Dear Marci,

You may have heard the African proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

That’s been one of my guiding principles while having the honor of serving as a County Supervisor. Collaboration is so important in the work we do…getting out of the office, looking at situations firsthand and bringing people together to solve community issues.

That’s been my guiding star.

You will see evidence of our approach to problem solving in this newsletter as we share various topics of potential interest.

Thank you for taking a moment to read May’s progress report. And if you have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Regards,

Warren Slocum

The news out of Washington DC is alarming – as we learned from the leaked draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion that will likely overturn Roe v. Wade. This will undo nearly 50 years of precedence protecting a woman’s right to choose, right to privacy over her health decisions, and possibly extend way beyond this.

It astounds me. It confounds me. It is unthinkable, but it is the reality we are living in. When I served as Assessor/Recorder for San Mateo County, we were the first county to perform same sex marriages – and I was proud and honored to do so. Now I fear that decisions on marriage equality and on decisions on contraceptives could be on that sliding slope of privacy decisions on the line.

In California, these rights are protected without question. But many other states - some 26 - are poised to ban abortion and some even contraceptives as soon as this decision is handed down. Here in San Mateo County, we value the rights of women to make decisions affecting their bodies. We also strongly value other rights to privacy including marriage equality and beyond. In fact, the County stated its support for abortion rights by joining in an amicus brief in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization before the U.S. Supreme Court, and whose draft opinion was leaked.

Supervisor Dave Pine and I have started the important work necessary to protect women’s rights after the overturn of Roe. At our May 17 Board meeting, we offered a resolution affirming San Mateo County’s unwavering support for women’s reproductive freedom and healthcare privacy. We also directed staff to develop an action plan to further our Board’s commitment to protect the rights of woman who will come here from out of state, to keep safe those patients visiting medical facilities to assess their options to seek an abortion or for contraceptives. This action plan will assist Planned Parenthood with their most urgent needs to increase patient capacity, including more ultrasound machines and exam tables, and a buffer zone ordinance to protect patients and staff at these clinics. This resolution was passed unanimously by our Board colleagues. The County Executive will report back on this action plan at our June 14 Board meeting.

You can read this Board resolution and memo here, by clicking on the May 17 agenda, and going to Item #10. And in the meantime, Planned Parenthood could use all our support, and you can donate here.

COVID-19 UPDATE:

BOOSTERS BOLSTER PROTECTION!

COVID cases are on the rise again nationwide with the BA.2 variant, particularly on the East Coast but also here in the Bay Area and in San Mateo County. What we are learning from the data is that booster rates seem to indicate how a particular state and/or region might fare in the coming weeks and months. Booster shots do seem to bolster protection.

If you are eligible, now is the time to make your appointment and get that 2^nd booster shot! You can easily make your appointment thru My Turn.

One of the state’s first five drive-thru “Test to Treat” sites — a location where people can test for COVID-19 and immediately be treated with medication if eligible – has opened at the College of San Mateo. If eligible, patients will receive Pfizer’s Paxlovid,

medication proven to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death by roughly 90%. This site will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday with or without an appointment, though appointments are encouraged.

I leave you with these words of wisdom from our Health Chief Louise Rogers, “This is a time for increased awareness and vigilance.”

DISTRICT 4 AND BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ UPDATES 

Flood Park Redesign: Today, an updated design was released for Flood Park, taking into consideration comments and recommendations from all who participated in community meetings and surveys. Outreach and survey responses indicated strong support for each of the park programs and features established as part of the Reimagine Flood Park process from 2015 – 2020. Under the new plan, most of the recreational facilities and the second multi-use field have been relocated to preserve native trees and trees in the heart of the oak woodland and to create better flow by grouping complimentary amenities. The multi-use fields have been reconfigured and consolidated in the north part of the park. This will preserve the “heart of the oak woodland” and create a more cohesive and flexible field configuration. This has been a collaborative process – one in which many voices were heard – and we are excited for the next steps to begin work on this beautiful park! You can learn more about this project here.

Swim Lessons for Disadvantaged Youth: on May 3, the Board of Supervisors approved our District 4 Measure K grant for Beyond Barriers Athletic Foundation for swim scholarships for children in need and subsidize lifeguard training certification classes for youth in North Fair Oaks, East Menlo Park, and East Palo Alto. Beyond Barrier’s mission is to promote healthy lifestyles, improve personal safety and add structure while teaching, thru scholarships, disadvantage youth to swim. These swim lessons are so important because children of color are three times more likely to visit an emergency room or even lose their lives because of a swim accident. The good news is that now 2,050 swim lessons and 10 lifeguard training certification classes will be funded for youth residing in the North Fair Oaks, east Menlo Park, and East Palo Alto neighborhoods. 

Sequoia Trailer Park: The Sequoia Trailer Park, a mobile home park located in North Fair Oaks, has 134 units and is home to many families. In summer of 2021, one of the units was destroyed by fire. Since then, County staff, including our office, began working with the residents to prevent future incidents, fix code violations in many of the trailers, exploring financial assistance programs with local non-profits to provide subsidized repairs for eligible residents, all while allowing the residents to continue living in their units. We have held community meetings to keep the residents informed on next steps and progress. I will continue to keep you updated on the progress as we continue to meet during the summer. 

Juneteenth Flag Raising: On June 3, there will be a flag raising to celebrate Juneteenth at 400 County Center. Juneteenth, or Juneteenth Independence Day, commemorates the traditional observance of the end of slavery in the United States and is observed annually on June 19.

San Mateo County recognizes the history of racism in our country and how it has led to many disparities in education, job attainment, housing, criminal justice, and healthcare for Black people and beyond. Juneteenth is a significant opportunity to honor the principles of the Declaration of Independence and celebrate the many achievements and contributions African Americans have made and continue to make in our County and across our nation. Observing Juneteenth allows us to join together in the name of freedom, justice and the power of community.

San Mateo County Leading the Way:

Working Together to End Homelessness

We are calling 2022 “Our Year of Working Together to End Homelessness.” To achieve that goal, all of us – businesses, cities, faith communities, non-profit and service organizations, and individual community members – must work together.

On May 20th, the County hosted the 2nd virtual event for “2022: Our Year of Working Together to End Homelessness” learning about how those experiencing homelessness from the street get to interim housing. The last webinar will be on June 3. To learn more about this effort and programming, and to watch the webinars, click here.