Month: August 2013

  • High Cost Rail – Part 92 Willie Connects the Dots

    I don't read the EssEff Comical that much anymore unless I pick it up for free on an airplane or something, but the Wall Street Journal editors are still skimming it.  In today's Notable & Quotable section, they republish:

    From former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown's column in the San Francisco Chronicle, July 28:

    News that the Transbay Terminal is something like $300 million over budget should not come as a shock to anyone.

    We always knew the initial estimate was way under the real cost. Just like we never had a real cost for the Central Subway or the Bay Bridge or any other massive construction project. So get off it.

    In the world of civic projects, the first budget is really just a down payment. If people knew the real cost from the start, nothing would ever be approved.

    The idea is to get going. Start digging a hole and make it so big, there's no alternative to coming up with the money to fill it in.

    So there you have it–right from one of the horses' mouths so to speak.  The original estimate of $68 billion for our High Cost Rail system is "just a down payment".  No worries…this "hole" is plenty big at 400+ miles deep…I mean long.

  • ArtZfest on Howard Ave.

    I made it over to the new ArtZfest on Howard Avenue just as the weather cleared yesterday.  I like the new location a lot.  It felt like there was more room to navigate on the street and on the sidewalks.  UMC used its adjacent parking lot for its Backpackpalooza event.  The bandstand was in a very convenient location with a shaded entry way nearby at Bank of the West.  My sources tell me that this will be the location for the future as well.  That should play better with the Avenew merchants since they will be impacted less.  Howard Ave. has fewer retail establishments and some of those just closed up shop for the day.  I spotted three of the City Council candidates in the crowd but only one was actively campaigning.

    The Burlingame idol singers were great and the Kevin Russell Band played a great set of blues rock.  Kudos to the Chamber for adapting and improving!

    ArtZfest band

  • For Sale: B’game Post Office

    The much anticipated sales offer of the B'game Post Office has come to pass.  We've been tracking the issues like its historic status here, the Council's request to not encumber it via historic restrictions here and Grosvenor's possible proposed project here.  Today's DJ article notes:

    Wigdel said the length of time the selling process takes will depend on the buyer and how many bids the U.S. Postal Service receives.

    “We have to do due diligence to make sure everything is in order,” Wigdel said. “We want this to happen as quickly as possible, but we don’t want to speculate.”

    There is one known possible buyer. Grosvenor, an international property development, investment and fund management group, put forward a mixed-use project using lot E — located between Lorton Avenue, Park Road, Burlingame Avenue and Howard Avenue — and the adjacent post office. Burlingame Public Works Director Syed Murtuza said the company has expressed interest in buying the post office property as well.

    The concept Grosvenor put forward for the lot space includes 100 residential units, 35,000 square feet of retail and/or restaurant space and 125 residential parking spaces, according to a city staff report.

    I'm sure the restrictions on what can and cannot be torn down on the site will come out eventually, it will just take some digging.

  • Invitation to Candidates: Blog On!

    As I predicted in a recent post, the starter's pistol has been fired in the 2013 City Council race.  Consider this an open invitation to all candidate's to list your priorities and your approaches to accomplishing those priorities should you be elected.  The Voice is a very popular on-line venue for B'gamers and gets even more popular during campaign seasons.  And it's free (to you).  Think of it as a doorway to City Hall.  The door can hit you in the rear if you aren't careful, but it is more interactive than any forum in town.

    CityHall2

  • Sidewalks and Lawyers

    I recall a City Council race when city vs homeowner maintenance of sidwalks was one candidate's hot button issue.  While the issue simmered down to nothing after the election, this Daily Journal piece got me thinking when it reports

    Half Moon Bay, along with many cities in San Mateo County, have passed ordinances requiring property owners to maintain public sidewalks adjacent to their property. Half Moon Bay resident Lisa Kramer said she learned of this law the hard way. Five months after purchasing a home in 2012, a woman walking in front of Kramer’s home tripped on the sidewalk, suffered facial lacerations and incurred $15,000 in related medical expenses, Kramer said. To Kramer’s surprise, she became the target in a potential $350,000 lawsuit.

    The article goes on to note that B'game has a similar ordinance.  Really?  We will be following this one on the Voice since if a homeowner can be held liable for trips and falls on his or her sidewalk, shouldn't  he or she also be able to fence off their bit of sidewalk and keep "trespassers" out?  But perhaps that reaction is too logical?  This sounds like a lawyer's dream.  I believe the city sometimes pays out large sums to avoid larger sums in court.  It's time for a serious cleansing of the judges' benches if this continues.  I would also bet the type of webcam pointed at the sidewalk in front of one's house (like the one that caught a local personality stealing campaign signs leading to a fine for him) will get more popular.  That might be a good unintended consequence!

  • The Voice and me

    Too many years ago now to remember there was really only one newspaper in Burlingame. The Boutique & Villager. The publisher had an opinion column and would often ramble about Burlingame issues and personalities. However the facts would more often than not be in error.

    Someone, can't remember who, maybe Twain, said something like "never argue with a man who has plenty of paper and ink." So how do you set the record straight?

    Well, you start your own newspaper. Several Burlingamers got together in my living room and so began The Burlingame Voice. Later it evolved into the blog you see here.

    We didn't compete against the Boutique, but we did raise the conciousness of the community through our hand delivery of what might say was not a newspaper but more of a flyer. I am proud that Burlingame still has a forum.

    I consider it an added benefit of this community. 

    The simple reason why I write about the Burlingame Voice and its history is because yesterday I announced my intention to run for Burlingame City Council ( I served before from 2005-07.)

    Normally, I wouldn't use the Burlingame Voice as a political tool. But now that you know the history of it, I thought that because I started this darn thing  you wouldn't mind if I used this formum to make my announcement known to Burlingame.

    So there ya have it. I'm running. Let the  campaign begin.

    Cohenhead.small

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