Off Oyster Point near South San Francisco. No traffic jams, no storms, no Twitter.

I asked one of the workers there if they had seen an increase in abandoned/donated pets, and she said they had, in the past few years, as more owners are moving out of their homes and into rentals, or moving away altogether.

Also, check out great article on San Jose Metblogs re: the opening (Thanks Gary!).

I circled the Bay basically on bike + public transit. Amtrak to San Jose ($15 from Emeryville), Caltrain ($7) to MUNI ($2) and then cycled back home to North Beach.

Last May, I mentioned the agricultural quarantine that the Light Brown Apple Moth had caused statewide, and now we get official word that the aerial chemical spraying campaign is on it’s way to San Francisco.

The intentions of the chemicals used are to “create sexual confusion”, and get random male mating to occur, which shouldn’t be hard in San Francisco.

While the pesticides & insect “phermones” to be used claim on their containers “Harmful if inhaled. Avoid breathing vapor or spray mist,” that won’t stop California’s multi-billion dollar agricultural industry from forcing you to do just that.

Officials claim no “adverse” effects are expected when aerial dissipation of vast quantities of CheckMate OLR-F and LBAM-F will be sprayed over the Bay Area beginning as early as June. Tell that to hundreds of residents of Santa Cruz and Monterey counties who have reported health problems from last years coating. One of the more dangerous aspects contained in the sprays is a chemical called 2 hydroxy 4n octyloxybenzophenone, an endocrine disrupter that is contained in the “microcapsules”.

Either way, whether you like it or not, it’s your turn Bay Area…

State and local agricultural officials will “explain the Light Brown Apple Moth eradication program and address any concerns” in two “meetings” in SF & Oakland next week.

The locations & times of the two brief 1 hour scheduled public meetings are listed below, as well as info on the relatively untested stew they’ll be dropping on a vast swath of urban populous. A link to an anti-spray website and a likely useless petition is also included for those who wish to practice the futile prospects of “online opposition”.

Sprayings over San Francisco aren’t expected to begin until approx Aug. 1 and other areas to be sprayed as early as June include Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, and Daly City, Colma, Oakland, Piedmont, Emeryville, Albany, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Tiburon and Belvedere.

Aside from the sprays, the eradication program will also use a “stingerless” wasp that eats moth eggs. The wasps will be released at 1 million per square mile, to be done in the spring in advance of the aerial spraying, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

After a public outcry in Santa Cruz last year, the CDFA had Subterra, the Oregon based manufacturer whose only longterm testing has been on rats & rabbits, publically release the “proprietary” ingredients of the Checkmate LBAM-F spray last year, they are as follows:

Water

(E)-11-Tetradecen-1-yl Acetate

(E,E) -9,11 Tetradecadien-1-yl Acetate

Crosslinked polyurea polymer

Butylated Hydroxytoluene

Polyvinyl Alcohol

Tricaprylyl Methyl Ammonium Chloride

Sodium Phosphate

Ammonium Phosphate

1,2-benzisothiozoli-3-one

2-hydroxy-4-n-octyloxybenzophenone

SOURCE: California Department of Food and Agriculture
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/pdep/lbam/lbam_main.html

Direct link to a large jpg map of the proposed spraying sites in the Bay Area region

Petition to Stop The Fumigation

More Info in Opposition http://www.stopthespray.org/ and http://www.lbamspray.com/

The state knows public approval is an uphill battle, and a half million dollars has been set aside to assuage the public through the efforts of Porter Novelli, a corporate PR consultancy and subsidiary of Omnicom. “Crisis Management” is a Porter-Novelli specialty, whose founders came together working on Nixon’s re-election in 1972. Their later work for clients like gov’t agencies, the American Meat Institute, drug, liquor & fast food concerns has had them spinning “product recalls, tampering, environmental and natural disasters, regulatory and legislative issues, labor and factory incidents as well attacks [sic] from advocacy groups at the national as well as the local level.”

Federal Gov’t Press Release Detailing 75 Million That Will Fund The Program

Here’s a crappy cell phone foto for proof:

Of course, being less a journalist, and more a shy blogger kinda guy I’m always afraid to ask ‘em, lest I seem an “unhipster” like “duh” dude…

I mean it is “the mission” after all…the kinda place you’re just as likely to bump into a crack dealer or the mighty hip Mayor on New Year’s eve, or maybe even the mayoral coke dealer…

uh, like, who really knows…

But, if you’d like to find exactly wassup with these yakking Bart Station frequenting ne’er do ‘ells and would like an obviously exposed to the various “elements” sorta entertaining time, there’s always a couple dozen verbose folks gathered betwixt 10:00-12:00 most Thursdaze at the stairs there

…go ask em yerself…

Me, I’m bloggin “live” from the Kilowatt and I’m more worried about Friday… and my picks and some MP3z fer yer rock n rollin entertainment pleasure are listed after the jump chump…

First Up

Anyone reading this before 4pm still has time to catch T Bone Burnett, Neko Case, Jeff Tweedy and even John Cougar in Golden gate Park for the opening day of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Billionaire “private equity” dude Warren Hellman puts ‘em on his tab, and all you gotta do is watch…

John Cougar Mellencamp – American Dream pssst more Cougar classics at JefitoBlog

Longtime local and might I add, “Oscar nominated” gut bucket country act Red Meat is at the Knockout on Friday night… It’s a long story…but suffice to say they are better than Kenny Chesney…

Red Meat – Alameda County Line

I hear the hippee heathens are headed to Bay Meadows ( a short Cal Train ride away) for tomorrow’s Mother Hips meets the ponies performance…

If yer not familiar with the Mother Hips,,,here’s a sample from one of their more recent releases

The Mother Hips
“Time We Had” (mp3)
from “Kiss The Crystal Flake”
(Camera Records)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at eMusic
Stream from Rhapsody
More On This Album

oh and for those who’d like to rawk Canadian style … The Sadies are at DuNord, a band you may know better as the band that did the “Kids In The Hall” theme song… but that’s not all they do and they’ll be sharing the stage with the great Jon Langford as special guest, when he finishes entertaining upstairs with his legendary band, The Mekons, at The Swedish American Hall…

Anyhow, here’s one from the Sadies latest release…

The Sadies
“What’s Left Behind” (mp3)
from “New Seasons”
(Outside Music)

Buy at Napster
More On This Album

i’d love to go on and on…

but my drink is getting warm, the tamale lady is here… and some drunk guy just leaned over my laptop and told me Metroblogs is just an SFist ripoff… so I guess I’m outta here fer now…

see ya later folks… I’m gonna go party with some wayward Landscape Architects who just got into town for their annual wingding…

Huh? What’s that?
Oakland’s Ron Dellums shows off the Bay Area’s current emergency communications system he & Gavin Newsom intend to string together with $30 million in tax money they found laying around.

Apparently, moving radio waves & data between Oakland and SF is just a dream right now, but someday we may even be able to transmit communications all the way to Sacramento and San Jose. This of course requires building a special “emergency” system capable of true cross bay communications, and Dellums & Newsom, by golly, are just the sort of high tech, get things done political masterminds to take credit for this modern miracle possibly happening in your lifetime.

The two Bay Area big city mayor’s are excitedly announcing their 5 year plans to create communication between their once far off towns and add that getting a hold of over $30 million in federal dough would be a real good start.

I kid ye not, yesterday using the pretext of Sept 11th as a mighty powerful day to announce their grand plans, Oakland’s zombie grandfather dude, I mean, uh mayor, Ron Dellums and his devious youthful cross bay rival Newsom issued a joint press release.

The intriguing title was San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums Launch Regional Initiative to Connect Bay Area Public Safety Agencies

Just what is a regional initiative you ask?

Well first of all… it’s not just any initiative, it’s part of a “Super Urban Security Initiative”

Second of all it’s also “strategic”

Third of all it pays ” tribute to the fallen”

So don’t go making fun of it either…

Apparently the busy twosome, Newsom & Dellums have been hard at work behind the logistical scenes, and can now promise an actual “initiative” to create a working Oakland to SF gov’t emergency radio communications network that starts at the low, low introductory price of just over $30 Million!

The current system of two cans connected by string is considered outmoded by the guy who sells Motorola Razr accessories at the mall.

One gets the feeling that not since the telegraph has a communications breakthrough of this magnitude happened, and it’s nice to know that Bay Area emergency responders stand to benefit from the advancements in technology that might make this crazy dream a reality. Perhaps in another 5 years, whomever is mayor then might get to announce the invention of Cable Television, or Microwave Popcorn. One day it is believed, if things keep moving forward, man may even walk on the moon and Charlton Heston will awaken to find himself on a Planet of The Apes ( which is actually Earth !). Carnac predicts as well that Marky Mark will likely leave his Funky Bunch and then sign on to do a remake..

Well for those who were busy yesterday and somehow overlooked this stunning news, I’ll just let ya get at it yourself. It’s got some especially powerful & appropriate Mayoral quotes lauding their own joint decision making prowess. I proudly present this unaltered and largely unprecedented dual press release in it’s entirety after the jump…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Contact: Mayor’s Newsom’s Office of Communications, 415-554-6131
Paul Rose, Press Secretary for Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, 510-388-6721

*** PRESS RELEASE ***

SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM AND OAKLAND MAYOR RON DELLUMS LAUNCH REGIONAL INITIATIVE TO CONNECT BAY AREA PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES

“Bay Area Interoperable Communications Initiative” enables first responders to communicate on same frequencies during a major disaster

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, September 11, 2007 – Today San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums announced the nation’s largest urban area collaboration to streamline communications between first responders.

“Today, as we mark the sixth anniversary of 9/11, the best way we can pay tribute to the fallen is by giving our first responders the tools to handle a major disaster,” said Newsom. “By connecting our first responders, we are ensuring that we will be better prepared for future disasters — natural or man-made.”

“As we remember the tragic events of 9/11, the images are still clear in our hearts and minds,” said Dellums. “As heart-wrenching as that day was, we’ve all accepted the challenge to learn from it. This initiative provides our first responders with the ability to communicate with other cities and counties across the Bay Area, further improving upon the way our emergency officials can respond.”

The mayors said that the scarcity of radio frequencies has hindered the ability of public safety agencies to communicate with one another – an issue known as interoperability. Many jurisdictions use different or incompatible systems and equipment that create a significant barrier to effective communication during critical events or disasters. These problems were highlighted in New York City during 9/11. The Oakland firestorm and the Loma Prieta earthquake brought the same challenges to the Bay Area.

Over the past year, through the leadership of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose and the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Marin and Santa Clara – along with support from the Bay Area Super Urban Security Initiative (SUASI) – Bay Area jurisdictions formed an alliance, the Bay Area Interoperable Communications Initiative, that has produced a plan to streamline and connect the Bay Area’s first responders.

“Disasters don’t recognize city or county borders,” said San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. “By working together as a region, our firefighters, police officers and medical personnel can respond more quickly in times of crisis.”

***

Key Elements of the plan:

· Construction of a regional, shared communications network to provide voice and data interoperability between the Bay Area and into the Sacramento area. Funded by federal grants, completion is expected within one year.

· Implementation of a standards-based communications network utilizing new 700MHz public safety voice channels (available in 2009) in the urban areas, and VHF in the rural areas. This innovative hybrid design will provide seamless roaming and interoperability capability all on the same network.

Target Timeline for Completion of the Initiative

Five-year strategic planning process is currently underway. Project implementation began in 2006 and will continue to occur in phases. Dependent on funding, estimated completion at the end of 2010.

Funding Sources

$15M: PSIC Grant (Public Safety Interoperable Communications) for Bay Area

$17.5M: SUASI (Super Urban Area Security Initiative), which includes:

o 2006 – $6.5M

o 2007 – $11.5M

o 2008-2010 – to be determined

###

http://sfgov.org/site/mayor_index.asp?id=67505

We’ve all heard the media warnings of various Middle Eastern terrorists, not to mention Russian/Asian/Mexican and South American drug cartels & gangs coming across borders to reek mayhem, but few seem aware of the latest uninvited light brown guests from Australia & New Zealand that have hit California this year. Officials have logged almost 4,000 sightings of these destructive and deadly invaders, and there’s surprisingly little panic in the streets. State officials have put out an APB and are asking all citizens to be on the lookout, to immediately report any sightings, and some go as far as to suggest you kill on sight if you must to detain the suspect.

I’m talking about the Light Brown Apple Moth, who made his US debut right here in the San Francisco Bay Area, click here to see the PDF map. 80 percent of the moths trapped have been in Santa Cruz County, but the first sighting occurred in February in the Berkeley backyard of a retired entomologist.

It’s apparently a real menace to us all, with capability to produce three generations a year with an unparalleled appetite for foliage of all sorts. The state’s agriculture industry faces $100′s of millions in losses if this interloper gets a more serious foothold in the agricultural zones of the Central Valley, and already nursery stock & cut flowers from 8 Bay Area & Northern California counties are quarantined and not allowed to ship interstate.

More photos, and info and even what you can do, about this perplexing problem after the jump…

The quarantined counties are Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Contra Costa, San Francisco and Marin but last month one of the buggers turned up in Napa as well.

The Light Brown Apple Moth doesn’t just like Apples, and could prove troublesome for wineries who are already battling the Glassy Winged Sharpshooter.

The LABM as officials have abbreviated it, has also been found feasting on over 200 plants in 120 plant genera including trees like pear, peach, apricot, nectarine, citrus, persimmon, cherry, almond, avocado, oak, willow, walnut, poplar, cottonwood, coast redwood, pine, and eucalyptus. For an appetizer he also digs common shrubs and herbaceous hosts like grapes, kiwifruit, strawberry, berries (blackberry, blueberry, boysenberry, raspberry), corn, pepper, tomato, pumpkin, beans, cabbage, carrot, alfalfa, rose, camellia, jasmine, chrysanthemum, clover, and plantain.

A 9 member panel of officials, including international scientists are mulling interdiction methods that include phermone based traps, releasing sterile moths, and certain pesticides. After the panel issues it’s recommendations, of course begging for federal money to fight this new war is next.

Know Your Enemy, Be on The Lookout Folks :

Officials ask that you please dispose of green waste in an approved green waste bin provided by your county.If you see one of these moths around here, contact Lawrence Pong at the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

1390 Market St., Suite 210
San Francisco, CA 94102

PHONE:
(415) 252-3830 (Agriculture)
FAX: (415) 252-3869

E-MAIL:
Lawrence.Pong@sfdph.org (Agriculture)

links :

http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/pdep/lbam_main.htm

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/content/2007/03/applemoth.shtml

So I’m getting intimate with the train platform and its surrounding businesses. I can go to the drugstore at Sequoia Station and buy toothpaste or whatever, blow some money on a latte, or get a bagel. What I mostly do, though, is watch people and talk with people. This morning at coffee the most amazing woman in a tight puffy pink jacket with fur trim explained the mechanics of her hairpiece to me. There’s no way to describe the hairpiece without sounding melodramatic. It swirled, cascaded, shone, and made me want to twine my hands in her luscious chestnut tresses. Seriously, that was some pornstarlicious hairpiece! I forgot to brush my own hair this morning or even look at it. The other thing I do at the station in the cold grey morning is whip out my laptop and try to get on the Pizza and Pipes free wireless (like right now.)

No matter what, at the station there are always hunky guys in uniforms doing something. Police, security guards, dudes in orange vests and hard hats with a lot of things hanging from their belts like Harriet the Spy. Then there are smug-looking guys with manicures and nice haircuts with laptops and mountain bikes. There’s a category that I think of as “ladies in nurse shoes” who look like they’re going to work in a hospital or doctor’s office, where they’ll change into scrubs. The upper class looking women clutch their sparkly beaded handbags, lips pursed, brave and resolute, as if thinking “I can’t believe I’m actually taking the train!” Safari time, ladies. Me, I might look like I’m playing hooky from the alternative high school but if you look a bit more closely you will see the analogue to the mountain bike guys: a smug-assed GenX technocrat whose laptop bag cost more than the sum total of all the clothes I’m wearing.

On a recent trip to New York I noticed an odd synchronicity of shoes and bags. On the subway, people’s shoes always perfectly matched the social class of their carrying bags. Sneakers went with backpacks. Leather shoes (whether pointy or sensible) went with leather purses or classy-looking satchelly briefcases. And one category always had fancy square-bottomed twisted canvas-handled department store shopping bags, and the other had plastic bags from the drugstore. It was eerie. Here the rules seems a bit more mixed up.

Caltrain itself is lovely. Clean, bright, quiet, roomy, with comfortable seats. The ride through Redwood City reveals the interestingly squalid back of Cosco, a lot of grey-looking auto body shops in the very sweet neighborhood on the other side of the tracks in back of Target, and then the green, green, gated and walled backyards of people in mysterious Atherton. I think really rich Ents live in Atherton. Menlo Park has apartments, apartments, then a scrubby field, then the train station.

On the way home on Friday people all over the train (I walked from end to end) were drinking beer, kicking back, and talking to strangers. Was that special Friday night mojo? Or is Caltrain in the evening always like that?

I’ll have more to say about Palo Alto later.