If you ever follow Belmont city council discussions and wonder why we sometimes talk about Belmont Creek improvements, here's why.....

Flooding at Harbor. Neighbors in the mobile home facility in the HIA are affected. Please avoid that area today.

Just stay home! (if you can.) City crews are working on the flooding and the self-serve sand bag station at city hall is open.

Dr. Fauci says: "You got the second jab. You're good to go! And, hey, this vaccine is so great it even cured my gray hair!"

A little geek-y, but maybe of interest in these turbulent times. smdailyjournal.com/opinion/g…

Belmont is seeking commission members for the planning commission and the parks & recreation commission. This is a great way to be of service to the community while learning a lot about our local city government. The application deadline in Jan. 21. belmont.gov/Home/Components/…

Water Dog Canyon is getting new trail markers. They are not yet complete, but this is long overdue. The existing signage is faded and hard to read in many places. People who use the canyon regularly don't need them, but they should be a big help to visitors and newcomers.

Maybe Belmont couldn't go the usual holiday festivities this year, but Santa didn't skip us. With some help from @belmontcapolice and @SMCFireDept he made the rounds of Belmont, including Hallmark and Belmont Heights. @MatesJulia @davina_belmont @mmparden

San Mateo County, purple tier, effective immediately. smcgov.org/press-release/nov…

Nuts. We're back to "red" status in the state's hierarchy of COVID precautions. Nobody likes this, but it's super-important. smdailyjournal.com/news/loca…

This message is brought to you by my neighbors (and their children) near the barricade at the end of Hallmark Drive. The barricade has never looked so good, weeds notwithstanding.

Yard signs anybody? Terri will deliver and install by bicycle. (Actually we are running a little low on signs due to some great work by our volunteers. But we still have some left.) And Terri is much nicer than the sound truck I really wanted, but got talked out of.

San Mateo county has made it to "Red" on the state's new classification of purple / red / orange / yellow. We are far from "all clear" status, but it is a big step in the right direction.

Terrific meeting this morning at the site of the grass fire near Alhambra Street in Belmont. Major kudos to our consolidated fire department with major assists from Cal-Fire and the Belmont Police Department. Over 90 firefighters were deployed.

The 9-11 ceremonies were no-frills this morning at fire stations 15 and 21. That's partly due to the smoke from wildfires and partly due to COVID-19. But the sacrifice and service of that day was not forgotten.

Is this the smokepocalypse? It's getting darker as the day goes on.

Late this afternoon, Gov. Newsom announced a new system for rating California counties on COVID-19 status. It also clarified rules for businesses. The counties all need a little time to figure out how to work with it, but here is the link. covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy…

The public safety authorities are starting to allow people evacuated from the CZU fire to return IN SOME AREAS. The link below provides some of the best information about the specifics. smcgov.org/smc-wildfire-reco… It's smoky in Belmont this morning, but that's just residual smoke.

This is some of the worst smoke I have ever seen in the Bay from wildfires. The emergency services report there is no direct danger to Belmont as of 9am on 8/19/20. However, please sign up for SMC Alerts, if you have not already done so.