Reporters' notebook

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Broadway By The Bayre cently announced the appointment of their new Artistic Director Amanda Folena, who will be joining the company fresh off of directing the upcoming production of " Gypsy.” Folena will be taking over from Brooke Knight, who is retiring at the end of the current season after 18 years. Folena comes to Broadway By The Bay from City Lights Theater Company, where she is the casting director and company manager. She has an master’s in fine arts in acting from Purdue University , and special honors include the Jack Nicholson Award for Best Actress, the University of Southern California Dance Award for Best Choreography and the National Irene Ryan Award for Acting at the Kennedy Center ACTF National Competition .

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Those seeking a peek of local history need look no further than the San Mateo County History Museum on most occasions. However, the museum is currently displaying a solid oak, two-sided pedestal desk used by retired U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor when she served as deputy county counsel here in 1952. The desk is part of a display in Courtroom A until Sept. 18 and will feature a facsimile of O’Connor’s initial job application to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office .

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San Mateo Councilman David Lim is inviting the public to two gatherings with the specific intent of sharing ideas in an informal environment away from agendas, micro-phones and three-minute time limits normally associated with council meetings. Lim and other elected officials and staff will be present to take questions and share concerns. The gatherings will be Sept. 20 and Oct. 25 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the main library, 55 W. Third Ave. in the Laurel Room.

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Ready for some cheesecake? Well, your opportunity awaits Monday. The Cheesecake Factory at the Hillsdale Shopping Center will hold its grand opening Monday, Sept. 19 at 11 a.m. Aside from the dining experience for locals, the restaurant also provided 271 new jobs to Hillsdale.

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Scott M. Rennie has been named the city of Belmont’s new permanent city attorney. He previously worked for the city of Fremont and is a current planning commissioner with the city of San Leandro. He will be paid $190,500 a year.

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The city of Bell in southern California has recruited some more talent from the city of San Mateo to help the struggling city get back on its feet after its former city manager and mayor were arrested for defrauding the city. Bell’s all-new City Council hired Arne Croce, San Mateo’s former city manager, as its interim city manager last month and he has asked San Mateo to provide some human resources and city clerk help as Bell transitions to new leadership. Bell’s former city manager Robert Rizzo was paid nearly $800,000 by the city and he now faces state charges of civil conspiracy, waste of public funds and fraud.

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Women’s Initiative for Self-Employment, the nation’s largest micro enterprise training and funding organization, announced the winners of its 2011 Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Awards this week. The businesses selected represent success and innovation in their industries. Among the winners are Kathy Petrin, King fish Restaurant & Studio Rincon in Menlo Park; Lisa Marino, Rock Youin Redwood City; and Julie Brush, Solutus Legal Search in Redwood City. The women from Silicon Valley and Peninsula will be recognized in November.

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Peninsula Family Service will honor four of its most inspiring clients at the 16th Annual Winners Celebration tonight. Nominated by program staff, the clients have taken part in services offered by Peninsula Family Service. Their participation within these programs has allowed them to overcome extreme obstacles in order to create better lives for themselves and their families. The winners at this year’s event include San Mateo resident Jakeline Naranjoand her parents, who worked together with the Early Learning Center to overcome Naranjo’s developmental delays; Regina Berrios from Redwood City, who took part in multiple financial empowerment services to gain control over the debt she and her children were left with following divorce; and Diane Young from South San Francisco, who used the Second Careers Employment Programto pull herself out of homelessness and now serves as a job developer for older adults. Fan and Jim Mobergand their daughter and son-in-law, Marilyn and Dan Callaghan,have made charitable work part of their daily lives.

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