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State of the Union 2012 - President Obama

State of the State 2012: "California on the Mend"

SACRAMENTO – In his 2012 State of the State speech, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. said California is “on the mend” and laid out an ambitious agenda for economic growth in the year ahead.

The full text of the speech is below: ( Remarks as prepared)

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Lake County Democrats Support Move to Ammend

The Democratic Party of Lake County met on Thursday January 5 2012

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The party voted to endorse the January 21, 2012 day of action promoted by Common Cause which is spearheading a consortium of groups to put on a Rally in Sacramento on January 21st, to promote introduction in the State Senate of a Resolution calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, that establishes
that:
That Corporations are not People and do not possess the inherent rights of living persons.
- And that - Money does not equal "speech" and is not protected by First Amendment rights against infringement. Money and its influence on government and politics can and must be regulated."

Local Lake County activities:
local yahoo group can be reached here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LakeCoMoveToAmend/

Great resources and study materials etc. here: www.movetoamend.org

Contact tajw@hotmail.com or 707 262 2919 to be added to the email list

LakeCoMoveToAmend is an organization of local people, raising awareness of the need to amend the U.S. Constitution to reverse the Citizens United v F.E.C. Supreme Court decision.
For information call or e-mail Tim Williams: 707-262-2919, tajw@hotmail.com

Senator Noreen Evans January Update report

Evans Renews Call For Better Park Protection, Leadership, New Look At Closures

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Poll Shows Frustration, Ambiguity of Park Managers, Public SACRAMENTO, CA--In response to a statewide poll by state park rangers calling for the appointment of a new Director of Parks and Recreation, Senator Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) called on Governor Jerry Brown and California State Parks Director Ruth Coleman to take a stronger position advocating for and protecting our parks from closures.
Senator Evans also announced that she will be introducing legislation next year to re-examine the flawed park closure list In a recent hearing of the Assembly Water Parks and Wildlife Committee, a State Parks spokesman admitted that the closure list was drawn up in an informal process by State Parks senior staff without an economic or environmental analysis, and that no records of the meetings were kept. “State Parks closures will have severe impacts on local communities, especially the already economically hard hit rural communities that I serve,” said Evans. “It’s clear that park closures are going to cause major economic disruptions and losses of jobs, and in fact, may cost us more in the future to pay for vandalism, deferred maintenance, environmental destruction, and criminal activity – like drug cartels growing pot on parklands” she said. “When the legislative sessions resumes, I will introduce a bill to suspend the current closures and develop a legally defensible process to examine potential closures using a defined criteria,” Evans continued. “Further, the legislation, would ask State Parks to provide the economic impacts on local communities; other possible budget savings measures, and to compare closure savings with future costs to the park system related to the closures. The bill would also allow current agreements with federal and local agencies and non-profits to move for ward with any savings directed back to keeping other parks open.”

On December 19^th Senator Evans held Office Hours in Lakeport, and issued the following comments: “I had great meetings Monday with Wally Holbrook, Superintendent of Lake County Office of Education, Supervisors Anthony Farrington and Denise Rushing, as well as Clearlake Mayor Joey Luiz. I learned a lot from Toni Scully and the ladies of CA Women in Ag; I’m very supportive of Victoria Brandon and Sierra Club Redwood Chapter; impressed by Gloria Flaherty with Lake Family Resource Center and Chuck Fernandez of Catholic Charities; I'm always amazed by the stable leadership of Lake County CAO Kelly Cox! I’m pleased to have met Gregory Graham and Clay Shannon, two exceptional vintners on the shores of beautiful Clear Lake. I also receive valuable feedback from Lake County’s fine jurists Hons. R. Martin, D. Herrick and A. Blum.”

Congressman Thompson's December Legislative Report

DECEMBER Legislative update Rep. Mike Thompson, House Members Urge Extension of 1603 Program To Create Clean Energy Jobs
On December 7^th, Rep. Thompson and 88 members of the U.S. House of Representatives called for an extension of the successful 1603 Treasury Grant Program supporting renewable energy projects, urging in a letter to House leaders that such an extension will continue a proven track record of job creation and promote further growth in domestic clean energy industries. Created in 2009, the 1603 program has provided essential financing for clean energy projects via grants in lieu of investment tax credits, and has created tens of thousands of jobs by leveraging more than $22.8 billion in private financing to support 22,000 renewable energy projects in all 50 states. Signatories of the letter - led by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Mike Thompson (D-CA), and backed by the House Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition (SEEC) - argue that a failure to extend the 1603 program beyond its current December 31 expiration date would have significant adverse effects on American clean energy industries; shrinking the total financing available for renewable energy projects by 52 percent in 2012, and eliminating tens of thousands of jobs.

Rep. Mike Thompson Secures $2.5 Million For Smith River Rancheria Roadway Safety Improvements On December 12^th, Congressman Mike Thompson announced a $2.5 million grant provided through the Department of Transportation’s TIGER III grant program to the Smith River Rancheria to make roadway safety improvements along the heavily traveled U.S. Highway 101. Thompson worked with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood to secure these funds.

Rep. Mike Thompson Releases Statement On Delay of Closing or Consolidation of Post Office Processing Facilities On December 14^th, Congressman Mike Thompson released the following statement in response to news yesterday that the United States Postal Service (USPS) is delaying the potential closure or consolidation of more than 3,700 local post offices and 252 mail processing facilities until at least mid-May, 2012.
“The decision by the USPS to delay the possible closing of so many rural and economically important post offices and processing facilities shows that more input is needed before decisions are made. Closing these post offices would slow service, forcing seniors to wait longer for prescription drugs and Social Security checks, while isolating rural communities who would no longer have complete access to postal services. Consolidating processing facilities would put the jobs of hundreds of hard working men, women and their families on the chopping block, and in this economy losing those jobs in our community is something we can’t afford.”

Reps. Mike Thompson, Cathy McMorris Rodgers Call On House Leadership to Extend Health Benefits to Rural Communities On December 16^th, Congressman Mike Thompson and Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-5) lead a bi-partisan group of 19 members of Congress in sending a letter to the House leadership calling on them to extend Medicare health benefits to rural communities. The benefits include assistance for rural facilities and health providers to recruit and retain skilled practitioners, provide quality outpatient care and mental health services and respond to emergency health events.

Bay-Delta Members of Congress respond to BDCP Statement on Transparency On December 19^th, Congressman Mike Thompson and other California Members of Congress who have led the effort to make the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) a more transparent and accountable process released statements in response to the statement on transparency by Governor Brown and U.S. Interior Secretary Salazar. U.S. Representatives Mike Thompson, George Miller (CA-7), Doris Matsui (CA-5), Jerry McNerney (CA-11) and John Garamendi (CA-10) wrote to Salazar in October, calling for the rescission of a signed MOA that was developed behind closed doors. In response, the process was opened up to brief public comment. The lawmakers submitted several public comments, as did hundreds of other individuals and local, state, and national organizations. “Today’s announced agreement by Governor Brown and Secretary Salazar is nothing more than lipstick on a pig,” said Thompson. “This backroom deal creates a flawed process for moving forward that is not based on science and puts the interests of South-of-Delta water contractors before our farmers and fisherman. If this moves forward, families and small businesses that depend on the Delta would have their livelihood stripped away and the Delta’s diverse wildlife would be destroyed. We need a BDCP plan that is transparent and based on sound science so that our Delta communities, businesses, wildlife and environment are not harmed.”

Rep. Mike Thompson Votes for Payroll Tax, SGR, Unemployment Benefits Extension
On December 20^th, Rep. Mike Thompson voted to pass legislation to extend the payroll tax break, ensure seniors on Medicare continue to receive access to their doctors, and those out of work through no fault of their own continue to receive unemployment insurance. The legislation was first voted down by the House Majority. Days later, the House Majority reversed course and agreed to pass a 2 month bipartisan extension of these programs.

Reps. Mike Thompson, Ros-Lehtinen Introduce Legislation Supporting Military Personnel, veterans and their Families On December 21^st, Congressman Mike Thompson and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-18) introduced H.R. 3761, The Support and Defend Our Military Personnel and their Families Act. The bi-partisan legislation cosponsored by 11 other members of Congress allows active duty soldiers and veterans who serve honorably to expedite the citizenship of their family members. The Support and Defend Our Military Personnel and their Families Act addresses these immigration concerns of America’s military personnel, our veterans, and their family members back home by: · Helping Veterans Who Have Served Honorably Become U.S. Citizens: The legislation allows soldiers who serve honorably during times of war to become U.S. citizens expeditiously. · Reuniting Lawful Permanent Residents Serving in Active-Duty with Family Members: The bill exempts immigrant petitions filed for the spouses and children of military personnel from numerical caps that limit the number of immigration petitions that can be granted each year. · Preserving Family Unity of Military Personnel: The bill permits immediate family members of military personnel to apply for lawful immigration status, subject to all necessary criminal and security background checks; and codifies existing guidelines for placing active-duty soldiers or veterans into removal proceedings.

Mike Thompson for 5th Congressional District

Current 1st District Congressmember Mike Thompson, is running to represent the newly drawn 5th Congressional District, which includes the western and southern areas of Lake County.
Maps here:

Visit his campaign website here
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John Garamendi for 3rd Congressional District

Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield) announced that in 2012, he will run for Congress in the proposed 3rd Congressional District, which presently includes all or portions of Solano, Yolo, Sacramento, Lake, Colusa, Glenn, Sutter and Yuba counties. “I am excited about the opportunity to represent the people of the proposed 3rd Congressional District, which now includes my home in Walnut Grove and many of the people that I currently represent in Solano and Sacramento counties.

I also served Yolo County for eight years in the State Senate and have great familiarity with the entire district from my decade-long service statewide.” “This is a district composed of industrious farmers, entrepreneurs, businesses, two of the finest Air Force bases in America, one of the greatest universities in the world at UC Davis and three outstanding community colleges,” Garamendi added. ”I look forward to taking all the needs and opportunities of this region to the halls of Congress to do what I can to help this community thrive and prosper.

Visit the campaign website here
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