Morning News Round-Up -- 5.28.10: Drive safe...

This is a Friday before a long weekend, so you must, must, must read the newspaper tomorrow. Late today is a great time to release horrible news if you are a government agency, elected official, corporation, or candidate. So, Watch Dog will be watching, but you should be too...

In a story that may get overlooked today, but will have lasting implications, Caltrain got an important "waiver" from the Federal government to move forward with electrification. Yes, it sounds boring, but it seems really important.

Speaking of lasting implications... there is oil spilling out of a sunken boat off of Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay. Authorities are trying to contain the spill -- which seems small potatoes compared to the Gulf Coast. But there is no such thing as small potatoes when you are talking about oil washing up on shore...

Campaign finance filings were due this week. And the Daily Journal chronicles the contributions for the Coroner's race... Can you imagine the fundraising pitch from someone running for Coroner?

You'll remember a while back that there is a new plan for Menlo Park's "downtown"... well, it seems some of the businesses and property owners (like 100 of them) don't really like the new plan all that much... This could get interesting.

Lots of property reassessments are happening these days, according to a story in the Daily Journal. That might be good for lowering property tax bills, but it is a tough thing for a lot of school districts who rely on the higher property tax bills... hence the flood of parcel taxes on the ballot in May, June, and probably November...

The Burlingame drive-in may become a mixed-use development... which is not nearly as cool as a drive-in... The Burlingame Voice has some perspective...

The Daily Journal chimes in on local measures and state propositions:

Local: Yes

State: Yes, Yes, No, No, No

You got that?

Watch Dog has less and less patience these days. This is not a news story: Bay Area families packing up and leaving for Memorial Day. Right, like every year since it was called Decoration Day following the Civil War...

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.