San Mateo Kicks Off "Hep B Free" Awareness Week - Get Tested!

The City of San Mateo kicks off “Hepatitis B Awareness Week” today with a ribbon tying ceremony at 88 East 4th Avenue in Downtown San Mateo at 3:30 PM, followed by a proclamation from Mayor John Lee at the City Council meeting at 7:00 PM.

Organized by the Jade Ribbon Youth Council, a group of high school volunteers from San Mateo, the ribbon tying ceremony in Downtown San Mateo will tie green ribbons along 4th Avenue from El Camino Real to San Mateo Avenue to raise awareness among the public about the “silent killer” known as Hepatitis B. San Mateo City Councilmember David Lim will be on hand at 3:30 PM to tie the first ribbon at the corner of East 4th Avenue and San Mateo Avenue.

Following the ribbon tying event, representatives of the Jade Ribbon Youth Council will lead the Pledge of Allegiance to open the City Council meeting at 7:00 PM at City Hall, and will then receive a proclamation from Mayor John Lee declaring this week to be “Hepatitis B Awareness Week”. Over the next month, free screenings for “Hep B” will be held at various locations throughout the Peninsula.

Hepatitis B is a virus which affects people of Asian descent at a higher rate than any other group. Hep B attacks the liver and can cause one in four people to die of liver cancer if not properly monitored. Each year, over one million people die worldwide of complications from Hepatitis B despite the existence of a vaccine that will inoculate people from the virus.

Councilmember David Lim stated, “The real tragedy of Hep B is that there is a vaccine which will prevent infection, but due to a lack of public awareness about Hep B, especially among low-income and immigrant Asians, many people become needlessly infected and die each year from this virus.” Lim added, “Today’s ribbon tying ceremony and recognition by the San Mateo City Council will help raise awareness among our neighbors of the need to be screened and vaccinated against Hep B, especially in the 20% of our population who are Asian-American and thus are most susceptible to infection.”

Lim noted that he was screened for Hep B recently to show people how easy the process is, and also was vaccinated against the virus when he was younger. “I urge everyone to get screened,” said Lim.

Let's make San Mateo Hep B Free!

Wonderful Art in San Mateo

Last week I was honored to attend two events that showcase the artistic talents and community spirit of our City.

On Thursday, May 6, I attended the installation of a painting by local artist Ruth Waters.  Ms. Waters donated to the City of San Mateo Library her painting, "September Sunset".  Her beautiful artwork now enhances the lounge area of the 3rd floor of the main library as you come up the stairs.  

Thank you to Ms. Waters for her generous donation to the San Mateo Library system, and to our Library Board of Trustees and Library staff for making this possible!

Artist Ruth Waters and her painting, "September Sunset" on display as a gift to the San Mateo City Library (3rd Floor)

On Friday, May 7 I was pleased to present awards to the winners of an art contest to raise awareness for the 2010 U.S. Census.  Sponsored by the Mural, Music and Arts Project, students from San Mateo High School won awards for visual arts, graffiti arts, multimedia arts, and written poetry.  Their wonderful artwork is currently on display in San Mateo City Hall.

Thanks to San Mateo art teachers Julie Stock and Elizabeth Yapp for organizing the event!

Thanks to San Mateo High School Faculty and Student Winners of the Census 2010 Art Contest!

Keeping Us Safe: Observing Our Police Department First Hand

As the City explores the possibility of consolidation of police services, this past weekend I rode along with the San Mateo Police Department to get a better idea of how our Police work in our community to keep us all safe.

On Friday night I rode along with the "Neighborhood Response Team" or NRT.   

NRT is a specialty unit of the San Mateo Police Department.  Comprised of various officers who patrol in uniform in unmarked patrol cars, they are not "bound" to patrol areas in black and white police cars.  This allows the NRT unit the flexibility to respond to community issues and "hot issues" that arise each day.

While the NRT runs operations as diverse as school truancy, illegal taxi cabs, and illegal massage parlors, some of their most important work is in gang suppression.

Many residents do not realize that San Mateo has a number of active gangs -- and we have the NRT unit to thank for this lack of knowledge!  Many of our gang members are felons convicted for dealing drugs or for committing violent assaults and robberies.  NRT officers spend time keeping track of known gang members by identifying when they enter our City, when they are trying to recruit our children into gangs, and when they are trying to stir up trouble. 

Besides keeping track of known gang members and letting them know that our community will not tolerate trouble, NRT officers also play a crucial role in community outreach.  NRT officers work hard to build relationships with at-risk youth by encouraging them to report crimes, steering them away from gangs, talking to their parents, and working to help them understand that there are positive benefits to staying out of gangs. 

On my ride-along with NRT units, I observed officers contact numerous known gang members just to let them know that the police were out there, and reminding them that no trouble would be tolerated.

I also got to see first hand as NRT officers contacted young kids loitering on various street corners and reminded them that there is nothing glamorous about gangs.  In every encounter, I was proud to see our officers conduct themselves with professionalism, courtesy, and poise.

In one instance, I observed how a number of youth first responded belligerently to police upon initial contact, but by the end of the conversation were sharing gum and jokes with the police officers before heeding the officers' advise to head home for the night.  Small encounters like that every day by our NRT unit and their fellow police officers help to keep our City safe. 

While police consolidation is an idea worth consolidating, we must be mindful to be aware of the delicate relationship built between units such as the NRT and the gangs and at-risk youth in our community.  These relationship take months, even years, to build, and once broken can not be easily rebuilt.  The issue of gangs and violence in our community is complex, and the days of having officers keep the peace in just black and white patrol cars is long gone.   Consolidation is worth exploring, but not at the expense of the specialty units that protect our City while we all sleep.

Thanks again to the men and women of the San Mateo Police Department who allowed me to observe what they do for us each night and day.

Congratulations to HIP Housing Self-Sufficiency Graduates!

Tonight I had the pleasure of celebrating with 32 of our neighbors who graduated from the HIP Housing Self-Sufficiency Program.

HIP ("Human Investment Project") Housing is a local non-profit in San Mateo County dedicated to helping people live independent, self-sufficient lives in decent, safe, low-cost homes.  HIP's Self-Sufficiency Program (SSP) provides housing assistance and support services to low-income families with clearly defined career and educational goals and motivation to become financially self-reliant within 12-24 months.


The 32 individuals who graduated from the program tonight all graduated having obtained additional schooling, degrees, or job training.  All of them are now in better housing conditions, and in positions to be more self-sufficient in providing for themselves and their families. 

HIP Housing is one of many non-profit agencies that serve as a vital safety net for those in our community who need a helping hand including the homeless, senior citizens, and children.  As a City Councilmember for San Mateo, I am proud of the support our City gives to these non-profits, which includes a yearly allocation of over $500,000 in federal grants specifically designed to allow local governments to aid those most in need.


This coming Monday, the City Council will review San Mateo's five-year Consolidated Plan and yearly Action Plan which will help our community address our long-term housing and community needs.  To review the Consolidated Plan and Action plan, click here.


Congratulations again to the graduates of the Self-Sufficiency Program, and thank you again to HIP Housing and all our non-profits in San Mateo!

Coming Soon to Downtown San Mateo

Summers in Downtown San Mateo just got a bit more fun . . .

Thanks to the Downtown San Mateo Association and merchants for making this happen.  Yet another reason San Mateo is a great community!

Downtown San Mateo: Property and Business Improvement District

At last night's City Council meeting, the San Mateo City Council heard a comprehensive plan presented by outside consultants working with the Downtown San Mateo Association to create a Property and Business Improvement District (PBID) in Downtown San Mateo.

The creation of a PBID in Downtown San Mateo will help address continued improvements to our downtown to address parking, security, and growth to allow our downtown to grow in vibrant and exciting ways for years to come.

I was very impressed with the concept presented to the City Council last night.  The Downtown San Mateo Association did a great job of engaging the community and getting feedback from all concerned.  Their efforts were a model of transparency and open communication that we can all learn from.

To learn more about the Downtown San Mateo Association, click here.  Better yet, become a fan on Facebook by clicking here.

San Mateo Eggstravaganza

This morning I attended San Mateo's "Eggstravaganza" in Central Park along with hundreds, if not thousands, of other San Mateo and Bay Area residents.  Along with an Easter Egg hunt with my daughter, we also enjoyed arts and crafts, a pancake breakfast by the San Mateo Sunrise Rotary Club, and a puppet show.

Below are some photos from the event.  Thanks to all the volunteers and City staff in the Parks and Recreation Department and the Youth Services Commission for making this a great event!

Enjoying the Eggstravaganza in San Mateo's Central Park with my daughter Katherine!

Easter basket making.  One of many many arts and crafts tables.

Lining up for the Easter Egg hunt!

Thanks to the Parks and Recreation staff & volunteers for a great event!