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.

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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:

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.

Be sure to click on the small photograph for a short slideshow.

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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

Darin

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

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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.

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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PRESS RELEASE

MROSD to consider purchasing 340 acres near Half Moon Bay

Los Altos, California [March 5, 2010] – The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District is holding a public meeting in Half Moon Bay on March 17 to consider purchasing a 340-acre property known as Lobitos Ridge from the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST). Please help the District inform your readers about this meeting to be held:

March 17 at 6:30 p.m.
Coastside Fire Protection District
1191 Main Street
Half Moon Bay, CA. 94019

The property is adjacent to the District’s existing Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve near Half Moon Bay, and is an important link in the goal of connecting “Purisima to the Sea” by preserving a corridor of public open space and agricultural land from Skyline Ridge to the San Mateo County coast. The District purchased an adjacent 260-acre property from POST in June 2009, and an adjacent 450-acre property from the University of California in August 2009. The District hopes to add one final piece of land to complete this project in 2011.

“Lobitos Ridge is a key link connecting public lands together that provide all of us with scenic beauty, as well as vital necessities like clean water and locally produced food,” said District General Manager Steve Abbors.

The District is a public agency whose mission is to preserve open space and agricultural land, protect and restore the natural environment and provide for ecologically sensitive public recreation and education. If purchased by the District, Lobitos Ridge would continue to be grazed and farmed, and would remain closed until a public planning process looks at opportunities to balance public access with environmental preservation and agriculture.

POST is a private, non-profit land trust that protects local land in order to preserve it as parks and open space. When POST acquires a piece of land, the organization’s goal is to transfer it to an entity who can manage it in perpetuity, often to public agencies like the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. Prior to the meeting, an agenda will be posted to the District’s Web site at www.openspace.org.


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