Morning News Round-Up -- 3.31.09: What do we want? REAL GRASS! When do we want it? NOW!

Here is a positive story that involves a school district, money, and the economic downturn. The Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary School District needs to buy a piece of land for a new school and the downturn's impact on land prices is working in favor of the District. The land is now only $8 million rather than the original $9.8 million. Yay!

And (of course) on the flip-side, the Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary School District will review next year's budget at their Thursday Board meeting. Some cuts, etc. But the real gem in this story is that the School District is facing $35,000 in increased sewage fees next year...remember all those stories about Belmont, San Carlos, et al raising sewer rates? Guess who is not immune...

This story couldn't come at worse time: East Palo Alto's ongoing legal battle with Page Mill Properties isn't ending well. The City of East Palo Alto owes Page Mill Properties $472,000 in legal fees after EPA lost two legal fights. Add this to the $18 million that Half Moon Bay owes developer Chop Keenan and area developers (and their lawyers) are doing pretty well in the court room and the pocket book...

And where are those developers and lawyers spending some of that extra cash?...A San Carlos nail salon was offering something a "little extra" and was shut down...

The San Carlos City Council is supposed to (finally) make a decision about whether to put synthetic turf on Highlands Park's field, but neighbors and parents are super-pissed and may try to get this issue on a City-wide ballot. Imagine the ballot arguments for and against synthetic turf...

Michelle Durand's "Off the Beat" in the Daily Journal goes through a litany of April Fool's-like recent stories...including San Carlos's turf battle and Octomom...

Menlo Park may scrap its plans for a transit hub/mixed-use development near the Dumbarton Bridge because the train will (likely) never run on the Dumbarton Bridge. Instead, the MP City Council will consider making the plan a business park.

La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District's Superintendent Tim Beard is leaving his post at the end of this school year in June. Remember, this is the is same Superintendent who oversaw some (incredibly) faulty construction for portable classrooms...don't expect a huge celebration at Beard's last meeting. This seems to be a "if he didn't resign, we would have got rid of him" type decision...

The former president of the Fair Oaks Elementary School parents group wasn't such a mench after all...she (allegedley) embezzled $4,500 of group funds. Sounds like a swell woman...stealing from kids and their parents all at the same time.

Palo Alto is serious about wanting to keeping the tunneling option open for High-Speed Rail. Really. They are serious. Really, really serious. They are even joining a consortium of NIMBY cities to fight for their rights...

And while we are in Palo Alto...Palo Alto's Finance Committee will discuss the issue of the Utility Department's plans to raise electricity rates by 10% tonight. Perhaps the proceeds of the 10% increase will go to legal fees for the Utility Department?...

If you are like Watch Dog and spend your days under quietly looking at computer screens and pretending you are working...then perhaps you felt the earthquake yesterday morning...rumble, rumble, rumble...

A boogie boarder who was swept out to sea yesterday near Devil's Slide was found alive and well (and presumably really scared and happy to be alive and well...)...

Watch Dog is watching David Lim for San Mateo City Council...mostly because he is the one with the most visible and most frequently updated website...now he has a newsletter that you can follow too...