And also youth ambassador. So, its just really fun, and you get to learn leadership, you get to experience like being part of the team. And my favorite part is that you get your word out into the public, like you could speak for what you believe in. Damian the name of your team is the tobacco free trailblazers. Graciela yes. Damian why that, why that name . Graciela so, actually my friend anna recommended it to me. And its so tobaccofree because im antitobacco. Trailblazers because, like, i want the trail to like blaze, you know . So, like i want to, like, make the path like clear, like yeah, i just want to blaze the path. Damian brandy, i would imagine that you have to stay on top of your game to keep up with your daughter. Brandy navarro i do. Damian shes so bright and intelligent. Brandy i do. Graciela thank you. Damian tell us about why this is important to the family, having her as an ambassador. Brandy for us, its important to be able to see the youth be able to vocalize themselves against a platform or for a platform, and be able to stand up and use their voice, and be a role model for other youth to be able to stand up for what they believe in. And specifically, gracielas really big on antivaping. So, be able to bring the topic to light and share with other children that, though it smells good and though it looks cool, its really harmful. Damian it really is. My twins are in sixth grade and they come home saying, so and so, and so and so were caught vaping in the bathroom. Vaping, this is sixth grade. Do youdo you talk about that as your school as well . Graciela so, actually wei go to a private school, and one of the strict rules is no smoking in the grounds, no vaping in the grounds, and we are like kind of locked in. So, theres like gates, like, surrounding the boundaries of the school. And so, there was this party one day, i forgot for what cause, but it was like this party, i think it was like the fifth damian middle school dance . Graciela like 107th anniversary or something, but it was like a big event. And we saw all these little vaping tubes and smoky and cigarette packages and stuff. And my principal, actually she had a talk with everyone about the importance of not vaping. So, this was like in i believe third grade. But yeah, so we dont really get thatlike thats like the only time i actually saw a cigarette on the ground. But yeah, but lithe was a lot of people smoking. Damian was it commercials that caught her eye or her attention to this topic, or was it just walking on the sidewalk and somebody smoking . What is it that kind of intrigued . Brandy it was actually walking on the sidewalk damian that usually does it. Brandy and smelling smoke that really smelled quite delicious. They have really engaging flavors, like fruit flavors and sweet flavors. And when she realized thats the equivalent of smoking a cigarette, she was shocked. She said, really . And so, when we talked about vaping, she was pretty offended at how the Tobacco Industry wanted to trick the youth into nicotine use and addictive practices, and there she went. Damian as the americanpart of the American Lung association, are you going to be climbing the steps as well . Graciela yes. Damian tell us about that. Graciela yeah, so itsthe address is 555 california. It used to be the old bank of america building. We are going to be climbing 52 flights of stairs, yep, and exactly i believe 1,197 steps. Damian i thought it was 96. Are you sure its 97 . Graciela i believe so. Damian and how are you training, how are you preparing for this . What message do you want to send . Graciela yeah, so i want to tell kids that, you know, the Tobacco Industry obviously wants to trick kids into vaping and smoking. I want kids to get their voice out, and i want people to know that we are smarter than that and that we can try to prevent this from happening as much as we can. And i really, really, really hope and i really, really believe in the cause of not smoking. And i reallylike, so the American Lung associations job is to try to get it nationwide. My goal is try to get it worldwide. Damian all right, think big. Graciela trying to join forces with the American Lung association. Yeah, and its just really exciting, and i just love this opportunity. Damian and this step climbing is all part of our next segment, but the American Lung association again is having this event. There is the web address and phone number or theyeah, the phone number to call for more information. Any final thoughts before we let you go . Graciela yeah, so like i said, just kids stick to what you believe in, and just dont let anyone, like, take control over your life. Tobacco, the industry, Tobacco Industry wants you tospecifically kids, they want them to get addicted at a young age so they can be a lifelong customer. Damian well, youre a great ambassador; thank you for graciela thank you so much. Damian all right, thank you; well be back with the American Lung association, stay with us. To give his money to charity, giving pledge when this californian walked away from his billion Dollar Company for good. He drives a chevy volt, flies commercial, and spends his days building grassroots campaigns for social and environmental justice. Why . Tom steyer believes every child deserves the same opportunities as his. A healthy planet. Good schools. Quality healthcare, living wage jobs, and life without fear of discrimination. Tom im tom steyer and i approve this message. The American Lung association. With me is carrie nash, the executive director. Shes here to fill us in on what were talking about. Welcome to the show. Carrie nash thanks so much for having me, im excited to be here. Damian thank you; we heard from graciela, what a great ambassador you have to get this message out. Carrie yeah, shes amazing. Shes very passionate about it, she speaks well about it, and were very lucky to have her in the Community Sharing our mission. Damian all right, well, we have some video of what were talking about when were climbing these stairs. And there it is rightthis is from one of somewhere around the country here. So, tell us what were actually doing here on march 7. Carrie great, so the fight for air climb, this will be our 14th annual year. We have about 1,000 climbers, 1,000 to 1,200 that come out. They come out for the day and they race up the stairwells of the 555 California Building in San Francisco. Its a fundraiser, everybody comes in. Our goal this year is to raise around 300,000 for the programs that we do with the American Lung association. Damian i would imagine that the message is that if youre a smoker or a vaper, youre not going to be able to climb these steps. Carrie it is; yes, it actually is meant to replicate what its like to have lung disease. So, by climbing the stairs, youre gaining elevation rapidly. Youre also in a confined space doing an extreme athletic event or extreme cardio, so it actually makes the lungs start to feel like theyre closing in, and it gives people that sensation of if i had asthma, if i had copd, if i had lung cancer, this is what top, they have that appreciation for, again, the mission that theyre fighting for. Damian as parents, you know, i was surprised when my kids came home, and this was last year even in fifth grade, and they said theres vaping. And they go, they do it on campus, they do it off campus. How shocked are you . You probably hear stories like this all over. Carrie yeah, vaping reallyas an organization, vaping took us for a run. We had done a lot of work over the last 115 years to basically make, especially california, almost smokefree. And then vaping came in and really targeted the youth, and it fit all the loopholes. It found a way through all of the laws that were antitobacco, making associations like ours have to work extra hard to put new laws into place in order to prevent the marketing of those products to children. Damian and we were talking about addictions on the news and how it was becoming addictive. And i mean, the kids were that its safer than smoking, smoking ten times plus more of the nicotine through a vape pen than they would if they were smoking cigarettes alone. So, its actually much, much more addictive. Dami American Lung association, what have we done as a society, as a community to curb this, to stop this, to slow it down if you can . Carrie the majority of the work that were doing with the American Lung association is targeted towards kids, and its targeted towards policy work up at the capital in regards to not allowing these companies to market directly to children. For example, there are laws in place that they cant have Vape Products or Tobacco Products in low level shelving in Convenience Stores because thats at kids eye level. Theres cities that have actually banned the flavor of the vape so that its not, again, marketed towards kids, and a lot of that is work thats been driven by our organization. Damian and some of them even look like school supplies, they look like a usb drive. Carrie a usb drive. Yeah, an eraser. Damian ive taken up a lot of your time. Tell us what you want to tell us about this climb or anything, the message that you want to get across today. Carrie i think one of the most important things that i want everyone to know is that the fight for air climb is on march 7. It is an amazing event. The work that were doing with the Lung Association is everything from the antitobacco and vaping to the california wildfires, which are a really huge issue for us right now. Last year, San Francisco had the worst air quality in the world for over two weeks. So, we are fighting to put programs in place and to help people that are affected by the wildfires as well as prevention. Come out and join us, its a lot of fun. Damian do you need climbers, or is it more the donations that youre asking for right now . Carrie we want all of it. We would love to have people come out and spend the day learning about our mission and experiencing it. But if youre not able to come, you can certainly make a donation as well. Damian and how do youdo you train for this . You cant just go up there and say, im going to climb 1,600 steps, or however many it is on one day. Do you have to train for it, or what do you carrie well, you can, it just depends on how much you want it to hurt. Now, we have children from the ages of eight and above that climb. And our oldest climber is 87. Damian amazing; well, this climb is happening here in San Francisco. There is the address at 555 california street, and there is the web address for more information. Well, thank you so much for putting on this program and helping get the word out about vaping and the dangers of it. Carrie great, thanks for talking to us today. Damian thank you; and up next here on comunidad del valle, one of the Planning Commissioners in san jose, stay with us. The most empoweringmike experiences that ive had. Its important to talk to the people who know him personally. I worked for him for 8 years in city hall. Ive been working for bloomberg for 27 years. 25 years. Almost 30 years. Theres nobody that i respect more, and felt more respected by. Mike believes excellence is not defined by gender. Mike builds a culture that advances women. I was the first woman ever appointed to be council to the mayor. He expects excellence out of everyone, but he also provides the kind of support that allows you to be that person. Mike called to tell me, you should be proud of what youve done and your name should be on that project. He has faith in you, he believes in you. It was about always showing up and doing your best. I always knew that he had my back. He was raised by an extraordinary woman, she supported him all along the way and thats very much a part of who he is. Mike supports women, he promotes women, and he respects women. [ fastpaced drumming ] Planning Commission, and hes from the east side. Rolando bonilla is back here on comunidad del valle. One reason that we have you sit on the show is because of the height disparity, you know . We want to make sure that we see each other at eye level. Welcome back to our show, rolando. Rolando bonilla thank you, thank you. Damian we have a video we want to show because it took a fight, and heres a part of that fight. It took a fight to get you on the commission. What was the whole escandalo about . Rolando you know, the east side of san jose for roughly over a decade has not had representation on the most powerful commission in san jose, the Planning Commission. You know, we thought coming into this that it was pretty much a nobrainer that East San Jose is a vital part to the city, and that we required to be at the table making these decisions. To our surprise, it was a lot more difficult than that. And luckily, the community recognized that this was a jose, but really for the city as a whole. Damian you make decisions that are crucial to the future structurally of the east side basically, to the city. Rolando to the city as a whole. And that was one of the things i said from the very beginning, this should never be an east side, west side thing. This should be a san jose thing. And if were going to really be that metropolitan large american city, we have to make sure that every single corner of this city has equal access to services and opportunity, and equal access to sitting at the table. It shouldnt be that one side of the city decides the future for all parts of the city. That should actually make everyone upset, and thats really what this fight was about. Damian what decisions do you make as a Planning Commission . Rolando well, the biggest one that we make is that we advise the city council on land use policy regarding the city moving forward. So, for example, what the skylines going to look like one day, or something as simple as a permit to build on a piece of property in your community. In many ways, we impact and touch your daytoday life, what youre going to see, the structures youre going to see, what your community is going to feel like. Are we going to be close to Public Transportation or not . Those are questions that come before our body. We obviously weigh in. Were a quasijudicial entity, and then we send those recommendations up to the city council for their deliberation. Damian so, before you came in, the views of the willow glen neighborhood were the ones that were predominantly being listened to because thats where the representation came from. Do you think the east side did not have a voice at the table . Rolando well, the east side absolutely did not have a voice at the table, which is why thisreally what this candidacy was always about. Im proud to say that because of the noise that we made, we didnt get just one latino perspective on the Planning Commission. For the First Time Since 1981, we n perspectives on the san jose Planning Commission. That was a fight, that was a fight that should never have been a fight in the first place. But luckily, i stand on the shoulders of people, people like blanca alvarado, people that have really been here before that have had their own fights. And because of that, there was a path, there was a Community Infrastructure that allowed for this to happen. And without their support, East San Jose wouldnt be represented. cause this has never been about me, this has always been about making sure that the east side had a voice in a broader city conversation. Damian so, what can we see as far as the future goes on the east side . Rolando well, i think one of the things that im fighting for on the east side is making sure that the same considerations that are given to other parts of the city are given to where we live. You know, East San Jose has whats called formbased zoning, which has a lot of flexibility for the developing community. Although its supposed to be in place throughout the city that hasnt really been the case yet. So, one of the first things im trying to do and im already doing is making sure that if youre going to develop in East San Jose, you are going to ensure that the voice of the community is heard, that theyve had the opportunity to really put their input, and that youre not just going to slap a project around and put it in there because its going to be good for your bottom line. You have to take into account the aesthetic considerations, the cultural considerations, and how this particular project is going to add value to the community. If its not adding value to the community, if its just a quick way to make a couple of bucks that i could say unequivocally ive done already, thats just not something im going to stand for. And already, folks are seeing im reasonable, but i also want to build relationships, and i want my community to have the opportunity to build those relationships as well. Damian does it help that youre 65 and getting rolando you know, its funny, i have to do most of these things sitting down. But when i stand up, they think im charles barkley, so im not so sure. Damian all right, well, hes a member of the san jose Planning Commission, and they do meet regularly, and they do advise the city council on land use issues. There is the number for the city, you can ask for the Planning Commission or google the Planning Commission final thoughts, rolando, before we let you go . Rolando no, i think i encourage you all to recognize that East San Jose, west san jose, north san jose, were all one san jose. And whatever issues impact every part of the city impact the other parts of the city. This is true for public safety, this is true for homelessness. We are bet