The Burlingame Voice

KCSM 60th Anniversary: A movie and more music

Last night I was fortunate to attend the premier of a brand-new movie documentary about the 60-year evolution of KCSM into the worldwide jazz destination station it is today.  91.1 FM is a local jewel.  Thanks to streaming off of KSCM.org or just saying "Alexa, play KCSM" that jewel is now listened to around the world.  And it's not just the station playing a highly curated mix of jazz, blues and R&B; the annual concert Jazz on the Hill that returned in 2013 after Covid subsided is one of the best things about summer in the Bay Area as we noted here and here.

Fortunately, Palo Alto Online got an even earlier preview and reporter Peter Canavese was able to take extensive notes, so I don't have to try to summarize the movie.  You can read his lengthy review here.  That leaves me free to share some of the post movie Q&A session with a panel of 15 KCSM announcers (they prefer that to "DJ").  With Chris Cortez asking the questions and vocalist Tiffany Austin sitting in after her participation in the movie, we got a rare survey of how these announcers migrated to KCSM over time, especially after KJAZ folded and donated its huge library to KCSM.  A couple viewed San Mateo as a bit of a bumpkin location to work but came anyway, some came up through the student ranks from the college and others saw the passion of their predecessors and wanted to be a part of it.  The challenges local jazz musicians have getting heard was a theme -- music director Jesse "Chuy" Varela listens to all submissions, but neither he nor the station dictate what gets played.

It was noted that the announcer ranks were a bit long in the tooth as was the audience.  "Keeping Jazz Alive" takes care and feeding.  The internship program could be expanded and the worldwide reach, along with the movie buzz, will hopefully help fundraising and student participation.  I asked the station manager, Dr. Robert Franklin, about the plans for distributing the movie.  It will run at the SF Indiefest in February and the DVD will be a gift during the next pledge drive.  Hopefully Netflix will pick it up as well.  We're lucky to have KCSM as our home station and these globally recognized on-air voices as its curators.

Scenes of destruction from LA

At this moment I'm sitting in West Maui, in the Kahana-Napili area, looking out at Molokai and Lanai while watching some video of the Pacific Palisades devastation.  A one-minute driving clip on X is eerily reminiscent of a clip from a local friend who was authorized to drive through Lahaina after the August 8, 2023 fire that killed 101 people.  A year and a half later one still cannot go into the center of Lahaina--Front Street.  Another friend got close this week and saw that some rubble is just now being bulldozed and hauled away.  In January of 2025.  Hazmat.  Insurance.  Cell service.  Coastal restrictions.  Equipment.  Cost.  All will be in play in LA, too.

Oakland 1991 comes to mind.  Paradise, CA.  Chico.  Several more in remote parts of the Sierra.  It's on-going and fully predictable.  Joe Rogan relayed an LA firefighter predicting the exact magnitude of the Palisades fire his podcast last July!  I'm really hoping this old Voice post doesn't end up being another predictable concern come true.

And of course there is the air pollution of each blaze.  The Merc notes:

Massive plumes from multiple fires in Los Angeles County are choking the region’s skies and sending air quality to dangerous levels. Thursday morning Los Angeles had an AQI of 182, considered “unhealthy,” and currently among the worst in the world. The smoke was so dense that it was captured in satellite photos.

Current forecasts through Saturday show most of the smoke from the wildfires wafting out into the ocean and making a weak return back to the coast as far north as Monterey.

Tell me again how ripping out a high-efficiency furnace/water heater and a gas stovetop that gets a half hour of use most weeks is really important, but actually planning and executing wildfire prevention just never seems to rise to the top of Big Politicians priority list?

Sleepless in B'game: The numbers are only part of the story

As we again reenter the ridiculousness of Standard Time tonight, the Merc has an article on sleep deprivation by county and towns in the Bay Area.  The headline has an Oakland ZIP code as the most sleep deprived, and the chart shows San Mateo County is the least sleep deprived county (i.e. averaging less than seven hours per night).  Solano County is the most sleep deprived at 38.1% and San Mateo County the least at 28.7%.

Pulling the covers back a bit, the San Mateo County figure is lulled by Portola Valley at 23.2%.  The other rural towns are also quieter and sleep more.  Dear old B'game is a little better than the county average at 26%, but that may include our shared ZIP code sister, H'borough.  I am skeptical about the metric because the duration of sleep is only part of the story.  When weather conditions are just right--meaning just wrong for sleep--the jet backblast from SFO take-offs may not fully wake you up, but you're not in REM either.  It might also be making us...a bit heavier than need be.

The "Fall back" is not as bad as the "Spring forward", but be careful out there as either change is associated with distracted driving, etc.  We all voted to stay on Daylight Savings time, but the Sacramento gang and Gavin haven't moved on making the change.  Add this to the "Sacramento Stupidity" category.

RIP Bearcat Kris Kristofferson (1936-2024)

Our neighbor to the south is three and a half times as populous as we are here in B'game.  That gives them a bit of a leg up in having famous former residents.  Springsteen's parents lived in SM and Merv Griffin went to SMHS.  I won't even get into the Serra grads who went big in pro sports.  There are many, even without the artificial help from BALCO of B'game.  Furthermore, I don't rate "Country" in my Top Ten musical genres, but Kris Kristofferson was one guy who could tug at my heartstrings.  He wrote "Me and Bobby McGee" which Janis Joplin recorded just a few days before she died.  His acting in A Star is Born surpasses that of his female lead.  So, here's to a guy who trod our streets as a kid:

Kristofferson was born on June 22, 1936, in Brownsville, Texas, to Mary Ann (née Ashbrook) and Lars Henry Kristofferson — a first-generation Swedish immigrant and U.S. Army Air Corps officer and Air Force general. His love for country music began at a young age, and, according to a 2013 interview with NPR, Kristofferson penned his first song, "I Hate Your Ugly Face," at only 11 years old. A military brat, he moved often throughout his childhood until his family landed in San Mateo, Calif., when he was a teenager.  He graduated from San Mateo High School in 1954.

Any '54 Bearcats out there who can tell us what Kris was like in high school?

Peninsula Ave. interchange "scrapped" for good?

I can hear the cheers from the Lyon-Hoag neighborhood from here on my perch on the west side.  The "upgrade" to Peninsula Ave. at 101 has been bandied about for almost 20 years.  The neighborhood concerns voiced in public go back more than 10 years as shown in this post from 2015.  Now the weight of the project--cost, eminent domain, and community opposition have apparently caused it to collapse.  I'm guessing this council decision pre-dates the weekend pedestrian fatality on Peninsula.  While I feel happy for Lyon-Hoag, caution and observation remain the best course.  These things can be like zombies.  And the pressure from over-development on the Bayfront is ever growing.  The Daily Journal notes

A long-standing effort to move the Highway 101 southbound off-ramps from East Poplar Avenue north to Peninsula Avenue has been officially scrapped, though plans to address congestion and mitigate collisions in the area are still being finalized.

For years, the city (Ed: San Mateo) has looked into relocating the (Poplar Ave.) ramps to Peninsula Avenue because, east of Idaho Street, it has two lanes in each direction, no parking or driveways and has shoulders and bike lanes, all advantages over East Poplar Avenue. The total project cost estimate ranges from $169 million to $227 million, and while some funding could be secured from regional or state agencies, the majority would have to come from the city.

Moving forward would also require the city to acquire dozens of private properties along North Amphlett Boulevard via eminent domain, another financial burden for the city. Councilmember Rich Hedges said, at this point, many of the affected residents just want to know which direction the city is going so they can plan accordingly.

A lot of B'gamers are having sighs of relief.  As one local noted "No, it's not April 1st".  Let's keep it that way.

Housing Maneuvers - Part 1 Pausing the land grab

We noted that the real action County-wide and State-wide in the Fall election is in the propositions and initiatives since the candidate voting is pretty much a given.  B'game will have a real race or two, but outside our little town there is a lot of fait accompli.  But one controversial move that will not be on the ballot is the County land grab for "affordable housing".  The DJ is noting that the Supes, in their wisdom, have decided to "pause" their land grab.

Despite a poll suggesting majority voter support, San Mateo County will not be placing a measure on November ballots allowing the development of low-income housing units without voter approval, in pursuant of Article 34 of the state Constitution.  The measure, initially presented at a special meeting of the board July 22, would have provided authorization for the county and other public agencies to construct or acquire affordable rental housing for low-income residents — up to 1% of total existing housing units — without voter consideration. 

Although Chief Executive Officer Mike Callagy maintained Article 34 “has no place in this county,” he did not ask the Board of Supervisors to consider approving such a measure placement this election cycle.

One has to wonder what other bits and pieces of the state Constitution have no place in San Mateo County?  Perhaps we could get a list?  The usual blather about "racism in homeownership" and "constituent confusion" and wanting to be "collaborative" with local cities and not "usurp their authority" ensued. The reality is the November ballot is already stuffed with pork.  So much so that voters are likely to Just Say No to the whole lot.  Half Moon Bay and Millbrae led the public charge against this land grab.  Here's hoping B'game electeds did so quietly but firmly.

2024 H'borough Concours d'Elegance

Sunday was a brilliant, fog-free, wind-free day up the hill at Crystal Springs Golf Course as the Concours d'Elegance took over the 18th fairway for the 68th rendition of the car show.  That makes it "the longest continually running Concours in the world" and a showplace for some amazing cars and Jeeps.  This year's theme car was the Mazda Miata and one locally owned example won best in its class.  The 2024 winners have not been posted to the website yet but check here later.  Burlingame-owned Frank's Texas BBQ provided the eats and drew a long line of patrons as they usually do whenever they do an event.

I also enjoyed watching kids playing in the sand trap--they found it way more fun than I do.

Millbrae recall election: Sign of things to come?

The La Quinta dogfight in Millbrae described a year ago here that pits the city against the county over tax revenue and homeless housing has given us an unintended view of the future.  The move to district elections at the city level was clearly voter suppression--taking away 80% of any individual's votes for city council and creating tiny little districts supposedly to improve "equity".  Couple the two issues together and we now see that recalling elected officials gets easier.  One hot-button issue can spin up enough people in one (or in this case two) tiny districts easily enough to qualify for a recall election.

I will skip the personalities involved, but the Daily Journal piece also shows the cost of these efforts at municipal self-determination and running special elections:

Millbrae is also embroiled in ongoing litigation against the county for choosing to move forward with the project — which the county intends to fund through still in-flux Project Homekey money, as it has done at several other locations throughout the county.   The lawsuit, which has cost the city $230,000 as of May, City Manager Tom Williams said previously, alleges that Millbrae residents have a right to vote on whether they want the housing project in their community under Article 34 of the state Constitution. 

(Councilmember) Cahalan said she’d wait to see the results of the lawsuit — which the presiding judge said would be returned by June 26 — before commenting further on the project.

And on the cost front:

The special election will cost the city approximately $143,000. The councilmember will be recalled if more than 50% of the votes are in favor. Once they are removed, the positions will be vacant until it is filled by appointment or an election to the unexpired terms.

While that sounds like a lot of money, remember Millbrae would stand to lose $750,000 every year in perpetuity from the lost hotel tax.  One wonders if the Malibu attorney behind the move to tiny little districts had this in mind? 

Bumpingame: Taking the car out of Carmelita Ave.

One way to get people griping less about California Ave. is to roll out another project unpopular with drivers.  While the aversion to the California conversion is on-going (just mention it at the grocery store!), the multitude of new speed bumps on Carmelita east and west of ECR is jarring drivers' senses--and common sense.  A review of the accident history via the Crimegraphics tracker on the city website doesn't yield nearly enough incidents to cause speed bumps to multiply like rabbits there.  Is the city trying to take the "car" out of Carmelita Ave.?  Shall we rename it Melita Ave.--a main thoroughfare from H'borough to Bumpingame?

The Sunday SF Comicle had a front-page piece titled Drivers feel under siege with S.F. limits.  It described some senior drivers' anxiety over the navigational mazes being implemented as "improvements".  It's more than just banning cars on Market St. or so-called "Slow streets".  And it's not just in EssEff.  I like to pick up the pink Financial Times (of London) sometimes and was amazed to see a Letter to the Editor from a guy in Oakland under the headline Why the nanny state is partly to blame for US road carnage!  He writes:

Meanwhile, endless reconfiguration of America's streets and pavements by traffic engineers who dream of "Amsterdam in Santa Monica" has cluttered once open roadways with mountains of superfluous signage and millions of plastic bollards; new parking arrangement, often in the middle of the street, bicycle paths switched to different lanes every other corner; and elevated bulbs wherever possible--all designed to slow traffic under the guise of creating bike and bus-friendly streets.

The addition of all this visual noise impedes every driver's view, making it ever harder to see that bicycle or pedestrian while elevating the stress.  Alas, too many American drivers have reacted to these safety-related distractions and stressors by developing the habits of road rage.

So don't just blame the culture of freedom that Americans enjoy for the roads mayhem.  At least some fault is due to the nanny state at work, killing us softly with safety enhancements.

George P Csicsery

Zala Films, Oakland, CA, US

My guess is Mr. Csicsery has been to Bumpingame recently.  My wishlist is to take out at least half of the new speed bumps on Melita Ave. and put a moratorium on any more as well as on the cheesy plastic bollards and floppy mid-crosswalk signs that are already looking beat after just a few weeks.  Then bank the money to pay for another police officer to catch scofflaw drivers.  While we're at it, let's check what all of these "improvements" are doing to police, fire and ambulance response times.....

Hat tip to a local wag for the name Bumpingame.

B'game Train Station ADU?

I guess deputy directors at Caltrain struggle to find affordable living quarters on the Peninsula even though the payroll at Caltrain is very bloated IMHO.  But who knew it would get this weird?  Former deputy director for operations Joe Navarro and a contractor friend named Seth Worden have been charged with skimming public funds to create living spaces in the B'game and Millbrae train stations!  In small increments, Navarro is alleged to have paid Worden $42,000 for the secret apartment in the B'game station and another $8K for the Millbrae hideaway.

As shown below, the B'game station has always had living space on the south side as that was the original station master's quarters (to the right of the arches).  Later on, it was the B'game Chamber of Commerce office and had a kitchenette and toilet already.  That was where an arsonist tried to burn the place down in 2016.  It must be tricked out pretty nicely for $42K.  According to the Merc

Worden was caught first, in 2020, after employees discovered the converted space, authorities said. But the transit agency was reportedly unaware of Navarro’s place in Burlingame until getting an anonymous tip in 2022.  Navarro was fired after being confronted with the tip, and reportedly admitted to “occasionally using the station as his residence,” prosecutors said, though they allege that he was using the small apartment as his primary residence.

I can't wait to find out why it took years to bring the felony embezzlement charges.