News Digest News Digest (January 20, 2006)

Master plan for airport calls for county to cease operation and for expansion

The newly released master plan for the Palo Alto Airport calls for significant expansion of the facility and for Santa Clara County to hand over operations to the city when the county's lease with the city expires in 2017.

The city will comment on the draft master plan in the coming months, and the County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to make a final decision about the plan, including about the county's operation of the city-owned 103-acre airport, in the spring or summer.

The new master plan, written by the county staff, recommends the county cease operation of the airport due to development restrictions imposed both by the city and by the land being in a flood zone, according to Carl Honaker, director of county airports.

"It's basically a risk-management issue and a concern that the future of that airport is a little cloudy," Honaker said.

City Manager Frank Benest said he hadn't seen a copy of the draft plan, but noted the City Council supported, in a vote last July, keeping the airport open after the lease expired. He said the city looks forward to discussing the future of the airport and either convincing the county to keep running it, finding a third-party operator or having the city itself run it.

The council supported the airport in order to receive $1.8 million in federal grants.

The airport master plan also lays out possible expansion that would add new hangars, an expanded terminal, new parking, a Baylands welcome center and an improved helicopter landing, according to Honaker.

"We're not really proposing that this be done under our auspices," he said. "It's up to the city if they want to go forward with it."

Private aircrafts, medical flights and flight instructors primarily use the small airport. There are approximately 200,000 take-offs and landings per year.

A copy of the draft master plan was not posted on the county airport's Web site (www.countyairports.org/documents.htm) on Thursday morning, but Honaker expected it to be soon. --Bill D'Agostino
New development fee sought for parkland

Palo Alto's new mayor and vice mayor are jointly asking the full City Council to take advantage of a state law that would help the city acquire new parkland.

The Quimby Act, if enacted by the city, would require developers subdividing properties to set aside a portion of the land for public parkland or pay a fee, according to a memo from Mayor Judy Kleinberg and Vice Mayor Yoriko Kishimoto.

"When I joined the council (in 2002) I was surprised not to see something on the books like the Quimby Act," Kishimoto said.

The city already has a parkland fee on developments since 2002 but "it is far from fully recovering the cost of land needed to meet Palo Alto's growing need for parks," the memo noted.

The new proposal will be reviewed by the council Monday night. If the council agrees, city staff will return with specific language and requirements within five months.

"I think it's overdue actually -- long overdue," Kishimoto said. "I think it's important to get it on the books before we see any more (development) applications." -- Bill D'Agostino
Tentative agreement on teacher pay

A tentative agreement has been reached between the Palo Alto Unified School District and the Palo Alto Educators' Association to give Palo Alto school teachers a 3 percent salary increase, following several months of hard negotiations.

The district has also agreed to cover the costs of rising health insurances, bringing the total for each person to $9,792.

The one-year agreement, reached Wednesday evening after daylong discussions, would provide a 3 percent raise retroactive to last July 1 (when the last teacher-compensation contract expired), plus an additional 1 percent increase if this year's property-tax revenues come in above 7 percent.

Both teachers and the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education will need to ratify the agreement -- a vote by teachers is expected by early February. The board will vote at its next meeting Feb. 14.

If approved, the package would also benefit non-teaching "classified" employees in the district, who approved a contract last week specifying a 1 percent pay boost but with a so-called "me-too clause" that would give them the same raises the teachers would get.

"Negotiations ended on a positive note," Steve Sabbag, president of the Palo Alto Educators' Association said in an e-mail announcement of the settlement.

"We're looking forward to this continuing in '06-'07," he said of the positive environment. "We're happy to have this off the table. Now we can all get back to working together on critical challenges facing our district and ourselves."

In addition to the pay increase, the agreement includes "adjustments to contract language" to clarify policies on job sharing, catastrophic leave and transfer rights, Sabbag said.

The district also agreed to absorb any additional costs for health insurance.

Base pay for Palo Alto teachers now ranges from the mid-$40,000s to the low-$90,000s, among the highest in Santa Clara County. --Jay Thorwaldson
Plea postponed for accused cop killer

It was standing room only in a San Mateo County courtroom on Wednesday as family, friends and colleagues of slain East Palo Alto Police Officer Richard May filed in to see the suspect accused of killing the officer postpone entering a plea.

Alberto Alvarez, 22, who appeared shackled in red jail clothing, gave a quick glance to his family seated in the courtroom but gazed at the floor for the majority of Wednesday's brief proceedings.

Alvarez, a known gang member, is charged with first-degree murder with the special circumstance of killing a police officer in the line of duty, and the use of a firearm, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

Alvarez's defense attorney, San Mateo County Assistant Chief Defender Charles Robinson, requested the judge allow him more time, as he was just assigned to the case a week ago.

"I haven't seen any of the police reports," Robinson said. "I haven't seen anything."

Alvarez is suspected of opening fire on 38-year-old May around 4:30 p.m. Jan. 7 near Weeks Street and University Avenue.

May was responding to a report of a fight at the time, and the shooting occurred as he went to confront a man, believed to be Alvarez, involved in the altercation, according to police.

A teenage Explorer scout was with May on a ride-along when the shooting happened but was not injured.

Alvarez, who allegedly fled the scene after the shooting, was arrested at 6 a.m. on Jan. 8 after officers found him suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg as he tried to conceal himself in the rear of a vehicle that they had pulled over near the scene of the crime, according to police.

According to San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, Alvarez was on parole at the time of the shooting for two 2004 felony convictions for possession of marijuana with the intent to sell and possession of a concealed weapon.

"Our hearts go out to the May family and they go out to the Alvarez family, who are also hurting," Robinson said. "It's going to be a long, drawn-out court process."

May had been with the East Palo Alto Police Department for about 18 months. He leaves behind a wife, who was present in the courtroom, and three daughters.

Alvarez, who remains in custody without bail, will appear in court for further arraignment on Feb. 7 at 1:30 p.m.

If convicted, Alvarez faces the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. -- Bay City News Service

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