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EVERY CHRISTMAS TREE SOLD AT HALF MOON BAY LOT HELPS WOMAN FIGHT CANCER
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (KGO) --
There's a little more riding this year on the success of a local tree lot. Every Christmas tree sold is helping a woman heal. This is the fourth year the Cozzolinos have sold Christmas trees in Half Moon Bay but this year, Stephanie Cozzolino has kept an eye on business from inside a little green booth. She would like to be out on the lot but the booth protects her from the elements. "I go in the trailer if it's too cold. I just need to make sure I don't get sick because that's going to delay my treatment," she said. At 26 years old, Stephanie was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer in October. Her husband Tony is still rattled by the diagnosis. "You just kind of wish you could blink and it's all over and she's healed. But we know that's not the case. It's going to take time," he said. Her battle with cancer has added a new sense of urgency for this crop of Christmas trees. Christmas tree season stretches from the day after Thanksgiving 'til Christmas Eve, but the Cozzolinos hope to have all their trees sold by the end of next week. Tony hopes to spend as much time with Stephanie as possible because her treatments are going to intensify. The good news is she's part of an experimental program at Stanford and her mom says it's great to see family pull together to help. "It just sounds so corny but how important family and friends are, it's made a huge difference for us," Stephanie's mother, Leslie Meyers, said. Since word got out of her illness, the community has rallied around them. "We've had volunteers down here almost every single day. Friends, family. They even started a GoFundMe for us," Tony said. "I would just like to say thank you for everybody who has supported us," Stephanie said. This Christmas season, each time a tree is picked by a family from this lot, it will be a big help for the Cozzolino family in their time of need. Click here to donate directly to the Cozzolinos. Cozzolino's Christmas tree lot 501 San Mateo Rd (Highway 92) next to Spanishtown Half Moon Bay, 94019 Web Link Went to the 1 year celebration of the Montara Cafe yesterday. Great time and great turnout. Nesta performed to start off the party. Then it was off to watch the Niners win!
Congrats to #TeamPiccolotti with an undefeated record of 5 amateur fights and 3 professional cage fights! Big win last night with a KO late in the 3rd round! Exciting finish!
Nine arrested after drugs seized on South Coast Authorities say they found more than 5,000 pounds of marijuana associated with a panga boat that turned up at Año Nuevo State Park on Friday. Photo courtesy U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Posted: Monday, August 4, 2014 12:40 pm | Updated: 12:06 pm, Tue Aug 5, 2014. By Julia Reis [ [email protected] ] |7 comments Nine suspects were arrested after a 40-foot vessel carrying 5,100 pounds of marijuana was intercepted by authorities in Pescadero late Friday night. The panga, a lightweight boat commonly used by drug smugglers, was seized at Año Nuevo State Park around midnight on Friday and six men were initially arrested. Three additional suspects were taken into custody around 10 a.m. on Saturday, according to Virginia Kice, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security notified San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force agents that such a boat might be landing off the coast. The agents witnessed two large vans enter Año Nuevo State Beach around 10 p.m. Friday and meet a panga that landed there. Agents stopped the vans as they drove onto Highway 1. The panga floated off after the marijuana had been loaded off the boat, but a local fisherman spotted it adrift. It was recovered by the U.S. Coast Guard, according to a release from the San Mateo County district attorney’s office. The boat was piloted from Mexico, and four of the suspects are residents of Sinaloa, Mexico, authorities say. The other suspects are from San Diego and San Jose, Calif. The defendants are 20-year-old Luis Farid Gonzalez, 36-year-old Mario Gonzalez, 39-year-old Juan Hernandez, 50-year-old Juan Valdez Lopez, 28-year-old Luis Espinoza Mendoza, 39-year-old Estaban Flores Salazar, 19-year-old Joan Sicairos, 38-year-old Mark Richard Teixeira, and 33-year-old Phin Yo Vorn. All of the defendants, with the exception of Mario Gonzalez, who was unavailable for court, pleaded not guilty on Monday. The preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 14. Bail for all the defendants has been set for $1 million, and all are currently being held at San Mateo County jail. Kice said it’s possible that the defendants could still face federal prosecution, as well. Agencies that assisted with this incident include the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which is the lead investigative agency, the Border Enforcement Security Task Force, San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard and the Bureau of Land Management. This incident is the second of its kind in recent months. In May, a little more than 1,200 pounds of marijuana were seized from an abandoned panga that washed ashore at Pescadero State Beach. From Oct. 1, 2013, through July 9, 2014, there were two drug smuggling vessels seized in San Mateo County along with 1,026 pounds of marijuana. No arrests were made in conjunction with these incidents. According to statistics provided by Kice, the majority of smuggling apprehensions during that time took place in open ocean waters, including those off Mexico. Adam Piccolotti fighting in Dragon House 17. Born and raised on the Half Moon Bay Coast California going for his 3rd professional cage fight victory. With an undefeated amateur record. Fighting for Raul Castillo Martial Arts in Half Moon Bay and Team Piccolotti. Sponsored by Cruiser Lifestyle Clothing Company out of Half Moon Bay Ca. Aug. 9th at Kezar Pavillion in San Francisco (@Haight St./Golden Gate Park). Doors open at 3pm fights start at 4pm. 15 Professional fights including 2 title bouts and a women's flyweight bout. Buy Tickets here $40 Gen Admission or Buy at Raul Castillo Martial Arts 756 Main St. Half Moon Bay.
Khosla slams media, decries Martins Beach 'blackmail'By Aaron Kinney
Article There is no public access to Martin's Beach in Unincorporated San Mateo County, Calif., photographed on Thursday, July 19, 2012. Vinod Khosla, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems and a green venture capitalist, bought the beach land in two lots in 2008 and has closed the public access to the beach. (JOHN GREEN/Staff) MARTINS BEACH -- In his first interview about the coastal access battle at Martins Beach, venture capitalist Vinod Khosla told this newspaper he doesn't intend to back down, blasting news coverage of the controversy and accusing his opponents of "blackmailing" him into giving up his property rights. Khosla spoke hours after his attorneys delivered their closing argument in a closely watched trial over the publics ability to visit the secluded San Mateo County beach. The Surfrider Foundation argues Khosla violated the California Coastal Act by failing to obtain a development permit before permanently locking the gate at the top of his private road off Highway 1. The previous owner had allowed the public to use the road for a fee. Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla arrives at San Mateo County Superior Courthouse Monday afternoon May 12, 2014, in Redwood City, Calif. Khosla was called to testify about his refusal to open public access to a stretch of beach along the San Mateo County coastline. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) "If the story was right and people thought I was doing something wrong, I'd live with that -- it wouldn't bother me," Khosla said Wednesday night. "But there are massive lies and misrepresentation on the issues here. Surfrider and the Coastal Commission are attempting to coerce and blackmail me." Surfrider attorney Mark Massara responded Thursday, saying Khosla's comments show he is "out of touch." But Khosla said he is making a principled stand in defense of individual property rights against overzealous government agencies. The clean energy investor claimed Surfrider, San Mateo County and the Coastal Commission are trying to shame him into ceding those rights, skewing the balance between private and public interests. "He's put himself in a very unfortunate position," Massara said. "Community concern, legislative initiatives and widespread condemnation are the natural, predictable result of his conduct and strategy." Surfrider sued the high-tech magnate last year in a bid to force him to seek a coastal development permit for closing Martins Beach Road in 2010. Surfrider is also asking San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Barbara Mallach to levy millions of dollars in penalties. Khosla said Wednesday that news reports have repeated myriad falsehoods, particularly regarding changes in access to the beach. He said reporters have overstated the degree to which the previous owners of Martins Beach, the Deeney family, allowed the public to visit. Rich Deeney testifed in May that the family typically opened the beach during the day but closed it during bad winter weather or whenever it wasn't convenient for them. The founder of Khosla Ventures also claimed news reports have failed to note that the popularity of Martins Beach had dropped significantly by the time he purchased it in 2008. Rich Deeney testified the decline in visitors contributed to the family's decision to sell the land, which languished on the market until Khosla bought it for $32.5 million. Smelt fishing, once the biggest draw at the beach, had slowed as the fish became less abundant, Deeney testified. Khosla said he initially allowed the same public access provided by the Deeneys, but the county demanded changes. In a February 2009 letter, the county instructed Khosla's property manager to lower parking prices to $2, since that was the price in 1973 when coastal development laws went into effect, and keep the road open throughout the winter. "We had allowed access on the same basis as historical access," Khosla said Wednesday, "but then the county starting overreaching and demanding much more." That touched off a legal battle that Surfrider attorney Joe Cotchett predicted could eventually rise all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The next step, however, is a ruling from Mallach, who will issue her decision in coming weeks. In addition to Khosla's remarks, Martins Beach LLC, which is owned by Khosla and operated by property manager Steve Baugher, issued a blistering four-page statement Wednesday after closing arguments. The statement accused Surfrider of encouraging "mob behavior" and "class warfare" and claimed the Coastal Commission has rebuffed attempts by Khosla's team to discuss the matter of public access. Baugher testifed in May that Coastal Commission staff members told him in a November 2011 meeting that Khosla's team should simply give in because the commission would never grant them a hearing if they applied for a coastal development permit. Nancy Cave, the Coastal Commission's district manager for San Mateo County, disputed that claim Thursday. Cave attended that 2011 meeting, and she remembers it differently. Khosla's attorneys, she said, were unwilling to discuss any solutions to the access problem. "We're waiting for you to take an enforcement action so we can sue you," said Cave. "That was their response to everything we suggested." Khosla testified that he had no specific plans for Martins Beach when he bought it. He said Wednesday that hasn't changed. Just because he isn't allowing public access, he said, doesn't mean he isn't interested in environmental protection. "That's where all my interest in sustainability comes from," he said, "is preserving nature." Contact Aaron Kinney at 650-348-4357. Follow him at Twitter.com/kinneytimes. |
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