Reporters' Notebook

Gignoux’s song "The Landing,” was nominated for "Record of the Year,” "Song of the Year” and "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.”

"I am an unknown, so I don’t expect to be in the top five,” said Gignoux, who has driven a bus for SamTrans for nearly 30 years.

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Central Middle School in San Carlos has a reason to celebrate after being named a "2006 National Blue Ribbon School.” Retired principal Jerrie Welch and librarian Monette Meredith traveled to Washington D.C. on Nov. 9 and Nov. 10 to accept this honor at an awards ceremony hosted by the U.S. Department of Education.

The school will hold a celebration at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 17 at 828 Chestnut St., San Carlos.

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It’s been three years since the Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail has been opened to the public. The trail offers 10 miles of hiking, biking and riding through the scenic Peninsula Watershed and was a source of much controversy when proponents wanted it opened for public use. Water officials claimed trail use would damage the delicate environment while others claimed private parties on the land had the potential for far greater damage. A compromise was reached and only groups led by a trail leader volunteer are allowed. So far 200 volunteers have led 2,000 people through the stretch of the Bay Ridge Trail.

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Outgoing Sheriff Don Horsley jokingly refers to himself as Sheriff-elect Greg Munks’ FTO, or field training officer, during the short period between now and the switch in office. No word on who is acting as Horsley’s FTO for his new position on the Sequoia Healthcare District Board.

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County employees with a to-buy list for the holidays and a desire to donate can kill two birds with one stone at the Autumn Festival and Gourney Alley next Tuesday in the county center lobby. All proceeds from the craft and gift fair goes to the Second Harvest Holiday Food Drive.

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After you deep fry your turkey this Thanksgiving, bring your used oil over to Half Moon Bay Auto Repair and they will gladly dispose of it for you free. They are located at 149 Main St. in Half Moon Bay.

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Anyone popping the "Cars” DVD into their player can feel a connection to San Carlos. The trailer before the movie is for the yet-to-be-released animated feature, "Ratatouille,” a product of Pixar producer and San Carlos Councilman Brad Lewis.

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The Daily Journal Web site, www.smdailyjournal.com, was overloaded much of the day yesterday after the popular Web site the Drudge Report posted our story on Belmont’s plan to ban smoking in the city. As of 9 p.m. yesterday, there were 100,000 hits to the Web site.

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San Mateo County is looking for a new voice in Sacramento and is currently interviewing lobbyist candidates.

Supervisors spent a large chunk of Tuesday interviewing prospective legislative advocates and expect to finalize a hire by the end of the month. The lobbyist will represent the county in all aspects of state government, including the governor’s office and state Legislature, between Dec. 12 and Nov. 30, 2007 with an option to renew for another year.

The deputy county manager for intergovernmental and public affairs will oversee the lobbyist whose primary jobs will be tracking state legislation with the potential for local impact, draft legislation as necessary and develop the county’s legislative program.

The reporters’ notebook is a weekly collection of facts culled from the notebooks of the Daily Journal staff. It appears in the Thursday edition of the Daily Journal.