WASHINGTON
Thompson leads letter to keep safe firearm storage options affordable
On Monday, Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chairman Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) led a letter with 50 Members of Congress in the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to ensure that gun owners are not discouraged from purchasing gun safes because of high tariffs.
“Without affordable safe storage options, we will see more deadly firearm accidents involving kids, more suicides, and more mass shootings where kids were able to access unsecured firearms,” said Thompson. “Responsible gun owners know that storing their guns in a gun safe is the right thing to do, and the letter from Gun Violence Prevention Task Force helps keep gun safes more affordable.”
When the Administration placed tariffs on metal lockers from China, they excluded gun safes from retaliatory tariffs because of the public health benefits of this product. When the Commerce Department implemented the tariffs, they placed tariffs on several common gun safes which should have been excluded from tariffs. These tariffs threatened to increase prices on common models of gun safes and discourage gun owners from responsibly storing their firearms.
The letter was endorsed by March for Our Lives, a national gun violence prevention advocacy organization.
According to Everytown, last year there were 355 unintentional shootings by children in the United States, resulting in 158 fatalities and 212 injuries.
The letter was signed by Reps. Beatty, Beyer, Brown, Carbajal, Casten, Clarke, Cleaver, Courtney, Crow, Davis, Dean, DeLauro, DeSaulnier, Dingell, Espaillat, Foushee, Frost, Sylvia Garcia, Goldman, Hayes, Jackson Lee, Jacobs, Jayapal, Johnson, Kelly, Krishnamoorthi, Barbara Lee, Matsui, McBath, McClellan, Meng, Morelle, Moulton, Nadler, Nickel, Panetta, Pettersen, Quigley, Sánchez, Schakowsky, Schneider, Bobby Scott, Sherrill, Soto, Stevens, Swalwell, Tlaib, Watson Coleman, Williams, and Wilson.
The full letter can be found and read online at https://mikethompson.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/mikethompson.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2023_07_21-gvptf-ltr-to-commerce-re-gun-safe-and-safe-storage.pdf
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LAKEPORT
Lake County Sheriff’s Activities League and Clearlake Bassmasters collaborate to offer fishing clinic to local youth
Clearlake Bassmasters and Lake County Sheriff’s Activities League will offer a free fishing clinic for students ages 6 to 18. 18 year olds must still be in high school to qualify.
The clinic will be held on August 26 at Library Park on Park Street in Lakeport from 9 to noon.
The activity will take place in two parts. At 9 AM. the Bassmaster Volunteers will provide instruction on a variety of fishing skills and techniques.
Part 2 of the day involves supervised fishing from the pier. The morning will end with a hot dog feed for student participants. All equipment and supplies are provided including life vests for those fishing from the pier.
If your student is 16 to 18 years old, they must acquire a fishing license before the clinic and bring it with them to the clinic. Beginning, July 26, you may sign up your child by contacting and speaking directly to LCSAL
Board Member Terry Norton at 707- 349-4432.
Signing up on line is not possible. The registration deadline is August 22, 2023
After signing up with Terry Norton, you will receive a follow up letter with important information and program requirements. Check out the Lake County Sheriff’s Activities League Facebook page for other offered activities.
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SACRAMENTO
Listos California completes people-powered, multi-language phone banking goal of calling 2 million Californians
Proactively working to protect Californians from flooding and extreme weather impacts, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) today announced the completion its people-powered phone banking effort of calling more than 2 million California households.
Through Listos California, a program Cal OES, the state mobilized teams of community members to make personalized, unique phone calls, which lead to more than 48,000 Californians signing up for local emergency alerts and receiving emergency preparedness tips.
“As our climate changes, leading to more extreme and complex natural disasters, Californians must understand their disaster risk and take steps to prepare themselves,” said Cal OES Director Nancy Ward. “This initiative is another innovative and unique way to help ensure families have the resources they need to stay safe.”
Modeled after a campaign-style “Get Out the Vote” effort, this eight-week program ensured Californians in disaster-risk counties received information and resources in English, Spanish, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese or Mandarin, depending on their language.
“We are extremely pleased with the results of the Listos California campaign and grateful for the work the team has done in Kings County,” said Kings County OES Manager Abraham Valencia. “Our partnership has proven valuable in helping us to educate and inform our communities at risk of flooding. This campaign has made a positive impact not only during this flood, but for emergencies to come.”
When reached by telephone, Californians spoke directly to someone who clearly identified themselves and stated the purpose of the call. There was no charge to the individual for recommended services and there are strict measures in place to ensure confidentiality of personal information gathered.
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