It is time to visit locked-down folks

But, for many of us, life is returning to a prepandemic state of affairs, courtesy of miracle vaccines. That even includes folks confined to nursing homes, long-term care facilities and other forms of protective housing.

For the most part, they can have visitors now. There are some obvious restrictions, but the doors are finally swinging open again after 15 months of lockdown.

It’s time to visit family members, friends, colleagues, neighbors and others who could use some human contact from the stirring outside world.

Mark Foyer is one of them. He’s been stuck in an Oakland rehabilitation center since 2015.

The former sports editor of the Half Moon Bay Review was struck down by Guillaine-Barre Syndrome, a neurological condition that can be devastating, in the spring six years ago.

He’s lucky to be alive. The ailment was not caught early by his physicians. The result is paralysis and a tough prognosis going forward. But he can have visitors now. It’s something he looks forward to. Call (510) 536-6512 to make an appointment.

FROM GUADALCANAL TO SOUTH CITY: For Victor Ornelas, pandemic or not, every day is a good day.

You can make that bold statement once you realize that he survived the chaos and hell of the World War II battle for the vital island of Guadalcanal.

The no-holds-barred fighting raged there nearly 80 years ago during the early months of American ground combat in the Pacific Theater.

Ornelas, who has turned 100, was a young U.S. Marine providing supplies to troops defending what became known as Henderson Field, an important airstrip originally under construction by the Japanese.

When the conflict was over, he married his wife, Hazel, in a ceremony on Treasure Island on Sept. 27, 1946. Their 75th anniversary is fast approaching.

They moved to South San Francisco in 1952. They raised their four children there in a home on Ferndale Avenue they purchased for the then princely sum of $12,000.

They scrambled to find $1,500 for a down payment. Their 30-year loan at 4% cost them $50 per month prior to paying it off early. They have lived there ever since.

Congratulations.

SAN BRUNO TSUNAMI OF NO VOTES: The recent overwhelming defeat of a proposed special levy to fund improvements for San Bruno’s aging storm drain system is one more indication that, for all intents and purposes, that town remains ground zero for opposition to tax hikes along the Peninsula.

The vote wasn’t close. The reported 1,833 yes voters were overwhelmed by a suburban tsunami of 3,310 citizens who said, “No way.”

The resounding defeat was nothing new. San Bruno residents have viewed tax increases with a collective jaundiced eye for decades. They are treated like a sort of fiscal plague.

The size and scope of this latest rout at the polls should give pause to officials of the town’s public school district. They have been planning to ask their citizenry to OK a parcel tax. Good luck with that.

To put it tactfully, if the storm drain project can’t generate even 40% of voters in favor, what chance would a school tax have when it would require a two-thirds margin to pass?

The odds don’t seem to be favorable.  

TOM BURKE SAYS GOODBYE: Tom Burke is hanging up his laptop. After 36 years working for the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, the Burlingame resident is retiring.

For almost 20 years, his column in the archdiocese’s newspaper provided information on people, programs and activities in Catholic parishes throughout the area. It became a favorite feature of regular readers.

But those days are over. The newspaper, Catholic San Francisco, is being replaced by a magazine to be published on a bimonthly basis, beginning in September. An online news and information presence will continue as well.

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