• On Aug. 25, U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) was set to host her annual breakfast for veterans at the Lompoc Veterans Memorial Building. The breakfast is an opportunity to thank local veterans for their service, and to connect them with local organizations offering services they may need. It also gives veterans the opportunity to meet with Capps and her district staff for assistance in obtaining benefits they’ve earned through their military service. “We owe it to our veterans to ensure that they have access to the services and benefits they have earned,” Capps said. “This breakfast is about connecting veterans to local resources, as well as taking a moment to thank them for their service and sacrifice to our country.” Event sponsors scheduled to attend included: the Department of Veterans Affairs, Alan Hancock Financial Aid and Veterans Center, Santa Barbara County Veterans Service Office, Good Jobs/Goodwill, the CA Employment Development Office, the California Department of Rehabilitation, the Social Security Administration, New Beginnings Counseling, the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program, and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.
• On Aug. 20 Gov. Jerry Brown issued a statement after new research from Columbia University, University of Idaho, and NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies scientists linked climate change to current and future drought conditions in California. “New scientific reports now make it crystal clear that climate change is already affecting California and the Southwest in the form of higher temperatures and a more devastating drought. It’s time for Republicans, foot-dragging corporations, and other deniers to wake up and take sensible action before it’s too late.” The report, titled “Contribution of anthropogenic warming to California drought during 2012-2014,” was published in the scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters. Earlier this month, Brown penned an open letter to Republican presidential candidates ahead of their first debate, asking them to detail their plans to address climate change. “Longer fire seasons, extreme weather, and severe droughts aren’t on the horizon, they’re all here—and here to stay. This is the new normal. The climate is changing,” Brown said in his letter to the candidates. “Given the challenge and the stakes, my question for you is simple: What are you going to do about it? What is your plan to deal with the threat of climate change?” In that letter he said that protecting the planet shouldn’t be a partisan effort, and he cited many instances of bipartisan collaboration on environmental strategies through the years.
This article appears in Aug 27 – Sep 3, 2015.