The Board of Supervisors of the the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors will seek a $5 million grant in state funds to help provide housing for local farmworkers.
The action was taken by unanimous decision of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, with 5 votes in favor, to authorize staff to apply for support that would fund the purchase of manufactured homes, possibly in partnership with the City of Half Moon Bay.
These homes would be located in an as-yet-unidentified area of the coast. Local farmworkers, including families and people displaced by the January mass shooting, would be eligible to live in and purchase the homes.
“The Joe Serna grant program represents a tremendous opportunity for the county,” said Supervisor Dave Pine, chairman of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. “If state funding is awarded, we can begin to address the chronic housing shortage among our essential agricultural workforce.”
The County is also seeking funding from the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program, a competitive funding opportunity from the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
The state is expected to announce the grant recipients in June 2023. For now, the county is already working with the city of Half Moon Bay to identify potential sites.
The state grant program is designed to “assist low-income agricultural employees and their families become or remain homeowners.”
San Mateo police have arrested the owner of a San Mateo massage parlor on suspicion of prostitution and running a brothel, police said in a news release Tuesday.
Following previous incidents in which undercover officers sought massages and were offered sex in exchange for money, police served a search warrant Friday at the business, located in the 100 block of De Anza Boulevard.
Police determined that the owner, Liping Yao, 43, of San Jose, negotiated sexual acts for money and arrested her on suspicion of prostitution and brothel keeping.
La policía dijo que también proporcionaron recursos de trata de personas a Yao y a un empleado en el lugar.
By a unanimous vote, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors ended the COVID-19 state of emergency, aligning with the State of California, after Governor Gavin Newsom declared the end of the action that began on March 4, 2020.
“While today’s vote ends the emergency phase of the pandemic, it does not end the county’s ongoing and focused effort to combat COVID-19,” said Dave Pine, chairman of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.
In that regard, the local official detailed that the county will continue to work closely with community and religious organizations to educate residents about residual risks, vaccination recommendations, and programs to cushion economic impacts.
The County activated its Emergency Operations Center on March 2, 2020, following the discovery of local cases of COVID-19. On March 10, 2020, the Board ratified a local health emergency by the San Mateo County Health Officer and a local emergency proclamation due to the growing pandemic.
The local emergency declaration allowed the county to act quickly to limit the spread of the disease through a series of public health orders.
The county was also able to build capacity in the health care system to treat the sick and protect the most vulnerable, and then shift focus to providing free vaccines, treatments and testing.
He also allocated local funds and federal aid packages to respond to the public health crisis and alleviate the economic consequences for employees and employers.
“This global event was tough on everyone, and while we didn’t come out unscathed, we did better than many other communities,” said Dr. Scott Morrow, county health officer. “This is thanks to you, the community, for your insightful, wise, and ‘concerned for your neighbor’ cooperation. And while this isn’t over yet, hopefully it will be a once-in-a-generation event.”
Today's vote ends the emergency phase of the pandemic, but not the ongoing effort to combat COVID-19.
The County will continue to work closely with community and faith-based organizations and additional partners to ensure that all residents, regardless of income, immigration status, or other potential barriers, are provided access to the County.
As for testing, County Health will continue to schedule local vaccination clinics for faith-based organizations and schools through March. At-home tests available at many stores and pharmacies are free or reimbursable for most people.
The federal government is offering free home testing kits to American households. For more information on when to get tested, visit the California COVID-19 website.
As for treatments, “medications to treat COVID-19 are free, widely available, and effective in preventing COVID-19 disease from getting worse,” according to the state.
If you are uninsured or the above options do not work, you can call 833-686-5051 to schedule a free phone or video appointment through California's COVID-19 telehealth service.
key figures
As of February 15, 2023, more than 730,000 county residents, or 94 percent of the population, have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Since the pandemic began, 749 people have died from COVID-19 in San Mateo County, according to state data.
Moving forward, County Health is retiring several COVID-19-related dashboards that focus primarily on case and testing data.
The state provides San Mateo County case and test positivity data, which will continue to inform residents about local trends in the progression of COVID-19.
The new dashboards will improve the visualization of hospitalization and death trends to better represent what can be understood about the level of disease severity over time in San Mateo County.
There is no date that does not come, nor a deadline that is not met. In October 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the State of Emergency for COVID in California would end on February 28, 2023. Today, the state official proclaimed the end of said action, eliminating one of the most effective and necessary tools that California has used to combat the disease that has claimed the lives of 100,187 people.
While California has recorded 11,105,535 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, California's response to the pandemic saved tens of thousands of lives, protected the economy, distributed financial assistance across the country, and built an unprecedented public health infrastructure.
With hospitalizations and deaths dramatically reduced due to the state’s vaccination and public health efforts, the California Department of Health said it has the tools needed to continue fighting COVID-19 even after the state of emergency ended, including vaccines and boosters, testing, treatments and other mitigation measures like masking and indoor ventilation.
It should be noted that today the State of Emergency ends, however, the SMARTER Plan, which was released in February 2022, continues to guide California’s strategy to better protect people from COVID-19.
SMARTER – Shots, Mask, Awareness, Readiness, Testing, Education, RX – is an acronym formed by the first letters of English words such as vaccines, masks, awareness, readiness, testing, education and treatment.
“Throughout the pandemic, we have been guided by science and data, moving quickly and strategically to save lives. The state of emergency was an effective and necessary tool we used to protect our state, and we would not have reached this point without it,” Newsom said in October 2022.
At the time, the governor specified that with the operational preparation that was developed and the measures that will continue from today, "California is ready to gradually eliminate this tool."
“California’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has prepared us for whatever comes next. As we move into the next phase, the infrastructure and processes we’ve invested in and built will provide us with the tools to manage the ups and downs in the future,” said California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly.
“While the threat of this virus remains real, our collective work and preparedness have helped turn this crisis emergency into a manageable situation,” he stressed.
The state of emergency began in the state on March 4, 2020, after the World Health Organization (WHO) itself spoke of a pandemic and California's hospitals and health clinics began to become overwhelmed.
It also provided labour and operational flexibility, various legal and regulatory exemptions and immunities from liability, which made it possible to contain and reduce the number of infections over a period of 3 years.
According to state officials, more than 550 provisions of executive orders issued under the state of emergency are no longer in effect, with 27 provisions remaining in effect as of Feb. 28.
Currently, an average of 2,859 cases are reported per day, 7.1 cases per 100,000 people, however, there are still 22 deaths daily, 0.1 deaths per 100,000 people.
The number of COVID-19 diagnostic test results in California has totaled 196,643,155. The positive test rate over the past 7 days is 6.5 percent.
The highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths were among those belonging to the Latino community, followed by Caucasians and Asian Americans.
Key number
Health: California’s COVID-19 death rate was among the lowest in the nation. Nationally, the COVID-19 death rate was 339 per 100,000, well above California’s rate. The state has administered more than 88 million vaccines, which translates to nearly 73 percent of the state’s population being vaccinated.
Economy: California's GDP shrank less and grew faster than U.S. GDP between 2019 and 2022 The state's unemployment rate fell nearly twice as fast as other states with large populations.
Education: On average, California students experienced less learning loss than the rest of the nation. California eighth-graders had no declines in reading scores. Nationally, eighth-grade students' reading scores declined by 3 points on the National Assessment of Educational Progress scale.
Three years ago, a pandemic began, one that would mark history by leaving more than 6 million 850 thousand people dead around the world. We would know and hear the name SARS-CoV-2, a virus that caused the disease COVID-19.
Globally, as of 16:24 CET on 21 February 2023, there have been 757,264,511 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6,850,594 deaths, as reported to WHO. A total of 13,223,135,400 vaccine doses have been administered as of 23 February 2023.
We are ending February, the month that has been decreed to raise awareness about abusive relationships and dating violence, a problem that has become more visible in recent years, but has also left aside a vulnerable population, adolescents.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 1 in 3 teen dating relationships involve violence and that at least 1 in 12 teens have experienced physical or sexual dating violence.
Although there is much talk about abusive relationships, there is misinformation among teenagers, as this population group is one of the most influenced by the industry's series and films, which romanticize this type of relationship under the argument of the supposed "true love that endures all things."
But it is not only the content that comes out of the big production companies that influences teenagers to stay in abusive relationships, because the culture of their families also plays an important role because sometimes —and because of their parents' beliefs—, young people feel that they have no one to talk to about what they are experiencing with their partners.
According to the CDC, violence can be physical, sexual, psychological, and even stalking, and can occur between married couples, dating partners, and sexual partners. It can also involve actions such as threats, use of force, drug administration, assault, humiliation, control of sexual and reproductive health, among others, which can even end in fatal consequences ranging from emotional and psychological damage to the death of the victim.
Ana Campos, a 17-year-old woman, victim of an abusive relationship, commented at a press conference organized by Ethnic Media Services where experts met to discuss the problem of abusive relationships, and one of the reasons why young women do not recognize the warning signs of an abusive relationship is misinformation, since in their words "they do not teach us at home or in school."
In this regard, Campos pointed out the need for schools to teach how to recognize the warning signs of an abusive relationship, instead of hiding it due to taboos, so that young people can break this cycle of violence.
Campos said that her partner was very manipulative and that there were several warning signs, however she stressed that social media did not allow her to realize this, since many couples show a perfect relationship, which led her to romanticize her partner's actions.
"He was very manipulative, constantly checking my phone without my permission and getting angry over meaningless things," she said.
Ana's sister was the one who noticed the warning signs of an abusive relationship and with the help of psychological support she has been able to leave that toxic relationship behind.
It is clear that not only adults and experts have been concerned about domestic violence, but also young people, since they are precisely the ones who seek to prevent their acquaintances from going through an abusive relationship, but also to raise awareness about the importance of the influence that large production companies, social networks and culture have on this problem.
In this regard, Armaan Sharma, a young student at a private school in Fremont, pointed out that social media and audiovisual content from large production companies are representing a problem for young people, since these are the platforms that romanticize abusive relationships.
"Netflix has movies like 365 Days that literally romanticize rape," she said.
Sharma also stressed the importance of parents engaging in dialogue with young people to create an environment of trust that allows those in an abusive relationship to break the cycle of violence.
"If parents don't initiate conversations about relationships or create a safe space for discussion, young people won't have information about these issues... problems with relationships or violence among young people will not be addressed, adolescents will suffer and cycles of violence will continue," she said.
In that sense, Kandee Lewis, president of the Center for Positive Results and founder of Black Women Leaders of Los Angeles, pointed out that young people need to know what a healthy relationship really is but also feel that their family is part of a safe space.
"Your child really wants to know that you care, because if you don't take the time to talk to your child, someone else will and that someone else could be the abuser," she warned.
Megan Tanahashi, communications director for the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, said prevention can help keep young people from experiencing abusive relationships and pointed to the need to create spaces where they can speak out if they are victims of violence.
Isha Raheja, a member of the youth committee of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, stressed the importance of schools addressing these issues, as failure to do so fosters taboos around the issue.
"I am not surprised that violence in teenage relationships can be considered taboo by some," she stressed.
Raheja said conversations need to be held with young people on a personal level to turn apathy into empathy and interest and create safe spaces for them.
Desde hace ya dos años, el uso del transporte público se ha convertido en uno de los principales temores entre los estadounidenses debido a que los ataques a pasajeros han aumentado drásticamente.
Los ataques al transporte, tiroteos, amenazas y actos de discriminación y racismo se hacen presentes diariamente en el transporte público del país, lo cual ha preocupado a expertos, pues las personas sienten miedo al tener que utilizar estos medios tan necesarios para la movilización.
Esther Lee, de origen coreano-americano, víctima del ataque al sistema del metro de Nueva York, contó su experiencia al resultar involucrada en un ataque de odio en una rueda de prensa organizada por Ethnic Media Services en la que expertos se reunieron para discutir acerca de la nueva legislación en materia de seguridad para el transporte público.
«Un hombre con sudadera y capucha levantó su puño en mi cara, lo ignoré pero incluso después de eso el hombre seguía insistiendo… me paré contra la pared y comencé a filmarlo», relató.
Lee, señaló que el sujeto incluso le escupió, sin embargo ella solo atinó a cambiarse de vagón pues nadie de los que iban en el tren intentó ayudarla. La víctima contó que reportó el incidente a la policía y les señaló que el agresor la llamó «portadora de la pandemia», convirtiéndose esa experiencia no solo en un ataque sino también en un crimen de odio. Desafortunadamente, semanas después, las autoridades calificaron el incidente como acoso y no como un crimen de odio.
«La policía de Nueva York, como cualquier agencia del país, fallan en investigar adecuadamente las denuncias», declaró Lee al apuntar que no existe un buen manejo en los casos de la comunidad Asiático-Americana y de las Islas del Pacífico –AAPI, por sus siglas en inglés–.
Debido a la multiplicidad de ataques que se han dado en el transporte público de Estados Unidos en los últimos dos años, David Min, senador del estado de California, propuso la medida SB 434, la cual busca mejorar la seguridad en dicho medio vehícular.
Y es que, la medida requeriría a los 10 principales sistemas de transporte recopilar datos de los pasajeros que experimenten situaciones de acoso o ataques, para así comenzar a desarrollar soluciones a estos problemas de seguridad.
«Necesitamos saber dónde está pasando, qué tipo de poblaciones son el blanco principal, qué tipos de casos estamos viendo. Y una vez que tengamos los datos, podemos usarlos para desarrollar soluciones», dijo.
Asimismo, Min señaló que las comunidades de color, mujeres, niños, adultos mayores, personas con discapacidad y miembros de la comunidad LGBTQ+ son los grupos más vulnerables a los ataques en el transporte público.
En ese sentido, Peter Kerre, fundador de Safe Walks NYC, señaló también que la mayoría de las víctimas se encuentran solas al momento de los ataques, convirtiéndolas en el blanco perfecto para los agresores, por lo que el proyecto que encabeza tiene voluntarios que pueden acompañar a las personas en el transporte o la calle en caso de sentirse inseguras.
Asimismo, apuntó que el desempleo, la falta de vivienda y las crisis económicas han sido algunos de los factores que han agravado el problema de seguridad en el transporte público.
Janice Li, presidenta de la Junta Directiva de Bay Area Rapid Transit –BART, por sus siglas en inglés–, destacó que aunque el sistema de trenes del Área de San Francisco ha recibido reportes de incidentes violentos, estos han reducido a 7.4 delitos por cada millón de viajes, pero también los usuarios en un 40 por ciento.
A pesar de la reducción de los usuarios, el sistema de trenes BART cuenta con policías que viajan en cada uno de los trenes, además de campañas que buscan reducir el acoso y violencia de género y dar visibilidad a la violencia doméstica en la comunidad AAPI. Sin embargo, Li señaló la importancia de no dejar de lado los factores que intervienen en la violencia que se da en el transporte público de todo el país y ayudar a disminuir sus efectos.
«Las empresas de transporte público no van a acabar con el problema de la falta de vivienda, pero podemos ser parte de la solución y hacer más», finalizó.
This publication was supported in whole or part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.
Twitter vuelve a recortar personal pese a que la red social contaba con aproximadamente dos mil empleados. En la última ronda de recortes, la red social que encabeza el magnate y empresario Elon Musk echó a al menos 200 personas, lo que representaría el 10 por ciento de su plantilla laboral.
This was reported by the newspaper The New York Times, el cual precisó que, antes de que Musk llegara a Twitter, la fuerza laboral era de 7 mil 500 personas, lo que significa que más de 5 mil 500 ya no están con la red social del pajarillo azul.
El recorte, dijo el medio, ocurrió el sábado por la noche, de acuerdo con tres personas familiarizadas con el asunto, y luego de una semana en que la empresa dificultó la comunicación entre los empleados de Twitter.
Y es que, el servicio de mensajería interna de la empresa, Slack, se desconectó, lo que impidió que los empleados chatearan entre ellos o buscaran datos de la empresa, dijeron al New York Times cinco empleados actuales y anteriores.
Así, fue este 25 de febrero que algunos empleados descubrieron que estaban desconectados de sus cuentas de correo electrónico y computadoras portátiles corporativas, lo que dio indicio de las bajas laborales.
Algunos de los despedidos usaron la propia plataforma para señalar lo sucedido.
Los recortes, precisó TNYT, afectaron a los gerentes de productos, científicos de datos e ingenieros que trabajaron en el aprendizaje automático y la confiabilidad del sitio, lo que ayuda a mantener las diversas funciones de Twitter en línea.
En tanto que el equipo de infraestructura de monetización, que mantiene los servicios a través de los cuales Twitter gana dinero, se redujo a menos de ocho personas de 30.
Entre los afectados hay fundadores de pequeñas empresas de tecnología que Twitter había adquirido a lo largo de los años, mismos que recibieron paquetes de compensación más altos como parte de las adquisiciones de sus empresas, lo que podría hacer que sea más costoso despedirlos.
According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 3 in 5 (57 percent) of U.S. teen girls felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021, twice as many as boys, representing an increase of nearly 60 percent and the highest level reported over the past decade.
This is indicated by a new study from the federal agency, which also notes and confirms extreme and ongoing distress among teens who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer (LGBQ+).
While all adolescents reported increasing mental health problems, experiences of violence and suicidal thoughts and behaviors, girls fared worse than boys on almost all measures.
“Middle school should be a time for paths, not trauma. These data show that our children need much more support to cope, have hope, and thrive,” said Debra Houry, chief medical officer and deputy director for Programs and Sciences at CDC.
"Proven school-based prevention programs can offer adolescents a vital lifeline in these rising waves of trauma," she added.
The new analysis includes 2021 data and trends from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which examines health behaviors and experiences among U.S. high school students.
According to the data, young people's mental health has continued to worsen, with particularly marked increases in widespread reports of harmful experiences among teenage girls.
And, the research notes, nearly 1 in 3 — 30 percent — seriously considered attempting suicide, nearly 60 percent more than a decade ago; while 1 in 5 — 18 percent — experienced sexual violence in the past year, a 20 percent increase since 2017, when the CDC began tracking this measure.
Meanwhile, more than 1 in 10 — 14 percent — had been forced to have sex at some point, up 27 percent from 2019 and the first increase since the CDC began tracking this measure.
The report also found that more than half – 52 percent – of LGBQ+ students had recently experienced mental health problems and, worryingly, more than 1 in 5 – 22 percent – attempted suicide in the past year.
However, trend data is not available for students who identify as LGBQ+ due to changes in survey methods.
The findings by race and ethnicity, the paper said, also show high and worsening levels of persistent sadness or hopelessness across all racial and ethnic groups, and that reported suicide attempts increased among African-American and Caucasian youth.
“Young people are experiencing a level of distress that requires us to act with urgency and compassion,” said Kathleen Ethier, director of CDC’s Division of School and Adolescent Health. “With the right programs and services, schools have the unique ability to help our young people thrive.”
In that regard, the CDC noted that school activities can make a big difference in the lives of adolescents with a relatively small infusion of support to schools, since more than 95 percent of American youth spend much of their daily lives in educational institutions.
While their primary focus is academic learning, schools can take evidence-based steps to foster the knowledge, skills, and support needed to help prevent and reduce the negative impact of violence and other trauma and improve mental health. For example, safe and trusted adults, such as mentors, trained teachers, and staff, can help foster school connectedness, so that teens know that the people around them care about them, their well-being, and their success, the study said.
She added that schools can provide education that equips teens with essential skills, such as understanding and ensuring true sexual consent, managing emotions, and asking for what they need. Schools can also connect teens with their classmates and communities through school clubs and community outreach.
Power outages continue in the Bay Area as nearly 8,500 PG&E customers were without electricity Monday morning as storm-related outages persist across the region.
As of 9:30 a.m. Monday, North Bay had the most people without power, with 4,944 customers affected, according to PG&E.
In the South Bay, 3,158 were without power, and the Peninsula had 226 affected. The East Bay had 76 without power and five customers were affected in San Francisco.
«Los equipos de PG&E continúan trabajando para restaurar a los clientes que están experimentando apagones prolongados debido a la actividad de la tormenta la semana pasada mientras se preparan para la próxima ola de clima invernal extremo, que ya llegó a algunas partes de nuestra área de servicio», refirió Tamar Sarkissian, portavoz de PG&E.
Last Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration emitió una autorización de uso de emergencia para la primera prueba de diagnóstico en el hogar de venta libre ‒OTC‒, que puede diferenciar y detectar la influenza A y B, comúnmente conocida como gripe, y el SARS CoV-2, virus que causa el COVID-19.
The Lucira COVID-19 & Flu Home Test is a single-use at-home test kit that provides results from self-collected nasal swab specimens in approximately 30 minutes.
«La autorización de hoy de la primera prueba de venta libre que puede detectar la influenza A y B, junto con el SARS-CoV-2, es un hito importante para brindar un mayor acceso de los consumidores a las pruebas de diagnóstico que se pueden realizar completamente en el hogar», señaló Jeff Shuren, director del Centro de Dispositivos y Salud Radiológica de la FDA.
«Seguimos comprometidos a trabajar con los desarrolladores de pruebas para apoyar el objetivo compartido de obtener pruebas más precisas y confiables para los estadounidenses que las necesitan», agregó el funcionario.
La prueba se puede comprar sin receta y se puede realizar completamente en casa utilizando muestras de hisopos nasales recolectadas por personas de 14 años o más o por un adulto para personas de 2 años de edad o más.
La prueba funciona haciendo girar el hisopo de muestra en un vial que se coloca en la unidad de prueba. En 30 minutos o menos, la unidad de prueba mostrará los resultados que muestran si una persona es positiva o negativa para cada uno de los siguientes: Influenza A, Influenza B y COVID-19.
Las personas deben informar todos los resultados obtenidos a su proveedor de atención médica para informar sobre la salud pública y recibir la atención médica adecuada.
De acuerdo con la agencia federal, en personas con síntomas, el Lucira COVID-19 & Flu Home Test identificó correctamente el 99.3 por ciento de las muestras negativas y el 90.1 por ciento de las positivas de influenza A, el 100 por ciento de las negativas y el 88.3 por ciento de las muestras positivas de COVID-19 y el 99.9 por ciento de las muestras negativas de influenza B.
«Dado que actualmente no hay suficientes casos de influenza B en circulación para incluirlos en un estudio clínico, la validación confirmó que la prueba puede identificar el virus en muestras artificiales, y la EUA requiere que Lucira continúe recolectando muestras para estudiar la capacidad de la prueba para detectar la influenza B. en escenarios del mundo real», destacó la FDA en un comunicado.
Al igual que con todas las pruebas de diagnóstico rápido, existe el riesgo de resultados falsos positivos y falsos negativos, por lo que las personas que den positivo en la prueba de gripe o COVID-19 deben tomar las precauciones adecuadas para evitar la propagación del virus y deben buscar atención de seguimiento con su médico o proveedor de atención médica, ya que pueden ser necesarias pruebas adicionales.
Las personas que obtienen un resultado negativo y continúan experimentando síntomas de fiebre, tos y/o dificultad para respirar aún pueden tener una infección respiratoria y deben buscar atención de seguimiento.
