• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) and a group of 40 members of Congress pushed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) for updated and explicit guidance on illegal machine gun conversion devices—also known as auto sears—to reduce gun violence and protect communities, according to an April 12 statement. “These devices, which can allow weapons to fire at a rate of up to 1,200 bullets per minute, make shootings more deadly, make our law enforcement officers’ jobs more dangerous, and increase the risk that innocent bystanders could be injured or killed when such a volume of bullets is unleashed,” the letter said. “We urge you to issue updated and explicit guidance on auto sears, put a stop to gun companies pushing the legal limits on these devices, and provide additional resources to help rid communities like ours of these dangerous devices.” The group—including more than 10 members of California’s House delegation—cited the specific use of these devices in Sacramento’s shooting on April 4, which killed six people and injured dozens after multiple shooters fired more than 100 rapid-fire rounds. According to the Houston Bureau of ATF, the number of guns modified with auto sears seized by law enforcement has quintupled since 2020, from 300 guns to more than 1,500 in 2021, according to Carbajal’s office.
• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement that it will invest $80.7 million in wildfire prevention projects in California over the next three years, according to Padilla’s office. This includes $28.6 million for California this fiscal year—the most received by any state—and follows Padilla and Lofgren’s joint efforts with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to ensure the federal government prioritizes wildfire mitigation projects in California, which has seen the seven largest fires in state history in the last four years. Collectively, these fires burned more than 2.5 million acres of land and destroyed or damaged more than 30,000 structures. “This funding will allow the Forest Service to remove hazardous trees and vegetation and construct new fuel breaks in some of California’s most vulnerable forests. I’m glad the Biden administration heard our calls to prioritize California for wildfire prevention funding. Given the severity and frequency of wildfires are only exacerbated by climate change, we will need to continue to invest in proactive projects to help prevent catastrophic fires and limit their spread,” Padilla said in a statement.
• Over the past few months, the California state government has ramped up communications efforts around the Save Our Water Campaign focused on encouraging Californians to reduce water use as drought conditions worsen, according to an April 14 statement from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office. From April 11 to April 15, the campaign rolled out new multilingual content across various platforms including social media, digital and streaming platforms, and on the radio to communicate the urgent need to save water and provide actionable steps Californians can take. Newsom joined State Water Resources Control Board Chair Joaquin Esquivel, Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth, and Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Chuck Bonham for a briefing calling on social media influencers and content creators to support statewide efforts. “Make no mistake, California and the entire West are feeling the effects of the intensifying drought—notwithstanding today’s rainfall,” Newsom said during the briefing. “We’re putting to work the lessons learned during the last drought, but with our climate getting hotter and drier, it’s critical that we work together to protect our water supply. Engaging Californians from all walks of life and connecting peer to peer, we can meet this challenge head-on.”
This article appears in Apr 21-28, 2022.
