A brand new thing to do for coastsiders of all ages starts this Friday.  Blue Blanket Improv presents:  "Coastside Comedy Improv".  Blue Blanket Improv (BBI) is a comedy troupe that is looking to make Half Moon Bay it’s home base.  It is a non-profit organization that is mostly made up of local funny folk who are looking for a way to give back to the community.  The basic idea is to create a venue to attract local residents to a creative, high energy, affordable, fun for the whole family comedy theatre experience!  As many of us with children know there is a very limited amount of things going on locally that does not break the bank.  Our young adults often have to traverse the hills find an affordable night out.  BBI wants to give voice to the coastal residence, to express themselves,  to allow adults an opportunity to have a local night out (dinner and a show) without spending 3 hours looking for the coveted San Francisco street parking space.  This Friday marks an all new comedy venue in our back yard.  Come out and be part of this brand new improv performance venue in Half Moon Bay.  Each show is created on the spot, based entirely on audience suggestions.  It’s ever the same show twice!

When:  October 12th
Time: 8:00 pm (Doors open at 7:30pm)
Location: Enso - www.ensohmb.com
131 Kelly Avenue, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
Phone: (650) 726-1409
Cost: $10

YES, This will be an ongoing event.  Friday nights will never be the same again (at least once a month).  This venue is right next to the beach is a great place to end after eating dinner out, taking a walk along at the waters edge and even catching the sun set!  For additional info on ‘Blue Blanket Improv’ please visit the website: www.BlueBlanketImprov.com

Marc Samuels

Wednesday’s meeting of the Midcoast Community Council features candidates for the Midcoast Community Council, the Montara Water and Sanitary District and the Montara Fire Protection District. Candidates will make a brief statement, followed by a question and answer period.

The meeting will be at 7:30pm at Seton Medical Center Coastside, Marine Boulevard & Ethledore, Moss Beach (Take Highway 1 to Marine Boulevard and follow hospital signs uphill). Attendees must park in the upper hospital parking lot as per hospital policy.

A student was struck by a car in front of Cunha Intermediate School as school was letting out, at about 3pm today.  According to witnesses, a boy was crossing Kelly street when he was struck by a car and rolled or fell under a van parked at the curb.  The boy was conscious and alert and taken by ground ambulance to Stanford Hospital, according to the Half Moon Bay Fire Dept.

No names have been released.

Tuesday’s city council meeting was short.  The council reviewed the city’s financial status and approved a resolution to create a park at 880 Stone Pine Rd (on Pilarcitos Creek). The city also agreed to accept an allocation of 276 new housing units from the Association of Bay Area Governments, which the city manager said would be consistent with slow-growth Measures A & D.

Proclamations and presentations [15 min]  | Quicktime High Quality | Flash  slow connections |

Announcements [2 min]  | Quicktime High Quality | Flash  slow connections |

Oral communications [5 min]  | Quicktime High Quality | Flash  slow connections |

Council reports [10 min]  | Quicktime High Quality | Flash  slow connections |

Staff reports [18 min]  | Quicktime High Quality | Flash  slow connections |

Consent calendar [4 min]  | Quicktime High Quality | Flash  slow connections |

Resolution of intent to create a park at 880 Stone Pine Road [8 min]  | Quicktime High Quality | Flash  slow connections | Docs |

Finance department update [31 min]  | Quicktime High Quality | Flash  slow connections | Docs |

Review and approval accepting assigned housing growth share from ABAG [15 min]  | Quicktime High Quality | Flash  slow connections | Docs |

Darin Boville has taped two of the seven candidates for the Half Moon Bay fire board and one of the two for Point Montara (now merged as the Coastside Fire Protection District). Candidates who have not yet agreed to be taped are still welcome to participate. Republished with permission from Montara Fog.

There’s a lot going on at these fire stations (not fires, but politics) but it is almost impossible to figure out. You may have questions: What’s that about a merger? Do firefighters really make $140,000 on average—and up to $200,000? Is the new contract a major disaster for the coast? Who is Calfire? Did firefighters really urinate on the Fire Captain’s bed, break his headlights, pour solvents on his car, and make death threats in a public meeting? Did the higher-ups really falsify documents? Are these just rumors? What the heck is going on?

If you are like me, almost totally confused, then you’ll need to watch these three videos. I invited all of the candidates for both Fire Boards (soon to be merged into one board anyway) to make a five-minute video to introduce themselves to the voters and to describe their views. Three of the candidates eventually agreed to participate.

It might seem complex at first but, after making these videos, the basic framework is starting to fall into place. I think.

Republished with permission from Montara Fog

Anyone who has lived in different places in the United States has no doubt noticed that spending on schools varies widely from place to place.

When I moved to San Mateo County three years ago I paid attention to this issue as it was a factor in choosing where to live—and what houses we could afford.

The chart above shows how we in the Cabrillo Unified School District rank in terms of spending per student compared to our peers in the rest of San Mateo County. (We’re the blue bar, sixth from the bottom. Click on the chart to see a larger version.) I didn’t show it here but I did compile the data for the past five years to see if Cabrillo’s ranking had changed over time—it has remained in essentially the same place over that time period.

O.K., so we are at the bottom of the chart compared to other county districts. Fair enough. But we are still well-off compared to schools in other states, right? This is California, after all, one of the nation’s wealthiest states, so well off we could, if we wanted to, form our own, separate country.

As the second chart shows, California was well below average in 2004 for per student spending (but, heck, we beat Louisiana—that’s something, isn’t it?).

Now here comes the really sad, depressing part. The more mathematically inclined of you might think, "Gee, I wonder how the ranking would change if we adjusted for cost-of-living?" That is to say, in some places in the country things cost less than in other places (obviously, right?). So a dollar spent on education in the Bay Area might not actually "buy" as much education, so to speak, as a dollar spent in Ohio, where things (most everything!) are cheaper.

You know how this is going to turn out . Just look at the states in the chart above to see who ranks below California. Louisiana, Texas, Iowa…Every one of those states is significantly (dare I say dramatically) cheaper to live in. Those states will move up on the list when you adjust for their dollar’s buying power. States with a high cost-of-living (like you-know-who) will drop on the list to account for the weak comparative value of a dollar spent in that state.

The result is that California is 51st in the country when you take into account cost of living.

Data provided by Education Data Partnership. Cost of living indices provided by Money Magazine. The crude methodology is my own invention.

A Moss Beach man was killed Saturday at about 3:30pm when his car veered across Highway 1 near Half Moon Bay Airport, reports the Chronicle.

Almost an hour later, two cars collided on Highway 1 near the Half Moon Bay Airport after the northbound vehicle, a 2000 Honda Civic, veered across the road into the oncoming lane.

The Civic was struck by a southbound 1996 Ford Crown Victoria and the driver of the Civic was killed. He was identified as Mario Ramirez, 27, of Moss Beach.

The driver of the Ford, a 38-year-old Burlingame man, suffered moderate injuries and was taken to San Francisco General Hospital. Both men were wearing seat belts.

OK Marketeers!

First things first.  The Market in Half Moon Bay is suspended on Pumpkin Festival.  BUT we run through November.  We are only gone that one day.  Really. I mean it.

And, yes, we will be open in Pacifica on Halloween.  What we will be wearing is anybody’s guess, but we will be there, same bat time, same bat place.

So with that in mind, lets make peace with the Cavalcade of Colossal Curcubits.  Take a look around you and tell me it is not astonishingly beautiful with all those hillsides and fields blazing with orange! This is why they call it the Gold Coast , people.  That, and the poppies.

Pumpkins are really versatile.  You can cook, decorate your porch, or live in one, depending on the variety and your state of mind.