As I was Plover watching on Francis Beach this afternoon, I saw a distressed Surf Scoter (a large sea duck) up on the sand, trying desperately to clean off its feathers.  Like other injured birds, it did not fly off at my approach.  

Suspecting that the Scoter was a victim of the cargo ship oil spill in the Bay, I contacted State Park personnel.  Having no net, we failed at two rescue attempts. The bird was still able to fly. On the second try, the ranger got within one foot of the Scoter, before it flew off.  We did not want to stress it any further.   

It’s sad to think that this bird might not survive because of all the toxic oil it’s ingesting from its feathers.  

It’s unclear whether the bird had been oiled elsewhere and managed to fly here, or whether we have an off shore oil slick here on our Coastside.  Maybe others can monitor our beach conditions in the next few days. 

By Erin Tormey, organizer of the Coastside Farmer’s Market.

Don’t be afraid of the dark, Marketeers!

Yes, the time change always makes people a little, well, loopy at first, but don’t panic. Nature in her infinite wisdom has taken care of some basics for you.

Did you ever notice how all kinds of Orange things are at their peak during the Autumn?  Oranges, of course, along with tangerines, all kinds of squashes, persimmons, sweet potatoes.  Ever wonder about that? Well I have. And here’s what I know.  Orange food makes it easier to see in the dark. I am not kidding. Orange food is loaded with beta-carotene ( think carrots, people!) - a powerful antioxidant that supports ocular health and development.  Plus, it supports a robust immune system so you can see how great you look at night!

Tons of vitamin C is usually associated with orange stuff too, and when you have tangerines and kabocha squash  at the peak of their season at the same time, why you should eat a lot of them- together!  Because from I can figure,  the combo pack means you can see well in the dark, and should be well armed to go outside in the evenings for a little stroll to the Farmer’s Market without catching cold. I especially recommend this activity to anyone who is going to be any where near Rockaway Beach in Pacifica on Wednesday evenings from now through November.

And if you know that, yes, you are supposed to sup on squash, crunch on carrots,  and snack on sweet-taters, but you are just plain out of ideas about what to do when faced with a pile of the aforementioned, I have some ideas for you that should not keep you up all night fretting.  When you have peak of season tangerines and a butternut squash, you have the makings of one tangy "pumpkin" tarte that you can help but feel good about.  Really, Alice, the awful truth is that the best pumpkin pie I ever made was actually a butternut squash pie with tons of tangerine juice instead of added sugar, and ground raw almonds in the crust.   Oh, my! Think of the fiber!

In the latest vote count from San Mateo County Elections, union-supported HMB fire board candidate Gregg A. Hosfeldt now has more votes than incumbent Bert Silva. Silva led Hosfeldt for third place as of Wednesday. All four union-backed candidates for the Coastside fire boards (three in Half Moon Bay, one in Pt. Montara) are now the vote leaders.

The union candidates gained ground late Tuesday night as the county continued to count mail-in and absentee ballots. The latest count was published at 5pm Friday, Nov 9.

A recount is still likely. The Review has reported that if the margin of victory in any contest is less than 0.5%, the county plans to perform an automatic recount. Hosfeldt, Silva, and Donovan are separated by only 0.3%.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said that this mean there would be three pro Cal Fire board members and five who were against. The ratio is actually four to four under the current results.

Thanks Wes Womack at San Francisco Surfrider Chapter for the information about the oil spill.  He says:

I am getting dozens of emails today asking how Surfrider are going to help with the oil spill cleanup. I’ve also received word that parts of Ocean Beach already have oil in the water, so we’re recommending that everyone remain out of the water at OB for the time being.

I just talked to woman who is in charge of oil spill control at my work (BCDC), She is out at Fort Mason where all the involved agencies are meeting and working from. She told me to call the Coast Guard’s Public Info Line at (510) 772-8865. I left a message to see what environmental groups and the public can do to help. I also called the Gulf of Farallones National Marine Sanctuary office at (415) 561-6622. They are conducting surveys to see the damage of the spill (counting animals, taking water samples, ect).

The Farallones contact gave me the following information that we may want to pass on to others:

If people see oil in the water, they should call (985) 781-0804
If people see oiled wildlife, they should call (877) 823- 6926. The animals will be picked up and taken to a facility to be cared for.

As for beach clean-up, people have to be specially trained (HAZMAT) to conduct an oil spill clean-up. The beaches are closed for health and safety for the time being. But, I am sure that volunteers will be needed at some point. We should contact our volunteers when the professional clean-up crew or other agencies or groups need volunteers. As far as I can tell, they are not having the public help yet. I’ll let you know if i hear anything more.

For those of you who haven’t heard, a cargo ship hit the Bay Bridge yesterday (Wednesday 11/7/07), spilling 58,000 gallons of oil into SF Bay, 8,000 of which was contained at the ship by the CoastGuard. By comparison, the Exxon Valdez was 11 million gallons, so the spill is relatively small. The latest story I can find is here: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_739 9949?nclick_check=1.

Take special note that all beaches inside the mouth of the bay are posted and closed. The oil could spread to Ocean Beach by today or tomorrow.

The Coastguard are deploying all available satff to start the cleanup process. Our chapter have no formal plans for cleanup at this time. Technically our chapter focuses on Ocean Beach specifically, however if people want to get involved in the general cleanup, I suggest starting by contacting the CoastGuard. I can’t seem to find anything online pointing volunteers in any certain direction. Our core group are discussing scenarios that would involve cleanup of Ocean Beach if that becomes necessary in the next few days.

Most of all, be safe this weekend and keep an eye on the news, as the oil could potentially drift to Ocean Beach. And if Ft. Point and Dead Man’s are firing this weekend, you may need to give it a miss for your own safety. Spread the word!

On Sunday, November 11, Coastsiders for Obama will throw a house party in Half Moon Bay for local supporters of presidential candidate Barack Obama and those in the community who want to hear more about the Illinois senator and his environmental policies.

Maureen Maloney will host the event in her home at 670 Myrtle St. from 3:00 until 5:00 pm. Guests will see videos of the candidate and discuss his proposals to reduce global warming through new initiatives that include increasing energy efficiency, investing in a clean technology economy and requiring that energy conservation be part of the planning process for expenditure of federal transportation funds.

The League of Conservation Voters has awarded Obama the highest environmental rating of all of the presidential candidates, giving him a score of 100% for 2006 and 96% overall.

For more information and to RSVP please contact April Vargas at 650-728-5215.

Students from the Coastside Academy of Fencing fought valiantly this weekend, bringing home ten medals from the regional tournament at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.  No fewer than four young athletes won gold medals at the Regional Youth Circuit, a tournament sponsored by the United States Fencing Association.  The competition included athletes from all over Northern California.

Gold medalists:

• Stirling Johnson - Y10 Women’s Saber
• Clarissa Perez - Y12 Women’s Saber
• Elizabeth Jug - Y14 Women’s Saber
• Andrew Gleeson - Y12 Men’s Saber

The second of three fights between Andrew Gleeson and Jeffery Dalli.  Jeffery won the nationals last year in Miami and is held in high-regard by all.  The action is fast and the scoring subtle:  | Quicktime |

The last two points between Clarissa Perez and Sage Palmetto.  Sage, like Jeffery, is also a national champion for her age bracket and flew in from Oregon to compete at Kezar.  Clarissa is nimble with her footwork and quick with her offensive strategy: | Quicktime |

Both Perez and Gleeson defeated first ranked national champions in their final bout to win the gold.

Tara Davis earned the bronze medal in Y14 Women’s Epee for the first Coastside medal of the weekend. 
 Other medalists include Carrie Gilchrist, bronze medal Y14 Women’s Saber; 
Clarissa Perez, 8th place medal Y14 Women’s Saber; Lotus Lum, silver medal Y10 Women’s Saber; 
 Miranda Guerrero, 8th place medal Y12 Women’s Saber and Spencer Boling, 8th place medal Y12 Men’s Saber.

Coastside fencers took the gold in every event they participated in! The club is on a streak of defeating national gold medalists - last month Elizabeth Jug defeated two gold medalists to rank eighth in the nation.

 Credit is due to Maestro Anthony Joslin for leading these young athletes to success. Well done and congratulations to all the Coastside competitors.

The Coastside Academy of fencing trains athletes from age 7 to adult in the competitive sport of fencing, pairing rigorous athleticism with high standards of sportsmanship.
If you are interested in learning more about the Coastside Academy of Fencing contact Maestro Anthony Joslin at 650-219-5335 or email [email protected]

There will be a special recycling dropoff at Farallone View School 250 LeConte & Kanoff, this Saturday, November 10, 9AM to 1PM The event is sponsored by. Montara Water and Sanitary District and Seacoast Disposal Company.

Accepted Items:

• Batteries      
• Cell phones, pagers    
• Fluorescent bulbs   
• Foam/Carpet/Styrofoam   
• Scrap metal, car parts   
• Tires (5)     
• Small fax and copy machines  
• Stereos, TV’s, VCR’s   
• Household appliances   
• Unpainted wood
• Printers, cartridges, cables  
• Computers, monitors, etc 

NOT Accepted:

• Antifreeze, motor oil
• Hazardous waste
• Pressure treated wood
• Pickup truck loads
• Paint
• Painted wood
• Sheetrock

Contact Seacoast Disposal at 650-355-8400 for a complete list. For questions Please Call 728-3545  Sponsored by

So I have called the Montara Water and Sewer district and got no return phone call, and I then emailed Kathryn Slater-Carter and Scott Boyd, and nobody will answer my simple question.  My question was, "I got my tax bill, I pay ~$800 for the bond, and another ~$700 for another MWSD charge that is not explained anywhere.  What is this charge and how is it calculated?" 

Ms Slater-Carter and Mr Boyd offered to meet me for coffee to discuss instead of simply answering the question.  I don’t have time to go meet them as I work over the hill.  ~5 years ago, when I originally was told that the MWSD purchase was going to save me money, I thought, "great, I pay too much to Cal-Am" as the sales pitch was for rate hikes to be eliminated, or minimized by Cal-Am not selling to the German company.  Now, including my monthly charges (of which about $15.- to $20.-/month is water), I pay over $200 EACH MONTH!  10% of my total monthly bill is for the actual water.

I know that there has been talk recently of raising rates.  A few months ago, a polite woman was asking people to sign a petition at the post office one Saturday.  She said that one of the MWSD directors was yelling at her earlier that morning, telling her that she, "Was ruining everything".  All she asked me to do was to sign a petition to prevent sewer rates from going up 35% or something like that.  I don’t know how accurate her story was, but I do know that I’m paying way too much for water and sewer, so part or maybe all of her story was accurate. 

Can anybody explain why we all pay so much?  I can’t get any answers from the MWSD people.  How much are rates going to keep going up?  I also don’t want to hear that I can deduct the bond from my taxes as I still have to pay it.

Tom Coster (keyboards), Baron Browne (bass), Vinny Valentino (guitar) and Steve Smith (drums): "Vital Information has evolved from a relentlessly rocking fusion outfit into a supple, funk-driven ensemble, far more attuned to the dynamics of acoustic jazz on their new recording, Come On In, expands upon its rootsy approach, building on the fierce funk and captivating New Orleans beats."—Andrew Gilbert, Down Beat

Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society
307 Mirada Road, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
$30.  Tickets at the door. Reservations for members.
Sunday, Nov 11
Doors Open at 3 PM, Music from 4:30 to 7:30 PM, with intermission.