the Long Beach Press-Telegram reported last night that a resolution calling for the Alamitos Bay Bridge in Long Beach to be renamed in honor of my cousin, rowing legend Joan Van Blom, had been passed by the California Legislature.

Final action on the resolution authorizing the the Joan Lind Van Blom Memorial Bridge, SCR 102, was taken yesterday, August 5, 2016.

Joan’s dad, Tom Lind, was my father’s younger brother.

Joan died in August 2015 of an aggressive brain cancer.

From the Press-Telegram story:

“From the Olympic stage to the classroom, Joan Lind Van Blom was a woman who displayed great courage and a commitment to uplift her country and community,” Sen. Janet Nguyen, who proposed the legislation, said in a statement Friday.

Nguyen, who represents a small part of Long Beach, introduced the legislation at the request of the Long Beach Century Club, a nonprofit dedicated to the promotion of amateur athletes in the city. Van Blom is a member of the club’s Hall of Fame.

Van Blom is a member of the Wilson High School Hall of Fame, the Long Beach State 49er Hall of Fame Century Club, the National Rowing Hall of Fame, and was declared a lifetime member of the Long Beach Rowing Association. A number of other memorials and tributes were announced in the months after her death.

She earned medals in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal and in the quadruple sculls in 1984 in Los Angeles.

Beyond rowing, Van Blom spent 35 years as a physical education instructor for the Long Beach Unified School District.

Van Blom “is one of the most remarkable athletes to ever live and was even more impressive for her dedication to her Long Beach community,” Councilwoman Suzie Price said in a statement. “Having a bridge in east Long Beach named after her will serve as a daily reminder of the positive legacy she has left behind.”

The resolution in its final form can be found here.