• U.S. Reps Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Adam Smith (D-Washington), visited Vandenberg Space Force Base to discuss the base’s pivotal role in advancing the nation’s military, civil, and commercial capabilities, an Oct. 20 press release stated. The visit came after the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, which includes funding designed to improve Vandenberg’s launch infrastructure. Following the briefing, the congressmen visited the base’s Mission Development Zone: Unused land that would remain outside the base’s security gates to serve as an access point to the surrounding community, academic research institutions, and commercial space companies. “Our district is privileged to host the premiere West Coast launch site for military, civil, and commercial space operations, and I am proud to have used my seat on the Armed Services Committee to bring home federal resources that help the base fulfill its missions and compete in a 21st century economy,” Carbajal said in a statement. “I will continue working with Chairman Smith to secure federal resources that support the base’s operations and create good-paying jobs for the surrounding community, which will be needed to offset job losses following the coming closure of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.”
• U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein wrote to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and requested the department take decisive action to address the supply chain bottlenecks in California and across the country, an Oct. 20 press release stated. The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles handle an estimated 40 percent of the container traffic that enters the United States, and the senators encouraged 24/7 operations launch to ease bottlenecks. The senators also support proposed investments in the “Build Back Better” reconciliation bill to improve supply chain resilience, reduce port congestion, develop offshore wind support infrastructure, enhance freight mobility, and reduce the impact of ports on the environment. “As California ports … and their workers bolster their operations to help clear the shipping backlog, there remain additional transportation and logistics-related challenges to moving these goods on our highways and railroads, including scarce freight rail and trucking capacity in certain regions, all of which is regulated by the Department of Transportation,” the letter stated. “We appreciate the administration’s ongoing efforts to engage public and private sector entities to address these current transportation bottlenecks and other obstacles that could undermine our ongoing economic recovery.”
• On Oct. 22, Gov. Gavin Newsom and his administration released Cal-Secure, the state’s first multi-year cybersecurity roadmap, according to the governor’s office. Cal-Secure addresses critical gaps in the state’s information and cybersecurity programs, while enabling the state to manage existing and future threats effectively. The program defines a path to strengthen cybersecurity measures and prioritize resources to manage the most significant cyber risks and safeguard services for Californians who depend on them. “Hackers steal our time, money, and peace of mind. Protecting our data is among the most important things we can do to prevent disruption to our daily lives and economy,” Newsom said in a statement. The Newsom administration advanced $260 million in recent investments at the Department of Technology and other state entities to bolster the state’s ability to prevent cyberattacks. The state budget also includes $11.3 million one-time and $38.8 million ongoing funds to bolster security initiatives and analyze cyber threat intelligence.“We have to do more to safeguard the state’s critical infrastructure, intellectual property, and our status as one of the world’s leading economies,” Newsom said in the statement.
This article appears in Oct 28 – Nov 4, 2021.
