The Burlingame Voice

Whooping Cough

Bloggers might be interested to know that there is apparently an outbreak of whooping cough on the Peninsula. While at my kids' annual check-ups this week, the doc alerted us to recent outbreaks among Aragon and San Mateo high school students. It's a nasty illness, too, lasting for 100 days. And there is nothing a doctor can offer as relief once someone has it.

The good news is that there is a new formulation of the tetanus booster that includes a whooping cough preventative part. Something to consider especially for teenagers and parents of very young kids.

Joe Baylock

- Written by admin

Burlingame: City of Trees - City of LITTER!

I am stunned at the amount of litter in Burlingame. Every major street, parking lot, public park and landscaped area is overflowing with litter. We moved to Burlingame 6 years ago and the litter problem wasn't nearly as bad as it is now. Walk down the West side of California Drive, for example, from Broadway to Burlingame Avenue, and you'll see what I mean. A friend of mine who has lived in the Bay Area all her life went to Burlingame Avenue recently for lunch and later commented; Burlingame ought to be ashamed of itself a city with so much affluence looking the way it does!?

Burlingame streets are littered with shopping carts, abandoned furniture from apartment buildings and houses, fast food containers, plastic bottles, cans and just about anything else you can think of. The new development on Paloma Avenue near Broadway (Casa Paloma, I believe) is surrounded by a fence and even has its own dumpster, yet the construction workers have so badly littered the area that the trash is now piled up and people are now using those existing piles of trash to throw more trash. The front of Preston's Ice Cream shop is appalling the sidewalk is covered with napkins and wrappers and sticky dried ice cream and yet the owners and/or employees do nothing about it.

Perhaps the worst and most shocking example is the parking lot that runs along the CalTrain tracks on California Drive from Burlingame Avenue to Oak Grove. The litter at the foot of the Eucalyptus tress in about 6 inches deep in some places how shameful! Other shocking examples are the Howard Avenue Safeway parking lot and the Burlingame Foods (on Broadway) parking lot in the back, both of which look more like a povery-stricken third world country than an affluent Bay Area city, but the problem is all over Burlingame and is getting worse.

I don't accept the excuse that the city just doesn't have the money or the man power to clean up after litter bugs. What happened to civic pride? Why don't people care? How could you NOT pick up the litter in your own yard or street? Burlingame must be one of the filthiest cities on the Peninsula and if you don't agree go out and look. Crowded, badly managed rental properties play a major role. Landlords who rent single-family homes to 2 and 3 and 4 families should be held accountable for the state of their property. Landlords who allow tenants to discard furniture onto the street without any pick-up appointment should be held accountable. Most (but not all) of the rental properties near Broadway and Burlingame Avenue are badly maintained and poorly managed and the neighborhoods are a mess because of it. But it isn't just renters; I see lovely homes with manicured lawns in litter strewn streets and that's even more shameful.

Burlingame residents should be ashamed of their city as it looks right now. Just imagine what will to happen to real estate prices here when Burlingame gets a reputation for being littered and dirty instead of a lovely village-like town (and it will it's getting too out of control to ignore any longer). It boggles my mind that people will pay what they do for property in Burlingame and then allow it to become so littered and ugly. It's only a matter of time that Burlingame's official nickname will become City of Litter? rather than City of Trees?!

- Written by paintpusher

Can you swim?

From the San Mateo County Times article on possible global warming and rising sea levels by Julia Scott:

A map the Pacific Institute created in 1990 graphically illustrates what lower Bayside elevations could be facing in 100 years. If water levels were to rise 3.3 feet, or 1 meter, much of San Mateo County east of Highway 101 could be inundated. Foster City would be underwater, as well as San Francisco International Airport and parts of Redwood City and East Palo Alto.

- Written by admin

Smart Growth Ratings

Dana Yates reviewed a recent progress report on smart growth in the SM Daily Journal. Here's an excerpt. The full piece is on www.smdailyjournal.com.

San Mateo County cities are getting a failing grade when it comes to smart growth development in the Bay Area, according to a report to be released today by Greenbelt Alliance.

The study examines planning policies that protect open space and prevent urban sprawl in the 101 cities in the nine Bay Area counties. Only one city San Mateo ranked in the top 20. Millbrae, San Carlos and Half Moon Bay all scored between 49 percent and 37 percent. The rest of the San Mateo County cities ranked in the bottom third of the report.

Regardless, the report shows that cities need to do more to solidify their plans to focus growth near transit centers.

It shows the region isn't really prepared for growth,? said Michele Beasley, South Bay field representative for Greenbelt Alliance.

The study evaluated questionnaires sent to all 101 cities late last year. Each city was awarded points in seven different categories: Growth boundaries, park proximity, affordable housing, mixed-use development, development density, reduced parking requirements and development standards. Many San Mateo county cities received no score in the area of park proximity because the well-established areas already have parks and don't anticipate adding too many more if any.

San Mateo County was also evaluated and its policies ranked among the weakest, according to the report.

Government officials have yet to view the report, but some warn there is more to smart growth than the policies on the books.

The questions to ask are:

Does the Greenbelt Alliance take into account when a county is already well-developed? It doesn't appear so based on the park rating process.

Does the Greenbelt Alliance double back and check whether projects that appeared to meet smart growth objectives really do? It doesn't appear so from the positive ratings for Bay Meadows Phase 1.

Does the Greenbelt Alliance rate local rail service? Since a high percentage of Burlingame residents and workers live and work in walking distance of the Broadway station, what how does the Alliance account for its drastically reduced service?

Inquiring minds want to know. Perhaps Dana will do a follow-up piece.

- Written by admin

Il Piccolo Players on TV

The Il Piccolo Players have ventured into Comcast's Burlingame studio to tape their recent work "The First Nighters" For broadcast on Ch 27. The airing dates will be every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in July at 7pm. Also, every Tuesday in July at 9pm. Tune into see a revival of the recent show at Il Piccolo cafe.

- Written by admin

Burlingame At Night

This is the first of a series of postings that will refer visitors to the Print Archives to read articles by the Burlingame Voice Editorial Board members and guest columnists. By clicking on the link below you will go to the archived article and you may then return to this blog post to add to the public discussion on the topic.

This first article is by Editorial Board member Joe Baylock and tells the story of an evening spent on a "Ride-along" with the Burlingame Police Department. Members of the public can arrange for their own "Ride-alongs" by contacting the BPD for rules and an appointment.

To read the article, click here: http://burlingamevoice.com/main.php?Page=&Id=10&Article=81

- Written by admin

Where's Larry?

Does anyone know what happened to the sports card shop Bob's Collectibles that was owned by Larry Israel? The little shop on California Dr. just down from Stack's is now empty (an amazing feat on its own given his inventory of stuff).

- Written by anson

Did He or Didn't He.....

....Graduate that is? Courtesy of the San Mateo County Times' web site here is a list of the BHS graduates for 2006:

http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/ci_3893470

- Written by admin

Watch for Cyclists

From yesterday's SM Daily Journal article by Nathan Mollat:

After Saturday's invigorating workout (the Giro di Peninsula), head to downtown Burlingame Sunday morning to take in some racing action as professional racers take to the streets. The Burlingame Criterium is a 0.7 mile course that offers The same fast, technical course as in the past: three tight 90s, one left 90, and one wild sweeper leading into the finish straight. Excellent pavement and smooth brick. You will be challenged!? the Burlingame Criterium Web site stated.

I've raced 19 of them,? said Bill Fallis, athletic director of Peninsula Velo and co-promoter of the race. From a racer's perspective, the races have grown in quality and number. The quality has increased significantly.?

There are eight different races for professionals of varying ability, age and gender along with the annual Ryan's Ride? for kids. Ryan's Ride is held in honor of Ryan Phua, who died in his sleep unexpectedly in 2003 at the age of 2. This year's criterium features the first race in the state to offer a combined men's race for riders ages 45+, 55+ and 65+ years old.

We're expecting about the same number of elite riders (about 700),? Fallis said. The kids' ride is getting even more. About 600 this year.?
Last year, over 450 children participated.

The first race of the day Elite 4 begins at 7 a.m. The finals race of the day is the women 1,2,3 division, slated to begin at 1:30 p.m. In between, all other races go off at approximately 50-minute intervals.

- Written by admin

CalPERS Costs Going Up

From today's SF Chronicle article by Ryan Kim. This will affect the City of Burlingame's budget next year.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System on Wednesday sidestepped an unpopular proposal for co-payment fee increases and cost-cutting restructuring moves and approved an average 11.6 percent increase in premiums for members of health maintenance organizations.

CalPERS has been under pressure to rein in premiums, which have grown steadily due to higher equipment, staffing and drug costs as well as an increase in obese and elderly patients. Labor groups, however, had strongly opposed co-payment increases, fearing it would shift too much of the health care burden to workers.

By forgoing co-payment increases, CalPERS will lose out on an estimated $55 million in savings for 2007. The premium rate increase will be borne largely by employers, which pay 80 percent of premiums, and taxpayers.

The CalPERS system, which oversees benefits for 1.2 million state and local government workers, is the third-largest insurer in the country and is often viewed as a bellwether for the health care industry.

- Written by admin