In the News
'What The Hell Are We Waiting For?' Democrats Urge Climate Emergency Declaration
by Jessica Corbett
Progressive leaders in Congress and activists on Wednesday came together to call on U.S. President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency, which would give his administration more resources to take on the global crisis. "It couldn't be clearer that the climate crisis is here and needs to be addressed urgently," said Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who kicked off the event a day her district endured extreme heat. "We, together, are … Continue Reading
July 27, 2022
State allocates $2 million to headwaters conservation
by Josh Cozine
A project to conserve 11,000 acres of Trinity River headwaters received a $2 million allocation in this year’s state budget. The funds were announced alongside another $9 million in total for the region from Congressional District 2 Rep. Jared Huffman’s office. Pacific Forest Trust, a forest conservation nonprofit with offices in Northern California and Oregon, is listed as the entity receiving the funds. The nonprofit says it hopes to bundle the money with other funding … Continue Reading
July 26, 2022
Leading Force for Animal Rights in US Supports Federal Bill to End Capture and Breeding of Whales for Public Display
The SWIMS Act is the first federal legislation the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) has helped develop as it begins to work with members of Congress WASHINGTON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The only organization in the US dedicated solely to securing legal rights for nonhuman animals today announced its support for a new bill that would end the future capture and breeding of whales for public display. Introduced by Representatives Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), and Suzan … Continue Reading
July 25, 2022
Humboldt County airport gets $13M for runway rehabilitation
The Federal Aviation Administration is providing $16.1 million for upgrades at District 2 airports like the Humboldt County airport near McKinleyville. Rep. Jared Huffman announced on Monday that the funding package includes more than $13 million will repave and stabilize the runway at the Humboldt County airport, which hasn’t been done since the early 1990s. The project will give the runway another 10 to 20 years of life and the ability to better handle the larger aircrafts that now … Continue Reading
July 25, 2022
Crescent City's Front Street Project Could Get $750,000 Boost From the Feds
by Jessica Cejnar Andrews
Crescent City’s efforts to rebuild Front Street may get a financial boost from the federal government in the form of $750,000 in Community Project Funding dollars, Congressman Jared Huffman announced last week. Included in the first appropriations bill of the 2023 fiscal year, the allocation for Crescent City and Elk Valley Rancheria’s Front Street Complete Street and Cultural Inclusion project isn’t the $7 million city officials asked for when Huffman visited the area a few … Continue Reading
July 25, 2022
Marin projects stand to gain $4.5M from federal bill
by Will Houston
The House of Representatives has passed a federal spending bill that would earmark $4.5 million for projects affecting Marin County, including housing for homeless veterans, transit extensions and more electric vehicle charging stations. The spending package, which now goes to the Senate, would allocate $2 million to allow MCE — the electricity provider formerly known as Marin Clean Energy — to add more electric vehicle recharging stations and rebates to help low-income residents … Continue Reading
July 22, 2022
Ocasio-Cortez, House lawmakers urge Biden to declare national climate emergency
by Jared Gans
Three House Democrats are calling on President Biden to declare a national climate emergency, a move they say would grant him additional powers to address climate change. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Jared Huffman (Calif.) and Earl Blumenauer (Ore.) said in letter addressed to Biden that the president should use the "full power" of the executive branch given the "scope and urgency of the crisis." "A national emergency declaration will allow the United States to mobilize domestic … Continue Reading
July 22, 2022
Solution in the works for Last Chance Grade
by Daniel J. Schmidt
A “unified front” of elected public officials, finance administrators, project engineers, scientists and public land managers provided project updates for Del Norte County’s notorious Last Change Grade along Highway 101 between Crescent City and Klamath. Sponsored and organized by State Senator Mike McGuire, this annual progress report was presented in a livestream Town Hall format last Tuesday, July 12, and gave the public an opportunity to question the … Continue Reading
July 22, 2022
House Republican questions bill to ban 'cyanide bombs'
by Michael Doyle
| A bill outlawing use of so-called cyanide bombs on public lands triggered painful memories but only a muted debate yesterday. For Idaho resident Mark Mansfield, a family physician, a hearing on the devices that federal land managers use to kill wolves and other predators spurred thoughts of his son's late dog. The yellow lab, Kasey, died in 2017 when Mansfield's son accidentally set off one of the bombs. "This M-44 cyanide bomb, set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services … Continue Reading
July 20, 2022
Biden’s tepid climate moves
by Josh Siegel
President Joe Biden is announcing executive actions to tackle climate change, but his moves are unlikely to appease liberals who are pushing for him to declare an “emergency.” BIDEN GOES SOLO ON CLIMATE: President Joe Biden is planning to announce executive actions to combat climate change Wednesday, but he’s expected to stop short of declaring a national emergency that would unlock new tools for driving down emissions. Biden will deliver remarks at a … Continue Reading
July 20, 2022
USPS will make 40% of its new trucks electric, up from 10%
by Jacob Bogage
The U.S. Postal Service pledged Wednesday to electrify at least 40 percent of its new delivery fleet, an increase that climate activists hailed as a major step toward reducing the government’s environmental footprint. The Postal Service had been set to purchase as many as 165,000 vehicles from Oshkosh Defense, of which 10 percent would have been electric under the original procurement plan. Now it will acquire 50,000 trucks from Oshkosh, half of which will be EVs. It will also buy … Continue Reading
July 18, 2022
Dems grapple with climate defeat, search for path forward
by Nick Sobczyk
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin left his party in a climate bind, as Democrats prepare to move ahead this week on a budget reconciliation bill without the clean energy provisions they negotiated for nearly a year. President Joe Biden on Friday called on Congress to pass a narrow bill that includes only an agreement on drug pricing and Affordable Care Act subsidies after Manchin said he would not vote on climate provisions and tax hikes this month in the wake of another round of high inflation … Continue Reading
July 15, 2022
US Congressional Group ‘Disturbed’ by Crypto Mining Energy Usage
by Aoyon Ashraf
In a letter sent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE), six Democrats led by Rep. Jared Huffman of California and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts requested those agencies require greater emissions and energy use reporting from the crypto mining industry. “The results of our investigation … are disturbing … revealing that [crypto miners] are large energy users that account for a significant – and rapidly growing … Continue Reading
July 15, 2022
Manchin deals a stunning blow to Democrats' efforts to fight climate change
by Maxine Joelow and Vanessa Montalbano
Manchin won't support reconciliation bill with new climate spending It looks like climate provisions are getting stripped from Democrats' economic package. Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) told Democratic leaders yesterday that he wouldn't support a budget reconciliation package that includes new spending on climate change or new tax increases targeting wealthy Americans or corporations, The Washington Post's Tony Romm and Jeff Stein scooped last … Continue Reading
July 14, 2022
Lawmakers Warn EPA of Several Risks From Chemical Recycling
by Nyah Phengsitthy
More than 30 House and Senate members told the EPA on Thursday they have concerns over chemical recycling technology contributing to the climate crisis. Chemical recycling, sometimes called advanced recycling, includes a suite of technologies that use non-mechanical processes to break down plastics. “Chemical recycling technologies, specifically pyrolysis and gasification, are forms of incineration and do not help us achieve new source reduction,” the … Continue Reading
July 13, 2022
Two-way traffic to reopen on Last Chance Grade early next year
by Sonia Waraich
The plan to find an alternate route for a stretch of Highway 101 in Del Norte County prone to frequent landslides and closures is on time and on budget. In the meantime, motorists can expect two-way traffic to be restored by early next year. Landslide activity shut down two-way traffic on the the stretch of highway leading to Crescent City in February 2021. The emergency work being done to keep “the existing highway open is progressing well,” Richard Mullen, Caltrans’ deputy … Continue Reading
July 12, 2022
Historic Petaluma post office renamed in honor of former Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey
by Alana Minkler
Legislation to rename the historic post office building in downtown Petaluma in honor of former California Congresswomen Lynn C. Woolsey has been signed by President Joe Biden, announced Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, Tuesday. The new name is the “Lynn C. Woolsey Post Office Building,” thanks to a bill authored by her successor, Huffman, and signed by the president last month as part of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, according to a news release sent by … Continue Reading
July 08, 2022
Huffman, McGuire, Wood to Hold Virtual Last Chance Grade Town Hall
by Jessica Cejnar Andrews
Del Norte County’s state, national and local representatives will give an update on efforts to permanently fix Last Chance Grade at a virtual meeting Tuesday. Congressman Jared Huffman, State Sen. Mike McGuire and Assemblyman Jim Wood will be joined by county supervisors Gerry Hemmingsen and Susan Masten. Representatives from Caltrans and California State Parks will also provide input. The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. RSVP by clicking here. Caltrans is in the process of … Continue Reading
July 06, 2022
Biden's offshore drilling proposal met with criticism
by Steve Bittenbender
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday, 1 July, 2022, announced a plan for leasing offshore oil and gas drilling sites over the next five years, which was immediately met with criticism from both supporters of expanding domestic production and environmental groups. The plan calls for leasing up to 11 sites for drilling between 2023 and 2028. All but one of the sites would be in the Gulf of Mexico, with the other proposed site in Alaska’s Cook Inlet. That is a sharp reduction from the … Continue Reading
July 05, 2022
New Interior offshore drilling plan draws mixed reviews
by Benjamin J. Hulac
The Biden administration’s latest offshore oil and gas drilling plan drew swift pushback from environmentalists and Democratic allies in Congress over its proposals for potential new drilling sites and from at least one industry group for a "lack of clear signals" to energy markets. In a proposal issued Friday evening, the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management sealed off the possibility of new leases in the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. But it … Continue Reading