News Briefs: Retailers fined for selling cigarettes to minor News Briefs: Retailers fined for selling cigarettes to minor (December 29, 2004)

It's apparently been a bit too easy for kids to buy cigarettes in parts of southern San Mateo County.

Deputies from the Sheriff's Office School Resource Unit recently ran an undercover sting in which they deployed a 15-year-old girl who volunteered to attempt to buy cigarettes in eight stores -- including stores in Ladera, Portola Valley and Woodside -- while deputies observed from a distance.

Fifty percent of the time, she succeeded, said Sgt. Murray Randleman. Retailers are forbidden to sell tobacco products or paraphernalia to minors. Statewide, the average rate of non-compliance is 12.2 percent, Sgt. Randleman said.

Deputies contacted and "re-educated" the owners or managers of the four offending businesses before fining the offending clerks $200 each. All managers "were supportive" of the operation, Sgt. Randleman said. The fines are $200 for the first offense, $500 for the second and $1,000 for the third.

The girl -- who had maintained contact with the Sheriff's Office after her elementary-school participation in a drug-abuse awareness program -- first watched a short film on how to conduct herself in the sting, then spent about two hours driving around with deputies to the stores, Sgt. Randleman said.

The Sheriff's Office plans to repeat this operation quarterly in unincorporated areas and towns such as Woodside and Portola Valley that contract for law-enforcement services, Sgt. Randleman said. There are also plans to expand the sting to include stores that sell alcoholic beverages.

Teens arrested in child-care break-in

Menlo Park police have arrested two teens on charges of vandalizing and burglarizing four classrooms in the child-care center at 410 Ivy Drive, in the Belle Haven neighborhood, on December 20.

The classrooms had been ransacked and vandalized with paint, and were missing televisions, stereo equipment, tools and toys, police said.

Most of the items were recovered at the home of one of the teens, police said. The suspects -- ages 16 and 17 -- were booked into Hillcrest juvenile hall on charges of burglary, conspiracy, vandalism and possession of stolen property.

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call Officer Matt Ortega at 330-6300.

Menlo council cancels meeting for holidays

It's lovely weather for ice skating. Or how about roasting chestnuts in the back yard? See how your options for Tuesday night open up when there's no Menlo Park City Council meeting?

The December 28 meeting has been canceled for the holidays, and the council is scheduled to start meeting again on Tuesday, January 4. While the agenda for that night is still tentative, the council is expected to discuss and perhaps vote on regulations for off-leash dog areas at Willow Oaks and Nealon parks.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at 701 Laurel St. For more information, call the City Clerk's office at 330-6620 or go to www.menlopark.org.

City Hall will also be closed on Friday, December 31, for New Year's Eve.
One small blow against monster houses

Residents of the Selby neighborhood, sandwiched between Atherton and Redwood City, can now fend off the speculators who were beginning to pepper the neighborhood of modest homes with 36-foot-high, three-story mansions.

With strong support of residents, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors on December 7 voted unanimously to reduce the allowable size of houses in the area, in which most of the lots are 5,000 square feet.

The new zoning reduces allowable heights from 36 to 28 feet, and stories from three to two; limits floor area on a 5,000-square-foot lot to 2,600 square feet; and restricts the height of buildings close to neighboring properties.

The new rules are modeled on those adopted for similar areas of North Fair Oaks, said resident Nancy Arbuckle, one of half a dozen speakers supporting the new limits.

"We don't consider ourselves as a suburb of Atherton. We are more like North Fair Oaks," she said.

Corte Madera School: eighth-grade trip to D.C.

An orientation meeting regarding Corte Madera's eighth-grade trip to Washington, D.C., in May will be held Monday, January 3, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the school's multi-use room. All eighth-graders and their parents are invited to meet trip coordinator Jeff Steinberg, who will describe the trip and answer questions.

Alpine Hills club expansion bid to go before planners

The Portola Valley Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Wednesday, January 5, on a requested amendment to the conditional-use permit of the Alpine Hills Tennis & Swim Club.

The club is seeking to restructure and expand its membership to allow more couples and individual as members, but to not necessarily expand the number of individuals who use the facilities.

The meeting begins at 8 p.m. in the Historic Schoolhouse at 765 Portola Road.

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