"The community" vs. Caltrans road safety, Scotch Broom

The Almanac/Barbara Wood, 2/27/15. "Residents upset with Caltrans' plan to spray herbicides on roadsides March 3, 10. Residents want Caltrans to honor county's spray ban."  

Caltrans:  just spraying herbicides
where other methods do not work

Not feeling the love for Scotch Broom
Highway 84, (La Honda, San Gregorio)

"Residents of rural San Mateo County who oppose the roadside spraying of herbicides to control weeds were upset to find out recently that a fight they thought they had won in 2012 when the county ordered a stop to most spraying isn't really over.

....  "The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has announced that it will spray herbicides along Highway 84 west of Skyline Boulevard twice in early March, and residents of the area are not happy about it. Residents of Skyline Boulevard say they are also unhappy to find out that Caltrans sprayed their roadsides in January without giving the notice it had promised. 

.... Margaret MacNiven, who lives off Highway 35 in the Portola Heights neighborhood, noticed and photographed the dying vegetation and Caltrans confirmed that it had sprayed herbicides along Skyline around Jan. 15. "It's disappointing since San Mateo County has adopted a policy of mowing the side of the road, a wonderful environmentally sensitive policy," Ms. MacNiven said. "I thought the spray in January was applied indiscriminately and at a time and in places where it did more harm than good," she said. Ms. MacNiven said that invasive plants "flourish when the ground is disturbed." "Over the years," Ms. MacNiven said, "Skyline, a scenic corridor, has become a mess when it comes to invasives taking over the side of the highway." The invasive plants, including Star thistle, Italian thistle and Scotch broom, are flourishing, she said "which is sad for a native plant lover like myself." Read more.

Reference - Caltrans Community notice, 2/25/25:  "Herbicide Spraying on Route 84 in San Mateo", pdf pages 1.  "During a routine inspection, Caltrans deemed spraying is necessary for safety measures, such as clearing weeds around signs and guardrails, sight distance, establishing fire strips and invasive plants and species that maintenance is not able to control by any other means.  Scotch broom (an invasive shrub) has encroached the travel way which creates a safety hazard for motorists.  Crews will not spray in driveways, creeks or congregated mailboxes.  No spraying will take place within 50 feet of all creeks and rivers.  Note:  No spraying will take place in the town of La Honda or San Gregorio.  Properties displaying a "No Spray Sign" will not be sprayed. This is a moving operation: work will take place on the shoulder.  No lane closures are necessary. Please be alert for workers and "Slow for the Cone Zone."  .... Caltrans appreciates your patience as we work to maintain the highways." 

Note photographs: man standing next to Scotch Broom plant from Idaho weed awareness campaign; road from Montana Weed Control Organization/Scotch Broom.

Posted by Kathy Meeh

Yellow fever mosquitoes found in San Mateo County, recently in Menlo Park

San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District Press Release, 2/19/15.

Aedes Aegypti adult mosquito,
aka: yellow fever mosquito

"Invasive Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes present in San Mateo County."  "San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District continues to detect invasive Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in San Mateo County. This species was most recently found on January 27th, 2015 in areas of Menlo Park.

Aedes aegypti is not native to San Mateo County. It is a small, day-biting mosquito that prefers to feed on humans.   This mosquito is capable of transmitting several viruses, including dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever. While these viruses are not currently transmitted in San Mateo County, they are periodically introduced by international travelers. In the presence of a large population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, a single case of one of these diseases has the potential to become an epidemic.

....  The Aedes aegypti mosquito lays its eggs just above the water surface in small containers, such as flower pots, plant saucers, pet bowls, bottles, and bird baths. As these mosquitoes can breed in amounts of water as small as a bottle cap, residents are reminded to survey their property and immediately eliminate all standing water.   

Residents experiencing mosquito bites during the day should report them to the San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District."  For more information, read more.

Aedes Aegypti mosquito larva

Reference -  Wikipedia/Aedes Aegypti mosquito. "The yellow fever mosquito  Aedes aegypti, ... can be recognized by white markings on its legs and a marking in the form of a lyre on the thorax."  Note photographs from this Wikipedia article. 

Related newspaper article -  Mercury News/Peninsula/Reah Mahbubani, Staff Writer, 2/28/15. "Yellow fever mosquitoes found in Menlo Park." .... "The mosquito can lay eggs just above the surface of water in flower pots, pet bowls, bottles and bird baths. Even a bottle cap is fair game, the district adds, reminding residents to check their properties and discard all sources of standing water. Other precautionary measures include adding screens to doors and windows, reporting neglected swimming pools, using insect repellents and wearing long-sleeved shirts and full-length pants when outside." 

Posted by Kathy Meeh

Pacifica Resource Center 40th year

Pacifica Tribune letters to the Editor, 2/24/15,  "PRC is turning 40" by Jane Nahass.

PRC safety net assistance in our city

"Editor:  As a new board member I feel fortunate to be part of the Pacifica Resource Center. Having worked with the PRC while I was a caseworker for the Salvation Army, I saw firsthand how they helped Pacifica residents I referred to them who needed assistance.

40th Anniversary

I'm especially excited, because this year is PRC's 40th Anniversary. We're finding great ways to celebrate each month, including our 5th tax season, which started this month. As an Earn It, Keep It, Save It (EKS) and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site, our volunteers are certified to prepare no-cost income tax returns for taxpayers with incomes under $53,000 in 2014. Last year, we prepared taxes for 111 households, helping them get over $140,000 in refunds and saving them over $25,000 in tax preparation fees. Appointments are available Wednesdays 3-7p through April 23rd and one Saturday per month.

Just as our tax season ends, we'll celebrate our 4 decades of service to Pacifica at our biggest event of the year — the PRC's 40th Anniversary Stroll at Rockaway Beach on Sunday, April 26th. Because the PRC couldn't exist without the support of the community, we want YOU to be part of the celebration! We look forward to seeing you at the Stroll on April 26th. Save the date! Details to follow soon. For more information or updates about our other 40th anniversary events, visit our website, www.pacresourcecenter.org, find us on Facebook, or call the PRC at (650)738-7470."

Note:  Jane Nahass is a PRC Advisory Board Member.  Photographs:  "Love heart in the sand" from Lovepitu.  Three stick figures, "Lines in the sand" by Katrina Kimport from UCSF/Ansirh blog.

Posted by Kathy Meeh

County and City moving forward with solar, a sunny choice

Pacifica Tribune letters to the Editor, 2/24/15, "Applaud Planner" by Dan B. Underhill.

80% effective on foggy days

"Editor:  I want to applaud the work of Assistant Planner Christian Murdock, and County Supervisors Carole Groom & Dave Pine for their work on the Community Choice Aggregation program and Mayor Karen Ervin, Council Member John Keener and any others for their support. It sounds like an excellent idea. 

I live on Paloma Avenue near Oceana High School on the southwestern slope of Milagra Ridge. The cuts that were made to accommodate that High School are pretty close to the optimal thirty degrees used for solar collection. A south facing gets the maximum sunlight over the year and a west facing gets the most valuable (peak hours) sunlight so this is some really prime real estate for solar collection that is already disturbed, from an environmental perspective, and it is not in use. 

The city already has a history of collaboration with Oceana High School and the Jefferson Union High School District on the Jean Brink Swimming Pool so cooperation on saving the planet might be a natural extension of that. Many home and/or business owners in town are in a position to catch some rays, with rooftop solar, for the cause as well. I read that solar is twenty percent less effective in fog or overcast which tells me that it is eighty percent effective even on foggy days. That sounds pretty good to me."

Note photograph from  Sherin and Lodgen LLP, Law, Real Estate blog.

Posted by Kathy Meeh