Bottom Line: Building a disaster preparedness kit for your home or business is a fast and easy way to get better prepared for an earthquake, fire, or other natural disaster.

Living in earthquake country means that the next potential natural disaster is only a moment away. Assembling a kit that has at least three days of food, water, and supplies for every family member is one part of being ready. In a large disaster, it is likely emergency personnel will be overwhelmed with duties and unable to help everyone immediately.

It’s been said that you can measure the compassion of a community by the way it cares for its elderly. Two non-profit organizations on the San Mateo Coast address those needs by providing seniors with health care, camaraderie, education and a hot lunch every day.

Have you got a fireplace? Do you know what effect wood smoke has on our air quality? Do you know who’s most at risk to poor air quality?

Have you ever wondered how your garden might look if you switched to native species -- less care and water needed – or what it would take to compost your own mulch for soil amendment? How do you start thinking about these things? Who can help?

The "SMC Ready" program is part of the County’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) which is funded through a Joint Powers Agreement between the 20 incorporated cities and the County of San Mateo. The SMC Ready program has a great website that provides tips and resources for businesses, households and communities in the event of an emergency.

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors recently made a joint statement: "There is no excuse for domestic violence. If you know of someone who is currently in an abusive relationship, please share this information with him or her. You may save a life."

By now, most of us are probably familiar with the iconic 3 R’s of early environmental and waste prevention slogans: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The 3 R’s have provided a simple, yet solid foundation on which consumers can base their purchasing and disposal-related decisions. However, when the focus of waste prevention shifts upstream to the world of design, manufacturing, and industry, the 3 R’s often fall short of achieving their mission.

Select a shop that uses water based paints and complies with all rules and regulations put out by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) and the California Air Resources Board. In general, California imposes controls on the amount of VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds) released into the air from the paints and solvents. The shop should also be using enclosed spray booths, as well as HVLP spray guns and reusable filters.

Belmont's Cipriani After-School Care [CASC] is a very special organization that has grown markedly and received many awards since it began in 1994. It started when Karen Haas-Foletta bid on the on-site child care program at Belmont's Cipriani Elementary School, which was reopening after a 10 year closure.

Austin Mader-Clark, an avid walker, cyclist, airplane pilot and passionate advocate for alternative, non-petroleum-based fuels, challenges others to "fill their tank and save the world" with her innovative new approach to making alternative fuel available in a centralized and convenient location. On Earth Day 2008 she opened Autopia Biofuels located at 1025 South Railroad Avenue in downtown San Mateo.