Coastside children will be presenting a talent show to benefit the Naisula Education Project "Keeping Hope Alive". The program supports education for Kenyan orphans of AIDS victims.

Date:  Friday, April 1st, 2005   Time:  7:00 - 9:30 pm

Place:  Mariner’s Church, 255 S. Cabrillo Hwy, Half Moon Bay

Click "read more" to see the rest of the press release.

This week opened with a knucklehead pretending to have been kidnapped, followed by the usual ritual of a warrant arrest, a couple of burglaries and a couple of drug possession charges.

Deputies were dispatched to the above location when county communications informed them that the reporting party had called via a call box located on Highway 1. The reporting party said that he was kidnapped and needed assistance. Deputies contacted the subject who claimed that the previous night he fell asleep in Sacramento and when he woke up he was in San Mateo County. He later changed his story and admitted that he was traveling to southern California and wanted the Sheriff’s Office to assist him with traveling aid.

While Deputies were on routine patrol they noticed a vehicle parked in a parking lot with a male subject sleeping inside. Deputies contacted the occupant to check on his welfare. The occupant told Deputies that he was sleeping in the vehicle because he planned to go fishing early the next morning. A routine check with county communications revealed that the subject had an outstanding warrant. He was placed under arrest and booked into the county jail. 

Deputies were dispatched to the above address on the report of a residential burglary. The victim reported that someone had entered his home through an unlocked bedroom window and stole various items. A neighbor saw a suspicious vehicle in front of the residence at the time of the burglary.

Deputies were on routine patrol when they noticed a vehicle being driven by a male subject whose license had been suspended. They contacted the driver, age 42, of Montara. He was arrested for driving without a license. Deputies conducted an inventory check of the vehicle before it was towed and at that time they discovered drugs and drug paraphernalia in the vehicle. He was booked into the county jail without further incident.

Unknown subjects entered the open garage of a residence on 11th Street and took a bicycle. The garage had been left open all night and the bicycle was left unsecured.

Deputies conducted a traffic stop on a man, age 43 of Montara. Deputies had prior knowledge that his license was suspended. Deputies conducted a search of the vehicle and found drug paraphernalia as well as drugs. He was arrested and booked into the county jail.

Not long ago the San Mateo County Mosquito Abatement District annexed the coastside and is now out here every day, working to prevent mosquito and West Nile outbreaks.  The district has assigned an officer to cover the coastside from Daly City all the way down to about Santa Cruz.

Abatement officer Kim was out near the Half Moon Bay Airport today, and agreed to answer a few questions about how they treat standing water to stop mosquitos.

She told me about several approaches they have at their disposal, and noted that they decide which to use based on the conditions at each specific site. For example, if mosquito larvae are within a day or so of leaving the water, they apply a thin film of refined mineral oil to the water’s surface.  This drowns the mosquitos.  The oil is very fine, and evaporates with a couple of days.

Earlier in the larvae’s life cycle, the district can apply a growth hormone specific to mosquito larvae.  It keeps the larvae from developing into adults.

Another tool in their arsenal is a bacteria that attacks mosquito larvae.  It, too, is said to be specific only to mosquitos.

The Abatement District offers several services to homeowners, including free mosquito fish.  These fish love to eat mosquitos and make great additions to outdoor ponds.

They also offer to deal with yellowjackets, identify insects, and want to hear from you if you spot any dead birds.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I called the County about a dead crow in my yard a couple of years ago. They came out to collect it that day.

La Di Da Jazz Cafe is for sale. I first heard about this from a posting on Half Moon Bay Online, who had a link to the ad on Craigslist.  I confirmed this in an email conversation with proprietor Jo Dee Massanari. I’m really sorry to hear the news. This is my favorite place to hang out during the day Half Moon Bay, especially after dropping my daughter off at Cunha. I hope the new owners are able to keep the same spirit and atmosphere that have made it such a fixture in the community.

UPDATE:  The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors did not make a decision about this important issue at the hearing on March 28.  It’s not too late to send your comments to the address at the end of this article.

When the Devil’s Slide tunnel is finally built, CalTrans will be left with a big chunk of Montara’s and Moss Beach’s back yard. And the fate of that space is the subject of a struggle.

If you live in Montara, you’re probably familiar with the bypass, a strip of empty land, some of it cultivated, running east of Elm Street.  The original plan was to run a freeway through the back end of Montara and Moss Beach and down to the Half Moon Bay Airport.  Even after that plan was abandoned for a bypass a little further north, and the second plan was dropped for the tunnel, Caltrans has hung on to the land for these routes until the road is built.

One condition of building the tunnel was that the northern portion of the original Right of Way be sold to the California State Parks system. But now it’s time to decide what to do with the part that runs through Montara and Moss Beach. Will it be kept open, or developed for more houses?

In its recommendations for the update to the County’s Local Coastal Plan (LCP), the Midcoast Community Council (MCC) recommended that the CalTrans Right of Way be rezoned from residential to open space. Other Local Coastal Plan recommendations urge Caltrans to voluntarily merge existing subdivided lots within the ROW and then sell the resulting single parcel to a public agency at a price not to exceed its original cost. This would promote the use of the property for trails and other open space uses.

The San Mateo County Association of Realtors (SAMCAR) has a different vision. In a letter to the County Board of Supervisors, SAMCAR said that it opposes designating the old Caltrans freeway bypass in Montara as open space because "being adjacent to the new tunnel, these properties would be ideal sites [for homes] given their proximity to transit."

People already use this land for recreation. I walk my dogs there and see a lot of my neighbors there as well. It could be used for a recreational trail, inland away from Highway 1, stretching all the way from the Half Moon Bay airport to Pacifica.

"A lot of people already thought this land was protected," says Montara resident Jonathan Garfield. Garfield has been working getting Montarans interested in this issue.

What you can do: The Board of Supervisors will hold a hearing on the LCP revisions on March 29. The hearing will be at Board of Supervisors Chambers, 400 County Center in Redwood City at 10:00 am. At the previous meeting of the Board, nearly all the speakers were Realtors pushing for their vision of an LCP. This is a good opportunity for Montara and Moss Beach residents to make it clear that they have another vision.

If you can’t attend the hearing, you can mail a letter to the supervisors:

San Mateo County Board of Supervisors

Board President Rich Gordon

Members Mark Church, Jerry Hill, Rose Jacobs Gibson and Adrienne Tissier

400 County Center

Redwood City, 94063

David Gorn, former editor of the Half Moon Bay Review, has applied to be appointed to the seat vacated by HMB City Council member Sid McCausland. Gorn has lived in Half Moon Bay nine years.  He left the Review just about a year ago, in March 2004.  He’s currently working as a producer for KQED-FM, and has produced many features for them about the Coastside. When I was in Phoenix last week, I heard his story about giant squid on the local NPR affiliate.

He joins Naomi Patridge, 44-year resident, City Council member from 1985 to 2001, and former four-term HMB Mayor, as the second applicant for the job. The Review spent a lot of time on Patridge in a front-page story last week’s paper.

In his application, Gorn lists what he sees as the big ongoing issues for the City Council: "adding those lanes to Highway 92, building a new police station, a new library, adding parkland, building trails, getting the middle school and the Boys and Girls Club built in our lifetime." Gorn positions himself as someone who can "bridge the gap between the two political factions on the Coastside".

Patridge’s much shorter statement focused on her remarkable experience and concluded: "I was and still am committed to the residents of the city. While on the council I always listened to residents and did what I thought was best for the city. There should always be respect between the council and residents despite their differences."

Backstory (inside baseball, mostly opinion and unsourced): If, like me, you’re a newcomer to the Coastside, you’re probably shrugging and asking yourself, "What’s this really about?  There’s clearly more to this than meets the eye, but I’m not sure I should even care." Gorn is well-regarded by supporters of the current slowish-growth City Council majority, as well as by those who don’t identify with either that group or with the faction who used to run the city (the "Old Guard").  Many of them miss Gorn’s more even-handed influence at the Review, which seems more wildly partisan every week.  Patridge is regarded as the candidate of the Old Guard. Patridge’s opposition to buying the 22 acres for a park coincided with a switch to more negative coverage of the park by the city’s newspaper of record.  Both Gorn’s and Patridge’s statements, as well as the Review’s coverage, take on a whole new perspective if analyzed in this context.

Each spring Western Snowy Plovers raise their chicks at Half Moon Bay State Beach.  These small, well-camouflaged shorebirds are part of a population of fewer than 2000 plovers that nest along the Pacific Coast.  Their population has been threatened by human disturbance, loss of habitat due to development, and predation.

The state park’s Plover Watch volunteer program is seeking volunteers to monitor and protect the snowy plovers and their habitat.

Volunteers will have the chance to help these threatened birds survive.  Volunteers monitor the birds’ habitat and collect important data on the birds and their behavior.  Last year volunteers discovered and protected a record 21 nests.  Only one of the chicks that hatched survived to fledge, so these birds still need our help.  Volunteers also have the opportunity to educate visitors about the snowy plovers and the beach.  Public education is an important part of this program. During the plover nesting season, from March to September, volunteers spend at least four hours per month on the beach.  Volunteers are especially needed for weekends.  Free one-day training workshops for prospective volunteers will be offered at Half Moon Bay State Beach on two Saturdays, March 26 and April 9, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

To register for one of the free workshops or for more information, call Nelle or Avis at (650) 726-8804, voice mailbox 7#, or e-mail [email protected]

This week, Sheriff’s Deputies have dealt with an accident at Skylawn cemetary, slashed tires, two car burglaries, a theft, and two unrelated dog bites within minutes of each other.

On the above date and time, Deputies were dispatched to Skylawn Memorial Park on the report of and industrial accident. Upon arrival Deputies assisted fire and paramedics with an injured male. The man was hurt when he was run over by a tractor, while bending down taking a measurement. The driver of the front end loader was looking behind him at the work he was doing, not what was in front of him. The victim had injuries to his leg, chest, and arm and was taken by "life flight" to the hospital.

Deputies were dispatched to Ocean Blvd on a report of a vehicle vandalism. The reporting party told Deputies that she had left her vehicle in her driveway and when she returned she observed the left rear tire was flat and there was a two inch cut in the sidewall of the tire.

On the above date and time the victim of an auto burglary called Sheriff’s Deputies to report that sometime between March 13th and March 14th unknown subjects had entered his vehicle, that was parked if front of his house, and took various items.

On the above date and time the victim walked into the North Coast Substation to report an auto burglary. The reporting party told deputies that on the previous night he had a parked and secured his vehicle. When he returned the following morning he saw that unknown suspects had ransacked the vehicle and had taken various hand and power tools.

Deputies were called to a local business on the report of a theft. The reporting party told Deputies that an unknown suspect had entered a locked cabinet in a secured shed and took various construction tools. The reporting party suspects a past employee as there was no forced entry. All of the tools are engraved with the business name.

A citizen came to the Sheriff’s North Coast Substation to report that while she and a friend were hiking near Gray Whale Cove they accidentally entered onto private property and one of the ladies was bitten by a dog.

Deputies were dispatched to Carmel Avenue in El Granada on a report of a dog bite. The reporting party told deputies that while walking on Columbus Street in El Granada a large gray dog ran down a driveway of a residence. Fearing she was going to be attacked she raised her arm to protect herself, at which time she was bit in the elbow.

Seniors seeking free home repair help should apply to Senior Coastsiders by March 31, to be considered for this year’s Home Rehabilitation Day on June 11, according to the San Mateo County Times.

Since 1990, the program has provided senior and disabled people who meet income criteria with free help with minor home projects, such as replacement of rotted stairs or porches, installation of grab bars or extra stair railings, wheelchair-ramp construction, repair of plumbing problems, house painting, yard work and more.

The repairs are performed by Coastside contractors and other volunteers.  Since 1990, 1,900 volunteers have worked on 382 homes.