From the JoeBurnsBlog

Marin Schools and Real Estate Options

If you are considering a real estate purchase in Marin County the chances are pretty good that the quality of schools in our county is driving your decision.  Though Marin offers many great unique lifestyle options, public schools is what causes purse strings to open.  This eco-conscious, high-income per capita, houseboatin' county prides itself on parent interaction in schools and the test scores derived from their efforts. 

Test scores are not the end all to the success of our schools.  I, as an example, was able to take test quite effectively in my scholastic career, however 20 some years later and I struggle through a simple blog post.  For those that do subscribe to the testing results of the State's  Academic Performance Index or the No Child Left Behind Act Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

The API scores is public information interesting if not valuable.  The problem I found is that it is difficult to find a compilation of the API scores for a given area.  As a service to my clients and friends, I went through the system and compiled the last 5 yrs test scores for every public school in Marin County.  With this report you can see that Hall Middle School in Larkspur is a 6-8 grade school of 495 tested enrollment and scored 919 on the 09 Growth, compared to 924 in 2008 Base.  In 2005, Hall earned a 901. I also included the Similar School Rank which is a 1-10 ranking of schools with similar demographic characteristics.  The remarkable thing about this report is how many schools in Marin fall above the 900 pt mark. Some standout and some need more work, but the report confirms that you can't beat Marin for public school options.

Due to the challenges of adding an Excel spreadsheet to a blog, my report is not available here. I would be happy to email the spreadsheet to anyone interested.  Send me a request to JoeBurnsMail@gmail.com .

A $2,000,000 beautiful Larkspur, Ca home could be yours for just $150.  The 3^rd Annual Marin Dream House Raffle will be held February 20, 2010, but before then there are three Early Bird Drawings giving away nearly $110,000 cash.  The winner of the Grand Prize in February could accept the beautiful home described below, or settle for the $1.6 million cash prize.   Hmmm... choices, choices, choices.                 

Imagine living in this brand new Marin County dream home overlooking the San Francisco Bay.  The brand new, 3,000 square foot home, has 3 bedrooms and 3 baths, is surrounded by open space, shoreline and parkland - all on 1/4 acre.  Located in Larkspur, CA, it is within 15 minutes of San Francisco.  Nearby are the Marin Headlands, Muir Woods, Mt. Tamalpais, and the Larkspur Ferry.

For more information on purchasing raffle tickets for go to the Marin Dream House Raffle website at www.marinraffle.com  .  Purchase before October 2, 2009 to qualify for the first Early Bird Drawing on October 14.

Marin Dream House Raffle is a project by Community Action Marin, the County's largest and oldest social services non-profit. The money raised by the Marin Raffle supports the people of Marin. www.camarin.org

In a landslide victory, the San Francisco Ferry system demolished the San Francisco Giants on Saturday evening.

My buddy, we'll call him Rex, called me Saturday morning with a pair of tickets to the Giants/Dodgers game that evening at AT&T Park.  By mid-day I was able to confirm with the family that I could attend and Rex and I discussed our travel plans.  He was coming down from Napa, me from Sausalito.  Drive across the Golden Gate and park... take San Rafael Bridge to East Bay and BART over... or take the Giants Ferry out of Larkspur (from Vallejo for Rex).  We choose the latter and at 4:30pm I boarded the $16/round trip boat at the Larkspur port. 

I expected a cool ride and chilly evening, so I was complete with my thick Raider jacket (only black coat I have), jeans and wool socks.  After a rare late summer rain, the clouds broke open and the sun beat down on me sitting on the bow deck like the Dodger pitching beat down Sanchez; but more on that later.

As the ferry pulls out you get an incredible view of Mt Tamalpais, then the water view of San Quentin Prison and the San Rafael Bridge.  What really makes the ferry ride special is approaching the prettiest city in America with clouds and fog engulfing the building peaks.  I sipped my $5.50 vodka grapefruit and withstood the headwind as I sat on the front of the boat and took it all in.  As the Vallejo Ferry sped past us mid-trip, I call Rex to make sure he was still in the game, after all he had the tickets.  We arrived at the center field gate, literally 100 feet from the dock, at 5:30 pm.  You can't beat that.  First things first, let's get a beer.  $8.75!!!!   Ferry 1, Giants 0. (Oops, we had 3 beers)  Ferry 3, Giants 0.

From our ‘view' seats, (not field view, but Mt Rainer views) I noticed that the ferries stay at the dock throughout the game.  On the return trip I learned that the boat bartender is able to watch the game that way.  Back at AT&T Park, the food/beverage servers move at a snail's pace and seem unconcerned that the wait to purchase $7 worth of garlic fries is one inning, minimum.  Ferry 4, Giants 0.

Only two things turned out to be slower than the F&B service, the Giants bats and Dodger pitcher Vincente Padilla's change up. (so slow that the gun doesn't post the speed)   The Giants made the Dodgers look like World Series hopefuls.  Jonathan Sanchez nibbled on the wrong side of the strike zone with each batter and his supporting defense couldn't save him when he did finally throw a strike.  Dodgers won handedly.   Ferry 5, Giants 0.

The ferry leaves ½ hour after the final pitch, which is plenty of time to get down the ramp to the dock and onto each boat.  Rex is happy, he is a Dodger fan; Joe is not so happy.  Bar is open again, $4 beers.  Ferry 6, Giants 0.

The knock-out grand slam is the ferry ride at night.  Traveling under the lit up Bay Bridge with the City lights and Port of San Francisco in the distance reminds you of how special the Bay Area really is.  Even San Quentin at night has a regal appearance, which will make great marketing pictures when the Governor puts it up for sale.  Ferry 7, Giants 0.

There are still 3 weeks left in the season and I really hope the San Francisco Giants can pull out a playoff spot.  Win or lose, it is still baseball and everyone should enjoy a game whenever they can.  In San Francisco, I suggest taking the Giants Ferry as a great way to get more out of your experience.

Just another benefit to living in Marin County.

Another wonderful benefit of living in Marin County and the exceptional Bay Area climate is free food.  We are lucky to have a garden and fruit trees bearing:  apples, Myers lemons, grapefruit, Kiwi, figs, fava beans, tomatoes, potatoes, squash and rhubarb.  Our neighbors also have an abundance of growth and we have all shared our earthly delights throughout the summer.  Just when I thought the season could be winding down, this happened.

A couple co-workers of mine went abalone diving on Wednesday.  Apparently the conditions were remarkable and they had their selection of 9-10" shells.  Colleen asked around in the office who likes abs and my hand went up so quickly I nearly strained my own abs.  Heck yeah, I'll take a few slices of that precious, garbage eating sea snail.  Well, she wasn't pawning off some slices, she was offering a whole abalone, just removed from the shell this morning.  I followed over to her house and received the mollusk in a plastic zip lock baggie, placed it next to me in the front seat, stopped and ordered two coffees at Peet's, after all my oval shaped little friend was practically alive, and pulled up to my house to drop her into our fridge.  When I open my white picket fence, what awaited me?  More tomatoes.  Man, I love this area.  Where else does someone give you fresh-that-day abalone at work, and at the same time your neighbors are leaving lycopene and Vitamin A rich fruits on your gate? 

Cioppino... gazpacho... I. running out of creative ways to use all this free food.

Marin County offers so many recreational opportunities, but I have found there is no better way to start the day than from the top of the Marin Headlands, looking East over the Golden Gate Bridge toward the rising sun.

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At an early age I was stricken with ‘wake up early' disease. It is incurable.  It has caused me to disappoint my parents, my college roommates and my wife, practically on a daily basis. You see while most people like to sleep in until 5:30 or 6 am, I naturally awake at 5. Yep, no alarm, doesn't matter if I went to bed drunk at 1am, any time of year, my eyes open at 5am.  Instead of making noise in the house and facing the wrath of four females - wife, daughter, dog and cat, I find it easier to sip my coffee in the back porch and then slip out for some recreation.

Surfing is an option, but requires a wet suit and 15 min drive. Kayaking in the morning is incredible, but transporting and setting up cuts into my time, I can't run... pretty much leaves cycling. 

At 5:30ish, 2-3x a week, I hop on my mountain bike, click on the headlight and hit the road.  As I proceed down Bridgeway in downtown Sausalito, I see the beginnings of the bike commuters to and from San Francisco. (They have backpacks and better lighting.)  As I approach the core of downtown Saus, I look for my ride partner Tony, in front of Starbucks.  From the corner of Bridgeway and Princess we get our first view of the bay waters, the City lights and the potential fog.  The confirmation of visual fog supports the resonating gong of the fog horn heard throughout town, now we know what awaits our climb up Second Street and Alexander to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. 

Tony has a real job and needs to catch a 7:15 ferry to SF, so when he is along we turn right at Bunker Road and enter the long tunnel toward Fort Chronkhite.  I prefer continuing up Alexander, under Hwy 101, and right on to Conzelman Rd and the climb up the Marin Headlands.  By now the sun light is beginning to glow above the Eastbay hills. On fogless mornings the Eastbay towns take shape and Mt Diablo shows off her beauty on the horizon.  Upon the climb, the first glimpse of the lights on the Golden Gate Bridge always remind me of photos of the Brooklyn Bridge.  The Golden Gate is exquisite when lit (aren't we all) and I'm surprised not photographed more in the dark. 

The second good bend in the road not only offers the bridge, but the lights of the Richmond District and the rest of the City.  You can also look out to the western horizon of the Pacific Ocean and the ships lined up to enter or leave port.  Most often however, the climb up Conzelman is in thick fog, often breaking at the top and the horizon views are pillowing flows of the soaking fog. 

Turnaround, back down half-way and I catch a dirt trail at McCullough Rd which winds down to Bunker Road and Rodeo Beach.  Most often the descent on this trail is back in the fog and I keep my vocal box active by announcing my presence to any potential coyotes or, worse, big cats.  Mostly it is just cottontail bunnies scurrying back into the poison oak and berry thickets.  Across Bunker I pick up the Miwok trail which climbs over another set of hills and a lookout over Tennessee Valley.  It is here that the small valleys and peaks offer the best view of the famous fog-sunlight relationship of the West Coast.

The Old Springs trail is a rippin' single track that brings us back down into the wet fog, near sea level and Tennessee Valley Road. From here we big-ring it to Shoreline Highway, again under Hwy 101 and catch the Bay trail past the house boats on Richardson Bay.  

Enter the house at 7:10am, family is up and going and I have had one heck of start to my day.  Just another benefit of living in Marin County.

This weekend a major part of Interstate 80 will be closed and it will have a huge impact on local traffic, business and residents.  The Bay Bridge project, as needed and grand as it is, requires the entire bridge to be closed from 8pm on Thursday, Sept 3 thru 5am on Tuesday, Sept. 8.  Traffic in the Bay Area will be severely affected for the one workday and the three day weekend.

The effect on Marin will be in the increased traffic on Hwy 101 and the Golden Gate Bridge.  Though there are numerous holiday events happening in the County this weekend, the major spectacle will be the Sausalito Art Festival, which will attract 30,000 people.  Add in the normal weekend backups, additional bridge traffic and the expected 80 degree perfect weather and we could see southern Cal type freeway jams. 

On any given weekday a quarter million vehicles cross the Bay on the Interstate 80 bridge.  The bridge connects the downtown area of San Francisco with Oakland, the East Bay and the Sacramento corridor.  Though we do have BART, a ferry system and a couple other bridges to help offset the closure, there is no way all can be diverted.  Employers are already planning for light to no-work day on Friday, giving many a 4 day weekend. 

You readers from other parts of the country may notice that your SF contact is not in on Friday.  Then again, this could be all hype and the World, as well as Bay Area residents, will never even know the Bridge was closed.  We'll see on Tuesday.

If you're interested in what the bridge will look like, check out this cool animation video   http://cbs5.com/video?id=47443@kpix.dayport.com

If you want to see the process happening this weekend              http://cbs5.com/video/?cid=129

San Francisco's recently renovated California Academy of Sciences is a must-see for all locals and tourists, the old and young, and the smart and dumb.  The $488 million upgrade (that's right, nearly a half a billion) is a staggering number, but the end product shines like nothing else in its category. 

The Design - What first strikes you as you approach and enter the Academy of Sciences is the awesome structure.  You may have heard about the 2.5 acres living-roof that holds a million native plant species. It really looks good now, but I think over the years it will become even more amazing.  There is a nice viewing area, but often cold so you don't spend too much time up there.

The Rainforest- Often a long line awaits you at the 4-story, round rainforest, but it moves fast so don't be discouraged.  The line is mainly due to the process of letting in a limited amount of people through a double-entry process so that no bugs can escape.  Once inside, you do feel the climate change.  There are lot of mini displays of bugs, plants, reptiles, etc. and vignettes of great information.  As you wind up the ramp there are 3 levels of mini-displays and vignettes on bugs, plants, reptiles, etc.  The payoff is after reaching the top the only exit is down a glass elevator to the basement level which is underwater.  You then exit through a glass tube with large cat-fish, gar, and other fish swimming above you. 

The Steinhart Aquarium - In my experience and preference the entire aquarium ranks 2^ndonly to Monterey Bay; all other pale.  There is an albino alligator, numerous jellys, a tropical tank and California Coast tank, a sea creature petting area and best of all, a Giant Pacific Octopus display. 

The Morrison Planetarium - If you grew up in the Bay Area you probably took a school field trip, or two, to the old Morrison Planetarium.  It was the hallmark of astronomy education and left 5^thgraders in awe as you sat looking straight up at constellations and lunar models.  The new Planetarium is more educational.  Much like an IMAX moving the display technology may not be overwhelming, but the content and delivery are exceptional.  The half hour show truly educates the viewer on our world and galaxy in a way that is easily grasped. 

The Play Area - If you have a toddler, the play area is a great respite from science overload. 

The Food - is healthy, quick, relatively well-priced for a public venue and there is plenty of sitting room to eat.  You really don't need to stress about bringing your own kid food, the almond butter sandwich or and organic offerings are great.

Don't Miss - The 3-D movie, Bugs.  Like everything at the Academy, it is as entertaining as it is educational.

If you live within a couple hours of San Francisco it is well-worth the annual membership of $99 for one person. With that you get to bring in a guest each time and kids under 6 are free.  You can't beat it, and with a membership you aren't forced to overload your mind with one visit; you can come back monthly or quarterly and still not be bored. We happen to go weekly and just stay a couple hours each time. The California Academy of Sciences is one of the many perks of living in the Bay Area and Marin specifically.  How fortunate we are to have this jewel just minutes (and a $5 bridge toll) from our front door. 

For more info on the California Academy of Sciences, their website is http://www.calacademy.org/