Indoor dining at restaurants, bars, breweries and wineries will close July 7 for at least three weeks, after the County remained on the state’s Monitoring List for three consecutive days due to the region’s high number of COVID-19 cases.
Read more on County News Center.
The Employee Wellness farmers market that came to more than a dozen worksites is now virtual! You can order fruits and veggies online and have them delivered to your home.
The Employee Resource Group Council is hosting a listening session centered on Black voices. The session will address social justice, equity and identity issues, in order to improve our County workforce and customer service experiences.
Attendees are encouraged to listen with an open mind and support our courageous peers as they share their experiences, concerns and suggestions.
The ERG Council extended a special invitation to all County leaders to act as a catalyst during this time of change.
Date: Wednesday, July 8
Time: 5 p.m.
WEBEX info:
Meeting number (access code): 133 654 7940
Meeting password: 12345
or
Join by phone:
Call 415-655-0001
If you would like to remain anonymous, please send your questions/comments to ERGCouncil@sdcounty.ca.gov at least one day prior to the session.
The state has notified the County it will be placed on its Monitoring List July 3, which is expected to result in the County closing or placing new restrictions on additional businesses next week.
Read more on County News Center.
Tell your friends, neighbors and acquaintances – the County is taking applications for its Independent Redistricting Commission. This once in a ten-year opportunity will allow members to redraw the boundaries for the County’s five supervisorial districts. District lines can shape a community’s ability to elect the representative of their choice. The Clerk of the Board is looking for a wide cross section of applicants to reflect the County’s diversity.
For more information, visit County News Center.
Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer
You’re probably aware we’ve seen several discouraging trends recently in tracking COVID-19 activity in our region. Cases have shown big jumps. Hospitalizations are up. We’ve hit several of our “triggers” for modifying the health order. In response, we’ve closed bars that don’t serve food and directed restaurants to shut at 10 p.m.
We’ve also had an increase in the number of County employees testing positive. The percentage of our total workforce is very low, but it’s still a cause for concern.
Because of these external and internal trends, we’re pulling back on the opening of County facilities. We were planning to reopen library branches Monday, but we’re putting that on hold. We’re also going to close offices at the County Administration Center to most public services. That includes the Treasurer/Tax Collector and the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk. They’ll be open today, then close the rest of July. We’ll see what the trends are like at the end of the month before deciding whether to reopen again
We’re also asking nonessential employees to continue to telework as much as possible and pausing any additional reopenings to the public.
It’s frustrating to take a step back, but the numbers show this virus remains a growing health threat. We’ll have an ongoing balancing act between wanting to reopen and taking prudent steps to protect the public’s and our employees’ health.
We can all help stem the increase by taking the measures we’ve been talking about all along. Wash your hands. Wear a face covering – evidence continues to grow showing their effectiveness. Maintain social distancing. We can’t stress enough that gatherings with others outside your household are still not allowed. That means no inviting people over for backyard barbecues or big beach get-togethers on Fourth of July. I hate to come around every holiday with that same message, but it still holds true. This virus passes from one person to another, so the best way to stop the spread is to stay apart.
I thank all our staff directly involved with the COVID response who will stay busy in that effort over the long Independence Day weekend. I hope the rest of you will enjoy the holiday and celebrate safely.
Spread of the novel coronavirus has caused the County of San Diego to be flagged by the California Department of Public Health, positioning the region to go on the state’s Watch List and ultimately face new closures if the number of COVID-19 cases continues to go up.
Learn more on County News Center.
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San Diego restaurants must close nightly at 10 p.m. starting Wednesday, July 1 until further notice, the County Health and Human Services Agency announced Tuesday. The County is taking the action to prevent additional community outbreaks and the spread of COVID-19.
Read more on County News Center.
A growing number of COVID-19 cases are being identified in young people. Plus, San Diego region bars, wineries and breweries without a license to serve food will need to close.
Read more from Monday's coronavirus update.
A view of solar panels on the Registrar of Voters building and the Chesapeake parking structure at the County Operations Center.
A crowning achievement at General Services – the department energized the County’s largest photovoltaic (PV) system to date, a 2.2-megawatt system, at the County Operations Center. That means solar panels will generate enough clean renewable power to provide nearly 25% of the electricity used by the entire COC campus.
On top of that, a 400-kilowatt battery system was installed on the campus’s north side. The battery system will offset SDG&E’s increased rates during periods of high demand. The battery will switch on as needed each day when campus energy use gets too high, eliminating most of those costs.
Between the solar panels and the battery, the system is expected to cut the COC’s annual electricity bill up to $370,000 each year.
Under a power purchase agreement, Sun Power built the COC system and will operate and maintain it at no cost to the County. In turn, the County will buy all the renewable power generated at a price well below current and anticipated future SDG&E rates.
The project started last July and involved the installation of more than 6,300 PV panels atop the roofs of all four campus office buildings, the Registrar of Voters building and the new carports on the Chesapeake parking structure.
The County also energized a 175-kilowatt system at the Rancho San Diego Sheriff Station. Renewable power will offset more than 60% of the site’s energy use.
“The County reached a milestone with the completion of these two projects,” said Energy and Sustainability Program Chief Charley Marchesano. “The total amount of onsite generated renewable power increased to 10% of the total County facility demand which is a 2020 goal in our climate action plan.”
And there is more to come. A solar project at the Edgemoor Skilled Nursing Facility should go live later in the summer. And two more at the East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility and the North County Regional Center are scheduled to come online this fall.
Once they are all on board, the County’s renewable onsite power will increase to 18 or 19% of the County’s total energy load. That figure puts the County well within reach of the ultimate goal to generate at least 20% of the total energy load from onsite renewable sources by 2030.
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