06-08-2010 edition

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www.smdailyjournal.com

GLOOMY OUTLOOKNATION PAGE 7

NEW IPHONECOMING SOON

BUSINESS PAGE 10

WELL CAP CAPTURES MORE OIL,DAMAGES FROM SPILLCOULD PERSIST FOR YEARS

By Heather MurtaghDAILY JOURNAL STAFF

Daniel Cho, a 17-year-old fromAragon High School, died Sundayafter falling nearly 100 feet from aviewing platform at the CapilanoSuspension Bridge in Vancouver,

British Columbia during a schoolmusic trip.

Cho fell nearly 100 feet from theplatform during a school tripSunday night. The Royal CanadianMounted Police are investigatingthe death, on which they were notwill ing to ru le, MichaelMcLaughlin, a constable with theRCMP, said in a press conferenceyesterday. An autopsy is scheduled

for today, butfull results willnot be availablefor four to sixweeks.

About 105students andmore than 20

c h a p e r o n e sarrived inVancouver over

the weekend for a music tour. Thegroup was scheduled to remain inCanada through June 11.

Television reports described a res-cue effort that required ropes tolower crews to the teen, who wasdead once rescuers reached him.

On Monday morning, Aragon

Principal Patricia Kurtz, a schoolcounselor and a district officialheaded to the airport to meet withthe students in Canada, said MattBigger, associate superintendent ofinstruction for the San Mateo UnionHigh School District. The groupwill work together to determine if

the trip should be cut short.In the meantime, a local school in

Canada and the police departmentoffered counseling for the students,said Bigger. The Holiday InnExpress, where the group is staying,opened up conference rooms for thegroup to use.

Our hearts go out to the familyand friends of the guest who died

Aragon teen dies in bridge fallStudents visiting British Columbia,Canada for school music trip

Daniel Cho

BILL KEAY, THE VANCOUVER SUN

Site where a Daniel Cho fell to his death at the Capilano suspension bridgein Vancouver,British Columbia.See CHO, Page 20

By Michelle DurandDAILY JOURNAL STAFF

San Mateo Countys programsand services will take a $116 millionhit under the governors May budg-et revision, a proposal that will alsoshift prisoners to local jails, elimi-nate welfare payments for thou-sands of residents and could shutterthe methadone clinic.

Although county officials knewthe budget revision looked devastat-ing when it was released mid-May,exactly how the proposals penciledout for San Mateo County was

unclear. Nearlya month later,C o u n t yManager DavidBoesch is givingthe Board ofS u p e r v i s o r sspecifics onwhat the countycan expect ifGov. Arnold

Schwarzeneggers recommenda-tions get the green light from theLegislature.

County hit hard by

May budget reviseSchwarzeneggers plan will take$116 million from local services

By Heather MurtaghDAILY JOURNAL STAFF

Joaquin Estrada grew up constant-ly changing his mind as to what hewould grow up to be.

At 17, and days away from gradu-ating high school, that unknownfuture remains. Estrada, a senior atSummit Preparatory High, has sim-

ply been introduced to too manywonderful possibilities. With somany interests, Estrada will beenrolling at Permian College, a lib-

eral-arts college in Claremont,Calif., with an open mind and a sim-

Lending a helping hand

Arnold

Schwarzenegger

See GRAD, Page 20

By Bill SilverfarbDAILY JOURNAL STAFF

The San Mateo City Counciladopted an ordinance last nightintended to make parking in down-town more convenient and to dis-courage the use of on-street parkingby employees and business owners.

The council voted to increase thetime limit for all on-street parkingspaces from two hours to four hours.

The Downtown San MateoAssociation Parking and SafetyCommittee proposed the changes.

Core pricing currently for on-street parking is 50 cents an hour.

That will remain, and the councilvoted to increase that to $1 each forthe third and fourth hours.

Time limits will be increased fordrivers using public parking at citygarages from two hours to fourhours as well but the rate willincrease from 25 cents an hour to 50cents an hour.

Permit parking and 10-hour park-ing in garages and along RailroadAvenue will be unchanged.

The changes will make garages

and parking on the edges of down-town the most economical parkingfor employees and owners, accord-ing to a staff report by Vince

Hansen, San Mateos facilities man-ager.

The intent is not to be a revenuegenerator but to simplify parkingdowntown, Hansen told the CityCouncil at its meeting last night.

However, Councilman JackMatthews pointed out that themeters will not roll over time for thenext user of the space, which couldbring in the city additional revenue.

The existing 24-minute meterswill remain as single-space meters

to avoid confusion and to identifythem as 24-minute only.

Changes to downtown parking

BILL SILVERFARB/DAILY JOURNALThe city of San Mateo is increasing the amount of time motorists can park in downtown from two hours to fourhours and will charge $1 an hour for the third and fourth hours.The first two hours will remain at 50 cents each.

See BUDGET, Page 20

See PARKING, Page 8

Tuesday June 8, 2010 Vol X, Edition 253

DEFENSE MAY BEYANKS DOWNFALL

SPORTS PAGE 11

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FOR THE RECORD2 Tuesday June 8, 2010 THEDAILYJOURNAL

Nation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-16Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-19Datebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-27

Phone:. . . . . . . . . . . . (650) 344-5200 Fax: (650) 344-5290To Advertise:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]: . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]

800 S. Claremont St., Ste. 210, San Mateo, Ca. 94402

Actor KeenenIvory Wayans is 52.

This Day in History

InsideSnapshot

Thought for the Day

1967

Strange but True

During the Six-Day War, 34 U.S. ser-vicemen were killed when Israeli fight-er jets and torpedo boats attacked theUSS Liberty, a Navy intelligence-gath-ering ship stationed in theMediterranean.

In A.D. 632, the prophet Muhammad died in Medina.In 1845, Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the UnitedStates, died in Nashville, Tenn.In 1861, Tennessee seceded from the Union.In 1864, Abraham Lincoln was nominated for another term aspresident during the National Union (Republican) Partys con-vention in Baltimore.In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt offered to act as amediator in the Russo-Japanese War.In 1915, Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigned ina disagreement with President Woodrow Wilson over U.S. han-dling of the sinking of the Lusitania.In 1948, the Texaco Star Theater made its debut on NBC-TV

with Milton Berle guest-hosting thefi

rst program. (Berle waslater named the shows permanent host.)In 1966, a merger was announced between the National andAmerican Football Leagues, to take effect in 1970.In 1978, a jury in Clark County, Nev., ruled the so-calledMormon will, purportedly written by the late billionaireHoward Hughes, was a forgery.In 1995, U.S. Marines rescued Capt. Scott OGrady, whose F-16C fighter jet had been shot down by Bosnian Serbs on June2.Ten years ago: Two gunmen shot to death Brig. StephenSaunders, a British defense attache, in Athens, Greece; the elu-sive terrorist group November 17 claimed responsibility, say-ing it killed Saunders because of his role in NATO airstrikesagainst Yugoslavia. Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist JeffMacNally died in Baltimore at age 52.

Malice drinks

one-half of its own poison.

Seneca, Roman statesman (circa 5 B.C.-A.D. 65)

Actor-comedianJerry Stiller is 83.

Rapper KanyeWest is 33.

Couple weds in sharktank,wearing wet suits

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. A New Yorkcouple has taken the plunge inside a sharktank.

April Pignataro and Michael Currywere lowered in a steel cage into the tankto exchange their wedding vows atAtlantis Marine World in Riverhead, N.Y,on Sunday.

She wore a white wet suit; he wore ablack one.

The experienced divers spoke theirvows into radio headgear transmitted to aminister outside the tank. About 75 guestswatched from behind glass.

The tank is part of the Lost City ofAtlantis shark exhibit.

Speed camera foe buysTennessee citys police website

BLUFF CITY, Tenn. After aTennessee police department let its web-site expire, the site was snatched up by anew owner a man who uses it to gripeabout traffic cameras that issue speedingtickets.

Computer network designer BrianMcCrary says he discovered the BluffCity Police Department site was up forgrabs, so he paid domain provider GoDaddy for the rights to http://www.bluffc-itypd.com.

McCrary, who says he received a $90speeding citation earlier this year, tookover the site May 22.

His site now shows a smiling cartoonpolice badge clutching green currency. Italso posts gripes from others whove beencited.

Police Chief David Nelson said the offi-cer who managed the site had been onmedical leave and the expiration slippedup on the department.

Bikini coffee shopsparks boycott in Colorado

AURORA, Colo. A suburbanDenver city councilwoman is urging peo-ple to boycott businesses near a coffeeshop that sends bikini-clad women onto

nearby city streets to advertise.Councilwoman Molly Markert sent aletter of complaint, signed by about 30Aurora residents, to the manager of theproperty where Perky Cups operates.

Markert suggested in the May 20 letterthat the women promoting the coffee shopwere in danger of being raped and mur-dered. She wrote that the petition signershave pledged to not buy anything at theshopping center until the women stopadvertising in the streets.

California freeway closedafter bear wanders in lanes

LOS ANGELES A Southern

California freeway was briefly shut downwhile state wildlife officials tried toremove a bear that wandered into lanes.

Los Angeles County Sheriffs Lt. KerryCarter says the adult black bear was spot-ted just after midnight Sunday on surfacestreets near the Foothill Freeway inDuarte. The animal later walked onto thefreeway, which was closed for about a halfhour. Fish and Game Department workerswere eventually able to corner the bear ina flood control channel, where they tran-quilized it with a dart gun.

The bear, estimated at 250 pounds, wastaken to a remote forest area for release.

Duarte is about 20 miles northeast ofdowntown Los Angeles in the San GabrielValley.

South American critter foundsleeping on Chicago porchCHICAGO A small, furry, long-

tailed critter found napping on a Chicagoporch is apparently more than 2,000 milesaway from where it belongs.

Animal control experts say an exotickinkajou was found sleeping Thursday inthe citys Pilsen neighborhood. Nobodyknew what it was until Lincoln Park Zooexperts identified it. The NationalGeographic Web site says kinkajous arerelated to raccoons. Theyre typicallyfound not on Chicago porches but in thetrees of tropical forests in Central andSouth America.

Birthdays

REUTERS

Revelers take part in the La Patumfestival in Berga city, Spain.

Overtreated

More medicalcare is notalways better

See page 19

Wall Street

Stocks fallin last hour,Dow down 115

See page 10

Tuesday: Widespread low clouds and fog inthe morning then patchy low clouds. Highsin the 50s to mid 60s. West winds 10 to 20mph.Tuesday night: Clear in the evening thenareas of low clouds and fog.

Were not sure what it will looklike.We might have some borrowing

and cuts.We might have fees.There willdefinitely be more taxes....But what the finalproduct looks like, we just dont know yet.

Connie Juarez-Diroll, legislative coordinatorCounty hit hard by May budget revise, see page 1

Local Weather Forecast

The story Caltrain declares emergency in the Friday edi-tion of the Daily Journal should have said there will be threepublic meetings in mid-August to receive comments about theservice changes. There will be a public hearing on Sept. 2about the proposed fare increase.

The photo caption on the front page of the June 5-6 editionof the Daily Journal had incorrect information. Sequoia HighSchools principal is Bonnie Hansen.

Corrections

Lotto

Quote of the Day

The Daily Derby race winners are Winning Spirit,

No.9, in first place; Lucky Star, No.2, in second

place; and Solid Gold,No. 10,in third place.The

race time was clocked at 1:44:74.

Former First Lady Barbara Bush is 85. Comedian JoanRivers is 77. Actress Millicent Martin is 76. Actor James

Darren is 74. Actor Bernie Casey is 71. Singer Nancy Sinatrais 70. Singer Chuck Negron (Three Dog Night) is 68. MusicianBoz Scaggs is 66. Actor Don Grady is 66. Rock musician MickBox (Uriah Heep) is 63. Author Sara Paretsky is 63. ActressSonia Braga is 60. Actress Kathy Baker is 60. Country musi-cian Tony Rice is 59. Actor Griffin Dunne is 55. Dilbert cre-ator Scott Adams is 53. Singer Mick Hucknall (Simply Red) is50. Musician Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran) is 48. Rhythm-and-blues singer Doris Pearson (Five Star) is 44. Actress JuliannaMargulies is 43. Actor Dan Futterman is 43. Actor DavidSutcliffe is 41. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nicci Gilbert is 40.Actress Kelli Williams is 40. Actor Mark Feuerstein is 39.Contemporary Christian musician Mike Scheuchzer(MercyMe) is 35. Blues-rock musician Derek Trucks (TheDerek Trucks Band) is 31. Folk-bluegrass singer-musicianSara Watkins (Nickel Creek) is 29.

(Answers tomorrow)

FIFTY LAPEL FEEBLE SIMILEYesterdays

Jumbles:Answer: The cameraman described his photo of the

moonshiners as a STILL LIFE

Now arrange the circled lettersto form the surprise answer, assuggested by the above cartoon.

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAMEby Mike Argirion and Jeff Knurek

Unscramble these four Jumbles,one letter to each square,to form four ordinary words.

TEWCI

ELCEX

MARSID

VOCENX

2010 Tribune Media Services, Inc.All Rights Reserved.

NEW

BIBLEJumbleBooksGoTo:http://www

.tyndale

.com/jumble/

Answer:

4 11 28 34 42 26

Meganumber

5 7 8

June 5 Super Lotto Plus

12 13 15 17 50 23

Meganumber

June 4 Mega Millions

1 3 14 26 28

Fantasy Five

Daily three midday

09 3 3

Daily Four

3 9 3

Daily three evening

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3Tuesday June 8, 2010THEDAILYJOURNAL LOCAL

BURLINGAMEAttempted crime. Pry marks were found onthe front door of a home on the 700 block ofVernon Way before 3:57 p.m. Tuesday, June 1.Battery. A man and his roommate were heardyelling and cursing at each other on the 1700block of Marco Polo Way before 11:02 p.m.Tuesday, June 1.Drunk in public. A man wearing blue jeansand a blue T-shirt was on the ground refusingto get up on the 100 block of Anza Boulevardbefore 10:35 p.m. Monday, May 31.Reckless driving. A vehicle ran a stop signand almost hit a mother and daughter crossingthe street on the intersection of Burlingameand Lorton avenues before 5:06 p.m. Monday,May 31.Vandalism to vehicle. A blue minivan wasegged on the 100 block of Howard Avenuebefore 10:36 p.m. Sunday, May 30.

MILLBRAEBurglary. A car was broken into on South ElCamino before 9:34 a.m. Wednesday, June 2.Missing person. A man on the 900 block ofClearfield Drive reported his father missing atthe same time transit police in Palo Alto foundhim before 5:15 p.m. Thursday, May 27.Burglary. A laptop was stolen from the trunkof a car parked at a hotel on the first block ofOld Bayshore Highway before 10:45 p.m.Thursday, May 27.

Police reports

Cleaned outA man with a beard was inside a laundryroom breaking into the machines on the1100 block of Capuchino Avenue inBurlingame before 9:39 a.m. Sunday,May 30.

DAILY JOURNAL STAFF REPORT

San Mateo moved forward with the demoli-tion of one of its fire stations last night and thedevelopment of temporary facilities as it pre-pares to select a contractor to build a new fire-house at 27th Avenue and Edison Street.

The City Council approved four contracts lastnight for the demolition, pavement and removalof hazardous material; installation of temporaryelectricity; leasing a temporary apparatus bayfor its engines; and leasing temporary trailersfor staff.

The trailers will serve as temporary officesand living quarters for the stations firefighters.

The four contracts totaled just under$363,000.

Public Works staff is working with an archi-tect to develop the project plans and specifica-tions as it seeks bids to build a new station thissummer.

The existing structure, built in 1951, will be

torn down to make way for a two-story, 9,300-square-foot facility at a cost of $3.5 million. Thecurrent station is seismically unfit and will bethe fourth of six San Mateo fire stations to ben-efit from needed upgrades.

The new station will feature three bays fortrucks. Two of the bays will be drive-through toaccommodate larger ladder trucks and trucks

will no longer have to be backed into the bays,according to architect Bill Louie.

The new station will have six individual bed-rooms rather than the dorm-style bunks the sta-tion currently has and will better accommodatewomen. It will also have a training tower and befar more energy efficient than the current build-

ing.The station has the largest geographic area tocover than any station in San Mateo, with aservice area stretching from 20th Avenue to42nd Avenue.

Funding for the station comes partially fromMeasure C, which allocated a portion of thecitys hotel occupancy tax for the project.

Second death reportedamong Cow Palace rave-goers

Authorities are reporting the death of a sec-ond man who attended a Cow Palace ravemore than a week ago.

Officials said Monday that Trung Nguyen ofSan Jose died at Washington Hospital inFremont on Sunday, eight days after he joined16,000 partyers at the Pop 2010: The Dream

festival in Daly City.

The 25-year-old Nguyen died after a week-long effort by doctors to bring him back fromthe brink.

The Alameda County coroner has not deter-mined the cause of his death.

A week earlier 23-year-old Anthony Mataof Santa Clara was pronounced dead of anapparent ecstasy overdose.

At least nine other people who attended the

Cow Palace rave were taken to Bay Area hos-pitals.

Some officials have called for a ban on ravesat the Cow Palace.

Fire station demolition moves forward


San Mateo faces a $5 million budget short-fall next year and will lean on its employeesheavily to help bridge the gap.

To close the deficit, the city is seeking laborcost concessions to the tune of $2.2 million,

City Manager Susan Loftus informed the CityCouncil last night.

A balanced budget depends on some laborconcessions, Loftus said. Some laborgroups have not voted yet.

The city has already identified about $2.5million in savings by not filling vacant posi-

tions and through other cost controls.The city will also use unspent capital proj-

ect funds, about $2 million, to supplement the2010-11 fiscal operating budget.

The citys general fund, which pays for pub-lic safety and other essential city services, isapproximately $76.9 million, according to astaff report by Doris Koo, the citys treasury

and budget manager.The overall total city and Redevelopment

Agency budget is about $167 million.The citys major source of funding, proper-

ty tax revenue, is projected to remain flat nextyear, although revenue from sales taxes, prop-erty transfer taxes and hotel taxes are expect-

ed to increase modestly.Part of the modest increases to the sales and

hotel taxes comes from the passage of meas-ures L and M in November.

The city expects a budget shortfall of about$3 million for its fiscal year 2011-12 budget.

City employees are being asked to give uppay raises once again to close the deficit and

the city has to also reallocate about $1.6 mil-lion to the workers compensation fund. Thecity is setting aside about $2 million to com-bat any future state takeaways or in case rev-enue unexpectedly declines. The city has lost40 employees in the last year.

Council considers updated budget

Local brief

See COUNCIL, Page 20

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4 Tuesday June 8, 2010 THEDAILYJOURNALLOCAL

Alligator-owningpot dealer to jail

A South San Francisco marijua-na grower who kept three alliga-tors and a stash of weapons amonghis plants was given a two-yearsuspended prison sentence on thecondition he serve 312 days in jailand complete three years super-vised probation.

Lazaro Ismael Leon Jr., 39, has

credit of 269 days against his jailterm.Leon pleaded no contest in April

to one felony drug and three felonygun charges to avoid prosecutionon two dozen others.

Officers arrested Leon Jan. 21after responding to a tip about theCircle Court residence. During asearch of the home, the officersreported finding 13 marijuanaplants, one pound of processedmarijuana and a photograph ofLeon standing in front of theplants. The officers also reportedfinding cocaine, signs that Leonbelongs to the Cypress ParkNorteo gang, thousands of roundsof ammunition, two shotguns, asawed-off shotgun, bulletproofvests and suspected C-4 explo-sives. A handgun was also alleged-

ly in a bedroom night stand.The most interesting find,

though, was a trio of alligators,housed in an aquarium inside aroom with the weapons, includinga gun safe housing 10 handguns,two assault pistols, three rifles andfive assault rifles. California Fishand Game took the animalsbecause they are illegal to possess.

Baseball field, parkingarea at Red MortonPark to close temporarily

Construction to seismicallyupgrade the Hetch Hetchy waterdelivery system is underway in anumber of areas of Redwood City,and upcoming work requires thetemporary closure of a baseballfield and parking area at RedwoodCitys Red Morton Park, accordingto city officials.

Scheduled to begin construc-tion on June 15, the Kiwanisbaseball field at the corner ofMyrtle Street and Madison

Avenue will be closed, since thepipeline right-of-way passesthrough a portion of the field,

according to city officials.Construction will also be taking

place on the SFPUC right-of-waywhere it passes through part ofHawes Elementary School (onRoosevelt Avenue) and John GillElementary School (on Avenue delOra). The work at Hawes is sched-uled to start the week of June 14,and at John Gill in mid-July. Workat these two schools must be com-pleted before the upcoming school

year starts, in mid-August. Duringthe work at Hawes school, theentire field and play area will beclosed. The work at John Gillschool will not require field clo-sure. The construction areas atboth schools will be securelyfenced, according to city officials.

In general, work will take placefrom 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays.There is the possibility of someSaturday work. The constructionproject in Redwood City expectedto last into the fall. The SFPUCWater System ImprovementProgram is a $4.6 billion bond-funded program to seismicallyupgrade and repair the regional

water systems aging pipelines,tunnels and dams, according tocity officials.

Local briefs

DAILY JOURNAL STAFF REPORT

A 26-year-old man convicted ofpunching a manager at his weddingreception so hard the man lost visionin the eye was sentenced to nine

months in jail but can spend the bal-ance in a residential treatment pro-gram.

Carlos Alberto Carranza mustserve three months at the MaguireCorrectional Facility before beingeligible for treatment. Carranza wasalso given three years supervisedprobation.

Prosecutors had sought two yearsprison for the Dec. 29, 2007 incidentat Carranzas wedding reception atthe Crystal Springs Golf Course inBurlingame. After the wedding, themanager of the pub at the golf courseresponded to noises in the ballroomand reported seeing Carranza andanother man fighting. For no appar-ent reason, Carranza reportedly

turned on the manager, punching himin the eye. After police were called,Carranza reportedly fled the recep-

tion and was laterlocated intoxicat-ed at a residenceby South SanFrancisco policewho needed a

Taser to restrainhim as he foughtarrest.

In October, ajury convicted

Carranza of felony battery, misde-meanor obstruction of justice andcausing great bodily injury.

Carranza pushed for a new trial butthe request was denied prior to sen-tencing. During the hearing,Carranza apologized and the victimstated that while he appreciatedCarranza wanting to move on withlife he will never get his eyesightback, said Chief Deputy DistrictAttorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Carranza receives credit for twodays against his sentence and must

surrender to the jail June 19.He remains out of custody on

$25,000 bail.

Groom to jail forwedding day attack

Carlos Carranza

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5Tuesday June 8, 2010THEDAILYJOURNAL LOCAL

23

Look for the taxsilver lining

Painful as losses maybe, they can have a taxsilver lining. Capital lossescan absorb gains from other

sales of capital assets. Casualty losses cansometimes be deducted on the prior yearstax return for a quicker tax refund. Lossesthat exceed deduction limits for the yearcan be carried forward to cut future taxbills. For planning help that can lower your

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www.GoldenTax.com

The latest issue of The Journalof Local History, published bythe Archives Committee of the

Redwood City Public Library, featuresa history of Mount Carmel School inRedwood City, which is marking its125th anniversary. The author, JimClifford, reports that the school wasoriginally called Notre Dame Academy,and was both an elementary and highschool. The nuns taught both boys andgirls in the grammar school but limitedthe high school grades to girls.

***Sandpiper Elementary School was

selected by California Business forEducation Excellence as one of 1,304public schools in California to receivethe title of2009 Honor Roll school.

Schools receiving this distinction fromCalifornias business community havedemonstrated consistent high studentacademic achievement and have madesignificant progress toward closingachievement gaps among all their stu-dents. The CBEE Honor Roll is made upof two different awards, the StarSchools Award (395 schools) andScholar Schools Award (909 schools).

Principal Linda McDaniel said: Weare thrilled weve been selected as an

Honor Roll school and recognized byCalifornias business community. Ourteachers are committed and have workedtirelessly to ensure the focus is on stu-dent academic achievement and reachinggrade-level proficiency. We hold all ourstudents, no matter what their back-ground, to the same high standardsbecause we believe they can all meetthem.

No other school recognition programin California uses hard data, individualschool and student subgroup perform-ance data based on the CaliforniaStandards Tests and the California

High School Exit Exam, to evaluateschool academic performance. By look-ing at this hard data, student test scoresand evaluating students and schoolsbased on grade-level proficiency of theCalifornia standards, that educators, par-ents and the public can thoroughlyunderstand what is happening in ourschools and ensure that schools are ontrack to get all kids to grade level profi-ciency.

Over the past four years, the Honor

Roll list has grown from 304 schools in2006 to the current 1,304 for 2009. Afull list of the Honor Roll schools, sortedalphabetically by county, can be found atwww.cbee.org.

We know from the success of theseschools that its possible for all schoolsand all students in California to reachhigh levels of academic achievement andto close achievement gaps, said KirkClark, executive director of CBEE.

Class notes is a twice weekly column dedi-cated to school news. It is compiled by edu-cation reporter Heather Murtagh. You cancontact her at (650) 344-5200, ext. 105 or [email protected].

Lunch was tasty at Highlands Elementary School in San MateoFriday when firefighters barbecued a meal. Students atHighland previously participated in the San Mateo CityFirefightersToys for Tots drive,which it won for generatingthe most donations. Lunch was provided as a prize. Thestudentscontributions supplied hundreds of toys for needyfamilies.

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6 Tuesday June 8, 2010 THEDAILYJOURNALLOCAL

Leslie LesBrooksLeslie Les Brooks, 1921-2010, a resident of South San

Francisco for 57 years and San Mateo County for over 75 years,died in Burlingame on May 18, 2010 at the age of 89. Les waspreceded in death by his wife Pauline Mae Lopresti Brooks, hisfather Leslie, his mother Sadie, his younger brother Richard andseveral sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews.

Les is survived by two sisters-in-law Wilma Nauert Brooksand Mary Lopresti Ekstrom, several nieces and nephews amongwhom are Patricia Brooks Mangabay, Linda Brooks Powell,Karen Brooks Linder, Millbrae Councilwoman MargeColapietro, Patricia Mundy, Joe Bonini, Don Bonini, MichaelEkstrom, Allan Ekstrom, Karl Ekstrom and several great niecesand nephews.

Les served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. After anhonorable discharge, Les enlisted in the Air Force Active DutyReserves and retired with a rank of major. Les completed hisdedicated life as a civil servant at Alameda Naval Air Station. Heshared a very happy life of over 58 years with his cherished wifeMae during which time they enjoyed family, wonderful friend-ships, boating, water skiing, flying and traveling the world.

A memorial mass honoring Less life will be celebrated at St.Veronica Church, 434 Alida Way, South San Francisco 11 a.m.Saturday, June 12.

In lieu offlowers, donations may be made to Less favoritecharity A Very Special Toy Box, 447 West Oakwood Blvd.,Redwood City, CA 94061.

Obituary


Countywide standards should be imple-mented in regard to red-light cameras andthe administrative tasks of evaluating tick-ets should be centralized, according to areport by the San Mateo Civil Grand Juryreleased yesterday.

Cities that consider installing the cam-eras should also monitor the number ofcollisions at an intersection beforeinstalling them and should not install themto generate revenue, according to thereport.

The recommendation comes on theheels of a bill that passed out of the stateSenate June 1 calling for statewide stan-dards for the installation and operation ofred-light cameras.

Senate Bill 1362, authored by state Sen.Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, requires thatcameras may only be placed where a his-tory of collisions justifies them; that signsbe posted wherever red-light cameras areinstalled; and that unjustified tickets canbe easily and effectively challenged bymotorists.

The report is an indication that there isa growing concern about the appropriateuse of red-light cameras. Traffic ticketsshould never be given out just for raisingmoney, Simitian said.

Simitians bill, co-authored by stateAssemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo,now faces an Assembly floor vote.

Hill is also the author of Assembly Bill909, which proposes to lower the finedrivers pay for turning right on red with-out fully stopping from $446 to about$250.

The fine for failure to stop before mak-ing a right-hand turn seems out of propor-tion to similar offenses and as a result isoften appealed in traffic court, the grand

jury report states.The number of red-light tickets the San

Mateo County Superior Court deals withhas increased 80 percent from 2008 to2009 which has overwhelmed the courtwith people challenging their citations,according to the report.

Hill praised the civil grand jury reportand hopes the recommended standards gobeyond the county level to the state level.

Im confident there will be statewidestandards, Hill said. There has to be. Ifnot, there will be a public outcry about theabuses of the system and the lack of con-sistency in interpretation and enforce-ment.

Some cities on the Peninsula havescrapped red-light cameras, such asBurlingame and San Carlos, for actuallycosting the city more than the devicesraise in fines. Belmont, however, justinstalled the cameras at Ralston Avenueand Old County Road, one of the citysbusiest intersections.

Drivers caught on camera are currentlycharged the same amount whether theyrun a red light through an intersection ormake a right turn on red without making acomplete stop.

Hills bill would make the penalty forthe illegal right turns the same as when amotorist gets pulled over by police for notstopping at a stop sign.

But San Mateo Police Chief SusanManheimer, who is the president of thestates Police Chiefs Association, saidHills bill will de-emphasize the impor-tance of making complete stops and thatpedestrians and bicyclists would be put atrisk by lowering the fine.

Manheimer also took issue with thecivil grand jurys contention that accidentdata is not a consideration for cities whenplacing the cameras.

We have reported to the grand jury thereduction in accidents at locations. Butmore importantly, we have also reportedto them the vast reduction in violations;each one representing a potential serious

accident, Manheimer said.The goal of the program, Manheimer

said, is to reduce traffic safety violations atred-light camera intersections.

The civil grand jury also recommendsthat city councils should be the decidingfactor as to whether a red-light camera isinstalled and that the cameras effective-ness be measured by the number of acci-dents caused from red-light violationsbefore and after installation.

When reports indicate that accidentrates have not been reduced, action shouldbe taken to investigate why and removalof the red-light cameras should be consid-ered if they are not effective, according tothe civil grand jury report.

All of the traffic camera systems usedby police agencies in San Mateo Countyare provided by two private firms. Twocities, Millbrae and South San Francisco,contract with American Traffic Solutionsand the rest with Redflex TrafficSolutions.

It is a mutual objective of both Redflexand the customer to reduce the incidenceof vehicle collisions at the traffic intersec-tions that will be monitored pursuant tothe terms of the agreement. The American

Traffic Systems agreement makes no suchreference to an objective of reducing vehi-cle collisions, according to the civil grand

jury report.In general, the portion of the fine paid to

the city is approximately 33 percent, withthe rest going to the county and the state.

The facts are that if you have a highamount of violations at a given location,you have the potential for a high amountof collisions. It is very important toremember that the cities chose the loca-tions for the vendors to study, not the otherway around, Manheimer said.

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by e-mail: [email protected] or by phone:(650) 344-5200 ext. 106.

Report: Standards needed for red-light cameras

REGIONAL GOVERNMENT The Sequoia Healthcare District

Board of Directors will consider athree-year, $5 million commitmentthat may help restore some of theschool nursing, nutrition and healthprograms that have been lost to stateand local budget cuts over the past

few years in many local public schools. The board meets4:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 9, district offices, 525 VeteransBlvd., Redwood City.

STATE GOVERNMENT Legislation authored by State Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo

Alto, to protect the privacy of drivers using the FasTrak pay-ment system for toll bridges and roads passed the state Senatelast week. The bill, which passed 24-10, now heads to thestate Assembly. Senate Bill 1268 prohibits transportationagencies from selling or sharing personal data, requires themto purge the data when it is no longer needed, sets penaltiesfor violations and ensures that FasTrak subscribers are givennotice of the privacy practices affecting them.

CITY GOVERNMENT The Belmont City Council will hold a public hearing on

its fiscal year 2010-11 budget for the Belmont FireProtection District, Redevelopment Agency and generalfund. The meeting is 7:30 p.m., tonight, City Hall, 1 TwinPines Lane, Belmont.

7/28/2019 06-08-2010 Edition

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NATION 7Tuesday June 8, 2010THEDAILYJOURNAL

By Harry R. Weber and Ray HenryTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW ORLEANS The cap on the blown-out well in the Gulf is capturing a half-milliongallons a day, or anywhere from one-third tothree-quarters of the oil spewing from the bot-tom of the sea, officials said Monday. But thehopeful report was offset by a warning that the

farflung slick has broken up into hundreds andeven thousands of patches of oil that mayinflict damage that could persist for years.

Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the govern-ments point man for the crisis, said thebreakup has complicated the cleanup.

Dealing with the oil spill on the surface isgoing to go on for a couple of months, hesaid at a briefing in Washington. But long-term issues of restoring the environment andthe habitats and stuff will be years.

Allen said the containment cap that wasinstalled late last week is now collecting about460,000 gallons of oil a day out of the approx-imately 600,000 to 1.2 million gallonsbelieved to be spewing from the well a mileunderwater. In a tweet, BP said it collected316,722 gallons from midnight to noonMonday.

The amount of oil captured is being slowlyramped up as more vents on the cap areclosed. Crews are moving carefully to avoid a

dangerous pressure buildup and to prevent theformation of the icy crystals that thwarted aprevious effort to contain the leak. The cap-tured oil is being pumped to a ship on the sur-

face.I think its going fairly well, Allen said.BP said it plans to replace the cap per-

haps later this month or early next month with a slightly bigger one that will provide atighter fit and thus collect more oil. It will alsobe designed to allow the company to suspend

the cleanup and then resume it quickly if ahurricane threatens the Gulf later this season.The new cap is still being designed.

Well cap captures more oil, outlook gloomy

By Jim Kuhnhenn and David BauderTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON Helen Thomas, theopinionated White House correspondent whoused her seat in the front row of history to grill10 presidents and often exasperate them, losther storied perch Monday in a flap over call-ing on Israelis to get out of Palestine.

Thomas, 89, who made her name as a bull-dog for United Press International and was a

pioneer for women in journalism, abruptly

retired as a columnist forHearst News Service. Theannouncement, in a tersestatement by Hearst, cameafter videotaped remarksshe made to an independ-ent filmmaker spread viral-ly through the Internet.

She apologized, butWhite House spokesmanRobert Gibbs denounced

her comments as offensive and reprehensi-

ble. Her press corps colleagues with theWhite House Correspondents Associationissued a rare admonishment calling themindefensible.

Thomas joined UPI in 1943 and began cov-ering the White House for the wire service in1960. Fiercely competitive, she became thefirst female White House bureau chief for awire service when UPI named her to the posi-tion in 1974. She was also the first female offi-cer at the National Press Club, where women

had once been barred as members.

Helen Thomas ends White House career amid uproar

REUTERS

Volunteer Cassen Pulaski helps move an oiled brown pelican to the rinse station at a rescuecenter at a facility set up by the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Fort Jackson,La.

Helen Thomas

Man missing afternatural gas line blast in Texas

CLEBURNE, Texas A large natural gasline in north Texas erupted Monday after util-ity workers accidentally hit the line, sending amassive fireball into the air and leaving oneworker missing hours after the blast, officialssaid.

Johnson County Emergency Coordinator

Jack Snow said searchers were scouring thecharred area around the damaged line lookingfor the missing person. Thirteen other workerswho were also at the site were accounted for,and there were no known fatalities, he said.

The missing worker had just gotten downfrom a machine drilling utility pole holeswhen the line suddenly exploded. Other work-ers lost sight of him in the intense smoke, saidRoger Harmon, Johnson Countys top electedofficial. Several workers drove themselves tothe hospital before emergency crews arrived,so its possible that the missing man left thescene on his own, Harmon said.

I really hope he is at home safe, but werestill searching, he said.

New Jersey men accused

in terror plot appear in courtNEWARK, N.J. Two New Jersey menaccused of trying to join a terrorist group inSomalia intended to commit acts of violenceeven though their plans appeared haphazard, afederal prosecutor said Monday.

Sophistication is not a measure of danger,U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said. Theirintentions were described pretty clearly. Theywere watching certain videos and interested inwhat certain people were saying and advocat-ing.

Mohamed Mahmood Alessa and CarlosEduardo Almonte made their first courtappearance Monday in Newark.

Alessa, 20, and Almonte, 24, were arrestedSaturday night at New Yorks KennedyAirport as they prepared to fly to Egypt andthen to Somalia, authorities said.

Around the nation

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LOCAL/WORLD8 Tuesday June 8, 2010 THEDAILYJOURNAL

By Sarah El DeebTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt After three years of cooperating inthe Israeli blockade of Gaza, Egyptsaid Monday that it will leave itsborder with the Palestinian territo-

ry open indefinitely for humanitar-ian aid and restricted travel.

With international pressurebuilding to ease the blockade, anEgyptian security official said seal-ing off Hamas-ruled Gaza has onlybred more militancy.

The decision to ease the restric-tions erected by Israel to isolate andpunish Hamas comes a week after adeadly Israeli raid on a flotillabound for Gaza. The move restoresa link to the outside world for atleast some of Gazas 1.5 millionPalestinians. It also appeared calcu-lated to defuse anger in the Araband Muslim world over Egyptsrole in maintaining the blockade

and to show that Egypt, too, is nowpressing Israel to open at least itsland crossings with Gaza.

Egypt is the one that broke theblockade, Egyptian ForeignMinistry spokesman Hossam Zakisaid. We are not going to let theoccupying power escape from itsresponsibilities.

The U.S., which has called thecurrent border restrictions unsus-tainable, is among those pressing

for changes. Vice President JoeBiden met Monday with EgyptianPresident Hosni Mubarak in theRed Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.

He released a statement after-

ward saying the U.S. is closelyconsulting with Egypt and otherallies to find new ways to address

the humanitarian, economic, secu-rity, and political aspects of the sit-uation in Gaza.

In another escalation of the ten-sion off Gazas shores, Israeli navalforces shot and killed four menwearing wet suits off the coast onMonday. The militant group Al-

Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said themen were members of its marineunit training for a mission.

Egypt was not exactly a reluctantparticipant in imposing the block-ade. Like Israel, Egypt watchedwith concern as Hamas militantswrenched control of Gaza fromtheir rivals in the Fatah movementof Western-backed PresidentMahmoud Abbas during bloodystreet battles in 2007.

Egypt, which had its own waragainst Islamic radicals in the1990s, fears sharing a border witha territory controlled by Islamicmilitants who have the backing ofrising regional rival Iran. Just to thesouth, Egypts Sinai peninsula has

been the scene of major terroristattacks against tourist hotels, thelast one in 2006.

The city is moving toward theinstallation of parking-meter kiosksthroughout downtown.

Five multi-space meters havealready been installed downtownon Ellsworth Avenue, Fif thAvenue and B Street. The city iscurrently installing six additionalmachines on Fourth and Fifth

avenues and B Street.The multi-space meters have

enhanced programming capabilitiesthat include the ability to apply dif-ferent rates for different times,according to the staff report.

Eventually, the city plans toreplace all the single-space meterswith multi-space meters at a cost ofabout $500,000.

The city is hoping to double itsincome from four-hour garage park-ing stalls from $6,867 per month to$13,734 per month.

The city started planning for the

expansion of the downtown parkingsupply in 2003. The citys goal is toadd 1,000 new parking spacesdowntown over the next 45 years.

Downtown San Mateo hasapproximately 3,000 parkingspaces. The council also approvedthe purchase of 15 new multi-spacemeters last night at a cost of$171,370.

In other business, the CityCouncil unanimously approved thedemolition of the old San MateoCounty Times building at 1080 S.Amphlett Blvd. to make way for 60

townhomes and a 30,000 square-foot storage facility. The councilapproved the Site Plan andArchitectural Review of the projectonly after taking out an alley thatwas to connect the property withSouth Grant Street after theDepartment of Public Worksdeemed it unsafe and several neigh-bors complained about it.

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by e-mail: [email protected] by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.

Egypt to keep open border with GazaEuropes outlook darkensas Germany,U.K.make cuts

LUXEMBOURG Europeseconomic picture darkened furtherMonday as Britains prime ministerdeclared the nations finances to beworse than feared requiring sacri-fices that will affect our very wayof life and the euro slid further

toward parity with the dollar.From small EU nations likeHungary and Greece to big ones likeGermany, which on Mondayannounced its own harsh austeritymeasures, the continents economicand fiscal crisis is showing no signof letting up.

Germany, Europes economicpowerhouse, promised a raft ofspending cuts, vowing to set anexample for heavily indebtedGreece, Spain and Portugal, whichare buckling under their debt loadsand threaten to drag Europes cur-rency union down with them.

NATO troopers killedon deadly Afghan day

KABUL, Afghanistan TenNATO service members, seven ofthem American, were killed in sepa-rate attacks Monday on the deadliestday of the year for foreign forces inAfghanistan. A U.S. civilian con-tractor who trains Afghan policealso died in a suicide attack.

The bloodshed comes as insur-gents step up bombings and otherattacks ahead of a major NATOoperation in the Taliban strongholdof Kandahar that Washington hopeswill turn the tide of the war.

Half the NATO deaths fiveAmericans occurred in a singleblast in eastern Afghanistan, U.S.spokesman Col. Wayne Shanks saidwithout giving further details.

REUTERS

Hazem Farouq, center, a Muslim Brotherhood parliamentarian whoboarded the aid flotilla attacked by Israel, other Egyptian MPs from thebrotherhood and members of opposition parties walk near the Rafahborder between Egypt and Gaza.

Around the world

Continued from page 1

PARKING

7/28/2019 06-08-2010 Edition

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OPINION 9Tuesday June 8, 2010THEDAILYJOURNAL

San Mateo County voterswill head to the pollsJune 8 for the

primaries and Nov.2for the generalelection.The DailyJournal is makingthe followingrecommendationsfor federal,state andlocal candidates,propositions andmeasures.

Proposition 13-YESIt provides a needed tax exemption for seismicretrofit work to Californias buildings.

Proposition 14-YESOpens the primary system to all candidatesregardless of party allegiance.

Proposition 15-NOEncroaches on the rights of individuals todonate to candidates of their choosing.

Proposition 16-NOThis PG&E funded initiative would limit localgovernmentsability to pursue a local utility byrequiring a two-thirds vote.Voters already electrepresentatives to make such decisions.

Proposition 17-NOAuto insurance initiative would benefit someCalifornia drivers while adding costs for otherswho have to discontinue coverage for whateverreason.

Federal offic esBarbara Boxer:Democrat for U.S.senatorTom Campbell:Republican for U.S.senatorJackie Speier:Democrat for District 12 U.S.representativeAnna Eshoo:Democrat for District 14 U.S.representative

State officesJerry Brown:Democrat for governorSteve Poizner:Republican for governorGavin Newsom:Democrat for lieutenantgovernorAbel Maldonado:Republican for lieutenant

governorKamala Harris:Democrat for attorney generalSteve Cooley:Republican for attorney generalDave Jones: Democrat for insurancecommissionerMike Villines: Republican for insurancecommissionerDebra Bowen: Democratic nominee forsecretary of stateDamon Dunn: Republican nominee forsecretary of state

John Chiang:Democratic nominee forcontrollerDavid Evans: Republican nominee forcontrollerBill Lockyer: Democratic nominee for treasurerMimi Walters: Republican nominee fortreasurerTom Torlakson: For state superintendent ofpublic instructionLeland Yee: Democrat for District 8 Senate

Doo Sup Park: Republican for District 8 SenateFiona Ma:Democrat for District 12 AssemblyAlfonso Faustino Jr.:Republican for District 12Assembly

Jerry Hill: Democrat for District 19 AssemblyGary Tutin: Libertarian for District 19 AssemblyAlberto Waisman: Republican for District 19AssemblyRich Gordon:Democrat for District 21 AssemblyRay M.Bell Jr.:Libertarian for District 21AssemblyGreg Conlon:Republican for District 21Assembly

San Mateo County officesCarole Groom for District 2 supervisorMatt Grocott for District 3 supervisorMark Church for assessor-county clerk-recorderTom Huening for controllerRobert Foucrault for coronerStephen Wagstaffe for district attorney

Greg Munks for sheriffJoe Galligan for treasurer-tax collectorAnne Campbell for superintendent

Local measuresMeasure E-Education parcel tax for CabrilloUnified School District-YESMeasure G-Education parcel tax for San MateoCounty Community College District-YES

Tofind your polling location or read other

nonpartisan election information prepared by

the League of Women Voters visit

http://www.smartvoter.org/.

Its understandable if youhavent voted. For onething, this is the primary,

not even the final, official, be allend all election that decideswholl be moving into the gover-nors mansion or making deci-sions in Congress. This is the testrun to weed out most candidatesand clear the way for a short list

of possibilities in November.After tomorrow, my e-mail

inbox might be devoid of mes-sages urging me to hand ChrisKelly the Democratic vote forattorney general. Or, perhapsKamala Harriscampaign will bethe one eerily silent. ComeWednesday, we will never seeanother Steve Poizner for gover-nor ad. Or maybe not anotherMeg Whitman ad. At this point,we dont know who will getkicked to the curb in the hotlycontested (and seriously expen-sive) race for the Republican nod hence the need to vote, atleast in the categories for whichyou are allowed.

And the props! Thefi

ve statepropositions on the June 8 ballotare reason enough to get thee to apolling place. Public financing ofelections, continuous coveragediscounts (or is that hidden sur-charges?) for auto insurance,voter approval for public spend-ing on electricity. Are any ofthese matters best left to less thanhalf of registered voters? Ofcourse not. But if elections officeestimates hold true, only 40 per-cent of registered voters willmake these decisions.

Yet, again, its understandableif you havent joined this elitegroup.

The propositions alone arehard to remember. Which one is

Proposition 14? Is Proposition 15the one funded by PG&E? Isthere a Proposition 20?

If you live in San MateoCounty, you cant even rely onthe trusty voters guide to helpyou make sense of it all. Lastweek, the countys chief electionsofficer Warren Slocumannounced numerous voters himself included had yet toreceive the states Official VoterGuide, the one-stop shopping

source for pros and cons on allthings election-related. A weekbefore the primary and many ofthose just waiting for the guidebefore filling out their absenteeballots were left with little morethan television ads and a glut ofglossy brochures clogging themailbox. Those who still like towalk into a polling place wereleft wondering if theyd make thetrek without enough informationto make a smart choice.

Oh, right. Even without theguide, voters can still log ontothe Secretary of States site oreven pick up a newspaper. Not allinformation is spoon-fed to thepublic.

San Mateo County residents

might think theres not much rea-son to vote when a good numberof countywide offices were setthe minute nobody chose to run.Sheriff, district attorney, con-troller all one-person shows.District 2 supervisor is slightlybetter but the challenger to thecurrent officeholder has all butdropped out of the race and overin the chief electionsofficer/assessor/ clerk/recordersrace the challenger has the daunt-ing task of being a write-in.

What does that leave? Onlyminor things like state Assembly,District 3 supervisor and oddly a fierce four-way fightfor tax collector/treasurer. Whoeven knows what the treasurer

really does? After all, isnt thatwhy you havent voted?

Or maybe the real reason was

that the absentee ballot somehownever made it into the mail intime for an Election Day arrival.It could be filled out and sealed,but not stamped. It could still becollecting dust in the magazineand mail bin. It could be stuckinside a purse or briefcase, thesame place its been for weeksbecause you keep forgetting todrop it in the office out box.

Laziness and forgetfulness areperfectly acceptable only becausethose traits can still be overcometoday. Polling places are openuntil 8 p.m. and even the dustiestof absentee ballots will be

accepted at any locale. Bestparts? You dont even need astamp and will probably nab acute I voted sticker.

So if youre reading this andhavent yet voted, remember itsunderstandable.

But what if the polls close andyou are still among the apathetic?

Thats just inexcusable.

Michelle Durands column Off

the Beat runs every Tuesday

and Thursday. She can be

reached by e-mail:

[email protected] or

by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext.

102. What do you think of this

column? Send a letter to the edi-

tor: [email protected].

Primary concern

By Dennis McBride

O

n May 25, trustees ofthe Redwood CitySchool District made

the difficult decision to approve aresolution to terminate 63 highly-valued teachers and administra-tors we do not want to lose. Thiswas just the latest in a string ofheart-wrenching decisions wehave made as a result of the eco-nomic crisis facing our state. InFebruary we voted to lay off 11employees in the middle of theschool year, a step the district hasnot ever taken before.

We are facing the biggest cutin school funding since the GreatDepression. Over the past threeyears, we have cut 17 percentfrom our budget. Last year alone,we cut $5.5 million. Next yearwe are looking at potential cuts

as large as $10.6 million or anadditional 13 percent. These cutswill be severe and lasting as thestate budget situation is notexpected to improve for the nextfew years.

As a board, we are committedto our mission of educating everychild for success. We believe thatchildren learn and succeed whenwe work in partnership with fam-ilies and community, when allemployees are highly qualified,valued and respected and wheneach of us supports their intellec-tual, physical, social and emo-

tional development. These poten-tial budget cuts are putting thesebeliefs in direct conflict with ourresponsibility to remain fiscallysolvent. To continue to pay ourstaff and maintain some local

control of our schools, we must,at the very least balance ourbudget.

As a board, we care very muchabout our students and employ-ees and know that the decisionsforced upon us will be severe andhurt our students and their fami-lies, and our staff and their fami-lies. We have already laid offteachers, administrators and staffin addition to eliminating pro-grams and will make further cutsas we finalize the budget in June.Like you, we are angry and frus-trated. But we cannot let ouranger and frustration affect ourchildren. We must channel itappropriately into action thatsupports our children and their

schools. We appreciate the levelof engagement by our communi-ty throughout this process andhave listened closely to many ofyou who have attended commu-nity forums and have communi-cated your ideas to the board.Through open communication,volunteerism and collaboration,we can positively affect how ourschools operate in the comingyears.

Next year, we can expect thatthere will be fewer people doingmore work. This will mean thatthings will take longer, that there

will be more children in ourclasses and less people outside ofthe classroom to support childrenand teachers.

Because it is the lives of chil-dren that are at stake, we cannot

fail. As a board, we believe thathow we all get through this crisismight be the most important les-son we teach our children. Andwe are confident in our commu-nitys ability to come togetherand work with dignity andrespect to help carry us through.

At the same time, we imploreour leaders to look for solutionsto the states financial woes thatdo not put our future at risk byunder-investing in tomorrowsworkforce. If I were a state legis-lator, I would not want my legacyto be a lost generation of stu-dents. We need to view the stu-dents of California as a naturalresource that we will protect atall costs.

We have welcomed the com-munitys feedback throughoutthis process and would like toinvite the community to attendour June 9 board meeting, whenwe will discuss the 2010-11budget in detail. This meetingwill be held at 7 p.m. in theMcKinley Institute ofTechnology auditorium, 400Duane St., Redwood City.

Dennis McBride is the president of

the Redwood City Elementary

School District Board of Trustees.

Tough decisions for Redwood City schools

Guest perspective

Contact Us

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Editorials represent the viewpointof the Daily Journal editorial boardand not any one individual.

OUR MISSION

It is the mission of the Daily

Journal to be the most

accurate, fair and relevant

local news source for those

who live, work or play on

the MidPeninsula.By combining local news and sports

coverage,analysis and insight with the latest

business, lifestyle,state, national and world news,

we seek to provide our readers with the highest

quality information resource in San Mateo County.

Our pages belong to you,our readers, and we

choose to reflect the diverse character of this

dynamic and ever-changing community.

PublisherJerry Lee

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SMDAILYJOURNAL.COM

7/28/2019 06-08-2010 Edition

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>> PAGE 13

World Cup, World Cup and moreWorld Cup. With only three

days until host South Africatakes on Mexico in the opener, soccer is,four years later, front and center yet again.

While there have been plenty of storiesand opinions on the global spectacle including our own weekly countdown fromthe Daily Journals biggest soccer fan, JulioLara the Sports Lounge has yet to weighin on the matter. Granted, Ive been busy

with the high schoolseason and theres noway I could come upwith a weekly col-umn about this yearsbiggest sportingevent, I definitelyhave my own ideas,theories and conclu-sions about the 2010World Cup.

My first conclusionis this: The U.S.should be ready foranother electrifying

run, like 1994 and 2002. Both years theAmericans made it out of pool play andinto the knockout round although bothyears they needed a tremendous amount ofhelp. While they lost to Brazil in 94, theAmericans stunned Mexico in 02 beforelosing to Germany in the quarterfinals.

This year, I believe they advance rather easily out of pool play and againmake it to the quarters.

On what do I base this prediction? A

REUTERS

U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard, left, and defender Steve Cherendulo cant prevent Australia from scoring during the Americans3-1 winSaturday.In three tuneup matches,the U.S.has allowed six goals.

By Ronald BlumTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PRETORIA, South Africa Instead ofworrying where the goals are going to comefrom, this U.S. soccer teams biggest concernis keeping the ball out of its own net.

Four years ago, the Americans outscoredopponents 3-1 in their final three World Cupswarmups, as Morocco, Venezuela and Latviaplayed mostly behind the ball with packed indefenses. The time, against more talented

opponents, the U.S. had a 7-6 margin againstthe Czech Republic, Turkey and Australia.

While the offense was flowing, the backline

was inconsistent.I think its coming together quite well,

defender Oguchi Onyewu said. Thats whyweve been in camp for so long, you know,

just to get the communication and get thechemistry down, and I think, you know,every-

one is starting to jell together as a team.Heading into Saturdays World Cup opener

against England, Onyewu may be the biggestquestion. The 6-foot-4 defensive anchor tore

his left patellar tendon Oct. 14 during the finalWorld Cup qualifier against Costa Rica and

had surgery a week later. He didnt make itback onto the field for AC Milan.

Onyewu returned May 25 against the Czech

Republic, playing until the 65th minute andgetting beaten to a header by Tomas Sivok forthe first Czech goal. Onyewu entered at thestart of the second half against Turkey fourdays later, then came in the 61st Saturdayagainst Australia.

Im personally feeling better since thecamp started a couple, a few weeks ago,Onyewu said. Right now, there havent beenany issues. Im feeling good and theres noth-ing more to say.

Onyewu hasnt gone 90 minutes in a matchsince Oct. 10. Clarence Goodson started thelast three warmup games and could be paired

Defensive questions

By Julio LaraDAILY JOURNAL STAFF

My oh my, where has the time gone?

Three days from now the ball will roll in

South Africa and a month worth of excitement

will get underway as FIFA kicks off the 2010

version of its World Cup.

Even with play only a couple of days away,

there have been a ton of major developments

in the international soccer spectrum. Where

do we begin?

InjuriesYou tend to hold your breath when you

watch the friendlies that go down only days

before the start of the World Cup. I know U.S

fans were cringing every time an Australian

defender would come in strong on the likes of

Clint Dempsey during the USMNTs 3-1 vic-

tory last Saturday. The fouls ticked Dempsey

off and well they should. Dempsey has

already had to battle back from an injury ear-

lier this year and this close to the biggest

sporting tournament in the world no one

wants to get hurt.While Dempsey avoided the injury bug a lot

of great players on some big teams werent solucky. Ivory Coasts Didier Drogba wentdown with a broken elbow in his teamswarm-up match against Japan. Arjen Robben,star winger for the Netherlands hurt his ham-string in a 6-1 drubbing of Hungary and hisWorld Cup looks fuzzy. Rio Ferdinand, theEnglish team captain and soul of the defense,suffered a knee injury and is out of the WorldCup.

Are you ready for some futbol?

See SOCCER,Page 14

MoreCuphype

See LOUNGE Page 14See DEFENSE, Page 15

By Dennis Waszak Jr.THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SECAUCUS, N.J. The WashingtonNationals got their ace a year ago. Now, theythink theyve found a big-time slugger.

The Nationals selected the much-hyped BryceHarper, a 17-year-old with prodigious powerfrom the College of Southern Nevada, with theNo. 1 overall pick in Monday nights draft.

Its what Ive wantedsince I was 7 years old,Harper said.

A year after taking simi-larly hyped right-handerStephen Strasburg, theNationals took Harper, whocan play catcher but wasannounced as an outfielderat the draft site at MLB

Network studios by commissioner Bud Selig.Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo envi-

sions Harper as a No. 3-type power hitter with astrong arm in right field.

Were going to take the rigor and the pres-sures of learning the position, the difficult posi-tion of catcher, away from him, Rizzo said,and really let him concentrate on the offensivepart of the game and let his athleticism take overas an outfielder.

Harper hit .443 with 31 homers and 98 RBIsin his first college season in a wood bat league,after skipping his final two years of high schooland getting his GED.

Harper showed solid defensive instinctsbehind the plate and called pitches much of thetime,but his path to the majors will be in the out-field.

Nationals get another cant miss prospect

Bryce Harper See DRAFT, Page 15

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By Joe KayTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CINCINNATI Juan Uribe drove in fourruns with two singles, providing the Giantsfinal lead in a back-and-forth game, and SanFranciscos balky bullpen held on for a 6-5victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Mondaynight.

Uribe had a two-run single in the third andanother in the seventh, when the Giants ralliedagainst reliever Daniel Ray Herrera (0-3) fortheir ninth win in their last 13 games.

Jay Bruce had three hits off left-handerBarry Zito, including a solo homer. SergioRomo (2-3) got the victory in relief. BrianWilson recovered from a blown save in hislast outing, pitching a perfect ninth for his15th save in 17 chances.

The Giants bullpen has been a mess on the

road this season, puttingup a combined 4.96 ERA.It had to survive one of themajors most hitter-friend-

ly ballparks to keep SanFranciscos on its winningsurge.

Zito, winless since May16, couldnt hold an early4-1 lead that was set up byhis rare two-RBI hit.

The pitcher had only five career RBIs none this season when he came tobat against Johnny Cueto in the secondwith two outs. A wild pitch left both run-ners in scoring position, and Zito lined afastball off the middle of the bat for an

opposite-field single and a 2-0 lead.Ahead 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning,

Zito retired the first two batters before loadingthe bases on a single and two walks. Pinch-hitter Miguel Cairo singled through the hole atshortstop for a 5-4 Cincinnati lead, endingZitos outing.

Cueto gave up four runs and 10 hits in sixinnings, but left with the lead and a chance toextend a five-game winning streak that is thebest of his career. Instead, the Giants ralliedagainst the bullpen. Herrera gave up singlesby Freddy Sanchez and Pablo Sandoval, whoadvanced on a groundout. Uribe then singledoff Enerio Del Rosario for a 6-5 lead and histeam-high 37th RBI.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy tweaked hislineup, giving struggling catcher BengieMolina a day off. Bochy revealed before thegame that Molina got an injection for his sore

left elbow last week.Catcher Buster Posey, rated the Giants top

prospect, made his first start behind the platethis season. Posey played first base this sea-son, and caught four games last year.

The move worked. Posey had two singles.NOTES: A man wearing a Mike Krukow

Giants jersey and waving a Go Buster signdived over a row of seats to get a foul ball hitby Posey in the second inning. ... Sanchezextended his hitting streak to 11 games. Hes20 for 40 during the streak. ... Giants INFEmmanuel Burriss (left foot fracture) willbegin a rehabilitation stint at Class-A San Joseon Tuesday. ... The Reds took C YasmaniGrandal from Miami with the 12th overallpick in the draft. Its the second time in fouryears theyve taken a catcher in the first round.The Giants took OF Gary Brown from CalState Fullerton with the 24th overall pick.

Uribe leads Giants over CincinnatiGiants 6, Reds 5

JuanUribe

By Janie McCauleyTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OAKLAND Bobby Abreu hit a two-runhomer, Scott Kazmir won for the third time infour starts and the Los Angeles Angels beatthe Oakland Athletics 4-2 on Monday nightfor their season-best sixth straight victory.

Erick Aybar added an RBI triple as theAngels improved to 8-1 since Kendry Moralesbroke his leg jumping on home plate in a cel-ebration following his game-ending grandslam against Seattle on May 29.

Abreus first-inning drive gave Los Angelesa quick lead and the Angels only built on itfrom there. Manager Mike Scioscia returnedfollowing a one-game absence for his daugh-

ters high school graduation.

Howie Kendrick singled in a run as theAngels won their sixth straight in Oakland.They have outscored the As 30-14 in thosegames. Kazmir (5-5) gave up a solo home runto Jake Fox with one out in the seventh, end-ing the pitchers scoreless streak in Oakland at17 1-3 innings spanning his last three outings.The left-hander pounded the strike zone towork ahead in the count much of the game.He improved to 9-3 lifetime against the As.

Kazmir gave up four other hits in 6 1-3innings, struck out five and walked two. BrianFuentes earned his eighth save in 11 opportu-nities with a 1-2-3 ninth, including consecu-tive called third strikes to end it.

The Angels are in a stretch with 14 road

games in as many days, their longest trip sincea 14-gamer during their World Series seasonof 2002. Theyve been impressive so far.

When Kendry got hurt, everybody steppedup, Torii Hunter said.

Ben Sheets (2-5), the As $10 million right-hander, lost his second straight start as the Aslost for the fifth time in seven games anddropped the opener of this key four-gameseries between division rivals. A dismalannounced crowd of 10,071 turned out for thisone. Sheets is winless in his last six outingssince beating Tampa Bay on May 8. Sheetsstruck out five and didnt walk a batter in sixinnings, allowing four runs three earned and six hits.

Ryan Sweeney doubled twice, singled and

drove in a run for Oakland, which would like

to get back on track during this tough stretchwith 20 games in 20 days. They were comingoff four straight one-run games, including aseries loss to Minnesota in which they sal-vaged Sundays series finale to avoid a sweep.

Eric Patterson replaced Rajai Davis in cen-ter field for Oakland in the top of the seventhafter Davis left hamstring tightened up fol-lowing a fifth-inning triple.

As hitting coach Jim Skaalen was ejected inthe sixth inning by home plate umpire EricCooper for arguing balls and strikes. It wasSkaalens second ejection with Oakland. Healso got tossed May 25, 2009, against Seattle.Notes: The Angels are 10-3 in their last 13

road games following a 2-10 stretch awayfrom home. They are 9-2 in their last 11 at the

Coliseum.

As lose close one to surging AngelsAngels 4, As 2

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The list was already long and it only grewover the weekend.

Michael Ballack of Germany is already out.Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo, Slovakiandefender Martin Skrtl, Ghanas MickaelEssien and Nigerias John Obi Mikel, allprominent figures on their respective teams,

are also not participating in South Africa2010.

As a head coach, it really is a matter of get-ting lucky and you play with balancing theneed for your star players to log key gameminutes on the pitch with sitting them so theycan avoid injury. Drogbas injury was a freakaccident. Robbens on the other hand camewith his team already up five goals, two ofwhich came from his foot.

As much as its a loss for their teams, itsalso a blow to the football fans you waitaround four years for this tournament and allyou ask for is to see the best players in theworld on the pitch. Unfortunately, this Cup,more than ever in recent memory, the injurybug has hit hard.

So which team will feel will be affected themost?

My vote is for the Ivory Coast. You cannotreplace a player the caliber of Drogba, wholed the English Premiere League in goals thispast season and is considered by many to bethe top striker in the world. Imagine takingAlbert Pujols out of the Cardinals line-up,

Drew Brees out of the Saints huddle orLebron James out of the (insert team here)starting five. Ivory Coast has a very potentoffense, but Drogba was the heart and soul.While his World Cup may not be over offi-cially (coach Sven-Goran Eriksson hasntruled Drogba out completely), you have towonder how effective he will be with ahumongous cast slowing him down.

Dont think the Brazilian, Portuguese orNorth Korean players will do him any favorseither if hes on the field. That arm will be fairgame.

With that said, Id like to officially changemy pick. Last week I chose Brazil and IvoryCoast to advance out of group G. With Drogbaout, Im taking Portugal instead. I can do that.Its my countdown.

Stars and StripesThe Countdown was up bright (well, the

sun wasnt out yet, but you get what Im say-ing) and early last Saturday morning to makea trip down to the Haight to watch theUSMNTs last warm-up before the WorldCup. Accompanied by my soccer brain-trust,we caught their 3-1 victory over Australia.

On one had, you cant argue against results.The USMNT beat a good Turkey team theprevious weekend and controlled the majorityof play against a team that is also participating

the in South Africa 2010. They also avoidedinjuries (for the most part see Jozy Altidoreand Ricardo Clark).

But I have my questions and concerns aboutthe U.S heading into their June 12 matchagainst England.

My biggest lies with the defense whichshowed again that it has some pretty big holes.Australia missed a couple of clear opportuni-ties and the Americans can be exploited by ateam with good wing play.

Assuming that coach Bob Bradley goeswith a 4-4-2 formation, who will occupy thesecond forward position (that is, if Altidoresankle is OK)? Edson Buddle surely steppedup with a two-goal performance against theAussies the first goal was a quality strike,aggressive in nature, something I love to seefrom a forward. The U.S will certainly needthat. But Herculez Gomez scored as well, fur-ther showing that he has a knack for findingthe net and taking full advantage of his oppor-tunities. If I had to choose, Id go with Buddle.Hes been tearing up Major League Soccerand in sports you always go with the hot hand(or foot, in this case).

There were a few starting spots open whencamp began for the U.S. I see Buddle takingone up front. In the midfield I think JoseTorres and Michael Bradley earned the twospots, and in the back, assuming the OguchiOnweyu and Carlos Bocanegra are locks, Ithink Clarence Goodson and SteveCherundolo are the best the U.S has giventheir play though, U.S fans better hope TimHoward bring his A game to South Africa.

Group H predictionsGroup H teams: Spain,Honduras, Chile,SwitzerlandSmart Picks:Spain,ChileCountdown takes:Spain,Chile

Group H features World Cup favorite Spain;

the most talented, well-oiled machine team in

the tournament. If anything, Group H will

serve as an exhibition of sorts for La Furia

Roja who will run over all three teams in their

group if impressed is what you want to be

in the first couple of weeks of this tournament,

then tune into Group H youll be in for a

show.

Second place will most likely be contested

between Honduras and Chile. Chile has a nice

run during qualifying and will rely heavily on

their star forward Humberto Suazo. Honduras

though, has a handful of players withEuropean league experience. With Spain

advancing with all nine points in this group,

the biggest game with be the showdown

between Chile and Honduras. I like Chile to

win and advance on the strength of that victo-

ry.

World Cup GuideOne final note on this version of the

Countdown: Make sure you pick up a copy of

the Daily Journal this Friday. Well be pub-

lishing our guide to the FIFA World Cup 2010

complete with groups, players to watch,

matches you cant miss, places to catch the

soccer on the Peninsula and plenty more.

Also, follow us on Twitter throughout the

tournament to get our insight on the games.

Julio Lara can be followed @julitolara and sportseditor Nathan Mollat can be found @checkk-thissoutt


SOCCER

couple of things. One, the injury bug is run-ning rampant through teams, with a numberof major stars already out or dinged upenough to be questionable for the tourna-ment. As long as the Americans can stayaway from a major injury, they might just

catch teams at the right time.The other factor is history. Since becoming

a World Cup regular again in 1990 after a30-year absence, Team USA has been off andon. In 1990, they were horrible. In 1994, theteam made it out of group play. In 1998,there was the meltdown in Germany, duringwhich the Americans were determined tohave finished last in the tournament. In 2002,however, they advanced to the quarterfinals.In 2006, they were horrible again, so thatmeans in 2010, the U.S. team should have agood showing.

***

The key to the Americans success will bethe group-stage opener against England.While some experts believe England is oneof the best sides in the world and a darkhorse favorite to win it all, I believe they arevulnerable against the Americans.

England will be without Rio Ferdinand, itscaptain and starting central defender, as wellas David Beckham. The English goalkeeperis shaky at best and their best player, strikerWayne Rooney, has been banged up sincelate in the English Premiere League season.

Add to that the whole John Terry saga the former captain who had an affair with hisformer friends now-ex-girlfriend and itshould equal a recipe for success for theYanks.

Im not saying the U.S. will go out andbeat England. I would be more than happywith a tie, while a win would put theAmericans in the drivers seat to advance.They have to get a point off of England,regardless, and I believe it will be easier todo in the first game, as opposed to the finalgame after the English have two games undertheir belts.

England is ripe for the taking. Can the U.S.capitalize? I say yes.

***

I was asked Monday who I thought theWorld Cup winner would be. After shufflingthrough the usual powers Italy, Brazil,Germany, etc. I settled on Spain.Although it is a little beat up, Spain has beenone of the top teams in the world for the pastseveral years and their win in the 2008European championships solidified highexpectations.

But I had forgotten all about Argentina. Ihave now, officially, jumped on the Argentinabandwagon. Im not such a super internation-al soccer nut that I know about all ofArgentinas players. I recognize most ofthem, but really, could not tell you wherethey played on the field or their strengths andweaknesses.

What I do know about Argentina is limitedto three, major players. But really, you dontreally need to know much more.

First, they have the worlds best player inLionel Messi, who stars for Barcelona. Hebroke out, big time, this season, scoring 47

goals in all competitions. There is no doubthe is, right now, the most dangerous playeron the planet.

Following a close second? TeammateCarlos Tevez, who, if not for the human-highlight-reel Messi, might be garnering BestPlayer in the Game talk. Tevez transferredfrom Manchester United to cross-town rivalManchester City and flourished this season,scoring 28 times.

Tevez believes he may not warrant a spotin the starting lineup, but imagine a player

with firepower coming off the bench?The last, major X-factor for Argentina is

the manager Argentine legend DiegoMaradona. I believe the only thing that canstop Argentina from a deep run in the tourna-ment is Maradona. The guy is a nut job, toput it mildly, who barely got the team quali-fied for South Africa and has been in con-stant danger of losing his job from eitherthe teams performance or his own mouth.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail:[email protected] or by phone: (650)344-5200 ext. 117.


LOUNGE

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with Jay DeMerit against the English.Against the Socceroos, the U.S. was outshot

14-11 and conceded eight corner kicks whilegetting just three. Several Aussie corners andcrosses fell into the penalty area untouched.

Obviously theres been some mixing andmatching. But thats both in terms of injuries

and fitness, midfielder Stuart Holden said. Ithink that the friendlies have done a world ofgood in terms of jelling the backline togetherand helping everybody get reacquainted witheach other. And I think, come England, I thinkwell be more than prepared and everybodywill be ready to go.

Still, the defense hasnt been quite asimpressive during this cycle as in the previousfour years. The U.S. outscored opponents 42-16 in qualifying while the differential was 35-11 in the preliminaries for the 2006 WorldCup.

Weve done a few things in the last coupledays to get that better. I feel like were mov-ing in the right direction, goalkeeper TimHoward said after the Australia match. Thegame helped. I thought we played well. Youknow, weve watched some video. Weve done

some things on the training. So, yeah, its get-ting there. Its getting there.

Onyewu insists he will come back strongerthan he was before the injury. But with play-ers given the day off Monday, he has just fourtraining sessions to show hes ready for one ofthe bigger matches in U.S. soccer history.

I think it was smart to take things in stepswith me, and I feel confident right now. I dontthink that Ive shown in the last two gamesany signs of weakness in my game, he said.So Ill just have to wait until next Saturdayand see.


DEFENSE

I can get better out there, I think, Harpersaid. Anywhere they need me, Ill play. I justwant to make it and well see what happenswhen I get there.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Harper surpassedformer big league pitcher Alex Fernandez, whowent fourth overall to the Chicago White Sox in1990, as the highest-drafted JUCO player.

With the second overall pick, Pittsburghselected hard-throwing Texas high school right-

hander Jameson Taillon. He was considered bymany the top pitcher in the draft with a fastballin the mid- to upper-90s that overpowers hitterson a regular basis.

Theres a lot there to like, Pirates generalmanager Neal Huntington said.

Baltimore went next and picked smooth-field-ing Florida high school shortstop MannyMachado, who has drawn comparisons to AlexRodriguez for his ability and background.

Hes been a target guy for us all spring, saidJoe Jordan, the Orioles scouting director.

Cal State Fullerton shortstop Christian Colon

went to Kansas City at No. 4, and could end upplaying second base. Cleveland then grabbedOle Miss left-hander Drew Pomeranz, theSoutheastern Conference pitcher of the yearwith the Justin Bieber haircut and a 90-94 mphfastball.

Harper is expected to seek a record contractthrough his adviser,Scott Boras, who negotiateda record-breaking four-year, $15.1 million dealfor Strasburg. Last years top overall pick isscheduled to make his major league debutTuesday, almost a year to the day after he wasdrafted.

I cant remember where back-to-back yearswhere theres two players that have separatedthemselves from the rest of thefield,Rizzo said.

In that respect, it is very, very unique. I think itsa lucky time to have two No. 1 picks overall.

The Nationals have through Aug. 16 to signHarper, who has said he has plenty of options,including going back to Southern Nevada foranother year if negotiations go awry.

Hes a player that wants to get out and play,Rizzo said. Hes the type of guy that does notenjoy idle time.

Harper was the subject of a Sports Illustratedcover story while still in high school, and hasreportedly hit balls over 550 feet. A hitter has notgarnered that much national attention since pos-

sibly Florida States J.D. Drew, who went No. 2overall to Philadelphia in 1997 but didnt sign acontract.

Drew, also a Boras client, played in an inde-pendent league and signed the following yearafter he went fifth overall to St. Louis.

Texas A&M righty Barret Loux went sixth toArizona, a

06-08-2010 edition

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