Kids & Family
Week in Review: Republicans Descend Upon Peninsula, Council Moves Towards Plastic Bag Ban
A round-up of major news stories from the past week.
Monday, Feb. 20
The Bay Area housing recovery is a mixed bag, recently released real estate sales data shows.
Bay area home sales reached a five-year high in January, according to DataQuick, but the same study indicates median home prices continued to plummet, touching lows not seen in nearly three years
Find out what's happening in Foster Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
A total of 5,479 homes sold in the nine-county Bay Area in January, a number that was up 10.3 percent from January 2011, according to DataQuick. It was down 26 percent from December, but Dataquick officials said a decline is normal from December to January.
The median home price in January was $326,000, down 2.8 percent from December and 3.6 percent from December 2010.
Find out what's happening in Foster Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Median home prices are at their lowest point since April 2009, when they reached $304,000. They hit their lowest point in the recent downturn in March 2009, at $290,000.
Tuesday, Feb. 21
Bay Area motorists got early relief from irregular holiday weekend traffic patterns on Sunday, when Caltrans nearly a day and a half ahead of schedule.
Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney said unexpectedly good weather allowed work to progress quickly.
The closure allowed crews to construct a detour for westbound cars that will allow for the construction of part of the new eastern span.
Wednesday, Feb. 22
The Foster City Council on Tuesday indicated it will .
The council voted unanimously to authorize the City Manager to issue a letter of intent to join San Mateo County and other cities as a “participating agency” in preparing an Environmental Impact Report that would be a precursor to the ban.
Thursday, Feb. 23
Foster City’s Parks and Recreation Department announced it will continue to offer at , , , , and Parks.
Dogs are also allowed to be off-leash at the .
Friday, Feb. 24
Serra High alum and three-time winning Super Bowl quarterback on Thursday, reflecting on his days as a Padre at an appearance benefiting the school’s scholarship.
His appearance on the San Mateo campus followed the death of Serra quarterbacks coach Tom Martinez earlier this week. Martinez, who died of a heart attack on his 67th birthday on Tuesday, has often been cited by Brady as one of the most influential figures in his development.
Saturday, Feb. 25
Patch reporters blanketed the in Burlingame on Saturday with in-depth coverage that included analysis of the GOP’s efforts to court and voters.
Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, along with Republican National Committee Co-Chair Sharon Day, California Congressman Darrell Issa and California Congressman and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy took turns at President Obama during the event
Gingrich Obama for the recent spike in gas prices.
Following sentiments expressed by voters in early primary and caucus states along with national polls, audience members expressed , expressing admiration for his smarts with reservations about his troubled personal life.
