You feel a nagging sense of distrust?

Some of the more publicized local issues that have led to feelings of uncertainty and a lack of trust are:

• The firing of the county’s sheriff due to extensive findings of inappropriate behavior while in office.

• The continuing legal travails of the disgraced former chancellor of the county’s community college district.

• The ongoing debate regarding a variety of plans to build high-rise residential structures in some communities that have limited power to prevent or alter them.

• The controversy in Pacifica over the closure of two elementary schools due to a persistent enrollment decline.

• The lingering bitterness in Millbrae (in the wake of a council recall election) regarding a county plan to house homeless individuals and families in a hotel in that burg, followed by a council recall.

• The case of a Millbrae Public Works employee charged with embezzlement and theft of public property.

• The unhappiness involved in the discovery of the construction of an illegal residence within a Caltrain depot.

• The significant sums of public money being used to handle a laundry list of legal proceedings that seem to go on forever.

The atmosphere is not fortuitous for public agencies seeking more money from the pockets of the citizenry. Confidence has been eroded. Two transit agencies, in particular, are said to be desperate for an infusion of fresh dollars.

Both Caltrain and BART, a pair of public rail systems with significant cost issues predicted into the future, are aggressively promoting what is scheduled to be a 2026 regional sales tax hike to preserve their operations and personnel payrolls.

They are promising (threatening) massive service cuts if the planned tax hike is turned down at an election next year. The city of San Carlos is considering a sales tax too. The county’s community colleges may attempt to pass another bond package.

The list of public entities seeking to tap residents’ wallets can be expected to grow. The need for more revenue is insatiable. A dicey economy only makes the hunger more pronounced.

The state itself is running into worrisome fiscal territory, with  huge budget deficits looming as federal money is cut back. This is not a formula for pleasant times ahead.

SSF AND STLUKA STAND ALONE: With the passage of time, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the two girls’ volleyball state championships won by South San Francisco High School in 1984 and 1985 (in Division II) are increasingly impressive and unique — and then some. That’s because no other San Mateo County public school has captured such a California Interscholastic Federation crown. Ever. Sequoia was the latest to compete for a volleyball title (in Division III) last weekend, losing to the Catholic all-girls Academy of Our Lady of Peace (San Diego) on Saturday afternoon in Southern California in three sets. Those bygone South City Warriors, coached by Ann Stluka who led her program to four CIF volleyball finals in five years, continue to stand alone in the sport’s local public school annals some 40 long years later. For the record, county private/parochial schools have collected five CIF volleyball crowns, primarily in Division V.

KEN BURNS DOES IT AGAIN: Last week’s unveiling of Ken Burns’ latest public television documentary, “The American Revolution,” had been eagerly anticipated for months. It was worth the wait. The six-part, 12-hour series turned out to be another Burns educational, artistic and cultural triumph. He and his team produced a balanced, riveting and penetrating look at the creation of the U.S., its complex causes, contradictions, controversies and more. It should be required viewing in every high school American history class.

JOHN MURPHY PASSES AWAY: The weekend email came from Jim Murphy. It was very sad news. His younger brother, John Murphy, had passed away unexpectedly at age 69. John, an award-winning journalist and avid blogger who grew up on the Peninsula and got his professional start here, had been working as a writer in Redlands at the time of his death. In years past, he had covered sports, with a distinctive flair, for newspapers in San Mateo, Half Moon Bay and Watsonville, among other media outlets.