In the News

Brushing aside a veto threat, the Republican-controlled House voted 240-179 to repeal the federal estate tax.

The vote was largely symbolic, given the strong opposition from President Obama and congressional Democrats. Seven Democrats voted for repeal.

Republicans argued that the "death tax" still unfairly penalizes farms and small businesses despite significant increases in recent years to the tax exemption and cuts to the tax rate.

With the May deadline for finalizing California's budget looming, our state leaders need an answer from the U.S. Senate on whether it will deliver on more than a half a billion dollars in annual federal funding promised to California families for their kids' health insurance coverage.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal legislators in Washington, D.C. seem to agree the Renewable Fuel Standard needs to be reformed, as demonstrated by a pair of bills currently circulating in both houses of Congress. The specifics of how the standard should be amended, however, still need to be fleshed out.

ESSEX JUNCTION – U.S. Rep. Peter Welch visited a family owned motorcycle shop in Essex Junction on Monday and announced he has reintroduced bipartisan legislation that would abolish a federal mandate to add biofuels, such as corn ethanol, to gasoline.

"Current law requires that corn-based ethanol be a part of all of our fuel," Welch said. "The corn-based ethanol has been a well-intentioned flop. It just has not achieved the goals it was set out to do."

A who's who of Madera County politicians debated in Madera South High School's inaugural civic symposium on Friday.

Congressman Jim Costa, Sen. Anthony Cannella, Assembly Member Frank Bigelow, County Supervisor Brett Frazier and Madera Mayor Robert Poythress answered questions from students ranging from President Barack Obama's executive order on immigration to high speed rail.

The symposium was limited to students in the school's senior class, who had to apply to attend the event.

Thumbs up to the California lawmakers for helping to relaunch a bid to put the House of Representatives on record as recognizing the Armenian genocide. The resolution was introduced this week with more than 40 co-sponsors. Noting the upcoming 100th anniversary, Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, said, "Our detractors will always say, ‘Now is not the right time.' I say, The time is now." A century is long enough to wait.

WASHINGTON — California lawmakers on Wednesday helped relaunch the latest, long-shot bid to put the House of Representatives on record as recognizing the Armenian genocide.

A perennial effort that always faces stiff political and diplomatic headwinds, the familiar resolution was introduced Wednesday with more than 40 co-sponsors, some of them House freshmen. The intention, though, remains the same as it has been for several decades.

Some of this area's top government leaders gathered recently to discuss the future of the Castle Aviation and Commerce Center.

If you are not aware of the issues in Castle's decades-old redevelopment saga, here are some of the key topics discussed: the current infrastructure, the cost of doing business in the park that businesses must take on, needed demolitions of buildings on the property, the current lack of easy access to Highway 99, and the lack of skilled workers staying in the region.