Latest news with #DougLaMalfa
CBS News
7 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Key levee project near Yuba City almost complete after more than a decade
YUBA CITY — It's the final stretch for a years-long project to improve a key levee near Yuba City. The Tudor flood risk reduction project is finally wrapping up after more than a decade. It will protect more than 2,000 people, farmland and Highway 99, but officials say there's still more to be done. "You're not going to have unnecessary floods just because the infrastructure didn't get done," said Congressman Doug LaMalfa. Congressman LaMalfa and Assemblyman James Gallagher joined the Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency (SBFCA) in a groundbreaking ceremony to finish shoring up the last 1.6-mile stretch of the Feather River west levee. "When this is done, we will have completed 44 miles of levee improvements. We've already certified 200-year level protection for our urban areas. This project helps protect the southern portion, the rural areas of our basin," said SBFCA executive director Michael Bessette. Construction for the Tudor flood risk reduction project began in 2013 at Shanghai Bend, the same site of the 1955 levee break that claimed the lives of 30 people. "It's an eternal, vigilant effort. You have to always maintain and keep an eye on your levees," Congressman LaMalfa said. This last stretch of the project, which costs $18 million, is locally funded. "The [SBFCA] have been able to do a lot of the projects in about half the time and half the cost of what it takes government entities to do," LaMalfa said. "We're using additional funding to continue to design our bypass levee. We have 5 miles of levee repairs under design right now," Bessette said. Levee work isn't really ever over. The next project will be to shore up the Sutter Bypass. The project was slated to begin in 2027, but with recent FEMA cuts, the SBFCA is still working on securing funds. "We're out that $50 million, so we're looking at other FEMA programs to apply for. Congressman LaMalfa is a huge advocate for this agency, and he's going to D.C. to help pass that funding on to this program," Bessette said. The Tudor flood risk reduction project will be completed by next year.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New high-tech Air Force Mission at Beale AFB
Washington, D.C.—Beale Air Force Base has been selected as the preferred location for the Air Force's new Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) Aircraft Readiness Unit, announced Congressman Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, a major step forward in securing the base's future role in next-generation defense technology. 'This is a major win for Beale AFB and a vote of confidence in the capabilities of our region,' LaMalfa said. 'These aircraft represent the future of the Air Force—autonomous, highly capable, and ready to deploy at a moment's notice. I worked closely with my colleagues in Congress, state and local leaders, and the Department of Defense to make the case for Beale. I want to thank President Trump, DOD leadership, and the Air Force for recognizing Beale's strategic importance and moving quickly to make it happen.' The selection of Beale Air Force Base won over competing sites in Nevada and North Dakota. Collaborative Combat Aircraft are part of the next generation of autonomous and fully integrated aircraft that will have broad multi-use capability from intelligence gathering to weapons deployment and much more, according to LaMalfa's office. The new technology and airframes are part of a fast-evolving modernization of the USAF. The Air Force is currently conducting ground tests of the aircraft, with flight testing expected later this year. LaMalfa, Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, represents California's First Congressional District, including Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama and Yuba counties.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
California base home to new unit that ‘represents the future of the Air Force'
Beale Air Force Base will be home to a new mission that could return the Northern California installation to the forefront of defense technology. Beale, near Marysville in Yuba County, was announced as the home of the Air Force's new Collaborative Combat Aircraft's readiness unit and its semiautonomous, unmanned aircraft, a mission that Air Force leaders and California lawmakers are calling a milestone. One of the mission's ultimate goals, said Air Force officials: 'delivering combat power at a fraction of the cost of traditional fighters.' 'This is a major win for Beale AFB and a vote of confidence in the capabilities of our region,' said Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, in a statement Friday announcing the move. 'These aircraft represent the future of the Air Force —autonomous, highly capable, and ready to deploy at a moment's notice. This new mission not only solidifies Beale's role in our national defense, but also brings new technology and investment to our region.' LaMalfa and California Sen. Adam Schiff worked to bring the unit to Northern California. The Beale site beat out Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and North Dakota's Grand Forks Air Force Base for the technologically advanced unit. The two lawmakers toured Beale just weeks ago ahead of the Air Force's announcement, LaMalfa's office said. 'When we visited Beale Air Force Base just a couple weeks ago, I met committed California servicemembers working to protect our nation and apply new technologies to the adapting threats we face,' Schiff is quoted in the statement. 'As the West Coast remains on the front line for deterring adversaries in the Pacific and the home of the nation's technological innovation, I'm proud to see Yuba County at the tip of the spear for promoting America's national security.' Two aircraft, the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A, are undergoing ground testing to evaluate engine performance, avionics and other metrics before moving to flight testing later this year, said Air Force officials. A decision on production of the aircraft is expected in 2026. 'This phase bridges the gap between design and flight, boosting confidence and laying the groundwork for a successful first flight and eventual fielding to the warfighter,' U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin said in a statement. 'We're moving fast because the warfighter needs this capability,' Allvin said. 'These aircraft will help us turn readiness into operational dominance.' The ability to take combat-ready aircraft to the skies at a moment's notice is a key component of Beale's new mission. Efficiency is just as important, said Air Force officials in informational materials detailing the new unit. The new unmanned aircraft means fewer sorties or training missions to maintain flight readiness. The aircraft will be ready to fly at any time, but minimally flown so fewer airmen will be needed to support the fleet, Air Force officials said. The incoming unit marks a reunion of sorts for the Northern California base. The RQ-4 Global Hawk, the unmanned, remotely-piloted, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft that supported operations including Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, patrolled the skies from its Beale Air Force Base home from 2004 until it was pulled from the base in 2022. In addition to its new mission with future unmanned combat aircraft, Beale plays a key role in national defense with several important operations. The base is home to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing and the U-2 'Dragon Lady,' a high-altitude spy plane that gathers intelligence from around the world. These aircraft have even been used recently to monitor the U.S.-Mexico border. Beale also supports aerial refueling with KC-135 tankers, which help other aircraft stay in the air longer. The base will host to its annual air and space expo June 7-8. Tickets and more information are available at
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House Republicans vote to remove California fish from endangered species list
House Republicans passed a measure Thursday that would repeal the government's decision to place California's longfin smelt, a finger-sized fish, on the endangered species list. House members passed the resolution, introduced by California Rep. Doug LaMalfa (D-Richvale), in a 216-195 vote that followed party lines. The resolution now goes to the Republican-controlled Senate. 'We want to block the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's misguided decision to list the San Francisco Bay Delta population of the longfin smelt as being endangered,' LaMalfa, who represents a rice-growing region in Northern California, said before the vote. He said the agency's decision last year to declare the fish species endangered was 'unscientific' and said it's making it harder to deliver water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to farmers. The resolution was condemned by Democrats, who said the resolution goes against science and years of study by federal wildlife officials. 'They're turning a small fish into a very large scapegoat, pretending it will somehow provide real support to farmers,' said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael). 'The longfin population has declined over 99% since the 1980s,' Huffman said. 'The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service followed the law, the data and the science, just as Congress intended.' Read more: Another California fish is added to the federal endangered species list The resolution would repeal the Fish and Wildlife Service's 2024 decision under provisions of the 1996 Congressional Review Act, which enables Congress to review and disapprove rules adopted by agencies under certain circumstances. The measure will next be considered by the Senate, where opponents said they fear it could also be passed. If approved and signed by President Trump, it would be the first action by Congress to use its authority under the 1996 law to strip protections from a species under the Endangered Species Act. Longfin smelt, which live in bays and estuaries along the Pacific Coast, are the sixth fish species in the San Francisco Bay estuary to be added to the federal endangered species list. The fish once filled the bay, but federal wildlife officials declared the population endangered after determining it had suffered a drastic decline. The agency's decision followed a lengthy process that began with a 2007 petition submitted by environmental groups and that involved several lawsuits. The fish were listed by California as threatened in 2009. Environmental groups said the decline of the longfin smelt, along with other fish species including Delta smelt and Chinook salmon, is linked to water management policies that have reduced flows through the estuary and contributed to worsening water quality. 'The resolution would essentially condemn San Francisco Bay's longfin smelt to extinction,' said Jon Rosenfield, science director for the group San Francisco Baykeeper. 'Removing protections for this fish would also be a blow to other imperiled fish populations, fisheries, and clean water in the Delta.' This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
House Republicans vote to remove California fish from endangered species list
House Republicans passed a measure Thursday that would repeal the government's decision to place California's longfin smelt, a finger-sized fish, on the endangered species list. House members passed the resolution, introduced by California Rep. Doug LaMalfa (D-Richvale), in a 216-195 vote that followed party lines. The resolution now goes to the Republican-controlled Senate. 'We want to block the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's misguided decision to list the San Francisco Bay Delta population of the longfin smelt as being endangered,' LaMalfa, who represents a rice-growing region in Northern California, said before the vote. He said the agency's decision last year to declare the fish species endangered was 'unscientific' and said it's making it harder to deliver water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to farmers. The resolution was condemned by Democrats, who said the resolution goes against science and years of study by federal wildlife officials. 'They're turning a small fish into a very large scapegoat, pretending it will somehow provide real support to farmers,' said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael). 'The longfin population has declined over 99% since the 1980s,' Huffman said. 'The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service followed the law, the data and the science, just as Congress intended.' The resolution would repeal the Fish and Wildlife Service's 2024 decision under provisions of the 1996 Congressional Review Act, which enables Congress to review and disapprove rules adopted by agencies under certain circumstances. The measure will next be considered by the Senate, where opponents said they fear it could also be passed. If approved and signed by President Trump, it would be the first action by Congress to use its authority under the 1996 law to strip protections from a species under the Endangered Species Act. Longfin smelt, which live in bays and estuaries along the Pacific Coast, are the sixth fish species in the San Francisco Bay estuary to be added to the federal endangered species list. The fish once filled the bay, but federal wildlife officials declared the population endangered after determining it had suffered a drastic decline. The agency's decision followed a lengthy process that began with a 2007 petition submitted by environmental groups and that involved several lawsuits. The fish were listed by California as threatened in 2009. Environmental groups said the decline of the longfin smelt, along with other fish species including Delta smelt and Chinook salmon, is linked to water management policies that have reduced flows through the estuary and contributed to worsening water quality. 'The resolution would essentially condemn San Francisco Bay's longfin smelt to extinction,' said Jon Rosenfield, science director for the group San Francisco Baykeeper. 'Removing protections for this fish would also be a blow to other imperiled fish populations, fisheries, and clean water in the Delta.'
