Coastsiders breathed a sigh of relief last week as travel over Highway 92 became more manageable. Work to repair damage caused by a series of January rainstorms continues, but the long waits for construction have stopped for now.
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Hundreds gathered around Mac Dutra Plaza in Half Moon Bay on Friday evening for a vigil in remembrance of the seven victims shot and killed on two farms last week, the deadliest single-day mass shooting in San Mateo County’s history.
Although not required by California and not available at any of the Jefferson Union High School District schools, an on-site school nurse has traditionally been a cornerstone of a student's health and well-being. In the midst of a pandemic and growing concern about the mental health of teena…
U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Commander Joseph Messina kept steady hands on the joystick of the helicopter as he circled over Pescadero in two wide laps. Next to him co-pilot Lt. Joel Norton called out readings on the sprawling dashboard and communicated with radio chatter. Behind them, flight mechan…
Residents of San Mateo County can now get help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for storm-related damage. The announcement was made on Friday.
The Pacifica Open Space and Parkland Advisory Committee is soliciting nominations for the Open Space Preservation Award.
A reclamation plan for the Rockaway Quarry is heating up conversation again about the future of the property. The final Environmental Impact Report, including the city’s responses to the draft plan released last April, will be available this week and is expected to be the topic of conversati…
The Pacifica Sports Club welcomes three more athletes into the Pacifica Sports Hall of Fame on Feb. 25 when two Division I collegiate football players and a determined and ambitious Oceana High School athletic director join 164 athletes whose faces already grace the “wall of fame” at the Pac…
The Southern California doctor who drove his Tesla off a steep cliff near Devil's Slide on Jan. 2 has been charged with three counts of attempted murder.
Chunli Zhao, the 66-year-old Half Moon Bay resident who authorities say shot eight farmworkers last Monday, killing seven, has been charged with multiple counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, prosecutors said last week.
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Generous and heartbroken people from the Coastside and beyond were eager to provide assistance to victims and families involved in the Jan. 23 shootings in Half Moon Bay. Several funds have taken shape in the days since the violence.
Rescuers searched the Pacifica coast on Thursday for signs of a swimmer who was pulled from his friends and hasn’t been seen since.
With the continued rise in Bay Area housing prices, many teachers and educational staff need help to find housing they can afford with their salaries. Peninsula school districts are having trouble attracting staff as a result. Now, some of them — including those serving Pacifica — are doing …
Dry January is coming to a close for people across the country. For the uninitiated, that means they didn’t consume any alcohol for an entire month. But a splash of moderation can bring health benefits all year round.
The Half Moon Bay community was reeling after a devastating mass shooting at two locations. A lone gunman left seven dead and one critically injured at two local mushroom farms on Monday.
The risk of infection due to flu or COVID continues to be high in San Mateo County, according to the latest guidance by Louise Rogers, chief of the county Health Department. Despite that, county officials are ending Coastside treatment options.
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The sun is back, glinting off puddles left from the relentless parade of storms in January. Coastside residents spent last week cleaning up the mess left by wind, waves and rain, and reassessing the costs of living so close to the ocean.
Rocking the point
The Pacifica Senior Center is facilitating a trip to San Francisco City Hall in February.
Coastside Hope’s mission is to provide necessities to enhance the quality of life for all our neighbors. Our guiding principle is “Necessities for today, opportunities for tomorrow.”
▸ Government body: Pacifica Planning Commission
The Pacifica Historical Society is launching a four-session training for new docents starting from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 5, at the Pacifica Coastside Museum, 1850 Francisco Blvd.
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Updated 4:30 p.m.: Rescuers searched the Pacifica coast on Thursday for signs of a swimmer who was pulled from his friends by a large wave and hadn’t been seen since.
Becker to lead climate budget subcommittee
Tough going everywhere
A Stockton man arrested in Pacifica for driving a stolen vehicle and fleeing law enforcement has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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Pacifica’s new director of the Parks, Beaches, and Recreation Department, Bob Palacio, brings to the job his 31 years of experience working for parks and recreation departments in San Francisco and San Mateo.
January continued to make a splash across the Coastside over the last week as historic storms brought wave upon wave of trouble. Downed trees, massive boulders and rushing mudslides blocked roads and took down power, cable and internet connections, and an ominous hole opened on one of the mo…
The thing about a dramatic event is that once prolonged, it isn’t always dramatic. Case in point: For Pacifican Pamela Wiston, owner of the Successories boutique in Rockaway Beach Plaza, the last two rain-soaked weeks have been punctuated by uneventful days and disasters that didn’t happen.
The first thing to know about that sinkhole that opened on Highway 92 east of Half Moon Bay on Thursday: It’s not a sinkhole.
What most people call “fallen trees” and “broken branches,” experts like Igor Lacan call “tree failure.” Lacan is an environmental horticulture and urban forestry adviser at the University of California Cooperative Extension for San Mateo and San Francisco Counties. Lacan has some good news …
Linda Mar Beach
It’s 2023. Out with the old and in with the new. The season of gifting and getting is over, and for many now it’s time to honor resolutions about clearing the clutter of the past year, or years, and living a simpler, more organized life.
Helicopter rescue at Rockaway
A widespread internet and cellular service outage across the Coastside on Sunday was the result of a PG&E service call.
In the new year, local book clubbers will be expanding their literary horizons, one page at a time. And moving forward, members in Pacifica will be able to attend monthly meetings in person or via Zoom, which allowed book clubs to survive during the pandemic.
Pacifica artist Jerry Ross Barrish will be featured in the inaugural exhibition of the new M Stark Gallery in Half Moon Bay. “Protagonist,” which features emotive, gestural sculptures made from recycled materials, opens on Sunday.
Updated 3:25 p.m.: A boulder that that was blocking the southbound lane of Highway 1 north of the Devil's Slide tunnels was cleared by about 3 p.m., according to CHP. It was first reported in the lane at 11:24 a.m.
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UPDATED 1:55 p.m.: Travel across Pacifica and the Coastside only became more treacherous on Saturday amid another downpour. However, Caltrans apparently plans to reopen eastbound traffic on Highway 92 on Monday.
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Coastsiders can expect a mostly dry day today but difficulty just about everywhere they go on area roads.
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A series of storms continued to play havoc with area roadways on Wednesday. A fallen tree took down power lines on Terra Nova Boulevard. And an ominous "dip" materialized on Highway 92.
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San Mateo County has released a rundown of aid and resources it has provided to communities — many of them on the coast — since the rains began on New Year’s Eve. It’s important to remember that these services were often provided in partnership with municipalities, nonprofit organizations an…
Pacifica’s two public school systems endured last week’s storms in entirely different ways. Jefferson Union High School District was off on winter break; Pacifica School District sent students and staff home early on Wednesday and canceled classes on Thursday.
For more than a week, the Coastside has dealt with one storm after another that flooded local roads, toppled trees and knocked out power for thousands. Scenes of waves crashing onto Beach Boulevard and over the Pacifica Pier were broadcast around the world.
Pacifica School District Superintendent Heather Olsen last week announced her decision to retire from the position at the end of the school year. She has spent three decades working in the education field.
Over the past week, as waves overtopped seawalls and trees toppled onto houses and powerlines, Pacificans did what they so often do: took care of business and of one another.
Eye of the storm
Using data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Coastside meteorologist Jan Null plotted what may be the coast’s five largest 24-hour rain totals on record. Note: In some cases the totals could reflect more than 24 hours of data. If not the worst storms, they were monumental.
Many of California's water reservoirs have been at least partially replenished by the winter storms that have doused Northern California in recent weeks, according to state and local water data.
