Morning News Round-Up -- 6.10.09: Two Subaru Choices in Burlingame...

The Belmont plan to protect parks forever failed to pass the City Council. Councilmembers Bill Dickenson and Coralin Feierbach supported putting the parks measure on the ballot. Mayor David Braunstein and Vice Mayor Christine Wozniak didn't vote because they live near parks (?). But the third vote to put this on the ballot wasn't there because Councilmember Warren Lieberman refused to vote. A true Profile in Courage... Lieberman explained his non-voting through some strange logic that putting the measure on the ballot might weaken park protection.

Onto some school news... some bad, some good.

$10.7 million. That's the budget hole the Redwood City Elementary School District is trying to plug. That's a big one.

With budget holes that big (or bigger) in local school districts, one has to wonder how long this will last: Newsweek's rankings of top high schools came out and 12 local high schools were in the top 6 percent of high school nationwide. Here's the full California list.

One school that is on the Newsweek list is Summit, which is a Charter School. Why is this of interest? Because Summit is trying to open another school within the Sequoia Union High School District and has run into legal issues with the District... perhaps being on this list helps Summit make the case for Everest? (Read some history about the Sequoia/Everest battle...)

From schools to public agency budget problems...

SamTrans is has budget problems...

So does Menlo Park. But the Menlo Park Police have agreed to contract changes to help... very generous.

As if the car industry didn't have enough problems... Remember the battle between Putnam Subaru and Carlsen Subaru? Well, Carlsen sued Putnam to keep Putnam out of Burlingame. Heck, competition is only good for some businesses, but not others apparently... Well, a Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of Putnam and they'll reopen their Burlingame showroom this week. Watch Dog predicts a record drop in car sales this year...

Do you want to know where San Mateo County might locate a new jail? Check out the list... At least one of these sites is pretty close to where you live (at least if you live on this side of the hill)...

Call it ironic, call it coincidental, call it mean-spirited... call it whatever you want. Page Mill Properties (the East Palo Alto apartment owners in a constant legal battle with the City of East Palo Alto) sent 'termination notices' to residents at 4 apartment buildings because Page Mill Properties aims to sell those buildings to the buildings for low- to moderate-income housing. What's the catch? Some of the folks being evicted are also part of a class-action lawsuit against Page Mill... Ironic? Coincidental? Mean-spirited? Or just business?