San Rafael, CA – Recruitment has just opened for the Marin County Career Explorer Program, a popular vocational skills internship opportunity for those between the ages of 15 and 22 funded by the Marin County Probation Department.

Young people curious about public service careers get a chance to work with County of Marin departments and earn a few bucks while gaining exclusive experience. The program runs from June 12 through August 4. Participants are paid $17.50 per hour during their internship. Applications are available online in English[External] and Spanish[External] and may be turned in through May 31.

Manpreet Kaur of Marin City, a 2022 participant, spent time learning about the Marin County Public Defender’s Office from mentor attorney La Dell Dangerfield. She subsequently connected with he Marin Teen Girl Conference, the Marin 9 to 25 Initiative, and an internship with the nonprofit Bloom Marin. Kaur was the recipient of the 2022 Dan Daniels Spirit of Service Award, which goes to an intern who demonstrates a passion for serving clients, coworkers, and community partners.

“The Career Explorer Program wasn’t just an internship for me,” Kaur said. “It was a gateway to opportunities. I met so many incredible people and had a great time. I would highly recommend this program to anyone.”

The Career Explorer program provides opportunities to local youth who are exposed to circumstances that traditionally present barriers to employment. Those may include personal experiences with the juvenile justice system, family members with experience in either the juvenile or adult justice systems or live in neighborhoods impacted by crime or other socioeconomic issues.

Career Explorers, now in its eighth year, was borne from a long-range business plan that included focus areas of “diversity and inclusion” and “growth and development.” The program also includes a comprehensive soft skills training course and a guest speaker series that features County employees, community partners, and leaders from the business community sharing stories designed to motivate future members of the workforce.

Chief Probation Officer Marlon Washington saw first-hand how important the internships can be last summer as the program organizers presented purely online experiences during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am proud to continue the Probation Department’s innovative program, which is the best way for youth to find a career they love through exploration,” Washington said. “Showing them the many options available can help spark interest and find their passion.”

Luis Luciano, a Probation Senior Program Coordinator, said he was grateful to return to the in-person experience as the pandemic eased. Career Explorers programming now features a daily online guest speaker and one in-person guest speaker per week, allowing youths connect with more County employees and community leaders.

“There were lessons learned during the pandemic that have served us well,” he said. “As much as youth are into technology, they really were needing the connection and sense of community that the in-person internship experience creates. We were able to provide them with practice interviews and also have them partake in a public speaking workshop, something that is a bit more difficult to replicate in the online environment. These trainings give young people the skills and confidence they need to become our next leaders.”

The Career Explorer Program creates a diverse, skilled, and local candidate pool for employment opportunities in a manner that promotes growth and development. The Probation Department collaborates with the County’s Department of Human Resources and other County departments to offer the program. Probation uses funds from a state grant to cover the costs of stipends, work uniforms, food, transportation, and supervision for the interns. Departments that employ the interns also contribute to the cost of the program.

Email Luciano or call (415) 473-6676 to learn more about the program or to obtain a printed application.

By Olivia Wynkoop
Bay City News

Over 450,000 California residents were without power during Tuesday’s high winds and rain, PG&E officials said during a briefing on Wednesday.

And in the Bay Area alone, approximately 108,000 people were still without power as of 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Officials said it was the 38th consecutive day the company’s emergency operations center has been active, pointing to an extraordinary winter season with high levels of rain, snows, flooding, mudslides and other storm-related emergencies throughout the state.

More than 5,500 crew members are in the field to restore power during extreme weather, said Sumeet Singh, PG&E chief operating officer. He added that the company will continue to prioritize safety above all, which sometimes means that it takes a while to restore service in some areas.

“At PG&E, we know how important that electricity is to your families, schools, communities and businesses,” said Singh. “And we will not stop working until we get power back for every single one of our customers.”

Singh said the company is working to recover from the most recent storm event this week — the 13th storm in the past 75 days — which broke a record for the storm with the greatest amount of power outages for customers in the Bay Area since 1995.

On Tuesday, nearly 367,000 customers across California were without power at the peak of the storm, Singh said.

Of the total 450,000 customers around the state impacted by outages on Tuesday, 290,000 have had their power restored as of Wednesday afternoon, he said.

“When there is extensive damage, it can take some time to safely access a situation and assessment. We know this can be frustrating,” said Singh. “Our commitment is to provide restoration estimates no later than 24 hours after the outage starts even if we haven’t been able to access the outage to assess it.”

Angie Gibson, vice president of emergency preparedness and response at PG&E’s Emergency Operations Center in Vacaville, said the Bay Area counties with the most damage are Santa Clara, San Mateo and Contra Costa counties. Most damage stems from trees uprooting due to soil saturation and extreme winds..

She said upcoming weather will make it easier for crews to assess and restore in affected areas.

“The extreme storm that produced the major damage yesterday has thankfully exited the territory,” said Gibson. “We have fair and dry weather, which will continue through at least tomorrow with light winds.”

Residents who notice a downed power line are encouraged to first call 9-1-1, then PG&E at 1-800-743-5000. People concerned about their vulnerable neighbors can also receive information on community services in the area at 2-1-1.

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San Rafael, CA – As the COVID-19 pandemic eased in 2022, local government inspectors who check the accuracy of pricing in the Marin County marketplace doubled the number of on-site inspections when compared with the previous year. The result was a 241% increase in items found overcharged to customers.

In fact, there was a larger increase — 281% — in items found to be undercharged to customers.

Those were some of the key figures mentioned in the new 2022 Marin County Consumer Protection Report, presented to the Marin County Board of Supervisors on March 7. Staff from the Marin County Department of Agriculture / Weights and Measures (AWMs) performed 12,537 inspections (up from 6,449 in 2021) at 387 businesses (up from 307) to ensure accuracy of measuring devices and checking the prices charged to consumers.

AWMs Inspector Raoul Wertz said there were 467 overcharged items discovered during unannounced routine inspections in 2022, up from 137 in 2021. Undercharged items went from 87 to 332.

The department responded to 41 customer inquiries, concerns, and complaints about Marin businesses, a 70% increase from the prior year. Complaints often involve retail overcharging, allegations of gas pumps “shorting” customers on fuel, or credit/debit card skimmers. The complaints are typically shared via a phone hotline – (415) 473-7888 – an email to staff, or an online form on the department’s website. Staff investigates complaints of posted prices not being honored or inability to view prices when a purchase is being rung up at the checkout stand.

Wertz also pointed out that 4.5% of all retail items randomly price-checked by inspectors in 2022 rang up at a higher price than posted. For instance, a grocery cart with 25 items likely includes one overcharge, he said.

“We attribute the increase in complaints in 2022 to consumers being more aware of prices in the wake of pandemic pricing and media coverage of price gouging,” Wertz said.

AWMs Assistant Director Scott Wise acknowledged that since the pandemic brick-and-mortar retail stores have faced significant challenges such as reduced sales, increased online competition, supply chain disruptions, inflation, and worker shortages. “In short, this has been an incredibly challenging time for businesses with many closing for good.  Please remember to support our Marin County businesses by shopping locally whenever possible,” he said.

Weights and Measures inspectors urge consumers to shop with care, pay attention to posted prices and promotional offers, and always retain and check their receipts to ensure the correct price was paid for merchandise and services.

There were 226 notices of violation issued in the 2021-22 fiscal year to 169 local businesses. When AWMs inspectors find violations, businesses receive a notice of violation. If the violation is egregious or the business has repeatedly received the same type of violations, there would likely be a fine. The department’s goal is to gain compliance through education and outreach.

This marked the seventh consecutive year the AWMs staff produced a Consumer Protection Report. The department’s weights and measures inspection staff has only 2.3 full-time positions, but employees spent 4,599 hours serving t­he public’s interest by ensuring accuracy and equity in the marke­­­­tplace and protecting the health and welfare of Marin residents.

Want to watch out for yourself and others more closely? There are helpful consumer tips on the Ag, Weights & Measures website.