Comments by Joel Farbstein
June 03, 2006
To the person who wrote the “No to Severytime” email spam, the name itself implies no matter HOW money would be spent to improve Coastside education -- EVER -- s/he will oppose it. Every time. Makes me think that person is more concerned with his/her change purse (and all of 50 cents a day) than ever helping local kids get a better education. Please see through the smokescreen of the extremists who will ALWAYS claim to find reasons to oppose helping local children. That’s WAY out of touch with…
June 03, 2006
How much bloat do Measure S critics think there is in CUSD budgets? After years of cuts and belt-tightening, the school district doesn’t have a spending problem. It has a revenue problem. San Carlos, Burlingame, San Mateo, Palo Alto and Woodside schools all get more state revenue per student AND ALL PASSED parcel taxes. (San Carlos 70% YES, Burlingame 72% YES, San Mateo 69% YES, Palo Alto 74% YES, Woodside 78% YES.) Woodside schools get TWICE as much in CA state funds per student. CUSD ranks 15th…
April 12, 2006
March 15, 2006
Didn’t Coastsider.com and its readers just rake The Review over the coals for misleading headlines? When you point your finger, 4 point back at you. So naturally, today we find on Coastsider.com Barry Parr trying to justify this just-plain-wrong headline by saying the SM County Times said Bonnie said the interviews are a charade. Only that is NOT what she said. Btw, by merely HAVING the interviews it’s a not a “charade;” it’s not a false act. They’re mandated by City policies. Bonnie…
March 14, 2006
The official record lists 15 votes. Period. Roughly 1 percent more people voted for Bonnie McClung than Mike Ferreira. While 15 is a slim margin, it’s 14 more than 1 vote, which is all that matters in an election. For bookmarking purposes, here’s the URL: http://www.smartvoter.org/2005/11/08/ca/sm/city.html True, it was a close election no matter how you look at it. I think there’s a lot of obfuscation going on, and a lot of denial over the LCP’s self-created problem. If LCP-backed candidates…
March 09, 2006
Now THERE'S "truthiness!"
If Mike Ferreira or the LCP wants to put their money where their mouth is and pay the costs for the final result to show an 8-vote difference, they can do so. But the official record states the final tally was a 15-vote difference. Again, you can look it up.
http://shapethefuture.org/elections/results/nov2005/default.asp
March 08, 2006
Good idea; let's try to stick to the facts. FACT: Deborah Ruddock (+Cupp & Coleman) broke precedent twice 10 years ago by vetoing "councilmember preference seats" when "Donovan nominated Jeff Allis," and not elevating the then-vice-mayor. And you can look it up. (As a rule I try to do my homework BEFORE I post on websites.) Here, though, Jimmy Benjamin created new words in an attempt to cast doubt on factual statements. In his recent Matter of Opinion in the HMB Review, he claimed "Facts" to support…
February 22, 2006
Mr. Lynch has a severe case of selective memory. As President Ronald Reagan said to Walter Mondale, "There you go again." "The established policy of many years standing...." How many years, John? Less than 10 years ago then-Planning Commission Chairman Jeff Alliss was nominated for reappointment. It was written, "In the past, (councilmember preference seats) meant little opposition would be offered." But Deborah Ruddock, Dennis Coleman, and Carol Cupp "turned into a political football" that nomination,…
January 17, 2006
History lesson time, folks. "RETURN TO RANCOROUS POLITICS ON HMB CITY COUNCIL?" "The first sign of hardball politics came during the appointments of a new mayor and vice mayor." If you thought that was written recently, think again. Nope, that was written about one of the protestors pictured in the HMB Review and on Coastsider.com. About whom was this written? But wait, how about another clue: "pick(ed) four new planning commissioners,... hurt some feelings, buried a few traditions...." The answer…
December 29, 2005
Bringing it back to the original thread.... If John Edwards were to be elected President in 2008, should he keep Donald Rumsfeld? If Hillary Clinton wins in '08, should she retain Sec of Energy Ken Lay (I mean Sam Bodman)? Would Evan Bayh re-up Condaleezza Rice? The point is, the new City Council should be able to act on its vision and shape its administration as it sees fit. Heck, even George Bush the elder didn't resurrect James Watt. Why should the new City Council keep appointees of Toni Taylor,…
December 27, 2005
Fact-check alert: Correction: Contrary to Commissioner Lansing's partial note that the "process requires the Council to state clearly what it is doing and explain its motives for doing so," section 2.24.030 of the City’s Municipal Code states that Planning Commission "members may be removed, without cause, by a majority vote of all the members of the city council." FYI, half of the Cities in San Mateo County -- plus the County itself -- have 5-member Planning Commissions. In San Mateo County, only…
December 27, 2005
Officially, Bonnie McClung received 1,860 votes; Mike Ferreira 1,845. IF Ferreira picked up 7 votes in an uncertified recount, Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum's team was still 99.83% accurate. Supporting a proposition to have the County refund candidates for recounts just keeps this in the news. I think former-Councilman Ferreira would prefer to get this election -- and the recount -- behind him. In my opinion, the more his supporters keep talking about it, the more Ferreira is tainted with…
December 19, 2005
Thank you! -Joel
December 17, 2005
Thanks for listing the names w/ the pictures of people who spoke at the LCP hearing. What are the names (from L-R) of the people pictured here?
December 27, 2005
Some comments on two recent posts: PAChimienti: I wonder if you're relying on third-person accounts when you malign The Review. The Review didn't call McClung's victory a miracle. "McClung called her victory a 'miracle.'" btw, David Gorn spoke of the "miracles" of nature. Mark Foyer wrote of the miracle of the HMB football team winning the South Coast small schools title (yeah!). And to the newcomer to the community (Deb Lagutaris) who alleged bias from The Review in its photo section, I hope she…
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