In the News
On Leadership; How Point Arena Scored a National Monument
Standing around the desk in the White House Oval Office, five Mendocino residents and two congressmen witnessed President Barack Obama sign the proclamation designating the Stornetta Point Arena Public Lands on the Mendocino Coast as a national monument. It was the culmination of years of effort by a diverse and committed local community and its wide swath of supporters. Leslie Dahlhoff, former Point Arena mayor; Merita Whatley, from the Point Arena Lighthouse; Scott Schneider, Visit … Continue Reading
November 28, 2014
Huffman votes against Keystone XL Pipeline
Willits area Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) spoke out against the Keystone XL Pipeline on Thursday, Nov. 13 on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives during debate on the bill to approve the pipeline. Huffman voted against H.R. 5682, which would deem approval of the pipeline's construction. Huffman's statement follows: "Mr. Speaker, we are considering yet another bill to force approval of the Keystone XL pipeline outside of the regular order required for all other … Continue Reading
November 26, 2014
Lighthouse will continue as aid to navigation
The Point Cabrillo light will continue to shine as a federal aid to navigation. While the news is seemingly great to locals and supporters, the light was never in danger of formally being decommissioned. In a Nov. 24 email, Dan Dewell, public information officer for Coast Guard District 11 in Alameda, said the Coast Guard's federal aids-to-navigation (ATON) specialists held public comment sessions about possible disestablishment of some aids in 2013, but Point Cabrillo light was not on … Continue Reading
November 21, 2014
Huffman seeks law to establish greenhouse gas analysis of proposed bills
Rep. Jared Huffman has introduced legislation that would keep an accounting of the carbon footprint that would result from passage of every bill considered by Congress. Huffman's bill, HR 5733, would require the Congressional Budget Office to estimate and report the projected carbon footprint — greenhouse gas emissions — stemming from all congressional legislation. "This bill would provide Congress and the American public with nonpartisan, objective information on how legislation would … Continue Reading
November 17, 2014
Editorial: A rare housing opportunity in Marin
The opportunity to turn 36 units of surplus military housing in Point Reyes Station into publicly controlled affordable housing is one local officials should seize. Rep. Jared Huffman, county officials, local community leaders and West Marin's Community Land Trust Association — or CLAM — are working toward that goal. The housing was built by the Coast Guard for its crews working at the nearby communications center. But those military households now live elsewhere, living on military … Continue Reading
November 10, 2014
Airport project breaks ground
Ceremonial dirt was turned at the Del Norte County Regional Airport Thursday to celebrate not just the real ground-breaking that will begin on the airport’s runway improvement project next week but also the many behind-the-scenes tasks completed over the past several years to create a shovel-ready project. “This is the first turning of the shovel for a physical project, but this project has been going on for a long time,” said David Finigan, chairman of the Border Coast Regional Airport … Continue Reading
November 07, 2014
Pot Farmers Steal Water Amid Epic Drought
by By Elyce Kirchner
The water that flows through California’s public lands and state parks is the life blood of the forests’ ecosystems. But in the midst of a water shortage, the Investigative Unit has found some criminals are disrupting nature’s course and stealing massive amounts of water meant for public lands. The Investigative Unit spoke with a rancher who noticed the water levels in his lake drop a dramatic six feet in just three weeks. “It was just so odd,” he told the Investigative Unit. The … Continue Reading
October 27, 2014
Editorial: Ranches are part of balance of Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore officials got a good idea of the level of public interest in its update of its park management plan. More than 3,000 comments were received during the six-week period when park officials invited people and groups to express their thoughts. Not surprisingly, many of the comments reflected the split between those who want to continue the park's agricultural heritage and those who want to see the ranchlands returned to wilderness. The plan was started in … Continue Reading
October 09, 2014
Huffman votes against training and equipping Syrian rebels
Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) released the following statement after voting against the McKeon Amendment to train and equip elements of the Syrian opposition against the terrorist organization ISIL: "Today I voted 'no' on the McKeon Amendment to arm and train so-called 'moderate' Syrian rebels as part of a broad new multi-year military intervention in Iraq and Syria outlined by President Obama last week. I also voted 'no' on the continuing resolution in which it was … Continue Reading
October 04, 2014
Congressman urges legal opinion on Trinity releases
A day after a federal judge ruled on reservoir releases for Klamath River salmon, North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman demanded immediate clarification of Humboldt County's water rights from federal officials. Humboldt County and the Hoopa Valley Tribe have been vying for consistent water releases for salmon in the Trinity and Klamath rivers since the death of more than 70,000 adult salmon in 2002. Westlands Water District and the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority took the issue … Continue Reading
September 25, 2014
Obama seeks $900M for conservation program
The Obama administration is pulling out the stops to renew and expand a little-known program that uses offshore drilling revenue for conservation. The administration has pushed Congress to triple the amount of money available for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which officials use to acquire land, build recreation facilities and maintain parks. The program is likely to be renewed before it expires next year, given the strong bipartisan support for conservation, but President … Continue Reading
September 10, 2014
Land exchange bill gets hearing
On Tuesday the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation held a hearing on Congressman Jared Huffman’s Trinity Land Exchange Act (H.R. 3326), which would facilitate a land exchange between the Trinity Public Utilities District, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. The bill would swap federal land adjacent to the Weaverville Airport for county land along the Trinity River. This hearing is the last step before a full committee vote on … Continue Reading
August 23, 2014
Huffman holds meeting to discuss Eureka mail center closure
Congressman Jared Huffman was joined by several local officials Friday at a packed town hall meeting at Eureka's Wharfinger Building to discuss what effect the closure of the city's mail processing center may have on vote-by-mail ballots, deliveries and jobs. "It's important to discuss what's happening," said Huffman, who represents the 2nd District. "The Postal Service was invited to be here well in advance. Unfortunately, I learned they declined, so I will do my best to outline their … Continue Reading
August 13, 2014
Huffman: Hoping for rain won’t save state’s salmon
Science students learn about the Water Cycle, where ocean water evaporates, condenses into clouds, precipitates into rain, and flows down streams and rivers back to the ocean. Here on the North Coast where the Klamath and Trinity Rivers are so vital to our economy and environment, we're becoming familiar with another kind of "Water Cycle" — one where the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation ignores a problem until it becomes a crisis, ignores the crisis until the verge of disaster, and then … Continue Reading
August 04, 2014
Effort builds for day to honor Rosie the Riveters
Since their return from meeting the president and vice president in Washington, D.C. in April, the six women who once worked at the World War II Kaiser shipyards have been busier than ever, with invitations for speaking engagements and parade appearances, in addition to the dozens of people who come to see them on Fridays at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park visitors center. Now, the woman who spearheaded the visit has embarked on another effort centered … Continue Reading
August 01, 2014
Huffman and others try to fix broken system
Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) recently co-introduced the Democracy for All Amendment, which will reverse destructive Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United v. FEC that have given corporations and the wealthiest donors the right to leverage unlimited influence in our elections. Huffman joined nearly 100 other Democrats in introducing today's amendment, including Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA-12), U.S. Reps. John Larson (CT-1), Ted Deutch (FL-21), Donna Edwards (MD-4), and … Continue Reading
July 28, 2014
Locals push China Camp trail rehab projects
Trails in China Camp State Park will undergo rehab over the next seven months, a $360,000 effort initiated by the Friends of China Camp. About a third of the 15 miles of trails at the park along the east shore of San Rafael are eroding and deeply rutted in parts. Because of budget shortfalls in state park accounts, officials had deferred trail work. That meant water has channeled on trails, carrying sediment away from the park and into nearby wetlands, helping silt them over and … Continue Reading
July 14, 2014
Congressmen demand information about Petaluma slaughterhouse
Six months after federal regulators closed a Petaluma slaughterhouse and initiated a nationwide beef recall, two North Bay congressmen are calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture for answers about the still-ongoing investigations. “Six months has been ample time,” Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, said Monday of the probes into Rancho Feeding Corp. “They should have been able to give us information, and they haven’t.” Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, said USDA officials “are using … Continue Reading
July 10, 2014
CalTrans and Corps working on resolving work stoppage
CalTrans decided late Tuesday not to notify the Willits bypass construction contractors to suspend work, based on high level talks underway between CalTrans and the US Army Corps of Engineers. Most work on the bypass has been stopped since June 20 when the Corps notified CalTrans its main permit had been suspended because the project was in serious breach of permit requirements. Congressman Jared Huffman announced Wednesday night he anticipated the two sides would reach an agreement allowing … Continue Reading
June 30, 2014
Drakes Bay Oyster Company not willing to give up despite U.S. Supreme Court decision
The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to take up the case of a Marin County oyster farm facing eviction from the Point Reyes National Seashore in what a lead opponent of the commercial operation called "the end of the road for this company." Drakes Bay Oyster Co. owner Kevin Lunny struck a defiant position, however, and vowed to battle on, calling the high court's pass on his petition "a disappointment, but not really a setback." "Today, we've been delivered news that's disappointing, … Continue Reading