In the News
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
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
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
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 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 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
August 25, 2015
A greener grid: Tribe, HSU celebrate groundbreaking of self-sustaining, renewable energy system
The Blue Lake Rancheria along with a host of local, state, and national officials celebrated the groundbreaking of the tribe’s new low-emission, microgrid energy system on Monday that will allow the rancheria to use self-generated renewable power to literally go off the grid in cases of emergency or in periods of high energy use. Standing on a large patch of dirt at the north end of the Blue Lake Casino and Hotel, shovel-wielding tribal members stood side by side with national and state … Continue Reading
August 24, 2015
Feds seek local partners to share Petaluma River dredging cost
Faced with a lack of federal funding to complete the long-overdue dredging of the Petaluma River, local officials and business interests are teaming up to look for solutions to unclog the silted slough. Local officials and even federal representatives acknowledge that funding for river dredging is unlikely to come out of Washington in the next three years, and they said private money will have to be used to complete the project. But businesses that use the river and that have long benefited … Continue Reading
August 19, 2015
Jared Huffman goes Arctic
Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat from sunny San Rafael, just got back from a trip to the Arctic Circle and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that he said Wednesday “only reaffirmed my commitment to protect these unique wild places — some of the last places on Earth untouched and unspoiled by roads, energy extraction, and other human development.” Huffman has introduced a bill to permanently protect the area, putting him at odds with the Obama administration, which on Tuesday approved a final … Continue Reading
August 18, 2015
Phone service in rural Mendocino, Sonoma counties under scrutiny
In the quest for faster telecommunications, the most basic, crucial phone service that people rely on in emergencies — 911 — is facing a potentially dangerous erosion in reliability, especially in rural areas across the North Coast where telephone services already are tenuous. Faults in the newer fiber and wireless networks are being revealed as those networks become more prevalent and telephone companies phase out the copper wires that have carried telephone conversations in the United … Continue Reading
August 05, 2015
Congressman Holds Out Hope Iran Will Release Reporter Jason Rezaian
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the congressman who represents the family of an American imprisoned in Iran, suggests the nuclear deal offers a glimmer of hope for his release. However, he was careful not to directly link Jason Rezaian's fate with the deal. "The indications are not nearly as concrete as I would like, but I think there is some reason for cautious optimism right now," Huffman said in an interview with The Huffington Post. Huffman said his optimism stemmed … Continue Reading
August 05, 2015
Rep. Mike Thompson backs Iran nuclear deal
North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson said Wednesday he will vote for President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, calling it “the best way forward” to prevent the regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The St. Helena Democrat said Obama’s proposal will halt Iran’s efforts for up to 15 years while giving the International Atomic Energy Agency “enormous access” for inspections the country will be bound to honor. Thompson, a former senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on … Continue Reading
August 04, 2015
Hoopa tribe calls for federal action to prevent fish kill
HOOPA, Calif. - The Hoopa Valley Tribe is calling on the federal government to work with them to prevent a fish kill on the Klamath and Trinity rivers. It comes after the tribe said that their proposal to the Bureau of Reclamation of the U.S. Department of Interior (BOR) was rejected after the agency outlined their own proposal. The tribe feels that the BOR proposal is inadequate to protect the salmon and want the federal government to work with them after a period of low water levels … Continue Reading
August 03, 2015
Tribes blast feds’ Klamath plan
A federal plan to prevent a potential fish kill this summer on the lower Klamath River drew criticism on Monday from Hoopa Valley and Yurok tribe officials, who condemned the proposal as a lukewarm response to the threat of rising water temperatures and deadly parasites. The public review draft of the U.S. Interior Department Bureau of Reclamation’s preventative flow increase proposal includes a month-long flow increase from a Trinity River dam and a sizeable emergency release if conditions … Continue Reading