In the News
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
September 18, 2018
PD Editorial: California is burning, and Trump is tweeting
It long ago ceased to be surprising when our president made outrageous comments via Twitter. We try to ignore these social media outbursts, but Donald Trump’s Twitter blast about California’s wildfires was so thoroughly inaccurate that it demands a response. “California wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amount of readily available water to be properly utilized. It is being diverted into … Continue Reading
August 28, 2018
Rep. Huffman demands investigation into data throttling during Mendocino Complex fires
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A group of Northern California U.S. legislators are demanding an investigation into whether data throttling during the Mendocino Complex fires was unfair or deceptive. Representative Jared Huffman (CA-02) has joined with Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo (CA-18), a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA-12) to send a letter with 11 Northern California Members of Congress to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) demanding … Continue Reading
August 22, 2018
Forest views: Huffman tours by air, ground
Rep. Jared Huffman hopped onto a small plane last Thursday to get a bird’s-eye view of the area encompassed by the wilderness and forests act he introduced in July. He also got a ground tour of a fuels reduction project planned in Southern Trinity County. Huffman, D-San Rafael, introduced the Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act on July 27. The flight on a small plane was provided by the nonprofit EcoFlight and a volunteer pilot. Huffman’s bill includes public … Continue Reading
August 22, 2018
Forest views: Huffman tours by air, ground
Rep. Jared Huffman hopped onto a small plane last Thursday to get a bird’s-eye view of the area encompassed by the wilderness and forests act he introduced in July. He also got a ground tour of a fuels reduction project planned in Southern Trinity County. Huffman, D-San Rafael, introduced the Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act on July 27. The flight on a small plane was provided by the nonprofit EcoFlight and a volunteer pilot. Huffman’s bill includes public … Continue Reading
August 15, 2018
Sonoma County, City Of Napa Getting Federal Grant Money For Wildfire Recovery
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded $212 million in disaster recovery grants for housing and economic revitalization and infrastructure improvements in California. More than $99 million in grants must go to Sonoma County, the 94558 zip code in the city of Napa and other areas that were most impacted by wildfires, according to Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Napa, and Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael. The other fire-ravaged areas include Ventura County and parts of … Continue Reading
August 13, 2018
Dem lawmakers launch 'Freethought' congressional caucus
Four Democratic congressmen on Monday launched a congressional caucus they said would center on fostering "science and reason-based solutions" and "defending the secular character of our government." California Reps. Jared Huffman (D) and Jerry McNerney (D) joined forces with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) to launch the Congressional Freethought Caucus. According to a release, the goals of the caucus include pushing “public policy formed on the basis of reason, science, … Continue Reading
August 08, 2018
Garamendi, Thompson and Huffman send formal request to President Trump for major disaster declaration
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. - On Tuesday, Congressman John Garamendi (D-Davis, Fairfield, Yuba City), together with neighboring Representatives Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman, sent a letter to President Trump supporting Gov. Jerry Brown’s request for a major disaster declaration for Lake, Napa and Mendocino counties in response to the Steele and Mendocino Complex fires. If approved, the major disaster declaration will provide federal resources to facilitate firefighting and recovery efforts, … Continue Reading
August 08, 2018
PD Editorial: California is burning, and Trump is tweeting
We try to ignore these social media outbursts, but Donald Trump’s Twitter blast about California’s wildfires was so thoroughly inaccurate that it demands a response. “California wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amount of readily available water to be properly utilized. It is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean,” the president tweeted on Sunday. “Must also tree clear to stop fire spreading!” He wasn’t … Continue Reading
July 30, 2018
Huffman bill seeks to expand northwest California wilderness protections
California 2nd District Congressman Jared Huffman said while it is unusual to include active logging in a wilderness protection bill, the bill he introduced to Congress on Friday is not your everyday piece of environmental legislation. On top of protecting hundreds of thousands of acres of North Coast land and hundreds of miles of rivers in Humboldt, Del Norte, Mendocino and Trinity counties from development, Huffman’s Northwest California Wildernesses, Recreation and Working Forests Act goes … Continue Reading