The Burlingame Voice

Flashlight Heaven

In the San Mateo Times today:

As many as 80,000 lose power in storm

Winter may have been on an early spring break for a couple of weeks, but it returned with a vengeance Monday, as a powerful storm blew through the Bay Area. It wasn't a cold storm, thanks to its tapping into a plume of subtropical moisture, and the winter has brought wetter storms, such as the one over New Year's. The main problem this time was the fierce wind, gusting in excess of 60 mph. Preliminary reports indicated as many as 80,000 customers in the Bay Area, most on the Peninsula, had lost power at one time or another, said Jana Schuering, a spokeswoman for Pacific Gas & Electric Co. About 110,000 lost power system-wide, she said.

It is amazing that in this most sophisticated country, we have a storm and 80,000 lights go out in our neck of the woods. Can we blame the eucs this time, the palm fronds, helium balloons, squirrels, water, etc. Does this happen in other "sophisticated" countries or don't they have trees and/or underground utilities?

Please report any Burlingame outages to Terry's Power Outage Report.

- Written by Fiona

Living History Live!

Congratulations to the actors who performed in the Living History Play presented yesterday by the Burlingame Historical Society. What a way to learn about Anson Burlingame, Charles Howard, Harriett Pullman Carolan, Sarah Winchester, Frederick Kohl and his four lovely ladies via Jerry Coleman, Joe Baylock, Rosalie McLoud, Cathy Baylock, Stephen Hamilton, Bobbi Benson, Cathy Foxhoven and Linda Plageman.

Special thanks to Director Cathy Foxhoven for her directing wizardry and Pastor Pete for so generously allowing the Society to perform in his church.

- Written by Fiona

Goal Session Discussion

From the Daily Journal: City government

The Burlingame City Council met Saturday to refine a list of city goals for the next fiscal year. The goals are: Better sidewalk maintenance (particularly litter in front of retail stores); Creating a list of historical resources in the downtown area; moving the downtown Safeway redevelopment plan forward; increasing civic engagement; have members of the City Council meet with the police chief to discuss such as certain problems with nightclubs; creating a specific area plan for downtown, holding a charette, or architect workshop for downtown development; create a development user fee to recoup costs from damage created by new developments; studying the possibility of installing signs reminding people to move their cars for street sweeping; holding a citywide cleanup; and creating a transit hub development plan. The transit hub development plan would focus on creating a development template for land around the city's two train stations to ensure that whatever development is proposed there fits in with the City Council's vision. At the same meeting, the council discussed having a city representative participate in plans for a Grand Boulevard along El Camino Real currently pushed by the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group at Samceda, the San Mateo County Economic Development Association.

This was a great goal session and so fantastic to see a council who listened to each other and listened to the public comments. It has been said before but what a difference an election makes!

- Written by Fiona

A Gem Gets a Facelift

Thank you, Karim Salma, for rehabilitating your 20's building (corner of California and Burlingame Avenue). It is a reborn gem. Salma had replicas made of authentic spanish tiles, so that the new tilework wainscott blended seemlessly with the old. The result will be stunning. It looks as if it has always been there, and never looked better! Good luck with your new restaurant!

- Written by Jen

Don't Forget!

The second Council goal session is tomorrow (Saturday) at 9:00 am in the Lane Room, Main Library. Five goals (#s 56-60) have been added. Go to the ciry website for the matrix.

- Written by Fiona

Doggy Heaven!

Daily Journal Report -

Citizens worried about smelly cats and barking dogs moving onto Rollins Road in Burlingame should get their complaints ready and head down to the Planning Commission meeting Monday. Ken White, president of the Peninsula Humane Society, said the nonprofit wants to work with the community to be a good neighbor. To do that, it decided to conduct an in-depth environmental study addressing concerns of the public. First it needs to know what citizens are concerned about. Next week's Planning Commission meeting will give citizens a chance to voice concerns and add items to be studied to the list. In September the PHS presented a plan for a new facility in Burlingame to a large crowd of concerned citizens. The reaction inspired the group to look a bit deeper at how it will affect its new neighbors. When the facility was first proposed, nearby business and property owners on the industrial street sent letters to the city complaining of potential noise, smell and increased traffic and parking concerns. The questions by neighbors and objections by neighbors really deserve the most intense investigation,? said PHS President Ken White. The new facility would focus on homes for homeless animals, rehabilitation for animals as well as education, he said. Some comments already prompted changes, like making a fence a solid wall to ensure animals won't get loose. It will not feature certain activities like housing of stray, injured and aggressive animals, euthanasia of non-adoptable unwanted animals, lost and found services and 24-hour ambulance services. These actives will remain at the PHS/SPCA center at Coyote Point Park. Currently the PHS leases the land at 12 Airport Blvd. from the county for $1 per year as part of the animal control contract. That contract expires June 30, 2008. White said there is now an agreement in writing to sit down in June 2006 to negotiate a deal through 2011.

The Burlingame site is scheduled to open on July 1, 2008.

- Written by Fiona

Town Square is Intriguing

Heather's article in the Daily Journal:

Burlingame residents can continue to stroll through the walkway connecting the Washington Park neighborhood to downtown through the train station since the City Council told Caltrain loud and clear if pedestrian access can't be increased it should at least be kept. The Caltrain proposal to close the pedestrian walkway and South Lane access routes to improve safety and make train service more efficient was shot down by the Burlingame City Council Wednesday night. Approximately 70 residents filled City Hall, many speaking in opposition to the change they claimed would create a block in the pedestrian flow through the heart of Burlingame. Caltrain officials said the decision would cause a delay for an unspecified amount of time. I understand the safety issues. I understand the hold out issues. But there are also issues we have as a community. We have to come to a compromise that works for Burlingame and Caltrain,? said Councilwoman Ann Keighran.

Caltrain officials said the opening cannot remain because it is not safe. To look toward pedestrian crossing there, I don't think we can do it at grade. Please prove me wrong,? said Ian McAvoy, chief development officer for the San Mateo County Transit District. Caltrain had also suggested bringing the station up to current safety standards, pedestrian crossings with gates and signals, 500 feet of fencing and new landscaping. The council, however, opted not to vote and asked to further discuss options to maintain pedestrian crossing, take another look at South Lane and see complete landscape proposals. Four of the five councilmembers were opposed to the plan as it was presented. Councilwoman Rosalie O'Mahony, however, said she was disappointed by the council's decision. We've been conversing about this for over two years. I believe we've invested time in what we want. I'm disappointed how we simply wasted time and money,? she said.

Stephen Hamilton, co-chair of the Citizens for a Better Burlingame, not only agreed with the majority of council but also brought forward a concept it would like to see. The artist rendition shows the Burlingame train station as a town square with lots of trees, vendors and potential for activities such as a farmers' market. McAvoy said he was intrigued by the town square concept and is willing to work with the city if it chooses to move in that direction. Caltrain, however, would not be able to fund such a project since it doesn't own the land nor does it have the funding. The proposal being discussed, however, would be paid for by Caltrain. Baylock requested the council discuss what it specifically would like to see at another meeting. Until that time, city staff will continue to work with Caltrain to address the issues raised.

Christine's article in the San Mateo Times.

I attended the two community meetings back in 2004 and if more time had been spent on what the residents would have liked rather than a car merchant griping about his parking problems we would not ALL be "wasting our time" (and Caltrains money).

- Written by Fiona

Broadway Station

There are signs on Broadway that this evening's council meeting will discuss saving the weekend Caltrain service at Broadway Station. The City has told us that there are no such plans at this time to discuss this and there will be no announcement tonight.

- Written by Fiona

Locker Room Fire

Examiner's article:

BURLINGAME A firebug in the boy's locker room forced the evacuation of Burlingame High School on Tuesday as firefighters quickly doused a smoking pile of clothes. Central County Fire Department firefighters were called at 1:23 p.m. to the school at 1 Mangini Way, according to county records. Once there, they discovered a locker set on fire in the men's locker room, Principal Matt Biggar said. No one was injured,? Biggar said. The Fire Department is investigating it.? Clothes, shoes and possibly books were set on fire as two classes of freshmen and sophomore students were exiting the locker room. They were going to a physical education class after putting on their workout clothes, Biggar said. The school will interview the approximately 40 male students in those classes as they search for the apparent arsonist, he added

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- Written by Fiona

Interchange Decision Delayed

From the Examiner:

SAN MATEO The San Mateo City Council held off allowing a controversial process to create a new Peninsula Avenue and U.S. Highway 101 interchange to move forward Tuesday night, instead ordering further in-house study. Before a council chamber packed with more than 40 residents and business owners who may lose their property to sale or eminent domain if the project moves forward, the council said it needed more information but declined to get a consultant involved, the next stage in a formal procedure to consider the work.

The interchange reconstruction is being considered because the intersections leading to the nearby Poplar Avenue southbound interchange have a much higher-than-expected accident rate, and because Caltrans is performing work in the area anyway as part of its auxiliary lane project to widen the highway. Any project would be a Caltrans project, but that agency has said it will not move forward without City of San Mateo approval, Public Works Director Larry Patterson said.
We don't want to go to the consultant stage yet,? Mayor John Lee said. Rough sketches of potential interchanges at Peninsula show right-of-way issues? suggesting possible property demolition along Amphlett Boulevard, Peninsula Avenue, Idaho Street and Bayswater Street. Between 15 and 40 parcels could be impacted, depending on the design, Patterson said. Any project and its projected traffic impacts will also affect Burlingame, and Councilmembers Jack Matthews and Carole Groom called for a joint study session with that city. Burlingame Mayor Cathy Baylock spoke against creating a full interchange at Peninsula. In the 1960s, she said, You saw neighborhoods torn apart [by freeway construction] that are only now starting to recover.?Some residents spoke in favor of further examination of the interchange given the accident problems at Poplar, and many spoke of the need to address that safety concern through various means. But overwhelming numbers were concerned about the loss of private property. We have a garage-door business [on Amphlett]. For us to move out is going to be so cost-prohibitive. This is our retirement,? Burlingame resident Lynn Lenardon said. Herman Fitzgerald, an attorney representing 40 property owners, said his clients oppose any interchange plans. He urged caution in further consideration. What we know in politics is that the preliminary matters all too often become final,? Fitzgerald said.

- Written by Fiona