Month: July 2006

  • Allied Waste (what a waste!)

    I spent 15 minutes On Hold this morning with Allied. All I wanted to ask, was if the masses of Styrofoam I've gotten through deliveries are recyclable with the plastic recycles. They are marked with the typical recycle symbols, but I thought I'd ask. When somebody finally tended to my call, the answer was No. The fellow told me to bring it into San Carlos myself, otherwise to dump it in the normal garbage or bring to a packing company to see if they want it. What a waste! And could somebody please tell these folks that they need a few more attendants tending to the phones!

    – Written by Jen

  • Cooperstown Baseball Update

    The Burlingame Stars 12-and-under baseball team is in Cooperstown, NY this week playing in a 96-team tournament and touring the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Stars were lucky to be there on Induction Weekend and several Hall of Famer autographs were collected. The team also collected its first win this morning, 3-2 over Easton, CT.

    Yesterday's games started 5 hours late due to rain delays. The local boys were beaten soundly by Tampa, FL and then lost to West Boyleston, MA in a close 3-1 game that ended after 11pm last night.

    Today's game was webcasted by the park and which allowed the fans to enjoy the victory along with the boys. The tournament will continue until Friday.

    – Written by admin

  • Sewers & Parks

    County government in the Daily Journal:

    The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, acting as the governing board of 10 sewer maintenance/sanitation districts, will take public comment Tuesday on proposed rate hikes some as high as triple the base amount and vote. If a majority of residents oppose the proposal, the rates cannot take effect. At the same meeting, the board will adopt a resolution placing a one-eighth-cent sales tax measure on the November ballot. The measure was already approved but requires a second reading Tuesday. It would generate millions of dollars earmarked specifically for the county's parks.

    The board meets 9 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 1 in Board Chambers, 400 County Government Center, Redwood City

    – Written by Fiona

  • The Mayor of Broadway

    Heather's article in the Daily Journal – Representing Broadway with style

    Burlingame's Ross Bruce is famous for his sharp suits and Fedora. Under the brim of a classic Fedora he strolls down Burlingame's Broadway every day. Whether he is acting as the president of the Broadway Business Improvement District or working at A.V.R. Realty, Ross Bruce always sticks out in a crowd. Well, as long as he isn't sporting his leisurely jeans and a T-shirt. I'll wave at people and they won't even recognize me,? he said. Famous for his sharp suits reminiscent of times past, Bruce is always an upbeat staple to the downtown area in Burlingame.

    The 52-year-old is a native local. He was born at Mills Hospital and graduated from Mills High School in 1973. Although the family business, A.V.R. Realty, was around then Bruce had another aspiration acting. He ended up getting his degree in finance from San Francisco State University. He settled on a more serious degree because he knew he could act already. The background in theatrics becomes apparent just sitting down with Bruce. There is never a story without a different voice, facial expression or even hand gesture to add to the tale. These days he doesn't get on stage much but recently began performing with the Il Piccolo Players a group of Burlingame people who perform old radio dramas. He has a look. He has an image. He has a character. I realized Realtors will take something to distinguish themselves. Some wear a hat. With [Bruce's] it's 1940s-ish style suits and hats. People who costume instead of dress are usually actors,? said Director Cathy Foxhoven.

    Bruce's love affair with the 40s-style jackets began when he was in seventh grade. He bought his first jacket at a secondhand store because he liked the look. He enjoyed the formal attire and the oversized shoulders. The hat was added later in high school. At first it was for style, but as more of his head began to see the sun the hat became a staple. Today Bruce owns 23 different suits and has had six hats he recently left one in San Diego. While the formal attire is his everyday dress around Burlingame, Bruce does dress down to explore the ocean. He became a scuba diving instructor in the early 1980s and still teaches two classes a year. Many people walk out to the edge of the continent and looked out with curiosity. I walked out to the edge of the continent and looked out with curiosity and just kept going,? he said. He didn't intend to become a teacher of the underwater sport. He was talked into and his teaching career almost ended before it began. The last task after a seven-day scuba boot camp was to save a person. Once the victim is on the beach, the instructor approaches with some symptoms that need to be diagnosed. Bruce explained having cherry red lips and nail beds is a sign of carbon monoxide poisoning. But when the instructor gave those symptoms to Bruce and asked his diagnosis he replied, I think he's a transvestite,? he said with a laugh. If he hadn't quickly given the correct response he might not hold that credential today.

    Bruce slipped into an impression of Groucho Marx on his last episode of You Bet Your Life,? as an example of how sometimes it's too good of a line to pass up. Marx was pulled from his long-running television show after a comment he made to a Midwest housewife was deemed inappropriate by the sponsors. It was on one of his diving adventures that he met his fiancee nine years ago. Diana Williams is an sergeant in the army who works at St. Luke's hospital in the Mission district of San Francisco. The couple has no immediate wedding plans but is enjoying watching Williams' three children grow up.

    – Written by Fiona

  • California Cowboys

    It will be the last Music in Washington Park tomorrow (Sunday) with the California Cowboys, Hot country 4 piece band. Bring your s…-kicking boots, a bottle of plonk and a picnic. See ya there!

    If you get there at 12:30 you will see a soupcon of "Into the Woods" by some very talented kids.

    – Written by Fiona

  • Philly’s Cheese Steak Shop

    There is a great new sandwich shop at 729 California Drive near Oak Grove. For those of you from the north east; this is a little slice of heaven. Try it, you'll like it. Inexpensive (in other words, not your typical Burlingame prices) and very good. The owner is a Burlingame mom of three (McKinley) who is behind the counter and grill. In addition to steak there are chicken, hot dogs and sausages.

    – Written by Constance

  • Childrens Nature Treasure Hunt

    Please join the Friends of Mills Canyon on Saturday, August 12, 2006 at 10:00 am. for one of our favorite hikes. Denise Baggiani will conduct a nature treasure hunt for children where we will see how many different insects and flowers we can find! There will be lots of surprises and refreshments too. Please meet at the Adeline entrance of Mills Canyon Wildlife Park, Burlingame. Our programs are free. For further information, call (650) 558-7325 or go to http://www.friendsofmillscanyon.org. This will be a fun hike!

    – Written by Fiona

  • Ballot for New Hospital

    The Examiner – Ballots for new hospital mailed to voters next week

    Burlingame, Calif. – Taxpayers will finally get to vote on plans for a brand-new Peninsula Medical Center, with special mail-in ballots set to hit homes early next week. Mark Numainville, a county elections officer, said ballots for the hospital vote, Measure V, are set to go out on Monday to the 101,000 registered voters in the Peninsula Health Care District, which includes Burlingame, San Mateo, Millbrae, San Bruno and parts of Foster City and South San Francisco. Voters have until Aug. 29 to return their ballots by mail or in person, but should mail them by Aug. 22 to make sure the votes arrive on time. Mills-Peninsula Health Services, which runs the Peninsula Medical Center, wants to build a state-of-the-art, $488 million hospital to replace the Burlingame hospital because the current facility doesn't meet state seismic regulations. Construction can't begin on the hospital which sits on land owned by the Peninsula Health Care District, a public entity until the voters give the OK. Mills-Peninsula, an arm of Sutter Health, is funding the project and the election. Construction is slated to begin in the fall, and officials are anxious to keep things on track as building costs continue to climb. The project should be finished by mid-2010. Hospital higher-ups in May released a list of potential cuts and items to be deferred should the project costs continue to climb, including nonessential items such as a helipad, fountain, several conference rooms and three of the 10 operating rooms. The election is the last hurdle in a long public process that saw a lawsuit, construction cost increases, changes in the proposal from Mills-Peninsula and difficulty in finding board members without conflicts of interest. The district and Mills-Peninsula agreed on a 50-year lease, where Mills-Peninsula pays the district $1.5 million per year in rent for 21 acres of land. The hospital reverts back to the district at the end of the lease.

    Dan Andersen with Peninsula Guardians, a nonprofit watchdog group for the hospital project, said that though he will likely vote for the new hospital, he remains unhappy with the current lease agreement. We want to make sure this is taxpayer-controlled, not Sutter-controlled,? Andersen said. District board member Rick Navarro said that while the lease isn't perfect, it still presents a good deal for taxpayers. He said keeping tabs on hospital operations is one of the board's top priorities.

    – Written by Fiona

  • Parks Tax Bad for Burlingame

    In addition to a $43 million infrastructure bond and a $240 million San Mateo Union High School District Bond that will be on the November 2006 ballot, Burlingame residents will be asked this fall to also approve a countywide, 1/8-cent sales tax to fund county and city parks.

    The measure, to be placed on the ballot by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, may bring in around $16 million dollars a year. According to the ballot language, 52 percent will be divided among the 20 county cities, 42 percent will go to the county government itself and the remaining 6 percent will be shared among three local parks districts.

    Burlingame's annual share will be approximately $163,404 should the measure pass, as the allocation is based on city population. Our neighbor to the west, Hillsborough, will get around $112,902 a year.

    But this is where this poorly crafted measure breaks down. Hillsborough produces very little sales tax. In fact, the only sales tax produced in Hillsborough is largely through private transactions. This is due to the fact that Hillsborough has, by policy, prevented commercial activity in that community just as Portola Valley has done.

    Burlingame residents, however, enjoy diverse and active business districts and the community is host to a large auto row which generates tremendous sales tax, as well as our hotels on the Bay front.

    In fact, in the second quarter of 2005, Burlingame generated a total of $210,694,000 in total taxable sales, compared to that of Hillsborough which generated only $1,443,000 or about 1.5 percent of Burlingame's total. Yet, under the formula for the Parks Tax worked out by the San Mateo County leadership, Hillsborough's allocation of this new sales tax is not that much lower than Burlingame's.

    In fact, Burlingame generates the fourth highest amount of taxable sales in San Mateo County, but because the allocation of this new sales tax funding will be based on the number of people in each community, Burlingame's piece of the proverbial pie will be in the mid to lower end of the scale.

    This tax is a bad deal for Burlingame under the proposed formula. In fact, Burlingame will end up subsidizing the parks facilities of our neighbors.

    Thus far, city officials have not weighed in on this issue but hopefully they will soon. This tax really only benefits the county government and the communities with larger populations such as Daly City or those with little to no commercial activity like Hillsborough and Portola Valley.

    Let's hear from our local leaders on this issue.

    – Written by politicalblunder

  • Auto/Housing on Shen?

    Daily Journal – Auto dealer for housing response mixed

    A proposed housing and retail development on the gateway to Burlingame's auto row is meeting resistance from the San Mateo Planning Commission for its size and lack of truck access. Others argue the site should remain a car dealership.The Planning Commission sent the developer of 800 N. San Mateo Drive back to the drawing board Tuesday in hopes something more appealing will be drafted. The long-vacant Shen car dealership in San Mateo is proposed to be a mixed-use development with 154 condominiums and ground-floor retail on 3.11 acres. The commission must first approve the project. At this point, the project appears too large and doesn't have a clear area for trucks to drop off shipments for ground floor stores, said Senior Planner Stephen Scott. They need to do a lot more work if they want to get it approved,? Scott said. There was a mixed response from speakers at Tuesday's meeting, Scott said. Some supported the new project while others argued the site should remain a car dealership. About four years ago, the city conducted a study that showed the site could not support a car dealership because of the current economy and the site's geography. The odd-shaped site is smaller than the average new car dealership, Scott said. Most car dealerships team up now and move onto large lots where they can store a huge inventory. The Shen site does not allow for that. However, the city's general plan encouraged a car dealership on the site, Scott said.

    Some recent economic upswing would allow for another car dealership. A property owner across the street testified that she recently leased her land to a car dealership. Car dealerships are a lucrative business for cities. San Mateo collects sales tax on all cars sold. There are few dealerships in San Mateo, but many are just a block away on the same street in Burlingame. There is a concern that the decline of San Mateo car dealerships could eventually lead to the depletion of Burlingame's healthy auto row.

    – Written by Fiona

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