Nominations are now being accepted for the 2023 Barbara Hammerman Award, an annual recognition sponsored by the San Mateo County Domestic Violence Council. In 2005, the Domestic Violence Council established the Hammerman Award, ratified by the Board of Supervisors of San Mateo County, for the purpose of recognizing outstanding law enforcement officers for their contribution and service to survivors of domestic violence and their children. In 2009 the award was expanded to include professionals who provide services to victims of domestic violence.

The San Mateo County Domestic Violence Council’s Domestic Violence Awareness Committee, in collaboration with the San Mateo County Youth Commission, is proud to announce a successful first annual Healthy Relationships Art Contest for Teens.

Mid-morning on September 8, 2022, Ms. Karina Castro was brutally killed in a domestic violence incident. “As co-chairs of the San Mateo County Domestic Violence Council, Supervisor Groom and I are shocked and saddened to hear about the tragic and senseless death of Ms. Karina Castro in San Carlos on September 8, 2022. Ms. Castro is more than the headlines you will see about her death,” said Elisa Kuhl, Victim Services Program Manager of the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

On June 30, 2022 the San Mateo County Agriculture Department pest detection team found a single Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) in a baited trap in Menlo Park. The team followed up with a delimitation survey that includes 40 traps within one square mile of the find. This is in addition to 80 existing traps within the 8 square miles surrounding the find. No new Oriental fruit flies have been detected. Oriental fruit flies are an invasive pest native to southern Asia, that has become established in Hawaii.