Redwood City. A man suffered fatal injuries in a stabbing outside a grocery store in the city on Sunday night, police said.
The officers responded at 7:24 p.m. to a call from someone who was in in front of the Safeway store at the Sequoia station mall at 1000 El Camino Real, when they arrived they found an injured man at the entrance to the Safeway.
The man, who was taken to Stanford Hospital, had two stab wounds in his chest and one in his right arm.
The suspect fled after the stabbing and was described as a light-skinned man in his 30s and 40s, of medium build and with short hair.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Detective V. David Denning at (650) 780-7141 or the police information line at (650) 780-71
Redwood City. Citizens of Redwood City believe that ethnic equity practices by local government are not sufficient, so they expressed their concerns and recommendations to move forward on the issue, which has affected them locally and nationally.
During a meeting with Redwood City officials, citizens pointed out that the actions taken by local police with people of color, Latinos or Asians are not correct, as they abuse the force and weapons they have.
While current practices and services have many strengths, we also see opportunities for improvement," said city officials who, on Monday afternoon, held a study session where government and citizens held a dialogue on current concerns about best practices in racial equality.
Mayor Diane Howard stressed that while progress "will not be made overnight, it is being worked on one step at a time"; however, action is needed in conjunction: government and citizenry to move towards the same point.
Considering that nearly half of Redwood City's population is Latino, Asian or of African descent, Mayor Diane Howard; Vice Mayor Shelly Masu; and Councilmember Alicia Aguirre heard the Council's recommendations, which lay out a long-term agenda that focuses on making public safety, city services and the community whole.
Recommendations from the city's Ad Hoc Police Committee and the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center suggest: Equity in public safety and participation in a pilot program with San Mateo County to partner mental health physicians with police officers who respond to crisis calls.
As well as improved data collection, analysis and transparency, and the creation of a new City Council Public Safety Committee to guide public safety initiatives.
In addition to equity in all city services by amending the Strategic Plan to make equity a fundamental guiding principle and funding diversity and inclusion initiatives for city employees, while increasing support for diversity and equity initiatives for volunteer leadership.
In addition, they propose to improve equity in the Redwood City community by working with the Redwood City 2020 partnership to improve equity in education, while working with the Belmont Redwood Shores School District to improve educational outcomes and thereby clarify the role of the school resource officer.
However, local authorities noted that both the Ad Hoc Police Committee and city staff have focused on listening to the community through dialogue sessions, town hall meetings and with stakeholders.
In this regard, he stressed that alternative models for police supervision are being sought, in addition to reviewing the use of force by police forces, as well as escalation policies.
At the nearly two-hour study session, officials said the city council formally approved the Obama Foundation's Mayor's Pledge, which calls on mayors and local officials to review and reform policies on the use of police force, redefine public safety and combat systemic racism within law enforcement.
They added that the frequency of ongoing training on racial and cultural diversity has increased, and community dialogues are conducted in partnership with the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center (PCRC).
He added that Resolution 15877 has been adopted, which reaffirms the city's commitment to racial equality; while calling on the Arts Commission to develop a work plan to create a mural or memorial that reflects the city's commitment to racial equality and inclusion.
These actions, said Mayor Howard, are the beginning of a path that will be taken step by step in order to be able, together with the citizens, to reach agreements that will allow Redwood City to become an example and sample for other cities in terms of racial equality, a situation that today afflicts the whole country.
Next, Peninsula 360 Press presents a series of interviews to candidates for the Redwood City Council in the upcoming elections.
Previously, Peninsula 360 Press published a report to raise awareness of the use of the right to vote by showing information on the electoral race before the vote is cast on November 3.
When I was 5 years old I told my parents I was half Mexican, half American, and half Catalan. They laughed at my terrible math skills (to date) but accepted the core idea of my affirmation which is that I considered myself to be a part of all three cultures.
My father is American, he grew up in California in the ’50s, met my mother in the ´80s in the US, and moved with her to Mexico City where I was born 5 years later.
My mother was born in Mexico to Catalan parents who fled the civil war in Spain.
I grew up listening to The Eagles, Joan Manuel Serrat and some Cuban salsa. My mother sang children's songs to me in Catalan and I listened to her talk to her mother, her brother and her cousins in this language.
I don’t have a drop of Mexican blood in my body. I have blue-greenish eyes and yellow hair that I inherited from my Catalan grandfather. I don’t look “like a Mexican”, yet I open my mouth and can recite the entire swear-word alphabet in slang, sing-along to Café Tacuba and my accent is no different from any other accent of the south area of Mexico City.
I haven’t always understood that this came with privileges, white privilege. Although I don’t come from a rich family and my parents have earned with hard work every penny they own, they probably have had it easier than people who look indigenous, brown or black.
Every time I get into a taxi in Mexico City, the driver usually asks me where I'm from, I answer him with the truth "from around the corner", - "you speak with an accent"-, he reacts, I laugh and wonder what accent he is referring to, the conversation ends there. I understand that people see a white woman and that doesn't always match their description of what a Mexican is, so for them, there must be some other explanation. Yes, they charge me more in the market because white, in Mexico, means rich.
But I understand that being treated differently also comes with getting a better job and having access to certain places that come with many benefits (a.k.a. privileges). Although I don't have many economic advantages, I know that I have more formal educational advantages than immigrants and people of color. I can only try to use those advantages to try to get out of their way and learn from disadvantaged people, to level the playing field.
Language is not what makes me Mexican. It's my memories as a child in my parents' kitchen eating jicama, cucumber, and carrots-sometimes even tomatoes, which I learned from my oldest and one of my closest friend-with lemon, chili, and salt.
I am an American not only because my father made an effort to speak to me in English, but because we cooked a turkey together for Christmas Day and often visited friends and family in the United States. When I went to live at the U.S. house in the Cité Universitaire in Paris, I asked my friends if they thought I had an accent when I spoke in English. They said it was more of a "twang" than an accent. Later that day I met everyone in the kitchen for dinner, opened the door excited with the news, and announced aloud: "Timothy and Julia say I have a big "WANG"! Everyone started laughing, of course. Then they had to explain to me what the word "wang" meant and the difference with "twang". This became a joke for years to come.
I have always felt Catalan, as I travelled to a small village on the outskirts of Barcelona twice a year to be with my grandmother until her death and I kept up certain traditions such as caga-tiò, even to this day. But I understand that some Catalans don't find me... original, in a sense. The Catalans look somewhat down on the children and grandchildren of the Civil War refugees who spread around the world when they fled Spain. To begin with, our language is off. We learned a language that was in vogue last century and most of us look different because our other half probably got mixed up with some other DNA from another part of the world. I know this is the case for my whole family. After spending some time in Catalonia I would go home and teach my cousins the "correct" pronunciation of the letter "ll", the other day my cousin, who lives in Australia, reminded me of this when I asked him what they were talking about at home. "While my partner speaks Spanish to our daughter, I speak Catalan because it's part of who we are.
So, I understand cultural identity struggles. In a sense, I can understand the cultural identity struggles of some of the people in the latinx community in the US. Who struggle to navigate between the two cultures, never fitting completely into one or the other. I understand that language can be a sensitive topic for non-Spanish-speaking Latinas.
I agree with the author of "I'm Hispanic... but I don't speak Spanish" Nicole Stanley:
"Although language is an important part of one's culture, it's not the only important thing. Culture is about your family and their traditions: food, stories, music and faith. Even if you don't know the language, you can participate in the culture and embrace it. You are part of your family and their history, no matter how good your Spanish is.
I completely agree with this statement because not speaking Spanish doesn't make you less Latino and part of our culture; any more than my lack of melanin does.
But I will also argue that language shapes the mind in ways that show you a different perspective on life and ways of looking at it. This is why some words are not translatable. Like saudade in Portuguese, for example. O wabi-sabi in Japanese, even sakura in this same language. Words that, if I start to describe, I would need several paragraphs for the meaning to be understood. I will say that "bittersweet" is a middling translation of saudade. That wabi-sabi is a way of life, and sakura is not just a flower, but a metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life.
Besides, learning a language is a lot of work. Like most things that are worthwhile in life, and involve a fruitful and rewarding experience in the end, like dancing or cooking, it requires patience, discipline, interest, and curiosity.
When I was 18, my parents and I lived in Rio, Brazil. When my parents saw me dance they looked at me with embarrassment, then pointed fingers at each other, but still couldn't understand how the hell they had produced a child with such a poor sense of rhythm when both of them considered themselves good dancers.
I myself questioned my lack of rhythm, being a Latina and all, I set myself the immediate task of retrieving some Latin steps. It was work. I started with samba, and of course, I loved it so much that I took on Forro and Capoeira later. When I returned to Mexico I took belly dancing lessons and added salsa, then merengue, bachata. I got so into dancing that I became a teacher, and then we won a college contest. Now it's as much a part of who I am as language and food. It was hard work, but in the end, it was worth it.
My husband grew up in Mexico but moved to the U.S. in his twenties, speaking no English at all. He took ESL courses and when he was able to communicate, he decided to go to an accent course at the University of SF. Yes, this is something.
He learned to pronounce the words better and eventually began to lose his Latin accent, that's when he stopped going. He understood that being Latino was an important part of his identity and decided he didn't want to lose that.
I recently saw a video on YouTube that questioned Sofia Vergara's accent... Is it fake? Well, the video argued that Sofia went to an accent school when she moved to the U.S., but then got her role in Modern Family that required it, so she dropped the lessons and went on to exaggerate, in a way, her accent for the role. We'd have to ask him, but I'm willing to bet that it's now become part of her personality and well, it sells.
This doesn't bother me in Sofia Vergara's case because she is, in fact, a Latina. She can talk however she wants and in whatever language she wants, as far as I'm concerned. However, I am concerned about the fact that some people ride, or try to ride, the minority train in order to get something out of them. One example is the now well-known case of Jessica Krug, the George Washington University professor who claimed to be an Afro-Caribbean from the Bronx and was, in fact, a white Jewish woman from the suburbs of Kansas City.
A colleague of his told the Washington Post that he had defended Krug in the past against suspicious colleagues. In hindsight, he recalls clues to the deception including his "obviously inexperienced salsa dancing" and his "awful New York accent.
My great-grandmother, who was a white woman from somewhere in Oklahoma, told my father's Indian friend, Robert Chakanaka, that she was 1/8 Cherokee. Robert, who was Cherokee, laughed and said "yes, everyone is or wants to be part of Indian culture now".
It can be an endearing story when the old lady wants to be nice and committed to her grandson's friend. But when cultural appropriation is used for personal gain, political interests, or even to accuse people of similar ethnic backgrounds of being racist for political reasons or martyr tendencies, it becomes a problem.
I'm proud to be half Catalan, half American and half Mexican. All my cultures have traditions to be happy about and all of them are part of what constitutes me. I would not be who I am today without them. I understand the pros and cons of all my cultures, the privileges and struggles of each one of them, and I take it all.
People might tell you that you're not really American or not really Hispanic, but don't put yourself in that box. People are curious and questions are not used as a means to attack you, they could just be inquiry. Accept to be what you are, and work to be the best version of what you want to be.
As I said, work. Don't you like something about yourself? Whether you weren't spoken to in a certain language growing up, or have lost the rhythm in your Latin steps, work to change it. It's not about who's fault it is; it's about who's responsible.
It's not just language that makes someone part of a culture. It's the different perspectives on food, music and traditions they bring into their new home what´s important.
As we move towards a more hybrid world we need to be open to erase old stereotypes on language, color, and ethnicity in general. We need to accept that diversity is what really constitutes us, and makes us stronger as a society.
Anna Lee Mraz Bartra is a doctor of sociology and a university professor. She lives in Redwood City.
Peninsula Clean Energy has expanded its electric car financing program, offering rebates of up to $1,000 to first-time electric car buyers.
San Mateo County residents may be eligible for a rebate of up to $1,000 - or a partial rebate - on the cost of a new all-electric car; and up to $700 for hybrid vehicles.
This offer is available for cars purchased between October 1 and December 31, 2020.
Participating vehicles must have a cash purchase contract equal to or less than $45,000 less tax. Residents who wish to lease an electric car can also receive a $200 rebate.
"By choosing electric cars, we can all help to significantly alleviate greenhouse gas emissions within the transportation sector, which is the largest contributor to climate change in San Mateo County; we are doing our part to help California complete its transition away from fossil fuel-based cars," said Peninsula Clean Energy CEO Jan Pepper.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on September 23 mandating that all new cars sold in California after 2035 must be zero-emission vehicles.
Peninsula Clean Energy's EV 2020 program joins previous programs in that consumers can now choose from a wide range of models and dealers outside of San Mateo, including online dealers.
Rebates are limited to one per person and two per household, and are exclusive to individuals who have not previously purchased or leased an electric car.
"Wait no longer. There is already an all-electric or hybrid passenger car that will work almost everywhere in the world," said Paul Breslow, innovation director at EDF Energy, which bought a new electric vehicle as part of the 2019 program.
For more information you can visit https://www.peninsulacleanenergy.com/NewEV.
The candidate for re-election to the presidency of the United States, Donald Trump, leaves the hospital after being discharged from the hospital this afternoon and announced, on his Twitter account, that he will "return to the electoral race soon" less than 30 days before the elections. Marine One, an official aircraft, moves Donald Trump to The White House.
Sean ConleyThe doctor who set up Trump's care during his time at Walter Reed Medical Center stressed that discharge from the hospital is not synonymous with the American president being out of harm's way.
In this way, the American president has not fully recovered and will continue his recovery at the presidential residence. The complications, experts said since the announcement of his illness, could be escalated by his age -- 74 -- and by having a body mass index close to obesity.
It is important to note that Donald Trump received an experimental treatment for VIDOC-19 that is not accessible to civil society. The doctor also said that he was given Remdesivir -a coadjuvant in the treatment of the bolus virus-, and hydroxychloroquine to alleviate the effects of the virus and make it disappear in less time.
Donald Trump, President of the United States and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 last Thursday nightafter being exposed to Hope HicksA close assistant to the president who tested positive for the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19 disease.
In addition, this morning, the WHO declared that one in 10 people; that is, 10% of the world's population has contracted the virus whose source of infection was found in a perishable market in Wuhan, China.
Have you ever been away from home for a long time? Away from your family, your mom? And one day, you see her again. You rush to hug her and when you're in that tight encounter you inhale the smell so familiar and natural to you. You may immediately go back to your childhood, connect with thousands of memories, and feel your body generate an electric current of emotions that runs through it and shakes it to its core.
There are flavors that, when they pass through the tongue, provoke a child's party in your taste buds with balloons and streamers. There is no scene from a film that interprets better what I say than the end of Ratatouille when the food critic, Anton Ego, tastes the dish selected and prepared by the rat and Ego is perplexed.
My intention is not to compare myself to a food critic like the one who shows the cartoon, but I identify with that feeling when I try a Ratatouille far from home that resembles the one my father makes. For some Latinos this feeling might come with a nice plate of black beans or fruit punch for Christmas, maybe some tostones with rice, or beef stew. But for me those memories not only include the flavors I keep from Mexico, but those I learned from my Catalan mother.
I get excited when I see the most ordinary things of life in Catalonia: the sidewalk, the clothes hanging on the balcony of the apartments on a clothesline like the one my grandmother used to lend me to make castles of sheets in her living room.
The food at Teleféric Barcelona - Palo Alto had that effect on me. The croquettes are even better than the ones my mother makes (sorry, mommy). Crunchy on the outside, perfectly golden as they should be, but so light on the inside. They're like little clouds of Serrano ham.
Ham croquettes, Teleféric Barcelona - Palo Alto. Photo: Fernando Escartiz / Península 360 Press.
The grilled octopus on mashed potatoes with a different touch was a new flavor for me, surprising and delicious, converging so harmoniously that they seem to chat on the plate when served. The octopus is perfectly cooked, not too hard, not too soft. And the little tip of the tentacle crunchy as a celebration snack.
Grilled Octopus, Teleféric Barcelona - Palo Alto. Photo: Fernando Escartiz / Península 360 Press
We shared a black paella between 4 people and it is a good portion, although perhaps it is better for three, since we asked for many other things besides this one. The paella tastes like the good paellas of Barcelona, the rice is on point, good taste, but what it is really worth is for the seafood. The squid melts in your mouth like butter and the scallops are firm, and with a good consistency.
Black Paella, Teleféric Barcelona - Palo Alto. Photo: Fernando Escartiz / Península 360 Press
We ordered a Salmon Tartar that comes bathed in a peculiar sauce that claims to be avocado and rosemary. The latter is hard to hide, but they could hold the avocado as the rosemary obscures it almost entirely. This Tartar comes with a very distinctive handmade corn tortilla.
Salmon Tartar, Teleféric Barcelona - Palo Alto. Photo: Fernando Escartiz / Península 360 Press
This dish, although delicious, reminded me much more of what I've eaten in Peru than in Catalonia. I congratulate Teleferic Barcelona for exploring new culinary horizons and enriching -the already rich- culture of this region.
This restaurant is excellent and, as far as I can tell from the many reviews on Google, one of the favorites in Palo Alto. I compared these reviews with those of the restaurants in Barcelona and Sant Cugat. It's remarkable that, on the other side of the Atlantic, these restaurants are perceived very expensive for what they offer. Of course, the competition for good tapas is much greater. It could also be the chef and the quality control of their dishes which makes the difference.
If I had to criticize anything at Teleféric Barcelona - Palo Alto, it would be its Patatas Bravas, somewhat watery, bland, and unsavory. Maybe it's because the sauce they present is too sweet instead of a little spicy -there's a reason they're called "bravas"-, or maybe it's because their Alioli is too mild for my taste, so much so that, it almost is just an ordinary mayonnaise. I fear that the chef, no doubt excellent judging by the other dishes, has restricted himself and wanted to make his potatoes and aioli more digestible for the "American" palate. I was also forced to order an extra portion of aioli for the paella that only comes with two pinches of it over the rice in the paella pan.
The churros, a dish that all Catalans boast about, leaves much to be desired. I confess I'm not the expert on churros because it's not something I particularly like in general. That's why I took with me someone who goes through life looking for the best churros, yet these ones from the Teleféric fail to pass their test. Crunchy, yes. But too crumbly and hard. I would have liked to have found a churro as good as their croquettes, crunchy on the outside, but soft on the inside. Kind of disappointing.
But, dear readers, this fact as told above did not disappoint me enough to not go back. I will return, I assure you. First of all, because I asked the store manager - yes, they have a little shop of Catalan products right next door - to let me know as soon as they obtain "mató", a formidable light cheese that can only be found in Catalonia, usually accompanied by honey, and that is how the emblematic dish "mel i mató" is created. I am waiting.
I'm going back to this little store too because I probably won't be able to go home this Christmas and spend it with my mom and dad. And I have to get a good Catalan turrón (nougat) to get through these bad times where the physical distance apart from family leaves us feeling sad and frustrated because of the damn coronavirus stalking the world, and I hope that the only Catalan store I know in the area at the moment, will have turrón.
Christmas is our favorite tradition at home. It is the one in which all our ancestral cultures converge and merge harmoniously. More than a decade ago, I found myself as far away from everything as I have ever felt: Australia. It was a new year, I was sorely missing my family and I walked into a bar with a Colombian friend just to explore what to do on that night of lonely souls. In that tiny bar in Sydney they were selling champagne and nougat. I couldn't afford the champagne, but I couldn't resist asking for the little piece of nougat. I ate slowly with each bite and, in front of my friend, I held back the tears that were accumulating at the taste of my land, my home, so far away.
The best of the Teleféric Barcelona? It takes you home, or for those who haven't been to Catalonia, it's an excellent way to travel to the other side of the pond in times of pandemic, or at least give your palate a good taste.
Don't miss the gazpacho oysters. Wonderful. They strive to surprise the customer from the presentation, colored rocks from which a mysterious smoke is emitted. The fresh taste of the sea they wear extraordinarily like a good dress that dances in front of the sea breeze. The gazpacho highlights the juiciness of the oyster without dominating it. Although it's on top of everything else, the last thing you discover is the crunchy encounter with the ham, subtle but which endpoint, makes itself felt.
For the finale, the best part of the dessert. Those torrijas (cream puffs) are finger-licking good. And, although the churros were not entirely impressive, the chocolate that accompanies them does have a particular flavor of my land, that of the Sardana and the barratinas. Without being too sweet, it's a liquid you want to put on top of everything. I did that with both the excellent homemade vanilla ice cream and the ganache from the same black gold.
Top Trio Selection, Teleféric Barcelona - Palo Alto. Photo: Fernando Escartiz / Península 360 Press
Teleféric - Barcelona, I'll be back for more. More oysters, more torrijas, and, of course, in search of the mató and some nougat I pray to find among its shelves. Above all, I will return because it takes me to my mother's arms, who is so far away, and I miss her so much.
Members of the LatinX Democratic Club (CDL) of San Mateo County endorsed Alicia Aguirre in her re-election campaign for Redwood City Council District 7.
"Aguirre is the only Latino councilwoman elected in San Mateo County. We need to support her re-election so she can continue her work with our community.
Connie Guerrero, president of the LatinxDemClub.
Latinx Dem Club backs Alicia Aguirre
Former Redwood City Mayor Aguirre is the first Latina mayor in the city's history. She is also a member of the City Council and also served as President of the Redwood City Elementary School Board.
Aguirre, who is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and the first of her generation to obtain a professional degree, has been a professor at Cañada College since 1988.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that, as of today, 10 percent of the world's population has been infected with COVID-19, a disease caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the source of infection of which was found in a market in Wuhan, China, on 1 December 2019.
According to the Wikipedia article on the world population, it estimates that, by March 2020, there will be 7.8 billion people, which means that, if 10 percent of the population has been infected with COVID-19, that is about 780 million people: a colossally higher figure than the reported 35 million. Figures that, right now, can be consulted through the Google platform.
One out of every 10 people has contracted COVID-19, which means that, in their system, they have contracted the new coronavirus that, to date, has left 1 million 38 thousand 423 deaths.
These statements were made by Dr. Michael Ryan, while holding a meeting with the 34-member WHO Executive Board focused on the COVID-19 pandemic. He further noted that figures may vary due to urban/rural settings and different human settlements.
However, the words of the WHO representative are still alarming when he stated that "the vast majority of the world is still at risk" of contracting HIV/AIDS-19. He said that the pandemic will continue its evolutionary process, but is confident that soon there will be the tools to eradicate transmission and save lives.
This weekend, after positive diagnosis by COVID-19Melania Trump's audio was released in which she lashes out at migrant children. "Who the f*** cares about Christmas?" she said, referring to the 2018 decorations in detention centers for migrant minors. "But it's something I have to do, right?" she justified herself, later adding, "Give me a f***ing break," she said when forced to share her agenda on migrant child detention centers.
The recordings of the First Lady's voice were broadcast exclusively on "Anderson Cooper 360" on CNN's international news network. The voice of the wife of the United States was obtained without permission by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff who is in the fashion and entertainment industry and served as a senior advisor to the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump.
In the recording, you can hear how both women hold a dialogue where Melania Trump can be seen excessively stressed and frustrated and Wolkoff nodding and agreeing with the arguments of the First Lady. This, after being criticized for the measures that would have the Trump administration to separate families who illegally cross the border with Mexico, at the same time that, within its agenda, by tradition, the First Lady goes to these centers to help in the Christmas decorations.
Recall that there are only less than 30 days left until the U.S. elections to be held on November 3 where Donald Trump, also positive for COVID-19, seeks re-election and continue in The White House for one more term. He held a debate last week with his opponent, Democrat Joe Biden.
