APPLE MOTH POPULATION EXPLODES POPULATION EXPLODES

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

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

Volume ı ı ı Number 44 | 75 cents Serving the entire San Mateo Coastside since ı898 www.hmbreview.comVolume ı ı ı Number

WRESTLER HEADED TO STATE

[ m a v e r i c k s ] [ e d u c a t i o n ]

School libraries once again on

chopping blockLIBRARY STAFF AT RISK OF LAYOFFS

By Mark Noack[ mark@hmbreview.com ]

Marilyn Garrison worked 26 years as a library tech at Faral-lone View Elementary, a part-time job she loves even though it doesn’t pay much.

She had plenty of opportu-nities to take on higher-paying jobs. A former Peace Corps volunteer, Garrison earned her teaching credentials and taught for many years at public schools — qualifi cations above and beyond the job require-ments for a library technician.

But, she explains, Farallone View has a special place in her heart: It’s the school within walking distance of her house, and it’s where her children learned to read.

And for her, the school’s lit-tle library is the most special place of all. She knows the in-ventory of 11,000 books like the back of her hand.

Garrison plans to retire in June. She might not be alone — all the other librarians in the Cabrillo Unifi ed School

District might be forced to leave right along with her.

School libraries, at Farallone View and all other Cabrillo Unifi ed schools, are at risk of being cut as the district board begins its painful budget sea-son. School board members say they have to prepare for $2.5 million in cuts. They have indicated they intend to keep those cuts out of the class-room whenever possible. That means ancillary services and administrative staff — includ-ing athletics, offi ce personnel, custodians and library employ-ees — are at risk.

Garrison says she can’t en-vision what a campus library would be like without some type of librarian. Would that mean parent volunteers take over, she asked, or would teachers have to monitor and maintain the library them-selves?

“I don’t know what would happen to the library,” she said. “It’s hard to say ‘save my job’ when there’s so many school employees at risk … but having a library with a librari-an, that’s really important too.”

Lars Howlett / Review

Farallone View Elementary School library tech Marilyn Garrison checks out books for students who have to stand on a step in order to better reach her desk.

See LIBRARIES a 6A

Public safety offi cials discuss Mavericks contest

By Greg Thomas[ greg@hmbreview.com ]

Representatives from 13 public safety agencies and private organizations con-vened Monday morning in Moss Beach in the fi rst of many meetings, all aimed at making future Mavericks Surf Contests safer for those onshore.

The meeting, termed a “critical incident debriefi ng,” was closed to the public, and most participants declined to make substantive comments about the nature of the con-versation.

“(Monday) was about fact-fi nding and gathering in-formation, and that’s all there was to it,” said Kath-erine Clark, contest co-di-rector. Some key topics teed up include the placement and number of safety vehi-

cles and vessels, the num-ber of private boats out near the surf break, and whether enough safety resources had been deployed, said San Ma-teo County Supervisor Rich Gordon.

“I’d suspect we’d need more county park folks,” he said. “There were only a few rangers, and I don’t think that’s suffi cient.”

The meeting took place nine days after the 2010 Mav-ericks Surf Contest washed into Princeton. Offi cials say such debriefi ngs are typical-

“(Monday) was about fact-fi nding and gathering information, and that’s all there was to it.”

Katherine Clark, Mavericks co-director

Lars Howlett / Review

An unidentifi ed man climbs around the fence surrounding Pillar Point Air Force Station in order to get a better view of the Mavericks Surf Contest on Feb. 13. Offi cials are hoping to cut down on dangerous behavior during future contests.

Lars Howlett / Review

“Danger” signs were stacked and ready for deployment the night before this year’s Mavericks Surf Contest. Many ignored the warnings on Feb. 13.

SPECTATORS MIGHT SEE TIGHTER RESTRICTIONS, LESS SURFING

See MAVERICKS a 6A

Wave of moneySave the Waves has issued a full report explaining how it came to call Mavericks the $24 million break. See story, Page 6A.

CITY LEADERS GIRD FOR ONGOING BUDGET SLUMP

By Mark Noack[ mark@hmbreview.com ]

Short of staff and cash, Half Moon Bay is heading toward some tough fi nancial deci-sions in the coming weeks — decisions that could include tax increases, new fees and employee layoffs.

The City Council and execu-tive staff met Saturday morn-ing in a strategic planning ses-sion aimed at prioritizing the

city’s limited resources after announcing a $2.1 million rev-enue shortfall.

Council members meet an-nually for a strategic planning session to set their long-term goals. In past years, the City Council held the meeting at a local hotel and hired a private consultant to mediate the ses-sion. The meetings were bare-ly noticed by constituents.

In contrast, this year’s meet-ing at the Portuguese Cultur-

al Center on Kelly Avenue was well attended by City Hall em-ployees and taxpayers, who were drawn by concerns about the sober new reality.

Council members directed staff to focus their efforts on fi nding ways to balance the city’s budget and keep the city fi nancially stable in the future. But as Half Moon Bay leaders sought to fi nd ways to correct the budget imbalance, they faced criticism from city em-ployees and members of the public who didn’t want a re-

By Mark Noack[ mark@hmbreview.com ]

Coping with dwindling revenues, Half Moon Bay leaders have decided to withhold funding from long-term programs aimed at enhancing local education and environmen-tal sustainability.

Last week, City Council members unani-

mously voted against continuing participa-tion in the Community Schools Initiative, an extracurricular program at Cunha In-termediate School to help provide students with the out-of-class tools for academic suc-cess. Funded equally between the county, city and school district, the partnership costs each agency $40,000 annually. That’s an ex-

Short of funds, city halts special projectsEDUCATION, ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS SIDELINED

See FUNDS a 6ASee BUDGET a 6A

STAFF WARY OF STILL MORE CUTS

County no longer trapping invasive species > 8A

John Claitor earns trip to Bakersfi eld > Sports, 5B