Comments by Joel Farbstein
January 13, 2009
I’m surprised that Kevin Lansing, who claims to want to stick by the rules, didn’t chime in that -- according to its own bylaws -- the MCC's function is to **advise the Supervisors**.
Could it be that the Supervisors just want people who do what they were elected to do? Read the other link on MCC's stated purpose.
If you want to change the roles, you gotta change the rules.
January 12, 2009
For those of you who get past Barry Parr's hyperbolic headline (and inaccurate intro), the MCC's role is to advise the Board of Supervisors. It is NOT to advise other governmental agencies (though that's a goal). Here it is in black and white: SECTION 1.03. GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTIONS. **The Community Council is established to advise the Board of Supervisors** on such matters which relate to the Area concerning services which are or may be provided to the Area by San Mateo County or other local governmental…
October 13, 2008
May I encourage everyone to use this as an opportunity to reiterate to the Midcoast Community Council the need for a dog park in Montara (if not also elsewhere on the Coastside).
September 06, 2008
Thanks, Francis Drouillard, for pointing out to Barry Parr that we need to be held accountable for our actions, and we were NOT "dealt a lousy hand by Judge Walker," as Barry claims. We (prior City Councils) created this mess, and the current City Council is, justifiably, pursuing various alternatives to extricate us from this dire predicament.
June 18, 2008
Look who's posted here (in order): Lundell Johnson Johnson Lansing Johnson Johnson Lundell Johnson Parr (publisher's wife) Johnson Johnson Lansing A verifiable cabal of CUSD haters. Pitiful. (And their math is lousy, too: 65% support for CUSD would be a landslide if not for needing 67%.) If you're an occasional Coastsider.com visitor please realize these people's efforts help force CUSD to provide all the recreational facilities for the entire coast. They blame CUSD for Coastside traffic problems…
March 07, 2008
I totally agree with your point: It's at least 10 times worse for cities to treat residents in such a manner. (I'm sure other cities have taken note.)
Hey, any comment on these recent rulings by Judge Walker? They don’t seem unreasonable:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/20/MNRKV52MP.DTL&hw=Vaughn+Walker&sn=002&sc=356
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/17/BA57SQV9F.DTL&hw=Judge+Vaughn+Walker&sn=002&sc=612
-Joel Farbstein
June 06, 2007
Why reading Coastsider.com comments often leaves people scratching their heads.... One the one hand you have Leonard Woren write: "It's amazing (as in appalling) how the faction currently in power in HMB has no room for dissenting opinions." Yet in the article directly below, Joe Falcone writes: "...faced with a room full of citizens largely opposed to the sale of the Community Park site, those members of the City Council who apparently had been pushing for this result backed down." So doesn't it…
January 30, 2007
I agree with Kevin Lansing's comments in another thread! Except that I'd substitute "Coffee shop" with "CUNHA," as in: "Yet another example of ... a unique, cherished, and popular local establishment (CUNHA MIDDLE SCHOOL) is crushed under the jack-boot of a heartless [business] plan." (Sea Crest, or the obstructionists who wield their heavy-handed bludgeons) But let's clarify some things: *The process WAS followed. Administrative CDPs are permitted. *The HMB City Council doesn't report to the Planning…
January 24, 2007
What was the enrollment at Seacrest in 1996?
Wilkinson?
November 03, 2006
Ken (How’d I know you'd write?): All Coastsiders who commute through Pacifica will benefit from these traffic improvements (1) and environmental concerns are being addressed up front (2). That's the story. How is that a bad thing? But Coastsider devoted its only 2 paragraphs to environmental issues, which it knows is a hot-button issue sure to get King, Lansing and Carter to post. No mention of the current condition (substandard), no mention of commute improvements, and no mention of exploring…
November 02, 2006
Touche, Barry, on your reply. My point: It doesn't take much effort to include both sides. But instead of building community support, you purposefully chose inflaming language. Suggestion: Frame the discussion accurately by quoting Chris Hunter's Pacifica Tribune article that the Vallemar intersection "is considered a Level of Service F, which means it just isn't adequate by any standards." And/or state proponents of the widening say it'll ease traffic flow and benefit businesses and residents, while…
November 01, 2006
Journalistically, Barry again fails to provide a balanced picture here. Why slant the article to list zero pros to the road widening? And why identify the naysayer as "citizen Bob Pilgrim" instead of the more descriptive and correct "Sierra Club activist Bob Pilgrim"? Why would Pacifica spend $300,000 on environmental documents related to the widening? Because the widening ease commute traffic, perhaps? Because it would benefit Pacifica residents? Because it would help local businesses? Because it…
October 17, 2006
You can watch the video, as I did, to learn Ken Johnson's positions but his condescension and ill will in his post here certainly say a lot, don't they? Even Pamela Fisher treats others with respect, and knows how to communicate. And Johnson expects to be able to work with the School Board and Dr. Bayless with an attitude like that? Antagonizing those with whom you KNOW you'd have to work alongside -- and being hypocritical by complaining of poor treatment by others while simultaneously treating…
October 04, 2006
My, the LCP does like teeing them up, don�t they? Leonard, did you point out that �precedent� to Deborah Ruddock 10 years ago? That�s when Ruddock got credit for turning nominations into a �political football� (according to the HMB Review) when she violated "The established policy of many years standing...." by throwing out �councilmember preference seats.� In case you don�t read the HMB Review, McClung got great press for being a conciliator in the new…
September 29, 2006
That statement was from the non-political "Smart Voter" website.
Btw, here's another of McClung's priorities: "Establishing open/transparent government practices and ending the polarization present in our politics today.”
No wonder LCP posters really dislike McClung. First, she makes it her priority to establish open government and end polarization, and then she beats their candidate and starts delivering on her promises!
September 25, 2006
Campaign finance violations are a pretty serious charge. Can LCP Treasurer John Lynch provide some insights into the Fair Political Practices Commission's investigation? A lot of unanswered questions from that original post, probably intentional. I'd guess Brian Ginna chose to leave off that "h" in wither, also probably intentional. One more correction for the person stating McClung ran as an environmentalist. From what I can see, one of her stated priorities was: "Balancing the needs of the individual,…
September 13, 2006
Is Kevin Lansing saying the subhead is a good thing or a bad thing? Isn't that what happened with HMB and the Ritz-Carlton? Doesn't an exclusive hotel in HMB provide huge tax revenues for the City? Wouldn't Pacifica be helped by a high-end property's increased tax contributions?
-Joel Farbstein
August 03, 2006
So if I disagree with a couple of Ken’s points, do I vote against it, even though I support the idea of a parcel tax that would improve education? That’s what the No on S crowd did. The egos/personal agendas/nitpicking of 38% of the voting public outweighed the greater good. Along with the faction that will vote down ANY tax increase there’s a faction that will vote down ANY measure authored by this (or any other) School Board. The point is, write it (and fund it) without the School Board’s…
August 01, 2006
Some questions, and a challenge, from Joel Farbstein. I just KNEW someone on Coastsider.com would eventually take potshots at the HMB Review. Doesn't matter that it was just a delivery vehicle for the message; this time it was Ken Johnson doing the bashing. Funny, but don’t many LCPers think "Voice of the Coast" is a newspaper? (The last issue was published when? When it was endorsing Steve Skinner?) And isn't it interesting that, in another thread, Skinner complained that a School Board member…
July 06, 2006
I thought this crowd believed in transparency in government. The minute Mike Ferreira divulges why he continually buried the first Community Park appraisal -- and remember his fingerprints all over that redacted losing lawsuit? -- and shared his true motives for attempting to ram through a family-unfriendly park, well, then I’ll start to believe he’s something other than one of the extremist chief architects of the LCP’s anti-infrastructure position. I, too, hope for the appointment of a moderate…
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