Sewer Authority Midcoastside (SAM), which operates the Coastside’s sewer system, has receive a report from the Environmental Protection Agency that should be a relief.

Two years ago, when the agency commenced a study of SAM following wet-weather sewage spills,  there was concern that the investigation could lead to large fines or legal action. Instead, the EPA made 14 recommendations for improving the system. SAM Manager Jack Foley says that SAM has already put into effect many of the EPA’s recommendations.  These include a "flusher" truck to inspect lines and remove grease blockages from the system, the completion of the Montara Storm Water Retention System in 2003, and an overflow reduction system in Moss Beach. However, the agency also recommended some large capital improvements that have not yet been made.

The EPA’s report contains a great deal of detail on how the Coastside’s sewers operate, past failures, and improvements that have been made to the system. You can download the report from Coastsider.

Back to Basics has collected pledges totalling $123,480 as of this afternoon, and any pledges received by tomorrow, August 31, will be matched by funds from challenge grants.

You can pledge online, or send your check to

Back To Basics
Box 354
Half Moon Bay, Ca, 94019

A couple of participants in the Pacifica-L Internet mailing list claiming to be Pacifica residents who support the Pacifica Quarry development appear to be employees of the developer’s public relations firm in Santa Barbara. This has raised serious questions about the degree to which the developer is astroturfing—conducting a fake grassroots campaign.

Beginning August 16, a member calling herself Susan appeared on the list for the first time supporting the project and saying that those who oppose developer R. Donahue Peebles, who is black, are racists:  "I like that he is tough and strong and speaks his mind.  I like the man and I will not turn away as some of the racist have stated here earlier."  Susan’s emails came from a T-Mobile network in Los Angeles and an email server belonging to Davies Communications, Peebles’s Santa Barbara PR firm. One of Davies’s specialities, according to their website, is winning approval of developments:

We overcome neighbor and community fears with scientific persuasion principles that cement commitments from supporters to take action. Our proven process—the Entitlement Accelerator—engineers positive perceptions for projects in the toughest environments, including brownfields and other controversial sites. At DAVIES, we say opposition is never insurmountable—our 95% winning track record speaks for itself.

The next day, a new Peebles supporter calling himself Jimmy appeared on the list. Although Jimmy used the same Hotmail return address as Susan, his emails came from an entirely different network: an internet service provider that doesn’t serve Pacifica. The group tumbled pretty quickly to the fact that Susan and Jimmy were not who they claimed to be and the evidence was posted on the list.

Jimmy took the offensive, noting that one of his accusers—a resident of Montara—lives in, um, Montana. This compounded the impression that Jimmy and Susan were unlikely to be residents of Pacifica.

I spoke to John Davies, the eponymous CEO of Davies Communications, to get his side of the story.  Davies said that the firm had conducted an investigation and that there was no way to determine whether anyone inside the firm had posted the emails. He told me he thought the Pacifica list readers were mostly negative thinkers with too much time on their hands.

I asked him if it would be an ethical violation if someone at his firm had done this and he replied, "I don’t know what the ethical standards of a chat room are." After I pressed him on whether it violate his professional ethical standards, he acknowledged that the behavior was inappropriate, but wouldn’t suggest a penalty if Jimmy and Susan turned out to be one or more of his employees.

Back to Basics hit the $100,000 goal in their Act Now Challenge Drive over the weekend. At last count, they had raised $101,000.  However, any contributions received by Thursday, August 31 will still be matched with challenge grants. 

You can pledge online, or send your check to

Back To Basics
Box 354
Half Moon Bay, Ca, 94019

Dow Jones is exploring the sale of the Santa Cruz Sentinel and some of the other newspapers owned by its Ottaway subsidiary. It may be the only significant (paid) daily newspaper between San Mateo/Contra Costa Counties and Monterey that is not owned by Dean Singleton’s MediaNews Group. MediaNews owns the Mercury News, San Mateo County Times, Oakland Tribune, Pacifica Tribune, Marin Independent Journal, Contra Costa Times, Monterey Herald, and a bunch of other papers in the Bay Area and Mendocino County..

The median price of a home in Salinas has risen from $160,000 to $600,000 since 1996.  The Wall Street Journal says this is one reason slow-growth advocates are fighting developers, business interests, farmers, and farm-labor advocates.

If more land is allowed to be developed for housing, the big question is whether that would help the immigrant population. The pro-growth camp says it will, because every new project is required to include a certain number of "workforce" housing units, which are intended for lower- to moderate-income workers.

The slow-growth camp contends most development will be for expensive homes—and even the units designated for lower-income workers will be out of reach for most immigrant laborers, who earn as little as $14,000 a year.

Salinas made headlines last year when they declared they couldn’t afford to keep their public library open.

The issue of how much of the county should be developed is at the heart of a 20-year plan that is now under discussion.

A new type of development is straining the idea of public access that is at the heart of the Coastal Act. The Coastal Commission is approving condo hotels, where the units are owned by individuals, but rented to the public at least three-quarters of the year, according to an AP story at the Chronicle.

In this low-key northern San Diego County surf town [Encinitas], dunes and ice plants are being cleared from land designated for public use to make way for 100 condos that will sell for an estimated $1.5 million each and 30 hotel rooms that will go for up to $600 a night. Because the project includes hotel rooms, it is deemed to be for public use by the commission that oversees a state law protecting beach access.

"It’s like a knife at the throat of the Coastal Act," said Massara, a lawyer for the Sierra Club.

...

Along California’s coast, where demand for real estate is so intense that the city of Santa Barbara may build affordable housing for families earning $160,000 a year, as many as 10 condo hotel projects are pending.

Coastsider doesn’t look very different this weekend, but it’s completely different.

During July and August, we’ve been working to replace the software that drives the site. That’s the software that is running the site today.  You may notice some subtle differences, but if things go according to plan, it’ll be hard to tell we changed anything. At first. Over time, you’ll see more changes as we make sure the software is working as it should.

One big change: Members can now upload a picture of themselves that will appear on their profile, as well as one that will appear on their comments (your "avatar").  To add a photo, so other readers can see what you look like, log in (if you haven’t already) and click on "Edit your profile" on the top left of the page.

One small change: We’ve created a section for all our videos, which you can get to by clicking on "Video" on the top menu bar.

One future change: A big reason we did all this work is so that we can offer user forums.  Once we’re out of this beta period, we’ll release Coastsider’s forums, which will allow our registered members to start their own discussion topics.

If you notice any problems with the site, you can post your problems or questions as comments on this story, and we’ll resolve them.

RSS USERS:  The address of our RSS feed has changed. Please get our new RSS feed address from the link in the left-side navigation bar.