As San Mateo County voters and election observes will recall, last year San Mateo County conducted its first All-Mailed Ballot Election through legislation carried by Assembly Member Kevin Mullin known as Assembly Bill 2028. The legislation required a follow-up analysis and report to determine voter participation levels, turnout by demographic groups, operational costs, etc. Here are the findings from this historic election.
Beginning on May 31st, the Town of Atherton plans to close Marsh Road for eight to twelve weeks to repair the Marsh Road Canal that is eroding the road bed. A series of community meetings have been scheduled to share the project plans and give people the chance to ask questions and register their concerns. Please take the time to learn about this project. http://www.ci.atherton.ca.us/marshroad
The Board of Supervisors took steps to beef up the enforcement tools to discourage illegal dumping and littering in the unincorporated areas of San Mateo County. This has been of priority of Supervisor Slocum's and its unanimous adoption was appreciated.
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!
With the Cold War long over, the County is trading in its cramped and outdated Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for a new $37 million building to coordinate the response to disasters. It will also serve as a home for the County's 9-1-1 public safety dispatchers, a secure data center and the daily offices of the San Mateo County Office of Emergency Services and Division of Homeland Security of the Sheriff’s Office.
Crystal Springs Regional Trail is highly popular with various types of users – hikers, joggers, bicyclists, equestrians, and families pushing strollers. We want trail use to be safe for everyone. Be respectful of all on the trail and know the rules of the road.
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.
"No day is ever routine - one call may be a minor traffic accident, while the next is a frantic voice screaming for help." Rarely will you ever get a chance to meet the hundreds of people who call for help, yet they'll depend on your voice, your directions, and your knowledge to get through an emergency.
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!