The Mercury News is reporting that "the Schwarzenegger administration has quietly shut down virtually all expansion of California’s state parks—even land paid for with private donations".

The administration is saying it doesn’t have the money to maintain the land and is refusing to buy or even to accept new scenic beaches, forests and historic sites as outright gifts. Acquisitions have gone from 63,000 acres in 2003 to 4,000 acres so far this year.

Among the projects threatened by this policy is Pigeon Point:

70 acres of oceanfront land sits along the San Mateo County coast near Pigeon Point Lighthouse. With tide pools and a mile of beaches, the land was appraised at $8 million. The non-profit Peninsula Open Space Trust, based in Menlo Park, raised $3 million toward the purchase, and had $5 million approved in state parks bond funds in the 2001-2002 state budget. The trust removed a partially built boutique hotel, replanted native vegetation and has been trying without success to transfer the property to state parks to add to adjacent state parkland.

The problem, says the Merc, is that the land trusts can’t afford to hold on to these properties.

The Chronicle features an article on Harley Farms—San Mateo County’s only working dairy farm. I know I linked to another story on Harley earlier, but this is really a nice piece and features the Vida Verde Nature Education Center as well.

Harley Farms not only offers tours, but allows kids to milk the goats themselves.  Or sometimes they just squirt them with milk right from the goat.

I’d never hear of Vida Verde. They’re a non-profit environmental education center providing free, outdoor, overnight field trips for at-risk kids in the Bay Area. They’re south of Half Moon Bay off Tunitas Creek Road. They offer programs for their visitors with goats donated by Harley Farms.

The Times has profiles of the four candidates running for the three open seats on the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District board.

If you missed the construction of Moss Beach Park, or if you were just worried about cutting off your thumbs with a power saw, it’s not too late to participate.  For the next four Saturdays from 11am to 3pm in October the Moss Beach Park Renovation Project is holding Tile Painting events at the park.  For a $25 contribution to the park, people can paint their own 6 in. x 6 in. ceramic tile, to be included eventually in a wall within the park.  This is a fun and personal way to contribute to the park.

La Honda Volunteer and CDF/ County Fire Fighters rescued the driver of a crashed car and put out a fire that burned three acres at 11:00 last night.  The car, reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed left the roadway, snapping off a power pole before it crashed through a wooden fence and careened down a 50 ft. embankment. The car came to rest on its side trapping the driver.

The downed power lines created a grass fire that burned nearly 3 acres, and resulted in the closing of highway 84 for more than 3 hours. Control of the fire was delayed until PG&E arrived as the hot power lines fell across and charged a barbed wire fence surrounding the fire. It was difficult for witnesses to report the accident, because 911 service to most of the San Mateo County Southcoast was also knocked out by this accident for over 12 hours. The cause of the accident is under investigation by the CHP.

[Press Release] The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) has scheduled several public meetings to obtain input from its constituents on how the District’s ward boundaries should be redrawn.  The reapportionment is necessary in order to democratically represent coastside residents who became District constituents when MROSD’s Coastside Protection Program was made official on September 7, 2004.  Workshops will be held on October 21 in Half Moon Bay, on October 26 in Pescadero, on November 4 at the District’s Skyline Boulevard field office, and on November 9 in Los Altos, when the District’s Board of Directors will also vote on a final redistricting plan.

By law, special districts, such as MROSD, are limited to a maximum of seven wards, which have to contain roughly the same number of people. Since MROSD is composed of seven wards with approximately 100,000 citizens in each and because the population in the Coastside Protection Area is only about 30,000, the District will have to reapportion one or more existing wards to include the new constituents.

At the public meetings, participants will be able to provide input on several different redistricting alternatives to include the Coastside Protection Area.  Participants will also have an opportunity to meet the District’s Board members and ask questions.  In addition, constituents will have an opportunity to provide comments via the District’s Web site and by submitting written comments directly to the District.

Below are the times and locations of the meetings:

• Thursday, October 21, 2004, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Comfort Inn Half Moon Bay (formerly Miramar Lodge) at 2930 North Cabrillo Highway in Half Moon Bay, CA 94019.
• Tuesday, October 26, 2004, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Russell Administration Center, 620 North Street, Pescadero, CA 94060.
• Thursday, November 4, 2004, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the District’s field office at 21150 Skyline Boulevard, La Honda 94020.
• Tuesday, November 9, 2004, beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Board Room at the District Administrative Office at 330 Distel Circle, Los Altos, CA 94022.

Individuals interested in participating in the process can also call the District for more information at (650) 691-1200 or visit the Web site at www.openspace.org

Coastside Peace will be showing progressive films, including Michael Moore’s groundbreaking Fahrenheit 911,  on 3 upcoming Friday nights in October. All showings will be held at the Johnston House Ocean Shore Depot building at 800 Higgins Canyon Rd, near the South end of Main Street, 1/4 mile up on the right. Admission is free, but donations are welcome.

Beginning today, Coastsider features headlines from the San Jose Mercury News, arguably the best paper in the Bay Area. This is especially exciting because Coastsider is the first outside site to carry their news.

This is part of a beta test for both sites, so please let me know if you experience any problems with the feed.

I visited Moss Beach Park today. It was the first time I was there since construction began last Wednesday.  The transformation is amazing. There were kids everywhere, having tons of fun in what just a few days ago was a huge construction site with over a hundred volunteers. Click on one of the pictures to go to the album of pictures of the construction and the remarkable result.

Congratulations to everyone on a job well done.