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Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo met recently with CSAC Communication Manager Sara Floor to share his thoughts about supporting AB 34, the Broadband Bond Bill, and his ongoing efforts to increase high speed internet access across the state. The following are edited comments from their discussion.

Millions of Californians are without internet access, a deficit we’ve known about for some two decades. Why so much attention right now?

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown a bright spotlight on the digital divide here in California. Here in East Salinas, in Monterey County, an image of two little girls sitting on the sidewalk outside a fast food restaurant went viral. It put a human face to what we all knew what was occurring for so many children, all across the country. Sometimes it takes an image of our most vulnerable children having to sit outside to just do their classwork to serve as real examples for policy makers to see a crisis.

But as the months have gone on, we’ve also realized that access to internet and broadband has been an issue for all Californians including our seniors who now need to connect with their doctors and family. And now we’ve got parents who are working from home, and multiple children in a household trying to access internet service— it really shows how many households don’t have the service needed to have multiple family members connecting and doing the work that’s needed.