A Milestone for Camp Fire Recovery as Town Looks to Future
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This week brought an inspiring celebration of recovery in the Town of Paradise with a ribbon‑cutting celebration at Paradise Elementary School‚ a major step forward in the work to rebuild the school system on the ridge that suffered catastrophic damage‚ along with the rest of the town‚ in the 2018 Camp Fire.
Voters in the Paradise Unified School District had passed a bond measure in an election just days before the fire‚ and this provided critical local resources that turned out to be needed far more than anyone had imagined. Several of the district’s schools have been rebuilt from the ground up‚ providing modern facilities to serve future generations. Paradise Elementary‚ the latest‚ will welcome students into classrooms Aug. 12‚ and it is already full.
Historical Society Writes New Chapter
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On Thursday Team Dahle joined the Shasta Historical Society and the Redding Chamber of Commerce for a celebration of the reopening of the Historical Society’s headquarters‚ museum and research center in Redding.
Flooding several years ago forced the Historical Society to move out its building‚ but inspections then revealed structural problems in the century‑old structure that required extensive engineering to keep the roof strong.
Now safe and sound for another century‚ the building is a brick‑and‑mortar testament to the Historical Society’s work – preserving the past while making its stories relevant to future generations.
Congratulations to the society for this successful work – and especially to its past board president‚ Jason Salter‚ who was honored for his leadership through the disaster and major reconstruction.
RAC’s Help Shape Forests’ Future
Do you spend your work days or weekends in the national forests near your community? Would you like to help shape the priorities for how they spend money on forest improvements?
Forests around the North State are currently recruiting to fill Resource Advisory Committees.
Under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self‑Determination Act‚ which Congress re‑authorized last year‚ these committees bring together a diverse mix of forest users and community members to help steer spending for community projects related to the forests. The committees can include loggers‚ hunters‚ off‑roaders environmental groups‚ tribal representatives‚ educators‚ local elected officials and more – so genuinely diverse stakeholders are at the table working together.
The projects funded can improve forest infrastructure‚ such as roads‚ trails‚ or water systems; restore meadows‚ degraded creeks‚ or other habitat; and create job opportunities‚ such as summer youth work programs. But they can’t do it without first filling the committees so the public is involved. Interested?
The Plumas National Forest is recruiting in Butte and Plumas counties.
The Tahoe National Forest is recruiting in Sierra‚ Nevada and Placer counties.
The Shasta‑Trinity National Forest is recruiting in Shasta County.
The Klamath National Forest is recruiting in Siskiyou County.
Click the link relevant to you for much more information.
The Lassen National Forest has not started recruiting in Lassen County yet‚ but likely will later this year. Anyone interested can contact Stephaney Cox at Stephaney.Cox@usda.gov.
The RAC’s are a great practical way to get involved in the future of your forests.
Have Bill Questions? LegInfo has Answers
Next week the Legislature will return after the summer recess‚ with a four‑week sprint through August to consider bills before the end of the session.
This is a time when many bills will be in the news‚ and you might hear about a bill that you love – or hate – and would like to learn more about.
The good news is you don’t need a lobbyist to access free‚ public information about every bill being debated by the Legislature.
Would you like to read the text of a piece of legislation? Find out where it stands in the legislative process? Read plain‑English analyses about what the bill aims to do and what supporters and opponents argue? Find out who voted for or against it?
All of this information is at your fingertips through the California Legislative Information website.
You can also create an account to get alerts about a specific bill as it moves through the process‚ and share your own thoughts with the author.
Of course you can always contact my offices directly‚ and I encourage you to do that. My team is happy to answer questions and research legislation if they don’t already know the answers‚ and what constituents have to say about bills is the most important factor in weighing my own votes.
But if you want to do your own research‚ LegInfo is a powerful tool.