The Half Moon Bay City Council appointed "Farmer John" Muller to fill the position vacated by David Gorn at tonight’s special meeting.

Six candidates interviewed for the council position vacated by David Gorn. After hearing the candidates discuss their qualifications and answer the four sitting council members’ questions, the council nominated only two, Jack McCarthy and John Muller, then unanimously selected "Farmer John" to fill the remainder of Gorn’s term.  The vote was declared unanimous by the council after Grady voted for McCarthy, and then voted with the Patridge, McClung, and Fraser for John Muller.

John Muller is best known as a local pumpkin farmer. But he also has broad public experience. He emphasized his eleven years on the Regional Water Quality Control Board for nine counties—five times as chairman, service on an EPA advisory board, and past presidency of Coastside Community Water District.

While all of the volunteer candidates presented themselves well, George Muteff may have been more disappointed by the outcome than the others, since he had run alongside, supported, and held his election night party with Naomi Patridge and Bonnie McClung in their council run in 2005. Neither Patridge nor McClung nominated Muteff for the Planning Commission earlier this year.

John Muller would "triage a lot of issues to shorten the list" so more time could be spent on priorities. He thought building a new police facility was a key issue. He stressed that he is a consensus builder and likes to get things done.

George Muteff wants to see a better quality of life for everyone by protecting property rights, providing more openness in government, and improving infrastructure. Muteff says that he wants to educate the public on the issues.

Kevin Lansing felt the city could do better in counseling applicants for development about the legal constraints of the Coastal Act so they did not run into a brick wall later. He also expressed concern about the city’s structural deficit because of the 7% annual compounded growth of its salary and benefits.

Jim Marsh stressed "public service" over politics, citing the split political affiliations of the four current council members, which simulates the national split and gives citizens "business as usual," the local split politics. Marsh says that Half Moon Bay should lead because the county is derelict in its land use and road development policies. He believes in smart growth, concentrating development where it already exists.

Jack McCarthy said he is a moderate and has broad experience because of his years on the planning commission and having to balance the environment with development. Jack spoke about "following the rules," in reference to the Coastal Act and Measure D. "We need to grow Half Moon Bay in a way that doesn’t ruin it."

Susan Suer is a new face in the public sphere but has lived on the Coastside nine years. She has no long-term political ambition, but likes the idea of filling in a term. Her background is in business strategy development and teamwork. She thinks Half Moon Bay spends too much time, to its detriment, on land development issues, and counseled that the city needs to focus on expanding its revenue base. She wants to see more compromise, co-operation, openness, and a team spirit from the council.

There is a Grand Jury report [pdf] available regarding San Mateo County’s shortchanging of 4 cities’ property taxes. On page one of the report it states: "Of the 17 counties with qualifying cities, San Mateo is the only county in the state that failed to comply promptly with the TEA provisions of AB 1197."

The GJ report is long, repetitive, and largely boring, but skimming it might be worthwhile to some people, especially to elected officials and government agency senior staff.

The San Mateo County Grand Jury, in a report issued Monday, says that it is necessary for the Point Montara Fire Protection District and Half Moon Bay Fire Protection district to merge, and to outsource their fire services to another agency, [index of report pdf’s] before the end of 2006.

A culture of strife has existed in the HMBFPD for at least the past six years. During this time HMBFPD has been involved in five lawsuits with current or former employees; has so far paid $707,595 in settlements and has spent $516,280 on legal expenses.  In addition, twenty-eight firefighters have retired or left HMBFPD to seek employment elsewhere, the fire chief has retired, and both a division chief and the fire inspector have quit.

In its opening pages, the grand jury report quotes a story from Coastsider: Interim Fire Chief condemns deficiencies, recommends contracting out fire service. The San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury is an independent investigative body created by the California State Constitution. Composed of nineteen citizens, the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury serves as a "watchdog for citizens of the county."

Recent fundraising efforts benefiting the planned Coastside Adult Community Center in Half Moon Bay have taken the current building campaign past the halfway mark. More than $3.8 million of the $7 million needed to construct the center, a joint project of Senior Coastsiders and the Coastside Adult Day Health Center, has now been committed.

The planned 23,000-square-foot Coastside Adult Community Center will house current and expanded services that the two Half Moon Bay organizations will offer to the area’s growing senior population. The building will be located on 1.4 acres of now vacant land at the corner of Main Street and Arnold Way in Half Moon Bay, adjacent to the Lesley Gardens senior residence.

Theft from storage shed in Princeton, a car is stolen from a driveway in La Honda, a homes are burglarized in Moss Beach and El Granada,  a mountain lion is spotted on Tunitas Creek Road, and more. We’ll be resuming more regular posting of the sheriff’s blotter.

Domestic violence, a window at Amesport Landing is broken by vandals, a large, loud party is dispersed with a little help from the police, some kids are arrested for possession of nitrous oxide canisters. And more. Lots and lots more.  We promise not to wait so long between blotters next time.

Recent stories have reported that Caltrans is 50% complete with their repairs to Devil’s Slide.  The morning drive, thankfully, has markedly improved with schools closed for the Summer.

The evening commute, however, remains an ordeal beginning at 4:00 pm and sometimes lasting through 7:00 pm. Checking the 511 web site, getting from 280 to Highway 1 can take as long as 45 minutes.

What is puzzling is that for all the mitigation efforts to smooth the morning commute (now largely unnecessary for the next two months at least) there has not been a single tactic applied when we’re all trying to get home after a long day, now made even longer.

Early in the crisis, there were suggestions of making a "grand circle", routing one-way traffic from 92 and Main to Highway 1, changing the timing of the lights, prohibiting left turns onto Main St., etc. Not one of these ideas have even been attempted.

And unlike the "Free right turn" temporary traffic lights that have never been used, this is not a North vs. South of 92 issue.  It effects us all.

My question is simple: 

Why hasn’t the City of HMB or Caltrans done anything to try to ease traffic in the evenings?

If they can’t think of anything, I’m sure the residents of the Coast can offer any number of creative solutions.

We have another three months (and maybe longer) of rough commuting ahead of us.  Can we survive the status quo?

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District received 6,500 hairy weevils that will be released by the District today and tomorrow on Skyline and Foothill-area open space preserves as part of an effort to control and reduce the spread of the non-native, invasive weed yellow starthistle and restore the natural values of the preserves. The hairy weevil, Eustenopus villosus, one of several insect species researched by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has been an effective biocontrol agent in the control of yellow starthistle.

“By introducing the weevils, a natural enemy of yellow star thistle, the District reduces removal costs and provides a long-term, sustainable method of control,” said Lisa Infante, the District’s Resource Specialist. “In effect, introduction of the weevil is an effort to recreate the natural system of ecological checks and balances that prevent this non-native, invasive plant from eliminating desirable native plants and habitats in the open space preserves.”

Originally from Greece, the hairy weevil is 6-8 mm long, has a distinctive long snout with antennae, and an overall brown-gray striped color and hairs covering much of its body. The hairy weevil attacks with adult weevils feeding on developing buds and larvae feasting from within on immature seeds, effectively diminishing the yellow starthistle seed production. To lay eggs, fertile females chew a hole in the side of buds shortly before the flowers open and deposit an egg. The larvae hatch in about three days, and after about two weeks of feeding, the larvae pupate inside the flower bud. Adults continue to feed on late-developing flower buds and then overwinter in seedheads or ground duff.

In just under three weeks, more than 5,500 people signed a petition asking Trader Joe’s grocery store to consider moving into the soon-to-be-vacated Albertson’s store at 150 San Mateo Road in Half Moon Bay.
Petitions were circulated without any backing from governmental or business associations, from June 15 to July 4. Response was overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic – Trader Joe’s, everyone said, would be a perfect fit for the Coastside.
Those thousands of signatures will be presented to the City of Half Moon Bay at the next Council meeting, on July 18. Then they will be submitted to Trader Joe’s headquarters.

Tim Pond is a resident of El Granada

To the CSUD board:

It is now clear that the morning traffic problem can be mitigated by the reduction of school traffic.  Although the late start helps the situation, more can be done to alleviate the situation.  There are now six weeks left until the start of school and I would like to see consideration of the following ideas:

1.    Ban single and double occupant student drivers from the high school parking lot. If they want to give two students a ride, let them in. An academic requirement could also be established for parking permits.

2.    Give community service credit for those students to organize and participate in car pools.

3.    Get funding for one month of school busing.  It seems to me with all the emergency funding going out one of you guys could figure something out. (This must be easier than putting a highway trough a wetlands)

4.    Give physical education, elective, or community service credit for those students who ride their bikes to school.

5.    Letters to parents including names, times and numbers of potential car pool participants in their neighborhood.

6.    Delay the start of school by three weeks; add the time to the breaks and/or the end of the year. Pray to whatever god or tree you want that the repair work be completed on schedule.

7.    Get the commuter gas cards for students who car pool.  $40 is worth a lot more to a teenage driver and there is a greater potential for use with the common destination.

If we can use this situation to make our children socially aware of individual responsibility to the greater good, this whole affair will be transformed into a positive experience.  If we sit back in our cars and curse the traffic and let the leadership show an ineffectual response, we teach them an entirely different lesson. Please do something.

Tim Pond
El Granada