Anti-highway 1 widening folly

This is the status quo,
getting more congested over time.

Pacifica Tribune Letters to the Editor, 4/22/14, not electronically posted.  "Highway widening" by James Doran

Or this 1.3 mile Caltrans highway 1 widening,
fixing the traffic bottleneck,
adding 1 access lane and 1 exit lane.

"Editor:  I have read about the controversy about Highway 1.  What I know is what I see.  Hopefully you know where the Sea Bowl is.  It is just south of Highway 1 and Rockaway Beach.  Every morning I see cars on Fassler backed up past Sea Bowl.  I see cars trying to take a short cut on Roberts Road (above Sea Bowl) and other cars trying to cut in to the highway below on Sea Bowl Lane.  Also, I see cars on the highway backed up past the Sea Bowl. 

Once on the highway, I see cars cut through the parking lot of the Gorilla BBQ to get to Vallemar.  Once we get past Vallemar we go the speed limit.  When I return from Sharp Park Beach in the morning, I see the left turn to Vallemar backed up to the highway and see cars taking a right turn at the same location.  These cars choose not to make a left turn but line up 15 to 20 cars deep in a circle to get onto Reina Del Mar (Vallemar).  In the evening, I see cars backed up to the golf course and the left turn lane to Fassler is full of cars. The same thing happens during the year on weekends with the reverse traffic patterns.

This is also a safety issue.  The part of the highway between Rockaway and Vallemar is at times very difficult to get through by police, fire, and ambulances.  Think about this.  If you are dying or in dire need of help, how are these services going to get to you?  Then once they get to you, what will the delay to get to the hospital or backup for a police incident or for the fire dept. if there is a fire? 

I have read several letters stating that safety is not an issue but asd a 30-year veteran of the Pacifica Fire Department, this issue is very real.  These opinions are not from people who have dealt with this problem.  I have.  Most house fires or severe police incidents cannot be contained by one fire engine or police vehicle.  These vehicles need to get to an emergency as quickly as they can.  Believe me, minutes to these emergencies are precious.  I have lived here for 41 years and the number of highway lanes through our city has not changed in that time.  We must make a change.  I am not going to change the minds of people opposed to the highway improvement but hopefully I convince you that we should improve 1.3 miles of our highway."

Submitted by Bob Hutchinson

Note:  photographs:  Congested highway from Pacifica Riptide/Transportation.  Caltrans key view #2 (photo 13) of the proposed highway 1 widening (at Rockaway Beach Avenue), lifted from the anti-highway website, so called "highway 1 pacifica."  

Posted by Kathy Meeh

Sanchez, a dog park looking for solutions or alternatives

We're very good at play,
take good care of us

Pacifica Tribune/Jane Northrop, 4/29/14.  "Neighbors say still no peace at dog park."

"When the city opened the dog park at the eastern end of the Sanchez Art Center, it was a long-awaited victory for those who had raised money and lobbied for it, but it was a long-awaited moment of dread for the neighbors who had complained about its location so close to their homes.

The Pacifica Organization of Canine Helpers (POOCH), who worked hard to help the city choose a location for the park, design it and raise funds for it, has disbanded. Volunteer docents from POOCH were expected to monitor problems at the park, but they have not been present for some time. A former official of POOCH, who wished not to be identified, said the ongoing quips from neighbors saying they are doing their best to get the park closed makes people not want to volunteer. ...

....Tinfow responded in an email to the Trib, "We are evaluating our options. I'm not ready to talk about what they are yet."  Read article.

Reference -  Dog Tracker, Sanchez Dog Park, 1220 Linda Mar Boulevard.  "This smallish dog park behind the Pacifica Center for the Arts has separate fenced areas for large and small dogs. Hours are 10 a.m. to sunset (or 8 p.m., depending on which comes first) Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 10 a.m. to  5 p.m. Saturdays. The park is closed on Sundays and Tuesdays." 

Note photograph from Sacramento SPCA. 

Posted by Kathy Meeh

The snake is back, Sharp Park Golf Course threatened again

Pacifica Tribune/Staff, 4/29/14.  "Wild Equity Institute files another golf course lawsuit."

Coming after our golf course again

.....  "Wild Equity Executive Director Brent Plater filed suit in San Francisco Superior Court seeking to halt a planned habitat improvement project at the eighty-year-old public course and require a full-scale Environmental Impact Report. ....  San Francisco, which owns the course, had previously rejected Mr. Plater's appeal to halt the project with a unanimous vote of both the Planning Commission and the Recreation and Parks Commission and, on March 25, a seven-to-four vote by the Board of Supervisors.

....  His goal is to remove the golf course and create a wetlands sanctuary for the frogs and snakes, most likely under the control of the GGNRA."   Read article.

Reference -  Wild Equity view of Sharp Park golf course. 

Note photograph by David Paul Morris from San Francisco Chronicle article, 11/7/09.

Posted by Kathy Meeh

Chamber of Commerce to discuss the City's General Plan, Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Pacifica Tribune, 4/29/14.  "Chamber hosting public meeting on city's General Plan."

We've got trails, but we also need commerce

"The Pacifica Chamber of Commerce is hosting a special General Membership Meeting next Wednesday, May 7. Members of the public are also invited to attend what will be an informational and educational discussion on the city's General Plan.

The meeting will be from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Banquet Room at Nick's Restaurant, 100 Rockaway Beach Ave., Rockaway Beach. The meeting is free to all chamber members and their guests.
Light refreshments will be served. Space is limited, however, so RSVP by Tuesday, May 5, by calling the chamber at 355-4122 or visiting the website at info@pacificachamber.com.

Participants are encouraged to review the City General Plan  ahead of time.  Public comments will be taken until 5 p.m. Monday, May 26. An executive summary is available in PDF format. To have one emailed to you call the chamber or visit the chamber website."

Reference -  Pacifica Chamber of Commerce.    

Note:  photograph by Christa Bigue from a Pacifica Patch article, 11/27/13.

Posted by Kathy Meeh

Two Dream Machine planes collide returning home after event

Half Moon Bay Review/Clay Lambert, 4/28/14.  "Dream Machine planes collide over San Pablo Bay."

"Emergency officials have located a missing Cessna that collided with another aircraft over San Pablo Bay. Both planes in the accident departed Sunday afternoon from the Pacific Coast Dream Machines event at the Half Moon Bay Airport.  ....   Little detail has been provided on the Cessna pilot, who officials so far have declined to identify. The pilot was "presumed fatally injured", according to an incident summary by Federal Aviation Administration officials.

Cessna 210 (above) spiraled into San Pablo Bay, no survivor;
Hawker Sea Fury TMK 20 (below), there were survivors.

The other airplane involved in the collision, a Hawker Sea Fury TMK 20, landed safely later Sunday afternoon, according to an Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.  The crash occurred at 4:05 p.m., according to FAA spokesman Ian Gregor. He said the Hawker landed 40 minutes later at a small airport in Amador County. The occupants of that plane were not injured, Gregor said.

....  More than 150 unique aircraft were featured at the Sunday aeronautics event, but an unknown number of other "fly-in" planes also landed at the airport for the festivities, Beeman said. "Dream Machines has an incredibly safe track record over the years. We've had minimal incidents," he said. "No one know what the pilots were doing. Until that's found out, it remains a horribly tragic accident."  Read more.

Related articles -  San Francisco Chronicle/Carolyn Jones, Jill Tucker and Evan Seroffsky, 4/28/14. "Rescuers seek pilot after planes collide near San Pablo Bay."   ....  "The planes were at the Pacific Coast Dream Machines event in Half Moon Bay on Sunday. The Hawker, called Dreadnought, was reportedly one of the featured war birds at the event, an annual festival that included a variety of planes, motorcycles, cars and other tricked-out vehicles.

 ....  Rescuers seek pilot after planes collide near San Pablo Bay." ....  Rescue teams in boats and helicopters searched the water for the pilot of a 1965 Cessna 210 after the 4:05 p.m. crash and found only debris, said Coast Guard Lt. Jeannie Crump.  .... Witnesses at Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor said the Cessna spiraled out of control and crashed into water after the collision."  Note:  article includes 11 photographs, and CBS SF Bay Area, Channel 5 news video, 3:35 minutes. 

NY Daily News/Associated Press, 4/27/14. "Cessna collides with Hawker Sea Fury crashes in California bay."  "...  The Hawker Sea Fury TMK 20, a Korean War-era British fighter, landed safely, but the Cessna 210 crashed in the water. The coast guard is searching for the pilot."   Note:  the article includes an area map, CBS SF Bay Area, channel 5 news (6:03 AM) video 2:42 minutes. and the above stock photos by Scott Germain/Stocktrek Imagtes via Getty Images, are from this article. 

Posted by Kathy Meeh

Reminder City Council meeting, today, Monday, April 28, 2014

Attend in person, 2212 Beach Boulevard, 2nd floor.  Or, view on local television, schedule Pacificcoast.TV, (formerly pct26.com), or try live feed.  The meeting begins at 7 p.m., or shortly there following.  City council updates and archives are available on the City website.  

Television viewing delayed until 10 PM, technical difficulties. But that didn't work.  

In comments, Anonymous 9:57 said delayed until 11 PM. Its on! Too bad I didn't get to add... if that doesn't work try delayed until 3 AM.  

City Council Agenda, 4/28/14.       Fix Pacifica City Council Agenda article, 4/28/14.

Posted by Kathy Meeh

Our 13th Senate District "Woman of the Year", hello Ruth Waters!

Ruth Waters, "Woman of the Year", is a long time
advocate for the fine arts in San Mateo County.
Well deserved recognition and honor!

The Daily Journal/Angela Swatz, 4/26/14. "Museum head named woman of the year." 

"A “deep commitment to art” in the local community is the reason Ruth Waters, founder and executive director of the Peninsula Museum of Art in Burlingame, is what landed her as the woman of year for the 13th Senate District.

State Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, presented the award to Waters. Hill named Waters Woman of the Year because he said she has been such a force in the community, tirelessly advocating on behalf of art and artists. “She is dedicated to making art accessible to everyone,” Hill said in a statement. “Ruth Waters has demonstrated unparalleled leadership by serving as a guiding light to the Peninsula Museum of Art, the 1870 Art Center in Belmont and the Peninsula Chapter of the Women’s Caucus for Art.”

About a year ago, her museum in Burlingame opened after about $800,000 worth of renovations were done. This only was able to happen after a man named Charles Homer donated $1 million to launch a building fund. The museum now hosts 28 artists that include artists from China, Germany, Iran, England and the Netherlands."   Read more.

Reference -  Peninsula Museum of the Arts.  "Our Mission:To become  premier Northern California visual arts destination by showcasing trailblazing regional artists and meeting the needs of the community as an extensive art resource and educational center."

CA State Senator Jerry Hill, representing the 13th Senate District.  "SD 13 is based on an almost complete nesting of AD 22 and AD 24 and consists of the remainder of San Mateo County south of SD 11 and northern Santa Clara County, including the sister cities of Mountain View and Sunnyvale. This district keeps the San Mateo coastline from Pacifica to the Ano Nuevo State Reserve and peninsula cities from South San Francisco to Sunnyvale together. South San Francisco is the only city split to achieve population equality." There is an area map of the 13th Senate District on this link. 

Note photograph from The Art Scene in Silicon Valley, "The Art of Ruth Waters."

Posted by Kathy Meeh