The Burlingame Voice

Bummer, Dude!

I can't make it over to the old Hyatt Cinema this weekend for the pot fest, but if any of you get a chance please let us know how it goes, OK?  Here's the Daily Journal description

Some of the world’s greatest and most passionate medical marijuana advocates will be in Burlingame this weekend at the International Cannabis and Hemp Expo — a first-of-its-kind event to take place in the heart of San Mateo County.

Should be "interesting"

Art & Jazz on (Howard) Avenue

I still cannot get used to the new name for the Art & Jazz on the Avenue (it's ArtzFest) but I look forward to it nonetheless.  With the Avenew redevelopment project going great guns like this

I was thinking the Chamber will have to move it.  Turns out the plan is to use Howard Ave. for the August 10-11 festivities.  That should be interesting since the vibe is quite a bit different on Howard Ave.  Maybe that will focus more of the attention on the vendors and stages than the stores.

 

National Record Store Day

Today is National Record Store Day.  It happens once or maybe twice a year and is quite fun if you still like going to record/CD stores.  No matter how much you know about various genres of music (and I can honestly say I know quite a bit), going to a good ole fashioned record store is educational.  I stopped by the closest one to B'game today.  Unfortunately, it ain't in B'game.  But 25th Ave. in San Mateo, where Vinyl Solutions has been selling vinyl and CDs for more than 25 years, is more B'gamey than some parts of B'game.  Free parking.  Independently owned stores.  Good stuff.

I recall very vividly when B'game had a record store.  The proprietor was George and I think he was 3rd generation B'game, related to the original station master.  I'm not sure if his last name was Gates or not, but he had been around the local block awhile.  Anyone know where George is these days?

Here's the San Mateo store this afternoon.  They had two bands and a great crowd!

Rec Center Upgrade

Lorne is correct about not recalling a post on the Rec Center upgrade.  I can't recall one either, so I have used his comment (found elsewhere) as the basis for this post.  That way people can comment on topic.

From Lorne:  Following is an update on the master plan. I strongly urge the "powers that be" in the City to NOT consider using general obligation bonds based on assessed value taxation to finance any renovation improvements. The rec center is enjoyed by all in this community, and thus any upgrade should not be bourne disproportionally on the shoulders of newer property owners. I publicly opposed Measure H (the original storm drain measure), and will vehemently oppose any rec center upgrade financing based on assessed value.

Community Center Master Plan-- Update Posted Date: 1/29/2013 . The project management team (PMT) is excited to begin the first phase of the community outreach which will include focus group meetings. Each focus group meeting will work to identify the needs and concerns of a specific group of community members. The focus groups will have approximately 18-25 participants and will be by invitation. Participants will need to commit approximately 2 hours to participate in a focus group meeting. The proposed list of focus groups is the following:

1.Seniors

2.Teens

3.Neighbors

4.Families with pre-school aged children

5.School-age parents/PTA/School educators

In addition to the focus groups and community meetings, the PMT will also be interviewing, either by phone or in person, key stakeholders in the community to gain a further understanding of the community needs and interests. If you are interested in participating in one of the focus groups listed above, please provide your contact information and focus group interest to Joleen Helley at 650-558-7323 or jhelley@burlingame.org before February 8, 2013.

We anticipate this phase will begin in February and continue through April 2013. In addition to the outreach being conducted during the needs assessment phase of the project, we will also have broader community meetings in May/June and in September in which the entire community can participate. We are excited to move forward with the next phase of the Community Center Master Plan and appreciate your participation.

So, comment away!

Connecticut Service

I was wavering on whether to post about tonight's memorial service for the victims of the Sandy Hook-Newtown, CT attack before the event or after attending it, but decided to give advance notice and then follow-up if I can make it.  Rev. Paul Watermulder at First Presbyterian put out this message

Responding to the murder of school children and adults in Connecticut, area churches have banded together to invite the Burlingame-Hillsborough community to a time of remembrance, prayer, hope and healing.

The service will be Monday evening (i.e. tonight) at 7pm at First Presbyterian Church (El Camino at Easton).  Its leadership will include local pastors and representatives from local school boards.

I have several friends who live in Newtown and one is right in the Sandy Hook section with kids who graduated from Sandy Hook Elementary.  He and his wife have been very involved in their school community.  His emails about the situation are heartbreaking.

UPDATE:  It was a very warm ceremony.  The listing of all of the names of the victims and the lighting of a candle for each (see photo below) was a fitting recognition for all.  Rev. Watermulder's opening comments about the various ways people react to these types of events resonated with me.  So too, did Rev. Dr. Beth Frykberg comments just prior to the closing.  Thanks to all of those who organized and conducted the ceremony.  Here are a couple of updated photos

More Tree Lighting Pics

In addition to the BPD Mustang-pushing shown below this post, here are a couple of other fun photos from the night.  The first is the BIS choir being led by Mr. Simon who also led the band in a few holidays songs.

And Mayor Keighran reminded everyone about the upcoming Burlingame Ave Streetscape project which will have quite an impact on the street for some period of time but will end up being worth it.  After she reminded everyone to "shop Burlingame" she was joined by the other four councilmembers

Then Mr. and Mrs. Claus and the senior-most elf on staff took the stage for more singing and dancing!

Small parade for a small town like ours.

While it didn't last long it was fun to see the many cute kids from the cubscouts, girl scouts, karate classes, church groups, etc walking down the avenue throwing candy at those along the sidelines.

Here is a short video clip. Moments after this video, the PD Mustang broke down and had to be pushed the rest of the way. Now that's a parade.

 

All About Anson

The Library is hosting an event about Anson Burlingame next week.  While old Anson didn't spend much time in B'game, he did have quite an impact on international affairs.  You can read about the Tuesday event here.

I know I cannot make it so if you go, please take some notes and fill everyone in on the information David Chai presents!

All Hallows Eve 2012

As B'game gears up for Hallowe'en, Wikipedia reminds us that

Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (also known as "guising"), attending costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films

To which I would add playing scary music on your porch or visiting a number of the best B'game venues for All Hallows Eve including the best one in town on Victoria Rd.  Let's hope the barmaids don't get too crazy this year like last year

Be safe and smart out there while y'all celebrate the "time for honoring the saints and praying for the recently departed who had yet to reach Heaven."

Going Green in 2012

After the morning fog cleared the 2012 Green Fair was quite an affair.  The energy builds because of the adjacent Farmers' Market that has been doing well all year.  My overall impression was that the definition of "green" is expanding and appears to be profitable.  Some would call this "green washing" but the crowd seemed into it.  The first pic is the recycling area which had a steady flow of drop-offs.  The second is the fair itself.  All in all, a great B'game event.