There's been a lot of news in and around San Mateo County this week, and here's what you need to know about local news from July 16-22 to stay up to date.
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Redwood City remains in a Stage 2 water shortage emergency, meaning residential customers have an indoor allotment of 45 gallons per person per day and a 35 percent reduction in outdoor irrigation water.
Thus, to prevent unreasonable use and promote conservation of the vital liquid, the Water Board prohibited the use of potable water for irrigation of non-functional lawns in commercial, industrial and institutional sites, which also includes common areas for homeowners associations, but not family residential areas.
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Health care and support workers at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City went on strike Monday demanding better working conditions and a new contract.
The strike began on July 18 at 6:00 a.m. at the hospital located at 170 Alameda de las Pulgas, after it was authorized on July 7 when 95 percent of union members voted in favor of taking action.
Nursing assistants, aides, surgical technicians, respiratory therapists, cooks and others who participated in the demonstration demanded better working conditions, higher wages, better benefits and more staff.
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On Monday morning, a San Mateo Police officer arrested a man after he approached them and confessed to stealing a rideshare vehicle on the night of Sunday, July 17.
According to the report, Randy Jay admitted to detectives that he “was a bad person and needed to go to jail” because he was responsible for the carjacking incident. During a search of his person, fentanyl and a knife that had been used during the robbery were discovered.
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The Pacifica Police Department requested assistance following a hate incident in the community where a doll was branded with a swastika at a local school.
On July 13, police responded to a report of a theft at Oceana High School, where they learned that a pride flag had been removed from the pole in front of the gymnasium.
On July 14, officers responded to the City of Pacifica's after-school care program located on the Sunset Ridge School campus to conduct a theft investigation.
Inside the ransacked classroom, officials said, officers found a doll of a child with a swastika inscribed on its forehead. Staff reported the theft of several electronic and computer items.
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The San Mateo County Suicide Prevention and Crisis Intervention Center, operated by StarVista, began receiving 988 calls this week as part of a nationwide network of emergency responders.
Local callers to 988 will receive free, confidential support 24/7 through the StarVista Crisis Center hotline program.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) called 988 a first step toward a transformed crisis care system in the United States.
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Farmworkers in San Mateo County will soon be able to access health care resources via a double-decker bus, thanks to a new program launched by local advocacy groups and backed by major life sciences companies like Genentech.
Launching in September, the Farmworker Equity Express program will be equipped with computers and internet to help farmworkers connect virtually with health care providers, mental health resources, online tutoring and adult classes in community college programs.
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San Francisco supervisors on Thursday criticized the public health response to the ongoing global outbreak of monkeypox, calling for better communication with at-risk groups and an influx of vaccine doses.
San Francisco currently has 141 confirmed cases, more than half of the 266 that were confirmed statewide as of Tuesday.
The vast majority of the city's cases have been confirmed in gay or bisexual men between the ages of 25 and 54, and about 42 percent of confirmed cases have been in Asian, Black or Hispanic residents.
Dr. Stephanie Cohen, medical director of the San Francisco City Clinic, said the city requested a conservative estimate of 35,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine but only received about 7,700 doses.
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