You may not even be able to put your finger on it if you’re not a frequent visitor, but we’ve made a pretty big change to Coastsider’s design.

The main column is significantly wider.  This gives us more white space, better readability, and room for bigger pictures. It also increases the relative emphasis on content over the links in the right-hand column.

We’ve also moved some more-static and less-newsworthy links to the foot of each page.

If you have any questions or suggestions, you can post them as comments on this story, or email [email protected].

Do you want to raise an issue with the community, or do you have a local event you want to promote? Coastsider is a community news site and we welcome contributions from our members.

It’s easy to become a member

Anyone can post on Coastsider, but you must use your real name on your post. This keeps things neighborly. Your first post may be moderated before being are released. But, once we know you and have established your identity, we’ll upgrade you Trusted Member status.  Anything posted by Trusted Members will be immediately released on the site without pre-moderation.

Post a letter on Coastsider

Click on the "Letters" link at the top of the page to add your letter to our Letters section in the right-hand column. All letters appear on the home page until newer letters replace them.

Anyone can post a letter about a noncommercial topic. We also accept letters on some commercial events of general interest, such as public entertainment or free events that should be interesting to a broad range of community members. Otherwise, your commercial announcement should be posted to Unclassified Ads.

Letters of more general interest, including event announcements, are often moved to the main column at the editor’s discretion.

You can add a picture to your letter by emailing it to [email protected].

Add a comment to a story

Members can comment on any story or letter, but they must still follow our terms of use (e.g. "Be civil.") and use their real name. Comments from first-time posters will be reviewed by a moderator before they are released.  Once you’re a Trusted Member, your comments will not be pre-moderated and will be posted immediately.

Post an Unclassified Ad

Trusted Members can post commercial announcements, items for sale, commercial events, yard sales, and more in Unclassifieds. Make sure your real name is on your account and mail [email protected] for posting access.  The five most recent Unclassified ads are listed on the home page.

Terms of Service

All members must follow our common-sense terms of use. You usually can’t go wrong if you don’t post anything you wouldn’t want your name attached to, and you’re civil to our other members.

I’ll be interviewed on Pescadero radio station KPDO today.

You probably won’t be able to get 89.3 FM on the air in Half Moon Bay or the Midcoast, but you can always listen live on their website.

We’ve added a chart of the current Coastside travel times to our community news in Coastsider’s right hand column.

The League for Coastside Protection has been creating these charts for a couple of years. The data comes from Caltrans, which using Fastrak passes to measure the travel time between distances. We’re running these charts with their permission.

If you have a site or business that serves coastal San Mateo County, we'll add a link to your site on nearly every page of Coastsider, including our home page. Our links currently live at the bottom of each page. About Coastsider:

• We reach thousands of Coastside residents every week.
• A link on Coastsider carries as much weight with Google as one from the Half Moon Bay Review or HMB Coastside Chamber of Commerce. 
• Every partner's link will appear on nearly every page of Coastsider, including the home page.
• We actively encourage buying locally, support local nonprofits, and promote local events.
• We sell advertising on the site, but our link program is free.

To participate, just put the following link, just as it appears below, on your home page:

<a href="https://coastsider.com" target="_blank">Coastsider: News and reviews for Half Moon Bay, El Granada, Moss Beach, and Montara</a>

...and email [email protected] to tell us where we can find the link. If you have any questions, send them to the same address.

Every year, we hold a holiday party at our home in Montara. We invite a bunch of our friends and Coastsider readers for champagne, dessert, and good conversation.

This year’s party will be next Saturday, Dec 19, at 7pm.

If you haven’t already received an invitation, but you’d like to attend, drop me a line at [email protected] and I’ll send you directions.

Coastsider now has a page on Facebook [click to join]. Right now we’re posting links to most new stories, letters, and comments on the page as soon as they’re posted on Coastsider.

• http://www.facebook.com/Coastsider

Become a fan of a Coastsider on Facebook. If you’re a regular Facebook user, it’s a good way to follow Coastside news and community discussions.

We’ve also improved our real-time links to news, letters, and comments to Coastsider’s Twitter feed.

• http://twitter.com/coastsider_com

 

We’re releasing our new Letters section as a way to make it easier for readers to post to Coastsider.

Any stories you post to Letters will immediately appear in the right column of the site. To add your letter to the site, just click on the "Post Letter" link on the top menu bar of any page.

Letters will greatly reduce the wait to get your announcements, events, and opinions on Coastsider.  We will also move letters of general interest to the main column. Letters replace Town Hall, but all existing Town Hall posts will be maintained and we’ll continue to use Town Hall to host Unclassified Ads.

Letters work like any other story. Readers can comment on letters. All comments on letters will appear in our list of recent comments. Letters are indexed and archived with our other stories.

If you don’t have posting access, just set up an account, and send your real name and email address to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and we’ll give you access. Instructions can be found on the "Post letter" page.

The rules for Letters are simple.  We reserve the right to moderate all content, but you can’t go wrong with the following:

• All posters must use their real names, just as they do on the rest of Coastsider.
• Commercial announcements of genuine public interest, especially entertainment events, can be posted in Letters. But ads for clearance sales, lost dogs, garage sales, etc. should go in Unclassified Ads.
• Be civil.

 

Coastsider will have a booth at Rock the Block tonight on Main Street in Half Moon Bay. Barry and Cheri Parr will be there to discuss the site, answer your questions, and take your ideas for stories or features.

Do you need a new profile photo for Coastsider—or Facebook? We will be registering new members and taking profile photos for new and current members.

We fixed a problem that caused our analysis of Jim Larimer’s column and the attached comments to display improperly or not at all in Internet Explorer.

If you’re using Internet Explorer and you had problems reading the article, you might want to try it again.