The Burlingame Voice

No. 8 Nationally

The Wall Street Journal is owned by News Corp. which also has dealing with the National Association of Realtors so I'm guessing their statistics are pretty solid.  If so, our very own Stanley Lo has once again placed high in the nation for individual agents volume--No. 8 to be exact!

The numbers show are in millions.  We had one of the top teams as well in Burlingame, I just forgot to take that photo before I recycled the papers.  Any remember who it was?  As I understand it, Mr. Lo takes a smaller commission and "makes it up in volume".  With real estate prices where they are at now, one wonders if more agencies will follow?

Futsal Starring in B'game

The Daily Journal is shining a spotlight on two local gems - Burlingamer located on Rollins Rd and it futsal evangelist, Jen Short

Much as San Jose became known for Silicon Valley, Burlingame is becoming the center of the women’s national futsal team.

Last month, Jen Short, general manager of Burlingamer Sports Center and president of Gamer Futsal School, and Roxy Kamal, the director of coaching for Gamer Futsal School and who played for the U.S. in a tournament in Colombia, were named to the coaching staff of the U.S. Women’s National Futsal Team for the upcoming Pacific Cup to be held at the San Jose Event Center July 14-17.

Short has turned Burlingamer into the de facto training center for the women’s national team. Having worked for the last couple of years with U.S. Futsal president Alex Para, who happens to live locally, Short was asked in May to build a team to take to the tournament in San Jose.

I've been to a futsal game over at Burlingamer and it is very fun.  It's fast moving due to the short field.  You can check out all the activities at their website.  Rookie City Councilwoman Donna Colson owns the business and is passionate about local sports for local kids (and adults).  If you want to burn off some kid energy as school lets out, this is one option.

Deep Roots in the Community

Each year the B'game Lions Club selects a Citizen of the Year.  The Lions do a number of great things around town that involve a great number of people so when they select an honoree, you know they have done their homework.  For example, back in 2010 they selected Dan Andersen whom the Lions knew well as one of their own.  Yesterday, Lions President Kevin Osborne told the assembled Lions and guests that the honoree was widely known around town for her activities that benefit B'game in preserving history, garnering nationally recognized trees for B'game, supporting art and street intersections with "inconveniently located trees" along with fighting certain dangerous encroachments like High Speed rail.

This year's Lions Citizen of the Year is Jennifer Pfaff.  Jen is no stranger to the Voice community as our Queen of Trees and provider of many other valuable contributions on a variety of topics.  Here is Kevin making the announcement that caught Jen completely by surprise!  Kudos!!

Artful Weekends

This weekend is the first of three weekends of the Silicon Valley Open Studios show (www.svos.org).  It is the 30th annual happening so the list of artists is long and often illustrious.  The event spans from El Granada to B'game to Morgan Hill and we are queued up for next weekend (the 14-15th) when Kevyn Warnock's work will be at the Peninsula Museum of Art at 1777 California and Rebecca Lambing's studio at 1333 Bernal will be open.  If you visit Amir Salamat at 801 Mahler #D4, Marie Monaco and Sally Rayn at Crocker School and the six artists at 432 Midway in San Mateo Park, you will have covered the local scene.

If you haven't visited the museum on California, I highly recommend it!  Hit the website for many more to the south of us.

SF Overlords Deign to Let B'gamers In?

Admit it.  When you are driving down 280 looking at the gorgeous foothills off to the right, you have wondered "can I actually hike through those woods?".  The answer is moving towards "maybe" as the News-Times is reporting here

A proposal to open the 23,000-acre Peninsula Watershed to greater public access is gaining broad support, with the notable exception of environmental groups, who criticize the plan for its potential to damage sensitive animal and plant species. 

Elected officials in San Francisco and San Mateo County, government agencies, hikers and mountain bikers have lined up behind the project, unveiled in February by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which owns and manages the vast refuge that runs from San Bruno to Woodside above the Crystal Springs reservoirs.

The watershed has been mostly off-limits since the SFPUC bought the property in 1930. The agency long claimed that allowing more people onto the land could threaten wildlife, such as the endangered marbled murrelet, and risk contaminating reservoirs that are key elements of the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System, which serves 2.4 million people in the Bay Area.

Walking on our side along Sawyer Camp Trail is fun and healthy, but the other side looks totally cool.  For once it appears the political animals in EssEff are in line with our local wild life variety pols!

Merry Christmas, you band of friends!

I won't assert that the Blooming Vase window display is the best in B'game this year--merely that it is very, very good.  Check it out and Merry Christmas one and all.

Who does that reindeer remind you of?

Welcome New Chief Eric

B'game awoke from its World Series-Halloween rest this morning with a new Police Chief.  That is always one of the public servants whose name it is good to keep in mind!  City Manager Lisa Goldman makes these managerial decisions under the B'game city governance structure.  The Daily Journal gave some background on Eric when it posted the notice a while ago here, but I thought Day 1 on the job was more appropriate for the Voice post.  The article noted  

Burlingame police Capt. Eric Wollman was named the city’s new police chief to replace departing chief Ed Wood starting Nov. 1, City Manager Lisa Goldman announced Thursday.

Wollman was hired as a police captain with the Burlingame Police Department in April 2012 after 29 years of law enforcement experience with the Daly City Police Department.

I appreciate Ed Woods connection with the community and wish him well on the next phase of his career.

Thinking of Dan

When I think of the people in B'game who created the highly-engaged community we have here, Dan Anderson certainly comes to mind.  This piece in the Friday Daily Journal paints part of the picture about Dan by noting his time in B'game and his Lions work

Erik Winkler, Burlingame Lions Club president, was nominated for the challenge of dumping a bucket of ice water on his head by member Marie Woods. He decided to dedicate his challenge to former president Dan Andersen, who is suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis himself.

“I’m doing this for my dear friend Dan who is suffering from this awful affliction,” he said before the challenge Thursday.

Kudos to Angela Swartz of the DJ for highlighting this.  Allow me to add some of the historical context.  Back in the day the Rec Center was as much of an issue as it is now.  Plans were floated to demolish the Lion's Club hall and the tennis courts in Washington Park for a new 40,000 square foot structure.  Dan Anderson was the prime mover in forming the Washington Park Society to oppose that plan.  Those of us who call ourselves preservationists took heart from that move.  Dan also was very active in the hospital redevelopment project.  You could even say that Dan's willingness to speak out against City Hall gave impetus to the formation of the original print version of the Burlingame Voice.  Here's to ya, Dan.  You have my best wishes and gratitude!

The Sherman will be leaving Burlingame very soon.

The ship that has been anchored off the shore of Burlingame for several decades known to many as The Sherman, as well as by several other names, will be leaving either early in the morning on Sunday, perhaps about 1:30am and if not possible at that time then another attempt will be made at higher tide on Sunday at 4:30pm.

Here is how she looked today with tug boat awaiting. The entire history of The Sherman can be seen in an exhibit inside the Burlingame Hillsborough History Museum inside the Burlingame Train Station.

 

A Shepherd Retires

The Daily Journal did a really nice, front page piece on Pastor Pete Garrison's retirement from the ministry at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on B'game Ave. after 27 years there.  Rather than just link to it, I waited until after the final service to bring you the on-the-scene story and photos.  The former pastor is a good friend of mine and there a legions of others in B'game who can say the same.  His ministry extended past his direct flock to the B'game police where he served as chaplain and to various other service clubs in need of a word or two to the Big Man.

Pastor Pete's final sermon, on the second Sunday of Easter, revolved around Doubting Thomas and how we are all plagued by doubts and challenges but the way to overcome them is clear to those who would listen.  And there were plenty of folks there to listen.  Commenting on the crowd, Pete quipped "I should retire more often".

A great lunch followed along with some bon mots from the Lutheran district rep, the elders of the church, the kids and folks who just wanted to say "thank you".  I echo that sentiment.  Here is the scene during the sermon.

And here is a good sign that we won't be seeing around town anymore