In the News
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
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
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
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
June 27, 2023
Rep. Huffman to host Town Hall Thursday on Mendocino Coast
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) is scheduled to be on the Mendocino Coast Thursday, hosting a Town Hall in Gualala. According to a press release from Huffman’s office, the congressman will attend an “in-person town hall where he will provide an update on his work in Washington D.C. and take questions from participants. Constituents can also send questions in advance to HuffmanQandA@mail.house.gov. The event is scheduled on June 29 from 4:30 until 5:30 p.m. at the Gualala Arts … Continue Reading
June 21, 2023
House committee OKs bill to block BLM public lands rule
by Scott Streater
he House Natural Resources Committee approved legislation Wednesday to block the Bureau of Land Management from implementing a proposed public lands rule Republican lawmakers say is a veiled attempt to restrict energy development and other uses on federal lands. The full committee also approved a bill forbidding the Interior and Agriculture departments from banning lead ammunition and fishing tackle. The day's highlight was H.R. 3397, sponsored by Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah), which … Continue Reading
June 18, 2023
Cartel-backed pot grows linked to California, Oregon human trafficking
by Beth Warren
TRINITY COUNTY, Calif. — If you buy weed illegally, you unwittingly could be supporting Mexican cartels and other criminal syndicates that lure workers to farms in Northern California and Southern Oregon, where they often suffer inhumane conditions and sometimes sexual abuse. Or worse. Some disappear, presumed murdered, their bodies discarded within the area's vast wilderness. Others are held against their will. Sometimes, workers' passports, visas or driver's licenses and … Continue Reading
June 14, 2023
Bill introduced to keep families, pets safe from explosives
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman (CA-02) and Steve Cohen (TN-09) and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) re-introduced Canyon’s Law, legislation to ban from public lands the M-44 ejector – a spring-loaded device filled with sodium cyanide used to kill predatory animals and pest species. “Cyanide bombs are a cruel and indiscriminate device that have proven to be deadly for pets, humans, and wildlife – regardless of the intended target,” said Rep. Huffman. … Continue Reading
June 12, 2023
Greater Farallones preserve allotted $2M for projects
by WILL HOUSTON
The Biden administration has allotted $2 million for projects to enhance the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat who lives in San Rafael, said the Inflation Reduction Act funding will be used to upgrade the sanctuary’s visitor center campus in San Francisco, among other benefits. “The Greater Farallones Marine Sanctuary is a treasured part of my district — home to a diverse and productive ecosystem that supports our region and … Continue Reading
June 11, 2023
The massive dam removal on the Klamath may save salmon but can’t solve the West’s water crisis
by Isabella Breda
MOUTH OF THE KLAMATH RIVER, California — Sheldon SmilingCoyote locked his eyes on the push and pull of the waves in front of him, suddenly slashing the tip of his handheld hook through the water, pulling out a slimy prehistoric fish. Lassoing the lamprey over his head to keep it from squirming off the hook, he ran to a hole he’d dug in the sand and released the fish on a pile of its relatives. SmilingCoyote tallied two dozen in his catch on a late February day. These … Continue Reading
June 09, 2023
Climate smoke signals
by James Bikales
DEMS AIM TO BAR WEST COAST DRILLING: West Coast Democrats are putting forward a package of bills that would ban offshore oil and gas drilling along the entire Pacific coast and Arctic Ocean. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) plans to introduce the Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling Act to bar any new or renewed leases in Interior’s Arctic Ocean Planning Area, while his North Pacific Ocean Protection Act would apply the same prohibition to the Washington/Oregon, … Continue Reading
June 07, 2023
NOAA draws heat for plans to curb Atlantic boat speeds
by Rob Hotakainen
NOAA Fisheries chief Janet Coit on Tuesday defended a proposed rule to save endangered North Atlantic right whales by getting more boaters to slow down. Testifying before a House Natural Resources subcommittee, Coit said reduced speed limits for boaters in zones all along the Atlantic coast would be one of the best ways to make sure the species doesn’t go extinct. “We really have no choice, if we’re going to prevent extinction, than doing more,” Coit told the Water, … Continue Reading
June 02, 2023
Marin utility gets $6.4M grant for water main replacements
by Will Houston
Significant upgrades to aging and leak-prone water pipes are coming to parts of Marin County through a $6.4 million state grant. The Marin Municipal Water District plans to use the grant to replace half of the water mains in Marin City and about 17% of those in the Canal neighborhood of San Rafael. “This is one of the larger grants that the district has received,” said Elysha Irish, the district engineering manager. “This is a result of a very collaborative effort with our … Continue Reading
June 01, 2023
PD Editorial: Protect California land that is wilderness in all but name
by Editorial Board
Two years ago, Rep Jared Huffman tried and failed to convince Congress to better protect some Northern California lands. Now he’s back, but the job is no easier, especially when Republicans control the House of Representatives. The cause isn’t hopeless, though. Huffman, D-San Rafael, represents California’s 2nd Congressional District, which stretches from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border along the coast. His constituents don’t lack federal lands on … Continue Reading
May 31, 2023
California Dems are angry over these three concessions as House approves debt limit deal
by Shira Stein
A compromise to prevent a default on the federal government’s debts has California Democrats riled over concessions made by the White House that they say could harm their constituents. The U.S. government has — since the early 1900s — periodically reached a legal limit on how much money it can borrow, requiring Congress to increase that ceiling. Negotiations between Republicans and the White House went on for weeks and cut it close to the deadline, but … Continue Reading
May 30, 2023
Bolinas residents pitch plan to reopen shuttered post office
by Will Houston
Nearly three months after its longtime post office was shuttered, Bolinas residents have taken matters into their own hands. Faced an up-to-40-minute round trip to the nearest post office in Stinson Beach or Olema, residents and local public agencies worked for weeks to draft detailed plans for a new temporary post office location in Bolinas and are even offering to raise $50,000 to pay for its installation. The plan has since made its way to the office of U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy … Continue Reading
May 30, 2023
House Democrats sound off on White House's concessions in debt limit deal
by Morgan Rimmer and Manu Raju
House Democrats are sounding off over the concessions the White House made to Republicans in the debt limit deal. “I’m still undecided. I mean, I'm angry that we are being held hostage and we are continuing to be held hostage because we do not have a choice,” Rep. Debbie Dingell told CNN’s Manu Raju. “I think to a Democrat, none of us believe that we can default the debt ceiling.” Rep. Jared Huffman said, “As much as I believe … Continue Reading