In the News
Monument Fire Suppression Efforts Hampered by Limited Resources, Command Staff Tells Huffman
by THADEUS GREENSON
Efforts to fight the Monument Fire burning east of Willow Creek along the Trinity River have been hamstrung by a lack of personnel and resources, officials told North Coast Congressmember Jared Huffman this morning in a briefing."Here's the deal, I've got seven crews - on a 60,000-acre fire. I'd love to have about 30 more," explained U.S. Forest Service Operations Section Chief Steve Burns. "… We're pretty much fighting this with 300 or less people a day who are physically fighting this … Continue Reading
August 11, 2021
US Interior secretary touts Humboldt County offshore wind project
by ISABELLA VANDERHEIDEN
Federal and state officials gathered at Woodley Island in Eureka on Tuesday to highlight Humboldt County's promising future as a leader in offshore wind energy, a move that would bring thousands of jobs to the Humboldt Bay region. Joined by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory and California Energy Commissioner Karen Douglas, North Coast Rep. Jared Huffman praised the Biden administration's effort to pursue offshore wind … Continue Reading
August 11, 2021
Huffman brings home $35 million
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) announced last week in a press release that 62 venues in CA02 have received a total of over $35 million in Shuttered Venue Operators Grants (SVOG). Rep. Huffman voted to establish the program, which provides support to hard-hit businesses in the music and entertainment sector that were forced to shut their doors due to pandemic restrictions. The SVOG program was initially plagued by technical challenges, which have since greatly improved. On the day the … Continue Reading
August 10, 2021
Biden Cabinet Member Joins Huffman, White House Official and Others to Highlight Offshore Wind Developments Planned Off the Humboldt County Coast
by Ryan Burns
It's not every day that a presidential cabinet member, a White House official and the state's energy commissioner come to town, and Rep. Jared Huffman wanted to underline that point Tuesday afternoon during a media availability on Woodley Island, where the powerful officials gathered to highlight offshore wind energy development plans. "It is a big deal that today on Humboldt Bay we are being visited by two of the top environmental officials in the United States of America," Huffman … Continue Reading
August 09, 2021
Interior Secretary Haaland is Coming to Town
by Kimberly Wear
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland will be in Humboldt County this week to meet with local, state, federal and Tribal leaders on a number of issues, ranging from clean energy and a massive redwood forest restoration project to investments in Tribal communities and govermental efforts on the crisis of murder and missing Indigenous people.Haaland will be traveling with White House Council on Enviromental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory and North Coast Congressmember Jared Huffman, according to a … Continue Reading
August 09, 2021
Humboldt County venues receive $1.7 million in COVID relief funds
by Isabella Vanderheiden
Humboldt County arts organizations and venues have received more than $1.7 million in COVID relief funds from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program. The program, established through the bipartisan COVID-19 relief package passed in December 2020, provides support to small businesses in the music and entertainment sector that were forced to shut their doors because of pandemic restrictions. North Coast Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) said 62 venues within his district have secured more … Continue Reading
August 06, 2021
Sonoma County entertainment venues get helping hand
by KATHLEEN COATES AND DAN TAYLOR
Things were looking bleak for the Cloverdale Arts Alliance a month ago. Their rainy day fund had run out and they had to cut back all their programs because of the pandemic. Then the organization, which runs a downtown arts center and sponsors an outdoor concert series, received a $90,452 federal grant through a program called Shuttered Venue Operators Grants. "We were running out of money, so we took out a loan from the Small Business Association," said Mark Tharrington, executive director. … Continue Reading
August 05, 2021
Mendocino County theaters, concert venues receive more than $1 million in Covid-relief funds
More than $1 million in federal grants have been awarded to seven Mendocino County theaters and concert venues as part of a Covid-19 relief bill, the office of Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) announced this week. According to a press release from Rep. Huffman, 62 venues in his California district "have received a total of over $35 million in Shuttered Venue Operators Grants, (a program) which provides support to hard-hit businesses in the music and entertainment sector that were forced to … Continue Reading
August 04, 2021
Marin arts organizations get influx of pandemic aid
by Richard Halstead
Twenty-nine arts organizations in Marin County will receive federal aid totaling more than $17 million to help them recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat whose district includes Marin, released a districtwide list of funding recipients Wednesday under the federal "Shuttered Venue Operators Grants" program. Huffman announced more than $35 million in grants throughout the district. "We were thrilled," said Lesley Currier, founder and managing … Continue Reading
August 03, 2021
Groups Welcome Biden Review But Demand Congress Permanently Protect Arctic Refuge From Drilling
by Jessica Corbett
Indigenous and environmental groups on Tuesday welcomed the U.S. Interior Department's decision to review the Trump administration's controversial move opening up previously protected land in Alaska to drilling despite threats to local communities and wildlife as well as the global climate. The department's notice says the new environmental review of the leasing program for oil and gas drilling in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) will "identify the significant … Continue Reading
July 29, 2021
New MSA bill addresses climate change
by Margaret Bauman
New legislation to reauthorize the primary law governing federal fisheries management and conservation introduced in the U.S. House would boost tribal participation in the regional council process. Past efforts to update and reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act have languished in Congress in part because many in the industry were generally happy with the law as it is, said Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., who noted his bill includes several provisions that … Continue Reading
July 28, 2021
New Legislation to Reauthorize Magnuson-Stevens Act Introduced in U.S. House
New legislation to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), is now before the U.S. House of Representatives.The Sustaining America's Fisheries for the Future Act was introduced by Representatives Jared Huffman, D-CA, and Ed Case, D-HI, in the wake of a listening tour by Huffman to collect comments on issues facing numerous entities that depend on healthy fisheries.Huffman is the chair and Case is a member of the House Natural Resources Committee … Continue Reading
July 28, 2021
House Considers Important Illegal Fishing and Wildlife Trade Bills
In an answer to the biodiversity and climate crises, the House Natural Resources Committee (HNRC) will take up 16 bills on Thursday aimed at helping reverse these disasters. The hearing will include bills that address the global issues of wildlife trade and illegal fishing, both of which have huge impacts on our planet's species, undermine our resilience to climate change, and are connected to transnational crime, including human trafficking. Indeed, direct exploitation of species, including … Continue Reading
July 27, 2021
DC - Huffman, Case Introduce the Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act, Legislation to Update Federal Fisheries Management
Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), Chair of the Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee, and subcommittee member Ed Case (D-Honolulu) introduced the Sustaining America's Fisheries for the Future Act, legislation to update and reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), the primary law governing federal fisheries management and conservation that has made the U.S. a global leader in sustainable fisheries. This legislation is the culmination of a two year-long … Continue Reading
July 26, 2021
For first time, U.S. fishing law could include climate focus
by Rob Hotakainen
A long-awaited overhaul of the nation's primary fishing law would require NOAA to devise plans for "climate ready fisheries" to deal with shifting stocks, under a bill expected to be introduced later today. If approved, it would mark the first time that climate change received a mention in the landmark Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which Congress first passed in 1976. The law, which has not been reauthorized since 2006, governs fishing in all federal waters. It … Continue Reading
July 26, 2021
US Representative Jared Huffman files bill to reauthorize Magnuson-Stevens Act
by Steven Bittenbender
U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-California) announced on Monday 26 July, 2021, that he introduced a reauthorization bill for the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the federal law that oversees fishery management in the United States. In a statement, Huffman said it's time for a new reauthorization of the landmark legislation because of changes within the industry and the challenges it faces. "We know that the MSA has worked well, but new approaches are needed in this era of climate change, new technologies, … Continue Reading
July 23, 2021
ENERGY BRIEFING: Water Flashpoint Emerges on Infrastructure
by Kellie Lunney, Zachary Sherwood
California Democrats Release Water Rebate Tax Bill: California Democratic Reps. Jared Huffman and Judy Chu joined Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla in bicameral legislation to amend federal tax law so that homeowners wouldn't pay income tax on rebates from water utilities for water conservation and water runoff management improvements, according to a … Continue Reading
July 22, 2021
Congressman Seeks $1.6M For Petaluma Health Center Solar Project
by Maggie Fusek
PETALUMA, CA - U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman announced more than $10 million in potential federal funding for projects he nominated throughout California's 2nd Congressional District, including $1.6 million for energy upgrades at Petaluma Health Center. If awarded through the Community Project Funding program, the money would offset the costs of constructing and installing a carport solar panel system at Petaluma Health Center's parking lot and on the roof of its facility. The solar panels are … Continue Reading
July 22, 2021
Transit money emerges as a last major obstacle to bipartisan Senate infrastructure deal
WASHINGTON - Senators say they're on the brink of finalizing a huge, bipartisan infrastructure deal. But there's a major dispute holding it up: how much money to spend on public transit. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said the main point of contention in the five-year, $579 billion package was "the ratio" of money distributed between highways and public transit. Senators and aides say Democrats want 80 percent of the funds allocated for transportation projects for highways and 20 percent for … Continue Reading
July 20, 2021
Congressman Huffman Pushes For Kelp Protections
Congressman Jared Huffman is proposing the passage of the The Keeping Ecosystems Living and Productive, or KELP Act to establish a new grant program to support projects aimed at conserving, restoring and managing kelp forest ecosystems, including those along the Sonoma and Mendocino coasts. The grant program would run for four years with a budget of $50 million per year, and include grants for local tribes, academic researchers, members of the fishing industry, nonprofits, and state agencies. … Continue Reading