Media

WASHINGTON - The oil derricks off Santa Barbara can be seen from the beach, the scene of one of the nation's worst oil spills in 1969 that inspired the first Earth Day.

If you couldn't find the time to speak up on behalf of protecting our local coastal waters, you get a second chance.

On July 26—the day public comment on the matter was slated to close—the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced it would reopen the comment period, from July 31-Aug. 14, on Trump's Executive Order 13795.

Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif.said Salinas Valley growers and marketers were not under assault by NAFTA but were benefiting from it.

Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., challenged Brown’s concerns about Mexican imports, noting that there are farmers in the Salinas Valley in his district who have established farms in Mexico and use the profits from those farms to modernize their facilities in California.

But Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) challenged Brown's statement that specialty crops are "an industry under assault." He argued that produce growers in California's Salinas Valley are benefiting from NAFTA because it allows them to easily start additional businesses in Mexico.

"There are family farms that continue to be successful during the winter months because they have farms in Mexico," Panetta said. "It turns out to be a complementary relationship. They make money and invest in their farms in the United States, including in mechanization, to help with the lack of labor situation they're facing."

California and Central Coast lawmakers are speaking out against President Trump's decision to ban transgender soldiers from serving in the military.

Trump announced this decision in a series of tweets Wednesday morning.

He tweeted "After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow…transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military."