As school districts look to tighten their belts even more, they are being asked by a San Mateo County watchdog group to spend more on fire alarms to protect students.
School officials are understandably concerned about where the money will come from following a civil grand jury report in January requesting districts to upgrade their alarm systems and create a direct link to fire departments. The report said the types of alarms vary countywide.
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A Peninsula school district that is aiming at increased communication between parents and teachers on grades and assignments will have a new system in place this summer.
Sequoia Union High School District — which serves 8,700 students in the communities of Redwood City, Menlo Park and Woodside — awarded a two-year contract to Infinite Campus in October 2009 for use of its system. The two-year contract is estimated at $350,000.
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Use of the Fair Oaks Library jumped more than 40 percent in the past year, causing books to literally fly off shelves.
To help increase the number of materials such as books, movies and music, the Redwood City Library Foundation is working to raise $250,000 for the branch to be used toward supplies.
“The shelves really look empty because the materials are flying off so fast,” said Georgi LaBerge, executive director of the library foundation. “Many people want to work on their language skills. There is a wait list for the audio tapes.”
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Plans to develop the former site of the San Mateo Police Station are moving forward as the city’s planning commission will hold a public hearing Tuesday about the site.
San Mateo hopes to build up to 120 apartment units on the 2.1-acre site, located at 2000 S. Delaware St.
The city purchased the land for $6 million in 2007. Officials had decided to create affordable-housing units after the Police Department moved to its $58 million facility less than one mile away last year.
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The executive director of the nonprofit Pets In Need will host a grand reopening from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at 871 Fifth Ave. in Redwood City.
What is Pets In Need? Pets in Need is the first no-kill adoption center serving the Bay Area. We opened in 1965 and were founded as a no-kill shelter. Our founders began rescuing dogs and cats long before no kill was known.
How many animals are adopted annually? We typically adopt out 1,000.
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Information stored on cell phones may not be protected under privacy rights, but the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco is hoping to protect information stored on the portable devices.
Karen Guidotti, a San Mateo County assistant district attorney, said her office is waiting for a ruling from the California Supreme Court on whether information stored on a cell phone needs a search warrant before being looked at by authorities.
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Instead of making the hour-long commute in his car from San Francisco to the Google campus in Mountain View every day, Scott Crosby found a better way to travel: his bike.
The Google employee said he first began riding the 42-mile journey down U.S. Highway 101 in 2005 to lose weight and get back into shape.
“After getting oriented [at Google] the first few months, I realized I needed to get on the bike again,” he said. “And commuting on the 101 is really demoralizing.”
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An increase in demand for early childhood education has pushed some parents to wait in line in cold and wet weather to ensure they obtain a spot at Peninsula preschools.
Jeanie McLoughlin, director of the early childhood quality improvement project of the San Mateo County Office of Education, said the demand could be a result of increased importance in all levels of government.
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Summer school would no longer exist or be drastically cut as Peninsula school districts face massive budget cuts for the second year in a row.
Recently, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the state’s deficit is an estimated $83 billion, which means programs heavily relied upon — such as summer school, where students make up lost credits — could be up for cuts.
The Burlingame Elementary School District presented information to its board of trustees that stated funding for summer school would be half what it was in previous years.
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When vandalism increased at the Roosevelt Center in Redwood City, the 14 tenants banded together to create the city’s first neighborhood watch group for a business.
Six months later, Kay Harbal, property supervisor for Portfolio Realty Management, said the overall problem has largely subsided.
"It’s been a huge success," Harbal said. "The tenants are involved and talking to one another because vandalism is an expensive problem; they all have a vested interest."
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Vampires — and their growing fan base — beware: The cast and crew of the popular “Twilight” series will be in Burlingame this weekend for a meet-and-greet with fans.
The three-day event includes appearances by some of the stars from the movie, a Vampire Ball and a Sunday brunch.
Erin Ferries, vice president of licensing for Creation Entertainment, said the weekend convention is meant to be about the fans.
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Opponents of development of the Redwood City salt ponds say there are “glaring omissions” in a review by the city.
David Lewis, executive director of Save the Bay, said the documents presented to the City Council, which examined water, transportation and jurisdictional issues, fail to refer to the California Climate Adaptation Strategy, which says development should not be allowed in shoreline areas vulnerable to sea level rise, where there is not already existing development and where restoration is possible.
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Garbage and water rates in Redwood City could jump as much as 9 percent this year to cover increased operating costs and capital improvements.
City Finance Director Brian Ponty said the hike in garbage rates will cover an unexpected increase in cost as well as help pay for improvements to the Shoreway Environment Center, which is San Mateo County’s recycling center.
“The increases depend on the projected cost from Allied Waste,” Ponty said. “It varies every year.”
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An interactive whiteboard and new computers are just two of the technology upgrades San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District officials plan to bring to the classrooms by next school year.
The district’s chief business official, Micaela Ochoa, said the district wants every classroom to have the new technology.
“Kids can sit at their desk and write on the board using a tablet or go up to the board and write on it with their fingers,” she said. “We want to be consistent districtwide, so we are putting it in every classroom.”
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As school districts throughout the state are struggling with ways to provide hot meals to students, Jefferson Elementary School District in Daly City may contract out its meal service to save money.
Enrique Navas, assistant superintendent of business services for the Jefferson elementary district, said the district is considering the switch because it could also potentially increase participation.
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