• Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) sent four letters as the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee requesting information related to the Senate investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible obstruction of the FBI’s investigations into potential ties between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia. Feinstein sent a letter to K.T. McFarland, requesting and interview and documents related to former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s communications with Russian Ambassador Sergie Kislyak; one to the Trump administration’s transition team, requesting documents that would include communications between the transition team and Russian officials; Monica Crowley, requesting an interview and documents related to Flynn, the transition team, and changes to the Republican National Party platform with regards to Ukraine; and a letter to Christopher Byrne requesting an interview and documents related to the people and issues. “As we are sure you are aware, there is no executive privilege for documents created during a presidential transition,” the letter to the transition team reads. “We appreciate your cooperation and prompt attention to this important matter and ask that you provide the requested material as soon as possible.”
• Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California) addressed the LA Promise Fund’s Girls Build Leadership Summit on Dec. 15, and spoke to the importance of seeking and imparting mentorship among young women who want to work to better their communities. “I look at you and I think of the barriers that you will break and the problems you will solve,” Harris said. “And I’m confident that you will do amazing things not only because you are strong, and smart, and talented. Not only because you are brave, and fearless, and beautiful. But also because you are California kids.” The summit brings 10,000 young women and girls from public middle and high schools in California to encourage participation in science, technology, engineering, and math-related fields.
• Santa Barbara County thanked state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) and Assemblymember Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) for bringing coffee and doughnuts on a visit to the county’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and “boosting morale,” in a Dec. 18 Twitter post. Jackson, who is the chair to the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management, gave an interview to KPCC’s Take Two, and spoke about the current emergency alert systems in place across the state and in Santa Barbara County. Her comments came after a mistaken mobile phone alert that was issued by the county’s EOC on Dec. 10, which warned of a “Civil Emergency” and recommended erroneous evacuations, but was corrected in less than an hour. “There’s an issue of panic, obviously,” Jackson said in the interview. “On the other hand, better to have too many people alerted than not enough people. The goal here is to save lives.”
• The Republican Central Committee of Santa Barbara County gave its endorsement of Justin Fareed (R-Santa Barbara) in his bid for California’s 24th Congressional District seat, currently held by Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara). Party spokesperson Greg Gandrud issued a statement in regards to the endorsement, saying that Fareed “is devoted to the betterment of our community and country, and is a proven leader, prepared to take our concerns to Capitol Hill. Justin’s experience as a job creator, community leader, and former congressional staffer uniquely quality him to be our next congressman.” The committee also endorsed state Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham (R-Templeton) in his bid for re-election for his state Assembly seat. “I’m grateful to receive the support of the Santa Barbara GOP,” Cunningham said in a statement. “This reinforces my commitment to continue working to improve life for my constituents, the Central Coast, and California as a whole.”
This article appears in Dec 21-28, 2017.
