• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) is continuing his push to preserve the Affordable Connectivity Program, the federal internet affordability program that is lowering monthly internet bills for more than 38,000 Central Coast households, according to a March 26 statement from Carbajal’s office. Carbajal and his colleagues created the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021. The ACP offers eligible households a discount of up to $30 a month on internet bills, enabling more families to have access to the internet for their school, business, and everyday needs. The program provides similar discounts of up to $75 a month for qualifying families on tribal land. The ACP also provides one-time discounts for the purchase of home computers to further assist in closing the digital divide. Across the Central Coast, more than 38,000 households are enrolled in the program—which has provided more than $20 million in assistance to the region since 2021. The program’s funding is projected to begin running out in April. Carbajal and 157 of his colleagues urged fellow congressional leaders to work to preserve the Affordability Connectivity Program. “We request that congressional leadership take action in the immediate future to prevent a lapse in funding that would result in a wind-down of the program. At a time when broadband accessibility is more important than ever, we cannot afford to lose the progress we have made in our efforts to bridge the digital divide,” congressional members wrote in a letter.
• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) highlighted up to $1.2 billion for the Port of Oakland’s Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES)—California’s hydrogen hub, according to an April 4 statement from Padilla’s Office. ARCHES prioritizes improving clean hydrogen viability in some of the most challenging industries to decarbonize, including ports, power, and heavy-duty transportation. It works to implement hydrogen fuel usage in aviation, maritime, and agriculture industries and create a national model for workforce development. Padilla toured the Oakland facility to learn more about how projects like ARCHES can produce and use hydrogen, improving air quality and supporting California’s workforce with green jobs. “Renewable hydrogen power will be a critical part of meeting California’s leading clean energy goals,” Padilla said in the statement. “The $1.2 billion secured to fund the ARCHES hydrogen hub will help us reach our ambitious climate goals while creating green jobs and investing in California communities. By bringing together leaders from across government, industry, labor unions, and national labs in California, we can jumpstart the market for clean hydrogen and reduce emissions, particularly in heavy industries.”
• During California’s annual snowpack survey, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state’s updated water plan to protect California’s water supplies from the climate crisis while boosting the state’s ability to capture and store water for when dry conditions return, according to an April 2 statement from Newsom’s office. This year’s snow survey at the Philips Station recorded 64 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 27.5 inches, which is 133 percent of the average for this location and above average overall. The updated plan specifically creates a flood-managed aquifer recharge program to capture and spread flows to recharge aquifers and integrate climate science and research to help vulnerable communities defend against flood and drought. “In the past few years alone, we’ve gone from extreme drought to some of the most intense rain and snow seasons on record—showcasing the need for us to constantly adapt to how we manage our water supplies,” Newsom said in the statement. “The water plans and strategies we’re implementing are each targeted components of our overall effort to deliver clean water to Californians by capturing, storing, and conserving more water throughout the state. This plan is a critical component of that effort.”
