The Burlingame Voice

Apple Heists: What is to be done?

Almost exactly a year ago, we posted about the Apple store heists getting out of control.  There were some unarmed sort-of-security guards standing around outside on the Avenue for awhile, but that mostly ceased about six months ago and was a for-show-only response anyway.  As the local multi-person, grab and go thefts continue, other merchants on the Avenue are growing concerned as are many local residents.  It seems like just a matter of time before someone gets hurt--most likely not in the store itself, but on the street as the getaway car or cars zoom off down the Avenue.  BPD has placed a decoy cruiser outside on occasion and I would guess some patrol has been upped, but it seems incumbent on Apple to do more.  Here's the decoy in place a couple nights ago.

Pipe Bomb at Rollins Rd. USPS

In the spirit of covering all things Burlingame, I'll just note that we made the national news yesterday when the Postal Service located a pipe bomb in the mail addressed to activist Tom Steyer.  The mail sorting facility on Rollins Rd. went into shutdown and this message went out at 11:50 am

Burlingame Police responded to assist the FBI on a report of a suspicious package located at our mail facility on Rollins Rd. The package is consistent with the mailings throughout the nation. The package has been removed from that facility and the area has been rendered safe. This incident poses no danger to the community of Burlingame.

Later in the day, a guy with a long criminal record was arrested in Florida and accused of being the perp who mailed about a dozen such packages.  If you want the full details, the Daily Journal has it here.

 

Apple Heists Continue

At some point one needs to ask if it is safe to enter an Apple store.  I had a chat with a knowledgeable person last night that would indicate Apple has not yet taken a very good approach to securing their stores.  It sounds like they are making an attempt but in their opinion it's not the best way (or ways) to go about it.

Massage Envy Lawsuit

Here's some news that has gone national that we really didn't need.  The East Bay Times is reporting with a local photo and all

A Bay Area resident and five other California women have joined a national wave of litigants suing Massage Envy on allegations that the spa giant routinely turned a blind eye to male employees who sexually assaulted their clients, enabling the men to victimize again.Massage Envy was sued this week by six California women for allegedly protecting masseurs accused of sexually assaulting clients, including some who were later charged with sex crimes. One plaintiff is a victim in a case involving the Burlingame location pictured. 

The latest lawsuit, filed in San Mateo County this week, involves massage clients who patronized the spa chain’s locations spanning from Orange County to Burlingame, the latter involving a former massage therapist who last month was charged with more than a dozen counts of sexual battery for his alleged conduct on the job.

“This is happening everywhere,” said Bobby Thompson, whose Burlingame-based firm filed the suit alongside Philadelphia-based Laffey, Bucci & Kent.

The Bay Area victim, a San Francisco resident identified as “Jane Doe #1” in the lawsuit, visited the Burlingame Massage Envy location in November and described an encounter where during a session, 28-year-old Brandon James Davis sexually assaulted her. Doe is one of the victims behind the sexual battery charges against him.

We have heard rumblings of a different sort about massage parlors on Broadway and elsewhere in B'game but this is the first charges of this sort.  The only positive is that the news may cause more victims to come forward if they exist.

Another Time, This Place

I don't want to push the misplaced Stop Sign post down from the top, but the Voice needs to stay fresh so here is a little "thought piece" that starts 69 years ago.  If you find it boring, just scroll down to comment on stop signs, scooters, wildfires, SFO runway noise, our lack of water security, BHS woes, empty stores on the Avenew, etc, etc.

I always loved Herb Caen's take on EssEff life.  In the '80s and '90s, I read him every day and twice on Sundays.  I also read and reread his books.  His 1949 classic, Baghdad by the Bay, starts off chapter 28 with this paragraph

San Francisco, brought to life by the lusty, gusty roars of the gold seekers, has never taken itself too seriously.  From the very start there has been life and laughter in Baghdad-by-the-Bay, with every citizen a potential comedian, every stuffed shirt the inevitable butt of a joke, every facet of the city's life wide open to the snide observation.

Herb would be so disappointed by the EssEff of 2018.  There are so many stuffed shirts strutting around SF that it is positively regressive--in a progressive sort of way.  The City is a mess and I am afraid the effluent will taint B'game even more than it already has.  It's bad enough that they control our water supply, let their airport disrupt our sleep and keep trying to make socialist rent control seem mainstream.  The November ballot will be packed with sneakily written propositions and innocent claims about dangerous initiatives.  Let's hope we can channel Herb Caen and keep our sense of humor and whatever the noun is that goes with "snide".

New Firearms Range

We have been tracking developments at the Coyote Point shooting range for sometime; most recently here.  It closed for renovation last May 9th.  There are two different communities involved out at the range--law enforcement which needs a certain amount of range time to stay sharp and the public.  Back on June 26, 2016, I commented

There is some big news in yesterday's Daily Post. It reports that the Supes will vote on Tuesday on whether to accept a $5.2 million dollar donation for Tom Seibel and John Arrillaga to remodel and expand the range.

"The project will modernize the 54-year old range as well as add an approximately 7,000 square foot indoor range to used only for law enforcement training. The public will still have access to the outdoor pistol and rifle range."

The supes accepted the donations and that enclosed, sound-proofed, ricochet-proof indoor range is now a reality.  I was able to attend the Grand Opening tour a week ago and got a first-hand view of both the old and the new.  The new indoor range is impressive with low-light conditions (if desired), running and turning targets, lead dust containment, 25 yard distances and capability to go up to .308 caliber rifles.  This is what our law enforcement needs for true "gun control", i.e. hitting what you aim at.

The story on the public range side is a bit murkier as you would expect when you don't have a $5.2 million gift to work with.  The public range is operated by the Coyote Point Rifle and Pistol Club and its website notes that

Phase II, the improvement of the outdoor 100 yd range to be used by both Law Enforcement and the public is underway. This will be completed some time in the first quarter of 2018.

It looks a lot like it probably did in 1962 when the range opened.  Hopefully some nice renovations will allow the public to get some practice in at a nice facility during the hours of 7:00 PM and 10:00 PM Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays as it has for years; with some tournaments on the weekends.  Here's a photo of the new indoor range.

B'game Homicide

Here at the Voice we are very interested in local crime, but we don't delve too deeply into certain crimes.  I do want to note there was a homicide in town Saturday evening, but since it appears to be a case of domestic violence and there has been an arrest, we'll just leave it at that.  This is the first homicide in a couple of years.

One Crime or Two?

Yesterday's Daily Post has an article about a guy getting mugged in the Hampton Inn parking lot.  In the Crime report section he was there with an "escort" on Wednesday night at 7:52 pm, but the full article has a more descriptive headline.  Is this one crime or two?

Rash of Auto Burglaries

Last Monday was a tough day for a lot of B'game car owners.  Eleven auto burglaries between 6 and 11 am!  Dwight, B'game Ave. twice, Paloma twice, Lexington thrice, Channing, Willow, and Bancroft.  And we are not talking about the hotel section of town either! Point those cameras outward for a few weeks!

Another photo from the July 6 Post Police Blotter

 

B'game Break-ins

The Daily Post is pretty Palo Alto-oriented, but once in a while B'game gets a headline.  Last week we got one that we would rather not get.  We led the pack in auto burglaries with the Bayfront being the likely location, but as a diligent reader of the police reports I can tell you it's not all about the Bayfront.  As the right-hand caption notes, the Bayfront is about a third.......

As we noted here, BPD knows about it and is working a bit of a strategy, but it's not easy.