In the News
Democrats revive legislation against single-use plastics
by Manuel Quinones, Ellie Borst
House and Senate Democrats reintroduced broad legislation this week to reduce plastic waste. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Rep. Jared Huffman of California released the latest version of the "Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act" amid a series of hearings meant to generate momentum behind legislation to address solid waste. "Plastic pollution is a public health crisis that can only be solved with bold actions,” said a statement from Merkley, who chairs the Environment and Public Works … Continue Reading
October 26, 2023
Dems blast GOP plan to limit protections for Rice’s whale
by Rob Hotakainen
Democrats are pushing back at a House Republican effort to block a Biden administration proposal that gives more protected space in the Gulf of Mexico to the endangered Rice’s whale. At a hearing of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries on Wednesday, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the ranking member, said the GOP effort — part of a bill sponsored by Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) — read “like a love letter to the oil and gas industry.” Among his complaints, … Continue Reading
October 26, 2023
Democrats unveil ‘most comprehensive plan ever’ to address plastics problem
by Joseph Winters
As plastic litter builds up in the environment, polluting landscapes and poisoning ecosystems, U.S. lawmakers have unveiled their “most comprehensive plan ever” to tackle the problem. Three Democratic members of Congress on Wednesday introduced the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2023, a sweeping bill to reduce plastic production and hold companies financially responsible for their pollution. Previous iterations of the legislation were introduced in 2020 and 2021, but this year’s … Continue Reading
October 23, 2023
US government, companies face complicated path to removing Uyghur labor from seafood supply chain
by Chris Chase
In the wake of the Outlaw Ocean project report headed up by Ian Urbina - which found evidence of Uyghur and forced labor inside the seafood supply chain - governments and companies alike have kickstarted efforts to stop the current issues outlined in the report and determine how to prevent future incidents. The report, the result of years of investigation across the seafood supply chain, found evidence that companies inside China have used labor from China’s ethnic Uyghur minority - a … Continue Reading
October 17, 2023
New DOE guidance seeks to quicken $9B efficiency payouts
by Brian Dabbs
The Department of Energy is aiming to speed up the disbursement of nearly $9 billion in Inflation Reduction Act energy efficiency rebates for homeowners across the country. DOE released new guidance Friday that clarifies arcane sections of the program, potentially allowing state officials administering the rebates to get the money out the door quicker. The department is also allowing states to award some rebates to homeowners that have retrofitted their homes since Aug. 16, 2022 — the date … Continue Reading
October 04, 2023
‘No jubilation’: North Bay congressmen react to Speaker Kevin McCarthy ouster
by Austin Murphy
Kevin McCarthy’s House speakership had just gone down in flames, but there was no gloating or exultation Tuesday from either of the North Bay’s congressmen. “There was no jubilation,” recounted Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, two hours after McCarthy, the Bakersfield Republican, was stripped of the speaker’s gavel in an historic 216-210 vote. “There was just a heavy sense that this was unprecedented and really monumental.” “It’s a sad, somber day for the country,” agreed Mike Thompson, … Continue Reading
September 29, 2023
Remembrance | Dianne Feinstein visited Humboldt County several times, had early ties to Eureka
by Ruth Schneider
Dianne Feinstein, the long-time California senator, died Thursday, her office announced Friday morning. She was no stranger to Humboldt County — and had ties to the county long before she was born in 1933. “Eureka is an important part of my family’s history,” she stated in a 2006 news release from her office marking the city of Eureka’s 150th birthday. “My mother’s family left St. Petersburg during the Russian Revolution and traveled by cart through Siberia and boarded a boat finally landing … Continue Reading
September 28, 2023
Marin wetlands proposed for federal reserve expansion
by Will Houston
Two of Marin County’s largest wetlands could become part of a federal reserve under a proposal by a group of U.S. lawmakers. Reps. John Garamendi, Jared Huffman and Mike Thompson — Democrats who represent counties in the North Bay — are drafting legislation that would expand the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge by nearly 7,000 acres. Among the areas proposed for inclusion are more than 2,000 acres of state-managed wetlands near the Bel Marin Keys and Hamilton areas of Novato. “The San … Continue Reading
September 25, 2023
SMART’s latest grant of $32 million gets passenger rail line closer to Healdsburg
by Austin Murphy
Sometimes, to explain how Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit will keep pushing north, Eddy Cumins refers to “puzzle pieces” that must fall into place. Cumins, who took over as SMART’s general manager late in 2021, announced Monday that the agency had just secured another giant piece of that jigsaw — this one in the form of a $31.89 million federal grant. SMART was one of six California agencies to receive funds from the Department of Transportation’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety … Continue Reading
September 25, 2023
Huffman, Citing Rio Dell, Asks FEMA for more ‘Flexible, Equitable’ Access to Disaster Aid
by KIMBERLY WEAR
North Coast Congressmember Jared Huffman questioned the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency about inadequacies built into the disaster relief program Sept. 19, specifically citing the recovery struggles in Rio Dell as an example of how the system is failing smaller, rural communities in the wake of natural disasters.While thanking FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell for the important work the agency does across the nation as she testified before the Transportation and Infrastructure … Continue Reading
September 18, 2023
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