Comments by Carl May
June 19, 2006
Ray Olson writes above that I (Carl May) just don't get it. Don't get what? Here this post-election thread is over 90 messages long, and all one sees is the same unsupported speculation that was on Coastsider before the election and that took place in the previous four parcel tax elections. Sorry, all, but the "do it for the kiddies" approach has been part of a failure five times in a row. In each of those elections, a majority of the voters favored the parcel tax proposed, but a supermajority necessary…
June 16, 2006
Ray, Your reply is nothing but strange to me. Yours is a personal opinion arrayed against no opinion on the matter from me. If you want to tax the wealth you see in this district, then fine, come up with a measure to tax the relatively few wealthy and see if it will float. In a society that is heavily top-loaded in terms of wealth, the great majority of people fall below the average in income. Where are you going to get a supermajority of people, including property owners willing to tax themselves…
June 15, 2006
I see some of you are still at it with income or wealth averages and per-capita figures (which are another kind of average). Sorry folks, but the way wealth is distributed in America, those figures are meaningless when one is trying to characterize typical voters. Those with most of the wealth nationally and here in our little coastal microcosm have only a very small percentage of the votes. Perhaps the (sincere) emotions one sees in this thread must be played out as a release after every one of…
June 08, 2006
With wealth ever more concentrated in a few percent at the upper end, average income is a poor measure of anything for an election like this. To get more of a handle on a typical voter in a population, median income of citizens is a better number. And if one is going to compare to other places, cost of living needs to be factored in. It is entirely possible for a large majority of people to be slipping backward in terms of adjusted income and quality of life measures at the same time the average…
June 15, 2006
Disking up to the edge of "wetlands" is usually done in a calculated manner to create an edge effect. The edge of a wetland, in actuality, usually extends some feet outward from the larger, more obvious plants like rushes, cattails, and willows. The turned-over soil is subjected to drying at a greater rate, and more air than is natural circulates into the edge of the remaining stands of plants, changing physical conditions and drying them as well. As a consequence, the size of the wetland is reduced.…
June 05, 2006
Another go-around for an attempt to put an office park on this property. Even J.L. Johnston once had an option for an office park there and proceeded to cut away some of the freshwater end of the marsh (to create an "edge effect" that would take out even more of the marsh on its own) and to drain the upper end of the wetland out to airport road to deny the wetland some of its necessary water supply. Big Wave is nothing more than the carrot. It's similar to affordable housing proposals where only…
June 01, 2006
Some of you have it backwards. First cap the midcoast population with a strict, enduring, enforced, sustainable limit, then provide any necessary infrastructure. The other way around is just flailing at problems without any hope for long-term improvement. The LCP being pushed by the Supes is a recipe for doubling the population--at least. Probably more, when all the exemptions not counted in the buildout unit numbers of the LCP are considered. And never forget, with growth and development adhered…
June 01, 2006
For those who don't like the current situation--guess what you will get if you vote for the same people who produced it? Even a roll of the dice has better odds for improvement than voting for the same ol' same ol' in San Mateo County.
Carl May
May 27, 2006
Well, the unincorporated communities north of HMB do have "representation"--the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors is our "city council." I know, you're laughing too hard to read anything more, but do remember that San Mateo County has permit power over Caltrans projects in unincorporated areas. Hypothetically, they could have forced Caltrans to use a repair that would get traffic moving on the slide weeks ago(more peals of laughter), but that is not something that could ever happen without a…
May 30, 2006
Well, it's lovely that some have been sold on faith that Devil's slide is unique in all the universe, but that is simply not so--as attested to by books full of testimony and studies by independent geologists and engineers during previous outages. Caltrans has tried this "different" line the past couple of outages, always supported by their in-house geologist. This slide is in a category of landslide broadly classified as a "rockslide." The basics of rockslide movements are well known. No subscription…
May 26, 2006
I can't help but note the assumption that Caltrans is doing what it must do. They depend on that sort of thing to have their way with us. The fact that things are done differently everywhere else when vital roads in steep places go out never seems to sink in around here.
Carl May
May 26, 2006
Hey, it was twisted, that weird, slimy feeling I had the last couple of times I got one of the major party ballots and cast votes in a primary. So this time Yee will benefit from one more vote in Moss Beach.
Carl May
May 25, 2006
I haven't even bothered to check the ballot pamphlet to see if this will be another of those primaries in which independents can ask for a party ballot. If so, I just might get a Democratic one and place a Yee vote. This won't be a vote "for" Yee, and I certainly won't be voting for either him or the Republican candidate in November. But it's not often I have a chance to vote against two strident, arrogant, politically manipulative, anti-coast candidates (Papan and Nevin) with a single mark. Carl…
May 25, 2006
You are right about a tone that will produce the greatest communication, of course. Incidentally, I'm one of the few (and that's a shame) true no-growthers to speak out much locally. In fact, I'm a negative growther. I rather like the "no-growther" label, as when I get it, I know I have already won the point and someone who doesn't like it or who can't rebut the truth of our overgrown, unsustainable condition has nothing but an empty label to offer. Frequently, those who apply labels only succeed…
May 25, 2006
Just a note on running out of basic resources needed to support growth. That has already happened. Water is California's prime basic resource. The coastside ran out of enough water to support local population and other activities zoned into the geographic area decades ago. There wasn't enough water on the midcoast from Montara through Half Moon Bay during the drought of the late 70's, so all additional water use since then increases the shortage. The CCWD, essentially acknowledging it didn't have…
May 17, 2006
I'd be happy to hire out as a driver, but I don't have the time now that my work commute to my office in Pacifica has tripled. Besides, I don't get into the silly games about lighting schemes when there are so much simpler and more obvious approaches to long-term relief. Never forget as you are pained these days: cars could be crossing Devil's Slide right now on a temporary repair. Heck, most places with road outages on the northern California and Oregon coasts managed on repairs sufficient to keep…
May 17, 2006
Re: size of the tunnels-- No, three lanes won't fit in each planned tunnel, but two plus a shoulder will. There is no capacity need for a second lane, let alone a third, in each tunnel--except to boost the size and cost of the project. In fact, there is no need for two tunnels as far as expected capacity goes. These tunnels are the size of those built on four-lane Interstates, not on two-lane coastal highways that are, by law, supposed to remain two-lane in scenic rural areas. If the current highway…
May 16, 2006
Ahem, the '83 repair to the highway on the slide did not last a mere 12 years. So far it has lasted 23 years, and we're still counting. The '83 outage was not in the same place--didn't even overlap--as the '95/present roadbed movement.
Carl May
May 15, 2006
Hmmmm. Looks like someone doesn't know the twin tunnels already are sized for four lanes.. As for the outage in the early 80's, Caltrans dragged its heels then, as well. The section of roadway that went out when a wedge of the larger landslide slipped after three weeks of solid rain (not at the end of a long rainy season as some would suggest for all the slide outages that occur every ten to 15 years in especially wet periods) was actually repaired in a matter of weeks when they decided to do it.…
May 16, 2006
Wow, all the babble about pavement for everyone's precious vehicles and lives misspent driving. And there, in the middle, is a message that actually makes suggestions for reducing problems rather than making bigger ones. Thanks Sophia Freer--just had to let you know someone bothered to read.
Carl May
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