During the last school year, in the fog of COVID-19, the entire library at Pescadero Middle and High School was removed. It was replaced by a “social justice library” with the caveat that only “approved” books could be added. Obviously, this draconian action has been met with some resistance…
While the Latinx success data in the recent Half Moon Bay Review article headlined “Latinos 5 times as likely to fail at Cabrillo schools” is disheartening, it is neither new nor entirely surprising. As an educator for more than 20 years and an unapologetic advocate for the economic upward m…
How would you like to help enhance the livability of the Coastside for older adult residents of our area? San Mateo County, with the support of Board of Supervisors President David Canepa and his colleagues, have started a countywide effort to encourage local cities to launch “Age Friendly C…
Last week I submitted my resignation to the Main Street Bridge Advisory Board. My action was certainly not because of the workload from serving, even though I was elected to chair the board. On the contrary, of all the civic boards and commissions I’ve served, this project of our oversight s…
California has often been criticized for lacking a comprehensive, holistic approach to housing and homelessness. When investments were made in the past, they were often scattered in their approach and design, with little strategic relation to other investments.
It occurred to me after reading the opinion pieces here last week by Jim Larimer and David Eblovi that a possible scientific solution to the persistent housing crisis might be at hand. I should point out, however, that the housing crisis has several root causes among which are the cost of ne…
The availability of potable water is not a reason to oppose development in drought-threatened California. The view that water should limit development is one of the false claims made by Not-In-My-Back-Yard organizations that want to stop the future. The NIMBY mantra that new development pose…
I have to ask, gentle reader, if there comes a point, any point, when you will accept your responsibility for what your decisions have wrought upon your community? In an age of personal non-accountability (with President Bill Clinton as the era’s poster-child) the current phase we are in app…
Legalizing cannabis was supposed to be about social justice. About ending mass incarceration of people of color for possessing a small amount of marijuana. About safer legal access.
Nearly $2 trillion in federal funding is flowing to state and local governments as part of the American Rescue Plan, which is more than what President Franklin Roosevelt spent on the New Deal, even after accounting for inflation. With billions of these dollars being funneled to broadband inf…
Inflation is on the rise all around the country, but in California we are paying the highest prices for gas in the nation, and the state’s median home prices are projected to climb 13.1 percent this year, compared to a 9.8 percent rise in 2020. As prices go up, it is more difficult for worki…
As millions of renters stare down the end of California’s eviction moratorium, we can clearly see the short- and long-term effects of the pandemic on Californians. It has crystallized just how many Californians decide whether they can pay rent or buy groceries, despite living in the wealthie…
California being what it is — a very large state with a complex social and economic matrix and a unique political structure — it generates an endless stream of analysis and criticism.
Eight months ago, following the murder of George Floyd by former American police officer Derek Chauvin and nationwide protests of police brutality against the BIPOC community, Half Moon Bay commissioned the painting of a Black Lives Matter mural on City Hall. In doing so, the city showed sol…
A few months ago, after the cancellation of Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival was announced, I penned a short opinion column in this paper with a simple message: COVID vaccines work, so it doesn’t make sense for us to stay afraid and disrupt important events in our lives. I’m a Ph.D. vi…
The state’s staggering budget surplus and historic unemployment rates illustrate the split between California’s haves and have-nots: A $76 billion chasm separates wealthy elites from underpaid workers. Vulnerable Californians were hit hard by the pandemic, and our colleges and universities m…
California’s new budget makes it clear that Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature’s dominant Democrats are favoring a cadre of local district attorneys who favor leniency and rehabilitation for lawbreakers in their political duel with traditional, punishment-oriented prosecutors.
At the June 15 Half Moon Bay City Council Meeting, Harvey Rarback submitted a motion for a “new model for policing and public safety, with accountability to the people of Half Moon Bay” that would create a new Half Moon Bay Public Safety Department. Most significantly, this would fundamental…
Recent local, tragic events have ended with police officers killing people they encountered with mental illnesses or stopped for minor infractions of the law. These seemingly disproportionate outcomes have motivated efforts to reform the police. The Half Moon Bay City Council is considering …
At the beginning of 2020, I received a greeting card which coined a phrase about 2020: “Maybe we’ll have better vision in this year.” I had no idea what that would mean.
I like to say that I used to sell the fish, and now I save them.
The storm is passing. The last year and a half has been rough sailing in so many ways. One refuge we, and our neighbors from over the hill, could all enjoy was our coastal town with its astonishing natural resources. Our beaches, trails and parks were actively used throughout and at times overwhelmed. Now, with inoculation rates in San Mateo County approaching 80 percent and mask rules lifting, we have arrived at the new normal.
At last week’s Half Moon Bay City Council meeting, Councilmembers Harvey Rarback and Joaquin Jimenez brought an ordinance on policing policy that I helped them co-write. As a result, those policies will be heard by the entire council for appropriate action at our next City Council meeting on…
I was grateful to read the Half Moon Bay Review article about the recent cleanup at the homeless encampment (Review, April 21).
We did it! On April 15 the California Coastal Commission certified Half Moon Bay's Land Use Plan, ensuring that the people who live, work, and play here will be able to enjoy our spectacular coastal resources now and for generations to come. We have laid out a vision of where we want trails,…
The era of California’s big climate ambitions is over, even as California’s megadroughts and wildfires worsen.
Slipping through nearly unnoticed at last Tuesday's City Council meeting was an agenda item and subsequent vote that will have a huge impact on you and your vote for representative local government over the next 10 years.
The Half Moon Bay Review editorial on this page a few weeks back was right to hope for brand-new ways to inspire our kids to learn. But a thousand strands of evidence, plus recent experience with remote schooling, show children’s anxious lives need fewer screens and digital demands, not more.
The Sewer Authority Mid-coastside lawsuit now involves over $6 million in disputed capital costs for the Intertie Pipeline System, plus an estimated $680,000 of Half Moon Bay legal fees, likely headed toward $3 million for all three agencies if it goes to trial, which is where it appears to …
Fifty years ago, my dad, a police officer, answered a call and as a result was murdered doing routine police work. His assailant purchased the murder weapon just days before. My dad lived long enough to wound his assailant who spent the rest of his life in prison.
Reducing (or an attempt at eliminating) any greenhouse gas effects from our environment is a worthwhile endeavor, if the Half Moon Bay City Council is willing to put its collective wallet on the line to subsidize any decision. As a single person who switched every one of the electric applian…
What is a name? Is it something that defines you? Is it what people call you? Or is it simply how you show yourself to the world?
It’s been one year since we went into lockdown. On March 19, 2020, we all stopped going to the gym, restaurants, the library, school, work, vacation spots and church. We switched to remote work. Or gamely put on PPE because our jobs could not be remote. Or we became unemployed.
Last week, Sandra Harmon’s daughter filed suit against the county, the city of Half Moon Bay and several individuals for (among other things) the wrongful death of her mom.
Thank you for your recent article about the finding that our local school district policy is over-assigning Latino boys to special education. This finding is very important and is too true in other school districts as well. I say this from personal experience.
In the last decade, two people have died during interactions with local police here on the Coastside. For a small place like ours, this feels out of step with our community and its history. Is this an alarming new trend that requires some change in the way we manage civic life? Has police wo…
Whenever I go to the store to buy some shampoo or a hairbrush, I always look at the prices. Doesn’t everyone? My favorite shampoo costs about $15, which I think is a pretty reasonable price.
This is meant as a response to the letter submitted two weeks ago by Jo Ann Arvidson.
We are in a crisis. Not just a health crisis, but a kid crisis.
Many people around the country were surprised and stunned last week as we collectively watched our Capitol being sacked by rampaging insurrectionists. While disappointed, our family was not surprised.
For decades, a cliché about California was that the weather was always sunny and mild during Pasadena’s Rose Bowl Parade on New Year’s Day so snowbound television viewers in other states were thus enticed to migrate westward.
As a child, the holidays were always charged with tremendous anticipation of gifts, the joy of school vacation, visits from relatives, and lots of seasonal foods. It was “the most wonderful time of the year.” Then, I grew up and realized I wasn’t so special, some relatives were alcoholics, i…
The housing debate here on the coast has been brewing for years. There are some among us, including Quinn Ebert, the author of last week’s opinion piece, who oppose opening a homeless shelter. No doubt those same people have been vocal opponents of the affordable housing development proposed…
Coastsider David Seaton ran an unsuccessful campaign for a seat on the Cabrillo Unified School District board of trustees this year. When it was over, he received a letter from U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, congratulating him on his efforts and thanking him for his interest in public service. Aft…
Two months ago, a methamphetamine-addicted, maskless, homeless woman barged into a Main Street store. Along with violating coronavirus guidelines, the transient, who arrived on a bus from over the hill, violated rules of civility and probably a couple of state laws. She defied the business o…
Dear Editor: I am writing today in strong support of the proposed purchase of two hotels on the Coastside for transitional homeless housing.
Sheriff Bolanos, as you are well aware, your deputies wear a Body Worn Camera system whenever they are on patrol. The taxpayers of San Mateo County bought these camera systems for your deputies so that in the case of contentious incidents, like one here in Half Moon Bay on May 5, we would be able to review for ourselves what actually happened; this as opposed to simply being given a narrative from your office with no way to validate its authenticity.
I spent some time in Quarry Park the other day on my mountain bike exploring the high trails, some of which exceeded my skill level. Other times, I go bird watching there. Or teach my 7-year-old niece bike-handling skills in the field (please pick up your dog’s poop, by the way).
I have to admit, I like to drive. Behind the wheel is a place of serenity for me. Yes, even surrounded by all the tailgaters, and cut-you-off-ers, and impatient speeders endangering the lives of others as well as their own, I find a sense of peace and tranquility.
There was a lot of disappointment surrounding the cancellation of this year’s Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival due to COVID-19 restrictions — disappointment from the community, the diehard event-goers, and, maybe most of all, the local nonprofits whose annual budgets depend on their Pu…