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Half Moon Bay Marks Three Years Since Farmworker Shootings With Remembrance and Housing Progress

Community-led tributes reflect a push to improve farmworker housing alongside sustained trauma support.

Overview

  • Residents gathered for a private remembrance and viewed community messages displayed in mailboxes at Mac Dutra Plaza, honoring the seven farmworkers killed in 2023.
  • Survivor Pedro Romero Perez recalled his brother and said learning the accordion has aided his recovery through ALAS’s music therapy program.
  • Officials report about 50 new farmworker homes now open on the coast, with city figures citing 46 houses at roughly 90% occupancy and an option for residents to buy; a dozen displaced families have moved in.
  • San Mateo County says it inspected all farm and ranch housing, issued fixes and citations, offered interest-free loans, and created a unit for low-wage worker complaints, with additional projects planned including the 555 Kelly site for 40 senior farmworker apartments.
  • Suspect Chunli Zhao remains in custody awaiting trial, and the city is exploring a permanent memorial that still lacks funding, with costs estimated at more than $330,000.