The American Red Cross, to the rescue, storm or fire

Kuchins was born and raised in San Mateo. Her father was an attorney and her mother a Realtor. She is one of six children. She attended Hillsborough elementary schools, an all girl’s boarding high school in Monterey and the University of California, Berkeley where she received a teaching credential. She taught at St. Rose Academy in San Francisco and was a counselor at Notre Dame High School in Belmont. She retired from teaching in 2017 and was looking for a new adventure. She found it in the Red Cross.

She is a longtime member of the League of Women Voters and served as president for two years.

Here is a bit of history about the Red Cross. Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross in May 1881. The first chapters opened in upstate New York, then Washington, D.C., with financial help from John D. Rockefeller. The abolitionist Frederick Douglass was also a friend and signed the original articles of incorporation.

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The race for Anna Eshoo’s Congressional seat got hotter with the entry of Palo Alto Councilmember Julie Lythcott-Haims. She is the only woman in the race. Joe Simitian, who is leading in some polls, is the most vulnerable with her entry. Both will vie for the Palo Alto vote.  Haims has just received a boost with the endorsement and support of the Obama campaign crowd including Giselle Hale and Owen Byrd, who hosted a fundraiser for her last week. But, unlike Simitian, she does not have Eshoo’s endorsement.

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In her New Year’s message, San Mateo, San Mateo Councilmember Amourence Lee cited her accomplishments during her term as mayor. These included standing against the infringement of property rights and the abuse of historic preservation law to oppose the Baywood Historic District. 

Lee has joined forces with Anna Kuhre and her husband Jay to oppose forming the district and to oppose Mayor Lisa Diaz Nash. But Baywood is in Nash’s voting district where she is considered a hero by many. And Lee will have to fight for her job in November when she faces Nicole Fernandez. 

San Mateo city politics continues to be worth watching. Stay tuned.

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Very sad news about the passing of former San Mateo councilmember Tom Mack. He was a sweet and kind man who always spoke in a soft voice. It was the kind of voice preferred by his patients – dogs, cats, rabbits. His animal clinic was on Amphlett Boulevard in San Mateo. 

Mack was a member of the San Mateo Rotary Club and a good friend of another past councilmember and Rotarian, Jim Chalmers. The two would climb mountains in the Swiss Alps every summer.

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Do you still have a primary doctor? If so you are one of the few. Many have retired. There is a shortage of new doctors because of the cost of housing and setting up a practice here. Many of the younger ones have decided on a concierge practice where you pay a yearly fee but have easy access. Some say the health care system here is broken. It’s a topic I hope to cover sometime soon. Emails about your experience welcome.

Sue Lempert is the former mayor of San Mateo. Her column appears Mondays. She can be reached at sue@smdailyjournal.com.