BILL ANALYSIS Ó
ACR 163
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 18, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Jim Frazier, Chair
ACR 163
(Atkins) - As Introduced April 4, 2016
SUBJECT: Blue Star Memorial Highway
SUMMARY: Designates a portion State Highway Route 282 in the
City of Coronado as a Blue Star Memorial Highway. Specifically,
this resolution:
1)Describes the history and function of the Blue Star Memorial
Highway program.
2)Designates State Highway Route 282 from Orange Avenue in the
City of Coronado to Naval Air Station North Island as a Blue
Star Memorial Highway.
3)Requests that the Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
determine the costs of erecting appropriate plaques and
markers, showing this special designation, consistent with the
signing requirements for the state highway system, and upon
receiving donations from non-state sources covering the cost,
to erect those signs.
ACR 163
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EXISTING LAW: Assigns Caltrans the responsibility of operating
and maintaining state highways including the installation and
maintenance of highway signs.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown, but the measure requests that Caltrans
only erect the appropriate plaques and markers upon receiving
donations from non-state sources covering the cost.
COMMENTS: After World War II, a nationwide movement was started
to pay tribute to the nation's armed forces by designating
various highways as "Blue Star Memorial Highways." The National
Council of State Garden Clubs approved the Blue Star Memorial
Highway Marker Program in 1946 and the California Garden Clubs
initiated the program in California in 1947. The Legislature
has approved numerous of these designations on state highways
since that time.
The purpose of the Blue Star Memorial Highway project is to
erect highway markers at roadside rest stops, vista points,
historical sites, and other appropriate areas. The markers pay
tribute to all who have served, those presently serving, and
those who will serve in the nation's armed forces. The members
of the Avenue of Heroes Neighborhood Association from the City
of Coronado, wish to erect markers along State Highway Route 282
from Orange Avenue in the City of Coronado to Naval Air Station
North Island to honor all of the military branches that formed
today's North Island and current service members who are still
making sacrifices for our country. The author notes that City
of Coronado has the reputation of being a "Navy Town," and has a
long history with the United States Armed Forces.
ACR 163
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Specifically, this designation is intended to be in conjunction
with the City of Coronado's Avenue of Heroes Banner Program to
honor such heroes as Navy Seal Petty Officer First Class Jeffrey
S. Taylor, who was killed in action on June 28, 2005, when the
MH-47 helicopter he was aboard on a rescue mission crashed in
Kunar Province, Afghanistan; the late Lt. Gen. James Harold
"Jimmy" Doolittle, a Medal of Honor recipient, who led 16
American Mitchell B-25 bombers on April 18, 1942, from the deck
of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet on a raid to bomb the
Japanese mainland during World War II and who later commanded
the powerful Eighth Air Force in Europe and the Pacific from
January 1944 to September 1945; the late Vice Adm. James Bond
Stockdale, Medal of Honor recipient, Vietnam War hero, and
indomitable spirit of the Hanoi Hilton, who was shot down by
anti-aircraft fire after flying his A-4 Skyhawk off the deck of
the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany on his last mission and was
imprisoned in the Hanoi Hilton by the North Vietnamese; the late
United States Navy Commander Francis Fane, who joined the Navy's
underwater demolitions team during World War II, becoming a
legend in Navy special forces, developing advanced diving
equipment and diving techniques, and laying much of the
groundwork for the future Navy Seals; Navy Commander Dean "Diz"
Laird, who became the only known U.S. Navy ace to shoot down
both German and Japanese airplanes during World War II; Navy
Commander Theodore "Spuds" Ellyson, who, while stationed at
North Island, the first naval officer assigned to aviation duty,
the first passenger of a seaplane, the first pilot to land on
water at night, and was the first and only commander of North
Island's Camp Trouble; Maj. Gen. Joseph H. Pendleton of the
United States Marine Corps, whose foresight, persuasive skills,
and focused tenacity made the San Diego area the military center
it is today; and, among many more heroes to be honored, Navy
Capt. Leonard "Len" Kaine, who became a Top Gun fighter pilot
and who was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
ACR 163
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
One private citizen
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Melissa White / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093