Dear Marci,

It is September and fall has arrived! Fall begins in earnest for me with Latinx Heritage Month (see article below) where we celebrate the cultural heritage and contributions of the Latinx community.

I was horrified watching the news about migrants being lured and then flown from San Antonio, Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts earlier this month by a Governor from another state – under the false pretenses of housing and jobs. This was an extreme example of the lack of compassion for fellow human beings – but there were other states doing similarly.

Here in San Mateo County, we welcome immigrants to our community and thank them for the diversity they bring – and we especially do so during Welcoming Week and our San Mateo County Immigrant Inclusion Summit in September. Learn more here how we believe everyone belongs!

Thank you for taking a moment to read our September newsletter. And if you have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Regards,

Warren Slocum

Tickets are now on sale for the San Mateo County Veterans Commission 7th Annual Veterans Recognition Lunch that will be held on Thursday, November 10 at the Westin SFO in Millbrae.

This year’s honorees are remarkable in their work as veterans and for veterans. We will honor retiring Congresswoman Jackie Speier with a Lifetime Achievement award for her continuing meaningful work on behalf of veterans. Other honorees include U.S. Marine Corps veteran George Smith who is a retired firefighter and current Commander of the American Legion Post 105 in Redwood City is the Veteran of the Year, volunteers Wendy Weller and Andrew Trapani, and Veterans Surf Alliance, a non-profit that creates fellowship and community among veterans through surfing. U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Thomas A. Cropper (Ret.), President of California State University Maritime Academy, will deliver the keynote address.

As a proud U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam, it’s important that we recognize the work and sacrifice of our veterans and their advocates. Equally important is how that spirit of service is so inspiring to the rest of us.

Tickets can be purchased here for this sure-to-sell-out event!

CELEBRATING LATINX HERITAGE MONTH

Every year Latinx Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15 through October 15 to embrace the history, culture, and contributions of Latin American countries and individuals.

I am so proud to represent District 4, particularly North Fair Oaks, with our large Hispanic and Latinx community. Here in San Mateo County, Hispanics represent nearly 24% of our population. The Latinx culture is deeply rooted in many places in our County but especially in North Fair Oaks – from the restaurants on Middlefield Road, to the community celebrations and our large Spanish-speaking community. And we are proud of all the contributions the Latinx community has done and continues to do to enhance our diversity of culture.

San Mateo County Libraries are a wonderful resource to learn more about Latinx Heritage Month. All month, they will be featuring an array of programming to educate, entertain and enjoy – including my favorite, Latin Jazz bands at several locations.

At our September 13 Board meeting, I presented a proclamation celebrating Latinx Heritage Month, which you can read here.

COVID19: According to the Center for Disease Control, San Mateo County continues to be in the low tier for transmission. However, San Mateo County Health continues to strongly recommend staying up to date with COVID19 vaccinations. To that end, a new booster is now available (called the bivalent booster) to those eligible, that protects against the newest COVID19 variants that have emerged. The new booster is available at community clinics – including in North Fair Oaks and East Palo Alto - with or without an appointment (available on MyTurn). Updated boosters are also available from primary health care providers, such as Kaiser and Sutter, as well as from pharmacies such as Walgreens, CVS, and others.

MONKEYPOX: Although the monkeypox outbreak is a health priority with cases in San Mateo County, the risk of transmission to the general public remails low.  San Mateo County residents can follow the most current information at Health’s webpage, including vaccination opportunities.

DISTRICT 4 AND BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ UPDATES 

Here are some of the updates and decisions our Board of Supervisors made since the last newsletter:

Civilian Oversight Subcommittee Appointed: At the September 13 Board meeting, Supervisor Dave Pine and I were appointed as the Civilian Oversight Subcommittee. We will work with staff to research and report on potential civilian oversight options for the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and design and help implement a community engagement process. I look forward to this work that will be another meaningful step for transparency in government – it parallels perfectly with our Board’s work on equity and inclusion.

Working Together to End Homelessness Innovation Grants: Homelessness is the issue of our time. The County’s one-day homeless count held on Feb. 24, 2022, found 1,092 unsheltered residents. Here in San Mateo County, we are innovative and solution minded. In the spirit of innovation, on September 13, the Board set up a $2 million fund to kick-start transformational programs to end homelessness. We know many of the organizations that serve our unsheltered residents have great ideas but not necessarily the means to put those ideas into action. Now, with this grant program, we are challenging those organizations to offer innovative and new approaches to engage the homeless with service providers and have them successfully transition to interim or permanent housing. Information for this grant is here and the application deadline is October 7. 

Final Budget Revisions for FY 2022-2023: On September 27, the Board of Supervisors will consider adoption of final budget revisions to the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Approved Recommended Budget that focuses on long-term goals including ending homelessness, advancing an equity-based COVID-19 economic recovery, and creating modern and efficient public buildings.

And this newsletter comes before that vote – so let me explain what we will be asked to consider and approve. The proposed final budget includes $134.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) funds to help communities most impacted by the pandemic. It also contains $185.7 million to boost the County’s efforts to effectively end homelessness by increasing support services to prevent homelessness and building permanent affordable housing. These are big numbers and a complex topic. To better understand this budget, I encourage you to listen to the Board meeting here.

Survey for the Healthy Community Mural Project: In past newsletters, I’ve talked about this wonderful public art project – the Healthy Community Mural, which will be located at the 5th Avenue Underpass in North Fair Oaks. We are asking for the public to help us inform this project by taking the survey. This community project, in partnership with the Culture Collective of North Fair Oaks and the San Mateo County Office of Arts & Culture, will include 16 individual murals. Please take the survey to help decide the topics for the panels – the deadline is September 30th.

We also have a Request for Proposal to artists and/or artist teams interested in being a part of this project. It is open to open to all artists and/or artist teams living in the nine Bay Area Counties, and those from San Mateo County and North Fair Oaks are particularly encouraged to apply.

A Computer Lab for the American Legion Post 105: On September 13, the Board approved my Measure K grant to the American Legion Post 105 in Redwood City to support the creation of a computer lab for veterans and the underserved in the community. There are several generations of veterans who will benefit from this Measure K grant. Many American Legion members are from the Vietnam War era – and it is those elder veterans who often never learned the most basic of computer skills to enable them to communicate with friends and family afar. But there are also newly discharged veterans who are re-entering the workforce and could use a refresher course on computer program basics. And once operating, the American Legion will also allow this computer learning lab to be used for students in the underserved communities to learn necessary skills to succeed in their future endeavors.