In the News
Democrats warn of lost rebates in call for faster rollout of climate-friendly home upgrade funding
by RACHEL FRAZIN
More than 60 Democrats are calling on the Biden administration to move swiftly in its rollout of consumer rebates for energy-efficient home upgrades, warning that the current pace could lead to the “potential loss of two years of rebates.” In a new letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, dozens of Democrats said that they were “informed that states may be unable to offer rebates until the Fall of 2024 or later” because of delays in finalizing the program guidance. “DOE should … Continue Reading
September 13, 2023
Jared Huffman urges DOJ address Missing or Murdered Indigenous People cases in California
by SAGE ALEXANDER
On Wednesday, North Coast U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) penned a letter to the U.S. Attorney General asking for staff to address Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, or MMIP, cases in California. This follows a regional outreach program announced in late June that allocated five MMIP assistant U.S. attorneys and five MMIP coordinators in U.S. offices who help in the investigation of unsolved MMIP cases. The legislators argue in the letter that California was left behind. “We are … Continue Reading
September 06, 2023
Biden administration cancels controversial oil leases in Alaska wildlife refuge
by RACHEL FRAZIN AND ZACK BUDRYK -
The Biden administration on Wednesday confirmed it will cancel seven controversial oil and gas leases in an Alaskan wildlife refuge issued at the very end of the Trump administration The administration had previously announced in June of 2021 that it would review the leases, which give the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority the rights to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). That refuge is home to caribou herds, wolves and more than 200 species of birds, as … Continue Reading
August 27, 2023
There’s a major problem with the rebates to swap out gas-powered appliances Dems are touting
by Joe Garofoli
President Biden and every Democrat on the campaign trail will spend the next year bragging about the Inflation Reduction Act, which they universally tout as the “biggest climate action investment in history.” You will hear Democrats boast that the IRA, which was signed a year ago, includes $8.8 billion in tax credits and rebates to encourage people to buy energy-saving devices such as heat pumps. What they won’t tell you on the campaign trail is … Continue Reading
August 25, 2023
Rep. Huffman hosting ‘Coffee With Your Congressman’ in Willits Tuesday
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) will be in Willits next week to allow local residents to have “Coffee With Your Congressman,” his office announced. According to a Friday press release, Huffman is scheduled to be at the Willits Fire Department, located at 74 E. Commercial St. in Willits beginning at 10:30 a.m. During the event, which is expected to take about an hour, residents will “have the opportunity to hear an update on (Huffman’s) work in Washington D.C.,” … Continue Reading
August 24, 2023
Congressman Jared Huffman visits Petaluma High School
by Amelia Richardson
Students at Petaluma High School got a brief but action-packed visit Wednesday from U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, who toured the school’s wildlife museum before addressing questions on climate change and other topics. Huffman, D-San Rafael, spent about an hour at the school in the late morning of Tuesday, Aug. 23, greeting students, staff and local leaders before getting a tour of the Petaluma Wildlife Museum led by student docents. After seeing the museum’s exhibits as well as some … Continue Reading
August 14, 2023
California’s planning a renewable energy project at a scale never before attempted in the world
by Wes Venteicher
EUREKA, Calif. — A 300-foot tall smokestack from a defunct paper mill looms over the port in Humboldt Bay, a relic of the timber industry that once defined the northwestern corner of California along with the struggling salmon fishing industry and sputtering marijuana trade. But a gust of optimism has arrived in Humboldt County over plans to develop offshore wind at a depth and scale never before attempted in the world – sparking hope and anxiety in a region that has lived through … Continue Reading
August 09, 2023
Congressman Huffman pays Trinity a visit
Congressman Jared Huffman took a tour of Trinity High School early in the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 2. The tour of the campus was part of his visit to Trinity County where he also met with officials of Trinity Public Utilities District and dined with Trinity County Board of Supervisor members to get a better understanding of the issues facing Trinity County residents. Included on his tour of the campus were Trinity Alps Unified School District Supt. Jaime Green, Trinity County Office of … Continue Reading
August 03, 2023
New art exhibit displays devastating effects of 2002 Klamath River fish kill, declining salmon population
by SOPHIE LINCOLN
A new exhibit at the Morris Graves Museum of Art in Eureka aims to provide a visualization of the devastating Fish Kill of 2002, as well as a celebration of the work currently being done to restore the continuously-declining salmon population in California rivers. The art exhibit comes as the California salmon populations are one of the lowest on record for the state. Earlier this year, both the commercial and recreational salmon seasons were canceled due to extremely low fish … Continue Reading
July 27, 2023
What Democrats want to hear in Biden’s climate speech
by Theodoric Meyer and Leigh Ann Caldwell
What Democrats want to hear in Biden’s climate speech President Biden will address the punishing heat wave afflicting Washington and much of the rest of the country today — and some Democrats and climate activists want to see him use the moment to build support for further action on climate change. “He needs to speak to the path forward, and it’s got to be more than just bottled water and cooling centers for the elderly,” said Rep. Jared … Continue Reading
July 26, 2023
Huffman joins GOP-led group to retool Endangered Species Act
by Nidhi Prakash
California Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman, one of the House's most outspoken progressives, has joined a Republican-led group looking to overhaul the Endangered Species Act. House Natural Resources Republicans invited Democrats to be part of the effort. Huffman said he now expects to be included in the group's work. “I take you at your word that the Working Group is dedicated to a truly bipartisan, good faith review of the ESA and I look forward to collaborating on ideas to improve … Continue Reading
July 25, 2023
MVP's deeper legal meaning
by James Bikales
WHO SAYS PARTISANSHIP IS ENDANGERED?: Progressive Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) is taking up an offer from House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) for Democrats to join a new Endangered Species Act working group. Westerman insists he made the offer in good faith despite it happening during a GOP-led hearing on the “destructive cost” of the ESA. But Huffman interpreted it as in jest, offering in his letter this morning to … Continue Reading
July 18, 2023
Panel spotlights ESA costs as prelude to overhauling law
by Michael Doyle
House Republicans on Tuesday commemorated the Endangered Species Act’s 50th anniversary more with side-eye than champagne. In an afternoon hearing pointedly subtitled “The Destructive Cost of the ESA,” GOP lawmakers repeatedly assailed the landmark environmental law, at least as it is currently being put into practice. The complaints outnumbered specific legislative fixes, though those are reportedly coming. "After 50 years of the ESA, and untold billions of expenditures, … Continue Reading
July 17, 2023
Republicans plan to target ESA’s 'destructive cost'
by Scott Streater
House Republicans are doubling down in opposition to the Endangered Species Act just days after releasing an Interior-Environment funding bill that would block several recent high-profile ESA listing decisions. The Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries will hold an oversight hearing Tuesday that will focus on what Republicans are calling the enormous costs and regulatory burdens created by the bedrock environmental law. The Endangered Species Act turns 50 years old … Continue Reading
July 14, 2023
House Defense bill is loaded with bans on abortion care, trans health care and DEI initiatives
by Shira Stein
House Republicans are using an annual must-pass federal bill to target abortion access, gender affirming care and diversity initiatives in the military. Those amendments led almost all House Democrats to oppose must-pass legislation authorizing defense funding and policies, a bill that included measures some of them championed. The legislation is largely used to pay for the military and allow it to continue operations, but like many Washington endeavors, is also used … Continue Reading
July 12, 2023
Huffman presses Congress for special education funding
by Keri Brenner
A new bill to approve full federal funding for special education advanced by Marin Rep. Jared Huffman would help children in the county with special needs and free up school districts’ budgets for other programs, the county’s top education official said this week. “The historic underfunding of the IDEA has a major impact on local educational agency budgets,” said John Carroll, Marin superintendent of schools, referring to the Individuals with Disabilities Education … Continue Reading
July 11, 2023
California in line to receive $67.5 million for grid resiliency projects
by Susan Wood
The U.S. Energy Department has tapped California as one of nine states to receive about a third of its designated $207.6 million in grants to improve grid resilience. Monday’s news comes as a precursor to an anticipated, punishing heat wave about to embark upon the North Bay, which is forecast to join the majority of the West in triple-digit temperatures by the end of the week. More than $67 million will be earmarked for projects in this round of funding for the Golden State under U.S. … Continue Reading
July 11, 2023
Marin electric bus hub project gets $31.5M grant
by Will Houston
The Biden administration has awarded Marin Transit a grant of $31.5 million to construct a hub for its growing fleet of electric buses. The grant, the largest the agency has received, comes as Marin’s main local fixed-route bus operator and other transit agencies are working to replace their gas-powered fleets with all-electric or other no-emission replacements by the state’s 2040 target. Nancy Whelan, the general manager of Marin Transit, said the new hub, which would be able to … Continue Reading
July 11, 2023
The NDAA’s dip into education
by Mackenzie Wilkes
SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING BILL — Lawmakers reintroduced a bicameral bill to increase special education funding over the next 10 years. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Rep. Jared Huffman’s (D-Calif.) bill, the IDEA Full Funding Act, would meet the federal government’s commitment to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. — The details: When the IDEA became law in 1975, Congress committed to paying 40 percent of … Continue Reading
June 28, 2023
Marin Transit Awarded $31.5M For New Electric Bus Yard
by Lucas Combos
Marin Transit this week received its largest-ever grant, netting $31.5 million from the Federal Transit Administration to build a new maintenance tard for electric buses. The funds come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and represent its largest transit grant awarded in California. Metro Transit said the money will allow for the construction of a new facility to maintain and charge up to 40 buses, improving efficiency for the county's growing zero-emission fleet. "We made a promise to … Continue Reading