a n d p e s c a d e r o p e b b l e

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Volume ı ı ı Number 4 ı | 75 cents Serving the entire San Mateo Coastside since ı898 www.hmbreview.com

Editorial a 4A | Weather & Tides a 5A | Police Log a 5A | A&E a 2B | Sports a 5B | Real Estate a 1C | Classifi eds a 3C

Supervisor promotes census in Pescadero

By Greg Thomas[ greg@hmbreview.com ]

The once-a-decade head-count is around the corner, and to make sure everyone is accounted for when social ser-vice providers are doling out stipends, San Mateo Coun-ty supervisors are making the rounds to some of the most underserved areas in their districts. For Supervisor Rich Gordon, that meant a trip to Pescadero.

On Thursday afternoon, a band of local census workers set up a table at a social service event at Pescadero Communi-ty Church to spread awareness about the upcoming count in

April. They handed out pam-phlets and collected e-mail ad-dresses in hopes of penetrat-ing a language barrier they say separates needy people from necessary services.

Addressing a crowd of more than 100 Pescaderans distrib-uting and picking up crates of food and waiting in line for di-aper handouts and H1N1 vac-

cinations at the church, Gor-don laid out in plain English the benefi t of participating in the count.

“If the federal government knows how many people we have, we get more mon-ey,” said Gordon, amplifi ed through a microphone. A man standing beside Gordon trans-lated the supervisor’s verbiage into Spanish for the crowd, composed almost exclusively of Latinos. “It’s very simple. … Get counted. Help our com-munity.”

In a rural town like Pesca-dero, every body counted con-tributes to the community’s “political power” as well, add-

“It’s very simple. … Get counted. Help our community.”

— Rich Gordon, San Mateo County supervisor

Greg Thomas / Review

San Mateo County Supervisor Rich Gordon speaks to Pescadero residents Thursday in an effort to increase the local count during the 2010 Census. County offi cials are concerned that the rural region’s Spanish-speaking population may shy away from government enumerators.

ISOLATED TOWN IS ONE OF COUNTY’S MOST UNDERCOUNTED POPULATIONS

[ c e n s u s ]

Martha Jenkins / Review

Kids helping kidsStudents in Melissa Moriarty’s fourth- and fi fth-grade class at Hatch Elementary School held a bake sale Friday to raise money for needy children in Haiti. In the wake of last month’s devastating earthquake there, Hatch students wanted to make a donation to UNICEF. The international relief organization has said it is focusing on the many needs of children in Haiti. Hatch students raised $275 during Friday’s bake sale alone.

[ c o m m u n i t y ]

[ b i g w a v e ]

Big Wave impact report nearly complete

By Greg Thomas[ greg@hmbreview.com ]

The fi nal version of a highly debated environmental impact report for Big Wave might be close at hand.

The proposed Princeton de-velopment calls for a 225,000-

square-foot, three-story offi ce park paired with a cooperative-style wellness center for devel-opmentally disabled people on Airport Street, between Half Moon Bay Airport and Pillar Point Air Force Station.

Coastsiders and other con-cerned parties submitted more

than 300 comments on the draft report before the com-ment period closed on Christ-mas Eve. Those comments are being incorporated into the fi -nal report, which county offi -cials have assembled.

A Big Wave study session, hosted by the county Planning Commission last week, wraps up the public review process for the draft report. County planners are reportedly work-

ing with authors of the report to respond to the concerns raised during the comment pe-riod; several people who sub-mitted comments complained that the report was inadequate and misleading.

The process calls for con-cerns to be addressed before the Planning Commission votes on the project. Original-ly, the Planning Commission

EIR PROCESS CONTINUES BEFORE PLANNING VOTE

See BIG WAVE a 8A

See CENSUS a 8A

“The offi cers got a private party to take the boar. To dispose of it.”

-- Donald O’Keefe, Police Chief

POLICE KILL BOAR,

RUMORS FLYPOLICE GIVE CARCASS

TO PRIVATE PARTYBy Mark Noack

[ mark@hmbreview.com ]

It’s not very often a wild boar is spotted in Half Moon Bay. It’s rarer still for local police to shoot to kill.

But the two circumstances came together on Thurs-day morning when a boar estimated to weigh around 300 pounds spooked residents and pedestrians as it wandered through front yards along Grandview Bou-levard. And in its aftermath, the unlikely situation has fueled much discussion and speculation as to what ex-actly happened.

On Thursday, the boar had apparently wandered into the neighborhood from the nearby hills. Boars typically avoid human contact.

But this animal didn’t seem scared, recalled Edgar Natan, a postal carrier who was delivering mail to the neighborhood that day. Natan said the animal came near him and was trotting by as he followed the mail

[ p u b l i c s a f e t y ]

Deal could shape senior campus, Coastal TrailCITY, COUNTY TO

NEGOTIATE ON 17 PARCELSBy Mark Noack

[ mark@hmbreview.com ]

Half Moon Bay offi cials are beginning closed-door negotiations to trade an Arnold Way prop-erty to San Mateo County in exchange for bluff-top tracts. The deal could provide needed land

for both the downtown senior campus and the Coastal Trail.

The county has listed 16 properties it owns within Half Moon Bay city limits that it could offer the city in exchange for the Arnold Way property, according to county records.

All or some of those properties would be traded to the city for the 1.1-acre Arnold Way parcel next to the Lesley Gardens retirement home.

The 16 properties the county is including in the land deal are all public utility district parcels on the west side of Highway 1. The undevel-oped properties total 12.5 acres and lie between Seymour Street and Redondo Beach Road, a one-mile stretch that interrupts the Half Moon Bay section of the Coastal Trail. City offi cials say they have proposed a deal to acquire the coast-al properties as a step to someday develop the trail.

Although large in area, the county’s prop-erties would fetch only a modest price on the market because the parcels have little potential for development, offi cials say. The county par-cels are spread throughout open-space land and their price would be based on their preservation value.

Planning Director Steve Flint said the city is hoping the land deal can be a step toward ex-

a n d p e s c a d e r o p e b b l ea n d p e s c a d e r o p e b b l e

Volume ı ı ı Number 4 ı | 75 cents Serving the entire San Mateo Coastside since ı898 www.hmbreview.com

FADING TO BLACK

a n d p e s c a d e r o p e b b l ea n d p e s c a d e r o p e b b l e

FREE INSIDE! HMB MAGAZINE: THE MONEY AND FINANCE ISSUE

Moss Beach songwriter holds CD release party > 2B

NEW LEADER FOR CCPAgnes Chan takes over at Coastside Children’s Programs > 3B

See LAND DEAL a 8A

Approximate location of shooting

See BOAR a 8A