County Community Health Improvement Plan
The Public Health Department along with community partners have released a Community Health Improvement Plan, a roadmap for how they will work together to build and foster a healthier SLO County.
“This plan is grounded in data and input from our community,” said Dr. Penny Borenstein, County Health Officer. “To everyone who told us about your health experiences, from challenges accessing healthcare to the well-being you get from your favorite hiking trail: we heard you, and this is your plan. It is within our power as a community to create environments that make it easier for all of us to live healthier lives.”
The plan addresses the needs and strengths unique to SLO County today focusing on three priorities to address over the next 5 years:
• Healthy Neighborhoods, including objectives that focus on access to affordable housing, enhanced food access, safe community spaces such as parks, resilience to the health impacts of climate change, and investment in bike and pedestrian safety.
• Access to Care, with a focus on recruiting and retaining healthcare providers on the Central Coast as well as expanding services in remote areas and for populations who have difficulty getting care.
• Mental Health and Substance Use, including reducing drug-related deaths and suicide deaths, and connecting more teens and parents with mental health supports.
The Community Health Improvement Plan was developed by SLO Health Counts, a collaborative of community members, nonprofits, government agencies, cities, schools, and leaders in SLO County working together toward the shared goal of a healthy, thriving community. It is based on analysis of the Community Health Assessment released in August 2023, which brings together information from primary local sources, multiple state-level data sets and the results of a countywide survey with more than 3,790 responses from residents.
To learn more and view the full Community Health Improvement Plan, visit SLOHealthCounts.org.
Laird Receives Clean Energy Leader Award
American Clean Power named senators Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) and John Laird (D-Monterey) as inaugural Clean Energy Leaders Award recipients in “recognition of their outstanding commitment to advancing clean energy in California to meet our clean energy goals.”
“We celebrate Senator Laird and Senator Becker for their exceptional leadership in clean energy,” said Alex Jackson, director of ACP-CA. “Their thoughtful policymaking will help modernize transmission, create California’s first-ever offshore wind market, and establish California’s position as a clean energy leader.”
Senator Becker and Senator Laird have been at the forefront of supporting California’s transition to a clean energy future, ACP-CA said. Their efforts have significantly contributed to advancing policies that promote the growth of clean energy across the state.
“I’m dedicated to facing climate change and forging solutions to manage its impacts, as well as advancing clean energy jobs and affordability, so it’s an honor to be recognized as a clean energy leader by ACP-CA,” said Senator Laird in a news release. “I look forward to advancing California’s leadership in clean energy development by continuing to promote diverse clean energy technologies and the thoughtful and responsible development of California’s first-ever offshore wind market.”
In selecting the award recipients, ACP-CA focused on policymakers who have significantly contributed to California’s clean energy advancements, addressing climate change, and deploying solutions that help achieve the state’s clean energy goals.
Poly Team Creates Eco-Friendly Glue
An eco-friendly glue product created by a Cal Poly chemistry team in partnership with an East Coast research and development company has earned a national award as one of the top three innovations from the adhesive and sealant industry.
D-Glue — a debondable adhesive platform created by Cal Poly chemistry Professor Phil Costanzo in partnership with the Massachusetts-based Geisys Ventures — earned the second runner-up 2024 Innovation Award presented by the Adhesives and Sealants Council (ASC) in Louisville, Kentucky.
Contest participants include raw material suppliers, manufacturers and academics focused on adhesives and/or sealants.
D-Glue was designed with Cal Poly student research and development involvement over the past few years and now is a patented, commercial product.
The product has applications for uses in industries including electronics, apparel, automotive and solar, making it far more convenient and cost-effective to repair, reuse and recycle manufactured products because of the adhesive’s ability to be broken down more easily than many mainstream glue products.
“To be recognized by industry is a major accomplishment,” Costanzo said. “To launch this idea from the benchtop to a position to now enter the real word is exciting and helps validate our process. We’re helping to solve actual problems with practical, applicable solutions.”
Kris Stokes, CEO of Geisys Ventures, collaborated with the Cal Poly researchers to design and usher D-Glue to market, creating the adhesive using a sequence of bonds that link one polymer chain to another, referred to as Diels-Alder linkages.
Extreme heat is typically required to separate recyclable materials from the commonly used glues currently in use, and often separation cost is prohibitive, discouraging reclamation that saves waste and reduces environmental pollution.
D-Glue is designed to be broken apart at lower temperatures, requiring much less energy, while maintaining the integrity of the item.
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