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The Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa, a nonprofit serving six northern California counties, has been awarded a $249,229 grant by the Department of Homeland Security to double its free citizenship education classes in Sonoma and Napa counties over the next two years.

The grant will provide for two additional 18-week citizenship preparation and literacy courses annually for a total of four classes in each county, each serving between 40 and 50 students. Currently there are only two of 21 adult schools in the entire six-county region that offer citizenship classes.

ISIL is a dangerous terrorist organization that must be stopped. It has brutally murdered two American citizens, and it poses a threat to the United States, to our allies and to regional stability.

However, arming Syrian opposition groups alone is not an effective strategy to combat the ISIL terrorist group and diminish its capacity to operate. There has been inadequate vetting of these opposition groups. We do not have enough information on the people we are proposing to arm and train.

U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5), a senior member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, on Wednesday voted against arming Syrian opposition groups to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.

The authorization to arm and train the Syrian opposition groups passed the House by a vote of 273-156.

"ISIL is a dangerous terrorist organization that must be stopped. It has brutally murdered two American citizens, and it poses a threat to the United States, our allies, and to regional stability," Thompson said.

Sonoma County's two Democratic congressmen, Mike Thompson of St. Helena and Jared Huffman of San Rafael, voted Wednesday against President Barack Obama's plan to arm Syrian rebels, calling it a flawed response to the terrorist group known as the Islamic State.

The measure passed the House, 273-156, with liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans united in opposition. The Senate is expected to approve the measure, with support from California Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Jerry McNerney were the only greater Bay Area House members who voted Wednesday in favor of President Obama's plan to beat back the Islamic State in part by training and equipping moderate Syrian rebels.

The House voted 273-156 to add an amendment authorizing Obama's plans to a short-term spending bill passed shortly after that will keep the federal government operating through mid-December. Voting yes were 159 Republicans and 114 Democrats, while 85 Democrats and 71 Republicans voted no.

Earthquake recovery is under way in Vallejo, with several levels of assistance already or becoming available to those impacted by the Aug. 24, magnitude 6.0 South Napa Earthquake.

As residents and officials await hoped-for federal aid, local authorities are already working to help those impacted regain a sense of normalcy.

Members of the Solano Volunteer Organizations Active in a Disaster are providing information to affected residents, while at the same time completing a needs assessment, officials said.

Rep. Mike Thompson announced $2 million in Emergency Relief funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration to help Caltrans and local agencies cover repair costs for infrastructure damaged by Sunday's quake.

"This earthquake severely damaged a lot of our infrastructure and these funds will go a long way toward helping our community recover," said Thompson. "I will continue working with the DOT and all federal agencies to make sure our district gets the emergency resources we need to rebuild and recover."

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) announced Monday that $2 million in emergency relief funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is being allocated to help the California Department of Transportation and local agencies cover repair costs for infrastructure damaged by the Aug. 24 earthquake.