Week in Review

The two men are in one of the state's most hotly contested races for Assembly District 21, spanning from San Carlos to Los Gatos. The seat is currently held by Joe Simitian who is running for state Senate. Spending record amounts of money, Poizner is hoping to win the heavily Democratic district - in the same fashion Schwarzenegger swept the state during last year's recall campaign.

Poizner contributed nearly $5 million of his own money to his campaign and taken contributions from Silicon Valley execs. He, however, refuses to take money from special interest groups.

On the lighter side, Schwarzenegger pointed out another thing the men share in common - they're both married to Democrats.

Ruskin's camp brushed off the hyped visit, claiming the Schwarzenegger visit would have little impact in one of the few districts to vote against him in last year's recall election.

Ecstasy dealer gets five years in state prison

Calling drug dealing to minors "insidious," a judge sentenced a 20-year-old dealer to five years in prison this week for selling an Ecstasy pill to a Belmont middle-schooler who later died from a severe reaction.

Judge James Ellis agreed with Antonio Rivera's defense attorney that selling the drug to three 14-year-old girls does not make him specifically liable for Irma Perez's death. However, Ellis cut Rivera little slack for selling cocaine and Ecstasy to a group of clients considerably younger than himself or his 17-year-old business partner.

Rivera, of Belmont, faced up to eight years in state prison after pleading no contest to conspiracy to provide controlled substances to minors, possession of a controlled substance for sale and inducing a violation by a minor. Instead, Ellis settled on mid-terms and concurrent sentences for Rivera. He receives credit for 277 days, a mix of the time he's already served in the county jail and good behavior.

Rivera is one of five people arrested after Perez died April 23 but he is the only suspect who will serve prison time. Three others are minors and a fourth received jail time for helping Rivera hide his drug stash from police.

Perez, an eighth-grader at Ralston Middle School, took the pill with two friends at a Friday night sleepover. Soon after, she complained of not feeling well. Her symptoms escalated for hours during the evening but the girls never phoned 911. Instead, as Perez repeatedly vomited and thought she would die, they called their 17-year-old drug supplier. The boy - Rivera's business partner - arrived at the house with two friends but did not seek or encourage the girls to seek help. Perez was discovered by the adult owners of the home early Saturday morning but was already near brain death.

Burlingame joins elite property list

The California Association of Realtors listed Burlingame this week as the state's seventh most expensive place to buy a home. The median price tag for a home in the city of trees went up 35.2 percent in one year. The median cost was a cool $907,500 a year ago, but is now well into seven digits.

Good interest rates, plenty of homes for sale by laid off high-tech workers and "a certain feeling about it" makes Burlingame and Hillsborough (they share a zip code) the place to be, Realtor Steve Crammer said.

Crammer has worked in the area for more than five years and said sales have been through the roof. Five years ago, he sold a house on the east side of the railroad tracks for $700,000, two years later that same home sold for $1.1 million and the next year - in 2002 - it sold for $1.3 million.

The prices could level off in six to eight months, but they won't decrease, Crammer said. However, it's impossible to know for certain, he added.

Man stabbed, dies

The man stabbed Wednesday at a San Carlos vocational rehabilitation center succumbed to his injuries Thursday afternoon.

Shortly after 2 p.m. on Wednesday, 30-year-old Vintin Cruz, of Daly City, stabbed Alfonso Ruiz, 44, of Laguna Hills, several times in the chest and arm in an unprovoked act of violence. The two men were sitting next to each other when Cruz lunged at Ruiz with a "standard household knife."

Cruz is now facing murder charges. Police are still trying to piece together a motive. There is speculation Cruz mistook Ruiz for someone else, but police could not confirm that.

Police would not elaborate on the man's mental condition since it is an ongoing investigation, he said.

The attack took place at the WorkCenter Vocational Rehab Services, located at 550 Quarry Road.