-heroes and other comedic characters pumps up the volume on the interactive stage show.  A new repertoire expands the unique combination of recast cult classics and winning pop-rock originals that garnered the band it’s loyal, multi-generational following.  Classic favorites are peppered with several brand new songs, hinting at an eagerly awaited next release. 

The Sippy Cups began as a Bay Area sensation several years ago when hip San Francisco nightclubs found an unexpected niche for success by featuring the band’s new brand of sophisticated kid’s rock & roll show during normally "dark" matinee hours.  Hipster parents and tots alike flocked to enjoy kid-friendly but distinctly non-condescending versions of cult rock favorites from the likes of The Beatles, The Velvet Underground and The Ramones.  The show blended juggling, circus arts and comedy sketches with an interactive party atmosphere that enthralled its young audience while maintaining an intelligent edge that held their parents’ attention as well.

In less than three years The Sippy Cups have grown from their San Francisco roots into a nationwide phenomenon.  Their first full-length original CD, "Electric Storyland" garnered widespread critical acclaim and was ranked #6 for the year in the 2006 Fids & Kamily Music Awards.  This was followed by the 2007 release of a live concert DVD "Electric Storyland, Live at The Great American Music Hall", recent winner of a 2008 Parents Choice award.  The band has toured to major concert halls and festivals across the country including Symphony Space in New York City, Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza.  Their new show will appear at National Geographic Live! in Washington DC, World Cafe Live in Philadelphia, Taste of Chicago, and the Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival as well as several "hometown" Bay Area venues during the ‘08 spring and summer seasons.

"The Sippy Cups harness the childlike euphoria of psychedelia and the energy of power pop to deliver music that passes a crucial test:  repeated listenings won’t drive the parents mad." - Wired Magazine

"San Francisco’s trippy Sippy Cups and their psychedelic puppet shows… leave kids jaw-dropped and enraptured." - The Austin Chronicle

"The key is that the band, far from relying on the crazy stage show, flat out rocks with great covers… and tremendous originals…"  - Bill Childs, co-founder of Fids & Kamily Awards

Feature:TOWARDS EVENING (97 mins)

When: Fri. May 23 at 8:00 pm
Where: Methodist Sanctuary
777 Miramontes, Half Moon Bay (Corner of Johnston & Miramontes)
Donation: $6.00

Screen legend Marcello Mastroianni stars as Professor Brusci, a widowed academic whose main goal in life is to live a completely orderly life. Professor Brusci is so set in his ways that when a new routine causes him to miss his morning shave his barber assumes he has died and publishes his obituary in the local paper.

The event that causes all this turmoil is the arrival of Stella, his son’s girlfriend, and Papere, the professor’s 4-year-old granddaughter at his doorstep.  The movie takes place during the social upheavals of the mid-1970s, and the professor has no patience or understanding of the issues that drive Stella.  When the troubled Stella has had enough she departs leaving the child behind. Chaos prevails until the professor can introduce the child to the joys of living a genteel orderly life. The film is a comedy, so much as the professor desires it their mannerly world cannot remain isolated and undisturbed by the events that shape the 70’s.  (Italian with English subtitles)

More info at: www.HMBFilm.org

The Assembly Appropriations Committee passed AB1991 in a 9-4 vote Thursday and will likely go to the full assembly for a vote next week, reports the Examiner.

Sierra Club California Deputy Director Paul Mason, who spoke against the bill, said the state’s major environmental groups would lobby against its passage.

"We’re certainly going to fight it hard because it’s a very troubling precedent when you waive all environmental laws for a certain developer. You do that here and every city and town in California is going to want the same treatment," Mason said. "It’s essentially the state giving away its oversight over the environment."

While Assemblymember Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, cosponsored the bill, Assemblymember Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, cast one of the four votes against it.

The decision cheered Half Moon Bay officials, who insist the bill’s language is narrowly written to address the city’s dire circumstances, and couldn’t be applied elsewhere.

Mayor Bonnie McClung said the vote put Half Moon Bay one step closer to achieving the best resolution in the difficult matter.

"The 9-4 vote in favor of AB 1991 shows that the committee understands how critical this legislation is to the future of our city," McClung stated. "The citizens of Half Moon Bay have worked hard on a grass-roots campaign to support AB 1991, and we are making every effort to see that AB 1991 becomes law."

Erin Tormey is the director of Coastside Farmers’ Market

I am telling you what, Marketeers,

Strange combinations of folks and factors running hot and cold are no surprise to anyone who lives on the Coastside.  Given my personal history, I have developed a high degree of comfort with bizarre combinations, still, it was a wacky thing to wake up last Wednesday to blowing fog and chilly winds, only to enjoy a sunny afternoon at the Rockaway Beach Market, followed by 4 days of blazing heat and SPF 80 conditions, then just enough time to get your collection of woolens out of the dry cleaner to prepare for summer.

What? No summer woolens you say?  You must be new to the neighborhood, so welcome! And don’t worry, at the Coastside Farmers Market we are here for you! You can get beautiful hand carded, spun wool yarn AND tasty organic coastal strawberries from Green Oaks Creek and enjoy a classic only-on-the-Coast combination of delights! Talk about a great way to get your fiber, and wear it too!

Or, if you are just getting comfy with creative combinations, here’s a combo that’s easy, pretty and not too terribly risky:  try some of Spring Hill Jersey’s Lemon Quark with Triple Delight’s first of the season blueberries on a toasted piece of Baguette from Bay Bread Company in Half Moon Bay or Brioche in Pacifica.  Lovely.  The Vanilla Bean Quark with Swanton’s Berries on one of Octoberfeast’s croissants is a revelation too, and not something you’ll find on any brunch buffet I am aware of outside the Coastal comfort zone.

On the other hand, if you’re the sort who likes the idea of jumping out of a jacuzzi and into a snowbank, and has a similar attitude toward cookery, I discovered that strawberries and cherries and chipotle chiles in infused in balsamic vinegar have a similarly delightful if disconcerting sensory effect on one’s system, thanks to Debbie of Big Paw.  Splash some over a bowl of Bussalacci’s peak of season cherries, some chopped spring onions and a hearty cracking of Steven’s bourbon soaked black pepper.  Let that sit for a bit while you steam some of Eda’s or Maria’s beautiful beets.  Peel them warm, cut them in quarters, toss them in the marinade, crumble some of Harley Farms ricotta over the whole thing, then pour it over a plate of mixed coastal greens and thinly sliced fennel.  Dang pretty, dang tasty and dang unusual.

Now anyone can create a page on Coastsider. Coastsider Insider is a place where Coastsiders can create and edit web pages about anything they’re interested in.

Insider is a wiki—a Web site that anyone can edit—pretty much like Wikipedia. Anyone with Town Hall posting access on Coastsider can create and edit pages in Insider.

You can keep track of new and changed pages using the Coastsider Insider updates box  on the right side of most pages.

Right now, there’s not much in the Insider, except for a few pages about local government agencies.  But you can make of the Insider what you will. It’s a good place for information about local nonprofits, clubs, sports, recreation, activities, events, and issues. And, like other Coastsider pages, Insider pages should be prominent in Google search results for Coastside-related links.

Insider is unmoderated, but our Terms of Use apply and we will be reviewing pages and changes to make sure that things are kept civil.  You should also read the Frequently Asked Questions section of main page of the Insider.

You should be able to add text right away without any training. And it’s easier to format your text, add photos, or link to other pages than on a regular Web page. Click on the "Edit" link on any Insider page, and take a look at how pages are structured.  You’ll probably catch on pretty quickly.

For more information about how to use our wiki software, click on "Wiki Help" in the right hand column of Insider.

You may notice some new, non-local, advertising on Coastsider. We’re experimenting with an ad network, mostly because I’m planning to write about ad network optimization in the near future and thought it would be interesting to try it out. It’s unlikely to generate much real revenue.

I’ve set the filters pretty high on the network, so the ads shouldn’t be too obnoxious, but I’ve already seen one "jittery dialog box" ad, and I’ll probably take the whole thing down if it becomes a problem. If you see any obnoxious ad behavior, drop me a line at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and I’ll add it to the record. If you happen to notice which network delivered the ad, you can include that information as well, but it’s not necessary.