On June 10, UNITE-LA hosted a fireside chat, “CA Plans to Invest Boldly: A Once-in-a-Generation $76 Billion Budget Surplus,” featuring Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (AD-7) and Christopher Ferguson from the California Department of Finance. The conversation focused on how California's extreme budget surplus aims at uplifting our most vulnerable. A few major takeaways from the chat included: Investing in our early learners will help address other systemic challenges in California, such as the student achievement gap, the opportunity gap, intergenerational poverty, criminal justice issues, etc.; And additional resources will help address the digital divide. You can check out the full conversation of this webinar here.