KELSEYVILLE
Hours for gift basket raffle sales have been changed
Due to inclement weather predicted for the weekend, the Konocti Women’s Service Club’s Christmas Gift Baskets Raffle ticket sales will be moved to Monday December 12 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and on Tuesday December 13 from 1 pm to 4:30 pm at the Riviera Market. The winning tickets will be drawn at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The winners need not be present for the drawing and will be contacted by phone. The KWSC regrets the change and thanks you for your kind understanding
—Submitted.
WASHINGTON
Legislators lead California delegation in calling for action on tax relief for wildfire survivors
Today, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), Rep. Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) led members of the California delegation in calling on Congressional leadership to include vital tax relief for wildfire survivors in any end-of-year legislative package.
“The Trust began issuing payments to survivors in 2020. While the current tax code does provide some relief to wildfire survivors in the event of property loss in a disaster area, these provisions do not make sufficiently clear that survivors should not face a tax burden upon receipt of their settlement award.,” the letter reads. “No wildfire survivor should have to pay taxes on their settlement awards. These families and individuals have lost their homes. Survivors should be entitled to the full amount of their award, and should not owe taxes on payments made to lawyers they never hired.”
The PG&E Fire Victim Trust was established following California wildfires in 2015, 2017, and 2018. Rep. Thompson introduced H.R. 7305 on March 30, 2022 with Rep. Doug LaMalfa (CA-01) to ensure that wildfire survivors are not taxed on the settlements they receive from the Trust.
The full letter can be found online at https://mikethompson.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/mikethompson.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/thompson-ca-delegation-leadership-letter.pdf
—Submitted
OAKLAND
Simple Ways to Rein in Energy Expenses this Holiday Season
As families begin decking the halls, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) offers ways to make the holiday season more energy efficient.
“When combined with cold weather, shortened daylight hours and holiday lights, the demand for energy often increases this time of year. We are helping customers identify ways to be more energy efficient and save money on their monthly energy statement during the holiday season,” said Aaron August, PG&E Vice President of Utility Partnerships and Innovation.
Simple product substitutions and new habits give customers the power to reduce costs without sacrificing holiday spirit.
Here are easy ways to save energy this holiday season:
- Set thermostat for savings. Save 2% of your heating bill for each degree the thermostat is lowered. (If the turndown lasts a good part of the day or night). Turning down the thermostat from 70 degrees to 65 degrees, saves about 10%.
- Upgrade lighting. LEDs use at least 75% less energy and can last up to 40 holiday seasons. Use a timer to turn off lights before going to bed.
- Insulate electric water heater. The average household spends more than $250 per year on water heating. It’s the second largest energy expense behind heating and cooling.
- Stop drafts in their tracks. Save up to 10% on annual energy bills by reducing drafts and saving energy by sealing holes around pipes, wiring, vents, or recessed lights with spray foam.
- Microwave and save. Reheating leftovers in a microwave takes less time and uses up to 80% less energy than a standard oven.
PG&E encourages customers to put these tips into action as winter approaches in hopes of forming life-long habits the entire family can keep year-round. To find out how much energy goes to heating, hot water, appliances, and other uses take PG&E’s 5-minute Home Energy Checkup.
For more easy tips for cold weather savings, visit www.pge.com/winter.
—Submitted
SACRAMENTO
Newsom legal team to take over defense of gun law
From CalMatters political reporter Ben Christopher: A portion of the headline-grabbing, Texas-mimicking, U.S. Supreme Court-goading gun law proposed and signed by Gov. Newsom earlier this year will no longer be defended in court by Attorney General Rob Bonta, who revealed in a brief filed Thursday that he’s taking the unusual step of handing that duty off to the governor’s own legal team.
A little background:
- The law, Senate Bill 1327, gives all Californians the right to sue the manufacturers, distributors or sellers of “assault weapons” and untraceable “ghost guns.”
- Newsom trollishly introduced the bill after the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a similarly structured law in Texas — which gave anyone in that state the right to sue those who “aid and abet” an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy.
- The California law also includes another feature copied from the Lone Star State: Anyone who brings a legal challenge against any gun restriction in California has to cover the government’s legal bill if they lose any of the claims they make in court.
- Gun rights groups challenged California’s “fee-shifting” provision in late September, putting Bonta in a bit of a pickle: Although he was a vocal supporter of SB 1327, he had also signed a multi-state brief to the U.S. Supreme Court questioning the legality of the fee-shifting provision in the Texas abortion law, known as SB 8.
In the Thursday brief, Bonta’s office conceded it couldn’t argue both positions simultaneously.
- The brief: “In light of the position the Attorney General has taken regarding the nearly identical fee-shifting provision in SB 8 … (the California Department of Justice is) not in a position to defend SB 1327’s constitutionality on the merits.”
- The brief added that the governor’s office would be taking over defense of the law and that Bonta’s office did not object.
—Emily Hoeven, CALMatters
