The Burlingame Voice

Hometown Airline

The Wall Street Journal is reporting on some capital structure and route changes at our hometown airline, Virgin America.

The closely held carrier, which is based in Burlingame, Calif., said late last year that it was ending its breakneck expansion, hoping to shore up its finances by letting its new routes mature. It also has canceled orders for 20 of 30 Airbus jets and deferred delivery dates on another 30 planes.

Mr. Cush said in an interview Friday that Virgin America's investors recently agreed to convert $290 million of the carrier's $800 million of debt into equity that they would own once the company went public and the stock hit certain targets.

In the first quarter, when air-travel demand is seasonally low, Virgin America's loss narrowed to $46 million from $76 million a year earlier and its revenue rose 13% to $301 million. Unit revenue, the amount taken in for each passenger flown a mile, rose by 16.5% from a year earlier, outpacing its larger rivals.

As a regular Virgin customer (America and Atlantic) I can say it's a pretty well run airline and I appreciate their approach of having a bit of personality and trying to inject some fun into what has become a dreary air travel business.

Anson B'game's Grandson Visits

I was talking to a prominent realtor in town yesterday who mentioned that Anson Burlingame's grandson Anson III was here over the weekend to check on some property that the family still owns from the original land grant.  The realtor said Anson III was quite surprised by a number of things in town since he had not been here before.

First, he was astounded that there was no statue of his grandfather Anson.  He figured with all the wealth that has gravitated to Burlingame someone would have seen fit to put up a nice statue.  He was pleased to see the Burlingame Ave. train station in such good shape and being used for such a good purpose as a historical museum.

Anson III was also dismayed to see that after all his grandfather had done to build relations with China, the only Chinese restaurant on the Avenue was Panda Express!  He was hoping for something more upscale and refused to count Mingalaba or Narin--and rightfully so.  He was pleased to see all of the fine homes that had been built on his family's rancho, but worried that they were slightly overgrown for the modest lot sizes that his grandfather had advocated as being the basis of a strong community.  Other than those thoughts, Anson III was pleased with how the city looked and hopes to return soon.

He provided this photo of his grandfather in case anyone was interested in working on a statue in his honor.

Middle Eastern Reflections

I had to hop out to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and back this week for work.  It's 15 hours each way and gives one plenty of time for reflection.  When I am overseas I often ponder how the place de jour is the same and different than B'game.  The UAE is, as its name implies, a combination of historically independent emirates--notably Dubai and Abu Dhabi.  As you can see from the photo below, they are brand new cities rising from the desert.  A central location and gold trading were the historical advantages.  Today oil, the central location and an open economy with no taxes are the fuel for amazing growth.  Nothing in the picture below existed 15 years ago!  And there is another city just like it about 60 miles away.

So I was left to ponder how California is reacting--competing, really--in this global economy.  The Dubai airport took over the #2 slot for international traffic from Paris de Gaulle last month and expects to dethrone Heathrow in 2015.  Governor Moonbeam, aided and abetted by some clueless voters, is busy raising tax rates.  The newspapers are reminding everyone to make those big purchases before the sales tax rate rises next week.  The guy in the article says it's not a big deal because people are used to the increases--evidence of another clueless voter--myopic and under-educated.

And we can say the same about energy costs.  Today's Wall Street Journal editorial titled "California's Coming Green-Outs" discusses the 2006 law that requires our utilities to get 20% of their power from renewables by 2010 which was then increased to 33% by 2020.  There are just a couple of wrinkles

California residents and businesses already pay rates that are 25% to 60% higher than the national average.  Excessive energy costs have helped to obliterate the state's manufacturing base.

And the push for legislated percentages of renewables will only exacerbate that exodus.  Meanwhile we are competing with the UAE, Oman, Quatar, Singapore and the next wave of developing nations.  We have our advantages for sure, but why are so many of our weaknesses self-inflicted?  It is going to be interesting (scary) to see if the "barbell economy" can carry its weight.

Bocce Anyone?

It looks like the new bocce courts in Washington Park are coming along well.  Bocce (or boules for Francophiles) adds a great ambiance to a park...much more so than horseshoes--not that I ever saw anyone playing horseshoes on those old pitches.

I certainly hope that is not dog droppings on the right hand court since that will just aggravate an already contentious issue about the Park.

Hazardous Removal...Coming to You

A neighbor was the first to take advantage of Recology's new contract to haul away residents' hazardous waste by appointment.  This is a recent addition to the B'game contract and very useful for paint and the like that tends to pile up in our garages.  A commenter had the good question about fire extiguishers so I have been in touch with local B'gamer Joe La Mariana who is Recology's public liaison.  Joe answers the fire extinguisher question this way:

The reason this item is deemed "hazardous" is not because of the bicarbonate soda content but because the container is pressurized. This presents a potential danger to a processor if a folklift/equipment runs over it during handling and it explodes. If it explodes, the bicarbonate soda becomes airborne and it becomes and "irritant" for the workers. I was told that it's an OSHA reg:

Therefore, your options for responsible disposal are:

1)  Drop it off at Fire Master @ 850 Mahler Road, Burlingame for free (692-3473). They do not actively promote this drop off option, but they will be happy to take the unit, depressurize it and use it for parts.

2) Tower Road Household Hazardous Waste Drop Off facility (http://events.smhealth.org/events/). People need to make an appointment so there is no waiting. The staff unloads the material from your vehicle and you never even get out. You're out of there in less than 5 minutes.

Good stuff and we are already paying for the service that comes to your house for most other stuff.  Here is what the sub-contractor Curbside.com's truck looks like

Niners in the house

Actually, it's Niners "on" the house...right here in B'Game. Hey anybody can wear a niner t-shirt to show their enthusiasm, but I think these folks win the prize.

City Manager Nantell has a habit

This evening a crowd gathered to bid farewell to 12 year veteran Burlingame city manager Jim Nantell.

Typical of these events, there was some gentle roasting. Tonight's gathering was no exception, although most of the roasting was done by Jim himself. He entered the room wearing a nun's habit then proceeded to make fun of himself as well as those in attendance.

Some in attendance paid tribute to Jim, after the sister schtick was over, including current and former councilmembers and colleagues. Vice Mayor Brownrigg commented that Jim followed the advice of former GE Chairman Jack Welch by surrounding himself with people that were smarter than he was. Not sure the Vice Mayor meant it to come out quite that way..he transitioned with the old adage, "but seriously..."

Many did express heartfelt sentiments about Jim's service to both San Mateo and Burlingame. 

Jim steered the Burlingame staff through several complicated issues from Safeway to storm drain measures to the downtown specific plan and more...too many to list, actually.

Happy retirement Jim.

Happy Thanksgiving All

I want to wish the little, local Voice community a very happy Thanksgiving.  We have a lot to be grateful for here.  As I wander about town talking to friends and friends-not-yet-met, the feeling that we live in a special place remains as strong as ever even with the problems we know we have.

One of the things I like best about this time of year is the foliage.  It is the City of Trees and the season is much longer than the places we think of as foliage-central...New England.  Back on Oct. 14th I noted the arrival of the season.  Here we are five weeks later watching the ginkos and Japanese maples finally turning.  In New England, the season is usually a week or two long before the winds and rain take the leaves.  Not in B'game.  We have a durable season and a durable town.  Enjoy the time off.

How did they go out of business so fast?

Admittedly, I don;t know much about exercise, but the pilates place that opened in the old California Bar and Grill location just about a month ago it seems is already closed.

Check it out: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/gms/3317010309.html

How does this happen? They worked on this place for about 4 months to rehab it. Anyone know the inside scoop?

Terry Bradshaw cheerleading for Burlingame?

Tonight the Burlingame City Council will consider a $20K expenditure that will allow a production company to produce a video touting why Burlingame is terriffic.

The idea of a video highlighting Burlingame is not such a bad idea, in my opinion.But....

...It seems to me that there are plenty of talented marketing, production and media folks who live and work in Burlingame that are not only talented but know the city and its highlights a heck of lot better then Terry Bradshaw and the production company who has floated this idea by the city manager and now the council. And I a willing to bet that they might do it for a  lot less $$ than is being proposed.

On top of that, some of the pertinent questions shopuld be asked, and I hope council asks them...like, who is the audience for this video? Where will it be shown, Can the ROI be measured? And obviously why Bradshaw?

Here is a link to the staff report, a link to Terry Bradshaws "Business Day with Terry Bradshaw" website and a link to the SM Journal story:

http://burlingameca.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=36&meta_id=11822

http://businessdaywithterrybradshaw.net/

http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=1753221