Orange County, CA – Last week, Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva along with Tom Daly, Senator Tom Umberg, and additional members of the Orange County delegation, sent a letter to the Irvine City Council stating their continued support of the Amended and Restated Development Agreement (ARDA) site to the State.
“My colleagues and I felt that our bill needed a location and we wanted the City of Irvine’s Council to be aware that there is support for the original ARDA site,” said Quirk-Silva. “AB 368 will serve as a vehicle to authorize an adequate site within Orange County in order to meet the needs of the veterans of Orange County and their families.”
Clearly, the needs of Orange County veterans and their families are not being met by the Riverside and Los Angeles Veterans Cemeteries. Thus, we need to authorize a site for the Southern California Veterans Cemetery that will serve and recognize the many men and women who made great sacrifices for this nation.
The Veterans Cemetery in Los Angeles is at capacity, and the lengthy wait for veterans to be buried in the Riverside Veterans Cemetery is insufficient for many families wanting to respect their loved ones. Furthermore, there are many regional and geographical barriers that prevent Orange County Veterans from using the Riverside Cemetery due to the limited driving routes, traffic, and public transportation. Thus, we are reaching out to the City of Irvine to commit to the creation of this Veterans Cemetery.
The letter co-signed by Quirk-Silva is one way of letting the City of Irvine know there is revitalized enthusiasm for creating the Veterans Cemetery and ask them to keep their previous commitment to provide a resting place for California’s veterans at the ARDA site.