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Wednesday, March 24, 2010 Volume ııı Number 48 | 75 cents Serving the entire San Mateo Coastside since ı898 www.hmbreview.com Editorial a 4A | Weather & Tides a 5A | Police Log a 5A | A&E a 2B | Sports a 5B | Real Estate a 1C | Classifieds a 3C Serial bank robber eludes police FIRST LOCAL BANK ROBBERY IN 10 YEARS By Mark Noack [ [email protected] ] Employees at the First Na- tional Bank on Main Street re- main on edge after an armed robber stole an undisclosed amount of money last week. It was the first bank rob- bery in about 10 years in Half Moon Bay, but bank officials believe this wasn’t the only bank job this criminal has committed. Tony Clifford, chief operations officer for First National Bank, said the same man was involved in a similar robbery at a Redwood City branch three weeks ago. FBI officials reportedly are al- ready seeking the same man in connection with robberies at other banks. “This gentleman has hit two of our sites,” Clifford said. “Our people feel threatened … we’re glad that he got what he wanted without hurting any- body.” The Half Moon Bay crime occurred on Thursday after- noon, when the man in a beige beanie and white sports coat strolled into the branch. In ret- rospect, employees reportedly said they knew something was ominous about the unfamiliar man. “The nice thing about a small town is we know 95 per- cent of the people who walk through the doors,” Clifford said. “They saw this guy and they were already on guard.” Walking up to the teller, the man flashed a handgun and told the employee he would kill her unless she gave him money. Employees at the bank complied, and the man left without harming anyone. Half Moon Bay Police and other law enforcement agen- cies are now searching for the bank robber. The man report- edly fled east on foot through the parking lot of the I.D.E.S. Hall and down Johnston Street while the bank manager called for help. Police Chief Don O’Keefe said his team immediately de- Photo courtesy Half Moon Bay Police Authorities released this photo, taken from security cameras, of the man accused of robbing the First National Bank in Half Moon Bay on Thursday. See BANK a 8A [ crime beat ] Eerie movie divides film club SOME SEE ‘HEAVENLY CREATURES’ AS POOR CHOICE FOR VENUE By Mark Noack [ [email protected] ] The 1994 film “Heaven- ly Creatures” is, by most ac- counts, a great work of cin- ema, but organizers for the Coastside Film Society were a little uneasy about showing it last week. At the outset, the film re- volves around two teenage girls in 1950s New Zealand who bond emphatically through a rich imaginary world. That plot would seem harmless, perhaps even G-rated. But there’s a reason why this film is rated R. The two girl- friends, Juliet and Pauline, be- come obsessed with their fan- tasy kingdom, dressing up in costume, changing their names, writing out stories and inventing a new religion that worships Hollywood celebri- ties as saints. When their fam- ilies try to intervene, the girls try any way they can to save their fantasia. Eventually they take a cold-blooded measure — murdering Pauline’s moth- er. The film is disturbing, espe- cially because it’s based on the real-life Parker-Hulme murder, an infamous crime that was “like the O.J. Simpson case for New Zealand,” according to one film society member. Considering the plot of “Heavenly Creatures,” some “We don’t pick films because they’re controversial, we pick films because they’re really good.” — Joe Devlin, Coastside Film Society information director COASTSIDE BUILDER PUTS FUTURE IN CONDOS By Greg Thomas [ [email protected] ] As far as Jim Irizarry is con- cerned, single-family homes have run their course. That’s why the Coastside builder’s lat- est project, planned for a prime lot in El Granada, is a nine-unit complex of condominiums. “In reality, the era of the sin- gle-family residence is over … because there’s not enough land,” says Irizarry, owner of Terrace Homes. “If you look at all the government’s plans, they tend to cluster housing,” he added. “You can see it in ev- ery single plan.” Caltrans plans to close Devil’s Slide from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today so crews can stabilize the surround- ing hillside. Caltrans officials are shutting down Highway 1 along the wending bypass for the four-hour window during work on the hillside near the Devil’s Slide Tun- nel bridges on the Pacifica side of the slide. Traffic in both directions will be stopped between 2nd Street in Montara and Linda Mar Boulevard in Pa- cifica. Officials are taking action to alleviate “serious” rock- slide issues, said Caltrans spokesman Bob Haus. “We thought we’d re- move (the rocks) before they remove themselves,” Haus said. Caltrans workers are tak- ing the opportunity to clear drains, push back weeds, clean litter and perform other tasks, according to a department press release. Coastsiders know that rockslides at Devil’s Slide can prove vexing. Rocks on the roadway and set- tling of the road bed have shut the road for months in the past. In fact, repeat- ed slides led to the work on the tunnels in the first place. — Greg Thomas Lars Howlett / Review Setting sail Dan Temko is retiring as harbormaster at Pillar Point. He has seen a lot of changes over 25 years and regrets what he sees as the decline of the commercial fishing fleet there. He may be leaving the job, but he’s not leaving the water. See Q&A, Page 12A. Devil’s Slide closed for four hours Landing gear mishap grounds pilot HMB PILOT SHRUGS OFF INCIDENT AT AIRPORT By Greg Thomas [ [email protected] ] It wasn’t the impact from touching down on the tarmac at Half Moon Bay Airport that brought Jim Williams’ sunny 20-minute flight to a jarring conclusion Monday after- noon. The left leg of his plane’s landing gear folded without warning while the Ocean Colony resident was coasting on the runway at freeway speed. Sounding cavalier about the accident, the 74-year-old aviator said he’s fine, but his $500,000 plane won’t be in working shape for this year’s Pacific Coast Dream Ma- chines event in April. “There’s nothing I can do about it, so why get disappointed?” Williams said, shortly af- ter the incident. At about 2:30 p.m. Williams was barreling down the western runway when the mal- function occurred, sending him and his rep- lica World War II-era plane into a 60-mile- per-hour skid. After spinning 180 degrees, the plane veered off into a meadow on the shoulder of the runway and stopped — “luckily,” he says. “The trouble with these World War II fighter types (is) if they flip upside down the canopy goes into the ground and you can’t get out,” Williams said. Within a few minutes of the incident, air- port personnel were tending to the aircraft, a Yak 3 Russian fighter replica Williams start- ed flying last month. [ hmb airport ] See FILM a 8A See PLANE a 8A COMMISSION VOTES ON EL GRANADA PROJECT TODAY Traffic Alert See CONDOS a 8A Mark Foyer / Review Jim Williams’ Yak 3 replica aircraft rests on the tarmac after the landing gear collapsed after the Half Moon Bay resident landed safely at the Half Moon Bay Airport on Monday. VIKINGS CHALK UP THEIR THIRD WIN Pescadero finds early success > 5B WILD ABOUT ART M Coffee to exhibit 11-year-0ld’s drawings > 1B a n d p e s c a d e r o p e b b l e
