Newsroom

By Donna Beth Weilenman

U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson has introduced alternative drought relief legislation that would provide $255 million in emergency appropriations and counters the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Emergency Water Delivery Act that calls for pumping water south from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) on Thursday introduced comprehensive drought relief legislation he co-authored with Rep. Jared Huffman (CA-2) that will provide assistance to farmers and ranchers, businesses, and communities suffering from the record drought in California and other Western states.

If you're old enough to remember 50-cents-a-gallon fuel, you probably recognize this advertising slogan: You can pay me now, or you can me later.

Cheap gas may be a thing of the past, but there's still a lot to be said for investing a little up front to avoid big expenses down the line.

With a stroke of his pen — six pens, actually — President Barack Obama turned a remote piece of the Mendocino Coast into a national destination Tuesday in an Oval Office ceremony that locals in attendance described as something right out of a dream.

Reps. Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman are urging President Barack Obama not to eliminate geothermal royalty payments totaling nearly $2 million a year to Sonoma and Lake counties.

Four other congressmen, including two Republicans, joined the call to preserve the payments, which amount to $2.2 million for eight California counties involved in steam power production.