Vallejo's bankruptcy ends after 3 tough years

Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Vallejo -- Vallejo is bankrupt no more.

A federal judge released the Solano County city from bankruptcy Tuesday, ending its dubious distinction of being one of the largest and first U.S. cities to go that route since the financial meltdown.

"I think we're all exhausted but exulted," said City Councilwoman Stephanie Gomes. "It's been a rough road."

Vallejo's City Council declared bankruptcy in May 2008, faced with large deficits, few reserves, costly police and fire contracts and plunging tax revenue. Declaring bankruptcy gave the city protection from creditors and allowed it to renegotiate its employee contracts.

Among other changes, city staffers now contribute more to their health insurance, new firefighters have lower pension plans, and the fire department no longer has minimum staffing requirements.

The city has also taken steps to find more revenue. It's created a one-stop permit center for developers and is asking for a 1-cent sales-tax increase and medical marijuana tax on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/01/BARI1LPAHN.DTL#ixzz1cYshQbjk

Submitted by Jim Alex

Scandal-plagued former Bell official sues city for his $1.5 million salary

By Shaya Tayefe Mohajer Associated Press

Posted: 11/01/2011 07:31:30 AM PDT

Updated: 11/01/2011 07:31:30 AM PDT 

LOS ANGELES -- Public outrage -- and changed locks -- forced Robert Rizzo out of a job last year, but the former city manager says he's still owed his $1.5 million salary and benefits. 

In a lawsuit against the city of Bell filed Monday, Rizzo claims he's owed his wages -- with interest -- because he hasn't been convicted of a felony and hasn't resigned his post.

According to prosecutors, Rizzo orchestrated a scheme to bilk the Los Angeles suburb out of more than $6 million by paying himself and other Bell city officials' exorbitant salaries. They face charges of fraud and misappropriation of public funds.

Rizzo has pleaded not guilty.

In the lawsuit he filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Rizzo said he hasn't been paid since a public meeting in July 2010, when the small, blue-collar community of Bell learned of his outsized salary and benefits.

Protesters were outraged by compensation of $100,000 to City Council members that met once a month, but it was Rizzo's $787,637 salary, along with numerous perks that amounted to nearly $1.5 million a year, that made him the poster-child for corruption in government for furious Bell residents.

They came out in droves to let that anger be known at city meetings.

"In response, the City Council locked Rizzo out of his office and stopped paying Rizzo his salary and benefits due to him under his employment agreement," the lawsuit said.

Read more...

Submitted by Jim Alex

Restore railroad car 1409 benefit 11/13/2011

Ocean Shore Railroad

Benefit for the Restoration of Car 1409

The only OSRR Car Still Existing!

Talk and Power Point Presentation

Guest Speaker: John Schmale, Author and OSRR Expert

John Schmale has researched the Ocean Shore Railroad for 40 years.  He has accumulated a large collection of documents and pictures of the railroad.  He is by far the most knowledgeable expert on the history of the railroad.

Moose Lodge Hwy 1, Pacifica, 776 Bradford Way

Sunday, Nov 13, 1PM

Original music:  "Car #1409" performed by composer Rob Wullenjon

Admission:    $5 (Refreshments available for purchase) 

(650) 359 5462  OR  355 5268

reservations and information

Submitted by Jim Wagner

Posted by Kathy Meeh

Pacifica Planning Commission meeting 11/7/2011

Meeting cancelled, changed to November 21st, 2011  (rev. 11/7/11)

The Planning Commission meeting is located at City Council Chambers, 2212 Beach Boulevard, 2nd floor, from 7pm, Monday November 7, 2011.  The public is welcome to attend, or view on Pacifica Community Television live feed http://www.pct26.com/ .

Thank you Pacifica!

PC Agenda 11/7/2011, 19 pages.  Public hearing:  Certify the Final Environmental Report (EIR), site development permit, use permit and sign permit for construction of a 3-story, 96 unit Assisted Living Center at 721 Oddstad Boulevard. The project includes 3 buildings and underground parking.  San Pedro Creek boarders 2-sides of the property, located behind a single-family house at 725 Oddstad Boulevard.  The site is approximately 2 acres of land, previous use was agricultural.  Current zoning is C-1 (neighborhood commercial), no change.

Reference.  Final EIR, 10/2011, on city website, broken into sections. Previous DEIR, 5/2011, 72 pages.  Project applicant:  Ken Winters (Contact), WDM Marketing Consultants, LLC , San Francisco, on behalf of the owner, Cabot Sheley.  Applicants Agent:  JC Engineering, Pacifica.

Submitted by Jim Wagner

Posted by Kathy Meeh

Eco-Halloween tips

What are you doing for Halloween?
 
Mercury news/Rebecca Jepsen, 10/28/11.  "Go green for Halloween! Skip the plastic and create a custom, one-of-a-kind costume out of materials and items you probably already have at home. Ban classic candles and opt for soy ones instead. Look for fair-trade chocolate or sweets made from fruit juice and natural colors. Or avoid the candy altogether and hand out small toys, pencils or soy crayons. Go to Treehugger.com for more Halloween tips."

Posted by Kathy Meeh

Redistribution of wealth in America - the continuing conversation

From ABC News, 10/26/11.  "The income of the richest 1 percent in the U.S. soared 275 percent from 1979 to 2007, but the bottom 20 percent grew by just 18 percent, new government data shows.  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a study this week that compared real after-tax household income between 1979 and 2007, which were both after recessions and had similar overall economic activity. While the income of the richest 1 percent nearly tripled, increases were smaller down the economic ladder. After the 1 percent, income for the next highest 20 percent grew by 65 percent, much faster than it did for the remaining 80 percent of the population but still lagging well behind the top percentile.  

The changes illustrate how the better off have captured the bulk of income gains over the past three decades. The top quintile has seen its share of income rise while the other four quintiles have suffered declines in their shares, according to John Bowler, director of country risk service with the Economist Intelligence Unit. The report states that without the growth of the top percentile, income inequality still would have increased, "but not by nearly as much." The study was prepared at the request of Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. Click to Expand (Source: Congressional Budget Office)."

Submitted by Jim Alex

Posted by Kathy Meeh

Sheriff's Office - Halloween Safety Tips

As we approach Halloween, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office would like to advise coastal residents to be cognizant of traffic and safety concerns during this seasonal time.   
 
Although our coast is one of the safest places to work, live, and play, events do occur which may require the intervention of Law Enforcement.  Within the last month very few incidents of auto or home burglary have occurred on our coast, however, locking your home and vehicles still remains the most sensible ways to secure your home and possessions and we want to encourage you to not give criminals an easy opportunity.   
 
Attached is a flyer regarding Halloween Safety Tips which should help keep your Halloween trouble free.  Should you need the assistance of the Sheriff's Office while in our jurisdiction - please remember to program our Sheriff's Dispatch phone number into your cell phone for quicker response;  Sheriff's Dispatch is 650-363-4911. 
  
Sheriff’s Office - Halloween Safety Tips 
Trouble Free - “Trick or Treat” - Tips: 

PREPARATION: 
•Purchase several connectable “glow sticks” to wear as necklaces and bracelets. 
•Make sure kids wear light colors and/or put reflective tape on their clothing. 
•Keep costumes a short length to prevent trips, falls, and other bumps in the night. 
•Use make-up instead of masks if possible.  Masks are hot and uncomfortable and obstruct vision. 
•Make sure the kids wear flame retardant costumes so burning jack-o-lanterns don’t ignite them. 

•Create a map of a safe trick-or-treating route and set a time limit for your kids to return home. 
 
CHILDREN: 
•Carry a flashlight and always keep a safe distance from moving cars. 
•Cross at street corners, NOT diagonally across an intersection and NEVER between parked cars! 
•Look in ALL directions before crossing; obey all traffic signals; walk and NEVER run. 
•Wear a glow stick necklace and wear glow stick bracelets – These glow sticks have saved lives. 
•Do not take shortcuts through back yards, alleys or parks.  Only visit homes with porch lights on. 
•Don’t go inside anyone’s home; instead remain on the porch at all times. 
•Don’t accept rides from cars with strangers. 
•Don’t eat any treats until your parents have inspected them. 
•Discard any homemade or unwrapped treats. 
 
PARENTS: 
•Clear all outdoor obstructions such as ladders, hoses, and toys from your property and walkway. 
•Welcome trick-or-treaters with your porch lights and all exterior lights turned on early. 
•Make sure your “trick-or-treat” rules are clear to your children BEFORE they leave the house. 
•Try to “trick or treat” while it is still light outside. 
•Carry a flashlight and use a powerful flashlight if at all possible – it will command attention better. 
•Parents should always accompany young children while trick or treating. 
•Older kids should “trick-or-treat” with friends that are known and familiar to parents. 
•Trick or treaters should be in groups so they aren’t a tempting target for real-life goblins. 
 
MOTORISTS: 
•Halloween is one of the nation’s MOST DANGEROUS nights to drive a car.  Use extreme caution. 
•Consider driving at least five miles per hour UNDER the speed LIMIT in residential areas. 
•Accept that you will be late to your destination; Call them, excuse yourself and drive extra slow. 
 
PETS: 
•Costumes and special effects can be stressful on pets – they can misunderstand Halloween time. 
•Electrical cords from special effects make tempting chew toys, or animals may become frightened of the “monsters.”  Take pets into a garage to calm their curiosity and cool their protective instincts. 
•Halloween treats can be deadly to dogs and cats.  Shiny foil wraps attract animals and can cause intestinal distress.  Chocolate, (especially dark) contain theobromine, a stimulant for humans, but causes shaking, seizures, heart issues and death for dogs. Sugar free candy and gum with Xylitol can cause liver damage, blood pressure drop and death. One gram of Xylitol can require veterinary treatment for a 22 pound dog. Raisins & grapes also can also have a poisonous effect and have caused kidney failure in dogs. Keep these dangerous goodies away from pets! 
 
Get more information on the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office at www. SMCSHERIFF.com

Sent by Owen Yoch to Miramar, Princeton, San Gregorio, Moss Beach, Coastal Communities, El Granada, Pacifica, Pescadaro, Half Moon Bay, Montara (E-mail accounts, Wireless devices) through SMC Alert

Home Energy Audit Workshop

When: Wednesday November 2, 7:00PM
Where: Pacifica Community Center Card Room; 540 Crespi Drive, Pacifica, CA 94044

To discuss: Available Home Energy Audit Incentives
Join the Pacific Gas and Electric Company for a workshop to learn how a home energy upgrade can help to:

Lower utility bills
Protect the environment by saving energy
Improve home comfort

For more information please contact: Deb Kramer, Dkramer@ecoact.org or by calling 1-831-515-1EUC

Posted by Steve Sinai

Dive in home values hits San Mateo County governments

By: Niko Kyriakou | 10/26/11 7:00 PM
Examiner Staff Writer

 

As property values decline in San Mateo County, governments are feeling the pain.

According to county data released this month, Peninsula property values declined a whopping $4 billion in the 2009-10 tax year, which worked out to $40 million less in property tax revenue for governments.

“Coming at a time when San Mateo County itself is running a $50 million deficit, it’s just another hit,” said Rebecca Irwin, legislative aide for county Supervisor Rose Jacobs Gibson, whose website links to the report.

And between 2010 and 2012, governments will lose another $30 million, the report predicts.

In 2010, the county reassessed property values, taking a huge bite out of tax revenues that year, said Terry Flinn, special assistant to the county assessor.

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/peninsula/2011/10/dive-home-values-hits-san-mateo-county-governments#ixzz1bzyIxOcV

Posted by Steve Sinai

Mammoth bones found in Pacifica

By Julia Scott

julia.scott@bayareanewsgroup.com

Posted: 10/24/2011 03:51:14 PM PDT

Updated: 10/24/2011 05:13:12 PM PDT

PACIFICA -- Ian Butler was picking up trash in a cliffside gorge when he saw it: yellow and calcified, not rock or shell, but marrow.

Ian "The Dinosaur Hunter" Butler

"The first thought that came to my mind was 'mammoth,' for some reason," said Butler.

He wasn't hallucinating -- he was right. Butler had stumbled on a tusk segment belonging to a mammoth, the kind that roamed the earth during the Late Pleistocene period, which ended about 11,000 years ago.

Then he found other pieces of bone. Bits of leg; a single mammoth tooth, larger than his own skull. Enough to fill four shoeboxes.

Last Friday he took the bones to Jean DeMouthe, Invertebrate Geology Collections Manager at the California Academy of Sciences. DeMouthe confirmed that the bones, which have extensive water damage, probably belonged to a Columbian mammoth -- a species of mammoth that ranged across the Bay Area until it went extinct at the end of the last ice age.

Back then, the shoreline extended as far as where the Farallon Islands are today.

"It was probably either grassland or a boggy nearshore area," said DeMouthe. "Sea level was a lot lower. This animal was not at the edge of the ocean. The sea shore is way out."

Butler's discovery may be the first mammoth remains ever found in San Mateo County. In 2005, a San Jose man found a well-preserved mammoth skeleton in a drainage ditch near the Guadalupe River. The mammoth, nicknamed Lupe, is now preserved at the University of California, Berkeley Museum of Paleontology.


Read more...

Submitted by Ian Butler

New Members and Volunteers Needed for the Save Sharp Park Campaign

WANTED: NEW MEMBERS Those who wish to eliminate Sharp Park have deep pockets and powerful friends.  We must build our membership and show City Hall that we have a strong, diverse membership.  We need your help recruiting new SFPGA members: friends, family, co-workers and golf buddies.  You can help us create a strong organization that can protect and advocate for affordable golf into the future.  Can you please take a few minutes and personally sign-up anyone you know who cares about public golf in the City?  Please visit this link and sign-up new members here: http://sfpublicgolf.com/member-signup.  Thank you for doing your part to save Sharp Park Golf Course. WANTED: SOLDIERS We're still looking for volunteers to help us gather letters and signatures from players at golf courses around San Francisco.  The Board of Supervisors may vote on Sup. John Avalos' plan to wipe out Sharp Park within the next few weeks, and we must demonstrate broad-based local support for public golf in the City.  If you can spare an hour or two, please contact our volunteer coordinator Andrew Brown anytime at 415-519-5318 or thesfpga@gmail.com. BAY AREA GOLF CLUB JOINS THE FIGHT!  The San Francisco-based Bay Area Golf Club, a mostly African-American club which was one of the six founding clubs of the Western States Golf Association - one of the oldest African American golfing organizations in America - has joined our fight and written a powerful letter to our elected leaders in support of Sharp Park. Bay Area Golf Club hosted the inaugural Western States championship tournament at Sharp Park in 1955.  They join other several other ethnic clubs -- Mabuhay Golf Club (Filipino-American), the Golden Hill Golf Club (Chinese-American) and the Mexican American Golf Association -- in supporting Sharp Park.  The President of the Bay Area Golf Club, Nathaniel Jackson, had these eloquent things to say: "Sharp Park is part of San Francisco's egalitarian tradition of providing great classical architecture for its public places . . . If San Francisco were to destroy this golf course, the city would be telling our members and those other minority and working-class golfers that the city does not respect or care about them . . . We thank you for your efforts to preserve the historic Alister MacKenzie golf course at Sharp Park. And we urge you to resist those who would destroy it." THANKS TO PACIFICA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR ITS SAVE SHARP PARK TOURNAMENT. Thanks to the Pacific Chamber of Commerce and all who played in the Chamber's Save Sharp Park tournament on Monday, October 17.  Your support for Sharp Park is greatly appreciated.  Let's do it again soon. Donations are greatly appreciated. To donate, please visit our website: Donations Page

Submittted by Richard Harris

Pacifica Sewer

Lionel Emde: Pacifica Sewer System Overhaul Estimate: $50 Million

Submitted by Jim Alex

Every city can except for Pacifica

Major changes may be coming to El Camino Real

FORECAST: Plan would triple transit use on roadway by 2035, officials say

By Gary Richards grichards@mercurynews.com

Posted: 10/22/2011 10:04:50 PM PDT

Updated: 10/23/2011 09:45:39 AM PDT

El Camino Real could undergo a major transformation over the next five years -- one that would impact everyone from motorists to bus riders to bicyclists to pedestrians from San Jose to Palo Alto.

The Valley Transportation Authority wants to run express buses along the well-traveled link between the South Bay and Peninsula, as well as on The Alameda, Stevens Creek Boulevard, Alum Rock Avenue and Santa Clara Street.

The proposed changes on El Camino will draw the most debate -- especially the VTA's plan to remove two lanes of traffic and turn them into bus-only lanes running down the middle of the road for 10 miles -- from Lafayette Street in Santa Clara to Showers Drive in Mountain View.

It's all part of what's being called the Grand Boulevard Initiative for El Camino from San Jose to San Francisco. While it's now mostly a vision in San Mateo County, Santa Clara County officials are getting ready to turn the idea of a more transit- and pedestrian-friendly roadway into reality.

"I don't think I have ever run across anybody who says El Camino is great the way it is," said VTA transit planner Kevin Connolly, who led a two-bus caravan Saturday along El Camino to explain the proposed changes to elected officials, city planners and the public. "No one ever says that."

The express buses would be sleek and look more like light-rail trains, with ticket areas in the median and signals that turn green as a bus approaches an intersection.  They could run every five minutes during commute times, with fewer stops than regular service.

A 3-inch curb would separate the bus lanes from cars, enough to alert motorists who may wander into the transit-only lanes. The curbs would be low enough to allow emergency vehicles access.

The issue is this: Will people be happy with fewer lanes for motorists and more lanes for buses and bicycles, along with more pedestrian crossings, on the VTA's most heavily traveled bus route?


Read more...

Submitted by Jim Alex
 

Rural coastal town trash problems - Pescadero

Lack of San Mateo County financial subsidy could close Republic Services trash dumping, recycling transfer station.  Doing that would also leave rural Pescadero without a trash collection vendor.  Not knowing much about the business or the liability, Pescadero's town advisory committee is considering a cost saving "do-it-yourself" approach. Good luck! 

Mercury News, Julia Scott, 10/22/11.  "There was a time when rural residents of Pescadero, lacking anywhere to dump their garbage, would just dig a hole and toss it in. Those days could return, locals fear, if the county decides to close the town's transfer station -- the only place for thousands of South Coast residents to bring their trash, recycling and household junk. Operated by Republic Services, the transfer station runs a $15,000 monthly deficit despite a generous monthly subsidy from the county. Its prices are artificially low -- it costs just $3 to dump a mattress, for instance.

Now that subsidy is going away because the county is canceling its Solid Waste Fund. As of August 2012, locals will face astronomical rate hikes unless someone can find a way to make up the difference. If not, people living outside Pescadero's downtown corridor may take to dumping their trash deep in the woods or in ravines. Motorists can see it now, if they know where to look -- tires, a toilet, bags of broken tiles and soiled diapers.

"We don't want to get into the trash business, but we don't want to lose the transfer station, and we don't want to see garbage along the streets," said Greg Bonaparte, chairman of the Pescadero Municipal Advisory Committee, a local citizens group. Faced with the deadline, the committee is scrambling to hammer out a business plan to take over the transfer station, possibly as a nonprofit that would have less overhead and would be directly controlled by locals, instead of by Republic Services. The nonprofit would subcontract hauling and disposal, and try to make a little money by having employees sort recycling on-site and sell the materials, as opposed to shipping them off in a jumble as they do now. Even so, Bonaparte estimates the transfer station would probably run a deficit of $4,000 to $5,000 a month.

County officials have tentatively agreed to cover expenses for the first 36 months while the nonprofit works to develop other sources of revenue and reduce expenses. "Somebody needs to come in who really knows what they're doing, who has some passion and interest in the whole thing, so it can be turned around," said Catherine Peery, an advisory committee member who lives on the outskirts of Pescadero.  

Roughly 600 Pescadero residents and businesses along the town's three main streets get weekly trash pickup from Republic Services, while local farmers and plant nurseries contract with hauling companies for the green waste they don't compost on-site. Everyone else is on their own. By some estimates, more than 1,000 other South Coast residents -- from the wilds south of Half Moon Bay down the coast to Davenport, from La Honda up to Skyline Boulevard -- all use the transfer station somewhat regularly.   

At present, the county pays Republic Services $14,500 per month to operate the transfer station. The company also charges the county for per-pound dump fees it incurs when it hauls trash to the Ox Mountain landfill in Half Moon Bay -- on average, another $5,000 a month. Those dump fees are offset by use fees charged to people who use the transfer station, which amount to $7,000 in a good month.  Republic Services would be amenable to canceling its franchise agreement with the county, according to Bonaparte. It expires in 2015. Not everyone is convinced of the merits of the committee's proposal, however. "Once you get volunteers and let people wander around this equipment, it gets really dangerous," said Dante Silvesti, a local farmer. Silvestri's family used to own a landfill behind the transfer station, but it closed in the 1980s and is now being capped with a liner at county expense."

Posted by Kathy Meeh

Body of woman pulled from surf identified

Click here: Body of Woman Pulled From Surf Identified - Pacifica, CA Patch

Submitted by Jim Alex

heathens repent! and buy me a drink

Wear clean underwear. Film at 11......

OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Harold Camping, the Oakland, Calif., minister who infamously predicted a rapture would occur May 21, says he now believes the world will end this week.

"I do believe we're getting very near the very end," Camping, 90, said this month in a podcast posted on his Family Radio Web site. "Oct. 21, that's coming very shortly, that looks like it will be, at this point, it will be the final end of everything." (snip)

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/10/20/Rapture-minister-says-world-ending-Friday/UPI-66871319156855/

Mark Stechbart

Patt Morrison Asks: Benefit buster Lanny Ebenstein

The economics professor argues why California voters should ban collective bargaining for public employees.

October 15, 2011|Patt Morrison

Lanny Ebenstein wants you to vote to kneecap the state's public workers unions by banning their right to collective bargaining. Other measures scrambling to qualify for the November 2012 ballot would drop the hammer specifically on public employees' pensions or increase their retirement age, but Ebenstein's may be the most uncompromising. Ebenstein, a lecturer in economics at UC Santa Barbara, believes that it's too cozy for unions to be bargaining with bosses they've likely campaigned to elect -- and the state's economic doldrums are one result. An eight-year veteran of the Santa Barbara school board and the author of volumes about conservative economists Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek, he's now got a metaphorical book he wants to throw at public employee unions.

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/15/opinion/la-oe-morrison-lanny-ebenstein-20111015

Submitted by Jim Alex

Planning Commission Voids Votes, Testimony After Brown Act Violation Claims

http://pacifica.patch.com/articles/planning-commission-takes-remedial-action-after-brown-act-violation-allegations

Submitted by Camden Swita

City Council Agenda, Monday, October 24, 2011

Attend in person, 2212 Beach Boulevard, 2nd floor.  Or, view on local channel 26, also live feed internet www.pct26.com.  The meeting begins at 7pm (but usually starts a few minutes late).  

City Council Agenda, 10/24/11, 1-56  pages.  Amended by the City, 10/20/11.  Agenda outline as follows: 
 
Closed Session - None  

Consent Calendar (pass through)
1.   Approval of Disbursements
2.   Approval of Minutes
3.   California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) grant agreement targeting drivers who drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
4.   Resolution to apply for a Wildlife Conservation grant to repair the Pacifica Municipal Pier.
5.   Resolution to grant the California Coastal Conservancy land acquisition for the Pedro Point headlands coastal trail. 
6.   Approval of San Mateo County Transportation Authority (SMCTA) to purchase land right-of-way for the Pedro Point headlands coastal trail.

6a. Consider use of funds spending plan and recommendations for the Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund.

Special Presentation
a.  Proclamation -  Police Captain Dave Bertini
b.  Proclamation -  Kirk Rogers
c.  Proclamation -  James Vallejos
d.  Library update - Tom Ball
 
Consideration (public discussion)
7.  Phase 111 in Redevelopment of Beach Boulevard Property (OWTP), including General Plan/Zoning amendments, DEIR, and budget from Capital Improvement Fund up to $250,000.
8.  Significant Natural Areas Management Plan DEIR comment letter to San Francisco concerning Sharp Park Eucalyptus tree removal and surface water drainage concerns.
9.  Submit 28 year sewer collection system master plan to the Regional Water Quality Control Board (condition of the lawsuit settlement agreement).

Posted by Kathy Meeh

 

The Herman Cain 999 Sales Tax Calculator

http://999calculator.net/

Submitted by Jim Wagner

Pacifica Planning Commission Brown Act Violation will probably be a slap on the wrist

Pacifica highway 1, Reina del Mar to Fassler

The usual NIMBY political maneuvering on key city issues. Note the unapologetic, deflective comment by Planning Commission Chairman Richard Campbell.  Yet, he's an attorney,  he should understand the issue.   

Mercury News/Julia Scott, 10/16/11. "Controversy over a proposal to widen part of Highway 1 through the city's south side has divided residents and prompted a district attorney's investigation into what could be violations of the Brown Act.

The plan to widen part of Highway 1 to six lanes from just north of Reina Del Mar to just south of Rockaway Beach has been in play since at least 1999 and has received the full support of City Council members for just as long. But major development projects of any kind are difficult to achieve in Pacifica under the best of circumstances. Voters narrowly opposed a major mixed-use neighborhood planned for the city's vacant quarry in 2008, for instance, and a slew of other projects sit in limbo.

Caltrans released a draft environmental impact report on the Highway 1 widening on Sept. 26. While many Pacifica residents support the widening plan, intended to relieve morning traffic bottlenecks, opponents say the agency didn't truly consider alternatives to a plan that would displace several businesses and the residents of a home along Old County Road.  Caltrans released a draft environmental impact report on the Highway 1 widening on Sept. 26. While many Pacifica residents support the widening plan, intended to relieve morning traffic bottlenecks, opponents say the agency didn't truly consider alternatives to a plan that would displace several businesses and the residents of a home along Old County Road. Their complaints prompted the Pacifica City Council to ask Caltrans to extend the public comment period on the environmental impact report, which will now end Saturday.

That meeting never took place. It was canceled after two local residents, who support widening Highway 1, got ahold of a tape of the meeting and alerted the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office about purported violations of the Brown Act -- the California open-meeting law designed to ensure public participation and transparency in government. Assistant district attorney Al Serrato is reviewing the meeting tape to determine whether something illegal occurred. "If an issue is discussed and voted on, and it wasn't on the agenda, that would be a violation of the Brown Act," Serrato said. Leon did not return a call for comment.

Mark Stechbart, one of the people who got the DA's office involved, said the Planning Commission was trying to interfere with the project-review process. "There was a deliberate attempt by highway-widening opponents to get them to interject themselves into the debate," he said. What Stechbart sees as politically motivated, Richard Campbell contends were good intentions gone awry. The planning commissioner missed the meeting in question, but said his colleagues very likely got carried away by the topic at hand. Tape of the meeting shows Planning Director George White warning the group that they were in danger of violating the Brown Act, but they carried on. "It's disappointing that an attempt to further public dialogue and open communication with regard to this issue got turned into this," Campbell said. "There's some irony in that." 

If the Brown Act allegations prove true, the officials may be required to repeal their previous votes, according to Serrato.  But it's unclear what that would accomplish, since the votes had little effect. Caltrans will incorporate comments into a final environmental impact report, due out in 2012.  The Pacifica City Council will vote on the highway-widening proposal, as will the California Coastal Commission." 

Posted by Kathy Meeh

CA Medical Associationn endorses legalization of marijuana

 
While the Fed cracks down on medical marijuana distribution centers, the California Medical Association (CMA) votes to legalize the drug.  Isn't fact frequently funnier (more ironic) than fiction?

Daily Journal, 10/17/11.  "California’s largest industry group for doctors is calling for the legalization of marijuana even as it maintains that the drug has few proven health benefits.  California Medical Association adopted the new stance at its annual meeting Friday in Anaheim.

A Sacramento physician who wrote the new policy says doctors are increasingly frustrated by the state’s medical marijuana law, which allows use with a doctor’s recommendation. Dr. Donald Lyman says physicians are put in the uncomfortable position of having to decide whether to recommend a drug that’s illegal under federal law.

The group acknowledges health risks associated with marijuana use and proposes regulation similar to alcohol and tobacco, but says the consequences of criminalization outweigh the dangers. CMA represents more than 35,000 California physicians."

Posted by Kathy Meeh

---

Internet Troll

Submitted by Jim Alex

Open for business

October 15, 2011, 03:45 AM By Heather Murtagh Daily Journal Staff

With wine glasses stacked and new employees eager to serve treats, the new Burlingame Safeway opened to a select few Thursday evening and the entire community Friday.

Customers flooded the parking lot Friday morning to be one of the first to shop in the new 45,600-square-foot, 24-hour grocery store. Located at 1420 to 1450 Howard Ave., the store features a 6,190-square-foot mezzanine sitting area, a fountain at the entrance of Howard Avenue and El Camino, a Starbucks and a U.S. Bank. Employees, some of whom were brought in from neighboring stores to help, worked nonstop Friday to keep the shelves stocked. Despite long lines outside and inside the store, customers seemed happy to have the store open again.

John Meyer of Hillsborough has been shopping in the area for 35 years. He was sad to see the old store go simply because he had gotten to know employees over the years. While waiting for his wife to finish shopping Friday morning, Meyer added that he liked the new state-of-the-art facility. He simply hoped to see familiar faces again soon.

One such familiar face could be produce clerk Rich Carrabino who previously worked at the Howard Avenue location four years earlier. Busy stocking apples Friday morning, he was a fan of the new store.

“Much different from the old one, right?” Store Manager Gerry Schwinges commented in passing.

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Submitted by Jim Alex
 

Do you like pancakes?

Submitted by Jim Wagner