Week in review

Colma casino owner arrested ... The owner of a Colma casino and his niece and nephew made their initial appearances in a San Francisco federal courtroom Monday after being arrested on suspicion of filing false federal income tax returns and various other charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported this week.

Atherton resident Rene Medina, 61, owner of Lucky Chances Casino on Hillside Boulevard, and his niece and nephew, Phyllis Reyes Cuison, of South San Francisco, and Rawlin Reyes, of Fremont, were arrested Monday after they were indicted on Wednesday, the office reported.

Medina is also accused of evading his personal income taxes. His niece and nephew were indicted on conspiracy charges.

Medina reportedly deducted about $2.6 million in bogus business expenses from the income of the casino. According to the office, $245,161 of the $2.6 million went to furniture for Medina’s Atherton home and a 2000 Mercedes Benz.

Knight Ridder sold ... Just moments after it was announced that McClatchy was to purchase Knight Ridder’s chain of 32 newspapers, it was announced that 12 of the newspapers — including the San Jose Mercury News, the Contra Costa Times and the Monterey Herald — were to be sold. That also puts the future of the Palo Alto Daily News and its sister papers in San Mateo County in doubt. The Daily News group is to be lumped in with the Mercury in any future sale.

While there is some speculation MediaNews — the owner of the Oakland Tribune and San Mateo County Times — are interested, many at the Merc and Daily News are crossing their fingers that an employee-friendly option may still be found. Either way, it means a few more months of uncertainty for the newspaper industry.

Overdue library is given OK ... It took 20 years for the city of San Bruno to take the much-needed step it took this week. By allocating $400,000 for designs and strategies for state grants, the city took the proverbial leap of faith in getting a new library.

The current library is in sad shape, with long lines and only one rest room. By starting the study phase, the city is hoping to get its ducks in row to get state bond funding that may be available after the election.

Coffee war brewing ... With a Starbucks in the works just two and a half blocks away from the one on Laurel Street in downtown San Carlos, Hans Siemers, owner of nearby Uptown Cafe was just about to flip his lid and is now working to get the plans to grind quietly to a halt. He is asking the city to place a moratorium on new coffee shops as a way to keep the downtown diverse. Coffee shops in downtown San Mateo tried a similar tactic a few months ago when Peet’s Coffee and Tea was angling into the neighborhood. It was to little avail, the coffee giant moved in and everyone is still just buzzing along.

County: End homelessness ... County officials unveiled an ambitious 10-year plan aimed at specifically ending the homeless epidemic here. The blueprint for success is to move beyond simply providing short-term shelter and creating a network of support and housing, they claim. By 2015, San Mateo County officials plan to free local streets, hospitals and the jail from a chronic homeless population they claim has sapped thousands of dollars per person in services and created an untold number of human costs.

The plan isn’t cheap. County officials estimate needing roughly $1.56 billion over the 10 years to create and operate 7,999 new units of housing. Not acting is also costly, officials claim. Based on the cost of homeless services in other communities, county officials believe they would spend as much as $2 billion over the same span for emergency interventions.

From the archives

Displaced workers

receive state assistance

As dot-com layoffs increased, state funds announced by Gov. Gray Davis the week of March 17, 2001 were sought to provide some relief to displaced workers.

It was announced that San Mateo County would receive $121,397 and was one of the 50 local agencies to receive grants allocated by the state to provide services for displaced workers due to layoffs and business closures.

Administrators leave district

In another stunning blow to the San Mateo-Foster City School District, several top administrators announced their resignations and retirements March 16, 2001, only a few weeks after the resignation of some of their chief supporters, Superintendent Rick Damelio and Boardmember Georgia Helthall.

News of the departures of Assistant Superintendent Tish Busselle, Associate Superintendent Audrey Poppers, Special Education Director Linda Waddell, and Coordinator Donna Hirshbein hit district board members at the Thursday night board meeting in closed session.

Reasons for their sudden and coordinated departures remained elusive. Hirschbein and Waddell were rumored to have been mulling over retirement for some time. Poppers announced that she found a another job.

City touts Nazareth

as ideal project

A four-story mixed-use project on Ninth Avenue and South B Street was unanimously approved by the Planning Commission March 13, 2001 with only minor required changes to the design.

Commissioners and the public gave raving reviews of the Nazareth Enterprises project, touting it as a star example of mixed-use and transit-oriented development. The five below-market rate residential units required by the city were instructed to be evenly distributed throughout the living levels.

The project combines 54 residential condominiums with retail and parking. It also faced a two-year delay because of a construction dispute.

The project celebrated its grand opening March 11 this year.<