Latest news with #SamLiccardo
CBS News
24-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Pacifica loses $50 million in FEMA funding to pay for a seawall project
The crash of waves along the Pacifica coastline is music to Jennifer Christiansen's ears — it's also a warning sign. As coastal erosion worsens, so too does the threat to homes, businesses, and the very land they sit on. "When the water breaks, this is uninhabitable," said Christiansen, who owns a gift and pottery shop in on Palmetto Ave. in Pacifica. "So, when the weather is bad, we don't get foot traffic. When the weather is good, we get amazing foot traffic. Mother Nature tells us when people are going to come and visit." Christiansen's shop is perched just steps from Beach Boulevard, a stretch increasingly impacted by erosion and flooding. A $50 million federal grant from FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program had been earmarked for a seawall project that locals hoped would protect the coastline. But last month, the Trump administration slashed the funding as part of the president's broader cost-saving initiative. For Christiansen, the consequences are tangible. "We used to have these amazing benches. We can't have those anymore because they floated away and we can't put garbage cans in a lot of places, because it floats away and then it becomes part of the trash in the ocean," she said. "If we don't do something to protect this infrastructure, it's just going to keep going. So that means all the houses, all the buildings, all the businesses, are going to be impacted at some point." Congressman Sam Liccardo is one of several local leaders voicing opposition to the cuts. At a press conference Friday, he criticized the decision, citing long-term cost savings associated with proactive infrastructure spending. "Natural disasters in this time of climate change, if they're not more frequent, they're more severe. We know that $1 of infrastructure can save $13 in damages," Liccardo said. He said he plans to introduce legislation aimed at restoring the lost FEMA funds. "It is cruel and chaotic to not invest in preventative measures we all know we critically need to prevent harm from these storms," he added. As the holiday weekend approaches, Christiansen is preparing for another influx of visitors — and hoping they understand the deeper stakes. "This whole thing could go away," she said. "I have a ton of friends that are like, 'Oh yeah, I used to surf here. I used to do that there.' Great. Could you help us, because we're suffering."
CBS News
05-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Most Bay Area lawmakers plan on attending President Trump's address to Congress as other Dems weigh response
As Democrats gauge their response to President Trump's address Tuesday to a joint session of Congress, most Bay Area lawmakers have indicated they will attend the address. Among those attending will be Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-San Jose), Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose), and Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Monterey), each of whom will bring a fired federal worker as a guest. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rep. Sam Liccardo (@repliccardo) Other Bay Area Reps. Eric Swalwell, Ro Khanna, Jared Huffman, and John Garamendi have indicated they will be attending. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who famously tore up Mr. Trump's hard copy of his 2020 State of the Union speech, will also attend. Both of California's senators will also be at Tuesday's address, with Sen. Alex Padilla bringing as his guest a Los Angeles fire captain who fought the Palisades Fire, while Sen. Adam Schiff will bring a federal firefighter from Vandenberg Space Force Base as his guest. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) has been named as the House Democrats' designated survivor and will not attend, nor will Peninsula congressman Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-San Mateo), who is recovering from surgery. Some Democratic lawmakers have said they would boycott Trump's speech to Congress to protest the administration's executive orders on immigration, across-the-board firings of federal workers, Elon Musk's DOGE task force, creation of a tariff-fueled trade war, and foreign policy moves favoring Russia in its war on Ukraine. Other Democrats are instead inviting fired federal workers to the joint session instead of boycotting the speech. Rep. Huffman said in an Instagram video he's not ruling out walking out of the address. "I know that many of my colleagues are eager to sit in and express our profound opposition to everything going on," Huffman told Axios, hinting at some outward response during the speech. "It is far better to push back inside the room, I think, than outside."
