No more a sleepy but rich little town with a big history, the city of Burlingame is on a building spree. But not in single-family neighborhoods. The historic post office is being replaced by a six-story office building with a long-awaited town square according to Councilmember Michael Brownrigg. The Facebook complex on the Bay was completed before COVID and is now just beginning to be occupied. It houses the company’s virtual reality team. New biotech office buildings are going up near the Hyatt Hotel. Rollins Road was rezoned for higher density and heights. The city has a total of 13,000 units including rentals and single-family homes. That number will increase if all goes according to plan.
Burlingame was luckier than most cities and does not have occupancy problems downtown as a result of COVID. The widened sidewalks on Burlingame Avenue have helped with space for numerous parklets which the city will keep for a year. One-third of the city’s revenue come from its hotels, located on the Bay. Climate change and rising sea levels are a real threat to both.
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Redistricting is going to have major impacts. Two popular incumbents will run against each other if they decide to seek re-election in 2022. Brownrigg who would be running for his fourth term and Ann O’Brien Keighran who would be running for her fifth. Councilmembers Emily Beach and Donna Colson are up in 2024. Mayor Ricardo Ortiz’s term is also up in 2022. He lives in the Ray Park district.
I was talking to someone considering running for San Mateo City Council but concerned about the time it would take. But will it take as much time as representing the entire city rather than just one-fifth? And if it takes less time, will councilmembers in this city and others which are now carved up into districts receive the same monthly stipend? In San Mateo, they will. It’s $600 a month. My guess most city councils will not adjust the amount.
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In the hot Assembly race to replace Kevin Mullin, who is now running for Congress, San Mateo Deputy Mayor Diane Papan has been walking precincts in her hometown, a good idea since it is the largest city in the district. Meanwhile, Roger Hu who was the technical wizard at Obama’s campaign office in Palo Alto has sent out an email to all former Obama supporters in his file asking them to support Giselle Hale, another candidate in the race. Hale was the office manager in the Palo Alto office.
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Recommended for you
Not much to laugh about these days with steady stream of terrible photos of the devastation in Ukraine, rising prices and divisive politics and the pro-Russian reporting of Fox News. (I am convinced Donald Trump is a Russian spy, not to mention some of his pro-Putin supporters). So it was great news that stand-up comedy is coming to downtown San Mateo.
I don’t know if we will have another Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert or Mrs. Maisel but whomever it is may he or she make us belly laugh!
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Fantastic news, and it’s about time, that North Central San Mateo will finally have its own neighborhood elementary school. The plan is to have the Mandarin immersion program, which somehow was placed in North Central where many of the residents speak Spanish, be transferred to Fiesta Gardens and its Spanish immersion program will go to the new school. Many on the school board are still not on board with this scenario because Fiesta Gardens might lose its neighborhood school, though both immersion programs are magnet schools.
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The Climate Change Committee of San Mateo Rotary will plant six Gold Medallion trees at LEAD school in San Mateo March 27. The Boy Scouts will assist. Anne Campbell, former county superintendent of schools, and Mitch Williams, owner of Home Helpers San Mateo County, are in charge.
Sue Lempert is the former mayor of San Mateo. Her column runs every Monday. She can be reached at sue@smdailyjournal.com.
Dear Sue, we already have a comedian in our midst, You! "the pro-Russian reporting of Fox News. (I am convinced Donald Trump is a Russian spy, not to mention some of his pro-Putin supporters)". I am still waiting for your and your ilk's quotation in which Fox News is supporting Putin. Providing background information on Putin's horrible decision to invade Ukraine is not the same as supporting him. But, If Donald Trump is a spy in your opinion, then what are you? Mickey Mouse?
Sue, your reference to our great President Trump being a Russian spy made me belly laugh. You should give your comedic side a try, but unfortunately, your anti-Trump bellyaching would get old really fast. Watch out for those tomatoes.
The action by Mr. Hu seems very suspect and concerning. Seems like it is information belonging to the Obama Campaign, not sure if it is appropriate for volunteers to use information from other campaigns they worked on. Did he reach out to President Obama to confirm it was OK to do this?
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(3) comments
Dear Sue, we already have a comedian in our midst, You! "the pro-Russian reporting of Fox News. (I am convinced Donald Trump is a Russian spy, not to mention some of his pro-Putin supporters)". I am still waiting for your and your ilk's quotation in which Fox News is supporting Putin. Providing background information on Putin's horrible decision to invade Ukraine is not the same as supporting him. But, If Donald Trump is a spy in your opinion, then what are you? Mickey Mouse?
Sue, your reference to our great President Trump being a Russian spy made me belly laugh. You should give your comedic side a try, but unfortunately, your anti-Trump bellyaching would get old really fast. Watch out for those tomatoes.
The action by Mr. Hu seems very suspect and concerning. Seems like it is information belonging to the Obama Campaign, not sure if it is appropriate for volunteers to use information from other campaigns they worked on. Did he reach out to President Obama to confirm it was OK to do this?
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.