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The long-awaited Napa County Airport upgrade will break ground today with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Napa, joining county officials and staff at the event.
The event is open to the public.
The upgrade will allow pilots to use their instruments to land in bad weather, they said.
LaHood did so during a Wednesday visit to the California Fuel Cell Partnership after riding a hydrogen-powered bus at the nearby Port of West Sacramento alongside Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, and local officials.
The airport's current landing system uses only a localizer that provides pilots with horizontal guidance when landing, airport manager Martin Pehl said
The new Glidescope Antenna System will provide pilots with vertical guidance, Pehl said.
"This will provide a precision approach and allow landings in lower visibility," Pehl said.
Congressman Mike Thompson (D-Napa Valley) voted against legislation that would mandate a sweeping expansion of offshore drilling across the nation.
H.R. 1231, "Reversing President Obama's Offshore Moratorium Act," would automatically open the Southern California coast, the entire Atlantic coast, the Arctic Ocean, and Alaska's Bristol Bay for leasing. The bill could also potentially open up California's North Coast to drilling  even if the state objects to offshore drilling in the region.
H.R. 754, the FY 2011 Intelligence Authorization Act, would add several thousand civilian positions in intelligence, increasing the number of analysts who work tirelessly to keep our country safe. The bill passed the House with broad bipartisan support.
Senior Nick Christen's artwork, a photograph titled "Yolo Bypass," will represent California's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. Capitol, where it will be displayed for one year. It is currently displayed at Gallery 625 in the County Administration Building, along with all other Yolo County entries.
Christen and a guest will be flown to Washington to attend an awards ceremony in June.
Thompson, a Democrat who represents the 1st Congressional District, will visit the port on Wednesday along with West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon, Port Director Mike Luken, Yolo County Supervisor and Port Chairman Mike McGowan, and other officials.
They will be looking over operations at the facility.
The Republican-controlled House easily passed the last of three bills Thursday to expedite and expand domestic oil and gas drilling over the objections of Congressman Mike Thompson, who argued the bills would open portions of his North Coast district to offshore drilling.
The bill passed Thursday, House Resolution 1231, would automatically open the Southern California, the entire Atlantic Coast, the Arctic Ocean and Alaska's Bristol Bay for leasing by oil companies. Thompson believes it has the potential to open portions of Northern California to drilling as well.
Del Norte County is slated to receive $5 million in national emergency grant funds to create temporary jobs for residents affected by the March 11 tsunami, according to the California Employment Development Department.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced Wednesday that a total of $6,498,100 is being sent to Del Norte and Santa Cruz counties to help assist in the recovery effort. The money will be funneled through the state's Employment Development Department (EDD).