Tag: Redwood City

The Redwood City School District turned to renewable energy as a way to save money during a budget deficit, and it is now entering Phase 2 of its project.

Brandon Matthews is a parent in the Redwood City School District. He and his daughter, Jessamyn, are spending time in her school’s garden. 

“Classes come out, and they can plant things in the garden or harvest and eat things from the garden,” Matthews told CBS News Bay Area. 

But funding for programs like these could be in jeopardy, as the school district is facing a $5.25 million budget shortfall for the next academic year.

As one solution to cutting costs, the district installed solar canopies at four campuses in Phase One. Currently, the district is going through Phase Two of the project, where crews are building canopies at nine more schools. 

The entire project cost the district about $13.33 million. District leaders said they’re also receiving a $3.75 million reimbursement from the Investment Tax Credit allocated for the project. They expect to save more than $30 million total over the next 25 years. 

“It frees up that money to do things like pay teachers and higher educational assistance. It shows that the district is responsible with the money they’ve got and can use that savings to defray other costs as they come,” Matthews said. 

David Williard, the principal for NV5 Clean Energy Group, is the energy consultant for the school district. 

“Having canopies on the school site provides shade and also power for the school. Clean energy, it’s generated on-site,” he told CBS News Bay Area. “(For Phase Two) we are projecting approximately $26 million in savings for the district over 25 years. That’s the estimated life for the system.”

“In the first five years, we’ve already saved $875,000,” he added. 

He said that each campus will use 80% to 90% of the energy generated through these canopies, which are also installed in parking lots. 

“They are able to use their bond funding to pay for these facility upgrades. And that actually reduces their costs for their General Fund,” Williard said. 

“Doing the right thing for the environment and saving money for public schools and the community,” he added. 

Williard said that the planning and permitting process takes about two and a half years, followed by about six months for canopy construction. 

“Constructed over a parking lot, and it provides shade for the cars that are parking here, for staff parking,” he said. 

As for Matthews, who sends his daughter to a Spanish immersion school, he hopes to see the positive impact both environmentally and financially. 

“Every cent helps and by being able to defray some of the costs from rising energy costs is going to be key to be able to fund things like this,” he said. “Knowing that as energy rates are rising and our costs are going up, they are able to benefit from the investment the district made a few years ago, makes me really, really happy.” 

A district spokesperson said they expect to complete Phase Two of the project by the summer. 

Tortillas sold in California will soon contain a new ingredient.

Thanks to a new state law that takes effect Jan. 1, tortillas sold in the Golden State must contain a dose of folic acid, a vitamin that helps nurture healthy newborns.

Nora Garcia says tortillas are an important part of most meals for her and her family, which is why she was happy to learn that the family favorite will soon contain a beneficial new ingredient.

Anna Camacho owns Mi México Tortillería, a tortilla business, in Redwood City. She makes and sells thousands of corn tortillas every day. While small businesses like hers will be exempt from the requirement, she says she thinks it’s a great idea for mass producers.

“If it helps with the birth defects and mainly Latinas definitely, definitely, like that’s a big plus for us,” Camacho said.

According to the legislation, Latino communities face a much higher risk of severe birth defects in early pregnancy. Adding folic acid to corn masa, a staple item in Latin American cuisine, could lower that risk.

“Nothing is more important than our families, which having our children be born healthy, and strong,” Camacho said.

Throughout the Bay Area, from food pantries to businesses, people are stepping in to help families who are expecting to lose their SNAP benefits.

This is coming at an already critical time for food pantries. And at a time when lawmakers cannot reach an agreement, pantries and food spots are stepping up.

Saif and his brother own Mazra in Redwood City, and they announced this morning they would be giving meals to 50 families for the entire month of November.

He said he received about 200 emails within three hours, ranging from people who are elderly to single parents.

“Hearing about anyone struggling with food just bothers us,” Saif said. “Too many people are affected by this and there’s no real indication as to when the government is going to end this.”

As the government shutdown continues, millions of people throughout the U.S. could lose their SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps, this Saturday. That includes approximately 5.5 million people in California.

Yesenia Alvarez says the looming halt to snap made her race to the Calvary Chapel in East San Jose.

“It’s giving us too much stress that we are not getting food,” Alvarez said.

“We are always well prepared for anything and everything, but we don’t even know how to prepare for this so all we can do is get those volunteer numbers up,” said Dalenna Hughes, associate director at Sacred Heart Community Service.

Hughes says this is a critical time, and along with volunteers, they’re also looking for food donations.

“The most expensive thing and hardest to find is protein items, meat, chicken, turkey, ham, eggs, milk, canned goods, dry goods,” Hughes said.

Meantime, Mazra joins a growing list of restaurants throughout the Bay Area hoping to show up for their community.

“I don’t want to hear about a mom or some person struggling on how do I feed my kid, that was enough for us to want to do this,” Saif said.