The Burlingame Voice

Creativity never sleeps

Thanks, Admin, for the great Masthead. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

- Written by Jen

Police Blotter

Another brazen attack in broad daylight as reported in the DJ Police Blotter. Is this related to the diamond-selling thugs?

Robbery. A woman was knocked down by two men who took her purse on the 1400 block of Chapin Avenue at 3:02 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16. The suspects fled on foot. The woman's wallet was later found in the backyard of a residence on the 1400 block of Bellevue Avenue.

- Written by Fiona

A New Day for Burlingame

Opinion piece in the Daily Journal titled "A New Day for Burlingame":

At last count, Burlingame City Council candidate John Root trailed incumbent Cathy Baylock by 27 votes. The county elections office released its latest numbers at 4:30 p.m. just two-and-a-half hours before a council meeting was to be held for Baylock to be named mayor. In a classy move this weekend, Root conceded the race and allowed Baylock the opportunity to be sworn in as mayor without any cloud of doubt about the final tally. There will be no recount and the competitive race ended civilly.

That's a breath of fresh air. With Baylock becoming mayor and Ann Keighran and Russ Cohen set to join the council within weeks, there is a new opportunity for the city's leadership to rejuvenate itself. Growing council rancor may now have a chance to subside. Though some contend the forces behind the new elected body are partly to blame for the lack of civility in recent years, there is a clear opportunity for a new consensus to build on the city's future. This opportunity is not to be taken lightly.

The city has many issues ahead of it. There is discussion of remaking downtown and creating new housing in an already congested area. There is an aging grocery story on Howard Avenue whose ownership and workers are waiting patiently for some new direction. There is discussion of major changes to the Caltrain rail corridor that have the potential to forever change the character of the city's center. There is discussion of new mixed-use development at the northern end of the city near the BART station. There is rumbling about renovating or moving City Hall, moving Auto Row and renovating much of the city's water and sewer lines. There is an ongoing threat to the city's aging eucalyptus trees both along El Camino Real and the Caltrain line. There are concerns over floor area ratios for home renovations. There is the city's budget, which has yet to reach the healthy level it needs to be. There is a strained relationship between the city and its elementary school district. And there is Broadway, with concerns over its business health and its train station now closed on weekdays.

The future holds both the promise of prosperity but also more issues. There will be decisions that will forever change the city. Burlingame is poised for change. How that change is managed is now in the hands of a new and as yet untested council majority. The newcomers say they wanted change. They wanted to provide an open and welcoming form of government. They wanted a chance to lead the people of Burlingame. Now they have their chance. Let's hope they succeed.

Allelulia for a successful new day!

- Written by Fiona

We all have our Dreams

From the Daily Journal: (full text a thttp://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=51343

After two weeks of election results limbo, the first order of business for Burlingame's new mayor was purchasing a dress and pair of shoes from Malouf's. Halfway through [the election count] I realized the silver lining of all of this was that I was going to be mayor for at least two weeks and I went out and bought myself a dress and shoes,? said Cathy Baylock at last night's wearing in process. With her black cocktail dress and new shoes, Baylock was all smiles after securing another four years on the council by a mere 28 votes. Her closest competitor, John Root, conceded the election in a statement released this weekend. At one point last week, Baylock only led Root by 11 votes. The contentious election had nine people running for four seats. All winners or not showed up at last night's swearing in ceremony. Meanwhile, Baylock beamed as she took the head seat behind the council dais. I want to help all of you achieve your dreams. There are a lot of people with dreams they want to accomplish. I want to help,? Baylock said.

Baylock's celebration was preceded by a farewell to outgoing Mayor Joe Galligan who decided not to run for a third term this year. His lengthy farewell speech touched on the many accomplishments the city achieved in the last eight years and was sprinkled with praise from other city officials. You are one of the best and brightest to serve ... you gave your heart and soul,? said Rosalie O'Mahony, who just won her fifth term on the council. State Sen. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, presented a resolution to Galligan on behalf of herself and Assemblyman Gene Mullin, D-South San Francisco. The dual-house resolution assures Galligan's eight years of public service on the council will be recognized in Sacramento. When I think about you, I think about someone who is passionate about friends and family. Someone who is passionate about this city,? Speier told Galligan.

Galligan aimed his parting comments at the many faces at City Hall that manage the city every day. He thanked countless people on commissions and a number of city staff members. He thanked the yellow ribbon mayor? Mike Coffey and former councilwoman Mary Janney who knew every door to kick down in Sacramento,? he said. He didn't thank Councilwoman Terry Nagel for anything, but simply said he thinks of Safeway when he thinks of her. Galligan said one of the main reasons for not running for a third term was that he wanted to participate in his daughter's high school years.

- Written by Fiona

Installation Tonight

Don't forget tonight is the installation of Mrs. Baylock as Mayor and Mrs. Nagel as Vice Mayor and the farewell to Joe Galligan. The meeting starts at 7:00 in City Hall.

In the words of Austin Powers - and for the etiquette doyens of Burlingame - some of us will try and beeehayve!

- Written by Fiona

Five Alarm Update

From the Daily Journal today:

The damage caused by a five-alarm fire at a Burlingame restaurant is estimated to cost $2.2 million, fire officials said. The blaze at the Chicken Chicken restaurant, which started around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, was brought under control about two hours later, Central County Fire Chief Bill Reilly said Sunday. No one was injured by the five-alarm fire, which brought out 75 fire personnel. A total of 16 engines and four trucks responded to the scene.

It is unknown if the restaurant, located at 234 Primrose Road, can be saved, Reilly said. It's hard to say at this point,? Reilly said. There was major damage.? The roof on the building caved in, but that whether the building can be salvaged depends on the stability of the buildings walls, Reilly said. A fire of this magnitude could have been avoided had there been sprinklers in place, Reilly said. If there were sprinklers in the business, this wouldn't have happened ... they would have saved the livelihood of many members of the community,? he said. Reilly said the fire looks to have started in the chimney area of a brick oven roaster and spread up to the attic area, which is open and attached to two adjacent businesses. Firefighters tried to prevent the blaze from spreading by opening up the roof. Nonetheless, the fire ran into the common attic and damaged parts of those neighboring spaces.

While the restaurant was open at the time the fire broke out, all of the employees and customers were already out by the time firefighters arrived.As a safety precaution, firefighters evacuated other nearby businesses, including a bank, cleaners and shoe repair clinic. Firefighters are still investigating the cause of the fire.

- Written by Fiona

Election Results - Final?

John Root, who at the latest count was trailing Vice mayor Cathy Baylock by a mere 28 votes, has graciously conceded in his bid for City Council in this race. John pledges to support the council and ensure that the issues he highlighted in his election campaign are actively followed by the new council.

- Written by admin

Will Work for Nature!

The Friends of Mills Canyon have been struggling with a lack of volunteers and they have put out an urgent SOS!

Do you have a scout/girl scout troop that would like a special project? Do you think our schools and ecology clubs should be involved in saving our Burlingame environment? Do you want to keep this important group going? Do you enjoy Mills Canyon as a way to get back to nature?

If so, we have a job for you! Here are some of the ways you can help:

(1) Recording/Corresponding Secretary
(2) Treasurer
(3) Membership Chair
(4) Program Chair to coordinate with docents, hikers, etc.
(5) Newsletter and Brochure Chair
(6) Media Publicity Chair informs the newspapers, etc of hikes and activities
(7) Special Events Chair for coordinating slide shows, Art in the Park
(8) Scout Troop Liaison
(9) School/Teacher Liaison
(10) City Liaison with Parks and Rec, etc.
(11) Maintenance Committee for repair projects
(12) Catalogue Committee for keeping records of the canyon
(13) Garden Committee for planting sowing, weeding, etc. and exotic plant removals.

Please pretty please, come to the next meeting and lets keep this group going and preserve this Burlingame gem:

WHEN: Thursday, December 1st
TIME: 7:30 PM
WHERE: Burlingame Rec. Center

If you have not discovered the best kept secret in Burlingame, take a look - the entrances are off Arguello and Adeline - you will be surprised!

- Written by Fiona

Rorschach Town

The December issue of KQED's magazine, San Francisco, has an interesting article about Walnut Creek that could prove useful to us in framing the discussion about the future of Burlingame. Entitled, "Rorschach Town", the article asks "What do you see when you look at Walnut Creek's big, booming and much-envied shopping district? Whether your answer is heaven or hell, there's no better place to make you think about the future of downtown America." A sidebar to the article describes four models for Bay Area suburban downtowns:
1) The Traditional Small Town ("Like a small Midwestern downtown, this is the place where people can get what they need to survive. The grocery store, hardware store, and pharmacy are hallmarks. Of course, in the Bay Area, even traditional downtowns offer more than mere necessities." ) Examples are Santa Cruz Avenue in Menlo Park and downtown Orinda.
2) Lifestyle Centers ("A fancy name for your local mall, transplanted outside and turned into a downtown") Examples: 4th Street in Berkeley and Los Gatos.
3) New Urbanist Hub ("This approach stresses building up, not out, "infill" rather than sprawl -- with home, work, shopping and play all in one place.") Examples Windor's four-acre town green on the grounds of a former middle school and Santana Row in San Jose.
4) Locals-only Village ("Here the small-town feel is valued above all else, even if you have to go elsewhere for the basics. That means no big chains, no outside development-no nonlocals, really.") Examples, Larksur and Los Altos.
Walnut Creek is described as a hybrid of these four models: "half-traditional small town, selling things you need, and half "life-style center", selling things you want. A contingent of citizens is working to build more housing downtown, thus making it a new urbanist hub, while a group of antigrowth advocate wishes Walnut Creek were more like a village than the glitzy, urbanized center it's become."
By the way, the article states that most of the development that's been done in Walnut Creek since Nordstrom opened in 1989 has been pursuant to "specific plans" that have outlined what the "local government wanted to see built" and that the "if developers offered plans abiding by those guidlines, they found smooth sailing in getting the plans approved." "The city has convinced dozens of developers that it is in their interest to help fund or make room for all manner of fountains, planters and wooden benches."

- Written by Joanne

Fire at Chicken Chicken!

Apparently there is a huge fire at Chicken Chicken. I can see a huge plume of smoke. I hope no one was hurt.
(picture added by editor)

- Written by Jen