For those who care whether we have Peace banners or not, a kind volunteer was seen taking down the banners today (the ones unburdened with adjacent parked cars).
Some thought the banners were long overdue to be removed, but I think they were an improvement on a lampost!
Thanks Kevin!
– Written by Fiona
Here is a letter to the editor from today's edition of the S.F. Examiner:
Measure H in Burlingame
We were members of a group of newer Burlingame homeowners that publicly opposed the prior storm-drain ballot measure in 2006. While we always supported the underlying intent of Measure H, we found its taxation method based on assessed value grossly inequitable.
We believe the storm-drain mail-in ballot measure now before voters offers an inherently more equitable approach, based on property square footage and impervious (non-absorbable) area.
We are voting for the storm-drain measure, and ask newer and longer-term Burlingame property owners, alike, to join us in our support.
Lorne Abramson and Richard Voon
Burlingame
– Written by Joe
Burlingame's storm drain measure, which asks property owners to help pay for a complete overhaul of the city's 80-year-old storm drain system, has been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, state Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, county Supervisors Mark Church and Rich Gordon, former county supervisor John Ward, Burlingame Elementary School District Board of Trustees and the two Burlingame residents who serve as trustees for the San Mateo Union High School District.
The San Mateo County Times and The Daily Journal also have endorsed the measure. To see the complete list of endorsements and learn more about the storm drain measure, go to http://www.protectburlingame.org.
Ballots have been mailed to all property owners in Burlingame. They must be returned to Burlingame City Hall no later than May 5 at 8 p.m. Property owners who have not received a ballot should contact City Clerk Mary Ellen Kearney at mkearney@burlingame.org or call City Hall at 558-7200
(source: Daily Journal)
– Written by Fiona
Received today:
This is a follow up to a previous e-mail concerning Easton Branch Library. We apologize for any misinformation that was inadvertently included in the earlier e-mail. In an effort to provide more clarity please note the following:
As you are probably aware, the City of Burlingame, like many agencies, is having a challenging budget year that will continue into the 2009-2010 fiscal year. The City's revenues have steeply declined over the last 6 months. The shortfall for 2009-2010 is expected to be $4.27 million. A number of painful reductions have been planned for implementation as part of the preparations of the 09-10 budget.
The City Manager's direction to accelerate the budget balancing action that was recommended by staff (to close the Easton Branch on Fridays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.) was part of a list of reductions that will hopefully avoid a projected $500,000 budget short fall for the current 2008-09 budget.
Although the full closure of Easton Branch Library is on a list of possible additional budget reductions the list was not developed by the City Council but rather by the City Manager and the Department Head team.
That list was presented to the City Council as illustration of the reductions or revenue increases that would need to be considered should there be further decline in projected revenues and/or should requested new revenues not be approved.
The Council has not made any decision regarding any of the additional reductions nor were they asked to do so at this time. There has not been any proposal to permanently close the Easton Branch Library as early as July 1, 2009.
Should the situation necessitate consideration of those future cuts, public meetings and hearings will be held by the City Council before a decision is made.
We urge the public to use the web page links provided above to understand the full range of budget balancing actions that have been included in the new fiscal year budget and those that may be necessary for consideration based on future financial realities. The options are painful for all of us given the long history of a high level of service provided to our community.
– Written by Fiona
Burlingame Elementary School District board endorses storm-drain measure (by Christine Morente, San Mateo County Times)
BURLINGAME The Burlingame Elementary School District Board of Trustees voted 4-1 Tuesday night in support of the city's storm drain upgrade.
The existing system is about 80 years old.
Liz Gindraux was the lone trustee who voted against the proposed $39 million project. Gindraux said she is concerned about the cost of the measure. If property owners pass it in May, the district will be taxed an annual $32,000 for its seven parcels. "I'm not convinced that the city has done its due diligence on the 30-year program, and I'm not thrilled how they've supported our measures in the past," she said.
Board President Greg Land said he is concerned about the city's infrastructure, but he admitted paying the fee when the district is in "dire straits" will be difficult.
Signed ballots are due back to the city no later than May 5. A simple majority vote is needed for the measure to pass.
***
Interesting comment from one board member as a tit-for-tat. Hummmmmmmm.
I have read a very eloquent letter from a school board member who speaks of our libraries as important learning centers for our community – they are exactly that and more – they are the "centers" for our community and just closing or shaving off opening hours should be a concern for any town – especially Burlingame which has two of the best!
More info here
– Written by Fiona
Every few years people have to come out to support the El Camino eucalyptus trees when they are threatened by Caltrans (who manage El Camino since it is a state highway). During these hearings we hear how dangerous the eucalyptus trees might be if one were to fall. We don't often hear how they protect people and property.
Today's Daily Post has a short article about the fatal accident that happened at 9:50pm Saturday night on El Camino just south of Safeway. The driver and passenger in a silver Infiniti M45 had to be extricated with the "jaws of life" and the passenger did not make it.
I saw the aftermath of this accident on Saturday night. The police spray paint markings are still on the pavement showing where the car hit the curb right next to the bus stop on the west side of El Camino. It then careened more than 50 yards across 4 lanes and hit a eucalyptus on the east side of the road. The bus shelter is between two eucalyptus and the row of eucalyptus on the east side shield the fence for United Methodist Church childrens' playground as well as some residential buildings. Neighbors have estimated that the Infiniti was traveling at twice the speed limit (about 70 mph). It landed upside down about 5 yards from the UMC fence and was unrecognizable as an Infiniti. Let's all keep those eucalyptus in mind.
– Written by Joe
Burlingame wants high-speed rail line to be underground
By Christine Morente (San Mateo County Times)
BURLINGAME City officials have asked the California High-Speed Rail Authority to consider building its rail line underground to keep the community "whole."
The City Council reviewed the route for the San Francisco-to-San Jose section of the proposed high-speed rail project and decided a tunnel is the preferred alternative.
Elevated tracks using retaining walls along the Caltrain corridor would cut the city in half, according to an April 3 letter signed by Burlingame Mayor Ann Keighran.
It and other comments from cities and concerned citizens will be added to an environmental impact report.
Ben Strumwasser, outreach manager for CirclePoint, a consulting firm, said some cities have asked for the rail line to run underground, while others have not. He said the purpose of the scoping process is to learn what is important to communities and stakeholders.
The environmental impact report will look at costs, disruptions during construction, and other issues. "We're going to be taking input throughout this process," Strumwasser said.
For now, Burlingame's concerns revolve around the residential areas from Millbrae's intermodal station to the San Mateo border.
In some cases, homes and parks are about 50 feet from the tracks. Burlingame High School, Washington Park and the Burlingame Avenue train station are near the proposed corridor.
One-quarter of the city's population lives east of the rail line, according to the letter.
"It will be a negotiation process to see what we can get in terms of a project not impacting us, and what they're willing to offer," Councilwoman Terry Nagel said Friday. "We really don't know what all the options are."
The council wants the authority to consider these options:
Pay for an economic study on the future impacts of the proposed service on properties in and around the corridor. According to the city, a physical barrier along the line would diminish desirability of living close to the train and decrease property values.
Study options with a preference for a tunnel and or trench through the city.
Restore weekday Caltrain service at the Broadway station. Caltrain has identified it as an improvement possible with electrification.
Protect and preserve the Burlingame Avenue and Broadway train stations as well as the eucalyptus grove from North Lane to beyond Oak Grove Avenue on the west side of the tracks.
Pay for right-of-way costs.
Nagel, a proponent of high-speed rail, said the city has been meeting with San Mateo and Millbrae regarding regional concerns.
The authority proposes building a 790-mile transit system serving Sacramento, the Bay Area, the Central Valley, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego.
Trains would reach speeds of 220 mph. The system would carry between 90 million and 117 million passengers per year by 2030, according to forecasts.
The project is estimated to cost about $40 billion. The Caltrain corridor has been chosen as the local route.
Stations would include the San Francisco Transbay Terminal, San Francisco International Airport, a mid-Peninsula stop either Redwood City or Palo Alto and San Jose and Gilroy.
The line would continue under the Pacheco Pass to the vicinity of Merced and down the Central Valley.
In November, voters approved $10 billion in general obligation bonds to partially fund the project.
On April 2, the Caltrain board approved an agreement with the authority to work as partners in planning, designing and constructing improvements along the existing rail line.
Burlingame's comments can be found on the city's Web site, http://www.burlingame.org.
For more information about the project, visit http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/.
***
See further article which explains what a YUMBY is! http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_12117644
– Written by Fiona
Sad news to receive this note from our city about the Easton Library. This is not my NEIGHBORHOOD (yes it is supposed to be in caps) library but it is a gem and a few years back many residents volunteered their time and money to renovate this branch into something very special:
Easton Branch Closure: Important Information
The Easton Branch Library will close all day on Fridays, effective May 1, 2009.
Friday closure has been ordered by the City Manager, due to the loss of City funds to support Library services. In addition, the Burlingame Public Library is scheduled to lose 15% or over $ 400,000 in funding effective July 1st. Additional hours and services will be reduced at the main library.
The Easton Branch Library may be closed permanently, effective July 1, 2009. Permanent closure of the Easton Branch is on a list developed by the City Council of those items to be reduced or eliminated due to a loss in City revenues.
What you can do..
The City Council is interested in your opinions regarding the Easton Branch. Contact information for the Council may be found at: http://www.burlingame.org. Contact information is also available at all public service desks.
About the Branch..
For more than 65 years, Burlingame has provided a particular type of neighborhood library service at the Easton Branch. Many patrons walk to the branch, and the residential location is highly valued by older people and young families with children.
Almost 60% of the Easton circulation is for children's materials. Research shows that high public library circulation (Burlingame's is one of the highest in California) corresponds to higher reading test scores, regardless of parental education level. (School Library Journal, September 1, 2008, "The Link between public library services and early reading success.")
After the completion of renovation of the branch in October 2004, circulation of materials and traffic through the door at Easton has nearly tripled.
The cost of operating the branch is less than 2% of the overall library budget or $124,000 per year.
90% of the $ 1.1M renovation budget was made possible through private donations from the community.
– Written by Fiona
Dealership closes after one day (Daily Journal)
Only one car was sold at the new Subaru dealership in Burlingame Thursday before it was temporarily closed by a state superior judge wanting to look into an appeal from a Redwood City lot selling the same brand.
Putnam Automotive opened a Subaru location at 85 California Drive in Burlingame Thursday. Lawyers for Carlsen Subaru of Redwood City, 480 Veterans Blvd., filed a petition the same week pointing to a state statute preventing market saturation. A judge ordered Putnam to close until a hearing to determine if the business can reopen can be held. A challenge to the decision moved the case to a different judge and a yet-to-be-determined hearing date, said Michael Sieving, lawyer for Carlsen Subaru of Redwood City.
Cars purchased by Kent Putnam were put in storage until the issue can be heard. The halt puts 10 to 15 jobs at the new dealership in limbo. Some employees have already quit, Putnam said.
City officials were excited about last week's opening since new car revenue represents about 35 percent of sales tax coming into Burlingame.
Opening the new location would probably put the Redwood City dealership out of business, Sieving said.
In March, Subaru of America, Inc. announced a 1 percent increase in sales in February 2009 over the same month in 2008. Year-to-date sales rose 4 percent with 25,283 cars sold this year compared to 24,195 last, according to the company's Web site. Putnam pointed to this growth as the initial reason for opening the store.
– Written by Fiona
The Voice Editorial Board received the following e-mail asking for neighbors' opinions:
I'd like to know the opinions of the Pershing Park neighborhood regarding the Foreclosure Home Tour? big Black Van that is parked on Crescent for all to view. If there was ever an there ought to be a law? problem this Van is just that. As a matter of fact I'm hoping there is a law so we can at the very least ask the owner to remove the magnetic signage each night.
I'd be interested what peoples thoughts are. The van owner previously specialized in 0? percent home financing but obviously that has dried up.
– Written by Joe
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