Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/sharon-quirk-silva/)
Santa Ana, Laguna Beach, and Bellflower agreed to provide specific amounts of shelter for homeless people and to not enforce anti-camping laws against them unless they’re refusing available beds that are appropriate for their disabilities.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva’s bill allowing a cemetery to be built on one of two sites in Irvine, which could ultimately be decided by Irvine voters if a citywide ballot initiative is successful.
Bill Cook, Chairman of the OC Veterans Memorial Park Foundation, calls on all sides working for a veterans cemetery in Orange County to support legislative efforts in Sacramento to authorize state funds for the project.
Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva announced Tuesday she will amend her legislation to include a proposed golf course that could be the home Orange County’s first veterans cemetery after a five-month battle between state Legislators and Irvine City Councilmembers.
Irvine Mayor Christina Shea told residents at a private townhall meeting July 18 that the golf course site was a diversion so the state doesn’t force the veterans cemetery at the original site. But she said, on Wednesday, she was talking about diverting the residents’ anger over the original site.
Irvine City Council members could end a two-year battle over where to locate Orange County’s first veterans cemetery if they decide on a site Tuesday.
Orange County’s first veterans cemetery got $20 million in state funding when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the budget, but the cemetery has yet to find a site in Irvine after battles between the city and the state legislature.
The official location of the proposed Southern California Veterans Cemetery in Irvine remains unclear after the California Senate Veterans Affairs Committee moves legislation naming one site, while Irvine is looking at another one.
The State Legislature is eyeing the original site near the heart of the old Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in Irvine, while city leaders, concerned about funding, also are eyeing a golf course site.
Smaller counties than OC have asked for and received tens of millions more in state and federal funds for preventative health and housing programs that studies have shown save taxpayer dollars overall, help homeless people get off the streets, and save lives.