In the News
Marin City forum on racial justice touches on voting, policing, income and Trump
Again and again, community activists, public officials and advocates hammered home the point at a Marin City forum on racial justice Sunday: “Vote!” The Community Forum on Racial Justice, hosted by Rep. Jared Huffman with guest speaker Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland and a panel of local leaders, gave the community a chance to talk to the representatives about how to better promote racial equity in the North Bay and beyond. “We have to restore the power of the Voting Rights Act. We must do … Continue Reading
February 19, 2016
Rep. Huffman Talks Crab Crisis
U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman came to Crescent City's Harbor District Thursday to discuss dredging the Federal Channel and the status of relief for the beleaguered crab industry. Huffman didn't have good news for crab crew members. Huffman said federal relief for hourly workers doesn't offer much hope. "The first wave of relief was the SBA loan program. In the next wave of relief there may be money for the hourly workers but I have no idea how much would be cash." Disaster aid is a … Continue Reading
February 13, 2016
State Dems’ ambitious plan to keep fossil fuels in the ground
WASHINGTON — Even as the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a huge setback to President Obama’s climate agenda by delaying rules to limit carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, two California Democrats opened a major new front in the global warming fight in Washington. Their intention is to halt new fossil fuel development on all federally controlled public lands, which is where most of the nation’s coal, oil and natural gas is found. Rep. Jared Huffman of San Rafael introduced the House … Continue Reading
February 12, 2016
North Bay Congressman Still Looking for Answers on Rancho Recall Two Years Later
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) is outraged that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has not explained its own employees’ role in a massive nationwide recall that hurt ranchers in his district in 2014. “We’ve really gotten nothing out of USDA,” Huffman said in an interview. “This all happened on their watch. And frankly, had they done their job, none of this would have happened.” Huffman’s remarks come as the four men who pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges tied to the recall … Continue Reading
February 11, 2016
Marin Rep. Huffman urges ban on fossil fuels extraction from federal lands
Rep. Jared Huffman introduced legislation in the House of Representatives on Thursday that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by banning all new coal, oil and natural gas drilling on federally owned lands and waters from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Circle. “This is in response to a real outpouring of support for this cause that I have seen, not just from my constituents in the north coast of California, but from all over the country,” said Huffman, D-San Rafael. He spoke about … Continue Reading
February 11, 2016
Huffman: “This land is your land”
Housing supporters and a Congressional representative last Friday morning celebrated the passage of legislation that ensures the Coast Guard housing complex in Point Reyes Station is turned into affordable housing. The legislative mandate—part of the broader Coast Guard Authorization Act, which Congress passed two weeks ago and which was signed in to law on Wednesday—requires the agency to sell the property, which includes 36 townhomes, to Marin County at fair market value for use as … Continue Reading
February 09, 2016
Gov. Brown seeks disaster declaration over Dungeness crab closure
Gov. Jerry Brown asked the federal government Tuesday to declare a fishery disaster related to a nearly three-month delay in the opening of the Dungeness crab season and closure of the rock crab fishery — a move public officials and fishermen alike hope will bring some financial relief to struggling fleets in Bodega Bay, Fort Bragg and elsewhere. In submitting the request for aid to U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, Brown said direct economic losses already had reached an estimated … Continue Reading
February 02, 2016
Passage of Coast Guard bill clears way for new affordable housing in Point Reyes Station
Passage of a bill in the House of Representatives has paved the way for the U.S. Coast Guard to sell surplus quarters in Point Reyes Station to the county of Marin at fair market value for use as affordable housing. The Coast Guard Authorization Act, which will now go to President Barack Obama for his signature, requires that the Coast Guard offer to sell its 30-acre Point Reyes Station housing site to Marin County at fair market value for use as permanent affordable housing. The housing … Continue Reading
February 02, 2016
New plan to remove Klamath River dams without help from Congress
WASHINGTON — Federal and state officials in California and Oregon said Tuesday that they had reached an agreement to bypass Congress to remove four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River to solve a chronic water dispute among farmers, fishermen and American Indian tribes. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, an ardent environmentalist who represents parts of the river basin, said the demolitions of the four dams combined would constitute the largest such dam removal project yet. “It’s a … Continue Reading
January 25, 2016
Public at Arcata meeting unified in desire for Klamath dam removal
Though coming from different backgrounds, professions, and cultures, the nearly 30 speakers at the California Water Resource’s Control Board meeting in Arcata on Monday evening were all unified by one goal: the removal of four Klamath River dams. “Allowing Klamath salmon to go extinct because these four dams were allowed to stand would represent one of the clearest and most egregious irretrievable commitments in the history of environmental analysis, in my opinion,” Klamath Riverkeeper … Continue Reading
January 22, 2016
Removing dams ‘preferred path’
PacifiCorp is now trying to reach a quick deal with federal and state regulators to remove four aged dams on the Klamath River. The aggressive action by the big western utility follows the failure of Congress over the last four years to pass sweeping legislation aimed at ending the water wars in the Klamath Basin that straddles the states of Oregon and California. Supporters of restoring free flows on one of the West Coast’s biggest salmon rivers are cheered by the prospect of finally … Continue Reading
January 18, 2016
Congressman Jared Huffman hails Jason Rezaian’s release from Iran
Amid the joyful reunion with his family Monday in Germany, his first full day of freedom on friendly soil after 545 days in an Iranian prison, Jason Rezaian grabbed the baseball cap that came all the way from his Marin County home. The cap from Rezaian’s alma mater, the Marin Academy in San Rafael, got there in the hands of Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman, the congressman from San Rafael who had worked, largely behind the scenes, for his former constituent’s release from captivity since … Continue Reading
January 16, 2016
Congressman Jared Huffman says Iran prisoner swap would be 'a great diplomatic achievement'
U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman said Saturday it would be "a great diplomatic achievement for the United States" after hearing that former Marin resident Jason Rezaian was to be released after being detained in Iran for the past 18 months. Huffman said he was still hesitant to call the ordeal over until the Washington Post correspondent had left Iran. "From my perspective, the most important thing is physically getting Jason up in the air and out of Iranian airspace," said Huffman, D-San Rafael. … Continue Reading
January 16, 2016
Dungeness crab closure spurs aid efforts for Bodega Bay fishermen
North Coast Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, was among four members of Congress who, way back in November, wrote Gov. Jerry Brown and urged him to be prepared to help the state’s commercial crab fleet. He wanted Brown to seek a declaration of a fishery disaster from the Department of Commerce that potentially could qualify commercial crabbers for federal relief in the way of Small Business Administration loans, grants or retraining. Now, with most valuable part of the crabbing season … Continue Reading
January 15, 2016
Marin man on crusade to free brother from Iran
While tensions flared this week as Iran briefly held 10 U.S. sailors who mistakenly trespassed into its waters, a Mill Valley man continued his relentless crusade to remind the world of someone Iran has held for so much longer — his brother, Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian. But even after traveling to Washington, D.C., many times on this mission in the past 18 months, Ali Rezaian, 45, found himself someplace new and unexpected on this visit: in the House of Representatives, … Continue Reading
January 14, 2016
Muir Woods managers commence installation of parking posts
In an effort to protect the environment at Muir Woods, officials are installing hundreds of posts along a key road to restrict parking outside the park. It’s one of several steps officials are taking to better handle thousands of visitors who travel narrow roads to visit the national monument. About 1 million people visit the park each year. Muir Woods/Frank’s Valley Road has room for about 400 cars at the park. Officials are seeking to reduce that number to 110 spaces by installing … Continue Reading
January 14, 2016
Going Postal
You might be curious to learn that the United States Postal Service has decided to invest its dwindling resources into having a local employee page through the Journal every week. This came to our attention over the past week, when we received a few calls from the local post office warning us that the postal service has determined it's a violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act to mail materials that contain medical marijuana advertising. The Journal obviously includes such … Continue Reading
January 07, 2016
Crab season delay ‘scary’ for North Coast fishermen
On Jan. 4, the California Department of Public Health released the summary of domoic acid levels in crabs caught along the California coast. As of Dec. 31, the health advisory for crabs caught between the Santa Barbara/Ventura County Line and Latitude 35 (40 minutes north of the Piedras Blancas Light Station in San Luis Obispo County) was lifted. But dangerous levels of the toxin were found in crabs caught as recently as Dec. 27 in the northern part of the state. That’s bad news for Don … Continue Reading
November 10, 2015
Climate change activists tell San Rafael crowd momentum for change is building
Leaders in the fight against global warming told a crowded house at Dominican University this week that the tide of public opinion has turned and momentum for taking action is building. More than 800 people filled Angelico Hall to near capacity for the “Time to Lead on Climate” forum. Sustainable San Rafael and Organizing For Action Marin sponsored the event to build support for action on climate change in the run up to the United Nations climate change conference in Paris, which … Continue Reading
November 04, 2015
Bill by Congressman Jared Huffman would permanently ban West Coast oil drilling
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, with backing from a host of West Coast lawmakers, introduced a bill Wednesday to permanently ban offshore oil drilling on the Pacific Coast, a sweeping measure that would fulfill environmentalists’ dreams but is unlikely to advance in the current Congress. Titled the West Coast Ocean Protection Act, the two-page bill states that the U.S. Secretary of Interior “shall not issue a lease for the exploration, development, or production of oil or … Continue Reading