Bill Text: CA SCR30 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Betty Meltzer Memorial Highway.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2009-07-16 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 74, Statutes of 2009. [SCR30 Detail]
Download: California-2009-SCR30-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SCR 30 CHAPTERED BILL TEXT RESOLUTION CHAPTER 74 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 16, 2009 ADOPTED IN SENATE JUNE 2, 2009 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 13, 2009 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 19, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Senator Simitian APRIL 13, 2009 Relative to the Betty Meltzer Memorial Highway. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SCR 30, Simitian. Betty Meltzer Memorial Highway. This measure would designate a specified segment of State Highway Route 82 in the City of Palo Alto as the Betty Meltzer Memorial Highway. The measure would request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs. WHEREAS, Elizabeth T. (Betty) Meltzer was best known in Palo Alto for her environmental efforts, including being a key organizer of the Dream of a Thousand Trees for El Camino Real Project in Palo Alto, and as a cofounder with Ellen Wyman of Palo Alto Tomorrow, an organization that successfully promoted sensible growth in downtown Palo Alto; and WHEREAS, Betty Meltzer was born on May 3, 1939, in San Francisco to Anna Rose and Sam Taylor, and moved to Palo Alto in 1948, where she graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1956; and WHEREAS, Betty Meltzer graduated from Smith College in 1960 and received her master's degree in education from Stanford University in 1961; and WHEREAS, Betty Meltzer married Bob Meltzer and resided in New York City before later returning to Palo Alto with her family; and WHEREAS, Beginning in the mid 1980s, Betty Meltzer began her community organizing for a better Palo Alto with the cofounding of Palo Alto Tomorrow; and WHEREAS, Betty Meltzer was also a graduate of the first class in 1987 of the "Leadership Palo Alto" (later "Leadership Midpeninsula") program designed to train both citizens and government people on how to contribute to local civic betterment; and WHEREAS, Betty Meltzer was an active member in the Palo Alto Garden Club and the Palo Alto Women's Club; and WHEREAS, Education was one of Betty Meltzer's passions: she taught in the Palo Alto Unified School District for five years, trained blind people how to read, and for many years tutored elementary school students who had reading disabilities; and WHEREAS, Betty Meltzer served on the board of the former Peninsula Conservation Center Foundation (PCCF), now Acterra, and was especially active in creating the Business Environmental Network, which gave awards to environmentally outstanding businesses; and WHEREAS, Betty Meltzer was cofounder with Susan Rosenberg of the Dream of a Thousand Trees for El Camino Real Project which aided the City of Palo Alto in obtaining the funding for hundreds of new trees along the 4.3 miles of El Camino Real in Palo Alto; and WHEREAS, Betty Meltzer, who was known for her tenacious attitude and steadfast commitment to her work for the City of Palo Alto, was able to work with the Department of Transportation to relax the department's regulations on the planting of trees in road medians in order to realize her dream of seeing Palo Alto's portion of El Camino Real become a welcoming, tree-lined boulevard; and WHEREAS, The distinguished life of Betty Meltzer ended on September 29, 2008; and WHEREAS, It is therefore appropriate to designate a portion of State Highway Route 82 (El Camino Real) as the Betty Meltzer Memorial Highway, now, therefore, be it, Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That in recognition of the numerous achievements and contributions of Elizabeth T. (Betty) Meltzer, the Legislature hereby designates the segment of State Highway Route 82 between Page Mill Road (PM 24.04) and San Francisquito Creek (SCL/SM County line, PM 26.37) in the City of Palo Alto as the Betty Meltzer Memorial Highway; and be it further 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, showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost, to erect those signs; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the Department of Transportation and to the author for appropriate distribution.