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Results from Tuesday’s elections are in.

Climate Online has put together a graphic with results that matter most to San Mateo County residents.

The June 5 election was a Statewide Primary Election, where the top two vote-getting candidates qualify for the general election in November. San Mateo County is one of 13 other counties in the state that tested out something new this election, the “All Mailed Ballot/Vote Center Model.”

Some results are too close too call, as there are a number of ballots left to be counted that could alter some races, including the County Superintendent of Schools and some school board contests. Results after those ballots are counted will be announced Thursday, and again on Tuesday.

Tuesday is Election Day, and (as you probably know already) Election Day is a little different this year in San Mateo County.

To start with, everyone got a Vote by Mail ballot this year – even if you didn’t sign up to vote by mail.

San Mateo, along with 13 other counties around the state, is testing out something new this election, the “All Mailed Ballot/Vote Center Model.”

Now, if you were already voting by mail, there’s nothing new in all this.  But if you were a voter who liked walking over to your local precinct to vote – those days are over.

How the new system works

Every registered voter in the county got a Vote By Mail ballot.  If you filled that out and mailed it back, you’re done, of course.  And if you haven’t mailed yours yet, just make sure it’s got a June 5^th postmark and you should be fine.

There are also designated drop-off spots around the county where you can turn in your completed ballot.

And the personal touch isn’t gone altogether under the new system.  There are also 30 Vote Centers where you can drop off your ballot – you can get (fill out and turn in) a replacement ballot, in case the dog ate your vote – and you can even fill out a paper ballot and vote the traditional way.

From Daly City to Redwood City, Pacifica to Portola Valley, South San Francisco to East Palo Alto – there are 30 Vote Centers around the county, and you can use any one of them, regardless of where you live.

Your voter pamphlet has all the locations, or you can find them by clicking here.

If you still haven’t registered to vote, there is opportunity to do that as well.  Even on Election Day, at any of the Vote Centers, you can sign up – and cast a provisional ballot  (The official name for this is “Conditional Voter Registration.”).  Assuming everything checks out, you will be permanently registered – and your ballot will be counted.

All the Vote Centers are open from 7 in the morning till the polls close at 8 pm on Election Day, and they are open during traditional business hours between now and then.

Getting the results

Once the polls are closed, to find out how all those other people voted, and what the results are, you can find that on the Elections page (of the Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Elections site) by clicking  here.

Or as we told you earlier, you can sign up to get the results delivered (to your email).

And of course, you can always go to bed early, and check your favorite news outlet in the morning to read/hear/see all about it.

Candidates, measures, propositions:

June 5 is a Statewide Primary Election where voters will choose which two top-vote-getting candidates in each race will move on to the November General Election.

To view the full list of candidates vying for local and statewide seats, click here.

Nine local school districts either have parcel tax measures or bond measures on the June 5 ballot. Meanwhile, Regional Measure 3, which would increase Bay Area bridge tolls in order to fund a list of transportation projects aimed at relieving traffic in the Bay Area, is also up for a vote June 5. For concise summaries on each measure, click this Ballotpedia.org page here.

There are also five state propositions in this election. To read a good summary of each, click here and go to page 4 of the easy-to-read voter guide by the League of Women Voters and the California Education Fund.

A Caltrain train fatally struck a person on the tracks at the Redwood City station on Saturday night.

The person was struck by northbound train No. 441 around 10:15 p.m. None of the 131 people onboard the train at the time were hurt, officials said.

The fatality is the fourth on the Caltrain tracks this year. Trains were delayed as a result.

No further information was immediately available.

By Janet McGovern

Steve Penna, the owner and publisher of The Spectrum Magazine and a passionate champion of Redwood City, passed away on Friday afternoon. He was found unresponsive in a private residence by a friend, according to San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault.

The coroner said there is officially no cause of Penna’s death at this time, and the death is being investigated by his office.

The lifelong Redwood City resident was both well-known and well-liked in the community where he grew up. Penna was an enthusiastic booster of anything and everything about his hometown. He launched his monthly magazine in 2003, which provided a platform to showcase local people, nonprofits, clubs, events and businesses.

Penna, 59, also assiduously tracked actions of local government, especially the City Council and the Planning Commission, and wasn’t shy about offering his views in his column, “As I Was Saying . . . ” Invariably upbeat, Penna was a familiar presence at gatherings all over the city, from a recent candidate’s launch to Chamber of Commerce dinners.

His ubiquity made the news of his death all the more shocking in the community.  Debbie Jones Thomas, who served with Penna on the board of the Redwood City Police Athletic League, had just talked to him Thursday about plans for a golf tournament.

Similarly, friend Paula Uccelli recalled having had dinner with Penna on Tuesday night and listening to him talk about the happy stage where he had arrived in life.  The youngest of six children, she said, Penna “loved his family and loved his community beyond and beyond.”

She added that Penna had other opportunities in life but was committed to Redwood City.  The Spectrum Magazine allowed people to learn about worthy causes and the stories of local residents. “The impact (he made) is incredible,” Uccelli said. “I don’t think a lot of people know how many organizations and people he has touched.”

When Penna received the chamber’s Golden Apple Award in 2012, State Senator Jerry Hill dubbed him “Mr. Redwood City,” and it’s hard to imagine a title Penna could have liked better. Among his many activities, he was one of the original members of the board of the Police Athletic League, formed to build positive partnerships between police and the community, and was serving as president.

The Sequoia High School graduate was a leader of the campaign to restore Carrington Hall and was involved at various times with the Peninsula Celebration Association, the San Mateo County Child Advocates program, and the St. Pius Church Youth Ministry.

Most recently, Penna promoted an annual fundraising event at Courthouse Square, which he had begun years ago to help raise funds to support concerts and other entertainment downtown.

Penna was also the co-owner of Stuff on the Square, a gift shop on the Square which sells, among other things, Redwood City-themed tee shirts.  Regina Van Brunt, who had been in partnership with him for seven years and considered Penna one of her closest friends, struggled to describe her feeling of loss.

“He was ‘Mr. Redwood City’,” she said. “He always joked about that.  The community loved him.  He is the heart and soul of our community. This is a very big deal for us.”