Half Moon Bay recently reviewed its real estate holdings to see if there was anything they could sell. Darin Boville took a copy of the city’s presentation on the properties it holds and linked the properties to Google maps.

You can see the presentation here, but if you want more detail about their locations, see Darin’s story at Montara Fog. There are five more slides after the jump.

This winter is likely to be a moderate-to-severe El Niño season, according to the National Weather Service.

The Mercury News says that an El Niño makes it likelier we’ll have a wet winter:

The El Niño now under way doesn’t guarantee that California will receive drenching winter rains. But the stronger the conditions and the warmer the water, the greater likelihood.

Since 1951, there have been six winters with strong El Niño conditions. In four of them, rainfall between the Bay Area and Bakersfield was at least 140 percent of normal. Some of California’s wettest winters, including 1982-83, when Coyote Creek burst its banks, flooding Alviso under eight feet of water, occurred during those strong El Niño winters.

In 1983, severe rainfall led to the collapse of Highway 1 over Martini Creek in Montara, and the closing of the Devil’s Slide for 84 days.

The Mercury News story is accompanied by a nice chart showing the the rainfall in moderate and severe El Niño years.

Gulf Of The Farallones National Marine Sanctuary is holding its Advisory Council meeting at Dance Palace, Church Space 503 B St, Point Reyes, CA 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 13. Click below for the agenda.

Following the first deadline for filing to run for office, there were three candidates for three seats on the Montara Water and Sanitary District (MWSD) board, and five candidates for three seats on the Granada Sanitary District board.  The three incumbents in MWSD will be seated without an election.

The deadline for the other Coastside boards with open seats has been extended until Wednesday, August 12, because at least one incumbent did not file to run by the end of the day on Friday, August 7. Those boards are: County Coastside Water District, Coastside Fire Protection District, Half Moon Bay City Council,  Midcoast Community Council.

Here are the current candidate lists for each board. Half Moon Bay has not yet posted their (incomplete) candidate list online.

County Coastside Water District (Two 4-Year Terms / closes Aug 12)

Jerry Donovan (Retired Police Officer) Half Moon Bay, 94019 (res.);  [email protected]; DCF 8/06

James D. Johnson (Management Consultant) DCF 7/16

Chris R. Mickelsen (Incumbent) DCF 8/06

Coastside Fire Protection District (Three 4-Year Terms / closes Aug 12)

Jeffrey B Cockrell (Appointed Incumbent) P O Box 1270, Montara, 94037 (mail);  [email protected]; (650) 728-3933 (day); (650) 728-3933 (eve); DCI 8/05

Max De Vos (Business Owner) DCF 8/05

David Eufusia (Retired Fire Chief) DCF 8/06

Gary Burke (Incumbent) 421 Greenbrier Road, Half Moon Bay, 94019 (res.); (650)  303-7144 (day); DCF 8/03

Charles Netherby (Retired Union Representative) Half Moon Bay, 94019 (res.);  [email protected]; (650) 712-1848 (day); (650) 712-1848 (eve); DCF 7/31

Ginny McShane (Incumbent) 723 Etheldore Street, Moss Beach, 94038 (res.);  [email protected]; (650) 728-3130 (day); DCF 8/04

Gary Riddell (Retired Firefighter) P.O. Box 370040, Montara, 94037 (mail); (650)  728-7809 (day); DCF 8/05

Granada Sanitary District (Three 4-Year Terms / FINAL)

Leonard Woren (Software Engineer) P.O. Box 1375, El Granada, 94018 (mail);  [email protected]; (650) 726-9647 (day); DCF 8/06

Lisa McCaffrey (Registered Nurse) P.O. Box 2384, El Granada, 94018 (mail);  [email protected]; (650) 712-0116 (day); DCF 8/07

Ric Lohman (Incumbent) 420 1st Avenue, El Granada, 94018 (res.);  [email protected]; (415) 734-2039 (day); (650) 726-9607 (eve); DCF 8/04

Bill Griffis (Residential Mortgage Consultant) P.O. Box 1792, El Granada, 94018 (mail); [email protected]; DCF 8/07

Gael Erickson (Incumbent) PO Box 2905, El Granada, 94018 (mail);  [email protected]; (650) 726-4416 (day); (650) 726-4416 (eve); DCF 8/06

Midcoast Community Council (Four 4-Year Terms / closes Aug 12)

Tim Payne (None) P.O. Box 370507, Montara, 94037 (mail); [email protected];  (650) 539-5678 (day); DCF 8/07

Len Erickson (None) P.O. Box 2905, El Granada, 94018 (mail);  [email protected]; (650) 400-3175 (day); DCF 8/06

Montara Water and Sanitary District (Three 4-Year Terms) (FINAL)

Bob Ptacek (Incumbent) P.O. Box 371441, Montara, 94037 (mail);  [email protected]; (650) 728-5958 (day); DCF 8/06

Jim Harvey (Incumbent) [email protected]; (650) 728-3665 (eve); DCF 7/13

Paul Perkovic (Incumbent) P.O. Box 371149, Montara, 94037-1149 (mail);  [email protected]; (415) 370-3897 (day); DCF 7/13

Legend: DCI=Declaration of Candidacy Issued; DCF=Declaration of Candidacy Filed;

To make sure that all the children in our community are ready for school and have what they need to learn, Holy Family Episcopal Church, Community United Methodist Church, Coastside Hope, Coastside Jewish Community, Kelly Avenue Catholic Worker of Half Moon Bay, and other community groups are working together to collect school supplies and fill backpacks for local children who can’t afford them. 
Last year we provided 300 children with backpacks filled with school supplies. We are hoping to distribute more backpacks this year and we need your help.
Filling Backpacks
If you’d like to fill backpacks with supplies, please come to the Community United Methodist Church on Saturday, August 8th at 9am. Distribution of backpacks will take place at 2pm that afternoon.  Any time that you can spare to help throughout the day—even if it’s just an hour—will be appreciated.  It’s not just rewarding; it’s fun!

Donating Backpacks or School Supplies

If you’d like to donate supplies, please drop them off at the office of the Community United Methodist Church at 777 Miramontes Ave., Friday, August 7th from 10am-4pm. You can also drop school supplies off today (August 7th) at Kelly Avenue Catholic Worker of Half Moon Bay at 160 Kelly Ave., HMB.

Special thanks again this year to Twice As Nice for their generosity and their great deals!
Funding

If you like the thought of helping hundreds of Coastside students get ready for school, they, and we, would love your support.  You can drop off a check at either Community United Methodist Church, from 10am - 4pm, or at Holy Family Episcopal Church. 

Please make your checks payable to:

Holy Family Episcopal Church
1590 Cabrillo Hwy S
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
650-726-0506

Please indicate "BACKPACKS" on the memo line so that the money goes to the Backpack project!  Your contribution is tax deductible.

If you can’t drop off a check on Friday, or on Saturday morning, please feel free to send it by mail, or do an online check.

Thank you for your time and please join me in this worthy cause in whatever way you can.  I hope you’ll enjoy taking part in this Coastside tradition.

Jennifer Brey
728-7421
[email protected]

Thanks to the nearly 200 coastsiders that attended the SamTrans hearing last night in Half Moon Bay. From Pescadero to Pacifica, coastsiders spoke eloquently about the need to protect our SamTrans routes. It’s not too late to weigh in with your opinion, click through to the SamTrans feedback form: http://www.samtrans.com/contact.html

Again thanks,
Kerry Lobel

I don’t know about you, but my summer woolens have been getting quite the workout this season.  I was astonished to wake up to rain this morning, as was my cat, who spent the night in my car, as it turns out.  Seems I left the window open when I got home from the Pacifica Market last night, which turned out to be great for the cat, but not so great for the upholstery of my late uncle’s car.  I found myself running out into the rain in the wee hours ( a scary phrase at my advancing age) to close the windows, and was leapt upon from the back seat by my bewildered cat-like creature whose temperament is rather like the weather lately - predictably unpredictable.

For dealing with cats and Coastside Summers there is only one remedy: Layers. When you live on the coast you must dress in layers. Did you know lasagne means layers? Well it does.  And just so we are clear, I don’t recommend actually wearing outfits made from noodles and red sauce unless you are a swedish rocker or it’s Halloween.  I did once win a prize for appearing at a masquerade ball dressed as an Italian Dinner (alongside the granddaughter of O’l Judge Bettencourt who was decked out as a pea pod)  but that’s a story for another day. Meanwhile, it is in fact summer, and while I rarely, if ever, associate summer with lasagne of the classic sort, I stumbled upon a very tasty summery version out of sheer desperation last week.

The long-vacant Chart House restaurant in Montara, is about to be revived as a Peruvian restaurant, according to the Chron:

Carlos Altamirano, chef/owner of Mochica and Piqueo’s in San Francisco, will open his third Peruvian restaurant, Costanera, in October in the former Chart House in Montara.

The three-level, 10,000-square-foot-restaurant (8150 Cabrillo Hwy.) will be transformed by San Francisco designer Michael Brennan (Miss Pearl’s Jam House, Cortez, Marinitas) emphasizing the oceanfront setting and using materials from the beach.

Altamirano’s menu will feature up to 10 ceviches and as many as 30 Peruvian dishes, along with handcrafted Pisco cocktails, a New World wine list, and beers from the Americas and Belgium.

Congresswoman Jackie Speier will be on the Coastside Sunday, Aug 23 11:00-12:30, for a town hall event in Moss Beach, followed by a special tour of the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.
 
Cypress Meadows Conference Center
343 Cypress Avenue [Google map]
Moss Beach

Not only would a cut in Samtrans Route 17 put hundreds more drivers on the road daily, it will be even worse for those who don’t have the option of driving, reports the County Times.

"It would be devastating for our community if we lost the bus service — even if it’s just one route, that can’t happen. People are losing their jobs. They need to have flexibility to look for work, or to get another job at different hours. They need to get from point A to point B throughout the day," said Fatima Soares, executive director of Coastside hope, a local nonprofit and resource center. When clients visit her agency to pick up emergency food for their families, they usually take route 17.

Others were even more blunt.

"Coastside communities have worked for a decade to get basic services. Cutting the only route (that serves Pescadero) is cutting a lifeline. People might as well put a wall up between Pescadero and Half Moon Bay because people won’t be able to get to work," said Kerry Lobel of Puente de la Costa Sur, a Pescadero-based nonprofit group.

Samtrans will be holding a meeting to discuss cuts in Coastside service 6pm Thursday, Aug 6, at Cunha Intermediate School.

Even Coastsiders who never ride the bus have a stake in this issue.