Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) is offering a free hike of Rancho Corral de Tierra in Montara on Saturday, May 15. Explore one of the most dramatic landscapes along the San Mateo CoastThe hike is open to the public and will begin promptly at 10:00am. Space is limited, and advance registration is required.

POST President Audrey Rust and Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) Acting General Superintendent Frank Dean will help lead the hike along the lower portions of this majestic 4,262-acre property, currently owned by POST and destined to become the southern gateway into the GGNRA. Learn about Rancho Corral de Tierra’s rich history and extraordinary natural features, including its rare and endangered plants and animals, vital wildlife habitat, critical watershed and valuable agricultural resources.

Protected by POST in 2001, the vast majority of Rancho Corral de Tierra is not yet open to the public and accessible only by requesting a permit from POST. The property is slated to transfer from POST to National Park Service ownership within the next year as an addition to the GGNRA. POST and GGNRA staff will be present at the hike to answer questions about the protection of this magnificent Coastside landscape located just 7 miles south of San Francisco.

Reservations required. Details after the jump.

Interested in connecting kids with the foods they eat and help them discover the beauty and wonder of the natural world? We are looking for families interested in volunteering at the Quarry Park Community Garden to help get this program up and going. We have many ideas to make this program fun and educational for kids, just recently we had a fun day learning all about honey bees, we got to taste fresh honey and honeycomb, plus observe the bees in action.. The kids loved it!  So if you’re interested or have any ideas to bring to the kids garden project we could use your help!

Thank-you!

Pam Manuel
Quarry Park Community Garden Coordinator

If interested please contact: [email protected]

M others’ Day debut collaboration of vocalist Sandra Aran and saxophonist Michael O’Neill, with special intro set by famed pianist/composer, Michael Wolff of NYC. With John Wiitala, bass; Omar Aran, drums; John R. Burr, piano (replacing Michael Wolff)

The multi-cultural stylings of Ms. Aran, accompanied by the bay area’s finest jazz musicians led by Michael O’Neill bring back the nostalgia of classic boleros along with new versions of timeless standards. Original collaborations between Mr. O’Neill and Ms. Aran will also be heard for the first time on this date. A jazzy tribute to Moms everywhere.

Online reservations: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/104725

Mothers Day - May 9, 2010 – 4:30, $30
The Douglas Beach House
307 Mirada Road, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
http://www.bachddsoc.org

This is a highly edited version of the county’s press release. 

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to accept a small parcel of land from Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) as the future site for restrooms and parking. The parcel is located south of Pillar Point Harbor, on Magellan Avenue at the southern end of the Mirada Surf Trail.
  
The project is expected to be complete by late summer 2010 and fulfills the San Mateo County 2007 Midcoast Action Plan’s call for restrooms.
 
POST in 2009 bought the 0.07-acre parcel for $20,000 to support recreational activities along the coast with the plan to donate it to San Mateo County.
 
“Sometimes protecting the smallest bit of land can make a big difference, and POST is pleased to assist the County in providing a place for these necessary facilities at Mirada Surf,” POST President Audrey Rust said.

Dear President Gordon and Members of the Board,

On April 21, 2010 the Charter Review Committee (CRC) voted to recommend an amendment be placed on the November 2010 ballot. The amendment would allow voters an opportunity to change the current countywide at-large election system to a district election system for County Supervisor.

Fourteen CRC members voted in favor of recommending the Board of Supervisors place the amendment on the ballot.  Two CRC members voted not to recommend the amendment be placed on the ballot; Kathy Everitt, nominated to the CRC by League of Women Voters and Shelley Kessler, nominated by San Mateo County Central Labor Council. 

Henry Organ, nominated by Supervisor Gibson is the only person of color on the CRC.  Mr. Organ made the following statement at the April 21 meeting: “I’m curious why the Civil Grand Jury’s concerns about racial diversity are not reflected in the composition of this committee. When the Board of Supervisors was bringing together community leaders to form this committee they had the opportunity to include people of color.  I don’t see people of color here at the table and I think they would affect the discourse and the vote coming from this committee.  I have to look back at the Board of Supervisors and ask, what were they thinking?”

Committee members are responsible for making recommendations to the Board that impact a racially diverse County. The committee would better represent County residents if Asian and Hispanic/Latino community leaders were included as members of the CRC.  I urge the Board of Supervisors to include more people of color on the CRC.

Videos of the CRC meetings are available on the County website: http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/portal/site/bos/menuitem.ed7ea6e3285fc7cf74452b31d17332a0/?vgnextoid=53c62aeec0856210VgnVCM1000001937230aRCRD&cpsextcurrchannel=1

Sabrina Brennan
www.area29.org

Supervisor Rich Gordon, Supervisor Carole Groom and County Planning Interim Deputy Director Steve Monowitz met with Charles Lester, Senior Deputy Director at the California Coastal Commission on Friday, April 30, 2010 to discuss Local Coastal Program Update issues of disagreement.

Hopefully the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors will recognize the value of coastal resources and agree to the modifications as suggested by the California Coastal Commission. Stalling the process or attempting to rollback the California Coastal Act would be disastrous.

Link to CCC suggested modifications: http://documents.coastal.ca.gov/reports/2009/12/Th18a-12-2009.pdf

Information on why its important to Update the Local Coastal Program: http://www.coastal.ca.gov/la/lcpguide/lcpguide.pdf

The California Coastal Act of 1976 ushered in an era of significant new land use planning in California. Local governments prepared and implemented Local Coastal Programs (LCPs) to carry out the Coastal Act’s mandate to protect coastal resources and maximize public access to the shoreline. These LCPs established the allowable kinds, locations, and intensities of new development in the coastal zone, and set out other development limitations, to achieve the objectives of the Coastal Act. Once an LCP was certified by the Coastal Commission, local governments were given the responsibility of issuing coastal permits for most new development, subject to the standards of their LCPs.

In the last two decades LCPs have become an important part of California’s coastal zone management program. But the Commission and many local governments have also recognized that LCPs need to be updated to remain effective. Significant changes have occurred that directly impact our efforts to protect California’s coast. Population and development patterns have changed, leading to new pressures on resources and public access. New non-point source pollution laws are in place, and scientists have learned more about sensitive species, habitats and other coastal resources. Global warming and sea level rise are real concerns that must be considered in land use decisions.

Successfully providing for a community’s need to grow and thrive while protecting resources depends on our ability to address such changes in our planning documents. If an LCP is out of sync with current conditions, knowledge, and practices, the potential for land use conflicts is exacerbated, and we are less likely to achieve either appropriate development or coastal resource protection.

Bay Book at Strawflower Village in Half Moon Bay will be holding a publication celebration for June Morrall’s book Moss Beach book Sunday, May 2 at 4pm.

The event will emphasize the history Moss Beach and June’s contribution to Coastside history, with appearances by some of the folks featured in the book and helped make it possible.

Greenings, Marketeers, 

And Welcome to the 2010 season of the Coastside Farmers’ Market!  Thanks to ewe, we are all set and ready to go at 9 AM on May 1 in Half Moon Bay, followed closely by the Pacifica Season Opener at 2:30 in the afternoon on May 5th.  

Let’s start with a heapin’ helpin’ of Thank You’s to our hosts:  The Carrubba Family in Half Moon Bay, and the City of Pacifica for once again making it possible to present this little Valentine to our Coastal communities. And let’s follow that up real quick with a bouquet of blessings on our Sponsors - those lovely local business partners who help make sure the whole shebang goes off without causing an irreparable hitch in my git-a-long. And to the Friends of the Farmer’s Market - you are the cherries on my sundae and we are all incredibly grateful for your trust and support. 

Speaking of cherries - there ought to be plenty coming your way, along with an abundance of the best of local produce, fruits from farther afield, some new folks to meet and old friends to greet!  I’d tell you all about it, but I’d rather have you come and see for yourself! 

I can and will tell you that the HEAL Project Garden Club kids are back this season with May Day delights for you, and that Erica Sunshine Lee will be singing her heart out while you explore the Market and find out who’s new, and where your old favorites are hiding! 

We open at 9 AM, and I am hoping to ask for the help of our Market Faithful’s in making sure we have the time and space we need to get the Market set up, trucks moved,  and all our inspections sorted out so we can keep the place safe, and are ready to  Open right at 9AM,  when the lovely Miss Christina, who promises to dress spectacularly for the occasion,  rings the Ceremonial Opening Bell, made for us specially by our own Silvio Modena. 

Please understand that until that bell rings, our vendors cannot lawfully make sales, and that it is really unsafe for you to meander through the Market while folks are unloading and trying to get set up.  We humbly, but firmly request that y’all Curb your Enthusiam, and wait in the wings - as in on the sidewalks - until all the trucks are out, and the inspections all completed - and our hum-dinger of a bell-ringer announces that we are officially Open for the Season.

Coastside children and adults of all ages are invited to join the third annual community-wide “Rock the Rink” roller skating and hockey event from 3:00 – 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 1, 2010. The celebration takes place at the Boys and Girls Club rink at Half Moon Bay High School. Activities include hockey-inspired games, onsite barbeque, and free open skate to live music from the Coastside’s own “Nihility.”

“Rock the Rink highlights the best of what Coastside youth sports have to offer – a positive environment for healthy exercise, a true sense of community, and family-centered fun,” said Joel Farbstein, President of North Coast Hockey League, a unit of the Coastside Youth Association, “And it’s all set on our regulation-sized hockey rink, surrounded by boards and plexiglass – just like at the San Jose Sharks’ Shark Tank. The kids get a true hockey experience close to home, and “Rock the Rink” is a way for the entire Coastside to share in the fun.”

This year’s celebration includes an exhibition hockey game, a Coastside-style Kentucky (Roller) Derby race, games for all skaters, and food served by the HMB Lions Club. All children will receive San Jose Sharks photo cards. The live music is courtesy of the Half Moon Bay band “Nihility,” with Jesus Sahagun on lead guitar, Justin Meyer on rhythm guitar, Taylor Nichols on bass, and Sam Skelton on drums. The band draws from musical influences of Metallica, Slayer, and Slipknot, among others.

Since its founding in 1992, more than 1,500 boys and girls ranging in age from 5 to 18 have participated in the North Coast Hockey League (NHCL). To ensure all interested children can participate, regardless of financial means, the NCHL has received grants from the HMB Lions Club and HMB Rotary Clubs for equipment and scholarships. No child is turned away. The 2010 season begins May 16; registration forms and online signups are available at www.CoastsideRollerHockey.com.

“Kids on the Coast deserve the best,” said Boys and Girls Club of the Coastside president, David Cline. “Roller Hockey has consistently delivered on its promise of developing our kids’ self-esteem, and teaching them teamwork skills that serve them well in all facets of their lives. It’s not just a sport, it’s a fun-filled way to learn and grow.”

NOTE: An open letter from Darin Boville to Jim Eggemeyer, Interim Director of San Mateo County’s Planning Department. Jim recently took over as acting head of the department after the resignation of Lisa Grote.

Dear Jim Eggemeyer,

At a Planning Commission meeting in late March of this year you made the startling announcement that you would be allowing Big Wave to help complete its own environmental report and that your staff would assist in this effort. This was necessary, you said, since Big Wave was unable to pay the independent consultant to answer the hundreds of questions submitted by citizens upset with the scale of the Big Wave project and with the secretive-seeming process by which it was being moved forward.

You did not explain how a project budgeted at over ninety million dollars could have run out of money so early in the process.

You made this announcement on a highly controversial topic with no notice to the public—there was no agenda item concerning Big Wave at the Redwood City meeting.

Since the resignation of Director Lisa Grote and since your assumption of duties as Interm Director, your office has become unresponsive to public inquiries. This is unfortunate since as a public servant you have an obligation to serve in your position, however temporary, in a way that meets the standards of good government.

Immediately after your announcement Montara Fog submitted five questions to you. Since then I have received a few e-mails from your staff assuring me that the answers were on the way, that you were busy, that the questions were under legal review.

That was one month ago and still no answers.

It is reaching the point now, Jim, where Big Wave will be finished with its controversial review of itself before the public even knows what is happening or why. This is a poor example of open government.

Here are the five questions:

1)  The arrangement with Big Wave to help answer the public questions without a consultant seems unusual. Has this arrangement ever been used by your office in the past? If so what were the projects and dates?

2)  This arrangement regarding Big Wave was announced by Eggemeyer last week—but it seems to have already been in progress. When was this arrangement agreed to? When did the work begin?

3)  Scott Holmes, of Big Wave, is saying that he expects to answer only 10-15 of the questions. Is that your understanding as well?

4)  If so, who will be answering the remainder of the 245+ questions? County staff? If so, how many hours of staff time is that expected to take?

5)  Will there be any indication to the public on who answered which questions?

If you choose to answer I will happily print your responses here.

Darin Boville
Publisher, Montara Fog