The County Administration Center was lit in blue Wednesday night for National Foster Care Month - a time to acknowledge foster parents, family members, volunteers, mentors, policymakers, child welfare professionals, and others who help children in foster care find permanent homes and connections.
El Capitan County Preserve
Nature offers incredible healing powers for our mind and body and is a great place to "Be COVID Safe" while getting in some exercise. Join the Live Well San Diego Trails Challenge to get active and breathe happy!
Held in partnership with the County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation, park rangers will be hosting a series of ranger-led hikes each Saturday this month leading up to the Warrior Hike Memorial Day weekend.
Hike Schedule
Sycamore Canyon/Goodan Ranch County Preserve
Date: May 15
Time: 10 a.m.
Level: Moderate
Length: 3.5-mile loop
Del Dios Highlands County Preserve
Date: May 22
Time: 10 a.m.
Level: Moderate
Length: 2.5 miles out and back
Warrior Hike at El Capitan County Preserve
Date: May 29
Time: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Level: Difficult
Length: 11 miles out and back
The hikes at Sycamore Canyon/Goodan Ranch and Del Dios Highlands can accommodate a max of 40 people (two groups of up to 20, first-come, first-served). All hikers must follow social distancing and mask requirements.
The Warrior Hike celebrates the physical and mental stamina of active duty and retired military personnel with a hike that tests the mettle of the toughest athletes. The trek up El Cajon Mountain at El Capitan County Preserve is arguably the toughest hike in San Diego. How far will you hike? “Celebration stations” are set at the 1- and 3-mile turnaround points, with water and healthy snacks.
Kick It Up a Notch
Live Well San Diego has partnered with the Vizer app to power up the Trails Challenge. Vizer is a free app that converts workouts into meal donations. Use the app through May 31 (using corporate challenge code "LiveWell") to track your exercise, which ultimately earns food for the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank. Learn more about using Vizer.
Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer:
A budget may be a bunch of numbers, but they all add up to some very real-world impacts. The proposed budget we released last week is the most transformative of my career here. We’re all going to play an integral role as the County undergoes substantial policy changes moving forward.
We’re increasing our budget from last fiscal year’s by more than 7%, putting us over $7 billion in spending. We are adding more than 600 positions to our workforce.
The expansion is a big push forward in the emphasis we’ve put in recent years on helping our most vulnerable residents and driving us toward more equitable outcomes throughout our region. I want to share a few highlights.
We’re putting more than $800 million to Behavioral Health Services, which covers mental health and substance use. After the Sheriff, that is our biggest County department. New funds will help lower staff-to-client ratios. We’ll add 23 nurses to support the Psychiatric Hospital. Overall, we are reshaping those services to get the right care to the right people at the right time.
We’ll expand medical care and mental health services in our jail system, adding 141 staff. We’re putting $75 million toward the next phase of the Youth Transition Campus that will replace juvenile hall and stand as a visible sign of how we’ve reimagined the justice system for youth.
The new Office of Equity and Racial Justice and the Human Relations Commission are working with the community to root out systemic racism and examine County operations for disparities. The budget will support the initiative Uplift Boys and Men of Color.
To address health equity, we’re adding 166 positions to deliver safety net services like CalFresh and Medi-Cal. Extra staff is also going to Adult Protective Services, In-Home Supportive Services and Child Welfare Services.
The budget calls for new ways to make progress in addressing homelessness, including the creation of a Department of Homeless Solutions and Equitable Communities to streamline operations currently spread across County agencies. There will be 19 new positions for Community Care Coordination programs to support high-need people with housing and other help.
We’re planning all this while still in the early stages of emerging from a global pandemic, with much work to do to keep the virus at a manageable level and recover from the economic havoc it wreaked.
And we’re continuing to step up to meet other pressing quality of life needs. We’ll spend over $100 million for environmental protection: reducing greenhouse gases, planting trees, acquiring open space, protecting water quality and agriculture, and diverting waste from landfills. Funding will also expand environmental justice in the County’s General Plan to reduce pollution exposure and promote public facilities in underserved communities. We’re addressing housing affordability, increasing transparency, and funding parks, libraries, a fire station and other community assets.
I’m skimming the top of the top. You can pick up a few more details in this infographic or dive into the deep end with the complete operational plan. You may want to tune in when many County departments make presentations to the Board of Supervisors on May 26 and 27.
This is exciting change. And the Board of Supervisors and our community are empowering us and counting on us to make it happen! We should expect even more changes to this budget before it gets finalized. But if there’s one thing COVID-19 taught me, it’s that we can handle tremendous changes while continuing to serve our residents with excellence. If we can pull that off under those circumstances, we are well prepared to do great things as we get back on our feet and put this pandemic behind us. Onward and upward!
The County Administration Center was lit in teal Saturday night for World Ovarian Cancer Day. There's no simple, routine screening test for ovarian cancer, so women are encouraged to learn about and watch for its symptoms.
The County Administration Center was lit in blue Friday night for Tardive Dyskinesia Awareness Week. It is estimated that over 500,000 Americans suffer from Tardive Dyskinesia, a condition affecting the nervous system.
The County Administration Center was lit in blue Thursday night in honor of law enforcement officers who have fallen in the line of duty. There are 87 names on the Law Enforcement Memorial in the Waterfront Park.
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month—a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. To help you appreciate and learn more about the diverse AAPI cultures and their rich history, our Asian Pacific Alliance of County Employees has prepared an AAPI Heritage Month calendar that you can use as inspiration. Mark your calendar!
In addition, APACE invites you to Amplify AAPI Voices. Grab your lunch and listen to Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Michael Vu’s stories that shaped what it means for him to be an Asian American on May 6 at noon. Share your personal stories or stories of community members “in order to shed a spotlight on all the amazing AAPI folks that make the County of San Diego shine.”
(Click on the calendar below to see it full screen.)
The County Administration Center was lit up in red in recognition of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Week of Action on Wednesday night.
Balboa Park's Botanical Building and lily pond and the San Diego Convention Center were also illuminated in red.
Did you miss “Speaking Our Stories?” The May 5 lunch and learn, which coincided with Mental Health Month, was a collaboration between the Middle East Employee Resource Group (MEERG), the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer & Allies Employee Resource Group (LBGTQ&A) and the San Diego County Latino Association Employee Resource Group (SDCLA). Watch above.
(Warning: This video contains emotionally difficult topics. Resources can be found at the end of the video and through our Employee Assistance Program.)
The County Administration Center was lit in blue Saturday night to recognize the close of National Child Abuse Prevention Month (April).
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