Public Invited to Participate in 2011 California Coastal Cleanup Day Events

SAN MATEO, Calif. – On Saturday, September 17, people of all ages can help make San Mateo County cleaner and greener by scouring beaches and watersheds during California Coastal Cleanup Day, the largest volunteer event of its kind in the State.

Families, students, service groups and neighbors will have the opportunity to help out at more than 30 cleanup sites across San Mateo County. Residents are invited to show up at any of the locations at 9 a.m., and most cleanups will end by noon

Coastal Cleanup Day is coordinated by the San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program and California Coastal Commission. This is the 27th year thousands of Californians will work together along beaches, shorelines and inland waterways to pick up cigarette butts, cans, bottles, plastic bags, grocery carts, old tires and other debris.

For more information and a list of places where you can volunteer, please click on http://wp.me/P1w84d-2b

Opportunity to learn about local government in County Civics 101

Do you want to learn how your tax dollars are spent and see for yourself the programs and services that San Mateo County provides on the Peninsula?

Then you are invited to participate in County Civics 101, a 10-week course that gives participants the opportunity to learn about local government, meet local officials and get behind-the-scenes tours of County facilities.

Civics 101 is free and open to anyone who is 18 and older and lives or works in San Mateo County. Participants will meet on consecutive Tuesdays from 6 to 9 p.m. at various locations in San Mateo County. Two Saturday field trips will be scheduled to tour correctional facilities and the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.

The program begins September 13 and will end with a graduation on November 15.  A full schedule will be given to participants at the first meeting.

More information and an applications is available at http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/civics101

Enjoy the North Fair Oaks Community Festival on Sunday, August 21

Every year the North Fair Oaks Community Festival welcomes the community to enjoy a day of free live entertainment, arts and crafts, food and beverages, children’s rides and activities and a festive parade.

The festival proceeds benefit the youth programs of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and provide scholarships through the Queen of the Festival scholarship program. The festival is Sunday, August 21, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Middlefield Road, between First and Fifth avenues, Redwood City.

For more information, visit the festival’s website: http://www.northfairoaksfestival.org/

 

Brussels sprouts and honey buck trend in local agriculture

 REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Locally produced Brussels sprouts, honey and lumber rose in value last year, but agriculture’s overall earnings in San Mateo County contracted 3.7 percent in 2010, the third straight year of decline for local farm products, according to the County’s 2010 Agricultural Crop Report released Tuesday.

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors accepted the report following a presentation by Agricultural Commissioner Fred Crowder.

The flower and nursery trade, which makes up 83 percent of San Mateo County’s farming industry, saw a 5.3 percent drop in earnings last year, reflecting belt-tightening among recession-weary consumers and relentless competition from out-of-state and foreign producers.

View the full news release here.

Emergency Medical Dispatch Earns International Accreditation

The International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) has recognizedSan MateoCounty’s Office of Public Safety Communications as an Emergency Medical Dispatch Center of Excellence, and awarded the 54-person agency a three-year Certificate of Re-Accreditation. 

The accreditation was awarded in recognition of the Office of Public Safety Communication’s ongoing quality improvement, and for implementing the IAED’s Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) and its associated “20 Points of Excellence.”

Read the full news release here.