Three stables in the Montara and Moss Beach are under voluntary quarantine due to an outbreak of Equine Herpes Virus [link to UC Davis, plus more info from the state], according to the county Farm Bureau.

Based on history, clinical signs, and the number of horses affected. A presumptive diagnosis of Equine Herpes Virus was made, and the horse referred to the UC-Davis Large Animal Clinic. The diagnosis was confirmed the afternoon of March 12 based on a positive nasal swab, blood, and spinal tap. Two other horses at the boarding facility have also tested positive, with one other pending. Two of the affected horses were subsequently euthanized at UC-Davis after failing to respond to treatment. Currently, three stables in the Moss Beach/Montara area are under voluntary quarantine to help stop the spread of the virus.

The city of Half Moon Bay has placed one of its police officers on leave while the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office investigates whether he withheld evidence in the child molestation case against martial arts instructor Joao Pierini, reports Julia Scott in the County Times.

"Our investigation is into whether the officer acted properly in the taking of a report into (Pierini’s) arrest," said [Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve] Wagstaffe, explaining that police officers, like doctors, are legally required to report if they learn that a crime such as child molestation has occurred.

He would not comment on the nature of the evidence that was omitted or suppressed by the officer who took the police report on Pierini, but said it did not affect the outcome of Pierini’s case because he pleaded no contest to the charges.

The investigation is expected to take a week and a half.

High rents and a lack of tourists are taking their toll on Half Moon Bay’s Main Street, reports Julia Scott in the County Times.  Businesses catering to locals are barely hanging on or have just left downtown—and those catering to tourists are facing relentless pressure.

"We’re hitting rock bottom here. We’re going to lose a lot of businesses," said Nidia Nelson, owner of Nuestra Tierra, a Mexican Gallery on Half Moon Bay’s Main Street.

Nelson is one of several local merchants in prime locations along Main Street that normally benefit from gift shoppers out for a stroll on weekends as they search for jewelry, fine art or antiques. But merchants say the foot traffic isn’t there anymore, and many never recovered from the 20 percent slump they endured over Christmas. Then there are shop owners like Nelson, who are facing rent increases just as they near the desperation point.

Nelson opened Nuestra Tierra six years ago and has since spent $20,000 on capital improvements. Her rent, $3.25 per square foot, is the most expensive in town, and the landlord raises it every year. He told her that if she can’t pay it, others can, according to Nelson.

"And we won’t be able to pay it," she said.

Twelve retailers closed their doors last year in Half Moon Bay and more chains—Popeye’s, Jamba Juice, and Peet’s—are moving in.  Chamber of Commerce CEO Charise McHugh is quoted blaming Coastsiders for not shopping locally. Locally-oriented merchants blame a plague of galleries for raising rents. The impact of the closure of Devil’s Slide is still debated. And everyone seems to be unhappy with their landlord.

"The chamber is doing the best we can to get the word out," said McHugh. "We don’t have the power to tell people what kinds of shops they should open or tell landlords not to raise the rent.

The debate over the direction of Half Moon Bay’s downtown continues, but there seems to be no agreement on what the problem is, or whether there is even a problem.  The big retail chains understand that downtown is the next frontier. I visited Union Square this week for the first time in a couple of years, and it’s now more like Stanford Shopping Center with crosswalks than the shopping district of a world-class city.

Charles Schuttloffel, 36, the father of two toddlers who died in a 2004 house fire has been arrested on suspicion of murder.  William Leonard Schuttloffel, 2, and Charles Edward Schuttloffel, 3,  were found in the ruins of their home, reports the County Times. The fire took plance May 4, 2004 on Seaside School Road in San Gregorio.

"The cause of the fire was arson. The suspect that deliberately set fire was the children’s father," sheriff’s Lt. Lisa Williams said. "He became a suspect shortly after the investigation began."

...

Lana and Charles Schuttloffel now live in Half Moon Bay with their 2-year-old daughter. [The boys’ great-grandfather] Edward Schuttloffel said the entire family is "just sick" over the charges.

"It’s nuts," he said. "It was accidental, as far as I know. It certainly wasn’t murder."

Charles Schuttloffel was injured in the blaze as he tried to save his children from the fire, which was difficult to quell because of ammunition and other flammable items stored on the property.

There are a couple of clips on the KTVU website, including an extended video of the interview with the Lana Schuttloffel and KTVU’s story on the father’s arrest.

UPDATE: Lana Schuttloffel has told the Chronicle she believes her husband is innocent

"There is no way he could have committed this crime, he’s always been a loving father," Lana Schuttloffel of Half Moon Bay told reporters outside the courtroom. "Anyone who knows Chuck knows that it’s not something he’s capable of."

Nine weeks into the waiting period, which is scheduled to end March 31, there is no hint of the kind of surf needed for the (mostly) annual Mavericks big-wave surf contest, reports the Mercury News. There is a possibility that wait may be extended into April, which as been as good as March in recent years.

The culprit is a lingering high pressure system that doesn’t seem to be weakening, Collins said.

It takes more than big waves to make the contest a success, though. Other variables include wind, swell direction and tides.

Some surfers fear organizers will bow to commercial interests and hold the contest in medium-sized surf, trying to sell it as the Super Bowl of big-wave riding.

A total of $75,000 in prize money is at stake.

One person was injured seriously enough in a collision at the intersection of Hwy 1 and Filbert Friday evening at 5pm to be flown to a hospital by air ambulance.  A second person in the collision between a BMW and a pickup was taken to a nearby hospital, reports CBS5.

As we spring forward into daylight savings time on this warm and sunny weekend, it’s easy to forget that we’re only a couple of months away from the gray and turbulent waves of early December.

The city of Pacifica says Coastside Scavenger, which also serves the Midcoast, may have overcharged Pacificans, and dumped green waste without a permit for years, reports Julia Scott in the County Times.

At issue is whether Coastside Scavenger, along with its sister recycling company, Seacoast Disposal, overcharged residents $634,200 over a five-year period while raising its rates almost yearly.

More than half of that money — $387,000 — was charged to ratepayers as the price of trucking an unknownamount of organic yard waste to the Picardo Ranch at the outer edge of Pacifica’s Linda Mar neighborhood. At the time, the ranch was held in trust by Louis Picardo, the owner and founder of Coastside Scavenger.

[Coastside Scavenger general manager, Chris] Porter said the company dumped the yard waste at the ranch in 2001-05 to pioneer a worm-composting program. The goal was to distribute the compost to residents to use in their yards, she said.

But the company could not produce records of ever dumping anything at the Picardo Ranch, according to the audit. Coastside Scavenger charged residents higher user rates each year for the price of trucking material to the site.

The city also says that Coastside Scavenger charged residents a quarter million dollars for items that should have been billed to Seacoast Disposal.