Our childhoods have unfolded in a California that is on fire.
We’ve lost school days. Our friends have lost homes. Our communities live in constant fear of destruction. As we navigate adolescence in a California fundamentally altered by climate change, our schools should be sanctuaries. But due to outdated infrastructure built for an era before climate change, they cannot keep us healthy when extreme weather strikes.
Appointment to California Senate Majority Leader: Gonzalez was appointed to the role of Senate Majority Leader on Feb. 8. Her new responsibilities will include keeping the rest of the democratic caucus abreast of legislative tasks for each day, as well as scheduling business on the senate floor.
Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez introduced a bill this week that would require the state to create a master plan for climate resilient schools. SB 1182, The Climate Resilient Schools Act, would coordinate state-wide action to provide schools with clear information, direction and support to adapt and modernize their facilities and operations in alignment with the state’s climate adaptation, decarbonization, and extreme heat goals, while also ensuring the state is positioned to utilize new federal incentives resulting from the Inflation Reduction Act for clean energy upgrades.
California workers will be guaranteed five paid sick days a year starting Jan. 1, up from the three days that employers are currently required to provide, thanks to Senate Bill 616.
State Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), who wrote SB 252, commended CalPERS for taking a step in the right direction, but said the strategy won’t stop the divestment push.
LONG BEACH — Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) Oct. 16 presented $2 Million in funds during Monday Matters at MacArthur Park in the City of Long Beach, a bi-monthly resource fair where volunteers help provide essential supplies to unhoused neighbors. Of the funds awarded, $1.25 million will be utilized to enhance the capacity of service providers to assist individuals at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness. The remaining sum of $750,000 will be directed towards enhancing the city’s Reentry Services Program.
State Sen. Lena Gonzalez visited Long Beach’s MacArthur Park this week to announce a $2 million allocation to support homelessness services in the city, with $750,000 intended to help recently incarcerated people find housing and avoid recidivism.
