Barry Bonds is in deep trouble. That’s not news. Anytime you are charged with lying in front of a federal grand jury you’ve got a big problem. What makes Bonds’ situation difficult for those of us living on the Peninsula is the fact that he is a product of this area. He grew up here. He learned to play baseball here. As a kid in San Carlos, he played Little League ball and went on to nearby Serra High School in San Mateo where he became a legend. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, he had become one of the professional sport’s greatest stars. He would win a staggering seven Most Valuable Player awards and establish himself as the game’s all-time greatest home run slugger. But his accomplishments have been so severely tarnished _ whether he is found guilty of the pending charges or not _ that even his most loyal supporters, the people who know him best, have to be cringing today. It’s not pleasant by any means. No one wants to turn on a friend, or someone you thought you knew, someone you wanted to defend. But the evidence surrounding Bonds’ case appears to be overwhelming. It is impossible to ignore the implications of what seem to be very damning proof of his use of illicit performance-enhancing substances. Again, a lot of us don’t want to believe any of this. We have remained stubbornly in Bonds’ corner even as much of the rest of the country dumped him a long time ago. We looked the other way as his amazing records continued to pile up. No more. There is simply too much ammunition out there now. It’s not a happy day.

Miguel Araujo is an amateur politician. In fact, running for public office was not on his personal agenda at all. Araujo is a San Bruno businessman.
But two things occurred in that town earlier this year that got him activated. First, only two people, both incumbents, announced plans to seek seats on the San Bruno City Council in the November election. They had no opposition and were poised to waltz back into office sans any discussion whatsoever. Second, those same councilpersons were among a gaggle of key city officials who pushed for approval of Measure F, a half-cent San Bruno-only sales tax hike, in the same election. Well, Araujo’s attempt to knock off one of the incumbents failed as expected. But Measure F, despite the backing of the town’s authority figures and the Chamber of Commerce, may go down in flames. As the week came to a close, the results were still much too close to call. It was a dead heat. A recount was anticipated. And Araujo was really the only guy who put himself on the line in firm opposition to the tax increase. He got a lot of resistance from the establishment for that. He may yet prove to be successful. Amazing what one individual can do.