Things To Know: Volunteer For County Civil Grand Jury

Things To Know: County Civil Grand Jury Application – Senate Bill 611

Saturday, Mar. 2 - Lion’s Crab Feast & Dance Fundraiser.  San Bruno Senior Center 5:30 p.m. to midnight. Contact Lion Giannaulis 650-952-4021 or Lion Ken Ibarra 650-589-4613 or lionkenibarra@yahoo.com.
No tickets will be sold at the door.

Saturday, Mar. 2 - COLON CANCER FOUNDATION Dinner Auction, Junipero Serra High School 5 -10 p.m. Information go to stridesforlife.org

Saturday, Mar. 2 & Sunday, Mar. 3 - Take a Transit Field Trip to Model Train Show. World’s Greatest Hobby on Tour at the San Mateo County Event Center March 2 and 3. The model train extravaganza will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday and from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.

The show is designed to introduce the public to model railroading in an exciting, family-oriented atmosphere and features displays by manufacturers and hobby shops as well as interactive activities and workshops. Choo Choo Bob and his band will perform several times throughout each day. Children can take a free ride on Thomas the Train.

SamTrans Routes ECR and 292 provide frequent service to the event center.

Caltrain offers hourly service on weekends with two Baby Bullet express trains in each direction serving the Hillsdale Caltrain Station.

For help planning your trip on SamTrans or Caltrain call 1.800.660.4287 (TTY 650.508.6448) or visit www.samtrans.com or www.caltrain.com.

Sunday, Mar. 3 - Relay For Life Survivor's & Caregiver's breakfast at Teen Room at the City Recreation Center in City park. www.relayforlife.org/sanbrunoca.

Wednesday, Mar. 6 – San Bruno Education Foundation Fundraiser 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Araujo’s Restaurant 404 WEST San Bruno Ave (588-4257) will donate 50 percent of your price (Dine-in and Take-out Only)  Info:  www.SanBrunoEdFound.org

Wednesday, Mar. 6 – Traffic Safety & Parking Committee 7:00 p.m. - City Hall in Conference Room 115. For more information you may contact Jennifer Shapona at 616-7049 or by email at jshapona@sanbruno.ca.gov

Thursday, Mar. 7 – Beautification Task Force meets at 5:15 p.m. in City Hall in Conference Room 115. For more information contact Irene O'Connell at ioconnell@sanbruno.ca.gov

Monday, Mar. 11 – RSVP DEADLINE for Thursday, Mar. 21st Skyline College will be holding its President's Breakfast starting at 7:00 a.m. with Networking Opportunities followed at 7:30-8:30 a.m. for complimentary breakfast at the South San Francisco Conference Center, 255 South Airport Blvd. Info. (650) 738-4325 Thanks to PG&E for hosting this complimentary breakfast.

Tuesday, Mar. 12 – City Council Meeting – 7:00 p.m. Senior Center – Participate in YOUR City government

Wednesday, Mar. 13 – Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee meets at 6:15 p.m. at City Hall in Conference Room 101.  For more information contact Laura Russell at lrussell@sanbruno.ca.gov or
(650)616-7038.

Thursday, Mar. 14 – Architectural Review meets at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall in Conference Room 101. For more information contact Laura Russell at 616-7038 or at lrussell@sanbruno.ca.gov

Thursday, Mar. 14 – Citizens Crime Prevention Committee meets at City Hall in Conference Room 113, at 7:00 p.m.  Info:  Officer Daryl McCoy at dmccoy@sanbruno.ca.gov.   Neighborhood Watch is always on the agenda.

Thursday, Mar. 14 thru Saturday 16 - COMMUNITY ART PROJECT. Join Bethany Church’s mural project to commemorate the 2010 gas line explosion. Volunteers will work with a mosaic artist. Sessions will be at the church on Rosewood Drive. For information call 589-3711 or email bethanypres@bethanypcusa.org

Thursday, Mar. 14 - San Bruno Chamber of Commerce Annual St. Patrick's Day Mixer at O'Dowd Plumbing 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. 100 Santa Lucia. Info: San Bruno Chamber of Commerce 650-588-0180

Saturday, Mar. 16 – Children’s Activities Fair at The Shops At Tanforan – 12:00 noon – 4:00 p.m. by JCPenny.  Join The Shops at Tanforan and Parenting on The Peninsula to learn about recreational and educational children's programs.

Meet representatives from various after-school, summer and year-round programs and organizations. Watch demonstrations from participating exhibitors!

Interested in participating as an exhibitor - contact the mall management office directly at 650.392.1631 or via email at info@TheShopsAtTanforan.com

Sunday, Mar. 17, SAVE THE DATE - EXPANDING YOUR HORIZONS - career conference for girls, grades 6–12, will be at Skyline College, 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Register at skylinecollege.edu/eyh.

Thursday, Mar. 21, SAVE THE DATE - The City Council adopted an ordinance that bans single-use carryout bags and promotes a shift toward the use of reusable bags. A Community Informational Meeting – at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.  Please contact the Public Services Department at (650) 616-7065 with any comments or questions.

Thursday, Mar. 21, SAVE THE DATE – Prudential California Realty Speaker Series at 6:30 p.m. will be on Estate Planning.  FREE. Millbrae Library, Civic Center Plaza, Meeting Room A.  Learn how to protect your Real Estate investment, transferring to children, trusts vs wills, property tax transfer – Prop 58, 60, & 90.  Learn the tax consequences & benefits.  Info:  589-1000

Saturday, Mar. 23, SAVE THE DATE – Project PRIDE's 34th Annual Easter Egg Hunt & Pancake Breakfast at the San Bruno City Park.  All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast 9:00 -10:00 a.m. Adults-$5, Over 65 & under 12-$3, 6 & Under Free with one paid adult.  Children's Activities 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.  Egg Hunt for Ages 1-8 11:00 a.m.  Event Sponsored By: San Bruno Lions and San Bruno Rotary.  Info: 616-7180

Wednesday, Mar. 27, SAVE THE DATE – 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. - State of the County Address & Luncheon with State Senator Jerry Hill at South San Francisco Conference Center. Tickets: $30.00 per person – Info: San Bruno Chamber of Commerce 588-0180

Friday, Mar. 29, DEADLINE for applications accepted for 2013-14 Civil Grand Jury. The Honorable Lisa A.  Novak of the San Mateo County Superior Court announced that applications for service on the 2013-2014 Grand Jury will be accepted for consideration until March 29, 2013.

Judge Novak made the announcement as the appointed Grand Jury Advisor for the next grand jury term, which commences July 1, 2013 and ends June 30, 2014.

Any resident of San Mateo County for more than one year who is a citizen of the United States, 18 years of age or older, of ordinary intelligence, sound judgment and good character, with sufficient knowledge of the English language is eligible for selection by Judge Novak.

Elected public officials are not eligible.

The Court encourages all interested individuals to apply. The Court strives to obtain a cross section of the county population. After the completion of an interview process by Judge Novak, jurors will be selected through a random draw.

Application forms can be obtained by writing Grand Jury Clerk, Court Executive Office, 400 County Center, Redwood City, CA 94063 or telephoning (650) 599-1210.

This columnist served for a year and it is a rewarding opportunity.

Monday-Friday, April 1-5, SAVE THE DATE - 2013 San Bruno Lifeguard Training Classes. Students must be 15 years of age by the last day of the class and pass a swim pre-test (swim 300 yards continuously, tread water for two minutes, retrieve a 10 pound brick from 10 feet and return it to designated spot). Attendance at every class is required. You can register online at http://www.sanbruno.ca.gov/parks_main.asp or come to the main office (251 City Park Way) and pay in person. For more information contact Jennie at (650) 616-7184.

Saturday, Apr. 20, SAVE THE DATE – Prudential California Realty FREE 7th Annual Shredding Party – back parking lot of 180 El Camino Real – 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.  Shred to protect your identity, protect your privacy, & to protect information you consider to be extremely confidential.  Shred truck will be accepting documents for shredding from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Info:  589-1000

CONTINUING EVENT NEEDING YOUR SUPPORT: Relay For Life San Bruno - Councilman Ken Ibarra kenibarra@yahoo.com and American Cancer Society’s Julie Pierce Julie.Pierce@cancer.org are building the Relay For Life of San Bruno event for Saturday April 27th & Sunday April 28th 2013. Form YOUR own Team. Be a part of a committee.  Volunteer for the event. GO TO www.relayforlife.org/sanbrunoca and there you can sign up to form your own team or join an existing team or just make a donation to an individual team member or to a team. Your friends and relatives from all over the WORLD can go to the San Bruno Relay For Life team web page www.relayforlife.org/sanbrunoca and at least make a small donation. Join and FIGHT FOR THE CURE! If you cannot start a team or do not know of a team to join, Crusaders For A Cure welcomes you to join their team.

San Bruno Education Foundation – The foundation is looking for volunteers to join the SBEF Board. If you are interested or know someone who you think might like to join the board, send email to info@sanbrunoedfound.org.

The City of San Bruno is seeking volunteers: The City has numerous commissions and committees that through volunteers provide a vital service to the City. Currently there are two (2) openings on the Citizens Crime Prevention Committee, additional vacancies on other committees and committees MAY be open. To obtain the necessary volunteer interest form for ALL City committees and commissions email City Clerk Carol Bonner at cbonner@sanbruno.ca.gov.

In Case You Missed This:

How should the ½ cent sales tax increase be spent?  Sales Tax Expenditure Plan: What’s Your Priority?  San Mateo County voters in November expressed their confidence in our County government by approving Measure A, a half-cent sales tax increase that begins April 1.  On what critical needs and services should the funds be spent? The County wants to hear from you.  www.SMCSPEAKOUT.com is a virtual town hall where you can learn more about Measure A and let your voice be heard.

Improving public safety. Providing health care for our most vulnerable residents. After-school literacy programs. Accessible parks. Safe routes to schools. These are but a few examples of how Measure A funds could be invested in our communities.

Log on to www.SMCSPEAKOUT.com and tell the County your priorities.

In Case You Missed This:

Monday February 25th - Senator Hill introduced SB 611 - State PUC Reforms & Calls For Audit of Utility Accounts.  San Bruno Mayor Ruane and Senator Hill discussed PUC reform legislation. 

Bill Would Prevent Interference in PUC Penalty Cases

What: State Senator Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo – joined by San Bruno Mayor Jim Ruane and Mark Toney, Executive Director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN) – held a news conference in San Francisco to unveil Senate Bill 611, reform legislation that was prompted by the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) decision last October to abruptly suspend public hearings that were to determine how much Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will be fined for the fatal San Bruno gas pipeline explosion.

The CPUC’s decision to close the curtain on the hearings after two weeks of testimony – and bring in former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell to mediate – was roundly criticized by Hill and Ruane as an affront to transparency and the residents of San Bruno, and Mitchell ultimately stepped aside.

Hill’s bill would erect an ethical wall, separating the CPUC prosecutorial and judicial functions --just as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the CPUC’s federal counterpart, separates these powers. This provision was crafted in response to CPUC President Michael Peevey’s decision to direct the commission’s staff, through the commission’s general counsel, to force the parties in the San Bruno proceedings to settle in private with PG&E.

On a related issue – since the CPUC’s two core responsibilities are protecting the public safety and ratepayers’ pocketbooks – Hill will call for state auditors to probe whether the CPUC is properly overseeing special accounts for utility projects totaling billions of dollars. These accounts are designed to ensure utility customers pay only the amounts required for the service they receive.

The non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office recently issued a report recommending that the state auditor probe the CPUC’s oversight of the hundreds of “balancing accounts” the utilities have established -- raising the possibility that gas and electric ratepayers may have been overcharged.

Contact:  Leslie Guevarra, 415-298-3404 cell or 650-212-3313 office

Background: SB 611 would:

1) Enforce due process by requiring an “ethical wall” between the staff who prosecute violations and staff who advise judges and commissioners. To have a judge directing the prosecution or a prosecutor telling the judge how to rule would be a violation of due process, which is why it is prohibited in FERC regulations and in the California Administrative Procedures Act (APA). When the APA was overhauled in the mid-1990’s the CPUC had successfully lobbied to be exempt from it.

2) Remove the statutory provision that requires all staff to be directed by the president of the CPUC. This provision was inserted in 2000, and yet was not necessary for the first nine decades of the CPUC’s existence, as the California Constitution allows the CPUC to develop its own procedures,
subject to statute and due process. Removing this provision allows the CPUC to easily implement the ethical wall concept and ensure due process.

3) Require the CPUC to develop procedures to allow consumer groups, utilities and other parties to challenge the assignment of a case’s overseeing commissioner. In January of last year, President Peevey assigned himself to oversee the San Bruno penalty case against PG&E, despite public outcry that he had been heavily implicated in creating the culture of complacency that allowed PG&E’s problems to go uncorrected for so long. The commissioner assigned to oversee a case determines the case’s scope, and therefore needs to be free of bias and conflicts of interest.

Meanwhile, the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) issued a report on Feb. 19 recommending that the state auditor probe the CPUC’s
oversight of the hundreds of balancing accounts the commission has authorized utilities to establish.

The accounts are designed to ensure utility customers pay only the amounts required for the service they receive. But the LAO discovered that the accounts in question represented amounts that the CPUC had reported to be in the trillions, but are more likely to be in the billions—a number the CPUC has not yet been able to confirm.

This falls on the heels of an audit by the Department of Finance, which found significant weaknesses in the CPUC’s budgetary operations in its own 14 special funds, including an $81-million dollar typo.

“The CPUC has two core functions,” Hill said. “No. 1 is to make sure that the utilities are operating in a safe manner. No 2 is to protect customers’ pocketbook. It is shameful that the PUC can’t seem to do either.”

In Case You Missed This:

Senator Jerry Hill Presented Black History Museum Founder Carolyn Hoskins with Quiet Hero Award - Creator of the Traveling Exhibit and Learning Center Honored for Community Service

REDWOOD CITY, February 22, 2013 –State Senator Jerry Hill presented Carolyn Hoskins, the founder of The Domini Hoskins Black History Museum & Learning Center, with a Quiet Hero Award today at a community gathering in Redwood City.

Hoskins is the driving force behind the traveling exhibit that encompasses hundreds of items – enough to fill 11,000 square feet of space. The widow of Robert "Bob" Hoskins, who was a San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle, founded the museum and learning center 15 years ago.

“I am grateful to Senator Hill for this award and grateful for the community support that has made The Domini Hoskins Black History Museum what it is today,” said Hoskins. “Nothing is more gratifying than to do what you love. I am motivated by the school children who come through the museum,
bright-eyed, learning about the great contributions of African Americans to our country and state.”

“Thanks to Carolyn Hoskins, the Peninsula has a fantastic resource for learning about the countless African Americans who have shaped the history and culture of the United States,” said Hill, D-San Mateo. Hill presented Hoskins with the 13th Senate District’s Quiet Hero Award this morning at a “Java with Jerry” community gathering held at the Back Yard Coffee Company in Redwood City.

Hoskins is not only the creator and curator of The Domini Hoskins Black History Museum & Learning Center; she is also the executive director of the nonprofit. The museum is named after her grandson, now 21, who when tackling an elementary school assignment years ago asked whether there were African Americans other than Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Park who “did anything.” The question inspired Hoskins to amass the collection that comprises the museum.

Hoskins, who is also a member of the NFL Alumni Northern California Chapter executive committee, presents the traveling exhibit annually in conjunction with the NFL Alumni Northern California Chapter.

February, which is Black History Month, is always an important time for the museum. And Hoskins says the exhibit is open whenever and wherever there is space to accommodate it – she adds she is always looking for host locations for the museum. For example, the museum has occupied a vast space at 282 Woodside Plaza in Redwood City since December and will be open at the site through February 28. More information is available about the museum on its Facebook page or by calling 650-921-4191.

Hill established the Quiet Hero Award as an assembly member to honor individuals who have made sustained and significant contributions to improve the community – and focus on the work at hand rather than their roles in their projects’ success. Hoskins is the first person to receive a Quiet Hero Award from Hill as a senator.

Info: Leslie Guevarra - Senior District Representative, Communications 1528 South El Camino Real, Suite 303 San Mateo, CA 94402 Leslie.Guevarra@sen.ca.gov 650-212-3313.