Firefighters have rescued a young seal who was found in a Redwood City parking garage.

The five-month-old northern fur seal, now named “Santos,” was found Sunday morning in the Marshall Street parking garage. The garage is about a block and a half from Redwood Creek, one way the young pinniped may have accessed the garage. The fire department was called.

“Five-month-old Santos made it back to the fire station, where he posed for pictures and took a nap,” the department said Sunday on its Instagram account.

A Marine Mammal Center crew picked up the young seal in Redwood City and brought him back to the Sausalito facility, where he will be treated and monitored, with the goal being to release him back into the ocean.

— Bay City News

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A Menlo Park man was arrested on suspicion of DUI after flipping a car on a ramp between Woodside Road and Highway 101 in Redwood City, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The 28-year-old man was driving a 2007 Acura MDX that rolled on the Woodside Road on-ramp about 3:45 a.m. Saturday, the CHP said.

After the wreck, the driver fled the scene and was found at his home in Menlo Park, the CHP said.

No injuries were reported in the crash and no other vehicles were involved, the CHP said.

— Bay City News

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BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer

A registered sex offender is facing new criminal charges after he texted and called a 17-year-old girl nonstop, provided her with alcohol, and after she blacked out, ditched her in the Redwood City Whole Foods parking lot, a prosecutor said.

Joshua Andrew Reveles, 29, of Burlingame, went up to the girl on Nov. 3, asked if she wanted some alcohol, and when she declined, requested her cellphone number, said San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

The girl gave Reveles her number, and he began texting and calling her repeatedly, saying how much he wanted to perform intimate acts on her. Reveles also told the teen that he had connections in Las Vegas and the fashion industry, and that she should go to Vegas with him, Wagstaffe said.

On Nov. 23, the girl got off work and saw Reveles nearby. He again offered her alcohol and she drank some, Wagstaffe said. The girl blacked out, because the booze was drugged, and she does not recall what happened after until she woke up in the parking lot of the Whole Foods at El Camino Real and Jefferson Avenue, Wagstaffe said.

The girl’s family used a phone tracking app to find her.

The teen’s brother saw a man, later identified as Reveles, put her on the ground in the parking lot, get into a running car, and leave, Wagstaffe said.

However, the girl and her family did not go to police about this incident.

A few days later, Reveles began texting the girl again, and showed up to her work on Nov. 30 with her work apron. In the apron’s pocket was a jewelry box with a necklace inside.

The texting continued, with Reveles telling the girl to get emancipated and leave with him, Wagstaffe said.

The girl and her family did not report any of these incidents to Redwood City police until Monday, Wagstaffe said.

Because Reveles was on parole, Redwood City police were able to track his electronic ankle bracelet to the locations, and confirm parts of the girl’s story.

So far, Reveles is charged with felony contact with a minor for sexual purposes and arranging a meeting with a minor to have sex. The investigation of the case is ongoing, Wagstaffe said.

Reveles has been convicted twice before — once in Yolo County in 2013 and in San Mateo County in 2015 for similar charges.

Because of those convictions, Reveles is facing his third strike, Wagstaffe said. This means he will face a long sentence if found guilty in this case.

Reveles is in jail in lieu of $1 million and will be in court again on Feb. 7.

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BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer

The father of a Roosevelt School student is suing the Redwood City School District, claiming administrators were aware of an ongoing bullying problem that culminated in his daughter being attacked during lunch.

The girl’s father claims in a lawsuit, filed Dec. 20 in San Mateo County Superior Court, that the issue between his daughter and her alleged bully had gone on since the sixth grade, and that he repeatedly contacted Principal Tina Mercer to get the bullying to stop.

The Post reached out to school officials, who did not respond.

Mercer allegedly did not do anything about the parent’s complaints, and was told in January by the alleged bully that she was mad at the girl and was going to “beat her a**,” the lawsuit states.

Mercer didn’t tell the alleged victim’s parents or warn teachers about the coming attack, the suit claims. The principal also failed to investigate the issue or discipline the alleged bully, the suit further contends.

Attacked during lunch

On Feb. 1, the girl was attacked by the alleged bully during lunch, the suit said. The victim was playing catch when the girl came up to her from behind, and began to attack her, kneeing her in the head, punching her in the face and pulling her hair, according to the lawsuit.

After the attack, Mercer told the victim’s parents about the threat that had been made before the attack.

On March 25, the victim returned to school on a part time basis after getting a restraining order against her alleged bully.

However, it appeared to the girl’s parents that teachers and other school employees did not know about the restraining order because the alleged victim was “inexplicably seated next” to her alleged bully in one of her classes on her first day back, the lawsuit says.

Light punishment

The lawsuit also claims that the alleged attacker did not face a suitable punishment, only having to eat lunch in the school office for a week.

The father filed a legal claim, which is required to be filed before a lawsuit against a governmental body, on June 25 and was rejected by the district on June 27.

The father didn’t put a dollar figure for the damages he’s seeking. His suit says his daughter is owed “a safe, secure and peaceful educational environment, free from unwanted harassment, bullying threats, violence and unwanted physical contact.”

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BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer

A sex registrant was arrested in Redwood City after he tried to lure a 12 year old and 14 year old into his van, police said.

He’s since been released from jail on bail.

Ignace Rothschild, 60, was arrested on New Year’s Eve after he approached the two children at the corner of Lagoon Drive and Marine Parkway, said Lt. Casey Donovan.

Rothschild drove away after one of the children’s mothers arrived, Donovan said. Police found the van, a 2012 silver Toyota Sienna with tinted windows and a curtain dividing the front seats with the rest of the vehicle, at a nearby condo complex and found Rothschild, said Donovan.

According to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, Rothschild has been arrested a handful of times:

• in 2010 for not registering as a sex offender in Hillsborough;

• in 2015 for a DUI and,

• in 1996 for indecent exposure to a child.

Rothschild was arrested this most recent time for not registering as a sex offender and molesting or annoying a child under 18, said Capt. John Gunderson.

Rothschild has bailed out of jail and does not currently have a court date.

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BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer

The Redwood City Port Commission is looking to create a ferry depot that looks like a cruise ship terminal, based on San Francisco’s Port.

Port officials want to make the future ferry terminal, slated for the tip of the port, next to the Cemex and the Pacific Shores Center, “a great experience for the rider” and to be more than just a public transit loading dock, according to a report released on Thursday (Jan. 9).

Ferry services would be both private and public, according to the report. This could include the public transit ferry service called WETA, the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority, and private ferries or tours.

Having private ferries would not be a new scene at the Redwood City port, as company PropSF has run a few pilot programs out of the port for Facebook and Google commuters in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2019.

Consultants are conducting a cost-benefit analysis of ferry services. They want to identify the benefits ferry service would provide, whether a ferry would induce development, and how long it would take to get a return on the investment in a ferry port.

Next month, the city may be entering into a contract with WETA for a ferry facility project and ferry services, Community Development Director Mark Muenzer told the Post last week.

A cost estimate for how much it would take to build the terminal has not yet been released.
According to a WETA report from 2016, a ferry terminal could come to the Redwood City port as soon as 2021. However, in March, WETA employees said that the timing may be uncertain because the money the ferry service would get from the June 2018 ballot measure that raised bridge tolls is currently tied up in lawsuits.

It’s possible however that a private ferry operator may come in and run a commuter ferry short-term, at least to San Francisco and Oakland for the time being, according to the port report.

Other short-term plans for a potential ferry terminal would include a covered walkway and waiting area, potential tours of the bay and having food or retail carts set up near the depot.

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BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer

A woman who appeared on the game show “Deal or No Deal” and won $400,000 while police were looking for her was sentenced Wednesday (Jan. 15) to three years and four months in prison for cheating a 66-year-old Redwood City woman out of her home in a reverse mortgage scam, a prosecutor said.

Tonika Miller, 34, of Studio City, had pleaded no contest to two counts of grand theft and filing a false document on Nov. 15. Miller’s case is next set for April 28, where the court will discuss a receivership for Miller’s game show winnings and potential restitution to her victim, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Al Serrato.

Miller appeared on an episode of “Deal or No Deal” that aired on June 12. On the show, Miller told host Howie Mandel that she loves playing the board game Monopoly with her family and that she plans to go all-in just like she does with her family. Ultimately, Miller won $400,000 and a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica on the game.

Miller was arrested over the summer, after which authorities learned about her TV appearance.

Miller was wanted in San Mateo County at the time of her “Deal or No Deal” appearance in connection to a scam she and actor Justin Hall, 37, of Van Nuys, allegedly pulled on a 66-year-old woman.

Reverse mortgage scam

The scam is believed to have begun on July 23, 2018, just a few weeks before the tax collector was to auction the victim’s home. That day Miller took the woman to Applebee’s, bought her two margaritas and then offered her a $500,000 reverse mortgage, according to Serrato.

The reverse mortgage, Miller told the woman, would allow her to live on the property until she died. When the woman agreed, Miller gave her $1,000 in cash and had her sign a grant deed in favor of Rex Regum LLC, which is owned by Hall, Serrato said.

The deed claims that the woman was paid $800,000 for her home, but she says that she never received the money, nor did she know what she was signing at Applebee’s. Hall recorded the deed on July 23, 2018, and paid off the late property taxes.

Sale price looked suspicious

But something looked suspicious. An employee in the county Recorder’s Office noticed that the $800,000 was far below the market value of the house, which was assessed to be between $1.5 million and $1.7 million. So the recorder’s office contacted the DA to look into the situation.

DA’s Inspector Dave Wilson interviewed Miller about her role in the transaction. A few days after that initial interview, Miller told Wilson that she “cleared everything up” with the victim.

Miller “cleared everything up” by giving the victim another $1,000, according to the DA.

On Aug. 22, 2018, Hall sold the property to someone else for $997,000.

On Aug. 31, 2018, Miller went to the woman’s house with a U-Haul and tried to get her to move out, said Serrato. Miller brought a real estate agent with her to help the woman find a new home in Auburn.

Realtor calls the cops

However, the real estate agent became suspicious of Miller and called Redwood City police.

Officers came to the home and ordered Miller to leave, according to the DA’s office.

Hall was arrested earlier this year, and it was discovered that he has a Hollywood background, serving as a producer of a Dave Chapelle special and performing in a “Star Trek” movie.
Hall had a career as an actor, stunt-man and producer from 2002 to 2009, according to his IMDB page. He had bit parts in the 2009 Star Trek “The Future Begins” movie as a Starfleet security officer, and was an extra in “Dreamgirls,” “Akeelah and the Bee,” “The Terminal” and “Coach Carter.” Hall also did stunts for movies such as “The Italian Job” and “Spider-Man 3.”

Hall is out of jail on a $1.1 million bail bond and is set to appear in court on Jan. 24.

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BY JEN NOWELL
Daily Post Correspondent

Redwood City officials are looking for additional help as a developer envisions a complete overhaul of the Sequoia Station shopping center and Caltrain plans to amp up the number of trains passing through town.

City Council tonight (Jan. 27) will vote on whether or not to send out a request for proposals seeking a consultant who would lead the initiative to help garner community input on how the land is developed and used.

This comes after council approved in December two additional full-time positions within the city’s Planning Department. The two jobs, a senior planner and a principal planner, are estimated to cost the city $500,000, according to a report to council in December from Senior Accountant Carolyne Kerans.

An additional $275,000 was recommended for consultant assistance on major planning initiatives, according to Kerans.

During discussions for the upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1, city officials will look for vacant positions that could be removed to offset the newer positions, Kerans said.

17-story tower proposed

In a long list of development proposals before the city, a developer has proposed Redwood City’s largest project yet — a complete replacement of Sequoia Station with six buildings, including a 17-story tower.

Los Angeles developer Lowe Enterprises wants to build 1.6 million square feet of office space, stores and apartments. The project would include 175,000 square feet of retail space and 440 apartments.

The project site includes Sequoia Station, the lot owned by A-1 Party Rental and Caltrain, and a Caltrain parking lot.

This development would require City Council to change its current zoning in the area to allow more offices and homes. The city’s current downtown zoning plan is maxed out on office space and market-rate housing.

The city is looking at creating a new planning area referred to as Central Redwood City. The boundaries of this area are expected to be El Camino, Whipple Avenue, Veterans Boulevard and Woodside Road.

This area would include a new transit district, which would be an amendment to the downtown precise plan, and the Sequoia Station redesign.

Increased transportation services

The planning for the transit district would consider increased transportation services in the downtown area, with potentially additional railroad tracks, a new bus depot and a transit station, according to a report from Principal Planner Diana O’Dell.

The city is considering changes to this area due to Caltrain amping up the number of trains per hour by 2040, high speed rail, work to restore transit service on the Dumbarton Rail Bridge, development projects requesting to exceed downtown development caps, and the need for more housing, according to O’Dell.

In addition to a consultant, council will also vote tonight on whether to have the city manager develop an MOU (memorandum of understanding, aka contract) with Caltrain and SamTrans.

The city would lead the community engagement portion of the projects, while the transit agencies would lead the technical studies to support transit expansion, including right-of-way needs, station locations, service scenarios, and high-level design for the station, O’Dell said.

According to the proposed timeline, city officials expect to have the draft MOU completed and presented to council by the end of March.

In April, the city plans to review alternatives with the community on how to separate the train tracks from the roadway, which will inform discussions about station design and location, O’Dell said.

Council meets at 7 tonight.

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By the Daily Post staff

OSH may be returning to Redwood City, albeit with a slightly different name.

Trade publication Merchant Magazine reported over the weekend that Outdoor Supply Hardware, owned by Tennessee-based Central Network Retail Group, is eyeing the former Orchard Supply Hardware space at 2110 Middlefield Road, across the parking lot from Costco.

Merchant Magazine reports that the company signed leases for 10 former OSH locations in California. Those that have already opened are in Napa, Moraga, Capitola and Berkeley.

A former OSH in San Jose, the birthplace of the hardware chain, will also reopen under its new moniker later this month. OSH started in 1931 as a cooperative owned by 30 fruit and nut farmers who joined forces to buy farm supplies. Its first store was at 44 Vine St. in San Jose.

The cooperative members sold the business to W.R. Grace and Co. in 1978, who later sold OSH to Wickes Companies in 1986. Three years later, Wickes sold the company to its managers.

Sears bought OSH in 1996 and spun it off as a public company in 2012. At the time OSH filed for bankruptcy in 2013, it was $230 million in debt. OSH closed all of its stores in 2018.

No plans have been announced for the former OSH in San Carlos. The OSH in south Palo Alto at 2555 Charleston Road is now an ACE Hardware.

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A Redwood City man is suspected of stealing a Sequoia Union High School District bus and crashing into seven cars during an erratic driving spree Saturday (March 18) morning, police said.

Santos Miguel Murillocuellas, 23, allegedly broke into a school bus storage yard at 1090 Mills Way in Redwood City, in the east part of town near Highway 101, and stole a school bus.

At 9:45 a.m., he began ramming cars on Woodside Road between Spring Street and Massachusetts Avenue, according to Redwood City police.

The collisions involved parked cars and other fixed objects, such as a median fence and signal light pole, police said.

No injuries were reported.

The bus eventually came to rest on top of a PG&E transformer at the Woodside Plaza shopping center parking lot at the corner of Woodside Road and Massachusetts Avenue, in the west side of town, police said.

Murillocuellas was booked into San Mateo County Jail on suspicion of vehicle theft, burglary, reckless driving, hit and run, and vandalism.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Traffic Sgt. Steve Fine at (650) 780-7187.
— Bay City News

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BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer

The Redwood City man who was arrested after allegedly stealing a Sequoia Union High School District bus was on probation for breaking a window at the Second Baptist Church of Redwood City and attacked a 60-year-old man with a chain, a prosecutor said.

Miguel Santos Murillo-Cuellas, 23, had been sentenced to misdemeanor charge in 2018 by Judge Donald Ayoob for the Aug. 10, 2018 incident in which he broke the church window and then attacked a 60-year-old man who was trying to intervene, said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

This time, Murillo-Cuellas was arrested on Saturday after he broke into the school district’s bus storage lot at 1090 Mills Way in Redwood City, and after crashing a cart in the lot, stole a school bus, said Wagstaffe.

At 9:45 a.m., Murillo-Cuellas was spotted ramming cars on Woodside Road between Spring Street and Massachusetts Avenue, according to police.

At one point, a South San Francisco police officer who was out for a walk in the area with his wife, nearly stepped into a crosswalk on Woodside Road, but saw the erratic bus, and stepped back onto the sidewalk, said Wagstaffe.

“Someone very well could have died,” Wagstaffe said.

Murillo-Cuellas drove the bus some three miles to Woodside Plaza before smashing into a PG&E transformer.

Murillo-Cuellas appeared in court yesterday and was charged with two felonies and eight misdemeanors, ranging from car theft to driving under the influence of drugs and hit and run, Wagstaffe said.

Murillo-Cuellas remains in jail in lieu of $25,000. He will be back in court on April 8.

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BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer

A man accused of stealing a school bus and crashing it in Redwood City was released from jail on $0 bail and now has allegedly stolen a truck and crashed it at Gunn High School in Palo Alto.

Miguel Santos Murillo-Cuellas, 23, of Redwood City, was released along with thousands of other inmates when the California Judicial Commission last week reduced bail to $0 for many crimes in order to clear out the jails to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

The latest chapter in this story began at 4 a.m. Sunday when police responded to a report of a truck stuck on the train tracks that run along Chestnut Street, according to Redwood City Police.

The white Ford pickup was unoccupied, but had its engine running and was still in gear. On the truck was the logo for All Fence Company.

Police went to All Fence Company on Spring Street and found that a truck had been driven into a fence, where it then got stuck, and another truck with extensive front-end damage near a dumpster that was damaged.

At around 5 a.m., a pedestrian spotted an All Fence Co. truck speeding down a 25 mph zone with wires trailing behind it, said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

At 7:15 p.m., Palo Alto police officers found the truck crashed into a fence with the engine running and wipers going on the Gunn High School baseball field. Officers found Murillo-Cuellas nearby in the school yard.

Murillo-Cuellas told officers that he had been drinking and used meth and marijuana, according to Wagstaffe. A Breathalyzer test detected no alcohol, however.

Murillo-Cuellas is facing six felonies and four misdemeanors relating to his wild ride Sunday morning.

Prior to getting his bail dropped down to $1, he had been in jail for stealing a school bus on March 28.

Murillo-Cuellas had broken into the Sequoia Union School District’s bus storage lot at 1090 Mills Way in Redwood City, and after crashing a car in the lot, he stole the bus, the DA said.

Murillo-Cuellas was spotted ramming cars with the school bus on Woodside Road between Spring Street and Massachusetts Avenue, police said. He drove the bus 3 miles to Woodside Plaza before smashing into a PG&E transformer.

He faces two felonies and eight misdemeanor charges for that theft. Murillo-Cuellas is now in jail in lieu of $1 million.

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By the Daily Post staff

The two San Mateo County Sheriff’s employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 worked at the county’s jails, according to spokeswoman Lt. Stephanie Josephson.

The Sheriff’s Office on Saturday said that two employees, whose job descriptions were not released, are not jail officers or deputies.

However, yesterday, Josephson clarified that the employees did work in the jail, but did not say where in the jail they worked or if their job requires them to come into contact with any inmates.

The Post both called and emailed the Sheriff’s Office to get further information, such as the job titles of those infected, and if more testing is being done among inmates and employees at the jail, but did not hear back.

The two employees are quarantined at home and under the treatment of their doctors. They haven’t been at work since late March and the two cases don’t appear to be related, according to the sheriff’s office.

The areas where the infected employees work have been professionally cleaned and disinfected. In addition, screening is in place for anyone entering the facilities and medical personnel are on alert for symptoms, the sheriff’s office said.

No inmates have tested positive, but with decreased inmate populations, there is ample space to quarantine if needed, according to the sheriff’s office.

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BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer

A frequent shoplifter at the Kohl’s in Redwood City was sentenced today (April 14) to three years probation and ordered to stay away from the store, a prosecutor said.

Tangata Laulea, 22, of Redwood City, went into the store at 250 Walnut St. on Dec. 29, grabbed a bunch of items worth $553, and ran out, said San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

A Kohl’s security guard knew Laulea shoplifted there before, and confronted him outside, said Wagstaffe. Laulea then threatened the guard with a BB gun and got into a waiting car, according to the DA.

The guard called the police, who saw Laulea nearby. As police pulled him over, Laulea shouted out that the gun was only a pellet gun, Wagstaffe said.

The driver, William Rodriguez Galdamez, 28, of San Jose, told police he was a victim, and that Laulea had carjacked him, Wagstaffe said.

But it was later determined that Galdamez was Laulea’s accomplice, Wagstaffe said.

Laulea pleaded no contest yesterday to robbery and was sentenced to the time he has already served in jail, to be on probation for three years and to stay away from the Redwood City Kohl’s.

Galdamez is set to appear in court on April 27, but is out of court due to the new statewide $0 bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies.

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BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer

Redwood City officials are weighing the possibility of closing some neighborhood streets to cars to make it easier for pedestrians to maintain social distancing.

Palo Alto City Council decided on Monday to look into the same idea, following Oakland’s lead, which barred cars on 74 miles of neighborhood streets last week.

At Redwood City’s council meeting on Monday (April 13), Councilwoman Giselle Hale said that she has been getting questions from residents who are having trouble social distancing on narrow sidewalks.

Hale said that some people pushing strollers will walk in the street in order to maintain six-feet of distance with other pedestrians.

Redwood City Manager Melissa Steveson-Diaz said that her employees began looking into the prospect last week.

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BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer

A Redwood City apartment complex that burned down seven years ago may be resurrected in a year.

The 72 apartments may be back in as soon as eight months, said Mark Hyatt, the developer of the Hallmark House Apartment complex at 531 Woodside Road.

The COVID-19 stay-at-home order has mostly halted construction. Construction contractors and subcontractors are eagerly looking for work, Hyatt said.

Construction can occur on the Hallmark House Apartments because the entire complex is for low income earners. Hyatt and his team have worked with the city to limit construction to Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Typically, construction is allowed in Redwood City on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.

City Manager Melissa Stevenson-Diaz noted that because of so many people being home, they wanted to be sensitive about the noise coming from the construction site.

There will be 22 apartments reserved for the elderly or very low-income earners, meaning they make 50% of the area median income. This means a family of four would make $80,600 annually.

The other 50 apartments would be for low income earners, meaning they make 80% of the area median income. This means a family of four would make $101,630 annually.

City Council on Monday unanimously agreed to some changes to the loan it gave Hyatt’s Hallmark 2017, extending the affordability of the apartments to 2075, instead of 2059.

The Americans with Disabilities Acts delayed the project. The apartments received initial approval from the city, but that go-ahead lapsed in 2017. When the developer re-applied for permits, the ADA had been updated, which meant the plans had to be changed. That pushed the process back.

The complex burned down in a six-alarm blaze on July 7, 2013. It sent 21 people to the hospital and killed one man. A total of 97 people were left homeless. More than two dozen residents filed lawsuits against KDF Hallmark, the owner of the complex.

According to court documents, the residents’ lawsuits were dismissed on Aug. 14, 2015. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. The reconstruction, which has been put off many times, is expected to take one year once started.

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A Menlo Park man was arrested on suspicion of DUI after flipping a car on a ramp between Woodside Road and Highway 101 in Redwood City, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The 28-year-old man was driving a 2007 Acura MDX that rolled on the Woodside Road on-ramp about 3:45 a.m. Saturday, the CHP said.

After the wreck, the driver fled the scene and was found at his home in Menlo Park, the CHP said.

No injuries were reported in the crash and no other vehicles were involved, the CHP said.

— Bay City News

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BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer

Ten people, including a former Stanford president, have died due to COVID-19 at Gordon Manor, a nursing home in Redwood City, the manager of the facility told the media yesterday.

One of those deaths had been retired Stanford President Donald Kennedy, who was the head of the university from 1980 to 1992. He was 88.

The deaths at Gordon Manor, at 1616 Gordon St., make up a quarter of San Mateo County’s deaths due to the virus.

Yesterday, the county reported that 41 county residents had died due to COVID-19, 32 of those reported were of people over the age of 70.

At least 10 other residents and seven employees have tested positive, Gordon Manor Manager Alisa Mallari Tu said. The 49-room facility just off Woodside Road specializes in care for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Manager devastated

“We are emotionally devastated by the reality of coronavirus in our community and in the many other senior and group communities like ours,” Mallari Tu said in a statement. “Our sole purpose through this extremely difficult time is to focus all of our efforts on the well-being of our beloved residents and their dear families, as well as our incredibly dedicated and courageous staff members who bravely, every day and every night, come in to work to care for our residents.”

County helping

Health officials from San Mateo County have been at the rest home since last week, making sure that the county’s health order regarding senior care facilities is being followed.

County health workers have been teaching workers about how to treat the virus and how important protective gear such as gowns, gloves and masks are. The county has also been teaching employees about COVID-19 and how to contain the virus.

Last Wednesday, San Mateo County Health Officer Dr. Scott Morrow put new requirements on senior living facilities in an attempt to keep the virus from spreading among the county’s elderly.

Morrow is requiring that assisted care and skilled nursing facilities screen all employees and residents are screened for fever and signs of respiratory illness. They’re also required to get personal protective equipment for employees and to tell the county within an hour of learning that a resident or employee has tested positive for COVID-19.

Residents and employees are also subject to mandatory COVID-19 testing and other measures in order for the virus to be contained, according to a statement from Morrow.

Five residents of Atria, a retirement home in Burlingame, tested positive for COVID-19 in March and in late March, two of them died, according to Atria Senior Vice President of Care Mike Gentry. Gentry said on April 10 that no other residents have gotten sick but one worker had contracted COVID-19.

Residents at Pacifica Nursing and Rehab in Pacifica were also reported to have tested positive late last month.

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BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer

Redwood City officials may be closing down a total of 6.5 miles of neighborhood streets to most cars in order to let people get some fresh air while staying 6 feet away from other pedestrians.

Redwood City is the first city on the Peninsula to announce that it will be closing streets due to the pandemic. However, city councils in Palo Alto and San Mateo have both expressed interest in closing streets to cars. Oakland was the first city to close streets.

There will be 11 street segments that will be largely closed off to cars, according to the proposal from city Transportation Manager Jessica Manzi. Most of the segments are between a third- and sixth-of-a-mile. The longest is for Vera Avenue between El Camino and Alameda de las Pulgas.

The idea, dubbed “slow streets,” is to create more space for residents to exercise in their neighborhood while still socially distancing from their neighbors. With social distancing, there isn’t always room to pass on a sidewalk.

At the council’s April 13 meeting, Councilwoman Giselle Hale said that she’s heard of parents pushing children in strollers who will walk in the street in order to maintain 6 feet of distance from other pedestrians. The idea returns to council tonight (April 27).

Closures might benefit parks

Oakland officials said that they expected the street closures would reduce the number of people exercising in the city’s parks.

In her report, Manzi reminds people that the slow streets program is to help people maintain social distancing, and not to encourage folks to use the street to play or exercise with others.

Manzi proposed that the closures begin around May 1, though council will have the final say on that.

The city is considering closing the following 11 streets:

• Flynn Avenue from Middlefield Road to Spring Street,
• Stambaugh Street from Charter Street to Maple Street,
• Allerton Street from Winslow Street to Whipple Avenue,
• Poplar Street from Woodside Road to Hudson Street,
• Vera Avenue from El Camino to Alameda de las Pulgas,
• Ebener Street from Geneva Avenue to Roosevelt Avenue,
• Page Street from Second Avenue to 17th Avenue,
• Cypress Street/East Oakwood Boulevard from Woodside Road to Oakwood Avenue,
• C Street from Stafford Street to Industrial Avenue,
• Katherine Avenue from Elwood Street to Nevada Avenue, and
• One lane in each direction on Bridge Parkway from Redwood Shores Parkway to Marine Parkway.

It is possible that other streets will be closed to cars in the future.

Vehicles will not be totally banned from most of the streets, according to Manzi’s report. This is because most of these streets are neighborhood streets where people still need to get in and out of their driveways.

Delivery vehicles will still be allowed.

And emergency vehicles will be permitted on the closed streets.

Road blocks

Some of the major intersections will be barricaded to keep cars out. But for some of the less major streets, city employees will hand out signs for residents to put in their front yards to warn motorists that they are driving on a “slow street” and to expect pedestrians, joggers or cyclists to be in the street.

The program is set to cost the city about $10,000 for its first round of street closures, and $30,000 once more streets are closed.

The criteria for selecting the streets included:

• That they weren’t routes for buses or emergency vehicles,
• Street usage,
• And whether bike lanes are planned.

For instance, the city already has plans to test out Vera Avenue as a “bicycle boulevard,” by adding signs, and potentially adding speed bumps or roundabouts.

The city was planning on installing some removable elements of the bicycle boulevard over the summer along Vera to test out the idea, but because of COVID-19, those plans may be delayed, according to the city’s webpage on the project.

The council will be discussing the “slow streets” proposal at its Monday (April 27) night meeting that begins at 7 p.m. People can watch either on the city’s website or by going to redwoodcity.zoom.us and entering meeting ID 994-6440-0436.

The post City lists streets it intends to close to free up room for pedestrians appeared first on Palo Alto Daily Post.

MAY 5, 3 p.m. — The coroner has identified the victim in yesterday’s Caltrain incident as Jack Preston Newton, 75 of Redwood City.

MAY 4, 5:30 p.m. — A person was struck and killed by a Caltrain in Redwood City today, officials said.

The victim was struck at about 4 p.m. by Caltrain No. 156, which was heading south. The victim was on the tracks at the Main Street crossing just south of the Redwood City Caltrain station.

Four people were on board as well as three bicycles. No one on the train was injured. The fatality is the third on Caltrain tracks this year. — Bay City News

The post UPDATE: Man who died on Caltrain tracks is identified appeared first on Palo Alto Daily Post.