The Greenhouse invites you to come down to Caffé Lucca on Main Street for a fun Montara community event celebrating Christmas! Come enjoy the carol singing of the Montara Christmas Kid’s Choir, visit with the barnyard animals, meet the costumed characters of the Christmas story, and even talk with a Roman Centurion. Kids get a free cookie and hot cocoa or cider, plus they’ll have an opportunity to put on costumes and take home a lovely picture of themselves taken in a Christmas stable with Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus. Caffe’ Lucca will be serving their hot drinks and treats as always. Don’t miss it! The event is from 12-2:30 PM on Saturday, Dec. 8. The Greenhouse website will have pictures of the fun after the event.

Mike Niece, 65, director of Coastside Catholic Worker in Half Moon Bay, pleaded no contest to charges that he solicited sex from a woman who came to the charity looking for a job. Niece will server 10 days in county jail, reports Michael Manekin in the County Times.

The alleged victim, who speaks little English, had approached the police earlier the same day, and investigators set up a sting operation to catch Niece in the act of solicitation, said O’Keefe.

The woman agreed to place a recorded call to Niece from the police station, and the charitydirector repeated his offer for sex, O’Keefe said.

The woman was not a prostitute but a resident of Half Moon Bay, he added.
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In 2003, a 16-year-old volunteer at Coastside Catholic Worker told authorities that Niece had asked to kiss her, said Half Moon Bay Police Sgt. John Sanchez. The girl told police that she refused the kiss but submitted to a back rub, he said. The behavior sounded "inappropriate," but it was not criminal and the police did not bring the case to the district attorney’s office, Sanchez said.

Niece also ran into trouble in 2006 when a young transient passing through Half Moon Bay told police that she had been offered "touch therapy" by Niece, Sanchez said. However, during her brief stay in the city, the woman also accused several other people of sexual harassment. Police decided not to pursue the case against Niece because the woman appeared to have a mental condition, he said.

After some technical difficulties, Coastsider is back online and running better than ever.  We expect to return to our new design shortly.

However, you may notice that two features are missing from our menu.

Coastsider’s Gallery is down for repairs. We’ll be working on bring the gallery back as soon as we’ve released our new design and integrated Town Hall a little better.

Classifieds have been removed from Coastsider. We’re working on a replacement, but it will involve an entirely new system. What you couldn’t see is that we received about twenty spam messages (which we had to delete) for every genuinely local ad we published. Expect to see an improved members-only Classified system in the near future.

The National Weather Service reports:

A Pacific weather system will reach the North Bay by Thursday morning with rain overspreading the entire San Francisco and Monterey Bay region throughout the day on Thursday.

In general rain totals of 1 to 2 inches are expected by Friday morning. The heaviest rain is expected during the Thursday afternoon and evening commute and will likely cause travel problems throughout the entire San Francisco and Monterey Bay region during this time.

Following the resignation of executive director Zoe Kirsteen-Tucker, the Coastside Land Trust is recruiting for a new leader.  They describe their mission as "protecting the urban open space of the San Mateo County coast for enjoyment now and for generations to come. We safeguard scenic bluffs, open space, stream corridors and agricultural lands in and around the communities of Half Moon Bay, El Granada, Miramar, Moss Beach, Princeton-by-the-Sea, and Montara." Click below for the complete job description.

UPDATE: After 24 hour of search a 500 square mile area, the Coast Guard has called off its search, reports Julia Scott for MediaNews.

"Based on the water and air temperatures and sea conditions, predicted survivability for the two fisherman was less than eight hours," reported Coast Guard Lt. Anya Hunter at noon today. The water temperature was 53 degrees Fahrenheit and there were 18-foot waves pounding the boat at the time of the accident, Hunter said.

The La Honda Fire Brigade is hosting its annual Holiday Boutique in the fire house at 8945 La Honda Rd on Sunday, Dec 9, from 10am to 4pm.

The local animal rescue group will sell animal toys and treats. Amazing Gracie will be there with her people treats. Other vendors include Epiphany Gourmet Foods offering spices and rubs, and One of A Kind Tie with clothing.

There will be Christmas ornaments and wreaths, crochet and knitting items, jewelry, note cards, pottery, quilting, wood crafts, soaps and lotions. The fire brigade will be selling poinsetias and Captain Cathy’s wonderful cinnamon sticky buns. Come over to visit the fire station, shop and enjoy the carolers.