At the center of the story is Nick Cristano, who, for the last 29 years, has been sharing Sunday dinner with his 2 sets of grandparents. This particular Sunday he comes with good news - he is getting a promotion, and bad news - to get the promotion he must move to Seattle. Young Nick’s decision about his future spurs his four Italian-American grandparents into a frenzy of meddling, match-making, and micro-management of his life, all to the tune of "Manga, Manga!" These well-meaning, loveable characters provide a heart-warming glimpse into the heart of the family and their antics provide a tasty treat your whole family will enjoy.

Over the River and Through the Woods has been hailed as "deliriously funny!" by the Star-Ledger and "loaded with laughs every step of the way!" by critics from the New York Daily News.

Click below for press release.

Learn fun and effective ways to reduce your carbon footprint in just one month courtesy of the Acterra Environmental Group.  Join us at the Half Moon Bay Library on Friday June 6th at 7:00PM for a program based on the book "The Low Carbon Diet" from the Empowerment Institute and is focused on how you can reduce your carbon footprint and be part of the solution to Global Warming.  The program address4es four main areas: changing habits to reduce your impact, making your home more efficient, empowering others to take action, and making a CO2 reduction plan.  The program is free and light refreshments will be served.

This program is part of the library’s Adult Summer Reading Program.  Starting June 1st and running through August 29th people are invited to read a book or listen to an audio book and submit the title with a brief comment to win raffle prizes.  Prizes will be drawn weekly and include: free passes to the California Academy of Sciences and Filoli, subscription to "Organic Gardening Magazine", annual pass to the California State Parks, and many other great things.

Links

http://www.acterra.org/lowcarbondiet/index.html

http://smcl.org/features/Adult.html

"Blue Blanket Improv" comedy troupe is currently looking for NEW CAST MEMBERS. We need additional funny, outgoing, semi-talented, men & women to join the ranks of the BLUE BLANKET IMPROV PLAYERS. No cost to participate. This troupe can help you develop your improv skills, build a repertoire of scene characters, and provide you with a great creative outlet.  However, this is not a workshop.  This is a performance based comedy troupe and rehearsals are performance oriented. 

All players will be expected to attend weekly rehearsals.  Blue Blanket Improv currently performs monthly at Enso (131 Kelly Ave.) in downtown Half Moon Bay.  We are a Non-Profit, for community benefit, organization dedicated to promoting the local arts community, providing affordable entertainment to all, and with a long history of supporting the efforts of other charitable organizations both locally and internationally.  This summer will also bring a new scholarship opportunity to high school aged coastal youth that includes an internship with the group and $500 for college!  Additional information on the scholarship, our free internship program, Bios of current members and the troupes’ performance schedule thru 2008 can all be found on our website:  www.BlueBlanketImprov.com

Previous improvisational training is preferred but not required.  All new players will be required to attend several rehearsals prior to being invited to perform publicly with the troupe.  Please respond by e-mail if you wish to audition and feel free to check out our web site for any additional information.  After you sign up via e-mail you will be contacted with the specific location and a time slot.  Please remember to include in your e-mail any previous experience you may have and your preferred contact information.  We look forward to seeing you soon!

Marc Samuels, Director/Performer
Contact E-mail:  [email protected]

As the 19th Assembly District Democratic primary campaign heats up, our mailboxes have been flooded with claims of "special interest group" support for and against various candidates. I’d like to set the record straight about one of the candidates, Richard Holober. I have served on the San Mateo County Community College District Board of Trustees with Richard for four years, and have known him personally for many years before that.

The only "special interests" that Richard represents are hard-working families in San Mateo County and beyond. I have seen him work tirelessly to support apprenticeship programs for our youth who want to go into the building trades; in support of training more nurses and allied health professionals to improve healthcare right here in our county; and helping airport workers laid off after 9/11 gain job opportunities in biotech manufacturing. Richard believes in creating good jobs with fair wages and benefits that people can afford to live on right here in San Mateo County.

He has also been a tireless advocate for our rights as consumers for financial privacy and fair billing practices. Richard is an environmentalist, endorsed by both the Sierra Club and Vote the Coast, and is the candidate in this race who has not taken money from developers! While on the College Board, Richard has supported the expansion of classes offered in Half Moon Bay and led our "Green Building" efforts. The only "special interests" he represents are people like us. That’s why I’m joining our teachers and nurses in supporting Richard Holober for election to the State Assembly. I hope Coastside residents will also vote for Richard.

Dave Mandelkern
Trustee,
San Mateo County Community College District

This issue is all about beans, berries, bytes that have bit it, and Bicycles that have not.

The Coastside Farmer’s Market is a proud supporter of The HEAL Project - a home grown, hands on, award winning program that brings local agriculture into the classroom.  Farmers John ( both Muller and Giusti) are regular guest teachers in the classroom, and due in part to their wise council (and wise cracks) the HEAL Project garden is now a fully certified agricultural producer, and beginning this week, the kids from the HEAL Project will be offering their produce for sale at the Half Moon Bay location every other week through the summer.  Big News: This is the ONLY public School in the State ( that we know of) to become a Certified Agricultural Producer, and the only one qualified to sell their products at a Certified Farmer’s Market. It’s kind of a big deal.

The HEAL Project, like many worthy public benefit enterprises on the Coast is, as ever , under threat of extinction, due entirely to funding challenges.  You can help support the HEAL Project in a number of ways and buying some of their Fava beans and blanching them, grinding them up in a Cuisinart with lemon juice, olive oil and a dollop of tahini is a good start.  You can also attend a benefit concert with The Santa Cruz River Band we a co-producing this Friday night, May 30 at the Odd Fellows Hall - 526 Main Street, upstairs from Tokenz and M Coffee -

Or , you can clean out your garage, attic or office and bring your end-of-life electronics to the Coastside Farmer’s Market on June 7th for a FREE e-waste recycling event the Market is co-sponsoring with Reece Computer Systems and ASL, who guarantee that ALL the recycling is done here, in California, and not shipped overseas.

Hello Coastsiders:  I am currently running for reelection to seat on the Democratic Central Committee in San Mateo County, representing Supervisorial District 3. I am the only Coastside resident currently on the Central Committee and with your help, I will be reelected. District 3 includes the entire Coastside from Montara through Pescadero, Pacifica, San Carlos, Redwood Shores, Atherton and the unincorporated communities near Redwood City and Menlo Park.

The Central Committee is the official organizing branch of the California Democratic Party on the county level. We take the lead on local voter registration and community outreach, endorsements, candidate mentoring and campaign/election organization. I have represented District 3 for the past six years, working closely with our outstanding Coastside Democrats club and raising issues of local concern to the county party.

I am currently the Central Committee Controller and have served as Assistant Treasurer and Chair of the Fund Development Subcommittee. I am also the Field Organizer for San Mateo County’s 2008 Democratic campaign and our leadership team is preparing to open our county campaign headquarters in San Carlos on June 7. In order to win back the White House and increase our majorities in the House and the Senate, we need a cohesive group of energized and committed local party leaders who can recruit and mobilize campaign volunteers to build a vibrant, successful organization countywide. It would be an honor to represent you in these efforts.

My name is on the June 3 Democratic primary ballot and I would greatly appreciate your vote. Even if you are a Decline to State voter, you may request a Democratic Party ballot and vote for me. The candidates I recommend for the other seats representing District 3 are Carole Dorshkind, Greg Loew and Daniel Yost. I have worked with Carole, Greg and Daniel extensively and wholeheartedly endorse them all.

In order to win on June 3, I need your support. Please spread the word to Democratic and Decline to State voters you know who live in District 3. Feel free to contact me with any questions and check out the League of Women Voters website at www.smartvoter.org for more information about me and the other candidates who are running.

Thanks so much and onward to victory,

April Vargas

The fabulous Santa Cruz River Band ( currently on tour that included a headline appearance at the Kenndey Center)  will perform one night only in Half Moon Bay to benefit HEAL

This special performance will on Friday, May 30, 2008 @ 7:30pm in the Oddfellows Hall (upstairs from MCoffee & Tokenz), at 526 Main Street in Half Moon Bay.

The HEAL Project—in which nearly a thousand Coastside third- and fourth-graders plant, harvest, and cook their own vegetables— is facing a financial crisis. They must secure $60,000 by June 30th if the program is to survive into next year.

Suggested donation of $20 adults, $10 for children and seniors. Folks can reserve online by sending an email to [email protected].

Click below for more information about the band.

Susan Alvaro is a Coastsider and member of both the San Mateo County Board of Education and the County Juvenile Justice Commission. Anyone supporting one of the other candidates (Gina Papan or Richard Holober) are invited to submit their own letters.

Jerry Hill, San Mateo County Supervisor and candidate for the 19th Assembly District, has an extensive record tackling the issues of the environment and healthcare in our county. He has been a leading supporter of initiatives on environmental protection, conserving our natural resources, and reducing our ecological footprint. He has served on a number of regulatory bodies, including the California Air Resources Board and Chairman of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. A leader in the effort to improve the quality of San Mateo County public schools, Jerry Hill understands that an investment in education is an investment in the future of the community.

As San Mateo County Supervisor, Jerry Hill has also opposed those pieces of legislation that represent special interests at the expense of the public and the environment.

Jerry has been an active supporter attempts to save our public schools from the devastating effects of continual budget cuts. As a credentialed teacher and long-time supporter of first-rate education, Jerry knows firsthand the importance of maintaining funding in our public schools to ensure our children get the education they deserve. His record of experience in improving the quality of our public schools and improving access to early education for San Mateo County residents highlights his dedication and commitment to the educational values that are important to us. 

Jerry Hill opposes the current version of AB 1991 which attempts to bypass important environmental and coastal protection laws in Half Moon Bay.  While sensitive to the need for Half Moon Bay to reach a settlement with a private developer or face an $18 million dollar judgment against the City, he believes the current version of AB 1991 goes too far.  Further discussion and compromise are needed.  When it comes to preserving San Mateo County’s precious open spaces and coastal areas, Jerry Hill has a proven track record that is unmatched by his opponents. He has been an active supporter of local and county-wide conservation efforts including those of the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District, and voting to pass San Mateo County’s ordinance on conservation easement in rural areas.

Jerry Hill has a reputation as a dedicated elected official who understands and appreciates our values as a community. I trust Jerry to do as excellent a job for us at the state level, as he has at the county level.  He understands what’s most important to us, and he has the experience to serve effectively in Sacramento. That is why we need Jerry Hill to represent us in the State Assembly. Make sure our voice is heard in Sacramento – vote Jerry Hill so he can continue his work on the issues that matter most.