Morning News Round-Up -- 2.25.09: A Truly (Un)Churchillian Round-Up...

Watch Dog mentioned yesterday that we were tired of all the budget cutting/revenue enhancement stories...not because we don't think they are important, just that we are numb to them at this point. Today's list of updates: the City of San Mateo and San Mateo Union High School District.

And the outlook for local governments looks worse moving forward. That's because Warren Slocum, the San Mateo County Assessor, estimates that 40,000 homes that were sold since January 1, 2002 will be reassessed. He thinks 20,000 of them will have dropped in value, meaning local governments will take another tax revenue hit.

To deal with some of these harsh budget decisions, the Daily Journal's Editor Jon Mays suggests consolidating local services. (Watch Dog would point out, however, that sometimes the consolidated services, like garbage, can cause friction between cities and sometimes pit them against one another and the consolidated agency...I'm just saying...)

Also getting into the action of proposing ideas to save our cities' budgets in the Daily Journal -- Edwin Hawkins of the San Mateo County Firefighters Union. He (obviously) thinks that fire departments have too many folks at the top and not enough firefighters on the ground...

Un/Surprisingly, Congresswomen Eshoo and Speier liked (loved!) the President's speech last night. Eshoo called it "Churchillian." (That is a fun word to say...go ahead, say it...)

Now, two stories about Belmont neighbors. (And neither one is about traffic around Carlmont High...)

T-Mobile, put up your cell tower in Belmont...wait, scratch that, reverse it. The Belmont City Council is backtracking on a T-Mobile plan to install a cell tower on Lyon Avenue on a Mid-Peninsula Water District piece of property. Belmont neighbors (NIMBYs) have had their voice heard, it seems...

If active neighbors can stop a cell phone tower from being installed, they can do lots of other stuff too. Neighbors are also going to help clean up/maintain Waterdog Lake in Belmont...(By the way, the rumor that Waterdog Lake is going to be renamed Watch Dog Lake is untrue.)

More trouble with the Palo Alto Police Department. At a meeting last night that was meant to strengthen the relationship between the Police Department and the Community, folks vented and the Interim Police Chief got an earful. Perhaps Chief Johnson's departure was just the tip of the iceberg...

And adding fuel to the fire...A Palo Alto Police Lieutenant ended his moonlighting gig as a "consultant" for Page Mill Properties. Who is running the show in Palo Alto?

A group of (stupid) Fremont teenagers broke into Half Moon Bay High School on Monday night and broke into 34 lockers looking for money to steal. Really? High school lockers. That's where the geniouses thought they'd find lots of cash?

A Riptide writer is pissed about the big, yellow "Apartment Homes" signs sprouting up everywhere...Watch Dog has noticed too. Fight the good fight Riptide.

Watch Dog's primary competition (ha!) the San Francisco Chronicle, is in deep trouble. The Hearst Corp. said that they are looking to sell or close the paper because of the tremendous losses being incurred...