A man who was rescued after falling down an embankment along state Highway 92 in San Mateo early this morning could face criminal charges for falsely telling authorities he had been carjacked, a San Mateo police sergeant said. 

The California Highway Patrol got a call at 1:49 a.m. from a 47-year-old San Mateo resident who said he had fallen and needed help.

The CHP and fire crews responded and eventually found the man 25 to 30 feet down an embankment along eastbound Highway 92 near Mariner's Island Boulevard, said Battalion Chief Nick Weber, of the San Mateo and Foster City fire departments, which are in the process of merging.

Firefighters climbed down the embankment and strapped the wounded man to a gurney that was then pulled up to street level by rope, Weber said.

He was taken to Stanford Hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.

The man initially told authorities he had fallen down the embankment while trying to escape from an armed carjacker, San Mateo police Sgt. Dave Norris said.

Investigators found the man's car nearby and searched the area for the carjacking suspect. However, after noticing inconsistencies in the man's story, they interviewed him again and he admitted that the carjacking tale was fake, Norris said.

What appears to have actually happened is that the man ran out of gas and became nervous about dealing with police, so he lied, Norris said.

"I think he was afraid to tell the police the whole truth about what happened, so he concocted something, which created a real resource drain for us," Norris said.

Police are still investigating how he fell down the embankment.

Norris said the man was not wanted on any warrants but that investigators are still looking into the circumstances of the incident and that the man could be charged with making a false police report.

San Mateo police will forward the case to the district attorney's office, which will decide whether to file charges, Norris said.

--Bay City News Service

by Alexa Hemken

Three Foster City elementary schools and one San Mateo school were given top honors by a statewide business group, the San Mateo-Foster City School District announced this morning. 

Audubon Elementary, Baywood Elementary, Brewer Island Elementary, and Foster City Elementary were selected by California Business for Education Excellence (CBEE) as 2011 Honor Roll schools, said the statement.

Schools receiving the distinction from California’s business community have demonstrated consistent high student academic achievement and have made significant progress toward closing achievement gaps among all their students.

“It’s great to be acknowledged for the good work of your teachers and staff, and for the success of your students,” exclaimed Superintendent Dr. Cynthia Simms in the statement.

Since 2006, the Honor Roll increased from 304 high performing schools to 1,614 high performing schools in 2011.

CBEE is a nonprofit organization whose stated
mission is to raise student academic achievement and close the achievement gap in
California’s public schools.

by Alexa Hemken

An upscale beauty store next to CVS at Metro Center will close its doors this Saturday. 

Two of the five store employees were laid off in mid-March, also the time when they were notified about the store going out of business, said an employee at the store.

Drugstore operator CVS Caremark Corp announced in March that it would close all 25 of its Beauty 360 stores, 23 of which are located in California.

Besides selling cosmetics, Beauty 360 stores also offer other spa-like services such as facials and a "lash bar" and "brow bar" for facial grooming.

All the stores are expected to be shuttered by May 19, according to the company, just four years after CVS announced the concept for "an innovative store concept designed to change the way women shop for prestige beauty."

by Alexa Hemken

Three applicants--including the retired chief operating officer of Caltrain and two incumbents--will be considered for appointment by the Foster City Council at Monday night's meeting. 

The two terms expiring are those of Planning Commissioner Dan Dyckman, who was appointed last September to fill a partial two-year term through May after the passing of Ron Cox; and Planning Commission Chair Paul Williams, who was appointed in Jan. 2010 after former Commissioner Charlie Bronitsky was elected to the City Council.

Both Dyckman and Williams have reapplied for the positions. The terms run from June 1, 2012 through May 31, 2016 and commissioners are compensated $269 per month and are eligible to participate in the city's health benefits plan.

Dyckman has been a soil engineer for his own company, GeoForensics Inc, for 22 years, according to his application. He has also been active in local youth sports.

John Ficarra is a retired chief operating officer for SamTrans and Caltrain and is a member of the Foster City Lions Club.

Williams is an 11-year employee of Lincoln Property Company, where he serves as vice president of development and construction for the west coast region. He is an active member of the Rotary Club of Foster City.

by Alexa Hemken

The 12-member citizen committee tasked with recommending how the San Mateo-Foster City School District should deal with capacity issues at Foster City schools will have their first meeting on Tuesday, May 22 at 6 p.m. in Foster City. 

The Superintendent’s Committee on Overcrowding RElief (SCORE) will look at solutions for capacity problems at Foster City schools, an issue that has been brewing for the last five years--all options will be examined, from those that faced political backlash such as building on parks to ideas met with skepticism by school district officials such as building on existing sites like Bowditch Middle School and Foster City Elementary.

The idea for SCORE itself came after a contentious March 1 Board of Trustees meeting where more than 100 residents and businesses expressed opposition to the school district's designation of Charter Square Shopping Center where the Post Office is located as a site for a fourth school.

At the meeting, the Board decided to postpone a bond measure for this June's ballot which would have provided funding for construction of a new school. SCORE will be working on an aggressive timeline, with recommendations expected by July.

The committee is made up of members recommended by the Board of Trustees, the Foster City Council and the Foster City Chamber of Commerce.

Last Thursday, the Board of Trustees approved the Chamber's recommendations of Derrick Chua and Larry Lowenthal, said a school district spokeswoman. Lowenthal is the owner of Gilmans Kitchens and Baths and Chua is a dentist and part owner of Bridgepointe Family Dental Care.

In April, the Board approved the Foster City Council's recommendations--Gary Pollard, chairman of the Foster City Parks and Recreation Committee, was approved unanimously; Jerry Terstiege, a member of the now-defunct Environmental Sustainability Task Force (ESTF), was also unanimously approved; and Yvonne Ryzak was approved on a 4-1 vote with Councilman Herb Perez dissenting.

At their April 19 meeting, the Board of Trustees narrowly shot down the application of Sunny Tong by a 3-2 vote.

Tong is the property manager at Charter Square Shopping Center--he had warned the school district that the tenants and property owner Westlake would “strongly” oppose a proposed facilities bond if the school district didn't take the shopping center off the table as a location for a fourth school.

The Board did approve residents Douglas Stoveland and Troy Ryder as well as Baywood Elementary (San Mateo) Principal Joanne Day.

All appointments of parents recommended by principals at Foster City schools were approved, including residents Bridget Michelsen (Brewer Island Elementary), Robert Pedro (Audubon Elementary), Vince Perrine (Foster City Elementary) and Mark Watson (Bowditch Middle School).

The meeting will take place at the District Office, 1170 Chess Dr., Foster City.

by Alexa Hemken