GREETINGS...to all who may have a stake in the future of California's historic cemeteries, My name is Sue Silver, and I am the president of the El Dorado County Pioneer Cemeteries Commission, a non-profit public benefit corporation. Our goal is for the preservation, protection and restoration of our county's historic cemeteries. This is to advise you that Assemblymember Anthony Pescetti has introduced Assembly Bill 1368 (AB 1368) to establish the California Historic Cemetery Commission. To read the Bill, go to: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/asm/ab_1351-1400/ab_1368_bill_20010223_in troduced.html (If this link fails, go to the California State Assembly web site and click on Legislation. At the next screen, search on 1368, and follow links from there.) Assemblymember Pescetti introduced and ushered this same bill (as AB 1779) through the last session of the legislature where it was extremely well received by members of both houses of the Legislature. Unfortunately, Governor Gray Davis vetoed in the last hours of the session. We are hopeful that this year we will see it's enactment. I am asking for your support in helping to pass this legislation. This is a Bill that will benefit anyone who has any ancestors buried anywhere in any historic California cemetery. It is a way and means to document the historic cemeteries state wide, and to build a registry of those places so that they may be kept from harms way. California has had a dismal history when it comes to its treatment of cemeteries. From the earliest years of statehood, cemeteries were being relocated to accomodate mining activities. In the 1950's, we saw a movement of cemeteries to accomodate dams and reservoirs. In the latter part of the 20th Century, we began to see them uprooted for highways and residential developments. At this rate, the historic cemeteries of the communities founded by our ancestors, similar to some of the now-gone towns and villages, will fade from the face of our historic landscape. And along with them, the humanity and history they represent. I urge you to contact Assemblymember Pescetti to thank him for introducing this Bill and to lend your voice of support. Email him at: anthony.pescetti@asm.ca.gov or write to him at: Honorable Anthony Pescetti California State Assembly State Capitol, Room 2130 Sacramento, CA 95814 or call him at: (916) 319-2010 BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR MAILING ADDRESS ON ALL CORRESPONDENCE TO LEGISLATORS. You might wish to copy Governor Gray Davis on your email, and his address is: governor@governor.ca.gov Please help find, save and preserve our state's historic cemeteries and grave yards. They are the first textbooks of the people who lived and died in California. Thank you in advance for your concern and support. If you can help identify the location of obscure or "left behind" cemeteries in your county, please let me know. Sue Silver ssilver1951@jps.net El Dorado County Pioneer Cemeteries Commission 2551 Deer Trail Lane Cameron Park, CA 95682 Member, California Historic Cemetery Alliance (CHCA) email: chca@inreach.com Web Page: califhistcemeteries.org (This is the second send of this email. Delete if you have already received it. Thank you.)