Pillar Point Harbor is filling with sand that is being washed down from the hills in El Granada and which is confined by the harbor’s walls, reports Julia Scott in the County Times.

Pillar Point hasn’t been dredged since the 60s, becuause there is no place to put dump the spoils. The Harbor is considering dumping it on Surfer’s Beach, which has been deprived of sand by the Pillar Point breakwater, but it’s part of a marine sanctuary.

Maria Brown, manager of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries, said her agency decided to consider the policy change after hearing from harbor officials and surfers at meetings held up and down the coast in 2002. She said the ban on pumping dredge spoils into sanctuary waters reflected concerns over potential damage to sensitive marine organisms and whether the sediment was free of toxins.

An environmental study of Pillar Point Harbor conducted in 1995 certified that 90 percent of the sediment was clean and would have no effect on marine life, according to Grenell. The other 10 percent is composed of very fine sediment, clay-like in substance that would need to be disposed of at an upstream location away from the tides.

The Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) has transferred 183-acre Lower Purisima Creek to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) for $2.25 million. It is hoped that the land will one day serve as a critical link in an extensive trail network from Skyline Ridge to the Pacific Ocean.

Rising between Lobitos and Tunitas creeks four miles southeast of Half Moon Bay, the property climbs up wooded valleys and grassy slopes, culminating in a long, narrow ridge with ocean views. The sloping land features scrub-covered knolls, lush meadows, redwood groves, eucalyptus stands and a winding, alder-lined creek. It was purchased from a private owner for $2.25 million in February 2005 as part of POST’s Saving the Endangered Coast campaign.

Wednesday’s morning tie-up on Highway 92 was caused by a serious collision caused major injuiries to a Half Moon Bay man, Neri Noriega, 39, according to the Palo Alto Daily News.

The accident happened at about 4:35 a.m. when a black Chevrolet Silverado pickup driven by Michael Iniguez, 25, of Boulder Creek, drifted into oncoming traffic and struck a black Toyota Corolla, California Highway Patrol officials said in a press release. The driver of the Toyota, Neri Noriega, 39, of Half Moon Bay, suffered major injuries and was airlifted to Stanford Medical Center.

California Highway Patrol the head-on collision was caused by a drunken driver. The highway was closed for 50 minutes near the Crystal Springs Reservoir so that Noriega could be extracted from his car by paramedics.

The Coastside Community Orchestra’s concert Saturday November 4th at 8 p.m. in Half Moon Bay includes 18-year-old violinist, Kelsey Walsh playing the Spring Violin Concerto from the "Four Seasons."  The orchestra will also play Haydn’s Symphony #94 in G, nicknamed the surprise symphony.  Other music includes some Vaughan Williams folk songs and a series of songs celebrating San Francisco’s recovery from the 1906 earthquake.  Maxine Schaffer, Soprano and Norman Lancaster, David Behling and Eric Alexanderson, trio, will sing with the orchestra.

When:  Sat. Nov. 4th at 8:00 p.m.
Where:  Community United Methodist Church, 777 Miramontes Street, Half Moon Bay. 
Tickets:  available at the door:  $10 general admission, $7 seniors, students and children free.  Doors open at 7:20.
For info. contact Mr. Kay Raney, conductor, ,408/244-3843, [email protected].

On Monday, October 30, the six candidates for three open positions on the CUSD board each answered four questions that they knew ahead of time and then answered several from the audience.  The pre-set questions and times allowed are below. Click to see our videos.

The video is available for both Quicktime and Windows Media Player.

Kathee Tyson of the League of Women Voters moderated the forum. The American Association of University Women organized the event.

• What, in your background, has prepared you to sit on the Cabrillo Unified School District Board of Trustees? (2 minutes per answer)
• In your view, what are the 3 most important issues facing the CUSD in the next 4 years? (1 minute per answer)
• Which of these issues is most important to you and why? (2 minutes per answer)
• What is your plan for addressing this issue which you feel is most important? (2 minutes per answer)
• Candidates answer questions from the audience

There is a gas leak at 2149 Winged Foot Rd in Ocean Colony.  Initial reports indicated a break in the main, but HMB Police are now reporting it as a leak.

Bob Ptacek has declared his candidacy for the board of the Cabrillo Unified School District as a write-in candidate.  Ptacek, a member of the Montara Water and Sanitary District board, is the only candidate in San Mateo county to complete the paperwork to be recognized as a write-in cadidate.

In an email, Ptacek told me: "The reason for running is mainly because I heard folks talk about not exercising all of their 3 eligible votes, And coming from behind the iron curtain (East Berlin), that went against every fiber of by belief system. So I signed up."

Ptacek will be at tonight’s CUSD candidate forum and we have requested more information about his candidacy, which we’ll make available later this week.