On Tuesday, the San Mateo County Health Department issued a new health advisory providing explicit guidance on how the public can protect itself from the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.

In addition to reminding the community that the virus is highly transmittable even absent any symptoms, the advisory emphasized three actions that can offer individuals the most protection:

Beginning this Saturday, and continuing through January 2, Saturday parking is free at all on-street metered spaces, plus City-owned parking lots, in the downtown Burlingame Avenue area and Broadway commercial district.

Click here for City parking lot information and maps.

Put a local business gift card on your shopping list this holiday season! SupportBurlingame.com makes it easy to purchase gift cards or certificates from any of Burlingame's participating stores, services, and restaurants.

Purchase gift cards for yourself, family, and friends OR donate them to charity - our volunteers will deliver them to Samaritan House or CASA of San Mateo County. It's free for any Burlingame business to participate, so encourage your favorite merchant to register. The goal is to generate income for local businesses this holiday season and beyond, and help deserving families. Thank you to the Burlingame Collaborative volunteers who made this website possible.

Questions? Email info@supportburlingame.com.

Health Orders Compliance Will Ensure a Safe and Enduring Comeback

San Mateo County’s Compliance Team investigates and responds to reports of alleged violations of state and local health orders related to COVID-19. 

All businesses must:

Click here to report a business violation of health orders. After an initial warning, businesses may incur citations with penalties between $250 and $3,000, depending on the gravity of the health risk, prior warnings, intent to profit from the violation, and good faith efforts to comply.

Peninsula Clean Energy is offering a $250 credit on electricity bills for qualifying small business customers to help with financial stress caused by the pandemic. Upon validation, a $250 bill credit will be issued on the Peninsula Clean Energy portion of your bill within the next one to two months. The deadline to apply for the credit is December 31, 2020. Apply here.

Please, for the health of your neighbors and community, check before you burn wood indoors or outdoors this winter season. Winter air pollution is mainly caused by soot pollution from wood smoke that can be especially harmful for children, the elderly, and people with respiratory illnesses. On Spare the Air days, when air quality is forecasted to be especially polluted, it is illegal to burn wood.

For more information about the Wood Burning Rule, or to check before you burn, visit www.sparetheair.org, or call 1-877-4NO-BURN. 

You can also call 1-800-430-1515 and register to receive automatic phone calls when a winter Spare the Air Alert has been called. To sign up for text alerts, text the word “START” to 817-57.

The City would like to thank Rob Adams, the Bradley family, the Blackburns, Kendra Calvert, Paola Lancellotti, and their families for inspiring our community to support local businesses. Last week, they shared the local businesses they planned to support this holiday season. See the impressive list below and remember to check out Nextdoor and Facebook for daily updates and ideas on places to shop locally.

Our local business community will need your continued support long after this holiday season. In order to help, we all need to consciously change our buying habits.

Help inspire us!

First, think about your buying behavior. Do you purchase pet supplies, paper products, cleaning products, hardware supplies, health and beauty products, toys and gifts, clothing, jewelry, books, fitness supplies, other retail items, or services online or from businesses outside Burlingame?

Next, is there a Burlingame business that you can switch to in order to buy some of these items? Check out our "Support Local Businesses" page on the City's website for inspiration.

Finally, pick three items that you will commit to purchasing from a local business and share your ideas with us by sending an email to nblackburn@burlingame.org. We will feature your three picks in this eNews, Nextdoor, and on Facebook to help inspire others to do the same!

San Mateo County's Joint Information Center recently released the following clarifications to its November 28 press release announcing San Mateo County's move into Purple Tier 1 and the State's Stay at Home Order between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. ("curfew hours").

Playgrounds may remain open to facilitate physically distanced personal health and wellness through outdoor exercise. Playgrounds located on schools that remain open for in-person instruction, and not accessible by the general public, may remain open and must follow guidance for schools and school-based programs.

Grocery stores are now allowed up to 35 percent capacity (up from 20 percent).

Food and agriculture fall under the State’s definition of “Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce” and includes: “workers supporting groceries, pharmacies, convenience stores, and other retail that sells food or beverage products, and animal/pet food, retail customer support service, information technology support staff, for online orders, pickup/takeout or delivery." Workers supporting restaurant carry-out and quick serve food operations, including food preparation, carry-out, and delivery food employees also fall within the definition of Essential Critical Instructure Workforce and are therefore exempt from the 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. curfew hours issued by the State.

Learn more about progress made on the El Camino Real Renewal project since the public forums held in January and June. Caltrans' new online public forum is available for your participation and comment through December 17, so please don't delay!

The website features short videos and helpful posters that explain progress made during the environmental phase of this project. This includes important new information about reasonable design alternatives under consideration and the status and health of the trees on El Camino Real. Other features include a closely monitored message board where the public can share thoughts and see others' comments about the project.

For more information about this project, please visit ecralternatives.com​ and be sure to explore the presentations, posters, forum, and FAQ in the navigation bar.  

Earlier this week, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the launch of CA Notify, a phone based app that will inform Californians if they have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for the virus.

CA Notify does not collect your device's location to detect exposure and does not share a user’s identity. Instead, the app uses Bluetooth technology to exchange random codes between phones without revealing the user’s identity or location. If a CA Notify user tests positive for COVID-19, they will receive a verification code to plug into the app, if they so choose. Any other CA Notify users who have been within six feet of the COVID-19 positive individual for 15 minutes or more will get an anonymous notification of possible exposure.

The tool was developed in partnership with Google and Apple and piloted with the help of the University of California, San Diego and the University of California, San Francisco. It is available in 15 different languages. Learn more here.

Your trash may be someone else’s treasure. Andrea Pappajohn, a Burlingame resident, shared an excellent tip for no longer needed household items. Instead of sending them to the landfill, try giving them away or selling them on Nextdoor, Craigslist, Offerup, Buy Nothing (a Facebook Group), and Plato's Closet. You may also donate to Goodwill or Salvation Army (select locations accept donations). Andrea notes that, “these small actions increase our waste diversion rate and are in line with our plan for zero waste.”

Thank you Andrea for sharing your Small Action Big Impact with us! If you have a small action with a big impact – either at home, business, or school – please tell us about it. We would love to highlight it in the eNews. Send your Small Action Big Impact story to smichael@burlingame.org.

Anson Burlingame's domestic influence extended deep into the Midwestern United States. Click this link to read an interesting article in "The Kansas City Star" about our namesake's impact on a town formerly known as Council City. The article, written by two distant relations of Mr. Burlingame, highlights how the issues he addressed in the 19th century aren't too different from those we face today. Thank you Jeff Londer for sharing this article with us.

Registration for the winter season (January-March) of Parks & Recreation Department programs is now open! Fun and exciting programs are available for all ages, both in-person* and virtually, including:

Your Activity Guide should be arriving in your mail soon, but to view it now, click here. Click here to register.

*Please note that classes and programs are subject to San Mateo County Health Order guidelines, and may need to be modified, rescheduled, or canceled. If you have any questions, call 650-558-7330.

As part of the fiscal year 2019-2020 Capital Improvement Plan, the Parks & Recreation Department will be updating Victoria Park's playground equipment at 30 Howard Avenue.

If you would like to be considered as a neighborhood representative for the Victoria Park playground committee, you may fill out an application here. The first meeting will take place via Zoom in January.

If you don’t have time for the committee but would like to offer your opinions about the elements in the park, please complete this survey. The survey and committee application will be available until Monday, December 14.

Thank you in advance for your interest and participation! If you have any questions about this project, please call Karen Hager, Management Analyst, at 650-558-7317, or email khager@burlingame.org.

Thursdays, 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Please continue to follow these important tips for shopping the Fresh Market:

For more information, visit burlingamechamber.org.

The library has always been a common space for the community to connect and share. The Burlingame Public Library invites you to share your feelings, hopes, and concerns through a community art project. Submissions must be 8.5” x 11” or smaller. Visit the website for details and submission info.

Registration is required. Click here.

Join this second discussion about "The New York Times" 1619 Project, which examines the origins and legacy of slavery in America. This event is for adults and teens.

Are you having trouble controlling the way you eat? Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous is a 12-step recovery program for people who suffer from food obsession, overeating, bulimia, and under-eating. Everyone is welcome at meetings, including those who think they may have a food problem or those who are concerned about someone who may.

Meetings, which were formerly held in Burlingame on Thursdays at First Presbyterian Church at 1500 Easton Drive, are now available by phone. For information and to ask questions, call Nora at 650-537-0066. You can also visit http://www.foodaddicts.org