Rainy day at Howarth Park

Getting ready for the Winter Blast SOFA parade - the next parade runs through the district at 7pm

Emotional day as the new Fire Station 5 was brought into operation for the City. The Tubbs Fire reduced the original station to a scorched flag pole flying over a pile of ash. I am so grateful to everyone who made today possible.

Celebrating Labor’s biggest champions at the North Bay Labor Council’s annual COPE dinner

Checking out the new ice house at Noyo Harbor. The multi-million dollar project will be able to supply 20 tons of ice to Mendocino fishermen per day.

Day two of the Select Committee on Climate Innovation - in Fort Bragg to launch their pilot desalination buoy. It floats half a mile off the shore and uses wave energy to turn sea water into fresh water. It has no expected impact on marine life and will produce about 13,000 gallons of water per day.

Assembly Select Committee on Climate Innovation and Infrastructure in Healdsburg. We had three good panels on green hydrogen, wave energy desalination, and marine permaculture - with a good discussion about the regulatory environment and the market demand for each.

Kicking off two days of the Select Committee on Climate Innovation and Infrastructure with a tour of the Calistoga Resiliency Center.

Showing, yet again, that it was never about immigrants doing it the “right way”, the Trump Administration cut funding previously granted to Catholic Charities to help immigrants navigate the immigration process and obtain citizenship.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Southwest Eureka for planning this year’s Veterans Day observance - a chance to honor all who have defended this nation and continue to carry the weight of their service.

Congratulations to Life Plan Humboldt on their approval of the Humboldt Commons - the first nonprofit senior community on the north coast. 101 cottages and apartments, including 50 affordable units for seniors 62+.

It’s a full day in McKinleyville - one of the largest Community Service Districts in the state. Thank you to the board for hosting me for our 15th town hall of the year, dedicated to the questions of this special rural community.

Special meeting of the McKinleyville Community Services District to tour the McKinleyville Community forest.

Fantastic questions and discussion with the Seniors at McKinleyville High School. The Panthers came prepared!

Pre-Veterans day visit to Nation’s Finest, a critical piece of the Humboldt Continuum of Care that serves homeless veterans - linking them to critical services and housing. We had a chance to hear from local vets who are in the program. CA estimatesmore than 10,000 veterans living on our streets.

With Mayor Mike Johnson and community members discussing the needs of the Fortuna community.

Stunning morning in Hiouchi - breakfast with Supervisor Val Starky, catching up with Patty and Grant at the Smith River Alliance, followed by some time out at Point St. George and along the Smith.

Celebrate the Mendocino wine community at the Mendocino Winegrowers annual Harvest Party.

National Native American heritage month parade in the Capitol today

Celebrating Soco 4C’s annual Champions for Children. According to the federal poverty index, childcare is considered “affordable” if it costs <7% of a family’s monthly income. In Soco, the average is 35%. I’m grateful to all the champions fighting for better and more affordable care for our kids.

Our team is so proud of Monica Barragan, our district representative for completing Los Cien’s BRIDGE program. This is the second cohort of emerging Latino leaders in Sonoma County being trained on how to be successful members of non-profit and municipal boards and commissions.

Talking about California’s future with the Seniors at Mendocino High School - from immigration to housing, hydrogen to the money in politics, I spent an hour and a half being peppered with some of the best questions and thoughtful discussion we’ve had during the recess.

In Philo congratulating Sharon and the team at Gowan’s Heirloom Cider on being named the 2025 Cider Maker of the Year at this year’s Great American Beer Festival - a huge accomplishment, especially as they are one of the only cideries in the country that uses 100% of their own locally grown apples

Talking education, state budget, and poverty with the California School Board Association members from Mendocino County. I always enjoy catching up with my friend Nicole Glentzer, Mendocino Superintendent of Schools and great to connect with some of the community’s education leaders in Talmage today

Grateful to the Pinoleville Pomo Nation tribal Chairwoman and Vice Chair for their time today, discussing their work restoring Ackerman creek and providing services to their members.

Thousands of bills are introduced in Sacramento each year - often in response to urgent issues or emerging problems. Due to term limits, new legislators come in, pass bills, and are gone before we fully understand the impact of the bills they pass.

Thank you, California! History will show that Californians went to extraordinary lengths to fight back against a fascist President and to defend our democracy. And the results across the nation send a very clear message to Republicans in Congress:

Thank you to Mayor Evelyn Mitchell and Councilmembers David Hagele and Ronald Edwards for joining for our Healdsburg town hall tonight. Good in-depth conversation around food insecurity, climate innovation, and health care.

Out seeing some of the shaded fuel break work being done around the county by the Conservation Corps North Bay. These crew members are learning valuable skills that can help them find jobs in the industry while working to make us all more resilient to wild fires.

With CDFA Secretary Karen Ross, ASM Damon Connolly, and CEC staff at Amy’s Kitchen. Amy’s team used a Food Production Investment Program grant to modernize their cooling systems, lowering their electricity usage by 24%, their gas usage by 34%, and eliminated 99.6% of their high-GWP refrigerants

All set for our town hall tomorrow night in Healdsburg. Come join us for a conversation about the issues most impacting the state - we’ll even have a small preview from the Mayor about some of the issues the city council is grappling with.

Get Out The Vote weekend in Mendocino County with members of the local Democratic central committee and SEIU 2015 and 1021. As of this morning, 35% of ballots from our district have been received and processed - almost 10% higher than the state’s overall returns.

Joined the California Legislative Staff Education Institute in Glen Ellen today to hear from Joe Plaugher and the Sonoma Land Trust about their land management and prescribed burn efforts.

Needless to say, SMART has a new littlest “biggest fan”

The City of Point Arena only has 460 people - but 50 of them made it to our town hall. Good conversation about the needs of our rural communities and a few good legislative ideas for us to research as well. Thanks to Councilmembers Burkey and Koogle and Supervisor Ted Williams for joining.

Started the day out in beautiful Albion

What does the federal government shutdown mean for food insecurity in California and the North Coast? It means 5.5 million Californians won’t have access to SNAP benefits.

Two “Yes on Prop 50” votes from our household. More than 4.5 million voters have already returned their ballots - have you?

We’ll be out in Point Arena tomorrow for our next town hall - we’ll include a legislative update, discussing the work my team and I are doing throughout District 2, and answering questions from participants.

A rainy family day means breaking out the wellies

Thank you to Presiding Judge Honigsberg and Judge Navarro for a sneak peak at the new courthouse - set to open soon. I’m especially grateful for an extended amount of time to discuss mental health courts, Murphy Conservatorships, and numerous other pressing policy issues.

Supporting Schools Rule Sonoma County - a fundraising initiative of SCOE. This year, they distributed $166,000 to 50 educational foundations or school districts. This money supports educational opportunities for students in literacy, agriculture and hospitality, student well-being, and STEAM.

Touring the new Felix apartments in downtown Santa Rosa - 8 stories of new homes that were kickstarted by the Renewal Enterprise District created after the 2017 wildfires with significant investment from the city, county, Kaiser, and other community partners.

Spent time today with folks from the Family Justice Center talking about strengthening the social safety net for domestic violence survivors. If you or a loved one needs help, the FJC team can be reached at (707) 565-8255 or are available for walk-ins at their 2755 Mendocino Ave office.

Kicking off the California Association of County Executives annual conference today in Santa Rosa - CACE is working through constrained budgets and challenging implementation, and the conference is a good opportunity for county leaders to share successful strategies.

Man, my dogs are tired! Joined the Humane Society in Healdsburg for their annual HOWL-o-ween puppy costume contest.

1000’s of our neighbors in the streets peacefully protesting the most corrupt President in our country’s history. While cutting healthcare to millions, he has lined the pockets of his family and friends, While eroding our rights, he’s avoided accountability for his own felony convictions.

Happy 20th anniversary to the Weaverville Community Forests! The partnership attracted national attention for its innovative approach to conceptual forest stewardship. The Forest expands opportunities by increasing community involvement and strengthening the bond between the land and its people.

The Arcata marsh and waste treatment plant is an incredible place - it utilizes natural absorption of heavy metals and pollutants in the roots of the plants, algae, and bacteria to clean the water. It’s finished off with a UV filter that breaks down all remaining waste without chemicals.

Our district is enormous - 5 counties, 17 cities, 25 Supervisors , 5 DA’s, 5 Sheriffs, 87 Councilmembers and Mayors, dozens of tribal Governments, community service districts, public utilities districts, and municipal advisory committees.