News Articles
October 3, 2013
On Oct. 1, the U.S. government shut down for the first time in 17 years after the House and Senate were divided on a spending bill and missed the deadline to continue funding federal government by midnight Tuesday morning.
The effect of the government shutdown has been felt across the country, including Martinez. While federal courts can run for approximately two weeks on reserve funds before possibly having to succumb to closures, courthouses in Martinez are safe because they are under the California Superior Court System.
The effect of the government shutdown has been felt across the country, including Martinez. While federal courts can run for approximately two weeks on reserve funds before possibly having to succumb to closures, courthouses in Martinez are safe because they are under the California Superior Court System.
September 17, 2013
Congressman Mike Thompson and three other congressmen introduced a bipartisan bill aimed to strengthen oversight and improve accountability of the intelligence community.
September 16, 2013
Rep. Mike Thompson helped introduce a bipartisan bill today that he and his co-authors say would strengthen congressional oversight and improve accountability from the nation's intelligence community, which has been accused of overstepping its bounds in surveillance of U.S. citizens.
September 9, 2013
Construction is officially underway in the runway expansion of the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport, a project that will bring the airport's runways up to current federal standards and potentially attract new commercial airlines and add destinations.
Leaders in the $53.8 million project celebrated its start with a groundbreaking ceremony Aug. 28. The event attracted local government and tourism figures along with state and congressional representatives who have spent more than 12 years bringing the project to fruition.
Leaders in the $53.8 million project celebrated its start with a groundbreaking ceremony Aug. 28. The event attracted local government and tourism figures along with state and congressional representatives who have spent more than 12 years bringing the project to fruition.
Issues:Jobs & Economy
September 7, 2013
The rugged 100-mile stretch from Lake Berryessa to 7,000-foot Snow Mountain is making its way, slowly but surely, to national status.
That will be good for the gateway communities, for ranchers and farmers who want to protect traditional uses, for those seeking access to prime outdoor recreation, for those seeking better management of public assets.
That will be good for the gateway communities, for ranchers and farmers who want to protect traditional uses, for those seeking access to prime outdoor recreation, for those seeking better management of public assets.
Issues:Energy & Environment
September 5, 2013
Shirley Gillham was overcome with emotion Thursday as she read aloud the name of five-year-old murder victim Max Walters to a group gathered at Courthouse Square in Santa Rosa.
Max and his mother, Kathryn, were shot to death in January in Las Vegas by the boy's father, Hans Walters, who then killed himself.
Though she never met Max, and she has no children of her own, Gillham said that hearing about innocent lives lost to gun violence impassions her.
Max and his mother, Kathryn, were shot to death in January in Las Vegas by the boy's father, Hans Walters, who then killed himself.
Though she never met Max, and she has no children of her own, Gillham said that hearing about innocent lives lost to gun violence impassions her.
Issues:Gun Violence Prevention
August 30, 2013
Scientists say the San Francisco Bay Area needs 100,000 acres of wetlands to supply a healthy bay.
A project to restore the Napa Sonoma Salt Marsh, which sits on the edge of San Pablo Bay, will provide 10,000 acres toward meeting that need, and a newly completed recycled water pipeline to the area is a linchpin in reducing salinity in 640 acres, said Nadine Peterson, deputy executive officer of the California Coastal Conservancy.
A project to restore the Napa Sonoma Salt Marsh, which sits on the edge of San Pablo Bay, will provide 10,000 acres toward meeting that need, and a newly completed recycled water pipeline to the area is a linchpin in reducing salinity in 640 acres, said Nadine Peterson, deputy executive officer of the California Coastal Conservancy.
Issues:Energy & Environment
August 28, 2013
Business leaders and builders joined city, county and federal officials Wednesday to celebrate the imminent start of a $53.8 million project to lengthen the runways at Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport.
“Is this a great day, huh?” County Supervisor Mike McGuire told a crowd gathered inside a cavernous hangar for the runway project's ceremonial groundbreaking.
Scheduled for completion in October 2014, the project will fulfill a plan hatched 15 years ago to make the county's only commercial airport safer â€" and potentially attract more air traffic.
“Is this a great day, huh?” County Supervisor Mike McGuire told a crowd gathered inside a cavernous hangar for the runway project's ceremonial groundbreaking.
Scheduled for completion in October 2014, the project will fulfill a plan hatched 15 years ago to make the county's only commercial airport safer â€" and potentially attract more air traffic.
Issues:Jobs & Economy
August 16, 2013
U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, had no trouble dispatching clay targets with a shotgun in a shooting range east of Napa Friday afternoon as he engaged a local gun dealer in a friendly skeet shooting competition.
But Thompson acknowledged that getting a bill through Congress to expand background checks for firearm purchases nationwide has been more troublesome.
August 16, 2013
Just because his wife, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was nearly killed in a mass shooting, doesn't mean Mark Kelly hates guns.
On the contrary.
The retired astronaut and Navy captain owns a small arsenal of pistols and rifles.
Kelly demonstrated his fondness for firearms at a gun range in Napa on Friday. He slipped two red shells into a double-barrel shotgun, raised it to his shoulder and yelled, “Pull!”
He fired once, shattering a bright orange disc as it sailed through the air.