Coastside Land Trust invites you to join us on Saturday, March 26, from 10 to noon, for a management day at our Wavecrest area properties. Roll up your sleeves, grab your clippers, gloves and boots, and come out for some fun together on the blufftop. We’ll pick up trash, remove some invasive plants, and enjoy working together to steward our beautiful open space lands.

Meet in the parking lot at Smith Field at 9:45, at the end of Wavecrest Road, off Highway 1 at Cameron’s Pub.

Jo Chamberlain
Executive Director

The letter below was delivered during public comment at the March 15, 2011 San Mateo County Board of Supervisors meeting.  The comment was made for agenda item 7, “Tsunami Awareness Week”.  Agenda item 8 was the Big Wave Project.  Agenda item 8 was postponed until the next board meeting on Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 9:00am.  If you have concerns about this project you should phone and/or email the Supervisors.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Re: Big Wave and the Cascadia Subduction Zone

Dear President Groom and Members of the Board,

We are witnessing a disaster unfold in Japan that was beyond our imagination last week. On Friday, March 11, 2011 a massive 8.9 earthquake triggered a tsunami that killed thousands and devastated coastal cities and villages, transforming them into debris piles.

We have seen the images on the internet and television of seawalls and breakwaters being overpowered by the tsunami in Japan, right now the Crescent City fishing fleet is wiped-out, Santa Cruz Harbor has a projected loss of 17 million dollars in property damage and just last year the seawall at Pillar Point was over-topped during the Mavericks surf contest, injuring spectators.

San Mateo County Planning Commissioners were not adequately informed by the Planning Department about the significant risks to human safety posed by the Cascadia Fault before they voted to approve a residential facility for developmentally and physically challenged people in a tsunami inundation zone. As Supervisors it is your responsibility to reverse this decision before people with Mental Retardation, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, and Autism are placed in the path of tsunami.  Today, society has a much deeper understanding of the level of risk posed by tsunamis and planning decisions must take this broader understanding into consideration. When a tsunami pushes a wave of boats, cars, and buildings against a structure significant damage and failure occur.

In April 1946 the tsunami that hit Hawaii had a fifteen-minute interval between wave fronts.  The natural resonant period of Hilo Bay is about thirty minutes.  That meant that every second wave was in phase with the motion of Hilo Bay, creating a seiche wave in the bay.  As a result, Hilo suffered worse damage than any other place in Hawaii, with the tsunami/seiche reaching a height of 26 feet along the Hilo Bayfront, killing 96 people in the city alone. Seiche waves may continue for several days after a tsunami.  The same tsunami hit Princeton and the wave height reached the top of Romeo Pier.

The Big Wave developers have stated that the probability of a tsunami affecting the Wellness Center is approximately once in 10,000 years, which is a risk they are prepared to take. They are wrong.  In fact, the Big Wave project Draft ERI itself references reliable reports of significant damage in Princeton on April 1946, May 1960, and March 1964.

As you may have seen in the news articles surrounding the tsunami in Japan, the Cascadia subduction zone off the west coast of the United States is capable of producing a massive quake and tsunami that would rival Japan.

Recent findings conclude that the Cascadia Subduction zone is more complex and volatile than previously believed. Geologists predict a 37 percent chance of a M8.2+ event in the next 50 years, and a 10 to 15 percent chance that the entire Cascadia Subduction will rupture with a M9+ event within the same time frame.  Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1700_Cascadia_earthquake#cite_ref-0

The southern end of the Cascadia Fault is approximately 370 miles NW (130 Degrees) of the Big Wave project location. At an average speed of 500 mph, there would be approximately 44 minutes of warning, assuming that the source and threat are immediately identified. Then there are all of the logistics and associated chaos of evacuating a large number of people, immediately—which as we just experienced on Highway 92, is not an orderly process, even when you have more than five hours of advance notice.

The Wellness Center residential component of the Big Wave project is a well-intentioned idea, in the wrong location. After witnessing so much loss of human life, suffering, and homelessness in Japan over the past five days, it would be criminal to approve the construction of new housing for special needs people within the tsunami inundation zone.  The risks posed by the inappropriate project site far outweigh the benefits for residents of the Wellness Center.  Developmentally disadvantaged people deserve better.

You can prevent loss of life by your actions today. Not only can you deny this project, you can initiate actions to prohibit future construction of housing, schools and care facilities in tsunami inundation areas.

Your meeting agenda includes Tsunami Awareness week.  You have a responsibility to locate residential facilities for people with disabilities away from the tsunami inundation zone.

Thank you,

Sabrina Brennan

www.area29.org

UPDATE: Highway 1 is now open for traffic.

The National Weather Service forecasts “strong and damaging winds” for the Central California Coast, beginning late Saturday night:

A powerful low pressure system will deepen off the central california coast late saturday into sunday bringing strong southerly winds to the area especially near the coast. High wind watch in effect from early sunday morning through sunday evening the national weather service in san francisco has issued a high wind watch which is in effect from early sunday morning through sunday evening.

* timing: Strong winds will be possible along and near the central coast from daybreak sunday through sunday evening.

* winds: South winds will increase across the area overnight saturday through early sunday morning. Southerly winds around 40 mph with gusts near 60 mph possible on sunday. The strongest and possibly damaging winds will occur late sunday morning into the afternoon hours.

* impacts: High winds could topple trees and power lines and lead to power failures. In addition driving would be difficult for motorists with high profile vehicles or trailers. Precautionary/preparedness actions a high wind watch means there is the potential for a hazardous high wind event. Sustained winds of at least 40 mph or gusts of 58 mph or stronger may occur. Continue to monitor the latest forecasts..

The Coastal Repertory Theatre presents “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” a brilliantly original theatrical experience starting April 1, 2011.

When it was written decades ago, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” shocked audiences with graphic, acrid sexual language today’s modern audiences may find commonplace. But the drama remains a story of fear, honesty, truth, reality and the decay of impassioned relationships – as heartbreaking and viscerally true today as its Broadway premiere in 1962.

“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” is a deep, complex American classic. It is at once uncomfortably relatable and brutally honest. We are honored and proud to present such groundbreaking art at a theater open to the challenge of producing it,” said Tim Longo, director. “We have an all-star cast, crew and designers, and I feel lucky to be working with them all. Bottom line: Virginia Woolf is a wild ride, but it won’t disappoint.”

Considered Edward Albee’s masterpiece, the show won both the 1963 Tony Award for Best Play and the 1962-63 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play. Its original Broadway stars, Uta Hagen and Arthur Hill, won the 1963 Tony Awards for Best Dramatic Actor and Actress. It was also selected for the 1963 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. However, the Pulitzer advisory board—trustees of Columbia University— objected to the play’s then-controversial use of profanity and sexual themes, and overruled the prize committee, ultimately awarding no Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1963.

From the National Weather Service:

The national weather service in the san francisco bay area has issued a tornado warning for San mateo county… This includes the cities of…San mateo…San carlos…Redwood city…Millbrae…Foster city…Burlingame…Belmont…  until 1130 am pdt * at 1058 am pdt… National weather service doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado near half moon bay…Or 10 miles west of belmont…Moving northeast at 30 mph. * other locations in the warning include but are not limited to hillsborough and half moon bay precautionary/preparedness action

Instruction:

If you are caught outside…Seek shelter in a nearby reinforced building. As a last resort… Seek shelter in a culvert… Ditch or low spot and cover your head with your hands.  The safest place to be during a tornado is in a basement. Get under a workbench or other piece of sturdy furniture. If no basement is available… Seek shelter on the lowest floor of the building in an interior hallway or room such as a closet. Use blankets or pillows to cover your body and always stay away from windows. If in mobile homes or vehicles…Evacuate them and get inside a substantial shelter. If no shelter is available… Lie flat in the nearest ditch or other low spot and cover your head with your hands.

Short: The Art of Gaman (20 mins)

A documentary about the beautiful art produced within the walls of Japanese-American internment camps during World War II.  Gaman is a Japanese word for “enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity.” 

The Art of Gaman began as a book and exhibition of artwork written and choreographed by Delphine Hirasuna.  Director Rick Quan took this source material and added filmed interviews of people who remember this time well in order to fill out the story.  The film will be introduced by its director, Rick Quan, a familiar face in the Bay Area thanks to his many years of service as a popular television sports anchor.

Feature:  Of Civil Wrongs and Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story (60 mins)

A documentary about the life of a California boy, born and raised in hills of Oakland. It was a quiet day in 1942. A shy 23-year-old welder named Fred Korematsu is having a quiet picnic with his Italian-American girlfriend when he discovers the U.S. government had big plans for him. Because Korematsu’s parents were born in Japan, he is being ordered to report to an internment camp. Korematsu refuses, moves to the Midwest, and resorts to minor plastic surgery to look less Japanese. But in those days a Japanese-American is treated with just as much suspicion as a burka-wearing Iraqi-American might encounter today. Korematsu is quickly captured and swiftly convicted of the felony of violating a military order. Korematsu fights his conviction all the way to Supreme Court. He loses his final appeal in December of 1944.

Jump forward 39 years. A San Diego professor discovers that the evidence presented to the Supreme Court in Korematsu’s case had been falsified. Korematsu’s life is thrown back into disarray. By 1983 Korematsu’s conviction has been reversed. President Clinton awards Korematsu the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. And let’s not forget that here in California Jan. 30 is now celebrated as the “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution,” celebrating the life of one of our greatest civil rights leaders.

More info: www.HMBFilm.org

Auto burglary in Montara, public intoxication in El Granada, commercial burglary in El Granada, DUI, more public intoxication, and this:

Deputies were dispatched to check the beach for a suspicious crate. The crate was labeled “Do Not Handle” and “Flammable.” The Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad was notified and responded. The crate was taken by the Bomb Squad to be disposed of properly.