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During the hour long meeting, Thompson gave a brief speech and took questions from the audience covering a mix of local and national issues.
During his speech, Thompson praised the current congress as a group that had tackled hard issues and worked harder than people realized.
Congressman Mike Thompson was the sponsor for the Willits hospital funding and for $350,000 set aside for St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka.
This is the second year money has been earmarked for the new hospital with $190,000 included in the 2009 fiscal year's budget.
That was true of the Toys for Kids fundraiser and toy drive, which last Saturday gave out toys and Christmas cheer to children in need and their families.
Toys for Kids is a nonprofit effort started by a group of local volunteers and Congressman Mike Thompson.
Brad Onorato, Thompson's district representative, said this is the toy drive's 14th year, and it was both a successful and heart-wrenching effort.
The Obama administration took a step Monday toward silencing tarmac horror stories by ordering airlines to let passengers stuck in stranded airplanes get off the plane after three hours of waiting.
The move drew applause from North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson, who originally sponsored “passenger bill of rights” legislation several years ago.
”This is a big victory for airline passengers,” Thompson said in a press release. “Passengers no longer have to give up their basic rights when they step on an airplane.”
The battle of Calistoga ended Thursday with a federal decision to grant a new American Viticultural Area appellation to Calistoga, forcing one local winery to change its business.
San Francisco Chronicle
After holding their breath for six years, Napa Valley winemakers can now put the name "Calistoga" on wines made from grapes grown in that historic town, federal regulators have ruled.
The decision (read it here in PDF) ends a long slog through regulatory red tape, and completes a crucial piece of the valley's intricate system for labeling its wines â€" one that stands to make bottles from the area even more valuable.
Having served a tour in Afghanistan in 2005 and 2006, Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Allan Dollison was thrilled Tuesday to hear President Barack Obama announce that he would be sending 30,000 more troops to the war-torn region.
San Francisco Chronicle
Andy Beckstoffer, the founder of Napa Valley's Beckstoffer Vineyards, wanted to donate a piece of his land to conservation, but it didn't make sense financially - his property would bring in much more if he sold it than left it to grow grapes forever.
But when Congress passed legislation in 2006 to bolster tax deductions to those who donated conservation easements, Beckstoffer set aside the 90-acre To Kalon Vineyard in Rutherford.
Solar energy is hot. Not just with wineries attempting to lessen their carbon footprints â€" but also with thieves.
Numerous Napa Valley wineries have been victimized by thieves lurking in the night and stealing their solar arrays.
A single panel is worth about $1,000, measures two feet by three feet and weighs around 35 pounds.
North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson introduced legislation last week that would require Congress to responsibly recycle its e-waste.
Co-authored by representatives Gene Green, D-TX, Mary Bono Mack, R-CA, and Brian Bilbray, R-CA, House Resolution 938 aims to make sure that the outdated electronic equipment discarded by members of Congress and their staffs ends up recycled, and not in landfills or incinerators.