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As Californians wait to find out whether one prominent veteran of the Biden administration is running for governor, another jumped into the crowded race on Wednesday.

Xavier Becerra, the former attorney general of California and longtime member of Congress who most recently served as secretary of health and human services under President Joe Biden, announced his campaign with a short video in which he promised to “rebuild the California Dream.”

“Can we do that today with this affordability crisis?” Becerra said, speaking directly to the camera. “Very tough. But we’ve taken on these tough fights.”

That experience forms the backbone of Becerra’s initial pitch to voters, which does not include any specific policy proposals.

In just over a minute, his announcement video runs through highlights from his more than three decades in politics: helping to pass the Affordable Care Act, negotiating with the pharmaceutical industry to lower prescription drug prices and, as attorney general, suing the first Trump administration more than 100 times, a nod to Democratic voters’ seething anger against the newly reinstalled president.

Becerra is the second major Democrat to launch a campaign for governor since former President Kamala Harris hinted that she would not make a decision about her own potential bid until this summer. Katie Porter, the former member of Congress from Orange County, entered the race last month.

While the possibility of Harris’s candidacy has scrambled the calculations of some already announced contenders, others are promising to continue regardless of her decision. Becerra’s campaign confirmed to CalMatters that he plans to seek the governorship even if Harris runs.

“What I can tell you with full confidence is, it doesn’t matter who gets in — I’m in,” Becerra told The New York Times.

Becerra has more than $1.4 million left from an abandoned re-election bid for attorney general that he can use to launch his gubernatorial campaign. He will need to raise far more to reintroduce himself to voters ahead of the June 2026 primary after four years out of the spotlight of California politics.

Other notable Democrats running to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, who terms out at the beginning of 2027, include Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former state Senate leader Toni Atkins, former Controller Betty Yee and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is the highest-profile Republican to enter the race so far.

Lurline Hatherill
Oct. 6, 1929 – March 12, 2025

Lurline (Mudford) Hatherhill, age 95, passed peacefully under Hospice care on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 in the Renaissance Unit of Timber Ridge Assisted Living Facility in McKinleyville. Lurline was born October 6, 1929 in Texarkana, Arkansas. She was the oldest child of Avon Mudford and Sylvia “Lottie Lee” (Johnson) Mudford. Her family moved to Visalia, CA in 1945 and to Arcata, CA in 1952.

Lurline was pre-deceased by her mother and father; a twin brother, Hollice Mudford; two younger brothers, James and Charles Mudford; her first husband, Lue Welch; and her second husband, Albert “Jack” Hatherill. She is survived by a younger brother, Jerry Mudford; a younger sister, Donna (Mudford) Frizzell; her son, Michael G. Welch; and a number of nieces and nephews.

During her early adult life, Lurline was a homemaker who also served the Arcata community as a former member, vice president, and president of the Arcata Women’s Club. She also served with Arcata Home Advisors. Through a commitment to doing things as perfect as possible, she became an exceptional musician, artist, and seamstress. Later in life, Lurline worked in secretarial positions at Cal Poly Humboldt.

Lurline became a born-again Christian early in life and attended various churches regularly. About 2016, she became a member of McKinleyville Baptist Church in McKinleyville, CA where a memorial service will be held for her on Saturday, April 12, 2025, beginning at 11:00 a.m. The service will be led by pastor Bob Illman with refreshments and fellowship to follow.

Lurline’s remains will be interred at Greenwood Cemetery in Arcata, where her husband, Albert J. Hatherill is also interred.

Dixie Lee Holder — aka “Doodabug” — born November 13, 1963, left this life March 10, 2025. Dixie was born in Glode, Arizona to Sharon and Clayton Holder. She moved to Arcata with her mother, where she made many friends, when she was one year old.

Dixie met her partner Sharon Beatty and they moved to Oregon and had two children — Justin Clayton Holder and Dusty Ann Holder She is preceded in death by her father Clayton D. Holder, her baby brother, Robert E. Holder, her sister Annette M. Harris and her dear friend Nina Sovereign.

Dixie had a zest for life. She loved fishing, traveling, panning for gold, going to the Casino, cruising with her dog “Boy” and listening to music. She had many friends and was loved by all. She will be missed.

A special thanks to all her caregivers: Lynden J., Grant S., Ranne N., Corky M., Jodene A.

Before she died Dixie found peace with her love for Jesus Christ.

A celebration of life date and time to follow in lieu of flowers Please Donate to American Cancer Society or Hospice of Humboldt.

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UPDATE: 

• Faculty Union Representative and University on the Program Cuts

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Cal Poly Humboldt is discontinuing several degrees, programs, and a minor starting this fall semester. 

According to an email sent by the Cal Poly Humboldt chapter of the California Faculty Association on Friday, March 28, CPH notified the CFA that they “wish to discontinue” the religious studies major, the German minor, the economics program, the international studies major, and the educational leadership program. 

Though the university has not yet responded to a request for comment, the web pages for the international studies department and the religious studies major have banners on them this morning saying they would not be offered this fall.  

Other requests for comments from the CFA, the economics department, and several religious studies professors have not been responded to. We will update this article when they’re received. 

[UPDATE: Austin Roberts, a religious studies lecturer at CPH, reached out to us with the hopes that we’d note that the university will still offer some classes in his field. They will be overseen by the history department.]

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On March 28, 2025, around 1:40 p.m., a Humboldt County Sheriff’s Sergeant assigned to the McKinleyville area was dispatched to the report of a theft from a business located in the 1700 block of Central Avenue. The reporting party provided a suspect description and stated the subject had stolen liquor and clothing from the business. Upon arrival, the Sergeant contacted a subject in the 1300 block of Central Avenue, identified as Mason Harris, 38, of Arcata, who matched the description of the theft suspect. The Sergeant also recognized Harris from a previous theft investigation in September 2024.

During the Sergeant’s investigation, it was discovered Harris had several outstanding warrants for his arrest and was also on searchable probation for theft and narcotics related offenses. During a search of Harris’ person, a large amount of suspected methamphetamine, scales, and other drug paraphernalia was discovered.

Harris was subsequently arrested and transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility where he was booked for the following charges:

• Possession of a controlled substance for sales - HS 11378

• Possession of a controlled substance – HS 11377(a)

• Possession of unlawful paraphernalia - HS 11364(a)

• Probation violation - PC 1203.2(a)

The items originally taken from the business were never located and it is believed they were disposed of prior to Harris being contacted by law enforcement.

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

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At town halls across the nation, including in California, residents have confronted their members of Congress face-to-face to voice their fears and frustrations over Trump administration policies, from cuts to overseas aid to Medicare.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in the state Legislature have introduced about a dozen proposals that would make it harder to confront your local officials at public meetings and would shield more information from the public eye, according to an analysis of CalMatters’ Digital Democracy database.

The bills follow a streak of California officials’ attempts to shroud themselves in secrecy.

Gov. Gavin Newsom recently sent burner phones to major California business leaders with his number preprogrammed — paid for by his nonprofit, allowing him to communicate with executives without having to disclose the content publicly. Lawmakers and government employees signed non-disclosure agreements preventing them from sharing details about taxpayer-funded renovations to the state Capitol. The Legislature refused to say whether federal search warrants and subpoenas were served to lawmakers.

The largely Democratic efforts have raised alarms among ethics advocates and an outcry from some Republican lawmakers, such as Assemblymember Carl DeMaio of San Diego, who has introduced two bills to require lawmakers and government agencies to disclose more to the public, not less.

He announced them during National Sunshine Week, an annual campaign to promote government transparency that the Legislature quit observing eight years ago.

“It is the one time throughout the year where we pause and we ask the question: Are decisions in government being made in the public light? Can the people know what’s going on?” DeMaio said.

Looking decision-makers in the eye

Sen. Roger Niello, a Republican from Roseville, has contended that interacting with constituents in-person makes a difference: There’s nothing more thrilling for a local elected official than having constituents exercise their right to yell and scream at you, he said in 2023 opposing a proposal that allows neighborhood councils in Los Angeles to meet remotely until 2026.

“It’s just much more impactful,” he said. “It’s like the difference between a text message and a phone call. Text messages are useful for quick communication of something, but not for something more complicated.”

Nonetheless that proposal was signed into law — one of many over the past few years that have increasingly allowed state and local officials to participate remotely. This year, various legislators are pushing at least six different measures that aim to make them permanent.

Since the pandemic, California has relaxed its once-strict rules that required officials to be physically present at public meetings. Instead they’ve carved out more exceptions so that advisory board members can meet remotely, and public officials can avoid disclosing their whereabouts when they appear virtually.

Supporters of these efforts say they “modernize” the state’s open meetings rules, arguing that allowing members more remote access boosts public participation, cuts costs, protects officials’ privacy and grants more flexibility in emergencies.

Under the relaxed guidelines, 41 state boards reported increased attendance among board members, according to a June 2021 report by the Little Hoover Commission, a state oversight agency that focuses on government efficiency.

But good government advocates argue that it shields officials from their constituents.

“Public officials must be accountable: They should be required to attend in person, ensuring that the public can see them, speak to them directly, hold them responsible for decisions that impact their communities,” Dora Rose, deputy director of the League of Women Voters of California, told legislators at a recent hearing.

The Assembly floor at the state Capitol on May 31, 2022. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

One of this year’s pending bills is SB 707 by Sen. María Elena Durazo , a Democrat from Los Angeles who last year opposed an effort to let local advisory boards meet remotely. This year she’s proposing an overarching measure that would include exemptions for different groups.

Durazo told CalMatters she was compelled by testimony from groups who had to cancel meetings because they couldn’t gather enough members in person.

Her bill would also require city and county governments to provide a call-in option to all public meetings. But during a recent hearing, representatives of city officials argued that would hamstring local governments’ ability to manage “Zoom bombing,” where participants disrupt meetings with “hate speech.”

Keeping donors secret

The California Fair Political Practices Commission — the state agency policing ethics and campaign finance violations — is sponsoring AB755 to give officials more time to disclose funds they raised for other groups.

Those funds are called “behested payments,” typically donations to a nonprofit or government agency that come at a politician’s behest. Critics say the donations allow special interests to curry favor with politicians. Since 2011, state officials have reported raising more than $505 million in behested payments, with Newsom single-handedly raising more than $200 million from corporations in 2020.

Current law requires elected officials to disclose these payments within 30 days once they raise more than $5,000 from the same donor within a year. But violations are commonplace: Six out of eight of California’s constitutional officers have reported their payments late, including Newsom, who was fined $13,000 for failing to disclose $14 million on time.

The legislation introduced by Assemblymember Mike Fong, a Democrat from Alhambra, would give lawmakers up to roughly 120 days to disclose the payments, making it harder for voters to know who is influencing their lawmakers in real time. Commission spokesperson Shery Yang told CalMatters the current filing period is too short and extending it “improves efficiency.”

After meeting the initial $5,000 threshold for disclosure, officials would be allowed to receive up to $999 from that same donor without ever disclosing it.

A related bill — SB 760 by Sen. Ben Allen, an El Segundo Democrat — would let elected officials stop reporting funds they raised for others on TV or radio, or even in speeches like private fundraisers, as long as they don’t benefit financially from those payments. Allen said the change is needed so officials aren’t afraid to name specific groups to donate to, especially after a disaster like the Los Angeles fires.

Also seeking to relax the state’s campaign ethics rules is SB 300 by Sen. Steve Padilla, a Chula Vista Democrat. Public officials wouldn’t have to recuse themselves if they are making policies that would boost the membership of organizations they’re part of, such as unions or chambers of commerce.

The state Capitol in Sacramento, on Aug. 22, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

Other proposed legislation would also reduce the amount of information disclosed to the public.

• AB 950 by Lakewood Democrat José Solache would allow campaigns to stop disclosing their top funders on printed ads and refer to a website instead.
• AB 359 by San Bernardino Democrat James Ramos would allow the state campaign finance commission to stop reporting on its enforcement of local ethics rules.

Little left to hide on public records

‘What they want is carte blanche authority to police in secret’

While the state’s public records laws already are riddled with exemptions, politicians are still trying to create more.

Perhaps the biggest exception the Legislature created is for itself. In 1975, it wrote its own rules that vastly restrict what it must release to the public, shielding notes to members or staff, records of complaints or investigations, and anything else it deems not in the public’s interest to know.

This year — after a 2018 law forced police agencies to be more transparent about their records — Downey Democratic Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco wants to roll some of that back. Her bill would give law enforcement agencies more leeway to keep some information private, such as the ranks, names and photos of officers who work undercover, are part of a state or federal task force, or who received death threats in the last decade due to their work.

“I just want to protect these undercover officers so that they can continue doing their work and keeping our communities safe,” she told CalMatters.

Tiffany Bailey, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said the legislation undermines the progress made on police transparency. Police agencies already have ways to redact information, she said, but law enforcement agencies must explain why.

“What they want is carte blanche authority to police in secret, to shield from the public eye really egregious police misconduct, like sexually assaulting civilians and serious uses of force,” Bailey said.

David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition, said California already lags behind other, more conservative states in what is released.

“There’s all kinds of qualifications and exemptions and opportunities to put sand in the gears and delay disclosure, and it’s still a pretty limited set of documents you get,” he said.

Often, local and state agencies have only released records when a court forced them to do so..

Loy’s group is also concerned about a proposal from Long Beach Democrat Josh Lowenthal that would make it a misdemeanor for someone to “knowingly” post an elected or appointed official’s home address or telephone number, if they intend the posting to cause harm.

Lowenthal declined an interview with CalMatters, but said in a statement that elected and appointed officials have faced harassment or violence in recent years and this would “allow them to limit the proliferation of their information.”

Loy countered that the bill, while still in its early stages, is overly broad.

“There are controversies over whether someone is a resident of the jurisdiction that they are elected to represent, and the press and public have a right to know the relevant information,” he said.

Legislators convene during a session at the state Capitol in Sacramento, on Aug. 22, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

Let the sunshine peek in?

There are a few glimmers of hope for public access, though.

Under Democratic Assemblymember Avelino Valencia’s proposed AB 1029, elected officials would have to report if they own cryptocurrency.

DeMaio, the San Diego Republican, is also reintroducing an idea to create an independent office to help people fight public records denials. Newsom vetoed a similar bill in 2023, saying it was unnecessary and costly.

Currently, the only way to appeal a rejected Public Records Act request is to sue — something not everyone can afford to do.

“Let a neutral third party determine whether a document is so sensitive that the public interest would be benefited by keeping it a secret,” DeMaio said.

He also introduced a bill to make the Legislature follow the same California records act as other public agencies and touted his Rocklin Republican colleague Joe Patterson’s AB 1370, which would prohibit state lawmakers from entering into most non-disclosure agreements related to their decision-making, such as the Capitol renovation project.

“There is no justification for an elected official signing an NDA with a special interest, full stop,” he said.

Josephine Mary (Manzi) Ghilarducci was born on June 10, 1926 in Ferndale to Cento and Lena Manzi, and passed away on March 18, 2025 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

She graduated from Grant Elementary School in Ferndale, Fortuna Union High School in Fortuna and Business College in Eureka.

She married Dave Ghilarducci on October 4, 1947. Shortly after their marriage, they built their new home in Rio Dell and lived there the rest of their lives, with the exception of the last seven years, when Josephine lived in Scottsdale, Ariz. with her son, Rich and daughter-in-law, Lana, who felt it was a blessing to share this time together as a family.

Dave and Josephine purchased a Texaco franchise in 1954 and then owned and operated Dave’s Texaco Service Center in Rio Dell for over 30 years. In 1978 the business expanded to become Dave’s Texaco Service and AAA Towing when they were awarded a AAA franchise. Through the years Josephine did all the necessary administration and accounting for the business.

Josephine supported her husband not only while in business, but also as Dave served as Fire Chief for the City of Rio Dell for 32 years. Her commitment to their community was apparent by the time spent attending numerous fire service events representing the Rio Dell Fire Department over this period.

She was one of the founding members of the Rio Dell Ladies Fire Auxiliary, she was a member of the Saint Patrick’s Church Alter Society and the Rio Dell PTA.

For years after the passing of her husband, she enjoyed her daily walks through downtown Rio Dell. She liked taking train trips with her family throughout the western United States and Canada. She was an avid sports fan watching the Golden State Warriors and the San Francisco Giants. For over 20 years she attended the San Francisco Giants spring training games where she was a long time Giants season ticket holder. She loved to play UNO cards, and was a winner most of the time, in which she reminded you about her winning record. Family was most important to her as she always provided support and guidance to all her children. She looked forward to family reunions, family breakfasts with her niece and nephews, and hosting dinners at her home in Rio Dell. She was a caregiver to her parents, her in-laws and her husband for many years, and was always willing to lend support to her close friends when needed.

Josephine is survived by her daughter, Judy McKinley, daughter and son-in-law, Jeanette and Tim De Fazio, son and daughter-in-law, Rich and Lana Ghilarducci. Grandson, Scott De Fazio and Heather and Grady Parker, Grandson, Kit and CJ McKinley and daughters, Lillian and Beth. Sister-in-law, Liana Ghilarducci, as well as many nephews and nieces and their families.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Dave Ghilarducci, parents, Cento and Lena Manzi, in-laws, Frank and Josephine Ghilarducci, brother and sister-in-law, Charley and Mary Manzi, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Raymond and Maureen Ghilarducci, brother-in-law, Robert Ghilarducci, brother-in-law and sister-in-law Henry and Angie Silva, son-in-law, Harless McKinley. There will be Rosary services Friday, April 4, 2025 at 7 p.m. at Goble’s Fortuna Mortuary in Fortuna, a mass of Christian burial on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 10 a.m. at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Fortuna. Final services and entombment will follow at Ocean View Cemetery Mausoleum in Eureka. A reception to celebrate Josephine’s life will follow these services at the Rio Dell Fire Hall from 1-4 p.m.

Donations can be made to Rio Dell Volunteer Fire Department, 50 Center St., Rio Dell 95562 or a charity of your choice.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Josephine Ghilarducci’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.