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San Mateo County says it is prepared under state guidelines to further ease COVID-19-related restrictions to allow for the reopening of dine-in restaurants, fitness gyms, hair salons and other businesses and activities.

In a 5-0 vote today, the Board of Supervisors voted to submit a variance request to the state to move to Stage 2 of California’s Resilience Roadmap on the grounds that San Mateo County has met the required benchmarks to further ease restrictions.

If the state approves the variance, the type of businesses that may be considered for reopening include: dine-in restaurants; hair salons and barber shops; family entertainment centers; restaurants, wineries and bars; zoos and museums; gyms and fitness centers; hotels (for tourism and individual travel); cardrooms; campgrounds and outdoor recreation; schools and day camps.

Personal services like nail salons and tattoo parlors, playgrounds, concert venues and higher education are still not allowed anywhere in the state.

As of June 11, the County has reported a total of 2,533 cases of COVID-19 and 99 deaths. In the past seven days, the number of individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 in San Mateo County dropped to 2.3 percent, the county said. The state’s threshold to allow reopening is 5 percent. Public and private health systems in the county have also exceeded the state target of 1,151 test results per day. The county says it’s also meeting the requirements for supply of personal protective equipment, and has a plan in place to meet the state’s target of 115 contact investigators.

The full staff report, including the County Variance Attestation form, can be found on the Board’s website.

After a three-month suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the San Mateo Superior Court will resume jury trials beginning on Monday, June 15, but with new policies and procedures to maintain social distancing.

Along with a face-covering requirement, jurors can expect a “simple on-site health screening” that consists of self-reporting their health status. Seating has been reduced and spaced out in waiting rooms, the courtroom and in jury deliberation. Elevators will be limited to two occupants at one time. Routine cleaning will be increased.

Due to social distancing protocols, the court will not be able to schedule as many jury trials as is normal, according to Presiding Judge Jonathan E. Karesh.

“Our judicial officers are cognizant that this unprecedented, worldwide, pandemic is causing unavoidable delays to justice in our courts. We ask for the public’s patience and cooperation. It is our intent to make the jury trial process as safe, efficient, and comfortable as possible for the public that serve as our jurors,” Karesh said.

San Mateo County’s Great Plates Delivered program, which reimburses local businesses that deliver three daily, nutritious meals to eligible residents who are quarantining at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, has received additional funding and will be extended until July 10, according to the county. Sixty local restaurants are delivering meals to 1,298 county residents.

Eligible residents include adults 65 and older and high-risk adults between 60-64 who are either COVID-19 positive or have been exposed to COVID-19. Additionally, the recipient must live alone or with one other eligible adult, cannot currently be receiving assistance from other state or federal nutrition assistance program, and must earn less than 600 percent of the federal poverty limit. Applications for the program are still being accepted at (800) 675-8437.

The program serves residents who may have difficult accessing meals during the shelter-in-place order while also supporting local restaurants negatively impacted by COVID-19. It was started in early May.

For more information on additional resources for food and grocery assistance in San Mateo County, visit here.

Starting Monday, June 15, Caltrain will increase service to  70 trains per weekday, up from the current 42, as the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order restrictions ease.

Service frequency will increase to up to three trains per hour during the peak commute. Also, Limited trains will return to operation with a newly designed skip-stop service with fewer stops “to reduce travel times and increase passenger flow for high-traffic stations to avoid crowding,” the transit agency said.

“Under the new skip-stop system, limited trains will travel closely together serving high-demand stations while alternating service to lower-demand stops,” Caltrain said. “All trains are operating six-car sets to maximize physical distancing onboard. Off-peak trains will make local weekday stops every hour until end of service.”

To view the weekday service, go here. To view the weekend timetable, which remains unchanged, go here.

In addition, the new timetable will allow up to about 10 minutes for transfers between Caltrain and BART at the Millbrae Transit Center.

Due to the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order, average weekday ridership has dropped from 65,000 to 1,300, according to Caltrain.

“At this time, the agency is planning for a gradual return of ridership and will continue analyzing passenger data to track evolving trends,” the transit agency said.

Redwood City’s council on Monday unanimously approved pay hikes for its top officials while lamenting the expectation of budget deficits due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The council also began to address community calls for police reform in the wake of the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody.

Council unanimously approved 3 percent cost of living increases retroactive to 2019 that raise the annual salary for City Manager Melissa Stevenson Diaz to $316,104, and the annual salary for City Attorney Veronica Ramirez to $266,927. Both hadn’t received a pay adjustment since 2018, according to city staff, which added that both agreed to forgo a 3 percent merit increase and 1 percent internal equity adjustment due to the economic uncertainty.

But some in the community are calling into question the message that any taxpayer-funded pay raise sends.

“I think we really need to rethink giving people cost of living raises at a time when the people who pay their salaries are being laid off and are experiencing severe economic hardships,” said Isabella Chu, who added she has “tremendous respect” for the city manager and city attorney.

Separate from the city manager and city attorney, all city employees will receive a cost of living raise in accordance with a bargaining agreement last year tied to sales tax revenue for fiscal year 2019-2020, city staff said.

Meanwhile, the city is projecting budget deficits due to the COVID-19 shelter in place period, which will result in reduced tax revenue from local businesses having to close or run limited operations.

The possibility of cuts comes amid calls for changes in budget priorities in response to the national “defund police” movement, which, according to local supporters of the movement, aims to shift spending from police departments to alternative city services. A preliminary budget proposal for next fiscal year has faced community scrutiny for showing an increase in spending for police by $2.3 million and a decrease in overall funding of parks, recreation and community services by $520,000.

City staff said the bump in police spending was previously negotiated as part of a memorandum of understanding with law enforcement and added that, at this point, no cuts are proposed for parks, recreation and community services. The current budget numbers reportedly reflect mid-year changes that are an anomaly and will be adjusted, staff said.

With council set to vote on next fiscal year’s budget on June 22, some in the community want to reevaluate the city’s budget priorities. An email recited during public comment and signed off by 17 members of the public requested that Redwood City shift some police funding to community services, including greater investments in affordable housing.

“We should work toward a reality in which health care workers and specially trained emergency response teams handle substance abuse, domestic voice, homelessness or mental health cases,” their email said. “We should reimagine public safety to prioritize evidence-based alternatives to conflict by creating first responder teams with the training and skills to de-escalate crisis situations.”

The council defended the city’s Police Department for advancing many of the community policing tactics and strategies that protesters are demanding across the nation.

“It’s inappropriate to paint all police departments with the same brush just as it is inappropriate to paint all people of color with the same brush,” Councilmember Ian Bain said.

Councilmember Giselle Hale said the down economy will likely “disrupt our status quo and force us to innovate.” With possible cuts coming, “we need to look across every department, and policing…should not be excluded from the exercise.”

As youth have been credited with organizing local police reform actions, including the large, peaceful protest and march from Courthouse Square, Mayor Diane Howard called to form a committee of young people that can provide feedback and guidance on such city decisions.

Climate will be devoting much of the July issue to a big subject—What makes America special?—and is inviting readers to submit their own, personal responses to that question.

The topic is huge, and contributors can focus on any aspect of living in America or being an American that is particularly meaningful to them.

It could, for example, be a chapter from the country’s history or a founding principle of American government. The stories might also be about an aspect of culture, sports, the arts, education, cuisine or hobbies.

Perhaps there’s a hero or a celebrity, a leader or artist who embodies what makes America great, or an ideal or a uniquely American characteristic. These mini essays might even deal with the writer’s own personal story about what it means to be an American. Contributors should speak from the heart and tell their stories in their own voice.

The sky’s the limit, but not the length. The stories can be between 150 to 400 words, and they must be received by June 15. Submissions should be sent to editor@climaterwc.com. The stories that are published in Climate magazine will be selected by the editors, and will be subject to editing.

Public Fourth of July celebrations may have been canceled, but Climate encourages readers to exercise their freedom of expression—in 400 or word or less.