• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) announced on Jan. 11 that he requested that the chief administrative officer of the House of Representatives withhold his pay until the government is fully reopened. "I'm standing in solidarity with federal workers on the Central Coast and across the country who are struggling to pay their bills this month and whose families are hurting due to this irresponsible shutdown. If they're not getting paid, neither am I," Carbajal said in a press release. "The president is recklessly holding paychecks for our public servants hostage over his ineffective wall."
• Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) will remain the vice chair of the Assembly Rules Committee and co-chair of the Legislative Ethics Committee. Cunningham will also be the vice chair of the Jobs, Economic Development, and Economy Committee and serve as a member of the Agriculture, Business and Professions, Transportation, and Utilities and Energy Committees. "With new assignments ... I am confident our office will continue to be an independent and bipartisan voice for the Central Coast," Cunningham said in a press release. "I will continue to work across the aisle for creative solutions to our region's issues." Assemblymember Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) serves as chair of the Banking and Finance Committee. She also serves on the Budget, Health, Housing and Community Development, and Natural Resources committees. Limón will also serve as the chair of the Natural Disaster, Response, Recovery, and Rebuilding and the Nonprofit Sector select committees (small committees appointed for special purposes), as well as serving as a member of the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture.
• At least two Central Coast legislators are excited about Gov. Gavin Newsom's first budget proposal. State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) released a statement calling his proposal "visionary yet prudent." She applauded the new governor on investments in fire prevention and recovery, education, child care, affordable housing and homelessness reduction, and access to justice. One of Jackson's pet causes, expanding paid family leave, was also on the list of issues that could receive more money under the proposal. "This proposed budget also sends us on a path to eliminate our recession-era debt while boldly planning for our future," she said in the statement. Assemblymember Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) also sees expanding paid family leave time as a positive. Limón issued a statement saying she was encouraged by the investments proposed in the governor's 2019-20 budget, specifically pointing to the investments in forest health and wildfire prevention and response, Alzheimer's research, and "cradle to career" programs for K-12. "Gov. Newsom's commitment to invest in Alzheimer's research is especially meaningful, as I am one of thousands of Californians who has a family member that is directly impacted by Alzheimer's," she said.
• The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved the appointment of Mark A. Hartwig as the next fire chief of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. Hartwig served as San Bernardino County Fire District chief starting in 2011, leading a department with 1,065 employees and 70 fire stations that covered 10 incorporated and 60 unincorporated communities. The California State Fire Chiefs' Association recognized Hartwig as California's Fire Chief of the Year in 2017. "Chief Hartwig stood out given his experience, statewide leadership, expertise in emergency medical services, and understanding of disaster readiness," County Executive Officer Mona Miyasato said in a press release.
