Morning News Round-Up -- 2.25.10: Post-Debate Spin...

Politics leads the day: The 21st Assembly Democratic candidates faced off for the first time yesterday in Redwood City. Rich Gordon, Yoriko Kishimoto, and Josh Becker were there and answering questions. And their respective camps have clearly found and saved Watch Dog's email address... thanks for the updates/spin everyone. We can tell you this: one camp thought it was 'corny' that Josh Becker brought his kid's Thomas the Train to the debate. At least everyone is focusing on the big issues...

One issue that was discussed (a lot, apparently) was High-Speed Rail. And Quentin Kopp chimes in too in today's Daily Journal.

Local budgets (cities and school districts) got lots of time at yesterday's debate too...

• Budget cuts, serious ones, coming to Burlingame...
• Fewer cuts are going to come from San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District, because they won their parcel tax vote... officially. Congrats.
• And a preview of cuts in the Menlo Park City School District can be heard tonight -- including what will happen if the $178 per parcel tax doesn't pass in May...
• Not getting cuts is Belmont's money for "outreach" to residents on High-Speed Rail... which we thought was kind of the City Council's job.

The lawsuit filed against San Mateo County's elections office is moving forward. This is about electronic signatures captured via iPhone being used to sign State elections petitions and is being brought by Verafirma, a Silicon Valley start-up. San Mateo County Elections' chief Warren Slocum rejected the signatures because he couldn't figure out a way to verify the signatures under California law.

Amgen Tour of California will go Coastside... Rogue waves stay away...

Morning News Round-up --9.16.09: Deep Thoughts by Quentin Kopp

A College of San Mateo student called police after she saw a college football player take what looked like a gun from his glove compartment and put it in his waist band. Police responded only to find out it was a toy gun. Some people never outgrow those things.

The governor supports alternative energy, not parks.

An East Palo Alto woman accidentally struck and killed her 14-month-old niece while backing out of a driveway. Tragic.

Here is something you should know: San Mateo City Council candidates support taxes to deal with the city’s declining budget.

A Redwood City man was hit and killed by a southbound commuter train as he sat in his car.

Shrinking budgets = declining test scores for San Mateo County schools.

Councilmember Barbara Pierce pulled rank and got a DUI checkpoint canceled in July. Hmmm.

Michael Brownrigg rocks the boat at Burlingame city hall. Finally!

And…deep thoughts by Quentin Kopp: “The 2008 salient event in the march to confer high-speed rail upon Californians, consistent with the type of electrically-powered, almost noiseless, swift, safe, supremely-comfortable transportations Asians and Europeans have used for nearly 45 years, was the Nov. 4 passage of Proposition 1A, the $9 billion financial foundation for the project’s first phase from San Francisco to Anaheim, through San Jose, the Central Valley and downtown Los Angeles.”