Morning News Round-Up -- 3.29.10: Home/Loan Gate continues in Atherton...

Well, it was a big day in Atherton on Friday. There was a City Council meeting scheduled to discuss Councilmember Charles Marsala's residency (which allegedly is not in Atherton) and a loan which he (allegedly) sought from a guy that was suing the Town. In any event, there wasn't a quorum so the meeting didn't really happen, but Marsala's foes on the Council, Kathy McKeithen and Jim Dobbie, did hold court and hear from the community (a.k.a. their friends) about Marsala... Home/Loan Gate continues.....

The financial incentives for Menlo Park to approve the Bohannon project look very strong... $1.67 million per year strong. Good luck saying no to that...

Perhaps MP could share some of their wealth to keep County parks from taking a huge hit... but don't bet on it.

The La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District has had a tough time of it recently... and by recently we mean the past 3 years. Bond money spent improperly, Superintendent turn-over, being on the State's education shit list... so drastic changes could be afoot. And not a moment too soon...

A San Carlos woman died off Sharp Park Beach on Sunday. She was trying to rescue her dog that had been swept up in a wave...

We end on this enlightening note:

Dude. Cow Palace. April 17 and 18. Just in time for 420...

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.9.10: Sorry about yesterday...

We left you hanging yesterday and we are sorry. There was some news over the weekend. Here's a recap: schools are hurting because of the budget (take your pick), people are mad about High-Speed Rail (take your pick), someone took the stand in a big case (former Belmont Chamber dude)...

Now, onto Tuesday...

A list came out of the lowest performing (failing) schools came out yesterday. It is a list that nobody wanted to be on... but here is who is on the list locally:

• Pescadero Elementary and Middle School (La Honda-Pescadero Unified)
• Costaño Elementary, Edison-Ronald McNair Intermediate, and Stanford New School (Ravenswood City School District)

From failing schools to ones that work... the Commuity College District is moving closer and closer to tax...

San Carlos is considering outsourcing police officers and firefighters. That should be a fun City Council meeting...

From the option of outsourcing the police to this one of sharing the police between Millbrae and San Bruno...

The former Belmont Chamber Chair's trial moves the jury...

There was a house fire in Menlo Park's Sharon Heights neighborhood yesterday and neighbors helped neighbors to get it out, along with Menlo Park Fire Protection folks...

Morning News Round-Up -- 1.19.10: Rain, rain, go away...

Get your coffee, this is going to be a long one...

Before we begin, be careful out there folks. Especially coastside readers. The Half Moon Bay City Hall was (slightly) damaged, but the storm is still brewing. Stay safe y'all.

It is finally the political season locally, which usually means an uptick in stories about local races and a general influx of mud-slinging in Watch Dog's email-box. No mud today, but a few local stories about political races to come:

Three folks are lining up to replace Assemblymember Ira Ruskin (as he prepares for bigger things?). Supervisor Rich Gordon, venture capitalist Josh Becker, and Palo Alto City Councilmember Yoriko Kishimoto are lined up. (Marc Berman and Kai Stinchcombe were once in the race too, but they dropped out to support Josh Becker.) This will be a local battle of the highest order and, frankly, Watch Dog can't wait. (Remember candidates and political hacks our email is watchdogsanmateo@gmail.com.)

Unelected Supervisor Carole Groom is getting a challenger in her previously free-ride into trying to get elected into the office she holds for the first time... fortunately for Groom, the dude running against her is a cabinet maker, not a seasoned politician. Why is Danial Duane Kaul running? Well, according to the Daily News, because he is against the County's, "...idiotic council members and idiotic supervisors..." Mr. Kaul, please write a piece about all your views for Watch Dog and we will run it, unedited... honestly.

Burlingame's The Sherman floating restaurant faces $60,000 in fines for spilling hazmats into the Bay. (But not being fined for putting hazmats on people's plates? Just kidding.) The place is shut down for the time being.

This may be the most obvious headline ever: East Palo Alto Mayor wants to increase city coffers. To the County Times headline editor: Is there a Mayor in the world that wants to do anything different than that?

There is finally some news coming out of the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District that doesn't involve fiscal mismanagement or retiring while under the gun: the Pescadero High School Principal will be the next Superintendent -- that's good. They are also seeking a new business services director -- that makes sense given the District's history.

Riptide wants you, and presumably everyone else in the County, to take action to save San Bruno Mountain... and while they are on the land-use topic... Riptide is concerned (and has back-up) that Pacifica will become the "Daly City" on the Coast... and that is definately NOT a compliment to Daly City.

Cell phone reception may be getting a bit worse in San Carlos because officials are concerned about noise complaints stemming from the ground-mounted equipment attached to the boxes... wait until San Carlos officials start hearing complaints about the bad cell service... then what?

Yesterday was Monday and Monday is Sue Lempert's day in the Daily Journal. She goes after a certain daily newspaper on the Peninsula and calls their reporting "Yellow Journalism"...

The Dalai Lama is coming to the Ravenswood School District in October. We love His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, but we also don't want the visit to drain resources (security, transportation, staffing) to put a financial burden on the School District. Watch Dog will be watching...

Someone (or someones) apparently set fire to the area of Capuchino High School in San Bruno that is under construction on Sunday night. $25,000 worth of damage was apparently done. Arson investigators are looking into it... Somehow the senior prank at M-A last year seems so much more innocent.

Phew... have a good day folks.

Morning News Round-Up -- 9.14.09: Ayres Round II

Williams Ayres will be retried for molestation... but he'll have a new defense attorney this time. Doron Weinberg was traded for Jonathan McDougall, a first round pick, and a player to be named later.

Speaking of high-profile court cases with sexual undertones... the Belmont Chamber Board President is facing molestation charges too. Unlike Ayres, however, Michael Kazarian seems to have friends coming to his defense...

Duh. The candidates for San Mateo Union High School District Board are talking about the budget... And so are San Mateo City Council candidates… While we are at it, David Lim was endorsed by the Sierra Club.

High-Speed Rail officials promised they would collaborate with Peninsula residents on the design of the controversial rail line. Promises, promisPost Optionses. It doesn't really matter, NIMBYs will never support High-Speed Rail. Plan on Rod Diridon...

As if the La Honda-Pescadero School District needed more controversy... parents are now saying the buildings are unsafe. This comes on the heals of alleged financial mismanagement, lawsuits, and the recent exit of the Superintendent.

Here is irony for you: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger worked hard to make California the bellwether of green policy, yet he is about to become the only Governor to close State parks to balance the budget. The State is expected to announce which parks will close this week. Stand by Coastsiders...

Morning News Round-Up -- 8.3.09: Dude, get that application in...

"Dude... wouldn't it be totally awesome if we owned our own medical marijuana coop?" This life-imitating-art idea can happen in San Mateo County. Applications are now being accepted. Silas and Shane need to stay in school for a few more years, however.

Local public employee unions can't be happy about this development. A task force of local elected officials, under the auspices of the San Mateo County Council of Cities (SMCCC, for your acronym junkies), is looking at public employee pensions and what to do about them. We have a sneaking suspicion that making them more robust isn't going to be one of the task force's recommendations...

No big shocker here... the La Honda-Pescadero School Board heard a report about millions of dollars that were wasted on construction projects in their District. As if losing a Superintendent and getting sued for fiscal mismanagement wasn't bad enough...

Sharp Park is in the news again this week. To the surprise of no one, a San Francisco task force missed a deadline for updating their plans to do something with Shark Park. Apparently, Pacifica is getting a pretty clear picture of what it is like to deal with San Francisco City Government...

Now politics...

• Don Horsley would like everyone to know that he is a formidable candidate for County Supervisor. He raised lots and lots of money for his race next year -- $133K+ -- to be close to exact.
• As if politics weren't already an issue in the Sequoia Union High School District (think the Everest vs. Sequoia battle) four folks are lining up to take the place of two current Board members (Sally Stewart and Gordon Lewin) who are not running again. The four: Alan Sarver, Virginia Chang Kiraly, Chris Thomsen, and Bob Ferrando. But wait, there could be more... an entire month will pass before the filing deadline.
• Monday = Sue Lempert (Daily Journal). Today, she gives us lots of numbers: 7 deadly sins of California's budget mess, 4 things the California Constitutional Conventioner speakers should be allowed to talk about, and 13, as in Prop 13...
• If you read Watch Dog you know that there is a 25 year old running for Half Moon Bay City Council (the Daily Journal and the Half Moon Bay Review just caught on...) The County Times had that story a few weeks ago... which we ripped off, I mean aggregated. Hey, if a 25 year old wants to help dig HMB out of a financial mess, more power to him... You go Charles Hoelzel.

We hope you don't schedule your week around spending Wednesdays in court... That's because the State cuts are causing courts to close one day per week.

The horn-y Caltrain issue is finding some creative solutions... like turning down the horn.

Morning News Round-Up -- 6.22.09: ChowderMobile

Call it San Mateo County's own mini-bail out program for non-profits. The County is putting $500K together for emergency funding for troubled non-profits. This is good news. The bad news? There are $2.7 million being sought by non-profits...

Foster City Councilmember Pam Frisella writes for the Daily Journal today on the topic of heroes. (Watch Dog started reading it and thought it was about the NBC show... it isn't.) She goes on to talk about the Red Cross Heroes breakfast. One note to Pam that perhaps she could pass on to her colleagues -- a school district in your town is looking for some heroes on the City Council to help find land for a school...

Speaking of the San Mateo-Foster City School District, the report card system for grading students that went into affect this past year will stay in place for next year. Perhaps the School District would like to implement a standards-based report card system for the Foster City City Council as well?

Now here is an idea Watch Dog can get behind: a Sam's Chowder House ChowderMobile! Coming to a high-tech campus near you. They cannot bring you Half Moon Bay views, but they can bring you chowder...

In an (un)related story... a Half Moon Bay fisherman was towed to safety after radioing for assistance on Saturday. It must have been rough out there because later on Saturday, a surfer at Pomponio State Beach went missing. There hasn't been an update yet online about how the search has gone.

In an ongoing theme on Watch Dog, here is your daily dose of La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District news... they named an Interim Superintendent to replace outgoing Superintendent Tim Beard. (We'll leave it to tomorrow's story to talk about lawsuits and fiscal mismanagement...)

The initial Garbage Saga has been covered in great length here on Watch Dog, but the Mini-Garbage Saga in Pacifica opens another chapter today as the Pacifica City Council starts to talk about replacing the beleaguered Coastside Scavenger... (Thanks Riptide...)

Palo Alto Police teamed up with the Sheriff's Marijuana Eradication Team to find (and smoke?) $15 million worth of weed in the foothills last week. Dude... if the weed is grown in Palo Alto, does that mean it costs more?

Watch Dog recently recapped a story about Palo Alto's Alma Plaza project which is hitting some rough times. Greenbrier Homes has pulled out of the mixed-use project but is suing to get back over $5 million in "option fees" back from the project's developer...

Morning News Round-Up -- 6.18.09: Tone-Deaf Edition...

How are local governments going to make up the budget gap? Well, different ways in different cities. In Millbrae, a red light camera could generate $50,000 per year -- and they are going for it. Drive safe out there... (The Civil Grand Jury has never had such a big financial impact. You don't know what I'm talking about?) That $50,000 won't mean anything if the Millbrae Fire Assessment isn't passing with voters as we speak, however.

In other bad, local government budget news...

Half Moon Bay + $18 million legal settlement + No state bail out = Bonds...

And in a (related) tone-deaf move, the HMB City Council approved raises for their City Manager and Finance Director. Good timing...

The only school district that has been in the news more than La Honda-Pescadero recently is Redwood City Elementary... and school districts being in the news everyday can only mean one of two things: (alleged) corruption (La Honda-Pescadero) or severe budget cuts (Redwood City Elementary)...

Two High-Speed Rail NIMBYs (one from Menlo Park and one from Atherton) are raising money for the NIMBY lawsuit against the California High-Speed Rail Authority. On the one hand, it must be a tough time to raise money. On the other hand, if you have to raise NIMBY money, Menlo Park and Atherton are probably the best places in the entire world to start...

The Daily Journal's Michelle Durand must be reading Watch Dog (and/or watching Saturday Night Live). Really Michelle? Really...

Here's a Watch Dog San Mateo/Watch Dog Silicon Valley story for you: Gubernatorial candidates must have passed each other on 101 yesterday. Republican Tom Campbell spoke to a joint session of Congress, well, actually it was a joint session of the Burlingame, Foster City, and San Mateo Rotaries in Foster City. Democrat Gavin Newsom spoke to the San Jose Rotary. We will let you decide which event was more high-profile and we'll let pundits describe the chances each candidate has or does not have...

A good news bad news story from East Palo Alto... the good: seven folks were arrested in an EPA drug sting operation. the bad: a drug sting operation is necessary at all.

Some will call Stanford Hospital's $124 million investment in "community benefits" a way for Stanford to be a good neighbor to their Palo Alto "friends". Others will call this investment a way to buy good will... If it is the latter, the price of good will is pretty steep...

Morning News Round-Up -- 6.17.09: Sequia vs. Everest, Round 11 (?)

The Sequoia Union High School District versus Everest Charter School battle has not been a pretty one. But the latest move from Everest to secure its own site in a Redwood City office building, as opposed to a portables village in East Palo Alto where the District would like to put Everest, is causing the District some (apparent) grief. The District may challenge Everest's permits to occupy the building... this gets more and more contentious and more and more ugly...

The budgetary impacts of the failed parcel tax in Redwood City Elementary School District are now happening. Summer school is getting cut, almost completely.

Burlingame got into the budgetary axe-tion (action, get it?). They passed their budget last night. (They also approved their "Climate Action Plan" at last night's meeting.)

The COWs of Woodside chime in on Woodside's budget and the impact of the State's tax grab...

On the flip side of budgetary things, Federal Stimulus dollars, $875,800 of them to be exact, are being used in San Mateo to put solar panels on the Main Library's roof (and replace some street lights and to launch an energy audit program for San Mateoans...)

Daily Journal Editor Jon Mays goes all Michael Bauer on us today, including a little self-deprecating humor about his belly...

Can you spare a few million? The Rockaway Quarry in Pacifica is for sale, but you knew that... sellers are hard to come by. In the most unsurprising news of the day, the credit market for commercial developers is tight right now, making the interest for this site, pretty minimal...

The Half Moon Bay Bail Out Bill in the State Legislature doesn't look like a likely plan to save HMB. So HMB is going to put out bonds for $15 million to pay Chop Keenan instead...

Speaking of Bail Outs, the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District threw itself at the mercy of the Board of Supervisors for a $2.5 million lifeline this week. The Supervisors tabled the item...

Morning News Round-Up -- 6.16.09: "It's in the budget, it's covered, it's allowable..."

As every local government cuts back, sometimes dramatically, some of the Board of Supervisors is spending money like... well, like Supervisor Rose Jacobs Gibson... This is not a good story for Supervisor Jacobs Gibson. Anytime a quote like this is included in story, it isn't good: "...It's in the budget, it's covered, it's allowable, so I do it. Period..." Just because it is "allowable" doesn't make it a good idea...

The State's grab for local money means our local roads will get worse before they get better. This should come as a surprise to exactly nobody. Perhaps Supervisor Jacobs Gibson has some extra expense account money around?

Here's some wishful thinking. The San Mateo City Council passed its City Budget last night with the assumption that two tax measures on the ballot in November 2009 will pass... oh, the budget also doesn't include the State's next local tax grab.

Palo Alto passed their budget too. The budget wasn't pretty... Neither is their proposed business license tax, but that's moving forward too...

The trial of (alleged) molester/child psychiatrist William Ayres get some ink today. Pre-trial motions are being heard and the Ayres' defense is arguing that books containing images of naked boys that were taken from Ayres' office should not be allowed into evidence... fruit from the poison tree, and all that legal mumbo-jumbo. Remember to visit William Ayres Watch...

We are hopeful there will be a day soon when the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District won't make the Watch Dog Morning News Round-Up... but it isn't today. They are asking the County Board of Supervisors (and Supervisor Jacobs Gibson) for a $2.5 million loan... like the County's roads, it is going to get worse before it gets better. The money is for construction projects that have been on hold for a while. Also, isn't it Superintendent Tim Beard's last day soon?

Oh, and the La Honda-Pescadero Unified lawsuit (a local attorney is suing the District for misusing bond money) was delayed last Friday...

Bruce at the PP Examiner doesn't waste much time in his piece about Redwood City Mayor Rosanne Foust. His headline: Redwood City Mayor is a NIMBY...

Morning News Round-Up -- 6.1.09: Guess who's back?

Last Friday, the day started with a bad Internet connection at Watch Dog world headquarters. Our intention was to hit Kinkos, update Watch Dog, and go about our merry way. Well, there are so many delicious breakfast places on the way to Kinkos, that we stopped. We got a call while at breakfast, and one thing led to another, and things just slipped away. If something happened that you think we missed but deserves attention, shoot us an email. If not, onward and upward...

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Finally... the trial of Dr. William Hamilton Ayres begins today on sexual molestation charges. This trial has been delayed and delayed and delayed. We know some of our Watch Dog readers are close followers of this trial, so updates will likely come in the form of direct news and direct insight. If we are lucky, perhaps the Foul Mouthed Judge will make an appearance...

Stop breaking into cars... (at least if you do that in San Carlos.) The White Oaks neighborhood in San Carlos started a neighborhood watch program. Another impact of local budget cuts, we presume.

No neighborhood watch is going to stop this type of crime, but biologists did... Two years ago, the private water company that provides water to the City of San Mateo, California Water Services, Inc., spilled chemicals into Polhemus Creek, killing 30 protected fish. They were just slapped with a nearly $200,000 fine.

Not wanting to sail (quietly) into the sunset, former Assemblymember Gene Mullin takes some shots at the US Secretary of Education's plans for schools in today's Daily Journal. No matter what Mullin says we know one thing for certain, Secretary Duncan could dunk on Mullin.

The ACIL (not the ACLU, the Atherton Civil Interest League) had a public meeting last week to talk about High-Speed Rail. Talking about High-Speed Rail in Atherton is not really a debate... here is a funny line from the Almanac's NIMBY story:

If there were any high-speed rail supporters in the house, they kept that fact to themselves.

To round off the NIMBYism, Paul Losch (a Palo Alto Weekly blogger), calls High-Speed Rail a boondoggle. That seems constructive... Which brings up something interesting (or funny): When Paul Losch blogs, you can almost count on the phrase, "in my professional life" or something about his professional background. We get it Paul... you are a successful man.

The La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District is going through some challenging times. Some (apparently) misspent bond money and a Superintendent that's hitting the road. (We have an idea where he's going.) Oh yeah, a local lawyer also filed suit against the District -- which has just been revised -- that alleges financial abuse by the District Board and Superintendent. Stay tuned...

Supervisors nominated 3 Pacifica City Councilmembers for the California Coastal Commission. We wonder if these potential Commissioners-to-be will have a say in the Sharp Park issue...

The one-man press/endorsement machine, David Lim, scored another one... State Senator Leland Yee is backing Mr. Lim's bid for San Mateo City Council...

Morning News Round-Up -- 5.11.09: The Wacky World of San Francisco Politics (with a San Mateo County/Pacifica twist...)

Sharp Park Update: Pacifica and the County of San Mateo are now (hopefully) in the mix as the City/County of San Francisco look at the Sharp Park issue. Imperial Supervisor Ross Mirkirimi wants to hand the land over to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, but San Mateo County/Pacifica want to be in the mix too. The folks pushing the San Mateo/Pacifica plan include Assemblymember Jerry Hill, Pacifica Mayor Julie Lancelle, and SF Supervisor Sean Elsbernd. This makes it official -- the Sharp Park issue is now part of the wacky world of San Francisco politics. If two Supervisors have opposing ideas, expect the unexpected...

Palo Alto's Jack Morton may have stirred up High-Speed Rail's Rod Diridon... Diridon fired back to the Peninsula and urged everyone here to be patient, nothing has been decided about elevated tracks or tunneling or anything else. Diridon did not say, "Chill everyone..." But he probably should have...

Here are today's "governments-in-financial-crises" stories:

The San Mateo Libraries are cutting (way) back to save money. If you love libraries, you better head to a public meeting and have your voice heard... the next one is tonight at 7 p.m.

Speaking of San Mateo, some unions are weighing the options of pay-cuts or layoffs... San Mateo is also considering two tax hikes (sales and hotel) on the November 2009 ballot.

In Palo Alto, the Firefighters' union is giving up scheduled pay-raises... Vice Mayor Jack Morton thanked them for "...stepping up to the plate..."

The La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District made its cuts official: 3 elementary teachers will be let go and a high school Spanish teacher will go to 2/3 time. On the administrative side, a secretarial position was cut and an after-school program director will go to 3/4 time. Don't forget, this is a District facing the loss of its Superintendent and a pending legal battle about misspending bond money.

The State's horrible finances are crushing cities and other local agencies. Palo Alto may lose (another) $2.43 million to the State if the Governor's newest plan is enacted.

A bad accident in Half Moon Bay on Highway 1 killed a 16 year-old on Saturday morning...

Sue Lempert's Monday update in the Daily Journal covers a lot of ground. She talks flood protection taxes, Facebook, and (unelected) Supervisor Groom's new gig. Then she gets to the good stuff, Garbage and San Mateo Politics. On the Garbage front, she discusses the push to put elected officials on the garbage oversight agency, the South Bayside Waste Management Authority. In San Mateo Politics, she beats Watch Dog to the punch on the Assemblymember Jerry Hill endorsement of David Lim for San Mateo City Council...

A former County mental health clinic worker is suing the County for employment discrimination. The woman filing suit against the County was fired for (allegedly) running a real estate firm from her County post...

The COWs of Woodside are promoting the Spring "Event at Woodside"... May 22-24. BYOS (Bring Your Own Saddle...)

Morning News Roun-Up -- 4.27.09: Atherton's BFF Edition...

Just when you thought all the controversy in Atherton was dying down...it roars again. Watch Dog (and the Civil Grand Jury) wrote about the Menlo-Atherton High School facilities' report that the Civil Grand Jury recently came out with. Well, it seems Atherton Councilmember Kathy McKeithen (and her BFF on the Atherton Council Jim Dobbie) are "disgusted" with the report. However, McKeithen didn't say, "These damn kids make so much noise...don't they know this is Atherton?!" (Ms. McKeithen and Mr. Dobbie, here is what BFF means...)

Congresswoman Speier is busy...really, that's what this story is about. Well, it talks about her first year in office. If you read Watch Dog at all, you know that we know Speier is busy, and effective.

More plans for the (much anticipated/much delayed/much written-about) Burlingame Safeway have been released. Take a peak, pictures and all...

The San Bruno Mountain Watch Conservancy is born. They are trying to raise enough money to buy private property and maintain some sense of nature on the mountain...

Lots of school news to Round-Up today...

• Two Sequoia Union High School District principals have said good bye recently, so two new were just named: Bonnie Hansen at Sequoia High School and Raul Zamora at Carlmont High School. Hansen is already well-known in the District because she has been at Sequioa for 14 years. Zamora, is coming back to the District after a stint in Orinda. Welcome to Watch Dog friends.
• In other (musical chairs) school news, Palo Alto Unified's Assistant Superintendent Scott Laurence will leave the District to become the Superintendent of the San Mateo High School District.
• Hey all you out-of-work Auditors (and CPAs too) -- you should check out the Palo Alto Unified's website, they are looking for folks to give a check-up on their performance related to the spending of nearly $400 million in bond money. Your future starts here...
• The La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District is in trouble. They (seemingly) botched the spending of a bunch of bond money, their Superintendent is leaving, the District is being sued by the local watchdog/lawyer, and the San Mateo County Office of Education has some ideas about they need to do to get their act together. The spot light has been shone upon the La Honda-Pescader Unified...we'll see how they respond.

A Half Moon Bay group of folks concerned with the sudden closure of the Coastside Family Medical Center have launched the "Phoenix Project" to see about re-launching a medical facility on the Coast. Perhaps its time for another Coastside Town Hall Supervisor Gordon?

Riptide delves into some truth: Pacifica is in fiscal trouble if Measure D (the sales tax hike) doesn't pass...but they are in trouble if Measure D does pass too. Sort of like California with Measures A-F...

And it isn't just finances that are on folks' minds in Pacifica, so is the General Plan update.

Redwood City is taking advantage of a down real estate market (while at the same time drawing down some capital funds from a variety of sources). They will purchase a 9.5 acre site for $4.45 million for a water tank (?), a park, a place to park its trucks, public access to the Bay, and a commercial use.

The dusky-footed woodrat will take center stage tonight at the San Carlos City Council...along with NIMBYs and a developer...about the Devonshire Canyon (5-home) development being considered.

Sue Lempert's Daily Journal column today reminds us that there was once a crappy President who wanted to let us put our Social Security money in the stock market...seriously.

San Mateo City Council candidate David Lim checks in through his campaign blog about overcrowding in some San Mateo apartment complexes. It isn't that we are only following David, it is just that other folks don't seem to be that "with it" with their web presence. Supervisor Rich Gordon, who is running for a much higher office than San Mateo City Council, hasn't really updated his site since he announced he was running...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.13.09: The Garbage Saga Continues...still

The Garbage Saga is back. You'll remember when the Saga started, it was about whether or not to replace the current garbage collection company (Allied Waste) with a new company (Norcal). The South Bayside Waste Management Authority (SBMWA), the folks that oversee the contract, recommended Norcal, and Allied is now packing its bags...or at least they will be next year as Norcal will launch their San Mateo County fleet in 2011. But the contract to sort, sell, and manage all the recycling stuff at the "Shoreway Facility" off 101 in San Carlos is causing everyone headaches. The SBWMA is recommending South Bay Recycling, but the Teamsters (and the Board of Supervisors) are recommending Hudson Baylor. This is already messy...but it about to get messy-er. (Or Messier, for your hockey fans.) The rest of the SBWMA jurisdictions are about to make their decision between South Bay and Hudson Baylor...you can read the news about it in your local papers, but get the insight about it here.

To the next local saga...the Carlmont High School traffic lane. Remember, Belmont closed a lane near Carlmont High School and people flipped out. San Carlos is not pleased, neither are parents or commuters. Watch Dog commended the Belmont City Manager Jack Crist when this issue first blew up for being a Profile in Courage, but we'll see if the Belmont City Council can take the heat as they readdress the issue on Tuesday night. From the looks of things, the lane of traffic will not be replaced...

In another long-brewing San Carlos issue, the Highland Park artificial turf is likely to come a bitter end tomorrow as the San Carlos City Council is expected to give a thumbs up to turf (after nearly a decade...)

Another project slows...this time in Foster City. The Mirabella project is slowing down because of the economy, meaning the revenue to Foster City is going to take a while to materialize. We'll blame the economy, not these folks, for the delay.

County is waiting for reimbursement money from the State for the May 19th elections...good luck...

As if Assemblymember Jerry Hill doesn't get enough ink in the local papers, the Daily Journal's Keith Kreitman interviews the Bearded One.

Palo Alto is considering pay cuts...that should go over well.

High-Speed NIMBYism is spreading...this time to Burlingame

The La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District situation is getting worse -- all from the fall-out from (alleged) fiscal mismanagement of bond funds. First, the Superintendent announced he was leaving. Then a local attorney files suit against the District. Now, the County Superintendent is stepping in to try to help. (Just a quick word of advice: It would be great if the County Superintendent could step in when things were being mismanaged, as opposed to stepping in to handle the handling of the mismanagement...)

The biodiesel project in Pacifica gets some ink in Riptide, but this piece goes deeper than that. Nancy Hall, a supporter of the project and the person who (apparently) brought the thought forward, plays a little defense (and offense) about the project and her political opponents. If you want a glimpse at how personal Pacifica politics can be, take a gander...

Riptide also tries to clear up some misunderstanding about Pacifica's sales tax hike that folks will be voting on...prescription drugs and food will (or won't?) be taxed...

Sue Lempert chimes in on the latest and greatest around the County in her Daily Journal piece, including Warren Slocum's feelings about Pay-Cut Gate and elected officials whose budgets are voted on by other elected officials (like in Pay-Cut Gate). But she saves the best for last when she picks her own San Francisco fight -- backing Quentin Kopp's idea of the High-Speed Rail going all the way to the Transbay Terminal instead of 4th and King. Watch Dog has another idea for Lempert, next week, pick a fight with San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi for wanting to take away Pacifica's public golf course...

The New Moon Bookstore is closing in downtown Half Moon Bay. Couple this loss with the fact that Half Moon Bay's 4-star Cetrella has been on "hiatus" for sometime...and the anxiety about downtown Half Moon Bay sets in...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.7.09: Dude? Dude. Dude! Gold teeth...

This is a pretty short story, but it is potentially big news: Belmont is reconsidering its sewage rate hike. The City Council will recommend that they delay implementing their new sewage fee hike for two years. This means that the protest of residents and businesses was successful. One question, how does Belmont think their residents are going to react to increased garbage rates as part of the ongoing Garbage Saga? Or a bigger question, how does Belmont think residents are going to react if the City decides to take over the electric utility in town? Councilmember Dickenson, don't you think this all means increased costs to residents?

There was a bomb scare at the San Mateo Planned Parenthood clinic yesterday. The bomb squad "neutralized" the package -- but they don't think it was actually a bomb.

Another day another High-Speed Rail idea. This time, the City of San Mateo is pushing for a tunnel. Perhaps they should have one of their (unemployed) tech-savvy neighbors put together a video rendering to make their case, like this...

Another day another School District looking at cutting staff to save costs. This time, the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District is looking to cut $7 million from its budget over the next two years (50 employees)...

Speaking of School Districts in trouble...The La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District Superintendent is leaving town on the heals of (alleged) mismanagement of bond money. It is a good thing too -- because a dude from Pescadero if filing a lawsuit against the District claiming mismanagement of bond money...

On the positive side for schools, Federal stimulus could be injected starting next month...

(In a campaign-timed public meeting) Last night, Burlingame explained what it would mean to their City budget if their May 5th ballot measure does not pass. Ballots are going out today...Good timing...

Tempers flared in the usually mellow Palo Alto City Council chambers yesterday. Vice Mayor Jack Morton accused the Fire Department of "giving the City the finger" because it was refusing to figure out where to cut its own budget. This caused people to go ballistic, including Councilmember Larry Klein, who wants to keep Palo Alto mellow. Klein called Morton's choice words, "unprofessional and intemperate"...the gloves are coming off as the economic reality sets in.

Now we know why the Daily Journal's Michelle Durand is threatening to leave California...because she wants to become a "grill artist"...If you don't know what that means and you want to laugh, take a look.

John Horgan seems angry today. He bashes Pacifica for being a haven of no-growth activists (et tu Riptide?) and goes on to bash Willie Brown for his piece in Sunday's Chronicle equating Mayor Ron Dellums not speaking at the funeral of four fallen officers to Brown's not being able to march in a St. Patrick's Day Parade...

The Grand Jury came out with a report yesterday blasting the City of Atherton for trying to dictate what happens at Menlo-Atherton High School's fields. Here is the full Grand Jury report, but Watch Dog thinks this might have an impact on the Town Council's balance of power. Several of the Town Council come from the politically powerful, but anti-MA, Lindenwood Neighborhood, which this Grand Jury report firmly slaps.

Dude 1: "Dude...the San Mateo City Council just passed a pot ordinace.."
Dude 2: "Dude?"
Dude 1: "Dude."
Dude 1 and 2: "Dude..."

In an Editorial that the Sequoia Union High School District will not like, the Mercury News chimes in on the explosion of Charter School applications in Silicon Valley...

Morning News Round-Up -- 12.19.08: Farewell Chief Lynne Johnson...

If you ever walk along the beach in Pacifica -- here's hoping you never see anything like this...the body of a dead woman was found at the Sharp Park Golf Course yesterday and is being described as a "suspicious death" according to police...

A quick media not on the Pacifica body story...the story is everywhere (tv, radio, newspapers, etc.) except on the Pacifica Tribune's website. If you aren't going to cover the biggest story in your own community in a timely fashion, why have a website at all? And while it isn't up yet on the Tribune's site, Pacifica Riptide (introduced to Watch Dog readers yesterday) has the details...

The Daily Journal's Editor John Mays writes what everyone has been thinking about Sacramento -- the games are silly and none of the three-sided decision making triangle is doing anything productive (Gov/Dems/Reps)...

School construction in California is difficult -- but it isn't this difficult...The La-Honda-Pescadero Unified School District and/or the contractor who was/is supposed to do the work on the District's schools messed up...finger-pointing aside, the District seems to be on the hook for the screw up right now which is going to cost (a lot of) money and time...

Mercury News columnist Patty Fisher gets one last piece in about (mercifully) retiring Palo Alto Police Chief Lynne Johnson. Fisher could have read through all the postings on Watch Dog to get her details...unfortunately, there is another story locally about racial profiling that has another Police Chief (and Mayor) answering difficult questions...