The Granada Sanitary District closed a deal to buy 6.2 acres on the Burnham Strip in El Granada from the San Mateo County Harbor District for $800,000 on Tuesday afternoon. This is the first step in the district’s plan to build a wet weather storage system under the strip.

The project will locate two large storage pipes under the land, which will act as a buffer system during wet weather, accepting high-than-average sewage flow until it can be routed to the Sewer Authority Midcoastside plant in Half Moon Bay. This will greatly reduce the chances of sewage overflows in wet weather, which have been a problem in the past.  Overflows could result in fines to SAM.

GSD bought the land, and will join with the Montara Water and Sanitary District in building the actual project, according to GSD board member Ric Lohman. The full cost, with land, is estimated at about $2 million. GSD has applied to Congresswoman Anna Eshoo’s office for a stimulus grant of $500,000 for the project.

Once the project is completed, the land can be restored to its current state. But Lohman said he’d like to involve the community in deciding how the land could ultimately be used.

The Harbor District had been listing the property for $1.3 million as a potential development site, but it was less than certain that the county would permit building on the site.

A final reminder to the community.  The District 3 Supervisor Candidates Forum sponsored by the Midcoast Community Council and the League of Women Voters starts tonight at 7:30pm.  The location is the Fireside Room at Seton Medical Center Coastside.  If you can’t come in person, catch the event on live TV - MCTV - Cable 6.

Do you want to know more about the candidates in advance.  The MCC Web site has links to the web pages of all candidates.

Location: Marine Boulevard & Etheldore in Moss Beach (Take Highway 1 to Marine Boulevard and follow hospital signs uphill) Parking: Attendees must park in upper parking lot.

The Coastside Film Society proudly presents:
The Silent Holy Stones

A 10-year-old monk travels home to spend the Tibetan New Year with friends and family. The villagers are rehearsing their annual staging of a traditional Tibetan opera, but the monk is more interested in the comedic drama playing on television. Returning to the monastery, he continues to watch the TV show with the monastery’s 7-year-old lama. The intricate and comedic balancing of study in the monastery, traditional opera in the village, and Chinese drama on TV brings to life the Tibetans’ seamless interweaving of tradition and globalization.

"Commandeered by an experienced native director and strengthened by nonprofessional local actors and startlingly beautiful locations, The Silent Holy Stones has the immediacy of a documentary, delivering real insight into the evolution of the much-romanticized Tibetan culture." Aaron Lazenby San Francisco International Film Festival

The film will be introduced by Professor Jenny Lau of San Francisco State University’s Cinema Department, who will also lead a post-screening discussion.

** Winner of the Chinese Golden Rooster Award ** for Best Directorial Debut at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

Friday April 30, 2010 at 8:00 pm
$6.00 adult donation, $3.00 children
Community United Methodist Church Sanctuary
77 Miramontes & Johnson, Half Moon Bay

More info: www.HMBFilm.org

Pianist/composer/arranger Billy Childs and The Jazz-Chamber Ensemble consists of: piano, bass, drums, acoustic guitar, harp and woodwinds. In 2006 the Ensemble’s first CD, Lyric, Jazz-Chamber Music, Vol. 1, was nominated for three Grammy awards and won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition, "Into the Light".

Billy Childs - piano, Antonio Sanchez - drums, Scott Colley - bass, Larry Koonse - guitar, Bob Shepard - reed,.Carol Robbins - harp

May 2, 2010, 4:30
Douglas Beach House on Miramar Beach
307 Mirada Road, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
650 726-4143, www.bachddsoc.org

Doors open at 3 pm, music 4:30 - 7:15 with intermission
$40, Reservations: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/104723

We’ve added a chart of the current Coastside travel times to our community news in Coastsider’s right hand column.

The League for Coastside Protection has been creating these charts for a couple of years. The data comes from Caltrans, which using Fastrak passes to measure the travel time between distances. We’re running these charts with their permission.

Ranchers on Peninsula Open Space Trust land in San Gregorio are raising grass-fed beef for local consumption, reports Julia Scott in the County Times.

Erik and Doniga Markegard say they make a much better profit selling their certified grass-fed beef directly to 100 local families and three Half Moon Bay restaurants each year than they would by auctioning their animals to a food processor. [...]

He and his wife, Doniga, a permaculture expert, launched Markegard Family Grass-Fed in 2006 to contribute to the burgeoning local food movement. Word spread fast, and the Markegards have doubled the amount of beef they offer each year. They lease 3,000 acres in San Mateo and Sonoma counties.

Their farmhouse — a dwelling out of "Little House on the Prairie" with a single wood-fired stove to keep their three young children warm — sits on a 1,000-acre working ranch owned by the Peninsula Open Space Trust, which supports the Markegard’s land management ethic.

"When grazers are managed properly, you sequester carbon, create perennial grasslands and reduce the need for a lot of external inputs," explained apple-cheeked Doniga Markegard, 29, over a breakfast of homemade chocolate-chip scones.

The ranch has 50 CSA shares available at this time. Shares are sold by quarter-animal, half-animal or whole beef, as well as by pound and by cut of beef. Customers pick up their shares in Half Moon Bay, San Francisco or Petaluma, although most customers live in San Mateo County.

Proponents of grass-finished beef have long touted its health benefits. The meat contains less fat and more beneficial fatty acids than that of cows kept in pens and fed corn or other grains.

But the taste is what keeps Half Moon Bay’s Pasta Moon coming back for more. The restaurant, which serves dishes with homegrown vegetables and locally caught fish, buys two or three Markegard Family cows a year and uses all the parts in the kitchen, even the tongue. [...]

To learn more about Markegard Family Grass-Fed, visit http://markegardfamilygrassfed.wordpress.com or e-mail [email protected]. To inquire about LeftCoast Grassfed, call 650-879-2147.

We don’t normally run commercial flyers in our news column, but we strongly support Coastside agriculture for local consumption.

The Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and the Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association are holding paired lectures and excursions on the biology of the the local coast.

Lecture: Sneaky Sea Slugs! Three Tales of Tidepool Thievery

Learn about the astounding biology of a diversity of nudibranchs (sea slugs.) Discover how these colorful mollusks use their food to defend themselves from predators!

Dr. Rebecca Johnson, Academy Invertebrate Zoologist
 
Monday,  May 3,  8 Pm
Historic Train Depot,
Half Moon Bay
110 Higgins Canyon Rd.,
Half Moon Bay, CA
 
Wednesday,  May 5,  2:30 Pm
California Academy of Sciences,
San Francisco
55 Music Concourse Drive
San Francisco, CA
 

Field Excursion: Tidepool Exploration

Explore a fascinating world of interdependent life on and between the rocks. Learn about species with unique adaptations such as anemones, sea urchins, and chitons!

Dr. Rebecca Johnson, Academy Invertebrate Zoologist &
Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Educators
 
Sunday,  May 16,  7 AM
Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, Moss Beach
 
Sunday,  May 30,  7:30 AM
Duxbury Reef, Bolinas
 
Directions will be provided after registration. Must be at least 6 years old and accompanied by an adult. Suggested donation of $5 per person per program.

These programs sometimes sell out quickly. Reservations are required. Contact Christy Walker: [email protected] or (650) 712-8948 to register for all but California Academy of Sciences lecture. California Academy of Sciences lecture is free with admission. Seating is limited. Reserve a space online or call 800-794-7576.