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Menlo Park briefs: Facebook, payday loans on council agenda

The Menlo Park City Council will review at its Sept. 11 meeting the upcoming development agreement process for Facebook's west campus.

Renowned architect Frank Gehry designed a 433,555-square-foot building for the Constitution Drive location that is expected to accommodate 2,800 engineers.

Also on the Sept. 11 agenda: The council appears to be taking pre-emptive action against payday loan businesses.

Although no such business currently exists within the city, staff has asked the council for direction on a possible ban after Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto approached the police department about regulating payday loan and auto title loan businesses, which are known for charging sky-high interest rates.

According to the staff report, the average payday loan interest rate in California was 414 percent in 2010. San Mateo County recently enacted an ordinance limiting locations and hours for such businesses.

Go to tinyurl.com/8b87ht9 to review the agenda. A study session on Bedwell Bayfront Park operations starts at 6 p.m. followed by the regular meeting about hour later in council chambers at the Civic Center at 701 Laurel St.

Driver not at fault

The 22-year-old driver of a Toyota Prius that struck an 85-year-old man was determined to not be at fault, Menlo Park police said.

According to the investigation, the man was jaywalking as he attempted to cross El Camino Real near Santa Cruz Avenue around 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 4. The Toyota was traveling north when the car struck him.

He was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a local hospital, while no else was hurt, police said.

Election forums

Check out the positions of state Senate and Assembly candidates at the League of Women Voters forum on Thursday, Sept. 20, in Menlo Park.

Candidates Rich Gordon and George Yang are running for the state Assembly and Jerry Hill and Sally Lieber are running for the state Senate. The forum starts at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers at the Civic Center at 701 Laurel St.

The league is also hosting a presentation on state propositions appearing on the November ballot. Held at the Menlo Park library at 800 Alma St., the presentation starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6.

A forum for the five Menlo Park City Council candidates will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11, also in council chambers.

Tuesday: Cafe Scientifique

"A Holy Grail of Bioinformatics: Automatic Construction of Metabolic Models from Sequenced Genomes" will be the topic at Cafe Scientifique on Tuesday, Sept. 11.

The free event will be held at SRI International at Middlefield Road and Ringwood Avenue in Menlo Park. Doors open at 5:15 p.m.

Visit cafescisv.org for more information.

Coastal cleanup day

Call all volunteers — Menlo Park is looking for help on Saturday, Sept. 15, for Coastal Clean Up Day.

Local sites tagged for cleanup include San Francisquito Creek and Bedwell Bayfront Park. Call 330-6740 or email recycle@menlopark.org to register. The project runs from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Book sale

Coming attractions this weekend include the Friends of the Menlo Park Library book sale.

Browse offerings in the library's downstairs meeting room at 800 Alma St. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15 and Sunday, Sept. 16. Written bids will be taken both days, and an auction will be held on Sunday at 2 p.m. in council chambers at the Civic Center at 701 Laurel St.

Most items cost $2 or less, and on Sunday books will be half price or $5 for a full bag. All proceeds benefit the library.