In the News
State, local issues mesh during legislative update in Oroville
Illegal pot grows and water issues dominated the discussions at the Oroville Area Chamber of Commerce Legislative Series conference Monday, although whiskey was also mentioned. Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) and Butte County Supervisor Bill Connelly addressed a room full of people in City Council Chambers who came to hear how federal and county legislation and regulations impact the area. LaMalfa co-authored legislation for sentencing people convicted of illegally growing marijuana. … Continue Reading
September 12, 2013
Marin Voice: Saving wilderness from exploitation
The Obama Administration understands that the Drakes Bay Oyster Co. is leading the public down the slippery slope to the Koch Brothers and their extremist agenda to exploit public lands. Thankfully, two courts have now upheld the administration's decision to let the company's lease expire as planned. To extend Drakes Bay's lease would have set a dangerous precedent for mining and drilling interests to exploit the same public lands that extremist politicians want eliminated. The company is a … Continue Reading
September 09, 2013
Editorial: Huffman’s ‘careful’ approach on Syria makes sense
Rep. Jared Huffman has an important vote to cast. He will be voting on whether to support President Barack Obama's plan to launch a military strike on Syria for that civil war-torn regime's use of chemical weapons on its civilians. The administration estimates 1,429 people, including more than 400 children, were killed. It was a horrific and despicable act, deserving global condemnation. The issue for Huffman, Americans and other nations is whether the appropriate remedy is firing … Continue Reading
August 29, 2013
California lawmakers split over Syria, but not along party lines
Congress is out of session until September 9th, but that hasn't stopped lawmakers — including many Californians — from weighing in on whether the U.S. should get involved militarily in Syria following allegations of a chemical weapons attack against civilians. Congresswoman Barbara Lee of Oakland and 12 other California Democratic colleagues were among those who signed a letter to President Obama, saying they join "the unequivocal condemnation" over reports the Syrian government used … Continue Reading
August 27, 2013
Huffman urges Interior Department to act quickly; address Humboldt County’s water share
Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) welcomed the decision by a U.S. district court judge to allow the release of water from Trinity Reservoir to the Lower Klamath River to reduce the chances of a devastating fish kill. Huffman, who represents the North Coast of California in congress, remains concerned that a temporary restraining order obtained by Central Valley irrigators in the case may mean cold, clear water will not reach the Klamath in time to protect a large run of chinook salmon … Continue Reading
August 24, 2013
Dick Spotswood: Huffman’s political challenges in Washington
Congress is now taking its traditional August recess. Like most of his colleagues, the North Bay's new congressman, Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, is "back in the district" meeting and greeting. In Huffman's case, that's a major task given that his six-county district stretches from the Golden Gate to the Oregon border. As part of his rounds, Huffman dropped by the Independent Journal's editorial board and spoke at the Marin Forum, the San Rafael movers-and-shakers' breakfast club. While an … Continue Reading
August 23, 2013
Congressman braving rough and tumble town halls
Summer used to be the season of the "town hall" meeting, a traditional forum for voters to meet, question - sometimes confront - congressional representatives who return to their home districts during the August recess. But increasingly, such unpredictable public forums have provided embarrassing fodder for YouTube and cable television, prompting many elected officials in the era of social media to opt for more easily controlled formats like Twitter, Facebook and "tele-town halls" to … Continue Reading
August 14, 2013
Congressional representatives urge Brown to sign immigration
Sacramento -- Twenty-eight of California's congressional representatives are throwing their weight behind state legislation that would make it harder to deport immigrants who are in the country illegally. The representatives -- all Democrats, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco -- sent a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown urging him to sign the bill if it reaches his desk. The bill, known as the Trust Act, "establishes a bright line standard between local law … Continue Reading
August 14, 2013
North Coast congressman diverge on phone data mining
Rep. Jared Huffman wants major changes to the government's mass collection of telephone records, a recently revealed program he says may be trampling on the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable searches. Judges who oversee the National Security Agency's telephone data collection program should be openly appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, Huffman said. Telephone companies — not the federal agency — should maintain the records. "That's got to change," said … Continue Reading
August 14, 2013
Congressional representatives urge Brown to sign immigration
Sacramento -- Twenty-eight of California's congressional representatives are throwing their weight behind state legislation that would make it harder to deport immigrants who are in the country illegally. The representatives -- all Democrats, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco -- sent a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown urging him to sign the bill if it reaches his desk. The bill, known as the Trust Act, "establishes a bright line standard between local law … Continue Reading
August 10, 2013
Grocery lifeline
Amber Barretto makes spaghetti for her two boys two or three nights a week. It's cheap, filling and has refrigerator shelf life. "It's always good the second day," said Barretto, 30, a Larkfield single mother who is one of nearly 35,000 food stamp recipients in Sonoma County. Barretto, who said she was laid off from a $14-an-hour job at a local tourist attraction in December, gets $330 a month in food credits from the safety net program known as CalFresh in California. The money runs out 10 … Continue Reading
August 09, 2013
Coastal Voices: Unproductive Congress can function better
It’s disappointing that U.S. John House Speaker Boehner just adjourned the House of Representatives for August “recess” instead of staying in session to tackle the pile of unfinished congressional work — including votes on comprehensive immigration reform, gun violence prevention, replacing the “sequester” cuts that are undermining our economic recovery, and key appropriations bills that are needed to avoid a government shutdown in October. Instead of holding votes on these critical … Continue Reading
August 01, 2013
Red States Fixin’ to Gut Progressive California Laws
We Californians have been pretty smug about it for years now — even decades. But it all may be coming to an end. I’m talking about our laws addressing climate change, the way we treat animals, consumer protections and workplace safety — you know, all that effete left-coast stuff. We’ve congratulated ourselves on how advanced, far-seeing, humanitarian and generous we are. We didn’t seem to know, or care, that the California approach to issues was resented by those in other parts of the … Continue Reading
July 29, 2013
PD Editorial: Thumbs up, thumbs down
A monumental step for Mendo CoastA spectacular two-mile stretch of the Mendocino Coast moved a step closer to becoming a national monument with approval last week by the House of Representatives.More than 1,200 acres of bluffs and sand dunes, featuring cypress groves and sand dunes, would be added to the California Coastal National Monument. Supporters say the designation will boost tourism in the Point Arena area while providing additional protection for the publicly owned land.For freshman … Continue Reading
July 29, 2013
Wild & Scenic Chetco: Protected from mining for 5 years!
On July 26, the Interior Department announced its approval of a mineral withdrawal for 17 miles of the National Wild and Scenic Chetco River in the Federal Register, Authorized by Public Land Order #7819, the mineral withdrawal protects 5,610 acres of National Forest land along the Wild and Scenic Chetco River from mining for five years. Action by the Department of Interior will protect the National Wild and Scenic Chetco River from mining for 5 years, while Senator Wyden, Senator Merkley … Continue Reading
July 28, 2013
How 'green' is your pot?
In Humboldt County, money does in fact grow on trees -- or, more precisely, closer to the soil, indoors or out. It's what's being done by some to cultivate the North Coast's cash crop that should give anyone pause. The evidence confronts North Coast residents every day. Forests are being trashed. Trees clear-cut. Waters polluted. Wildlife poisoned. While it would be irresponsible to lay these offenses at the feet of conscionable mom-and-pop pot growers, no one with an Internet connection and … Continue Reading
July 28, 2013
Businesses enlist Congress in fight against California laws
WASHINGTON - California has a reputation for having some of the nation's most aggressive rules on workplace safety, consumer protection and environmental quality - regulations that force companies to make costly adjustments to the way they do business worldwide.Now some of those companies, banking on congressional gridlock and sympathetic Republican leaders in the House, are fighting back. And officials in Sacramento worry that some of the state's landmark laws may be in danger.At the … Continue Reading
July 28, 2013
Sunday's Letters to the Editor
Saving our heritageEDITOR: As the operator of a tourism-dependent business in Fort Bragg, I offer my congratulations to Rep. Jared Huffman on the passage of his bill in in the House of Representatives to protect the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands as part of the California Coastal National Monument. At a time when Congress is stymied by politics, this is a demonstration of the shared understanding of the importance of public lands to local economies and communities.The historic Skunk Train … Continue Reading
July 22, 2013
House votes to add two miles of Mendocino coast to national monument
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Monday to add more than two miles of stunning Mendocino coastline to the California Coastal National Monument.Monday's vote to pass the bill backed by Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, brings the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands a significant step closer to achieving monument status.As a national monument, the lands would benefit from stricter protections for the delicate coast ecosystem as well as greater access to money for improvements and … Continue Reading
July 22, 2013
California coastal monument to pass House Monday
The GOP-controlled House is expected to pass without controversy (on suspension) the California Coastal National Monument Expansion Act of 2013, a Democratic bill to add 1,255 acres near Mendocino to the marine monument. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, introduced the bill in the last Congress and it became the first bill introduced by his successor in the redrawn district, Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael.The area is known as the Point Arena - Stornetta public lands, and will constitute the … Continue Reading