In the News
A far-fetched coal-by-rail export proposal stirred outrage in Northern California before fizzling. Was there ever anything to it?
by ANDREW GRAHAM
Nearly a year ago, a company newly registered in Wyoming set off alarms and political outrage in Northern California with a filing at a federal rail agency. The company outlined a plan to restore a long-abandoned rail line running north from Sonoma County for high-volume freight cargo. Though the filing did not specify the cargo or where it would come from, the few public and reported comments of its chief representative indicated the plan was moving Montana and Wyoming coal for export out … Continue Reading
June 24, 2022
New legislation could give Karuk Tribe uninterrupted access to sacred land
by CARLY WIPF
WASHINGTON D.C. - Yesterday, U.S. lawmakers introduced new legislation to put sacred land back into the hands of the Karuk Tribe. Senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein introduced the Katimiîn and Ameekyáaraam Sacred Lands Act to transfer ownership of sacred lands in Humboldt and Siskiyou Counties from the U.S. Forest Service to the Interior Department. The department will then place those lands into trust for the federally-recognized Karuk Tribe. This means the tribe will … Continue Reading
June 24, 2022
Dems toe delicate line on assault weapons ban
by MIKE LILLIS
House Democratic leaders are toeing a delicate line with their promise to consider legislation this summer banning assault weapons - a politically explosive concept that divides both the Congress and the country. The issue has been front and center in the national gun reform debate following a recent string of high-profile mass shootings, including the May 14 massacre at a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y., and another 10 days later at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and … Continue Reading
June 24, 2022
How California lawmakers reacted to the Roe v. Wade decision
by Emma Murphy and Pauline Pineda
The Supreme Court on Friday overturned Roe v. Wade, a decision that had been in place for nearly 50 years that provided a constitutional right to abortion. The ruling comes more than a month after a draft opinion indicating the court planned to do away with protections for reproductive health care leaked and after a decades-long push from abortion opponents to overturn the case. Regulating abortions now lies with state governments. Friday's ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans in … Continue Reading
June 22, 2022
Progressives Say Windfall Profits Tax a 'Better Solution' Than Biden's Gas Tax Holiday
by Kenny Stancil
As President Joe Biden on Wednesday prepares to urge Congress to temporarily suspend federal gasoline and diesel taxes in a bid to ease pain at the pump, progressives are calling instead for the passage of Democratic lawmakers' overwhelmingly popular bill to impose a windfall profits tax on Big Oil. "Congress should take the president's call and answer it with the windfall profits tax legislation already proposed in the House and Senate," Jamie Henn, a spokesperson for … Continue Reading
June 16, 2022
Fish and Wildlife Service backs 4 water, coastal bills
by Hannah Northey, Jack Forrest
A top Fish and Wildlife Service official expressed administration support for water and coastal conservation legislation during a Senate Environment and Public Works hearing yesterday. Stephen Guertin, deputy director for program management and policy, said his agency supports bills to reauthorize conservation efforts in the Delaware River Basin, restore the Great Lakes and address other coastal concerns. "These coastal habitats are threatened by climate change, rising sea levels, … Continue Reading
June 16, 2022
Inaugural Mendocino Coast Purple Urchin Festival seeks to help rebalance troubled marine ecosystem
by Mary Callahan
They'll be serving purple urchin this weekend on the Mendocino Coast, offering creamy seafood morsels cooked up in a variety of preparations, savory and sweet. It's part of an effort to spread the word that the abundant urchins - the edible parts of them - are delicious, and that consuming more of them can help restore balance to a troubled North Coast marine ecosystem. Known in the food world as uni, the yellow-orange meat will be featured on menus of at least eight restaurants … Continue Reading
June 15, 2022
Oil-state governors lay out different paths on methane
by Heather Richards
Two governors from states with the highest fossil fuel production from federal minerals championed their efforts yesterday to rein in methane emissions. At a hearing before the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, however, the state officials, one Republican and one Democrat, disagreed on whether the federal government should strengthen rules on oil and gas companies to curb releases of the powerful greenhouse gas. "Wyoming does not need additional layers of federal regulation to … Continue Reading
June 15, 2022
House Democrats double down on claims of reconnaissance tours following Loudermilk video release
by Mychael Schnell
House Democrats are doubling down on claims that lawmakers may have led reconnaissance tours before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, citing newly released footage of Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) giving a tour the day before the riot to a man who took photos of Capitol complex hallways before attending the rally the next day. "With what that person had been looking for, the pictures he was taking, and then certainly what he did the next day, it certainly seems as if he was preparing … Continue Reading
June 14, 2022
Greens urge Biden admin to block offshore pipeline restart
by Heather Richards
Twelve environmental groups are urging the Biden administration to block the restart of an offshore oil pipeline that spilled nearly 600 barrels of crude into the San Pedro Bay last year. The oil spill, caused by a large ship dragging the pipeline, which then split, prior to the spill discovery in October, was the largest in decades off the coast of California. Amplify Energy Corp., the pipeline's owner, is working to repair and restore the pipeline to service but needs permission from the … Continue Reading
June 13, 2022
Aging Lake Hennessey Spillway, other local water needs sail through House, await Senate
by Marc Albert
Dozens of local water-related projects moved a step closer to reality late last week, as the House of Representatives approved a nation-wide bill to upgrade water infrastructure. Much of the local initiatives that made the cut involve dredging and using spoils to shore up areas against sea level rise and to protect, restore and create wetlands, including in Petaluma. The Water Resources Development Act of 2022 also authorizes a study to reduce potential flood damage from a … Continue Reading
June 09, 2022
Jared Huffman Backs New Gun Bills
by Gideon Rubin
June 07, 2022
Humboldt County education, cultural institutions get $140K in COVID-19 relief
by Sonia Waraich
A handful of educational and cultural institutions in Humboldt County are set to receive $140,000 to revive programs that were disrupted by the pandemic. On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) announced several tribes and cultural institutions along the North Coast had been awarded funds through the National Endowment for the Humanities’ American Rescue Plan humanities grants program. In Humboldt County, specifically, the Hoopa Tribal Museum received $40,000, the Northern … Continue Reading
June 03, 2022
Huffman, Graves want Biden to make “strong statement” against IUU
by Steve Bittenbender
Two U.S. lawmakers pushing the federal government to take broader action against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing are asking U.S. President Joe Biden to take action ahead of a key international conference. U.S. Representatives Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Garret Graves (R-La.) sent the letter on 2 June 2022, saying the country has the opportunity to demonstrate leadership in the fight against IUU ahead of the United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, which starts … Continue Reading
June 03, 2022
North Coast rail dispute intensifies with competing bids from Skunk Train and coal export company
by Andrew Graham
A mysterious Wyoming-based firm believed to be pushing a controversial coal-by-rail export proposal along the Northern California coast has made a new filing with a powerful federal board to advance its bid to seize control over the defunct lines running between Willits and Eureka. The June 1 filing indicated the so-named North Coast Railroad Company, which wants to ship Rocky Mountain coal out of the port at Humboldt Bay, had at least $15 million in the bank — enough to clear an … Continue Reading
June 02, 2022
Symposium and Learning Festival outline opportunities for Fort Bragg
by MEGAN WUTZKE
FORT BRAGG, CA — On May 19 and 20, the City of Fort Bragg held the Blue Economy Symposium, with a Learning Festival taking place on May 21 and 22. During the symposium, attendees filled the town hall to listen to speakers discuss Fort Bragg’s future blue economy. The symposium was also live-streamed via Zoom, and locations such as the West Business Development Center held watch parties for the public to attend. “How do we diversify industry while positioning a rural … Continue Reading
June 02, 2022
Bipartisan lawmakers urge Biden to lead on illegal fishing
by Jack Forrest
House lawmakers from both parties are asking President Joe Biden for the U.S. to take a leading role in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated international fishing. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), chair of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife, and Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) urged the president to introduce new regulations to stop illegal fishing and human trafficking operations that account for up to a third of annual seafood around the world. They sent Biden … Continue Reading
June 01, 2022
North Coast Almost beats back ‘toxic coal train’, but company submits late filing
by Sonia Wariach
It appeared the North Coast no longer had to worry about a shadowy corporation’s proposal to poach rail line fated to be converted into the Great Redwood Trail in order to use the tracks to transport coal to Asia via Humboldt Bay. However, the company filed a late offer to do just that. North Coast State Sen. Mike McGuire announced at a virtual town hall Wednesday night that the North Coast Railroad Company failed to submit an offer for financial assistance by the Surface … Continue Reading
May 27, 2022
Are high energy prices displacing climate action in Congress?
by Nick Sobczyk
Progressives and environmental advocates made huge gains in the 2020 campaign by pushing climate change to the forefront, but they are increasingly concerned that high energy prices and calls for greater fossil fuel production could destroy those hard-fought wins. And there’s good reason for that concern, they say. “If you’re paying attention, you should be worried,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said in an interview. “All of that progress is at stake, and … Continue Reading
May 26, 2022
Alaska Republicans open to EPA Pebble mine veto
by Hannah Northey, Nick Sobczyk
The Biden administration’s move to veto the contentious Pebble gold and copper mine in Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed may soothe the state's Republican senators who in the past have pushed back against federal intervention. GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan said he and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, both staunch supporters of mining in Alaska, are still digesting the agency’s proposal to impose a Clean Water Act veto against mining in the watershed (Greenwire, May 25). Sullivan suggested his … Continue Reading