Crime prevention, location and recreation programs were among the most important aspects that make Daly City a great place to live, according to a community survey, but residents would opt to reduce some park and recreation programs as well as library services to save other city needs.
Daly City, along with many other cities in the state and across the nation, is struggling through financial hardship with less income and more expenditures.
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Improving public safety and city finances are at the top of the list of goals for 2010 for San Mateo’s newly appointed mayor.
John Lee was voted by his fellow council members in December to serve as the head of the city’s governing body for a one-year term.
The longtime San Mateo resident and retired businessman has previously served as mayor two other times in the past.
City leaders are currently facing an $8 million budget deficit as a result of decreasing tax revenue and increased operating costs.
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Downtown Redwood City will receive a makeover, with a plan to enliven the hotspot that widens sidewalks and adds trees and light fixtures that will improve safety.
The $1.5 million project on El Camino Real between Brewster Avenue and Broadway will improve the look and feel of the downtown area.
“It will be more like downtown,” said Saber Sarwary, Redwood City’s supervising civil engineer. “And [the development will] enhance the appearance more.”
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Thomas Kriese of Redwood City said he bought his first chickens two years ago to teach his two daughters where food comes from. He said the chickens not only fertilize his vegetables, but they eat his weeds and provide eggs.
“They pay for their stay in a sense,” he said. “They lay eggs every 26 hours.”
Kriese’s interest in urban farming began to grow with his garden. He started a blog, UrbanChicken.com, to share rules and maintenance with other chicken enthusiasts.
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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.
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If a Daly City councilwoman charged with 15 counts of felony insurance fraud is convicted, she will have to step down from elected office, according to the city attorney.
Two-term Councilwoman Maggie Gomez is charged with insurance fraud, false claims and attempted perjury after she allegedly filed false workers’ compensation insurance claims with Seton Medical Center — her employer — saying she could not sit or stand for long periods of time following an injury in 2005.
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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.
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Miss out on your 2008 tax refund?
Nearly $1.2 million is owed to Bay Area residents in unclaimed returns, including $277,000 in San Mateo County, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
People often move after they have filed their returns, but do not leave a forwarding address, IRS spokesman Jesse Weller said. As a result, the checks come back uncashed.
“We live in a very mobile society,” Weller said. “People move and the IRS is not informed.”
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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.
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Fees to play at Poplar Creek Golf Course in San Mateo could rise for the second time in six months as city officials continue to look for ways to increase revenues.
San Mateo City Manager Susan Loftus said different options will be discussed with the City Council early in the new year.
“I don’t know the amount or when the increase will go into effect,” she said. “We’re at a point where we could make many cost efficiencies as possible to balance expenses and raise revenue.”
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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.
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Burlingame business owners who say that an Indian food truck that rolled into downtown is taking away their business may be the only ones complaining, as a city survey reveals that residents like the new vendor.
Curry Up Now, the food truck operation, currently stops for business at several locations on the Peninsula. In the fall, the truck began parking at the corner of Howard Street and El Camino Real in Burlingame at lunchtime on the weekends, according to owner Akash Kapoor.
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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.”
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A Catholic high school in San Mateo plans to more than double the size of one of its buildings and build an outdoor pool.The all-male Junipero Serra High School, located off 20th Avenue in San Mateo, submitted an application to the city’s planning division to demolish an existing single-story, 9,782-square-foot building and replace it with a two-story, 23,285-square foot building. Construction plans also include an outdoor pool and a 1,605-square-foot building for the school’s swim team.
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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.
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