In the News
Hundreds Are Said to Quit NOAA in a New Round of Departures
by Christopher Flavelle, Austyn Gaffney, and Camille Baker
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, one of the world’s leading centers of climate research, has been hit by a new round of departures, just 24 hours after hundreds of employees were fired. About 500 employees left the agency on Friday after taking the so-called deferred resignation offer, according to three people familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified by name out of fear of retaliation. Under that program, staff at NOAA and other agencies have been told … Continue Reading
February 20, 2025
Jared Huffman pushes bill to help kelp forests
by Sage Alexander
North Coast U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) reintroduced a bill that aims to allocate federal funds to address declining kelp forests, crucial for marine biodiversity. But a Republican-controlled Congress and White House aimed at cutting federal spending could mean hurdles for the legislation. A massive decline in kelp forests, in particular off the coast of Mendocino and Sonoma counties in 2013-14, contributed to a drop in populations of multiple … Continue Reading
February 18, 2025
Scoop: Dems prep for Trump legal meltdown
by Andrew Solender
Top Democrats on the Hill suspect President Trump will ignore one of the many major court rulings that'll be coming his way and are gaming out legal and political responses behind the scenes. Why it matters: Federal judges are the main obstacle to Trump's efforts to remake the federal government. Trump has said he'll obey court rulings. But he and Elon Musk have questioned whether the judicial branch should be able to stop the executive. Democrats are meeting with state attorneys general, … Continue Reading
February 17, 2025
Gulf of America becomes a battle of energies between GOP oil drilling and Dems’ offshore wind
by Kevin Killough
Upon taking office, President Donald Trump placed a moratorium on offshore wind development and overturned Biden’s ban on offshore oil drilling. These executive orders set the stage for what has become a battle of energies off America’s coasts. While Republicans champion Trump’s “American energy dominance” vision, which includes support for offshore oil and gas production in the Gulf of America, Democrats are angered that Trump is blocking offshore wind, which they say is “clean” and … Continue Reading
February 15, 2025
The real-world consequences of Trump’s purges are beginning to materialize
by Liz Crampton, Marcia Brown, Danny Nguyen, Ben Lefebvre, Catherine Morehouse and Eric Bazail-Eimil
Americans could soon start to feel the repercussions of the Trump administration’s decision to fire thousands of government workers — from public safety to health benefits and basic services that they have come to rely on. Trump’s directive to slash thousands of jobs across agencies is leaving gaping holes in the government, with thousands of workers being laid off from the Education Department, the Office of Personnel Management, the Department of Veterans Affairs and multiple others. At … Continue Reading
November 20, 2024
Huffman launches bid to unseat Grijalva on Natural Resources
by John Bresnahan
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) will challenge Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) for the ranking member post on the Natural Resources Committee, the California Democrat announced in a letter today obtained by Punchbowl News. The 76-year-old Grijalva, the son of a Mexican immigrant, has been chair or ranking member of Natural Resources since 2015. The challenge from the 60-year-old Huffman is going to cause waves within the Democratic Caucus. But with President-elect Donald Trump returning for a … Continue Reading
November 15, 2024
Environmental groups alarmed as Doug Burgum picked for US interior secretary
by Maya Yang and Maanvi Singh
Donald Trump’s nomination of North Dakota’s Republican governor, Doug Burgum, as the interior secretary has prompted swift backlash from environmental advocacy groups alarmed at the incoming administration’s plans to use federal lands for oil and gas drilling. Trump also announced in a statement on Friday his intention to make Burgum chair of a National Energy Council he intends to form to “oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE” and to focus on “the battle for AI … Continue Reading
November 14, 2024
Can Trump Really Withhold Fire Relief From California? He’s Tried It Before
by Dana Cronin
On the campaign trail, former President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to cut off financial disaster recovery aid to California, even as the state grapples with increasingly large and destructive fires due in part to climate change. “We’re not giving any of that fire money that we send you all the time for all the fire, forest fires that you have,” Trump said at a pre-election rally in California’s Coachella Valley, directing the threat toward Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. If history is … Continue Reading
November 13, 2024
Donald Trump wants to eliminate the Department of Education. Here’s what it could mean for Sonoma, Napa county schools
by Adriana Gutierrez
President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education would have a devastating effect on low-income students, undocumented students and students with disabilities, local education authorities say. Sonoma County education leaders say it’s unlikely he’ll succeed at closing the Department, but if he does, public school funding will certainly be affected. The Education Department regulates funding and ensures that public school districts follow regulations, mostly … Continue Reading
November 11, 2024
Rep. Jared Huffman discusses the coming Trump presidency: ‘I just can’t peddle false hope in the face of what I know is coming’
by Andrew Graham
Few in the North Bay have spent more time over the last year pondering the possible impacts and direction of a second administration by President-elect Donald Trump than Rep. Jared Huffman, who helmed Democrats’ task force on Project 2025, the presidential transition plan critics have labeled extremist. After Trump’s sweeping electoral victory Nov. 5, in which Republicans captured not just the White House but also the Senate and, it seems increasingly likely, the House, Huffman is now bracing … Continue Reading
November 07, 2024
Marin City marks beginning of flood-control project
by Krissy Waite
Marin City residents gathered at a flood-prone intersection Thursday to celebrate the culmination of decades of advocacy work. The event at Drake Avenue and Donahue Street was organized to kick off the Marin City Flood Resilience Project. About 75 community members attended the event with federal, state and local officials. “This is so exciting,” said Terrie Green, a Marin City Community Services District board member. “This is a life-changing event.” In August, Marin City was among 12 … Continue Reading
November 07, 2024
Donald Trump has vowed revenge on California. These are his specific threats
by Sara Libby and Molly Burke
Donald Trump vilified California throughout his campaign, and now that he has secured a second presidential term, it’s possible he could carry out some of the threats he has leveled at the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who could become the national face of Democratic resistance, has voiced concern over the potential danger of Trump’s presidency for the Golden State. Trump, while campaigning, has derided California as a “paradise lost” and blamed the state’s Democratic leaders — referred to as … Continue Reading
November 07, 2024
Welcome (back) to Trump’s world
by Leigh Ann Caldwell and Theodoric Meyer
Donald Trump has a choice: Implement his aggressive promises on the campaign trail, which run up against the guardrails of democracy, including green-lighting a vengeful Justice Department and creating a deportation force? Or will he exude the persona of a restrained politician who ignores his worst impulses, thrilled that his criminal cases are expected to wind down now that he’s elected, and simply focus on the populist policy ideas he ran on? We’ll see. But his aides say Trump has a … Continue Reading
November 01, 2024
Richardson Bay ‘eelgrass protection zone’ goes into effect
by Krissy Waite
The Richardson Bay Regional Agency has officially launched the “eelgrass protection zone,” a milestone in a long effort to restore the ecological resource. The move is part of an initiative to remove the number of illegally anchored vessels that have damaged the plants. The agency will begin enforcing the zone, which comprises more than 700 acres, next week. Agency representatives and various officials gathered at the Bay Model Visitor Center on Wednesday to mark the occasion. “Celebrating … Continue Reading
October 27, 2024
Pardee Home Museum honors ‘Water Warriors’ Clifford Chan, Dr. Peter Gleick, and Representative Jared Huffman
by Maven's Notebook
The Pardee Home Museum Board of Directors honored the legacy of George Pardee in a garden ceremony on October 19, celebrating the 100th Anniversary of George Pardee assuming leadersip of the East Bay Municipal Utility District. George Pardee, former public health official, former Oakland mayor (1893-95), former Governor of California (1903-07) activated his life passion regarding safe, clean water; the complexity of Pardee’s coordinating hydrology, construction engineering, budget and … Continue Reading
October 22, 2024
What's Next For California's Offshore Wind Industry?
by Keith Mizuguchi
In July, the California Energy Commission unanimously approved a sweeping plan to develop a massive floating offshore wind industry in ocean waters — a first-of-its-kind undertaking that will require billions in public and private investments and could transform parts of the coast. The new state plan sets the path for harnessing wind power from hundreds of giant turbines, each as tall as a 70-story building, floating in the ocean about 20 miles off Humboldt Bay and Morro Bay. The untapped … Continue Reading
October 22, 2024
The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria Receive Ranchland
by Cole Hersey
The wind blew hard and fast on top of a large hill in Dillon Beach, which looked out from the town to Tomales Point and the Pacific Ocean. The hillsides looked dry and drab. Sunlight shone off the long lines of waves heading to shore, and the wind was chilly on the hill. Thursday, Oct. 17 was a momentous day. It was a celebration of the return of 466 acres of Marin ranchlands and an estuary to the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, the federally recognized tribe of the Southern Pomo and … Continue Reading
October 16, 2024
Humboldt County supervisors call on Congress for FEMA money
by Sage Alexander
Humboldt County Supervisors on Tuesday tacked on their support for approving more funding to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It’s part of an effort by elected representatives to increase hurricane relief in Congress — but Humboldt County’s interest is getting its own FEMA reimbursements from roads wrecked in past winter storms. “They’re essential. We aren’t able to do roadwork right now. We have three, four projects that we’ve had to put on the back burner because our General Fund … Continue Reading
October 14, 2024
Effort to posthumously pardon Petaluma war hero Richard Penry shifts to the White House
by Andrew Graham
Last summer, members of the Veterans for Foreign Wars Post 1929 in Petaluma began working to clear the felony convictions clouding the legacy of Richard “Butch” Penry, a Vietnam veteran and Medal of Honor recipient. Now they are turning to President Joe Biden as the effort gains sweeping backing from the North Bay’s elected officials. When The Press Democrat documented Penry’s exploits in battle, and his later life, in detail in June 2023, advocates believed a pardon would come through Gov. … Continue Reading
October 08, 2024
FFRF lambastes Project 2025’s plan to defund official hurricane forecaster
by The Freedom From Religion Foundation
The Freedom From Religion Foundation strongly opposes Project 2025’s proposed plan to defund and dismantle the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). With Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton strongly in people’s minds, FFRF warns that stripping vital agencies like NOAA of their funding will severely weaken the nation’s ability to predict, prepare for and respond to extreme weather events. NOAA, which includes the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center, plays … Continue Reading