Carbajal reintroduces bill banning new offshore drilling

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

On Friday, Rep. Salud Carbajal announced he is reintroducing his bill aimed at protecting the central coast in response to a renewed push by the new House Republican majority seeking to expand offshore drilling and the sale of public lands to oil companies.

“When I first came to Congress six years ago, I pledged to our Central Coast communities that I would fight back against Big Oil’s appetite for drilling off our shores and in our public lands,” said Rep. Carbajal in a press release. “Back then, it was because then-President Donald Trump had started lining his Cabinet with oil and gas lobbyists and putting everything from our California shores to our national parks to monuments on Big Oil’s shopping list. Unfortunately, there is now a new Republican majority in the House aiming to return to that agenda – all while claiming to have the best interest of our working families in mind.

Just a few weeks ago, House Republicans forced through a bill that would force the President to put new public lands up for

UKRAINE

Continued from Page A1 and local Ukranians Oksana Yakushko, Tatyana Taruta, and Tatyana and Oleg Marchenko.

Ms. Reineck estimated a couple of hundred people were in attendance at the rally. “It was amazing.The people and officials speaking had been to Ukraine or were very much involved in calling out for support to Ukraine from America. These were people who have been really involved in supporting Ukraine. “The struggle for democracy and freedom is everyone’s struggle,” she continued. “It’s about sovereignty and not allowing countries to take over other countries. The speeches were very passionate and articulate about the cause, and I think the people and the audience who came were a mix of Ukrainians and the local community who care about Ukraine. There were American and Ukrainian flags and posters in support of Ukraine. Nobody left when it started raining even though it was a pretty good downpour, which started about 20 minutes in and lasted until the end.”

Assemblyman Hart told the News-Press, “As we have recently passed the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, it is important to demonstrate community solidarity for the brave and heroic people of Ukraine in their resistance against the Russian invasion. I was very proud when President (Joe) Biden visited President (Volodymyr) Zelensky in Kyiv to demonstrate auction. This is not only wrong-headed, its recklessness might actually lead to you and I having to pay more at the gas pump.” the American commitment to Ukraine and to the world that the U.S. is a determined ally to protect democracy and freedom everywhere in the world.”

The California Clean Coast Act would permanently ban future offshore oil and gas leasing in areas of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) off the coast of California. This legislation was the first bill ever introduced by Rep. Carbajal as a member of Congress in 2017. In 2019, the bill was passed in the House as a part of a package of offshore drilling-related legislation.The bill has the support of Oceana, the Environmental Defense Center, Community Environmental Council, and Get Oil Out (GOO).

“The California Clean Coast Act is necessary to protect our coast from the threats of offshore oil drilling,” Linda Krop, Chief Counsel of the Environmental Defense Center (founded in the aftermath of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill), said in a press release. “From the 1969 blowout at Platform A, to the 2015 pipeline spill along the Gaviota Coast, to the more recent spill in Orange County, the California Coast has suffered the devastating effects of offshore oil development on our communities and those who live, recreate, and work here.

The News-Press asked Ms. Reineck what the atmosphere was like during the rally. “People were feeling passionate about Ukraine and its people. People were very emotional about what it meant to be in a war for a whole year and to see deep support for local Ukrainians, as well as Ukrainians feeling emotional about American support. There was lots of emotion and feeling. The speeches were unusually emotional. It was very successful; it brought together people who care about this.”

Local Ukrainian Oleg Marchenko made a presentation to World Dance for Humanity, where she listed everything the nonprofit has bought for shelters in Ukraine with the money raised. Items include propane stoves, headlamps, woodburning stoves, T-shirts, socks and toys for Christmas.

Ms. Reineck was the final speaker at the rally.

“I spoke about keeping this alive in people’s hearts and minds. There are very real people who are suffering and we can do something to help. Ukraine has a special place in our hearts. It was an incredible experience, and we could feel Ukraine because of the rain.

“In the end, we had a prayer circle for Ukraine and played Brad Paisley’s recently released song ‘Same Here,’ featuring President Zelensky.” email: kzehnder@newspress.com

We know that when it comes to offshore oil drilling, it is not a question of if – but when – another spill will devastate our beaches and ocean waters. The California Clean Coast Act will preserve our precious coast from the threats of future oil spills and climate change.”

“California is quickly moving beyond oil to meet our goal of Carbon Neutrality by 2045 or sooner. Renewable energy is surging, electric vehicle sales are accelerating, and natural gas is being eliminated from buildings. New oil development has no place in California,” Michael Chiacos, Director of Climate Policy at Community Environmental Council, said in a press release.

“The catastrophic effect of oil spills on our coastline, marine life and economy is a huge red flag in continuing further oil development along our coastline. It is with this history and the goal of avoiding future imminent oil spill disasters and environmental catastrophes that GOO! strongly supports the California Clean Coast Act,” Michael Lyons, President of GOO, said in a press release.

“When they drill they spill and coastal communities deserve a healthy ocean and oil-free beaches. We applaud Congressman Carbajal for reintroducing the California Clean Coast Act, which would permanently protect the state’s coast from dirty and dangerous drilling. More drilling means more climate pollution which we cannot afford. Permanently ending new offshore drilling can help address the climate crisis and safeguard our coastal economy,”

Diane Hoskins, Oceana Campaign Director, said in a press release.

“A group of surfers and rock climbers founded Patagonia down the coast from here 50 years ago,” J.J. Huggins, Patagonia spokesman said in a press release. “We could have built our company anywhere, and one of the reasons we remained here is because of this region’s world-class surf breaks. Our coastline supports outdoor recreation, restaurants, hotels, grocery stores and other local businesses. We’re here to work with all aspects of society — from government, nonprofits and the private sector — to protect the community and wildlife from the climate and ecological crises.”

The legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives today with Reps. Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Ami Bera

(CA-06), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Judy Chu (CA-28), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), John Garamendi (CA-08), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Sara Jacobs (CA51), Barbara Lee (CA-12), Mike Levin (CA49), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Grace Napolitano (CA-31), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Adam Schiff (CA-30), Eric Swalwell (CA-15), Scott Peters (CA-50), Katie Porter (CA-47), Mark Takano (CA-39), Juan Vargas (CA-52).

In recent weeks, Rep. Carbajal has vocally opposed legislation passed Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives that would block any releases from the strategic reserve until oil and gas drilling in the United States is expanded on federal lands, despite evidence that releases from the reserve have helped lower gas prices and that oil companies already hold 13 million acres of unused leases of public land.

The Republican-led House also recently rejected attempts by Rep. Carbajal and other California lawmakers to block future oil drilling off the central coast and other coastlines of California. email: kzehnder@newspress.com

Lompoc firefighters rescued newborn, parents before Jan. 9 Storms

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

On Jan. 9, Lompoc firefighters rescued a newborn just minutes old and the parents from a riverbed just before the storms hit.

“While preparing to depart, the pregnant woman went into labor earlier than expected. The husband assisted with the baby’s birth while they waited for emergency assistance. Our fire department was first on scene and assisted with moving the baby and parents out of the river bed,” Mayor Jenelle Osborne told the News-Press in an email.

At 11:43 a.m. on Jan. 9, the Lompoc Fire Department was in the 2000 block of North H St. checking on black smoke they had seen earlier. While there, they discovered a white female adult actively giving birth with the assistance of the child’s father. The fire department contacted them while they formulated a plan to rescue the trio, as they were surrounded by water flowing through the riverbed.

“The fire department’s Engine 52 and Rescue 51 responded with Medic 7, and Medic 134 to reports of persons trapped in the river bottom. Crews responded to the 2000 block of North H, to find multiple persons trapped by rapidly moving water,” Fire Chief Brian Fallon told the News-Press in an email. “One victim was a pregnant female in active labor.

Prior to the arrival of the fire department, the victim had given birth. The fire department arranged a rope system in order to safely bring the victims to shore, using a pendulum system. Complicating some of the rescue efforts were victims attempting to self-rescue. Due to the quick intervention of the Lompoc fire department efforts were made to safely affect the rescue.”

“The mother and child were transported by American Medical Response (AMR) and Medic 134 to the emergency department for further care. Lompoc fire crews are trained for these types of incidents. Due to the extensive hours of training in urban search and rescue training, Lompoc firefighters were equipped to mitigate the incident and affect the rescue. Urban search and rescue training involves rope systems management, confined space, search and rescue, and other technical rescues that are above and beyond the basic firefighters’ training. These skills are trained upon and honed by the Lompoc City Fire department for such occasions as these,” said Chief Fallon.

“This was not ideal for either the couple and baby or our emergency responders. Both the sheriff’s department and our local police department had spent time and resources to notify those residing in the riverbed that it was dangerous to remain in the riverbed with the oncoming storms and expected flooding. No one should have been residing in the river bed. It is unfortunate that the county had not invested the time and money to address the issue of those living in the river bed prior to this series of storms. I