A walk down memory lane

Cross the street and walk by an ice cream store named Chill Spot Rendezvous. The next building is a homemade ice cream parlor followed by Fabulous VIP Nails. 

Next door, 255 Baldwin Ave. now houses an auto broker. It is where former San Mateo councilwoman and Realtor Jane Powell once held court. She was a power to behold with her towering presence topped by an exotic beehive hair style.

At 233 Baldwin Ave., the ornate arch with the colors of the Italian flag below are all that remain of a popular inexpensive Italian restaurant where you could bring your own bottle of wine.   Bella Mangiata was the name. Then there is a laundry, Sunrise Cleaners. Perhaps a column on the other side of Baldwin next time.

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As the Dow slid 950 points, my blood pressure rose to extreme levels.

As with so many seniors I depend on the stock market and my individual retirement account. Today the money markets are more stable. But for how long?

And please, Donald and Elon, stop your Director of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy from toying with the availability of the measles vaccine. Before the vaccine was available I almost died of the disease.

So did my 4-month old son. Ironically the new vaccine was available within days.

It has saved so many lives. Before the vaccine, measles was a deadly disease and could cause permanent brain damage and hearing loss.

People born before 1957 are generally considered immune to measles because they likely contracted the disease during childhood before the vaccine became widely available. Measles was highly contagious, and most individuals born before the vaccine were exposed and developed natural immunity. 

I was born before 1957 but I never had measles. I caught the disease from one of my children. I coughed all night and drank a bottle of cough medicine which didn’t help. My son’s pediatrician made a house call and gave me and my two sons medicine that was supposed to help ease the symptoms. It did and in time we all recovered. 

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I am tired of reading about the problems on State Route 92 in San Mateo.

Not mentioned is the reason why it is a treacherous drive. Generally, exits in urban areas are about a mile apart. In San Mateo, the distance between two popular exits, El Camino Real and Delaware Street on 92, is a quarter mile. There have been many attempts to fix this, including  managing the traffic flow at peak times.

When I was on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in the 1990s I met with the head of Caltrans District 4 about the new bridge. I hoped we could establish a rail line between Hayward and San Mateo. But for many reasons I was told that was not possible. We discussed a moveable barrier similar to what the Golden Gate Bridge has but Caltrans did not support that either (The Golden Gate bridge is managed by an independent authority and is not beholden to Caltrans).

As long as Peninsula drivers use State Route 92 as a local road like El Camino Real, it will be a problem. I drive it every day. It is dangerous. And the solutions are not much better.

Sue Lempert is the former mayor of San Mateo. Her column runs Mondays. She can be reached at sue@smdailyjournal.com.