Yesterday the Miami-Dade County Metropolitan Planning Organization came to Los Angeles to talk with our leadership and staff at SCAG (SouthernCalifornia Association of Governments) about our similarities and differences in governing regionally. As the incoming President of SCAG, I was grateful to interact with this group and learn more about Florida's governance.
Thanks to my colleagues on the Duarte City Council for electing me to serve as the Mayor of Duarte for a 6th time. I am also appreciative to the citizens for having elected me as a council member in this great city. Thanks to all of my kids and grandchildren for being here to celebrate with me.
As the Mayor, lighting the city Christmas tree.
Congratulations to super Public Safety volunteer, Sonja Tanner. She served our city very ably for almost 25 years. We will miss you, Sonja.
We had the biggest party ever in Duarte as we were selected to host the ribbon cutting for the new Gold Line - thanks to John Fasana, Duarte Councilmember and Metro Vice Chair. We appreciate the hard work by our city staff and the community for supporting this big event.
Margaret and former LA Councilman Tom LaBonge on the Gold Line first ride
Everybody riding on the Gold Line.
Congresswoman Grace Napolitano at the Gold Line breakfast
The Duarte Education Foundation donated $30,000 to the Duarte Unified School District to purchase new musical instruments. Over the past 3 years the Foundation has raised and donated more than $100,000 to the Music Matters program. I love seeing the excitement of the young students when they see their instruments for the first time. I am honored to serve as President of this worthwhile service organization.
Thanks to our city staff, the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, City of Hope, Burrtec, and Cal American water for putting together a program where we can teach the public about drought tolerant landscaping. It's programs like this that make our community a hometown.
Congratulations to the Duarte Kiwanis Club on another year of outstanding service to our community. It was a privilege to be able to help with the dinner last night. The Elks always serve a very nice meal and I enjoyed working with Jerry Delker on the dinner preparation.
I don't often get to tour other cities, especially when it is a long haul across the LA Basin. But Pam O'Connor, Santa Monica City Council Member, showed us Tongva Park, across from her City Hall, and explained how that beautiful park came into existence. Nice job, Santa Monica. Then our Executive Team, shown in the picture, had dinner and listened to Senator Dianne Feinstein talk about issues facing our state and nation. She is very intelligent and I enjoyed hearing her perspective.
I have a lot of respect for this young person, Luisa, who led the Pledge of Allegiance at the city council meeting. She came to the United States from Honduras two years ago due to dangerous living conditions. She learned English and graduated at the top of her high school class. Luisa is now attending college and wants to be an attorney, to fight for the rights of the oppressed.
We were honored to be a host city for the Special Olympics in Los Angeles. With the help of family and friends, I donated and cooked dinner for the 125 delegates from South Africa. What a great experience for my family and the City of Duarte! We had a lot of fun interacting with all of the athletes and chaperones at the Teen Center and also at the dance afterwards.
I was in downtown LA today to speak up for the LA region for SCAG. Our 6- county region that has 50% of the state's population and 66% of the state's disadvantaged communities and only received 22% of the state's Cap and Trade funding. I hope in the next round of AHSC funding we fare better.
Working hard and having fun making money for scholarships at the Duarte Education Foundation fireworks booth at Fresh and Easy in Duarte. Thanks to a great crew tonight. Please come down and buy from us!
Our SCAG officers delegation went to Sacramento to find out how our region, the most populous in the state, could improve the scenario for receiving Cap and Trade funding. We met with Senate Pro Temp Kevin de Leon and received some good advice.
I had a wonderful evening at Westminster Gardens, meeting with many community members. I am shown here with some of my favorite people ever - Fabrizio and Patricia and their darling daughter. Their family owns one of the most successful businesses in Southern California, D'Aquino Imports.
Congratulations to Sharon Neely of SCAG and Randall Lewis of Lewis Homes on receiving ASPA (American Society for Public Administration )awards today. They are both outstanding public servants that have been innovative and insightful in helping to improve the quality of life for many.
Tonight we presented awards to our CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Volunteers. We appreciate the time that they put into this 8-week course. At 66 graduates, this the largest group trained in Los Angeles County. Congratulations to all of them.
These past several days, the SCAG Executive Committee and staff have been on Capitol Hill lobbying Congressional members for new transportation legislation that will alleviate congestion at the ports and also on our roadways. Hopefully both sides of the aisle will get together and get this done.
I am honored to work with these outstanding people in the pursuit of better transportation, housing and a cleaner environment for the 18 million citizens of the 6-county (Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino) Southern California Association of Governments region.
Visiting Imperial County on the SCAG tour - the Naval Air Facility for the Aviation Task Force meeting and also an aerospace plant in Mexicali
Thanks to Cal American Water Company for the $8000 donation for drought tolerant landscaping around our city hall.
