Much spleen has been vented over the Foothill/Bayview proposal outlined by Coastside Community First.  Mike Ferreira pronounced it “baloney,” “hare-brained,” “mythical” and “haywire.” John Lynch gave it a “snowball’s chance in hell.”  Barry Parr found it “cynical,” Leonard Woren “cavalier.”  But how much substance is there behind all that vitriol?

“The Phantom Proposal”   Many critics have inaccurately attacked the previous, grandiose Foothill plans – not the proposal CCF made.  Naturally, this ‘straw man’ is easy to lambaste: a divided four-lane highway stretching from 92 to Young Avenue at Nurserymen’s Exchange.  The closest road of that size is Highway 1 in Pacifica north of Rockaway.  CCF’s two-lane proposal is wholly different, with a map on the front and Google photo on the back showing its much smaller extent.  Critics demonstrate fear of the actual proposal by refusing to accurately address it.

Costs    This thread of inaccuracy extends to critics’ alleged chief concern – the costs –, which they falsely calculate, based on a phantom proposal obviously not under consideration.  In fact, the reduced costs are one of the actual proposal’s chief virtues.  The Coastal Commission in its 2001 approval required Ailanto to pay its “fare share” (sic) of the roadway and intersection, as they would have with Beachwood.  Since the entire County and State would benefit from the roadway, local officials could procure outside funding, leaving little or no costs to the City.  Under the circumstances, only an obstructionist can believe a two-lane, one-mile-long road is somehow cost-prohibitive.

Click the link for the rest of the article.

Despite the rain at around 6:00pm, Rock the Block is going strong downtown.  I’m logged on from our booth via Coastwave wireless. It’s not too late to come downtown, enjoy the music and meet us here on Main Street.

Caltrans District 4 Director Bajin Sartipi informed Half Moon Bay city manager Debra Auker today that Caltrans "will not turn on the signal until the City Council has the opportunity to discuss the related issues", according to an email Coastsider received from Auker.

When the Half Moon Bay Review launched the redesign of their paper and website with a couple of snide, gratuitous remarks that seemed directed at Coastsider, I let it go. Why spoil their party?

What continues to set our newspaper and Web site apart from others is that all news content is collected and written by our editorial staff here at the Review. We don’t simply pull news stories from other sources over the hill and post them on our site.

One more thing: We promise to apply the same journalistic standards to our work on the Web that readers have become accustomed to in our news pages over our long history. Just as we don’t rush things into print, we will do our best to assure that what you read on our Web site is accurate.

Maybe they weren’t even talking about us. After all, Coastsider doesn’t "simply pull news stories from other sources and post them on our site."  We do link to interesting articles about the Coastside in the media, about once a week. But we’ve also earned our reputation for breaking hard news on the Coastside.

The wheel of karma has turned, as it always does. It’s time to return to the Review’s 108-year reputation for journalistic standards and not rushing things into print.  Tuesday night, the Review reported breaking news that Caltrans had announced a new left-turn lane on Highway 1. Caltrans had announced no such thing. And the Review only corrected their error after Coastsider posted an accurate report. 

I’m not busting the Review’s chops over a goof. We all make mistakes.  I’m asking that the Review acknowledge that they no longer have a monopoly on the facts.  Besides, it’s always a bad idea to be too full of yourself, especially if your mistakes are likely to wind up in the newspaper.

The Coast Guard is cleaning up a 100-gallon oil spill at Pillar Point Harbor, reports the Daily Journal. The spill, from a 42-foot fishing vessel just off shore,  is about 100 gallons of diesel. The spill was reported Wednesday at 9:40am.

Coastsider is going to have a booth at Rock the Block this Friday.  Come get your picture taken for our live gallery of Rock the Block photos, pick up a brand-new Coastsider bumper sticker, or just stop by to meet Cheri or Barry Parr.

UPDATE: Coastsider’s booth will be on the North end of Main between Mill and Kelly,  closer to Mill. Darin Boville will be joining us in the booth as well.

Caltrans has installed signals would restrict right turns for northbound commuters from Highway 1 onto Highway 92 [Google map] during the morning commute. Once activated, the signals will regulate the number of cars that can turn right onto Highway 92 from Highway 1 and should allow more commuters from the north to turn left onto Highway 92. Caltrans will test the light to determine whether it will improve the situation for the majority of commuters.

While the signal should improve the commute for the two-thirds of Coastsiders living north of Highway 92, it will be unpopular with Half Moon Bay residents who live south of the intersection.

"Residents of Montara should love it," city manager Debra Auker told Coastsider.  "But two-thirds of the population of Half Moon Bay is south of the 92."

The signal, at the intersection of two state highways, is controlled by the state agency and not by the city.