10th Annual San Carlos Hot Harvest Nights Starts Tonight.

A Summer Favorite.

As if on cue with the absolutely perfect weather we’re having, the 10th annual installment of the very popular San Carlos Hot Harvest Nights kicks off tonight down on Laurel Street in San Carlos.     Tonight, and every Thursday night until September 12th, the northern stretch of Laurel Street is closed to vehicular traffic and transformed into an outdoor market of fresh produce, specialty foods, and live music.

This event seems to grow in popularity, since it seems noticeably more crowded every year.  But it’s a fun event, and a great way to bump into old and new San Carlos friends!  For more information on the event, or if you’re interested in hosting a booth, check out the page on San Carlos Chamber of Commerce website.

See you there!
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San Carlos AYSO 2013 Registration is this Week.

A Great Organization.

It’s that time of year again!  The San Carlos American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) is holding registration this week for the fall 2013 season.  Sign-ups will be this coming Wednesday May 1 from 7:00-9:00, and then again Saturday May 4 from 10:00AM – 2:00 PM.  Both registration sessions will be at the San Carlos Youth Center.   For more information and to pre-register electronically, you can visit the San Carlos AYSO website.

Of all the youth sports organizations that are around these days, San Carlos AYSO stands in a class by itself, probably only sharing the spotlight San Carlos Little League.  I have been involved with San Carlos AYSO for many years – first as a player when I was only 10 years old, then as a coach, a board member, and now a referee.   It’s one of the most well run and positive youth sports organizations on the Peninsula, which explains why so many kids are part of it every year.

So be sure to get the kids signed up this week!  I’ll be at the referee table on the Wednesday night registration session — come by and say hello!  Otherwise, I’ll see you on the pitch in the fall!
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San Carlos Crime Prevention Meeting: April 16th.

Focus on Crime Prevention.

If you’ve been keeping an eye on the local news lately, you know that there has been a rash of residential burglaries in San Carlos and surrounding communities.   There was a recent press release from the City of San Carlos warning about “door knock” burglaries, where the perpetrators first knock on the door under the guise of being a repairman or salesperson.   Once they determine that nobody is home, they quickly work to gain entry and quickly clean the house out of valuable.   It has been the most common mode of burglary lately, in what has become an epidemic of residential burglaries.

Next week, a neighborhood crime prevention meeting has been set up for the residents of White Oaks and surrounding neighborhoods in San Carlos.  The San Carlos Bureau of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department will be in attendance to discuss the recent string of burglaries, and to recommend ways that neighbors can protect themselves.  Here’s the notification that went out today over the Nextdoor neighborhood network:

Dear Neighbors of White Oaks and Surrounding Areas:

Due to the many residential burglaries occurring in San Carlos and surrounding cities a Crime Prevention meeting has been set up with the Sheriff’s Office to discuss these incidents and see how residents can better protect themselves, assist the police in catching these thieves and stop these crimes. Captain Greg Rothaus of the Sheriff’s Office will be present to give you an overview of what has been taking place and answer your questions about crime and other important police matters.

Meeting Date: Tuesday April 16, 2013
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: White Oaks School, Multi-use room, Cedar and White Oak Way, San Carlos.

Please take this opportunity to attend this important meeting, to connect with your neighbors and hear about what is happening in the neighborhood. We look forward to seeing each of you Tuesday evening.

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Poll: Is It Time for More Stop Signs on Laurel Street?

Head on a Swivel.

If you’ve ever driven the stretch of Laurel Street in San Carlos between Arroyo and San Carlos Avenues  then you’ll know it has become nothing short of a white-knuckle ride during peak hours of the day.   Between people backing out of parking spots unexpectedly, or hanging illegal U-turns, or having pedestrians crossing at half a dozen spots on the street, you really have to have your head on a swivel to safely navigate this street.  It’s surprising there aren’t more mishaps along this stretch of the road.

But two areas in particular on Laurel always make me grip the wheel just a little bit tighter  — I’m speaking of none other than the intersections on Laurel Street at both Cherry Street and again at Olive Street (one is by Peets Coffee, and the other by Bianchini’s Market.)   As you know, these are not currently 4-way stop intersections — traffic on both Olive and Cherry have stop signs, but not on Laurel.    Here’s a map of that area with the two intersections marked:

View Laurel Street, San Carlos in a larger map

I don’ t know why it is, but it seems like all that good stuff we learned in Driver’s Ed about how to negotiate a stop sign at a two-way intersection seems to have gone out the window at these two intersections.    It’s either drivers on Olive or Cherry who think it’s a 4-way stop,  and then try to cross when they mistakenly think that traffic on Laurel is going to stop.  Or, it’s drivers on Laurel who randomly stop at the intersection thinking it’s a 4-way stop, which confuses just about everyone (cars and pedestrians alike) who are trying to get across.  If there’s a Twilight Zone anywhere in San Carlos, it’s probably at these two intersections.

So at the risk of making Laurel Street look like Broadway in Burlingame (where there seems to be a stop sign every 10 feet) I think it’s time to put stop signs on Laurel Street at both of these intersections.  I think it will eliminate the rampant confusion that seems to overcome many drivers that navigate these intersections every day.

Time for a Poll.

So, what do you think?  Should San Carlos put additional stop signs on Laurel Street at the intersections of Olive Street and Cherry Street?   Or should they leave Laurel Street it as-is?   Register your vote in the poll at the top of the right sidebar of the blog.

Thanks for voting!
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A (Slightly) Stronger Stance on Loitering at Home Depot.

Day Laborers.

If you’ve been by the Home Depot in San Carlos lately, you’ve probably seen signs just like the one pictured here.  It’s one of many “No Loitering” signs that have been installed throughout the massive parking lot that’s shared by Home Depot, Lucky’s, Pet Express, and Dollar Store on Old County Road.  Consequently, you’ve probably also noticed that the congregation of day laborers that gathers every day is now concentrated more on the sidewalks of Old County Road and Howard Avenue, instead of all throughout the parking lot like it used to be.

It’s the latest step in the delicate balance of allowing the day laborers their right to look for work, while keeping it from becoming a nuisance to patrons of these four businesses.  And it marks a slight shift in the way Home Depot and the City of San Carlos have opted to monitor the situation which has been taking place in this parking lot for a number of years.

Previously “Hands Off”.

Up until recently, the City took a pretty hands-off approach in defining where (or even if) the daily throng of day laborers could congregate around Home Depot.  When I brought up the topic with the City a few years ago, they cited a previous situation that happened in a small Southern California community where they had passed an ordinance to prohibit the gathering of day laborers in front of their Home Depot.    The town was subsequently sued by legal rights advocates and the ordinance was deemed to be a violation of the rights of the day laborers.  This left the town with a hefty legal bill and still no solution to the problem they were trying to solve,

With that legal precedence in place, it’s completely understandable why the City of San Carlos and Home Depot did not want to step on that rake, so they opted to take a more passive approach of allowing the day laborers complete access to the parking lot, but monitoring the situation with police patrols and responding only if called up to do so.

A Tougher Stance.

About the time that police services in San Carlos transitioned to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department, Home Depot decided that they wanted to take a slightly tougher stance in controlling the access of the day laborers to their parking lot.   Since the parking lot itself is considered private property, they opted to put the signs that you see above at key access points to the lot.   They also hired a private security firm to politely remind any laborers that they can only congregate on the public sidewalks on Howard Avenue, Old County Road, and Brittan Avenue that encircles the parking lot.

The Sheriff Department’s role is simply to remind anyone they see loitering in the parking lot of the new policy, and to inform them that they can be arrested for trespassing if they don’t adhere to the rules.   To date, compliance has been 100% and no arrests have been made for trespassing.

This new stance seems to be a good compromise — the day laborers can still exercise their right to look for work where they have the highest probability of getting it.  And patrons of these four businesses can now park their cars and go about their business without any of the previous interference they may have encountered from some of the more aggressive of the day laborers.

What are your thoughts on this different stance?
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Friday Fun: San Carlos Has Talent.

It’s Not AGT, but it’s Close.

San Carlos Together is looking for contestants for the 3rd Annual “San Carlos Has Talent” event.  Contestants must be solo vocalists or instrumentalists, ages 7 to 18 years old. Contestants need to apply by today, March 8th, at Clock Tower Music — 676 Laurel Street.  The registration fee is $10.

Contact Susan at San Carlos Together by email at sancarlostogether@gmail.com for more details about the contest.

Who knows?  If they do well in this competition, they can audition with Howie Mandel and Howard Stern for America’s Got Talent and represent San Carlos on the big stage!
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Are you ready to step up to the most comprehensive data available about the San Carlos Real Estate market? Then subscribe to the White Oaks Blog for free by clicking here. Be sure to follow the White Oaks Blog on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WhiteOaksBlog , and on Twitter @WhiteOaksBlog.
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Want San Carlos Crime Data? It’s Now Online.

Sheriff Promotes Website, Social Media.

The San Mateo Sheriff’s Department has turned to the internet and social media as an innovative way to keep residents updated on the criminal activity that’s taking place in San Carlos, and throughout San Mateo County.   The cornerstone of this effort is a brand new website that allows citizens to search the Sheriff’s crime database to better understand what types of crimes are happening in their area, and who was arrested for committing them.  The site, known as Citizen RIMS, rolled out recently and has been gaining in popularity as people have become aware of its existence.

The site as it exists today is fairly rudimentary as far as features, but the information is good and it does offer the capability to get email alerts on crimes in whatever area you specify.    Of course, the usefulness of this site is totally dependent on the timeliness and accuracy of the crime data that’s uploaded by the Sheriff’s Department.   It will be very interesting to see how this site evolves over time.

San Carlos Ride-Along on Twitter.

The other big announcement is that the San Carlos Bureau of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department will be the first unit in the Department to conduct a “virtual ride-along” by posting live updates about their beat on Twitter.      That event will take place tonight, March 2 from 6PM until midnight on the Sheriff’s Twitter Account @SMCSheriff.   They will use the hashtag #SMCVRA for this and all of their ride-alongs.     But why stop at midnight, guys?  Doesn’t all the really “good” stuff (DUI’s, fights, etc.. ) happen after midnight?

Kudos to the Sheriff’s Department for utilizing the internet and the various social media tools to keep the public updated.  It will be interesting to see how these efforts evolve, and what other kinds of new and interesting ways they can employ technology to keep the citizens of San Carlos up to date.
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Sheriff Issues Another Burglary Warning for San Carlos

Increase in Break-Ins.

Yesterday, the San Carlos Bureau of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department issued a city-wide email alerting residents to a sudden uptick in residential burglaries in San Carlos.  According to the email, which is included in its entirety below, four homes have been victimized in San Carlos the past 48 hours alone, and thieves appear to be brazenly hitting these homes in broad daylight.   Once they determine that nobody is occupying the home, they are simply gaining entry by kicking in doors or breaking through a window.

These four burglaries are just the most recent that have been reported.  Just last week, good friends of ours on Wildwood Avenue came home to find their house ransacked and valuables stolen, and there are other recent instances of this occurring throughout San Carlos.  So sadly, this deplorable behavior appears to be on the rise.

Be Vigilant.

It’s more important than ever to keep a close eye on your home and your neighborhood.  These situations seem to be happening with more frequency, and broad daylight does not seem to deter the burglars.   If something looks out of place, don’t hesitate to contact the police.   And don’t worry about feeling bad if you called for no reason — you’ll feel even worse if you didn’t call and should have.

Here’s the bulletin from the Sheriff’s Office in its entirety:

San Carlos has experienced four residential burglaries in the last 48 hours. All involved residences have sustained forced entry via door kicks. Property stolen includes electronics, jewelry, camera equipment, money and other various items of value. The victim residences are located in: 100 block Northam, 900 block Woodland, 1900 block Eaton and 200 block Clifton. The Sheriff’s Office is strongly urging residents to be vigilant in recognizing suspicious persons and vehicles. Suspects are likely knocking on front doors first, as means of determining whether the occupants are home. Side and rear doors appear to be preferred. However, front doors which are primarily secluded from the street are being kicked in. Beware of solicitors or other subjects making contact at your home. These burglaries are occurring during the daytime; between 8am and 5pm. The Sheriff’s Office asks that ANY suspicious activities or vehicles be immediately reported by calling 911.

Let’s be careful out there.
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