The Burlingame Voice

High Cost Rail - Part 60

A new poll is saying exactly what many of us have been hearing for some time

California Voters Disapprove of How Sacramento Spend Their Tax Dollars, Voters Sour on High-Speed Rail

Our recent research revealed that of California voters, a sizable majority (66.4%) of Californians disapproves of the way that California’s state government spends their tax dollars.

When asked how they would prefer that state government spending was prioritized given limited state funds, voters overwhelmingly selected Education, Public Safety and Health/Social Services. High-speed rail between Los Angeles and San Francisco ranks last.

When put to the test, 62.4% would vote to stop California’s high speed rail (HSR) project.

Is any one listening in Sacramento?

Seven Diamonds

I know a bit about collecting and analyzing customer feedback to rate companies' products and services.  For that reason, I like the Diamond Certified ratings as a method for rating local companies.  There are probably more B'game companies than the seven listed in the print listing in the San Mateo Mercury Times, but these are the only ones that list a B'game address:

Peninsula Prime Motorz (621 California), Autohaus Schmid (1213 Rollins), Prime Time Athletic Club (1730 Rollins), All Natural Stone (1575 Adrian), Carmen Miranda at Alain Pinel Realtors (1440 Chapin), Rebarts Interiors (247 California) and Bay Area Window Pros (215 Highland).

According to the methods used, they all get a 90 or better rating from real customers along with some other criteria.  Kudos to all.  Shop B'game!

Safeway - Part 70 Anticipation!

You have to be impressed with the contractor(s) who are building the new Safeway.  It is a 7-day-a-week effort that is moving at an impressive pace.  We have followed this from the beginning and the anticipation is building around town.  The October 14th Grand Opening appears to be on track and those of you who check in here to stay informed should know that you will be able to get an early peak on the evening of the 13th when the store will have a "soft opening" from 6-9pm before closing until the morning of the 14th.  See you there! 

Here is the current view at night

 

Weekend in Our Little Town

B'gamers had to get over the fact that the Giants' season is done by getting out and about in town.  Aside from the great fun to be had at the Pet Parade, the parents at McKinley School were doing their part to build a stronger school community.  The McKinley car wash was a great effort to raise funds so that all the students could afford to go to to the Outdoor Education program.  Doing car washes at the high school age is easier since the kids can do more of the work.  At the elementary age, the parents do the heavy washing.

 

And the St. Catherine's annual Faire was in full swing with a chili cook-off, rides, a climbing wall and a visit from Lou Seal.  Here's Lou showing the youngsters how "the dance" is done!

 

Parading with Bowser and Mittens

Saturday morning will find many of us following our pets around B'way as the eighth annual Pet Parade kicks off again.  There will be three bands performing and a special appearance by local YouTube phenom Dusty the Klepto Kitty from San Mateo.  He has stolen about 600 items from his neighbors and is approaching a million views on YouTube.

While you are on B'way don't forget to patronize the local merchants and the Pick of the Litter used items shop that benefits the Humane Society.  Here's some B'game Mothers' Clubbers who kicked-off last year's parade as photographed by local photog extrodinaire Mark Hundley.

 

Fattening the Goo$e

I think it was former councilwoman Rosalie O'Mahony who called the B'game car dealerships our "Golden Goose".  And she was right.  Along with the hotels' Transient Occupancy Tax ("TOT") and various liquor establishments, the car dealerships keep the City coffers from draining.  So the arrival of a new Nissan dealership is a welcome addition to Autorow.  Apparently Millbrae's loss is our gain.  This storefront could use a good cosmetic clean-up which I am sure it will get before you browse the new Leafs, Altimas, Maximas and 370Zs.

 

Council Racing Towards Election

The SF Examiner has the first detailed piece on the November 8th City Council race.  The race started back in June and each campaign has kicked-off so the issues are finally coming to press.  Here are pieces of each candidate's platform from the article

Ricardo Ortiz:  His priority would be to fund pension liabilities for city employees, which he said are “significantly underfunded,” and to “unequivocally oppose” high-speed rail in Burlingame.

Nagel is not opposed to high-speed rail, but strongly opposes an aerial or four-track design.
“What I have always stood for is building community,” Nagel said.

 

Recently elected to the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board of Caltrain, and serving as vice chair of SamTrans, Deal has worked to “protect” neighborhoods from high-speed rail and “the wireless telecom companies.”

 

We will update you with the dates of the debates, campaign finances and such as they come available.

Air Board, MTC and ABAG - Do we need all 3?

The San Mateo/Contra Costa/San Jose Mercury Times has an editorial that is right on the money--in more ways than one.  There are quite different versions on-line and in print, but the gist of both is best stated in the print edition which asks

Do we really need three organizations--the air board, the transportation commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments--with separate administrations and overlapping jurisdictions?  It's time to reconsider consolidation, and to change the governing structures, which allow agency staff members to run the organizations with minimal board oversight.

The impetus for Daniel Borenstein's column was an extravagant (his word) event featuring a former president and some question office space decisions, but he is exactly right to be questioning more deeply.  Our money is being wasted.

SM County Real Estate Update

The Mercury Times has one of its regular updates based on DataQuick data on home sales.  But the headline "Few take comfort in home sales rise" doesn't quite fit with the article or the data.  The interesting thing is the on-line headline is different; and better--or at least more reflective of the data.  It notes

But not everyone is finding it easy to get into the market. Robin Dickson, who works in the Danville office of J. Rockliff Realtors, says many midrange buyers are having a tough time.

"The high-end is becoming a little more solid, and the 'low-low' end investors are everywhere," she said. "But the difficulty in obtaining financing is really affecting the move-up buyers."

Put into context of the state unemployment rate which the Labor Department just reaffirmed is the second worst in the nation behind Nevada at 12.1%, perhaps we should take comfort in the state of the local market.

Hiring Laborers off the Street

Today's Wall Street Journal has an article about the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision supporting day laborers right to congregate on the street while looking for work.  There is no link since the article is behind the WSJ paywall, but it notes:

A federal appeals court Friday struck down a Southern California city's ban on day laborers soliciting work on street corners, saying it infringed on the worker's free speech.

The ban was an attempt to reduce obstructions to traffic and pedestrians, but "Judge Smith said the ordinance 'regulates significantly more speech than is necessary to achieve the city's purpose of improving traffic safety and traffic flow at two major Redondo Beach intersections.' "

From my perspective, San Mateo's day laborer work center at 400 E. 5th Ave. has worked very well for both the laborers and people hiring people.  Let's hope this decision by the more overturned Court in the country doesn't mess that up.