News Roundup from May 23-27

Here are the major news stories of this past week:

Friday

• Accused serial killer Joseph Naso pleaded "not guilty" May 27 in Marin County Superior Court to murdering four Northern California women between 1977 and 1994. Naso, 77, also denied the special circumstance allegation of committing multiple murders.
• Bail has been set at $1 million for a 17-year-old San Rafael boy arrested Thursday in connection with a outside the Safeway store in Novato, police said. The boy was arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide and booked into Marin County Juvenile Hall with a bail of $1 million, police said.

Thursday

• After developers made design changes to the initial plan for a proposed 67-unit apartment complex near the Elks Lodge, some San Rafael neighbors are still concerned about traffic in the area and the appearance of the new building. Architects working with the development agency Thompson/Dorfman Partners changed the design to make the new building look less contemporary after neighbors complained in an April meeting that the structure would clash with the neighboring Elks Lodge, Falkirk Cultural Center and Marin History Museum.

Wednesday

• San Rafael moms have a champion in Marin native Georgia Montgomery. Well known for being the backbone of The Parent’s Center, moms with young children can find a safe haven under her wing. Her wealth of understanding and her amazing way with the little ones is an invaluable resource. Her organization has seen some changes in the recent months so it’s a real wonder she found time for this weeks’ Mom’s Chat!

Tuesday

• The San Rafael City School Board unanimously approved an agreement to install solar thermal heating systems for the swimming pools at Terra Linda and San Rafael high schools. According to the agreement brought forward by San Rafael-based environmental non-profit Strategic Energy Innovations, solar panels will be installed at both high schools that would provide energy-efficient heating to the boilers that supply water for the swimming pools and the shower rooms.

Monday

• The Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD) board voted 4-1 Monday night to approve a 4 percent water rate increase, effective June 1 and reflected in bills starting on August 1.

• A larger number of PG&E’s digital Smart Meters may be inaccurate than the company has previously stated, according to documents provided to Patch by a PG&E employee. Inaccurate meters can result in estimated customer bills that are either higher or lower than they would be otherwise. PG&E has maintained approximately 0.14 percent of all electric bills from the Smart Meters have to be estimated due to errors in the meters, compared with 2.13 percent of electric bills that must be estimated from older traditional analog meters. (According to PG&E records 0.05 percent of gas Smart Meters result in estimated bills, compared with 0.82 percent of traditional gas meters.)