Editor,
Previous letters to the Daily Journal have discussed the problematic lack of transparency at the Peninsula Health Care District (PHCD), which was the subject of a San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury report released Oct. 15, 2020. In addition to the lapses inventoried in the report, there are other deficiencies that support the grand jury’s findings of troubling and persistent opaqueness of PHCD operations and processes.
One of these deficiencies is the failure of PHCD to record its board meetings. In the COVID environment, where meetings are held virtually, recording board meetings would hardly be burdensome: all it would require is pushing a button.
Further indication of intended secrecy is the nondisclosure agreement that PHCD required the developers of the proposed Wellness Center to sign. By all accounts, such agreements are not an industry norm, and the predictable effect in this case was to forestall the open dialogue that would have given community members a firmer grasp of what was being decided and why.
At a time when other public bodies are moving in the direction of greater openness and transparency, the Peninsula Health Care District continues to operate in a closed and insular manner that shuts the public out. For a taxpayer-funded entity, this is not acceptable.
Laura Hinz
Burlingame
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(1) comment
Hi, Laura
Thanks for your letter. I feel it's important to keep the health district's shenanigans in the public eye. The district should not be permitted to spend taxpayers' money unless they are transparent in the manner prescribed by law.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.