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Magical Bridge Playground opening pushed back due to project delays

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Magical Bridge Playground opening date pushed back due to project delays

The opening of the Magical Bridge Playground at Red Morton Park in Redwood City has been pushed back several months due to a few project delays, according to the Magical Bridge Foundation, which posted an project update to its Facebook page.

Originally slated to open to the public late this year, the new target timeline for the playground’s opening is early 2019, the organization said.

The project’s first phase, which launched in November last year, involved working with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to move a large power transformer from the project site as well as underground the overhead utility cables. Work has also involved converting a dirt lot near the playground for an expanded parking lot, and drainage at the site.
“Tackling a compliant drainage plan has been a difficult obstacle in this very flat site given the strict guidelines to keep and treat rainwater on the property without tying into the existing culvert,” according to the Foundation. “This obstacle has been resolved.”

The Foundation now aims for City Council to approve a construction bid for the project at the end of June.

The Magical Bridge Playground was first developed in Palo Alto as a playground that is socially inclusive for children and adults of varying physical and cognitive abilities, including the autistic population, cognitively challenged, visually and hearing impaired, physically limited and the elderly. The Foundation’s first such playground was built in Palo Alto in 2015, and future playgrounds are not only coming to Redwood City but also Sunnyvale and Morgan Hill.

While the city is contributing $1.5 million toward renovating the park and existing playground, the Foundation raised about $1.8 million in funds.

Redwood City Police Department honors boy who found, returned wallet

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The 11-year-old boy who found a wallet that contained a large sum of cash and credit cards and contacted police — leading to the wallet’s return to its owner — received the Outstanding Character Award from Redwood City police Chief Dan Mulholland on Thursday.

Mulholland presented the award to Danny Lee as he was accompanied by his mother at police headquarters.

The award goes to a citizen “who demonstrates exemplary character and outstanding personal qualities through their behavior and actions,” said Mulholland.

On Sunday, May 6, Lee had just completed a math class near Sequoia Station and was waiting for his mom to pick him up when he spotted the lost wallet.

When his mother arrived, they decided to call police. The pair waited at the scene for Officer Diana Villegas to arrive. The officer then tracked down the “very appreciative owner,” Mulholland said.

Danny received a plaque as an award along with a bag of Redwood City Police Department “swag,” as the police chief called it.

Danny said he didn’t want the wallet’s owner to have to go through the hassle of canceling all of his cards.

11 year old praised after finding, returning wallet filled with cash, credit cards

Photos courtesy of the Redwood City Police Department

 

 

 

Political Climate with Mark Simon: Judge Persky recall and popularity in the judiciary

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Political Climate with Mark Simon: Judge Persky recall and popularity in the judiciary

We all have noticed how our modern social media environment almost seems to invite the strongest, even harshest, statements. These are angry times and anger never seems to be silent these days.

But one person’s angry assertion could be another’s call to action.

Locally, there may be no more complete example of how social media anger can translate into action than the effort to recall Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky because he issued a sentence in a rape trial that was widely criticized as too lenient. Remarkably, this election has become a national news story, as evidenced by the news conference Persky held yesterday, which drew dozens of TV cameras and reporters.

Two comments jumped out from Persky’s hour-long appearance. The first: “When public opinion influences a juror’s decision or a judge’s decision, it corrupts the whole system.”

That California judges at every level are subject to a vote of the public has public corruption at its root. In the earliest days of the United States, all judges were appointed for life, a circumstance that invited judicial misconduct, including bribes and favoritism. Reforms led to the election of judges and when California’s judiciary was established in 1849, the election system was adopted. On more than one occasion, California voters have rejected efforts to appoint judges rather than elect them.

Clearly, Californians value being able to vote on judges, although the vast majority of them run unopposed. Paradoxically, what we often say we value most in judges are integrity and independence.

On the Peninsula, judicial elections have not been popularity contests, even on those occasions when a judge made an unpopular decision or handed down a controversial sentence. Judges have been ousted at the ballot box, but at the heart of those campaigns has been questions of dereliction of duty, inappropriate conduct and unjudicial behavior. In essence, ousting a judge, particularly on the Peninsula was equated with impeachment – misconduct in office was considered a critical threshold.

As Persky suggested, should he be recalled, we will be entering a new era in which a judge is removed for following the judicial sentencing guidelines. The real problem may well be with the law, not the judge. But anger is easier to direct if the target is an individual and not a system.

The other comment by Persky that jumped out from yesterday’s news conference was this: “I was surprised at the amount of the backlash.”

And that leads us to a remarkable turnabout by our own little Palo Alto Daily Post, which began years ago as kind of spunky but has been largely grumpy and pugnaciously anti-government for the last several years.

The Post, it can be stated fairly, was happily and strongly in the vanguard of the backlash, running a headline nearly two years ago that read: “Judge Aaron Persky should be fired.”

The accompanying column lectured Persky on how he should have been thinking about this case.

The remarkable part of this came in an editorial last week in which the Post reversed itself and now opposes the recall of Persky because, while the sentencing was a mistake, “it would be an even greater mistake to give up the concept of an independent judiciary.”

The Post editorial even took a half-hearted swipe at admitting it might have made a mistake: “But we never anticipated that the campaign to remove Persky would result in a lynch-mob movement that threatens the independence of the judiciary.” Not much of an admission that they might have been wrong.

The Post gets credit for a public reversal – it could have remained quiet. But it would be more admirable if the initial call to “fire” Persky were not typical rhetoric from the Post, where thoughtfulness tends to be afterthought. Better late than never, I suppose.

Contact Mark Simon at mark@climaterwc.com.

First of five Facebook festivals set for Saturday

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The forecast for Saturday is for excellent weather, and for fun – at the Bay Area Brew & FanFest.

The first of five Facebook Festivals this summer and fall is set to take place Saturday, May 12, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Facebook HQ, 1 Hacker Way in Menlo Park.  Admission and parking are free.

The first festival is called Bay Area Brew & Fanfest. On tap – craft beers and cocktails and wine tasting – to benefit mentoring programs for kids and local youth sports programs. There will also be an array of food trucks (the usual suspects), and a Sports Showcase – including appearances from Lou Seal and Stomper, human representatives of the Giants and A’s, Warriors and Niners, Sharks and Earthquakes – plus from the college ranks, Stanford, Cal and San Jose State.

Additionally, there will be a Battle of the Bands (high school band-style), among other bands and music.

And for kids – they can jump round in a bouncy house, get their faces painted, paint something else themselves, get a balloon animal, try to figure out how that magician did it, and more too.

If that’s not enough, there also will be the Garlic Wars (we won’t spoil the surprise, but this should be a pretty tasty event)!

See the flyers below for information on all five Facebook events.

Photo courtesy of the Facebook Festivals Facebook page.

Posted by Facebook Festivals on Wednesday, November 22, 2017

‘Almost’ Mother’s Day Kids Concert set for Courthouse Square

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Celebrate your mom on May 12 at the “Almost” Mother’s Day Kids Concert set to take place at Courthouse Square in Redwood City from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The event will feature a performance by Andy Z and the Andyland Band, an inflatable play land, and an opportunity to create a Mother’s Day Gift in the craft area.

The concert is sponsored by Redwood City Parks, Recreation and Community Services.

Photo courtesy of Redwood City Events

Residents asked to weigh in on use of affordable housing fees

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Redwood City residents are invited to attend a public meeting on May 22 where they will be asked to provide input on how affordable housing fees in Redwood City should be used.

In recent years, the city has been moving toward raising revenue to support affordable housing creation. City Council has approved affordable housing impact fees on new residential and commercial development, and it also recently took steps toward taxing short-term rentals such as AirBnB, and using that revenue to support affordable housing.

Now, the question is how to allocate the money going to the city’s Affordable Housing Fund.

On May 22, residents are being asked to join the Housing and Human Concerns Committee for a discussion on how to best use those funds at the Veterans Memorial Senior Center, 1455 Madison Ave. The event runs from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

www.redwoodcity.org/ourcommunityandhousing

 

 

Redwood City’s ‘State of the City’ set for May 14

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This year’s theme is ‘People: Our Community’s Greatest Asset.’ The State of the City promotes the city’s accomplishments, its community stories and its goals for the coming year.

The event is free and open to the public and will also be televised. Refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m. The event will take place at Redwood City City Hall, 1017 Middlefield Road.

For more information, visit here.

Ex-Comcast technician from Redwood City allegedly stole from customers

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Ex-Comcast technician from Redwood City arrested on suspicion of stealing from customers

San Mateo County Sheriff’s detectives arrested a former Comcast technician last week on suspicion of stealing jewelry from three different customer’s homes, according to the sheriff’s office.

Christian Ivan Arias-Monroy, 31, of Redwood City, was arrested on suspicion of grand theft, elder abuse and petty theft in connections with thefts that occurred in homes in Daly City and Half Moon Bay in September 2016 and August 2017.

He was booked into the San Mateo County Jail Thursday, according to the sheriff’s office.

Sheriff’s deputies are now trying to find out if other Comcast customers were victimized by Arias-Monroy in the past few years.

Please contact Det. Chaghouri at 650-363-4060 of gchagouri@smcgov.org.

Gun buyback event coming to Redwood City; up to $200 for an assault rifle

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An anonymous, large-scale gun buyback event is set to be held in Redwood City on Saturday, May 5.

The event, hosted by San Mateo County Sheriff Carlos G. Bolanos, Redwood City Police Chief Dan Mulholland, and Congresswoman Jackie Speier, will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1402 Maple St.

“Any individual can surrender firearms with no questions asked, and receive up to $100 cash for a hand gun, shotgun or rifle, and up to $200 cash for an assault rifle,” organizers said, adding that funds are limited.

See this Facebook invite for more information.

The gun buyback was initiated by the Citizens for a San Mateo County Gun Buyback, which wanted to bring another large-scale buyback to the county that hasn’t happened since 2013. The group has solicited funding from the buyback from several city and town governments in the county, including a $50,000 contribution from San Carlos, and $10,000 from Woodside and Portola, which each committed to provide an addition $5,000 in matching funds if kids in their communities raised funds. Others contributing were Redwood City, Belmont, Burlingame, Half Moon Bay, Millbrae and San Mateo.

 “The Redwood City Police Department appreciates the opportunity to partner in this gun buyback event with the group Citizens for a San Mateo County Gun Buyback, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and other participating municipal agencies,” Redwood City Police Chief Dan Mulholland said. “This event provides an excellent opportunity to increase community safety by collecting unwanted firearms and ensuring their safe disposal rather than risk them falling into the wrong hands.”

Redwood City considering tax measures for the November ballot

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Extremely Low Income Housing Takes Center Stage at Redwood City Planning Commission The Planning Commission and Housing and Human Concerns Committee express concerns about deeply affordable housing at Housing Element study session

Redwood City voters might see new tax measures on the November ballot.

Public outreach is set to be conducted by the city on proposals for a quarter-cent sales tax increase and a transit occupancy tax increase. The revenue proposals are aimed at stemming projected future budget deficits, according to City Manager Melissa Diaz.

A five-year budget forecast shows the city headed to a nearly $1 million deficit in fiscal year 2019-20 that could grow to nearly $3.7 million in 2021-22 and to $5.7 million in 2022-23. The projected shortfalls are due to rising expenses and declining revenue sources including the statewide problem of growing public pension costs, as well as decreasing sales tax revenue, city officials said.

The city must also prepare for the possibility that the local economy might contract in the coming years, the city said.

In response, the city has identified $6 million in annual cost reductions that will be phased in over the next two fiscal years. The city also aims to identify $6 million in annual revenue increases. Last year, City Council approved $2 million in annual development fee increases. Currently, the city is looking to voters to address the remaining $4 million.

“If we do not have new revenues…we will very quickly have operating deficits,” Diaz told council.

A poll conducted by EMC Research from March 5 through March 13 surveyed 434 likely voters and found sufficient support for a sales tax measure.

Businesses and residents will soon hear more about the proposed tax measures with a public outreach campaign moving forward. City Council is expected to vote on whether to place the measures on the ballot at its July 23 meeting.

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