A middle school can be built in half the time and at half the cost at the current location of Cunha Middle School, compared to using either alternative site.  That’s the finding of the Cabrillo Unified School District’s Site Professional Advice Committee.

The committee considered three greenfield scenarios in addition to building at the current site of Cunha Middle School: building at Wavecrest in cooperation with Wavecrest Village LLC, building independently at Wavecrest, and the so-called Podesta site located between Half Moon Bay High School and Highway 1.

The committee consisted of a dozen construction, legal, architecture, and real estate professionals.

The board will vote on the alternatives at its regular monthly meeting next Thursday, October 13. According to Superintendent John Bayless, the committee didn’t make any recommendations because that decision was the responsibility of the CUSD board. It should be an easy decision.

Cunha could be completed before construction on the other sites could even begin.

The committee concluded that all three greenfield sites would take more than six years, until 2012, to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act before the project could even be put out to bid.  CEQA processes for Cunha would take a little more than one year, and the project could be put out to bid at the beginning of 2007.  Cunha could be completed in time for the beginning of the 2009-10 school year. The greenfield sites would be completed for the beginning of the 2014-15 school year.

The committee found four reasons why the greenfield sites would cost a lot more than Cunha.  Acquisition of the new sites would cost $2.3 to $4.8 million. Environmental costs at the new sites would exceed those at Cunha by $0.3 to $1.0 million. Construction would cost an additional $8 to $9 million. And inflation would add $13 to $15 million to the construction cost over the cost of building a school at the Cunha site.

The logistics could be handled by building the new facilities first and then moving the students into the new buildings while the original Cunha building is renovated.

The committee also addressed the claim that Wavecrest is a better site because it provides students with more space for activities. According to Thang Do of AEDIS Architecture & Planning, the usable acreage at Wavecrest is 18 acres, versus a little over 17 acres at Cunha. Dr. Bayless and the attorneys on the committee also told the board that the language of Measure K, the middle school bond measure, didn’t require that the school be built on a new site.

The executive summary of the committee’s report can be downloaded from Coastsider. Superintendent Bayless promised that two copies of the full report would be made available at the Half Moon Bay Public Library. You can buy the report from the District office for about $30.

A warrant arrest in Princeton Harbor, a DUI in Miramar, a stolen chainsaw from the Devil’s Slide construction site turns up in another town,  and a confused young man tells sheriff’s deputies that hash is the "icing on the cake" for his medical marijuana.

Click "read more" to see the details.

The driver of the truck that killed a UC Santa Cruz student Saturday night on Highway 1 south of Tunita Creek Road has pleaded innocent of to the charges, which included driving under the influence and possession of a controlled substance, reports the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

The Highway Patrol says that the driver, Mark Henderson, 47, fled the scene of the accident.

Michelle Boyd

The scene of the accident was shrouded in fog Saturday night.

State Senator Liz Figueroa speak at the next meeting of the Coastside Democrats. The topic will be the Nov 8 election, especially the eight ballot propositions.

the meeting will be Thursday evening, Oct 6, at 7:30 pm, at Leslie Gardens, at 701 Arnold, near the corner with Main St. in HMB, a few blocks south of Cetrella.

Sen Figueroa represents a district in the south part of the East Bay, but she has a second home here on the Coast. She is a candidate for Lt Governor in 2006 along with our own Senator Jackie Speier and Insurance Commissioner, John Garamendi. It should be an interesting primary election next June.

The special election this November 8 will feature eight statewide propositions, including three that are considered the Schwarzenegger propositions. A fourth proposition has been designed to limit the political power of public service unions, a primary source of funds for Democratic candidates and issues. The State and County Democratic bodies recommend a NO vote on Props 73 through 78, and YES votes on Props 79 and 80.

Anyone who would like to help our club walk precincts and register voters during the Pumpkin Festival should contact us at: 712-0498 or PO Box 1046, Half Moon Bay, 94019 or by email to: [email protected] You are also welcome to come to our meeting Thursday evening.

Additional info is on our web site at:      http://www.coastsidedemocrats.org

Dennis Paull is president of Coastside Democrats

This year’s salmon season, which ends October 15, will be remembered as a disappointment by local fishermen, according to the County Times.  Unable to fish for the entire month of June, some fishermen saw their catch cut in half. Many blame the government’s decision to divert water from the Klamath River to potato farmers in Oregon in 2002.  The lower water levels led to higher water temperatures in the river and diseases that killed the salmon fry.

A head-on collision with a suspected drunk driver left a 19-year-old student at UC Santa Cruz dead and closed Highway 1 for about two hours just south of Tunitas Creek Road.  The driver of a southbound truck drifted into the northbound lane in front of an oncoming motorcycle.  The truck’s driver was arrest onn suspicion of manslaughter, DUI causing injury or death and hit-and-run causing injur or death.

Jo Dee Massanari tells me that her last official ownership day at the cafe is October 28th. The new owners take over on the 29th.  Jo Dee says, "They are great local folks and one is even a baker—so I feel really good about the sale.  I’m going to miss everyone like mad!"

One of the reasons I’m so passionate about downtown Half Moon Bay is that this cafe has become my home office away from home.

If you were unable to participate in Coastal Cleanup Day a couple of weeks ago, it’s not too late to do your part. The Montara Beach Coalition is scheduling a cleanup for Gray Whale Cove on Saturday, Oct 1, from 9am to noon.

If you go out to Moss Beach today you may not believe your eyes.
If you go out to Moss Beach today, you’re in for a big suprise.
For every bear that ever there was
Has gathered there together because
Today’s the day the Teddy bears have their clinic!

Two hundred children came to Seton Coastside to get their stuffed animals treated by real doctors and nurses, and to learn that a visit to the hospital doesn’t have to be scary.

Nearly a hundred Coastsiders showed up at the Courtyard Gallery on Saturday to raise money to help the family of Omar Contreras.