Japanese keyboard sensation 26-year-old Hiromi Uehara turns tradition on its head and plunges into a universe of new ideas where others of her generation have barely scratched the surface.  Mentored by giants Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal and Chick Corea, she is committed to making her music evolve. Her performance will feature compositions from her 2005 CD Spiral in a trio format that fuses elements of jazz, pop, classical and avant-garde into a deceptively intense listening experience.

Go to Hiromi’s page at her record label for videos of her in performance or to All Music Guide for a review and samples from her current album.

Doors Open at 3 PM, Music from 4:30 to 7:30 PM, $28.

The San Francisco garter snake and the California red-legged frog may be mortal enemies in the wild, but they’re joined by their need for the same enviroment in San Mateo County. The County Times looks at continuing efforts to protect these species by protecting their homes, the results of which are difficult to assess.

Saving the snakes and frogs requires controlled burns on the San Mateo coast and the creation of critical habitat, a formal designation that an endangered species exists in that area. In 2004, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service created two wetlands to help frogs breed at Mori Point in Pacifica. Biologists immediately found red-legged egg masses in one of the new ponds.

It will be interesting to see what the new Caltrans-created wetlands in Montara bring.

Half Moon Bay State Beach will soon be offering training for new Plover Watch volunteers.

Volunteers make a difference.  Along the San Mateo County coast, trained volunteers play a major role in protecting the Western Snowy Plover—a small shorebird that lays its eggs on the sand at a few California beaches every summer.

The snowy plovers, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, may be found on several local beaches during the winter months.  In the spring and summer, the plovers congregate on the few beaches that can provide safe nesting sites, including Half Moon Bay State Beach—a busy recreational beach where a protected habitat is set aside for the plovers to nest.

Volunteers in the Half Moon Bay State Beach Plover Watch program monitor the beach to help protect the plovers and point them out to beach visitors. Public education—including presentations for school groups—is an important part of the volunteer program.

When volunteers find a plover nest—well-camouflaged eggs laid in a depression in the sand—they call in help to build a wire “exclosure” around it to prevent predators such as ravens and gulls from taking the eggs.  When the eggs hatch, about four weeks later, the plover chicks are cared for by the male parent for almost a month until they can fly (fledge).  The female parent often leaves for another beach where she will breed with another male.

The chicks are particularly vulnerable during the weeks before they fledge. They feed themselves by foraging for small insects and crustaceans up and down the beach and easily can be lost to predators or through human disturbance.

Volunteers found five nests at Half Moon Bay in the summer of 2005. Although that is a fairly typical number most years, there have been as many as 13 to 21 nests in other years.  Anywhere from one to ten chicks have fledged at Half Moon Bay in recent nesting seasons.

The Plover Watch volunteers help make it possible for people and plovers to share the beach.  Without the work of the volunteers and the cooperation of visitors to the beach, it is doubtful that the snowy plover would still be nesting at Half Moon Bay.

The state park’s Plover Watch volunteer program is seeking more volunteers to monitor and protect the snowy plovers and their habitat.  During the plover nesting season, from March to September, volunteers spend at least four hours per month on the beach.  They receive ongoing natural history training, free passes for local state parks, and the satisfaction that they are helping preserve an important part of California’s natural environment.

A free, one-day training workshop for prospective Plover Watch volunteers will be offered at Half Moon Bay State Beach, 95 Kelly Avenue, in Half Moon Bay, on Saturday, March 11, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  To register for the workshop or for more information, call Ranger Nelle Lyons at (650) 726-8804, voice mailbox 7#, or e-mail [email protected]

Kim Epperson, 50, was found dead in his Pacifica home Thursday evening, and his death is being investigated as a possible homicide. The County Times reports that the former candidate for North County Water Water District board in 2000 lived at 1479 Linda Mar Blvd. He had been a research assistant at the California Teachers Association for 29 years.

Epperson’s death is being treated as a homicide because of suspicious circumstances, including the position his body was found, said San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault. An autopsy was scheduled for Friday but had not been completed by late afternoon.

The big news is that a missing La Honda teenager was found at a friend’s home in Half Moon Bay. Other stories include an RV breakin in Princeton, a traffic stop leads to a warrant arrest, during Mavericks a parking dispute leads to a punch in the nose, and four DUI arrests: two in El Granada, one in Moss Beach, and one in Half Moon Bay. In one case, DUI was suspected when the driver nearly collided head-on with a Sheriff’s deputy.

Click "read more" to see the details.

We’ve created our album of photos from Mavericks, and we’ve got a some great shots of the surfing, the spectators, and the rest of it. Click the link or on any picture to see the album.

It’s not too late to get yours included.  Just send them to the address in the left-hand navigation bar and we’ll add them to the album.

A 14-year-old boy who ran away from home in La Honda earlier is this week has been located, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

The search began Tuesday evening. The boy called his mother on Wednesday to let her know that he was OK, according to cbs5.com., but he didn’t reveal his location at that time.

Last night’s power outage on the Coastside was part of a much larger blackout caused by a problem with a power line in San Bruno that covered about 23,000 PG&E customers in San Bruno, Linda Mar, and Rockaway Beach, reports KTVU. The lights were out here in Montara, but not, according to the story, at the Moss Beach Distillery.

Tens of thousands people converged on Pillar Point Harbor for Mavericks, completely tying up Coastside traffic, stomping all over sensitive reefs, and knocking boulders onto spectators below, reports the Chronicle.

Maria Brown, manager of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, said organizers made a tremendous effort to be environmentally conscious.

Still, she said, more is needed.

She said sanctuary staff observed disturbances of wildlife and harbor seals by a Maverick’s event helicopter flying in an unauthorized location; saw some 300 people standing on a reef; and observed some trampling of native plants.

"We had no idea so many people would actually go out on a reef," said Brown, whose organization was founded in 1981 to protect the 948 square nautical miles that extend from Bodega Head to the offshore waters of Half Moon Bay. "People need to be educated that they’re stepping on living creatures."

The irony is that there’s not all that much to see.  As one blufftop photographer told us, "Well, you can’t see the surfers, but I got some great shots."

Meanwhile, Mavericks itself has grown into a big commercial enterprise sponsored by Verizon and broadcast by NBC.  As they say on their web site, Mavericks is more than a surf spot in a marine sanctuary and next door to a marine preserve, it’s a brand:

Mavericks Surf Ventures, LLC is a partnership created between San Francisco sports management/sports marketing firm Evolve Sports, LLC and big-wave surfing pioneer Jeff Clark. Mavericks Surf Ventures owns and operates The Mavericks Surf Contest® and manages the Mavericks™ brand. Coined as "the wave beyond," Mavericks™ inspires hardcore athletes to face the unpredictably raw power of Mother Nature, and stirs the souls of those who aspire to challenge their own limits. The Mavericks™ brand will create signature functional items empowering committed athletes to brave their own personal "wave beyond," as well as lifestyle products that capture the distinctive essence of the Mavericks™ way. Mavericks™ will always remain true to its core: a cold, mysterious and foreboding place that demands respect from everyone who goes there and inspires them to attempt the extraordinary.

Surfing is part of what makes the Coastside what it is, and Mavericks is unique to this place.  But how good a neighbor is Mavericks? What needs to be done to make this a good relationship?

Tell us what you think: To discuss the role of Mavericks in the community, click on the "comments" link just below the headline. Remember: to comment, you must edit your profile so that your full name appears on your postings.  To do that, you have to register.  Once you’re registered, log in and then click on the "Your profile" link near the top left corner of the page.

The Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) has acquired a 260-acre property they’re calling Bluebrush Canyon, a mile east of Highway 1 along Purisima Creek Road, "which curves up a rugged valley through old farmsteads and scrub-covered knolls". Purisima Creek runs along the northeastern portion of the property, while Lobitos Creek defines its southwestern edge, adjacent to POST’s Lobitos Ridge and Lower Purisima Creek properties.

POST say that that acquisition will remove the potential to build two houses on the property, protect the pastoral character of the Purisima Creek Valley, and link to a nearly-completed trail corridor from Skyline Ridge to the Pacific Ocean, along Lobitos Ridge.

Click "read more" to see POST’s Press release.