Reporters' Notebook

The new Starbucks on Laurel Street in downtown San Carlos is proving quite popular, despite a recent decision to consider a moratorium on future coffee stores. Retailers asked the City Council for the limit after Starbucks announced plans to open the second location near the site of its first. Regardless, observers say there is often a line at the new shop and no lack of customers.

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Libertarian Jack Hickey won’t yet concede to Supervisor Rich Gordon and is waiting to see if Gordon will need to run in a runoff election in November. At the end of Tuesday’s election, Gordon had more than 50 percent of the votes, followed by Green Party candidate Jo Chamberlain and Hickey. With thousands of absentees yet to be counted, Hickey said a runoff is still a possibility.

Meanwhile, Hickey wants to know why he and his wife had to vote using Spanish and Chinese Libertarian ballots. Apparently, Hickey’s polling place did not have any English ballots.

"This is America,” he said.

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Sounds like at least one person is against a high school on the 15-acre Foster City site. Lee Foster, executive director of Hillbarn Theater, wants a spot for actors. Today is the last day to submit a city survey about the future of the 15-acre site. About 1,000 surveys are already on record with the city. The results will be compiled in a report and delivered to the Planning Commission next month. The site, earmarked for a public high school years ago, is being talked about for other types of development.

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Word from a Daily Journal reader in San Bruno is that Mayor Larry Franzella was kindly pushed from a fire truck he was riding on during last weekend’s Posy Parade. It, and a borrowed engine from Foster City, were in the parade when the call came for a structure fire at 335 E. Angus Ave. Both were pulled out of the parade and responded to the fire along with Engine 52 and apparatus from South City and Millbrae according to the reader.

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The Pacifica Coastside Democrats are saying goodbye to Elliott and JoAn Blackstone. JoAn has served as president of the club and was a key mentor and adviser to many of the club’s presidents while Elliott won awards for his distinguished police service. They are moving to Little River, near Mendocino.

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Atherton Mayor Charles Marsala was appointed campaign chair for Californians for Schwarzenegger in San Mateo County. As a county chair, he will help to spread the governor’s message and initiatives throughout San Mateo County.

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Voter turnout in San Mateo County this election was quite low with 93,924 ballots — or 26.81 percent of the 350,305 registered voters — cast. Of that number, 60,113 were Democrats, 24,475 were Republicans, 6,494 were American Independent Party members (which some people mistakenly sign up for thinking it’s independent or decline to state), 3,751 were Green Party members, 1,638 were Libertarian Party members, 833 were Peace and Freedom Party members and 342 were Natural Law Party members.

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