County officials have gotten a $2 million grant to explore installing a sewer system in Pescadero, reports the County Times.

Pescadero residents would have to form a public utility district to manage the new wastewater plant and would eventually have to pay back 18 percent of the grant with some help from the county, according to Dean Peterson, director of the county’s Environmental Health division. Peterson put the total cost of the project at $2 million to $5 million and said it could be completed as soon as 2010, provided a site could be found for the plant and there was enough community interest to spur it forward.

The new sewer system would improve the town’s ability to add and improve businesses in its historic downtown as well as help families wanting to expand their homes.

The annual Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Weigh-off takes place Monday at the I.D.E.S. hall in downtown Half Moon Bay. Some eighty contestants are expected to take a shot at besting the 1,229-pound Atlantic Giant entered last year by five-time champion Joel Holland of Puyallup WA. The weighing will take place from 7:30am to 10:30am.

With a top prize of $5 per pound at stake, the winner will reap more than $5,000. About $20,000 in prize money will be awarded to the top ten heaviest overall and the top three San Mateo County entries, with special prize money also awarded to the biggest pumpkins from California, the Half Moon Bay Coastside, and the San Mateo County Farm Bureau. A special $500 prize will be awarded to the "most beautiful pumpkin" as judged by the audience based on color, shape and size.

The Rotary Club of Half Moon Bay has announced its 2006 Community Grant Program.  The program funds individuals, causes and organizations that benefit the needs of Coastside residents. Grants are awarded annually to people on the Coastside from Pescadero to Montara.

The Half Moon Bay Rotary Foundation makes the grants available using proceeds from events that include Rotary at the Ritz provide revenue for the grants. Typically, the Rotary awards around $15,000 each year through the Community Grant Program.  The average size grant is close to $1,000.

OceanFest, an annual celebration of our ocean backyard, features sustainable culinary seafood delights cooked up by such celebrated San Francisco restaurants as Chez Panisse, Farallon, Hog Island Oyster Company, Slanted Door, and Zuni Cafe, in addition to local brews, fine wine, music and family activities. The Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association (FMSA) holds its annual free event Saturday, October 7, 11 a.m-4 p.m. at the Farallones Visitor Center, West Crissy Field Beach, in the Presidio. A gourmet meal from a top Bay Area chef, or a wine or beer tasting is only $10. 

OceanFest supports the Marine Sanctuary Association’s environmental education programs for Bay Area children and volunteer programs that protect marine life.  Teeming with whales, birds, sharks, puffins, and other marine life, the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary protects 1255 square miles of open ocean, bay and wetlands off the shore of San Francisco. 

"OceanFest is a perfect event—happy and unpretentious," says Judy Rodgers, chef/owner of San Francisco’s renowned Zuni Cafe and FMSA board member, who is participating in her fourth OceanFest. "OceanFest reminds us that we all need to care about the ocean, which is filled with surprises and treasures."

Rodgers will be preparing her OceanFest delicacies in the company of many of the Bay Area’s other top chefs: Phillip Dedlow from Chez Panisse, Parke Ulrich from Farallon, Charles Phan from Slanted Door, and hot dogs from Let’s Be Frank—to name a few.  All the chefs are volunteering their culinary talents to promote the delicious and environmentally sound qualities of sustainable seafood, which is donated by Monterey Fish Company and Osprey Seafood. 

The event also features live bands, kids’ music by ZunZun and other family activities, 20 exhibitors including the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s "Seafood Watch," and the Shark Mobile (everything you wanted to know about white sharks, which thrive in our local waters, especially during "Sharktoberfest"). Win a Baja kayak trip, a year of FlexCar, a Half Moon Bay getaway weekend, Jerry Rice day 49ers tickets, Farallon Islands whale watching, dinner at Greens or other restaurants, and other prizes in the OceanFest raffle.  Thousands attend this annual event, which is handicapped accessible and coincides with Fleet Week. Public transit (511.org), cycling or carpooling are encouraged.

For more OceanFest information, visit www.farallones.org or call 415-561-6625, x314.

At Tuesday’s Half Moon Bay City Council meeting, Bruce Russell of Kenmark presented three projects that they are working on, including two that will improve coastal access:

Removal of riprap below the 18th hole of the golf course: The removal of not only the riprap that was dumped on the beach without a permit in 1998, but also riprap that was placed there in 1996 with the permission of the Coastal Commission.

Beach access at Redondo Beach:  They’re building stairways for access to the beach from Redondo Beach Road.

The final 32-unit residential project in Ocean Colony: While this project, called Carnoustie, was originally proposed in July 2000, Kenmark has made some changes since they took over management of Ocean Colony in 2005.  They’ve been working to resolve the Coastal Commission’s issues with the project. They’re considering building a low & moderate income project across the street from Cunha to meet their requirements under the law.

Mark Crispin Miller, author of Fooled Again: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election and Why They’ll Steal the Next One Too (Unless We Stop Them) will be speaking tonight in Half Moon Bay.

Other speakers include Alan Dechert, Open Voting Consortium, Jim March, Activist, Author of "The Jim March Papers".

The Chicago Reader says "Mark Crispin Miller’s FOOLED AGAIN is a jeremiad aimed at the heart of the national machine. But it’s also a work of original reporting that in the end amounts to a solid case for theft of the 2004 presidential election… FOOLED AGAIN may well describe the endgame that leads to single party dominance through the next generation."

For more on Professor Miller and his work, visit: http://www.markcrispinmiller.com

Friday Oct 6, 2006, 7 to 10pm
Ted Adcock Center, 535 Kelly St.,  Half Moon Bay
$10

Midcoast Park Lands is hosting its fourth annual Children’s Day at Quarry Park at Columbus and Santa Maria, in El Granada. The events are Sunday, October 8, from 10:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Take the newly graded road to the quarry floor. The event features a jumping tent for the little ones, face painting, trail walks, games and crafts. There will be live music at 1pm by the local d.b.walker band.  Hot dogs, drinks, and cookies are available for a donation.  MPL will unveil their new version of the famous El Granada map, highlighting the parks and open space in the local area, at Sunday’s event.

The Blue Circle is a quarterly community forum for sharing ideas, information and resources for the goal of natural resource management, education, and stewardship. It’s sponsored by the county Resource Conservation District. The Blue Circle roundtable discussion is titled, "Water Quality Monitoring in San Mateo County". 

This informal talk includes roundtable participants Neil Panton, San Gregorio Environmental Resource Center; Carolann Towe, SurfRider; Joe Giustino, Coastside County Water District; Tanya Yurovsky, Montara Water and Sanitary District; Kathryn Ivanetich, UC San Francisco; and Dean Peterson, SMC Environmental Health.  A Blue Circle Social featuring food, beer, wine, and an auction will follow. In keeping with the horse ranch location of the upcoming Blue Circle, if you arrive wearing a western style hat, you go directly to the prize table.  Prizes are locally grown and well worth the effort to dig in the closet and dust off your old cowboy(girl) hat.

The meeting is 3:00pm on Tuesday, October 10, 2006.  It will be held at Moss Beach Ranch in beautiful downtown Moss Beach, CA.  Go to http://www.mossbeachranch.com/directions.htm for directions to the Ranch.

To RSVP, call 650-712-7765