Amended in Senate June 25, 2014

Amended in Assembly March 12, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 67

Introduced by Assembly Member Alejo

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(Coauthor: Assembly Member Stone)

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(Coauthor: Senator DeSaulnier)

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June 24, 2013

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 67—Relative to highways.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 67, as amended, Alejo. State highways: begin insert special end insert designations.

This measure would designate portions of State Highway Routes 1, 129, and 101 in the Counties of Monterey and Santa Cruz as the John Steinbeck Highway, the Senator Henry J. Mello Highway, the Oscar Rios Highway, and the Gateway to the Pinnacles Highway.

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This measure would also designate the interchange at Interstate 680 and Highway 24 in Contra Costa County as the CHP Officer Kenyon Youngstrom Memorial Interchange.

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The measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing each of these special designations and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering the cost of the signs for which the donations were made, to erect those signs.

Fiscal committee: yes.

WHEREAS, John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr., was born on February
27, 1902, in Salinas, California, and is one of the most influential
and memorable American authors of the 20th century; and

WHEREAS, John Steinbeck’s work has attracted people from
around the world to visit the central coast of California, the
Monterey Bay, and the Salinas Valley in which many of his works
are set; and

WHEREAS, John Steinbeck has brought fame and honor to the
United States as a distinguished writer whose fiction is
representative of the vitality and unique qualities of the American
people; and

WHEREAS, John Steinbeck’s writing is known for its keen
perception of the times, which has helped shed light on some of
the economic and social problems of migrant workers in rural
America; and

WHEREAS, John Steinbeck was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in
1940, the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, and the United States
Medal of Freedom in 1964 for his cultural contributions as a
novelist, journalist, historian, and social commentator; and

WHEREAS, John Steinbeck’s widely celebrated literary works
include 16 novels, a collection of short stories, four screenplays,
various journalistic essays, three travel narratives, a translation,
and two published journals; and

WHEREAS, State Senator Henry J. Mello, born and raised in
Watsonville, was the son of Portuguese immigrant parents, and
attended Watsonville High School in Watsonville and Hartnell
College in Salinas; and

WHEREAS, In the 1940s, Henry Mello helped start the Mello
Packing Company, a family apple business, and became involved
in public service as a member of the California Agricultural
Advisory Board; and

WHEREAS, Henry Mello was elected as a Santa Cruz County
supervisor in 1966, to the Assembly in 1976, and to the Senate in
1980, and represented the Counties of Santa Cruz and San Benito,
as well as parts of the Counties of Monterey and Santa Clara in
the Legislature until 1996; and

WHEREAS, Henry Mello quickly rose to leadership positions
by his appointment to the Senate Rules Committee and his election
as Majority Whip and later as Majority Leader, and authored 726
bills, of which 456 were signed into law, with 120 of those bills
focused on senior issues; and

WHEREAS, Henry Mello was proud of his creation of the
California Senior Legislature and authorship of legislation dealing
with Alzheimers, including bills on respite care, adult day health
care, and prevention of senior abuse; and

WHEREAS, Henry Mello was known by his colleagues as a
tough negotiator and for his dedication to his district and
constituents; and

WHEREAS, After leaving the Senate, Henry Mello worked
with the Department of Transportation to prioritize the construction
of one of the most important projects within the state highway
system, an overpass to improve traffic safety on the dangerous
intersection of State Highway Route 1 and Salinas Road; and

WHEREAS, Henry Mello’s legacy in the Pajaro Valley and
California will forever be remembered; and

WHEREAS, Oscar Rios was born in El Salvador in 1950, and
in 1960 his family emigrated to San Francisco, where he became
a United States citizen, later moving to Watsonville in 1985; and

WHEREAS, Oscar Rios became the regional organizer for La
Alianza, a nonprofit agency that provides advocacy referral and
citizenship processing, and was an organizer during the Watsonville
cannery strikes that lasted from 1985 to 1987, the longest cannery
strikes in United States history, and that were led primarily by
women cannery workers; and

WHEREAS, In 1989, Oscar Rios was elected to the Watsonville
City Council just after the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
struck down Watsonville’s discriminatory at-large election system
and implemented district elections in the landmark federal voting
rights case of Gomez v. City of Watsonville; and

WHEREAS, When Oscar Rios became Watsonville’s mayor in
1992, he became the first mayor of any United States city of
Salvadorean descent, and quickly earned a reputation as an
energetic and accessible leader, and he became a founding member
of the Latino Caucus of the League of California Cities; and

WHEREAS, Oscar Rios worked to build a successful partnership
with Watsonville’s local school district, resulting in the creation
of more parks and playgrounds, and also worked with
Watsonville’s business community to create hundreds of new jobs;
and

WHEREAS, Oscar Rios begin delete also end delete led voter registration drives through
the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project and worked
on numerous campaigns to get other Latinos elected to political
office, and continues to organize for Latino empowerment locally
and statewide; and

WHEREAS, Oscar Rios served 17 years on the Watsonville
City Council and is the longest serving Latino city councilmember
in the history of the County of Santa Cruz, having retired from the
council on December 11, 2012; and

WHEREAS, Oscar Rios continues to be employed as a Teamster
Union Business Agent for Local 890 in Salinas; and

WHEREAS, The City of Soledad is the “Gateway to the
Pinnacles,” located only five miles from Pinnacles National Park,
which became the nation’s 59th National Park on January 10, 2013,
by an act of Congress signed into law by President Barack Obama;
and

WHEREAS, The City of Soledad is also located near the Spanish
Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (the Mission of Our Lady
of Solitude), founded on October 9, 1791, as the 13th of 21
missions in California; and

WHEREAS, The City of Soledad is a great destination for
tourists, located in one of the primary wine grape growing regions
of California, with over 20 vineyards and wineries within a 30-mile
radius; begin delete now, therefore, be it end delete begin insert and end insert

begin insert WHEREAS, California Highway Patrol Officer Kenyon Marc
Youngstrom made the ultimate sacrifice while performing his
sworn duty, and in recognition thereof, we pay special tribute to
his bravery and dedication; and end insert

begin insert WHEREAS, Officer Youngstrom was born on October 8, 1974,
in Pasadena, California; and end insert

WHEREAS, Officer Youngstrom graduated from Arlington High
School in Riverside in 1993, and attended California Baptist
University in Riverside, California as well as Napa Valley College
in Napa, California; and

begin insert WHEREAS, From a young age, Officer Youngstrom recognized
the importance of public service and was known as a hard worker
who always gave back to his community; and end insert

begin insert WHEREAS, Officer Youngstrom served as a member of the
United States Army Reserve for six years, achieving the rank of
an E-4 Specialist; and end insert

begin insert WHEREAS, Officer Youngstrom entered the California Highway
Patrol Academy in August of 2005 and graduated in February of
2006 (badge number 18063), and was initially assigned to the
Contra Costa County area; and end insert

begin insert WHEREAS, After serving approximately three years in the
Contra Costa County area, Officer Youngstrom voluntarily
transferred to the Golden Gate Division as a member of the Field
Support Unit, where he served as a distinguished member of the
Protective Services Detail, responsible for providing protection
to various dignitaries, heads of state, legislators, and other VIP’s
visiting the San Francisco Bay Area; and end insert

begin insert WHEREAS, Officer Youngstrom transferred back to the Contra
Costa County area in August of 2012, where he spent the remainder
of his career; and end insert

begin insert WHEREAS, Officer Youngstrom performed several duties over
the course of his career and, because of his exceptional skills as
an officer, he served as a mentor and recruiter for new officers,
as well as a RADAR and LIDAR instructor; and end insert

begin insert WHEREAS, On September 4, 2012, Officer Youngstrom was
assisting a fellow officer with an enforcement stop on Interstate
680 and was critically shot by the driver of the stopped vehicle.
Unfortunately, he passed away the following day at the John Muir
Medical Center in Walnut Creek, California; and end insert

begin insert WHEREAS, Upon his death, Officer Youngstrom gave the gift
of life through organ and tissue donation, helping to save the lives
of four individuals; and end insert

begin insert WHEREAS, Officer Youngstrom was a man of family and faith,
and was a member of the Community Bible Church in Vallejo,
California; and end insert

begin insert WHEREAS, Officer Youngstrom is survived by his wife, Karen,
four children, Alexander, Madison, Andrew, and Kennedy, his
parents, Gaylord and Jill Youngstrom, four brothers, and a sister;
and end insert

begin insert WHEREAS, As a father, Officer Youngstrom leaves behind a
legacy, instilled in his children, of a sense of respect and dignity;
and end insert

begin insert WHEREAS, Officer Youngstrom is admired for his
professionalism, dedication, honesty, loyalty, respect, and courage;
and end insert

begin insert WHEREAS, Through adoption of Senate Concurrent Resolution
43 (Resolution Chapter 98 of the Statutes of 2013), the Legislature
designated the State Highway Route 680 undercrossing at Livorna
Road below Bridge No. 28-191 in Contra Costa County in Officer
Youngstrom’s memory; and end insert

begin insert WHEREAS, The Legislature desires, instead, to designate the
Interstate 680 and Highway 24 Interchange in Contra Costa
County in Officer Youngstrom’s memory; now, therefore, be it end insert

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the
portion of State Highway Route 1 from the Pajaro River to Struve
Road, including the new Salinas Road overcrossing, in the County
of Monterey, as the Senator Henry J. Mello Highway; and be it
further

Resolved, That the Legislature hereby designates the portion of
State Highway Route 129 from Blackburn Street to the junction
with State Highway Route 1 at Riverside Drive in the City of
Watsonville as the Oscar Rios Highway; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature hereby designates the portion of
State Highway Route 101 from begin delete Sala Road end delete begin insert the Espinosa
Road/Russell Road undercrossing end insert to John Street in the City of
Salinas as the John Steinbeck Highway; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature hereby designates the portion of
State Highway Route 101 from Exit 305 at Camphora Gloria Road
to Exit 301 at Arroyo Seco Road in the County of Monterey as the
Gateway to the Pinnacles Highway; and be it further

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Resolved, That the Legislature hereby designates the
interchange at Interstate 680 and Highway 24 in Contra Costa
County as the CHP Officer Kenyon Youngstrom Memorial
Interchange; and be it further

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Resolved, That the designation made by Senate Concurrent
Resolution 43 (Resolution Chapter 98 of the Statutes of 2013) is
hereby rescinded; and be it further

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Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested
to determine the cost of appropriate signs consistent with the
signing requirements for the state highway system for each of these
special designations and, upon receiving donations from nonstate
sources sufficient to cover the cost of the signs for which the
donations were made, to erect those signs; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author
for appropriate distribution.