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Click for Menlo Park, California Forecast

Running the city's the easy part
Glen Rojas left a rapidly expanding Southern California city for the shady confines of Menlo Park when he was hired as city manager over two years ago. But that doesn't mean things have settled down much for Mr. Rojas, as he works to win the trust of skeptics who are afraid that the city is letting the "village" they know and love to slip away.


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TODAY'S TOP POSTS     VIEW ALL POSTS
MP school district seeks $178 parcel tax
Voters will be asked to help the Menlo Park City School District bridge a projected $2 million budget shortfall with a $178 parcel tax. The school board voted Feb. 2 to put a ...
Last comment from Fact Check, a resident of the Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park neighborhood, 6 minutes ago (Comments: 62)

Initiative drive to cut pension costs under way
Henry Riggs, Roy Sardina and Ned Moritz will lead a ballot initiative drive, aimed at scaling back pension benefits for new city employees. Read the full story here ...
Last comment from Voter, a resident of the Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park neighborhood, 2 hours ago (Comments: 50)

Menlo Park backing off lawn size limit
Menlo Park appears to be backing off a controversial proposal to limit lawn size in new or rehabilitated landscaping projects for single-family homes. Read the full story h...
Last comment from Right, a resident of the Menlo Park: Belle Haven neighborhood, 2 hours ago (Comments: 7)

Newcomer takes funding lead in Assembly race
A venture capitalist from Menlo Park has surged past two political veterans in the race for campaign fundraising, all but ensuring a tight three-way contest for Ira Ruskin's s...
Last comment from Who Dat?, a resident of the Menlo Park: Sharon Heights neighborhood, on Feb 7, 2010 at 9:31 pm (Comments: 15)



FOGSTER CLASSIFIEDS
Last four ads posted:
Logo English Tapestry Framed $200 Posted 2 hours ago
English Tapestry framed $200 Posted 2 hours ago
Mountain View, 1 BR/1 BA 1075.00 Posted 3 hours ago
Mountain View, 1 BR/1 BA 1050.00 Posted 3 hours ago

MASTER COMMUNITY CALENDAR
A sample of events happening today from your posts on the Almanac Master Community Calendar
Junior Museum & Zoo (Volunteers)
Palo Alto Scrabble Club (Clubs/Meetings)
Bridging the Digital Divide - Cyberspace workshop for Parents and Teens (ages 11 and up) (Classes/Workshops)
Erin Dionne's "Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies" (Talks/Authors)


Readers'Choice
The Almanac's Readers' Choice Awards. See who the winners are for 2009!

Arts&Entertainment
Ad Libs Rebecca Wallace goes backstage with a blog on the Midpeninsula's vibrant arts scene. Check out 'Ad Libs' for updates, insight, and audio and video files.
LocalNews
from the Almanac news staff

Update: Judge sentences cop killer to death
A San Mateo County Superior Court judge Monday (Feb. 8) sentenced 26-year-old Alberto Alvarez to death by lethal injection for killing East Palo Alto police Officer Richard May in 2006.

Las Lomitas district faces $1.2 million in cuts
Faced with the prospect of a $1.6 million deficit next school year if significant cuts aren't included in the new budget, Las Lomitas School District officials are recommending that the school board approve reductions that include a hiring freeze, larger class sizes, cuts in or elimination of some enrichment programs, and shrinking the summer school program to mandated classes only.

Tuesday: Las Lomitas meeting on growth options
The Las Lomitas School District is holding a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 9, to discuss options for addressing the district's growth in enrollment that is squeezing space and resources on the district's two campuses.

Midwinter market
Daniel Alvi takes a bite of a gala apple on a visit to the Menlo Park Farmers' Market in downtown Menlo Park. The market, sponsored by the Menlo Park Live Oaks Lions Club, is one of the few on the Peninsula to remain open every Sunday year-round. Photo by Michelle Le/ The Almanac.

Tuesday: Menlo council takes up Cargill resolution
Menlo Park council members will consider a resolution calling for "full restoration" of salt ponds owned by agribusiness giant Cargill.

Tuesday: City takes another crack at landscaping ordinance designed to reduce water use
Menlo Park's City Council will continue to grapple with revisions to the city's water-efficient landscaping ordinance in a study session Tuesday, Feb. 9.

Tuesday: Cafe Scientifique examines water crisis
Richard Luthy, a civil engineering professor at Stanford University, will speak on "Facing Scarcity: The Water Crisis in California" during a Cafe Scientifique presentation at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9, at the SRI International Building at Middlefield Road and Ringwood Ave. in Menlo Park.

Spangler closes mortuary in Menlo Park
Spangler Mortuary closed its Menlo Park funeral home chapel at 650 Live Oak Ave. on Feb. 1 after the landlord said the rent would be doubled, Scott Spangler said in an interview.

Trial date set for Barry Bonds' son
The 20-year-old son of former San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds will stand trial in June on misdemeanor charges stemming from a fight with his mother in Menlo Park last year.

Portola Valley Archives
The mansion Herbert Law built in the 1920s for his 5-year-old daughter Patricia in the hills of Portola Valley burned in a horrendous fire in September 1971. The ruins still stand. Courtesy, Portola Valley Archives.

Burlingame man, 19, victim in fatal crash
A 19-year-old Burlingame man was killed in a multiple-vehicle crash on U.S. 101 in San Mateo on Saturday morning (Feb. 6) that forced the roadway's closure for more than two hours.

Basketball: M-A frosh-soph girls win two big ones
The Menlo-Atherton frosh/soph girls' basketball team solidified its hold on second place in the Peninsula Athletic League this past week.

Ryan Corley achieves Eagle rank
Ryan Corley, a member of Portola Valley's Boy Scout Troop 64 and a sophomore at Menlo School, has earned the rank of Eagle Scout, and was honored at an Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony on Jan. 31.

M-A boys shock first-place Burlingame in hoops
Boys' prep roundup: After suffering three straight losses, the Menlo-Atherton boys' basketball team appeared headed for another as it prepared to travel to face first-place Burlingame in a PAL Bay Division game on Friday night.
Prep scores, game details from PA Online Sports.

Police Calls
Crime and accident reports from the Atherton and Menlo Park police departments and the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

Hikes in the open space preserves
Click on the picture or headline for an updated list of free, docent-led hikes and other activities on the preserves of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. Photo: A docent-led hike in the Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve in early spring. Photo courtesy Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.

LOCAL WEB SITES
Feb. 6, 8: Apply to own Habitat home
Alameda de las Pulgas building gets a facelift
Obituary: Joan Merigan, pediatrician for 51 years
Obituary: Ted Yates Johnston
Obituary: Gertrude M. Dowden
Mountain lion encounter prompts park closure
'Buy local' campaigns work, merchants say
Menlo Park backing off lawn size limit
Judo champ pleads no contest in assault
Police oversight committee for Atherton?
Five Atherton homes hit by daytime burglars
All-State football honors for Menlo School's Robbins, Diekroeger
Will development projects clog local streets?
Portola Valley's only gas station has new owner
Portola Valley may hike fees for town facilities
NorCal girls' 18U polo team wins a gold medal
Allied Arts Guild gives $110,000 to hospital
Coldwell Banker collects thousands of toys
Holiday Fund raises nearly $130,000
MP school district seeks $178 parcel tax
One goal achieved by SHP boys' soccer team
Sun exec announces resignation on Twitter

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Edge of Darkness Movies
Edge of Darkness
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It has been eight long years since Mel Gibson headlined a feature film ("Signs" in 2002). In the interim, Gibson has been surrounded more by controversy than co-stars. His directorial effort on "The Passion of the Christ" revealed an almost unsettlin...(Read the full review here)

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