RIPTIDE

Crunch the Numbers, Do the Math

Census Data
Use this link to look up all kinds of interesting economic statistics for any community in the United States.

Fight the Heat with a Cold One

Chill Video

Linda Mar Spindrift: Waves, Wind, and Fog on the Rocks

Paul Donahue, Linda Mar Beach, June 27, 2013

Feds Fail to Protect West Coast Great White Sharks

CBD Press Release

Say What?

"Our milk are those clogs. If someone wants them, make them walk through all the new stuff first." (Crocs CEO John McCarvel, comparing his company's signature sandals to the lowly dairy products at the back of a grocery store, quoted by Matt Townsend of Bloomberg News, June 27)

Hey, McCarvel, try a little subject-verb agreement, and stick to selling shoes.

John Maybury

The Little Birdy Tweets More Pacifica Business Closings

Pacific Passions Dress Shop (owned by Gary Mondfrans, erstwhile Pacifica City Council candidate) is for lease on Craiglist. The Pacific Manor store has a "Big Sale" sign in the window.

Hanni's gift store in Rockaway Beach right next door to Rockin' Rob's has a huge sign in the window saying that the store is closing.
 
Kerri's Coffee Shop in Linda Mar shopping center is closing after a zillion years in business. Wanna bet that the shopping center's high rents drove them out?

Local Gambling Operations Busted

After a months-long investigation, South San Francisco police have shut down illegal gambling establishments on the 2200 block of Gellert Boulevard and the first block of South Linden Avenue, and arrested the operator, Frederick Zupancic, 53, of Pacifica.

Search warrants were served June 26 and police searched four different sites, including homes in Alameda and Pacifica, according to police. Police say they seized $40,000 in cash, multiple gambling devices, and documentation related to the illegal gambling operation.

Opinion: SMCCD's Sustainability Initiative Is Pure Fiction

By Shawn Kann, Special to Riptide

San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD) and sustainability? Fascinating. Sustainability of what?

Sustainably trying to destroy the historic half-century-old garden for a parking lot?

Sustainably removing more than 200 old-growth trees from the ridgeline and slopes of the College of San Mateo?

Sustainably chopping down additional mature trees to make way for a parking lot and an amphitheater with panoramic views of the bay after the recent court ruling, which stated that "SMCCCD failed to comply with CEQA when it failed to conduct mandated environmental review over 200 mature trees"?

Sustainably spending thousands of taxpayer dollars to fight two California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)-backed lawsuits filed by concerned community members and students? 

Sustainably spending millions of dollars in false
advertising about how much the district cares about the residents and doing the Right Thing? 

The only thing SMCCCD seems to be sustaining is the never-ending, relentless level of spending public money on artificial turf and private athletic-club locker rooms built relatively recently. 

SMCCCD's Sustainability Initiative is pure fiction.

Pacifica Economic Development Plan: Administrative Draft

Consultant Report to the City

Linda Mar Action: Shark Bites Kayak, Misses Fisherman

Sink Your Teeth Into This Item

Local Shark Bite Goes Viral

Bay Bridge Eastern Span: "Monument to Stupidity"?

History of Bad Decisions
This San Francisco Chronicle story (June 23) details Caltrans' sorry, mistake-ridden process of designing and building the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge. Let this be a cautionary tale to those who think Caltrans should widen Highway 1 through the heart of Pacifica.

Why the United States Lacks World-Class Passenger Trains

As Tea Party train-haters in Congress whittle away at Amtrak's budget, European railroads roll out beautiful new trains (National Corridors Initiative photos):

Opinion: 20 Bucks to Swim at College of San Mateo Pool!

By Bill Collins, Riptide Correspondent

I was surprised when my swim coach told me that the College of San Mateo has a new Olympic-size swimming pool. Then he said it costs $20 per drop-in visit!

I searched the college's website, which says to call the private, for-profit company that manages the pool to find out the drop-in cost. I did find that college staff get free use of the pool, which may explain why it was built at district headquarters on the San Mateo campus instead of the other campuses (Skyline, Canada), which don't have swimming pools.

When the voters approved the prior college bond, the money was supposed to go for  "constructing and modernizing classrooms ... and the replacement of aging ventilation systems, removal of hazardous materials such as asbestos, and installation of alternative-energy programs."

The voters weren't told the college district was going to build a big swimming pool, much less charge us taxpayers who paid for it the highest per-visit charge in the state for any community college swimming pool.

The next time the college asks us to raise taxes for academics, its argument will be undermined by how it handled the new swimming pool, paid for by taxpayers but run like a private club for the moneyed and district staff.

Skyline College Course on Natural History of California

Enroll now in the new Natural History (Bio 111) course coming this fall. Seats are still available! Fall 2013 Field Course, 4.0 Units, Biology 111, Natural History of California. 
 

Fire Sprinklers Save Pacifica's Rice and Roll Restaurant

A restaurant kitchen caught fire June 21 in Pacifica, but damage was kept to a minimum thanks to a sprinkler system, according to fire officials.

The fire at Rice and Roll, a Chinese restaurant at 683 Manor Drive, was reported around 7:25 a.m., according to the North County Fire Authority.

Firefighters found fire in the kitchen area that was being held in check by an installed sprinkler system. The fire was quickly extinguished with minimal damage and no injuries.

Fire officials said the fire highlighted the importance of working fire alarms, smoke detectors, and sprinkler systems in businesses and homes.

Mikey Likes It: Zucchini from Another Planet

Our Southern California correspondent Michael Shaw says he woke up the other morning and found this 20-inch-long zucchini resting atop the fruit bowl on his kitchen counter in Northridge. Michael says a friend of his who specializes in growing oversize vegetables had dropped off the super-zuke. "I'm not sure I want to see this guy's backyard," Michael says.

Spanky's On the Block for $1.2 Million

Get Details Here

Nature's Wrath: Gulf of Mexico Waterspout

Waterspout off Grand Isle barrier island south of New Orleans

Nature's Wrath: West Fork Fires, Colorado

 

12 Pianos Serenade Whales Along San Mateo County Coast

Get the Scoop Here