Tonight, Jan. 17, the County is holding the last of two community outreach meetings for the draft Green Building Permit Program.  It will be held at the El Granada School from 7 to 9 p.m.

Proposed by Supervisor Mark Church the program is designed to encourage conservation of natural resources & energy, reduce waste in landfills from construction projects, reduce operation and maintenance costs for buildings, and to promote healthier indoor environments. 

Although many of these goals are implemented in our current planning and building standards, the goal of the County of to have new projects exceed the Title 24 standards by at least 15%.  The ordinance says: "Approval of any new building permit for new construction or a 75% remodel of a single-family dwelling, a two-family dwelling, or a multi-family residential project will require that the project receives 50 Green Points or higher on the appropriate GreenPoint Rated checklist or LEED certification.  Applicants will be required to post a bond…of $2,000, or $1.50 per square foot,... which ever is higher."  The bond will be released when the project achieves verification of a score of 50 GreenPoints or higher.  If residential builders choose to participate at the GreenPoint rating level of 75 points they will be given expedited building permit processing.

The committee to create this program included a wide variety of members:  April Vargas, homeowner; Lennie Roberts; Jessica and Paulo Resmini, homeowners who have recently remodeled; Drew Maran, builder; Dave Edwards, builder; Randy Ralston, builder; Ann Edminster, architect & LEED Evaluator; Gladwyn d’Souza, Sustainable San Mateo County Committee member; Bill Nack, Building Trades Council.  The program will be evaluated over the next year and may possibly expanded to less than remodels of less than 75%.

You can download a copy of the draft from Coastsider.

If you cannot attend you may email your comments to
Lisa Grote at [email protected]   or
Mike OConnell at [email protected]. 

Written comments can be mailed to :

San Mateo County Planning and Building Division
455 County Ctr., 2nd Floor
Redwood city, CA 94063

Blue Blanket Improv, an improvisational comedy theater troupe based on the Coastside, is offering Coastside teens an opportunity to participate in an internship program providing real-world performance experience and a cash scholarship.

Interested Coastside high school students must complete an application form and audition for an internship position with BBI. Interns chosen to join BBI will practice and perform with the troupe and will be eligible for the BBI scholarship. Interns will be selected by members of the Blue Blanket Improv comedy troupe in February and the scholarship winner will be announced in June.

Scholarship applications must be returned to BBI by February 5, 2008. Auditions for the BBI internship will be held at Enso Yoga Studio in Half Moon Bay at noon on February 9, 2008.

To learn more about BBI and the Blue Blanket Improv Performing Arts Scholarship Program, visit the BBI website and download a copy of the scholarship application. Or email BBI directly at [email protected].

Coastal Repertory Theatre is holding open auditions for "Steel Magnolias" Saturday, Jan 26 from 1 to 4pm at the theater, 1167 Main Street, Half Moon Bay.

State Senator Leland Yee has announced his intention not to run for the seat being vacated by retiring Representative Tom Lantos.  Yee’s office just issued the following statement:

"I am humbled by the outpouring of support from the people of San Francisco and San Mateo County who have encouraged me to run for Congress.  However, at this time, my family and I have decided it is best to continue the work started in the State Senate.  I am committed to addressing the critical issues currently before the State Legislature, including providing universal healthcare and protecting services for our working families.  In the years to come, I look forward to working with the next member of Congress in serving the residents of the Peninsula."

The instability continues at the company that publishes all the Bay Area daily newspapers that are not the San Francisco Chronicle.

George Riggs, chief executive of California Newspapers Partnership and former publisher of the Mercury News, has resigned, according to Editor & Publisher. His resignation follows that of the editor of the Mercury News, whom he hired.  Riggs, 61, says, "I may look at doing something different, outside the business."

Asked about speculation that his departure had something to do with the surprise resignation earlier this month of Mercury News Editor Carole Leigh Hutton, whom he hired last year, Riggs said only, "she is an outstanding journalist and editor so I was sorry to see her leave."

Reached by E&P today, Hutton declined comment.

The departure of Riggs came on the heels of Hutton’s exit. The San Jose Mercury News pointed out today, "Hutton had been appointed by Riggs and had proposed a sweeping transformation of the Silicon Valley newspaper into a three-section publication."

CNP is based in San Ramon, and is owned by MediaNews Group, Gannett Co. Inc., and Stephens Media. Riggs has been replaced by a MediaNews VP. The Merc has a more detailed story that will disappear into the paid archives in a couple of weeks.

Montara photographer Robert Buelteman’s solo exhibition "A Matter of Scale" runs from Jan 17 to Feb 23 at Spur Projects in Portola Valley.

Since 1999, Buelteman has been refining a technique for making photographic images without the use of a camera, lenses, or a computer.  Working with a sheet of film, a metal plate, and a plant specimen, Buelteman passes an electrical charge through the plant’s base, producing brilliantly lit portraits in an otherworldly blaze of color.

The artworks in A Matter of Scale will range in size from massive (40 x 96 inches) to diminutive (15 x 6 inches).  He explains, "An integral part of my process is seeking unrecognized dimensions in the commonplace."

January 17th - February 23rd, 2008
A Matter of Scale a solo exhibition of Robert Buelteman Photography Opening reception on January 17th, 2008 from 6 - 8 PM

Spur Projects
888 Portola Road
Portola Valley, California
650.529.2040

The Washington Post reviews "The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada", with its 2,800 illustrations on 366 pages.

It is 366 pages long and contains 2,800 illustrations, each painted by Laws. The new field guide, already praised by outdoor connoisseurs as a naturalist’s bible, begins with "Small Fungi Growing on Wood" (specifically, Calocera cornea, the staghorn jelly fungus) and ends with stars (the night sky at winter solstice). It is small enough to slip into your pocket but includes 1,700 species of flowers, trees, bugs, frogs, snails, skinks, birds, fish and rodents. It took him six years to research and complete. The world needs more of this—this kind of sustained, informed, deep gee-whizdom.
...
There is also something sweet and obsessive, and marvelously 19th century about the whole enterprise, the idea of a lone amateur, now 41 years old (living in a rented $600 apartment in San Francisco), spending season after season tramping around the mountains, painting mushrooms and moles. "The pages and pages of bugs, flies, beetles," says Malcolm Margolin, founder of Heyday Books in Berkeley, the nonprofit publisher of the field guide. Margolin says he may not be able to "tell one from another, but isn’t it wondrous that they’re out there? Isn’t that marvelous?"

The guide is organized by color, making it a lot easier for non-experts to identify species quickly. (Via Boing Boing)

Greg Long, a surfer from San Clemente, won the Mavericks big wave surfing competition on Saturday. He and five other finalists agreed to split the winnings regardless of who won, reports the Mercury News. 

During an early lull in the one-hour final, before anyone had taken a wave, someone made a suggestion: Why not share the $75,000 in prize money up for grabs instead of dishing a big chunk ($30,000) to the winner? It was less a vote against the competitive nature of the contest than a nod for what their chosen passion represents.

"It was a little slow out there," Long said. "We were just laughing and talking about how amazing our lives are. I think we all agreed: It’s not about the money; it’s about the love of it."

The County Times recounts the final waves of the event.

The County Times tells the story behind the hand-made tutus that Susan Hayward creates for her students in her Montara dance school.

Hayward has made hundreds of tutus in her 40 years of teaching. Each costume, covered in colorful sequins and lively patterns, can take her anywhere from 25 to 100 hours to make, depending on the level of embellishment.

Before she starts she must first understand whom she is creating the tutu for and what music they will dance to. Once she understands the ballet repertoire, she takes measurements and orders
the base of the tutu.
...
Most schools require their students to buy the costumes, which can cost from $500 to $1,000, not including labor. As the students usually have more than one dance number, the process can become extremely costly.

I had no idea.

The traffic signal for the intersection at Highways 1 & 92 will be on "flash" through the Monday (Jan. 14th) morning commute.

Apparently there is a problem that needs to be addressed by the City’s contractor that is involved in the Highway #92 construction project and they cannot address it until Monday.

The Police are reminding motorists to treat the intersection like a 4-way stop sign.  There will be additional police officers on duty to assist during the morning commute times.  Police encourage those commuters that are able to use alternative routes to do so.  Please allow additional time to get to your destination.

Further questions call:
HMB PD/On-Duty Supervisor
726-8286

Sgt Dennis Loubal
HMB PD