Sacramento – Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) Chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, is pleased to announce that the California Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Calendar is now online. Sponsored by the California State Library and California Research Bureau, the STEM Calendar celebrates the important achievements of California women in science, technology, engineering and math. Each week, the STEM calendar features a prominent trailblazer whose work has advanced their respective fields.

“California women have played a vital role in the advancement of science and technology for generations,” said Lowenthal. “The STEM Calendar serves to inspire young people to pursue education and careers in these fast growing fields, so critical to our state’s future prosperity.”

The California Department of Education (CDE) has joined the State Library, California Research Bureau and the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls as a co-sponsor of this project in support of the CDE STEM Conference planned for November 18-19, 2013, in Sacramento. The conference, titled, “Invest in California STEM Education: Innovate, Integrate and Inspire!” will help schools share best practices, provide professional development for teachers and help districts form partnerships with businesses and higher education. To learn more about the conference, please follow visit the conference home page at CDE.

SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, announced this morning that AB 1291, the Right to Know Act, will become a two-year bill, delaying action until 2014.

“Californians don’t need to be persuaded that they should be able to ask a business what it knows about them and who it’s sharing that information with. But in the legislature, it has become clear that we still have our work cut out for us,” said Lowenthal. “I know my colleagues care deeply about privacy. I look forward to working in the coming months to educate them through informational hearings about the importance of transparency and consumer rights.”

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Legislative Women’s Caucus Celebrates 11 Remarkable Californians

SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, Chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, launched Women’s History Month with the announcement of the eleven recipients of the first annual Breaking the Glass Ceiling Awards.

“Today we’re celebrating pioneers in science, civil rights, the arts, education, our armed forces, our courts, and our government,” said Lowenthal.  “In each of our honorees, we see the best of the California spirit.”

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Sacramento - Assembly Joint Resolution 8 by Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) and Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), urging Congress to pass the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization, has been approved by the California State Assembly. The VAWR gives necessary financial resources to programs designed to protect women and families from domestic violence. Assemblymember Lowenthal, who serves as Chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, said, “The funding from the Act provides millions to support victim’s services, rape crisis centers, transitional housing, as well as the tools that law enforcement and our justice system need to hold offenders accountable.” Here’s more in this Assembly Access video.

Incoming Legislative Women's Caucus Chair Joins Forces with Assemblymember Achadjian to Update State Law

SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, announced that she will join Assemblymember Achadjian, R-San Luis Obispo, in introducing legislation to close the loophole in state law that led to the overturning of a rape conviction by the 22nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles this week.

"The current definition in state law is a relic from the 1870s", said Lowenthal.  "Allowing this to stand in the 21st century would be like applying horse and buggy standards to our freeways."

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Legislators applaud success of veteran executive, Karla Sutliff, who takes position a century after California began building highways.

SACRAMENTO – Calling it a milestone on the road to equality, members of California’s Legislative Women’s Caucus on Monday marked the appointment of the first woman to hold the position of chief engineer in a transportation department that dates back more than a century.

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Sacramento – As millions of people across the eastern seaboard and Midwest grapple with the destruction and clean-up from Hurricane Sandy, California is doing its part to aid with emergency management resources.

In anticipation of Sandy’s arrival, ten members of California’s Urban Search & Rescue Incident Support Teams were sent to Virginia and other east coast states on Saturday in support of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requests. These teams included first responders from Riverside, San Diego, Sacramento, Los Angeles and Orange County.

Earlier this week, Governor Jerry Brown directed the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA) and the California National Guard to send assistance to the east coast to aid in responding to Hurricane Sandy.

On Monday, the California National Guard sent a military transport aircraft carrying two helicopters and two highly-trained Pararescue teams with their equipment to Charlotte, North Carolina. Other members of California’s aerial fleet are also being deployed including: a Boeing C17, two C130 aircraft, and two HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters.

A total of 83 personnel will soon be positioned close to the affected areas for quick deployment. These teams are trained in medical aid, search and rescue, and other emergency response activities.

CalEMA is also working with the California Utilities Emergency Association to deploy crews and equipment to assist with the region’s widespread power outages.

Hurricane Sandy is a powerful reminder to always be prepared for any emergency or disaster that may arise. Does your household have an emergency kit? Has it been updated to reflect the needs of children, pets, elderly family members or others? If you need assistance with establishing or updating your kit, visit http://www.ready.gov.

And as Chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management, I will be watching the emergency response to this disaster closely to identify ways that we, as Californians, can learn to be better prepared for disasters.

(San Pedro) – It’s a road improvement project that’s good for the environment. And it’s happening because of the hard work of California State Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) and the partnership of San Pedro City Councilman Joe Buscaino. The project in San Pedro entails repaving Western Avenue (SR-213) between 19th Street and Avenida Aprena with rubberized asphalt, which provides roads with a smoother and quieter ride.

“I’m very pleased that this entrance into San Pedro is being redone by Caltrans,” said Assemblymember Lowenthal, Chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee. “And that the rubberized asphalt actually provides a way to recycle used tires and keep them out of landfills.”

The project is expected to be completed by mid-November. Learn more in this Assembly Assets Video.

For California to succeed we all have to be informed and get involved – and I hope the information on this site will be able to help you with both.

I'm very proud to represent the 54th Assembly District – home to diverse and dynamic communities and one of our state’s most important economic engines.

If there are any questions you have about the 54th District, legislation in the Capitol, or issues you are having with state government--if you can't find the answers here in these pages, please feel free to contact my office.

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