Traffic improvement slowed, but not impossible, San Mateo

The Daily Journal/Samantha Weigel, 6/29/15.  "Residents raise concern over proposed 101 ramp: San Mateo, Burlingame neighbors attend meeting on Peninsula Avenue interchange."

Pacifica: stalled Highway 1 traffic is good for
air quality, plovers, red-legged frogs, trails.
And continued "NO" on anything progress.

"As the city of San Mateo and Caltrans revive efforts to create a new southbound entrance to Highway 101 at Peninsula Avenue, members of the public packed a community meeting Thursday evening with questions and concerns. The city seeks to secure funds to study the proposal to create a new on- and off-ramp at Peninsula Avenue with the possibility of eliminating the problematic interchange just south at Poplar Avenue.

Currently, there are no southbound ramps at Peninsula Avenue; instead drivers must travel down Amphlett Boulevard to enter at Poplar Avenue. Two design options for Peninsula Avenue, both of which require purchasing numerous commercial and residential properties along Amphlett Boulevard to make room for the new ramps, range from $56 million to $71 million.

.... “I’d like you to help reassure the Burlingame residents in the community,” said Burlingame Councilman Michael Brownrigg. “While really it’s San Mateo’s land and a San Mateo project, it also has a significant impact to Burlingame. So how do you persuade people that you’ll be a good steward for everyone’s interests and not just San Mateo?” Marilou Lee, a resident on the San Mateo side of Peninsula Avenue, also expressed worry the project would create more traffic and therefore safety issues; but noted concerns from Burlingame residents shouldn’t inherently stop the project."   Read article

Note photographs.  Protest of 1.3 miles highway 1 widening improvement through two intersections from a Pacifica Riptide article.

Posted by Kathy Meeh

Another Mountain lion visits a neighborhood, San Mateo

And be aware, as the result of 4th of July fireworks noise and lights, any infrequently seen wild life could visit your neighborhood or favorite trail. 

The Daily Journal/Bay City News Service, 6/29/15.  "Mountain lion seen walking near San Mateo school."

I see you...

Got any deer?

"A mountain lion was seen casually strolling through a residential neighborhood and near an elementary school near the northern border of San Mateo on Friday night, police said. ..... No further sightings have been reported, and police said in all sightings the mountain lion was calm and not behaving aggressively in any way.

Police notified school officials and the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and sent out a community alert. In a statement, police said that such sightings have become more frequent due to the drought, which has drawn deer down from the hills into more densely populated neighborhoods. Police noted that mountain lion attacks on humans are extremely rare, but said they would keep the community informed of sightings.  “First and foremost SMPD will do everything possible to ensure the safety of our community during a potential mountain lion sighting,” the statement said. “But as we have demonstrated in the past, we will also take every reasonable precaution necessary to protect the animal as well.”

....  Residents are warned to avoid feeding deer, since it is illegal in California and can attract mountain lions. Avoid jogging and hiking in wooded areas at dawn, dusk and at night, when mountain lions are most active, and keep a close watch on small children in such areas. Those who encounter a mountain lion should not approach, but should stand their ground, make noise and try to look bigger by waving your arms. Throw rocks and other objects, and pick up small children, police said."   Read more.

Related article - Los Angeles Times/Geoff Mohan, 4/8/09, "Environmental news from California and beyond"  "Conventional wisdom has it that you should stay, look big and don't run when confronted with a mountain lion on a trail. But some UC Davis researchers are injecting doubt into that dictum...  the carnivorous cats may think you're disabled, disoriented or just too dumb to remain in the gene pool.

The researchers offer a few cases in which beating a hasty retreat is a better idea. ....  "So perhaps the best advice for hikers is to simply rely on their own instincts and act depending on the situation. It might help immensely to carry a sturdy stick and keep pepper spray handy. You might even get creative and hike with your sunglasses on backward, as tiger hunters do in India, to make it seem as though you're facing the beast even while fleeing. The absolute best advice, though, is to hike with others, because that sharply reduces your chances of experiencing an encounter and having to decide how to respond." (Pete Thomas).  Read more.

Note photographs.  Mountain lion in tree at Irvine Regional Park Zoo by Christine Cotter from the related Los Angeles Times article (above).  Young Puma Mountain lion taken by the National Park Service from Lake Forest Limos.

Posted by Kathy Meeh

Safe and Sane Fireworks Use

Safe and Sane fireworks may be discharged within the Pacifica city limits during the following 

periods:

June 28: 12:00 p.m. (noon) to 11:00 p.m.
June 29-July 5: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Anyone discharging Safe and Sane fireworks outside of these periods will be subject to a fine of up to $1000. Anyone discharging/possessing illegal fireworks at ANYTIME will be subject to a first offense fine of $1000. Safe and Sane fireworks will always have the State Fire Marshal seal affixed to the packaging/device.

Please be courteous to your neighbors and be mindful of the extremely dry drought conditions when discharging Safe and Sane Fireworks.

The members of the Pacifica Police Department wish you a safe and happy 4th of July.

Submitted by  Pacifica Police Department from City of Pacifica

Four enter race for supervisor: Race starting early, North County residents only to vote in 2016 district election

 April 11, 2015, 05:00 AM By Bill Silverfarb Daily Journal

For the first time, in 2016, residents of north San Mateo County will have a chance to pick their own supervisor for the District 5 seat currently held by Adrienne Tissier, who will be termed out.

So far, four candidates have lined up to replace her including two who currently serve on the Daly City Council, one who serves on the Brisbane City Council and another who serves on the Colma City Council. In 2012, San Mateo County voters changed the county’s charter so only those living in a specific district can choose a representative supervisor rather than having all voters choose all supervisors.

Most of the 58,716 voters in the district, about 66 percent, reside in Daly City with the rest living in Brisbane, Colma, Broadmoor, parts of South San Francisco and parts of San Bruno.

The dogfight for the seat will clearly be won in Daly City, where two candidates, David Canepa, 39, and Michael Guingona, 53, currently serve on the council.

Both have earned thousands of votes in their respective bids for council while the other two candidates have only had to secure hundreds of votes to win their council seats.

Colma Councilwoman Helen Fisicaro, 63, and Brisbane Councilman Cliff Lentz, 50, are the other two candidates in the race and neither earned more than 1,000 votes in their last races.

In fact, Fisicaro only needed 144 votes to win her re-election bid in 2014 and Lentz, who finished third, only needed 684 votes to win a second term in Brisbane in 2013.

Canepa, however, earned 16,338 votes in the 2012 presidential election and Guingona earned 7,940 votes in the 2014 general election. Voters turn out in greater numbers during election years like it will be in 2016.

Read more...

Submitted by Victor Spano

City Calendar, June 28, 2015 - July 4, 2015

From the City of Pacifica Calendar, No City meetings this week.  City events as follows: 

4th of July, Frontierland Park
Fun for all ages

Saturday, July 4, 8:45 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.  Rocket Run 5-Mile Run. "Our annual 4th of July five-mile run starts and ends at the Pacifica Community Center. Only $15 if you signup by June 10."  Information, including course map.  Questions 650-738-7381. Download the form, sign and deliver to the City; or register online  here. 

Saturday, July 4, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. 4th of July Celebration at Frontierland Park. "Join the Pacifica's Parks, Beaches and Recreation Dept. for a fun day of crafts, games, music and more at Frontierland Park."  For more information, see the reference below. 

Reference - City of Pacifica/Parks, Beaches, and Recreation/Special Events.  Related - Facebook. Fun cheap SF, "Pacifica: 45h of July celebration and free games, 2015."

Note photographs. 4th of July band at Frontierparkland, face page image to mbasic Facebook/Pacifica Recreation.

Posted by Kathy Meeh 

County organization to coordinate sea level rise issues

The Daily Journal (San Mateo County), Samantha Weigel, 6/6/15. "Sea level rise snares grand jury scrutiny: call for countywide organization plan, seek funding for improvements."

"With many scientists predicting a looming threat of sea level rise that could damage billions of dollars worth of infrastructure and homes while crossing municipal boundaries, the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury released a report this week urging cities form a regional organization to prepare for its impact.

The good news is we finally built
a new City Hall, with a library.

Bordered by the Bay and the ocean, San Mateo County is particularly susceptible to the impacts of sea level rise — more so than any other county in the state, according to the report titled Flooding Ahead: Planning for Sea Level Rise. According to the report released Thursday, about 120,000 residents are at risk of losing their homes, nearly $24 billion worth of infrastructure including six wastewater treatment plants and three airports are in potential flood zones and hundreds of miles of roads could be gravely impacted by the end of the century.

Though sea level rise could affect the entire Bay Area, 40 percent of its local impact on residents and economic value could be in San Mateo County because of its location, according to the report. As sea level rise is based on topography and not municipal boundaries, the grand jury recommends a special task force be formed to help regional planning efforts and to secure funding for projects that seek to assuage the devastating impacts.  Read article. 

Reference - From San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury, 2014-2015 Final Reports:  Flooding Ahead: Planning for Sea Level Rise, 6/4/15, pdf pages 30

Related - Daily Journal (San Mateo County), Editorial/Jon May, Editor in Chief, 6/12/15. "No necessity for new government agency." An interesting recommendation from the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury last week is that a single countywide organization should be identified to plan, coordinate and apply for grants to prepare for sea level rise. ... there is an already established organization that would be perfectly suited for such a task. It is the City/County Association of Governments. Commonly known as C/CAG, it meets regularly and is represented by one elected official from every city in the county and the county. It discusses grant funding and conducts studies on various issues of importance to every city in the county, i.e. Highway 101 ramp metering and airport compatibility plans. Surely, such an organization could absorb any amount of study on the impacts of large amounts of water coming onto our shores. Unless, of course, the goal is to create an organization with bond authority that could ask residents to pony up money to pay for any improvements. It’s not clear, at least from the civil grand jury report, if that is the intent." 

Note:  photograph/graphic from Malia Litman's blog.

Posted by Kathy Meeh

Pedro Point business limps along, with exceptions

Pacifica Tribune/Jane Northrop, 6/23/15. "Several businesses depart from Pedro Point Shopping Center."

Pedro Point, more stores leaving. We could use another grocery store there. Tis' the season to blow stuff up, scare pets, confuse wild animals, trash the environment, and risk fire. Other than that, have a nice holiday! ....  "No one has yet approached the city's planning department to move into the vacant Fresh and Easy store, said associate planner Christian Murdoch. Other recent departures include The Truth tattoo shop and Bruce Ross hair salon. According to a sign on the door, The Truth formed a partnership with Longboards in Eureka Square to bring Pacificans a great entertainment arena. The new business was set to open June 20. Another business, The Point Pizza and Pasta, seeks a business partner, cook or someone to buy the business outright. ....  Devil's Slide Taproom, is doing a brisk business, as is La Playa and Hide Tide Café. NorCal surf shop also sees a steady stream of customers coming to the unique shop to pick up supplies or rent wetsuits."  Read article. Note photograph by Mitchell Scuba from Scuba San Mateo.  Fireworks stand at Ace Hardware by Joe Thompson, 6/29/08 from Cable Car Guy blog. Posted by Kathy Meeh

A substantial budget with two known challenges, Foster City

The Daily Journal, Samantha Weigel, 6/15/15.  "Foster City remains fiscally sound: Budget surplus expected to grow, millions in infrastructure improvements remain."

Think quarry development: "traffic",
and "all those toilets flushing
at that same time". No development,
$0 City services and revenue.

Dragon boat races, whereas
we have NIMBY dragons.

A City with a plan... remember
our City had a plan once upon a time.

.... “We’re once again on a balanced budget and finances seem to be strong going for the next five years based on forecasts,” Vice Mayor Gary Pollard said. “But a couple things we’re looking at is obviously how we’re going to generate the money for the wastewater treatment plant … and the levee, which we know is a work in progress. But those are two big items that we’re trying to get ahead of the curve the best way we can.”

....  Foster City is responsible for $116 million, its portion of the wastewater treatment plant project that services San Mateo, Hillsborough and a few other agencies. The city is also bound by orders to improve its levees passed down by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A recent study about the city’s flood control infrastructure estimated raising the current 2.5-foot levees up to 5.5 feet in some areas could cost upwards of $75 million, according to a staff report. Councilman Herb Perez said while the expense is huge, he anticipates funding such critical projects may require bonds.

Currently, Foster City doesn’t have any outstanding bonds or debt, Finance Director Edmund Suen said.City officials have also continued to set aside funds to sufficiently account for employee and pension liabilities, Suen and Perez said.“One thing we do well as a city is we fund capital improvement projects 10 years out and we fund all of our liabilities years out,” Perez said.  Read article.

Reference - City of Foster City.  City-Data.com. Wikipedia.

Note Foster City photographs:  City map from Burlingame properties/Foster City. Dragon boat races in Foster City from Oakland Renegades Dragonboat team. City residential and commercial view from Movoto Real Estate. 

Posted by Kathy Meeh