After a proposal to create a statewide Lunar New Year holiday was suspended in California’s legislature, San Francisco’s community college will discuss their own plans to make the popular Asian festival a campus day-off.
LGBTQ Asian and Pacific Islander Californians are part of a coalition of community groups and state lawmakers pushing to stem a tide of hate crimes against API individuals and others that has been rising since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are focused this week on advancing two bills in the California Legislature collectively called the No Place for Hate Campaign.
Weeks after California approved sweeping legislation meant to drastically curb plastic pollution, some environmental groups and legislators are urging the state to go even further by approving a separate bill that targets waste generated by online shopping.
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Ting joins ten other state lawmakers in urging Health & Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to allow flexibility in the use of Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) funds so that California can respond to monkeypox. With quick action, the spread of this contagious disease can be stopped. Read the full letter here.
The long-desired plan to rehaul Portsmouth Square in San Francisco’s Chinatown just got a boost from the state to help it cross the finish line.
Assembly Member Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, on Friday announced a $4 million state budget investment in the huge project to reconstruct and improve Portsmouth Square, an enterprise in the works since 2013.
The exciting redesign of Chinatown’s Portsmouth Square got a boost today with an announcement from Assembly Budget Chair Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) that the project will receive $4 million in state funding. The investment is part of a continued effort to prioritize Asian American Pacific Islanders communities, complementing last year’s $166.5 million API Equity Budget.
“It’s important that residents in this densely populated neighborhood have a place to enjoy the outdoors within walking distance of their homes. A more open and inviting layout will better serve seniors and multigenerational families who enjoy using Portsmouth Square,” said Ting. “I’m happy to lead the efforts to partner with the City in making sure we address the needs of API communities, and they get the investment they deserve.”
For many Bay Area residents, driving across one of the region’s eight bridges is routine. These roadways serve as a crucial connection to the East Bay and elsewhere.
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The new system left many residents confused about how to pay their toll fees, and some of them accumulated debt through toll evasion penalties. In February 2020, a month before the pandemic triggered nationwide shutdowns, BATA saw 201,371 toll violations. In February 2022, there were 880,759 — an increase of over 400%.
A California highway in the San Francisco Bay Area now bears the name of late Filipina civil rights activist Alice Peña Bulos, known as the “godmother of Filipino American politics.”
California Assembly member Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, joined Inside California Politics co-host Nikki Laurenzo to discuss the signing of AB 1594. WATCH here.
For nearly a century, jaywalking has been illegal in most states and localities. But several recent reports have shown that police in some areas disproportionately ticket people of color. And critics say citing people for crossing at the wrong place just gives them another reason to drive instead of walk.