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The City of La Mesa passed a proclamation for Fred Korematsu Day, January 30th.
Learn more about his importance in our nation's history, as well as the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II, by going to Korematsu's growing legacy.
After learning about Fred Korematsu and the circumstances that lead to his legal case, discuss these questions with your friends, co-workers, family, classmates and others in our community in a safe and productive setting:
- What were the underlying causes of what happened to the Japanese Americans in the 1940s?
- How was the government involved?
- Are there any situations like that now in our communities, to people of color, recent immigrants, people with different religions etc.?
Let's use Fred Korematsu Day to help all of us work to make our community be the caring and inclusive place we want it to be.
San Diego Air Pollution Control District (APCD)
There is a good chance that you have not heard of this agency before. The APCD helps ensure that the air you breathe outside is safe. The APCD maintains the air quality in a variety of ways, like confirming various industries are obeying air pollution control laws, utilizing financial incentives to create innovative technology, and monitoring the air itself.
Councilmember Shu serves as the County District 2 representative on the eleven member Governing Board of the San Diego APCD
Click
here to learn more about APCD.
Current Events:
https://www.sdapcd.org/content/sdc/apcd/en/engineering/Permits/Engineering_Emissions_Inventory.html
In the first few months of 2021, the City Council will be considering a resolution declaring the climate crisis as an emergency which warrants comprehensive actions as soon as reasonably possible.
https://www.cityoflamesa.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/5364?fileID=13582
Below are some links to articles and websites which provides background as to why this resolution is necessary.
Forecast for Climate Crisis
https://www.npr.org/2018/10/08/655360909/grim-forecast-from-u-n-on-global-climate-change
Warning from scientists
Climate Emergency Review
IPCC Message for Policy Makers
https://report.ipcc.ch/sr15/pdf/sr15_spm_final.pdf
Treating the climate crisis as an emergency will hasten changes that we need to make in how we live, city infrastructure and our priorities. We need to do this for many reasons whether to follow State laws or to save the planet. But also because it can help our economy and quality of life. The "co-benefits" of these changes, cleaner air, reduced illness, safer communities, higher property values and more, implores us to act quickly. Besides, we do not want to increase the job of reducing green house emissions even more to the next generation because we did not do what science has clearly shown us what we need to do now.
Homelessness and Affordable Housing
Homelessness is largely caused by a lack of affordable housing. The Grand Jury has chastised the City for not doing enough while the State requires us to build more affordable units. The pace of residential construction for affordable housing must increase if we are to meet these mandates.
Given the country’s current economic disparities, homelessness is expected to rise in the near future. The City will need to find more ways to support and accommodate its unhoused residents while also enlisting the help of regional agencies, our faith community, and other charitable organizations. Simply moving our homeless neighbors to less visible locations or out of our City will not be Councilmember Shu’s policy.
The City must streamline its permit process to facilitate upgrades that will make our current housing stock more sustainable and affordable. In this regard, an inclusionary housing ordinance would help assure more housing for low and very low income households are built.
La Mesa is implementing the Homeless Outreach and Mobile Engagement (HOME) program, which is a significant outcome from our Citizen Task Force on Homelessness.
https://www.cityoflamesa.us/1646/HOME-Program.
The early reports of this program are very positive. However, we know much more needs to be done to address homelessness in our community. What immediate services do we want to provide in La Mesa? What should we do to create transitional housing? Can we, together with our partners in government, faith and non-profit organizations, and the private sector, draw a comprehensive vision that we can collectively work towards? These are questions which Councilmember Shu hopes to develop answers for in 2021.
The City had also amended its Community Block Grant Program and housing plan to better address our housing needs.