The Burlingame Voice

Electric Parking: Low Usage at Lot Y Spaces

Some of the comments on the original post about taking 10 regular parking spaces in Lot Y just south of B'way and creating 8 electric vehicle-only charging spaces noted low occupancy (often no occupancy) of these new spaces.  I've noticed the occasional EV getting juice there, but not too often--and only once have I seen three EVs at the same time.  That motivated me to get the early usage figures from the City and the vendor, EVgo, so we can establish some sort of baseline.  I fully understand that some innovations take time to get to widespread use--the question is how long, if ever?  So here are the January 2020 figures (i.e. 31 days):

312 Charging Sessions

5.2 Megawatt Hours of charging delivered

Equates to ~1,350 miles of electric driving

Doing the math:  10 charges per day for 8 spaces is our baseline…1.25 charges per space per day.  Again, these things can take time, but I sure hope things improve otherwise we should turn at least a couple spots into EV-optional access until usage ramps up.

Banning Natural Gas in B'game

With several study sessions under their belts, the City Council is moving towards a ban on natural gas for new developments in town.  We first heard this out of Berkeley and discussed it last July here.  As the idea moves closer to home (the Daily Journal wrote it up here), I have some thoughts that I have just shared with the council via email.  Here is my letter

Dear Councilmembers,

I am intrigued by the discussions regarding banning natural gas hook-ups in future Burlingame developments including commercial, multi-family and single-family residences.  It strikes me that perhaps the councilmembers who support such a ban should lead the way in this change.  I suggest that each councilmember take the initiative to change out the gas appliances in their own homes first.  The community should be provided insights into both the capital and operating costs of this change.

It would be enlightening to understand the relative costs of electric furnaces, water heaters and high-end electric stoves and fireplaces that meld with typical Burlingame design aesthetics.  Similarly, if any councilmember has a pool or outdoor hot tub, it would be good to understand the options available to heat these amenities.  I can foresee some potential changes and additions to our existing building codes that might be revealed by councilmembers’ changeover projects.  Understanding these changes first would save residents and developers time and money as well as bringing our building inspectors up to speed.  The need for 220V power in many more home locations as well as the need for battery back-up and potentially back-up generators (with appropriate fuels if available) should be examined and shared with the community.  In my nearly 30 years living in Burlingame, I cannot recall a single natural gas outage, but electrical outages are frequent and not likely to improve in the mid-term future.

Lastly, we should all be provided with actual operating cost comparisons for the newly refurbished homes.  If these changeovers could be finished by next winter, a six-month cost comparison for the colder months of October to March would be ideal for assessing the true impact on Burlingame residents.

I look forward to the Council’s leadership on this important issue.

Sincerely,

Joe Baylock

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I'll let you know what I receive in the way of responses. 

  

Ben Franklin: Colonial Blogger

I am thoroughly enjoying Ben Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson that was published in 2003.  I enjoy biographies and autobiographies in general, but this one is so well-researched and well-footnoted that it puts what we all learned in high school U.S. history to shame.  During his life, Franklin referred to himself as a printer.  That vastly understates his talents as a pamphleteer and editor of his own newspaper.  One of the themes of the book is Franklin’s use of anonymous essays to make his points.  Here at the Voice we have occasional flare-ups about not requiring commenters to use their real names, but Franklin set the precedent for American journalism by publishing as Homespun, Pacificus Secundus, Busy-Body, Silence Dogood and Alice Addertongue among many, many other names.  On page 227 of Isaacson’s book he notes

As has been frequently noted, Franklin often wrote anonymously or using a pseudonym.  Sometimes, he was trying to to be truly anonymous; at other times, he was wearing only a thin mask.  This practice was not unusual, indeed it was quite common, among writers of the eighteenth century, including such Franklin heroes as Addison, Steele, and Defoe.  “Scarce one part in ten of the valuable books which are published are with the author’s name,” Addison once declared, with a bit of exaggeration.  At the time, writing anonymously was considered cleverer, less vulgar, and less likely to lead to libel or sedition charges.  Gentlemen sometimes thought it was beneath their stature to have their names on pamphlets and press pieces.  The practice also assured that dissenting political and religious writings were rebutted on their merits rather than by personal attacks.

I find Old Ben’s thinking on this quite sound.  I’m sometimes asked why the Voice doesn’t require registration, real names and verification.  There is the answer from 260 years ago.  I highly recommend the book and expect to be taking on other Franklin thoughts relevant to very current issues in the coming weeks and months.

School Bonds...And Then There Were 3

For the first time in more than 20+ years, I've been contemplating whether or not to support a B'game school bond measure (Measure O) and the SMUSHD Measure L.  Over the last 20+ years it's been a no-brainer to vote "yes" and to further support the schools with donations and charity auction donations and bids.  Parcel taxes and bonds for the local schools are the most local taxation we have and local is good.  In reading the full text of Measure O, my concern was the last bullet point on the Project List 

Workforce housing to increase accessibility for District employees to quality, affordable housing

I decided to check in with Superintendent Maggie MacIsaac about any housing plans and she brought Board member Davina Drabkin into the conversation.  Davina and I had a good conversation about the pressures the district is feeling to retain staff including credentialed staff in key areas like math.  Here are a couple things that came out of that discussion

• There is no pre-allocated portion of the $97 million for housing.
• There are a number of models being tried elsewhere (subsidies, partners, build to suit, etc)
• The Board included the language in order to be able to spend money on studying the issue
• Unlike some Districts, B'game doesn't have land available for any sort of build project and is unlikely to be able to buy it

As a former analyst, I also want to look at the metrics that might point to the severity of the problem, so Maggie was kind enough to provide the teacher turnover (not counting retirements which don't fit the problem) over the last 12 years which are

• Year        % Certified Staff Turnover
• 2007/2008             8.7%
• 08/09                    4.4
• 09/10                    10.6
• 10/11                    9.8
• 11/12                    7.6
• 12/13                    14.4
• 13/14                    12.2
• 14/15                    15.1
• 15/16                    13.8
• 16/17                    16.6
• 17/18                    12.25
• 18/19                    13.3   

There are a lot of factors that go into teacher turnover, but you can say there is a slight upward trend to the data.  There are also a number of non-District-driven projects that might address the housing issue-- the city project on Lots F&N, the stunning amount of building going on it town with affordable unit components, and the possibilities of additional teacher compensation that might not involve millions of dollars of debt.  Of course, the stunning amount of building will only exacerbate the school budget problem. The real challenge for Measure O and L is that a state Proposition, crazily listed as 13 that I'll just call the New Prop. 13, is also on the ballot for $15 billion.  As the Chronicle reported today

The largest school bond in state history, at $15 billion, is going to voters in March as supporters try to put a dent in a $100 billion backlog of failing boiler rooms, leaky roofs and new construction projects needed at K-12 schools and universities.

Proposition 13 — unrelated to the same-numbered 1978 tax measure — was placed on the ballot by the Legislature with bipartisan support.

Supporters, which include the education establishment as well as the construction industry, would allocate $9 billion to K-12 schools, $4 billion for California’s public universities and $2 billion for community colleges.

The prospect of voter fatigue is very real-- I am hearing it all over town.  So I'm still contemplating how I will vote, but I feel a little better having some information that I didn't have before.  Hopefully you are too.          

Tuna Kahuna gets more rankings

It's de rigueur to complain about the dining scene in B'game.  Aside from our Michelin-starred Rasa, many locavores don't find much to rave about here.  Personally, I will often trade the convenience of walking to the Avenew or a short hop up to B'way for the experience of dining in Palo Alto or, if you really want a hassle, SF.  One new spot is garnering good reviews like this one from Only In Your State- NorCal.  Tuna Kahuna was written up in the DJ awhile ago with a focus on the family-business aspect.  Now they have landed at #9 of 10 from this site.

I haven't tried it yet, but am looking forward to adding it to some walkable favorites like Sixto's, Il Sapore, Narin, Mediterranean Kabob, Il Fornaio, Park & Howard Bistro, Stella Alpina Osteria, Coconut Bay, Steelhead, Blue Line and Mingalaba.  Velvet 48 has really upped the wine-lover's satisfaction level too.  That's not a bad line-up and as the city gets less and less business-friendly and diner-friendly I'm betting we see a few more establishments moving south.

SFO Runway Noise: Winning at Appeal, On to Round 2

Here are a couple of updates on the on-going claims against the City of SF and SFO regarding runway noise.  When the city lost the decision for some of the plaintiffs to recover damages because they have owned their homes since before 1980 (see the original decision here), it appealed that ruling.  The appeal wound its way through court and the appeals judge, Judge Novak, sided with the plaintiffs, so seven people are entitled to damages.  Finally.  Readers who have owned their homes since 1980 should think about joining Round 3.

We wrapped up the second round of complaints in court on January 21st with the original judge, Judge Mazzei, again hearing the cases.  Just as that day in court arrived, the city made an appeal to dismiss Round 2 complaints as being the same as Round 1.  The plaintiffs presented information indicating that plaintiffs who are continually sustaining damages can continually file complaints in Small Claims court.  The judge allowed another two weeks for plaintiffs to present more information.  I have done that myself using the fact that I have new data from my personal monitoring station report for Round 2.  You can read about that report here.  We also presented more information disputing the applicability of the case law that limits damages to pre-1980 owners.  We do not have a date for the decision on dismissal nor the base Round 2 decision.

Lastly, under my questioning, the aircraft noise expert witness that the City has been using from the beginning, Steve Alverson from Environmental Sciences Associates, confirmed my suspicion that trees and vegetation don't have any impact in blocking noise.  This is interesting because the SFO Community Roundtable is spending time and money to investigate "vegetative attenuation" as I noted here when I went to the last Runway Noise subcommitte meeting.  I understand that in sprawling organizations (really two organizations here-- the airport and its owner, the City)-- things can get lost, but when one expert says something is irrelevant one would hope the other experts would take note and not waste effort investigating it.  The time would be much better spent figuring out what else has changed and what they can do about it.