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Annual Ceremony Recognizes Bourbon Street Bar & Grill

SACRAMENTO – During California Small Business Day, Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva (D-Orange County) and the California State Assembly honored small business owners Lawrence Houser and Joseph Keenan. They are the founders of Bourbon Street Bar and Grill, and have been serving the thriving hospitality industry in the Fullerton area since March of 2008.

“It is my honor to highlight small businesses, like the one owned by Larry and John of Bourbon Street. The hospitality industry is one of service and entertainment, and Larry and John have embraced this ideal” said Quirk-Silva. “This Small Business of the Year is a great place to dine and spend time, but moreover, they give back to the community. By bringing awareness and resources together for a cause like Autism, they show the spirit of community by mixing philanthropy with business.”

Lawrence Houser and Joseph Keenan wanted to bring the flavors of New Orleans to the city they lived in for over 30 years. They were very well known in the community, and wanted to use their platform in the local hospitality and entertainment for the better. Owner Lawrence Houser’s son Boyd was diagnosed with autism, and Houser and Keenan changed their annual jazz fest into an event called Mardi Gras for Autism. The event attracts over 5,000 people each year, and has over 50 autism related vendors. The event takes over the entire Fullerton Train Station Parking Lot. Furthermore, they continue to partner with the Fullerton Joint Union High School District, to provide work training for students with special needs.

Attachment: Photo with Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva and small business owners Lawrence Houser, his son Boyd, and business partner Joseph Keenan of Bourbon Street Bar and Grill in Fullerton, CA.

Resolution to Honor California’s Colonel Young Oak Kim, United States Army Passes First Legislative Hurdle

(SACRAMENTO) – Assemblymember Steven Choi and Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva (D – Orange County) move Assembly Concurrent Resolution 188 (ACR 188) through the State Senate Transportation Committee. ACR 188 would designate a specified portion of Interstate 5 in the County of Orange as the Colonel Young Oak Kim, United States Army, Memorial Highway. The measure would also request the California Department of Transportation to place signs along the highway showing this special designation. The cost of the signs that memorialize the Korean American Colonel will be covered by donations from non-state sources.

“I am proud to be able to honor this leader, and ask you to join me in saying thank you for the remarkable contributions made by Colonel Young Oak Kim. He holds a special place in the Korean American community of California from which he was born, and with further awareness of his deeds, more and more Americans will remember his valor and integrity” said Quirk-Silva. “This memorial will celebrate his heroic efforts in the U.S. Army’s 100th Infantry Battalion, and his life as a champion of human rights; serving underprivileged, and minority populations.”

Colonel Kim was born in California, and grew up in Downtown Los Angeles. During WWII, he fought with the 100th Infantry Battalion, a segregated unit of Japanese Americans from Hawaii. He was the only non-Japanese American. He later rejoined the army to fight in the Korean War. Kim was the Asian American to command a regular U.S. combat battalion.

For his military service, Colonel Kim earned an unprecedented number of awards: Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars, three Purple Hearts, two Legions of Merit, Italy’s Bronze Medal of Military Valor and Military Valor Cross, France’s la Legion D’Honneur, and the Republic of Korea’s Moran Order of Military Merit.

Upon his commission as a second lieutenant in 1943, Kim was assigned to the 100th Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team. As the unit’s only Korean American, Kim was offered a transfer due to the Army’s fear of ethnic conflict exacerbated by Japanese colonial rule over Korea. But Kim refused, declaring, “There is no Japanese or Korean here. We’re all Americans and we’re fighting for the same cause.”

SACRAMENTO – Alluding to the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) as a land that time forgot, Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Orange County) joined her Orange County Korean Assemblymember in acknowledging the newest opportunity for the two Koreas to find a peaceful end to the conflict which began nearly seventy years ago.

The Assemblywoman went on to note that, “Many decades since the armistice was signed, many other areas of the world have gone on to find peaceful solutions to their disagreements. The Koreas remain divided by a DMZ that contains more deadly land mines than many nations have populations. I have, and will always, support any substantial efforts for a lasting peace for the Korean people.”

Joining with Assemblymember Dr. Steven Choi (R – Irvine), Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva supported the call for a renewed commitment to finding a lasting peace, and an end to the painful separation of families and loved ones.

In closing, the Orange County Assemblymember stated that “In a time of sensitive relationships between these foreign powers, the United States should remain sympathetic to the concerns of South Korean families, and their relatives,” said Quirk-Silva. “I commend any diplomatic discussions between the powers of the United States, North Korea, and South Korea.”

SACRAMENTO – Today, during California Nonprofit Day, Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Orange County) and the California State Assembly honored the Illumination Foundation, and CEO and President Paul Leon. Since July 2008, Illumination Foundation has worked tirelessly to break the cycle of homelessness for Southern California’s most vulnerable populations.

“Due to the efforts of the Illumination Foundation, thousands of families, and children in need, have been helped. Their record of a 78% job placement success rate shows that their dedication and devoted work for our Orange County community has been a potent force of change,” said Quirk-Silva. “It is important to honor, and officially recognize this charitable foundation and CEO Paul Leon for the positive impact they have made in our community.”

Homelessness in Southern California is staggering. More than 73,432 people are homeless in Southern California each year.  More than 32,000 children in Orange County (1 in 22) are homeless or unstably housed.  Many people don’t realize that 54% of households in OC with full-time employment live below the poverty line.