Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hinted last week that he might sign a bill by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, that would prohibit hand-held cell phone use while driving.
During a stop in Palo Alto to sign another bill by Sen. Simitian, Gov. Schwarzenegger said, in response to a question about the bill: “We have to do something about the accident rate.”
He said use of cell phones while driving has surpassed alcohol as a cause of accidents.
“It’s the job of government to protect people,” Gov. Schwarzenegger said, adding that he plans to enforce the proposed law within his own family. He said he has threatened his daughter with loss of her new car “if I ever catch her using a cell phone” while driving.
Governor signs bill on reverse mortgages
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger swooped into Palo Alto September 5 to sign a bill by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, combating predatory practices in reverse mortgages.A reverse mortgage draws on a home’s equity to provide cash income for its owners. The new law will (1) require independent counseling for all reverse-mortgage transactions, (2) require that loan documents be in the same language in which the loan was negotiated, and (3) prohibit lenders from requiring borrowers to purchase an annuity as part of the loan package.
Menlo man sentenced to life in prison
Two gang members were sentenced September 7 in San Mateo County Superior Court to life in prison after being found guilty of killing one man and wounding another during a 2004 drive-by shooting in East Palo Alto.Judge Mark Forcum sentenced Ricardo Arana, 21, of Menlo Park, and Senetuli Penisoni, 26, of East Palo Alto, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder with the special circumstance of a drive-by shooting from a car with the intent to kill.
According to the San Mateo County district attorney’s office, Mr. Penisoni and Mr. Arana fatally shot 26-year-old Ortega Barnes and injured another man, Donald Prince.
— Bay City News
Court upholds coastal open space annexation
Two years after the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District annexed 140,000 acres of the San Mateo County Coastside, the last lawsuit challenging the validity of the annexation has been dismissed.Judge Beth Labson Freeman ruled August 23 that San Mateo County LAFCO (Local Agency Formation Commission) acted properly in the spring of 2004, when it approved the annexation without an election.
A group calling itself Citizens for Responsible Open Space had challenged the annexation on the basis of public notice, boundary description, and counting of protests submitted by registered voters.
Simitian to hold ‘town hall’ meetings
State Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, will hold “Town Hall” meetings in Palo Alto and Redwood City this month. He invites residents to bring questions, comments and concerns about state government.
Meeting times and places are: Saturday, September 16, from 10 a.m. to noon, Palo Alto City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave.; and Thursday, September 28, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Redwood City City Hall, 1017 Middlefield Road. For more information, call Simitian’s district office at 688-6384.
New juvenile hall open for tours
The public is invited to tour a new $150 million facility in San Mateo for youths who run afoul of the law in San Mateo County. Public tours are scheduled for Friday, September 15, after a dedication and reception at 1:30 p.m.The 300,000-square-foot Youth Services Center at 222 Paul Scannell Drive (formerly Tower Road) in San Mateo replaces the 58-year-old Hillcrest Juvenile Hall.
The new center has a 180-bed juvenile hall, a 30-bed individual-treatment center for girls, three group homes for kids with special needs, courtrooms, a health clinic, and a school that covers grades 9-12 and some middle school.
For more information, go to www.co.sanmateo.ca.us and click on the Youth Services Center link.
Report on dogs on PV Ranch trails
A report on illegal use of Portola Valley hiking trails by dog-walkers is on the agenda for the Wednesday, September 13, Town Council meeting, which starts at 8 p.m. in the Historic Schoolhouse.
Lt. Ken Jones of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office will discuss the six-month experiment in which patrolling deputies looked for dogs on trails in the Portola Valley Ranch neighborhood.
