PREVIOUSLY:

• POTTER VALLEY DAM UPDATE: The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Says That a Municipal Water District in Riverside County is Interested in Taking Over the Project
• Statements From PG&E and Friends of the Eel on SoCal Agency’s Potter Valley Dam Bid
• That SoCal Water Agency Says It’s Just in the Very Initial, Exploratory Phase of its Potential Bid to Take Over the Eel River Dams

###

U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman this morning came out swinging in response to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins’ recent announcement that a Southern California water district has expressed interest in taking over PG&E’s defunct hydroelectric dams near the headwaters of the Eel River:

###

Here’s what he had to say in a newsletter to constituents:

I want to alert you to some very disturbing breaking news about a scheme to export Eel River water from my North Coast district to southern California — why I oppose it, and what I’m doing to stop it. We’ve learned from media reports and statements by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins that the Trump administration is trying to federalize the Potter Valley Project — to make it part of the Bureau of Reclamation, ostensibly as a way to block PG&E from removing two obsolete hydropower dams on the Eel River.

Just a couple days ago, Secretary Rollins tweeted that she has “found a buyer” for the project: the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District in Riverside County. The district confirmed to the San Francisco Chronicle that they are interested in buying it in order to secure new water supplies from the Eel River.

Here’s why that’s a problem. Right now, PG&E and our local water managers, tribes, and environmental partners have an agreement to secure local control of PG&E’s water rights for the first time in a century — and to build a new reliable water supply and fish‑friendly diversion so PG&E can remove its dams while maintaining water deliveries for Mendocino County and the North Bay. This two‑basin solution is supported by state agencies, Governor Newsom, elected officials across the North Coast, the fishing and environmental community, and local tribes. It restores salmon, creates jobs, and protects our water supplies.

The only holdup is the Trump administration — and now we are seeing the outlines of their plans for our water. Secretary Rollins is leading the effort to federalize the PVP, to fold it into the Bureau of Reclamation, and she wants PG&E’s to sell its water rights and infrastructure to this southern California water district as part of that takeover.

Big Central Valley water interests have targeted Eel River water for decades. They once pushed to add it to the State Water Project, and the Army Corps of Engineers proposed a massive dam that would have flooded Round Valley. Governor Ronald Reagan rejected that plan after fierce local and tribal opposition. But these zombie water‑export schemes have a way of coming back.

There are red flags all over this shady water grab. I’m going to fight against it – to protect our Eel and Russian River water supplies from being federalized and taken over as part of this scheme. I urge everyone who cares about North Coast water, rivers, and fisheries to take this threat seriously — because it’s coming directly from Secretary Rollins and the highest levels of the Trump administration.

I’m demanding answers from Secretary Rollins, Secretary Burghum, the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, and anyone else involved in this southern California water‑export scheme. We need to stand together to ensure that not one drop of our water is exported to southern California or the Central Valley.

To keep up with the work I am doing as your representative, please subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Bluesky, Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, and Threads.   

Thank you, and stay well,

Jared Huffman
Member of Congress

###

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

###

A federal appeals court on Wednesday struck down California’s requirement that masked federal agents identify themselves, a blow to the state’s ongoing resistance to the Trump administration’s deportation program.

A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel handed down a ruling prohibiting California from enforcing a section of the 2025 mask law that mandates federal law enforcement officers visibly display identification while carrying out their duties.

The law was destined to face critical scrutiny from the federal judiciary. An 1890 Supreme Court case provides that a state cannot prosecute federal law enforcement officers acting in the course of their duties.

The law also ran headlong into the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which holds that states may not regulate the operations of the federal government.

The Trump administration sued to challenge the law soon after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it. On Feb. 19, a federal judge issued an injunction against the mask law. The new ruling by a 3-0 decision makes that injunction permanent, pending appeal.

“If a state law directly regulates the conduct of the United States, it is void irrespective of whether the regulated activities are essential to federal functions or operations, and irrespective of the degree to which the state law interferes with federal functions or operations,” wrote judge Mark J. Bennett.

California’s lawyers argued that, even if the mask law does violate the Supremacy Clause, the court should have also considered the state government’s concerns about federal immigration enforcement’s effect on public safety.

“We decline to do so,” Bennett wrote. “Because the United States has shown a likelihood that the Act violates the Supremacy Clause, it has also shown that both the public interest and balance of the equities tip ‘decisively in…favor’ of a preliminary injunction.”

Democrats passed the mask ban to rein in the anonymous federal agents carrying out the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement program.

Lawmakers this year are advancing more bills targeting the administration’s immigration agents, including proposals that would bar them from employment in California law enforcement agencies and a measure that would make it easier for people to sue federal agents over civil rights violations.

###

This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

###

There will be 61 names of would-be governors on the June 2 primary election ballot, but the top two finishers will — as certainly as anything can be in politics — come from the six who participated Wednesday evening in the first statewide televised debate.

Former Congressman Eric Swalwell’s scandal-ridden departure this month shook up the field and seemingly lifted former Attorney General (and ex-Biden cabinet member) Xavier Becerra into contention after months in the low single digits.

However, no one has achieved support anything close to what would be needed to claim one of the top two finishes, probably in the mid-20% range, and a spot on the November ballot.

The debate, staged by the NextStar string television stations in San Francisco, was a chance for them to shine.

None did — if shining means presenting a compelling case that he or she is what California needs to confront the existential issues that will determine whether the state can once again be a unique place where people can see their ambitions become reality.

Those issues include housing shortages, rampant homelessness, the nation’s highest levels of unemployment and poverty, uncertain water supplies, soaring utility costs, shamefully low academic achievement in public schools and a state budget in chronic deficit.

The topics posed by the debate moderators touched on only a couple of those issues, and then too briefly to be significant. Otherwise, the questions dealt with, at best, peripheral matters that may be trendy on social media but have little or nothing to do with governing the nation’s most populous and complex state.

Really folks, do we yearn to know what streaming program the candidates have most recently watched?

The potential for voters to learn more about what the candidates would do as governor was also undermined because only the first hour of the debate was broadcast on old-fashioned television. Viewers had to switch to their computers to see the last half hour.

Given all of that, what could one have gleaned from watching?

For one thing, the four Democrats are not inclined to criticize outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom on one of the truly relevant issues, having the nation’s highest numbers of homeless people.

Asked to give Newsom letter grades on homelessness, none offered anything lower than a B, even though the problem is at last as severe as it was when Newsom took office in 2019. The two Republicans, of course, gave him Fs.

We got only brief sound bites on what the six would do themselves to reduce homelessness.

The related issue of housing, both supply and cost, got a little more attention, but mostly it boiled down to six promises of making it easier for developers to build, which has been Newsom’s approach but has not noticeably affected either housing production or cost.

That was about it on the big issues. There was nothing on water, one brief response to one viewer-generated question about academic achievement and some sound bites about the costs and availability of home insurance.

We did, however, get relatively lengthy responses about gas taxes, charging fees on zero emission vehicles, whether truck drivers should be able to read English and whether young children should be barred from using social media — again, trendy issues but not the serious ones that will face the next governor.

From a purely political standpoint, none of the sextet scored some point that will reverberate enough to change the dynamics of the campaign. Nor did anyone commit an injurious gaffe.

Maybe the next televised debate, scheduled for next Tuesday, will be meatier and more illuminating. It could hardly be less so.

It is with the heaviest of hearts we report the passing of Laurena K. (Matteucci) Nevers. Laurena passed peacefully surrounded by the loving hearts of Lancey, Lila and Lisa on April 18. Laurena was just 24 days from her 81st birthday.

Laurena was born on May 12, 1945, to Laurence “Ceno” and Annabelle Virginia (Bay) ”Sue” Matteucci, in Astoria, Oregon. She was the first of three girls. Laurena attended school in Astoria.

After moving to Eureka she met the love of her life, Fred Nevers, Jr. They married on July 20, 1962. They were married for 60 ½ years until Fred’s passing on January 19, 2023. They had one daughter, Tammy Sue, who passed as an infant at one month of age. Laurena and Fred were a furry family mom and dad devoted to Pup, George and Winston. They lived most of their married life in Eureka, only living in Las Vegas shortly after retirement. They moved back to Eureka in 2006.

Laurena worked for 40 plus years in the medical field, including St. Joseph Hospital until her retirement in 2003.

Laurena was predeceased by her dad “Ceno,” mom “Sue,” precious infant daughter Tammy Sue, her husband Fred Nevers Jr., nephew Jon Fejdasz and sister Catherine “Cathy” Carillo.

She is survived by her friend and “Bonus Daughter” Lancey Johnston of Eureka, and Lancey’s cousin Lisa Ross of Bend, Oregon, who she shared many laughs with. Her sister Carol (David) Cooley, niece Michele (Chad) Poplawski, nephew Christopher (Laura) Cooley, Grand-niece Taylor Riddle, San Diego, grand-nephew Caden Riddle, Sacramento, grand-nephew Christopher D Cooley, and her mini-me grand-nephew Cameron Cooley, Dixon, Calif. Her cousin Lila Ann Bollmann of Eureka.

Laurena was blessed to have many friends and especially her two neighbors Karen Carr and Ann Dedrick, who watched over Laurena every day. She will be deeply missed by all that knew her and loved her. God bless your journey, you are with the ones you loved the most dearest sister.

Additionally, we would like to thank Sherry Bates Piazza for care she provided to Laurena during the last week of her life. And Hospice House for the care and support of her and her family, especially John Kell, RN, who showed compassion for Laurena, Lancey, Lila, Lisa and Sherry.

###

The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Laurena Nevers’ family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

###

The Eureka City Council covered a lot of ground at last night’s meeting, including AI use among city staff, proposed pay hikes for elected officials, COVID-era outdoor patios and the local film industry, along with a few other housekeeping items. Let’s get right to it!

Limiting the Use of AI

As generative artificial intelligence (AI) integrates itself deeper into our daily lives, the Eureka City Council is taking steps to ensure staff are using the evolving technology appropriately. At last night’s meeting, the council unanimously voted to adopt an AI Use Policy that limits staff’s use of AI-assisted tools and sets standards to ensure any AI-generated content is subject to appropriate review. 

For example, the “limited use” section of the policy states that “no confidential, restricted, personal, proprietary, or protected data may be shared with these platforms without a due diligence and compliance review” by a department head or the city attorney. “AI-generated content must be reviewed for accuracy as it may include or be derived from ‘hallucinations’ or copyrighted material.” The policy also states that AI cannot be used for legal or professional advice, or to “create work product requiring a professional license.”

The policy largely focuses on generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, that use “deep learning models” and pattern recognition to create original content (text, images, audio, video, etc.) based on a prompt or request. Agentic AI, on the other hand, is designed to work autonomously, with the ability to complete complex tasks independently or with minimal human supervision. The policy prohibits the use of agentic AI without explicit authorization from city administrators. 

(If you, too, are having a difficult time wrapping your head around generative vs. agentic AI, check out this explainer from IBM.)

Following a brief summary of the policy from Finance Director Lane Millar, Councilmember G. Mario Fernandez, who attended the meeting via Zoom, asked how city administrators enforcing the policy will determine whether AI has “significantly contributed” to staff’s work.

“There’s a lot of discretion there,” Millar said. “Let’s say you did a strategic plan and you used ChatGPT to develop the strategic plan, and ChatGPT pretty much produced the different sections or chapters of that plan. That in itself is a pretty significant contribution. Despite the fact that it might not be providing the details of each section, it did dictate essentially what you would be focused on.”

Councilmember Kati Moulton acknowledged that most staff members use AI “to translate between nerd and normal human,” but felt the policy did not provide guidelines that prevent employees from using AI “to perform tasks outside their scope of capabilities.”

Moulton | Screenshot

“If you can’t do it, you don’t know how to do it [or] you cannot determine if it is correct or not, [then] you shouldn’t be using AI to do it,” Moulton said. “AI is capable of writing computer code. … If you can’t check that code to make sure that it is not going to cause some harmful effect that you’re unaware of, then you shouldn’t be doing that.”

Moulton also pointed to a section of the policy that called for “trainings as required,” and asked how the city will determine when training is appropriate. 

City Clerk Pam Powell said the California Intergovernmental Risk Authority (CIRA), a joint powers authority that provides insurance to the city, is developing training courses on AI technology. 

“We can’t list them at this time, so we left it vague,” Powell said. “The department directors or whoever is approving employees to use AI will have to concentrate on internal training for right now. … Once courses are identified, we will have a better idea of what to note in the policy.”

Moulton also asked that the policy prohibit staff from “putting photos, video, graphics or visual art of any kind into AI” without the written consent of the content’s creator or the people featured in the material. “I would like to see that strong of a restriction,” she said. 

Councilmember Scott Bauer pushed back a bit, noting that non-AI tools can be used to enhance imagery. “I’m not certain that that bothers me,” he said. “Adding people to photos and things like that, yeah, I’m not super excited about that. But I think [using] AI to make a photo nicer, I don’t think that’s a problem.”

Councilmember Leslie Castellano agreed that the city should not use constituents’ photos without their consent, but she seemed open to allowing staff to use AI imagery as long as the creator of the source material gave their consent.

“Let’s say an artist designed, I don’t know, a new mascot for the city of Eureka,” she said. “Someone asked them, ‘Hey, can we use [AI] to [place] the mascot in different sorts of context?’ and the artist said yes. … I think that it would be okay to do the same with photographs. I don’t mind if a photograph of a building is put into AI, but I do think if we’ve hired a photographer to take the pictures, then that should be one of the things on a consent of use form.”

“I’m happy with that,” Moulton said. “Well, I’m not happy with that. You have to limit the scope to what’s reasonable here.”

The council also discussed how the use of AI could impact jobs. Will Folger, the city’s human resources director, offered reassurance that any changes to staff positions would be hashed out with the unions. 

Folger | Screenshot

“We would have to engage with our unions before we implemented something that was likely to take away someone’s existing position,” he said. “This policy is not going to be able to go into all that kind of detail, nor would we want it to. But pillars of guidance and expectations being established is, I think, the appropriate measure to take now. And I do think that [this policy] does that, and I think that it will continue to be improved upon as these discussions develop over time.”

After more discussion surrounding the ethics and potential uses of AI, Moulton made a motion to adopt the policy as written. She added a couple of small amendments to prevent staff from using AI to go above their area of expertise and to require consent from artists before inputting their work into an AI model. 

The motion passed 5-0.

Pay Hikes Slated for the November Ballot

At a special meeting earlier this month, the council directed staff to proceed with changes to the city’s charter that, if approved by voters, would double the monthly stipend for the mayor and city council — their first pay raise since 1988. 

Currently, each member of the council receives a $500 monthly stipend, with the mayor earning slightly more at $625 per month. The proposed pay hike would increase the council’s monthly stipend to $1,000, and the mayor’s to $1,250, with annual increases to be determined by the city’s Finance Advisory Committee.

While some municipalities give their elected officials periodic raises to keep up with inflation, Eureka is a charter city, meaning any pay increases for the mayor and council require an amendment to the city’s charter, which requires a vote of the people.

The council took a second look at the proposal at last night’s meeting and directed staff to draw up a ballot measure to be placed on the November ballot. The city council will review the proposed ballot measure during a public hearing on May 26.

###

New Occupants at Shamus T Bones

The rumors are true, folks! A Brazilian steakhouse — Rojo Brazilian Steakhouse and Bar, to be precise —is taking over the former Shamus T Bones at the south end of town. 

Unfortunately, last night’s council discussion did not focus on the details of the incoming churrascaria or the various skewered and barbequed meats it will offer. Instead, the council discussed the building’s COVID-era outdoor patio, which has been out of compliance since 2023.

During a brief presentation to the council, city planner Alexandra Gonzalez said the new owners, who were not named in the staff report, are proposing minimal changes to the current patio. They plan on removing the small pond from the patio area and replacing windows with transparent screening to increase air flow. Other than that, the rest of the structure will stay the same.

After a brief discussion, the council unanimously approved the condition use permit and proposed modifications to the patio. 

###

Odds and Ends

• The council also received a report on the recent successes of the Humboldt-Del Norte Film Commission, which was recently nominated as Nonprofit of the Year by Assemblymember Chris Rogers and was named as a finalist for Film Commission of the Year in the upcoming Global Production Awards. Film Commission Executive Director Cassandra Hesseltine emphasized the regional impact of film productions, noting that the Oscar-winning film “One Battle After Another” generated $2.1 million local revenue. Crews spent $477,000 just in hotel stays, she said.
• Humboldt Made Executive Director Rosa Dixon also provided the council with an update on the upcoming Friday Night Market season, which will kick off on May 22. This year, Dixon said the main stage will be moved from the Old Town Gazebo to the intersection of Second and G streets to relieve crowd congestion. And to encourage folks to ride their bikes to the event, staff will host a free bicycle valet.
• During the council’s discussion on future agenda items, Bauer asked staff to bring forward a proposal to prevent data centers from setting up shop in Eureka. Similarly, Castellano asked for a proposal to oppose offshore drilling. City Manager Miles Slattery said an anti-drilling proposal was already in progress, and would be put to the council at its next meeting.

Press release form Humboldt Trinity HealthCare:

Humboldt Trinity HealthCare (HTH) has received new funding from the National Breast Cancer Foundation to continue providing free and low-cost breast screening services in partnership with Mad River Community Hospital.

In the past year, the program has helped over two hundred women in Humboldt County receive mammograms and follow-up imaging they otherwise could not afford, addressing one of the most significant barriers to early detection: cost.

“This program is about making sure women don’t have to choose between their health and putting food on the table or paying their rent,” says Steve Engle, Vice-Chair of Humboldt Trinity HealthCare. “When financial barriers are removed, people are able to get care sooner — and that can save lives.”

In rural communities such as Humboldt County, access to timely and affordable screening can be problematic. “One in eight women will experience breast cancer, so early detection is key to saving lives. This program helps ensure women can receive screening and diagnostic imaging without delay. Through its partnership with Mad River Community Hospital, patients can access services including mammogram and breast ultrasounds. Even when results are normal, the reassurance can be life changing.

Getting help is easy. If you or someone you know needs free breast cancer screenings, please contact the Mad River Community Hospital Imaging Department at 707-826-8266. To learn more about Humboldt Trinity HealthCare, visit humboldttrinityhealthcare.org

PREVIOUSLY:

• POTTER VALLEY DAM UPDATE: The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Says That a Municipal Water District in Riverside County is Interested in Taking Over the Project
• Statements From PG&E and Friends of the Eel on SoCal Agency’s Potter Valley Dam Bid

###

Yesterday Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins made quite a splash in our corner of the country. The secretary tweeted out that a new player had arisen to block the decommissioning of two failed Pacific Gas and Electric dams on the upper stretches of the Eel River.

This player was “a legitimate buyer who expressed strong interest in purchasing the project from PG&E,” according the secretary. Its purchase of the project would allow the federal government to “restart/expand reliable hydroelectric electric generation while keeping both [dams] in place” and “secure reliable water for 750,000 Californians and hundreds of hardworking farmers who rely on it for irrigation.”

Secretary Rollins explicitly expressed optimism that this player would kill the PG&E-led effort to tear down the dams, and also to do away with the water-sharing agreement reached between communities downstream and water users in the Russian River watershed, which receives Eel River water through the dams.

So who is this buyer? It is the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, a small to mid-sized water agency way down south in Riverside County. Last night Sylvia Ornelas, a spokesperson for the district, returned the Outpost’s call and agreed to answer some questions.

To sum up the conversation at the top: Ornelas wished to emphasize that the district had absolutely no concrete plans at this stage of the game, that it hadn’t yet looked at the opportunities or constraints of taking ownership of the project, or even if doing so was legally feasible at this point in the proceedings.

“Taking meetings and having discussions with different stakeholders is kind of where we’re at,” Ornelas said. “Initially, I don’t have any other information beyond that at this point.  Once we do and once we move forward, we can certainly, you know, give you an update. But as far as I know right now, again, we’re just in an initial exploratory phase.”

What impelled the district to look at the Potter Valley project?

“What I can say is that as part of our strategic plan, we actively explore opportunities that support long-term water reliability and protects public health. And so specifically for Potter Valley, it includes water infrastructure and supply options beyond our immediate service area.”

Does the district envision shipping Eel River water south to its Riverside County customers?

“I don’t think we have that information yet. I think right now we’re just in initial stages of talking to different stakeholders and exploring all opportunities.”

Has the district looked into the seismic issues that plague the dams, or the environmental concerns around their continued existence?

“Like I said, we have not. We’re not that far yet into any processes yet. It’s just an initial, you know, evaluation and opportunity. Beyond that, we don’t you know, we haven’t gotten into anything further.”

Had she seen PG&E’s statement yesterday, in which the utility said that it no longer had the legal ability to transfer the license to the project, contra the Secretary of Agriculture’s assertions? 

“I have not heard one way or the other, so I can’t speak to that.”

[To clarify the above: Though PG&E said it cannot transfer the license to the dams, the agency said that it can still transfer the dams themselves.]

The Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors meets tomorrow at 4 p.m. There is no mention made anywhere in the published agenda of a possible acquisition of assets along the Eel River, but Zoom and telephone participation will be available. Instructions at the link.