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Thank you to Palos Verdes Estates Councilmember Kenny Kao and Dr. Alex Liu for inviting me to attend the Asian American Physicians Association dinner on Saturday. I was honored to share a legislative update and hear from the group about the issues impacting the community.
For the 45th time, the Torrance Sister City Association hosted the Bunka Sai Japanese Cultural Festival fundraiser. TSCA organizes exchange programs with Kashiwa, Japan, which allow students from Torrance and Kashiwa experience each other’s cultures. As a former TSCA board member, I have seen this event grow tremendously from year to year. The food, merchant booths, and adult and youth performances make Bunka Sai one of the best annual festivals in the South Bay. The fresh dango draws me back each year, as I will continue to support TSCA.
The City of Gardena hosted the Vietnam Veterans Traveling Memorial, a mobile replica of the memorial in Washington D.C. The display honors over 58,000 Americans who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect their country. I had the honor of helping to welcome this emotional display to the South Bay, along with Rep. Maxine Waters, State Senator Steve Bradford, and local elected officials. We also had the privilege of listening to the keynote speaker Judge Vince Okamoto, a Gardena resident and the most highly decorated Japanese-American to survive the Vietnam War.
Lomita-Harbor City Kiwanis Club hosted a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the County Fire & Sheriff’s departments in Lomita. “The Friendly City” was as welcoming as ever, with community leaders lending their time to raise money for their public safety officers. Mike Herrera of the South Bay Boys and Girls Club put on his DJ hat, Councilmember Mark Waronek handed out bottled water and cupcakes, and Kiwanis members served spaghetti and meatballs. I was proud to sponsor such a great fundraising event.
The South Bay Evergreen Seniors Association is an organization that is dedicated to improving the health and welfare of seniors in the South Bay. I was proud to serve as their installation officer to the new board of directors and welcome a new face of leadership. I look forward to seeing this organization continue to thrive and serve the South Bay community.
I was honored to join the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce and my colleagues Senator Ben Allen and Senator Steven Bradford at another successful State of the State Breakfast. I shared my work advocating for the Aerospace community, small businesses, expediting the METRO Green Line to Torrance, and supporting public education. As a former Torrance School Board Member I have always prioritized public education and I am proud to have secured $10 million in funding for the Southern California Regional Occupational Center (SoCal ROC) and to author legislation this year to significantly increase K-12 funding for our public schools. Thank you again to Laurie Brandt and the Torrance Chamber Board of Directors as well as Donna Duperron and the hardworking Torrance Chamber staff!
It was so nice to meet and honor Chadwick School junior Mateus Edwards. Mateus gave his time to organize a soccer equipment donation drive to support an orphanage in Uganda. It was inspiring to hear him talk about his passion for serving others. I am so proud of Mateus and hope that his work inspires others.
On March 29th I hosted another fantastic Senior Scam Stopper Seminar in conjunction with the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) and the State Controller’s Office. Jane Kreidler from CSLB discussed home repair fraud. Jennifer Sakamoto from the State Controller’s office spoke about unclaimed property and also provided searches for attendees. Other panelists were John Gettys from the Cemetary and Funeral Bureau, Renee Rose from the office of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, and Levi Jacobe from the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair. Thank you to these agencies for providing very helpful information to seniors in the South Bay and a special thank you to Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute for allowing us to use their facility for this event.
I was deeply honored to speak on behalf of the California State Assembly at Secretary March Fong Eu’s Celebration of Life in Los Angeles. In so many ways, I believe March Fong Eu represents the American dream – a daughter of Chinese immigrants born behind a Chinese laundry. Hearing all the stores, it reminds me how far California has come and how far we have to go.
March preceded the #MeToo movement that is inspiring a record number of women across the country to run for office, so let’s not forget that she was winning statewide offices well before our time. We now have 27 women in the California State Legislature and 16 Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus Members. All of us have this privilege to serve because of her. Last week was a historic week where we installed Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins. The gavel was being handed from the son of a Mexican housekeeper to a daughter of a West Virginia coal miner and from today’s ceremony, I am being reminded that so much of this progress was started by a daughter born behind a Chinese laundry.
