Reporters' notebook

Peninsula Arts Council will present the 11th annual Diamond Awards, San Mateo County's Arts Hall of Fame 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25 at Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos. The celebratory evening includes an hors d'oevres reception, no-host cocktails, silent auction, entertainment and awards presentation. The event is open to the public and tickets are available at www.peninsulaartscouncil.org. The $25 ticket price includes all Hiller Aviation Museum exhibits.

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Those "king tides” caused quite a stir around the San Mateo County women's jail in Redwood City last week — hampering operations and preventing the public from visiting inmates for four days, a sheriff's spokeswoman said. The women's correctional facility, located at 1590 Maple St., is situated on land that is basically at sea level and its location makes it prone to flooding from heavy rains and high tides such as the "king tide” that impacted the area on Thursday. "King tides,” which usually occur at least once a year, are caused by a unique position of the sun and moon.

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On Monday, Dec. 17, the San Mateo County sheriff, Redwood City police chief and fire chief were presented with a $1,073 check for the San Mateo County Sheriff's Activities League and the Redwood City Police Activities League Toy and Book Drive. The check was presented on behalf of the employee owners of Recology San Mateo County, who chose the SAL-PAL Toy and Book Drive as the beneficiary of this year's employee owner charity giving program. Each year during the holidays, Recology San Mateo County asks its employees to help an organization within the community that benefits the residents of the community in a positive way, which they felt SAL-PAL certainly does. They ask employees to give whatever they can, from emptying their pockets of loose change to any monetary dollar amount they can spare.

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The San Mateo County Transit District is sending warm holiday wishes with this year's holiday video greeting card. On the video, employees responsible for the safe operations of SamTrans and Caltrain services, along with engineering, maintenance and contract employees echo the message that everything we do is "All About You.” To watch the video visit www.caltrain.com/holidayvideo.html.

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Fans of last year's outdoor ice skating rink in downtown Redwood City likely noticed its absence this year. The city and many people liked the rink, which used faux ice, but some suggested a more traditional surface would be more popular. The city looked at some options but the timing and cost didn't work out, said city spokesman Malcolm Smith. Maybe next year!

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Newly sworn in state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, said he doesn't feel much different than when he was an assemblyman but at least he no longer has to explain to people what it is he assembles.

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With more than 70 people in attendance, a standing ovation was given to Burlingame Lions Club Past President Dan Andersen Jr., who was honored Thursday as he received the prestigious award of "Life Membership” from Lions Clubs International. Andersen becomes one of the selected few from 1.4 million Lions Clubs Members throughout 208 countries and 45,000 clubs around the world.

Burlingame Lions Club President Ken Ingram presented the Life Membership Award to Andersen, who was accompanied by his wife Carolyn and their son, Dan. Andersen received the award for his "outstanding contribution of volunteer services and recognition of both club objectives and humanitarian assistance in the community” from Lions Club International President Wayne Madden. In addition to this, Andersen received a resolution from Burlingame Mayor Ann Keighran and a certificate of recognition from U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo.

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