www.smdailyjournal.comFriday

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Aug 19,2011

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Vol XII,Edition 2

SQUEEZE PLAY

WORLD PAGE 7

GIANTS IN ABIGSLUMP

SPORTSPAGE 11

NEW ‘CONAN THEBARBARIAN’WEAK

WEEKEND JOURNAL PAGE 18

U.S.,ALLIES DECLARE THAT SYRIA’S ASSADMUST LEAVE

By Bill Silverfarb

DAILY JOURNAL STAFF

Children are increasingly abusing coughsyrup to “robotrip”but may have a hardertime buying the over-the-counter drugs if Gov. Jerry Brown signs a bill that passed outof the state Legislature yesterday.Senate Bill 514,authored by state Sen. JoeSimitian,D-Palo Alto,will prohibit the sale of over-the-counter cold andcough medicine contain-ing dextromethorphan tominors if Brown signs itinto law.Since the medicine cancurrently be purchasedlegally by minors,it ispopular as a recreationaldrug,known by the streetnames DXM,robo,skittles,triple C,vitaminC,dex and tussin. “Robotripping”is a termcoined to describe the high one gets from thedrug. The abuse of it among minors hasincreased 850 percent in the past 10 years,making it the most commonly reported typeof abuse among the age group,according toWebMD.Simitian ﬁrst proposed the bill seven yearsago but faced stiff opposition from theConsumer Healthcare Products Association atthe time. The association represents coughsyrup manufacturers.The group,however,is now on board withthe legislation.In addition to supporting both state and fed-eral initiatives to impose age restrictions,theleading makers of cough medicine introducedan educational icon on the packaging of

Law targets ‘robotripping’

Cough syrup abuse high among children,legislationwould limit over-the-counter sales

Joe Simitian

HEATHER MURTAGH/DAILY JOURNAL

Above

:A man changes the Clarion sign in Millbrae Thursday to advertise the liquidation sale.

Below

:Stacks of small coffeemachines,clock radios and irons are just some of the possible buys at the sale at the hotel in Millbrae which started Thursday.

Caltrain movescloser to naminga new operator

DAILY JOURNAL STAFF REPORT

Amtrak will no longer run Caltrain if the Peninsula JointPowers Board sides with staff and names TransitAmericaServices the rail service’s new operator at its next meeting.Amtrak has operated the system since 1992,when the boardassumed responsibility for the 148-year-old commuter line.The staff recommendation to choose TransitAmerica isbased on a competitive process that extended more than 15months and included evaluation of five proposals from railmanagement firms.The proposal presented by TransitAmerica received a con-sensus top ranking. Proposals were scored in three major areasof criteria — the management,operations and maintenanceplan; the cost proposal; and the qualifications and experienceof the firm and key personnel proposed by the firm as the man-agement team for the Caltrain service.The first full year,fiscal year 2012-13,of the five-year con-tract is for $62.5 million,within the projected Caltrain operat-ing and capital budgets. Subsequent contract amounts are sub- ject to annual negotiations,according to Caltrain.With a transition to a new rail contractor,federal regulations

San Carlos may extendban on massage permits

By Michelle Durand

DAILY JOURNAL STAFF

San Carlos’top law enforcement ofﬁcial wants the city toextend an emergency ban on new massage permits for a fullyear in hopes of crafting a new permanent ordinance thatallows legitimate operators to open businesses while sifting outhubs of prostitution.Sheriff’s Capt. Greg Rothaus,head of the San Carlos PatrolBureau,will ask the City Council next week to stretch an exist-ing 45-day urgency moratorium for another 10 months and 15days which is the maximum allowed under the government

By Heather Murtagh

DAILY JOURNAL STAFF

Looking for a few dozen white bath towels at$3 a pop?What about an individual coffee pot for thatstudent who will soon be experiencing dorm life?How about $10? While shopping,don’t forget tograb an iron for $10,a hair dryer for $8 and aframed print of the Golden Gate on a foggy dayfor $25. It’s not a massive yard sale,although it isa liquidation. The Clarion Hotel in Millbrae willsoon be revamped,but ﬁrst the items inside willbe sold off. The 21-day sale started Thursday.Those interested should stop by the hotel at 401

Everything must go

Clarion hotel liquidation sale starts,first step to renovation

See

SALE

,Page

See

MASSAGE

,Page

See

CALTRAIN

,Page

See

ABUSE

,Page

FOR THE RECORD2

Friday

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Aug 19,2011

THEDAILYJOURNAL

State. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Nation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7World. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-15Auto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-17Weekend Journal. . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-24Comics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Classiﬁeds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-31

PublisherEditor in Chief

Jerry LeeJon Mays jerry@smdailyjournal.comjon@smdailyjournal.comPhone:. . . . . . . . . . . . (650) 344-5200 Fax:(650) 344-5290To Advertise:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ads@smdailyjournal.comClassiﬁeds:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ads@smdailyjournal.comEvents:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . calendar@smdailyjournal.comNews:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . news@smdailyjournal.comDelivery:. . . . . . . . . . . . . circulation@smdailyjournal.comCareer:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . info@smdailyjournal.com800 S. Claremont St.,Ste. 210,San Mateo,Ca. 94402

Actor JonathanFrakes is 59.

This Day in HistoryInsideSnapshotThought for the Day

1991

Strange but True

Soviet hard-liners made the stunningannouncement that President Mikhail S.Gorbachev had been removed frompower.

In 1812,

the USS Constitution defeated the British frigateGuerriere off Nova Scotia during the War of 1812.

In 1909

,the ﬁrst automobile races were run at the just-openedIndianapolis Motor Speedway.

In 1934,

a plebiscite in Germany approved the vesting of soleexecutive power in Adolf Hitler.

In 1936

,the ﬁrst of a series of show trials orchestrated bySoviet leader Josef Stalin began in Moscow as 16 defendantsfaced charges of conspiring against the government (all wereconvicted and executed).

In 1942,

during World War II,about 6,000 Canadian andBritish soldiers launched a disastrous raid against theGermans at Dieppe,France,suffering more than 50-percentcasualties.

In 1951,

the owner of the St. Louis Browns,Bill Veeck (vehk),sent in Eddie Gaedel,a 3-foot-7 midget,to pinch-hit in a gameagainst Detroit. (In his only major league at-bat,Gaedelwalked on four pitches and was replaced at ﬁrst base by apinch-runner.)

In 1960

,a tribunal in Moscow convicted American U2 pilotFrancis Gary Powers of espionage. (Although sentenced to 10years’imprisonment,Powers was returned to the United States

in 1962

as part of a prisoner exchange.)

In 1976,

President Gerald R. Ford won the Republican presi-dential nomination at the party’s convention in Kansas City.

In 1980

,301 people aboard a Saudi Arabian L-1011 died asthe jetliner made a ﬁery emergency return to the Riyadh air-port.

In 1991

,rioting erupted in the Brooklyn,N.Y.,Crown Heightsneighborhood after a black 7-year-old,Gavin Cato,was struck and killed by a Jewish driver from the ultra-OrthodoxLubavitch community; three hours later,a gang of blacksfatally stabbed Yankel Rosenbaum,a rabinnical student.

Ten years ago:

An underground methane and coal dust explo-sion in Ukraine killed 55 miners. Donald Woods,a veteranSouth African newspaper editor and apartheid opponent,diedin Sutton,England,at age 67. Soul singer Betty Everett diedin Beloit,Wis.,at age 61. Davis Toms won the PGAChampionship in Duluth,Ga.,with a 1-under-par 69.“Cheer up!The worst is yet to come!”— Philander Chase Johnson,American author (1866-1939)

Former PresidentBill Clinton is 65.Actor MatthewPerry is 42.

Nebraska jail adoptstwo cats for inmates

NORTH PLATTE,Neb. — ANebraska jail has adopted two cats froma local animal shelter,and the sheriff says they’re helping lower tensions.Sheriff Jerome Kramer in LincolnCounty decided to have his jail adoptNemo and Sarge from a local animalshelter after inmates beginning volun-teering there.Jerome told North Platte televisionstation KNOP that he thought the ani-mals would help the inmates be lessdestructive. He noted that studies showpets can help relieve stress.Jail ofﬁcials put Nemo in the work release cell block. Sarge moved to theminimum security area.The cats have been a hit. Kramer saidinmates eagerly await their turn to takecare of the animals.Inmate Guy Meyers said the cats“bring out the soft part in you,just likeyour kids do.”

Officials clean uptoilet-papered Idaho river

LEWISTON,Idaho — A river inIdaho has finally run out of toilet paper.State environment officials say crewsfinished removing massive rolls of unprocessed toilet paper that fell off atruck and were lodged for weeks in theupper Lochsa River.Earlier attempts to pull out the paperwas called off when it began disintegrat-ing,creating an even bigger mess.Department of Environmental officialJohn Cardwell says teams yanked outthe remnants last weekend when lowerriver flows made the work more man-ageable.The Lewiston Tribune reports crewswrapped the rolls with a reinforced meshbefore they were pulled out by a towtruck.The rolls landed in the water after thetruck hauling the load along U.S.Highway 12 slid into the river. The driv-er was cited for inattentive driving.

Minn.boy makes $50Khockey shot,but will it pay?

FARIBAULT,Minn. — An 11-year-old Minnesota boy has made an astound-ing hockey shot — sending a puck into atiny hole 89 feet away.The shot at a charity game should beworth $50,000,but there’s one problem:Nate Smith was standing in for his iden-tical twin,Nick.Nick Smith says he was outside whenhis ticket was drawn to make the shotThursday at the charity game inFaribault. So,his brother stepped in.Nate Smith says he was “stunned”when the puck went in.Their father told organizers Nate,notNick,made the shot. Pat Smith sayshonesty is the best policy.The general manager of the companythat insured the rafﬂe says processingclaims takes about three weeks and hecan’t make a decision on payment untilhe’s done.

Birthdays

PETER MOOTZ/DAILY JOURNAL

San Mateo firefighters present a $1,500 check at a Foster City fire stationyesterday to the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation,which provides treatmentand rehabilitation for burn victims.The firefighters were participating in aburn relay,which began at Moffet Field and ended in San Francisco,to raisemoney for the foundation.

Brain chips

IBM pursueschips thatbehave likehuman mind

See page 5

Wall Street

U.S.stock futurestumble,followingglobal markets

See page 10

Friday

:Mostly cloudy. Patchy fog in themorning. Highs in the lower to mid 60s.West winds 5 to 15 mph.

Friday night:

Mostly cloudy. Patchy fogand drizzle after midnight. Lows in thelower 50s. Southwest winds 5 to 15 mph.

Saturday:

Mostly cloudy in the morningthen becoming partly cloudy. Patchy fog and drizzle in themorning. Highs in the lower 60s. Southwest winds 5 to 10mph.

Saturday night

:Partly cloudy in the evening.

“We heard a shot and saw a window explode.I didn’t really understand what was happening at ﬁrst....After another shot,there was chaos in the bus and everyone jumped on everyone else.”

— Idan Kaner

“Gunmen kill eight Israelis,”see page 8

Local Weather ForecastLottoQuote of the Day

The Daily Derby race winners are No.11 MoneyBags in ﬁrst place;No.09 Winning Spirit in sec-ond place;and No.10 Solid Gold in third place. The race time was clocked at 1:45.10.

Actor L.Q. Jones is 84. Actress Debra Paget is 78. USTAEastern Tennis Hall of Famer Renee Richards is 77. FormerMLB All-Star Bobby Richardson is 76. Actress Diana Muldauris 73. Rock musician Ginger Baker (Cream,Blind Faith) is 72.Singer Johnny Nash is 71. Actress Jill St. John is 71. Actor andformer U.S. senator Fred Thompson is 69. Singer Billy J.Kramer is 68. Country singer-songwriter Eddy Raven is 67.Rock singer Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) is 66. Tipper Gore,wifeof former Vice President Al Gore,is 63. Actor GeraldMcRaney is 63. Rock musician John Deacon (Queen) is 60.Political consultant Mary Matalin is 58. Actor Peter Gallagheris 56. Actor Adam Arkin is 55. Singer-songwriter GaryChapman is 54. Actor Martin Donovan is 54. Pro FootballHall-of-Famer Anthony Munoz is 53. Rhythm-and-bluessinger Ivan Neville is 52. Actor Eric Lutes is 49. Actor JohnStamos is 48. Actress Kyra Sedgwick is 46. Actor Kevin Dillonis 46. Country singer Lee Ann Womack is 45. TV reporterTabitha Soren is 44. Country singer-songwriter Mark McGuinn is 43. Country singer Clay Walker is 42. Rapper FatJoe is 41. Olympic gold medal tennis player Mary JoeFernandez is 40. Actress Tracie Thoms is 36. Country singerRissi Palmer is 30. Actress Erika Christensen is 29. Pop singerMissy Higgins is 28. Country singer Karli Osborn is 27.Olympic silver medal snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis is 26.Actor J. Evan Bonifant is 26. Rapper Romeo is 22.

(Answers tomorrow)FLUTE FLOOD BALLETBEHAVEYesterday’sJumbles:Answer:They bought the subdivision parcel becausethey thought it had this — ALOTOFVALUENow arrange the circled lettersto form the surprise answer, assuggested by the above cartoon.

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME

by David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek

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

YORWRONOHRELYLGAEDSITV

S i g n U p f o r t h e I A F L O F C I ( O F F I C I A L ) J u m b l e F a c e b o o k f a n c l u b

”“

14 17 20 34 44 18

Mega number

3 0 2

Aug.17 Super Lotto Plus

4 38 41 42 43 44

Mega number

Aug.16 Mega Millions

12 32 33 37 38

Fantasy FiveDaily three midday

589 1

Daily Four

2 5 0

Daily three evening

Friday

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Aug 19,2011

THEDAILYJOURNAL

LOCAL

BURLINGAME

Theft

. A wheelbarrow was stolen on the 1100 block of Covelly Lane before 6:37 p.m. Friday,Aug. 12.

Burglary

. Someone reported a pressure washer was takenfrom a basement on the 1400 block of Alvarado Avenue before2:56 p.m. Thursday,Aug. 11.

Theft

. An unknown suspect took a wallet and a package froman unlocked delivery truck on the 500 block of Almer Roadbefore 4:15 p.m. Thursday,July 28.

Burglary

. Two adult suspects took a stereo from a vehicle and

ﬂ

ed in a red Ford Explorer on the 1600 block of Rollins Roadbefore 1:23 p.m. Thursday,July 28.

Theft

. A necklace was reported stolen by a patient on the1700 block of California Drive before 10:07 a.m. Thursday,July 28.

Vandalism

. A woman reported that her vehicle had beenegged for the second time in two weeks on the 300 block of Chapin Lane before 9:27 a.m. Thursday,July 28.

FOSTER CITY

Burglary

. A purse was taken from a locked vehicle on BeachPark Boulevard before 8:09 a.m. Monday,Aug. 15.

Grand theft.

Jewelry was found missing on Port RoyalAvenue before 9:06 a.m. Monday,Aug. 15.

Burglary

. Employees of Orchard Supply Hardware noti

ﬁ

edtheir manager of someone who stole tools and was last seen ina Subaru with no plates,on Metro Center Boulevard before7:09 p.m. Monday,Aug. 15.

Burglary

. Jewelry,designer handbags,an XBox and games,totaling approximately $5,000,were stolen from a residenceon Foster City Boulevard before 11:45 p.m. Monday,Aug. 15.

SAN CARLOS

Vehicle accident-injury.

A vehicle accident with an injurywas reported on the corner of Chestnut Street and San CarlosAvenue before 3:43 p.m. Tuesday,August 16.

Fraud

. Fraud was reported on the 100 block of Vine Streetbefore 3:01 p.m. Tuesday,August 16.

Threats

. A 46 year old Redwood City man was arrested formaking threats on the 1800 block of El Camino Real before6:05 a.m. Tuesday,August 16.

Robbery

. A robbery was reported on the 1100 block of Industrial Road before 8:40 p.m. Friday,Aug. 12.

Vandalism

. Vandalism was reported on the 800 block of Tamarack Avenue before 11:19 a.m. Friday,Aug. 12.

Police reports

Unwanted mess

A woman reported that she found feces on her vehicle onComet Drive in San Carlos before 11:33 a.m. Saturday,July 30. She reported that notes had been left on her vehi-cle in the past from someone in the neighborhood.

By Heather Murtagh

DAILY JOURNAL STAFF

Only one challenger

ﬁ

led againstthe incumbents on the San BrunoCity Council,but he needed to with-draw since he was not a registeredvoter in the city.San Bruno had two possible posi-tions for which a candidate could run— a two-year term as mayor or oneof two four-year seats on the CityCouncil. On Friday,Aug. 12,thedeadline to

ﬁ

le,businessmanConstantino Anezinos turned inpapers for the latter making the racecontested. On Wednesday,Anezinoswas pulled from the race because hewasn’t a registered voter in SanBruno,said City Clerk Carol Bonner.Any measure or candidate could bewithdrawn from the election byWednesday’s

ﬁ

nal

ﬁ

ling deadline andnot show up on the ballot,said coun-ty Elections Manager David Tom.Anezinos,who moved to the citynine months ago,collected his signa-tures and then changed his voter reg-istration address. Afterward,Anezinos was advised that since hewasn’t a registered San Bruno voterat the time he collected the signa-tures,the paperwork did not meet therequirements.While Anezinos understands therules,he was disappointed that resi-dents would no longer have a choice.This means Vice Mayor MichaelSalazar and Councilwoman IreneO’Connell will each serve for thenext four years.Salazar described the news as goodand bad. Having a contested electionwould have given him the chance toactually be elected for the position.Salazar was originally appointed tothe council in 2009.O’Connell,who was

ﬁ

rst elected in1995,was sad that Anezinos wouldn’tbe able to run. She noted there aremany other ways to support and getinvolved with the city like variouscommissions.Anezinos does plan to becomeinvolved and run for the City Councilin 2013.On the bright side,not having anelection means saving about $80,000for the city,he said.Mayor Jim Ruane,who wasunchallenged,will serve another twoyears. San Bruno is the only city inthe county that has a separate electionfor mayor. All other cities rotate themayor position among councilmem-bers.First elected in 1995,Ruane suc-cessfully ran for mayor in 2009 afterlongtime mayor Larry Franzellaopted not to run. Ruane’s win left anopening on the council. Salazar wasappointed to

ﬁ

ll the term.

No San Bruno council race

Challenger withdraws,leaving election uncontested

BAY CITY NEWS SERVICE

The National TransportationSafety Board will hold a meetingin Washington,D.C.,later thismonth to discuss a draft finalreport on the investigation into theSept. 9 gas pipeline explosion inSan Bruno.Lead investigators will presenttheir findings on the explosion tothe five-member board on Aug. 30,NTSB spokesman Peter Knudsonsaid.The presentation will cover top-ics including what caused thepipeline to rupture,the emergencyresponse,and the human toll of thetragedy,which killed eight peopleand destroyed 38 homes.Board members will ask ques-tions and discuss the findings,Knudson said.Revisions will then be made tothe draft before the NTSB issues afinal version of the report,aprocess that typ-ically takes acouple of weeks,Knudson said.San BrunoMayor JimRuane,CityManager ConnieJackson andother city offi-cials will betraveling to the Capitol to attendthe meeting,Jackson said.“We think it’s incredibly impor-tant that we’re there to hear andunderstand the board members’discussion and their final action onthe report,”Jackson said.No advance information aboutthe content of the report will bereleased before it is presented tothe board,Jackson said.“We don’t know what the resultswill be,”she said. “We’ll hear themat the same time everybody elsedoes at the board meeting.”

Mayor to travel to D.C. forpipeline explosion hearing

Jim Ruane