At the April 26th Board of Supervisors meeting, we discussed the status of the San Carlos Airport Disturbance Study and the next steps. Three consultants have been retained to conduct airport noise studies, identify the best practices in use at general aviation airports, gauge public opinion and prepare to report back to our Board in June. At this meeting, we learned that the FAA and Surf Air have developed alternative approaches to reduce the impact of noise above residential areas - these will be evaluated in May.
A 25-year dream of the East Palo Alto community and its partners came true this weekend! The Cooley Landing Educational Center held its grand opening. It is beautiful!
As part of Cities for Action, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors joins a broad coalition of cities and counties that are filing a friend-of-the-court amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Texas today, urging the Court to overturn a lower court’s decision and allow President Obama’s executive action on immigration to move forward. The brief, signed by 118 cities and counties representing 35 states, argues that the nationwide injunction blocking implementation of the President’s executive action on immigration was erroneously entered and should be reversed because it places millions of families in our cities and counties at economic and personal risk. Locally, six Bay Area counties have signed on to the amicus brief, including San Francisco, Alameda, Marin, Santa Clara, Sonoma and San Mateo Counties along with the major municipalities of San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento.
In October of 2014, our Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance to ban smoking in multi-family dwellings in the unincorporated areas of San Mateo County. That ordinance began in January 1, 2015 with new multi-family dwellings; in January 1, 2016, it expanded to include existing multi-family units. We sincerely hope to improve the health of the residents in the County.
A story from the San Mateo Daily Journal that was published on 1/13/2016 and reposted here along with my kudos to the Elections Office for their new online e-filing system for campaign disclosure forms. It's a step that is in keeping with the online world in which we live!
My staff and I celebrated the holidays with the staff of the County's Human Services Agency (HSA) and the Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS) Division and their clients at their remodeled facility in Belmont on January 13th. We served and shared a classic Thanksgiving Dinner!
On January 5th, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors unanimously elected Supervisor Slocum to be the President of the Board. He noted how honored he was by their confidence in him and was pleased that Supervisor Don Horsley was elected Vice President of the Board. He thanked outgoing President, Supervisor Carole Groom for her leadership over the past year noting her compassion for the residents, enthusiasm for the County and steady, guiding hand through complex issues.