Ways to Get Involved (and Score Some Goodies Along the Way)!

Just a friendly reminder that tomorrow, Sat. April 24th, marks the 7th Annual Habitat Restoration Day. The site of this year's restoration project is Constanos Canyon, so please meet at Humboldt and Placer at 9am if you plan on coming! From 9am - 1pm, volunteers will be helping to remove invasive plants, thereby allowing native plants to grow and thrive. As you can see from the photos below of some of last year's volunteers, it's a great event for youths, an opportunity to spend time with your kids, and plus...you'll go home knowing you did a great work for the community (with a new t-shirt to show for it!).

Another place where the youth can spend their time is on the new new San Mateo County Library "eBranch". The site launched last week in conjunction with National Library Week. New features of the eBranch are: the Kids Site homepage, the Teen Site homepage, and the Brisbane Library Landing Page. This landing page features detailed information about the Brisbane Library's features, partnerships, and upcoming workshops. For instance, on Tuesday, May 4th at 7pm, the Brisbane Library will be hosting a Bike Safety Workshop, sponsored by the Peninsula Traffic Congestion Relief Alliance. It's led by a certified bike instructor from the League of American Bicyclists who will provide:

• An interactive bicycle safety presentation.
• Information on the current traffic laws for bicyclists and drivers, bicycle maintenance, maps and booklets.
• Information about Bike to Work Day, and commute alternatives and incentives for a "greener" Peninsula.

Register two days before the workshop, and be entered to win a $25 gift card from a local bike shop (must be present to win!)! Register at the Library, or call (650) 591-8286 x237, or e-mail victorino@smcl.org. Oh, and one more thing - goody bags will be provided to the first 25 attendees per workshop so make sure you register and stop by the Library at 7pm, May 4th!

Blazing On Ahead

In keeping with the community's values to be environmentally-progressive, the City has taken advantage of Federal Stimulus funds from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to convert approximately 400 of the City's standard "cobra head fixture" street lights and a portion of the Sierra Point Shared Use Parking Lot lights into energy efficient LED street lights (exampled below):

A portion of the funds will be from the CEC Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants and PG&E rebates; the majority of the funds will be from the CEC Low Interest Rate 1% Loan Program. The loan program will be paid back with the energy savings accrued during the loan period with no out-of-pocket cost to the City. These new LED lights will greatly increase nighttime visibility, plus have significantly longer lifespans and reduced maintainance costs. And of course, they consume much less energy...while having a lower environmental footprint.

But there are the kinds of footprints that the City (and environment) love to see, and those are of the volunteers who come out annually to participate in Habitat Conservation Day. This year's event is on Saturday, April 24th from 9am - 1pm at Costanos Canyon. The City, along with the Parks, Beaches, and Recreation Commission and Open Space & Ecology Committee invite you to bring your family and friends to remove invasive plants in the Canyon, making room for native plants to thrive. Please wear work clothes and sturdy shoes, and bring gloves and small clippers if you have them. The tools, training, food, drinks, and t-shirts will be provided. We hope you can celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day by taking part in the 7th Annual Habitat Conservation Day! For more information and to RSVP, please call 508-2118 or e-mail Lisa at lpontecorvo@ci.brisbane.ca.us.

Have you signed your kids up for Summer Camp yet? Registration is open to all who are looking for fun activities and programs that their kids, grades K - 6th, can take part in! Click here to view the program schedule and the many activities and field trips that have been planned.

And if you have younger kids, then you would be pleased to know that Silverspot Co-operative Nursery School is accepting applications for enrollment, with priority given to Brisbane residents. The school serves families with children 2.5-5 years of age. If you're interested in touring the facility, please call 657-0142.

A tremendous CONGRATS to the U-14 Brisbane Superwomen for becoming the 2010 AYSO State Cup Champs! Your hard work, dedication, and team work paid off in full! Kudos to you, coaches Leslie Davis and Alex Reyes, and all the parents and volunteers who helped the girls realize this great success! More information about the Brisbane AYSO can be found on their website, www.brisbaneayso.org.

Public Meeting this Wednesday to Discuss High School Issues in Brisbane

A Council Subcomittee of Councilmembers Sepi Richardson and Cliff Lentz will be overseeing discussions regarding high school issues in Brisbane this Wednesday evening, 6:00pm-8:00pm. The Subcommittee has invited Peter Burchyns, Secretary to the County Commission on School District Organization, to come speak to them and members of the Brisbane community in an open meeting in the Brisbane City Hall Council Chambers, or Community Meeting Room, located at 50 Park Place.

Peter will be discussing the various processes relative to establishing and changing school district boundaries, as well as explaining the difference between the different types of districts and how decisions get enacted. So if you're interested in these types of discussions, then come to the meeting on Wednesday night. We look forward to this information session from Peter, and being joined by representatives from the Bayshore Elementary, South San Francisco Unified, Jefferson Union High, and Brisbane Elementary School Districts.

Streets Alive Canceled Due to Rain

You can't beat Mother Nature...as was experienced this morning when volunteers and performers descended to downtown Brisbane, ready to take part in Streets Alive San Mateo County. Alas, we still had our own share of fun, out of the rain...

Danielle Hope, Brisbane resident, demonstrates that hula hooping isn't just for kids!

Councilmember Cliff Lentz stopped by the Sunrise Room where we'd gathered to see if the rains would let up. Susan Maynard, Brisbane resident and Dolby employee, was all set to man the Bike to Work Day table and hand out goodies!

Roxana Griggs and her son Robby were ready to lend a helping hand wherever was needed.

Leland, on the Brisbane Public Works crew, had made sure the streets were again open for vehicular traffic before snagging a Streets Alive volunteer shirt.

Cris Hart, Parks, Beaches, and Recreation Commissioner had brought sound equipment to broadcast some lively tunes for the event (in case you're wondering, "FOH" stands for "Front of House").

Jen, from the County Public Health Dept. was dressed for the elements and ready to volunteer her time for Streets Alive.

Ramiro, off duty from the Public Works Crew, had also come to the event site prepared!

The planning team: Management Analyst Caroline Cheng, PB&R Commissioner Linda Almeida, Recreation Supervisor Teresa Madrigal, and Parks and Rec. Director Jim Skeels will be looking forward to the next Streets Alive event...which will hopefully be taking place on a more dry day!

THANK YOU to all the volunteers and also to the County for making what would have been, had the weather cooperated, a fantastic community event. It was amazing to see how quickly everyone came together to offer their support...a testament that the City of Brisbane is one that cares about building community, and one that's healthy while doing so!

Springtime Is In the Air!

The Mountain is green and lush, the wildflowers are blooming...springtime is definitely in the air!

But you know what they say about spring...and namely about the month of April. (April showers bring May flowers!). Rain is expected for Sunday around mid-day, but at this point, Streets Alive is still on! The event starts at 10am and will be filled with performances by class instructors, blood pressure screenings by Seton, FREE recipebooks handed out by our own Brisbane firefighters, lots of giveaways from the Census and Bike to Work Day volunteers, and FREE FOOD! Before the event even happens (because there is the possibility that it could be canceled due to the weather), we wanted to thank the Public Works crew for helping to close the street and mapping out a traffic control plan to ensure the roadways stay safe, Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission and City Council for their ideas and support for the event, facilities attendants for helping with set-up and clean-up, Cris Hart, PB&R Commissioner for his help getting the sound equipment together, Recreation Supervisor Russ for getting all the signage printed up, and the residents in the community who are volunteering their time to man tables and help with set-up! It's true that many hands make light work! So if the sun's shining at 10am, come on down to the corner of Visitacion & San Francisco for what will ensue to be a fun-filled afternoon...and hopefully, sans the rain!

Now we have blogged a number of times about the 2010 Census, but it is for good reason. Did you know that for every person that turns in their Census, that's an additional $1,694 that the community gets, per year! And if you need a bit more incentive, you can text 738674 from your smartphone (or any phone which has a web browser), with "SV" in the message box. You'll get a message back offering you to take the "Be Counted" challenge - download the link, pledge to return your Census, and get access to 24 songs for free on iTunes! And if you just want to turn in a form, but misplaced yours, there are more available at City Hall (they're also available in 6 other languages!). The deadline to turn in your Census is April 19th. If you haven't turned it in by then, then a Census enumerator will come knocking on your door...and may return up to 6 times. So go on...and get those forms in!

Below are some upcoming events to watch out for (with more info. on each coming in the next couple weeks):

• 4/29 - Habitat Restoration Day at Costanos Canyon


• 5/4 - Bike Safety workshop held in the Community Center (250 Visitacion Ave., below the Library)


• 5/13 - Bike to Work Day

The Time is NOW

If you haven't already done so, open those Census envelopes up, take 10 minutes to fill it out, and mail it back TODAY. Yesterday was Census Day, marking the halfway point for Census outreach efforts in making sure everyone is counted. If Census forms are not received and processed by April 22nd, it is likely a Census Enumerator will visit your household. You can avoid this by simply completing the 10-question Census form. If you have any questions, Roxana Griggs from the Census Bureau is available to answer those. Visit her at the Questionnaire Assistance Center located within Brisbane City Hall (50 Park Place) M, T, Th, F 10am - 1pm and W 4pm-7pm. And remember, if a Census Enumerator does show up on your doorstep, make sure they are wearing a Census Bureau badge that looks like this:

Also, you are highly encouraged by the Census Bureau to request to see the enumerator's photo I.D. And please be aware that the Census Bureau will NEVER call you on the phone to request any personal information - so don't give it! Just turn in your Census form and you'll be done for another 10 years.

Next Sunday, April 11th, a portion of San Francisco Ave. will be open for people to walk, bike, run, roll, play, and enjoy being active and healthy. Streets Alive San Mateo County will take place from 10am - 2pm, so come on down to the corner of Visitacion & San Francisco Ave. where you'll be greeted with healthy food, giveaways, and firefighters giving out a Healthy Firefighter's Cookbook! There will also be FREE blood pressure screenings and health information available, as well as promotional materials about Bike to Work Day (which takes place Thursday, May 13th). Before you leave, take in performances by class instructors, and tour through the Community Garden where you can also learn about composting. May Streets Alive inspire us all with ways in which we can be more active and healthy!

Get your kids started on this over the weekend by attending the Silverspot and Lion's Club Easter Egg Hunts! On Saturday, the Mothers of Brisbane will be hosting an Easter Egg Hunt and Easter Bunny Visit for kids ages 0-5 yrs. at the Tot Lot at Silverspot (4 Solano St.) The Easter Bunny arrives at 10am and the Easter Egg Hunt begins at 10:30am. The older kids will have their own hunt at Lipman Middle School, sponsored by the Lions Club, on Easter Sunday, beginning at 1pm at Lipman Middle School (1 Solano). As shown in the photo above, it's a time that kids, and parents alike, can enjoy together. (And should it rain on Sunday, please head to the Community Center - 250 Visitacion - where the festivities will ensue!)

Temporary Pool Closure

At about 10:30am this morning, a mechanical equipment breakdown occurred at the Brisbane Community Pool. This happened in an area not open to the public and therefore would not have caused injury or harm to pool patrons. However, because safety is of the utmost concern, the facility will be closed to the public until all repair work has been completed. We don’t foresee this going into the weekend…but still, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate the community’s patience and understanding while the problem is being fixed.

Update 4/2: The pool remains closed today. Contractors are working to get the pool back open ASAP.

Update 4/7: The pool was back open on Monday, and is operating under its Spring Hours.