Blast From the Voice Past - 2002

Old-timers...here is a blast from the past back when the Voice was a print edition!  Who remembers this column?  Enjoy!

 

What's up with that? Part III

From Volume 3, Number 2 Published December 16, 2002
Fall has been lovely in Burlingame and it was never more evident than  on Friday nights. Much of the south end of town got to hear the football  games at Burlingame High, regardless of whether they bought a ticket or  not.  Some people may find it irritating, but I like it.  I think of it  as a quaint  part of the community.  With a 75 year history, the Little Big Game has  a historic feel that is totally fun, especially when the Panthers win as  they did again this year. 

I wish I could say the same about the late night flights from SFO.The  spin-doctors from the airport say new runways will lessen the noise.  But they never mention that the takeoffs that wake up Burlingame  wouldn't decrease and they might get worse with more air traffic.  Building new  runways would only reduce landing noise.  Good for Foster City but not  for us.  What's up with that?

 Riding my bike around town has yielded some observations about the  building boom.  I still cannot get over the building at 1411 Chapin Ave  that has been leased by Fidelity Investments.  We featured the apartment  building that used to be there in Vol. 1 Issue 3.   Both buildings are  shown below. I didn't have a problem with the owner, Joe Karp, building  something new there, but the end product looks like a prison.  That is  why the last Planning Commission denied it.  Too bad the last City  Council didn't have the same good taste.  I call it Karpitecture, and it  is an unfortunate legacy for a major property owner who could easily  build nicer stuff.  What's up with that?  At least the residential  Design Review process is working pretty well. 

On the top, The Karp property on Chapin today.  On the bottom, The Karp property on Chapin last year.

And what's up with gossip columnist Jerry Fuchs of The Independent?  He recently came out of his haze to pick on my wife, City Councilwoman  Cathy Baylock, and fellow Voice board member, Russ Cohen.  He has a  bunch of mistaken ideas about Burlingame history and tried to criticize  Baylock and Cohen without checking his facts.  He is attacking experts,  but it is hard to have a battle of wits with an unarmed man. Fuchs'  paper should hire a fact checker to help him; it would be a full-time  job.  Fuchs claims he is only as good (meaning as accurate) as his  sources, so he might want to find some new sources; if indeed he has any  interest in being accurate. 

Now back to reality. The Burlingame P.D. did a great job catching the  suspected murderous bank robbers who hit Wells Fargo.  Nothing will  bring back Alice Martel, but the police did their job and they did it  very quickly.  For that we are thankful. 

With the holiday season of sharing upon us, Samaritan House needs  our donations of food. You can call them at 347-3648 for details or just  drop donations off at 401 North Humboldt St. in San Mateo any day  between 830 and 530. It will bring you the proper spirit of the  season.

Regardless of how badly Safeway is behaving in its senseless battle  for its monster store, I am still optimistic about how Burlingame is  progressing. And you should be, too. Take your bike or walking shoes out  for a look-see. More people are waking up to what makes our town  special.  If you stay informed, talk to your neighbors, and speak up  when the urge strikes, you will find you have plenty of company.

Comments

[neighbor]

Boy, that does bring back Safeway memories. I do believe it was all worth it in the end and we ended up with a very nice store that I use often. Its a big improvement and the openness of the parking and the other buildings is great. My thanks to the planners and councilers.

[Michelle]

I actually shop in Safeway in Burlingame now, in 2002 I drove to San Mateo for grocery shopping.

[cj]

Fidelity is still in Cell Block 6. They must be so proud.