This is a great opportunity to get outside, enjoy some of Redwood Shores’ beautiful summer weather, and help to clean up and beautify Redwood Shores’ levees for the benefit of all of Redwood City. Each year, dozens of excited volunteers remove tons of debris including tires, wood, rubbish, and the typical flotsam and jetsam that accumulates. Every piece of refuse removed is important, no matter how small! 

The levee cleanup day is a fun and meaningful volunteer community event that helps the environment, and helps to beautify Redwood Shores. And for non-Redwood Shores volunteers, it’s a great opportunity to learn about the beauty of the Redwood Shores levees, enjoy the sight of a variety of wildlife, and experience incredible views of the bay. 

After the cleanup, a free barbecue for the volunteers will be served at Mariner Park, as a small ‘thank you’ for helping to beautify and enhance this important Redwood City resource. 

Contact Pete Hughes with any questions, at 650-594-0783 

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This is a day for the Shores community to come visit the school. The principal Cherie Ho and the teachers are excited to be able to show off the new school. All the classrooms will be open to view. Take a minute and come and check out the new school we believe you’ll be proud to see the latest addition to the Shores.

MilkShake Werks is known for its creamy homemade milkshakes and ice cream, and on Saturday the first person to finish a child’s size milkshake will win the grand prize including a trophy, $50 MilkShake Werks Gift Card and a t-shirt. Prizes will also be awarded for 2nd and 3rd places.

This event is MilkShake Werks’ latest effort in a fundraising push for schools which has included their “Brain-Freeze” Ice Cream Eating Contest and ongoing donations of proceeds from sales of all scoops and shakes made with their Birthday Cake ice cream flavor. Owner Leslie Widmann noted, “we’re very excited to reach our 3rd anniversary, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than to include our local schools and families in a really fun afternoon!”

MilkShake Werks is located at 256 Redwood Shores Pkwy. in Redwood Shores, just off Hwy 101. Their phone # is (650) 654-3131. They’re open Monday through Saturday from noon to 9pm and Sunday from noon to 8pm. To learn more about “Shake-It” visit MilkShake Werks on Facebook or www.milkshakewerks.com.

– Leslie Widmann

Application with the entry fee, $30/contestant deadline is on May 30th.

To get the application go to www.sanmateocountyfair.com  and click on the “competitive exhibits & contests” tab. From there it will show you a list of all the departments and applications that are available. Under Department Overviews there is the Piano Contest application, second from the bottom.

Please contact Sumi Nagasawa, director of the SMCF Youth Classical Piano Competition for more information or questions.

– Sumi Nagasawa, member of MTAC, MTNA

School will be starting EARLY this year at Carlmont August 12.

There will be a new superintendent as of July 1st — Jim Lianides who is the current assistant superintendent and Chief business officer.

Concerts & Performances

May 13 & 14th- There is a concert with all the bands at 7 P.M.

May 20 & 21- Choral Music will be performing.

For Tickets please visit:
http://www.carlmontperformingarts.com/

The entire pet-loving community is invited to bring their pets or special stuffed animal – costumes are encouraged for pets, and for humans, too! Get the registration form at Red Morton or Sandpiper community centers or the Community Activities Building, print the form on the City’s events website located at www.redwoodcityevents.org, or sign up by 11:30 am on the day of the Pet Parade. There is a $5 per entry fee to be judged in the contest and possibly win a $100 grand prize! There is no fee to walk along and just be part of the Pet Parade!

This year’s family activities include frisbee and high jumping dogs along with a fly ball demonstration, over 60 vendor booths featuring great products and services for pets and more, the hilarious dog weighing contest, an incredible dog agility and training demonstration, special pet/owner photo opportunities, the kids’ favorite – a petting zoo, craft making for everyone sponsored by the Redwood City Art Center three live radio stations, all-new Pet Parade visors and T-shirts, a live performance by the great band “Mid Life Crisis,” and a lot of special surprises!

Hundreds of people and their animals participate in each year’s Pet Parade which has become well-known as the “happiest event of the year!” Families will enjoy lots of food, vendor booths, entertainment, and more. Contest categories include: best pet costume, best pet and owner look-alike, most unusual pet, and best pet trick. Leashes are required, and all participants should bring water for themselves and their pets.

This event is sponsored and hosted by Redwood City and its Parks, Recreation & Community Services Department, the Redwood City Parks and Recreation Commission and the Redwood City Redevelopment Agency. Visit www.redwoodcityevents.com for information on the great variety of FREE music, theater, dance, movies, events, activities, and more taking place throughout spring, summer, and fall in Downtown Redwood City.

The Redwood City Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department provides recreational facilities and activities for all ages and interests, and supplies building and custodial services for City buildings. Redwood City Parks also operates the Fair Oaks Community Center, providing social, educational, and cultural activities, as well as information, referral, and counseling services to persons living in Redwood City and neighboring communities. Redwood City Parks is more than you think! Its website is located at www.redwoodcity.org/parks.

Visit Redwood City’s award-winning website at www.redwoodcity.org for information about the City and its services, the community, recreation programs, education, City government, and local business. Subscribe to Redwood City’s newsletters or other City documents at www.redwoodcity.org/egov.

– Jeri Joseph-Hover

– Redwood City Parks & Recreation Commission

To address the pedestrian safety aspect, and with the strong support of the Board of Directors of the Redwood Shores Community Association (RSCA), the City will be recommending that stop signs be installed on Redwood Shores Parkway at Cringle.

In response to community concerns earlier expressed to the City, staff had installed electronic speed and pedestrian warning signs, and also reconfigured the traffic lanes in an attempt to “calm” traffic and reduce speeds. While the pedestrian warning signs provide an additional level of safety to pedestrians, the other measures have not had an appreciable effect on traffic speeds (and unfortunately, the speed warning sign suffered a mechanical malfunction that we were unable to correct). There remains a slightly-elevated average speed (37 mph) near this intersection. It’s also reported that a high percentage of motorists continue to fail to yield to pedestrians attempting to cross in the crosswalk.

It’s important for the community to understand that the traffic volume and accident history at this intersection do not, in and of themselves, warrant the installation of stop signs. Additionally, stop signs are generally not recognized as devices for slowing overall traffic speeds. However, in order to further improve pedestrian safety at this intersection, the City is moving forward with this recommendation.

The City Council will be reviewing the recommendation at their meeting of May 24th. Interested members of the community are invited and encouraged to attend and join the discussion on this recommendation. The City Council meeting is May 24th, 2010 at 7 pm at City Hall, 1017 Middlefield Road in Redwood City. The staff report for this recommendation will be online at redwoodcity.org no later than Friday, May 21.

– M. Saber Sarwary PE,

– Supervising Civil Engineer, City of Redwood City

For further information about the Bridge Project, please see the City of Belmont Pedestrian Bike Bridge Project web page.

The City of Belmont invites the community to join in the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Pedestrian/Bike Bridge at the Belmont Sports Complex.

The new Pedestrian/Bike Bridge will be a safe means to cross over the freeway for access to the Belmont Community and Sports Complex.

The Sports Complex is located at 550 Island Parkway in Belmont near Ralston Ave. Please join us in celebrating the beginning of what will become such a cohesive community asset. The City of Belmont is Bridging the community!

Date: Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Time: 1:00 pm

Location: Belmont Sports Complex, 550 Island Parkway in Belmont near Ralston Ave

For further information please contact the City of Belmont website under Parks and Recreation at: http://www.belmont.gov or call: (650) 595-7425.

This is the second meeting about rail service. The first meeting (on April 29th) presented updated information to the community on the project’s schedule and process. At this May 11th meeiting, City staff will facilitate discussions about the project, including how concerns might be addressed and what the community’s preferences are on the alternatives. The City will later provide HSR with its official “comment letter” outlining the City’s specific issues on the alternatives. Attendees’ comments, concerns and opinions on the alternatives will also be provided to the HSR.

How will High Speed Rail be built through Redwood City? Learn, ask questions, and offer comments and opinions at this latest community information meeting.

WHEN: May 11, 2010 @ 7PM

WHERE: Veterans Memorial Senior Center, 1455 Madison Avenue, Redwood City

The course is open to residents of San Mateo county and the ‘cost’ of the course for participants is volunteering 50 hours in educational outreach to the community.  For more information, go to http://recycleworks.org/compost/mcprgrm.html or contact Jacqueline Rosine, Program Coordinator, at 650-599-1498.