Morning News Round-Up -- 5.27.10: San Mateo is the new Ohio...

The Menlo Park City Council had a nice conversation about the Bohannon "Menlo Gateway" project on Tuesday night. (Admit it, you were there...) But two Councilmembers, Kelly Fergusson and Andy Cohen, are not buying what Menlo Gateway is selling and it is making Councilmember Heyward Robinson "uncomfortable" that the two aren't supporting it. He's probably uncomfortable because Menlo Gateway is huge, and in the future if the project is hated, Robinson will be the one who voted for it... except he hedged his bets and abstained last night.

The Civil Grand Jury says that consolidation of fire fighting services could save money for local communities. Thanks Civil Grand Jury, everyone is already on the case (San Mateo/ Foster City, Coastside, etc., etc.)

Which leads us to our daily dose of pointing out the screw ups of others... the San Mateo/ Foster City fire merger is so important that it has to appear on the homepage of the County Times twice...


100+ layoffs coming to a school district near you -- that is, if you live in the Redwood City School District...

Friends and farmers celebrated Jack Olsen's life yesterday at his funeral.


Fresh off the Mercury News endorsement this week, Rich Gordon gets the Will Oremus treatment...

Steve Poizner will be holding a town hall meeting today at noon at the Hiller Aviation Museum. Don't all jump for joy at once... try to contain your excitement. Whitman is in town tomorrow at Graniterock in Redwood City. Apparently San Mateo County is now Ohio.

Morning News Round-Up -- 5.20.10: Calling all Steinbecks...

The big news today is that workers living in a labor camp in Pescadero may have been drinking contaminated water for a decade... this is a troubling story. The housing is part of Marchi farms and has been closed down by the County, although it seems families may still be living there. Where is John Steinbeck when you need him?

The Daily Journal gives a run down of the candidates in the 21st Assembly District... Rich Gordon, Yoriko Kishimoto, and Josh Becker... How many more run-downs do we really need?... Endorsements anyone?

Lee Duboc must be very pleased today... the pension reform initiative is heading to the ballot in Menlo Park. Could this be a Silicon Valley trend among cash-strapped cities? The Mayor of San Jose has been talking about asking voters in San Jose to vote to do away with the often-expensive binding arbitration...

The County is considering requiring (?) companies to offer employees a pre-tax transit option to get to work. This should help SamTrans and perhaps Caltrain and BART too...

Welcome to Millbrae, where the City might cut a program to help feed needy seniors... That's probably not fair of us, they are looking at cutting employees too...

You know the black box that records the last seconds of plane crashes... well Congresswoman Speier would like one in your car too... I'm sure privacy advocates will love that.

The Jefferson Union High School District may be asking voters to dig a little deeper into their wallets this fall... their polling looks good.

Silicon Valley has some serious interest in the upcoming Republican primaries for US Senate and Governor. New polls are out together. The first one actually confirms what Steve Poizner said a few weeks back -- that his race against Whitman is tightening... The second has Carly Fiorina leading (slightly) over Tom Campbell, but within the margin of error... (Joey Lucas will explain everything later...)

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 -- 4.6.10: Is BCDC dropping the the first "C"?

The folks at the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission are continuing their push to allow Redwood City to make the decision on the Saltworks project... it seems Sean Randolph and Will Travis from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission are trying to rename the Commission the San Francisco Bay Development Commission...

This story is both shocking and sad... and has lawsuits written all over it: a patient in the County's psych unit raped a fellow psych unit patient and drew her a picture to tell her not to tell anyone...

The Burlingame Police Department has many fans... and those fans showed up this week to protest the police-merger with San Mateo. Perhaps they are arguing about which city's name will go first: "It has to be Burlingame San Mateo Police Department... and absolutely cannot be the San Mateo Burlingame Police Department..."

From the (non-scandal) Atherton file: The Meg Whitman Campaign Start-Up just received another round of venture capital funding from the Meg Whitman Fund... $20 million...

Morning News Round-Up -- 2.26.10: The Anti-Cargill Development Team Starting Line-Up Announced...

About 100 current and former lawmakers in the Bay Area signed on to a letter opposing the Cargill development plans in Redwood City. In response, the developers re-announced the support they have from their business-friendly folks... Redwood City looks like it will go ahead with the EIR anyway. This is going to be fun... again...

The "voluntary transfer" program at the Ravenswood City School District is coming under scrutiny. As with any issue related to schools and race, this is a touchy one...

Recession Repercussion time:

• The Menlo Park City School District placed a parcel tax on the ballot for this May... and if it doesn't pass, things are going to get ugly in the District -- which we learned last night at their Board meeting. Cuts, cuts, and more cuts... so vote yes, vote yes, and vote yes again -- that's the message they wanted you to get, by the way...
• San Mateo Union High School District... same thing as Menlo Park City School District...
• Cuts to the Community College District... and perhaps taxes too...
• Not to be left out... cuts to Cabrillo Unified unless their parcel tax passes...
• Here's a story that is related to the recession, but has a positive impact: the MidPen Regional Open Space District bought a big piece of land on Highway 92 and Santa's Tree Farm Village. Santa will be very happy...

Burlingamer Ted Crocker responds to Quentin Kopp's piece in the Daily Journal this week. Ted doesn't like High-Speed Rail one bit...

Finally, a team from a local newspaper got to sit down with Atherton's Meg Whitman. The Merc grilled her and she seems to respond well. Of course, if you dodged the media for a year, you might be able to prepare yourself well too... Watch Dog's conversation with Whitman is slated for next week.

Morning News Round-Up -- 7.14.09: Bastille Day Edition...

Bon jour...

If you've been meaning to be at the courthouse for part of the molestation trial of Dr. William Ayres, you better hurry. Final arguments are upon us... Follow the proceedings (with a point of view) at William Ayres Watch(dog).

The San Bruno City Council is in the budget cutting hot-seat tonight as they (likely will) approve furlough days for their employees for the upcoming fiscal year.

To avoid (really) severe cuts, Millbrae property owners are voting on a renewal of their fire assessment. Ballots are due today -- so get on it!

Have we seen this headline before? (Courtesy of the Daily Journal): Four teens walk away from unfenced Camp Glenwood

Mountain lions. Bees. Really.

Remember when there was going to be a biodeisel plant in Pacifica? So do we... fond memories.

The Woodside drama involving Steve Jobs, the Woodside City Council, historic preservationists, and the Jackling House could be coming to an end. An agreement has been reached to allow for the dismantling of the "historic" house.

Politics + Palo Alto = Great Fun. Mayor Peter Drekmeier will NOT seek reelection, opening up the field for a free-for-all for Palo Alto's City Council in November. Stay tuned...

Speaking of mid-Peninsula politics, sort of... Meg Whitman "loaned" her campaign $15 million.

More importantly (?), David Lim received the endorsements of San Mateo City Councilmember Jan Epstein and Supervisor Mark Church.

Showing that they too can keep up with the 24-hour news cycle, the Almanac finally posts a story about the Civil Grand Jury's report on the Garbage Saga.

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.4.09: The Life of the Wealthy and Influential...

The yearly ritual of pink slips to teachers starts next week. There are generally more pink slips given out than layoffs forthcoming, but the idea of teachers getting pink slips underlines how screwed up California is. Sorry Terminator Schwarzenegger, it's true...The California Teachers Association is marking the day of reckoning with their own website: Pink Friday 09.

One of the inherent inequities in California schools is that wealthier communities are able to privately fundraise while less-well-off Districts struggle in that department. On this front, the Partners in Education organization in Palo Alto is giving the Palo Alto Unified School District a check for $2.57 million this week...

In Belmont, there is a "Chronic flasher on the loose." The headline pretty much says it all...except that he also robbed a woman in a residential parking garage.

Easy come, easy go for Dr. Sang-Ick Chang, the CEO of the San Mateo Medical Center after only 18 months at the helm. While there is PR explanation why he is leaving to go take a lesser post as Chief Medical Offier at the Alameda County Medical Center...but the real reason is hinted at in the story: the County consolidated much of its healthcare functions last year and added a layer of bureaucracy over Dr. Chang's head. Instead of reporting directly to the County Manager, the new set up had Change reporting to Jean Fraser, who reported directly to the County Manager...hence, Change left.

Tonight, the Redwood City Elementary School Distict may/will put a $91 parcel tax measure on the ballot for June. Here is some free campaign help to get this passed: The State is screwed up. They are taking our money. We need more... (You are welcome...)

It is possible that Watch Dog's computer is temporarily screwed up, but it doesn't seem like the Daily Journal has any opinion today. Perhaps the rain has temporarily washed away Jon Mays' edge...

Cool (or scary) new x-ray technology is being rolled out at SFO. The TV version of the story was way cooler than the written version...



Foster City is getting some plastic surgery...sort of. They are replacing some grass fields with some artificial turf. Lest you think this is a move that could be conflict-free -- check out this story from Watch Dog Silicon Valley...

And in some blog news:

• The Palo Alto Weekly is (finally?) giving us all a blogger that (perhaps?) will update more regularly than Jay Thorwaldson...Keith Schuman is a Palo Alto dude who took off when the economy tanked and will be traveling (and blogging) around the world. Stay tuned. We'll track how often he posts...(Of note: Thorwaldson's blog has actually left the Weekly's homepage.)
• PP Examiner gives another look to the 21st Assembly District race with the new addition of Palo Alto's Yoriko Kishimoto. While not giving Watch Dog credit, the PP Examiner does admit that more voters will come from the Santa Clara County section of the District rather than San Mateo -- which is different than PP's first post on this issue. Watch Dog wrote about that same issue a while ago...The PP Examiner also changed its look a bit.
  

And from the Wealthy/Local Influential Folks File...

• A developer wants to build an office/hotel complex at the intersection of Marsh Road and 101 in eastern Menlo Park. How do we know? Well, it was reported in the Almanac. How does the Almanac know? Because the developer, David Bohannon, did a poll and folks got a bit freaked out...
• Speaking of local developers...Half Moon Bay is still trying to figure out how/if to issue a bond to pay its ($18 million) legal settlement to Chop Keenan...
• The advantages of being a Gubernatorial candidate from Atherton...Meg Whitman made a $1,000,000 contribution to her own campaign yesterday. "Writing that check is so much easier than having those pesky fundraisers," Whitman didn't say. "My hand did get tired from writing zeros, however..."

Morning News Round-Up -- 2.18.09: The Sacramento Chaos Edition...

In the early days of Watch Dog, we wrote about the plans for the Burlingame Safeway. It has been in the works for more than 5 years -- but it looks like the plans may now be happening on a fast-track. (If 5+ years can be considered 'fast track'.)

The guy being charged with a string of robberies in the County and the sexual assault of a gas station employee in San Bruno is going to be held without bail for now. He could face the rest of his life in prison as he faces charges for his crime spree...

San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District is growing pretty rapidly, which is putting pressure on the District to house an increasing student population. At a Foster City parents' meeting a while back, folks said they want/needed a new school. It looks like the District listened. The Board will consider how to take care of the increasing enrollment tonight...

Pacifica's Calera Creek Waste Water Recycling Plant was recently found in violation of several EPA regulations. Watch Dog gagged a bit while reading this: "...The Calera Creek Water Recycling Plant will have to clean up its act after sending more than 230 tons of treated human effluent with dangerously high bacteria levels to fertilize farms in California..." Pacifica Riptide titled their post on the subject "The Sludge Report"...those folks are good...

Palo Alto (and other Peninsula) residents let the California High-Speed Rail Authority know what they thought of the really fast train coming through their back yards...and it wasn't pretty...

Falling property values mean your home may be due a reassessment...but beware, says County Assessor Warren Slocum, there are a bunch of fraudulent companies trying to screw you by saying they can get your property taxes down. Slocum (presumably) is not trying to screw you...so check out his website for more details...

Call it dealing with the Great Recession or call it dealing with a massive ($18 million) legal settlement due a developer, Half Moon Bay is cutting costs...the Interim City Manager announced another $1.75 million in cost-saving (personnel cuts?) measures yesterday...

Atherton's first official Gubenatorial candidate for 2010 made her foray into political life yesterday criticizing Sacramento, the budget process, etc., etc. It sounds like she is using Schwarzenegger's talking points from Jay Leno...

Morning News Round-Up -- 2.10.09: Watch Dog in the News...

Our sister blog, Watch Dog Silicon Valley is mentioned/criticized in the Mercury News by columnist Scott Herhold today. The way the Merc. is going however, more people may read this recap of Herhold's piece than the actual paper version...

And while we are in a self-praise mode, the COWs (Citizens Of Woodside) love Watch Dog too...

An Atherton resident threw her hat in the ring for Governor...in case you missed it yesterday, Watch Dog wrote about it here and here.

The Benjamin Franklin Hotel in San Mateo seems to (still) be in trouble. The developer, Lembi Group, had to give the building to their European lender UBS AG. It seems potential new buyers are looking at the hotel but renovations seem to be on hold for now...In October, the bad news started to leak out with a story about the construction crews who had packed up and headed out...

In other local landmark news, John Horgan at the County Times takes a look at the (sad and sagging) Park Theatre in Menlo Park.

And if you are a Mary Hanna fan (columnist for the County Times) you better read this because it is apparently her "final column" for the Times. Mary, you are welcome to post here whenever you want...shoot me an email...

A gas station attendant was sexually assaulted and robbed mid-morning on Sunday in San Bruno. Police are looking for the assailant...

It is South San Francisco's week to look at ways to close budget gaps. Their gap is approximately $1.47 million caused from a decline in sales tax and building permit revenues. Etc., etc., etc.

...and while we are on budgets and government agencies...

Three local school districts will be asking voters to approve parcel taxes in the all-mail ballot in May: Jefferson Elementary School District (Daly City), San Carlos Elementary School District, and Woodside Elementary School District.

And the biggest budget pain in the ass is the State, who will (apparently) send IOUs to Counties this week instead of $89 million. Tea Party time?

A new proposal for 11 homes (on 99 acres) in unincorporated Highlands (west of San Mateo) is going before the County Planning Commission tomorrow. The Highlands Community Association is skeptical. In a weird error/twist to the story in the online version of the Daily Journal, the following (un)helpful timeline is given:

"...The new report can be obtained from San Mateo County Planning Department and anyone can comment on the proposal through Feb. 3. The county Planning Commission will hold a public hearing regarding the project Jan. 14 and vote on the project in April. It is scheduled to go for a final vote in May..."

In other housing news, the long process to build 45 homes in Palo Alto as part of the larger 495-unit Toll Brothers project on the Mountain View/Palo Alto border went to the Palo Alto City Council last night. Fortunately, Watch Dog is not required to attend those meetings so we have no update yet...

Michelle "420" Durand goes "Off the Beat" in the Daily Journal to "kindly" defend Michael Phelps...

Atherton Resident (Residents?) for Governor...

At least one County resident will be running for Governor in 2010.

Meg Whitman officially announced her intentions today.

This is (obviously) big news in California, but her announcement is also gracing the homepage of nytimes.com...

It is a pretty safe bet that this Atherton resident or this Los Gatos resident won't get national coverage when they officially announce their intentions.

I guess covering a near-trillion stimulus package isn't as exciting for the nytimes.com as an Atherton resident throwing her had in the political ring...

Morning News Round-Up -- 1.6.09: eBay, Atherton, and the race for Governor...

There may be one/or more Athertonian/s in the race for Governor in 2010. Meg Whitman is putting the word out through "sources close to the Internet giant's former CEO"...could we be headed for two Athertonians running for the same office with money from the same company but from different parties?

San Mateo Union High School District's plan to raise fees on fields has boiled over in Burlingame. Councilmember Terry Nagel is calling for a Summit of school officials, city representatives, and nonprofit athletic leaders. Perhaps they should call in Kissinger too?

In yesterday's Watch Dog round-up, we mentioned the Walgreens' proposal in Burlingame having wide-ranging impacts on the Safeway development. Well, the Burlingame City Coucil overturned its own Planning Commission decision. A 24-hour Walgreens is coming to Burlingame.

If you are interested (and who isn't) in finding out a lot more about Michelle Durand of the Daily Journal...today is your lucky day. A window into the reporter appears in her "Off the Beat" column...

Palo Alto gets some new leadership. Last night, Peter Drekmeier was voteed in as Mayor and Jack Morton as Vice Mayor. There are major issues facing these two and the rest of the City Council: Stanford's growth, a new police chief, composting...

Apparently there is lots of money in pastries...that's what prompted two men "in their late teens or early 20s" to rob Le Boulanger in downtown Menlo Park. If you saw anything like this, call 650/330-6300.

Sometimes, elected officials serve in other capacities on County advisory boards. But the Board of Supervisors is considering putting an end to that practice by keeping some folks off the Midcoast Community Council. Nobody else is covering it except the Half Moon Bay Review, kudos Review!