Reporters' Notebook

Tonight’s Village People concert at the San Mateo County Fair will lack at least one fan — Victor Willis, the original lead singer who now awaits sentencing on local drug charges. Willis, known as the cop persona of the disco-era group, faces either stiff rehabilitation or prison when sentenced next month. Alice Wolf, his publicist, calls the revamped group’s presence during this period "in extremely bad taste” and claims a book to be released next year will address his replacement in the group. Wolf calls the remaining members "phonies” and attacks the new lead singer.

"Let’s just say, the public will soon discover that Milli Vanilli had nothing on the group of guys coming to the San Mateo County Fair,” said Wolf.

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Save Coyote Point, the recently formed group raising money to keep the environmental education museum up and running, has gathered approximately $185,000 in pledges. About $300,000 is required to keep the museum going for another six months. The museum has discussed closing and turning over the facility to the 11th Hour Project, a nonprofit that focuses on global warming. Save Coyote Point is also trying to meet with representatives from the 11th Hour Project to see what they might have in common.

For all those who pledge, there will be a picnic 6 p.m. Aug. 31 for the unveiling of the group’s proposal and an announcement of how much money it raised.

For more information go to www.savecoyotepointmuseum.org.

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Burlingame law firm Cotchett, Pitre, Simon and McCarthy is the trial counsel for former CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson and her husband former Ambassador Joseph Wilson in their lawsuit against Vice President Dick Cheney, his former Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter” Libby, presidential adviser Karl Rove and other unnamed administration officials.

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When Summit Preparatory High School moves the students won’t have as much entertainment.

Incoming junior Jimmy Zunniga, who helped organize the move, said during Christmas time the students could hear inmates in the Redwood City County Jail singing Christmas carols.

Despite all the things Zunniga will miss from the old school location, he won’t miss the Christmas carols.

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When reporters from all around the Bay Area gathered to get a glimpse at the new San Francisco County Jail No. 3 in San Bruno it was the first chance for someone to break something. A clock was knocked from the wall during the tour with glass shattering everywhere.

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The Gambling Control Commission approved transfer of ownership of a cardroom from a person indicted by the federal government for felony tax fraud to two of his children. On March 8, Rene Medina, the sole owner of Lucky Chances in Colma, was indicted in federal court for 10 counts of felony tax fraud in connection with his operation of the casino.The indictment alleged that Medina and two family members had taken $2.6 million in improper tax deductions.

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The winner of the contest to design a logo for Burlingame’s design charrette will be announced Monday at City Hall. There were 13 entries and the winning logo will be emblazoned on T-shirts worn during the charrette and on printed materials publicizing the event. The winner will receive several souvenir T-shirts, according to Burlingame Vice Mayor Terry Nagel.

The charrette is a collaborative design workshop to be held on Saturday, Sept. 30, to produce multiple visions that will help Burlingame plan for its future. It is sponsored by the City of Burlingame and the San Mateo County chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Specifically, the city is looking at ways to revitalize Howard Avenue, recently dubbed "SOBA,” or South of Burlingame Avenue.

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The San Mateo Public Library and San Francisco Small Business Development Center (SF SBDC) announced the San Mateo SBDC, a satellite center located at the library. With the partnership, San Mateo County entrepreneurs can avail themselves of convenient, frequent and in-depth SBDC small business training classes.

The San Mateo Public Library contains the Franklin Templeton Investments Business Resource Center, the largest business reference collection in San Mateo County. The SBDC program is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and offers regular workshops on starting a business, getting loans, marketing, technology and bookkeeping. The new library is scheduled to open Aug. 27.

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

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