In the News
Obama adds land near Point Arena to national monument
A stretch of shoreline near Point Arena marked by bluffs, forests and a salmon-filled river will become part of national monument come Tuesday, when President Obama is expected to sign an order protecting the site for generations to come. The land, a key piece of which remained in private hands until just last year, was once slated to house a nuclear power plant. Now it will be added to the California Coastal National Monument, a protected space running just offshore from the state's long, … Continue Reading
March 02, 2014
Reefer madness in marijuana classification? Huffman, Congress members ask Obama to take action
North Coast Representative Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) and 17 other members of Congress have a message for President Barack Obama: It's time to get real and stop classifying marijuana as equal to heroin and more harmful than methamphetamine or cocaine. In a letter sent to the White House, the signers referred to Obama's comments that marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol in a recent New Yorker magazine article and called on the first president to admit inhaling to "take action to … Continue Reading
February 21, 2014
Marin beef producer works to save meat from recall
The financial damage to North Bay ranchers — many of them raising high-end, grass-fed beef — makes the Rancho case rare among meat recalls, experts said. And to date no one has revealed such potentially huge losses as the Nimans. The Bolinas couple, who started BN Ranch in 2007, said their company's freezers contain nearly 100,000 pounds of pasture-raised meats, none of which currently can be sold. That amounts to more than a quarter of all the meat they processed last year at Rancho. BN … Continue Reading
February 13, 2014
Marin Voice: Time for Marin to reconsider desal?
In a column I wrote in August 2009 when we were experiencing the onset of a mini-drought, I quoted the late Supervisor Hal Brown who warned, "The price of a reliable supply of water is minimal compared to the price of a drought." Truer words were never spoken. Then, we were spared the worst consequences, but not before the county's water agencies were forced to invoke voluntary water rationing and modest rate hikes at a time when Marin Municipal Water District still had sufficient water … Continue Reading
February 06, 2014
Bill by Jared Huffman aims to keep more water in reservoirs
In a move designed to preserve water in Lake Mendocino and other reservoirs that provide a crucial source of water, especially during droughts, North Coast Rep. Jared Huffman has introduced legislation to update rules governing the release of water during the winter rainy season. The legislation, introduced this week, would make it easier for local agencies to seek reductions in winter water releases from reservoirs operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Critics say the Corps … Continue Reading
January 30, 2014
Egg producers welcome demise of farm bill amendment
The latest version of the federal farm bill, which passed in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, omitted a provision that would have banned state laws such as one requiring poultry eggs entering California to meet the state’s animal welfare standards. Local producers say competition with eggs from states in which chickens are still cooped up in tight cages could have threatened the industry. The King amendment, authored by Rep. Steve King of Iowa (R), would have prevented California … Continue Reading
January 24, 2014
Renewable energy advocates push for change
Moving to a cleaner economy will require greater investment in education, broader rollout of energy efficiency, green building programs and a level playing field that allows renewable power to compete with the fossil fuel sector, local policy makers, business leaders and others said Friday. The wide-ranging discussion, featuring more than two dozen representatives from industry, government and schools, came at the second annual Sonoma Renewable Strategies Conference at Santa Rosa Junior … Continue Reading
January 24, 2014
Addiction programs need our support
Ms. Roseann Potter's recent op-ed (“Treating addiction cheaper than policing it,” Times-Standard, Jan. 15, Page A4) is absolutely right that we need innovative and community-based approaches for drug use prevention and substance abuse treatment. These efforts save lives. Many in our communities are doing incredible work to combat substance abuse. In Humboldt County, organizations like the Alcohol and Drug Care Services and United Indian Health Services are doing great work. In Mendocino … Continue Reading
January 19, 2014
US residents monitor Fukushima radiation
John Bertucci carries his Geiger counter wherever he goes. The counter, which is a little larger than his hand, measures radiation levels in the air around him. "I'm still learning how to use the device but it gives me peace of mind to know that I can do something to inform and protect myself," said Bertucci, who lives in Petaluma, a small town close to California’s northern coast. Burtucci isn't a scientist. He's a filmmaker who has lived in Petaluma since the 1950s. He says he's … Continue Reading
January 14, 2014
Jared Huffman reflects on freshman year in Congress
Phyllis Holloway of Independence, Mo., was horrified that the House of Representatives went home for the holidays last month, letting unemployment benefits expire for 1.3 million jobless workers. She called her congressman to express her outrage, even though he represents 413,309 constituents on the North Coast of California, half a continent away from her home near the Missouri-Kansas border. Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman of San Rafael said, in essence: "Me, too, mom." Reflecting on … Continue Reading
January 14, 2014
Northern California Coastal Spot is 1 of 52 Places in the World to Visit
California has over 800 miles of ocean coastline, and while I haven't wandered its full length, I've been hard pressed to find a spot that was not worth visiting. Sure, Malibu and Big Sur are the popular and easy-to-please spots, but I'm always the most excited to visit the harder-to-reach and lesser known coastline, from Montaña de Oro to Año Nuevo and beyond. That's why I was pleased to see that the New York Times featured California's North Coast in its "52 Places to Go in 2014" this … Continue Reading
December 30, 2013
Legislators call for improved school, library Internet
More than two dozen members of Congress have signed a letter calling for upgrades to a federal program that subsidizes Internet access at schools and libraries. "The program hasn't kept pace with changing technology," Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, said in a statement. Most schools currently have Internet access but their connections are too slow to accommodate the latest in computerized educational tools, according to the letter sent to the Federal Communications Commission. The … Continue Reading
December 26, 2013
Congressman Huffman tours Highway 101 at Last Chance Grade
Del Norte County - Congressman Jared Huffman was in Del Norte County taking a tour of Last Chance Grade. It’s a two-lane section of Highway 101 South of Crescent City. The road may appear stable, but everyday it’s moving closer towards the ocean. The Project Manager for Last Chance Grade, Talitha Hodgson said, "It’s been an issue since the road was built, the instability out there." The unstable road conditions are something Community Co-Chair for the Last Chance Grade Committee, Kurt … Continue Reading
December 16, 2013
Congress Urges Action on Mexico Turtle Deaths
US Congress calling for halt to thousands of endangered sea turtle deaths in Baja Mexico fishery Rep. Jared Huffman (CA-2nd) and 12 House members urged Obama officials to pressure Mexico to immediately end the needless drownings of Pacific loggerhead sea turtles in a Baja California fishery -- a global hot spot for turtle bycatch. The Congressional letter seeks to pressure the Obama administration to step up its efforts to end the excess sea turtle bycatch in Mexico. The U.S. requires … Continue Reading
December 13, 2013
Unemployment insurance extension due to expire Dec. 28
California's Employment Development Department is notifying 222,000 Californians their federal unemployment insurance benefits will run out on Dec. 28. This federal program provides unemployment insurance payments to Californians after the state benefits have been exhausted. California pays up to 26 weeks of unemployment insurance. The expiring program provided up to 37 additional weeks of unemployment insurance for long-term unemployed Californians. The program expires at year end … Continue Reading
December 11, 2013
Deal on sequestration cuts could ease pressure on Marin programs
A prospective federal budget deal that would soften sequestration cuts through September 2015 was announced Wednesday, but Marin officials said it is unclear whether the agreement will restore cuts to local programs made earlier this year. In Marin, the cuts included a freeze on the issuance of low-income housing vouchers, a reduction in the number of meals delivered to needy seniors, reduced funding for special education programs and cuts in funding to federal parks. Lee Pullen, … Continue Reading
December 04, 2013
Friends of China Camp Reach Amended Agreement with State
Friends of China Camp reached an amended agreement in November with the state Department of Park and Recreation to fund China Camp State Park, Olompali State Historic Park and Tomales Bay State Park. The group, which has been running China Camp since 2012, will continue to do so while the state will maintain the other two parks. The state will match previous donations and volunteer hours at $24.75 per hour, providing China Camp with about $1 million in funds with an expiration date of June … Continue Reading
December 02, 2013
Area lawmakers request tougher penalties for trespass grows
Several California lawmakers, including Congressmen Jared Huffman and Mike Thompson, sent a letter last month to the U.S. Sentencing Commission requesting tougher penalties for marijuana growing on federal and some private lands. The letter considers "the production and cultivation of controlled substances in particularly marijuana, on public lands or while trespassing on private property" to be a "direct threat to our environment and public safety." "We are concerned that existing … Continue Reading
November 26, 2013
Dick Spotswood: Lots of fingerpointing over large Corte Madera apartment complex
There’s a silver lining in the dark cloud that's over the 180-unit high-density apartment complex being built in Corte Madera. The 40 units-per-acre project adjacent to Highway 101 presents an easy-to-understand model of what most Marinites don't want replicated. If success has many fathers and failure is an orphan, then the Tamal Vista Apartments, mostly market-rate housing on the site of the old WinCup factory, is parentless. No one seems to claim that they had anything to do with … Continue Reading
November 20, 2013
Willits celebrates 125 years
Community members gathered in the Willits Community Center to celebrate the city's 125th birthday on Thursday, Nov. 14. Willits incorporated as a city on Nov. 19, 1888. The evening began with a welcome to attendees and thanks expressed to event organizer, Deputy City Clerk Cathy Sanders. The City of Willits was awarded a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from Congressman Jared Huffman's representative, Heidi Dickerson. The certificate was presented "in recognition of … Continue Reading