From the archives

The Housing Endowment and Regional trust yanked $1.4 million the week of Feb. 28, 2009, from the county investment pool after losing $150,000 in the Lehman Brother’s bankruptcy — approximately the same amount of money the joint powers authority earned in the pool since its inception.

The HEART Board of Directors voted 10-2 in favor of removing all money from the investment pool and researching safer options. HEART also had money in financial institutions that won’t be moved. Dissenting boardmembers thought more research should be done before removing the money but were overridden by a majority who believe safety is the bigger issue.

The Sept. 15, 2008, Lehman collapse rippled through the economy, particularly 19 California counties with investments in it. San Mateo County lost more than $150 million from its investment pool which includes school districts, cities and special agencies such as HEART.

Unlike school districts, HEART is not legally required to keep any funds in the pool. The money was placed there because the county gave the JPA seed money in 2002.

Toll lane idea starts up

Legislation allowing solo drivers to pay up to 50 cents a mile to bypass traffic with approximately 800 miles of Bay Area commuter lanes was expected to speed through the state Capitol after its introduction the week of Feb. 28, 2009.

Assembly Bill 744 was to authorize development of a comprehensive network of high-occupancy toll — or HOT — lanes on Bay Area freeways, allowing solo drivers the option to bypass congestion by paying a toll to use lanes in which carpools and buses currently travel free of charge.

San Mateo ‘tightens belt’

The week of Feb. 28, 2009, it was announced that there will be 23 fewer jobs in the city of San Mateo and residents would be asked to approve two new taxes after the City Council approved that week a two-phased approach to solving the worsening budget crisis.

The San Mateo City Council met in a special meeting on Tuesday of that week to discuss the budget reduction process. The city immediately cut $4 million in jobs and services and began the process of placing two ballot measures — to increase sales and hotel taxes — on the November 2009 ballot to raise another $4 million.

The cuts come as an ongoing structural deficit ballooned from an anticipated $4 million to $8 million amid a weak economy. The city initially projected a $3 million to $4 million structural budget gap between ongoing revenue and expenses.

Doctor takes plea

deal for illegal prescription

The former Colorado doctor who illegally prescribed generic Prozac online to a Stanford University student who subsequently killed himself pleaded no contest the week of Feb. 28, 2009, to felony practicing medicine in California without a license.

The deal settles Christian Hageseth’s case — a complicated one that stretched over three years, including seven motions to dismiss, an appellate court ruling on jurisdiction and a consistent stance by the defense that county prosecutors could not try him for practicing in the state because he never stepped foot in California.

Although the decision did not bring back John McKay, the university freshman who obtained the drugs from an online pharmacy, prosecutor Jenny Ow said his family was happy with the resolution.

From the archives highlights stories originally printed five years ago this week. It appears in the Friday edition of the Daily Journal.