So much sad news

I was surprised to see in Dr. Walter Bortz’s obituary a photograph of him in a wheelchair. He was a gerontologist with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. His motto was “use it or lose it.” He and his late wife, Ruth, ran the Boston Marathon each year and were members of Stanford’s over 50 running club.

 He was also my boss for several years when I ran a nonprofit organization in Menlo Park called the Age Center Alliance. Lucille Packard wanted Stanford University to have an Aging Center similar to the research/resource organization in Marin County. She left some seed money to establish it on an empty plot of land near her Children’s Hospital and named it the Age Center Alliance. I was hired as its first executive director. Today that visionary resource center has become a deluxe senior residence, called The V. I don’t know if Mrs. Packard would be disappointed. But there are several retired Stanford professors at the V who have received a Nobel Prize.

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I received the good news that there is a truce in San Mateo and the homeowners posting yellow signs opposing the formation of an historic district in the Baywood neighborhood have been asked to take them down. For now at least. Except for Jay and Anna Kuhre, who posted many.

Meanwhile, a group of Baywood residents, who have formed an unofficial alliance to advance the historic designation, are preparing a poll of residents. They have hired a firm of experts, Page and Turnbull as consultants. They do not plan to have signs. Instead they will be going door to door. They will also be sending an application to the State Board of Historic Preservation. A precondition — more than half of the houses in the proposed district must be contributors to an historical designation. Tiled roofs, mission style architecture for example.  There are already two certified historic districts in the city — part of downtown and Glazenwood. According to an Alliance member, there are 453 houses and islands eligible for listing and preservation.

The city is working to finish its general plan. It should be complete in February. Height and density limits in Measure Y will be on the November 2024 ballot. The city also needs to have a policy on historic buildings — what changes are allowed to the facades of historic houses and when or if demolitions are allowed. You can check the website for the city’s current language regarding historic buildings.

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In early October on a Sunday afternoon in South San Francisco, more than 300 people attended “Building Power for Community Resilience” in the era of climate change. They included students and faculty from Stanford University and the University of California, local government employees, engaged residents and religious leaders. State Sen. Josh Becker and Supervisor Dave Pine participated.  

Becker sent me the following: “The Climate Summit for San Mateo County was an amazing convening of the climate efforts that are taking place locally and regionally.  Kudos to THRIVE Alliance for giving organizations a chance to collaborate on the climate challenges facing our communities. I particularly appreciated the recognition of the issues facing our disadvantaged communities, and I am grateful for the proposed solutions for every part of my district. “

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San Mateo Rotary has been planning a major centennial celebration for  next year. Mitch Postel, director of the county’s History Museum, is also a Rotarian. He has been chairing a committee to plan for the event. It will be at a local hotel with a dining room big enough to accommodate the expected crowd of Rotarians from San Mateo and neighboring counties.

The main guest will be the head of Rotary International. Gordon McInally  is a Scottish dentist. He loves the traditional Scottish dish haggis — made of sheep’s lungs, heart and liver and minced with onions, oatmeal, suet other spices and mixed with stock. And he is a fan of  the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns. McInally often wears a ceremonial blue, green, black and yellow tartan.

The big question:  Will Dr. McInally wear his tartan or a business suit and will haggis be on the menu?

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