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Local Interest
REDWOOD CITY
RESIDENTS —STOP
SMOKING FOR
FREE!
Free stop-smoking classes in April for San Mateo
County residents who smoke and want to quit.
Breathe California and the San Mateo County
Health Department announce classes to be held
in San Mateo, South San Francisco, Daly City
and Redwood City. Check class dates and times
at www.ggbreathe.org. Register by calling (650)
994-5868.
California residents can also call 1-800-NO-
BUTTS for free phone counseling.
WORKSHOPS AT
EVERY WOMAN
HEALTH CLUB
Fitness Balls How-To
Saturday, March 31, 10–10:45 a.m.
Workshop fee: $15
What can you do with fitness balls? Why are
there so many different sizes? This workshop
gives an overview of all the great ways you can
use balls for improved stability, muscle tone and
balance. Join us for this fun and informative
workshop.
“Space to Claim” — A Workshop for Women
Wanting to Claim Their Bigger Self
Monday, April 23, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Workshop fee: $35
When was the last time you checked in on who
and where you are right now in your life? This
interactive workshop is for women who are
courageously willing to step up and take charge
of their lives and dive into discovery around what
makes them tick. Get back in touch with your
personal or professional goals and dreams, discover
and clarify what inspires you to live a life
that is personally and uniquely fulfilling, learn
how to get unstuck from the “status quo” and
begin seeing and creating open doors for all that
is possible, and claim your commitment to stepping
into your bigger self by moving forward
from intention to action in your life.
Pre-registration recommended for all workshops.
For more info or to register, call (650) 364-9194
or e-mail info@everywomanhealthclub.com.
Every Woman Health Club, 611 Jefferson Ave.,
Redwood City, www.everywomanhealthclub.com.
SHORES LIBRARY
BREAKS GROUND
REDWOOD CITY’S MONTHLY MAGAZINE
When ground broke Feb. 24 on the long-planned
library in Redwood Shores, it was a golden shovel
moment many years, multiple bids and millions
of dollars in the making.
This milestone comes over budget and behind
schedule, but for those who began planning the
library four years ago, the money and time is well
worth what will be the first branch in Redwood
Shores and the first in Redwood City since the
Schaberg Community Library was built in 1957.
“This is going to be a fantastic addition to the
Redwood City library system, said Mario
Rendon, president of the Redwood City Library
Foundation. “As one person put it to me, it is the
last piece of the puzzle for Redwood Shores.”
The community, which adjoins Redwood City,
recently garnered its own fire station and is
poised to get a new school. A library, Rendon
said, is one of the remaining community
resources the area needs. Redwood Shores residents
currently obtain their library services
through the Sandpiper Community Center.
The single-story, 22,558-square-foot library is
expected to offer users not just services but also
meeting space, waterfront views, Internet workstations
and a cafe with outdoor seating. There
will also be a storytelling area for young readers
and an interactive interpretative center focused
on the bay.
“Its innovative and very friendly, inviting design
will make it a great destination for not only
Redwood Shores residents but people from
throughout the Redwood City community,” Vice
Mayor Rosanne Foust stated in announcing the
groundbreaking.
If construction stays on course, the library will
open its doors in summer 2008. Originally, plans
were for its opening in fall 2007.
Since its conception and successful application
for a $10.1 million state grant, the library has
been a labor of love for tireless fundraisers and
city officials faced with increased material costs.
The last hurdles happened in September when
the city rejected all construction bids as too high
and solicited five new estimates the following
month. The three months of delays tacked the
extra $500,000 onto the library price tag but the
City Council ultimately gave unanimous
approval to a $14.4 million proposal from Sausal
Corporation of San Leandro. Out of the five
received, Sausal was the lowest although still 26
percent above the initial $11.5 million budget
estimate.
The alternative was finding an extra $5.3 million,
limiting funds for other projects or redesigning
the facility. The city had $13.6 million available
for a new branch library, causing the council to
make up the $3 million difference in general fund
money and contributions from the community.
So far, the library foundation has raised
$850,000 for the opening day collection of
books, DVDs and assorted materials, Rendon
said.
The total includes $350,000 from major donors
like Oracle and the Palo Alto Medical
S
Foundation and nearly $160,000 from the public
fundraising phase. Through the month of
December, all donations were matched up to
$1,000 by the Redwood Shores Community
Association. The RSCA presented its $52,000
fundraising check at the groundbreaking.
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the Daily
Journal newspaper.
COOL DOWNTOWN
STUFF!
Downtown Redwood City is coming alive, and its
online presence is better than ever, too! An exciting
new downtown promotional video produced
by Peninsula TV is now available for online viewing.
Also, the community can now shop for an
incredible array of downtown-branded merchandise
online! It’s all right there at www.redwoodcity.org/downtown,
along with other information
about downtown projects.
Peninsula TV (www.pentv.org) kindly produced a
wonderful seven-minute video that’s all about
the renaissance of downtown Redwood City. It
features great music, lots of excited people,
scenes from Courthouse Square, Theatre Way,
Broadway and more. Anyone who wants a fast
overview of the exciting things happening downtown
can take a look — and then come downtown
to enjoy the real thing.
Redwood City also announces the grand opening
of an online store selling downtown-branded
merchandise, from T-shirts, sweatshirts, coffee
mugs and tote bags to aprons, hats, clocks, calendars
and more — even baby bibs and doggy T-
shirts! These fun items are printed with Redwood
City’s downtown logo and/or one of the other
exciting original graphic images currently seen
downtown. Go to www.redwoodcity.org/downtown,
or look at the lower right corner of the
front page of Redwood City’s Web site for the
“Buy Cool Downtown Stuff” link. The direct
link to Redwood City’s online store is www.cafepress.com/redwoodcity.
Any of these items can
also be purchased through a toll-free number —
(877) 809-1659. What a great way to show pride
in Redwood City!
All proceeds from sales of these unique and very
special downtown-branded items go to the
Redevelopment Agency’s downtown promotion
fund. But even more importantly, these very
fashionable and fun items help to remind people,
in our own community and in other cities, that
downtown Redwood City is coming alive!
Visit Redwood City’s award-winning Web site at
www.redwoodcity.org for information about the
city and its services, the community, recreation
programs, education, city government and local
business. Take a look at the variety of city webcams
at redwoodcity.org/webcam and subscribe
to Redwood City’s e-mail newsletter or other
documents by visiting www.redwoodcity.org/egov.
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