This spider has found itself a mobile home

We have toyed with the idea of finding a convenient way to eliminate the spider and its web permanently. But that just seems rather cruel and inhumane. In truth, the creature isn’t really bothering anyone. It seems perfectly harmless. All it asks is a handy roof over its head. Our pre-EV Honda provides it rent-free.

We will probably give the little guy (or gal) a pass, live and let live as it were. Why not? It’s our way of bowing to Mother Nature. At least for now. As for the future, who knows? When, or if, the arachnid’s offspring arrive on the scene in serious numbers, well, that’s going to be another story entirely.

But one does have to wonder: Does the touted Orkin Man do vehicles?   

HALL OF FAME NOMINATIONS: Nominations for inclusion in the Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame are being accepted now. Begun in 1989 as part of the centennial celebration of the now-defunct San Mateo Times newspaper, the Hall of Fame honors local sports figures who have made a significant impact on the Peninsula’s competitive athletic scene and, in many cases, beyond. There are currently nearly 300 individuals included in the Hall of Fame. Their plaques are on display in a section of the San Mateo County History Museum in downtown Redwood City. Nominations, including complete resumes and current contact information, may be sent to the email address below. Deadline for submissions is Jan. 15. The 2026 Hall of Fame induction event is scheduled to be held again this coming June.

BURLINGAME DEFIES A TREND: Total enrollment at the six comprehensive campuses of the San Mateo Union High School District has been declining in the 21st century. Over the last five years, student numbers have slipped by more than 1,000 individuals, according to figures provided by the district and the state Department of Education. But one school has defied that trend. Burlingame High School has seen its enrollment soar to 1,627 pupils as of Oct. 1, the state’s official student census day. That figure, the highest in memory, has stretched Burlingame’s classroom capacity, including its portables, to the limit, according to officials there. These are the enrollments listed for the district’s other five traditional schools: Aragon, 1,655; Capuchino, 1,085; Hillsdale, 1,517; Mills, 1,120; and San Mateo, 1,533.

WIENER WANTS TO HEAD EAST: Consider us cautiously optimistic, even secretly thrilled at the prospect. State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, has officially announced his intention to seek the congressional seat currently occupied by Nancy Pelosi. Wiener, who also represents a portion of the North County, at least on paper, has spent much of his tenure in Sacramento seeking ways to remove the zoning/planning authority of suburban communities. His aim is to force those towns to allow construction of multifloor residential buildings. If he does assume that chair in Congress, he will be in a position to do far less damage here on the Peninsula. We wish him well — and Godspeed — in his quest to head east.

CHARTER SCHOOL MOVE ON COAST: Turmoil in the Pacifica School District shows few signs of abating. The latest evidence of unhappiness there: There is now a reported move by parents of closed Ocean Shore Elementary School to create a charter school. Ocean Shore is one of two public schools to be shut down due to a marked enrollment slump in that coastal burg. If successful, a charter school would, by definition, draw some pupils away from the district’s remaining campuses, further worsening the pupil population deficit.

MARCHING CAN BE HAZARDOUS: It’s getting rough out there. Redwood City police reported a complaint from an individual who claimed that he (or she) was struck by a tossed rubber doll during an anti-ICE march in that town. Which brings to mind this timeless observation: “Out of confusion comes chaos. Out of chaos comes anarchy and fear. Then comes lunch.”