We’ll be posting complete album of Wednesday’s Cunha graduation later this week.

Cheri Parr

Cheri Parr

Cheri Parr

Cheri Parr

In an open letter to the local Coastal Commission program manager Chris Kern, Coastside Community First President Charlie Gardner has responded to Kern’s earlier letter to the city of Half Moon Bay with (by my count) 25 questions.

Kern’s letter said it is not possible to mitigate the taking of wetlands to build a road. Five of the questions in the letter are about whether it is indeed possible to mitigate the taking of wetlands to build a road. The remainder focus on a new issue: the Pacific Ridge settlement, which resulted in Coastal Commission approval of a traffic light on Highway 1 at Terrace Avenue.

Gardner has asked Coastsider to publish CCF’s letter as an open letter to the Commission. We’re running his letter on the second page of this story, as we did with Kern’s letter.

David Gorn announced Monday that he’s resigning immediately from Half Moon Bay City Council.  The city council as the option of appointing a replacement or holding an election for Gorn’s seat in November. Gorn, who was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Sid McCausland’s resignation, would have been up for re-election in November 2007.

"When I applied for the job seven months ago, I thought I could serve on the council and keep my a career afloat," Gorn told me.  Until his appointment to city council, Gorn worked as an independent producer and editor for National Public Radio. "The higher-ups at NPR decided on the side of being cautious," said Gorn. "They said they’d use me as soon as I was off the city council."

"I haven’t worked in the last seven months. I put my career on hold to serve on the city council, but I can’t put it on hold for another year and a half. I need to support my family." He noted that the stakes in this decision were not just immediate income, but the future of his career.

"This was really hard for me.  In most of decisions in my life, both outcomes would have been good. This was a matter of which kills me less." 

Gorn held off resigning until the completion of the vote on Measure S, the parcel tax.  He has been very active in the campaign. He was concerned that leaving his seat open could lead to the kind of conflict that was sparked by the planning commission appointments earlier in the year and that this would damage the campaign.  "But it’s still soon enough that it could go to an election in November,"  he says, although he doesn’t know what the city council plans to do to fill his seat.

Gorn says he thought he knew a lot about the community from being editor the Half Moon Bay Review, but that he has learned much more since joining the council and wants to apply it in the community.  He wants to work toward helping the schools, finding a permanent home for the Boys and Girls Club, parks, trails, and open space and other community projects.

"You have to do a lot of work to keep a place like this feeling the same over time," he said.

On the eve of a vote on one of the most contentious issues to confront the Coastal Commission, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez appointed four alternates to the commission.  At least one commissioner and the Sierra Club dispute his authority to do so, according to an AP story in the Mercury News. One of the alternates, a commercial and securities attorney from Orange County, is likely to vote on the Pebble Beach project.

The appointments came days before the coastal commission was scheduled to cast a final vote on a multimillion golf project in Pebble Beach, a high profile development backed by actor Clint Eastwood, former Major League Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth and retired golfer Arnold Palmer.

The Pebble Beach Co. - which hosts the annual fundraiser for the Democratic Party - is pushing a plan to build an 18-hole course, a driving range, an equestrian center, 160 new hotel units, a conference center and underground parking.

Coastal commission staff in March described the project as "highly problematic" because developers would cut sensitive pine trees in the Del Monte Forest and pave wetlands.

That’s 10,000 pines and 36,000 Yadon piperia, an endangered plant under federal protection, according to a much more detailed staff-written report at the Monterey County Herald. The Herald describes the plan as, "a new driving range, 160 new hotel units at the Pebble Beach Lodge and Spanish Bay, 33 new home lots, 60 employee housing units, a relocated equestrian center and various roadway changes."

On June 2, Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Katcho Achadjian, San Luis Obispo County supervisor and gas station owner, to the commission, and Santa Barbara City Councilmember Dan Secord as an alternate.  Secord received a lower conservation score than all but two of eleven commissioners when he served on the commission in 2005.

Raise money for the Pacific Library while learning a professional chef’s secrets for vegetarian summer foods sure to delight everyone in your family.  Free recipes and free samples.

Chef Alex Bury will prepare Basil Pesto, Potato Salad with Leeks, BBQ, and Chocolate Strawberries. Free recipes and samples will be provided.
Alex Bury was trained as a classical chef at the world’s premier culinary college, the Culinary Institute of America.  Her career as a chef was already taking off in the mid-nineties, when she became painfully aware of the plight of animals.  In 2001, she opened the famous “vegan-only” Sparks restaurant in Guerneville, California.  Now she works full-time for PETA, and also teaches the art of healthful cooking at the McDougall Program and with Bay Area Vegetarians.  Standing ovations and enthusiastic acclamations follow her cooking presentations.

The cooking class will be held Sunday, July 9th at the Pacifica Library, 104 Hilton Way from 1pm to 3 pm.  This benefit is sponsored by Bay Area Vegetarians, BayAreaVeg.org, a local non-profit organization, based in Montara, working to promote a compassionate and cruelty-free lifestyle on the coastside and the broader San Francisco Bay Area.  All labor and profits are being donated to the Pacifica Library.

Pre-registration is highly recommended to reserve your space. Class registration is sliding scale to make this class affordable, while raising funds for our Pacifica Library.  Suggested sliding scale donation is $20-$30 per adult and $10-$15 per student under 18. Walk-ins accommodated as space permits. 

To register, send name, number of people, payment and email or phone (only used for registration) to Bay Area Vegetarians, POB 371215, Montara, CA 94037. 415-57-VEG-57 (578-3457).  You can also register online at http://BayAreaVeg.org/pac_class.htm

Learn how to make delicious and cholesterol-free foods good for your budget, waistline, and best of all, our local Pacifica Library!  So come see what’s cooking at the Pacifica Library on Sunday, July 9th! 

Mike Bachicha, Principal for the past seven years at Farallone View Elementary School in Montara, has been promoted to Director of Categorical Programs, a new administrative position within the Cabrillo Unified School District. The position is responsible for maximizing efficiency in the use of federal and state funds and for finding creative ways to fund school activities within constraints set out by each source of funds.

He will be replaced in the new school year by Suzanne Michelony, currently the Principal at Hatch Elementary in Half Moon Bay. Ms. Michelony has been the principal at Hatch for the past nine years and is the only principal within the school district with more experience as principal than Bachicha.

Mr. Bachicha, or “Mr. B” as he is universally known among both students and parents, imprinted his easy-going style upon the school—as well as his high regard for scholarship and data-driven decision making. He is himself a student, soon to complete his Ed.D. at USC in Education Leadership, an applied version of the traditional theory-based education doctorate. 

In his tenure as principal Bachicha cites with pride a variety of achievements.

According to Mike, Farallone View is often referred to as a “happy place” with a high level of parental involvement and teamwork among teachers and administrators. This, he says, is widely recognized as a “big change” over the situation at the school when he first arrived.

He is also a enthusiastic proponent of “looping,” the pedagogical technique of keeping a cohort of students together as they advance in grades and having the teacher advance to the next grade with them over two year periods. The benefit is a closer relationship between students and teacher and allows students to “hit the ground running” in the second year since teachers already know the capabilities of each student.

When he arrived at Farallone View only four out of roughly twenty-two classes were taking part in “looping.” Next year it will be eleven of twenty-two classes.

But behind everything for the soft-spoken Bachicha is data. At first, he says, teachers didn’t see the full value of using a data-based approach to management at the school. The turning point came when, several years ago, the spelling scores at the school were abysmal. Bachicha sent four teachers for training in a new program, “Words Their Way,” and then ran both the traditional program and the new program at the school at the same time in “a sort of natural experiment.” The success of the new program—a “huge jump in spelling scores”—proved to many that Mike’s philosophy had merit. Teachers now come to him asking for data.

Known for his ability to interact easily with children, he says he will miss that part of his old job the most. “I love kids, I love being around them, the daily interaction.” His new position is located in an office on Kelly Ave. in Half Moon Bay.

Bachicha seems unreconciled with the idea of losing part of himself—”saying good-bye to the persona of Mr. B.” There is a sadness in his voice as he says the words. But “Mr. B” is not going away entirely. His daughter, Nina, is a second grader at Farallone View. 

The Coastside County Water District (CCWD) will hold a public hearing on increasing its water rates by 7%, followed by a vote on the rate hike, at its next regular meeting, on Tuesday, June 13 at 7:30pm.

Last June, a number of galleries collaborated to bring the Third Saturday Art Walks to Half Moon Bay. The next walk is Satruday, June 17. Visitors can expect to find a variety of festivities from light refreshments, live music, artist receptions, and artist demonstrations.  The number of galleries participating is now up to ten, and the variety of art is extensive.

Third Saturday Art Walks now have a new feature. Pick up a Passport at any participating gallery.  Visit all 10 galleries the day of the art walk and at each gallery get your passport stamped.  You must visit all 10 galleries  but can visit in any order you like.  At the last gallery give them your contact information and you will be entered into a drawing.  Last month the winner received a $50.00 certificate from Dayle Dunn Gallery. Click below for more details.

Roadside memorials on the Coastside will be the subject of an exhibit of photographs at Half Moon Bay Library in July. The photographer is Nancy Hansen of El Granada.

During the last couple of years, the subject of roadside memorials to those who have died on Highway 1 or other roads in the Half Moon Bay area have sparked debate on the editorial pages of the Half Moon Bay Review.  This overview photography exhibit shows a ‘snapshot in time’ of many of the memorials and how they show devotion and caring for a lost loved one.  Some are very involved and some are simple gestures.  Some are neglected after they have been erected and some are lovingly cared for with fresh flowers or balloons to mark a holiday or an occasion.

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) is asking for public input by June 16 on its amended draft "Good Neighbor Policy" that was developed with the extensive involvement of neighbors and neighborhood groups and includes input collected at four facilitated public workshops.

The current policy, explanation of the process, a pdf of the proposed new policy, and an online form for collecting comments can be found on MROSD’s Good Neighbor Policy page.

Members of the public can also obtain copies of the Policy and provide comments by calling the District (650) 691-1200 or writing to the District at 330 Distel Circle, Los Altos, CA 94022.

After June 16, a final public workshop will be held in order to provide the public with an additional opportunity for comments. The last step in the process will be a meeting of the full Board in a public session to discuss and vote on the revised Policy.

The District’s Good Neighbor Policy governs how MROSD interacts with its neighbors and was last revised in August 1996.  The amended policy will cover a variety of topics from addressing neighbor privacy to natural resource management issues such as controlling invasive species.

The public meetings and the amended policy, when completed, are designed to foster a spirit of cooperation between the District and its constituents on whose behalf the agency manages over 50,000 acres of open space land.

A process to seek input from the public on issues constituents believe should be addressed in the Good Neighbor Policy was initiated last year and included a number of interviews with constituents and several meetings with local neighborhood organizations, including the Midcoast Community Council, Pescadero Municipal Advisory Council, the South Skyline Association, and Kings Mountain Association.

In addition to four public meetings, District neighbors and constituents also provided suggestions through e-mail, the District’s Web site, and regular mail.