The Insider

San Mateo County gets into Prop. 8 fight

Aaron Kinney — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:32:41 +0000

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera just sent out a press release welcoming the county of San Mateo into the fight over the constitutionality of the Prop. 8 victory, following a unanimous vote this morning by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. According to the release, San Mateo County is the fifth jurisdiction in California [...]

So you did live in Burlingame!

Aaron Kinney — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:48:41 +0000

Ed Jew admitted today in state court that he lived in the ‘Game, not in San Francisco, when he ran for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. The Insider, you may recall, has had a bit of an fixation with respect to Mr. Jew. Previous posts here, here [...]

Newsweek’s 1978 Jonestown issue

Aaron Kinney — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:35:40 +0000

The Times, in preparation for Sunday’s story on the 30th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre, got ahold of a copy of the Dec. 4, 1978, issue of Newsweek magazine, which featured a 26-page special report on the calamity that unfolded that Nov. 18. It was an impressive and comprehensive report, and we’ll get to it in [...]

Eshoo looks ahead to Obama administration

Aaron Kinney — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:05:29 +0000

Rep. Anna Eshoo plans to be right in the middle of an ambitious Democratic agenda when President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January. Eshoo anticipates that, besides shoring up the faltering economy, Obama’s priorities are likely to include a health care plan, a “safe and honorable” withdrawal from Iraq, energy security and climate change. Those last two [...]

From the notebook: More local reactions to Obama win

Aaron Kinney — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 22:32:18 +0000

Before Barack Obama’s election win recedes too far in the rearview mirror, here’s a couple bits of local reaction that didn’t make it into the paper. In the photo above, Karen Cunningham, sporting a Barack Obama T-shirt, was captured celebrating the Democratic Party’s historic night at the victory party for Rep. Jackie Speier in Burlingame. Meanwhile, [...]

Wackiness in Half Moon Bay school district race

Aaron Kinney — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 01:28:21 +0000

No election in Half Moon Bay would be complete without at least a small dose of small-town silliness, and this season’s Cabrillo Unified School District board race is no exception. School board challenger Ken Johnson suffered a blow in the public relations department after taking control of a URL that used to belong to John [...]

Dirty deeds alleged in Pacifica

Aaron Kinney — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:36:14 +0000

A potentially embarrassing lawsuit filed against the city of Pacifica by former finance director Maureen Lennon reared its head at a recent Times editorial meeting with three City Council candidates. Challenger Tod Schlesinger cited the suit in alleging that Pacifica’s city government does not operate with sufficient transparency and even engages in wrongdoing behind closed doors. Schlesinger [...]

Judith Christensen has her guard up

Aaron Kinney — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:15:22 +0000

In September, a campaign committee called “Safe Streets and Quality Neighborhoods in Daly City” was formed to oppose Judith Christensen, who is running for re-election, and supports incumbent Sal Torres and neophyte David Canepa. So far, the committee, which consists of Daly City firefighters and police officers, has kept mum. Christensen anticipates that it will release a [...]

Keira Knightley and Lula Lu

Aaron Kinney — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:22:58 +0000

The owner of a local lingerie store for petite women has spoken up in response to a report in a British tabloid that actress Keira Knightley refused to allow producers to digitally enhance her cleavage for a poster promoting “The Duchess,” her new film. Ellen Shing, owner of Lula Lu in downtown San Mateo, issued a [...]

Eshoo on Ayers

Aaron Kinney — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:10:27 +0000

One of the big questions in advance of tonight’s third and final presidential debate is whether John McCain will bring up William Ayers, the former member of the radical Weather Underground with whom Barack Obama has had intermittent contact during his political career. McCain and running mate Sarah Palin have made a major issue of Ayers [...]