What a day
Hi friends,
I hope that you were able to enjoy a meaningful Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and even if only for a minute, take some healthy space away from the chaos and rancor already spewing from this new administration.
It’s hard to digest the images and news we are already being exposed to one day into this presidency. We watched this new President publicly embrace his corporate overlords that now enjoy even more power and influence, one of which performed a nazi salute twice.
Then we witnessed him issue executive orders that will put millions in harms way, ending birthright citizenship, ending recognition of trans and non-binary Americans, stopping diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization, and once again leaving the Paris climate accords.
The news brought me back to the beginning of Trump’s first term-- I remember feeling mad and overwhelmed with a desire to contribute to my community but no idea where to start.
On a day I was feeling particularly useless, I signed up to volunteer for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation’s Walk & Bike Count. I sat on a park bench with a timer for a few hours and counted every time I saw a bike or a pedestrian use the Ballona Creek bike path.
It was excruciatingly boring, but I left feeling lighter than I arrived, knowing I had contributed to something that would help make our streets safer for someone in the future.
Yesterday, as many of you did, I again used my grief as a motivator. I joined dozens of neighbors at the Culver-Palms Family YMCA (see instagram for volunteer opportunities) to sort through boxes of donations to provide families in need with clothing, food, hygiene products, and other necessities. Then I visited the MLK Jr. Obelisk at Kenneth Hahn State Park with a loved one.
Quotes from the civil rights leader are etched in stones leading up to the monument. One read, “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”
While our Country feels darker today and our spirits more tired than ever, our responsibility remains: to find the light wherever we can and ensure that we keep our community moving forward.
Make no mistake: we will stand together as a city through the chaos and devastation of this administration.
We will continue the fight to protect and empower those most vulnerable. We will embrace our diversity. And we will move forward.
Thank you for being a part of that work and for never giving up hope.
Last Monday was our first Council meeting! It lasted until 1:30am, but we all made it through in one piece. Check out my video below for a recap.
A few highlights I want to share with you:
We updated the city’s user fees for permits and services that will amount to millions in new revenue for the city, particularly helpful as our city faces an $18M shortfall this fiscal year.
We approved an application for state funds to build Jubilo Village, a 93-unit affordable housing project on Sepulveda Blvd. We also voted to send a letter to the county, state, and federal representatives and agencies that could help us close the project’s final gap in funding.
We approved an event, “Spark Healing through Conversation: How the Middle East Crisis Affects Me,” about the crisis in Gaza, tentatively scheduled for February 25.
We approved opening a bid for a complete street (bike and bus lanes) on Robertson between Washington and Venice at the E Line train station.
We approved CicLAvia Culver City Meets Venice coming Sunday, August 17!
I asked staff for a report back on how we can better prepare the city for an evacuation event in the future and whether our building codes could be updated to improve our fire resilience, both of which my colleagues supported (thank you, colleagues)!
For a full recap of what went down, the city publishes a very thorough report after every meeting.
I highly recommend subscribing to these updates at the bottom of the page to stay informed.
Thank you for catching up with me and staying engaged.
Hoping you have a great start to the week.
Warmly,
Bubba