Paul Perkovic is President of the Montara Water and Sanitary District Board of Directors and is currently a candidate for re-election in November 2009. Coastsider welcomes letters from all candidates for office.

Coastside County Water District (CCWD) approved an across-the-board 10% rate increase last night, bringing their cumulative rate increases from 2000 to 2009 to more than 113%.

Montara Water and Sanitary District (MWSD) approved a more complicated increase, ranging from 5% to 8%, last month, bringing the cumulative rate increase for base tier water consumption from 2000 to 2009 to just under 23%. (In comparison, Citizens Utilities had asked to increase rates over 108% during this same time period.)

For the first time in history, non-residential customers in CCWD will be paying more per hundred cubic feet (HCF, about 748 gallons) of water consumption than base-tier MWSD customers. This means water will cost some businesses, hotels, schools, etc., in Half Moon Bay and El Granada more per HCF than similar businesses in MWSD.

Why the dramatic difference in favor of MWSD?

The key factor affecting water costs is dependence on water purchased from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), which operates the Hetch-Hetchy water system. CCWD produced one-third of its water from local sources in 2000, but local supplies plummeted over 63% from 2000 to 2008. Meanwhile, purchases from the SFPUC skyrocketed nearly 50% over the same time period, nearly reaching the "supply assurance" in 2007. Total water produced or purchased by CCWD in 2007 was 20% more than in 2000. To its credit, CCWD’s water conservation efforts - voluntary rationing - decreased water demand about 9% from 2007 to 2008.

On Saturday July 11, The Visionary Edge will screen The Global Oneness Project: What Would It Look Like? The event will be co-hosted by and presented at the Community United Methodist Church in Half Moon Bay. 

As the structures of modern society crumble, is it enough to respond with the same tired solutions? Or are we being called to question a set of unexamined assumptions that form the very basis of our civilization?  What if the world embodied out highest potential?  What would it look like?  The Global Oneness Project is exploring how the radically simple notion of interconnectedness can be lived in our increasingly complex world.

This 73 minute collection of short films asks us to reflect on the state of the world and ourselves, and to listen more closely to how we are being called to live at this time of unprecedented global transformation. 

The present direction of the HMB City Council was determined by eight votes four years ago.  Whether you agree with the decision to raise the salary of the interim City Manager or not, this decision may make it possible to elect a more progressive Council.  When even the Review in its June 24th editorial opines

The council seats of Jim Grady, Bonnie McClung and Naomi Patridge are on the line in November. While none of them have publically announced whether they will seek re-election, the race got easier for Grady – the only council member to vote against the raise – and much, much tougher for McClung and Patridge.

we have a golden opportunity to use this issue to elect a Council majority that will work for the betterment of the community.

I hope that we will have an electable slate of progressive candidates.  The time for filing started today.

MCTV has written a letter to the Board of Supervisors, the Half Moon Bay City Council, and the Grand Jury taking exception with some assertions in Grand Jury’s report. You’ll have to follow the jump to read all 2,800 words.  We’ll address the station’s claims at a later point. In particular, we’re going to take a look at their claims about programming and governance, which are at the heart of the Grand Jury’s report.

Dear Supervisor Gordon and Mayor Muller;

MCTV has recently learned that the Civil Grand Jury issued a report regarding MCTV.  MCTV was never notified by the Grand Jury about the issuance of the report, but as a result of press inquiries, we have had the opportunity to review the report and wish to offer the following responses.

The report does contain several factual errors that we wish to correct.

MCTV serves approximately 4,000 subscribers, not 6,000, and Comcast’s subscriber base is continually shrinking due to Comcast’s failure to upgrade its network on the Coastside.  This results in significantly reduced revenues for MCTV.  In fact MCTV is now receiving the same amount of franchise funding it received in the late 1980’s.  In order to live within its budget, MCTV can no longer keep open office hours because we cannot afford a secretary.

MCTV does not routinely reject programming offered to it by community members as the Report implies.  While a number of locally produced programs are offered to MCTV by community members, very few of them have contained technical problems which prohibit cablecasting the program.  The vast majority of local programs offered to MCTV are cablecast.

The Report is in error when it states that no new revenue sources have been identified.  MCTV has pursued other funding sources as it was requested to do by the City, and MCTV’s fees for additional governmental programming services and webstreaming did provide 14% of MCTV’s budget in the last fiscal year.  Similar fees are charged by other access stations on the Peninsula and MCTV’s fees are equal to or lower than what other stations charge.  In addition, MCTV’s Board and staff have spent hundreds of hours negotiating with cable operators to obtain additional equipment funding for the station.  Without these efforts, MCTV would be using 20 year old equipment. However, MCTV readily agrees that even more additional funding is needed to continue and improve MCTV’s level of service.

[The full letter follows the jump]

Sunday afternoon, several hundred folks gathered at the American Legion post to spend a few hours paying collective homage to Rod Schoenlank, who passed away recently just shy of his 88th birthday.

Almost everyone who spends enough time here and there on the Coastside knew Rod, whether directly or indirectly.  His calm, tanned face, long flowing white beard, and colorful attire made him visible to me in many places - especially at cafes such as Cafe Classique, where I first got to know him in El Granada in the ‘90s, and more recently, La Di Da’s, where I learned that we shared July 2nd as our birthdays, and the HMB Coffee Company, where we would sit and chat at the outside tables on sometimes-sunny afternoons.

Always agile physically and mentally, Rod provided a sense of wisdom, and a sense of calmness, and slowly shared the experience of a lifetime of both ordinary and extraordinary times and deeds.

Many stories were exchanged throughout Sunday afternoon, but two stay with me best, and I’d like to mention them.  Numerous friends spoke - of times recent, and times long ago - friends living nearby, and friends who flew in from distant points for this day.  It was said that had this memorial been anywhere in the world, a similar set of people would have materialized, and told similar stories.

One woman described his coaching her while she stood watching the personal tragedy of her home burning to the ground: he told her to experience all of the feelings, to watch closely, to live in the moment and know that it was really happening.  She let the feelings flow, and when it was over - when the house and all the physical possessions within were reduced to ashes - she found that she had come to terms with it, and was ready to move on to rebuilding with no debilitating period of grief.  He apparently taught many to "live in the moment" - to realize that a thing, or a situation "is what it is" - and to act based on such realities.  Alway, friends made clear that they were better off for these perspectives.

I hope many folks who read this and the following, will contribute their stories, too - to share the legacy of one of the area’s Great Spirits - a man who made us all better, just by sharing his good will, his rich experience, and his gentle nature with so many of us.  Here’s the second story, which I’ll do my best to summarize. 

Apparently, Rod was legendary for his annual "teddy bear giveways."  Living on his boat in the harbor, he would open his collection up to all passers-by at Christmas, and perhaps at other times, too.  He would instruct adults as well as children to meet them all, and that "if any one particular teddy bear spoke directly to you, take that teddy bear home - it is yours."  The story goes that Rod one day invited a gentlemen who was walking by to come aboard, and in due course, urged him to visit with the bears.  The gentlemen was uninterested, but Rod advised him that many adults, as well as kids, had truly found themselves spoken to, and insisted he check them out.  He relented.

Two minutes later, the gentlemen emerged not with a teddy bear, but with a small stuffed alligator - and an explanation:  "Some years ago", the man said, "my mother passed away.  And her last words to me were ‘See you later, alligator!’ "

See you later, Rod - requiescat in pace.

Four inmates have walked away from Camp Glenwood juvenile correctional facility last night. They are described as:

Three Hispanic males, ages 15-17 yrs, and one black male, 15 yrs.  All four subjects were last seen wearing gray sweatshirts with the Camp Glenwood Logo and blue jeans. Subjects also may be wearing white t-shirts.  

If you see them, notify the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office at 650-363-4911.

Bob Pilgrim is a Pacifica resident who has been involved in local conservation/preservation efforts for many years in Pacifica, both as a member of Pacificans for Sustainable Development and the Sierra Club’s Loma Prieta Chapter for the Peninsula. This story is reprinted with permission from Pacifica Riptide, because the status of Highway 1 is a critical issue for every coastal community in California, particularly in neighboring cities

In June 1980, Pacifica City Council adopted a new General Plan, the work product of Ironsides and Associates of Oakland. This was revised, published, and adopted by Pacifica City Planner Michael Crabtree in October 1990. His revision (now 19 years old) has stood the test of time, and it’s fair to say the taxpayers got their money’s worth by virtue of Crabtree’s contribution. 

But City Council realizes that the existing General Plan is now out of date, and has contracted with Dyett and Bhatia of San Francisco to create a new plan at a projected cost of about $1 million. The purpose? At least two elements of the plan can use updating: seismic/safety and circulation. 

This writer has learned that the new circulation element will contain language about a six-lane road between Westport Drive and Fassler Avenue. The ostensible reason for doubling the road’s carrying capacity is to facilitate the morning commute for drivers going out of town between 7. and 9 a.m. The increase in carrying capacity is to create a "segment" that allows Caltrans to connect Interstate 280 with the tunnels at Devil’s Slide. There is nothing new about this Caltrans/Pacifica approach to induce population growth on the San Mateo coast; this activity has been continuous since the Adopted Alignment first surfaced in 1958.

The Moss Beach-based nonprofit organization Friends of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve invites fellow Coastsiders to enjoy our new Family Fun Days program. Family Fun Days are 2-hour to 4-hour events that give kids and their accompanying parent(s) a chance to have a fun ocean-related adventure together.

Our next Family Fun Day, "All About Algae," will be held at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach on Saturday, July 25, from 8-10 in the morning. Open to kids 8-12 accompanied by a parent, All About Algae will include a tour of the tidepools, fun games, and even a Seaweed Taste Testing station!

The event is FREE and open to the public, but pre-registration is required.

"Come have some fun in our beautiful Reserve—but don’t be surprised if you accidentally learn something," says Ranger Sarah Lenz.
Interested parents should call Ranger Sarah Lenz at (650) 728-3584 for more information and to register by 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 18th. "We are limiting participation to 30 kids and adults, so call soon!"

Future Family Fun Days will include:

  - Saturday September 19th: California Coastal Cleanup Day 9-NOON
  - Sunday October 4th: What Bird is That? 9-NOON
  - Thursday December 17th: Night Tidepooling Tour 4-7 pm

Ranger Sarah Lenz at (650) 728-3584 for more information about any of these programs.

Following-up on my letter about CCWD's failed leadership,  the  board of directors of CCWD will hold a public hearing on Tuesday July 14 at 7 pm to discuss a possible 12 percent increase in residential water rates. The board will only accept written protests against the proposed rate increase which are delivered by U.S. Mail or in person (no email) and received on or before Tuesday July 14. CCWD's water rates have experienced explosive growth since 1999 and are projected to spike even higher over the next several years (see accompanying chart). Where is all this money going? According to CCWD's proposed budget 2009-2010 budget, the rate increase will be used in part to increase employee salaries by 10 percent and to increase employee retirement contributions by 13 percent. Both increases appear excessive in light of current economic conditions and past rapid growth in CCWD employee salaries and benefits. As elected officials, the CCWD board has a duty to act as good stewards of the public's money. They do not appear to be fullfilling their duty. A sample protest letter is on the next page.

It’s been a wild ride for yours truly this past week or seven - especially last week.  Thanks a Bushel and a Bunch to everyone who came to the Market for their 4th of July pic-nic fixins.  My farmers and friends were pleased and relieved to see so many of you come by on the way to the rest of your day! 

One thing I learned last week: there is an awful lot to recommend a short e-note.  And I am going to try it again now, but it might be tough because there’s an awful lot to recommend a trip to the Market this week!

On Saturday we host our first-ever Spin-in,  wherein folks who are so inclined will spin yarns of a whole other stripe than the sort you are used to getting from me.  Ask Terri Reece, an original Marketeer and our first official Market Sponsor,  all about what low-tech shenanigans winds her watch on the weekends, willya?