A Moss Beach man, missing since Tuesday, Jan 20, has been found floating off a beach in Marin County. John Lennon, 55, was an apparent suicide, reports the County Times.

Lennon’s family later offered a $5,000 reward for information relating to his disappearance, which was linked to the fact that he had recently and abruptly ceased taking medication for problems with depression.

Lennon’s body was spotted floating off Tennessee Valley Beach about 2:50 p.m. Saturday, fully clothed and easily identifiable, said Eric Fohner, an investigator with the Marin County Coroner’s Office. ...

Lennon was married to Maureen Lennon, former finance director for the city of Pacifica. She filed a wrongful termination suit against the city and members of the City Council after being laid off in May 2007. The lawsuit is still pending, although she has succeeded in finding other work.

Sustainable San Mateo County, an organization dedicated to improving the long-term health of San Mateo County, has awarded Reece Computer Systems with a 2009 Sustainability of the Year Award (Honorable Mention). Reece is the only Information Technology company to have received one of these awards over the last 10 years.

Do you enjoy sharing your knowledge of nature and history? California State Parks is looking for new volunteers interested in helping at two parks in the San Mateo Coast Sector: the Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve and Half Moon Bay State Beach.  Volunteers may choose to help in either or both of the parks. Free training for new volunteers will begin in late February.  Volunteers receive passes for free parking at nearby state parks. Volunteering for parks is a great way to learn new things, share your knowledge with your neighbors, and make new friends!

Supervisor Rich Gordon, who represents the Midcoast on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, is planning to run for Ira Ruskin’s State Assembly seat, reports the Examiner, which has seems to have its own peculiar meaning for the phrase "it’s official":

It’s official, San Mateo County Supervisor Rich Gordon is speaking with friends and supporters regarding a potential run for the State Assembly seat that will be vacated by current incumbent Ira Ruskin in 2010.

Ruskin, a former Redwood City mayor, was just elected to his third and final term in the State’s lower house. ...

The odds-on favorite for that seat would be Gordon who has served on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors for over a decade and previously served on the San Mateo County Board of Education. ...

By stepping out now, Gordon places himself among the early contenders and in politics, timing is everything.

Ruskin’s district does not include the Coastside.

Neil Merrilees is a member of the Midcoast Community Council

Should a member of a Sewer board be able to serve on the Midcoast council?  That is the issue the Supervisors will be discussing Tuesday. 

Sewer board members can’t also serve on a Fire Board.  They can’t serve on the Board of Supervisors.  They couldn’t serve in the State Assembly, or Senate.  Hillary Clinton can’t be secretary of State, and still be a Senator.  Barak Obama gave up his Senate seat, not because he is too busy (he is) but because he had to.  Our democratic tradition recognizes that serving two "masters" is an inherent conflict of interest, and is not allowed.

The Midcoast Council has an exception from these rules.  Members don’t have to follow the rules of every other elected official because the Board of Supervisors can completely disregard their advice.  I call it the "because we don’t have to listen" exception.  MCC members often state that they don’t have to worry about conflict of interest, and then complain that the Supervisors don’t take them seriously.  The two issues are directly related.

It isn’t about "pro-maximum development".  This issue isn’t about limiting choice.  Anyone will be able to run for the MCC.  Its about holding the MCC to the same conflict of interest standard as the Fire board, School Board, City Council, Assembly, right up to the office of the President.  It’s about fair transparent government.

Lessening the appearance of "conflict of interest’ at the MCC could help increase the influence of midcoast residents, which would benefit all of us.  Having a council that is easily overlooked benefits no one.  On Tuesday the Board of Supervisors is considering changing this conflict of interest exception. I strongly support this change.

Courthouse Girls of Farmland, a lighthearted documentary that has raised both eyebrows and spirits throughout the country, will be presented by The Visionary Edge at 7:30 pm, Saturday, January 24th at The Johnson House Train Depot in Half Moon Bay.  The film focuses on the small town of Farmland, Indiana, seven senior women from the area who posed for a controversial 2006 calendar and a fight to save the historic county courthouse. 

The award-winning documentary took root after the film’s producers, Salt Lake City writer and filmmaker Angela E. Soper and Farmland business owners Laurence M. Francer and Jerome M. Herron, witnessed reaction to a calendar they created in 2005 to protest local commissioners’ decision to destroy the 130-year-old courthouse.  Featuring Soper’s and Herron’s then 86-year-old mother and her six fellow bridge club members -aged 77 to 94- the "Courthouse Girls" calendar brought national attention to the courthouse issue and to the women.

Saturday, January 24th.  Doors will open at 7:00pm, film begins at 7:30.  The Johnson House Train Depot, 110 Higgins Purisima, HMB.  The film is free and open to the public, but donations are encouraged to cover screening expenses.  Suggested donation for advance tickets $10, door $15. Call 650-560-0200 for information and reservations as seating is limited.

The HMB Library will present a special program about Volunteer Opportunities at our local State Beaches on Sunday January 25th at 1:30PM.  Ranger Nelle Lyons will describe activities that vary from staffing the Vistors’ Center to joining the Plover Watch.  Other activities include an ongoing habitat restoration program.  It’s a great chance to enjoy the beach, meet some interesting people and, if you’re a high school student, earn Community Service Hours.

Up the Yangtze

"What Chinese Canadian filmmaker Yung Chang achieves in his documentary "Up the Yangtze" is remarkable. In one sense, he has created an epic - his backdrop is the gargantuan Three Gorges Dam project, the biggest hydro-electric project in the world and China’s largest project since the Great Wall. In another sense, he has created an intimate film about two teenagers whose lives will never be the same." G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle.

The Three Gorges project is so large it is measurably changing the tilt of the Earth. How best to put such a massive project in context?  Chang wisely chooses to take a very narrow focus on the subject. Cindy Yu Shui is a 16-year-old peasant girl whose family is loosing its humble shack to the waters.  Jerry Chen Bo Yu is a spoiled 19-year-old boy from a middle-class family. Both have found jobs on cruise ships plying the rising waters for the enjoyment of Western tourists.  Though the eyes of these two teens we come to appreciate what those tourists are seeing—and what they are missing.

Jenny Kwok Wah Lau, an Associate Professor in the Department of Cinema at San Francisco State University will introduce the film and take questions from the audience.

Friday, Jan.23 at 7:30 pm

Coastside Film Night is open to the public of all ages.

Methodist Sanctuary,  777 Miramontes, Half Moon Bay
(Corner of Johnston & Miramontes)

$6.00 per person

For more info see: www.HMBFilm.org

A mountain lion was sighted at about 5pm Wednesday between Gazos Creek Road and Rossi Road, East of Highway 1 near Costanoa [Google map]. The sighting was made by a San Mateo County Deputy Sheriff, according to the County’s alert system.

The mountain lion had a long tail and was initially in tall grass near Highway 1, but retreated eastward to a hillside area.  The Costanoa community was advised.