When my siblings and I sat down to dinner as kids, Mom would say, “Take what you want, but eat what you take.” 

The state Legislature delivered a historic win for San Mateo County by passing Senate Bill 63 this past weekend.

I don’t love to admit this, but in fifth grade, my parent-teacher conference was met with concern about my lack of communication in the classroom.

How do Americans find a way to unite around the belief that violence is not an acceptable form of disagreement?

I can’t think of a greater civic treasure in our community than the San Mateo Public Library — or as we call it in my house, “that magical place where the WiFi never runs out and someone else picks up all the books I leave lying around.” I’d like to offer reflections about a subject that is …

California runs a revolutionary cap-and-trade program in which a limit is set on total emissions for major sectors, permits to produce those emissions are auctioned off, and the auction revenues are invested in climate-related projects through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

Labor Day is often seen as the unofficial end of summer — a long weekend of barbecues, family gatherings and time to recharge. But for those of us in the labor movement, Labor Day is a reminder of what working people have built together: protections that make life better for millions of families.

As longtime community organizers, we are frequently asked why we bother to keep organizing protests, and why should people bother attending. “Standing on a corner for two hours with a clever sign, especially in a blue area, means nothing. This isn’t doing a thing to create change!” We wholeh…

When District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe seeks the death penalty against Chunli Zhao, he will do so in all of our names in People v. Chunli Zhao. Mr. Zhao, a farmworker, is accused of the fatal shooting of seven co-workers and the attempted murder of another at a mushroom farm in Half Moon Bay…

As a grandmother of an active 4-year-old grandson, I have a unique perspective on the challenges of securing adequate child care. Navigating a complicated, restrictive and expensive child care system can be overwhelming, creating barriers for families that want to participate in the Innovati…

The Americans with Disabilities Act was meant to open doors — not bankrupt small businesses. Yet, in California, a handful of opportunistic lawyers and serial litigants have twisted the law into a weapon, targeting shops over razor-thin technicalities.

Higher education is failing us because being a degree holder is no longer a guarantee of success. Postsecondary education is shifting in the coming years — a long-awaited change toward building a financially secure future for adults and their families.

The United States was founded on the principle of religious freedom for everyone. Alarmingly, the San Mateo County jail system has made it difficult for incarcerated individuals to practice their faith.

I have lived within 60 feet of a raucous railroad crossing in the city of San Mateo for 36 years. I experienced years of daily horn blasts and the grinding sounds of steel wheels on steel rails. So, in 2023, when I heard the city planned to initiate a Train Quiet Zone Program — I was all ear…

Coming into the second Donald J. Trump administration, the president called the U.S. a weak, failed nation, and proclaimed in his inaugural speech: “America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the…

Jill Wakeman Goodman isn’t just my hero — she belongs to all of San Mateo. While hers is not a household name, her work is unforgettable.

Deeply concerned, as millions are, about governmental threats to what makes America great — things like judicial review and separation of powers and the right to dissent — it might seem rather inconsequential for me to recall when, decades ago, as a birthday present, my mother bought season …

As a teen in the ’90s, I spent my summers in San Diego on the beach, going to swim practice and roaming my neighborhood with friends. Sometimes I was bored. It wasn’t a problem — it was just part of life. 

In the 1960s, a time of deep political division and social unrest, the United States set an ambitious goal: to land a person on the moon.

It’s a pivotal moment for public transit in the Bay Area. This Wednesday, the SamTrans Board of Directors will decide whether to opt in to a regional funding measure that would protect and improve transit service across the region.

What happens when your reflection in the mirror becomes unrecognizable after weeks, months, and years spent at work?

Under a proposed levy, San Mateo County residents would be taxed — more than $600 million over the life of the measure — to subsidize transit services primarily operated by agencies outside our jurisdiction, namely BART and MUNI.

San Mateo County is often celebrated for its innovation, quality of life and strong local economy. But beneath the surface, affordability challenges are placing enormous strain on residents and businesses alike. Under state guidelines, even a $109,700 annual salary now qualifies as “low inco…

Last week, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte was forced to close two of its three health centers in San Mateo County due to drastic Medicare cuts in the recently passed Federal budget bill.

The Coachella Valley and Inland Empire region are home to one of the largest Latino populations in California, however, for many high schoolers here, college still feels like a foreign country that they don’t know how to navigate.

The first fire I remember fighting happened in the dense mountains of Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Giant ponderosa pines crashed down around us with little warning, weakened by fire and shooting off embers like fireflies in smoke. 

Today’s teens are addicted to technology — they were practically looking at phone screens before they could walk.

Here in the Bay Area, the most important decision most people make about summer and fall weather is whether to pack a fleece.

As state and federal funding for elder care programs grows increasingly uncertain, millions of older Americans face mounting challenges. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, recently signed into law, cuts funding to critical programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and raises w…

In a time when communities across the Bay Area are grappling with housing shortages, infrastructure demands, climate resilience and workforce instability, it’s more important than ever to ensure that public and private development delivers lasting value — not just in concrete and steel, but …

For all of their differences, Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump have one thing in common: both are stealing from the future to pay for their budgets.

When a grand jury accuses your county sheriff, something is deeply broken.

As I navigate my new life in California, there is a question that echoes in my mind. There’s a subtle, almost reflexive sympathy that surfaces from California natives when I mention my home state of Arkansas. It’s a quiet acknowledgment, as if I’ve survived some hardship and finally reached …

You just saw some intense news headlines. The world feels heavy and your personal life is overwhelming. Everyone feels some level of stress right now, which is normal, but prolonged stress will cause harm.

Dear Sheriff Corpus,

I recently had the privilege of visiting Fort Campbell, Kentucky to represent the city of San Mateo as the 101st Airborne commemorated its entry into the Vietnam War 60 years ago. It was a humbling experience to meet hundreds of young men and women so committed to service and protecting our …

Schools have been under tremendous pressure during the six months I have served on the San Mateo County Board of Education. 

Are people seriously going to a low-budget college in their hometown just to run into the same people from high school and live at home?

The Israeli-Iran military conflict is well upon us. Initiated by Israel, the exchange of attacks is like no other in the history of their long tense relationship. Iranian leadership has for decades clearly stated the objective of the destruction of Israel as a state, and Israel’s leadership …

BART stations in San Mateo County will soon be safer and cleaner as the reset button has been hit between the county, cities and regional public transportation agency.

Like many, I’ve been taken aback by the recent surge in immigration enforcement across the country. As the child of immigrants, I carry a deep and personal empathy for those who came here in search of something better. It is painful to hear about raids by masked federal agents — in workplace…

President Donald Trump’s “skinny budget” proposal aims to eliminate a group of eight federally funded programs known as TRIO that support higher education access and success for individuals from “disadvantaged backgrounds.” 

I hadn’t read John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” for 50 years, until now. In it, the Joad family is forced to leave Oklahoma with hundreds of thousands of others during “The Dust Bowl” of the 1930s.

My father, a Sacramento native, tells stories of a childhood spent riding his bicycle all over town — to baseball practices, ice cream parlors and even his morning newspaper route. I understand the fun and convenience that bicycles can provide.

Tucked inside Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed state budget is a kernel of hope for the future of adolescents in California: A $15 million investment to reshape the way students experience middle and high schools. It represents just 0.013% of total state education spending, but it represents an …

In 1947, decades before the federal Clean Air Act, California’s leaders began regulating the causes of harmful air pollution. It was also our state that, in 2006 under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, passed arguably the most aggressive greenhouse gas reduction law in the world, setting off a glo…

We’re two young scientists on parallel paths. Jessica, a second-year Ph.D. student at Northwestern University studying how the innate immune system responds to herpes simplex virus infections that cause life-threatening encephalitis in newborns, and Regan, a first-year Ph.D. student at the U…

Making $109,700 in San Mateo County is now considered low income, according to the California Department of Housing. Angela (all first names in this piece are altered), 52, doesn’t make nearly that much with her part-time job as a grocery store cashier. Becky, 50, showers and gets dressed at…