Month: October 2014

  • Celebrate Giants history and more

    I don't often post event driven items here. But this one is worth it. Cause we're all in the mood to celebrate our SF Giants historic moment and we can celebrate Burlingame history at the same time.

    A.) Today, Thursday, Octonber 30th between 4pm-7pm visit YogurtLand near Safeway on Primrose and part of the proceeds will go to The Burlingame Historical Society.

    B.) After your yogurt come by the Burlingame Public Library Lane Room for a presentation called "Earthquake. 25 year later" presented by former Emergency PD officer John Parkin. Presentation starts at 7pm.

    C.) And don't forget the Burlingame Hillsborough Museum will be open on Sunday, November 2, 1pm-4pm.    

    Yogurtland
     Here's the World Championship line-up (minus lead-off hitter Gregor Blanco that Fox cut off the screen).  Amazing how close it is to the 2012 line-up seen here. 

    Giants 2014 lineup

  • King’s Highway Under Siege

    Inspiration for Voice posts comes from all sorts of places and people.  One of our local tree experts, Jennifer Pfaff, has been tracking the El Camino-Floribunda intersection discussion with great interest since it impacts our historically-significant eucalyptus trees.  Our expert notes to the Voice

    As anticipated, Caltrans has gone ahead and prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Report on their widening project at Floribunda and its vicinity, signally their intent to go ahead with an iteration of their original “preferred option” that widens the highway to install a fifth lane, thereby inserting turn channels for the purpose of reducing left turn (Broadside) accidents. This despite last Fall’s offering of dozens of thoughtful suggestions from our City and our citizens, for ways to improve the safety of the Floribunda/El Camino Real intersection of the (dominantly residential) segment of highway, without permanent removal of 14-15 trees. There will be no room remaining after widening to replace any trees in the project area, though they pledge to plant 5 (FIVE) elm saplings elsewhere along the highway as mitigation. 

    Those who attended the Lane Room meeting a year ago may recall a question/answer and comment format that didn’t go so well for Caltrans, as they had come woefully unprepared. So, the next (and likely, final) meeting before their final EIR comes out will be an “open house” format. The Caltrans “open house” meeting, presumably with posters and information stations will be held on Thursday, November 13, at the Recreation Center, from 6:30-8:30.

    The full Draft EIR document is here: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/documents/82floribunda/EA-1G020K_DEIR-EA_Final.pdf

    The estimated cost for this hatchet job is $3.6 million and the interesting wrinkle for me is this little notation

    1.3.4 Operational Measures Considered but Withdrawn : pg 23-26

    Signal Timing Modifications

    “….signal modification would cause vehicle traffic delay at the intersection in all directions…it would also cause disruption of SR82 signal timing progression on the SR82 corridor leading to increased vehicle emissions from idling vehicles and driver frustration due to delays….."

    Anyone who knows this intersection and its northern brother at Oak Grove knows there are traffic stoppages in a variety of directions.  It is far from the worst intersection in town and a bit of signal modification would not likely make it that much worse.  So we can slow down the lights a bit or spend $3.6 million to cut down supposedly protected trees and….speed up traffic???  Any McKinley parents thinking about all this?

    Oak Grove_Karen Key trees

  • “The Trousdale” Assisted Living Center

    I did not intend to start a post on the topic of the proposed assisted living center on Trousdale, but the buzz around town and the forthcoming election caused me to change my mind.  I think the buzz started because more people than usual were watching the Council meeting on Oct. 23rd to see who would be appointed to the open seat vacated by Jerry Deal.  This agenda item was right before it hence well-viewed.  The front page article in the DJ on Thursday contributed to interest as well and noted

    Meanwhile, the city brought up questions about the aesthetics of the building, including a chain-link fence property divider covered in vines not being up to par with the rest of the building.

    “The original design was found to be very cold by the Planning Commission,” Nagel said. “Could you do anything for the fence itself? The chain link is kind of a step down from the character of this project. You can’t cover it all.”

    The architects plan to look into alternatives. The financing is in place and the project represents six years of diligence, Cappel said.

    “Your team (the council) has given us much to chew on and we have,” he said. “It meets the architectural requirements and fits into place beautifully at this point. It’s going to be welcoming to the community with a lot of glass and a lot of wood and will be open to community for classes.”

    Other councilmembers had concerns about the fence and other features of the building.

    “The wood brings an elegance to this building,” said Councilwoman Ann Keighran. “I’m not saying it has to be traditional; there’s ways of softening it. … It’s a corner building and much more prominent.”

    The architects handling the project, SmithGroup JJR Architects, say they bring a knowledge of the region and local design aesthetics. The building will utilize Prodema metal painted wood to the exterior to make it warmer and to give it more character, said Joyce Polhamus, vice president of SmithGroup. The wood is easy to replace and lasts a couple decades, the architects added.

    If you take a look at the Trousdale rendering on the DJ website (the link above) and then look at this sad little building in Millbrae you will see what she means by "bringing knowledge of the local design aesthetics" – unfortunately it reminds me of a really cheap hotel on the outskirts of Paris or Rome.  Do large (as in the seventh largest firm in the country) and local go together?  Then there is the Health Care District election next Tuesday with its own DJ article noting

    Current board Chair Larry Cappel was elected to his first full term in 2010. Director Helen Galligan was elected to her first full term in 2006, while Director Dennis Zell was appointed in December 2013 to replace Joe Goethals, who was elected to the San Mateo City Council. Doug Radtke of Millbrae is running on a platform of combining the district with the Sequoia Healthcare District.

    I'll leave the affordability question for another day, but it is interesting that the Daily Journal uses the first half of the article to discuss something brought up by all of two residents……

    Read up and place your votes, ladies and gents!

  • A Public Plaza Perhaps?

    Bandathon1Bandathon2

    Today was the annual Burlingame High Playathon, it's just another one of those special small town events that makes me glad I live here. But this event and others deserve a better venue than the cramped environment around the planter in front of the train station.

    Wouldn't this very spot be better if the planter was removed and replaced with some of the pavers that were used on the avenue? The historic monument could stay, the flag pole could stay, but some benches could be added. The sidewalk could be on the same level as the surface parking and the whole area could be used as a public gathering space from time to time and cars could still park there when the plaza wasn't being used.

    This idea was floated about 10 years back, but I believe it maybe time to bring it back. The council will be deciding on what city facililities to improve in the near future. This one didn't make the list but I think it should be considered at some point. What say you?

     

  • Swimming in Expenses

    The issue of sharing use and costs for the swimming pool at BHS goes back as far as the current deal (1999).  The Daily Journal piece recaps some of the history and gets to the essence of the issue here

    Still, the city could continue its current contract with the district, which it has accused of poor upkeep of the pool and “nickel-and-diming” the city. The district, on the other hand, has said the city is overusing the pool and the Burlingame Aquatic Club, or BAC, that operates the pool, is not doing a good job. The crux of the issue most recently, and $32,000 cost, was heaters that had gone out on the pool. The heater was replaced in February 2013, with the district installing state-of-the-art, energy-efficient Lochinvar heaters, according to the district.

    “Close to day one, this pool has had a lot of problems,” said Parks and Recreation Director Margaret Glomstad. “There’s going to be a sizable commitment to fix some of the problems (deck, equipment and updates to changing rooms).”

    Another possibility is changing the terms of the contract. Currently, the city and district divide capital costs 50/50. The district’s use of the pool is minimal, with it using the pool about 10 percent of the time, according to an independent audit by the district.

    They are going to have to work out the cost-sharing or stop some programs because my sense of the community resolve is that there isn't enough support to go buy land and build another, all-city-owned pool anywhere in town.  There might be an option to get a similar sharing ageement built into one of the big projects that are floating around town, but a 100% city-owned project wasn't on the overstuffed priority list to begin with and won't cut it with the voters.

    Pool_nighttime

  • What’s next?

    PO for lease copy

    Indoor swap meet? Go kart raceway? Sculptor Garden? 24 hour fitness? Tesla showroom? Batting cages? Dodgeball courts? Dance hall? Self storage? Alibaba office? World's largest hot dog stand?

  • Council Seat: And Now There is One

    The City Council made short work of the big decision on who should fill Jerry Deal's seat.  Ann Keighran was the odd-woman out as she voted for Laurie Simonson while the other three sitting councilmembers all went for John Root.  3-1, done deal so to speak.

    I had some fun searching for this Voice post from Nov. 22, 2005 that described the election results that year.  It's ironic that the very-close-also-ran from 2005 (John Root) beat out the even-closer-also-ran from 2013 (Russ Cohen) for the open seat.

    Was that a vote for go-along-get-along vs. a voice that would challenge the consensus?  We shall see.  As was mentioned in tonight's meeting, John Root has been attending a goodly amount of council meetings, budget meetings, etc so we will be looking for a fast start!

  • State School Supe Heating Up

    Even the Wall Street Journal has jumped into the California Superintendent of Public Instruction joining a rising tide of newspaper support for the challenger Marshall Tuck.  They write today

    The real problem with California schools is a lack of accountability. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu this summer struck down the state’s teacher tenure, seniority and last-in-first-out laws as violations of equal protection in the landmarkVergara case. About 98% of teachers in Los Angeles Unified School District are guaranteed a job for life after just 18 months. Over the last decade only 91 teachers in California have been fired, and merely 19 for subpar performance.

    Mr. Torlakson has condemned the Vergara case as “bashing teachers” and demanded that the state appeal. Governor Jerry Brown dutifully obliged. Should the appellate court uphold Judge Treu’s ruling, the next superintendent could let the decision stand and play an integral role in helping the legislature rewrite state law.

    Mr. Tuck supports the Vergara ruling, and his candidacy is backed by the plaintiffs and such Democratic school reformers as former L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Parent Revolution executive director Ben Austin.

    Two years ago, I posted about another brave politician here.  We will see if Tuck can pull it off this year.  Expect an onslaught of negative TV ads paid for by our neighbors on Murchison Dr.  I put his lawn sign up today…..

  • More Claw

    Claw on rollins
    Corner of Rollins Rd and Broadway. I assume, maybe incorrectly, that this building is being demolished as part of the Broadway overpass project. Can't say it was an architectural gem by any means. However, it does raise some question nevertheless.

    a.) Relying on my institutional memory, The North Rollins Road Specific Plan includes incentives for gateway features at the entrance to the Rollins Rd Industrial area. Will the entrance to Rollins be pushed further down the block where there are several properties that look primed for redevelopment? And will the design of the overpass add a feature that enhances the entrance?

    b.) We focus much of our attention on increased density and the changing landscape of downtown. I have always maintained that the opportunty is along Rollins, Airport Blvd and Bayshore in our semi industrial areas.Will the reconstruction of the overpass bring new attention to this area? Is it good? Is it bad?

    c.) Just around the corner along Carolan will be a major increase in density with a new housing development appearing in the months to come. How will this impact traffic, etc?

    Just asking?

  • Fun in the City

    One of the benefits of living in B'game is our very central location.  A short hop to Palo Alto and Silicon Valley, easy access to Half Moon Bay and twenty minutes to downtown EssEff on a good day.  Monday night was a "good day" because the 9ers were on TV, but I had plans to go to the symphony.  We have some music lovers on the Voice and an entertainment drought in B'game so allow me to quote a bit of the review of the London Philharmonic performance from the Mercury News

    But Prokofiev's concerto was enough to make you believe Jurowski and Bavouzet are some kind of musical soul mates. At first glance, the Russian conductor and French pianist seem to be very different types. Jurowski is a precise, understated podium presence, given to small, careful gestures; Bavouzet, agile and impish, is just as precise, but the overriding impression is one of an overgrown prodigy out to dazzle his listeners.

    I went the following night for

    The Philharmonic's second program, scheduled for Monday evening, will feature Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini," Shostakovich's Symphony No. 8 in C minor and Magnus Lindberg's "Chorale."

    and it was excellent as was the view of EssEff city hall bathed in orange light.  It could be Giants orange or Halloween orange complemented by the Dia de Muertos posters on display, but either way the whole evening was a pleasure.  We are paying the living costs to be this close to EssEff so we might as well enjoy the good parts whenever possible!

    SF City Hall and Dia poster

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