Redwood City – The year 2023 was not an easy one in San Mateo County.
The New Year began with a series of powerful storms that flooded homes and toppled trees. Not yet out of January (named for the Roman god of beginnings and transitions), seven of our neighbors were killed and another injured in a mass shooting.
While 2023 saw horrific violence and destructive weather, the challenges also brought out our best. And like the month of January itself, we welcomed fresh beginnings and transitions.
What follows are highlights from the past year, as selected by the communications team in the County Executive’s Office. (These are not in order of implied significance or importance.)
A Lift for Life After Foster Care
In July, San Mateo County supervisors agreed to provide current and former foster youth ages 18 up to 22 with $1,000 a month in the County’s first guaranteed income program.
While no strings are attached, the idea is for recipients to use the monthly stipend for education, transportation, housing, food and other needs in a county with one of the highest costs of living in the country. A modest government contribution now, the theory goes, can help pull young people out of a cycle of poverty and lessen dependence later on government programs.
New Year, New Faces
The New Year brought two new members to the Board of Supervisors: Noelia Corzo, representing District 2, and Ray Mueller, representing District 3.
Together, they represent the largest change on the five-member Board in a generation; the last time two new members were sworn in at the same time was 1993.
Mueller succeeds Don Horsley as District 3 representative; Corzo succeeds Carole Groom as District 2 representative. Both Horsley and Groom were termed out of office.
Horsley, a former San Mateo County sheriff, died Nov. 24 at the age of 80. A Celebration of Life is scheduled for mid-January 2024.
Breaking Barriers, New Leaders
When Dr. Kismet Baldwin-Santana was introduced as the County’s Health Officer in August, it was a historic marker. A position with sweeping powers had a woman in charge for the first time in the County’s history.
Baldwin-Santana is among a wave of women taking top jobs in roles that are, traditionally, filled by men.
In September, Shruti Dhapodkar was appointed as the new director of the Department of Emergency Management, which is tasked with coordinating countywide emergency planning, response and recovery
Additional new leaders in 2023: Claire Cunningham as director of the County’s Human Services Agency and Katharine Sullivan as director of The Big Lift, an ambitious effort to prepare young learners for success.
Last year, Ann Stillman was appointed director of the County’s Department of Public Works.
Camping with Your Best Friend
In July, supervisors approved a proposal to add campsites allowing on-leash dogs in a designated area of Memorial County Park. It is the first San Mateo County Park to offer camping with dogs.
The dog camp sites are close to dog walking trails in the Loma Mar area of Memorial Park where dogs are allowed on leash.
In other Parks news, a pump track opened in October in Flood Park. The paved circuit provides a new recreational opportunity for those on bicycles, skateboards and scooters who can ride the track solely by "pumping"— generating momentum by up and down body movements — instead of pedaling or pushing.
County’s First Navigation Center Opens
In April, County officials cut a ceremonial ribbon to celebrate the opening of the Navigation Center, which now provides 240 safe temporary living spaces for individuals and couples along with intensive on-site support services in Redwood City.
The Navigation Center is designed to serve up to 260 San Mateo County residents experiencing homelessness who may be reluctant to go to traditional shelters. Unlike a traditional shelter (cots or bunk beds, little privacy), the Navigation Center allows couples to room together, pet owners to bring their animals and clients to store many of their belongings.
The center is a key element in the County’s strategy to make homelessness rare, brief and one-time. The County, through the Human Services Agency, will hold its federally required biennial One-Day Homeless Count on Jan. 25, 2024.
New Year’s Storms
The year 2023 was only days old when the County activated the Emergency Operations Center due to a series of storms that flooded homes, downed trees and power lines and generally caused havoc from Daly City to Pescadero.
The National Weather Service has forecast above-normal precipitation in the Bay Area this winter.
It’s never too late to start preparing. And if you haven’t done so, be sure to sign up for emergency warnings and alerts at smcalert.info
Supervisors End the COVID-19 State of Emergency
In February, supervisors voted to end the County’s state of emergency due to COVID-19.
The vote aligned with the state of California’s end to the emergency phase of the pandemic.
County Health officials continue to urge residents six months and older to get the seasonal flu vaccine and the updated COVID-19 shot.
Tragedy in Half Moon Bay
On Jan. 23, seven people lost their lives in a mass shooting in Half Moon Bay that left an eighth person injured.
The seven victims were identified as Yetao Bing, 43; Qizhong Cheng, 66; Zhishen Liu, 73; Jingzhi Lu, 64; Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50; Jose Romero Perez, 38; and Aixiang Zhang, 74.
Authorities believe the shootings resulted from a workplace dispute at the coastal farms where the suspect and most of the victims worked. The suspect, Chunli Zhao, remains in custody and his trial on murder and attempted murder charges is pending
The violence left the coastal community reeling in grief, coming days after a mass shooting in Monterey Park (Los Angeles County).
Confronting Gun Violence: “All I felt was shock and fear”
Those are the words of a local high school student whose smart watch pinged with an emergency alert about the mass shooting in Half Moon Bay.
With the federal government in gridlock over guns, local officials have launched numerous initiatives to try to prevent gun violence that brings shock and fear to the community.
These include efforts to get firearms out of the hands of people with domestic-violence, gun-violence and certain other civil restraining orders against them. This builds on gun-safety measures that include a Safe Storage ordinance, a Gun Dealer ordinance and providing financial support for gun buy-backs.
Focus on Farmworker Housing
The deadliest shooting in the history of San Mateo County brought renewed attention to the living conditions and low pay for some farmworkers.
In response, the Board of Supervisors launched a task force that will ensure compliance with local and state rules and regulations that affect the health and safety of employer-providing housing for farmworkers and their families.
In addition, the County is working closely with the city of Half Moon Bay and other partners to build new housing for farmworkers and their families. The County has secured a $5 million state grant to support the effort.
Michelle Durand
Chief Communications Officer
mdurand@smcgov.org