Foster City

This is the blurb before the Table of Contents in wikipedia today. After the census later this year this will change.

Foster City is an affluent planned city located in San Mateo County, California, 94404. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 28,803. Foster City is sometimes considered to be part of Silicon Valley for its local industry and its neighboring Silicon Valley cities.

Foster City was founded in the 1960s on engineered landfill in the marshes of the San Francisco Bay, on the east edge of San Mateo. The city was named after T. Jack Foster, a real estate magnate who owned much of the land comprising the city and who was instrumental in the initial design. His successor firm, Foster Enterprises, run by his descendants, is still active in real estate affairs throughout the San Francisco Bay area.

Burlingame

Burlingame is a city in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after diplomat Anson Burlingame.

It is renowned for many surviving examples of Victorian architecture and its high residential quality of life. Burlingame was settled by wealthy San Franciscans looking for a better climate for their second homes, but industrial growth was spurred in the 1960s and 1970s by proximity to the San Francisco International Airport, generating airline support services growth near the U.S. Route 101 corridor.

Burlingame is known as the 'City of Trees' due to the number of trees within the city (18,000 public trees). Most residential properties have trees owned and protected by the city on their public right of way. In addition the city has many parks and Eucalyptus groves that add to the overall tree numbers. The Eucalyptus groves occur to the west of the city on Interstate 280 and alongside many city streets, like California Drive, El Camino Real, and other smaller local streets. Washington Park with Burlingame Avenue at its eastern edge, Burlingame High School at its western edge, and the Caltrain line at its southern edge is the oldest park in Burlingame. It was originally part of the Gunst Estate, and some of the existing large trees within the park were part of this estate.

Update on election results

Looks like Perez did not win after all. He came in third of 5. Only two seats were available.

Candidate Vote by Mail Early Voting Election Day Grand Total Votes
PAM FRISELLA (30.43%) 1,188 5 603 1,796
CHARLIE BRONITSKY (23.08%) 873 7 482 1,362
HERB PEREZ (19.08%) 659 5 462 1,126
WING YU (18.50%) 614 3 475 1,092
LINDA HASKIN GOLOGORSKY (8.91%) 336 3 187 526

The election was on Nov 3, 2009.
The current council members are
Rick Wykoff Mayor
Linda Koelling Vice Mayor
Pam Frisella Councilmember
Art Kiesel Councilmember
Charlie Bronitsky Councilmember

Chess classes at Foster City Elementary School

Ever other Friday there is an opportunity for children of FC schools to practice their chess skills against each other. From time to time these children participate in USCF regulated tournaments and come home with honors.

The classes are free. The teachers are very friendly, and the children are happy. This Valentines day, there is a tournament somewhere locally. If you need more info, post a comment. Depending on if I have the info at the time I can provide it.

Long time no post

It has been such a long time since I posted anything here. I had lost touch with my blogs and then forgot about them completely. It is pretty cool that two or more years later, a series of chance occurances allowed me to get back.
I am still living in Foster City. This is a place like no other. Over the last two years house prices have gone down. But it has not gone down much in Foster City. In the mean time Barack Obama has become president in an unprecedented way. This is a great country where people of all races are given the same opportunity to excel if they put their mind to it.
I wonder if Master Perez won a seat on the City council. I had seen a lot of placards all over FC last year.