Judge Forcum has granted a temporary restraining order preventing MROSD’s expansion until invalidated petitions can be reviewed.  The Mercury News reports:

Forcum was troubled that county officials disqualified nearly 33 percent of the 5,340 protests submitted—a "staggering number,’’ he said—and called for a more "inclusive’’ process that wouldn’t disenfranchise voters. Several dismissed protest petitions had technical problems, such as listing post office boxes instead of home addresses.

However, only 147 petitions were invalidated for incorrect addresses. About 640 of the disqualified petitions would have to be deemed "sufficient" for an election to be called. It’s unclear where the remaining 500 petitions will come from.

On Thursday, July 22, the court will hear a motion to place a full restraining order on the protest process.

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District will not be on the November ballot, if the County’s signature count is upheld. Opponents of the MROSD were only able to gather 3,443 valid protest signatures versus 4,071 required to bring about a vote in November.

According to the certification [PDF] posted on the San Mateo County Elections web site, 1,757 of the 5,340 signatures collected were invalid. Most were duplicates or not registered.  MROSD supporters were only able to gather 140 valid withdrawals.

In an email to the Southcoast mailing list, Catherine Peery reports:

...a lawsuit on this is being heard tomorrow at 9 am in Judge Forcum’s court, room 2H in the Board of Supervisors building (400 County Center).  The total of duplicate and nonregistered signatures is about half of the rejected total.  There are some questions about whether both duplicates (the valid and invalid) were not counted, etc.  So, I think…its off the ballot, but the methods for invalidating were not as clear cut as the certification would imply.  The judge who agreed to hear the case said a 34% rejection rate was a red flag.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that this wound up in court.

The Pescadero Municipal Advisory Council (PMAC) has seven (7) vacancies to be filled by election this November.  The term of office is four years.  The seats to be filled are as follows:

1 seat At-Large
3 seats District 1 – Pescadero town/Stage Rd.
1 seat District 2 – South Coast
1 seat District 3 – Butano/Gazos Creek
1 seat District 4 – Loma Mar

Candidates must reside in the district they wish to represent.  The At-Large seat represents the entire Pescadero-Loma Mar area.

Individuals wishing to file for candidacy must do so, in person, at the San Mateo County Office of Elections, 40 Tower Road, San Mateo, with Linda Tulett,  650-312-5370, [email protected] The filing period is July 12 – August 6.

For additional information or questions about serving on PMAC, contact Catherine Peery at 650-879-1846, [email protected], or Meredith Reynolds at 650-879-0495, [email protected]

Oscar’s Braun’s appeal of the Devil’s Slide tunnel was denied by the San Mateo Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning.

But that’s not the end of the matter by any means. Braun plans to take his case to the Coastal Commission and, if he fails there, to Federal court. According to the San Mateo Times, Supervisor Rich Gordon says that the Coastal Commission staff is prepared to recommend full approval of the project to the commission itself.

Braun says that the tunnel will damage wetlands and violate the county’s Local Coastal Plan. The county maintains that the damage is mitigated by increased access to the coast—a peculiar tradeoff. Braun says that his appeal will result not only in cancellation of the tunnel, but in prosecutions.

Until the appeal process is complete, Caltrans cannot get its Coastal Development Permit, the last piece of paperwork it needs to put the $275 million project up for bid.

La Honda Fire Brigade and CDF/San Mateo County Fire Dept., will be conducting a wildfire drill in Cuesta La Honda on Thursday evening July 7th. The drill is designed to test the fire services readiness to respond to a fast moving fire that endangers homes. It will be conducted between 6:30 and 8:30 pm. The scenario involves a fire moving rapidly up slope from the intersection of Canada Vista and Cuesta Real.

A citizens’ group is calling a meeting to discuss the future of the Moss Beach / Montara Fire District.  The "Moss Beach / Montara Fire District Citizens Committee" will meet Wednesday, July 7 at 6:30 pm at Mezza Luna Restaurant at Pillar Point Harbor.

The Point Montara Fire Board cancelled its contract with the Half Moon Bay Fire District effective September 2005, citing management issues with the Half Moon Bay Fire District.  This contract provides all emergency services in Montara and Moss Beach, including fire and paramedic service.

San Mateo County is holding a meeting Wednesday, June 30, on The Mechanics of Running for Public Office [pdf] for people who are thinking about running in November. The meeting, subtitled "Getting a Head Start on November 2, 2004",  will take place at 40 Tower Road San Mateo 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm.

According to the county’s official elections site, elections will be held in November for the Cabrillo Unified School District,  San Mateo County Harbor District, La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District and Pescadero Municipal Advisory Council.

The Cabrillo Unified School District election is likely to be contentious, as it has in recent years. The terms of Board members Ken Jones and Ruth Palmer expire this year.

Time is running out. The deadline for filing is Friday, August 6. If any incumbents fail to file, the deadline will be extended to Wednesday, August 11.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal that more than 4 million acres be designated as crucial habitat areas for the California red-legged frog will close for comments July 14. The areas to be designated include coastal watersheds in San Mateo County, including Pescadero Marsh, and Elkhorn Slough in Santa Cruz County.

The frog, which inspired Mark Twain’s "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", was classified as threatened under the Endangered Species Act since 1996 because of the loss of its habitat. According to the Santa Cruz Sentinal the numbers in Elkhorn Slough’s largest ponds has dropped from around 300 to 20.

Citizens for Responsible Open Space produced 5,344 signed petition cards to put the expansion of the MROSD (Midpeninsula Open Space District) up to a vote. The petitions were delivered to the LAFCo meeting today at the Ted Adcock Center. While it’s unclear whether they will have the roughly 4000 signatures they need to put MROSD’s expansion on the ballot, after duplicates, invalid signatures, and requested removals have been eliminated and this weekend’s signatures have been added, they certainly appear to be in the ballpark.

If there is an election, we’ll be covering it in depth, from both sides, on Coastsider. But this is a good occasion for me to say a few things that have been on my mind. I’ve been silent on the petition so far, unless you count the "Decline to Sign" sign in my front yard.

Illustration: MROSD’s boundaries, which currently barely cross Skyline, would be extended to the coast under the proposed annexation.

On Wednesday night, the county Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the last major permit for the Devil’s Slide bypass tunnel. Tunnel opponent Oscar Braun says he will file an appeal with the Board before the October 15 deadline.

The Mercury News reports that "Caltrans had to clear myriad hurdles ranging from protecting a shaggy wood rat that lives nearby, to bridging a red-legged frogs’ pond, to designing tunnel portals that satisfy nature-loving tastes of coastal residents. "