During a Feb. 27 ceremony in San Rafael, the Marin County Human Rights Commission honored three local teens and two adults for their efforts toward human rights.
Among the honorees were high school seniors Sylvia Potovsky, Sonia Saltzman, and Ava Francis-Hall—all three received 2019-2020 Youth Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Awards. Likewise, Dominque McDowell and Alexis Wise were honored with Adult MLK Jr. Humanitarian Awards.
The event took place at McInnis Park Golf Center Restaurant and featured Superintendent of Sausalito Marin City Schools Dr. Itoco Garcia as a guest speaker.
Established in 1966 Marin County Board of Supervisors, the Human Rights Commission promotes measures to eliminate prejudice, intolerance, and discrimination against any group because of race, religion, national origin, sex, age, cultural background, sexual orientation or disability.
County Launches Website with Info for Renters, Landlords
A new webpage launched by the Marin County Community Development Agency (CDA) will assist local renters and their landlords in understanding changes in California law via Assembly Bill 1482, which went into effect Jan. 1 and will remain active for a decade
The bill caps annual rent increases at 5 percent plus a 4 percent cost-of-living quotient, which the federal government changes annually.
“There is a lot of local interest revolving around the rent cap rules,” says Leelee Thomas, CDA’s Planning Manager for housing policy. “Housing-related legislation coming out of Sacramento directly affects our residents, and there is more in the works.”
The new webpage answers frequently asked questions about the bill and what it means to the county’s landlord registry for properties in unincorporated Marin, just cause for eviction policy, mandatory mediation rules, and source-of-income protection for renters.
“Our goal with the new webpage is to connect residents with information so that they can best advocate for themselves,” Thomas says. “It also serves as a central hub for both landlords and tenants to help them sort through the complexities and become more aware of their rights and responsibilities.”
SMART Ridership Up 40 Percent
Ridership for the Sonoma-Marin Rail Transit District (SMART) continues to rise, according to a statement released by the agency on Monday, March 2.
For the second month in a row SMART has experienced a double-digit growth in ridership and early analysis of 2020 data is signaling a continued upward trend, the agency announced one day before North Bay voters considered Measure I, a ballot item which, if passed, would extend a sales tax funding SMART from 2029 to 2059.
“Approximately 72,000 people a month are opting to leave their car at home and hop aboard a SMART train—that’s thousands of cars taken off traffic-congested Highway 101 and local roads,” the statement says in part.
