Look on the Bright Side

Times are bleak these days, and with news of H1N1 Type A (swine flu) making headlines worldwide this week, the picture got a few more shades shy of rosy.

Choose to see things through optimistic eyes, because resources are being made available to you. Here's a run-through of the events taking this weekend and next you may want to consider attending, or attending to.

Tomorrow, in preparation for weed inspections beginning on Monday, April 4th, is your chance to bring all your green waste to the Public Works Dept.'s corporation yard, located just over Tunnel Ave. Bridge, at 1020 Tunnel Rd. As you may recall, June 22nd marked a truly frightening day in Brisbane history, when a major wildland fire erupted in Owl Canyon, eventually making its way towards the homes located near the top of the "bowl" in Central Brisbane. Much of this was due to the Mountain's heavy fuel load - overgrown vegetation and brush. The Fire Dept. has instructed all hazardous brush and weeds be removed, with the primary goal being eliminate weeds from the interface between wild areas and developed property. So please, please do your part and bring your green waste to the corp. yard between 9:00am - noon tomorrow.

The nation's financial woes also didn't get any rosier with its 3rd-largest automaker filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday. However, this may prove to be a opportunity for Chrysler, which is pinning its future on a top-to-bottom reorganization and plans to build cleaner cars through an alliance with Italian automaker Fiat. Simiarly, opportunities for the City can be afforded...but a clear picture of the City's current financials is needed first. A two-year budget is scheduled to be adopted in May, with a City Council Budget Workshop taking place this Sunday, May 3rd, in the conference room at City Hall - 50 Park Place. The call to order will be at 9:00am, where an overview of the revenues, expenditures, and long-term projections will be presented. Budget Workshops continue the next night on Monday, May 4th, at 7:30pm with a number of departments (City Attorney, Police, Public Works, Marina & Aquatic Services, and Parks & Recreation) presenting their budgets, which include a 5% decrease in supplies and services. Fire, Community Development, Administrative Services, City Council, City Management, and City Clerk will present their budgets the following week, on May 11th (with also a 7:30pm meeting start time).

Lastly, the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County will be hosting a Housing Resource Fair next Saturday, May 9th, at Westmoor High School in Daly City. Learn more about the event and RSVP by clicking here.