November is Adoption Month in San Mateo County, however happy endings happen year round! Ron and Mary Beth and their kids, Bruno and Maya, were on hand at our Board of Supervisors meeting on November 15th to share their family with us. You can go online to find out more about our programs and the joys that they can bring at: http://hsa.smcgov.org/adoptions .

More than 150 community members attended San Mateo County’s inaugural Veteran of the Year Luncheon Thursday, an event that not only honored the more than 33,000 veterans in the county, but also highlighted the hard work put forth by a few individuals dedicated to making life easier for all veterans.

The San Mateo County Veterans Commission will honor three individuals and a Peninsula church at its first annual Veteran of the Year luncheon held in appreciation of their notable commitment and significant effort to improve the quality of life for those who served our country.

As a tribute to our county veterans and their families, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted to approve the waiver of park entrance fees beginning on November 11, 2016 going forward. I asked our Board to consider this request and to honor our veterans and their families by welcoming them to the most beautiful and wild places in our County - our parks! The proposal was unaninously approved by the Board and supported by the San Mateo County Parks Commission and the San Mateo County Parks Department.

The five-year pilot program aims to narrow the income gap for all service contractors and subcontractors doing business with the County.

Kudos to SamTrans and the City of East Palo Alto! Together you've solved an important community problem by the rerouting of 280 and 81. High schoolers headed to Menlo-Atherton High School found themselves with a 2-3 hour commute...Not anymore! According to a Management Analyst for the City of East Palo Alto, " the 81 daily nearly filled to bursting with students heading over to the high school." Thank you, Samtrans!

Congratulations to all of the poets who attended the "Poetry is Nature" celebration at the Woodside Library especially those who shared their poetry at this very enjoyable afternoon. Thanks also to San Mateo County Poet Laureate Caroline Goodwin and our incoming Poet Laureate Lisa Rosenberg for reading their poetry, too. Three submissions by poets from Camp Glenwood were amazing. Such talent!

Her role as Poet Laureate will be to elevate poetry among San Mateo County residents and to celebrate the literary arts.

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors appointed Lisa Rosenberg of Menlo Park to the honorary post of Poet Laureate at the Oct. 4, 2016 Board meeting. 

Congratulations to Lupe Oropeza and Monica Castillo, the 2016 Barbara Hammerman honorees! Thank you for your leadership and your effective advocacy of domestic violence victims in San Mateo County. You are public servants of the highest order, selected by your peers, and recognized for your outstanding work. We owe you a debt of gratitude for all that you do.