By Nikki Silverstein
Hero: San Rafael police officers are wearing pink badges on their uniforms during October in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Pink Patch Project was started in Southern California and the SRPD is leading the effort here, in part because one of their own, Rebecca Kuga, lost her mother to breast cancer last month. Other community partners supporting the project include the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services, Kaiser Permanente and Alex’s Dry Cleaning. The SRPD is selling pink patches for $10 each to benefit Zero Breast Cancer, a local nonprofit that collaborates with scientists on studies designed to identify the causes of breast cancer and breast cancer recurrence. Purchase your pink patch at the SRPD on Fifth Avenue or online at pinkpatchprojectsanrafael.org.
Zero: Mail villains continue to plague Mill Valley. Emily, a homeowner in Homestead Valley, has been a repeat target of the thieves. “When my packages went missing, it was annoying, but now my credit card accounts have been hijacked,” she said. To combat the crooks, she installed a locking mailbox, purchased fraud and identity theft protection and has her packages delivered to an Amazon locker or a friend’s home. The Nextdoor website contains similar stories from other victims. Discarded loot, such as magazines and circulars, are regularly found strewn on the street, sometimes blocks away from the addressee’s home. The Mill Valley Police Department and the Marin County Sheriff’s Office take these crimes seriously and urge residents to report all mail theft to help catch the perpetrators.
