Welcome!
My name is Mark Olbert, and I’m a member of the City Council in San Carlos, California. This is my site for staying in touch with my constituents.
Here you’ll find my blog, links to articles about municipal issues, and material that will help you understand my take on the Council’s work. All these can be accessed through the menu links at the top of every page.
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Enjoy! And if you have a moment, drop me a line to let me know what’s on your mind.
Line 147 Update
This op ed piece I wrote was published last Friday in the Palo Alto Daily Post. As we move into our second month since major safety concerns with PG&E’s Line 147 were disclosed, it’s important to take stock about what has happened, and what has not.
How Big Is Big Enough?
The ultimate size of projects like the Transit Village always end up reflecting a balance between economic pressures striving to make them bigger and community pressures trying to keep a lid on them. Given that, it’s important to understand a project’s economics. Unfortunately, that’s not as simple as one might like.…
Transparency: Good for Governments, Great for Gas Companies
Next Monday Senator Jerry Hill will hold a public hearing in the San Carlos City Council Chambers on gas pipeline safety. If you are able to attend, I urge you to do so. It’s important that our community continues to demand accountability from PG&E and the California Public Utilities Commission.
It’s Not Settled
This was published as an op ed in the San Mateo Daily Journal on October 17, 2013. You can find it on their site here. San Carlos residents could be forgiven for thinking all the issues surrounding the proposed Transit Village are resolved or being successfully managed based on the staff-produced…
Conspiracy Thinking
An odd but all too common email that we received as a result of our gas pipeline experience prompted me to write about conspiracy thinking. You can find the page here. I hope you’ll take the time to read it.
State of Emergency
Tonight the Council declared a state of emergency in San Carlos as it relates to a high pressure Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) gas pipeline. What does this mean, and why was the action taken?