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What is Big Wave?
Kenny at Molokai
The Anasazi
Build it green
Bobcat or lion?
Elephant seals
Cafe Gibraltar is one of the best restaurants in the entire Bay Area and one that I don't go to anywhere near often enough. Visitors to the area may have heard of it but the location can be hard to spot--it is not really in Half Moon Bay. The trick is to find the harbor north of HMB (the one with all the boats!) and then look inland--there is a road running parallel to Highway One. Cafe Gibraltar is on that road. Now it is easy to find!



The video is by Lotus Crown Films, a video production company out of Palo Alto that wants to "actively promote social awareness and education, specifically focusing on environmental issues and promoting the arts."


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Reminder:

PRESS RELEASE

[Note: Videos of the Charter Review meetings will also be available on Montara Fog.]

Charter Review Committee Meetings Scheduled
Video Available on the County’s Web site

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – To help members of the public participate, the San Mateo County Charter Review Committee will meet at various locations across the county over the next three months.

The Committee is reviewing the Charter and, after public hearings, will make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors for amendments to be submitted to county voters. The meeting schedule is listed below.

The general purpose of a county charter is to provide a measure of home rule to the counties of the state. The charter defines San Mateo County’s structure, powers and functions. It’s akin to a local constitution.

In its review of the Charter, the Committee will specifically address the Civil Grand Jury recommendations regarding Board member elections and filling Board vacancies, and the method of electing members of the Board of Supervisors from the current “at large” system to a “by district” system. In addition to other items the Committee will consider consolidation and reorganization of departments and other organization improvements requiring a Charter amendment.

The Committee will meet at least once in each of the five supervisorial districts in addition to meetings held at the County seat in Redwood City. The schedule and all materials provided to Committee members are available at its Web site.

The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 10, at Half Moon Bay’s Cunha Intermediate School, Kelly Avenue and Church Street. All meetings are scheduled to start promptly at 5:30 p.m. and end at 7:30 p.m.

Video recordings of each meeting will be posted on the Charter Review Committee’s Web site: http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/CharterReviewCommittee.

Please check the Web site or call the number below to confirm these dates in case of last-minute changes. Upcoming Meeting Dates and Locations:
March 23
Serramonte Main Library Community Room
40 Wembley Dr.
Daly City

April 7, 2010
San Mateo Main Library
Oak Room
55 West Third Ave.
San Mateo

April 21, 2010
Menlo Park City Council Chambers
701 Laurel St.
Menlo Park

May 5, 2010
South San Francisco Municipal Services Building
33 Arroyo Drive
South San Francisco

May 19
455 County Center, Room 101
Redwood City

June 2
455 County Center, Room 101
Redwood City

June 16
455 County Center, Room 101
Redwood City

June 30
455 County Center, Room 101
Redwood City



For more information about the Charter Review Committee, please visit www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/charterreviewcommittee or call 650-363-4153.


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Interested in sports, in surfing and, in particular, surfing in northern California? If so check out this interview with the San Francisco Chronicle's sports columnist Bruce Jenkins.

Bruce, who lives in Montara, sat down with Pacific Profiles' Jon Rubin in a half hour interview published by Pen TV.


Discuss (1 posts)
Neil Merrilees
Bruce Jenkins, sports columnist, on surfing
Mar 09 2010 01:21:15
Great interview! I wanted to point out that the film festival that he mentions at the end, was last years festival. I hope we have another film festival this year, but if we do, it probably won't be on the dates he mentions.
#25

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The Pescadero Elementary and Middle School has been ranked in the lowest five percent in the state.

Sharon Noguchi at MercuryNews.com has more:

From MercuryNews.com

They are among the 188 schools that the California Department of Education labeled Monday morning as the state's bottom 5 percent of schools, which must be restructured in 2010-11. That means the campuses must be closed or converted to a charter, or the principal or staff replaced, or other reforms instituted. The list is based on the portion of the schools' students who test proficient or above on annual standardized tests.

And later...

California is naming the lowest-ranking schools as a result of legislation tied to its application for several pots of federal stimulus funds, including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the School Improvement Grant program and the Race to the Top program.
Click here to see the entire list of "Tier 1" schools named by the State Board of Education.


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The Devil's Slide Tunnel is on track for a Fall of 2011 opening, according to a representative of Supervisor Rich Gordon's office. The tunnel is being bored through Montara Mountain from south to north. The twin tunnels are each over 75% complete. Digging began in September of 2007.

This Spring work will begin on the north face in Pacifica to prepare for the breakthrough. The bridge portion of the project, also in Pacifica, was completed in September of 2008.

In a recent article Julia Scott wrote about her experiences inside the tunnel.

From Julia Scott's article on MercuryNews.com:

Powerful fans circulate oxygen through the tunnels, allowing workers to breathe in spite of being enveloped by a mountain that stretches 656 feet above the rock they're standing on. The fans can't mask the smell, though — a combination of diesel exhaust and paint from the curing compound applied to the concrete.

"There's a lot of chemicals in here. That's what tunnels smell like," shrugged Ramirez.

For 10 hours a day, this is the only world workers inhabit. They don't get out to see daylight. They take meal breaks at a picnic bench in one of the tunnel's cross-passages.
Be sure to click on the small photograph for a short slideshow.

Discuss (3 posts)
Chris
Tunnel on track for Fall 2011 opening
Mar 09 2010 02:59:10
Why does the slideshow say opening sometime in 2013. i sure hope it's opens in 2011.
#27
Re:Tunnel on track for Fall 2011 opening
Mar 09 2010 04:12:10
Hmmm. Good question. I'll check with CalTrans in the morning and will find out.

--Darin
#28
Re:Tunnel on track for Fall 2011 opening
Mar 10 2010 22:25:07
I've left voice mail and sent e-mail to two different public affairs offices at CalTrans but haven't heard back. Their web page is still indicating late 2011 or early 2012 for the opening--but then again the web page hasn't been updated in a very long time.

If and when I hear anything I'll post it here.

--Darin
#31

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Every wonder what it takes to catch a crab?

Eric Louie in the Contra Costa Times profiles a day in the life of a local crabber Jerry Pemberton, deputy harbormaster at the Pillar Point Harbor.

From the Contra Costa Times:

It is still dark as Jerry Pemberton uses radar and other instruments to navigate through Pillar Point Harbor, and then the ocean. The surroundings slowly become visible with the rising of the sun, but all there is to see on this slightly foggy morning is water, passing birds, other fishing boats in the distance and a dolphin.

Before reaching their traps, Pemberton, with his son at the wheel, chops up bait — a frozen block of sardines. Water runs in and out over the deck, coming and going through holes on the side of the boat.

A ship computer stores the general location of where Pemberton laid the traps, or pots, which have orange and black buoys attached. Using a gaff, Pemberton grabs the rope attached to a trap and feeds it into a winch that pulls up the 100-pound traps from 250 feet below.
Click here for the entire article.

There is also an excellent video, The Catch to accompany the article:




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The Midcoast Community Council held their bimonthly meeting on March 3rd.

The agenda for this meeting is not available online.

Video by Darin Boville
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San Mateo County has a new way for citizens to find information on parcels on the Midcoast and throughout the entire county. The San Mateo County Public GIS viewer allows users to explore basic information on developed and undeveloped lots and to see assessor maps and other documentation for each property.

A GIS is a geographic information system, a computerized database linked to an interactive map.

The interface, unfortunately, is clunky and difficult to use and the overall functionality of the GIS seems limited. But it sure beats a trip to Redwood City to look up records in person.

Click here to visit the new county GIS site.


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PRESS RELEASE

[Note: Videos of the Charter Review meetings will also be available on Montara Fog.]

Charter Review Committee Meetings Scheduled
Video Available on the County’s Web site

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – To help members of the public participate, the San Mateo County Charter Review Committee will meet at various locations across the county over the next three months.

The Committee is reviewing the Charter and, after public hearings, will make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors for amendments to be submitted to county voters. The meeting schedule is listed below.

The general purpose of a county charter is to provide a measure of home rule to the counties of the state. The charter defines San Mateo County’s structure, powers and functions. It’s akin to a local constitution.

In its review of the Charter, the Committee will specifically address the Civil Grand Jury recommendations regarding Board member elections and filling Board vacancies, and the method of electing members of the Board of Supervisors from the current “at large” system to a “by district” system. In addition to other items the Committee will consider consolidation and reorganization of departments and other organization improvements requiring a Charter amendment.

The Committee will meet at least once in each of the five supervisorial districts in addition to meetings held at the County seat in Redwood City. The schedule and all materials provided to Committee members are available at its Web site.

The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 10, at Half Moon Bay’s Cunha Intermediate School, Kelly Avenue and Church Street. All meetings are scheduled to start promptly at 5:30 p.m. and end at 7:30 p.m.

Video recordings of each meeting will be posted on the Charter Review Committee’s Web site: http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/CharterReviewCommittee.

Please check the Web site or call the number below to confirm these dates in case of last-minute changes. Upcoming Meeting Dates and Locations:
March 23
Serramonte Main Library Community Room
40 Wembley Dr.
Daly City

April 7, 2010
San Mateo Main Library
Oak Room
55 West Third Ave.
San Mateo

April 21, 2010
Menlo Park City Council Chambers
701 Laurel St.
Menlo Park

May 5, 2010
South San Francisco Municipal Services Building
33 Arroyo Drive
South San Francisco

May 19
455 County Center, Room 101
Redwood City

June 2
455 County Center, Room 101
Redwood City

June 16
455 County Center, Room 101
Redwood City

June 30
455 County Center, Room 101
Redwood City



For more information about the Charter Review Committee, please visit www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/charterreviewcommittee or call 650-363-4153.


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PRESS RELEASE

Three new Half Moon bay parks commissioners, Brian Ginna, Suzanne Malaspina-Bruce and Chris Voisard, will be sworn n Thursday, March 11 at the 7:00 pm meeting of the HMB Parks and Recreation Commission. The meeting takes place in the Sun Room of the Ted Adcock Community Center in Half Moon Bay, on Kelly Street.

The outgoing commissioners are Mary LaVigne-Bulter, Sofia Freer, and Don Berry.

The meeting will also address an update on the High School Pool Agreement with CUSD, the Mavericks swin organization, and HMB. In addition, the new commissioners will discuss endorsing the California State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act of 2010 for the November Ballot.


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In Fogtown

Re:Tunnel on track fo...
I've left voice mail and sent e-mail to two different public affairs offices at CalTrans but haven't heard back. Their we...
Darin 10.3.2010 14:25
Re:Tunnel on track fo...
Hmmm. Good question. I'll check with CalTrans in the morning and will find out. --Darin
Darin 8.3.2010 20:12
Tunnel on track for F...
Why does the slideshow say opening sometime in 2013. i sure hope it's opens in 2011.
Chris 8.3.2010 18:59
Tunnel on track for F...
** This thread discusses the content article: Tunnel on track for Fall 2011 opening (/index.php?option=com_content view=...
Darin 8.3.2010 18:59
Bruce Jenkins, sports...
Great interview! I wanted to point out that the film festival that he mentions at the end, was last years festival. I h...
Neil Merrilees 8.3.2010 17:21