"A Separate Place" is a book that was written by Charles Jones in 1974 and provides an interesting slice of life in the La Honda, San Gregorio and Pescadero areas during that time. Photographer Susan Friedman will talk and answer questions about this project, which marked the start of her interesting and successful career. (http://www.susanfriedmanphoto.com/).

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to meet Susan Friedman at the La Honda House Café on Friday, November 10, at 7PM. 5 copies of this out of print book, including one signed by author Charles Jones, will be given away after the talk in a free raffle.

The La Honda café is located in "downtown" La Honda at 8865 La Honda Road - 747-0312.

The Half Moon Bay city council is considering changes to its campaign finance ordinance.

The changes are pretty small.  Mainly, businesses owned by a single individual will be able to donate up to an aggregated total of $500 (instead of $500 per business) in addition to a personal limit of $250.  This puts some limits on individuals who own businesses, but it still means that they can contribute three times as much as an individual who does not own a business. In 2005, several city council candidates benefited from this loophole.

The size of the limits is still under discussion. Some city council members have said that there should be no limit on individual contributions, or that the limit should be as high as $1,000. But no one has declared themselves strongly for a particular individual spending limit.

Now that Coastsider is taping city council meetings and breaking the recordings out by agenda item, it’s much easier follow a story as it develops in the city council. This is our first remix, showing two meetings’ worth of discussion on campaign finance. The descriptions below are the ones that originally appeared on each item when we first published them.

• October 17: Discussion of campaign finance limits, including higher limits on contributions and consolidating personal and business contributions.  This discussion was very interesting and worth watching. [ Quicktime | WMP ]
• November 7: Discussion of proposed revision to campaign financing ordinance. The council is considering aggregating contributions for all the companies a person owns, and limiting that number to twice the limit for individuals. Discussion was continued until the first meeting of December, but the council seems to want to finish this project this year. [QuickTime | WMP]

The public discussion is informative as well, including comments from 2005 candidate George Muteff, and former CCWD board member Jim Marsh, who operates MCTV’s camera at city council meetings.

Coastsider taped Tuesday's Half Moon Bay City Council meeting. It was election night, and the only substantive issue on the agenda was pretty important: campaign finance reform in city elections.

UPDATE: Windows Media Player files are now online.

• Presentation of a proclamation to Coastside Opportunity Center/Coastside Hope [QuickTime | WMP ]
• Oral Communications [ Quicktime | WMP ]
• Council member reports [ Quicktime | WMP ]
• Staff reports [ Quicktime | WMP ]
• Consent calendar [ Quicktime | WMP ]
• Discussion of proposed revision to campaign financing ordinance. The council is considering aggregating contributions for all the companies a person owns, and limiting that number to twice the limit for individuals. Discussion was continued until the first meeting of December, but the council seems to want to finish this project this year.[ Quicktime | WMP ]
• Final Comments [ Quicktime | WMP ]

On the afternoon of Nov 5, I started out the door with a group of wanted posters my son had created regarding information about the killing of Gaylord the ostrich.

I had put up 3 posters, when twenty minutes later I was alerted by the El Granada liquor store that someone had taken down the first poster I had placed.  I checked on the other two posters, and they had also been taken down. I inquired about who might have taken the posters, and the employees at El Granada Hardware store provided me with a description of a possible suspect and the company car that he was seen leaving in. I went to the Princeton-based business, and from that point on, the investigation began to move rapidly.  Eventually, I talked to two of the six suspects involved in the killing of Gaylord.  Monday morning, I took the information I had attained to the Sheriffs’ Department.  

The following Tuesday morning the suspects were arrested.  Four others suspects were involved but not arrested.  In the early morning hours of October 31st, the six suspects trespassed into the pasture where the ostriches were sleeping.  They said they had hoped to, "pet the ostriches and to see him do his dance."  Apparently, they had teased him into the dance many times before.  In the dark he charged them, inuring several of the suspects.  According to one suspect, "they barely got out with their lives."  Two of the suspects later came back with guns and shot Gaylord seven times.  Two of them have been charged with 3 felony counts.

This is a horrible situation for everyone.  I am sorry these young men could not see what might be the consequence of such an action. On the other hand, some people must go through such hard learning experiences to realize who they are, and what they could ultimately become.  Hopefully Gaylord’s departure was not in vane.  It is my hopes that the persons that ended his life are bettered by the legal punishment that they will ultimately endure. 

In the end, sorry is not good enough, and actions ultimately weigh more than words.  Thank you so much for those of you who donated money, time, and concern to vindicate Gaylord.  He will no doubt live on in spirit and memory. 

As for the remaining two female ostriches, we are considering relocating them to a more secure location.  If you are interested in adopting two female ostriches, or know someone who might be, contact Karen Schmidt at [email protected] or phone 650-346-4819

A public meeting will be held on Monday December 4 at 7pm to discuss the preparations for the Maverick’s Surf Contest in 2007. The mostly-annual surfing contest is getting bigger every year and it’s great to see the community get involved in the planning.

This meeting, which is sponsored by County Supervisor Rich Gordon, will give the public the opportunity to review the current plans for the contest, including traffic control, crowd control, environmental protection and safety.

Representatives from each of the agencies involved in the planning will be available to answer questions from the public. The conference will be at the Harbor House Conference Center 346 Princeton Ave, Princeton by the Sea.

I’m deeply disturbed by the take-no-prisoners approach to campaigning we’ve seen in our school board elections lately.

What are the stakes? The school board can’t raise taxes and is unlikely to do any more building any time soon. They have zero control of district student demographics and pretty marginal control over test scores. They have no ambition to operate buses. The schools are crumbling and dirty. The board is dependent on handouts from millionaires for discretionary funds, parcel tax campaigns, and political contributions.

The bright spots in our district—the teachers and parents—carry on admirably in the midst of the chaos.

I’m sure the candidates are ambitious to help our kids. But why step on anyone or be less than perfectly candid with your friends and neighbors to get a seat on the board?  But, then, I have no idea why anyone would subject themselves to the kind of smears mounted against people who run against the incumbents in our school board elections.

Sure, there’s a legacy of bitterness. But we all won—and we all lost—the middle school battle long ago.  The newer-is-better crowd got to control the school board, but can’t build at Wavecrest. And the less-is-more crowd got a middle school at Cunha, but can’t even get a neutral candidate on the board. And nobody got a parcel tax.

Our kids are already several steps behind the starting line because they go to school in California and because they’re unfortunate enough to live in a nation where the adults pretend that slogans like No Child Left Behind are education policy.

Some of us are better prepared than others to raise children in this hostile environment. None of us should have to do it without the full support of the community.

I could be wrong, but I don’t think it’s necessary to turn our school district into a steel-cage death match to get things done.

Kirk Riemer, Dwight Wilson, and Jolanda Schreurs have been elected directors of the Cabrillo Unified School District. Newcomer Riemer received the most votes.

The Measure I bond vote in the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District passed by a wide margin.

Pacifica's Measure L, which would have permitted 355 housing units at the quarry site was defeated 52% to 48%, despite over $1 million in campaign spending by the developer who sponsored it. There is still likely to be development, but this will have to be negotiated with the city. Jim Vreeland, Sue Digre, and Julie Lancelle were reelected to the Pacifica City Council.

County Measure A, the 1/8% sales tax to support parks, failed to achieve the necessary 2/3 vote.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said that Measure A passed.

CABRILLO UNIFIED SCHOOL DIST, GOVERNING BOARD

Number To Vote For: 3

Completed Precincts: 31 of 31

	Vote Count	Percentage
KIRK RIEMER (NP)	3,315	23.5%
DWIGHT WILSON (NP)	3,058	21.6%
JOLANDA SCHREURS (NP)	3,021	21.4%
PAMELA L. FISHER (NP)	2,723	19.3%
KEN JOHNSON (NP)	2,008	14.2%

LA HONDA-PESCADERO UNIFIED SCHOOL DIST MEASURE I

Completed Precincts: 7 of 7

	Vote Count	Percentage
BONDS YES	710	70.9%
BONDS NO	291	29.1%

CITY OF PACIFICA MEASURE L

Completed Precincts: 30 of 30

	Vote Count	Percentage
YES	5,654	48.0%
NO	6,113	52.0%

PACIFICA CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS

Number To Vote For: 3

Completed Precincts: 30 of 30

	Vote Count	Percentage
JIM VREELAND (NP)	6,260	20.7%
SUE DIGRE (NP)	5,703	18.9%
JULIE LANCELLE (NP)	5,320	17.6%
BILL MOORE (NP)	4,487	14.8%
DAVID BLACKMAN (NP)	4,300	14.2%
JOHNNY NAVA (NP)	2,362	7.8%
TOD M. SCHLESINGER (NP)	1,799	6.0%

COUNTY OF SAN MATEO MEASURE A

Completed Precincts: 518 of 518

	Vote Count	Percentage
YES	82,215	54.7%
NO	68,174	45.3%

Holly Near will appear in concert with John Bucchino on piano at the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society in Half Moon Bay, Saturday November 11th at 8pm.  Tickets are $25 in advance and will be available at Bay Books, Half Moon Bay and at www.coastconcerts.com.

"After last year’s sold-out solo performance, it was clear the community wanted more of Holly," said Tricia Dell of Coast Concerts.  This year, the performance will have the added benefit of pianist John Bucchino, Near’s long time accompanist.

Holly Near—an outspoken activist, singer, teacher, and recording artist—has spent the past 35 years working for progressive political and social change. As one Holly Near fan put it, "She is a divine mix of Pete Seeger and Judy Garland!"

The song, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, flourished on the airwaves during the height of the Vietnam War. It’s hard to forget Pete Seeger’s haunting refrain—When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn? These words demonstrate the power that artist and a song wield to help end war. But can today’s popular music bring about a similar cultural and political change—one that will help end the war in Iraq? If so, what are the songs and who will sing them?

Cheri Parr

Good, but somewhat confusing, advice from one of our kids.

Cheri Parr

Susie Maya votes in her first election since becoming a citizen.

Wednesday’s regular meeting of the Midcoast Community Council (MCC) has been canceled.