Morning News Round-Up -- 12.22.08: "Have you ever noticed?" aka Andy Rooney Edition....

A process set for San Mateo City Council appointment for appointing someone for vacating the seat held currently by newly unelected Supervisor-elect Carol Groom. Democracy faces an uphill battle in the County...expect something as undemocratic as this...

If she was really a psychic, she would have had visions of the police arresting her for stealing old ladies' money...but she didn't. A San Mateo County woman faces charges of bilking an old lady for tens of thousands through her psychic/quack practice.

A man was arrested after hours (and with a gun) in Atherton's fancy Holbrook-Palmer Park last week. The story is good read if for no other reason as it provides a view inside an Atherton Police Officer's duty...even in fancy towns, Officers are brave...

To compost or not to compost...that is the question in Palo Alto...well, not exactly. The opposite of compost, in this case, is a park. The City Council is split -- which makes this an interesting thing to follow.

Considering the County Investment Pool lost a ton of dough with Lehman Brothers, it is a wonder that more school Districts aren't following Menlo Park City School District and (considering) pulling their funds from the Pool...

Details about the Pacifica woman's death from last week continue to surface. Watch Dog is no detective, but these stories refer to two former boyfriends and the mother of a former boyfriend with whom the victim lived. The story also talks about an angry phone call right before the victim stepped out of the house to walk it off. She wound up dead on a golf course. Now, in Law and Order, Watch Dog knows that detectives "dump" the phone lines and find out whom she was talking to...I assume they know who the fight was with -- but it isn't in these stories...more to come (hopefully)...You will be (un)surprised to learn that the Pacifica Tribune online still does not anything posted about this story...while Pacifica Riptide does.

also...

...thankfully for Pacifica, someone (Pacifica Riptide) covers local issues in real-time (just like Watch Dog) and is keeping tabs on the proposed biodiesel facility planned for Pacifica...including tracking down insurance certificates and making sure that Pacifica doesn't blow up if they site a biodeisel facility on the coast...thumbs up Riptide...

As their former City Manager makes her new home in Millbrae, Half Moon Bay is going to hire a new interim City Manager...

An inmate escaped from a minimum-security facility in Redwood City on Saturday night. I guess the 59-year-old had some Christmas shopping to do?...

Sue Lempert gets in the (non)Christmas spirit in the Daily Journal and complains about what it is like shopping for kids these days. She starts the piece with a warning that she is going to sound like 60 Minutes Andy Rooney...she's right. If you don't like Andy Rooney, skip this piece. Sorry Sue...