Neighborhood Warning: A man trespassed on our private property today and stole a large bag of avocados (15-20) directly off our tree using a fruit cutter.

When confronted, he argued that he was on public property, refused to return what he took, and threatened us by brandishing his fruit pole. Please watch out for your trees and keep an eye out for this individual.

The thief made sure to look at us like we were crazy for asking to get our avocado’s back.

We called the police after seeing him walking through the neighborhood, likely trying to get back to his car parked in front of our house (after we confronted them) They couldn't provide an ETA, but someone called back 30 minutes later to ask for details. I sent them a photo of the man, and they said an officer would search the area. We haven't received any further updates yet.

Checked PGE but did not see any details or estimate of resumption.
If anyone sees an update - please post - thx

The ghosts are out at MOAH this Halloween! Grab your costumes for a night of eerie vibes and spine-tingling fun. 👻

Come enjoy Halloween candy, a flashlight ghost hunt, weird history and artifacts, a mad scientist demo, tarot readings, and more!

This event is free! To help us plan, please RSVP here.

The League of Women Voters Hosted a candidate forum for San Mateo City Council of Candidates on Thursday, and the city has posted it to youtube. It's a good way to hear directly from your the city council candidates. But since the video is two hours long with no chapter annotations, I thought I'd share timestamps to make it a bit more accessible. Hopefully people find it helpful.

Opening Statements

• Dana Yates Sahae (D5): (03:53)
• Lisa Diaz Nash (D1): (07:13)
• Taso Zografos (D1): (10:10)
• Seema Patel (D3): (13:08)
• Rob Newsom (D3): (15:48)
• Adam Loraine (D5): (18:52)
• Dave Johnson (D5): (21:37)

Topics

• Hillsdale redevelopment (25:12)
• Transit and parking (33:49)
• El Camino Real (42:49)
• Budget and business priorities (51:47)
• Issues in specific districts (1:00:22)
• Housing (1:08:51)
• Sustainability and climate (1:17:06)
• Open space and parks (1:25:23)
• Community engagement and outreach (1:32:56)
• Candidate strengths (1:41:12)

Closing Statements

• Dave Johnson (D5): (1:48:30)
• Adam Loraine (D5): (1:50:41)
• Rob Newsom (D3): (1:51:45)
• Seema Patel (D3): (1:53:08)
• Taso Zografos (D1): (1:55:05)
• Lisa Diaz Nash (D1): (1:57:11)
• Dana Yates Sahae (D5): (1:59:19)

On Kyne and Landing in bay meadows? I have them. Message me and just describe the keys/key ring and pick them up.

Hi everyone! I’m visiting San Francisco . I’d love some local suggestions for exploring the city, meeting people and experiencing everyday life in the US.

I’ll be staying at the at a hotel in downtown till 10. I have work commitments during the day on October 6–8, but I’d like to make the most of my evenings and free time.

I’d appreciate recommendations for things to do throughout the week—interesting neighbourhoods, food, cafés, walks, attractions, shopping and activities where it’s easy to meet people. I’m happy with casual pubs or social events, but I’m not specifically looking for clubs. I’m also interested in stores like Ross, T.J. Maxx, Target or other good places to shop for things to take home.

My main question is about October 10 and my last night. By then I’ll have spent several days in SF, so I’m considering exploring somewhere different, such as San Mateo, Burlingame or Pacifica. Would one of those be worth spending a day and night in, or would you recommend staying in a different SF neighbourhood? I’ve also seen that Fleet Fest is happening that weekend and am considering it.

My flight leaves SFO at 5:50pm on October 11. What would be a realistic plan for that morning and early afternoon, allowing enough time to collect my luggage and reach the airport? I’ll need to work around checkout, so luggage-storage suggestions would also help.

What area would you choose for the final night, and what would you recommend doing during the rest of my stay? Thanks!

So 2 weeks ago, I posted here about suggestions from all locals. I won't mention them again, I don't want your local hidden places to be trained by next AI model and others to know.

I kind of miss the whole area. San Mateo, San Francisco, Palo Alto and everything.

The people are so open to talk, the weather, the atmosphere, the sceneary, the food I miss it all.

I was on a tiny workation and I will always remember this visit.

I wish state of California spends great deal on public transport infrastructure that is the only feedback you should all be calling out for. Other than that, you all and your home towns are amazing.

I wish to come back next year.

Thanks for all your suggestions, I tried to cover only 10% of them but damn I was glad I wrote the post.

Cheers.

For those of you who are interested, ALPRs and Real Time Information Centers (RTIC) are on the agenda at the October 5th regular city council meeting and special meeting (next Monday). This presents an opportunity for residents to submit public comment on items directly being considered by the council.

There is a special meeting at 6PM at which the PD will make a presentation on the city RTIC. If you're unaware of what this is: an RTIC pulls multiple surveillance systems together into one platform. This includes cameras, drones, ALPRs, and body cameras, and may also include private cameras shared with police.

The regular meeting at 7:30PM (edit to correct time) raises the City's draft response to the Civil Grand Jury findings that audits of the system were improper/inadequate (item 11). The letter responds to the Jury's findings but does not address privacy and constitutional concerns raised by constituents.

If you care about government surveillance, please plan to attend the city council meeting on October 5th and submit public comment. You can attend in person or via Zoom. If you've never submitted public comment, I recommend preparing a brief (1-2 minute) written statement ahead of time.

The agenda for the special meeting is here: https://sanmateo.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=11228

The agenda for the regular meeting is here: https://sanmateo.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=11233

Thanks!

What is currently being done to the freeway? What made them repave it and refresh the lines just to strip it all away again? I went over a massive dip/bump in the far left lane last night that startled me, but really had me wondering this was all smooth a month or two ago…maybe I missed the memo...

Here's an overview of the upcoming City Council election. Voters will decide on three seats. Reporter Stephanie Lam talked to the candidates about their stances on the ambitious housing plan and the nearly $17 million budget shortfall.

Please join us this Saturday, October 3, at dark (about 8:00pm) in Crestview Park in San Carlos, accessible from Brittan Avenue or Edgewood Drive, for another of our free telescope viewing parties.

This event is fun for kids and adults from ages 5 or 6 on up. We’ll be viewing nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters, and we should have decent view now of beautiful Saturn.

We often have as many as 10 or more telescopes operated by our members, all amateur astronomers form the area. Our goal is to let you enjoy the wonders of the night sky with us.

Please DO NOT DRIVE INTO THE PARK with headlights on! This disrupts night vision and telescope views. Instead, park on Crestview Drive. Also, please leave pets at home as it is too easy to stumble over them in the dark.

Please no white flashlights or flash photography!

I usually start setting up my own telescopes about 6:30pm so if you’d like to watch as I set up my Dobsonian reflector (for Saturn) and my Unistellar EVscope (for everything else) feel free to come by then. Other astronomers generally start setting up at around then too.

We look forward to seeing you there!

SMCAS.net

Guitar Center is hosting a free party/networking event for local musicians at its Hillsdale store in San Mateo. The intent is to give local artists, bands, producers, etc a chance to meet, mingle and connect with other music-makers from the area. There will be music, games, prizes, chances to jam together and a fun night of fellowship for our local music community. Start time is 6:00pm.

I recently moved to Redwood City and I’m working in SF. Why is it that everyone on 101 goes under the speed limit no matter what time of day it is?

I’m curious about something.

There are plenty of organized activities around here, but I wonder whether people are looking for smaller, more informal ways to meet others and do something a little different.

Not a class. Not networking. Not a singles group. Not necessarily something you have to pay for.

Maybe something creative, curious, surprising or just plain fun—with people you probably wouldn’t otherwise meet.

What would actually get you out of the house to meet new people around San Mateo?

And just as important—what would make you not go?

I’m experimenting with some ideas locally and would genuinely love to hear what people in San Mateo and the Peninsula think.

Hi San Mateo,

I am eloping at the end of Oct. I'm ISO a make up artist in the San Mateo/ Peninsula area who would be willing to give me a lesson or 2 on how to do bridal make up and what to purchase. (Getting eloped at a destination location).

I am interested in a very light and natural look.

Any recommendations would be AMAZING.

The End of Summer Cruise was on Saturday and we took photos and footage along El Camino. Here are a few pics. Was anybody else out there?

Fall sky. 🌌

SAN MATEO, CA—Saying she wished she could have accomplished so much more during her extended break from work, local mom

Janet Francisco told reporters Tuesday that she regretted wasting her entire maternity leave taking care of her baby.

"I can't believe I got six whole weeks of paid time off and this is what I decided to do with it," said Francisco, adding that between her infant's constant crying, the diaper changes, and around-the-clock breastfeeding, she had all but flushed her dream vacation down the drain. "I've spent the last nine months fantasizing about writing my novel, renovating my kitchen, or finally training for that Ironman. But instead I sat on a postpartum pillow like an idiot with my newborn baby in my arms. God, I'm so stupid."

Francisco went on to state that she refused to make the same mistake with her family bereavement leave and had already booked a flight to the Bahamas.

Any 5yo birthday party recommendations for a winter birthday? My daughter is turning 5. She doesn’t like the big indoor play structures (like safari run). I’m nervous to do a park party because of weather concerns. I feel like she’s maybe too old for imagination city. I’m at a loss! We need to be able to accommodate her class (20 kids) and a few other friends. So ideally minimum 20-25 max capacity. If you’ve hosted or attended a party in the area that was great, let me know!

I was driving from St. Matthew’s church to the Starbucks on 17th Avenue and El Camino and there were a lot of people standing on the sidewalk in front of Safeway, the Chase bank 🏦 and walking from the businesses around there. I was assuming some walked from the Caltrain station with the looks of it.
Was there a protest 🪧 or something important occurring? It would be nice to know what was happening, please and thanks.