• A rainbow flag recongizing LGBTQ Pride Month is flying over the state capitol throughout the month of June. Gov. Gavin Newsom requested the flag to be raised on June 17 to show support for members of the LGBTQ community throughout the state, according to a news release from Newsom’s office. “By flying the pride flag over the state capitol, we send a clear message that California is welcoming and inclusive to all, regardless of how you identify or who you love,” Newsom said in the release. California joins Colorado and Wisconsin who also raised flags at their respective state capitols for the first time this year. This June is the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City, where members of the LGBTQ community stood up to police officers during a raid on the Stonewall Inn in June 1969.
• On June 18, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order apologizing for the state’s historical mistreatment of Native Americans. The order recognizes that the state sanctioned policies and acts of violence against California Native Americans. In a statement announcing the executive order, Newsom said the state needs to come to terms with its dark history and treatment of Native Americans. “California Native American peoples suffered violence, discrimination, and exploitiation by state government throughout it history,” Newsom said. In the release, Newsom also announced the creation of a Truth and Healing Council that will provide California Native Americans the opportunity to provide a historical account of past events from their perspective.
• At its June 18 meeting, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution supporting the Central Coast Heritage Protection Act. U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California) authored the bill, House Resolution 2199, which would designate about 25,000 acres of public land in the Los Padres National Forest and Carrizo Plain National Monument as wilderness and establish a 400-mile-long Condor National Recreation Trail. According to an April news release from Carbajal’s office, designating land as wilderness is the highest form of protection the government can grant public land. “With this administration taking action to open up public lands and national monuments to oil and gas drilling, it is more important than ever that we act to permanently protect our open spaces,” Carbajal said in the release.
• Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) was appointed to the State Allocation Board on June 18. The board is responsible for allocating funds to public school districts throughout the state. In a statement on his Facebook page, Cunningham said he plans to use the position to advocate for investment in Career Technical Education facilities. “I will use this position to advocate for further statewide investment in the facilities that will help prepare the next generation of highly-paid tradesmen and tradeswomen,” the post states.
• An appropriations package passed by the House of Representatives in June included millions of dollars in research funding for universities, including $4 million for schools like UC Santa Barbara to collaborate with the U.S. Army on biotech research to advance military performance and increase the understanding of human cognition. A second request would allot $5 million for schools like Cal Poly to conduct advanced aerospace propulsion research in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force. “Our California universities are leaders in research, technology, and development—this funding only enhances that leadership,” U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) said in a press release. “Educational partnerships between our universities and our armed forces will not only bring positive change to our state but to our nation at large.”
This article appears in Jun 20-27, 2019.