S - The Spectrum Magazine - Redwood City's Monthly Magazine ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

SpectrumMar07.qxd 4/26/2007 4:49 PM Page 24 S DISTRICT HEARS REHAB HIGH SCHOOL PETITION One month stands between a proposed charter school specializing in helping teens with substance abuse problems and the decision for it to open this September. THE SPECTRUM dependency problems but would also receive the core classes needed. The plan is to develop a whole new outpatient school open to students not in the Daytop program, said Daytop Executive Director Orville Roache. Daytop teachers, past and present, were on hand to discuss the positive influence they’ve witnessed. SPECIAL BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR A SPECIAL GIRL 24 Daytop Village, Inc. petitioned the Sequoia Union High School District for a charter with plans to open a 58-student, three-classroom school by September after being denied by the County Office of Education last year. The denial forced Daytop to reconsider and rework a proposal, the product of which was part of a public hearing last night. Supporters of the school showed up to share stories of the safe, successful environment Daytop offers. “We get wrapped up in the political things and we forget the whole objective. We need to help the kids,” said Carolyn Hoskins, who works with the NFL Alumni Drug Prevention Program. Hoskins added students need a safe environment to learn and grow. Daytop in Redwood City began serving students in 1988, in addition to the substance abuse and therapeutic services offered. Daytop was originally run by the county before becoming a nonpublic school in 2003 — which means the school is publicly funded but students must be referred. All students who attend the school would need help with “In all my years working with at-risk youth, I’ve never seen a program as truly effective in not only substance abuse but with education and family issues,” said former teacher Deborah Budesa. Currently, many students with addiction problems end up attending public school then treatment. This setup is problematic for most students, who can be treated differently at school, said Roache. The proposal would give students a clean and sober environment. Students could volunteer for the program or be recommended for it. Treatment would be included in a portion of the day-to-day activities, such as drug and family education. A majority of the treatment activities would be offered after school to both students and their families. The district will examine the new petition and recommend a course of action to be voted on Wednesday, April 18, said Superintendent Pat Gemma. Redwood City firefighters held a birthday party for Abigail Mendoza, with hose, and her friends on Sunday. Mendoza was recently diagnosed with an inoperable cancerous condtion. WWW.SPECTRUMMAGAZINE.NET
SpectrumMar07.qxd 4/26/2007 4:49 PM Page 25 REDWOOD CITY’S MONTHLY MAGAZINE BRYANT FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST CITY S 25 ABOVE: Bob Bryant inside his coffee shop on Broadway Bob Bryant, owner of Bob’s Court House Coffee Shop, filed a lawsuit against Redwood City that seeks damages for the loss of business and property damage as a result of the 18-month construction of the city’s new movie theater and courthouse square. The lawsuit was filed by Bryant’s attorney. It claims the theater project was delayed for nearly a year due to the city’s “inadequate planning, sporadic performances of work and substandard work” that resulted in the prolonged closure of Broadway, Marshall Street and Middlefield Road. The street closures affected both employee and customer parking, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for repairs to the building, injury to business good will, loss of profits and expenses incurred by Bryant as a result of the construction. City Attorney Stan Yamamoto said his office has not yet been served with the lawsuit. Bryant has 30 days to serve the city with official notice of the lawsuit, Yamamoto said. It is no secret Bryant was one of the top critics of the development process. His shop is directly across the street from the new 20-screen theater and the Courthouse Square. He saw business dwindle as construction lagged for nearly two years. “We lost 75 percent of our business. We’re just now getting it back,” Bryant said. The Redwood City City Council approved the theater project in 2002, executed a development agreement in 2003 and began construction later that year. At that time the city closed Middlefield Road from Jefferson Avenue to Broadway. The streets remained closed until August 2006, according to the lawsuit. The delays of construction caused the obstruction of access to Bryant’s business, crowded out parking, destroyed the “good will of the business” and prevented Bryant from generating revenue. Constant construction also damaged the building’s foundation, causing cracks in the tiled floor. Bryant said the city promised to fix the problem but never did. Approximately 60 percent of the business returned, but the rest depends on the success of the downtown development and how many visitors it attracts. “The project will be good if we ever get off the ground,” Bryant said. The city unveiled its newly made-over downtown late last year, complete with a long-anticipated 20- screen theater/retail complex on Middlefield Road and a facelift of its historic courthouse on Broadway. The area sits behind Sequoia Station, near the Caltrain stop, and was built with high hopes of drawing visitors and their money. The theater project was sponsored by the city — as opposed to a private developer — and is the first part of a larger plan to redevelop downtown into a highdensity urban core with more mixed-use buildings. It has not been without roadblocks. Property owners whose land was seized by eminent domain sued the city a couple of years ago, claiming they were not paid the fair market value. The city ultimately settled with the property owners. Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the Daily Journal newspaper. WWW.SPECTRUMMAGAZINE.NET
Page 1 and 2: SpectrumMar07.qxd 4/26/2007 4:46 PM
Page 23: SpectrumMar07.qxd 4/26/2007 4:49 PM

S - The Spectrum Magazine - Redwood City's Monthly Magazine ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?