The Burlingame Voice

High Cost Rail - Part 129 Mulling over Mullin

For the last post of the year, let's return to high-speed rail where the news is mixed.  On Monday the Daily Post ran a piece about Kevin Mullin authoring Assembly Bill 1889 to "alter the original ballot measure" that got our high-cost rail boondoggle started.  Wonder why it needs altering?  The piece notes that the original authorization listed the boondoggle at $33 billion and it is now projected to cost $64 billion.  Of course, the only people who think it could come in under $100 billion are the people who would be in line to get the $100 billion.  Here is my favorite provision of Mullin's bill

One (funding plan) provides for building a 119-mile test track from Madera to Shafter for $7.8 billion.  After the testing is completed, the rail authority said in its funding plan that it would explore other uses for the track, though they would not immediately include high-speed trains.

I've got an idea for another use to explore.  How about a remake of the Rockie and Bullwinkle Show with Kevin playing the part of Snidely Whiplash?  I think the bill is numbered appropriately.  It would have to be 1889 with robber barons everywhere for this railroad to make any sense.

I said the news was mixed so here is the good news part.  With Elaine Chao as incoming Transportation Secretary and California Rep. Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker, federal bucks for high-cost rail in California will be about as likely as a 10 year rainstorm.  McCarthy is fond of using the "boondoggle" term that originated here in B'game in reference to Gov. Brown's train fantasy.  Sounds like the makings of a Happy New Year to me.

Tudor Lights and Neighborhood Spirit

B'game is composed of a fantastic variety of neighborhoods with a wide variety of architectural styles -- or at least the original homes in the neighborhoods have compatible styles.  The Daily Journal is shining some light on the tiny Willborough neighborhood with this piece on Christmas and Hanukkah lights.  Here is an excerpt but do click through for the full B'game holiday spirit

More houses in the neighborhood formed by Willborough Road, Willborough Place and Neuchatel Avenue between Oak Grove Avenue and Palm Drive glow with more holiday lights than ever before, stopping and slowing cars passing through the narrow streets.

John Ward has lived in the neighborhood since 1975, and has decorated his house for as long as he can remember. His house was once the only source of light on the street during December, drawing the eyes of passersby with a glowing Santa, sleigh and reindeer in the middle of his front lawn.

This year, Ward has adorned his traditional, English-style Tudor house with white icicle lights hanging from the roof’s edges and colorful globe lights brightening the trees on his front lawn. Ward has placed his famous Santa sleigh and reindeer, as well as a bright star, on the roof of his house. They shine over the glistening Christmas tree that fills his front window.

But this year, Ward’s house is joined by several other houses whose residents have chosen to celebrate the holidays in similar fashion.

Ron Leavy bought his starter home in the neighborhood 40 years ago and never left. Initially drawn to the area by its proximity to downtown, Caltrain and freeways, he found it difficult to leave the close-knit community he found there.  “We watch out for each other,” he said.

Leavy is Jewish, and chose to decorate the trunk of the large evergreen outside his home with blue and white lights in celebration of Hanukkah. He also embellished the roofline and bushes outside his home with bright white lights. Leavy credits the neighborhood’s friendly attitude with the proliferation of decorations this year.

 

The Voice wishes you all a peaceful holiday and a Happy New Year.

Ampex at 60 Years Old

The history of Silicon Valley is short relatively speaking, but for those of us who have participated in it, it is fascinating.  I was at the Stanford Med center in Redwood City last Friday for the first time and enjoyed a close view of the Ampex sign from the passenger drop-off.  I have viewed it from 101 for 30 years, but this was my first time standing on the other side.  I gave a close friend who is in her 20's a brief history of why Ampex is at the very heart of Silicon Valley history.  Then, out of the blue, today's Daily Post ran a front page article about Ampex turning 60 this year.  As the Post notes "Videotape revolution began here":

Though mostly obsolete, the videotape machine turns 60 this year and a relic of the industry can be seen along Highway 101 in Redwood City.  The Ampex sign at 500 Broadway marked where the first videotape recorder was manufactured in 1956.  Starting on Nov. 30, 1956, CBS began using it for the West Coast playback of the network's  evening news three hours after airing live to East Coast viewers.  By fall 1957, Ampex was swamped with a backlog of 100 orders for its red-hot VR-100.

The company was started in San Carlos by Alexander M. Poniatoff (AMPEXcellence).  It was one of many San Carlos tech firms in the real heart of Silicon Valley when orchards were the predominant thing in Santa Clara County.  Companies like Varian, Dalmo-Victor, Farinon and the one that brought me to the Bay Area, Lenkurt, were part of the analog genesis of the Valley.

Here is the best part of the article:  "As part of a clause of the sale agreement (to Stanford), the sign must be preserved for 75 years."  Heck, in 2087 it may be the only thing left that reminds one of the roots of the Valley.  I wish the Post would put bylines on these articles so we can give credit where credit is due.  Here is my photo of the sign from the Stanford parking lot on Friday.

Fall Tree Hugger Foliage 2016

On this the last day of Fall heading into tomorrow's shortest day of the year, I am just squeezing in this year's tree hugger favorite post.  Past years have included those with fruit, some questions and sometimes I do the Spring version as well like here.  This Fall I have one that many people see all the time on Primrose across from the pitiful little US Post office.  Even on a cloudy, rainy day our liquid ambers shine!

With Christmas only five days away, if you are in need of a tree quick and want to go with an artificial one, I just became aware of a local Burlingame business called Balsam Hill.  They have a huge warehouse on the 101 frontage road and are nationally recognized for nice looking trees.  According to the staff people fly in from other cities to visit and buy their trees since they get a better view than from their website.  Check out the show floor.

 

Carolands at 100

Local scribe John Horgan reminds us in his Mercury News column that the Carolands mansion in H'borough has just turned 100

As 2016 comes to a rapid close (some might say mercifully so), it’s worth pointing out a San Mateo County historical footnote. The opening of the Carolands Chateau, located on Remillard Drive in Hillsborough, occurred 100 years ago.

The massive structure’s centennial has passed without much fanfare. Comprising 98 rooms, the mansion remains one of the largest residential buildings in the western U.S., a classic example of a pre-Depression Era gilded age.

Decades ago, the magnificent dwelling on a prominent hilltop had fallen into serious disrepair. The brainchild of railroad heiress Harriett Pullman Carolan, the huge home, which towers just under five-floors-high, had become a neighborhood eyesore and an attractive nuisance.

John left out one of the gorier stories from the '70s when two girls sneaked into the rundown pile and were attacked inside.  Only one survived.  That led to calls to demolish it and that in turn led to several efforts to save the landmark with the Johnsons eventually being the ones to save it.

I had a chance to tour the house from top to bottom before the restoration started and it was amazing.  I've also toured some of the great mansions of Newport, RI and the Carolands easily stands as a peer to them.  For a good view, the San Mateo County Historical Museum published a coffee table book on the house by Michael Dwyer back in 2006.  It shows the renovations done by the Johnsons and is well worth a read.  If you go up the hill to see it, this is what you are looking for.

Sacramento Meddling

About six months ago, I heard about the state law mandating when local cities hold their elections in an attempt to align council terms with "popular"elections--like that is some sort of intrinsically good thing.  This is a classic case of a bunch of puffed-up bureaucrats sticking their puffed-up noses into things that are really none of their business.  But since calling their bluff and ignoring them would take more time than it's worth, here is the story from the DJ

The Burlingame City Council is obligated to amend its election calendar, but councilmembers are at odds over the best way to meet a new state mandate.

Councilmembers tabled a decision last week regarding the pending alignment with the general election calendar, as required under Senate Bill 415 to boost voter participation in local races featuring turnout far below state or national levels.

And the locals with a conscience make this point

But Keighran remained steadfast in her belief councilmembers extending their own terms would be an inappropriate assertion of power.  “If I voted for someone for four years, I expect four years,” she said.  Colson shared a similar perspective.  “Extending the terms just feels bizarre to me,” she said.

It's really a shame we cannot send a puffed-up bill to the puffed-up politicians in Sac.

H2O: Remember This When the Rationing Starts Again

No one should be surprised that the water gets a little stinky a couple times a year.  It happens every year and every year we are reminded that it is still OK to drink.  Not the best shower experience ever, but if you travel like I have around the globe, you have experienced much worse.  The DJ has this piece about it that doesn't mention Hetch Hetchy, but I have tasted/smelled a bit of stink from B'game water as well.

Unpleasant odors and flavors reported in drinking water this week are caused by a harmless algae byproduct, San Francisco water officials said Thursday.  Ritchie said the problem was missed initially because it is extremely unusual to have algae problems in the cooler winter months, and no algae bloom is evident at the San Antonio Reservoir, the presumed source of the algae.

Now here is the kicker and why you should remember this post next summer when the rationing kicks in again

SFPUC Assistant General Manager Steve Ritchie said the water department began receiving customer complaints of earthy, musty flavors and odors on Friday, shortly after employees began taking steps to lower the water levels in local reservoirs in anticipation of rain.

I have a proposal:  How about every building project approval in the Bay Area gets put on hold until approved plans are in place for more reservoir capacity?  The more capacity that finds space, connecting pipes, funding and environmental approval, the more the building spigot gets opened.  I know, I know.  That makes way too much sense.

Pearl Harbor, WWII and The Peninsula

The SF Chronicle's Carl Nolte has done a nice piece on the impact our entry into WWII had on the Peninsula.  Well worth a read on this 75th anniversary of the Day That Will Live in Infamy.  Here are a couple of teaser excerpts

San Mateo County was pretty much a sleepy suburb in 1941, with just over 110,000 residents. “By war’s end, 10,000 of them would be in the armed services,” said Mitch Postel, president of the historical association. That’s 1 person of every 11. Three hundred never returned from the war.

Pearl Harbor turned the Peninsula into an armed camp. Overnight, sentries with rifles appeared at the San Francisco airport, on the Crystal Springs Dam, and at the Western Pipe and Steel shipbuilding plant in South San Francisco. Coast-watcher posts sprang up on the county’s 40-mile-long Pacific shoreline, keeping an eye out for the Japanese fleet. The military began round-the-clock beach patrols. Concrete fire-control bunkers near Devil’s Slide went on full alert. Their role was spotting for the huge guns guarding the Golden Gate farther north.

Coyote Point in San Mateo, now a park, became a basic training camp for the U.S. merchant marine and graduated more than 5,000 officer cadets.

You can see the exhibit discussed at the San Mateo County History Museum is located in the Old County Courthouse in Redwood City.

Overpass and eminent domain

You have a chance to voice your concerns to our Burlingame Council on Monday, December 5th, at 7pm. Burlingame City Hall.

Between 26-50 parcels along the San Mateo-Burlingame border will need to be acquired for construction of new southbound on-and-off ramps at 101 and Peninsula Avenue, slated to begin in 2022. Pictured here are the two alternatives the city of San Mateo prefers, both involve partial or complete loss of any parcel marked in full or in part by purple crosshatching. The new barrier at Poplar is considered only temporary, and will be removed, and the ramps shut down entirely, when these ramps are compete. The project estimates range in price from $56M -$70M of which $24-$36M is to cover property acquisition ($90 per sq. ft. + $30 sq. Ft. demolition); relocation assistance- 3% of total acquisition cost. This presentation will be given to Burlingame by San Mateo staff. 

This issue seems to keep coming back despite the fact that at the many meetings over the years, many of which I have attended, the overwhelming majority of people also in attendance has been that this project should not happen. Why is it then that the project is marching forward? Please attend this meeting if you feel the way many do that the impacts of this project outweigh its merits.

Here is a link to the City of San Mateo documents