Morning News Round-Up -- 5.25.10: 2-40-2 Head line Bold herej head line bold goes here and here's more headling bold jyg

San Mateo County loves LOVES trying to consolidate things... trash, water, sewer, police, fire... and now the San Mateo Fire Chief Dan Belville is also going to be the Fire Chief in Foster City. Why pay two dudes when you can pay half a salary? That seems to be the thinking... and it may just be tip of the San Mateo/Foster City Fire Department iceberg...

The former Hillsdale High student who planned to pipe bomb the school last year was indicted by a grand jury Friday. Alex Youshock now awaits psychiatric evaluations about whether he is fit to stand trial...

Caltrain's spokesman Mark Simon writes a piece for the Daily Journal today about electrification... and he uses the word "diminishment," which looks funny.

Yesterday there was a story about how Belmont just launched their red-light cameras, and today there is a story about how Burlingame is abandoning theirs. Does Belmont not pay attention?

A two-pronged bond approach will be hitting voters in the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District this November. One for the elementary schools and one for Ralston Middle.

Some of you were probably at the big Stanford Hospital/ Palo Alto public meeting last night at the Palo Alto City Council... well, it is a busy week for the NIMBY set because tonight there is a big public meeting on the Bohannon "Menlo Gateway" project...

Finally, does pointing out the Merc's technical difficulties ever get old? (Remember the re-launched County Times?) Watch Dog doesn't think so... this was a headline for a breaking news story last night:

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.27.10: Rainy Days and Tuesdays...

For the cities that are looking at implementing red light cameras (that's you Belmont) you should read this story from South San Francisco. They need to refund drivers $237k and refund the County Court $250k... have fun with that SSF...

While we're in South San Francisco, some property owners there are not pleased with proposed changes to zoning laws there East of 101... the City wants to change it from industrial to business commercial and technology... seems arcane, but not to the East of 101 Property Owners Association.

Senator Leland Yee's bill that banned young people from buying violent video games will be heard by the US Supreme Court... yippee!

Supervisor Mark Church has someone running against him for County Assessor... sort of. A write-in candidate, John K. Mooney, signed the forms to become an official write-in candidate for Assessor. Of all the positions in local government, wouldn't you want the Assessor to be on top of his game enough to actually file to run for office on time and get his name on the ballot? Just asking...

The East Palo Alto Police Chief may be moving to Seattle... it may be difficult to be the Police Chief of East Palo Alto from there...

The post-prom stabbing that sent the police tot he Marriot San Mateo and sent 4 kids to the hospital was apparently gang related.

A new park in Belmont? Say it ain't so... the first one since the 1970s...

If you love the cafe in the County building... you'd better find another place for lunch because it will close in July...

Thanks to Politicon Valley, we know that Yoriko Kishimoto got the Sierra Club endorsement... adding to a long list of organizations?

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.26.10: Big (losing) guns help(?) Whitman...

Meg Whitman = Big Connections... and she showed it on Friday night when Mitt Romney and John McCain showed up at an event in Redwood City. Of course, both of those guys lost their last election, so perhaps she should invite more folks on a winning streak... just a thought.

San Carlos is thinking about jacking up sewer rates... again.

Dave Pine, who serves on the San Mateo Union High School District Board did double duty on the Charter Review Committee. He penned this piece in favor of District elections and it ran on the 21st. We are sorry we missed... thank you for the heads up, loyal Watch Dogger. We agree with you Dave: More democracy!

Congresswoman Jackie Speier has introduced a $1 billion Bay clean-up bill, which is the good news. The bad news? Well, it seems that a $1 billion very local project is often called pork inside the beltway... Don't worry Congresswoman, around the Bay we call that great work.

It seems Atherton will get down to some governing today for a budget session as opposed to politically charged hits against colleagues and settling years-long lawsuits...

Leave it up to Pacifica Riptide to do some reporting that others won't/can't/don't... this time it is about "Pacifica's unfunded pension liability..."

Here's a heartwarming story to start your week: 4 teenagers were stabbed at the Marriot Hotel in San Mateo on Sunday morning. It seems it might have been part of a post-prom-party kerfuffle... Watch Dog remembers when proms were innocent affairs that only involved awkward teenage gropping...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.19.10: All... weekend... long...

Here's something: Retirement benefits for County of San Mateo retirees (well, managers and attorneys) are being tweaked to help manage the budget deficit... the start of a trend?

It is Monday and Monday is Sue Lempert's day in the Daily Journal. She writes about the Supervisorial seats being elected Countywide and thinks that the status quo is ok... agreeing with former Supervisor Mike Nevin. They both argue that having to run Countywide means more experienced folks get elected... of course, that's all well and good if you think the folks with the most experience are doing a good job...

While we're on it: April Vargas got the County's Democratic Central Committee endorsement for Supervisor. That should be a nice boost for the Coastside Democrat...

There is a new Assistant City Manager in San Mateo... first assignment, playing diplomat between David Lim and Burlingame... just kidding. Good luck kid...

Speaking of David Lim, San Mateo, Burlingame, and the merger of the two police departments... this should give you an idea about how things are proceeding. Here's a quote from Councilmember Lim in Sunday's County Times about the merger: "...It was kind of embarrassing... People would ask me, 'You're our council member, how is this going to work?' And I would shrug my shoulders and say, 'What you read in the newspapers is about what I know.'" That's reassuring...

While we are in San Mateo, Jon Mays might want to head to a meeting tonight to discuss a possible downtown improvement district that would fund downtown San Mateo parking and beautification projects...

Downtown San Carlos has its own issues (?)... too many restaurants? Really? Isn't that what a downtown is supposed to be like?

Dude. 420 in Daly City... all... weekend... long...

Did you know that Dr. Phil is helping State Senator Leland Yee get a bill passed in Sacramento... No word if Oprah or Gail will chime in...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.16.10: All Tea Partied Out...

San Mateo City Councilmember David Lim has something to say about the planned San Mateo-Burlingame marraige of Police Departments. Specifically, he does not like the idea of the San Mateo Deputy Police Chief becoming Burlingame's Interim Police Chief... Marraige is a very difficult thing... Remember what Rita Rudner said about marraige: "I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life." Perhaps San Mateo and Burlingame have already started annoying each other...

Ah, more Charter School/School District drama. This time in the Ravenswood City School District and the Charter School is the Stanford New School... the District denied the charter.

Burlingame and San Mateo may not need to consolidate their Police Departments after all... because Jon Mays at the Daily Journal declared an end to the recession. From your mouth to the economy's ear Mr. Mays...

Morris Brown, a Menlo Park anti-train dude, filed another lawsuit against the California High-Speed Rail Authority and Caltrain yesterday. When all else fails, get legal on their asses...

The San Francisco Chronicle's Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area has been published... and there are only two in San Mateo County. One in the north part of the County -- Koi Palace, and one in the south part of the County -- Kaygetsu in Menlo Park. Happy eating everyone...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.14.10: iMansion friends...

Menlo Park onced loved the Bohannon project and especially the money that will come from it... but it may not be smooth sailing after all for Mr. Bohannon

based on the tone of a meeting this week.

Speaking of unpopular developments: The iMansion gets another friend... the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The National Trust for Historic Preservation should not expect their Steve Jobs' check this year...

San Carlos will mandate businesses recycle starting next January... While that doesn't sound groundbreaking, it really seems to be. San Carlos Councilmember Matt Grocott voted against it, he hates recycling. (Just kidding MG.)

A woman fell into an open manhole on Stanford's campus yesterday. No word if Senator Simitian is a looking to pass a "no texting while walking" law...

A woman in San Mateo has been voted as "Exhalted Ruler"... and we aren't talking about the Klan. Rather, that's the hightest position in the Elks Lodge in San Mateo. Congrats Jeanne Atno... cool hat...

The Daily Journal Editorial Board gets its third bite at the apple with the Medical Center. The rapes caused the Editorial Board to write last Friday, the Medical Center chief wrote yesterday, and the Editorial Board writes again today to give props to the Medical Center chief who wrote yesterday...

Daly City mobile home residents vs. mobile park owner will face off in federal court... that should be fun.

Here we go... Senator Leland Yee is dumpster diving (sort of) to get to the bottom of the Sarah Palin speech as CSU Stanislaus. You go Leland...

Morning News Round-Up -- 2.18.10: Butterflies are free...

There was a bad plane crash in East Palo Alto yesterday. Unless you were under a rock yesterday, you know that three Tesla Motors employees were killed in the tragic crash.

Brisbane says yes to a San Bruno Mountain development which has the butterfly folks all aflutter...

Watch Dog loves a good inter-governmental agency fight... so when the DA's office and the County Manager's office go at it over money, we smile...

Speaking of folks involved in government fights... (San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School vs Foster City) The School District might be laying off 100+ folks...

The Almanac profiles Assembly candidate Josh Becker who seeks to win the Democratic nomination to replace Ira Ruskin... The Almanac is running a bunch of these apparently.

State of the City of Good Living is tough and San Carlos needs more money...

Even if tough times, we need firestations... and in San Mateo, it is time for a new $5.5 million fire station...

Romic, the good folks who brought toxic waste to East Palo Alto, must pay $350,000 in fines and never do business in California again... good riddance.

Morning News Round-Up -- 2.11.10: The Assessor-Clerk-Recorder-Short Order Cook-Blogger will retire...

Everyone's favorite Jack-of-all-Trades Warren Slocum will not seek re-election this year. In a County where one person leaving office sets off an entire chain reaction of political positioning, this is no different. Because unlike Lee Buffington's job, people actually want to be assessor-clerk-recorder... I mean, what are the chances that an assessor-clerk-recorder will lose $150 million overnight? Anyway, the jockeying has begun to replace Slocum: Supervisor Mark Church wants in (which will set off another landslide of political manuevering for his seat) according to the news story, but other familiar names popping up -- like Papan, Keighran, Hershman, Holober, Nagel, and Mullin..

Budget Woes Daily...

• San Mateo Community College District will most likely seek a Countywide parcel tax because of their crappy financial picture...
• San Mateo City workers must not like this budget headline today: Workers must make new sacrifice...
• San Bruno's property taxes, sales taxes, and all other local taxes are taking a hit -- and now they will cut, cut, cut...
• $9 million in cuts to the San Mateo Union High School District are needed... if only there was a piece of land to sell to help balance the budget...
• A parcel tax measure is underway for Menlo Park City Schools...

Millbrae officially announced that it was no fun... they will not allow marijuana dispensaries...

Morning News Round-Up -- 2.10.10: Say goodnight Mirabella...

The Mirabella Project in Foster City has hit an economic snag. The lending environment is "frosty" according to the developer -- and has led to the developer returning about $600K worth of deposits for folks who had already put down money down on the development. That is never a good sign...

Speaking of development... the Menlo Park City Council is officially opposing the Cargill Salt Ponds development in Redwood City... Representatives from the developer are making an interesting (?) point that the salt ponds aren't actually part of the Bay, but rather they are an industrial site. Got that?

Well, Pacifica Riptide filled all of us into the new garbage contract in Pacifica... it got approved last night. One more domino in the Recology monopoly that is San Mateo County... The story in the San Mateo County Times uses the phrase "no bid contract" and outlines the deal that gotRecology the contract. Does this sound fishy to anyone else?:

Recology offered the city an additional "assignment fee" of $100,000 in exchange for approval of the arrangement.

Budget cuts, budget cuts, budget cuts...

• The County
• and the Millbrae Elementary School District
• and KCSM...
• and San Mateo... still
• and the Redwood City School District...

Here's a little bit of good budget news for you and I, but more bad news for South San Francisco. If you were nabbed by the red-light camera at the intersection of El Camino and Westborough and Hickey -- you are going to get your money back because the SSF screwed up royally, to the tune of a cool million.

You may not remember, but there was a story way back when about a Safeway clerk who was arrested for dealing meth in the parking lot of the MP Safeway... apparently that carries an 8 month prison sentence with it if you plead "no contest." Maybe that's why the Safeway deal took so long in Burlingame, because Burlingamers were worried about meth being dealt in the parking lot...

Morning News Round-Up -- 1.14.10: Grocott + Horsley + Vargas + Stogner + Hickey = Good Fun...

Politics makes people do crazy things... just ask Matt Grocott. He announced that he is jumping into the Supervisorial race to replace Supervisor Rich Gordon. The field is already crowded with seasoned (and well-moneyed) candidates, including: Don Horsley, April Vargas, Michael Stogner, David Mineta, and Jack Hickey. What's one more dude in the race, at least that's what Councilmember Grocott must be thinking. In Watch Dog's amatuer political analysis, the more people in the race that better it is for April Vargas... but that's just us.

Speaking of crazy things... yesterday there was a story about Assemblymember Jerry Hill's 'yes' vote on a recreational marijuana bill that he heard in Committee. That same Daily Journal story had this quote from Susan Manheimer, who is the head of the California Police Chiefs Association and our Sheriff, criticizing the vote: "It is unconscionable that the state would try to balance its budget by approving the use of mind-altering substance..." Well, ironically, yesterday Watch Dog received an email from Nate Solov, Assemblymember Hill's press guy, with this title: Hill receives Outstanding Legislator of 2009 Recognition from State Sheriff's Association... good timing Nate.

The Bohannon Project in Menlo Park has been well-researched... and not just in the architectural way. If you remember way back when the story started, Mr. Bohannon was doing polling. Now he's doing focus groups. And it is the wide knowledge about this polling and focus grouping that has two MP Councilmembers (Kelly Ferguson/Andy Cohen) concerned that Mr. Bohannon may be fixing to go to the ballot for a divisive election to get his plans through...

The Freedom Train will stop in San Mateo on Monday during the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration. This Freedom Train ride is not without controversy this year... for details, read Watch Dog Silicon Valley's version -- or the Mercury News' version. (Hint: It involves the San Jose Police Officers' Association sponsorship...)

The lawsuit San Mateo Councilmember (former Police Lieutenant) Robert Ross and the City of San Mateo filed against a driver who hit Ross while he was in a police-issued vehicle has been settled...

Someone is robbing traveling jewelers in San Mateo County. Yesterday's heist was of a New York-based jeweler who was at the parking lot of the Crowne Plaza in Burlingame. Welcome to San Mateo County...

This story has been around for a while, but now is back on the front burner: a possible merger of fire protection services between Burlingame, Hillsborough, Millbrae, and San Bruno. (The BurHillMillBruno Fire District?) What could go wrong? After all, shared fire departments make Belmont and San Carlos so much happier than going it along...

The from the Environmental Protection Agency for their methane capture efforts. Congrats to the Ox.

Morning News Round-Up -- 1.5.10: Maverick's Friday?

Kaiser meet San Mateo. San Mateo -- meet Kaiser new 65,000 square foot facility... The facility got unanimous approval from the San Mateo City Council.

But who cares about that... because the real fun issue in San Mateo is that dogs may be able to run off-leash. Watch Dogs off-leash... watch out...

Convention center versus open space versus financing... these are the issues that Burlingame is deciding on related to the Bayshore Golf Center...

Maverick's Friday? Perhaps. Even the HMB Review is predicting such...

In an unrelated story, the US Coast Guard had to rescue (with a helicopter) a surfer off of San Francisco's Ocean Beach yesterday...

Here's a good news/bad news story: East Palo Alto officials say that the gun shot detection system is working well. That's the good news. The bad news is that they need one and that they have enough data to know it is working well...

As anyone who has read Watch Dog for a while knows, we love Atherton politics. So when Kathy McKeithen becomes Mayor with a unanimous vote of her colleagues, we must anxiously wait for the fireworks...

Morning News Round-Up -- 12.1.09: Leave your guns at home Bill...

This is a crazy story: On Sunday night a Redwood City man, in an attempt to protect his family, grabbed his gun to chase away intruders. He did chase them off his property, but then he also took his gun (wearing only his underwear) and got in his car and chased the two dudes by car. Apparently the two would-be intruders called the police to report a crazy guy in his underwear carrying a gun was chasing their car down the street... The gun-wielding, family-protector may get charged with brandishing a weapon. (But not public indecency?)

If that story wasn't today's top story, this would have been: Remember a while back when William Ayre's new defense attorney was trying to get the first jury's contact information... well, that request was denied. (Much to the delight of those first jurors, no doubt...) Of course William Ayres Watch has the details too.

San Mateo decided to keep a public golf course publicly run and run a courier service for itself in order to save money. $560,000 in fact... That savings can help pay for an Assistant City Manager which the Council has agreed to hire as well...

In other City government news: Rich Cline will become the new Mayor of Menlo Park tonight... good night and good luck!

Here is a (very) local issue on the County's docket today: whether or not to close Los Banos Avenue between Park Avenue and Ocean Blvd in Seal Cove...

Michelle Durand (Daily Journal) goes 'rouge' about Sarah Palin going 'rogue'... well played
Ms. Durand, well played...

Don't drive drunk, whoever you are. Even if your car is full of (off-duty) police officers and you are a former officer, you are (hopefully) going to do some time... like this guy. We hear they like police in jail...

The recount that wasn't... Lisa McCaffrey who had called for a recount in the Granada Sanitary District election because her opponent won by 10 votes, called off the recount. That stinks... Kevin Spacey and Al Gore wanted to make sure every vote was counted...

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.30.09: Tryptophan Hang-Over Edition...

Good morning and welcome back loyal readers. Watch Dog is sure that our watching eyes missed some stories over the holiday. Heck, what better time to release crappy news than over Thanksgiving weekend? If we missed things, please let us know.

And this was something that Pacific Riptide thinks the City of Pacifica was trying to slip by Pacificans: A Community Forum on Solid Waste Disposal set for tonight. If you want folks to not know about and not attend a Community Forum, there is perhaps no better time to schedule such a Forum than the Monday after Thanksgiving. Unless, of course, you want to schedule it sometime between Christmas and New Years... Kudos Riptide for keeping a good look-out...

Here is something that is long overdue -- the County is revamping an ethics review panel. This surely has nothing to do with San Mateo County havin a Sheriff who was found at a brothel and is running unopposed for reelection...

Speaking of Sheriffs... if you were out driving around this holiday weekend you probably saw dozens and dozens of police stopping cars. The result, DUI arrests were up slightly versus last year.

It is Monday and Monday is Sue Lempert's day in the Daily Journal... she goes into giving, including a piece about her own childhood appearance in a newspaper. Here's to you Sue for figuring out a way to mention lollipops and Ayn Rand in the same column...

Some day you might be able to bike up and down San Mateo... safely. That's part of San Mateo's plan anyway.

Citizens of Woodside gave us their own version of a Round-Up -- but their Round-Up is of the Woodside Cowncil meeting... from October...

And finally, a sad note: A man from Walnut Creek died when his sailboat capsized off of Pillar Point this holiday weekend. Sad.

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.24.09: Late is better than never, right?

A woman was struck and killed by a car in Redwood City early yesterday morning moments after she struck a parked construction truck herself on southbound Bay Road. Careful out there folks as the long weekend takes shape...

San Carlos plows ahead with synthetic turf. Here come the lawsuits.

San Mateo County Times columnist John Horgan admits that living on the Peninsula ain’t no bed of roses. Blasphemy!

Watch your back… crime is up in Belmont. Specifically, assaults and burglaries. Can neighborhood watches be far behind? But crime could be worse if you live in San Mateo or Daly City. According to a new report, crime rates rankings in both cities.

And here is a good time to welcome the new Police Chief of Daly City... who is leaving San Jose as that department faces tough times...

The former Chuck E. Cheese employee prosecutors convicted of helping another man rob his boss after hours by taking the man’s identification and threatening to kill his family was sentenced to seven years prison.

Multiple party-goers reportedly attacked a Half Moon Bay Police Officer and tried to steal his gun while he was trying to break up a fight at a crowded quinceañera party on Saturday night. Balls. That never happens on MTV...

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.19.09: the most popular guy in prison?

We've been talking about horses the past couple of weeks in Half Moon Bay and riding on the beach... Well, Woodside has an long equine history too... now, 15 miniature (orphaned) horses in Woodside now have a place to call home…

San Mateo goes green(er). Unlike San Jose's Mayor... (that's a pun people...)

Speaking of green... The Louisiana man who were caught flying out of San Francisco International Airport with $35,000 worth of pot that he intended to sell to friends in the rap music industry has been sentenced to 16 months in prison. This guy will be a hero in prison...

Breast cancer experts at Mills-Peninsula Health Services are urging Peninsula women and doctors to ignore a government panel's new advice to skip mammograms until age 50. Ignore the government... heck, we should have thought of that a long, long time ago.

Speaking of ignoring... Carly Fiorina is ignoring science all together. She (seemingly) does not believe the science of global warming, but she certainly believes to pandering to the Sarah Palin base of the Republican Party...

To cyanide or not to cyanide… ask San Bruno. It turns out a vial marked "cynanide" that was dropped by the police station was not...

Bus cuts and fare increases start next month at SamTrans... which means Watch Dog might be a little late/r for work...

Coastsiders stood up to fight the ‘Big Wave’ in Half Moon Bay.

Here’s some old news: California’s budget outlook is grim. And getting grimmer by the minute.

Meanwhile, students at Capuchino High School are attempting to raise $4 grand in four weeks, all of which will go to Uganda. Here is some advice: Don’t take money tips from the State.

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.16.09: Bad, Sad, Scary Edition...

A series of really bad, sad, scary stories appeared late last week and over the weekend...

• A man was charged with stabbing his roommate in South San Francisco...
• A different guy in SSF is getting two months in jail for beating his girlfriend with a broom...
• There was a fatal hit-and-run in Menlo Park involving a 6 year old girl on Thursday...
• The Redwood City pool where a Palo Alto man was found dead has been cleaned, thank goodness...
• There was a 30-bullet shoot-out in East Palo Alto on Thursday night injuring two folks...

And this: A robbery of a 25 year old Redwood City man on the boarder of Palo Alto and Menlo Park that turned into a sexual assault...

The ability (or lack thereof) to ride horses on Half Moon Bay beaches is going to be reconsidered by the HMB City Council. Expect fireworks...

You may have noticed that the Mi Pueblo grocery store opened in East Palo Alto on Saturday... and not one full day into operation, Mi Pueblo got a threatening phone call that was described as "...not a bomb threat..." by officials. However, the caller did say that something bad was going to happen at 9 p.m. Welcome to the neighborhood Mi Pueblo. There is something hysterical in this story, however: apparently a nearby bank is upset at the bright colors that Mi Pueblo is painted... has the bank seen the enormous blue and yellow structure across the parking lot?

The big rail-side development in San Mateo has planners wanting to take a closer look... more details = more time.

It is Monday, which is Sue Lempert's time in the Daily Journal... she breaks down the winners and losers from the election.

Cuts are coming to the City of San Mateo workforce -- but layoffs have been avoided... for now

When you were in high school, how many times did you wish your science teacher would take a long trip to the South Pole? If you are like Watch Dog -- you spent most of your time making such a wish... well, a Carlmont High teacher is heading to the South Pole to advance science, not to grant his students' wishes... the Chronicle gives us the run down.

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.2.09: Bridge (Still) Closed Edition...

Yes, we took Friday off. We didn't see you working that hard either...

It is a political week for those of you really paying attention and aren't totally consumed with guessing when the Bay Bridge will reopen or close again...

• San Bruno Park School District has a race...
• Portola Valley has a renewal of a utility tax and Atherton is renewing its parcel tax...
• A hotel tax (or an increased one) is on the ballot in San Mateo, SSF, Millbrae, Burlingame, Brisbane, and San Bruno...
• And then there is a race for the Menlo Park Fire Protection District Board. There are three folks the Menlo Park Firefighters Legislative Action Group is supporting, but don't bother looking about how much money that group is spending to get these three elected. They seemingly believe they are above the law and not reporting their campaign finance spending. Good thing the Almanac is a good watchdog when it comes to these things.
  

County workers have agreed to a contract. They agreed on Friday. If the unions and County have any tricks of the trade, perhaps you could let your colleagues in Palo Alto in on the secret. They are locked in a pitched battle...

Speaking of contentious... the Foster City City Council is going to approve the Chess-Hatch Master Plan tonight... Here is what you need to know: 10 stories of office above 4 stories of parking and probably lots and lots of taxes to the General Fund.

Those kids at Sacred Heart Prep really know how to party apparently. Two students were expelled for "marijuana-related activities"... what the hell does that mean? Were they smoking it? Were they selling it? Or were they just having a related activity to it? The interesting part of the story is that the Atherton Police know nothing about it -- and Sacred Heart officials are pretty much keeping quiet about what went down. Just a question for the Atherton Police: Don't you have jurisdiction if there is a drug issue on campus? Just asking...

The watch-and-wait season of Mavericks has begun. So get your board and your sex wax ready...

Morning News Round-Up -- 10.29.09: No Bay Bridge... still

Expect a barage of fluffy PR from the California High-Speed Rail Authority locally soon. They just issued a $9 million PR contract to a big-time PR firm based in Sacramento. Ogilvy Public Relations will soon be calling on Peninsula NIMBYs to explain the benefits of High-Speed Rail. Let me provide some free advice to Ogilvy -- don't spend too much time in Menlo Park or Atherton -- there is no changing these NIMBYs' minds...

Perhaps the good folks that run the Bay Bridge should invest in some PR help. That big bridge that connects everything to everything in Northern California is still not open... in case you haven't heard.

While you are waiting for the Bay Bridge to reopen -- why don't you head over to the new Trader Joe's in San Mateo... actually, don't go today, but head there tomorrow when they open.

While Pacifica gets green kudos this week for banning Styrofoam, they are getting slapped for dumping sewage into the Pacific in January 2008. A $2.3 million fine will be levied by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board -- the government agency with the longest name imaginable...

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo will be hosting a telephone town hall tonight for Coastside residents only to talk about healthcare. Watch Dog wishes we could be on that call and report back to all of you. If you are on the call, take good notes and shoot them our way...

Morning News Round-Up -- 10.21.09: Be on the lookout...

A San Mateo gas station was robbed at gunpoint again… by the same person, too. A man wearing a construction hard hart, orange traffic vest, and goggles. If you see either of these two folks -- please call authorities...

San Mateo is trying to prioritize how best to spend its grant money… what little money it has.

San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District candidates are worried about future enrollment and where they will put their next school... Hillsborough City Elementary School District Board of Trustees care about meeting students’ needs (and parents' demands) in hard financial times.

Redwood City joined the list of municipalities that are asking to recoup property tax dollars that State officials plan to borrow/steal to balance California's budget. Power in numbers we guess...

Parts of Millbrae would be waterless in the event of a major earthquake. That should be reassuring 20 years after the World Series quake...

A man was critical shot while sitting in a parked car in East Palo Alto.

Cool roofs are coming to Menlo Park. Fonzi is pleased...

Fire starts on the Menlo Park fire board. Not Fonzi-like...

Two women who said they were touring Sea Crest School were actually on campus to steal wallets. Don’t they know there is no money in schools these days?

Morning News Round-Up -- 10.20.09: Under-the-Radar Politics...

An under-the-radar race is happening for two open seats on the Sequoia Union High School District Board. We wrote about it here previously when the Daily Journal endorsed Chris Thomsen and Alan Sarver. But things are heating up. Check out the message board on the Almanac website about a controversy involving the Superintendent, some District staff, and a confidential leak of information to some candidates but not others... there are 100 comments! The Almanac also profiles the candidates and does some curtain-raising on the race.

San Mateo City Council voted last night to get its money back from the State, which took $2.8 million to cover its own budget deficit. Wow. The State government screws local government? Say it ain't so... Assemblymember Ruskin, can you spare a dime?

The trial begins for alleged cop killer Alberto Alvarez, accused of shooting an East Palo Alto Police Officer...

You remember this story about the Redwood City DUI checkpoint and the actions of a City Councilmember who had it shut down... Councilmember Barbara Pierce didn’t do anything wrong (technically). Case closed.

A body was found at the bottom of a steep cliff near Pacifica. Yikes!

And poor, poor Fox Theater owners… they are trying desperately to hobble together a deal that would save the historic theater from being auctioned off in a few days. “It’s not over til it’s over,” according to owner Mike Monte.

South San Francisco celebrated the groundbreaking of the new ferry terminal that will help people get to and from their jobs… at least the very few of you who have jobs.

Mavericks surf contest starts early this year. Let's hope the weather cooperates...

Another Palo Alto teen commits suicide on Caltrain tracks. Scary.

If you got a flat tire driving along Highway 84 on Sunday, this is why...