In the News
Huffman calls for funding for projects
Rep. Huffman Calls for Funding for Army Corps of Engineers Projects to Dredge Humboldt Bay, Protect Orick From Flooding Washington, D.C. >> A recent press release announced that Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) last week called for full funding of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) projects across California’s North Coast, including dredging Humboldt Bay and a flood control project in Orick. In a letter sent yesterday, Huffman requested Shaun Donovan, Director of the … Continue Reading
October 30, 2015
Rep. Jared Huffman visits Ukiah Friday
Rep. Jared Huffman, (D - San Rafael), had lunch with the Ukiah Valley Democratic Club Friday in what he said was a long-delayed visit. “I owed you lunch, because I was unable to meet with you on Labor Day, two years in a row now,” Huffman said, adding that he hoped to make it on Labor Day at least once. Huffman opened with some words of encouragement for the crowd, which had quickly filled all the available chairs. “If you find yourself yelling things at the television and … Continue Reading
October 15, 2015
Yuroks’ access to food will be studied
A federal grant may help residents of the Yurok Reservation — some of them 20 miles from the nearest grocery store — get better access to nutritious foods. A $20,000 Department of Agriculture grant will allow the tribe to take a closer look at how best to address the issue. By the USDA’s own designation, the reservation is located in an identified “low income and low food access priority area,” where residents have a high rate of diabetes and … Continue Reading
October 12, 2015
Work gets underway on next section of Bodega Bay Trail
Construction is about to begin on the next step of a coastal trail designed eventually to run through the community of Bodega Bay, linking commercial, residential and recreational areas spread along narrow Highway 1 from one end of town to the other. When opened at the end of this year, the newest .55-mile stretch will mark completion of about 1.1 miles of pathway — about a third of the overall, 3.5-mile Bodega Bay Bike & Pedestrian Trail eventually planned to run from Doran Beach north … Continue Reading
October 10, 2015
Post office honors Coast Guard’s 225th anniversary with new ‘Forever Stamp”
As a gesture of appreciation from one of the nation’s oldest government services to another, the Eureka Post Office unveiled it’s new “Forever Stamp” in Eureka on Saturday morning to honor the Coast Guard’s 225th anniversary. Having formerly served in the Coast Guard, the Eureka Post Office’s Customer Services Supervisor Dane Purdy came up with the idea of the ceremony. Standing at the Adorni Center amphitheater before an audience of current and former … Continue Reading
October 05, 2015
California wine industry expected to benefit from Trans-Pacific Partnership
The North Coast wine industry likely stands to benefit from a trade pact that was reached early Monday by the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries writing new commerce rules for nearly 40 percent of the world’s gross domestic product. The pact, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, eventually would end more than 18,000 tariffs that the participating countries have placed on U.S. exports, including autos, machinery, technology, consumer goods, chemicals and agricultural … Continue Reading
October 01, 2015
Tribe gets $1.1M in grants
Federal assistance will go toward justice center, elders social services The Yurok Tribe will be getting $1.1 million of the more than $5 million in federal grants to announced earlier this month to improve public safety and victim services for North Coast tribes. Other North Coast tribes awarded Justice Department cash in this year’s grant cycle include the Hoopa Valley Tribe, $1.2 million; $1,7 million for Hopland Band of Pomo Indians; $668,816 for Round Valley Indian Tribes and … Continue Reading
September 25, 2015
Five North Coast tribes get federal funds for law enforcement
The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded five North Coast Indian tribes $5.2 million for combating crime and assisting crime victims, Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, announced Friday. The grant funds can be used to bolster tribal police departments, enhance justice systems and substance abuse prevention programs, and address violence against women. The recipients include three tribes in Mendocino County. The Hopland Band of Pomo Indians will receive almost $1.8 million, the Round … Continue Reading
September 24, 2015
Murky Waters
The Yurok Tribe has remained silent since announcing on Sept. 15 that it is withdrawing its support for the historic Klamath Agreements, a hard fought compromise reached five years ago aimed at removing the four dams that dot the Klamath River. The tribe's exit from the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and the companion Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement may prove a death knell to the deals, which have languished in a Congress that has so far failed to enact legislation needed to … Continue Reading
September 24, 2015
Huffman hopes pope inspires Congress
Rep. Jared Huffman said Thursday he hoped the “message of hope” of Pope Francis would inspire members of Congress to avoid a government shutdown because of “hyper-partisan squabbling.” The San Rafael Democrat also used the pope’s statements to call for action on climate change and immigration reform. The pope made the first papal address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday. Some Republicans have threatened a government shutdown over a fight to stop federal funding for Planned … Continue Reading
September 19, 2015
Legislation proposed to expand the California Coastal National Monument
New legislation, introduced in the House Friday by North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman, would expand the California Coastal National Monument to include five sites along the coast, including Trinidad Head and Lighthouse Ranch in Humboldt County. The monument currently covers 1,100 miles of the California coastline, including more than 20,000 small islands, exposed reefs and rookeries. Similar legislation to expand the monument was proposed in the Senate in August by Sens. Barbara Boxer … Continue Reading
September 17, 2015
Yurok Tribe pulls out of Klamath River agreement
The historic agreement designed to end long-standing water wars between fish advocates and farmers throughout the 16,000-square-mile Klamath River Basin appears to be facing collapse. On Tuesday, the Yurok Tribe — one of three key Klamath River Indian tribes that have signed onto the consensus — announced it will be withdrawing from the Klamath Agreements, which have not been able to get the U.S. congressional approval needed for implementation. “Unfortunately, Congress has failed to … Continue Reading
September 15, 2015
Zeke Grader dies at 68; advocate for commercial fishing
Zeke Grader, an advocate for commercial fishing who fought to protect fish as well as the people who catch them, has died. He was 68. Grader's Sept. 7 death from pancreatic cancer at a San Francisco hospice was confirmed by Lois Prentice, his wife of 40 years. Grader retired in June from the San Francisco-based Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Assns. and the Institute for Fisheries Resources. He directed the federation since its formation in 1976 and he headed the institute, an … Continue Reading
September 14, 2015
Meeting of the mines
The prospect of a strip mining operation polluting local streams had hundreds of Del Norte and Curry County residents united in support of a proposed federal mineral withdrawal that would exempt their prized watersheds from 19th Century mining laws. Property and business owners, school teachers, conservationists, scientists and elected officials made up the group of some 300 people attending a public hearing Wednesday in Gold Beach, Oregon. More than 40 of these voiced their opposition to … Continue Reading
September 11, 2015
U.S. ready to resolve Westlands water dispute in San Joaquin Valley
The federal government is poised to sign a settlement with the Westlands Water District that would resolve a decades-long legal fight over badly drained, tainted farmland on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. U.S. Interior Department officials on Friday told three Northern California congressmen that the department could sign the agreement as early as Tuesday. "The deal is done. There is no more negotiation," said Rep. Jared Huffman, (D-San Rafael), who was briefed on the … Continue Reading
September 09, 2015
Marin Voice: Proposed agreement blocks Iran’s path to nuclear arms
After careful deliberation, I have concluded that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is our best option for preventing a nuclear-armed Iran. I am voting to support the deal. A nuclear-armed Iran would threaten global security and ignite a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. This can’t be allowed to happen. The question is, will the JCPOA prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon? And, are there better options? A perfect deal would permanently ban all nuclear enrichment … Continue Reading
September 09, 2015
North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman to vote for Iran nuclear deal
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, said Wednesday he will vote for President Barack Obama’s proposed Iran nuclear deal, saying that two months of deliberation have left him to conclude it offers the “best option” for preventing a nuclear-armed Iran. Huffman said his decision hinged on whether the deal negotiated by the United States and its allies would prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and whether there is a better alternative. Allowing Iran to develop nuclear weapons would be … Continue Reading
August 30, 2015
Gullixson: Jared Huffman’s vote and a prisoner in Iran
It’s been something of a curiosity that while just about all the rest of his Democratic brethren from the Bay Area have come out in support of the deal, Rep. Jared Huffman has so far remained a holdout. During a visit to The Press Democrat last week, the reason for his hesitancy became a little more apparent. Huffman said he’s still looking at the details, particularly with an eye toward seeing what the alternatives are, aside from military involvement, to prevent Iran from moving ahead … Continue Reading
August 30, 2015
Marin supervisor: Coast Guard to give county dibs on housing site
Federal officials are interested in giving the county first crack at acquiring surplus Coast Guard quarters in Point Reyes Station for low-income housing regardless of what happens with legislation requiring them to do so. While a bill by Rep. Jared Huffman giving the county a leg up on buying the complex already has been approved by the House and is expected to get the blessing of the Senate, recent talks with federal officials indicate the county will be first in line in any event, … Continue Reading
August 26, 2015
Court sides with Klamath River fish flows over Central Valley districts
A U.S. District Court judge has denied two Central Valley Project water districts’ attempt to halt fish kill prevention flows to the Klamath River on Wednesday, making it the second year in a row that the federal court has sided outright with protections of Klamath River fish. Hoopa Valley Tribe Fisheries Director Mike Orcutt said this is also the first year that the federally promised 50,000 acre-feet of Trinity River water for Humboldt County has come into play in the decision, with a … Continue Reading