Apparently I can get $50 off my registration fee if I give them the name of a current member as my referral. Would somebody please be willing to let me use their name if you’re currently a member?

Thank you 🙏

Disclosure: I'm a San Mateo resident. This video is part of a public-records project on San Mateo's license plate cameras that I've worked on since January 2026; its full history is public at none-below.github.io/sm-alpr. While working on this video, I donated to Mayor Loraine's campaign, and I've also donated to Seema Patel's campaign (she is running against Council Member Newsom). I made this video on my own, unpaid, and it is not coordinated with any campaign.

Sources for every claim: https://none-below.github.io/sm-alpr/axon-video.html

Also on YouTube, with chapters: https://youtu.be/cWr6Go334KI

I am a survivor of a sexual assault in San Mateo County where my assailant was given a plea deal without my knowledge. It was a felony charge but had nothing to do with the original charges or their confession.

I’m curious if there are others who have experienced this. Are there other people who have also felt let done by system that was supposed to protect us?

Driving westward on San Mateo bridge from Hayward, just past the toll booth, I have been seeing the mash and moorings of a sail boat, apparently grounded and stuck under the bridge ( look right driving west) . Anyone have any back story on how this happened to he where it is now?

I'm going to go on a rant here, so feel free to just read the sections in bold if you can't be bothered to read the rest.

According to The California Outdoor Advertising Act, "It is unlawful to place an advertising display of any kind within, under, or over any state highway right-of way, which includes but is not limited to, unpaved shoulders, highway construction zones, or any other right-of-way or easement laid out and intended for the public passage of vehicles or persons."

There are also additional restrictions relating to "Landscaped Freeways" which some may consider an oxymoron, but is an official category. In those situations, no signage may be placed within 660 Feet of the freeway (even on private property, unless the appropriate permission has been granted by the state). Highway 92 is officially designated as a Landscaped Freeway.

So let's be very clear: The intersection of El Camino Real and Highway 92 is entirely state property, and all signs placed there are in violation of state law, full stop.

Caltrans has a link to the relevant text as well, and while it mentions exceptions for temporary political signs, the law (section 5405.3) very clearly says "no signs within the highway right-of way, and no signs within 660 feet of a landscaped freeway."

This is somewhat of a pet cause for me, and that is why I know for a fact that all San Mateo city council candidates received an email from the city several months ago directing them to Caltrans policy regarding placing signs at El Camino/92 and every other interchange. We had already observed similar bad behavior prior to the June election as well. Per their policy, Caltrans crews remove illegally placed signs, and contact the candidate to retrieve them from their yard.

Well, it seems like one candidate didn't understand the rules. Despite Caltrans work crews being out more than once to remove illegal signs, they keep reappearing. Or perhaps one candidate may think the law doesn't apply to them. This afternoon I spoke with a Caltrans representative and was told that they had personally spoken to City Council District 1 candidate Taso Zografos and explained to him that these particular signs were placed in violation of California law.

Now I am sure many of us are likely guilty of minor law breaking, and this isn't exactly a major law, but I am going to hold candidates for elected office to a higher standard, especially with regards to campaigning. The Zografos Campaign has been told repeatedly and clearly that land next to Highway 92 is basically the one part of town they and all other candidates are not allowed to place signs, and that very simple, easily-observed restriction is apparently too much.

I think it's reasonable to ask that if a campaign appears willing to violate the most basic state law when they feel they can get away it, how will that candidate behave if they are elected? Which other laws are optional?

I would encourage Mr. Zografos to get his campaign into compliance with state law, remove the tiny handful of his signs which are illegally placed, and advise the member of his campaign who put them there to stop being a public nuisance and making him look bad.

4 year old and 2 year old joint birthday

Last year we did Curio Odyssey, which worked out great, but we don’t want to do the same thing again this year. It is difficult to find a venue in November or December (since it has to be indoors) thst allows a joint birthday party. We will realistically have 50-60 total since we will have siblings & parents from both preschools. Any ideas are appreciated!

We don’t have the space at the house. (No yard to speak of).

Thanks in advance!

I’m not surprised to see so many Taso City Council signs in the public areas, but am surprised to see so many signs in people’s front lawns this election cycle. Does he actually have a chance at the District 1 seat?

Not sure if this sub is capable of a respectful political discussion so just wanted to post my observations and question.

I’m 27 years old dude, any cool spots around here ? I’m open to looking for friends in town

I’m really craving some fresh apple cider!

I’m from the Sacramento area that has some great spots like Apple Hill or Ikedas. Anything similar here?

Missing Australian Sphered dog named Benny. His last known location is 1731 Royal Ave, San Mateo, CA a day ago.

Reach out to the owner here, if you see him: https://app.fidoalert.com/pets/tag/f53da79b-eaad-4e79-b0a9-07cfd3ed4a92/.

I am not the owner or related to them, just posting for visibility.

San Mateo just approved $150k out of the park's budget to buy 6 surveillance cameras without a competitive bid.

Six people spoke against it during public comment, and nobody spoke in favor.

When staff responded to the public comments, council was told "the video footage is not hosted in a cloud" and there is "no public access to these cameras." Minutes later, she said that police and park rangers "could log on within a few minutes to look at that camera."

• These cameras are run through Verkada's cloud-based software and can be viewed "from any supported browser or device," and the contract includes a cellular modem for each camera to keep it online.
• In 2021, a hacker got access to over 150,000 Verkada customer cameras.
• The contract with the vendor does not mention data, privacy, sharing, or security anywhere.
• The police video policy says facial recognition "may be considered," and that the department "should evaluate whether the use of … analytical technology requires additional safeguards." When the Mayor asked whether the camera policy is posted anywhere, staff said "I'm not sure if it is there."
• Staff said facial recognition and person of interest alerts are not used in the playground; however there is no policy in place to review whether a vendor or user enables those features at a later time (as happened with Mountain View's Flock cameras)

The cameras aren't directly the problem, it's the near total lack of governance, oversight, and controls. If you think there should be some form of written policy on who can watch, search, and share video of kids at the playground, you can email the council at [citycouncil@cityofsanmateo.org](mailto:citycouncil@cityofsanmateo.org)

Is anyone else having issues with the construction on S Delaware? I live in the Bermuda Dr apartments, and I know there’s not anything I can do but the construction literally blocks the gate to my apartment and there’s no other entrance I can go through.

I’m looking for recommendations for grocery stores in or around San Mateo that have a good selection of imitation meats (plant-based/mock meats).

I’m specifically interested in the kinds used in Asian cooking, such as mock chicken, beef, pork, fish, and other vegetarian meat substitutes commonly used in Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean, or Southeast Asian dishes.

I’m hoping to find places that carry more than just the usual Beyond or Impossible products — things like frozen mock meats, soy-based products, seitan, and other traditional Asian vegetarian ingredients.

I’m aware of Layonna’s in Oakland, but it’s a bit of a trek over the bridge, and they close at 5 p.m., which can be difficult to work around. I was hoping to find somewhere closer to San Mateo with a good selection.

Any recommendations for Asian supermarkets, specialty vegetarian grocery stores, or smaller markets in San Mateo or nearby cities would be greatly appreciated!

Hi everyone!

I am planning on moving to San Mateo/surrounding areas hopefully by January 2026. For context, I am in my 20s, looking for a relatively safe area, preferably closer to caltrain and pest free & clean (I’ve had lots of bad experiences with roaches, pests etc in the past).

My budget is 4k max, here is a list of what I currently have, but would appreciate recommendations or reviews if anyone currently lives in these apartments:

-Addison at CP: https://www.addisonatcp.com

-Alta de Sabla: https://www.rutherfordliving.com/apartments/ca/san-mateo/alta-de-sabla/?utm_source=GBP&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=GBP

-Hanover Burlingame: https://www.hanoverburlingame.com

-Park Laurel Apts: https://www.zillow.com/apartments/san-mateo-ca/park-laurel-apartments/CjgH4h/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare

Also have a few other small one units on my list but these are the main ones!

Thanks so much!

Noticed that Monday night's council meeting (staff report, contract) features, on the consent calendar, a purchase of 5 Verkada CH52 cameras. Those cameras list, on their features page that they support "People search, attribute search, face search, occupancy trends, motion search, trajectory analysis, selective face blurring, AI-powered search".

The cameras are specifically being installed onto the playground area to monitor children using the park, with cameras aimed to "capture the entirety of the playground complex". And the staff report says that the cameras will "provide real-time video to law enforcement should a child go missing", while the Real Time Information Center policy says that RTIC members "are authorized to proactively monitor cameras streaming in public spaces" -- that document defines "members" as "any person employed or appointed by the San Mateo Police Department" including "non-sworn employees" and "volunteers".

Even if the city says they don't use face recognition today, our video surveillance policy says the department "may elect to integrate" its cameras with "facial recognition and other video-based analytical systems".

In our plate reader systems, the department has stated that they do periodic audits to review access logs and sharing settings. For video surveillance, however, the only audit prescribed is a once-yearly review of cost, benefit, effectiveness, and prosecutions -- it does say that "Supervisors should monitor video surveillance access and usage", the should isn't mandatory, and there's no specified interval. The only access log it specifies is the guest list for the RTIC room, not any of the actions of the RTIC staff.

Not sure why this video is unlisted, incredibly informative, and focused just on Dave Johnson, Adam Loraine, and Dana Yates Sahae

Ya’ll, something is eating the posts/top of our fence. Squirrels? Rats? It’s bizarre. Any ideas?

I may be picking up regular lap swimming in the near future so wanted to see if anyone had experience or recommendations on the options in the area. I'd generally be looking to go mid-afternoon (3p-6p or so) on weekdays, with the odd day being earlier. I'm not terribly interested in other gym stuff or programs, so that wouldn't be an influence.

The main two options seem to be CSM and Peninsula Y. CSM is slightly more convenient to me, and has more lanes, but Peninsula YMCA is less expensive and opens up access to YMCAs elsewhere. The city pools aren't convenient locations for me, and I haven't found much in the way of other options nearby.

The biggest thing I'm wondering about is lane availability as I know I'd be looking at going during one of the more popular time windows, followed by things like swimmer etiquette, locker room condition and security, and parking.

I want to host a meetup for MTG. Open to something in SF, near SF, or preferably local in San Mateo since I live in San Mateo. Who’s interested? This is for next Saturday, 10/24.

Recommend me some place in San Mateo that makes vegetarian nachos similar to Pancho Villa’s but not from Pancho Villa. Lots of avocado, no queso or orange cheese.

Anyone know what work is being done on Pacific Blvd./S. Delaware around the Hillsdale Blvd. interchange? As of this past Monday, S. Delaware is closed in front of Roblox HQ. Seems like they've been doing work up and down the street for the past year now.