Now more than ever, it’s time to be counted

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically upended all of our lives, and sometimes it can feel like everything is out of our control. But in this very unique moment, every household in San Mateo County has the ability to generate tens of thousands of dollars for your family, and your community, by filling out the 2020 census.

State and local elected officials made an emphatic appeal last week urging all Santa Clara County residents take part in the 2020 census, announcing a series of initiatives to make sure everyone gets counted, despite the shelter-in-place order due to the coronavirus outbreak.

In an address framed as myopic in its laser focus on a single issue, local lawmakers largely lauded Gov. Gavin Newsom’s resolute commitment to solving the state’s homelessness crisis.

Assemblymen Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, and Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, as well as state Sen. Jerry Hill-D San Mateo, roundly applauded the sentiments shared in Newsom’s State of the State speech, Wednesday, Feb. 19.

On a sunny day last April, Anthony White, a 29-year-old Marine Corps veteran, told a room of California state legislators how he had survived a semester as a cash-strapped student at MiraCosta College: he’d slept in his car.

Mr. White parked his Chevy Silverado late at night in warehouse lots, showering at his gym, and he was once kicked out of a Lowe’s for brushing his teeth in the bathroom. The experience, he said, was “traumatizing.”

At the edge of the City College of San Francisco main campus, there's a small, invisible neighborhood.

Its residents look out for each other, keep the sidewalks clean and sometimes throw quiet dinner parties. They share tools and recipes, help each other out with projects and give a friendly welcome to newcomers.

But of the 60,000-plus students who attend City College, it's likely that many walk through this neighborhood every day without knowing it's there. And that's exactly the point.

(CN) – Beginning in mid-March, the U.S. Census Bureau will begin soliciting online responses from California residents, marking the first time the federal agency will use online tools to make its count.

Later, beginning April 1, the enumeration process in California will commence. The stakes for the state are high, as California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said during an event sponsored by the Public Policy Institute of California.

From disaster preparedness tips to free immunizations, this Saturday's Back to School Health Fair in East Palo Alto will offer many local resources to prepare children and families for this school year.