Assembly Concurrent Resolution
No. 51
CHAPTER 114
Relative to the Dr. Sally Ride Memorial Highway.
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Filed with
Secretary of State
September 07, 2021.
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LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 51, Gabriel.
Dr. Sally Ride Memorial Highway.
This measure would designate a portion of State Highway 101 between the junction with Interstate 405, at postmarker 17.165, and Balboa Boulevard, at postmarker 19.217, as the Dr. Sally Ride Memorial Highway. The measure would request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee:
YES WHEREAS, Sally Ride was born in the City of Los Angeles, California, and raised in the City of Encino, California; and
WHEREAS, As a child, Sally was a gifted tennis player who dreamed of playing professionally, and eventually earned a scholarship to Westlake School for Girls in the City of Los Angeles, where she graduated in 1968; and
WHEREAS, Upon graduating from high school, Sally attended Swarthmore College for a year and one-half, but missed California; and
WHEREAS, She returned to California and transferred to Stanford University, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1973; and
WHEREAS, She continued at Stanford University, earning her Master of Science and doctorate degrees in physics in 1975 and 1978; and
WHEREAS, In 1977, Sally answered a Stanford University student newspaper article placed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announcing that, for the first time, women could apply to the astronaut corps; and
WHEREAS, One year later, Sally was selected as one of only six women for NASA’s astronaut class of 1978; and
WHEREAS, After completing her training, Sally started her aeronautics career on the ground, serving as a capsule communicator as part of the ground-support crew for the second and third space shuttle flights; and
WHEREAS, In June 1983, Sally was one of five crewmembers aboard the space shuttle Challenger, where she became the first American woman to fly in space, and the youngest American in space, and she flew on Challenger again in 1984; and
WHEREAS, After her career as an astronaut ended, Sally became a professor of physics and served as the Director of the California Space Institute at the University of California, San Diego; and
WHEREAS, Sally additionally served as a member of the President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology and served on the Advisory Board of the National Women’s History Museum; and
WHEREAS, Sally passed away on July 23, 2012, after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer; and
WHEREAS, During her life, she was passionate about improving science education and helping young women and girls foster an interest in science; and
WHEREAS, Even after her death, Sally’s legacy continues to inspire people to reach for the stars; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the portion of State Highway 101 between the junction with Interstate 405, at postmarker 17.165 and Balboa Boulevard, at postmarker 19.217, as the Dr. Sally Ride Memorial Highway to honor and commemorate Dr. Sally Ride’s service to her community; 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 Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author for appropriate distribution.