In the News
Ballroom opponents ask Supreme Court to keep Trump project on hold
by Dan Diamond, Jonathan Edwards, Justin Jouvenal
Historic preservationists on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to keep President Donald Trump’s ballroom construction on hold while litigation plays out, warning of an administration effort to “outrun judicial review.” The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued last year to halt the project, said Trump had exceeded his authority by attempting to build the planned $400 million ballroom by soliciting private donations rather than seeking congressional approval. They also criticized … Continue Reading
August 18, 2026
Trump Fired the Watchdogs. Their Replacements Have a Different Mission.
by Luke Broadwater
One federal inspector general, a former Republican congressman, has spent recent weeks lavishing praise on President Trump while attacking the president’s rival, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Democrat of California. Another inspector general appointed by Mr. Trump has recently singled out Attorney General Letitia James of New York, one of the president’s most hated targets, as the Trump administration withheld funds for her state. And Mr. Trump has inserted a right-wing operative — a co-author of the … Continue Reading
August 13, 2026
In the Reflecting Pool saga, the National Park Service’s mission is tested by Trump’s demands
by Mathew Daly
President Donald Trump’s botched repairs at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool have landed the National Park Service in a tight spot, forced to serve the public while managing controversial demands by the Republican president. The beloved federal agency, its iconic park rangers and other employees have been navigating a new reality under Trump, from orders to revise exhibits at parks and other sites to the demolition of important structures under its stewardship, such as the White House’s … Continue Reading
August 13, 2026
Dems push GAO to investigate Trump mineral deals
by Hannah Northey
Top Democrats asked federal watchdogs Wednesday to investigate what safeguards have been baked into the Trump administration’s financial stakes in private mining companies. Sen. Martin Heinrich, ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Rep. Jared Huffman, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, called on the Government Accountability Office to probe the deals and potential conflicts of interest. The lawmakers in the letter raised specific … Continue Reading
August 11, 2026
Dems probe uranium company for insider trading tied to Bears Ears
by Hannah Northey
House Democrats are investigating whether executives at a uranium company operating in Utah engaged in possible insider trading by making investments days before President Donald Trump opened a nearby national monument to mining. California Rep. Jared Huffman, ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, and Oregon Rep. Maxine Dexter, who chairs the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, pushed Ross Bhappu, president and CEO of Energy Fuels, in a letter Monday to explain … Continue Reading
August 10, 2026
U.S. Rep. Huffman tours Eel River restoration project
by Robert Schaulis
U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) spent last Thursday evening touring the Russ Creek and Centerville Slough Restoration Project, a 1,540-acre project at the mouth of the Eel River Estuary northwest of Ferndale. A Wildlands Conservancy project, undertaken in collaboration with the Humboldt County Resource Conservation District, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, engineering consultants with GHD, construction firm Mercer-Fraser and landowner Jay Russ, … Continue Reading
August 10, 2026
Trump nominates loyalist to office that would oversee Reflecting Pool review
by Meryl Kornfield
August 06, 2026
‘Gift to the fossil fuel industry’: RWE relinquishes North Coast offshore wind lease, part of $1.22B Trump admin deal
by Robert Schaulis
On Thursday, renewable energy company RWE announced that it entered into a $1.22 billion agreement with the Trump administration to relinquish its offshore wind leases. RWE is one of two companies, alongside Vineyard Offshore, that hold wind leases off California’s North Coast through its RWE U.S. Offshore subsidiary. According to a press release published by RWE Thursday morning, the company’s settlement with the U.S. Department of Interior will “resolve claims against the U.S. government … Continue Reading
August 06, 2026
Interior adds Project 2025 author to inspector general’s office
by Ian M. Stevenson
An architect of Project 2025 who held senior personnel roles in the first Trump administration has joined the Interior Department’s inspector general’s office, according to a top House Democrat. House Natural Resources ranking member Jared Huffman of California blasted the appointment of Dennis Kirk to the Interior office tasked with independent oversight of the department. A spokesperson for the inspector general’s office, John Bell, declined to confirm Kirk’s hiring. Kirk did not respond … Continue Reading
August 06, 2026
Another offshore wind developer exits California in $1.22-billion deal with Trump administration
by Hayley Smith
German energy giant RWE said it will abandon offshore wind leases off New York, Louisiana and California’s Humboldt coast under a $1.22-billion deal with the Trump administration, deepening setbacks for U.S. clean energy. The agreement, the fifth and largest such buyout this year, is part of $2.7 billion in payouts steering companies away from offshore wind and into fossil fuel projects. California officials and environmental advocates say the actions threaten the state’s 2045 offshore wind … Continue Reading
July 30, 2026
The Trump administration wants $10 million more to cover its July Fourth celebrations
by Rachel Treisman
The bill for America's birthday celebrations is growing, and the Trump administration wants taxpayers to foot it. It is asking Congress for an additional $10 million in reimbursement for costs related to patriotic events on the National Mall, including the Great American State Fair and the July Fourth fireworks display. The revelations came from Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the lead Democrat on the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee. He wrote a letter to Interior … Continue Reading
July 16, 2026
Point Reyes tiny homes open doors
by Sage Rios Mace
Three years ago in November, Enrique Hernandez set out to gather crisp apples and herbs from the garden beside his home at the Martinelli ranch. With his harvest, he baked a postre de manzana to celebrate the 94th birthday of Leroy Martinelli, a former rancher and dump operator whose property housed the trailer Mr. Hernandez lived in for 26 years. Mr. Hernandez recalls that day with a smile. “I brought him the apple tart and everything and said, ‘Look, thank you for this land—this is what it … Continue Reading
July 16, 2026
North Coast Groups Are Suing Over a Rule Change That Could Undo the Klamath River’s Comeback
The wild salmon swimming freely up the undammed Klamath River have become Exhibit A in a looming federal lawsuit. A coalition of North Coast conservation groups intends to sue the Trump administration over its new reading of the Endangered Species Act, which holds that destroying a species’ habitat no longer counts as harm. The Western Environmental Law Center, the Environmental Protection Information Center, the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center and Cascadia Wildlands plan to file in federal … Continue Reading
July 15, 2026
Fairfax-San Anselmo Children’s Center plans fundraiser for renovations
by Keri Brenner
The Fairfax-San Anselmo Children’s Center is planning a benefit on July 26 to raise more money for renovations. The center timed the event to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of Ethel Seiderman, who founded the organization in 1973 with her husband Stan Seiderman. The couple started the center to meet a need for affordable childcare and family support services. “It’s going to be a real Ethel love-fest,” said Dave Cort, the former executive director of the San Geronimo Valley Community … Continue Reading
July 14, 2026
Marin County water utility seals deal for Sonoma County pipeline project
by Adrian Rodriguez
The Marin Municipal Water District is entering a $2.65 million deal with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to advance a major drought resiliency project. The water district board voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the partnership agreement, charging the Army Corps to support the “atmospheric river capture” project. The project is a proposed pipeline that would replenish Marin reservoirs with Sonoma County rainwater during droughts. Under the agreement, the Army Corps will design a section … Continue Reading
July 14, 2026
U.S. Rep. Huffman: ‘Trump is … pushing species to the brink of extinction’
by Robert Schaulis
This Tuesday morning, a coalition of conservation interests filed suit against the federal government in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. That coalition is objecting to a rule change, enacted by the Departments of Commerce and Interior this week, that would change the way federal agencies define “harm” under the Endangered Species Act. According to the lawsuit’s plaintiffs, the Commerce and Interior Departments’ changes, which will redefine “harm” as … Continue Reading
July 13, 2026
Salmon fishing resumes off California coast for first time since 2022. Here’s what that means
by Anna Armstrong
Commercial and recreational salmon fishing has resumed off the North Coast after a three-year statewide closure, marking a long-awaited milestone for a troubled industry that has endured historic losses in revenue and resources. Charter captains are reporting abundant catches out of Bodega Bay, and commercial boats up and down the coast are again unloading hauls of the prized West Coast staple for the first time since 2022. Still, the reopening is far from a return to normal, industry … Continue Reading
July 12, 2026
Trump opens protected Pacific waters to commercial fishing
by Jennifer Yachnin
The Trump administration struck down prohibitions on commercial fishing Thursday across more than 500,000 square miles of marine national monuments in the Pacific Ocean, as environmental groups vowed to challenge the action in federal court. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to open the Mariana Trench, Papahanaumokuakea and Rose Atoll marine national monuments to commercial fisherman, removing restrictions put in place under the George W. Bush and Obama … Continue Reading
July 08, 2026
Dems request probe of offshore agency reorganization
by Hannah Northey and Ian Stevenson
Top Democrats on Wednesday called on Congress' watchdog to investigate the Trump administration’s decision to merge two existing bureaus within the Interior Department to oversee offshore oil and gas, wind and mining. Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and House Natural Resources ranking member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate whether a consolidation could undermine beefed up oversight created after the … Continue Reading
July 08, 2026
Displaced Ranchers Finally Find A Place They Can Call Home
by Staff
A year and a half after 150 ranch workers and families were displaced in a rural part of Marin County where housing is scarce, all 120 who chose to stay are now housed. Getting there required a public shelter crisis, hundreds of hours of hard labor, organizational collaboration and nearly $11 million in private, public and philanthropic funds. Those who made it happen celebrated Wednesday in the gray winds of West Marin at the opening of an interim tiny home community in Point Reyes … Continue Reading