The Los Angeles City Council held its regularly scheduled meeting on June 3, 2026, at City Hall. The council addressed a wide range of items including consent calendar approvals, public testimony on several ordinances, a debate on nuisance property abatement, and honored the legacy of civic leader Dr. William A. "Bill" Burke.
We built an amazing transportation line here, and I'm excited to be part of it. Um, what a way to kick off Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. My parents were immigrants from Taiwan and um coming over here, they kind of vowed to give um my older brother and I opportunities that they never had. They always loved sports. My dad loved basketball. Uh, my mom loved track and field, never had the opportunity to do that. And so when we when we were here, my brother and I really were given the opportunity, chance to pursue sports, which was an absolute passion of mine, and to be able to take it um all the way to the Olympic stage. Um it's just been a dream, dream life. It's truly an honor to receive such a community leadership award. Um, I'm here also with a very accomplished group of athletes, um, some familiar some familiar faces in uh Xiao and Scout who also sit on the LA 28 Athlete Commission with myself. It's really important. I think that oftentimes we are a group of people that have been somewhat forgotten in terms of just our contributions and how important it is the representation that we uh exhibit, uh what that means, and not only for the city, but just for the greater community. Here in Los Angeles, we have an amazing, incredibly unique opportunity with the upcoming LA 28 Paralympic Games, the first Paralympic Games that the city will host to lead by exam. I was born in Nanjing, China, where as an infant I was involved in a burn and lost my right leg. And shortly after that, I was placed in an orphanage where I lived for the next seven years. And I came to America through adoption, grew up in a really small town in northern Michigan, but it was uh what brought me to Los Angeles was I went to college at UCLA, the greatest university on earth, and it was at UCLA that I discovered the Paralympics and started competing in track and fuel and uh started my journey of the Paralympic Games competing in the 100 and 200 meters. And now I have the honor of recognizing this year's cover artist, Gian Lee, for the city's official 2026 AA and HPI Heritage Month calendar and cultural guide. Based here in the creative landscape of Los Angeles, Jian Lee is a distinguished artist and educator. Her artistic journey began as a teenager discovering her passion for drawing comics to share amongst her peers. For the painting that will uh that we'll unveil today, it's called Salton Sea, and it's inspired by my uh camping trip with my family to to Salton Sea. Now our next honoree is Yun Xiao Gong, is one of the top Paralympic shooters in the world and a standout competitor for Team USA. He is a world championship gold medalist, a parapin American games medalist, and a paralympic silver medalist, earning that podium finish in Paris in the P3 Mix 25 meter pistol event. Now let's give it up for Yun Xiao Gong. I thank you for this honor. It's beyond my words for what this community can offer. I carry both places with me in every World Cup and every Paralympics a medal. I promise. Mr. Chanho Park is not simply one of the greatest Korean athletes of his generation. He's a true pioneer whose legacy changed the face of professional sports. Big round of applause for Dodger Legend, Chan Ho Park. When I became the first Korean born player to reach Major League Baseball, I was the only Asian player at this time. I often joked that I didn't just need a good basketball. I also needed a good translator. It's such a joy and such an honor to be here with you guys. Um my grandfather was a white man from Oklahoma. My father is a Korean man born in Seoul, South Korea. My grandmother is a Tongan woman from Holongatongatafu. In the South Pacific Islands, which is also where I grew up, uh meaning that I'm the perfect walking social experiment because I'm quite literally Asian American and Pacific Islanders. I moved to LA five ish years ago, and when I got here, there weren't many Pacific Islanders around. So just like to be recognized by the city is an amazing thing, but you know it's not. It's not only a recognition that recognizes me, it's also just, you know, the people that they got me here, my village and where I come from as well. Los Angeles Metro is now operating one of the largest rail systems in the country. LA Metro approximates about one million boardings per weekday. Riders can already travel from Long Beach to Pasadena, Santa Monica to East LA, and soon directly to LAX using Metro Rail Connections. Metro continues to expand across Los Angeles, but this time it's not just about transportation, it's also about housing. Across the region, Metro is showing that where you live and how you get around are directly connected. In fact, Metro is one of the few major transit agencies in the country developing affordable housing on its own land near rail stations. By using existing property near transit stops, Metro and the city of Los Angeles are building communities where affordable housing and affordable transportation exists side by side. The goal is simple.