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I hope you have been enjoying Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, an annual designation signed into law in 1992. The month of May was chosen to commemorate the first Japanese immigrants who came to the United States on May 7, 1843, and the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869.

Dear Friend,

Join me this Thursday night at my Budget Town Hall where you are welcome to voice your opinions on budget priorities, get an update on current state budget proposals, and see how spending decisions are made.

I will also be presenting the AD 19 Women of the Year Awards to trailblazing women who have worked hard on behalf of the community.

We will provide light refreshments*.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a national observance that began in 1949 to spotlight and reduce the stigma surrounding behavioral health issues. A state commission estimates one in five Californians faces unmet mental health needs.

Your healthcare provider can explain your options if you contact them. However, here is a list of free services readily available 24/7 by phone or text:

Like much of the country, San Francisco has no sub-acute beds available for any of its residents. People needing them typically have an illness, injury or disease that doesn’t need hospitalization, but still requires round-the-clock, lower-level medical supervision. Such facilities struggle to survive because of the high cost of providing this level of care and low Medicare/Medi-Cal reimbursement rates. Many have had to close.

Thank you to everyone who attended my events over the weekend. We worked hard to clean up and restore the bird habitat at Golden Gate Park's North Lake on Saturday. The next day, our Bike Fair helped folks get ready to take more rides, as the nicer weather entices us to enjoy the outdoors. For San Francisco students, it was a great primer to Bike and Roll To School Week, as they learned about safety, received free helmets, got their bikes tuned up, and more.

April is a time to reflect on our relationship with our planet. Whether we see plastic bottles littering our oceans, storms getting more intense, or cars polluting our air, many individuals are concerned about the impact our lives are having on the environment, including me.

It’s tough to buy a home in California. One of the barriers is coming up with a down payment. But the California Dream For All Shared Appreciation Loan aims to change that. The program offers a grant of up to $150,000, opening the door to homeownership for first-time homebuyers.

No state has more pedestrian deaths than California. According to our Office of Traffic Safety, it’s 25% higher than the national average. Thousands more are injured annually. Speed is often a contributing factor.

In San Francisco, eight pedestrians have already been killed this year. If that pace continues, we will surpass the fatality rate set in 2022 when the highest number of deaths were recorded over a five-year period.

The next few months are filled with opportunities for us to connect! Click on each of the events you’re interested in attending to RSVP.

As Women’s History Month comes to a close, I’d like to announce the four outstanding women I have chosen as our district’s Women of the Year. They have made a meaningful difference in our communities, forging paths to a better future for the under-served.

ad19 ting women of the year award

The California Service Corps is the largest service force in the nation, and recruiting is underway to fill thousands of fellowship slots. Service members help communities by taking action on climate change, tutoring and mentoring students, supporting areas impacted by disasters, and working to end food insecurity.

Over the coming year, fellows will serve nearly five million hours! Plus, these teens and young adults will have gained meaningful work experience while helping their communities and earning money, which could be put towards college.

2024 is off to a great start. Year after year, I’ve secured state funding for improvements in our Assembly district and other projects in the City to improve the lives of residents. It’s gratifying to see when they’re completed and ready for public use.

Last month, I attended the ribbon-cutting of Lake Merced South, marking the end of the Phase One renovation. California invested $1 million for a new fitness court, picnic tables and benches. ADA and landscaping upgrades were also implemented. I hope you get a chance to check it out.

As a Cal graduate, I know a college education can help open doors to good-paying careers and social mobility. That’s why I was disappointed in last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling stating that race cannot be a factor in the college admission process. It’s a blow to affirmative action, a decades-old policy that has improved access to higher education for communities of color and diversified student bodies.

Tax season is here, and I wanted to highlight the California Earned Income Tax Credit program, which provides tax refunds to millions of lower-wage workers and their families.

If you are at least 18 years old and earned a maximum of $30,950 last year (2023), you could be eligible for a tax refund of up to $3,529, depending on the size of your household. Plus, another $1,117 could be added on top of that for each of the following: 

Gung Hay Fat Choy! It’s the Year of the Dragon, and in Chinese culture, the mythical creature symbolizes strength, wisdom, good fortune and success. I hope all these things are true for you and your family this coming year.

I began celebrating the Lunar New Year with other Asian American Pacific Islander leaders at the residence of Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington D.C. Now, I want to commemorate the occasion with you.