NEW SPEAKER SHI’ITE COMES HOME BEARCATS SLIP LEADS HOUSE CLERIC WHO FOUGHT U.S. RETURNS TO IRAQ FROM EXILE PAST KNIGHTS NATION PAGE 6 WORLD PAGE 28 SPORTS PAGE 11 Thursday • Jan.6,2011 • Vol XI,Edition 122 www.smdailyjournal.com Mayor: Old Town ‘not’ a lost cause South City grapples with aftermath of triple homicide By Bill Silverfarb an alleyway off Linden Avenue in a Councilman Pedro Gonzalez, a 45- DAILY JOURNAL STAFF gang-related shooting that also left three year resident of Old Town, was at the others injured. crime scene Dec. 22 as he lives just a As friends and family of Hector Flores Since the killings, South San block away from the site of the triple gathered at his funeral yesterday after- Francisco Mayor Kevin Mullin and homicide. “It is time for parents to speak up,” noon to pay final respects to one of three other city officials have reached out to neighborhood residents to solicit assis- Gonzalez said. homicide victims in South San tance for a problem that cannot be It will take schools, nonprofit agen- Francisco Dec. 22, police are frantically solved by police alone. cies, police and leaders from within Old searching for his killer and city officials “This will take an entire community Town itself to come together to address are strategizing on how to bring calm to effort,” Mullin said. “We have to provide the gang activity, high dropout rates, a neighborhood that suffered five mur- vision for people in that neighborhood absentee landlords and teen pregnancy BILL SILVERFARB/DAILY JOURNAL ders in 2010. beyond their immediate circumstances. that prevail in the neighborhood, Friends and family of Hector Flores attend a funeral and Flores, 20, Omar Cortez, 18, and Heartbreak should not define the neigh- memorial yesterday for the 20-year-old who was slain in a triple Gonzalo Avalos, 19, were shot dead in borhood. Old Town is ‘not’ a lost cause.” See TOWN, Page 20 homicide in South San Francisco Dec.22. Fire victims share ideas on donations Most agree assistance should be given out promptly,but to who? By Heather Murtagh victims as DAILY JOURNAL STAFF soon as possible. Donations to help victims of the However, Sept. 9 San Bruno explosion and fire how the should be dispensed to those affect- money ed quickly, but who is on that list should be has yet to be determined. distributed and who is a victim were ERIK OEVERNDIEK/DAILY JOURNAL Last night, the San Bruno City not determined. Ideas generated will The owners of The Metropolitan Apartments in San Mateo are suing Douglas Ross Construction and its Council Donations Subcommittee be discussed by the full City subcontractors $20 million for shoddy construction and repairs. held its first meeting to collect ideas Council Tuesday, Jan. 11 when a on how $395,000 in donations to the decision could be made. victims should be dispensed. Most Metropolitan sues builder for $20M agreed the money should be given to See MONEY, Page 19 Owners of apartment complex claim shoddy construction,repairs Burlingame searching for By Michelle Durand beams and stairs at The and expected useful life.” DAILY JOURNAL STAFF Metropolitan Apartments, according The suit seeks damages “not less new school superintendent to the suit filed in San Mateo than $20 million” for repairs, By Heather Murtagh night. Judson The owners of twin four-story County Superior Court Dec. 28 by replacement, loss of rent and Kempson, assis- luxury apartments at the San Mateo owning companies San Mateo West decreased market value. DAILY JOURNAL STAFF tant superintend- Third Avenue gateway are suing the and San Mateo East. The apartments are two complex- ent of education- company that built them for no less Attorney Mark Sandberg did not es at 338 S. Fremont St. and 337 S. After two and a half years of lead- al services, was than $20 million, claiming it used return a call for greater details on Fremont St. in San Mateo. Each is ing Burlingame schools, named as the defective materials initially and later the nature of the construction prob- four stories, spreading 218 units Superintendent Dianne Talarico is interim for the failed to repair the mistakes proper- lems but in his filing ticks off sever- over the two lots which butt up to retiring immediately for health rea- remainder of the ly. al areas regarding the overall build- Third Avenue between Highway sons. school year. Douglas Ross Construction and ing and creating a “reasonably 101 and downtown. The Burlingame Elementary “It’s hard,” its subcontractors are responsible watertight system to allow for the The apartments opened in fall School District Board of Trustees Dianne Talarico said board for problems with everything from maintenance of the integrity of the accepted her letter of resignation decks and walkways to supporting building” and “achieve an intended See SUIT, Page 20 during a closed session Tuesday See SCHOOL, Page 20 2 Thursday • Jan.6,2011 FOR THE RECORD THE DAILY JOURNAL Quote of the Day Snapshot Inside “This will take an entire community Flower care effort....We have to provide vision for Turning down the thermostat people in that neighborhood beyond their helps cyclamens immediate circumstances.Heartbreak See page 18 should not define the neighborhood.Old Town is ‘not’a lost cause.” — South San Francisco Mayor Kevin Mullin “Mayor: Old Town ‘not’ a lost cause,” see page 1 Local Weather Forecast Wall Street Thursday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid Jump in 50s. North winds 5 to 10 mph. hiring sends Thursday night: Mostly clear. Lows in the bonds lower, lower 40s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph. stocks higher Friday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 50s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph. See page 10 Friday night: Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 40s. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph. Saturday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 50s. REUTERS Saturday night through Monday: Partly cloudy. Lows in the The annual Epiphany parade makes its way through central Madrid,Spain. lower 40s. Highs in the mid 50s. Lotto This Day in History Thought for the Day President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his “Simplicity is an acquired taste. Jan. 5 Super Lotto Plus Daily Four State of the Union address, outlined a Mankind, left free, instinctively complicates life.” goal of “Four Freedoms”: Freedom of — Katharine Fullerton Gerould, author (1879-1944) 12 26 31 38 41 23 7 2 8 3 1941 speech and expression; the freedom of Mega number people to worship God in their own way; Jan. 4 Mega Millions Daily three midday freedom from want; freedom from fear. Birthdays 4 8 15 25 47 42 9 1 0 In 1540, England’s King Henry VIII married his fourth wife, Mega number Daily three evening Anne of Cleves. (The marriage lasted about six months.) Fantasy Five In 1759, George Washington and Martha Dandridge Custis 1 4 4 were married in New Kent County, Va. 4 12 13 22 36 In 1838, Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail gave the first success- ful public demonstration of their telegraph, in Morristown, N.J. The Daily Derby race winners are Winning Spirit, In 1861, Florida militiamen seized the federal arsenal at No. 9, in first place; Gold Rush, No. 1, in second Chattahoochee. place;and Gorgeous George,No.8,in third place. In 1912, New Mexico became the 47th state. The race time was clocked at 1:40.32. In 1919, the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Comedian Rowan TV personality NBA player Gilbert Roosevelt, died in Oyster Bay, N.Y., at age 60. Atkinson is 56. Julie Chen is 41. Arenas is 29. In 1942, the Pan American Airways Pacific Clipper arrived in State . 5 Pollster Louis Harris is 90. Bluegrass performer Earl Nation . 5-7 New York more than a month after leaving California and fol- lowing a westward route. Scruggs is 87. Retired MLB All-Star Ralph Branca is 85. Opinion. 9 Author E.L. Doctorow is 80. Actress Bonnie Franklin is 67. Business . 10 In 1950, Britain recognized the Communist government of Musician Joey, the CowPolka King (Riders in the Sky) is 62. Sports . 11-16 China. Suburban Living . 17-19 In 1967, U.S. Marines and South Vietnamese troops launched Former FBI director Louis Freeh is 61. Rock singer-musician Datebook . 20 Operation Deckhouse Five, an offensive in the Mekong River Kim Wilson (The Fabulous Thunderbirds) is 60. Singer Jett Comics . 21 delta. Williams is 58. Rock musician Malcolm Young (AC-DC) is 58. Classifieds . 22-27 In 1982, truck driver William G. Bonin was convicted in Los World Golf Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez is 54. Rhythm-and- World . 28 Angeles of 10 of the “Freeway Killer” slayings of young men blues singer Kathy Sledge is 52. TV chef Nigella Lawson is and boys. (Bonin was later convicted of four other killings; he 51. Rhythm-and-blues singer Eric Williams (BLACKstreet) is Publisher Editor in Chief was executed in 1996.) 51. Movie composer A.R. Rahman (Film: “Slumdog Jerry Lee Jon Mays Ten years ago: With the vanquished Vice President Al Gore Millionaire”) is 45. Movie director John Singleton is 43. Actor [email protected] [email protected] presiding (in his capacity as president of the Senate), Congress Danny Pintauro (“Who’s the Boss?”) is 35. Actress Rinko formally certified George W. Bush the winner of the bitterly Kikuchi (Film: “Babel”) is 30. Rock singer Alex Turner Phone: . (650) 344-5200 Fax: (650) 344-5290 contested 2000 presidential election. (Arctic Monkeys) is 25. To Advertise:. [email protected] Classifieds: . [email protected] Events: . [email protected] Strange but True News: .