The Burlingame Voice

Money Grows on Trees

The Friday Wall Street Journal carried an interesting piece by Amy Gamerman that profiled people's efforts to protect and import mature trees when they were remodelling homes.  I can't link to it since it is behind the paywall, but I found this paragraph particularly insightful

A 2010 study by the U.S. Forest Service conducted in Portland, Ore., found that the presence of a single “street tree” in front of the home added over $7,000 to its sale price. The street-tree effect spilled over to neighboring houses, increasing property values as well as helping the homes sell faster.

Now that is Portland and this is B'game.  I'm guessing you could double or triple that premium for a street tree in front of your B'game digs.  The second sentence also goes to why there is a heritage tree ordinance in town for non-street trees.  Since it is not the easiest thing to find on the city website, here is the link (click on Title 11) and the definition:

     (1)    Any tree with a circumference of forty-eight (48) inches or more when measured fifty-four (54) inches above natural grade; or

     (2)    A tree or stand of trees so designated by the city council based upon findings that it is unique and of importance to the public due to its unusual appearance, location, historical significance or other factor; or

     (3)    A stand of trees in which the director has determined each tree is dependent upon the others for survival.

I'll bet our trees are enjoying today's real rain as much as we are--or more!  Now if we can just get Caltrans to pay attention.........

Wrapping Up Hoover School

I thought I would check in to see what is happening at the Hoover School site and it was busy yesterday!  There was work going on inside the original section and the new wing was getting wrapped in Tyvek.  I assume that is to protect the structure during the winter while the litigation/negotiation continues.  Here is the winter wrap-up of the new section.

The Melt Returns

It looks like the doubters, including me, were wrong--The Melt is back open for business!  I'm not sure how they pulled it off, but the long closure is over and there is a "new menu".  I'm surprised, but wish them luck.  The Avenue is looking pretty good and pretty busy these days which doesn't surprise me.

I haven't tried I Prive yet, but I did dine at Rasa (replacing Roti after a year and a half) and it was good.

Prop. 2 - Now They Tell Us?

I had heard rumblings about this from some plugged-in parents when Terry Nagel endorsed Proposition 2, but the word circulated late--or so I thought.  The Daily Journal is reporting that the word came later than I thought--the Day After The Election??

The passage of Proposition 2 in November was heralded by supporters for its creation of a state rainy day fund, but language within capping reserves for individual school districts in certain years is generating concern among administrators who contend the money held there helps get through periods of uncertainty.

“Each school district is developing their own Local Control Accountability Plan and within that plan that school district based on their student population develops appropriate goals to realize the best academic outcomes for those kids and that is going to be different from school district to school district,” said Nancy Magee, administrator for board support and community relations at the San Mateo County Office of Education. “In San Mateo County, we still have basic aid school districts funded mostly by property taxes and others are funded through the state and those amounts differ greatly. Economic uncertainty exists for everyone and based on types of academic programs and type of budget they’re working within, it’s important for each school district to decide what their level of reserve should be when they hit not even economic uncertainty, but any type of uncertainty in their programs.”

County Superintendent Anne Campbell and the San Mateo County Board of Education issued a joint statement opposing the cap on district reserves on Nov. 5, the day after the measure was approved by California voters.

So what will be the impact on B'game schools?

For the San Mateo Union High School District, this reserve cap is also bad news for the district that has about a 12 percent reserve. Basic aid school districts, funded by local property taxes, have higher than normal reserves because of the volatility of its revenue, Liz McManus, deputy superintendent of business services, previously said.

“My understanding is there’s going to be modifications to the language in January (2015),” McManus said. “It’s probably not the best time to be reducing reserves.”

Sounds ominous.

UC Politics and Taxes

Today's Wall Street Journal has another great article by Allysia Finley discussing the state funding for the UC system and the political struggle between Jerry Brown and the UC administrators and profs.  Here is my favorite part

At the meeting to approve the tuition hike, Gov. Brown gave regents a Jesuit discourse on why the UCs needed to live within their means. “The pressure of not having enough money can force creativity that otherwise cannot even be considered,” Mr. Brown admonished. Regents collectively rolled their eyes at the lecture on frugality from a governor who raised income taxes and sales taxes to finance the state’s bloated government and plans to build a $70 billion bullet train.

Thursday the regents approved a tuition hike and the news reports about the increasing percent of out-of-state students being accepted makes the news periodically.  But the article notes UC Prez Janet Napolitano's office has 2,000 employees and 25% of them make more than 100G's.  Your tax dollars at work.  College acceptance letters are starting to arrive for B'game students along with the bills.

Fall Foliage and Fruit

On this nice rainy Saturday I will take the opportunity to post my annual Fall foliage tribute.  It's been a tough year for our thirsty trees so we will have to see how the Fall colors react.  Some of my favorites like my fruitless mulberry have been struggling to retain their leaves prior to them turning their bright yellow.

But this lovely example did just fine.  I cannot identify the species, but the orange is magnificent.

My neighbor down the street has a very mature persimmon tree that is having a great fruit-bearing year.  He kindly shared a bowlful with me so I just have to wait for them to ripen.  He picked them before the squirrels got them all.

St. Catherine's Grand Opening

The St. Catherine's Parish Center held its "grand opening" or christening/blessing today as the project is finished and the gym, kitchen and meeting rooms are open for business.  The project has been on-going for some time as we noted eleven months ago here.  While simply designed, the building is a huge improvement over the old auditorium.

Assistant Bishop Bob McElroy presided over noon mass and the ensuing blessing of the building and the basketball court.  As an OLA parishoner growing up, the Bishop noted that the blessing applied to everything except games St. C's plays verses OLA and St. Gregory's!  We'll see about that.  Here is councilwoman Ann Keighran delivery a welcome message and the center court insignia.

Little Bigger Game 2014

Under a roasting sun more reminiscient of a BHS graduation ceremony than a Fall classic, the Panthers held on to The Paw for another year by beating San Mateo 30-21 in the 87th annual contest.  The annual spectacle was even bigger than usual since the U.S. Marine Corps selected the game as one of a hundred Great American Rivalry games--which of course it is.

In 2004, iHigh, Inc. created the Great American Rivalry Series to celebrate this uniquely American sport and the cultural phenomenon of “Friday Night in America.” The Series has since spotlighted high school football games in nearly 40 states. The Series shines the spotlight on top high school football rivalries across the nation, where long-standing traditions are valued, expectations are sky-high, and fans are committed.

The Panthers jumped out to a 21-0 lead on the strength of a pair of Gindraux brothers' TD passes, but could not pull away from the Bearcats who benefited from some timely BHS fumbles and a long punt return TD.  As usual, the game was only part of the spectacle with cheer squads and the bands from both schools performing at half time.  The game is also being streamed in replay at BAOSN TV.  Big gets bigger every year!

Here is one one touchdown pass, the Marine display and the awarding of The Paw by the principal which will go back in the building until next year.

By the way, the B'game Police were very kind to have announcer John Horgan warn the crowd three times that if they were illegally parked on Oak Grove, they would be towed.  The new bleachers looked great, too.

Your government dollars at rest.

Alternate title: Exercize in futility.

Many who attended the Caltrans meeting tonight expected, at the very least, a presentation about their plans to remove 14 trees along El Camino Real between Oak Grove and Floribunda in order to make the left turn accident rate decrease. There was no such presentation. Only a few tables spread about the room with some charts and graphs. Sure you could ask a question of the representative at the table, but the answer might be different depending on whom you asked, at least that was my experience.

For the most part, small circles formed around the room where Burlingamers commiserated over what should be done to both save our historic trees and reduce the accident rate. Many of the suggestions bandied about revolved around the “no left turn” scenarios. Obviously, these suggestions can be tried as pilot programs, their results measured and reported back to both the city of Burlingame and the Town of Hillsborough and if they work, then problem solved, everyone is happy and millions of taxpayer dollars saved.

Not so fast! It is clear after two of these “public outreach” meetings that Caltrans has little intent on trying anything other than a full blown widening of ECR with the removal of 14 trees. ...and more importantly the precendent being set to do the same all along Burlingame's stretch of ECR.)

They got the money and they need to spend it; never mind if there is a cheaper, faster, better way to solve the problem.

I made a few simple suggestions to one CT representative and his response was, “We would have to get consensus from both cities to do what you are suggesting.” I said, “Give me a couple of minutes, I’ll go get the City Manager of Hillsborough and the City Manager of Burlingame, who were in attendance, and we’ll hammer out an agreement right now.”

I was being facetious, of course, but truth be told, it will take strong leadership from both cities to demand Caltrans listen to the citizens and city leaders and act responsibly as this project moves forward.

Taxing Schools

We just passed the renewal of two parcel taxes for B'game schools, but there is the eternal question of "Will it be enough?"  An article in the Daily Journal highlights an Unintended Consequence that many in California forget about.  I grew up in a state where the schools were under the control of the city councils including the budgets so councilmembers and city staff had more skin in the game when it came to providing sufficient classroom space et al.  Replace "Foster City and San Mateo" with "B'game" below:

With student enrollment growing in Foster City and San Mateo, elementary school district officials are thinking outside of the box to compensate for the impact of new housing developments on already overcrowded computer labs, classrooms, increased traffic and new Foster City students having to attend schools in San Mateo.

Generally, thinking "out of the box" is good, but in this instance I have to ask if some "inside the box" thinking might be in order.  Even though the school board and council are separate shouldn't each worry about the concerns of the other?  Before we add hundreds of housing units in town near North Park and at the Post Office, is anyone asking where the new resident kids will go to school?  I don't think they are and that is a predictable shame.