In the News
Illegal pot farms on public land create environmental hazard
by Christopher Weber
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two months after two men were arrested at an illicit marijuana farm on public land deep in the Northern California wilderness, authorities are assessing the environmental impact and cleanup costs at the site where trees were clear-cut, waterways were diverted, and the ground was littered with open containers of fertilizer and rodenticide. A group including U.S. Forest Service rangers, local law enforcement, scientists and conservationists hiked into the so-called trespass … Continue Reading
November 16, 2019
Rep. Huffman Introduces Bill to Help Communities Prepare for Wildfire Threats
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 -- Rep. Jared Huffman, D-California, issued the following news release: Yesterday, Representative Huffman (D-San Rafael) introduced the Wildfire Defense Act to help local communities defend themselves from the growing danger of wildfires. This bill will empower communities to implement science-based methods for mitigating wildfire damage, and provide funding to design and implement new Community Wildfire Defense Plans with community members, first responders, and relevant … Continue Reading
November 15, 2019
Huffman leads call for crackdown on illegal fishing
by Rob Hotakainen
Dubbing oceans "the wild west of our planet," Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) yesterday called on NOAA to step up its attack on illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing around the globe. "The remoteness of the open ocean, combined with limited data and monitoring of fishing vessels, and a lack of law enforcement capabilities, create a perfect storm for illegal activity," said Huffman, chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife. At a hearing before the … Continue Reading
November 15, 2019
Column: Interior Secretary Bernhardt’s previous job raises questions about a deal for his ex-client
by Michael Hiltzik
The Department of the Interior wants us to know that Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has had nothing to do with a contract that will give one of his former lobbying clients, the giant Westlands Water District, permanent access to lucrative federal irrigation water supplies. Westlands wants us to know the same thing. "Mr. Bernhardt was not involved in any of the discussions" over the contract, Westlands General Manager Tom Birmingham told me. "This has nothing to do with David … Continue Reading
November 14, 2019
Huffman talks disaster readiness and fisheries
by Chris Calder and Mary Benjamin
Congressman Jared Huffman suggested that the federal government may take a strong hand in helping California address environmental and disaster preparedness, possibly using FEMA and other disaster and national security authorities to get the attention of corporations like PG&E, AT&T and Comcast that are seeming to have a hard time understanding their public responsibilities in times of emergency. Huffman also described revamping fisheries disaster relief to make it more like crop … Continue Reading
November 14, 2019
Climate Advocates Blast Missed Opportunity in Ex-Im Bank Renewal
by Brian Dabbs
House Democrats are readying to sign off on big-ticket trade legislation that climate hawks say squanders a key opportunity to pare down international greenhouse-gas emissions. And it's not the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The lower chamber is set to narrowly pass legislation Friday to reauthorize the beleaguered Export-Import Bank, a federal agency that steps in to finance U.S. goods and services exports when private banks refuse loans and other financing tools. Supporters, including … Continue Reading
November 14, 2019
Congressman chats Crescent Elk students
by Staff Report
U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman answered Crescent Elk Middle School students' questions on politics, his job and issues facing Del Norte County on Wednesday, then encouraged the students to be active members of our democracy. A massive piece of construction paper reading "Welcome Congressman Huffman" graced the front of Sarah Elston's classroom, where she has been teaching about U.S. government. Before Huffman arrived, she had her students take turns reading aloud the questions they had … Continue Reading
November 11, 2019
Marin Voice: Huffman’s interest in fisheries act is commendable
by Richard Slusher
A once-in-a-decade opportunity for everyone to weigh in on the management of our fisheries has been put into motion. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act is the primary federal law that governs all management of marine fisheries in federal waters of the United States. The act governs both commercial and recreational fishing sectors. First enacted by bi-partisan legislation in 1976, it has been reauthorized and amended by Congress in 1996 and 2006. The intent was to … Continue Reading
November 08, 2019
Interior proposes coveted deal to ex-client of agency head
by Ellen Knickmeyer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Interior Department is proposing to award one of the first contracts for federal water in perpetuity to a powerful rural California water district that had long employed Secretary David Bernhardt as a lobbyist. Conservation groups are demanding fuller disclosure of financial terms and an environmental review of the proposed deal for the California's Westlands Water District, the nation's largest agricultural water supplier. The water district serves some of country's … Continue Reading
November 05, 2019
Trump's Reckless Push to Drill the Arctic is Meeting Fierce Opposition
by Adam Kolton
As the sun shimmers across a tundra covered with wildflowers and lichen, as many as 80,000 or more caribou calves take their first steps on wobbly legs, many across the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. For a brief moment, these 1.5 million acres—habitat for polar bears, wolves, muskoxen, arctic foxes and nearly 200 species of migratory birds—are the center of their nomadic lives. It is the place they will return to when it’s time to have their own young, … Continue Reading
November 04, 2019
Why cell phones failed in PG&E outages, and how to prevent a repeat
by Melissa Moench
As the lights flickered out and wildfires flared, PG&E's blackouts also cut off thousands of Californians from cell phone service, leaving them unable to get emergency alerts or call 911. It exposed a troubling gap in the state's readiness for mass outages that could, according to PG&E, keep happening for a decade. And it's left regulators scrambling to find a fix - though it will be difficult. Neither California nor the federal government requires cell phone towers to have backup … Continue Reading
November 04, 2019
Last Chance Grade enters next phase of study
by Staff Report
The California Transportation Commission will visit this region Nov. 6 to tour and discuss the biggest long-term infrastructure project in Del Norte County. The commissioners will receive a guided tour of the Last Chance Grade, then host a meeting at 2 p.m. in the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors chambers in the Flynn Administrative Center, 981 H St. in Crescent City. The Last Chance Grade is a three-mile segment of U.S. Highway 101 just north of Wilson Creek, between Klamath … Continue Reading
November 03, 2019
My Word: Mr. Foster goes to Washington
by Gregg Foster
I recently went to Washington, D.C., to meet members of Congress and their staff about House Resolution 2250, the Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act. This bill, introduced by North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman, is a wide-ranging piece of legislation that accomplishes many good things for Northwest California. Normally, you'd not find me talking about a public lands bill. This is not because I don't believe in preserving and restoring our public lands. It's … Continue Reading
October 30, 2019
Huffman, McGuire, Wood Meeting To Coincide With State Transportation Commission Visit Next Week
by Jessica Cejnar
Local elected officials plan to show California Transportation Commissioners the most important infrastructure issue facing Del Norte County when it visits the area next week. State transportation commissioners will tour Last Chance Grade as well as host a town hall meeting in Crescent City on Wednesday, according to Crescent City Mayor Blake Inscore. At the CTC's town hall meeting, commissioners will hear from U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman, city and county staff and the Yurok Tribe. … Continue Reading
October 25, 2019
Act could move cannabis away from cash
by Jessica Goddard
A bill that could allow banks to work with cannabis-related businesses is moving to the U.S. Senate. If passed, cannabis businesses could move away from cash-only commerce. The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2019 passed the House of Representatives on September 25, under "suspension of the rules," a procedure used to pass a bill rapidly. The bill passed in a landslide with 321 votes in favor and only 103 opposed. Now it will head to the Senate, and if … Continue Reading
October 23, 2019
New Trump administration rules increase water exports, imperil salmon
by Dan Bacher
October 22, 2019
Lawmakers Propose Extra Funds To Cover High Special Ed Costs
by Shaun Heasley
School districts facing especially high costs to educate students with disabilities would get additional help under a new proposal in Congress. A bill introduced this month in the U.S. House of Representatives offers up a path to extra money for schools with special education expenses that are three or more times the average cost per student. Under the legislation known as the IDEA High Cost Pool Funding Act, or H.R. 4673, the federal government would kick in added support to states that … Continue Reading
October 22, 2019
New study helps coroner's office prevent suicides in Humboldt County
by Brian Beneventi
HUMBOLDT COUNTY, Calif. - Since January 2019, the Humboldt County Coroner's Office has used a new consolidated risk assessment profile to prevent future suicides in Humboldt County, according to county officials. The risk assessment profile checklist is based on research by Kimberly Repp, the chief epidemiologist for Washington County, Ore., who holds a Ph.D. in microbiology. Her checklist begins with questions about age, gender and cause of death, then expands to an expansive list of … Continue Reading
October 18, 2019
CA Congressman Huffman Introduces The Salmon FISH Act
by Peggy Parker
In early October, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) held a public meeting in Arcata to discuss updating the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). A roundtable of regional and local officials were candid about the problems, many pointing to essential fish habitats that needed protection. Yesterday, Huffman, Chair of the House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife and Co-Chair of the Congressional Wild Salmon Caucus, introduced The Salmon FISH Act, intended to identify, … Continue Reading
October 08, 2019
Chairman Huffman’s First Listening Sessions Highlight Current Successes, Future Challenges in Fisheries Management
Arlington, VA - House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Chairman Jared Huffman (D-CA) has completed two days of round table listening sessions in California about the current state of federal fisheries policy and the challenges that must be addressed for future management success. Rep. Huffman heard from a diverse array of marine resource stakeholders on such topics as climate change, modernizing and improving our data collection systems, improving the fisheries … Continue Reading