Human fertilizer is on the horizon

The new law, similar to moves in several other states permitting the option to have one’s mortal remains become what amounts to worm fodder, is scheduled to take effect within four years.

Think about it. You can inform your beloved survivors that, in the end, you wish to return to the sod and become what amounts to a form of family-friendly fertilizer. 

It’s a rather disturbing concept. It begs the obvious question: Is that all there is?

For some of us, the idea of becoming a mini-mound of mulch is not entirely attractive. But here’s a happy thought: Perhaps the inventive pols in Sacramento could make human composting a tax write-off.

Goodness knows the hard-pressed residents could use any sort of financial break available. Even if it’s quasi-Vigaro.

LOCAL PARKLETS IN QUESTION: The subject is being bandied about in casual, in-person conversations and online. Have parklets been contributing to flooding issues in Peninsula downtown districts?

Parklets are covered outdoor dining facilities that typically take up parking spaces in the street. They became popular during the COVID pandemic and many of them remain in place.

After downtown Burlingame experienced significant flooding recently, your intrepid scribe checked out nine businesses (none of them restaurants) to get a handle on the situation.

Of the nine employees/owners interviewed in this very informal poll, three speculated that the parklets contributed to the flooding, three said they probably did not, two had no opinion at all and one curiously indicated the parklets were actually helpful by “slowing down the flow of water.” 

The bottom line: It’s not entirely clear. But, at least there is an obvious impetus to make sure the wooden structures don’t impede planned drainage in the future.

STATE ROUTE 92 WIDENING WAS DOA: Driving to and from the coastside continues to be a dicey daily proposition due to weather-related issues along portions of State Route 92.

So it’s worth reminding folks that, decades ago, that direct route between San Mateo and Half Moon Bay (a former link used by stagecoaches in long-ago decades) was scheduled to become a freeway.

Due to intense pressure from a variety of sources, many of them of an environmental/no-growth bent at the time, the four-lane plan never got off the drawing board; it was never completed back in the 1960s. So it ends at the Interstate 280 junction.

Not that a four-lane freeway would necessarily solve all of the latest issues plaguing State Route 92 during this period of intense rain and wind. But, at least in theory, it might have helped.

SHOULD WE THANK THE 1%: Do you remember the despised 1%? That’s the derided demographic that’s a frequent target of those on the left.

It’s their studied view that the 1%, as a cash-bloated cohort, has too much wealth and needs to pungle up ever more cash to finance California’s vast and ever-expanding budget needs.

How soon we all forget. In actuality, the top tier of the affluence scale (the 0.5%) already contributes a staggering 40% of the entire state income tax haul.

Maybe we should all thank them and pray they don’t depart for no-income-tax states like Nevada, Texas or Florida anytime soon.

SUCH A DEAL IN ATHERTON: It’s well known that the tiny town of Atherton, ZIP code 94027, has the most expensive homes in the United States. That’s not news. 

The last time we checked the median price of an Atherton manse it was a cool $9 million. Which leads us to a recent ad for a tidy, ranch-style charmer in that pleasant burg.

The blurb described those digs as being “pleasantly priced” at $5.59 million. Pleasantly? Is that a steal? Whew. Must depend on your perspective. 

You can get in touch with John Horgan by email at johnhorganmedia@gmail.com.