The Burlingame Voice

Wish List for San Mateo County Nonprofits Now Online

You are invited to donate new or used items to local nonprofit organizations via the 2006 Community Wish List for San Mateo County which has just been posted at http://www.terrynagel.com.

The list features hundreds of items desired by 23 San Mateo County nonprofits. It includes contact information so that you can donate directly to the organizations. Each nonprofit listed has agreed to provide a written acknowledgment of each donation within 30 days that you can keep on hand for tax purposes.

The idea of the Wish List is simple. Instead of asking for checks, nonprofits list items they need that others may have on hand or wish to purchase new. People like to give gifts to those in need, particularly if the items are taking up closet space. Everybody wins.

I started a Burlingame Wish List last year to assist nonprofits serving Burlingame. I expanded it to a countywide list this year when other organizations asked to be included.

Items desired range from jump ropes and dustpans to conference tables and used cars. Some organizations are requesting services, such as designing a Web site or knitting afghans for underprivileged new mothers. All of them would appreciate the gift of your time, if you choose to help them in their work.

My profound thanks to Janice Prey Wolfe, a Burlingame illustrator who donated her time in designing the Wish List last year and this year, and to Stephen Hamilton of Crescent Creative, who maintains the Wish List on my Web site.

Thank you to you, too, for helping to make our county a better place to live.

Terry Nagel
Vice Mayor, Burlingame

- Written by Terry Nagel

City Parking Lots

It will be important for public input when the downtown visioning process gets underway. And its never too early to start!

Mr. John King, journalist for the Chron, told us at a CBB forum that he was amazed at all the on-grade city parking lots we have in Burlingame and that we have the flexibility to better utilize them. Architect Ionescu has started with a concept to better use for the Donnelly parking lot.

So will our new plan say we want more seas of concrete? Will we have a deja vu moment from the 1989 land grab for Primrose Lanes (1340 Howard) for the princely sum of $1.6+ million to make 60 parking-spaces? Why not start with this sea of concrete on Howard and include ground floor retail et al (plus parking) which would revitalize this important part of town.

Will we demolish another part of town for the bane of Burlingame? Will we be smart with the parking lots we already have? Or will we build a 50 story parking structure?

And will that ever be enough!

- Written by Fiona

A sense of community

I am a native Burlingame resident, now living in San Francisco, who will be home for the holidays as usual next weekend. This year I thought it would be nice to help serve or deliver food to those who are elderly, disabled, sick, poor or alone during the holiday season. I did a google search? to see what I could find in the area. While I found countless websites about our community and even some suggested ways to better our already rather booming economy or improve the look of our shopping areas, I was never once directed toward avenues to help the less fortunate Burlingame residents.

I am saddened to see that as we continue to strive to make Burlingame an increasingly vibrant and wonderful place to live, we seem to have forgotten to include everyone in our community.? While our publications, city government and community sites make an effort to vocalize and engage residents, why not also make a direct attempt to involve people in the practice of helping others? After all, what makes Burlingame a truly wonderful place to live is not just neighbors sharing sugar, people picking up trash, its thriving economy or the politically-minded residents it's the real sense of community within Burlingame. We must all continue to encourage one another to come together and support everyone, especially those in need.

My hope for 2006 is that Burlingame residents, press, politicians, business owners and leaders will remember the meaning of community throughout the new year!

- Written by Emily LoSavio

Beautification Commission

Congratulations to Jo Ellen and Susie for being appointed to the Beautification Commission. Jo Ellen for a return vist on the Commission and Susie who lives on one of our most important tree-lined streets both have the right reasons to get involved.

Isn't it great that - finally - the best people are being voted onto commissions? What a difference an election makes!

- Written by Fiona

Parking Fund Funding

Last night's council meeting result (via the Daily Journal):

The council agreed to use parking fund money to finance a $59,000 downtown economic study. The study will help the city determine the future economic viability of downtown between Oak Grove and Peninsula avenues. It will examine the possible relocation of Auto Row, expanding downtown to Donnelly and Howard avenues and mixed-use alternatives for the Safeway site at Howard Avenue and El Camino Real. It will also address required landscaping changes and parking needs.

- Written by Fiona

Less than Neutral

After the silliness of Burlingame candidates plus postal permits, this example stated in Daily Journal's Mr. Silverfarb article is not exactly neutral:

The city of San Mateo is accused of violating state law by allowing the Bay Meadows Land Company to use its postal permit. Bay Meadows mailed out fliers last month encouraging San Mateo residents who signed a referendum petition to mail postage-paid cards to City Hall requesting the city clerk remove their names from the petition. The problem, says Friends of Bay Meadows attorney Stuart Flashman, is the business reply cards were mailed on the city's postal permit. Allowing BMLC to use the postal permit amounts to an indirect contribution. The city is supposed to stay scupulously neutral,? Flashman said. At first we thought it was bad judgment,? Schinkel said. But now it appears the city may have violated a couple of laws. It suggests the city was endorsing the recall of petition signatures. The city certainly was less than neutral in this situation.? After inquiring the post office about the city's postage permit it appears the BMLC reimbursed the city for the cost of the mailers, Flashman said

.

- Written by Fiona

Our Bob

Full service in Burlingame as reported in the San Mateo Times:

BURLINGAME Coast Gasoline is in a time warp. It is also an oddity. Since the 1960s, it has continued as a full-service gas station at 988 Howard Ave. off Myrtle Road, while being surrounded by self-service gas station giants. Owner Bob Lugliani the third person to own the business keeps it a neighborhood station. "It's what it's always been," the Burlingame resident said. "A lot of older people come in who don't want to learn how to use a pump and that's what they want." The station, which was built in the 1960s, was first called Old County Exxon, said Lugliani, 52. He bought the station and an auto repair shop next to it in the 1980s and then bought the property in 1993. He has about 75 regular customers with one or two new customers a week. Lugliani's gas station has been one of a very few fullservice gas stations in San Mateo County that continues to fill gas tanks, check tires, oil and clean windows. The service is done within minutes. "Somehow, people got away from it," Lugliani said. He's worked at gas stations since high school. "The big gas stations wanted to downsize the amount of employees, cut overhead and reduce the price of gas." He said he also noticed a change in people with fluctuating gas prices. "They shop more for price and have started not caring about service," Lugliani said. At the moment, his station sells regular gas for $2.29 a gallon and supreme for $2.42. "The customers I have pretty much don't really look at the price. I'm not the highest and not the cheapest price. I'm in the middle of the road. They are happy to sit there and be served or be waited on."

Still, he found people who weren't exactly enthusiastic about his service. Lugliani recalls a woman in her pajamas who wouldn't pay extra to sit in her car. Instead, she went to another station that was 10 cents cheaper, Lugliani said. "That to me boggled my mind," he said. "I really thought people would embrace full-service again. It's an old-fashion thing, especially in this area where people here are more of a crowd that remembers that." John of JJ's Trucking has been going to Coast Gasoline for about a year. His presence triggers a bell, letting Lugliani know that there is a customer waiting. "It's about convenience," John said. "(And) I'm lazy, I hate to get out of the car." He likes that he knows the employees at the station. "I feel comfortable," he said. "I feel like they're taking care of me and don't feel like I'm getting screwed. There's a good trust here."

- Written by Fiona

A poor Choice?

Two articles in the Daily News with a follow up on December 17 that "police sent a case against one BHS student to the SM County District Attorney's Office. The student is suspected of grabbing another smaller student from behind, beating him unconscious and then kicking him."

Homosexual name calling and unnecessary roughness by some Burlingame High School football players against smaller male students and the administration's alleged reticence to fully address the issue has at least one family member crying foul and has grabbed the attention of an anti-hate organization. Some members of the high school football team are allegedly intimidating and assaulting their slighter peers on campus, in part calling them homosexual names and at times physically assaulting them and school officials aren't addressing the problem, said Pat Gray, Burlingame resident and family member to one of the victims. I'm upset that the school refused to face the fact that there is an atmosphere of intimidation and violence and they should change that,? said Gray. On the morning of Nov. 29 Gray's grandson, who the Daily News will not name because he is a juvenile, was beaten unconscious and then kicked by a member of the Burlingame High School football team. Earlier that month, the same player allegedly pegged another student in the head with a soda bottle as he was leaving campus. The student was not physically injured because he was wearing a bicycle helmet at the time, said Gray. Additionally, two other football players allegedly assaulted another student of slight build after they tried to cart his friend away during lunchtime as part of a scavenger hunt. The scuffle ended with one athlete thrusting a bottle into the student's groin and making repeated homosexual taunts, said Gray. I think that this fag' name calling is a common chant around campus,? said Gray, who has now turned to the media in hopes of finding out if there are other students who have been victimized with hopes of forming a group to persuade school officials to fully address the issue in public. The school should recognize this is happening.?

San Mateo Union High School District officials avoided confirming the alleged assaults took place and expressed full confidence in the district's staff to deal with issues of harassment in-house. I have absolutely no doubt that the situations were dealt with,? said district Associate Superintendent Ethel Konopka. We don't look the other way.? Konopka said she may have heard of a couple of instances regarding disciplinary actions taken against football players but said she did not recall which high school they attended and would not comment on details for reasons of maintaining student confidentiality. What I can tell you is that hazing is not something that we allow on campuses,? said Konopka. In the meantime kids are kids and sometimes kids make poor choices.? Burlingame High School Principal Matt Biggar did not return two Daily News calls requesting comment.

- Written by Fiona

Please no Participation

A Daily Journal article and to be featured in the Council meeting tonight:

Burlingame police are taking aim at the increasing number of illegal street races in their city with an ordinance that'll also make the races illegal to watch. The ordinance prohibits anyone from gathering within 200 feet of an illegal street race and allows officers to write infraction tickets, which require people to go to court or pay a fine. The Burlingame City Council will discuss the proposed ordinance at its Monday night meeting and will likely give its final approval at its first meeting next month. If we start writing tickets and these people have to start going to court, they'll start realizing they shouldn't be participating,? said Burlingame Police Chief Jack Van Etten. The problem of illegal street racing or sideshows is a growing problem in Burlingame. In 2004, there were five reported incidents of street racing. The number escalated to 14 in 2005, according to a report submitted to the City Council by Van Etten. Historically, we have had street racers in the past on El Camino Real and California Drive. Some of the ones concentrated on recently are frontage roads near the freeways and some industrial areas,? Van Etten said. Some of this year's police reports indicate groups gathering at Kincaid's Restaurant on Bayshore Boulevard, at the Burlingame Golf Center on Anza Boulevard, Bancroft and Adrian roads. The races usually take place between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m., according to the reports. Illegal street races happen on an irregular basis. The racers drive quickly from street to street, race for a period of time and leave before police arrive on scene. Police have a hard time catching them because the racers use police scanners and cell phones to communicate with each other and avoid detection. They often use the Internet to arrange their races, according to the report. The number of spectators at each race vary from a handful to a few dozen. Onlookers will block the streets and sidewalks to traffic, forming a racetrack area, Van Etten said. Police are hoping to stop the dangerous races before someone gets injured, Van Etten said. Burlingame is modeling its law on a similar San Diego ordinance.

- Written by Fiona

Platform 626

Found a new little space which I never knew existed. It is at 310 Lorton Avenue next to Frankie's Meyer-bunje. You might miss it because it is a narrow door with a corridor leading to rooms in the back, a space which would be perfect for an Il Piccolo Secondo! It is a new clothing store called Platform 626 and they had their grand opening last night with great food, a jazz band and nice merchandize. Another good reason to shop Burlingame!

- Written by Fiona