Marine and coastal organizations are invited to exhibit at the Sanctuary Currents symposium on Saturday, March 3, 2007 at California State University, Monterey Bay. The 2007 theme is "Ocean Observing Systems".

The symposium will provide a 10’ x 10’ space with 6 ft. table and chairs so that you can display your materials and interact with the public. To reserve a booth, please complete the information below and submit. Space is limited and available on a first-come, first-serve basis, so please RSVP early.

Send your organization name, website, contact name, email and phone to Liz Love at [email protected] by January 31, 2007. Not whether your booth requires electricity, or other requirements.

For many years, an 80 foot dish antenna atop Pillar Point was a Coastside landmark.  Then it disappeared.  Recently a smaller new antenna was installed.  According to a staff member, by Christmas a dome will be covering the new antenna to protect it from the salt air.

This tracking station on Pillar Point is part of Vandenberg Air Force Base.

San Francisco YMCA met with concerned neighbors and citizens on their YMCA’s Camp Jones Gulch logging plan Sunday, Dec 3. KQED 88.5 FM will run a report on the meeting, Monday Dec 4 on California Report, at 6:50 and 8:50am. The report was produced by Coastsider David Gorn, who took these photos as well.

It can be streamed live if you can’t hear it on-air (http://www.kqed.org), and it will be archived at the California Report archives.

Looks like our recent cold snap has enticed a celebrity to the coast.  Each day this week you can find Santa Claus sitting outside of Starbucks, with Mrs. Claus, knitting nearby.  For the past 10 years John Lynch has volunteered for Coast side Hope’s Adopt-a-Family Holiday program, with help from a variety of Mrs. Clauses (Cheryl Sinclair, Melissa Lane and Kathryn Slater-Carter). 

According to Lynch, this year, holiday miracles abound.  One couple, traveling back to Albuquerque, New Mexico, stopped for coffee and left a $200 donation in Santa’s stocking.  "I was so please to see that even people from out of town are getting into the holiday spirit! We even had a man walk up, give us three hundred dollars, and walk away, without even leaving his name!" The Adopt-a-Family program provides Christmas gifts locally, and many generous coastsiders sign up year after year.  This highly successful program annually serves over 350 families—about 2000 individuals—and seniors struggling to make ends meet.

Donors get creative with the program, like Charles and Sandy McKeithan who get the entire family involved. "We Adopt-a-Family with kids the same ages as ours. Then, we shop as a family with each child shopping for his or her "twin".  It really helps get our kids into the spirit, and gives them the right perspective on the holiday" Even those without kids love the program.  One donor outside of Starbucks said, "It is fun to shop for kids!  Now that mine are grown, I don’t get to do that anymore, and this program gives me a excuse to be part of the action."

Adopt-A-Family program director Judy O’Leary has some great ideas for incorporating the program into your holiday.  "Adopt-a-Family is a great project for organizations as well as individuals.  We have a number of churches that adopt 8 or 9 families and the entire congregation shops and wraps.  Each year we hear from people who want to Adopt-a-Family in honor of a family member in place of a gift. Just let us know and Coastside Hope will send a hand-written card to the honoree letting them know of your special gift."

Only two days remain to sign up to Adopt-a-Family or make a donation to the adopt-a-family program. Mr. And Mrs. Clause will at the places and times listed below.  Come on down to drop off a donation or to sign up to Adopt-a-Family - or just to say hi.  Bring your camera to have your photo taken with Santa.

Sunday, Dec 3: Subway/Starbucks 10-1pm
Monday, Dec 4: Safeway (North) 4-6pm
Tuesday, Dec 5: Safeway (South) 4-6pm
Wedsday, Dec 6: Safeway (North) 4-6pm

You can also drop by the warehouse daily from 10am - 7pm at 214 Harvard, Princeton, until December 9th.

"The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves." - Helen Keller

You or your organization can help by:

Sponsor a family for the holiday Sponsors are provided information on family members, such as age, clothing sizes and preferred colors. It is suggested that $50 to $60 be allocated per family member depending on the age of the person and the items you choose to purchase.  Most families ask for basic necessities, especially shoes, warm coats and jeans.  Shoppers are asked to focus on clothing, as toys and books are added at the center. The program ends on December 9th this year, so if you want to Adopt-a-Family, please call Judy O’Leary as soon as possible at one of the following number:  563-9706

Make a monetary contribution to the program Money donated to the center is used to purchase toys, books, and to adopt any families that are not adopted by sponsors.  Any remaining funds at the end of the program are held in a designated, interest bearing account and used to start next years holiday program. Monetary contributions are accepted year round and held in account specifically for this program.

Volunteer to shop and wrap gifts If you are short on funds but willing to shop for a family, Coastside Hope will give you a family profile and budget to shop with our funds.  If you can wrap with style, our Santa’s Workshop in Pillar Point Harbor is open every day from now until December 9th, from 10am to 7pm daily.  Please call so that we can give you a scheduled time to help.

UPDATED Saturday 12/2: Streaming video of the entire workshop is now online from Coastsider

Tuesday November 21, the Half Moon Bay City Council considered a draft environmental impact report for the Terrace Avenue stoplight [Background and draft EIR]. You can download a PDF of the PowerPoint presentation made to the city council by its consultants.

The plan would involve adding a traffic signal at Terrace, realignment and widening Highway 1, stop signs, retaining walls, a barricade at Silver Avenue, and pavement removal.  Click on the photo for a larger view.

The residents of Terrace Avenue have been fighting this plan for some time. As a result of numerous requests from Terrace Avenue residents, council members Bonnie McClung, Marina Fraser, and Naomi Patridge supported the exploration of what came to be known in the meeting as the "no light alternative".  The city council voted unanimously to ask the City staff to explore the implications of putting no light at the intersection of Terrace Avenue and Highway 1. One of the more complex issues is that the proposed light would be paid for by Ailanto Properties, the developers of Pacific Ridge, which would use Terrace Avenue to connect to Highway 1.

The public still has until the December 15 deadline to comment on the draft Environmental Impact Report.

• Opening: Public comment, staff and council reports [ Quicktime | WMP ]
• Workshop, Part I [ Quicktime | WMP ] (about 60 min)
• Workshop, Part II [ Quicktime | WMP ] (about 60 min)
• Council members’ discussion [ Quicktime | WMP ] (about 60 min)

Fans and businesses using so-called personal watercraft are defending them in hearings on the draft managment plan for national marine sanctuaries on the Central Coast, reports the Monterey Herald.

One of 28 action plans in the management plan includes changing the definition of "personal watercraft" to include not only one- and two-person waterjet-powered machines but larger, multipassenger watercraft, as well.

Personal watercraft users defended their pastime, saying the majority of users are considerate and responsible and that the machines are environmentally friendly.

Kelly Sorenson, owner of On the Beach Surf Shop in Pacific Grove and a volunteer with Pacific Grove Ocean Rescue, spoke for a number of people who told tales of being rescued or rescuing others with personal watercraft.

The plan will extend the limits on chumming for sharks, and regulate discharges from cruise ships and other vessels, prohibit introduction of non-native species, ban taking historic resources, and prohibit deserting vessels. It also proposes action plans for regulating seawalls desalination, harbors and dredge disposal, submerged cables, ecosystem protection, bottom trawling, integrated monitoring and marine protected areas.

The final hearings on the marine sanctuary management plan will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Fort Mason Center Firehouse in San Francisco, and Wednesday at the Community United Methodist Church, 777 Miramontes St., Half Moon Bay.

Based on a press release from Supervisor RIch Gordon’s office

A plan by San Mateo County to manage the large crowds expected to visit the coast for the 2007 Mavericks Surf Contest will be presented to the public at a Dec. 4 meeting. The public meeting will take place Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. at the Harbor House Conference Center, 346 Princeton Ave., Princeton-by-the-Sea.

Last year, a crowd estimated at 40,000 descended on a small area of the coast for the one-day event, which is held far offshore. The large crowd caused traffic jams and several rockslides that resulted in injuries.

San Mateo County officials, in partnership with other public agencies, will present a draft plan to manage the crowds expected for the 2007 event.San Mateo County officials also hope to get the word out that the area offers a poor viewing spot because the event takes place a half-mile offshore. This year the Mavericks Surf Contest is setting up an alternate viewing location at AT&T Park in San Francisco, where the action will be broadcast live via the Web.

Members of the public are encouraged to attend in order to hear about the plan and to ask questions from officials from the Sheriff’s Office, Half Moon Bay Police Department, Caltrans and other agencies.

The Mavericks Surf Contest is sponsored by private businesses. It typically takes place sometime between Jan. 1 and March 31 of each year. The organizers alert contestants at least 72 hours in advance when they believe wave conditions are favorable.

Joe Locke, regarded by many to be the most gifted vibraphonist of his generation teams up with Christos Rafalides, a late-1990s graduate student of Locke’s from the Manhattan School of Music, at the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society Sunday.

Playing from their CD Van Gogh by Numbers [Information and samples], Joe and Christos demonstrate the kind of shared understanding that explains why the duet is perhaps the most intimate of all possible musical ensembles.
Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society
307 Mirada Road, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
$30.  Tickets at the door. 
Doors Open at 3 PM, Music from 4:30 to 7:30 PM, with intermission. $30

By Ruth Rafello

The Half Moon Bay Branch of the American Association of University Women gathered at the Methodist church in Half Moon Bay to celebrate its 125th birthday on Monday, Nov 20.  A huge vanilla cake blazed in the glow of 125 candles, and the occasion was toasted with sparkling cider and a special slide presentation of the AAUW’s history and impact on women’s rights. 

Started by 18 women college graduates in Boston in 1881, the Association now had more than 150,000 members. AAUW is one of the oldest nonprofit organizations dedicated to women’s rights. Founded Nov. 28, 1881, AAUW has developed a rich tradition of leadership, scholarship, advocacy, and action. AAUW has over 100,000 members nationwide with over 20,000 members in 155 branches in the California district. 

The celebration continued with guest speaker Adeline Salloy from France who is now studying at Stanford University on an AAUW fellowship. Adeline inspired attendees with her passion for the work she does in nuclear energy and financial modeling.  She receives her Masters Degree next month and hopes to do her first year internship in San Francisco.  Her goals include helping policymakers with decisions on the use of energy resources. She also will focus on how environmental events affect strategic decision-making in the energy industry and in public organizations.  

The Association works for obtaining equity for women and girls in all areas of society and is the largest source of fellowships exclusively for women.  For more on the AAUW or to join the Half Moon Bay Branch go to: http://www.hmb-aauw.org/