I wrote a while back about rumors of thefts from cars in Montara. A couple of weeks ago, my next-door neighbor’s cheap stereo was stolen from his car.  I talked to the Sheriff’s deputy that answered the call.

That break-in coincided with a ridealong I took with deputy Eric Sakuma on the midcoast. John Quinlan set this up just before he left the coastside. It wasn’t very exciting, but really instructive.  Seen from the patrol car, the midcoast looks different. People notice you and often wave. You also realize that the midcoast, once you eliminate Half Moon Bay, isn’t all that big.

Every time I talk to folks at the Sheriff’s office, they tell me that there’s no wave of break-ins in the residential areas. That usually happens in the beach parking lots, and it’s usually the same guys every time. The more time you spend with our deputies, the more you realize how in touch they are with the community and its people. They have relationships with the people who are placing most of the calls and the people who are the reason for the calls.

The biggest effect of the time I spent with deputy Sakuma, was that I feel a lot safer. I have an offer to take a ridealong on the southcoast, but I’ve been warned that unless I go on the weekend, when the motorized scofflaws from the other side of the hill come to visit, I shouldn’t expect to see any action.

Charles Loo, accused of killing his son at Montara Beach on Sept 18, has delayed a plea for the third time. His next appearance will be in December. Because he is accused of lying in wait for his son, he would be eligible for the death penalty.

The Review knows who took out the anonymous attack ad in its October 20 edition, and managing editor Clay Lambert has said when his investigation is complete he will publish a story not only revealing that person’s identity, but "all the players".

I talked to Clay this morning after reading his apology for the ad in today’s Review to find out if he knew the mystery shopper’s identity and why it wasn’t revealed before the election. He says that there was no time before the election to get the complete story and apparently that story is still under investigation.

"We have been duped," began Clay’s editorial in today’s Review, which ends with "And I’m sorry for that [the anti-democratic impact of the ad]". The apology is thorough and sincere, and Lambert goes on to mention some things the Review is doing to alleviate the problem, including following up with the Fair Political Practices Commission to see if the law was broken, rethinking the Review’s policy of allowing campaigns to reserve prime advertising space, and reconsidering accepting ads from committees without valid ID numbers.

My interpretation of all this is that the Review feels used. Regardless of their political alignment, nothing pisses off a newspaper publisher like being taken advantage of by a paying customer. It’s supposed to work the other way around.

Jonathan Lundell lost by fewer than 500 votes, so it’s entirely possible that this nasty, anonymous ad affected the outcome of the election. That can’t be undone, but the Review is taking the right steps in the wake of this mess.

The biggest surprise in this election was perhaps the strong showing of John Moseley in the CUSD board election, which he attributed to his moderate approach to the development issues that divide the community.

There are more details on the Harbor District election at the Daily Journal.

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake on the San Gregorio Fault hit Davenport Monday at 2:02pm. The San Gregorio fault, according to the Mercury News runs from the Golden Gate to Big Sur, mostly offshore, but touching land in Half Moon Bay and at Año Nuevo State Park.  The quake can be seen on this map, which also shows a 2.9 quake 6 miles SE of Half Moon Bay on Saturday.

Montara is my favorite place to be on Halloween. This album starts with some wonderful pictures from the Farallone View Elementary School costume parade and concludes with pictures from Halloween night.

Six people have been arrested in connection with trafficking in cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine in Half Moon Bay, according to the Daily Journal. Three people were arrested October 21 at 904 Golden Gate Avenue, off Grandview Blvd [map] in Half Moon Bay. Three of their associates, two of whom live in Half Moon Bay, were arrested in Redwood City on October 26.

The sheriff is called in when two large political endorsements signs on the are torn down, and sheriff’s deputies make whole bunch of drug arrests this week. Two cars that are pulled over smell of marijuana, a cyclist turns out to be carrying meth, two DUI’s, a traffic stop leads to a meth warrant arrest, and a man with a fake AK-47 was found to be carrying meth.

Click "read more" to see the press release.

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) developing a Master Plan for the 2,042-acre La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve. MROSD is holding a series of workshops as part of its planning process.

The first two workshops will be held Wednesday, November 3, 2004 covering "Issues Identification, Vision and Goals" and Monday, December 6, 2004 on "Alternatives Development".  Both workshops will be from 7pm to 9:30pm at La Honda Elementary School cafeteria. Future workshops will take place in the spring and summer of 2005 to refine alternatives and finalize the Master Plan. Each meeting will build on the previous workshop.

MROSD’s goal is to address the community’s goals, including visitor parking and access, trail use and regional trail connections, agricultural preservation, and natural and cultural resource management. The community workshops will form the basis of the Master Plan and are also designed to educate the community about the opporunities and constraints on the preserve.

For more info, see MROSD’s La Honda Preserve page, or contact Matt Freeman, Senior Open Space Planner at 650.691.1200.