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Wednesday, May 26, 2010 Volume ıı2 Number 5 | 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 | Classifieds a 3C a n d p e s c a d e r o p e b b l e TAX SUPPORTERS MAKE FINAL PUSH By Mark Naock [ [email protected] ] Judging by the numbers, Measure E supporters think they may have a victory. Approximately 800 Measure E signs now adorn front yards across the Coastside. More than 200 dona- tions to the ballot campaign have come in from sponsors. Over the last six weeks, volunteers have made more than 10,000 phone calls to local voters, urging them to come out to support the tax measure. Supporters say this is the most pre- cise, poll-driven, number-based par- cel tax effort to date. The question that remains, of course, is whether those tallies of support will overcome the 66.7 per- cent hurdle when it comes to the bal- lot box on June 8. Measure E supporters can’t say for sure, but they insist this go-round they have the best shot at passing the Coastside’s first parcel tax to help lo- cal schools. And by all accounts, the stakes are high. The Cabrillo Unified School Dis- trict is facing difficult cuts, and school officials say they have no op- tion besides a tax measure. Saddled Olsen honored as farming hero FARM BUREAU CHIEF REMEMBERED FOR COMMITMENT By Mark Noack [ [email protected] ] Never a farmer, Jack Olsen nevertheless devoted his life to agriculture. Executive administrator of the San Mateo County Farm Bureau and an active leader in the Half Moon Bay community, Olsen died on Friday at his home in Pes- cadero after his long battle with cancer. He was 50. A lifelong Coastside resi- dent, Olsen was a well-con- nected and popular figure, es- pecially among the farming community. He was involved in a host of local civic groups, including the Half Moon Bay Beautification Committee, Food Systems Alliance, and the San Mateo County Fair Board, Agricultural Commis- sion, and the Resource Conser- vation District. Friends and family describe Olsen as a one-man resource, always able to help with the mundane chores of the pump- kin weigh-off or the tricky points of legislation in Wash- ington, D.C. He gained a repu- tation as a man who could get things done. “In our industry when some- thing goes wrong, you call Jack,” said farmer B.J. Burns of Bianchi Flowers in Pescadero. “Every farmer and rancher in this county is going to be miss- ing him.” “He was the go-to person when you needed anything from the agriculture area,” said Councilman John Muller. “He had his fingers in everything.” Olsen was known for ral- lying the Coastside farming community to raise donations, support causes and communi- ty events. In turn, Olsen was viewed as an influential advo- cate for county agriculture in negotiations with open-space proponents, business interests and politicians. And whenever he talk- ed business, Olsen always brought along a sample of the Coastside’s bounty — a gift of Unsafe Marchi homes still inhabited By Mark Noack [ [email protected] ] Last week, the discovery of contaminated water led gov- ernment health inspectors to shut down all employee hous- ing at Marchi Central Farms in Pescadero. The housing was declared unsafe and uninhab- itable, and about 50 migrant tenants and family members were told they needed to live elsewhere. But today the families are back living in the sim- ple homes, and they have the blessing from the county and local community helpers. A lack of housing and alter- natives on the South Coast has led San Mateo County officials to temporarily allow families to continue living at the same homes they declared unfit for living just days earlier. “The homes are still official- ly uninhabitable, however it’s a tough situation,” explained Dean Peterson, director of the San Mateo County Environ- mental Health Department. “We could forcibly remove them, but we’ve chosen not to because at least they’re having a roof over their heads and not living on the side of the road.” Last week county health offi- cials evicted the migrant com- munity living at Marchi farms when it became clear that the water being piped into their homes was a health danger. Multiple tests of the tap water at Marchi farms showed that it was contaminated with ni- trates — more than six times over the legal limit. Nitrates are a known carcin- ogen that can deplete oxygen in human blood and lead to organ failure. The chemical is particularly hazardous for chil- dren, infants and unborn fe- tuses. The county’s initial priority was to get the residents out of their homes. But Peterson said it became clear about three days afterward that finding other places to live was simply impossible for some families, particularly those with chil- dren finishing off their school year. Pescadero has long suffered from a shortage of affordable housing, and many families from Marchi farms resorted to living at campsites or out of their cars. The lack of housing, com- bined with the need to keep students in school, led county officials to reach a temporary compromise. They decided to allow some families to con- tinue living at the condemned homes until June 11, the end of the school year. About two dozen people are still living on the farm proper- ty, and county officials say they are shipping water from the Red Cross for them to drink. Carmen Mendes, a single Lars Howlett / Review Nearly two weeks ago tenants on Marchi Central Farm in Pes- cadero were told they could no longer live in their homes, but county officials decided to allow them to stay rather than see the families homeless. See MARCHI a 6A See OLSEN a 6A “This is the one place in Pescadero where we can live for this price.” Carmen Mendes, single mother LACK OF SOUTH COAST HOUSING PROMPTS EXEMPTION [ agriculture ] [ holy ghost ] [ in memory ] Glimpses of the Holy Ghost Festival By Lily Bixler [ [email protected] ] N early 10 men are jammed like sardines into the kitchen. They are jovial men wearing match- ing maroon aprons and sipping beers as they keep a col- lective eye on the four big brick ovens where around 7,500 pounds of beef cook for the weekend Holy Ghost Festival. Little chalk- boards next to each oven indicate the time at which the meat went into the 1,100-degree oven. Every year, traditionally on the sev- enth Sunday after Easter, Half Moon Bay’s Portuguese constituency feeds the community in celebration of Holy Ghost Festival. The festival includes a parade, a carnival, a feast, a church ceremony and the crowning of a new queen. A banquet hall on the other side of the building is filled with 200 people eating an earlier batch of the meat. It’s just af- ter noon Sunday, and this is the second seating of the day, head cook Tony Lou- renco explained. The third seating will come after lunch, once church lets out. Lourenco, who is a member of the I.D.E.S Soci- ety, moved to Half Moon Bay in 1968 from the Azores, the Portuguese archi- pelago in the Atlan- tic Ocean and ances- tral home of many in the Coastside Por- tuguese community. A nearby building houses the crown. A group of mostly elderly women rest there in the carpeted chapel — decorat- ed with red carnations — for a reprieve from the cotton candy bustle of the car- nival outside. Down a few blocks on the other “She’ll always remember this experience. Hopefully her kids will do it too.” — Maria Azevedo See HOLY GHOST a 7A Jack Olsen Lars Howlett / Review On a bright and sunny Sunday morning, Big Queen Kelly Buckley of Half Moon Bay parades down Main Street along with her side maids on the occasion of the 139th annual I.D.E.S. Society Portuguese Pentecost Festival. More photos, Page 7A. Medal-winning performance Youthful experience WE SAY YES The Half Moon Bay Review recommends you vote for the school parcel tax known as Mea- sure E. The money will be well spent and remain in local schools. See endorsement page 4A. MEASURE E PROPONENTS GO ALL OUT See MEASURE E a 6A Coastsiders stick the landing at CCS meet PAGE 5B What do years of working with kids teach about young people? PAGE 1B
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Transcript of 05.26.10
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Volume ı ı2 Number 5 | 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
a n d p e s c a d e r o p e b b l e
TAX SUPPORTERS MAKE FINAL PUSHBy Mark Naock
Judging by the numbers, Measure E supporters think they may have a victory.
Approximately 800 Measure E
signs now adorn front yards across the Coastside. More than 200 dona-tions to the ballot campaign have come in from sponsors. Over the last six weeks, volunteers have made more than 10,000 phone calls to local voters, urging them to come out to
support the tax measure. Supporters say this is the most pre-
cise, poll-driven, number-based par-cel tax effort to date.
The question that remains, of course, is whether those tallies of support will overcome the 66.7 per-cent hurdle when it comes to the bal-lot box on June 8.
Measure E supporters can’t say for
sure, but they insist this go-round they have the best shot at passing the Coastside’s fi rst parcel tax to help lo-cal schools. And by all accounts, the stakes are high.
The Cabrillo Unifi ed School Dis-trict is facing diffi cult cuts, and school offi cials say they have no op-tion besides a tax measure. Saddled
Olsen honored
as farming hero
FARM BUREAU CHIEF
REMEMBERED FOR COMMITMENT
By Mark Noack[ [email protected] ]
Never a farmer, Jack Olsen nevertheless devoted his life to agriculture.
Executive administrator of the San Mateo County Farm Bureau and an active leader
in the Half Moon Bay community, Olsen died on Friday at his home in Pes-cadero after his long battle with cancer. He was 50.
A lifelong Coastside resi-dent, Olsen was a well-con-nected and popular fi gure, es-pecially among the farming community. He was involved in a host of local civic groups, including the Half Moon Bay Beautifi cation Committee, Food Systems Alliance, and the San Mateo County Fair Board, Agricultural Commis-sion, and the Resource Conser-vation District.
Friends and family describe Olsen as a one-man resource, always able to help with the mundane chores of the pump-kin weigh-off or the tricky points of legislation in Wash-ington, D.C. He gained a repu-tation as a man who could get things done.
“In our industry when some-thing goes wrong, you call Jack,” said farmer B.J. Burns of Bianchi Flowers in Pescadero. “Every farmer and rancher in this county is going to be miss-ing him.”
“He was the go-to person when you needed anything from the agriculture area,” said Councilman John Muller. “He had his fi ngers in everything.”
Olsen was known for ral-lying the Coastside farming community to raise donations, support causes and communi-ty events. In turn, Olsen was viewed as an infl uential advo-cate for county agriculture in negotiations with open-space proponents, business interests and politicians.
And whenever he talk-ed business, Olsen always brought along a sample of the Coastside’s bounty — a gift of
Unsafe Marchi homes still inhabited
By Mark Noack[ [email protected] ]
Last week, the discovery of contaminated water led gov-ernment health inspectors to shut down all employee hous-ing at Marchi Central Farms in Pescadero. The housing was declared unsafe and uninhab-itable, and about 50 migrant tenants and family members were told they needed to live elsewhere.
But today the families are back living in the sim-ple homes, and they have the blessing from the county and local community helpers.
A lack of housing and alter-natives on the South Coast has led San Mateo County offi cials to temporarily allow families to continue living at the same homes they declared unfi t for living just days earlier.
“The homes are still offi cial-ly uninhabitable, however it’s a tough situation,” explained Dean Peterson, director of the San Mateo County Environ-mental Health Department. “We could forcibly remove them, but we’ve chosen not to because at least they’re having a roof over their heads and not living on the side of the road.”
Last week county health offi -cials evicted the migrant com-munity living at Marchi farms when it became clear that the water being piped into their homes was a health danger. Multiple tests of the tap water at Marchi farms showed that it was contaminated with ni-trates — more than six times over the legal limit.
Nitrates are a known carcin-
ogen that can deplete oxygen in human blood and lead to organ failure. The chemical is particularly hazardous for chil-dren, infants and unborn fe-tuses.
The county’s initial priority was to get the residents out of their homes. But Peterson said it became clear about three days afterward that fi nding other places to live was simply impossible for some families, particularly those with chil-dren fi nishing off their school year.
Pescadero has long suffered from a shortage of affordable housing, and many families from Marchi farms resorted to living at campsites or out of their cars.
The lack of housing, com-bined with the need to keep students in school, led county offi cials to reach a temporary compromise. They decided to allow some families to con-tinue living at the condemned homes until June 11, the end of the school year.
About two dozen people are still living on the farm proper-ty, and county offi cials say they are shipping water from the Red Cross for them to drink.
Carmen Mendes, a single
Lars Howlett / Review
Nearly two weeks ago tenants on Marchi Central Farm in Pes-cadero were told they could no longer live in their homes, but county offi cials decided to allow them to stay rather than see the families homeless.
See MARCHI a 6A
See OLSEN a 6A
“This is the one place in Pescadero where we can live for this price.”
Carmen Mendes, single mother
LACK OF SOUTH COAST HOUSING PROMPTS EXEMPTION
[ a g r i c u l t u r e ][ h o l y g h o s t ][ i n m e m o r y ]
Glimpses of the Holy Ghost Festival
By Lily Bixler[ [email protected] ]
Nearly 10 men are jammed like sardines into the kitchen. They are jovial men wearing match-
ing maroon aprons and sipping beers as they keep a col-lective eye on the four big brick ovens where around 7,500 pounds of beef cook for the weekend Holy Ghost Festival.
Little chalk-boards next to each oven indicate the time at which the meat went into the 1,100-degree oven.
Every year, traditionally on the sev-enth Sunday after Easter, Half Moon Bay’s Portuguese constituency feeds the community in celebration of Holy Ghost Festival. The festival includes a parade, a carnival, a feast, a church ceremony and the crowning of a new queen.
A banquet hall on the other side of the building is fi lled with 200 people eating an earlier batch of the meat. It’s just af-ter noon Sunday, and this is the second seating of the day, head cook Tony Lou-renco explained. The third seating will come after lunch, once church lets out.
Lourenco, who is a member of the I.D.E.S Soci-ety, moved to Half Moon Bay in 1968 from the Azores, the Portuguese archi-pelago in the Atlan-tic Ocean and ances-tral home of many in the Coastside Por-tuguese community.
A nearby building houses the crown. A group of mostly elderly women rest there in the carpeted chapel — decorat-ed with red carnations — for a reprieve from the cotton candy bustle of the car-nival outside.
Down a few blocks on the other
“She’ll always remember this
experience. Hopefully her kids will do it too.”
— Maria Azevedo
See HOLY GHOST a 7A
Jack Olsen
Lars Howlett / Review
On a bright and sunny Sunday morning, Big Queen Kelly Buckley of Half Moon Bay parades down Main Street along with her side maids on the occasion of the 139th annual I.D.E.S. Society Portuguese Pentecost Festival. More photos, Page 7A.
Medal-winning performanceYouthful experience
WE SAY YESThe Half Moon Bay Review
recommends you vote for the school parcel tax known as Mea-sure E. The money will be well spent and remain in local schools. See endorsement page 4A.
MEASURE E PROPONENTS GO ALL OUT
See MEASURE E a 6A
Coastsiders stick the landing at CCS meet PAGE 5B
What do years of working with kids teach about young people?PAGE 1B
Volume ı ı2 Number 5 | 75 cents Serving the entire San Mateo Coastside since ı898 www.hmbreview.com
YouthfulYouthfulexperienceexperience
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 ea 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
