I have to hand it to Cynthia Cornell.  I've been following Burlingame politics for 25+ years and I have seen very few people climb up on such a high horse as Ms. Cornell.  And that is saying something.  Rather than just opine about her, let's use her own words from a letter to the Daily Journal yesterday as evidence.  She is writing about a Peninsula Health Care District board meeting where she expects the board to just give away a huge chunk of B'game real estate to whoever can make "comprehensive 100% affordable senior and workforce housing" pencil out.  Any educated person knows that cannot be done without more taxpayer money being shoveled in at some point.  She then writes

There is no possible excuse to build any market-rate housing on public land during this housing crisis.

Really?  I'll bet I could walk into Lunardi's, Behan's, or Alana's and find dozens of people who might think "Gee, if it's public land perhaps the general public should get at least some of the benefit from its development instead of it all going to 'affordable' whatever".  They might think "mission creep" at our Health Care district is a bad thing.  Perhaps the community might think the sweetheart project on Lots F & N right downtown is enough of a public donation to her crusade.  She complains about board members Dennis Zell and Helen Galligan and puts words in their mouths that are quote-free and rely her impression of what was said, and then states

We (that would be the Royal "we") are shocked by the behavior  of these elected officials.  Were it not for the great leadership of Congresswoman Jackie Speier and support from state Sen. Hill and Assemblyman Kevin Mullin, D- South San Francisco, the board would continue to ignore the community voice.

What blather.  Her Highness Cornell doesn't speak for the community.  She doesn't even speak for a third of the community from where I sit.  The woman has never run for anything; never mind actually win an election.  Zell and Galligan are both well-known in the community for years and have won elections.  This stream of nonsense will continue as it has for some time as noted here.

But if either Zell and Galligan did tell Speier's staffer to "stay in her lane" as Cornell asserts in her letter, I say "Good on ya."  Maybe they should stay in their lane, let the local electeds do their job – which in my mind means keeping our Health Care district out of the housing business — an take the consequences at the next election.

Today's Daily Journal Guest Perspective comes to us from Rebecca Oyama who hails from "Housing For All Burlingame".  She also apparently serves on the San Mateo County Commission on the Status of Women.  Not sure if there is a Commission on the Status of Men, but we will leave that for another day.  Oyama went to a Jackie Speier Townhall about "affordable housing" and had issues with Dennis Zell's comments about the Peninsula Health Care District's mission in life.  Zell is an elected Board member along with a couple of other B'game locals, Frank Pagliaro (former councilmember) and Helen Galligan (married to former councilmember Joe Galligan).  As you can see from the link, there are five Board members–I only know of these three as active, informed locals.

Zell was on a panel with Speier, Sen. Jerry Hill,  Assemblyman Kevin Mullin, and county Supes Don Horsley and B'game supe Dave Pine.  The issue is whether our, emphasis on "our", health care, emphasis on "health care" should build affordable housing on Health Care District land–i.e. the big plot of land that the hospital sits on in North B'game.  Dennis Zell had the temerity to swim against the prevailing tide and assert that the District "is not an affordable housing developer"!  Imagine that?  A Board member who is asserting that a Health Care District is only in the health care business?  Oh my.

My favorite part of Oyama's screed is when she invokes the health care district's taxpayers "that paid for the land, many of whom now clearly need their support".  Well, Rebecca, as one of those taxpayers for 28 years allow me to say You Don't Speak For Me.  Dennis Zell notes the "silver tsunami" that is coming as the Baby Boomers age and what support they will need.  I have first hand experience over the last five years on what seniors need locally and I can assure you that what we have is good, but we are going to need a lot more of it.  You call it "exorbitantly-priced assisted living"–I call if covering the costs of living with dignity in your community as you get old.  Rebecca, you don't get to decide that "affordable housing" displaces what the Health Care District was founded and funded to do.  Sorry.  You are misguided.   

The Sac Bee considers Sutter Health to be a hometown enterprise, so they report on Sutter's financials.  Since Mills-Peninsula is our hometown hospital, I think along the same lines, so here is the latest financial report 

Sacramento-based Sutter Health reported net income of $81 million in 2015, a nearly 80 percent plunge from $402 million in 2014.  The nonprofit health system cited multiple factors that prompted the decline.

Sutter said it lost $142 million in investments and trading transactions last year, compared with a $39 million gain in 2014. The system said income from daily operations of its hospitals, care centers and other services totaled $287 million last year, down 31.5 percent from $419 million the prior year.

Sutter also noted that it invested $898 million in new facilities and life-saving technology throughout Northern California in 2015. Sutter said major earthquake/safety-related hospital replacements and renovations, plus new physician clinic construction projects, were ongoing throughout Northern California and the Bay Area last year.