Some Californians have begun to receive their federal stimulus checks through direct deposit. This will be part of the discussion at my next Facebook live town hall on Tuesday, April 21 at 2:00 pm. You can submit questions here.
eAlerts
The coronavirus emergency has disrupted the daily lives of individuals, families, and communities, many of whom are now struggling to make ends meet. With few customers, small businesses have shut down or have limited services due to necessary physical distancing efforts to limit the spread of this pandemic.
I’m troubled by increasing incidents of racism and xenophobia, as it relates to COVID-19, and will talk about these issues at my next virtual town hall this Tuesday, April 14, at 2:30 pm. You can submit questions through my website here, then join the live conversation on my Facebook page.
Dear Friends
Tomorrow at 2:00 PM, I will be hosting my next virtual Town Hall with epidemiologist, Dr. George Rutherford, on my Facebook page. You do not need a Facebook account to watch. Please submit your questions in advance through my website.
Before tomorrow’s 2:00 pm virtual town hall (ask questions here), I wanted to update you on expanded unemployment. If you’ve lost your job or had hours reduced due to coronavirus, you may be eligible for Unemployment Insurance or other assistance.
Pledge to be counted! It’s no joke; April 1 is Census Day. Take a few minutes now to fill out the Census online for your household, if you haven’t already.
Dear friends,
In this time of crisis and uncertainty, I believe it is extremely important for people to have access to the answers they need. Monday morning, I hosted a virtual Town Hall on Facebook Live on the impacts of COVID-19. I spoke about the state’s response to this crisis and answered many questions from community members and constituents. Click here to view the Town Hall.
The number of Real IDs issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles is lagging behind projected demand. If you anticipate needing one, I advise you go to the DMV now because I expect the lines to worsen as we get closer to the summer months.
Today is World Mental Health Day, a time to raise awareness about this issue. In California, nearly one in six adults experiences some sort of mental illness. While suicide hotlines have been around for years, we shouldn’t wait until people are in crisis to help them.
The legislative year ended Friday, and while there's still work to do to make California a better place to live, I'm proud of our accomplishments. Through the state budget, I was able to secure nearly $40 million more dollars for San Francisco to help address its homeless crisis. Funds from the prior year were used for this week's expansion of the Navigation Center at Division Circle and will be used to open the Navigation Center at 1925 Evans, as announced this summer. The latest infusion of state money will lead to even more openings.
Gilroy. El Paso. Dayton.
The latest mass shootings have renewed talk about the need for strong red flag laws, which create a court process to temporarily take away someone’s firearms because of the danger they pose to themselves or others. 17 states have a variation of such laws in effect, including ours. A dozen of them were enacted after the 2018 Parkland, FL school shooting.
Facial recognition technology is not ready for prime time. Case in point: the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently ran the photos of all 120 California lawmakers against an arrest database, and the software incorrectly matched mugshots with 26 legislators, including me – even though I have never been arrested. Even more disturbing, more than half of the falsely identified were people of color.
California is in the midst of a housing and homeless crisis. For decades, we have not been building enough housing units. As demand exceeded supply, prices skyrocketed, pushing families to live farther from their jobs, or worse, forcing them onto the streets.
I’m proud the new 2019-2020 state budget takes significant steps to address these issues, dedicating $2.75 billion toward housing and homeless solutions - the largest investment in recent history. Highlights include:
Housing