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  • A Magical Start to 2026? No thanks

    Our second wave of heavy rain this season has brought with it some colorful additions to the garden. This bright fellow might be familiar to fans of Alice in Wonderland. It’s Amanita muscaria and according to Wikipedia

    Ingestion of the mushroom can cause poisoning, especially in children and those seeking its hallucinogenic effects, however, fatal poisonings are extremely rare. Parboiling reduces toxicity, though drying converts ibotenic acid into muscimol, retaining psychoactive effects. Some cultures use it as food after preparation. Indigenous peoples of Siberia used A. muscaria as an inebriant and entheogen. It has been controversially linked to Santa Claus, Viking berserkers, Vedic soma, and early Christianity, though evidence is sparse and disputed. Its rise in the 2020s as a legal hallucinogen alternative has led to Food and Drug Administration scrutiny.

    A. muscaria has appeared in art and literature since the Renaissance, becoming iconic in fairy tales, children’s books, and media like Disney’s Fantasia (1940) and the Super Mario video games. It has also influenced literary depictions of altered perception—most notably in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

    As pretty as it might look be careful around it. So far, my dogs haven’t shown any interest, but I will probably pull it up all the same. Happy New Year. Don’t go berserk!

    Posted by:

    Joe

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  • Parking shenanigans: Compact camper

    Let’s end 2025 with one of our (least?) favorite observations around town. Parking shenanigans. We see all sorts of odd behavior from drivers and parking lot designers (like EV only spaces with no chargers). Cars parked across four motorcycle spaces and cars parked with there is no space at all. Cars parked backwards in angled spaces. But the most abused concept in parking is the “compact” space. I thought the Ram 2500 would be tough to beat, but the new crown goes to an iNDiE camper at Safeway. You see the special compact version of a Ford F-150 all the time, but a compact camper? The new champ! Happy New Year all. We’ll be back with more in 2026.

    Posted by:

    Joe

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  • Smaller state districts? Sure, why not?

    Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while and so it was this week with the SF Comicle Open Forum column. Under the title State needs to expand Legislature, some SF attorney made the case that we need smaller Assembly and State Senate districts leading to more elected members. I seldom think we need more politicians, but he makes an interesting point.

    California has fewer legislators per capita than any other state. The Assembly has 80 seats and the Senate 40, figures established in the 1879 Constitution and left unchanged even as the population grew from under 1 million to nearly 40 million.

    Today, a single state senator represents more people than live in South Dakota. Districts of this scale make competitive elections the exception rather than the rule. Reaching such a vast number of residents requires money, name recognition and organizational infrastructure that challengers rarely have. The mechanics of campaigning tilt toward incumbents and the dominant party. A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll in 2022 found that a majority of respondents believed the state was headed in the wrong direction. That same year, almost every legislator seeking reelection kept their seat.

    Geography adds a separate problem. When a district stretches across counties and communities, minority-party voters in suburban and exurban areas are often lost in electorates so large that their preferences barely register. We saw the consequences of this dynamic in 2024 when Republicans won nearly 41% of the Assembly vote but secured only 25% of the seats.

    The true irony of all this is that the Legislature foisted five tiny little city council districts on us at the local level. Back in 2021, with a push by a SoCal lawyer, we lost citywide council elections thus we each lost four of our five votes. Some people lost all five of their votes when no candidate stepped up to run. Similar micro-districting happened to school boards, water districts, et al. But not in Sacramento. Maybe it’s time, but the self-preservation force is strong for the status quo.

    Posted by:

    Joe

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  • High-Cost Rail – Part 165 Bonta retreats

    The news that AG Rob Bonta has dropped the lawsuit against the Feds to “recoup” $4 billion in high-cost rail subsidies had all the markings of a holiday news drop. I saw it flicker by on X a couple of days ago from Rep. Kevin Kiley, but otherwise it was very quiet. But wait! The SF Comicle actually ran a piece about the retreat that provides us with a good holiday belly laugh:

    “This action reflects the State’s assessment that the federal government is not a reliable, constructive, or trustworthy partner in advancing high-speed rail in California,” a spokesperson for the rail authority wrote in a statement. “As a result, the State has opted to move forward without the Trump administration. We regret that they will not share in California’s success.”

    Looking back at the previous 164 posts I don’t see any successes. Quite the opposite. Money is being flushed down the drain with no end in sight. And they think they will con private investors to join in as noted in Part 164.

    “Federal dollars remain a fraction of our high-speed rail investment and the action will not diminish the project, which is primarily state-funded,” said state Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San Jose, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee and a major advocate for the rail line. “We have not anticipated receiving that money now for the better part of the year so in a sense it’s been written off.”

    Even before the federal funding came under threat, the rail authority CEO Ian Choudri, who was appointed in August 2024, had begun to focus on luring private investors to complete the project more quickly.

    One has to wonder when Gov. Newsom will finally do his patented flip-flop, kill the thing and preserve his presidential aspirations from being railroaded into the ground? I can’t imagine Bonta pulled the plug on the lawsuit all by himself. The $1 billion per year from Cap and Trade just prolongs the bleeding.

    Posted by:

    Joe

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  • A Wet Merry Christmas to All

    After a dramatic Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with gusts to 70 mph and intermittent downpours with SFO in “reverse operations” so takeoff go right over B’game, here is the 2pm view of my favorite flooding spot on ECR.

    The SamTrans driver knows to change lanes as do most of the other drivers–until it gets dark in a couple of hours. Be safe out there everyone. Only three more years to go until this is fixed……

    Posted by:

    Joe

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  • No Mo Waymo: Power outage chaos

    Social media is brimming with photos, videos and commentary about the on-going power outage in EssEff from a sub-station fire. It peaked at about 130,000 customers and the last 20,000 or so might get power back tomorrow morning (that would be two days of no power). Aside from all the other inconveniences and possible dangerous situations, we can now add confused and disabled Waymo’s to the list. Per the Comicle:

    Waymo’s autonomous ride-hailing service remained suspended Sunday morning after a sweeping power outage knocked out traffic signals across large swaths of San Francisco.

    On Saturday, videos shared widely on social media showed Waymo vehicles stopped mid-intersection with hazard lights flashing, forcing other cars to maneuver around them. Waymo halted service citywide around 8 p.m. Saturday.

    The outage started “late Saturday morning” but Alphabet didn’t take the robotaxis fully out of service until 8 p.m. even though the software can’t treat a missing traffic light as a four-way stop. And some cellular internet service was affected which Waymo needs to work. Go figure.

    I took my first Waymo ride three months ago with a couple non-dangerous wrinkles as noted here. But we have very erratic PG&E power in town. Just this morning I got a Citizen app notice of two outages in the B’game-H’borough area. There was a major outage about a week ago as well and we don’t particularly handle failed traffic lights well in town either. Putting a sawhorse in the middle of ECR with no lights or a flare that went out an hour ago is standard protocol.

    You may have read about a woman who gave birth in a Waymo on the way to the hospital a couple of weeks ago. Better to stick with Uber or Lyft if it’s urgent.

    Posted by:

    Joe

    1 comment on No Mo Waymo: Power outage chaos

  • RIP: Pat Giorni

    If you were paying even a little attention to city council and various commission meetings over the last twenty-plus years, you would recognize Pat Giorni by her gravelly voice, fluorescent vest and informed comments made to one and all. Pat passed away on December 7th after being bedridden for several years. That had to be hard for her since she was a ball of energy hosting parties, biking around town and button-holing people to offer her opinion(s).

    I often find council and commission meetings to be like watching paint dry, but Pat had the patience to sit through them and offer public comment that was always very much on point even if it was ignored. She was a true activist and a motivation for many others to get involved to one extent or another. Count me among them. And if I wasn’t too involved, I trusted her take on things.

    It wasn’t just B’game stuff either–Pat had an equal amount of insight on county issues. For all I know, she might have been a regular at county supervisor meetings as well. Transit, planning, parking, public funding, local businesses and helping them (she was a chef for years and it showed at her massive house parties) were all in her wheelhouse.

    If she liked you, you knew it. And if she didn’t you could probably figure it out pretty quickly. She liked my wife and hosted her campaign kick-off party in 2009 (shown here with Jerry Deal in the background). It was something as being around Pat always was. RIP, dear.

    Posted by:

    Joe

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  • El Camino: Drop the green flag, go time

    Caltrans came out in force yesterday to host the groundbreaking ceremony for the long awaited El Camino Renewal Project, aka the Little Big Dig. A larger than usual contingent of local pols showed up to issue lots and lots of kudos for all involved. Pertinent promises made included “this will take three years, give or take” and “there will be some inconveniences”. Readers come to the Voice to get the take they can’t get anywhere else and there was a really fun incident during the speechifying yesterday. After Josh Becker and Diane Papan spoke and just before “the most important person on the project”, Michael Brownrigg, was introduced, a full-size semi tractor trailer pulled up next to the city lot H, hit the air brakes and the driver hopped out to do a delivery to Walgreens–cutting southbound traffic down to one lane. They do this all the time and so does Amazon, FedEx, UPS, etc. as we noted here.

    But not yesterday. A BPD officer who was at the event immediately went over and told the driver to move. I was reminded of Gavin Newsom cleaning up the streets of EssEff for the APAC conference and Chinese premier Xi Jinping. With some effort, the truck managed to pull into the city lot between Walgreen’s and Safeway where it blocked access to half the lot for about a half hour. I had visions of things to come. Knowing Michael, I’m sure he wasn’t too comfortable with his intro but as the incoming mayor at last night’s council rotation, he will be the point person for 2026 either way. Caltrans followed up with an email today that noted something new:

    Caltrans will begin construction on the El Camino Real Roadway Renewal Project as early as January 5, 2026, in the vicinity of Dufferin Avenue and Rosedale Avenue.

    The initial work will consist of tree removals on the northbound side of El Camino Real in Burlingame requiring full closures of the road. One to two blocks of El Camino Real may be closed at a time. Detour information will also be emailed in the coming weeks, and detour signage will be in place for affected blocks. Residents and businesses will continue to have access to their properties during construction.  In addition to tree removals, drainage work will be performed along the southbound side of the road.

    We’ve been told for months they would start at the tree work at the south end and PG&E at the north end, but things have apparently changed. Caltrans will be keeping us up to speed at elcaminoproject.com. Here are some pics of yesterday’s dropping of the green starting flag. Will the checkered flag wave on January 5, 2029?

    I’m thinking the Little Big Dig might be what pushes me over the line to buy an e-bike.

    Posted by:

    Joe

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  • CSM: “Free college” and new housing

    I’ve been taking a class at CSM one day a week for the last six or seven semesters. It’s a beautiful campus with a lot of open space, top notch facilities and not a lot of students. I’m paying a modest tuition for a two-hour, non-degree class and happy to do so. For some degree-seeking students, tuition is “free”. Of course, it’s not free but rather taxpayer subsidized. The freebie has been given to about 5,000 students over the last three years and yet the campus often feels empty on a Tuesday afternoon except for the athletic facility. Now our state senator, Josh Becker, wants to double down on “free” per the DJ:

    Following the success of the San Mateo County Community College District’s Free College pilot, a bill making the initiative a permanent program will be introduced to the California Legislature in the new year.

    The district covers the costs that are waived for qualified students, which Moreno described as a necessary investment. For the 2025-26 school year, the Board of Trustees approved allocating $12.5 million for the Free College expenses.

    The freebies for select students doesn’t give me a lot of heartburn but calling it “free” does. The $12.5M per year comes from somewhere and everyone–students, administrators and taxpayers–should remember that. The next move up on the hill in San Mateo is a big change from a community college to one with on-campus housing. Per the DJ 

    Districtwide student housing at College of San Mateo is inching closer to becoming a reality after the community college district’s Board of Trustees approved a $61.85 million contract with developers who intend to break ground in the spring. 

    The proposed housing facility will provide 316 beds to first-generation, low-income and housing-insecure students attending any of the three colleges within the San Mateo County Community College District.

    As I said, there is a lot of land up there and that makes it possible to do this sort of project at about $200K per bed. The land is also not “free” – it has opportunity costs as well as infrastructure costs to accommodate the intensified usage. Let’s hope this major project is run on the up and up and doesn’t result in another big trial of anyone involved like what is going on down in RWC right now. It would also be nice if the county’s cities got a bit of a RHNA credit for the new housing. Everyone but the YIMBYs knows the RHNA numbers are way off and should be redone. Here’s one chance to do so.

    Posted by:

    Joe

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  • Old Post Office starts filling up

    A piece in the SF Comicle today about the Mission Rock development drawing in a new restaurant (Aurelia, as in the Giants shortstop of old) reminded me of recent news about our own big downtown development at the Old Post Office. Two new tenants have been announced here and here:

    CBRE’s Industrious co-working outfit is growing its Bay Area footprint with an expansion in Burlingame.  The Los Angeles-based co-working unit of the giant brokerage has leased approximately 19,800 square feet of offices on the fourth floor of 220 Park. The $180 million development at 220 Park Road recently transformed a former post office into high-end offices in the heart of Burlingame, the San Francisco Business Times reported. (see below)

    Dostart Development Company and Sares Regis partnered to build 220 Park. Industrious’ lease will take up about two-thirds of the building’s fourth floor, making the co-working company the largest tenant the developers have landed so far. Last year, private equity firm SkyKnight Capital leased about 10,000 square feet at the property. Dostart and Sares Regis could also be solidifying another lease with another firm, sources familiar with negotiations told the Business Times.

    “There’s a lot of coworking in San Francisco and a fair amount in Palo Alto, but nothing in Burlingame,” Peri Demestihas, head of real estate for Industrious, told the Business Times. “It’s a pocket filled with folks who say, ‘I don’t want to go into San Francisco or Palo Alto. I want to live and work here.’” And who wouldn’t?

    The other deal that has been announced is fintech company Upstart Holdings relocating headquarters to downtown Burlingame’s 220 Park. The fintech firm, an artificial intelligence-powered lending marketplace, shrinks from 100,000 to 60,000 square feet as part of the move. Maybe they will use some of the co-working space from Industrious instead of dedicated space. The next question is when will the Bacchus operated restaurant open on the street level. Apparently, some code issues associated with the historic part of the building that was moved and returned has introduced some hiccups, but hungry tenants hopefully will move things along.

    Posted by:

    Joe

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