•U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California) recently secured $375,000 and $1 million in federal investments for the city of Lompoc and the city of Atascadero, respectively. Both investments support local emergency preparedness projects designed to protect against the threat of wildfires and prepare for other natural disasters. While the Lompoc funds will go toward the installation of an emergency generator at Dick DeWees Senior and Community Center, the Atascadero funds will help equip a new fire station, which will house an emergency operations center, according to Schiff’s office. “I’m very proud to have secured these federal investments for Central California families—part of the nearly $259 million I brought back to communities across California—to ensure that they are prepared for and have the emergency resources necessary in the face of a crisis,” Schiff said in a June 26 statement. “One of my top priorities in the Senate is protecting Californians from the threat of wildfires and ensuring we do all we can to prepare for and mitigate the risks of all natural disasters.”
•On June 25, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state has awarded $227 million in Proposition 64 grant funding to support different regional governments’ local efforts addressing the public health and safety impacts of cannabis legalization. One of the grantees is Santa Barbara County, which Newsom’s office stated will use Proposition 64 funding to hire and train new detectives, purchase specialized equipment, and expand data analysis capabilities. Collectively, prior Proposition 64 grantees have demonstrated the impact of these investments while using funds to eradicate nearly 1 million illegal cannabis plants, seize 295 illegal firearms, and disrupt illicit cannabis operations that threatened public safety and undermined California’s regulated cannabis market, according to Newsom’s office. “The voters created a legal, regulated cannabis market, and we have a responsibility to make sure it works as intended,” Newsom said in a June 25 statement. “That means continuing to crack down on illegal cannabis operations that threaten public safety, exploit workers, damage the environment, and undercut legal businesses that follow the rules. This funding gives local communities the resources they need to strengthen enforcement, prevent youth access, improve public health outcomes, and make neighborhoods safer.”
• Housing cost reduction policies co-introduced by U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) were included in the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which Congress passed on June 23. The new legislation enforces multiple provisions from the Decent, Affordable, Safe Housing for All (DASH) Act—co-introduced by Carbajal and U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle (D-Springfield, Oregon). These provisions include the expansion of access to rural housing vouchers so more low-income households can qualify when certain federally financed rural housing properties leave the program, and clarifications about how rural housing voucher amounts are calculated to prevent ambiguity about what assistance people will receive. “For many Central Coast families, housing is their biggest monthly expense. Whether they’re renting or buying, housing costs have gotten out of control,” Carbajal said in a June 25 statement. “I co-led the introduction of the DASH Act with Congresswoman Hoyle to lower costs for renters and first-time homebuyers, help those experiencing homelessness, and incentivize the construction of more housing units. I’m proud that language from the DASH Act passed Congress, and I’ll keep working to get the rest of the legislation across the finish line.” The DASH Act, led by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) in the Senate, aims to address the lack of affordable quality housing through policies that support families with children who are at risk of becoming homeless by improving services and access to housing vouchers.
This article appears in July 2 – July 9, 2026.
