Comments archive
No, that’s not what I was suggesting at all. What I am talking about is letting the ranger know when a problem with another visitor is occurring. For example, I keep an eye on visitors that go past the cones on the beach near the park headquarters....
Craig, Are you suggesting that volunteers take up law enforcement duties at the FMR? As I’m sure you are already aware the Friends of the FMR are prohibited from enforcing the marine mammal act and marine reserve rules. FMR volunteers are not trained in law enforcement.
I completely agree that the county needs to provide more resources to the Reserve to better enable it to become a better host to visitors. The Reserve is a marine sanctuary but one that needs the support of the community in order to survive which is why visitors are...
Indeed, that would be very interesting, they would remind the youth of today that “separation of church and state” is NOWHERE stated in the Constitution and why it is permissible for your government itself to have religion within it (that is, they put it all over the currency, buildings, et...
How about this topic: Could the founders of the US constitution teach today’s leaders about separation of church and state?
Craig, perhaps you are missing the distinction being made here between placing the blame on the shoulders of the ill-informed and unsupervised visitors as opposed to how the county, which is in a position to know better, chooses to promote the reserve and host those visitors. In other words, if...
It is really disappointing to read some of these comments and experience the overt hostility against visitors to the reserve. So why are some commenters ready to characterize these visitors as villains when they simultaneously propose them as the source of new revenue? In fact, some people seem...
FMR will never be closed entirely by a state or federal agency. A Marine Reserve is defined only as a “No Take” area, not a restricted access area. The entire coast of California is, by law, accessible to the public. Unless an area enjoys special federal protections,...
Annaliese writes “[...] let’s hear some solutions.” The solution is stated quite clearly in the FMR Master Plan and has been suggested at least twice in these comments. Just because you don’t like the solution doesn’t mean that a solution hasn’t been proposed. Limiting...
“Maybe you could help clarify?” I do not see the funding possibilities by the county in protection for Fitzgerald Marin Reserve. Please note that she did agree (above) that the county won’t provide money towards Fitzgerald. There is no “out-of-context personality conflict manifesting here,” there is only...
I just checked with Mezza Luna. They will mot be open Christmas.
It’s way simple. If the natural features of the marine reserve cannot be protected, it should be closed. I imagine it breaks the heart of Bob Breen and the other good county staff that has worked at Fitzgerald over the years to see ignorance among county politicians and bureaucrats...
Interesting dialog, and the old refrain I have frequently heard over the years re: FMR is how much more could be done to protect the marine wild life with more and better resources. Anneliese, I’m not sure I follow your perspective. On the one hand, you say: “The county...
@Anneliese— Thanks for the MidPen suggestion! I agree that the County is not going to spend money to increase staff at the FMR no matter how many <u>Dog’s on the Reef</u> videos are posted on YouTube. The County budget problems and Supervisor...
I don’t see the funding connection, but if you do then go get ‘em tiger.
SMC 2011/2012 budget info below. San Mateo County budget both gives and takes away: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/bay-area/2011/06/san-mateo-county-budget-both-gives-and-takes-away#ixzz1gwS8IuT5 Ups and downs $18 million: Amount restored from March budget proposal $129 million: Proposed cuts in 2011-12 budget $48 million: Amount proposed to take from reserves to balance budget 208: Number...
The county hasn’t money for coastside requests. Don’t demand that it “live up to its responsibilities.” Every California State Beach is un-(der)managed/funded, every National Recreation Area chases dollar opportunities, and most all of these cherished locations are overrun. But take a look at...
@Anneliese— The lack of County management at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve is an ongoing discussion. Suggestions include a paid visitor parking lot, no visitor street parking, restricting access to various parts of the reserve to guided tours on weekends and enforcing a “by reservation only” policy for group visits....
Supervisors Horsley’s response to FMR letter: “I agree in principle but limiting visitors without a visitor center or adequate staff to monitor, it is not possible at this time.” —Supervisor Don Horsley, Dec. 13, 2011 QUESTION How would a grant funded FMR visitors center provide funding for more County staff/rangers...
You need to present a solution to the problem.
The FMR tide pools are within the jurisdiction of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and San Mateo County. The County is responsible for managing the park and reef. To-date, the County has not allocated the resources/staff necessary to manage the FMR. Years of neglect have...
Dear Supervisor Horsley, On a busy low tide weekend in November over 10,000 people visited the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve tide pools. The reef is growing more crowded every year. Last time I checked 4,854,787 people had watched the “Octopus Walks on Land at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve” video on YouTube:...
This effort to protect Fitz MR reminds me of the La Jollans’ efforts to protect the seals at Children’s Pool: http://lajollafriendsoftheseals.org/help.html http://youtu.be/FNtu4pWmyuU http://savesandiegoseals.com/ It’s a controversial effort: http://www.10news.com/video/28133319/index.html and tensions are intense:...
Overpopulation here may be self-correcting if families are encouraged to play more in the polluted creek.
The Fitzgerald Marine Reserve is a Reserve and Not a beach. Kids with shovels and buckets need to go to beaches. People were blocking neighbor’s driveways. People were standing on top of sensitive habitats and carrying walking sticks. There were some dogs on the Reserve and some...
The crowd at the reserve that day was definitely the largest I’ve ever seen but it was not mayhem. On the reef, an octopus was spotted nearby and there was suddenly an enraptured crowd of young kids surrounding the docent. To me, that scene is emblematic of...
Having lived on Seal Cove in the early 70’s this looks like a scene from the “Walking Dead” the “New Stairs” were bad enough ,the Tidal Pools cannot stand this much impact for long.Ed (Doc) Ricketts, must be turning in his grave-Gray
David and Sabrina, you both raise some important points. In January, I plan on making some calls about this situation. It can’t and shouldn’t endure what is currently going on.
“How much could be done to lessen the damage without limiting public access?” Why not limit public access? It is a marine reserve, after all. That means in this instance, marine life comes first. Ways to limit public access might include restricting access to various parts of the reserve to...
Last time I checked 4,397,873 people had watched the “Octopus Walks on Land at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve” video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/FjQr3lRACPI I support the Coastal Act and public access to California beaches. The Fitzgerald Marine Reserve is designated as a protected reserve and that requires...
Mother Earth is constantly under attack, from bombs dropping to curious people picking up sensitive endangered species.
This was certainly the busiest weekend I can recall. We had to park close to Hwy 1.
They should occupy Martin’s Beach!
Sounds like a great place for “Occupy HMB” to occupy since the owner is a selfish .01%!
I wanted to follow up my earlier note to say that today the Scouts of Pack and Troop 255 and 263 (and a couple Girl Scout Troops, too!) collected almost 4000 lbs of food donated by our friends and neighbors of the Coastside. This is way, way up from last year’s collection...
April & Laura, thanks. I corrected the margin of victory and fixed the columns.
Looks like “Grand Total Votes” Column is missing.
Hi: By my calculations, Laura won by 104 votes, not 84. Thanks.
It’s now linked and I’ve confirmed that it’s now correct.
url is not a link and the url also doesn’t lead to the video as well. oops.
Congratulations! I think these individuals each bring tremendous energy, great ideas and a positive interaction of ideas. The MCC is a dynamic platform for Coastside residents to represent the needs of Coastsiders. Also, thank-you to all the candidates who ran. I admire your contributions to the Democratic process. Ginny
Thanks. I’ve corrected the story.
“XV. In summary, the Court finds that the Kehoe Ditch cleaning project of February, 2009, was a knowing and intentional violation of the Coastal Act, but that the impact on the environment was not substantial. Accordingly, minimal civil penalties of $1000 for each day that the violation persists will be imposed...
On page 11 of the decision the “civil penalties” stated as “minimum” not “maximum.” Very important distinction.
That’s really impressive! I’ve never heard of a write-in candidate winning office on the Coastside. Or anywhere in San Mateo County, for that matter. Maybe we should ask County Elections when, if ever, that’s happened before. Have to give a lot of credit to the candidate and...
Perhaps the new vote totals include the paper ballots, which were much more likely to include the write-in candidate.
Last Updated: November 10, 2011 Report <table> <tr><td>Candidate</td><td>Total Votes</td></tr> <tr><td>DAN HAGGERTY (30.35%)</td><td> 1,095</td></tr> <tr...
There will be updates on the results at https://www.shapethefuture.org/ tomorrow (Thurs.) at 4:30 PM and again next Tuesday and Thursday at 4:30 PM. Candidates or their representatives will probably be hanging out at the elections office to watch the counts being made. The rest of us can make our...
The coastside is an excellent place to live if you want proof positive that your 1 vote, does indeed count! Congrats to the winning slate, a team I know did a great deal of old fashioned hard work to get out the vote. It seemed that everywhere I went...
It is not necessary to ask for a write-in ballot. All ballots have a place to write-in candidate names. But it is necessary to make sure you do it right. It IS necessary that you first indicate that you want to make a write-in vote by selecting the write-in option,...
It is not necessary to ask for a write-in ballot. All ballots have a place to write-in candidate names. But it is necessary to make sure you do it right. It IS necessary that you first indicate that you want to make a write-in vote by selecting the write-in option,...
Not many folks at voting at Farallone View either. There’s still time to vote, and I agree with Carl that every vote counts in this election. Although we’ve had a couple of elections in recent years where it came down to a handful of votes. The folks at...
At 11:30 AM, only 12 people had voted at the polling place on Carlos in Moss Beach. Realizing a lot of people now vote by mail, that is still stunningly few. Very few votes can swing elections with low turnouts, and there are distinct differences among some of the candidates running for...
Some good issues for those willing to duke it out with Khosla: prescriptive rights (was control of the private road and required parking fee for all those years maintained by the property owner and sufficient and continuous enough to negate the rights for the commonly used route), the right of...
With all the chip seal and asphalt paving on the midcoast recently, there are obviously opportunities for projects that would tap this grant money.
Jose - I’m not following the current conversation on Arata’s so I’ll save that debate for those with firsthand knowledge, but I have, on many occasions, served as an adult chaperone (referee?) for Farallone view’s trips to Arata’s and may I say “thank you”. ...
Somebody please correct the typo in the headline….. please….
Sohpomoric “editorial opinion”... reminds me of an MCCer who would cry, throw a temper tantrum, slam the table,... run home and audit her trust fund.
>>But he’s the Director of the San Mateo County Tea Party, and organization whose website speaks for itself >>Mr. Stone has a leadership role in the Tea Party. Speaks for itself. Barry please opine on how Mr Stone’s affiliation apparently disqualifies him for the...
Mr. Stone feigns ignorance regarding the Coastal Act and then goes on a rant about property rights? Maybe a backhanded approach to discussing coastal access, the environment and coastal development is the key to a Half Moon Bay Review endorsement.
This morning, the HMB Review editor confirmed that he was aware in advance of the Review endorsement that Mr. Stone has a leadership role in the Tea Party.
Interestingly, the HMB Review editor confirmed this morning that he was aware in advance of the Review endorsement that Mr. Stone has a leadership role in the Tea Party.
Thank-you Cheri for the Pumpkin Festival photographs. And, another big Thank-You for Barry’s Interviews of the MCC candidates. You and Barry are so generous with your time. Your contibutions to our community are exemplary! Ginny McShane
Not sure, but there was another (?) in the middle of hwy 1 just north of Ocean View Farm in Montara, just before the Slide, on Friday.
Thanks Bill for this reminder. I hope this meeting is well attended. The Harbor is a precious resource! It’s one of the main reasons I moved to the Coastside, 32 years ago, when my daughter was four years old. Ginny McShane
I hate to be a naysayer, but my experience with POST in 2008, regarding fire safety did not turn out quite so warm and fuzzy. Be vigilant.I am referring to the area just north of Quarry Park, right hand side. Yes we are happy to have our fire danger reduced....
Trespassing on San Gregorio Beach? Is it trespassing to go to San Gregorio Beach?
Sorry for the late notice but I now have to cancel tomorrow nights meeting of the MCC Planning and Building Committee due to lack of venue for Tuesday evening. GSD will NOT be available. We will reschedule shortly. Anyone interested in this committee please contact me.
What happened? I know this was close to the cutover from MCTV, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there were technical issues.
Kathryn, the speaker you are referring to is Brady Logan from Montara. And we really need to thank Merideth Lamont from Clipper Ridge who got our attention and did most of the research on this. And there were others who also contributed from the Northern Coastal Communities Association who have...
This topic was covered in an excellent manner. The gentleman, who presented first for the neighbors, did an excellent job. I am impressed by how much prep work has been done. Thanks to POST, GGNRA, CalFire, and Coastside Fire Protection District. We are in a much better...
Bill, you do great work—thanks for keeping us all in the loop and organizing these meetings!
Latest update: Just heard back from CFPD and they will also be in attendance. So all the major stakeholders should be represented. It could be a full house so plan accordingly. Thanks.
Latest update: Just heard back from CFPD and they will also be in attendance. So all the major stakeholders should be represented. It could be a full house so plan accordingly. Thanks.
Risa, for some reason I keep doing that. Thanks for keeping me honest. BTW, so far we have POST, CUSD, GGNRA but no Fire. But I will continue to try.
Also CUSD and GGNRA will be there. Still nothing from Cal Fire or CFPD but I am working on it.
Coral Reef + Clipper Ridge = Coral Ridge? :)
POST has said they’ll be at meeting on Wednesday for the discussion of fire safety concerns.
Interesting note about Lester’s role in building a comprise with Arcata over its LCP this year: The dispute arose last month when—after about 13 years of holding public meetings and forming working groups—Arcata submitted its updated Local Coastal Program to the commission for approval. Commission staff returned the...
The Commission has made an excellent decision. Charles Lester has an impressive list of degrees. His tenure as Deputy has shown him to be something of a polymath regarding coastal issues. His remarkable ability to respond in depth to Commissioners’ questions regarding complicated local issues has been a hallmark. I...
Excellent choice. For months I had been wondering and worrying about who was going to replace Peter but now that I know, it’s not a surprise at all. In hindsight, Charles is the obvious choice. I think the CCC will now continue on with no visible...
I commend the MCC for taking the issue up. I doubt anything will come of it. However, I think the citizens of the MidCoast would benefit from an updated financial assessment of the feasibility of incorporation. A real incorporation or annexation is fraught with risks. SMC BOS...
Half Moon Bay loses land-use lawsuits because they want to lose them. The lawsuits pretty much dried up during the few years that the pro-environment Council members were in office because in those days, the City WON the lawsuits. Practically the next morning after the environmentalists lost control...
Leonard is right on. The only way the coastside could become one city, is by becoming a Charter City with a seven member city council elected within their own district. That way no district could control the functioning of the city. Just think. All the functions of Coastside City would...
I agree with Leonard that an incorporated Midcoast is likely to elect a slow-growth city council. one of my concerns is that it would not have the resources to defend itself from lawsuits over land use policy. The supes have used the threat of lawsuits to rationalize their decisions on...
So let’s move on to discussion of incorporation. Would it be better than the status quo? In my opinion, very likely. Could it be worse? Sure, the over-developers could buy the City Council as has been done in L.A. and in HMB. To...
“Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the results to be different is the definition of insanity.”—Albert Einstein I cannot understand why some of those who are most vocal about how the County government abuses and screws over the unincorporated Midcoast are also the most vocal...
My comment above appears to be dangling because I big comment that I just posted before it isn’t there. I don’t know where it went.
Oh, one more thing. In regards to “Why even bother conducting the study now given the current economic environment?”, I answered that during the MCC discussion of sending the request. Any new city would have to be able to survive during good times as well as bad. ...
Quarry Park has a new Facebook page! Please “like” Quarry Park. facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Quarry-Park/232747180106461?sk=wall
“...in a letter sent to county supervisors late last month, MCC noted that circumstances have changed since that study was prepared. Substantially higher property values resulting in higher property tax collection, a larger population and transient occupancy tax revenues from the Oceano Hotel are factors that warrant a review.” I...
I wonder if he will include the development of the almost ubiquitous coastside farmer’s retirement plan: sell your property for development or to an open space group wanting to prevent development?
Well I can see we have some of the same tastes for music….
Joel, I took up residence on the coastside a few years after Joni Mitchell wrote “Big Yellow Taxi” (about a visit to Hawaii she made, but universal as a comment on unthinking wipeout of places for the sake of a few short-term dollars). The chorus lives on as a comment...
“An independent midcoast citizen organization not afraid to employ legal remedies could be another possibility for being heard over our self-assigned political masters. Support for their independence and strengthing of the local districts we do control, notably MWSD and GSD, are also important for keeping the idea of democratic self-determination...
Joel, The revived subject of annexation or incorporation involves myriad considerations and local attitudes. If you want to delve into every political and developer money-grubbing aspect of it, the effort could easily eat your life. The county supervisors and bureaucrats consider themselves our rulers, not our public servants. Horsley included,...
WOW: A lot to digest. Okay: I’m done digesting. Now, I think I have a sick feeling in my stomach :0( How come nobody’s talking about this? It seems like we should all be letting new Supervisor who took over Rich Gordon’s post how we feel about this...
My guess is that no one in Jersey will envy our perpetual summer gloom. Which makes me happy.
Is this just another way of trying to make New Jersey look better by filming parts of their episodes on California’s beautiful coast. I don’t want to pick on NJ too much right now because of all the hurricane Irene damage they are suffering from, but this was...
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