From the archives

Laws limiting marriage to a man and a woman do not run afoul of California’s constitution, Attorney General Bill Lockyer declared Oct. 8, 2004 in a long-awaited legal opinion that sought to avoid offending either side in the contentious gay marriage debate.

Meeting a judge’s deadline to answer a pair of lawsuits seeking to put California on par with Massachusetts, Lockyer said it was up to voters or the Legislature to decide whether to change "the common and traditional understanding” of matrimony that "pre-dates the founding of this state or nation.”

"Rights are considered fundamental only if they are deeply rooted and firmly entrenched in our state’s history and tradition,” he said. "There is simply no deeply rooted tradition of same-sex marriage in California or in any other state.”

The lawsuits claimed California’s marriage laws violate the state constitution’s anti-discrimination provisions, an argument Lockyer rejected while noting that state lawmakers have taken significant steps toward granting full spousal benefits to gay couples who register as domestic partners.

Slots prop goes bust

The odds of slot machines coming to Bay Meadows, Artichoke Joe’s and Lucky Chances Casino plummeted Oct. 6, 2004 when backers of Proposition 68 decided to fold.

Organizers of the Gaming Revenue Act concluded they’d lose their battle on Nov. 2, 2004 despite spending $24 million, including $12 million on television advertising. Of that amount, nearly $3.8 million came from local gambling establishments. Nearly $2.6 million of campaign funding came from Bay Meadows in San Mateo. Artichoke Joe’s in San Bruno donated $735,000 and Lucky Chances Casino in Colma gave $440,000.

If passed, the proposition would have required Indian tribes with casinos to consider signing a compact allowing the state to collect 25 percent of its revenues. If they refused, 16 existing race tracks and card clubs in California could be allowed to install slot machines.

It could hav allowed up to 3,800 slot machines at Bay Meadows, making it the only "racino” in the Bay Area. City officials feared it would bring crime, crowds and could derail development plans.

Refurbished library opens

Children and parents waited nearly a year for the new Easton branch of the Burlingame library to open and children and parents flocked to it once it celebrated its reopening the week of Oct. 9, 2004.

Shaded by eucalyptus trees on the quiet corner of Easton Drive and Cabrillo Avenue near Broadway, neighborhood parents and children are

Originally opened in 1927 as the North Burlingame Women’s Club, the 2,800 square-foot Pueblo Mission-style building had faux beams and a small stage in the back of the room with a Swedish modern fireplace.

In 1942, it was renovated as a public library. In 1978, Proposition 13 sought to close it and sell it for about $100,000. A citizens’ group stepped in and saved it.

The renovation was prompted by leaks, wall corrosion and termites that again threatened to do it in. The entire rotting west wall was being held up by paint.

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Z. Marshall and Mr. and Mrs. Joan Lane and other private contributors gathered 90 percent of the $1.1 million to build the new facility.

Flu vaccine supply low

The California Health Department wanted to limit flu shots to just the at-risk population after federal officials announced Oct. 5, 2004 nearly half the nation’s flu vaccine would not be available that winter.

Emeryville-based Chiron Corp. said 46 million to 48 million influenza vaccine doses were contaminated in a handling error in its Liverpool, England plant, prompting officials to predict a shortage in the Bay Area and across the country.

Public health departments were to be the hardest hit since they depended on Chiron vaccines. California health officials urged healthy people aged 5 to 64 to forego the vaccine this flu season to ration what remains for the young and elderly or those with chronic illnesses. That population is more susceptible to the flu and pneumonia.

From the archives highlights stories originally printed five years ago this week. It appears in the Thursday edition of the Daily Journal.