Recommendation to request City Attorney to draft a resolution in support of declaring March 11, 2016 as the 25th Annual Latina History Day and congratulate Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE), for their service to the Latinas in the City of Long Beach.
Okay. Thank you. We appreciate that. We're going to go back into item number 13, which is an item by Councilwoman Gonzales, Madam Clerk. Communication from Councilwoman Gonzalez, Vice Mayor Lowenthal and Councilmember Suranga recommendation to request the city attorney to draft a resolution in support of declaring March 11th, 2016, as the 25th Annual Latino History Day and congratulate Hispanics organized for political equality for their service to Latinas. Councilwoman Gonzales. Yes. First, I'd like to ask our city attorney. I think we the language says resolution, but we would just like to change it to proclamation. That's all. I just wanted to make that clear. And then I first want to, you know, in celebration of of Women's History Day, which is very exciting, it lands today. I'm also very proud to announce the amazing hope a Hispanic organized for political equality. It was I'll tell you a little bit about it. And, of course, what I did and played a role in in that. And then who is here to talk about it? I'm very happy that she's here. Thank you. It was founded in 1989 by dynamic and civically engaged Latinas from across California. Since then, hope, which we love to call it, has been working very hard to provide a critical voice to Latinas to develop their personal growth, prosperity and political knowledge. The core programs include the Hope Leadership Institute, to which I am a graduate in 2013, very proud, along with my chief of Staff, Solicitor Renata Smith, who is in 2003, and Susana Gonzalez, who is the former chief of staff to then Councilmember Robert Garcia. She was in 2011. We're all very proud as we like to call ourselves Hope Sisters. I certainly wouldn't be here running for office and in this seat if it wasn't for the HOPE program. And I certainly mean that from the bottom of my heart and a little bit more. Ally is the first and only statewide leadership program specifically designed for professional Latinas in California. The goal is to train Latinas in vital leadership and advocacy skills, enabling them to create fundamental change within their local neighborhoods and across California. Other programs include Latina Action Day in Sacramento, which also includes a program for high school Latinas and Latina History Day in Los Angeles, which focuses on professional and personal development as this is my second year in office. I'm very glad that we have also organized a group of women from the city to attend Latina History Day this Friday, which will be upcoming here. I'd like to present and I'm honored to present my dear friend, but also one of our leaders in the Hope Institute, Belinda Barragan. She's here to share more about the program and about, of course, everything we do. So thank you, Belinda. Thank you, Councilmember Gonzalez. And good evening, Mayor and council members. My name is Belinda Barragan and I'm the programs and policy director for Hope, which stands for Hispanic. Organized for political. Equality. And it's just such an honor to be here to receive a resolution from Councilmember Gonzalez, because we did see her go through a process and a transformation. It's just been so amazing. But she's had it in her the whole time. But this year marks the 25th year that we celebrate the accomplishments of amazing Latinas. We will be highlighting key contributions that Latinas make to our nation and discussing critical issues in our communities, such as human trafficking and being engaged in the 2016 elections. We all know how important that is, and we want to make sure that our participants from the conference that day take away, you know, what their role is. And that hope has remained dedicated to improving the education, political and economic status of Latinas. At the conference, we conduct workshops around building a personal health plan anywhere to college access. We have a youth program as well, which is the Hope Youth Leadership Program, and that's for 11th graders. And we bring to them the importance of STEM careers and the importance of personal branding for Latinas in general. And as you all see in testimony here with the council members, Latinos are breaking glass ceilings and pioneering into areas where few women once ventured. Latinos are business owners, executives in our country's largest corporations, civil servants, and are appointed to powerful positions. So Latino History Day celebrates contemporary Latinas who are building the foundation for future generations. And I'd like to invite all of you to join us, if you can, on March 11th. That is our Latina History Day. And again, just thank you for this honor. And Councilwoman Gonzalez, it's such an honor. Thank you. Thank you very much for being here, Belinda. And it's really an honor to be a part of the program, and I know that I'm very proud that Long Beach is now recognizing this as a day, and I believe everyone in three here in the state of California, one in three women is Latina. But we still make $0.42 on every dollar that our male counterparts make. So that's certainly a long way to go. But we'll still keep fighting and we'll make sure that we see more women, especially Latino women, in in places that we need to see them. So thank you very much for your work, Belinda. Thank you. I just wanted to add, obviously, I think you all know, I think the world of hope and it's an incredible organization. And I remember when at the time. Neighborhood. Deputy Lena Gonzalez came up to me and asked, I'd like to do this program called Hope. What do you think? And I said, absolutely. And in fact, a hope. Sister graduate Susanna Gonzalez, who was my chief of staff when I was a council member, is also went to the program and encouraged, I think, Councilwoman Gonzales to go through the program. And it's been, I know, a great experience for her and I know it's a great experience for everyone that participates. So just thank you for your great work. Councilmember Ringo. Thank you, Mayor. I want to thank Councilmember Gonzalez for allowing me to participate in this resolution. Many years ago, in another life, I was a recruitment officer for the city of Long Beach, and I participated in the in that Hope Day as a recruiter and giving a workshop on employability and job opportunities with the city of Long Beach. And as a result of that, I know that we got a lot of good candidates to apply for city jobs back in the day. Also, my chief of staff, Sylvia Luna, was honored by being on the cover of the program for the hope function back in, oh, about a few years back, I guess. And this year I'm going to be sending my field deputy, Jessica, Jessica, Jessica jets away to the this hope history of annual Latino History Day to get that experience. And I want to thank all the members of Hope and everything they do for mentoring Latinas and getting them ready for the the real world when it comes to participating, not only politically but also in the workforce. I want to thank you for all you do. Thank you, Councilmember Richardson. Just wanted to chime in and say, I keep hearing so much about this hope organization and the word is spreading. And so now my chief of staff, Shawna Stevens and Marina and our internal lists are all going to this event on on Friday. So I might as well just pay some pay a membership and become an honorary member. I go home to a Latina. My wife is Afro-Latina Puerto Rican. My daughter is quarter Rican. So I just wanted to congratulate. Thank you for bringing this forward. Thank you. Any public comment on the item? Sure. Good evening. I'm Mayor Garcia and council members. My name is Alex Moroz and I'm a resident of the Bluff Park neighborhood here in Long Beach and a new team member to hope. It's such an honor to have Councilwoman Gonzalez and my councilman Susie Price and the city of Long Beach recognized this great organization. In my short time with Hope. I've seen the great work that the organization does for the California Latino community, and I'm excited to celebrate Latino History Day on March 11. This proclamation is a kickoff to our conference, and we'll be featuring some amazing speakers, including Virginia Espino, a historian at the UCLA Center for Oral History Research. Carmela Lopez, actress, filmmaker and activist and president of Heroic Films. And Elizabeth Vazquez, CEO of We Connect International, a corporate led nonprofit that helps empower empower women business owners to succeed in global markets. Thank you again for your support of the Latino community across Long Beach and across California. Thank you very much. Next week. When I started this. Honorable Mayor, Council Members and audience my name is Hilda Hiroto and I am a second year at Cal State Long Beach. I am a sixth District constituent. I am also a legislative intern for Councilwoman Lina Gonzalez. So I am extremely proud to call myself a Latina and very happy to be working for one as well. On February 26th, I got the opportunity to attend the 15th Annual Latina Conference at Cal State Long Beach. So as I was sitting there with the roomful of women that identified themselves as a Latina as well, I felt so empowered, so motivated in my educational goals through the connection and the mentorship with other Latinas at Kelsey Long Beach. So this was such a safe place for me and all the other Latinas that. Got together to share experiences. And and we each promoted self-development opportunities. So I can definitely say that this. Conference impacted every single individual that was in the room, because not only were there Latinas in there, but there were different races who attended this conference as well. So with me saying this, I would like to personally thank Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez for bringing this item to the council. It brings me great joy that I am a Latina to see this going on and recognizing all Latinas on March 11th. It is such an honor to be here as well on such a historical day. So thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good evening, everyone. I'm solicitor Rudy Arthur Smith, the proud chief of staff for my awesome councilwoman. I am a hope graduate, as she said of 2003. And when I first took the program, I thought, Oh, I know everything. But I didn't know everything. And that's the power of the Hope network that we have throughout the state is that we learn that we don't know everything and we've got to dig deeper, ask the questions for the benefit and the empowerment of our community as Latinos across the state and frankly, across the nation. That program helped me to come out of my shell in many ways and to question different policies throughout the state when it comes to women and women of color. So that program really changed my life. I am thrilled that my council woman had the opportunity to do the program and we're going to continue to be inclusive of all of our Latinas in the city who would like to do that program as well. Thank you. Thank you. Any other public comment? Mr. Goodhue, please come forward. You don't comment on everything. Very good do. Clark has the address. I'm always not always the brightest bulb around. I may share this story before. Up until about two years ago, I didn't know what a Latina was. And that came, but was brought to my attention when I was writing down on the Blue Line. There was some woman at the far end of one car that seemed to think that the 300 some people in those two cars were interested in Saga of her life, that she was broadcasting live over the phone and making it worse. That the ringtone was best described as the worst chick that Rodney Dangerfield would ever have. As we approached and got off the Fifth Street Station, somebody riding who was apparently next to her said, you know, there's a cell phone store over there. They can teach you how to get maybe a more less obnoxious cell phone ringtone and also how to tone down the volume. And somebody said, well, you can't say that to her. The guy said, Why not? Well, she's a Latino. She's a Latino. I think a better and I think we should not have one day to celebrate. And I think this goes for all groups, no matter what they are black, white, green polecat, good looking, but ugly or whatever. What we do is give them not one day, but a three day weekend starting, and we'll have it in the middle of the summer and the longest day of the year. And then every group black, white, Hispanic, next, whatever can spend the day there, spend that weekend pandering up and marching up and down over a hill over dale around the corner, up one street, down the other, doing whatever they want for the three days. And then that's it. The only people we should recognize. In a special way. Are those? In the military, first responders and those that are kid orientated and so forth, youth orientated. Everybody else's longest day of the year, we'll call it Pandering Day. And then get that out of the system. And we will save time. The people won't have to troop down here to the city council. We can move forward with the business of state. That way it gives them more time. Almost 72 hour, a little short of 72 hours to parade around, march around, and every political hack in town can go down and try to line up votes. Thank you. Thank you. Actually, Councilwoman Gonzalez. Yes? I just want to invite all of the Hope sisters that are here to join the mayor and myself as we present you with the proclamation and the two leaders that are in my office. I want to thank you every day for your hard work. Hilda is running for student senate at Cal State Long Beach. I'm very proud of her. And Celeste is just amazing every single day. So thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. We've concluded public comment. So no other council comment. Please go and cast your votes on the motion for the resolution. Mayor. This would just be receiving files and she'd use. It to a proclamation. Yeah. Receiving file, please. Councilwoman Pryce. Motion carries. Great. Thank you. We're going to go ahead and move a couple of items up. We'll be doing the two items on the recycling issue here. Before we do that, why don't we do it through 24? Briefly, which is the ballot designation.