Two months ago, Nate Jackson and his wife, Sami, were looking forward to the birth of their second child. Their living situation was less than ideal, however. With Nate out of work, they were crowded into a two-bedroom apartment with six other adults in East Palo Alto. Sami said she called 411 and asked for a homeless shelter. They were directed to Shelter Network — a Burlingame-based nonprofit that offers housing and support services to Bay Area individuals and families. Read More

Dog owners in San Mateo who want the city to provide more off-leash opportunities are becoming impatient with a process that is taking into consideration everything from enforcement to the negative impacts of dogs roaming free on local athletic fields. After months of discussion on the matter, Recreation and Park Commissioners are expected to vote in January on a proposal that would establish designated areas and times for dog owners to let their four-legged companions roam without a leash — at least for a trial period. Read More

Linda Loveridge has a cozy place to spend the rest of her life — in her home, thanks to a Redwood City organization. The 71-year-old, whose husband died two years ago, was struggling to keep up with repairs to her deteriorating house and was thinking about moving. But that is when Rebuilding Together Peninsula, a Redwood City nonprofit, came to her rescue. Read More

It’s been more than a decade since the first plan for a bigger Safeway in Burlingame was proposed; the start of the new year could finally bring an end to the battles over the project. A public hearing on the most recent revision of the plan was held Monday, and responses were considerably more supportive than complaints that held the project back in previous years. Read More

If you’ve held off on buying your holiday airfare in hopes of scoring a last-minute deal, you’ll probably pay more than expected. The window to get the best deals for Christmas closed weeks ago, according to industry experts who said the few deals remaining will likely come with conditions and restrictions. “You’re not likely to get a good price,” said Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare.com. “Airlines are only putting up last-minute off-peak hours. You have to be willing to go out and shop for it.” Read More

Measures taken to slow neighborhood traffic that passes by a school and day care could become permanent in early January if approved by the City Council. Kathy Schrenk, a resident of McGarvey Avenue — a mile-long street in southwest Redwood City — said speeding has been an issue on the road, which borders Roosevelt Elementary School, for years. Read More

Before enrolling in San Mateo High School’s biotechnology classes, Shashank Sanjay did not know science would be a big part of his life. Sanjay said he was interested in the hands-on lab work the classes offered — as opposed to traditional biology and chemistry — and decided to sign up for the course. Two years later, the 17-year-old senior said he has focused on science as a career and even landed a 180-hour summer internship, during which he was able to successfully extract and multiply DNA. Read More