The Merc has a good story on the confusion about who is responsible for the smelly job of disposing of the dead whale on the beach in Half Moon Bay.

The National Marine Fisheries Service said it was supposed to collect data on the dead whale, not arrange for its disposal. Half Moon Bay officials noted the whale was still in the water—outside the city’s jurisdiction. They hoped the state Department of Parks and Recreation would take it.

Roy Stearns, deputy director of communications for the state parks, said he asked his local ranger about the situation and was told, "Gee, if it were on our land we’d be forced to take responsibility for it. Thankfully, it’s not.’‘

Thursday afternoon, the state agreed to tow the thing to deeper waters, and turn it over to the harbor master, who will relay it to a shark research center.  They, presumably, will turn it over to the sharks.

Congratulations to the incoming Midcoast Community Council members! Because only four candidates have filed for four open positions as of the extended deadline on Wednesday, there will be no election for MCC. The following candidates will take the open offices:

• Geoffrey Davis (Non-Partisan Office -Computer Systems Engineer) Declaration filed 8/11, All papers filed, candidate qualified.

• Gael Erickson (Non-Partisan Office -Appointed Incumbent) 242 Francisco St, El Granada, 94018 (res.); Po Box 2905 , El Granada, 94018 (mail); [email protected]; (650) 726-4416 (day); Declaration filed 8/10, All papers filed, candidate qualified.

• Terri Green (Non-Partisan Office -Businesswoman) P.O. Box 370818, Montara, 94037 (mail); [email protected]; Declaration filed 7/27, All papers filed, candidate qualified.

• Kathryn Slater-Carter (Non-Partisan Office -Incumbent) Po Box 370321 , Montara, Ca, 94037 (mail); [email protected]; (650) 728-5449 (day); (650) 728-5449 (eve); Declaration filed 8/10, All papers filed, candidate qualified.

So, you’ve got a dead what on your beach. What now? On November 12, 1970, a dead sperm whale was rotting on a beach in southern Oregon. The Oregon highway department decided that the best way to dispose of a dead whale was the same way they’d deal with an immovable boulder—with explosives.

There is a website with dramatic footage of the big day and a Dave Barry column about the event. From the column:

So they moved the spectators back up the beach, put a half-ton of dynamite next to the whale and set it off. I am probably not guilty of understatement when I say that what follows, on the videotape, is the most wonderful event in the history of the universe. First you see the whale carcass disappear in a huge blast of smoke and flame. Then you hear the happy spectators shouting "Yayy!" and "Whee!" Then, suddenly, the crowd’s tone changes. You hear a new sound like "splud." You hear a woman’s voice shouting "Here come pieces of… MY GOD!" Something smears the camera lens.

The State Parks folks recommend staying away from the dead whale in Half Moon Bay. That’s good advice. Last year, according to the same site, "A dead 56-foot sperm whale exploded while being transported through a Taiwanese city. Buildings, vehicles, and people were showered with blood and entrails. The explosion was caused by the build-up of gases brought on by decomposition."

Friday, the Coastside Film Society presents The Lost Boys of Sudan.

In 2001, 3,800 Sudanese youngsters were relocated to the United States. For nearly two decades, children have been the pawns in a brutal civil war raging throughout the Darfur region of Sudan.  This is one of those wars that turns innocent children into soldiers forcing them to murder relatives, friends and neighbors.  The only rational response to this sort of violence is to run as far away as possible.  And that is exactly what Santino Chuor and his friend Peter Dut have done.  When they are offered the possibility to relocate from a refugee camp in Kenya to the US they jump at the chance to get as far away as they can.

"Lost Boys of Sudan" documents Peter and Santiano’s first year fending for themselves in their new home of Houston Texas.  The film touches only superficially upon their struggles in Africa.  Instead we get to see America through the eyes of these two orphaned teenagers whose previous life in a war torn land of shepherds and rural cattle farms does little to prepare them for their new life as minimum wage refugees.

The film was brought to our attention by Arianna Morales, a native of El Granada and a student at Vassar College.  Arianna is a member of the Genocide Intervention Fund—a collection of students so outraged by how little our government is doing in Darfur that they began fundraising to support the UN sanctioned peacekeeping efforts in the region.

It is an insightful documentary, often compared to "Daughter of Danang" which got so much acclaim when we screened it last year.  All proceeds from this screening will be forwarded to the Genocide Intervention Fund. We also want to thank the Methodist Church of Half Moon Bay, which has waved their usual venue fee for this screening.
More information at: www.HMBFilm.org, www.genocideinterventionfund.org or www.lostboysfilm.com

Friday, August 19, 2005 at 8:00pm
Community Methodist Sanctuary
777 Miramontes, Corner of Johnston & Miramontes
Half Moon Bay

All donations will go to peacekeeping efforts in Sudan

The County Times takes a look at the race for Half Moon Bay City Council.  It contains no surprises for those of you who have been following the race closely, but if not, it’s a good introduction to who’s running and where they stand.

The documents released by the city of Half Moon Bay to the Cypress Cove homeowners’ association under court order are now available for download from Coastsider [PDF1 is 6.7mb and PDF2 is 7.9mb]. The documents include a redacted (partially blacked-out) version of the city’s due diligence report and staff memoranda.

I haven’t had a chance to review these myself, so if you find anything interesting, why not click on "comments" and post it as a comment on this story?

On Monday, the California Department of Education released standardized test results for the 2004-2005 school year. The results include the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) and the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program .

How did the Cabrillo Unified School District do? As usual, the results are mixed.  We’ll post some analysis later, but previous years’ STAR reports are also online if you want to do your own comparisons.

The STAR Program includes a number of subtests, most notably the California Standards Tests (CSTs), which, with CAHSEE, are used to measure Acceptable Yearly Progress (AYP) for the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) program.

Meeting in closed session Tuesday night, the Half Moon Bay City Council decided it would not appeal a court’s order to release documents to the Cypress Cove homeowners’ association. The documents will be delivered at a hearing today.

Despite its concerns about the court’s order, the council decided it wasn’t worth the continued expense to fight the order, according to city council member Mike Ferreira. In a press release, City Attorney Adam Lindgren said that the council was prepared to release a redacted copy of its due diligence report when the lawsuit was filed. The remainder includes, says Ferreira, "some staff memos where City Hall staff thought they were confidentially conferring with the City Attorney.  They never expected the council to see them".

The documents will be available from Coastsider as soon as we receive a copy.

The Coastal Commission approved a plan by the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) to build an access trail to the beach at Whaler’s Cove, according to a great story from the Daily Journal. The appeal by San Gregorio rancher Ron Sturgeon was denied.

The Coastal Commission approved plans for four hiking trails, a seating area, an informational kiosk and an overlook to Whaler’s Cove just north of Pigeon Point Light Station.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service released its estimate of the economic impact of designating 35 spots on the Pacific coast as critical habitat for the western snowy plover [PDF of report, Press release , FAQ ]. One designated area is Half Moon Bay State Beach, north of Kelly Ave.

The proposal is in response to a lawsuit filed by the Coos County Board of County Commissioners. Today’s action re-opens a 30-day comment period on the proposed rule.

It will be the responsibility of the California Department of Parks and Recreation to determine the impact this designation will have on recreation.

The report estimates the loss over the next 20 years to be between $273 million and $645 million, mostly due to beach recreation losses. Other losses may be due to plover management and in impacts to real estate development, military base operations and gravel extraction. Over three-quarters of the projected impact occurs in Monterey Bay, Pismo Beach, Morro Bay and Coronado’s Silver Strand.

How to comment:

1. Submit written comments and information to the Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, W-2605, Sacramento, California 95825.

2. Hand deliver written comments to the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, at the address above.

3. Submit comments by e-mail to [email protected]