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Congressman Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, announced Thursday that the Arcata Fire Protection District will receive $483,236 in grant funding to help recruit new volunteer firefighters in the Arcata, McKinleyville, Bayside, Manila and Jacoby Creek communities.

The funds, which are provided through the Department of Homeland Security's Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program, will preserve public safety and create good-paying jobs.

Mary Kongsgaard, the eldest of Judge Thomas Kongsgaard's three children, speaks at the post office renaming ceremony on Monday. The Franklin Street Post Office was renamed the Thomas Kongsgaard Post Office in honor of the former Superior Court judge who served for 26 years. J.L. Sousa/Register

Opened in 1933 and registered as a National Historic Place, the downtown Napa post office added a new chapter to its history Monday.

The Art Deco building at 1352 Second St. was renamed the Tom Kongsgaard Post Office Building in honor of the deceased Napa County Superior Court judge.

The downtown Napa post office will be renamed Monday in a ceremony to include Congressman Mike Thompson, Napa Mayor Jill Techel and Supervisor Bill Dodd.

The building at 1351 Second St. will thereafter be called “Tom Kongsgaard Post Office Building.” The ceremony will take place 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Monday.

In November, Thompson passed a bill to rename the Franklin Post Office in honor of Tom Kongsgaard, a Napa County Superior Court Judge from 1958 to 1984.

A handful of ideas to close the estimated $14 trillion national deficit emerged from the Eureka City Council Chambers on Saturday, when North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson held a public forum for Humboldt County residents to share their budget suggestions.

Dozens of people turned out for the presentation, pushing for an end to U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as substantial tax reform that would decrease the number of tax breaks for individuals whose income exceeds $250,000 annually.

The fate of direct shipping of wine from wineries and retailers to consumers is once again in the hands of the U.S. Congress. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Republican from Utah, introduced a reiteration of last year's Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Act (the "CARE Act") yesterday. This year's version is House Resolution 1161, the Community Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act.

Under a GOP-backed bill expected to sail through the House of Representatives, the Internal Revenue Service would be forced to police how Americans have paid for their abortions. To ensure that taxpayers complied with the law, IRS agents would have to investigate whether certain terminated pregnancies were the result of rape or incest. And one tax expert says that the measure could even lead to questions on tax forms: Have you had an abortion?

With the national debt approaching $14 trillion, according to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson wants to hear your ideas for reining in federal spending and getting the nation back on stable financial footing.

”The main thing for me is just to hear what constituents think we need to do about the national debt,” said Thompson, who will be holding a community forum on the subject Saturday, in a phone interview with the Times-Standard. “We're entering a period of (budget) cutting, and I think it's important for folks to have their voices heard.”

Efforts to clean up the Crescent City Harbor continued Tuesday as local elected officials worked to get a federal emergency declaration for Del Norte County.

Emergency meetings were held by the City Council, Del Norte County Board of Supervisors and Harbor District to officially declare the county a disaster area.

Harbormaster Richard Young announced at the Tuesday night harbor meeting that he has decided to stay in Crescent City despite previously accepting a position as a marina manager in Vallejo.