IN THE NEWS

A mass shooting in January 2023 revealed squalid living conditions for workers at the mushroom farms. Greenhouses at a farm where a mass shooting occurred on Jan. 24, 2023, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images June 27, 2024, 2:11 PM CDT / Source: NBC Bay Area By Ginger Conejero Saab, NBC Bay Area The path now appears clear for new affordable housing for farmworkers in Half Moon Bay, more than a year after the community was rocked by a deadly mass shooting a

By Alec Regimbal, Politics Reporter June 27, 2024 California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference near the I-10 elevated freeway on November 13, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Newsom threatened Half Moon Bay with a lawsuit if it didn't act on an affordable housing complex for older famroworkers. On Wednesday, the city council paved the way for the project to move forward. Mario Tama/Getty Images The Half Moon Bay City Council on Wednesday reaffirmed plans for an a

By Gloria Rodríguez Thursday, June 27, 2024 Half Moon Bay votes to approve housing project for senior farmworkersThe Half Moon Bay City Council on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve a five-story, 40-unit affordable housing development for senior farmworkers. HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (KGO) -- The Half Moon Bay City Council on Wednesday night voted unanimously to approve an affordable housing development for senior farmworkers. The city council meeting was contentious, as supp

By Warren Pederson June 16, 2024 Grupo Accordion Campo Media Luna, an ensemble formed to promote healing after last year’s mass shooting, performs at Ayudando Latinos A Soñar’s anniversary Saturday in Half Moon Bay. Accompanying the accordionists on guitar is Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga, founder and executive director of the organization. Victoria Sanchez De Alba/Ayudando Latinos A Soñar A Half Moon Bay nonprofit meeting the educational and cultural needs of Latino families and

Fiesta delayed by shooting aftermath By Sebastian Miño-Bucheli Jun 15, 2024 Updated Jun 17, 2024 A large crowd gathered at the IDES hall on Saturday evening to celebrate 10 years of ALAS Ahead of Ayudando Latinos A Soñar's 10-year anniversary gala on Saturday at the I.D.E.S Hall on Main Street in Half Moon Bay, CEO and founder Belinda Hernández Arriaga reflected on the many wins the nonprofit has had while serving the community. The organization was set to observe this signif

ALAS Celebrates a Decade of Service with Spectacular Free Gran Gala Featuring Live Performances Ayudando Latinos A Soñar (ALAS) is celebrating 10 years of community service with a free Gran Gala event! Saturday, June 15, from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PMIdes Hall, 735 Main Street in Half Moon Bay. The Gran Gala will showcase stellar performances by renowned artists! “La Voz del Mariachi” Steeven Sandoval, Mariachi Nueva Generación, and special guest Hernan Hernandez Jr. and his group

ALAS known for its arts, cultural programs and ‘always much more’ By Holly Rusch, Daily Journal staff Jun 15, 2024 Coastside Latino arts and programming nonprofit Ayudando Latinos A Soñar is celebrating a decade of community work June 15, honoring the groups’ cultural arts beginnings and current farmworker advocacy efforts. ALAS is well known in the Half Moon Bay community for its on-the-ground efforts assisting farmworker communities after a January 2023 mass shooting took t

Ayudando Latinos A Soñar Presents Stellar Artists and Local Talent, Including Grupo Accordion Campo Media Luna: Culture Cures, Formed After the 2023 Mass Shooting, Providing Healing Through Music Half Moon Bay, CA – June 06, 2024 – Ayudando Latinos A Soñar (ALAS) is celebrating 10 years of community service with a free Gran Gala event on Saturday, June 15, from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM at Ides Hall, located at 735 Main Street in Half Moon Bay. The Gran Gala will showcase stellar p

California’s high cost of living has pushed many agricultural labourers into cramped and unserviced housing. Low wages mean that many farmworkers continue to labour into their 70s and 80s [File: Brian Osgood/Al Jazeera] By Brian Osgood Published On 18 May 2024 Half Moon Bay, California – Almost a year and a half after a mass shooting took the lives of seven farmworkers in the town of Half Moon Bay, California, a new project is seeking to address the poor living conditions exp

555 Kelly Avenue pedestrian view, rendering by Van Meter Williams Pollack BY: ANDREW NELSON 5:30 AM ON MAY 16, 2024 The Half Moon Bay Planning Commission has approved plans for a five-story affordable housing project at 555 Kelly Avenue in the heart of the coastal San Mateo County city. However, this approval was not simple, as several commissioners voiced strong disapproval of the project and vocalized potential conditions of approval that would contravene state law. The dec

Planning Commission decision comes after 3 public hearings By Holly Rusch, Daily Journal staff May 16, 2024 Rendering of the proposed senior farmworkers housing at 555 Kelly Ave. in Half Moon Bay. After five hours of discussion Tuesday night, Half Moon Bay’s Planning Commission approved a senior farmworker housing project that garnered statewide spotlight in recent weeks during a three-week discussion process. Notably, Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened the approval holdup with leg

By Gloria Rodríguez Wednesday, May 15, 2024 After an hours-long Half Moon Bay city planning meeting, a project backed by Gov. Newsom to build more housing for farmworkers is moving forward. HALF MOON BAY (KGO) -- After a Half Moon Bay city planning meeting stretched late into the night, a project backed by Governor Gavin Newsom to build more housing for farmworkers is moving forward. The Half Moon Bay Planning Commission debated for hours into early Wednesday morning as suppo

POSTED ON MAY 15, 2024 profile photo By Yosi Yahoudai Founder and Managing Partner Trailers are seen from this drone view at California Terra Gardens in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. Farm worker Chunli Zhao, 66, was booked on seven counts of murder after the Jan. 23 mass shooting. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) After airing their concerns over height, traffic and design over several hours in a meeting that extended past midnight, Half Moon Bay planning

Tyche Hendricks May 15 Ayudando Latinos A Soñar headquarters in Half Moon Bay July 25, 2023. (Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight Local) Half Moon Bay planning commissioners approved a new apartment building for low-income senior farmworkers on Tuesday night, following a protracted debate that drew a strongly worded threat of legal action from Gov. Gavin Newsom over the delay. The vote on the 40-unit affordable housing project, which took on urgency last year after a mas

By Alec Regimbal, Politics Reporter May 15, 2024 A rendering of the proposed development at 555 Kelly Ave. in Half Moon Bay. The city's planning commission voted to approve a permit to begin building the project at a meeting on Tuesday night. Half Moon Bay Planning Commission Half Moon Bay’s planning commission approved a permit to begin work on a 40-unit, five-story affordable housing complex for older farmworkers on Tuesday night, which, at least for now, marks the end of

Panel debates details of project By Peter Tokofsky May 15, 2024 Updated May 16, 2024 An architectural rendering of Mercy Housing and ALAS's proposal for a 40-unit building to house senior farmworker. Rendering courtesy Van Meter Williams Pollack In a series of late-night votes, the Half Moon Bay Planning Commission approved the application to build a 40-unit housing development for senior farmworkers at 555 Kelly Ave. The action comes after three commission meetings over the

Commissioners were under pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who threatened legal action if the project didn’t move forward Trailers are seen from this drone view at California Terra Gardens in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. Farm worker Chunli Zhao, 66, was booked on seven counts of murder after the Jan. 23 mass shooting. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) By KATE TALERICO | ktalerico@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group PUBLISHED: May 15, 2024 at 8:47 a

By LaMonica Peters Updated May 15, 2024 5:14am PDT News KTVU FOX 2 Affordable housing community for senior farmworkers divides Half Moon Bay Dozens packed a city meeting in Half Moon Bay on Tuesday, where the community is divided over an affordable housing project for senior farmworkers. Gov. Newsom is urging city leaders to approve the plan that would bring 40 units of living space to the city. HALF MOON BAY, Calif. - The planning commission in Half Moon Bay met for a third

In Half Moon Bay, the city’s planning commission has so far neglected to take action on a widely supported affordable housing project for older farmworkers By Alec Regimbal, Politics Reporter May 14, 2024 Screenshot of Kelly Avenue in Half Moon Bay, Calif. Screenshot via Google Street View In the tiny Bay Area city of Half Moon Bay, a controversy is playing out over a proposal to build an affordable housing complex for older farmworkers. The city’s five-person planning commis

Full Agenda for May 14th, 2024 with Attachments Staff Recommendation: 1. Determine that the project is categorically exempt from CEQA under Class 32 (Infill Development Projects) in accordance with CEQA Guidelines Section 15332; and 2. Approve PDP-23-034, an application for a Coastal Development Permit and Architectural Review for a new five-story building with forty (40) residential units for senior farmworkers that are affordable to extremely low and very low income househo