Perk Alert: Discounted Tickets to San Diego Attractions

Get attractive discounts on admissions to some of San Diego County’s most popular attractions. PerkSpot is offering County employees discounted tickets to Aquatica San Diego, LEGOLAND California, SeaWorld, and the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park.

PerkSpot offers benefits and discounts through hundreds of service providers and retailers, from movie theaters to florists and jewelers. Go to SDCounty.PerkSpot.com and shop. If you are new, click on “Create an Account” to register.

Each month, one of the most popular PerkSpot deals will be highlighted on InSite.

Tech Moves Pretty Fast, Don't Miss IT!

Technology moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look at it once in a while, you might miss something.

So stop and take a look at “Innovation by Design,” the County’s annual Innovation Days expo, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 1, at the County Operations Center.

You can get a glimpse of the future — the latest, greatest info-tech and web-based tools that can help us improve how we work and conduct the public’s business. All they need is your imagination. Come, look, touch and share your ideas.

This is not just for the techies in your office. It’s meant to get everyone thinking about tools we might use. 

Booths will feature all kinds of cool tech, including: 

• Alexa — The intelligent personal assistant developed by Amazon.

• iLobby Visitor Management — A tool that lets visitors sign in digitally rather than sign a sign-in sheet, takes their picture, prints them up visitor badges, digitally notifies staff of their arrival and prints out a visitor activity report at the end of the day.

• MakerBot 3D Printers

• Ozobot Smart Robots — Fun toy robots that can teach people how to code.

• Damage Assessment Mobile Apps

• Microsoft PowerApps — An Office-style tool that simplifies building business apps so any employee can build business apps without having to code.

• Oculus Rift Virtual Reality — The goggles that immerse you in virtual reality, where you can be under the ocean, flying in space, or onstage.

• GoCharge Solar Charging Station — GoCharge, which already makes charging stations for conferences, colleges, hospitals and event-venues, now has created solar-panel charging stations for outdoor events to power cell phones, laptops, tablets, whatever.

The event will be held in the hearings room next door to the cafeteria at the County Operations Center and is being put on by the County’s Technology Office, DXC Technology, the County’s technology provider formerly known as Hewlett Packard, and its partner, AT&T.

 Technology moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look at it once in a while, you might miss something.

So stop and take a look at “Innovation by Design,” the County’s annual Innovation Days expo, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 1, at the County Operations Center.

You can get a glimpse of the future — the latest, greatest info-tech and web-based tools that can help us improve how we work and conduct the public’s business. All they need is your imagination. Come, look, touch and share your ideas.

This is not just for the techies in your office. It’s meant to get everyone thinking about tools we might use. 

Booths will feature all kinds of cool tech, including:

·Alexa — The intelligent personal assistant developed by Amazon.

·iLobby Visitor Management — A tool that lets visitors sign in digitally rather than sign a sign-in sheet, takes their picture, prints them up visitor badges, digitally notifies staff of their arrival and prints out a visitor activity report at the end of the day.

·MakerBot 3D Printers

·Ozobot Smart Robots — Fun toy robots that can teach people how to code.

·Damage Assessment Mobile Apps

·Microsoft PowerApps — An Office-style tool that simplifies building business apps so any employee can build business apps without having to code.

·Oculus Rift Virtual Reality — The goggles that immerse you in virtual reality, where you can be under the ocean, flying in space, or onstage.

·GoCharge Solar Charging Station — GoCharge, which already makes charging stations for conferences, colleges, hospitals and event-venues, now has created solar-panel charging stations for outdoor events to power cell phones, laptops, tablets, whatever.

The event will be held in the hearings room next door to the cafeteria at the County Operations Center and is being put on by the County’s Technology Office, DXC Technology, the County’s technology provider formerly known as Hewlett Packard, and its partner, AT&T.

Live Well 5K Early Bird Pricing Extended

It’s not too late to participate in this year’s Live Well San Diego 5K on Sunday, July 30. In fact, early bird discount pricing has been extended to Friday, July 21.

County employees can also use the special discount code CNTY when you register to save even more with an additional $5 off the registration fee.

The Live Well 5K is an annual event with a run/walk and interactive family-friendly Discovery Expo. The 5K kicks off at the Waterfront Park at 7:30 a.m. on July 30. On-site registration begins at 6:30 a.m.

The Discovery Expo features an Innovation Zone with some of San Diego’s leaders in health and wellness, a pet zone, music, fitness classes, dancing, free snacks and healthy beverages and a special Kids Fun Zone.

Registration includes the 5K run/walk, a Live Well San Diego 5K T-shirt, a participant medal and a virtual goodie e-bag.

The event is a partnership with the San Diego Blood Bank and the proceeds benefit the life-saving work that they do.

On the Trail to Healthy Habits

Get on the trail to better health and wellness. Sign up for the Employee Wellness Program’s next health challenge—HealthTrails.

Individuals or teams participating in this eight-week program will go the distance tracking health habits: physical activity, stress management through meditation, sleep and volunteering.

“Along with a proper diet these factors contribute to your physical, mental and social wellbeing,” said Employee Wellness Coordinator William Erese.

Participants will earn points for their efforts and move along a virtual trail. As trekkers progress along a map, they’ll see postcard-style photos and vivid descriptions of that location.

HealthTrails has a social aspect, too. Comment on the message boards online or through the app, make plans with fellow employees to walk during lunch or hit the gym after work, send encouragement, and find healthy recipes to fuel you on your journey.

Plus, participants can sync their FitBit to automatically log activities.

Some 1,100 employees took part in HealthTrails last year. For more information and to register through July 31, visit cosd.healthtrails.com. The program starts August 2.

Employees requiring accommodation should email DHRWellness.FGG@sdcounty.ca.gov.

County Strides with Pride

Several County departments and our LGBT & Allies Association Employee Resource Group (ERG) marched in the San Diego Pride Parade this weekend in Hillcrest. The parade attracted more than 100,000 people. See the full gallery.

HHSA Employee Trying to ‘Tip the Scale’

Bridgeman-Smith, HHSA, and John Echeverria from the Probation Department speak with an arrestee. He went to treatment immediately.

When drug users on probation are re-arrested, they often go to jail. But sometimes, they don’t have to. 

Linda Bridgeman-Smith, DUI and Prevention Services Manager with the County Health and Human Services Agency Behavioral Health Services, is sometimes present to encourage probationers to get help rather than be incarcerated.

Bridgeman-Smith’s interaction with probationers is part of a drug treatment outreach and enforcement effort under the San Diego County Methamphetamine Strike Force known as Tip the Scale. 

“Many are repeat offenders,” said Bridgeman Smith, who has worked for the County since 1999, the last 15 years with the Health and Human Services Agency. “If they go into treatment, they can avoid jail.”

A partnership between public safety and public health, Tip the Scale operations are one-day efforts conducted by the San Diego County Sheriff’s and Probation departments, Behavioral Health Services, treatment providers and law enforcement agencies from jurisdictions all around the region where the operation takes place.

There are probation compliance checks and saturation patrols in known hotspots for drug-related crime. Tip the Scale is conducted two to three times per year and target primarily people between 18 and 26 years old.

The goal of Tip the Scale is to steer drug offenders toward treatment, provide resources to families and to make sure those on probation are in compliance. Counselors are always on hand for a substance abuse conversation, where they briefly talk with offenders about their drug problems and how they might get their lives back on track.

“If they take care of their substance abuse, they are less likely to commit a crime again,” said Bridgeman-Smith, who has been in the substance abuse field for more than 30 years.

Bridgeman-Smith said treatment counselors get to speak with all offenders, unless they are extremely high or considered dangerous. The five-minute conversation is casual and non-confidential.

“Most people are pretty receptive to talking,” Bridgeman-Smith said. “We tell them that if they can get clean, the cycle can stop.”

According to Bridgeman-Smith, about one in five offenders typically go directly into treatment from Tip the Scale. However, treatment is always an option as the judicial process takes place.

“We would like for people to choose treatment,” Bridgeman-Smith said. “We know that treatment works. We want people’s lives to get better.” 

Eagle Scouts Swoop In on Quail Botanical Gardens

For Throwback Thursday, we’re traveling back in time to April 23, 1973 when a local Eagle Scout troop pitched in at County-owned Quail Botanical Gardens. The scouts helped William Crane (left), president of a Plantamation, install an irrigation system at the park known for its landscaping. The park in Encinitas is now operated by San Diego Botanic Garden.

Share your old photos and finds by emailing the County Communications Office.

Baby Bonding in North County

Moms, dads and babies all enjoyed the Baby-N-Me Playgroup for new mothers enrolled in HHSA's Maternal Child Health and Nurse-Family Partnership programs in North County.

Twelve new moms got to spend a few quality hours playing with their babies while at the same time learning about educational opportunities, thanks to HHSA programs.

The North Coastal Public Health Center teamed up with MiraCosta College Community Learning Center to host a Baby-n-Me Playgroup for new mothers enrolled in Maternal Child Health and Nurse-Family Partnership programs. Dads were also encouraged to attend.

The purpose of the playgroup is to help the babies socialize and interact with other babies. It also provides a time for new parents to come together to meet, learn and play. Playgroups get parents out of the house, allow them to meet others in similar situations and create a support network for them.

Each playgroup offers an activity for learning through presentations, parallel play and crafts. Nutritious snacks are provided since the playgroups occur over the lunch hour. Public Health Nurses and social service aides plan and facilitate the playgroups.

The most recent playgroup was held at the MiraCosta College Community Learning Center. The learning center staff made a presentation on available adult education programs including ESL classes, an adult high school, vocational classes, a career, tutoring and writing center and citizenship classes. The craft activity was decorating terra cotta pots with infant/toddler handprints. Bagged soil and flower seeds were provided to each family to take home and plant in their pots.

InTouch – How We Work the Bugs Out

Try to shoo away flies, stop ants invading your kitchen, or keep fleas off your dog, and you’ll know how persistent and irritating insects can be.

If you’re lucky, the bugs you deal with are just an annoyance. But they’re often far more than that. Some pose serious threats to the region – to people’s health, to the environment, to our local economy. 

You know that protecting the public is at the core of what we do, but you may not be aware how much of that involves watching for and battling insects. I wanted to talk a little about a few of the major concerns we face here and the variety of important roles the County plays in keeping us safe from these tiny troublemakers.

It used to be that the most San Diegans had to fear from mosquitoes was a bad itch. Now we’re on guard against the Zika and West Nile viruses, both carried by mosquitoes.

Vector Control staff Sean Simmons (left) and Steve Rivera prepare to treat a neighborhood for mosquitoes last year. You probably saw news coverage last year of our County Vector Control teams treating neighborhoods to kill mosquitoes. They do that when the types of mosquitoes that spread Zika are found near the home of a person with the virus. So far, all the local Zika cases have originated outside the county. Our teams are trying to keep mosquitoes from spreading it here.

Zika may grab more headlines, but West Nile remains a danger. It can make people extremely sick, and even kill. Two people died from the virus here last year, six the year before that.

Vector Control employees have been working relentlessly to keep the disease-carrying mosquitoes at bay. One of their best tools is education: making sure the public is aware of the danger and knows steps to protect themselves. You’ll find everything you need to know on SDFightTheBite.com. 

Especially with the peak of mosquito season approaching, you can really help by spreading the message yourself. If you’re at a friend’s backyard barbecue and see containers with standing water, let them know that’s where mosquitoes can breed. Know someone visiting a country where Zika is active? Remind them to protect themselves. It’s for their own and the public’s safety.

Which county in America has the most farms? Believe it or not, it’s San Diego. According to the San Diego County Farm Bureau, agriculture has a $5 billion annual impact on the local economy, and we’re on constant guard against invasive pests that could take a bite out of it, figuratively if not literally. On the most wanted list: the Asian citrus psyllid, which spreads the world’s worst citrus disease. The glassy-winged sharpshooter, spreading disease to our grapes, among others food crops. And various invasive fruit flies that can ruin all kinds of fruits and vegetables. 

Insect detection specialist Brian Burkman inspects a trap in a local vineyard several years ago.Early detection of these pests is essential. So Agriculture, Weights and Measures staff are in the field constantly, doing hundreds of thousands of inspections each year of tens of thousands of traps. If harmful pests are found, staff moves quickly to eradicate them and keep them from spreading. 

AWM also has help from a pest detector's best friends: two dog teams they take to major package distribution terminals. The dogs are trained to sniff out produce and plant materials, and their sensitive noses have stopped many packages carrying potentially dangerous insects from moving around the county.

Bad bugs attack not just what we grow but also plants growing naturally, changing the landscape that we love. Beetles called shot hole borers have been wreaking havoc on trees around Southern California. Locally, it's been hitting trees in the Tijuana River Valley particularly hard. Our Parks department works with AWM and other partners to treat or remove infected trees. And Parks is working to protect our tree canopy with a “no net loss” program for park trees – meaning for each tree that is lost to bugs or drought, two new trees are planted.

A gold spotted oak borerThat's in addition to the more established gold spotted oak borer, which has claimed tens of thousands of oaks around the county for years now, including many in County parks. One of the only defenses is up to all you campers out there - don't move firewood. The beetles can infest it, then hitch a ride if you transport the wood and find new trees to attack. The watchwords are "buy it where you burn it."  

South American palm weevils are shown here in various stages of development.And there’s a new, much larger insect – the South American palm weevil – that is just now entering San Diego’s south county. Tree loss has been minimal, but the bug travels fast and far, burrowing into the top of the palm and damaging its crown or heart. LUEG teams are developing a coordinated approach to address the removal of infected trees.

Threaded through a lot of this work is the UC Cooperative Extension, a partnership joining the County, the University of California and state and federal agriculture experts. They help with research, education and strategies for fighting pests. 

I just barely scratched the surface of the insect threats we’re facing and ways we’re responding. But I do want you to think of these members of our County team the next time you’re cutting into an avocado from North County or hiking a tree-shaded trail. And when they explain things the public can do to help, let’s make sure we do them. Lives and livelihoods depend on it.

And however you’re enjoying your summer – on the patio, at a picnic, around a campfire – may it be bug-free! 

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