Sometimes you can't make these things up. A proposal for a new Charter School is being made to the South San Francisco Unified School District tonight. The name of the Charter School organization...Free World U. And obviously, the heads of the Charter School organization are referred to in the story as "The Leaders of the Free World U"...8 Mile anyone?
Belmont is thinking about getting their own utility company. Perhaps it will go as well as Palo Alto's is going...with the Federal investigation underway and not answering the phone during outages...
Rusting scraps of metal are pretty unsightly. That's why the City of San Mateo is looking at ways to clean up Bay Meadows...
The Reporters' Notebook at the Daily Journal is taking notes from Watch Dog. They picked up on Watch Dog's piece yesterday about David Lim's ongoing campaign for San Mateo City Council...
John Horgan in the County Times writes about Millbrae and rail lines...and picks up where the Daily Journal's Michelle Durand left off with the Brazilian wax story by talking about male waxing...
Weird timing on this one. Perhaps no other candidate for State Assembly has ever had a longer roll-out announcement of their campaign than Supervisor Rich Gordon...it was announced here, here, here, and here over the course of three months and now the Almanac (finally) gets in on the action. In case you missed it: Supervisor Rich Gordon is running for State Assembly. Perhaps the real news is that he has a new website richgordon2010.com and is being endorsed by Congresswoman Anna Eshoo...and Gordon "loves California"...
Sad news...it looks like the '09 Mavericks may not happen this year...put your wet-suits away.
Showing posts with label supervisor gordon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label supervisor gordon. Show all posts
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Morning News Round-Up -- 2.24.09: Bom Dia, Michelle Durand...
In case you missed it yesterday, check out Watch Dog's little ditty about a local Judge with a foul mouth...
The Garbage Saga continues...and continues...and continues. Menlo Park is the latest city to jack up garbage rates. And it's a big one. 32 percent in the next two years...Watch Dog anxiously awaits Lee Duboc's reaction.
On a related (?) note, Menlo Park is set to approve $18.8 million in new infrastructure projects...
It seems every City is updating its General Plan -- this includes San Bruno. (Remember, COW talked about Woodside's Plan as well.) San Bruno wants more parks and to bring more people (or any people) downtown. (Downtown San Bruno?)
Tonight, Belmont will consider an update to campaign finance regulations. The ordinance hasn't be updated in 20 years, apparently. No time like the present to write regulations to keep incumbents in office...You see, when sitting City Councilmembers write new campaign regulations, they almost always favor those in office, rather than potential challengers.
If it is Tuesday, it is time for Michelle Durand at the Daily Journal to go "Off the Beat"...and this one is not to be missed. She chimes in on the New Jersey legislature that was considering banning the Brazilian. Michelle doesn't like being told what to do...and it sounds like she knows a thing or two about Brazil...
The County of San Mateo is putting together its next budget...and it doesn't look good. The first draft has 40 folks getting cut and the elimination of 78 unfilled positions. It seems like the County might be listening to Menlo Park's Lee Duboc more closely than the City of Menlo Park is...
The tragic killing of 4 Oakland Police Officers last week has caused a judge in Redwood City to postpone a trial in San Mateo County where a gang member killed an officer in East Palo Alto...
There was a power outage in Palo Alto over the weekend, but that isn't the most interesting part of the story. This is:
Remember the recent fire in Downtown Menlo Park? Well, the Peet's that burned is on a fast-track to reopen. This is great news, because all the SUVs cruising apparently Menlo Park run on gasoline and caffeine...
You know you are in Atherton when...well, when people don't lock their car doors. There were 11 reports of folks cars being entered in Lindenwood -- all the cars were unlocked.
The meeting in Half Moon Bay about the closure attracted hundreds of folks...Supervisor Rich Gordon was on the hot-seat describing the County's relationship with the Coastside Family Medical Center. Gordon said they didn't know that closure was imminent and that they thought the Center could stay open "at least another few weeks..." Watch Dog isn't sure that the few weeks that Gordon referenced would have made the closure any more palatable to HMB residents...
The Garbage Saga continues...and continues...and continues. Menlo Park is the latest city to jack up garbage rates. And it's a big one. 32 percent in the next two years...Watch Dog anxiously awaits Lee Duboc's reaction.
On a related (?) note, Menlo Park is set to approve $18.8 million in new infrastructure projects...
It seems every City is updating its General Plan -- this includes San Bruno. (Remember, COW talked about Woodside's Plan as well.) San Bruno wants more parks and to bring more people (or any people) downtown. (Downtown San Bruno?)
Tonight, Belmont will consider an update to campaign finance regulations. The ordinance hasn't be updated in 20 years, apparently. No time like the present to write regulations to keep incumbents in office...You see, when sitting City Councilmembers write new campaign regulations, they almost always favor those in office, rather than potential challengers.
If it is Tuesday, it is time for Michelle Durand at the Daily Journal to go "Off the Beat"...and this one is not to be missed. She chimes in on the New Jersey legislature that was considering banning the Brazilian. Michelle doesn't like being told what to do...and it sounds like she knows a thing or two about Brazil...
The County of San Mateo is putting together its next budget...and it doesn't look good. The first draft has 40 folks getting cut and the elimination of 78 unfilled positions. It seems like the County might be listening to Menlo Park's Lee Duboc more closely than the City of Menlo Park is...
The tragic killing of 4 Oakland Police Officers last week has caused a judge in Redwood City to postpone a trial in San Mateo County where a gang member killed an officer in East Palo Alto...
There was a power outage in Palo Alto over the weekend, but that isn't the most interesting part of the story. This is:
No city utilities officials were available Sunday afternoon or evening to provide information about what was happening.Oops...
Remember the recent fire in Downtown Menlo Park? Well, the Peet's that burned is on a fast-track to reopen. This is great news, because all the SUVs cruising apparently Menlo Park run on gasoline and caffeine...
You know you are in Atherton when...well, when people don't lock their car doors. There were 11 reports of folks cars being entered in Lindenwood -- all the cars were unlocked.
The meeting in Half Moon Bay about the closure attracted hundreds of folks...Supervisor Rich Gordon was on the hot-seat describing the County's relationship with the Coastside Family Medical Center. Gordon said they didn't know that closure was imminent and that they thought the Center could stay open "at least another few weeks..." Watch Dog isn't sure that the few weeks that Gordon referenced would have made the closure any more palatable to HMB residents...
Monday, March 23, 2009
Morning News Round-Up -- 3.23.09: "Pay-Cut Gate"
You read it here first. In the ongoing Daly City drama where the City Council (in a politically-motivated fit of rage) cut the City Clerk's salary by half, Watch Dog referred to this issue as Pay-Cut Gate on Friday morning. Bruce Balshone at the PP Examiner must have liked that phrase because he used "Pay Gate" in his Friday evening post. Thanks for reading Bruce...
The Summit put together to try to address the Cold War between the City of Belmont on one side and the City of San Carlos/Carlmont High parents/commuters on the other, failed to come to consensus. The groups met to recommend some solutions to the Belmont City Council, but failed to do so. The Belmont City Council will discuss the issue at their April 14th...
In the weekend Daily Journal, Keith Kreitman interviewed Quentin Kopp about high speed rail...unsurprisingly, Kopp is its biggest booster (along with the brave Rod Diridon)...
As if public schools don't have enough to worry about -- they are coming to the realization that their "not so bad" cuts in the State budget could become "horrible" if the ballot measures don't pass in May...
While San Mateo County has some of the best employment numbers in the State...they are getting worse.
The Pacifica Rockaway Quarry is for sale...again. In 2005 it was worth $90 million...that's a lot of zeros.
Congresswoman Jackie Speier's stimulus advisory group met again and heard ideas for how to spend stimulus money. Watch Dog is only looking for $40 - $50 million.
Watch Dog's favorite term: "revenue enhancement strategies"...those are tax/fee increases folks. They were discussed on Saturday morning in Millbrae.
A Friday night, East Palo Alto shooting left 1 dead and 4 wounded...this was apparently the result of a party crasher...Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson were not there...
(Covered here and here last week...) Rest assured, the County Investment Pool doesn't seem to have assets at great risk...of course, this information would have been helpful to know before Lehman Brothers went belly-up...
A Pacifica resident, trying to bring attention to the wars in Afganistan and Iraq, put up signs in his yards with numbers casualties in each. His signs continue to get vandalized...
Nothing is more American than gambling......that's why Dennis Sammut of Artichoke Joe's loves his country so much that he installed a massive flag-pole with an enormous American flag flying from it...
If world domination weren't a big enough goal, Google-geek Larry Page wants to build a massive home in Old Palo Alto...don't worry though, it will be environmentally friendly. As environmentally friendly as a 6,000 square foot home can be, Watch Dog guesses. Probably not as environmentally friendly as a home half that size would be...
In an (un)related note, the "Tree House" development for low-income residents got final thumbs up in Palo Alto, but the developer needs to get an EcoPass transit pass for each of the residents who will live there. Perhaps Mr. Page wants to pick up that tab...
Here is a huge surprise: workers from the Palo Alto Utilities Department say they are innocent and that they were wrongly raided by U.S. Department of Transportation agents in February...(until proven guilty, that is...) In a (hopefully) unrelated story, on Sunday night there was a power outage in Palo Alto but residents and reporters could not get anyone at the Utilities Department on the phone to say how long until electricity would be up and running again. It has been a bad couple of weeks/months over there...
Careful driving through Burlingame...starting today, Big Brother is watching...
COW is going to have one...the Woodside fire-safe rules will go into effect on April 9th...
There will be a community meeting in Half Moon Bay on Monday to discuss the closure of the Coastside Family Medical Center. Supervisor (Assembly wanna-be) Rich Gordon will host the meeting...Remember attendees, the County revealed that it was done floating the Medical Center, even though the Medical Center was looking for more money.
The Summit put together to try to address the Cold War between the City of Belmont on one side and the City of San Carlos/Carlmont High parents/commuters on the other, failed to come to consensus. The groups met to recommend some solutions to the Belmont City Council, but failed to do so. The Belmont City Council will discuss the issue at their April 14th...
In the weekend Daily Journal, Keith Kreitman interviewed Quentin Kopp about high speed rail...unsurprisingly, Kopp is its biggest booster (along with the brave Rod Diridon)...
As if public schools don't have enough to worry about -- they are coming to the realization that their "not so bad" cuts in the State budget could become "horrible" if the ballot measures don't pass in May...
While San Mateo County has some of the best employment numbers in the State...they are getting worse.
The Pacifica Rockaway Quarry is for sale...again. In 2005 it was worth $90 million...that's a lot of zeros.
Congresswoman Jackie Speier's stimulus advisory group met again and heard ideas for how to spend stimulus money. Watch Dog is only looking for $40 - $50 million.
Watch Dog's favorite term: "revenue enhancement strategies"...those are tax/fee increases folks. They were discussed on Saturday morning in Millbrae.
A Friday night, East Palo Alto shooting left 1 dead and 4 wounded...this was apparently the result of a party crasher...Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson were not there...
(Covered here and here last week...) Rest assured, the County Investment Pool doesn't seem to have assets at great risk...of course, this information would have been helpful to know before Lehman Brothers went belly-up...
A Pacifica resident, trying to bring attention to the wars in Afganistan and Iraq, put up signs in his yards with numbers casualties in each. His signs continue to get vandalized...
Nothing is more American than gambling......that's why Dennis Sammut of Artichoke Joe's loves his country so much that he installed a massive flag-pole with an enormous American flag flying from it...
If world domination weren't a big enough goal, Google-geek Larry Page wants to build a massive home in Old Palo Alto...don't worry though, it will be environmentally friendly. As environmentally friendly as a 6,000 square foot home can be, Watch Dog guesses. Probably not as environmentally friendly as a home half that size would be...
In an (un)related note, the "Tree House" development for low-income residents got final thumbs up in Palo Alto, but the developer needs to get an EcoPass transit pass for each of the residents who will live there. Perhaps Mr. Page wants to pick up that tab...
Here is a huge surprise: workers from the Palo Alto Utilities Department say they are innocent and that they were wrongly raided by U.S. Department of Transportation agents in February...(until proven guilty, that is...) In a (hopefully) unrelated story, on Sunday night there was a power outage in Palo Alto but residents and reporters could not get anyone at the Utilities Department on the phone to say how long until electricity would be up and running again. It has been a bad couple of weeks/months over there...
Careful driving through Burlingame...starting today, Big Brother is watching...
COW is going to have one...the Woodside fire-safe rules will go into effect on April 9th...
There will be a community meeting in Half Moon Bay on Monday to discuss the closure of the Coastside Family Medical Center. Supervisor (Assembly wanna-be) Rich Gordon will host the meeting...Remember attendees, the County revealed that it was done floating the Medical Center, even though the Medical Center was looking for more money.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Morning News Round-Up -- 2.26.09: A San Mateo Surfer Scam...
Here is a true "Only in San Mateo County" story...a Maverick's surfer was due to appear at the San Mateo County Historical Museum for a bunch of events around the opening of an exhibition. The day before the event at the Museum, a man posing as surfer Grant Washburn scammed the Museum out of a couple of hundred bucks. This story is too weird to believe...No arrests have been made.
Watch Dog has been interested in the Garbage Saga forever...partly because of the intrigue, partly because of the cost, and partly because of the colorful quotes. But others have been interested too -- like the Civil Grand Jury, who took up outgoing Supervisor (now Assemblymember) Jerry Hill's call to action to look into how the 10-year contract was awarded to Norcal...the County Times gives us an update on the Civil Grand Jury investigation: nobody is talking about it...
As if taking a hint from the Daily Journal's Jon Mays' Editorial this week about consolidating municipal services, Burlingame is considering sharing fire and police services with Millbrae (along with a bunch of other cost-saving measures...)
San Mateo Union High School District is in a battle with local unions about signing Project Labor Agreements, which would (essentially) require union contractors be used for high school modernization projects.
Some local folks attended the recent California Constitutional Convention Summit, (a.k.a. the Tea Party) (a.k.a. Throw the Bums Out Meeting) that took place in Sacramento...Supervisors Gordon and Church were there...
On a (sort of) related note...
Teachers + California = Yearly Pink Slips...
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission -- the folks the dole out the cash -- has a new Vice Chair, and you may recognize her...
High-Speed Rail is coming to the Peninsula. (Some/All) Folks in Menlo Park and Atherton and Palo Alto hate it...but it seems that it is moving on a fast-track...(pun intended)...if you want to learn more (or spout off) there are two upcoming meetings, one tonight in Palo Alto and one in Redwood City...
And...San Carlos has its own Holly Street Bridge problems with high-speed rail they just (?) discovered...
Congresswoman Jackie Speier is the Woman with the Plan (and President Obama too)...Speier writes about her foreclosure plan today in the Daily Journal, and it got covered in a bunch of places as well. San Mateo County is extremely well-represented in Congress these days...
What is becoming a truism on Watch Dog, do not mess with school kids' parents. The uprising in the Burlingame Elementary School District about their lottery system meant to alleviate over-crowding, is now causing the District to rethink/scrap their plans and instead invest millions of dollars in new facilities...
As if it were a different time and/or a different place, there were protesters outside of the Planned Parenthood in San Mateo. Really? Still protesting outside of Planned Parenthood?
Surprise, surprise. A city-wide fiber optic network built by the City of Palo Alto is not likely to happen -- it seems -- after a decade of hoping and wishing and studying. It turns out it is expensive to build and maintain such things...really?
Or, perhaps it isn't the money, but the fact that Palo Alto-based utility-type things sometimes seem to be (perhaps) corrupt. The Palo Alto Utilities Department is being investigated by the US Department of Transportation for conspiracy to alter records...
Finally, Michelle Durand goes "Off the Beat" today in the Daily Journal and is right on point. Lamenting the (possible?) demise of the San Francisco Chronicle, she provides a reporter's insight into the newspaper industry. She ends her piece by asking "...if no journalists remain to cover the story, who will ask the questions?..." I'm doing my best Michelle...
Watch Dog has been interested in the Garbage Saga forever...partly because of the intrigue, partly because of the cost, and partly because of the colorful quotes. But others have been interested too -- like the Civil Grand Jury, who took up outgoing Supervisor (now Assemblymember) Jerry Hill's call to action to look into how the 10-year contract was awarded to Norcal...the County Times gives us an update on the Civil Grand Jury investigation: nobody is talking about it...
As if taking a hint from the Daily Journal's Jon Mays' Editorial this week about consolidating municipal services, Burlingame is considering sharing fire and police services with Millbrae (along with a bunch of other cost-saving measures...)
San Mateo Union High School District is in a battle with local unions about signing Project Labor Agreements, which would (essentially) require union contractors be used for high school modernization projects.
Some local folks attended the recent California Constitutional Convention Summit, (a.k.a. the Tea Party) (a.k.a. Throw the Bums Out Meeting) that took place in Sacramento...Supervisors Gordon and Church were there...
On a (sort of) related note...
Teachers + California = Yearly Pink Slips...
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission -- the folks the dole out the cash -- has a new Vice Chair, and you may recognize her...
High-Speed Rail is coming to the Peninsula. (Some/All) Folks in Menlo Park and Atherton and Palo Alto hate it...but it seems that it is moving on a fast-track...(pun intended)...if you want to learn more (or spout off) there are two upcoming meetings, one tonight in Palo Alto and one in Redwood City...
And...San Carlos has its own Holly Street Bridge problems with high-speed rail they just (?) discovered...
Congresswoman Jackie Speier is the Woman with the Plan (and President Obama too)...Speier writes about her foreclosure plan today in the Daily Journal, and it got covered in a bunch of places as well. San Mateo County is extremely well-represented in Congress these days...
What is becoming a truism on Watch Dog, do not mess with school kids' parents. The uprising in the Burlingame Elementary School District about their lottery system meant to alleviate over-crowding, is now causing the District to rethink/scrap their plans and instead invest millions of dollars in new facilities...
As if it were a different time and/or a different place, there were protesters outside of the Planned Parenthood in San Mateo. Really? Still protesting outside of Planned Parenthood?
Surprise, surprise. A city-wide fiber optic network built by the City of Palo Alto is not likely to happen -- it seems -- after a decade of hoping and wishing and studying. It turns out it is expensive to build and maintain such things...really?
Or, perhaps it isn't the money, but the fact that Palo Alto-based utility-type things sometimes seem to be (perhaps) corrupt. The Palo Alto Utilities Department is being investigated by the US Department of Transportation for conspiracy to alter records...
Finally, Michelle Durand goes "Off the Beat" today in the Daily Journal and is right on point. Lamenting the (possible?) demise of the San Francisco Chronicle, she provides a reporter's insight into the newspaper industry. She ends her piece by asking "...if no journalists remain to cover the story, who will ask the questions?..." I'm doing my best Michelle...
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Morning News Round-Up -- 2.11.09: Sensitivity Training (not yet) mandatory in Palo Alto...
What is is about Palo Alto public officials and talking about race and ethnicity? Last year, Palo Alto lost Police Chief Lynne Johnson because of stupid comments, now the Palo Alto Unified School District Superintendent is back tracking on comments about the achievement gap. Is the clock ticking on Kevin Skelly now too?
The County is really pissed. (Watch Dog has predicted a Tea Party...) The State is going to withhold money from the County because the State is out of cash. IOUs have a way of making people angry. Especially Supervisor Gordon, who said: “We will burn through our reserves fairly quickly and then what?” And then throw tea in the Bay Supervisor Gordon!
In a related note, Supervisors Gordon and Church will be heading to Sacramento for a California Constitution Summit in Sacramento on February 24th...presumably to help with the Tea Party...
Watch Dog has written about Everest Charter School (likely) getting its Charter. Well, one Charter School (Garfield Elementary Charter) is going from Charter School back to standard Public School (Redwood City Elementary School District).
The South San Francisco 12-story eye-sore/development will be occupied by the end of the year (hopefully)...Marketing was kicked off yesterday by giving tours to the South City City Council. The tour guide didn't say, "Isn't 101 a beautiful highway?!" While the developers are obviously trying to paint a rosy picture of the prospects for tenants, the County Times story paints a different picture...
We read (and wrote about) reports about the weekend robbing/sexual assault at a San Bruno gas station...well, it turns out there is a video that not only shows the assailant, but also shows him helping customers...a friendly criminal...
Daily Journal Editor Jon Mays discussed banning Styrofoam...(there is a proposed ban pending in San Bruno)...Specifically, Mays talks about Lt. Gov. John Garamendi's plan for a statewide ban. What else is there for the Lt. Gov. to do these days?...
Speaking of bans...the County Times provides us all an update on the Belmont smoking ban that went into effect last month. It turns out that nobody is coughing up a lung complaining about it yet...
The Fed’s showed up in Palo Alto’s Utilities Department and left with 7 boxes filled with documents about the qualifications (or lack thereof) of pipeline workers. Utilities' Director Valerie Fong isn’t worried, Palo Alto conducted its own investigation after questions were raised about employee qualifications. Fong said, “Our own assessment was that these tests were conducted with integrity, and the folks who work on the gas pipeline were indeed qualified."
The County is really pissed. (Watch Dog has predicted a Tea Party...) The State is going to withhold money from the County because the State is out of cash. IOUs have a way of making people angry. Especially Supervisor Gordon, who said: “We will burn through our reserves fairly quickly and then what?” And then throw tea in the Bay Supervisor Gordon!
In a related note, Supervisors Gordon and Church will be heading to Sacramento for a California Constitution Summit in Sacramento on February 24th...presumably to help with the Tea Party...
Watch Dog has written about Everest Charter School (likely) getting its Charter. Well, one Charter School (Garfield Elementary Charter) is going from Charter School back to standard Public School (Redwood City Elementary School District).
The South San Francisco 12-story eye-sore/development will be occupied by the end of the year (hopefully)...Marketing was kicked off yesterday by giving tours to the South City City Council. The tour guide didn't say, "Isn't 101 a beautiful highway?!" While the developers are obviously trying to paint a rosy picture of the prospects for tenants, the County Times story paints a different picture...
We read (and wrote about) reports about the weekend robbing/sexual assault at a San Bruno gas station...well, it turns out there is a video that not only shows the assailant, but also shows him helping customers...a friendly criminal...
Daily Journal Editor Jon Mays discussed banning Styrofoam...(there is a proposed ban pending in San Bruno)...Specifically, Mays talks about Lt. Gov. John Garamendi's plan for a statewide ban. What else is there for the Lt. Gov. to do these days?...
Speaking of bans...the County Times provides us all an update on the Belmont smoking ban that went into effect last month. It turns out that nobody is coughing up a lung complaining about it yet...
The Fed’s showed up in Palo Alto’s Utilities Department and left with 7 boxes filled with documents about the qualifications (or lack thereof) of pipeline workers. Utilities' Director Valerie Fong isn’t worried, Palo Alto conducted its own investigation after questions were raised about employee qualifications. Fong said, “Our own assessment was that these tests were conducted with integrity, and the folks who work on the gas pipeline were indeed qualified."
Monday, February 2, 2009
Morning News Round-Up -- 2.2.09: Groundhog Day Edition...
Downtown San Mateo hopes to buck the economic trend (somewhat) by marketing itself to the world. Not to sound overly pessimistic, but good luck Downtown San Mateo Association...
Everyone's favorite electric car company, Tesla, is (apparently) not-ready to leave San Carlos -- which is a good thing, because they are not ready to move to San Jose either...For a full Tesla update, check with Watch Dog Silicon Valley who first broke the story that Tesla abandoned their San Jose plans...
The battle of government agencies continues in San Mateo between the City and the San Mateo Union High School District about the cost of using each others' fields. San Mateo Union jacked up their fees first, the City followed suit. Now, no one is happy, which is too bad for them -- but it is good reading for all of us...
If you park at the BART stations in Millbrae, San Bruno, or South San Francisco, expect to start paying for those hard-to-get spots...and if you take SamTrans to avoid having to get one of those hard-to-get BART parking spots, your fares are going up too...
Everest Charter School (finally) gets a thumbs up (recommendation) from the State. This means they will (almost certainly) receive a thumbs up for next school year. Watch Dog says "finally" because the school has been rejected locally twice: once by Sequioa Union High School District and once by the County Board of Education. The writing was apparently on the wall that Everest was going to succeed in getting State approval because the District set aside some temporary buildings in East Palo Alto last week...So much for local control of schools..
It turns out Watch Dog was right (again)...on January 23rd, we wrote this about the much-discussed lane closure near Carlmont High:
San Bruno's ban on Styrofoam still has restaurant-owners upset...
The County has to repay $1.5 million to the Federal government because a consultant told them they were due the money from the Feds. That consultant screwed up -- now the County has to pay. Perhaps the ultra-litigious County can go after the consultant? Just an idea...
$2.8 million grants were given out last week by the Peninsula Health Care District. At least one local agency is doing ok financially therefore spreading those ok finances around.
You may remember this story: a jail cashier responsible for collecting and storing folks stuff while they were locked up was stealing...well, the cashier is getting 60 days in jail. I wonder how she'll be treated while serving her time...
Supervisor Gordon is exploring a run for Ira Ruskin's seat...that shouldn't be news to anyone who reads the PP Examiner who wrote about this story at beginning of January...Watch Dog followed up on PP Examiner's posting with some analysis as well in a post titled: A Friendly Blog Disagreement...The County Times finally catches up...Try reading some insightful, interesting blogs around the County and you might learn something...
Speaking of the PP Examiner, they wrote a piece called: The Failed Leadership in the County and provide some historical perspective to where County government went wrong. PP Examiner also gets on Watch Dog's bandwagon complaining about the number of appointments versus elections happening in the County these days...
Garbage rates going up in Menlo Park...Watch Dog hasn't talked about garbage for a while, but with 24% rate increases on the horizon, we guess folks will be talking about it more and more...perhaps 24% more...
Everyone's favorite electric car company, Tesla, is (apparently) not-ready to leave San Carlos -- which is a good thing, because they are not ready to move to San Jose either...For a full Tesla update, check with Watch Dog Silicon Valley who first broke the story that Tesla abandoned their San Jose plans...
The battle of government agencies continues in San Mateo between the City and the San Mateo Union High School District about the cost of using each others' fields. San Mateo Union jacked up their fees first, the City followed suit. Now, no one is happy, which is too bad for them -- but it is good reading for all of us...
If you park at the BART stations in Millbrae, San Bruno, or South San Francisco, expect to start paying for those hard-to-get spots...and if you take SamTrans to avoid having to get one of those hard-to-get BART parking spots, your fares are going up too...
Everest Charter School (finally) gets a thumbs up (recommendation) from the State. This means they will (almost certainly) receive a thumbs up for next school year. Watch Dog says "finally" because the school has been rejected locally twice: once by Sequioa Union High School District and once by the County Board of Education. The writing was apparently on the wall that Everest was going to succeed in getting State approval because the District set aside some temporary buildings in East Palo Alto last week...So much for local control of schools..
It turns out Watch Dog was right (again)...on January 23rd, we wrote this about the much-discussed lane closure near Carlmont High:
Nothing gets people more angry than forced changes to their routine. Changes to traffic patterns and kid drop-off routines at schools are especially sensitive. So when Belmont eliminated a lane of traffic around Carlmont High, Tierra Linda Middle School, and Immaculate Heart of Mary schools, people went ballistic. Belmont is standing firm that they did the right thing -- but this may cause a full-scale riot...Well, the rioters went to the Belmont City Council, where they were met with an unsympathetic City Manager who said, "...It’s a school zone — for those who think they have a right to get to work faster during that time, they don’t..." Well, one person went (a lot) too far in expressing his or her concern over the lane closer by sending threatening letters to the Belmont City Council and City Manager. Police are now involved...
San Bruno's ban on Styrofoam still has restaurant-owners upset...
The County has to repay $1.5 million to the Federal government because a consultant told them they were due the money from the Feds. That consultant screwed up -- now the County has to pay. Perhaps the ultra-litigious County can go after the consultant? Just an idea...
$2.8 million grants were given out last week by the Peninsula Health Care District. At least one local agency is doing ok financially therefore spreading those ok finances around.
You may remember this story: a jail cashier responsible for collecting and storing folks stuff while they were locked up was stealing...well, the cashier is getting 60 days in jail. I wonder how she'll be treated while serving her time...
Supervisor Gordon is exploring a run for Ira Ruskin's seat...that shouldn't be news to anyone who reads the PP Examiner who wrote about this story at beginning of January...Watch Dog followed up on PP Examiner's posting with some analysis as well in a post titled: A Friendly Blog Disagreement...The County Times finally catches up...Try reading some insightful, interesting blogs around the County and you might learn something...
Speaking of the PP Examiner, they wrote a piece called: The Failed Leadership in the County and provide some historical perspective to where County government went wrong. PP Examiner also gets on Watch Dog's bandwagon complaining about the number of appointments versus elections happening in the County these days...
Garbage rates going up in Menlo Park...Watch Dog hasn't talked about garbage for a while, but with 24% rate increases on the horizon, we guess folks will be talking about it more and more...perhaps 24% more...
Friday, January 2, 2009
Morning News Round-Up -- 1.2.09: Love that murky water...
Expect your water to be murky starting Monday…that’s right, murky. All this will start Monday and is part of upgrades to the water delivery system. Watch Dog is absolutely positive that this will be a big, huge issue for residents...in fact, Watch Dog already wrote about this relating to Palo Alto, so I’ll just quote myself from December 12th on this one:
In a story Watch Dog guarantees will come back with a vengeance at some point -- the City of Palo Alto warned residents that they may see a slight change in water quality for a few months because of maintenance issues. What?! I guess a small mention in the Palo Alto Weekly ought to make people feel at ease when murky water comes out of the tap in Palo Alto. Brace yourself Palo Alto City Council -- this will be an issue, even though the work is being done by the San Francisco Public Utlities Commission. In case you are wondering, the water may seem milky or have a slightly different taste...
Ditto this whole thing for everyone in government in San Mateo County. Brace yourself folks…nothing whips people into a frenzy like water that looks or tastes different than it should. Watch Dog will be excepting, and posting, murky water photos for those that wish to send them here.
Foster City isn’t the only government agency dealing with garbage and the new proposed contract. A County Committee comprised of Supervisors Rich Gordon and Mark Church recommended Thursday to wait until the final cost of the new proposed contract comes in before making a final decision about a new garbage company. Garbage in San Mateo County just never ceases to produce news…
All this garbage news (and this and this and this and this) brings us to Daily Journal Editor Jon Mays, who does his best to forecast issues that will likely dominate the political landscape in the County this year. Weird that he left out the garbage stuff that has filled so many column inches in his paper (and this blog). On the garbage front this year – cities will be deciding about a new vendor...and new rate increases to cover the new service. And oh yeah, the Civil Grand Jury is also looking into to how a government agency, the South Bayside Waste Management Authority (SBWMA), doled out the $700+ million contract…so Mr. Mays, perhaps your piece needs a bit of updating…And if Mr. Mays doesn’t believe Watch Dog that residents are paying attention to garbage rates, he should check out his own Letters to the Editor today…
Burlingame has about a $5 million budget shortfall next year. Like every other government agency (except the State of California) they are planning ahead. And like every other government agency (except the State of California) their plans call for cuts in services and “revenue enhancements.” Revenue enhancements are government agency's way to increase fees (and sometimes taxes) without calling them fee hikes or taxes. Some of the enhancements are moving construction and demolition fees to the City’s general fund, increasing the cost of classes (what classes does Burlingame offer?), increasing rent for City building space, and increasing parking and red-light-running fines. Careful when parking in Burlingame next year – they are relying on your bad parking to fill their budget gap…sort of.
Two (reported) gang members pleaded no contest this week to charges stemming from a fight they tried to have with an electrician wearing a red shirt. No kidding. Their gang, the Surenos, hates the Nortenos. The Nortenos wear red. Unfortunately for a couple of electricians working on a McDonalds in Half Moon Bay, they were wearing red as well. The gang members tried to pick a fight and generally caused a ruckus that lasted 45 minutes and ended with the police arriving at the restaurant. Oh yeah, one of the gang members works in the McDonalds…one has to wonder if he has been fired. And don’t McDonalds employees wear red also?
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Morning News Round-Up -- 12.17.08: Watch Dog seeking appointment to San Mateo City Council...pretty please?
As reported here yesterday evening, the sitting Board of Supervisors exercised their undemocratic/ Blagojevichoian right and appointed Unelected Supervisor Carol Groom. Like Watch Dog, the Daily Journal is not happy. Their Editorial today is titled: A good appointment, but failed leadership...In (un)related news, Caroline Kennedy would like an appointment too...perhaps the new Board of Supervisors (minus Supervisor Gordon) could hook her up?Which brings us all to this (soon to be undemocratic) process in the City of San Mateo -- where the City Council will make an appointment until the City's next election in November 2009. Two names are already in the fold -- long-time resident and labor leader Rich Hedges and San Mateo Community Relations Commissioner and deputy DA in Alameda County David Lim.
6 years ago San Bruno Mayor Larry Franzella voted on a BART plan that he shouldn't have because it affected a home he owned near the tracks. Now, he will pay a $9,000 fine for participating in a vote when he had a conflict of interest, according to the ethics watch dogs the FPPC. Oops.
A biodeisel fuel company is still pursuing Pacifica as a place to set up shop -- but they need a bit more time to figure things out. The Pacifica City Council is voting on giving Whole Energy Fuels 6 more months to "come through with the required documents." Like documents that will show the place won't blow up?
Half Moon Bay's City Manager resigned (abruptly) yesterday. Farmer John (Mayor Muller) said that there would be no interruption in city services. Unless, of course, you work for the City Manager -- then expect some interruption...
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
BREAKING: Board of Supervisors vote to dismantle democracy...
Thumbing their noses at democracy, elections, and all things we value as Americans...the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors handed a vacant Supervisor's seat to San Mateo Councilmember Carol Groom.More than anything, the Board showed that they don't care what voters think. Unelected Supervisor Groom will be the next Supervisor to replace Jerry Hill -- and she'll hold the seat forever...
Watch Dog will refer to Supervisor Groom as Unelected Supervisor Groom henceforth...sorry. Groom is a talented and dedicated public servant -- but she got handed a gift -- and Watch Dog has a problem with that...everyone should...perhaps Groom could provide some advice to this public face who is looking for a (slightly) more high-profile gift...
Kudos to Supervisor Rich Gordon who (ironically) will go down as the Profile in Courage on this vote -- he voted against the gifting of public (funds) office...he agreed with Watch Dog and said: "Now is time for democracy.”
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