In this first installment of his new video column,  Neil Merrilees: Right Here In the Middle, Neil explains how neither side of the development divide is addressing our community’s planning crisis. It is available in two video formats: A small Flash format version for older computers or slower connections, and a larger version in Quicktime format for newer computers and faster connections. | Quicktime | Flash |

This year the HMB Sports Club is celebrating its 40th year of soccer on the coast.  There are 9 teams in the club and we are in search of few good players for all the teams. 

The club will conduct open tryouts this Sunday, February 11 from 1-4 pm at the HMB High School soccer field.  There are two time slots depending upon the players age.

1-2:30pm:
Crossfire—Under 10 boys-born after 7/31/96
Waves—Under 11 girls-born after 7/31/95
Mavericks—Under 12 boys-born after 7/31/94

2:30-4pm:
HMB Real & Cometitas—U13 boys-born after 7/31/93
Mavericks—U14 girls- born after 7/31/92
Hotshots—U16 girls- born after 7/31/90

*Please arrive 30 minutes prior to your scheduled tryout time
*Parents must sign waiver for players to participate in tryout
*Must bring copy of birth certificate
*Players must have cleats and shin guards  

If you have questions please email [email protected] or call 650-726-1545

MediaNews, owners of nearly every Bay Area daily (except the Chronicle) as well as the weekly Pacifica Tribune have bought the Santa Cruz Sentinel after all.  Three months ago, Dow Jones sold the paper to Community Newspaper Holdings as part of a package of papers, and now CNH has resold the Sentinel to MediaNews.

"We are delighted to acquire the Santa Cruz Sentinel and expand our reach in this very competitive region," MediaNews CEO Dean Singleton said in a statement. "The Sentinel is a fine newspaper today but will be strengthened by the resources of our existing newspapers."

Which means that they’ll be reprinting more stuff from Singleton’s other Bay Area papers, rather than doing the journalism themselves.

The Chron has also been working closely with MediaNews, according to the SF Bay Guardian, trying to consolidate some back office operations, in a move that has raised some antitrust concerns. Hearst, owners of the Chron, would also like to invest in MediaNews, according to a report in the Chron, where church and state are apparently still separate:

According to a July 26, 2006, memo to Ganzi from two top Hearst executives, if Hearst were to win approval to invest directly in all of MediaNews, including the Bay Area assets, it would own approximately 24 percent of MediaNews based on the company’s value that day, while Singleton and Richard Scudder, his co-founder, would each own approximately 34 percent. Institutional shareholders and Lodovic own the rest of the private company.

Meanwhile, MediaNews is exploring putting front-page ads in the Mercury News and other former Knight-Ridder papers in the Bay Area. It is already doing this with its Alameda Newspaper Group papers:

"We are examining the option of having front page and section front ads for the Mercury News and the Contra Costa papers," said John Armstrong, publisher of the Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek, Calif. and vice president of the California Newspapers Partnership, which includes all of MediaNews’ California dailies. "We are exploring advertiser interest in various options for section front ads and Page One ads. We would like to get something done in the next few months."

Saturday February 10th the Coastside Community Orchestra presents a world premiere of "Paganini in America," an original composition for guitar, violin and orchestra by Spanish Guitarist Jaume Torrent (www.jaumetorrent.com). Written for Virtuoso Violinist Joseph Gold (www.josephgold.com), this modern piece draws out the romantic and expressive sounds of the violin and guitar as well as showcasing the impressive skills of the performers. 

Composer Jaume Torrent is one of Spain’s most important musicians. He was born near Barcelona, and attended the prestigious Conservatorio del Liceu where he studied with Tarrago. Later, Mr. Torrent became the director of his alma mater. He began his international career in 1975, and has played extensively throughout Europe, Latin America, and in the United States. For many years Jaume led the famous guitar quartet known as "Quartet Tarrago," which was named in honor of his illustrious teacher. 

Joseph Gold is the "Romantic Violin Virtuoso" par excellence. Renowned on the four continents for his brilliant interpretations of 19th century composers, Mr. Gold has literally written the book on Paganini, Sarasate, and Bazzini. In addition to the romantic repertoire, Joseph Gold has commissioned many prominent composers to write works especially for him.

The program also includes two Mozart overtures, the Marriage of Figaro and the Overture to The Abduction From the Seraglio, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 (Eroica).

Saturday February 10th at 8 p.m., Community United Methodist Church, 777 Miramontes, Half Moon Bay.  Tickets available at the door: $10 general, $7 seniors, students and children free.  Contact Mr. Kay Raney, conductor, 408/244-3834, [email protected] for more information or check http://www.coastsideorchestra.com/concertSchedule.html

Home Rehabilitation Day is a one-day event to repair and rehabilitate the homes of low income seniors and adults with disabilities. Projects dealing with safety and accessibility are given priority.

If you would like to apply for Home Rehabilitation Day, please pick up an application at Senior Coastsiders’ office located at 535 Kelly Avenue, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019. If you have any questions, please call Vicki Cormack at (650) 726-9056.

The deadline for all applications is March 29th, 2007.

Since our last post about the sale of property on Cabrillo Highway to Coastside County Water District (CCWD) director Ken Coverdell, a couple of additional details have emerged about the value of the property, how it was sold, and the review process.

According to the purchase agreement [pdf] betwen the city and Coverdell, the property was last sold in 1982 at a price of $100,500. The current price, negotiated between Half Moon Bay and Coverdell, is $180,000. During the HMB Planning Commission meeting of last week two members cited nearby, similar-sized properties advertised to the public in the range $275,000 to $350,000. Coverdell is quoted in the County Times as saying that he was unable to sell his adjacent parcel for $150,000 because the land is zoned for visitor-serving commercial development, not residential. Ken Coverdell is the owner of the Half Moon Day landscaping firm Blue Sky Design.

The deal between the City and Coverdell was negotiated by the prior City Council in June of 2005 in a closed session. It was to expire on July 13, 2006, but was extended by the current city council. This property was the subject of another closed-door session on December 20, 2005 attended by then-Mayor Marina Fraser, current Mayor Naomi Patridge, David Gorn (since replaced by John Muller), Jim Grady, and Bonnie McClung. According to minutes of that meeting the price and terms of payment for the property are still under negotiation [pdf].

The Planning Commission’s efforts to look into the circumstances of the sale may be in vain. The resolution passed by a 4-3 vote last Thursday failed to include a deadline for city staff. Without an explicit deadline the resolution, and city staff’s obligation to respond to the questions of the Planning Commission, expires after forty days.

Coastsider had the only camera at the commission meeting, which is one of the most dramatic local board meetings we have seen in some time.

Full meeting (1 hour) | Quicktime | Flash |

Highlights (about 10 min) | Quicktime | Flash |

Furthering its strategy of promoting the Coastside as a destination eco-tourism, the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce is promoting an eco-tour package for the weekend of Friday March 30 to Sunday April 1 [pdf of brochure].

The package includes lodging at Costanoa lodge or Green Oaks Creek Farm, tours of habitats and farms, whale watching, kayaking, and more.

The Half Moon Bay and Point Montara Fire Protection District boards both voted to contract their services to the California Department of Forestry (CDF) at a joint meeting Tuesday night.

The Half Moon Bay board voted unanimously to accept the contract with CDF opponent director Dave Eufusia absent. The Point Montara board then voted unanimously (with with CDF opponent director Gary Riddell absent) to concur with the HMBFPD decision and to change their existing agreement to incorporate the CDF contract provisions.