It is that time of year again, kids under hoof, relatives and friends in town, and everyone on a sugar high. Here are some ideas on what to do and where to go that all your herd can enjoy. Have a fun, joy filled and safe holiday!

Holiday Open house at Woodside Fire! December 16th 7 to 9PM Three locations of fun, see Santa, visit with neighbors and you can help a less fortunate child with an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots!
See here for more!

A Christmas Carol Wednesday, 12/16 at 2:00 p.m. at American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco, CA. What would Christmas be without Dickens Christmas Carol? This version is “music infused” and the Oakland Tribute said “This is a Carol built to banish ‘bah humbugs’ for years to come!”
See here for more!

Santa Under the Holiday Lights Berkeley’s Fourth Street’s sky is alive with lights in the trees and music in the air. Bring your camera for a photo with Santa and his Elf from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Saturday 12/19-Sunday 12/20, Monday 12/21-Wednesday 12/23.
See here!

Choral Christmas Spectacular with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus Thursday, 12/17 at 8:00 p.m. at Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, CA. Featured works will include John Rutter’s Gloria, the sentimental Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, as well as a selection of traditional carols and sing-along for the audience.
More here!

The Little Prince Saturday, 12/19 beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Building C at Fort Mason Center: Young Performer’s Theatre, San Francisco, CA. This classic is a very inspirational story enjoyed by children and grownups alike..
Additional information here!

Christmas in the Park Kids delight at San Jose’s Christmas wonderland in the Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park. It is open through 12/24 with entertainment nightly. Admission is free.
See here!

2009 Train of Lights Through 12/27, experience the magic of the brightly decorated holiday train, covered with thousands of lights, as it winds through Niles Canyon on a 75-minute round-trip ride either from Fremont to Sunol or from Sunol to Fremont and return. Special charters are available as well. This annual fundraising event is presented to benefit Niles Canyon Railway.
More here!

Downtown Ice Located next to Christmas in the Park in the Circle of Palms between the Fairmont Hotel and San Jose Museum of Art. The rink will open 11 a.m. from 12/19 – 1/3.
See here!

Disney Live! Rockin’ Road Show Saturday, 1/9 at 12:00 p.m. at San Jose State University: San Jose State Event Center, San Jose, CA The kids will enjoy Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Goofy and Donald.
See more here!

Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale Admission is free at this Holiday Craft Fair which features over 150 of today’s finest indie-craft (independent designers, artists and craftspeople) and contemporary design talents. 12/19 and 12/20 from 11a.m. – 7p.m. at the Fort Mason Center Herbst Pavilion. Fort Mason Center: Herbst Pavilion, San Francisco, CA
More here!

Brian Setzer Orchestra ‘The 7th Annual Christmas Rocks! Extravaganza’ A special concert on Saturday, 12/26 at 8:00 p.m. at Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa. Widely credited with single-handedly resurrecting two forgotten genres of music (rockabilly in the ’80s and swing in the ’90s), Setzer has created what the Los Angeles Times called “A show “whose sheer joy is irresistible!”..
See here!

The Nutcracker, San Jose COWs have the choice of two different highly touted productions. The San Francisco Chronicle hailed the San Jose Ballet Nutcracker as “The Bay Area’s Best” and “…one of the most entertaining ‘Nutcrackers’ anywhere in the country.” It is a whimsical and spectacularly colorful production.
See here!

The Nutcracker, San Francisco There will be six special performances of the Nutcracker for families at the San Francisco Opera House. Costumed characters will greet and have their pictures taken with children and families in the lobby for one hour prior to the performance. The first 500 children to arrive receive a special gift and at intermission, everyone will be treated to complimentary juice and cookies.
More here!

More for Children and Families!

Other Shows and Events!

As you may be aware, we are following the progress Town in its efforts to define when changes to a structure should be considered to be a “New Building” here and here. If a building is remodeled or added to and is therefore deemed to be a “new building,” the existent portions will be required to meet some modern building and fire codes. Therefore, this issue is of COWncern to all of COWs – whether you will ever remodel your home or just want to be able to sell your house someday.

Because this is so vitally important, we are glad that the COWncil has taken its time and is being thoughtful about this definition. However, it is equally important that whatever the definition, it be easy for a lay person to understand in advance when a building which is remodeled or added to will be deemed to be a “New Building.”

The most recent discussion was brought to the COWncil by Town Engineer Paul Nagengast, who has been shepherding the process since the beginning. The COWncil members who make their living in the building industry, Mayor Mason and COWncil member Tanner, had met privately with Paul before the COWncil meeting for an in-depth review. We do not know if he has met with other professionals (architects, engineers, planners and contractors) who do a lot of work in this Town. This critical issue needs the widest vetting possible because of its obvious and subtle implications.

Paul presented the proposed new building definition in a matrix format that shows when construction would trigger compliance with Chapter 7A fire regulations, the Town’s own building regulations, or when it wouldn’t trigger either. The full “New Building Definition” will now be made up of the matrix, weighted formulas, and word definitions.

There are four major divisions of the matrix – “New Building,” “Reconstructed Building,” “Alterations (Changes and Additions),” and “Foundation Alteration and Seismic Upgrade,” with between two and five subdivisions each. The COWncil had some questions and suggestions for combining and moving around these subdivisions, so we don’t yet know what the final matrix will look like. The divisions are then matched up against “Automatic Fire Sprinkler Compliance,” “WFPD Fire Code Compliance” and two other code-compliance categories. So, for example, a new 2nd story addition, with a new foundation (3C in the matrix), would trigger compliance with all four categories of regulations if the addition was more than 50% of the buildings’ square footage.

The weighted formulas, which will be of interest to builders and homeowners, are available here (page 144), and the word definitions are available on the following page. These formulas were arrived at because of the COWncil’s interest in not penalizing people for replacing their roofs or foundations for fire and earthquake safety, or for doing what members of the COWncil considered mostly cosmetic work.

There was some complaints from the COWncil that the formulas were too difficult to understand, which lead to the amusing spectacle of COWncil members publically doing math and helping each other like a study group. Paul was directed to rewrite the equations in an easier-to-understand format for the actual ordinance. We second that motion. Not being professionals ourselves, we had difficulty fully understanding the matrix.

The major concern in the previous discussions of the definition was that designating a structure as a New Building could trigger San Mateo County’s requirement to upgrade to the current, restrictive septic system standards. This could require the replacement of currently working systems and construction costs in the thousands of dollars. Paul seemed confident that this newly crafted definition would be narrow enough to avoid that in most cases. It seemed likely that only a new structure on a previously un-built-upon lot would now fall under San Mateo’s requirement.

The COWncil seemed very pleased with the new version of the definition. They voted unanimously to direct Staff to draw up an ordinance for approval. Only when we have that draft ordinance will we see what final form the regulations will take. Again, we urge Paul to have a stakeholders meeting with the professionals who practice in this COWmunity before a final draft is presented to the COWncil.