Two state bills would allow public colleges and universities to hire undocumented students, which is currently barred by federal law. The proposals are based on a legal theory that the law doesn’t apply to state agencies. colle

In January, the University of California Board of Regents broke the hearts of undocumented students by halting a proposal to allow them to work on campus. A few days later, David Alvarez had a plan.

The Democratic assemblymember from Chula Vista huddled with student organizers and decided to draft a bill to compel the UC, as well as the community colleges and California State University, to do what the UC regents would not.

Federal law prohibits employers from hiring anyone who is undocumented, but Alvarez’s Assembly Bill 2586 says California’s public colleges and universities should be exempt and allowed to hire undocumented students for on-campus jobs. The approach rests on an untested legal theory backed by law scholars at UCLA and 27 other prominent academics. It’s based on the argument that a pivotal federal employment law from 1986 doesn’t apply to state agencies, including public colleges and universities.

Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes, a Corona Democrat and chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, has introduced a similar bill addressing just the UC that, if passed, would be taken to CA voters in the form of a ballot measure.

Both bills are priorities of the Latino Caucus.

“We wouldn’t have to do this if the federal government actually did their job and passed immigration reform,” said Alvarez in an interview with CalMatters.

Instead of working on-campus jobs like their peers, undocumented students must seek employment as independent contractors or find under-the-table jobs, where some students say labor exploitation is rampant. If Alvarez’s bill prevails, an estimated 60,000 undocumented students could benefit.

Last May, the UC Board of Regents promised to study the plan to allow undocumented students to work. In January, the regents reversed course, voting 10 to 6 to delay any implementation by a year. The decision gutted student advocates, who sobbed in the public meeting space, castigated the regents and reverted to an agonizing square one in which they lacked the legal right to work.

Assemblymember David Alvarez on the floor during the end session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Sept. 14, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal for CalMatters

Alvarez’s bill cleared its first hurdle in April, but it faces a bigger test tomorrow during an opaque legislative process known as the suspense file, in which members of the appropriations committee decide in relative secrecy whether bills with a price tag advance or die.

A committee analysis says the bill could cost California a few million dollars to implement these hiring changes and to handle the legal fees, should someone decide to sue a college or university for hiring undocumented students. Those costs could become a large obstacle as the state battles multi-year budget deficits in the tens of billions of dollars.

How much of an impact the bill would have on undocumented students is an open question: Most students — regardless of their immigration status — work off campus. Federal law is clear that private employers must follow the employment ban. The bills by Alvarez and Cervantes do not extend to the many other state agencies where undocumented students could work after graduation and earn competitive wages.

‘It is not fair’

For Alvarez, the bill is a continuation of California’s commitment to make college affordable for undocumented students. Already the state extends tuition waivers, grants and loans to these students, but they’re barred from receiving federal dollars. A campus job would allow them to cover the difference when financial aid falls short; it would help them with major expenses like housing, transportation and food.

“I’m out here fighting for the right to be given the opportunity to apply to a job on campus,” said Karely Amaya Rios in April to a panel of lawmakers. The 23-year-old is a graduate student at UCLA and has a pending job offer from a professor to help him write a book and teach his immigrant rights courses. Though she’s lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years, she’s undocumented and ineligible for the job. “It is not fair,” she said.

Rios previously told CalMatters that she cobbles together enough money to cover rent and food costs by babysitting and selling clothes at a swap meet with her mother. She also receives some scholarships and stipends.

“I fear that all of you do not understand how disappointing and gut-wrenching it feels to be denied my humanity and my right to access the same opportunities as my peers,” added Fatima Zeferino, an undocumented Cal State Long Beach student, at the April hearing.

Cervantes’ proposed constitutional amendment would target just the UC, a potentially necessary move because the UC is constitutionally independent. The Legislature’s bills can rarely force the system to do something.

Still, Alvarez’s office believes the UC “would be bound” by his bill, his district director, Lisa Schmidt, wrote in an email. She added that “even if it were not formally bound it would comply with the law once the Cal State and (community colleges) were doing so.”

Why public colleges are worried

The UC isn’t formally opposed to the bill, but its government relations office wrote a letter to lawmakers warning the bill could expose UC hiring managers to civil and criminal prosecution and jeopardize the billions of dollars in federal research grants the university receives. Alvarez bristled at one objection the UC raised: that the bill as law could expose “undocumented students and their families to the possibility of criminal prosecution or deportation.” He called that “borderline offensive to students” who already have to navigate the legal complexities of their immigration status outside of school.

Alvarez cited his own experience as a child born in the U.S. living in fear of what would happen to his undocumented parents. They were eventually granted legal status through the same 1986 federal law that now bars undocumented residents from working.

Hovering in plain sight is the concern that a potential Trump White House would wage an aggressive legal attack on the university. It would potentially repeat a judicial system showdown that saw the university successfully sue to block Trump’s attempts to end job protections for undocumented workers who came to the country when they were young. That previous legal saga involved the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, but federal courts have since halted the federal government’s ability to accept new applications.

“I fear that all of you do not understand how disappointing and gut-wrenching it feels to be denied my humanity and my right to access the same opportunities as my peers.”
— Fatima Zeferino, undocumented Cal State Long Beach student

The UC Office of the President never appeared persuaded by the legal argument put forward by the UCLA scholars. It sought outside legal opinion, and the conclusion was that the plan wouldn’t be “legally viable,” a regent told CalMatters in January.

UC’s April letter to legislators underscored that worry: “However, after receiving advice from both inside and outside legal counsel, we concluded that there were considerable risks for the University and the students we aim to support.”

Ahilan Arulanantham, one of the two UCLA legal scholars behind the theory that state agencies are exempt from the federal rule barring undocumented residents from working, sought to assure lawmakers in April that no hiring manager could be prosecuted if universities began hiring undocumented students.

“The risk that people would actually be criminally prosecuted for following state law is, in my view, vanishingly small,” he said then. “And we’re not aware of any example where people have been criminally prosecuted by the federal government for following a law that they were required to follow as a matter of the state.”

“After receiving advice from both inside and outside legal counsel, we concluded that there were considerable risks for the University and the students we aim to support.”
— Letter of the University of California to the Legislature on April 2024

More likely is that the state would be sued and the matter would play out in courts, Arulanantham said. “If the universities lost that lawsuit and they still kept trying to hire people, of course that would present a different question.”

The state’s attorney general would defend the campuses in those suits, Alvarez said. The press office of the attorney general wouldn’t comment on Arulanantham’s legal argument or whether the attorney general would defend the campuses in a possible suit.

Cal State has issued no position, though it reiterated another point the UC made: The bill “could have consequences on the federal aid the CSU and our students receive,” wrote Amy Bentley-Smith, a spokesperson for Cal State. The fear isn’t unfounded. When the UC system weighed the issue, Republican Congressman Darell Issa wrote a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom asking that he “please inform Congress how the system intends to refund its current federal funding, as well as provide a detailed estimate of the fiscal impact to students by foregoing future federal assistance.”

Can community college students benefit?

While the legal risk of the bill looms large, the impact of the legislation on undocumented students may be limited in scope. That’s because the majority of undocumented students attend community college. The Cal State system has fewer undocumented students, and the UC campuses have the least, according to estimates from each system.

Yet community college students are the least likely to work on-campus jobs. When they do work, only 7% of them have a campus job, according to an analysis provided by California Student Aid Commission. The rates are higher at Cal State and UC campuses, where 16% of working students at Cal State and about half of working students at the UC are employed on campus.

Many community college students work full time in the private sector, whereas campus jobs typically restrict students to no more than 20 hours a week. The hourly limit comes from research that says working more hurts students’ grades.

Over the past six years, Jerry Reyes has studied at Reedley College, just south of Fresno, though he left at various points. He’s undocumented and ineligible for DACA, which offers temporary work permits for undocumented youth.

He worked anyway, taking a job at an agricultural packaging house, where he made around $15 an hour. They “didn’t really ask” about his immigration status, he said.

Better jobs are hard to find, he said. “I just ignore potential opportunities because I know they’re just going to turn me away because of my status.”

After a brief stint at San Francisco State, he returned to Reedley College, where he’s pursuing a new major in business administration and serving as a trustee on the community college district’s board. The position is supposed to pay $375 per month, but he said the district won’t compensate him because of his immigration status.

“It’s frustrating,” Reyes said, to watch others get paid for student jobs when he does the same amount of work. He supports Alvarez’s bill but he wants a broader solution too. “A lot of these (undocumented) students don’t work campus jobs,” he said, “and even the jobs they take don’t pay as well.”

Alvarez said he’d consider future legislation to open job opportunities in other sectors too, but not before passing this legislation. “Look, this is already a heavy lift,” he said. “It’s not going to be easy.”

Adam Echelman covers California’s community colleges in partnership with Open Campus, a nonprofit newsroom focused on higher education.

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The CalMatters Ideas Festival takes place June 5-6! Find out more and get your tickets at this link.

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Chalk it up to California dreaming: Not even three years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom promised California’s public universities five years of annual growth in state support totalling more than $2 billion.

But the governor’s updated budget plan for next year instead aims to cut the University of California and California State University by a combined $200 million in response to the state’s project multi-billion-dollar budget deficit.

The five-year compact is at risk of turning into a humbler two-year vow, underscoring the difficulty of projecting multiple years of support for California’s top generators of bachelor’s degree recipients — a state particularly at the mercy of large revenue swings.The UC would see a $125 million base funding cut in 2024-25, with plans to restore that dip in 2025-26. For Cal State, the governor’s May budget revision includes a $75 million cut that’ll be restored in 2025-26.

The numbers were shared with CalMatters after it sought more detail from the California Department of Finance about its higher-education plans that are part of the annual May Revise process. It’s an update to the governor’s initial January proposal and sets the stage for intense budget negotiations with the Legislature to finalize a state budget by late June. The 2024-25 budget year begins July 1.

The fiscal outlook gets modestly rosier later for the two systems, which combined run 33 universities that enroll around 750,000 students.

Each system would receive a modest bump of 2.05% in 2025-26 — a far cry from the 10% the governor projected in his January budget proposal. That 10% itself was a compromise. Each system was supposed to see a 5% bump in 2024-25 and the same in 2025-26. But in January, Newsom called for no bump in year one and to double-up in year two as a way to manage the state deficit.

That 10% for the two systems would have meant $1 billion combined in 2025-26, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. A mere 2% increase would total roughly $200 million.

The analyst’s office basically presaged the change of fortune for the universities. When Newsom unveiled his compact plan in 2022, a promise of increased spending in exchange for improvements in student academics, the office wrote: “We caution the Legislature against putting too much stake in the Governor’s outyear commitments to the universities.” Previous governors have rarely “been able to sustain their compacts over time,” the office noted.

One reason? “In some cases, changing economic and fiscal conditions in the state have led governors to suspend their compacts,” the office wrote then.

Whether lawmakers fight to restore these cuts is an open question. More money for campuses means they can pay to hire more faculty and offer more classes students need to graduate. The additional state support is also a particular lifeline for Cal State, which agreed to 5% raises for its roughly 60,000 unionized workers, including the nearly 30,000 faculty who went on strike late last year and early this year demanding wage and benefits gains.

But a dollar spent one place means it’s not spent elsewhere, and the governor is also proposing to swing his budgetary scythe at student financial aid. Under his May revision, the Middle Class Scholarship would shrink by more than $500 million to $100 million each of the next two years.

The UC would see a $125 million cut in 2024-25. For Cal State, the May budget revision includes a $75 million cut.

Around 300,000 students received that award this year, with average amounts between $2,000 and $3,000. If the governor’s plan becomes law, those amounts could shrink by 80%, on average.

One higher-education watchdog worries the cuts and limited growth will affect low-income students most.

“With this funding being cut, I think it’s going to require a real concerted effort over multiple years to make sure that those students are brought back into higher education and have the supports that they need over multiple years to actually make it to graduation,” said Joshua Hagen, director of policy and advocacy at the Campaign for College Opportunity, a nonprofit advocacy group.

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The CalMatters Ideas Festival takes place June 5-6! Find out more and get your tickets at this link.

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Jamie Lionel Wax 
June 29, 1968 – March 18, 2024

The volunteer bluff supervisor was finally called home March 18, 2024, by his loving wife Fiona, whom he missed so much every day. While most folks in Trinidad saw Jamie as a watcher of life going by, in the office with the most beautiful view on the West Coast, he was so much more.

Born to Dianne Wilson on June 29, 1968, and adopted the next day by Richard and Laurie Wax, Jamie spent his younger years in Southern California, moving to Humboldt County in 1988 to attend College of the Redwoods to study photography. His most recent pursuit landed him as the Trinidad “town therapist,” as well as keeping an eye out on the crab fleet. Jamie always had time to listen to his many “walk-up clients,” as well as working the phone for his longtime friends and “patients.” Some people mistakenly thought Jamie was homeless, which couldn’t have been further from the truth. He owned a beautiful home just outside of town with a park-like yard that he had always kept up for Fiona.

Jamie grew up in Malibu with his sister Jessica. At 6 feet 5 inches tall to Jessica’s 5-foot, 1-inch frame, Jamie was quick to point out that he was adopted. But in typical Jamie fashion he used this to his advantage, often teasing Jessica that he was the chosen one while she was merely an accident. It was in Malibu that Jamie made his first life-long friend, Tony, who coincidentally was also adopted. Together they pursued fishing, surfing, motorcycle riding and all other late ‘70s Southern California beach fun.

In the late ‘80s, when Jamie was documenting the beaches and surfing with his black and white film career, he met his future brother-in-law, Dave. They both lived in Greenwood Heights in Kneeland, and a 35-year friendship was born. To be on Jamie’s call list was an honor most of the time, unless he wanted to mess with you and start the calls before 5 a.m. I was always up early, so a pre-6 a.m. call was a staple for the next 30 years. “Hey, what’s happening?” A listen to the weather radio in the early morning was the key to which activity would be attempted that day. Surfing anywhere from Point Arena to Port Orford, mushroom hunting, fishing, or firewood cutting out east were all options.

Being 6 feet, 5 and an accomplished surfer, Jamie had no problem meeting lifelong surf buddies, such as Jack, Paul, Berto and Caputo, just to name a very few. He also had a lot of fun riding motorcycles with his younger neighbor Steve and his cerebral friend Karl, as well as Warren and Ron, after he moved to Blue Lake.

Jamie’s next stop in the county was up Brannon Mountain, Willow Creek. This is where he picked up his best dog, Pepsi, and funny associate Rue. Jamie, girlfriend Exene, Pepsi and Rue all lived together at an epic house with an inground pool and a flawless garden around the pool. Jamie made lifelong friends on Brannon Mountain, the likes of which included Lionel Lee and Bill and Suzie McKelvey, as well as the McKelvey’s boys, Luke, Travis, and Jake. (Jake also spent many days on the bluff with Jamie, as well as being on the call list.) It was Jamie’s break up with Exene that led him to start smoking cigarettes, which was shocking to all his friends and at 25 years old was a hard habit to start after being so fervently anti-cigarette before.

The Brannon Mountain days were the most adventurous for Jamie, with day-long 3-wheeler rides and barbecues out in the upper Three Creeks and Buck Buttes areas. A lot more firewood cutting and fishing ensued. Canoeing on the river replaced surfing and many overnighters on the South Fork of the Trinity River were had. Trips out to the Pit River and Eagle Lake in the winter scored him some epic fish. Like the bluff in Trinidad, the Big Rock area along the Trinity became his daily hangout to catch up on stories and give advice.

Jamie had been on Brannon Mountain for some time when an opportunity came up to work at his dad’s place in St. Helena. This is where he met his comrade, Tommy. Jamie and Tommy became fast friends and were responsible for maintaining the 23 acres around the massive St. Helena estate. After several months of landscaping Jamie started attending helicopter pilot school. According to Jamie, flying a helicopter was the best roller coaster ride of your life, with you controlling the intensity. Through a series of unique circumstances, Jamie found himself moving to several different cities in Southern California, where his occupation changed to nursery warehouse delivery driver. He rented a room from a cousin and spent most of his off-time perch fishing near Ventura. This is where he met the love of his life, Fiona. Pre-cell phone, we still had the daily call, usually before 5:45 a.m. with the first quart of coffee, and an evening call around 7 p.m. This continued until the fortunate day he was able to move himself and Fiona to his beloved Humboldt County.

Back in Arcata, Jamie was able to introduce Fiona to his nephews, Pierce and Behren, and a multitude of friends. Jamie and Fiona were married in Dave and Jessica’s yard in Westhaven. This new happiness consisted of construction work in Willow Creek as well as getting back into the local industry. Building decks, greenhouses, and teaching Fiona how to trim, they both were able to work together for several years. Hina, Fiona’s niece, visited from Hong Kong about this time, learning English from Uncle Jamie. One of Jamie’s most lasting impressions on his nephew Pierce was his consumption of “nasty ice.” Three-year-old Pierce insisted on carrying a full “nasty ice” can everywhere he went. Unfortunately, the aluminum can would weaken over time, and Jessica had to clean up many blown-out natty ice cans at play groups, day cares, preschools, and markets. This was at the same time life turned dark when Fiona was diagnosed with a severe illness.

Over the course of seven years Jamie was there for Fiona as she navigated the harsh reality of our healthcare system. During this time Jamie’s mom Laurie was also fighting a chronic disease. Like a one-two punch Jamie lost his mom and then his wife. After this Jamie told me he “lost his spark and passion for life.” I, along with his buddies Joey and Kyle, got him out fishing and had wonderful days of limits on all species. But slowly Jamie even lost his passion for fishing. This is when Jamie decided to take on the responsibility of bluff supervisor. Early morning calls worked better from the bluff than the empty front porch at home. Now his official office, the early morning calls starting with “Hey, what’s happening?” almost always started the day with me or “Deli John” competing to be first in line. What I wouldn’t give for one more “Hey, what’s happening?”

On the bluff he garnered an ever-increasing audience for some beneficial therapy. He was a giant of a man with a heart that matched, dispensing advice, sometimes uncomfortable, delivered from the front seat of his black Toyota with the American flag on the antennae. Looked out for by so many in the community: Dorothy and Danny, Ed, Tyler, Jimmy, “Deputy Diane,” Mark and Lori Chester, as well as half the town.

You left us too soon and suddenly, Jamie. I know I’ll see you on the other side when I hear “Hey, what’s happening?” followed by the cloud and swell report.

Some 200 people gathered at the Trinidad bluff on March 23 to pay tribute to Jamie. Another memorial service will be held sometime this summer.

Jamie was preceded in death by his mother Laurie, wife Fiona, Grandpa Morty, as well as Pepsi, Rue and Rue #2.

He is survived by his father Richard (Hildegard) Wax, sister Jessica Slamkowski, brother-in-law David Slamkowski, nephews Pierce and Behren, niece Hina, birth mother Diane Wilson, two aunts and several cousins on the East Coast.

Arrangements through Ayers Family Cremation.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Jamie Wax’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.

Bedell | Booking photo

Amber Bedell, a former marriage and family therapist who briefly reopened Singing Trees Recovery Center last year, was sentenced today to two years and eight months in state prison for child endangerment and driving while under the influence of alcohol.

The sentence, handed down by Judge Kaleb Cockrum, was for four felony counts stemming from two separate incidents.

On Fourth of July last year, Bedell was arrested for DUI and child endangerment. It was at least her third DUI arrest since 2016 and her second for child endangerment, according to state and county records.

At the time, Bedell was on supervised probation for a 2020 conviction for felony DUI with injury, according to Humboldt County District Attorney Stacey Eads.

On February 14, Bedell pleaded guilty to two felony counts of child endangerment and a single felony DUI charge. Her sentence factors in the 2020 parole violation, another felony, according to Eads.

After having her marriage and family therapist license revoked by the state in 2016, Bedell founded a 501(c)(3) nonprofit called Pure Solutions Family Services, Inc., which offered wraparound services for adopted children and their families in Humboldt, Mendocino and Butte Counties.

Last year, via that nonprofit, Bedell reopened Singing Trees, a drug detox and rehabilitation center that had served Southern Humboldt County for more than three decades before the longtime owner retired and closed its doors in 2022. 

After only a few months back up and running, the recovery center closed again following Bedell’s most recent arrest. Former employees subsequently reported her to the state, alleging that she misappropriated government funds that she’d acquired through her nonprofit. One complaint reviewed by the Outpost accused Bedell of funneling government funds meant to help at-risk children into the renovation and reopening of Singing Trees. Bedell denied those allegations.

Singing Trees remained open briefly after Bedell’s arrest last year, though it has since closed its doors again. 

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PREVIOUSLY

• McKinleyville Woman Reports Two Vehicles Stolen, Ends Up Arrested Herself on Child Endangerment, Firearm Charges; Two Others Arrested
• After Closing Its Doors Late Last Year, Singing Trees Recovery Center Will Reopen Next Week Under New Ownership
• New Owner of Singing Trees Recovery Center Arrested for DUI and Child Endangerment, and in Odd Interview She Denies That the State Revoked Her Therapy License. (It Did.)
• Singing Trees Recovery Center Staff Apologizes for Owners’ ‘Unhealthy Choice’ Following Recent DUI and Child Endangerment Arrest
• Following Owner’s DUI Arrest, Former Singing Trees Employees Report Unethical Behavior to the State

City of Fortuna release: 

On May 15th in between 2 pm and 9 pm the City of Fortuna will be conducting a water shutoff to repair a broken water main located on South Fortuna Boulevard.

This water shutdown and repair is associated with the emergency water shutoffs performed on Friday and Saturday of last week, which was due to a break that occurred on one of the City’s main water transmission lines.

The shutoffs are anticipated to affect customers located off of Fortuna Blvd in between Newburg Road and Strongs Creek Blvd, Spring and Summer Streets, and residential areas along Redwood Way west of Springville Avenue. However, due to the nature of the work larger or unforeseen service interruptions in other adjacent areas may be possible or required.

The City appreciates your patience and understanding as we deal with this unforeseen issue, and if you have any questions regarding the shutoff you can reach the Public Works Department at 725-1471.

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The Schatz Energy Research Center at Cal Poly Humboldt today launched the Pacific Offshore Wind Consortium (POWC), a partnership with the Pacific Marine Energy Center at Oregon State University and the Center for Coastal Marine Sciences at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo that will expand offshore wind-related research all along the West Coast. 

The consortium connects researchers and stakeholders from three communities currently sited for offshore wind development to use their collective expertise to “co-develop best practices” for the burgeoning industry.

“We need scientists, advocates, naturalists, historians, fisheries practitioners, regulators, developers, and cultural leaders, from across our communities to work together to evaluate and weigh potential impacts … to make any projects that are built here the best that they can be,” Schatz’s Senior Development Manager Maia Cheli told the Outpost. “By collaborating on research, expanding workforce and professional training opportunities in ways that respect and empower our tribes and local communities … we hope to further equity and to protect our coastal and marine ecosystems.” 

The Port of Humboldt Bay is in a unique position to become the epicenter of offshore wind energy manufacturing and distribution on the West Coast. In fact, Humboldt Bay is the only port on the West Coast that has the capacity to host all three of the primary port needs of the offshore wind industry: staging and integration, onsite manufacturing and operations and maintenance.

But before any of that can happen, the local energy transmission system must be expanded to accommodate the power generated by a commercial-scale offshore wind farm. As it stands, there are only a handful of transmission lines running in and out of Humboldt County, none of which have the capacity to accommodate the massive amount of power that the proposed development would generate.

“[W]e would need to have significant overland transmission system expansion in order to accommodate the power generated by the wind farms,” Cheli said. “While it’s unlikely that we will have major supply chain manufacturing here, many of the components will ultimately need to transit through our bay and coastal region.”

The POWC was announced today at the 2024 Pacific Offshore Offshore Wind Summit in Sacramento. More information can be found in the press release below.

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Press release from the Schatz Energy Research Center:

A new West Coast collaboration for offshore wind science was announced in Sacramento today. The Pacific Offshore Wind Consortium (POWC) is a joint effort between three research centers: the Schatz Energy Research Center at Cal Poly Humboldt, the Pacific Marine Energy Center at Oregon State University, and the Center for Coastal Marine Sciences at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Together, these universities are housed in and support the coastal communities in California and Oregon which are anticipated to host floating offshore wind development. The POWC (pronounced pow-sea) will enable universities, host communities, and Tribal nations to share resources, co-develop best practices, and design comprehensive research programs that reflect the dynamic nature of the ocean environment and the diversity of community perspectives.

The consortium will advance three pillars: (i) research and innovation, (ii) university-level workforce education and professional development, and (iii) community and Tribal engagement and knowledge exchange.

Expertise from three universities

The Schatz Energy Research Center is located in the Humboldt Bay Area, which is preparing to house one of only two feasible staging and integration ports in California for offshore wind deployment. Humboldt is also home to two wind lease areas, which begin 20 miles offshore and span 207 square miles. Since 2018, the Schatz Center has published over 30 reports on topics ranging from transmission expansion to seabird vulnerability, in an effort to understand the feasibility of offshore wind, and to identify critical environmental and community needs that would be associated with its development. The Schatz Center works in close partnership with Tribal Nations, county services, and state government to design innovative solutions for clean power generation and energy resilience.

“We are coming together as a consortium because we know we need to take bold action to address climate change, and offshore wind has potential to play an important role. We also know that the transition to clean energy needs to happen in a way that is inclusive, equitable, and environmentally responsible,” says Arne Jacobson, Director of the Schatz Center. “As universities embedded in the regions where offshore wind is proposed, we have a special role to play, and – working in collaboration with partners – we can help generate the knowledge needed to transform our energy system in a way that does right by our communities and the planet.”

Environmental research for offshore wind includes baseline surveys, behavioral assessments, data integration and modeling, monitoring for protected species, planned mitigation, pathways for adaptive management, and transfer of lessons learned. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is home to the Center for Coastal Marine Sciences, which has a history of interdisciplinary, applied research to address a range of management issues for the Central Coast. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo works collaboratively with a variety of interest groups in the Morro Bay Area to promote and design effective environmental monitoring for offshore wind. The Morro Bay Wind Energy Area covers 376 square miles across three wind lease areas.

“It will be essential that any offshore wind energy projects are developed in environmentally and socially responsible ways,” says Benjamin Ruttenberg, Director of the Center of Coastal Marine Sciences. “While many of the key issues are common across regions, some will be area-specific. The diverse expertise across the POWC institutions, along with their deep understanding of local communities and regional environmental issues, makes this group extremely well-qualified to be a neutral and trusted source to generate and summarize scientific information that can inform and guide the conversations about whether and how to deploy offshore wind.”

The Pacific Marine Energy Center (PMEC) at Oregon State University brings over 15 years of experience investigating the technical, environmental, and social dimensions of offshore energy, and expanding scientific understanding, engaging stakeholders, and educating students. The Hatfield Marine Science Center at OSU serves as a hub for research on potential ecological effects of offshore renewable energy, while the PacWave test site demonstrates in-water activities and potential issues associated with offshore energy projects, such as seabed surveys, cable laying, construction and operational noise, and electromagnetic fields (EMF). PMEC also conducts significant hydrodynamic and aerodynamic studies of offshore wind platforms at the Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory. The State of Oregon is now considering how offshore wind could be incorporated with the environment, existing ocean uses, cultures, and communities, as lease sales for offshore floating wind sites are expected in fall 2024.

“This consortium will leverage the experience and expertise of the three partner universities and provide consistency of approach to evaluation of offshore wind along the west coast,” says Sarah Henkel, Associate Director of the Pacific Marine Energy Center at OSU. “We are excited that through this consortium we will have additional support to engage with our local communities, continue our regional ecological investigations, focus on development of next generation platform design, as well as collaborate and share findings to build a comprehensive understanding of outcomes related to potential offshore wind deployment.”

POWC Advisory Committee

The POWC will support interdisciplinary understanding across academia, industry, agencies, community organizations, and Tribal Nations. This breadth is reflected in the consortium’s Advisory Committee, which recently convened for its inaugural meeting. As a non-governing committee, the advisory group will provide guidance and advance discussion and collaboration in the offshore wind space. Founding members include representatives from: Tribal Nations: the Hon. Jason Ramos and Heidi Moore-Guynup, Blue Lake Rancheria, Linnea Jackson, Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District, and Michael Gerace, the Hon. Lana McCovey and the Hon. Philip Williams, Yurok Tribe; State agencies: Jenn Eckerle and Justine Kimball, California Natural Resources Agency / California Ocean Protection Council, Katerina Robinson and Jessica Eckdish, California Energy Commission, Andy Lanier, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, and Jason Sierman, Oregon Department of Energy; Federal labs, agencies, and Sea Grant partnerships: Alicia Mahon, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Karina Nielsen, Oregon Sea Grant, Shauna Oh, California Sea Grant and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Eric P. Bjorkstedt, NOAA Fisheries, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Science Division and Department of Fisheries Biology, Cal Poly Humboldt; Philanthropy: Curtis Seymour, AC Strategies; and the Offshore wind industry: Ciara Emery and Joel Southall, RWE Offshore Wind Holdings, LLC, and Laura Nagy and Erik Peckar, Vineyard Offshore.

“The Blue Lake Rancheria recognises the urgency of the climate crisis and intends to leverage their knowledge and resources to continue to advance clean energy innovations,” says Heidi Moore-Guynup, Director of Tribal and Government Affairs at the Blue Lake Rancheria (BLR). “At the same time, BLR understands the imperative need to coordinate scientific inquiry and research and believes that Traditional Ecological Knowledge must be part of such inquiry. BLR is honored to serve on the POWC advisory committee and looks forward to uplifting the findings of this consortium.”

”Oregon Sea Grant understands the broad spectrum of challenges and opportunities that floating offshore wind energy brings to the US West Coast. There is a clear and urgent need for regional integration of science and knowledge across many disciplines to enable responsible development of offshore wind energy,” said Karina Nielsen, Director of Oregon Sea Grant. “We look forward to partnering with POWC, our sister Sea Grant programs in California and Washington, the National Sea Grant Offshore Wind Energy Liaison, and other partners to support co-developed research and community education to help our coastal communities and marine ecosystems thrive.”

POWC funding

Over $12 million in current grant funding, primarily from state and federal agencies, supports offshore renewables research and project work at the three centers. Additionally, the POWC itself has received commitments for $1.6 million in starting funds from private donors and industry.

“Growing an offshore wind industry that’s responsible, equitable and inclusive requires sustained commitments and deep collaboration,” said Alicia Barton, CEO of Vineyard Offshore. “We are delighted to support and participate in the new Pacific Offshore Wind Consortium. Anchored by three world-class research institutions, the Consortium will foster meaningful engagement, research and collaboration within the west coast offshore wind industry. Our partnership in this effort reinforces Vineyard Offshore’s dedication to enhancing opportunities for Tribal Nations, underserved communities, and local businesses while preparing students and others for careers in this burgeoning field.”

“We’re proud to be supporting the world-class research of Cal Poly Humboldt, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Oregon State University and to contribute to an effort that meets the needs of the Humboldt region,” said Sam Eaton, CEO of RWE US Offshore Wind Holdings. “Community engagement is a core principle of RWE’s approach to developing offshore wind projects, including our Canopy Offshore Wind project off of Northern California. The Humboldt community will help us shape this project as well as the future of offshore wind on the Pacific Coast. Offshore wind will play an essential role in our clean energy future, job creation and local economic development, and the Pacific Offshore Wind Consortium’s work will provide valuable insights into the responsible development of this renewable resource.”

Press release from PG&E:

PG&E is going to be conducting helicopter patrols in southern Humboldt starting tomorrow, May 15 and flying through Sunday, May 19. The patrols are for compliance inspections. The helicopters will be flying during daylight hours and will be surveying PG&E equipment in the following areas: Garberville, Alderpoint, Blocksburg, Bell Springs, Ruth Lake, Dinsmore, Bridgeville and Myers Flat/Fruitland.

We know that residents in the Humboldt County area often have questions when they see helicopters flying overhead. We are aware that customers value their privacy and want to reassure the public that PG&E is only looking at our equipment. If you could help get the word out to your audience, we would appreciate it.

Done! Take it away, Rod.