Other Announcements
5% of your purchase will benefit Farm to School Program
Shop at the New Leaf Community Market, 150 San Mateo Road in Half Moon Bay on February 23, 2012 and 5% of your purchase will benefit CAFF's Farm to School Program in San Mateo County! Five percent of your purchase will support the Farm to School program in the San Mateo County, bolstering our efforts to educate students about and create access to locally-sourced, healthy produce in local school districts. Through educating students in the classroom, bringing them to the farm, and providing access to fresh produce in the cafeteria, CAFF helps to improve the health and economy of the local community.
Eight new projects will make it safer to get to public transportation
The Safe Routes to Transit program – first proposed and now administered by TransForm and the East Bay Bicycle Coalition – just awarded $4 million for projects across the Bay Area that will make it safer and easier to walk or bicycle to public transportation. Check out the funded projects!
The Parks & Recreation Commission (2 seats)
The Parks and Recreation Commission meets on the first Wednesday of alternating months at 7 p.m. and in study sessions, as needed. The Commission makes recommendations to the City Council regarding current and potential Parks and Recreation programs, services and facilities. Parks and Recreation Commissioners work with the Parks and Recreation Director to study proposed programs, services and projects and gather input and make recommendations that are reflective of the needs of the community as a whole. Download, Complete & Submit the Application by February 17, 2012
Designing Healthy Communities – 4-hour series
Host/Narrator Richard Jackson, MD, MPH, of Designing Healthy Communities looks at the impact our built environment has on key public health indices – obesity, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, cancer and depression. Dr. Jackson connects bad community design with burgeoning health costs, then analyzes and illustrates what citizens are doing about this urgent crisis by looking upstream for innovative solutions. For local broadcast times, please visit: http://www.kqed.org/tv/programs/index.jsp?pgmid=20419
Vounteer Coaches for Curriculum-Based Running Programs
Girls on the Run has a mission of educating and building confidence in young girls (grades 3-5) through non-competitive, curriculum-based running programs in San Francisco, Marin, Alameda, San Mateo, and Contra Costa Counties. Volunteer coaches engage the girls in games and running-based workouts that encourage emotional, social, psychological and physical development. The girls meet twice each week after school for 10 weeks for a total of 20 one-hour sessions. Passionate and dedicated volunteer coaches are needed in Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Mateo Counties. Learn more about this opportunity by visiting: http://ww.gotrbayarea.org
The Y Makes Commitment to Advance First Lady’s Efforts to Keep Kids Healthy
Joining first lady Michelle Obama and the Partnership for a Healthier America at the Building a Healthier Future Summit, YMCA of the USA President and CEO Neil Nicoll announces the Y’s commitment to establish standards that would ensure more children have access to healthy food and physical activity in its 10,000 early childhood and afterschool programs across the country.
http://www.ymca.net/news-releases/20111202-KeepingKidsHealthyVideo.html
Nominations Open for the Alliance for Walking and Bicycling 2012 Advocacy Awards
What individuals, organizations or businesses are making your city or state a better place to walk and bike? Honor leaders in your community by nominating them for a 2012 Advocacy Award from the Alliance for Biking & Walking. Each year the Alliance recognizes those who show exceptional leadership in advancing the bicycle and pedestrian movement in categories like Advocacy Organization of the Year and Advocate of the Year. Winners will be announced during a reception at the 2012 National Bike Summit. For details about the Advocacy Awards, please visit: http://bit.ly/vPLT7z] Nominations Deadline: December 18th
Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Education Classes
By Brent A. Butler, Planning Division, East Palo Alto
The Ravenswood City School District and the City of East Palo Alto are pleased to announce a new partnership for the first ever joint pedestrian and bicycle safety education classes, and bicycle give-away! Working collaboratively with the San Mateo County Office of Education and Health System, the District and City have planned these classes to start in the winter and spring of 2012. The goals of this joint effort are to teach the rules of the road and to ensure that parents and motorists are fully aware of safe vehicle operation and pedestrian safety. For anyone wishing to participate, two steps are necessary. Register for a chance to receive a free bicycle by indicating the following: 1) your preference for instruction - bicycle or walking, 2) your preference for the length of time of each class, and days of week preferred, and any other relevant information. To register contact Guido Persicone at gpersicone@cityofepa.org
Need Bay Area Transportation Info? There Are Apps for That!
Whether you're in need of real-time BART arrivals, traffic conditions on the Bay Bridge, a carpool or vanpool to get to work or even up-to-date parking availability, chances are there's an app for you. 511.org has compiled an impressive list of apps to speed your travels around the Bay Area. The site's proprietary app -- 511 Mobile -- also has a host of features including transit trip planning, real-time traffic and text alerts, and more. We encourage you to submit useful apps via the suggestion link on our apps page. http://tinyurl.com/3sg4bra
Take the America Walks’ National Walking Survey
Help America Walks learn more about who walks, and why we walk. This survey will take only 5 minutes to complete. To take the survey, go to: http://tinyurl.com/3tzccvy. Please encourage others to take the survey by sharing this link.
Ravenswood Family Health Center's Website Revamped!
Check out Ravenswood Family Health Center's new website: http://www.ravenswoodfhc.org. The dramatically redesigned site, created by RFHC staff with assistance from Taproot Foundation and web developer Morgan Ney, embodies the clinic’s forward–thinking vision and commitment to the growing needs of our community. The new website offers information for patients, supporters and friends by offering rich content about the scope of services, up-to-date clinic and volunteer news, health reform news and reports, enhanced online donation application, streamlined searching and more intuitive navigation and featured video interviews.
Redwood City School District Spring Training for Health
This spring students from Fair Oaks, Hawes, Hoover, Garfield, and Taft School participated in numerous activities such as Make Time for Fitness and A-Z salad bar. Sequioa Hospital, UC Cooperative Extentsion, and the school district's child nutrition staff make this program possible. Please click on http://youtube.com/watch?v=QtnGbzaQuDw to view a video that features all the great activities occurring in Redwood City School District.
Increase the walkability of San Mateo
The City of San Mateo's Department of Public Works' DRAFT Citywide Pedestrian Master Plan has been released for Pulbic Review. The Master Plan was developed to improve the City's sustainability and increase walking as a mode of transportation. Sign up for future "Walk San Mateo!" updates and keep informed of future opportunties to get involved.
Host a StreetFilms Presentation
Moving Beyond the Automobile, a 10-part film series that will explore solutions to automobile dependency. It's a visual handbook that guides policy makers and advocates alike into a world that values pedestrian plazas over parking lots and train tracks over highways. Put livable streets issues in the spotlight by organizing a Streetfilms screening in your community.
211 has come to San Mateo!
The 211 San Mateo County Social Services hotline has launched! By dialing 211, you can find food, housing, healthcare, senior services, childcare, legal aid, and many other services.
You can host a bike/pedestrian safety workshop
Give your employees a free one-hour bike and pedestrian safety workshop at your jobsite. Employees will learn about: bicycling and walking as a safe, stress-relieving commute mode, traffic laws for bicyclists and pedestrians, bicycle maintenance tips, and have the opportunity to enter drawings for free bicycle-related prizes. For more information about requesting a workshop, visit http://www.commute.org/.
Join the Planning Healthy Communities online forum
A new online social networking forum, Planning Healthy Communities provides a venue for discussion among planning and public health practitioners and other stakeholders on topics related to healthy, sustainable communities, including air quality, brownfields, climate change, environmental justice, food systems, health impact assessments, housing choice & affordability, parks, open space & recreation, schools, social equity, transportation alternatives, urban design, and water quality. To contribute to the content of the forum, create a FREE member profile, visit http://planninghealthycommunities.webs.com/apps/auth/signup
Weigh in on Bike Scores
With plans to develop a BikeScore.com site, WalkScore.com has opened up a forum asking the question "What are the most important factors to include in a Bike Score calculation?" Contribute your own ideas and vote for suggested ones. Currently, the top vote-getter is "Bike lanes and paths, bike parking, and bike shops are needed for mere mortals to feel comfortable biking." Go to http://www.bikescore.com/ to participate.