Did you notice our sign on Foothill Boulevard? Apparently the D wasn’t looking too secure. A couple of bolts that hold it on were sticking out too far for comfort, so they removed the letter in the name of public safety.

We’re supposed to get our D back soon, but until then I am a faithful scribe at the Hayward aily Review. That cheap shot you are thinking about taking? Go ahead if you really want to, but spare the obvious.

Perhaps you noticed, perhaps you didn’t, but I was on leave all last week. I’m getting caught up on goings on and have yet to watch the school board meeting replay.

But I did get a couple of e-mails regarding the start of the school year. There’s some concern over the larger class sizes, and some over lack of maintenance. I’d like to hear more — what have you seen so far this year, students, parents and teachers?

And it’s nice to see how popular the comment section has become!

This story will be in tomorrow’s business section. The real estate company that bought the mortgage for the huge building and parking garage on Foothill is still considering what to do with it.

“It could be a mixed-use property,” said Marco Chavez , principal executive with Burlingame-based Chavez Management Group. “There could be some other uses. We haven’t decided. We only own the note so far.”

It’s an important piece in revitalizing the Foothill strip. Even as office space, it brings a lot of potential customers to the area.

And in case you missed it, we ran this roundup on recent downtown developments over the weekend. Also, had a recent piece specific to the new Mexican supermarket and taqueria downtown.

Find a preview of tomorrow’s story below for the nitty-gritty on all the elections with extended filing periods.

Both former city officials said they have a lot of other community service opportunities, as well as professional and personal goals.

“I definitely believe in Hayward, and schools are a priority,” said Greg Jones. “I’m certainly interested in using leadership however I can. I thought this would be a good way to serve but it did not turn into that in my mind.”

Jones added that he is a flexible man, and has no regrets about leaving the city to pursue other goals. May said the same about her departure from the City Council, adding that the atmosphere could be “stifling.”

She quoted a line from her Facebook page: “The right team can make the most mundane task worthwhile. Similarly, the wrong team can make the most meaningful endeavor a complete waste of time.”

Here is the election update story:

 By Eric Kurhi and Jason Sweeney
Staff writers
ALAMEDA COUNTY — An anticipated run for the Hayward school board by former City Councilwoman Anna May and her fiance, former City Manager Greg Jones, did not materialize as the Wednesday deadline passed and they decided not to file.
In addition, two candidates for Hayward Unified — Sabrina Becerra and Gabriel Jimenez — withdrew from the race, leaving a field of Audie Bock, Lisa Brunner, Sue Lafferty, William McGee and incumbent Sheila Sims seeking two available seats. Read the rest of this entry »

After looking at the “About The HayWord” page, it appears that it’s time to revisit all of that info. Still lists Kim Santos as editor (she’s now at the Valley Times/Tri-Valley Herald), Jason Sweeney covers San Leandro and Kris Noceda left us last week. To those not in the Twitterverse – that’s where news breaks these days — Kris left the Review to join an online news group.

Yeah, we’re already missing him — not just because he’s a good reporter and a positive newsroom presence, but also because now we have to cover his beats until a new reporter is hired. In a nutshell, that means I’ll pick up Castro Valley, Fairview, Cherryland, Cal State and Chabot College stories; Jason Sweeney is going to tackle unincorporated crime items, San Lorenzo and Ashland.

Now then, please read this official policy. We’re going to start enforcing it. I honestly don’t have much time to play comment police, so if you post something unacceptable, I will have to put you in the spam queue. Then, when I have a chance, I’ll look at the spam queue and see if there’s anything there to post. That means you will not have the instant gratification of seeing your comment go live when you hit the post button, and I can’t guarantee what kind of lag time there will be. Here’s that policy:

Blog policy: While The HayWord welcomes lively discussion and tough criticism, personal attacks on writers or other readers are not allowed. Spam, obscene language, personal attacks or abusive hate speech are not allowed. You may not pose as another person when posting. Violators are subject to a ban. We recommend that posters to The HayWord use their full names when posting, to keep this forum reliable and encourage constructive discussion.

UPDATE #2: May, Jones NOT running. New post to come.

UPDATE: Becerra, Jimenez have withdrawn. Will update after 5 p.m. with final list of candidates.

According to the Registrar’s list, we have a field of three for the two year term, six so far for the four. Deadline is up for the shorter term race, but because incumbent Paul Frumkin III did not file for the four the period  is extended until 5 p.m. Wednesday. Here’s that field right now:

Hayward Unified School District VOTE FOR: 2
Filing Agency: Alameda County
1 SABRINA BECERRA  Filing Completed
2 AUDIE BOCK  Filing Completed
3 LISA G. BRUNNER, Papers filed
4 GABRIEL A. JIMENEZ Filing Completed
5 WILLIAM L. MCGEE, Papers filed
6 SHEILA SIMS Incumbent, Filing Completed

For the two year term, vote for one:
1 JESUS ARMAS Incumbent  Filing Completed
2 LAWRENCE M. M. FITZPATRICK, Papers filed
3 ANNETTE WALKER, Papers filed

At this point, there is no sign of the Anna May-Greg Jones “MayJo” bill. And remember, they were talking about getting a third person on that slate. Suspense, you end on Wednesday.

UPDATE: According to the AlCo Registrar of Voters, if an incumbent does not file for re-election the deadline is extended by five calendar days. That would mean the filing for the four-year HUSD seat will be open until 5 p.m. Aug. 11. While filing is free, there is a cost for candidates to get their name and statement on the sample ballot, related to how many mailings must go out to registered voters in the area. According to the registrar, that will be $1536.00 for Hayward Unified races. It’s considerably higher than in years past because there are a lot more people registered to vote – the result of the very popular 2008 presidential election.

Hayward Unified board President Paul Frumkin III announced he will not be running for re-election come November, in part because of the unpleasant tone that board meetings have taken.

“In the last 18 months, I have found myself becoming increasingly frustrated with the inappropriate behavior and antics (including some name calling) that occurs behind the dais during the board meetings,” he wrote in an e-mail. “This is no way to conduct business! … I am also disappointed that no one from the Hayward community has publicly come forward to challenge and denounce this behavior. What is conveyed to our children when ‘silence’ is the message?”

Read the full e-mail after the jump. There are two four-year seats and one two-year seat that will be available come November.  As of Tuesday morning, the field looks like this:

Four-year seat:

SABRINA BECERRA and GABRIEL A. JIMENEZ have filed papers as challengers to incumbent SHEILA SIMS.