Week in review

General Manager Marilyn Lawrence secured $900,000 of her $1 million goal to keep the television station running. The effort was enough for elected officials to give the program the go-ahead for next year during a board meeting Wednesday night. Lawrence will continue her effort toward finding funds to fill that gap over the next school year.

"It feels really good to have the support of the board,” she said.

The challenge for elected officials was the budget strain. More than $6 million in cuts were approved for next year. Lawrence began raising funds with an initial deadline of presenting the $1 million plan of late February. Efforts were not quite there at the time, and Lawrence was granted one more month to continue her efforts. On Wednesday, she presented a plan just shy of the goal.

Reaching $900,000 was focused on three main options: Offering the public use of the station’s facilities or air access for a price, losing a few people and controlling costs.

Bacteria forcing sand

removal at two parks

Redwood City is completely removing sand areas from two of its parks because workers have not been able to prevent the bacteria E. coli from contaminating them.

After a year in which the sand play areas of Stafford and Maddux parks were periodically closed because of the bacteria, officials say they are unable to keep it from happening and want to instead replace the sand entirely.

"Everybody likes the sand but quite honestly there are reasons why it’s not a good idea,” said Redwood City Parks Superintendent Gary Hover.

Contamination was linked to cat feces at Maddux Park but the reasons at Stafford remain unclear. The bacteria requires a combination of sand, water, shade and some sort of fecal matter.

The city will replace the sand areas with other play features and is asking the community to attend either of two meetings next month for input on what the replacement should be. Possibilities include a soft rubber surface or water feature like a mister, Hover said.

Hover said park visitors don’t need to take particular precautions but did have one bit of advice.

"Don’t eat sand,” he said.

City officially opposes Cargill

After making disparaging remarks about the state’s environmental review process, Belmont Mayor Christine Wozniak led her council in a 3-2 vote of opposition to a planned 12,000-unit development on salt ponds in Redwood City.

The council, however, was not unanimous last night in its adoption of a resolution opposing the DMB Cargill project. Both Councilmen David Braunstein and Warren Lieberman called such a move "premature,” as did DMB representatives.

Cargill’s plan is to allocate about half of the 1,436-acre property to open space and wetland restoration, while the other half would be reserved for housing, schools and other various infrastructure in what the developer calls a "50-50 Balanced Plan.”

New law would fine parents

Youth on the coast are advocating a different approach to curbing under-age drinking: Hold the parents responsible.

On Monday, the Pacifica City Council supported an idea generated by local teenagers to draft a social host ordinance. Such a measure would hold adults responsible for underage drinking in their home, regardless whether the adults are home when the drinking occurs. Local teens hope by fining the adults, rather than going after the youth, will create a more informed, more involved adult population ultimately curbing the underage behavior. A draft ordinance will be brought back before the council at a future meeting.

"I’m proud that our students are willing to focus on the roots of the problem and all the potential consequences. That youth have written a long-lasting policy is amazing,” Richard Boitano, associate superintendent for education for the Jefferson Unified High School District said in a prepared statement.

Young leaders from the Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol youth council, known as CMCA, a program through the Youth Leadership Institute, presented the idea to Pacifica elected officials Monday evening. Drinking issues have been of concern to Pacifica after two teens were killed in a car crash in 2005.