By Olivia Wynkoop. Bay City News.

On the steps of City Hall, top black leaders and city officials came together Wednesday to clarify how the city's fentanyl crisis disproportionately affects black San Franciscans.

On National Fentanyl Awareness Day, Phelicia Jones, founder of the organization Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community, took the stage to say she’s tired of seeing the city’s deadly fentanyl epidemic follow an all-too-familiar pattern of homelessness and job insecurity, with Black San Francisco residents bearing the brunt.

En los primeros tres meses de este año, 200 personas han muerto por sobredosis, lo que representa un aumento del 41 por ciento con respecto al mismo período del año pasado, según datos del Departamento de Salud Pública. Y los residentes negros tienen una tasa de sobredosis cinco veces superior a la tasa general de la ciudad, según datos de la ciudad.

«Queremos que San Francisco se preocupe por los negros de San Francisco. Estamos en el fondo de cada incidente en la ciudad y el condado de San Francisco: salud, educación, encarcelamiento masivo, vivienda, empleo… ¿cómo es eso?», dijo Jones en la conferencia.

«Debemos estar en la mesa».

Jones enfatizó que la respuesta no es solo encerrar a los usuarios de drogas o a los pequeños traficantes de drogas, como lo demostraron las iniciativas fallidas de «guerra contra las drogas» que comenzaron en los años 70 y que en su mayoría estaban dirigidas a los afrodescendientes.

«Arrestas a todos los que están drogados, entran en la cárcel, entran en la cárcel para desintoxicarse y luego, antes de que puedan desintoxicarse y llegar a un programa, vuelven a las calles», señaló. «Tiene que ser otro plan».

Jones y otros oradores pidieron el martes a la ciudad que elabore un plan que pueda ayudar a los residentes pobres, sin hogar y con enfermedades mentales, en lugar de criminalizar el uso de drogas y permitir que las adicciones de las personas aumenten aún más.

«Si abres la cortina y miras más profundamente, verás que la verdadera pregunta es si las personas negras, morenas y pobres verán que lo que sucede hoy afectará nuestras vidas, nuestro futuro y nuestra libertad en el futuro», explicó la doctora April Silas de la Red de Niños Sin Hogar. «Esta es una conversación de vida o muerte».

El jefe de policía Bill Scott dijo que responsabilizar a los traficantes de drogas por «traficar veneno en las calles» es un aspecto para resolver la crisis, pero no es la única respuesta.

«Algunas personas no pueden permitírselo, otras no lo quieren, pero necesitan ayuda», dijo Scott. «Ese es el lado de la ecuación donde podemos hacerlo mucho mejor».

«Mientras tengamos demanda, tendremos suministro, eso es solo economía básica», agregó.

El supervisor de la ciudad, Matt Dorsey, dijo que está comprometido a apoyar programas que guíen a las personas hacia la recuperación y las mantengan sobrias. Mencionó sus esfuerzos continuos para realizar cambios en varios departamentos de la ciudad que trabajan en las esferas de la salud pública y la justicia penal para proporcionar más programas que apoyen la sobriedad.

«Al final del día, lo más importante que puedo hacer es regalar la sobriedad que tengo, esa es realmente la lección perdurable de la recuperación», refirió Dorsey, quien se está recuperando de la adicción a las drogas y el alcohol. «Quiero asegurarme de que todos los habitantes de San Francisco que lo necesiten tengan las mismas oportunidades de recuperación que tuve yo, y estaré allí en cada paso del camino para apoyarlo».

La fiscal de distrito de San Francisco, Brooke Jenkins, dijo que la ciudad debe adoptar un enfoque multifacético sobre este problema para mantener seguras a las familias de color y permitir que las personas accedan a los servicios esenciales para la adicción.

«Esto no es algo de lo que podamos salir con llave, podemos encarcelar nuestra salida», destacó Jenkins. «Es asegurarnos de que cuando podamos identificar la causa subyacente de por qué alguien cometió un delito e ingresó al sistema de justicia penal, le demos la opción de tratamiento, y eso es algo que, como su fiscal de distrito, seguiré haciendo».

You may be interested in: Belmont police and FBI investigate a house related to the disappearance of a woman 27 years ago

A home in Redwood City is being investigated by the Belmont Police Department in conjunction with the FBI after it is allegedly linked to the disappearance of a woman in San Mateo County nearly 27 years ago.

Since Wednesday morning, Redwood City residents have witnessed a large police presence at 3789 Farm Hill Blvd., where officers have surrounded the house to search for evidence related to the unsolved case of the sudden disappearance of 42-year-old Ylva Hagner, last seen on October 14, 1996.

The case of the disappearance of the then software executive remained frozen for 27 years, until this Wednesday, when everything seems to be reopened due to new evidence.

According to the media NBC Bay Area, authorities have used ground-penetrating radar, focusing mainly on the backyard and a park near the home.

Hagner, who was last seen on Oct. 14, 1996, was a resident of Palo Alto, and according to authorities, had just left the Belmont office where she worked as a product marketing manager at Ixos Co. that day, while her car was found in San Carlos with the keys still in the ignition but her purse missing.

At the time, one of those questioned about Hagner's disappearance was her then-boyfriend, Thomas Pressburger, a computer programmer at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View.

A source close to the investigation told NBC Bay Area that authorities were first focusing on the backyard of Pressburger's home. Pressburger was reached by phone at his home but declined to comment.

"The investigation has been refocused and we're here today to try to close the case," Belmont Police Lt. Pete Lotti told NBC Bay Area. "The public is safe at this point, we're just doing our due diligence on the case to follow up."

Lotti said that both the FBI and investigators from the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office are involved in the search that is being conducted in both the park and the house, in order to close a case that has remained unsolved for almost 27 years.

"It's a long time," Lotti said.

With information from NBC Bay Area.

You may be interested in: May, San Mateo County CalFresh Awareness Month

This Tuesday, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to increase penalties for companies that sell cigarettes and other tobacco products to minors.

Proposed by County Health, the increased penalties are intended to discourage retailers from risking selling tobacco products to minors and help prevent young people from becoming hooked on nicotine. 

In California, 67 percent of current and former smokers report that they started smoking by age 18.

“When we discuss these issues, what we’re really talking about is saving lives,” said Warren Slocum, who represents District 4 on the Board of Supervisors. 

“We need to put strength in enforcement for two big reasons: One is that we need to make the penalty large enough to negate the profits from sales to minors. And two, we need to do everything we can to keep cigarettes and other tobacco products out of the hands of children. Most adult smokers started when they were not old enough to legally consume tobacco products,” he added.

The increased penalties will “strengthen the ordinance’s provisions to reduce youth access to tobacco products” in unincorporated San Mateo County. 

The biggest blow of these sanctions is a provision that requires a permit to be suspended if a company is found to have sold tobacco products to people under 21.

In the past, retailers could have received a warning or a letter of reprimand if they were caught selling tobacco to minors.

The updated ordinance also includes increasing fines to $500 for a first offense and up to $1,000 for all subsequent offenses within a 60-month period.

It also prohibits the issuance of new Tobacco Retailer Permits at any location within 1,000 feet of a “youth-populated area” – public or private school, playgrounds, for example – or within 500 feet of an existing tobacco retailer.

It also mandates a fine for any violation of the ordinance; increases the number of on-site inspections required by County Environmental Health Services to two per year; and the two inspections per year for all tobacco retailers increases the annual permit fee from $174 to $672.

County staff will encourage cities within San Mateo County to adopt the updated tobacco retailer permit ordinance.

“Our community’s youth are healthier when tobacco retailers are held accountable for illegally selling tobacco products to underage customers,” said Clara Boyden, deputy director of Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, who oversees the tobacco program for County Health.

According to County Health, from April 2021 through June 2022, a total of 11 of 74 tobacco retailers in San Mateo County sold to underage youth as decoys during Sheriff's Office enforcement operations, representing about 15 percent.

Limiting young people's access to tobacco products in retail stores is a key component of a comprehensive tobacco prevention strategy, the city council stressed in a statement.

In 1998, the Board of Supervisors established one of the state’s first tobacco retailer permit programs. The County has since updated the ordinance to keep up with changing tobacco delivery models with the proliferation of e-cigarettes and flavored tobacco, for example.

You may be interested in: San Mateo County pledges $1 million for farmworker housing

The Board of Supervisors of the San Mateo County allocated $1 million on Tuesday to an expansion effort to build affordable housing for local farmworkers.

“We are 100 percent committed to this effort,” said San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller, whose District 3 includes most of the county’s agricultural land. “This $1 million represents the start-up costs needed to move forward quickly.”

The funds, from the half-cent sales tax on Measure K, the city said in a statement, will help cover costs for planning, project management and other work. 

He also said he is seeking $5 million in state funding from the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program as part of an overall effort to improve living conditions for coastal farmworkers.

The action gained urgency after the tragic shooting on January 23, 2023 at two coastal farms that killed seven people and seriously injured one. 

The mass shooting drew attention to farmworkers living in overcrowded conditions in unlicensed facilities, a situation that numerous local officials called unacceptable.

The County is currently working with the City of Half Moon Bay to identify and develop a potential site that could house 45 to 50 units of manufactured housing for low-income farmworker families.  

Mueller said he also hopes to receive state grants to build affordable housing for local farmworkers.

“All of our farmworker families deserve a safe and healthy place to live. If we are going to ensure we maintain a thriving agricultural community on our coast, what we need more than anything is affordable housing for our farmworkers and their families.”

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As celebrations for Cinco de Mayo come to a close, many events were peaceful and most community members and visitors legitimately enjoyed the cultural celebration that has been a tradition in San Jose for decades, the report said. San Jose Police Department ‒SJPD, for its acronym in English‒.

"We are proud to embrace and understand the importance of this celebration to residents and visitors, and we are planning accordingly to ensure everyone can enjoy it safely," authorities said in a statement.

He noted that, as in previous years, the Department took preventative measures to ensure the community could celebrate safely. In doing so, SJPD also employed zero tolerance for criminal behavior.

Over the weekend of May 5-7, SJPD oversaw Cinco de Mayo festivities, while responding to regular calls for service. During the course of normal operations, patrol units observed several misdemeanors, felonies, reckless driving incidents, secondary activities, and other quality-of-life offenses that required enforcement action to maintain the peace, they said.

While proactively patrolling from May 5-7, SJPD statistics included:

• Total service calls: 2,642  
• Total arrests: 115
• Total vehicle seizures: 30
• Total citations issued: 407
• Total reports received: 352
• Total firearms seized: 6

SJPD said the dispatch center has historically received numerous requests from residents and business owners concerned about unauthorized gatherings and activities that would occur when people arrive in San Jose from out of town during the Cinco de Mayo weekend. 

In recent years, he said, the Police Department has taken a reactive approach to traffic jams, violent crime and vandalism by responding to calls for service and taking enforcement action when appropriate. 

That approach, he said, resulted in a large number of arrests and citations, and did little to alleviate the concerns of residents and business owners.

In that regard, he explained that approximately twenty years ago, they studied the crowd control measures that other cities employed during large-scale events of all kinds, and then developed a proactive approach to reducing traffic jams and crime that relied on strategic traffic diversions as a key component. 

“In the years since this strategy was used, we have seen a reduction in violent crime and traffic congestion. San José residents are able to get around more easily and celebrate traditional Cinco de Mayo events, which is the primary focus of our efforts. In no way is our response to Cinco de Mayo intended or designed to inhibit anyone’s ability to celebrate the holiday,” he stressed.

However, due to continued staffing shortages within the Department, he said operational plans also included leveraging the use of road closures and other traffic diversions to limit further traffic congestion and avoid delays in response times to address any criminal activity. 

“Similar closures and diversions have been used during other major events that draw large crowds across the city. The purpose is to ensure that traffic continues to flow and that community members can celebrate these events safely.”

The Police Department noted that it has been employing this proactive approach to Cinco de Mayo traffic and crowd control for nearly twenty years, and while the deployment of these measures is not new, “the Department recognizes the need to communicate these closures earlier.” 

“Going forward, we will strive to announce any planned responses to large-scale events well in advance to ensure the community and our elected officials have adequate notice to prepare accordingly.”

“The San Jose Police Department welcomes and embraces cultural celebrations in San Jose. We strive to keep these events safe for our entire community to participate in and enjoy.”

You may be interested in: They recognize 20 years of the founding of the Castellano Family and its support for the Latino community in Silicon Valley