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For nearly two decades, a local veteran has been leading the fight to recognize members of the LGBTQ community who served in the military, but his efforts are now paying off even with plenty of roadblocks on the way.

The commander of American Veteran Post 66 in Palm Springs, Tom Swann Hernandez, is a former marine and now an openly gay veteran. He led the fight to build the LGBT Veteran Memorial inside the Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City back in 2001.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif.- AB 2439 is a piece of potential legislation which would designate Cathedral City's LGBTQ Veterans Memorial as the state's official LGBTQ memorial.

AMVETS Commander Thomas "Tom" Swann Hernández and officials from the Palm Springs Cemetery co-hosted an event discussing the progress of the bill today at noon at the American Legion Hall at 400 N. Belardo Rd. in Palm Springs.

The memorial, which resides at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, would become the nation's first state-designated LGBTQ Veterans Memorial if AB 2439 passes.

EL CENTRO- Senator Ben Hueso and Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia announced at the El Centro City Council chambers a $40,388,000 state budget allocation to the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The funds will provide for the design-build phase of the CHP El Centro Area Office Replacement Project. The allotment will pay for construction of a new 27,481 square-foot single-story building to be used by the El Centro California Highway Patrol.

The Comite Civico del Valle, an organization providing services to disadvantaged communities in the Imperial Valley, has received a $500,000 grant from the California Air Resource Board to expand its air monitoring program.

Together with State Senator Ben Hueso of San Diego County, Garcia also pointed out the unique challenges faced by the two only counties in California that share an international border with Mexico.

Currently, six out of nine California regions face a dire primary care shortage. California ranks 23rd in the nation for the number of physicians it has per resident.

“Half of Californians live in a community where they do not have adequate access to necessary healthcare services. This issue disproportionately affects rural areas like those in my district. These funds to expand the UC graduate medical education program are critical to helping alleviate the severe physician shortage that exists in Imperial County,” Garcia said in a prepared statement.