The Burlingame Voice

Good Thing Our Town is Named Burlingame

From everything we know now, Anson Burlingame has an exceptional reputation even by 2020's slippery standards.  We noted much of his story here when his bust was unveiled in the library and here when we described how Burlingame, Kansas came to be.  But if we are to listen to the revisionist social justice warriors from SF, our elementary schools need to be changed--lots of them.  It's not clear if the SJWs have spent much time on old Ben Franklin who might be iffy, but Washington, Lincoln, Hoover, McKinley and Roosevelt have to go!  Good thing we don't have a Feinstein Elementary because it too would have to go.

I do wonder who will be the first B'game based SJW to broach the subject and how long it will take.  We have a bit of a breather after SF Mayor London Breed called the idea "offensive" yesterday.  Not the idea of changing, just the idea of changing in the middle of the pandemic.  I give it til the end of the year here in B'game.  So much for the idea of "teachable moments".  Better to cancel than educate.

Historical Reference: The Corner Smoke Shop

There are days when I really miss certain B'game establishments.  La Pinata.  Route 66.  The record store on Hatch Ln.  Yianni's--but we have a new Greek restaurant moving in where the Nachoria was!!  Of course, the Bit of England.  Towle's.  The Burlingame Drive-in--don't we need that now instead of a big office building that might never get occupied?  Like 220 California--a dead weight on our downtown.

Today I am really missing the Smoke Shop on the Avenew.  I miss Fred telling me what the real name of the place was, but I just have to stick with the Smoke Shop.  I know the remaining partners run the cigar shop, and I thank them for that, but you could walk into the Smoke Shop and buy newspapers from around the world.  You want the three main London papers?  They had 'em.  Safeway has the pink FT somedays, but not the others.  You want the Singapore Straits Times, they had it.  Yesterday I wanted the New York Post, but did not know where to buy it.  If the twits at Twitter and the fakes at Facebook don't want me to read something, well, that just makes me want to read it even more.  Good luck with the censorship.  It hasn't worked since Ben Franklin bought his first printing press and it won't work now.

Columbus Day Thoughts

I just hung out my Italian flag to honor Columbus Day today.  In view of what South San Francisco's city council did back on Aug. 26th cancelling the observance of the day, I wanted to register my protest on my porch and on the Voice.  There is a famous arm movement used by Italian drivers, especially in Rome, that applies here in my opinion.  But let's just review some of the history that myopic public officials are trying to cancel.  From today's Wall Street Journal piece by Alessandra Bocchi

Columbus Day became a national holiday in the U.S. in 1968 thanks in part to the lobbying efforts of Italian-Americans.  Italian immigrants, most of whom came from Naples and Sicily, faced severe discrimination in the 19th century. “They were heavily exploited, and in some instances they were paid less than ‘white’ and ‘colored’ labor—for instance in the work on New York’s Croton Reservoir,” says Seton Hall historian William Connell, author of “The Routledge History of Italian Americans.”

That wasn’t the worst of it. In 1899 the New York Sun described the “unwritten law of the south,” under which “white men could not be lynched—with the exception of the Italian.” Italian-Americans were the target of the biggest lynching in American history, in New Orleans in 1891. After the police chief of New Orleans was shot, hundreds of Sicilian immigrants were rounded up without cause, and nine were tried for murder. The jury acquitted them, but Mayor Joseph A. Shakespeare organized a mob of between 8,000 and 20,000, which stormed the prison and murdered the nine men and two other Sicilians who were held for unrelated charges.

A future president was among those cheering on the mob. “Personally I think it rather a good thing,” Theodore Roosevelt wrote to his sister. The New York Times editorialized: “These sneaking and cowardly Sicilians, the descendants of bandits and assassins . . . are to us a pest without mitigations.”

In 1925 the Ku Klux Klan opposed an effort to erect a statue of Columbus in Richmond, Va. The Klan lost the argument, and the monument was dedicated in December 1927.

So the South San Francisco council stands with the KKK and numerous other racists.  Frankly the ones who voted to do this should resign in disgrace.  They probably wouldn't try to drive to the East Bay without GPS and Waze never mind get in a little ship and sail to the end of the earth where common belief said they would fall off.  Basta.

Cruising El Camino Real: San Mateo

Although I am a member of the Bay Area Cruise Night Facebook group, I did not realize last night was on the event schedule.  We happened to go to All Spice for dinner (highly recommended) and could hear plenty of muscle cars on ECR as we ate in the back parking lot.  After dinner we joined the parade for one circuit and it was fabulous!  It felt like about 1972.  Bel Airs, El Caminos, GTOs, Falcons, vintage pick-ups and a gorgeous California Special Mustang.  I couldn't get a pic of the Special, but I did capture this sparkly ride.  Could not help but think there were more than a few people out last night who would like to show the Gavinor where their tail pipes are.

The Facebook page sponsor thanked SMPD for being out there and helpful.  They set up shop in front of the Safeway and drew a supportive crowd.  Maybe B'game's stretch of ECR will be next.

The Changing Face of B'game

Today's Daily Post front page headline is "Neighborhoods under pressure".  It discusses the impending doom facing single-family housing in the state if Scott Weiner and others in Sacramento get their way with our neighborhoods.  It's almost too depressing to ponder.  But one of the things we do here at the Voice is capture B'game history as it is being made.  Here it won't drift off into forgotten oblivion like many social media sites.

The two classic B'game "cottages" at the corner of California and Oak Grove have been in the news over the years as the long-time tenants got support from national personality Tony Robbins in an effort to stay put.  They're both gone and yet the little bungalows from a time gone by are still here--for awhile.  Right next door is where the action is since another big development has been approved as a "live/work" space.  The Daily Journal initially had the site listed incorrectly as the site of the two cottages, but has corrected the piece and noted the correction here.

The Burlingame Planning Commission unanimously approved Monday, Sept. 28, plans to build 25 units in a live-work development at 601 California Drive.  For the development on California Drive, officials praised the five-story building intended to grant people a place to live and work under the same roof — a departure from the previous discussion, in which officials were unimpressed.  Live/work developments are designed to offer tenants a place to both run a business and make their home in the same unit. Burlingame officials have promoted the development of such projects since updating the general plan to encourage creative land use.

When you look at the proposal, it's not obvious why this is a "live/work" development.  It's got a conference room and a gym, but other than that it just looks like a stack of multi-bedroom units.  You might think there would be ground floor professional space, art gallery space or even room for yet another nail salon, but nope.  That's probably OK since it is a street ripe for higher density.  We will just have to wait and see what happens to the two little houses that have stood on that corner for so long.  Here they are; so they aren't forgotten.

 

Pandemic Politics?

Having tracked the coronavirus spread in San Mateo County on a weekly basis here, I can say the basic trend is a straight line since July.  You can see it graphically as well here.  The fundamentals in our County from last Saturday are:

Cases: 9843 (up 321 this week, so a definite slowdown) - it was running about +450 for awhile

R-eff: .94 (magically dropping a little)

Positivity: 5.7% (exactly flat)

Burlingame Cases: 223 (up 8 for the week)

The County moved into the Red "substantial" tier bring modest reopening including playgrounds (as soon as the city gets signage in place), churches and gyms with tight attendance limits, etc.  So what is next?  According to the Chronicle, we will now need to have "racial equity" in order for small businesses and other endangered enterprises to get the go-ahead that comes with the orange "moderate" tier.

California public health officials Wednesday evening revealed the final metric that counties must meet before they can further reopen their economies. It’s a complicated marker meant to ensure that communities of color no longer bear the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic.  The new metric requires each county to ensure that positive test rates in its most disadvantaged neighborhoods do not significantly lag behind the county’s overall positive rate. In order for a county to move to a less-restrictive tier, the disadvantaged neighborhoods — measured by a variety of social, health and economic factors — must come within 5% of the positive test rate required for that tier.

For example: Most of the Bay Area is in the red tier, and to advance to the less-restrictive orange tier requires a positive test rate between 2% and 4.9%. Under the new metric, each county must also prove that the positive test rate for its most disadvantaged neighborhoods is 5.2% or less.

Not only do we have to somehow shave at least .8% off of the positivity rate that has been stable for a long time, but we also have to do something special in the hotspots.  I pulled the Healthy Places Index (HPI) off the state site and there are 157 census tracts in our county.  Only 4 appear to be in the 4th quintile and none in the bottom.  You have to wonder if this latest move is really the most holistically healthy for everyone and every business--and school-- in the county?  Here's the position of one of the experts

Dr. Bela Matyas, the Solano County health officer, said he had misgivings about the new metric, which he argued would not help counties fix decades of systemic health disparities that are to blame for the disproportionate spread of the virus in this pandemic. He added that the equity metric was hotly contested by many county health officers while state officials tried to work out the details.

“It’s an absurd ask. The metric has nothing to do with things over which we have control,” Matyas said Wednesday. “I am 100% behind trying to achieve health equity, but it’s got to be done in a way that makes sense. Having said that, there was a lot of pushback (from health officers) and what they ended up with is a lot more innocuous than what it could have been.”

So if you are trying to restart a small retail business that doesn't get a parklet or trying to get some of your expensive indoor restaurant space generating revenue, you are faced with the "absurd".

Update: Adding even more absurdity to the mix, check this out!

Willie Brown on Mail-in Ballots

Chronicle columnist and former SF Mayor and Speaker Willie Brown bills himself as a pragmatic politician and I mostly agree.  I also like pragmatism--a lot.  So when Willie goes against his natural partisan leanings it's refreshing and enlightening.  With election day approaching and a number of important measures on the ballot, here's what he had to say on Sunday:

Most states require voters to ask for mail ballots, which is how California used to do it. That way, they know a real person is reaching out.  The way it’s working in California this year, however, every active voter on the state rolls will be sent a ballot. No request required.   What much of the public does not know is that it’s very hard to strike someone from the voter rolls. The rule is, if someone misses two consecutive federal general elections — a presidential election and a midterm — and then misses two more after failing to respond to a mailed query from county registrars, they’re supposed to be tossed off the rolls.

So, you can be gone from your registered address — or dead — for a long time before the state gets around to erasing you. Some estimates say that up to 10% of California’s 20 million registered voters aren’t where the state thinks they are.  Nonetheless, ballots will be going to their listed addresses. So some people who have moved won’t get ballots. Residents at the old addresses will get ballots for people who are no longer living there or are no longer living, period.

With the COVID exodus from the big and not-so-big cities, that 10% estimate may be more like 15% or more right now.  If that concern is a "cockamamie voter fraud conspiracy" to use Willie's term, so be it.  But if some of the local races or measure are real close, the recount and challenges could take awhile.

Au Revoir, City Attorney

The Daily Journal did a quick little blurb on B'game city attorney Kathleen Kane moving on to a new role with MTC-ABAG.  I want to add some context since many people do not realize how important the city attorney is to city operations.  The city council and staff are constantly faced with decisions that have legal implications and municipal law is perhaps more convoluted than "regular" law.  I'm not an attorney--that is just my observation from interacting with past attorneys Larry Anderson and Gus Guinan as well as a little with Kathleen Kane.  Having a steady hand in the attorney's chair is key to balancing lawyers' predisposition towards protectiveness and not going overboard with too much care.

We have benefited from seven years of Kathleen's experience.  As she departs, I hope that having spent so much time guiding our city council in trying to implement some of ABAG's overly aggressive development ideas without ruining our quality of life will allow her to guide ABAG to a better understanding.  She's had a good run here and I wish her well.

High-Cost Rail- Part 152 San Mateo Wakes Up

You really have to just laugh sometimes when you read supposedly professional and elected officials' statements on long-running issues.  It makes you wonder where they have been for years?  This week's comments on HSR wait times for cars from various leaders in San Mateo are perfect cases in point.  The Daily Journal gets a couple of quotes that start the laughter

Once both efforts are realized, there will be so many trains traveling through the corridor that in downtown San Mateo, cars could be stuck at railroad crossings for as long as 20 minutes per peak hour, said Brad Underwood, San Mateo’s Public Works director.  And that’s based on Caltrain’s “baseline” growth scenario. If Caltrain opts for the “high-growth” scenario then gate downtime goes up to almost 27 minutes per peak hour.

“It’s a huge concern in the city,” Underwood said.  San Mateo councilmembers have echoed the concern.  “We can’t have our intersections closed for 26 minutes during peak hours. It shuts down the city,” Councilwoman Diane Papan said at a meeting in August.

Back in 2015, the frequency of trains was well-documented, for example in Part 108 of this saga 

Parsons said the high-speed rail system could carry 116 million passengers a year, based on running trains with 1,000 seats both north and south every five minutes, 19 hours a day and 365 days a year. The study assumes the trains would be 70% full on average.

It was old news five years ago, but San Mateo is just waking up to the problem.  Years ago San Mateo was a non-player in the Peninsula Cities Consortium that sought to stop high-speed rail's destruction of the Peninsula and our collective budgets.  Now their residents will have to sit in their electric vehicles pondering the waste of time, money and reduced emergency vehicle response time because of that decision.   

Maiming Prop. 13: Not Just OPM

OPM is "Other People's Money".  As Election Day approaches, we are faced with a major threat to Proposition 13.  Newsom and our likely-State Senator Josh Becker have both come out in favor of the "split roll" to start raising taxed on commercial property valued above $3 million.  Not sure where in the Bay Area you might find any commercial property worth less than $3 million, but that is the number Prop. 15 authors have chosen.  We touched on some of the ramifications for small businesses on NNN leases here.

The Sunday Chronicle editorial endorsing Ann Ravel for State Senate in San Jose let this slip through in an attempt to appear balanced

Fearless is a word that keeps coming up in characterizing Ravel’s professional life.

It was evident in our editorial board interview in which she brought up her disagreement with us on Proposition 15, which would change the landmark Proposition 13 of 1978 to tax commercial property at market value. Her critique was detailed and grounded in the reality facing small businesses within her district. She also pointed to the costly burden it would impose on county assessors.   We may not agree with Ravel on that issue, but we appreciate the diligence she applies to issues.

Ya gotta love that last sentence. Translation:  We cannot dispute that she has thought this out better than we have, but we're gonna stick to our guns no matter what.

A better paper, the Orange County Register had this to say on Sunday

Proposition 15 would impose higher property taxes on commercial and industrial properties in California of up to $12 billion annually. That cost would be imposed on every Costco, Walmart, Safeway, gas station and shopping mall in California as well as the 80 percent of small businesses that lease their property. Only those who are economically illiterate would think that those costs would not be passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices.

As destructive as the radically increased cost of living that Proposition 15 would impose on consumer/taxpayers is, it pales in comparison to the larger threat that 15 poses to homeowners. Specifically, proponents and supporters of split roll have made it clear that coming after commercial property is but the first step in their incremental destruction of Proposition 13 in its entirety – including the protections it affords to homeowners.

You can click through to read the history lesson on who has said they are coming after residential property next.  If you think this is just about OPM, you are wrong.

Rare Historic Success in Bgame

Saving historic buildings in Burlingame is a tough row to hoe.  We have lost so many and saved so few that when one is saved we should rejoice.  And so we shall regarding the Murphy house.  The Daily Journal did a piece on the house a week ago, but I wanted to wait for photos of the actual move until posting about it.

One of Burlingame’s oldest houses is about to get a new home — again.  The Murphy House at 1128 Douglas Ave. is slated next week to be moved about a half a mile away to a location on Oak Grove Avenue as part of a team effort to preserve a piece of the city’s history.

The house is slated to begin being moved Thursday, Sept. 17, to make way for the construction of a five-story apartment complex, which officials approved in 2017. But noting the historic relevance of the site’s current structure, the development team agreed to relocate and preserve it elsewhere....it will mark the second time that the house has been moved. It was first relocated in 1914 from its original location on Burlingame Avenue, when it was displaced to make space for the downtown business district to bloom.

Note the DJ article has the address off by one--it's really across the street at 524 Oak Grove which was an empty lot.  We'll all enjoy seeing the house put back together as it was cut in half for the move.  Here are a couple pics of it crossing the Caltrain tracks last night around 10 pm.  It was a tight fit getting under the tree branch too.  Nice work all around!

The Full Cost of a Minimum Wage

Let's just skip over the long-running argument about whether a higher minimum wage is "moral" or "right" vs. an entry-level job destroying, price-increasing market dislocation that hurts small businesses.  Everyone's mind is already made up on that.  We can also skip over whether little towns' city councils should be injecting themselves into a state-level or national-level discussion.  We can skip over the fairness of the union carve-out and just note that many union wage scales are indexed to the minimum wage, so of course they like the idea.  And we can certainly ignore "affordable housing" nags like Cynthia Cornell claiming that a vote against a higher local variant of a minimum wage is an "embarrassment".  What we shouldn't ignore is that the Burlingame City Council's 3-2 vote to raise the in-town minimum wage has direct costs to all taxpayers.  For example, from the Staff Report

Several cities in the Bay Area, including Redwood City and San Mateo, participate in a joint contract with the City of San Jose’s Office of Equality Assurance to provide enforcement for the local minimum wage ordinance. Staff has been unable thus far to reach anyone at the Office of Equality Assurance to determine if the City of Burlingame will be able to participate in this joint contract and what the cost would be. A City of San Carlos staff report from last year estimates a cost of $15,000 annually. Other cities provide enforcement in-house through their City Attorney’s Office or City Manager’s Office. In both cases, enforcement is complaint-based and follows typical code violationprocedures.

And then tack on a few other costs, like

There will also be additional personnel costs in several City Departments. Staff estimates that increased costs of approximately $8,000 in the Public Works Department in the first year, rising in subsequent years if the Council includes an escalator.

There are probably a few more costs that haven't even been considered.  Is it a lot of money?  In the grand scheme of the city budget, no.  But I'll bet you can think of a few things to do with $30,000 or $40,000 grand a year.  And is it worth it in the face of the collateral damage to employers who may even want to pay more, but cannot get it to pencil out?  Keep this in mind as you look at your ballot and decide on the split-roll property tax measure (Prop. 15) that will also raise rents on small businesses in town since they are all on triple-net leases and operate in properties worth more than $3 million.