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California Must Build to a Seismic Resilient Standard

(Sacramento, CA) On a unanimous vote, the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development today approved Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian’s (D-Van Nuys) Assembly Bill 1997, allowing the state to consider whether it is time to address the performance objective of our current building code given California’s high seismic risk and lengthy wait time of the national code development process.

“By strengthening our building codes we are proactively preventing catastrophic property damage, economic disruption, and loss of homes,” stated Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian. “Our building code policy should reflect the evolutions in earthquake science and engineering practice.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                     

CONTACT: Dan Savage

PHONE: (916) 319-2046

EMAIL: daniel.savage@asm.ca.gov

(Sacramento, CA) The California Armenian Legislative Caucus is holding two scholarship contests for the 2020 commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. California high school students in 9^th through 12^th grade are invited to participate in an essay contest and/or a visual arts contest to increase greater awareness of the Armenian Genocide on its anniversary. 

All winners will be contacted directly and announced to mainstream and Armenian media by the California Armenian Legislative Caucus on Friday, April 16, 2020. All winners will be awarded scholarships and a trip to the State Capitol in Sacramento to be acknowledged at the California Armenian Legislative Caucus’ annual Armenian Advocacy Day during a press conference on April 27, 2020 and receive special recognition from the members of the Armenian Caucus. Original artwork will be requested from visual arts applicants if they are selected as a finalist, for display in the California State Capitol.

(Sacramento, CA) AB 1320, the Divestment from Turkish Bonds Act, passed the California State Senate 33-0-7. Last year, the State Senate and Assembly passed the Divestment from Turkish Bonds Act but the bill was vetoed by former Governor Jerry Brown.

California has a long history of divesting from countries that violate human rights, South Africa (apartheid policy), Sudan (Darfur genocide), and Iran (international terrorism, human rights violations). A divestment from Turkish bonds over Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide, the continued funding of a campaign of genocide denial, and the recent erosion of democratic principles would send a clear message internationally that California, the fifth largest economy in the world, demands justice for 1.5 million Armenians killed.