• State Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, announced his second annual “Oughta Be A Law ... Or Not” contest for San Mateo County. The contest is open to all constituents of the 19th Assembly District and allows submission of ideas for improving the quality of life in San Mateo County or the state of California. Applicants can submit ideas for creation of a new law or revision of a law already on the books. The winner will have the opportunity to testify in Sacramento at a hearing on the legislation.

Applications are due by Jan. 1 and can be obtained by calling Hill’s office at 349-1900 or from his Web site www.assembly.ca.gov/hill.

• Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation authored by state Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, D-Redwood City, to reinstate payment of claims made by small businesses for work performed in the clean up of sites contaminated by leaking underground petroleum storage tanks. The urgency bill also helps replenish the state’s Underground Storage Tank Fund and mitigate the shortfall which caused the potential four-to-six payment delay. The bill increases the underground storage tank fee paid by retailers and charges on motor fuels stored in the tanks from 1.4 cents per gallon to 2 cents per gallon for two years; allows the State Water Resources Control Board to eliminate the suspension of more than 1,300 USTF claims; allows the suspended claimants to file for reimbursement of bridge financing costs; requires the State Water Resources Control Board to post on its Web site an outside audit of the fund; protects the three-year, $30 million allocation to schools for site clean up; and allows approximately 36 small-business applicants to be eligible for Enhanced Vapor Recovery grants.

Education

• The Burlingame Elementary School District Board of Trustees will discuss its goals for the academic school year and receive updates on the new buildings at Lincoln and McKinley elementary schools.

The board meets 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10 at the District Office, 1825 Trousdale Drive in Burlingame.

• The San Carlos Elementary School District Board of Trustees will discuss the budget which took a $1.4 million hit due to an accounting error, further state cuts, lower-than-anticipated-enrollment and rising staffing costs. Cuts are expected to go into effect in the next school year.

At the same meeting, the board will discuss setting enrollment capacity for each school site.

The board meets 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12 at Central Middle School, 828 Chestnut St. in San Carlos.

• Adolescent Counseling Services, a nonprofit agency dedicated to the healthy social and emotional development of teens, will partner with the Palo Alto High School PTSA to host a community forum on teenage substance abuse 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12 at Palo Alto High School in the English Resource Center located in the library.

The forum series called “Breaking the Stigma” was implemented last spring by ACS as a way to combat the stigmas surrounding teenage mental health issues. The first set of forums in the series was held in June 2009 and focused on teenage depression. The upcoming forum will focus on teenage substance abuse.

For more information about ACS call 424-0852, e-mail info@acs-teens.org or visit www.acs-teens.org.