Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 241
January 6, 2025
On Jan. 6, lawmakers remember the carnage of 2021 in sharply different ways
By MARY CLARE JALONICK
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some lawmakers emotionally recalled the violence. Others said they’d rather move on. And some said it wasn’t violent at all.
The certification Monday of Donald Trump’s presidential victory further exposed the divide, and the tension, among members of Congress over Jan. 6, 2021 — as Trump has called the bloody attack by his supporters “a day of love” and has promised to pardon rioters who have been convicted of crimes related to that day once he is in office.
Related ArticlesNational Politics | Can Washington handle two weeks of high-security pomp along with a heavy burst of snow? National Politics | Border shelters relieved the pressure during migrant surges. Under Trump, they could become a target National Politics | Lawmakers brace for Trump’s promised Jan. 6 pardons. Some are urging restraint National Politics | Biden says Americans shouldn’t forget the 2021 Capitol attack but there won’t be a repeat this time National Politics | Harris will oversee certification of her defeat to Trump four years after he sparked Capitol attack Unlike four years ago, when the joint session of Congress to count electoral votes was interrupted by rioters trying to break down the doors, there was very little drama this Jan. 6 and no overt tension in the room as lawmakers read out each state’s electoral votes. Vice President Kamala Harris gaveled down her own defeat. Democrats did not object to any of the votes.
Standing beside windows where Trump’s supporters first broke into the building that day, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats want to “serve as an example” for Republicans.
The Democrats lost last year’s election, Schumer said, but “when you lose an election you roll up your sleeves and try for the next one. You don’t deny that you lost.”
The rioters who violently breached the Capitol four years ago, breaking in after a brutal fight with police, were echoing Trump’s false claims that the election was stolen and that President Joe Biden’s win was “rigged.” Trump maintained — and still maintains — that he won the election even though it was certified by all 50 states and courts across the country reaffirmed Biden’s win.
Four years later, the Republican Party is still divided over the attack. On Monday, as they gleefully certified Trump’s win, some GOP lawmakers made a point of downplaying the violence four years ago, defending the more than 1,250 rioters convicted of crimes.
Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., posted on X early Monday morning that “individuals entered the Capitol, took photos, and explored the building before leaving,” and have since been “hunted down” and treated unjustly. Just after the joint session ended, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., repeated her plea that all of the rioters be pardoned and said “this country should never allow this type of abuse of our justice system again.”
Other Republicans remembered the day differently — a signal that Trump’s pledge to pardon rioters could become politically fraught even within his own party. It’s unclear, so far, whether he will try to pardon all of them or just those who were not violent.
“I was here,” said Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s closest allies. “Ask the cops who got beaten up. Not everybody was violent, but there was definitely violence, and the people who defiled the Capitol and attacked police officers, they deserve to be held accountable.”
Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota said that “the violence that occurred on that particular day, I will not forget.”
“It was real,” he said. “And we have to recognize that was a very, very bad day in our country’s history.”
More common are Republicans who don’t want to talk about it at all.
“That was a long day and I don’t want to rehash it,” said Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who was then in the House and helped blockade the doors as rioters tried to beat them down. He said he hadn’t talked about it since the one-year anniversary of the attack.
“That’s in the past for me,” Mullin said. “I tell people all the time, you can’t drive out the rearview mirror.”
New Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters, “I was here, and I’ve said what I have to say about that day, and I’m now looking forward.”
On possible pardons, “it’s going to be a call that the president has to make,” Thune said.
Democrats marked the fourth anniversary by remembering their own experiences that day, and preparing for Trump’s return to office.
Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson said after the session that he was angry that they were there to certify Trump’s win after what happened last time.
“We performed our perfunctory duty,” Johnson said. “It should have been perfunctory four years ago. I’m angry that it was not.”
Johnson was trapped in the House gallery with other Democrats who were spacing out in the chamber amid the coronavirus pandemic. The group was trapped as people tried to beat the doors down below, and ducked below seats as rioters hunting lawmakers were rattling the doors behind them.
Some members of that group — who have dubbed themselves the “gallery group” — gathered for a photo Monday. Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal posted the photo on X.
“We will not forget,” she wrote.
Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges, one of the hundreds of police officers who fought the rioters four years ago, sat in the gallery on Monday as Congress certified Trump’s win, a guest of California Sen. Adam Schiff.
Hodges, who was captured on video crushed between two doors as some of the rioters beat him, said he found this year’s proceeding to be “very dry” — like it should have been four years ago, he said.
Otherwise, he was marking the day by doing his job, like many of the other officers who spent the day protecting the city and members of Congress.
“I was at work before this and I’m going back to work afterward,” he said.
Health officials warn of poisonous mushrooms being sold in Monterey County
Salinas Valley Health warned the public on Friday about a threat of poisonous mushrooms in the area. Three individuals were hospitalized Tuesday after ingesting amanita phalloides – or death cap mushrooms – purchased from a truck vendor in East Salinas.
The individuals reported buying the mushrooms from a truck in a supermarket parking lot, according to a news release sent out by the hospital. It’s unclear how many sites the vendor operates from. The patients came into the Salinas Valley Health Emergency Room on New Year’s Eve after cooking with the mushrooms and were transferred to Stanford Medicine.
They suffered from liver damage due to severe mushroom poisoning, according to the news release. It can be easy to mistake death cap mushrooms as edible since they have a similar appearance as white button mushrooms. Depending on its age, death caps can grow up to 15 cm and have a domed or white cap and off-white stem.
Eating these mushrooms can leave individuals with symptoms including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain. Symptoms can appear to disappear after 24 hours but the toxicity of the mushrooms can lead to liver damage/failure and in the worst case scenario, death.
Salinas Valley Health officials are urging community members who have eaten mushrooms recently and suffered from these symptoms to seek emergency medical treatment. It also encourages individuals to only eat mushrooms from “reputable produce outlets,” said the news release.
The cases have been reported to Salinas Police and the County of Monterey Public Health Department.
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“Foraging for wild mushrooms in our community is common. Unfortunately, death cap mushrooms can be mistaken for traditional, edible, white button mushrooms which is why it is extremely important not to forage for mushrooms or purchase mushrooms that could have been the result of someone foraging for mushrooms.”
Emotions pour from McCaffrey, Ward, Pearsall as 49ers clear out lockers
SANTA CLARA – Running back Christian McCaffrey is intent that his lost season does not repeat and derail the 2025 49ers, both from a physical and mental standpoint.
“The mindset now has to shift quick,” McCaffrey said Monday as the 49ers cleaned out their lockers after a 6-11, last-place season. “This was a tough year. Let’s learn from the mistakes and get ready for OTAs, because we don’t have time to mope on this year.”
After missing the season’s first two months with tendinitis in both Achilles, McCaffrey returned for a four-game stint and showed a glimmer of his 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year form, only to sustain a right knee injury Dec. 1 at Buffalo to end his season.
McCaffrey said his Achilles tendons are “100 percent” and that his right knee’s posterior cruciate ligament is progressing great.
As for how he developed Achilles issues, McCaffrey said that remains a mystery. He is not tracing to specific training methods, saying he worked out last offseason the same way he did before his NFL-high 1,459 rushing yards in 2023.
“You have to be really careful to put a stamp on exactly what caused something, especially when you don’t know,” McCaffrey said. “My mindset is get to where I’m feeling 100% as quick as possible, make the adjustments where needed, and come back ready to go for OTAs.”
McCaffrey did not take part in last year’s voluntary offseason program, though he did return in June to sign a two-year, $38 million extension.
“I’m excited, man. I think we’re all pissed off in the right ways. That’s a good place to be,” McCaffrey added. “I’m always pretty salty, but not in a bad way. When you have a lot of success for a couple of years in a row, then you get kind of get humbled quick, it’s a good reminder of what it takes to be good in this league, not that we needed a reminder.
“I’m just excited for the offseason to get everybody a little bit of rest, get healthy again and come back ready to go with a full year in front of us.”
San Francisco 49ers’ Charvarius Ward (7) autographs a jersey in the locker room at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Monday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)WARD’S CALIFORNIA TRAUMA
Cornerback Charvarius Ward acknowledged his 49ers’ tenure is likely done after three seasons. He is a pending free agent, and he is still coping with the trauma his family experienced from the unexpected death Oct. 28 of his 23-month-old daughter Amani Joy.
“I had a lot of trauma in California. I had a lot of great times, but the worst thing that’s ever happened to me and probably ever will happen to me, knock on wood – happened in California,” Ward said. “It brings up bad memories. Every time I get on a plane to come back to California, Santa Clara, San Jose, show up here, it’s bad memories. I go home every night by myself because my girl (Monique Cook) doesn’t want to come back to California because of what happened.”
Cook gave birth to their son, Charvarius Jr., on Dec. 28 in the Dallas area, and relocating to a team in that region appeals to Ward, a Mississippi native. “Honestly I would love to be home close to my family in the south. That would be amazing,” Ward said. “But being with the 49ers again would be amazing, if I’m able to overcome a lot of that trauma. I get PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) a lot. I’d be throwing up, waking up in the night sweating all the time. It’s tough.”
Ward, a 2023 Second-Team All-Pro, had no interceptions this season, and he missed four games as he coped with his daughter’s death. “I feel I made a mistake coming back, though. I feel I should have stayed home the whole time,” Ward added. “Coming back here, it just was depressing, mentally depressing. I came back because it was my job and I wanted to be here for my teammates.”
Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News GroupSan Francisco 49ers’ Ricky Pearsall (14) speaks to reporters in the locker room at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Monday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)PEARSALL’S TIME TO REFLECT
Ricky Pearsall plans to use this offseason to reflect on surviving a gunshot wound through his chest five months ago by an 18-year-old attempted robber in San Francisco. Seven weeks afterward, he made his 49ers debut, and he’s been playing catch up since then.
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He just finished the season with a touchdown catch in the final two games, and he made clear that Sunday’s touchdown celebration was not intended to mimic his shooting but rather a shoulder-lean dance.
“I would never make a celebration over a serious matter like that. I want to make that clear,” Pearsall said. “I don’t want to offend anybody. It is a serious and violent situation. I would never play about something like that. But I could see why they definitely thought it was.”
Pearsall said he would someday like to speak with and forgive the teen suspect who’s in jail, and that he’ll get more information on the criminal case now that time allows in the offseason.
“I’m curious (about a motive) but sometimes you don’t have answers for that. I don’t have answers,” Pearsall said. “I don’t know what environment he grew up in. For me, I don’t know how he grew up so I can’t judge him as a man just based off one action he made, as violent as a crime as it was, God forbid him doing that to someone else. I don’t ever want that to happen.”
San Francisco 49ers’ Malik Mustapha (6) speaks with reporters in the locker room at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Monday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)MUSTAPHA GAINING A REP
Rookie safety Malik Mustapha was recently singled out by Detroit wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for his aggressive play and it wasn’t the first time. After the 49ers lost to Kansas City in Week 7, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo sought out Mustapha, who had leveled running back Kareem Hunt with a big hit.
“I’m glad people were able to take notice and I’m glad I’m able to impact the game where other people are able to comment and say positive things about my game,” Mustapha said. “It’s refreshing to hear knowing that you’re doing something right and getting recognition from the best in this league is something special.”
MOORE RECEPTIVE TO RETURN
Tackle Jaylon Moore likely upped his value as an unrestricted free agent by the way he played in five starts in place of the injured Trent Williams.
“It’s tempting to think about, but it’s still quite aways away,” Moore said. “I’m definitely curious. Hopefully everything works out where I can end up here.”
Other 49ers scheduled for unrestricted free agency include linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga.
“Dre’s a phenomenal player, a phenomenal teammate,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “You ask anybody in here who he is as a teammate and player and everybody is going to tell you how amazing he is. I know there’s a whole business side of everything. My love for Dre and him being like a little brother for me, hopefully that all gets worked out.”
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Rooke right guard Dominick Puni missed only one snap all season. It happened in Week 4 when he took a blow to the stomach, a bit of friendly fire from running back Jordan Mason.
But even after a team-leading 1,078 snaps, Puni said he feels pretty good physically. He said the toll was more mental than physical.
“The injury rate is 100 percent,” Puni said. “I’m fortunate to get through it. So yeah, I’m surprised.”
KITTLE RECEPTIVE TO EXTENSION TALKS
Tight end George Kittle has a salary cap number of more than $22 million in 2025 that could be knocked down quite a bit with a contract extension. He’s definitely interested.
“I want to be a Niner for my entire career, wear the red and gold,” Kittle said. “Whatever the front office wants to do, I’m all ears.”
— Staff writer Jerry McDonald contributed to this story
Kittle, Warner headline 49ers’ team award winners from underwhelming 2024 season
Before teammates hit the parking lot for parts unknown Monday, the 49ers announced their yearly awards as voted by their peers.
Tight end George Kittle won the Len Eshmont Award, which goes to the player who best exemplifies the inspirational and courageous play of Len Eshmont, an original member of the 1946 49ers team.
Middle linebacker Fred Warner was the recipient of the Bill Walsh and Matt Hazeltine awards. The Walsh Award is voted by coaches and recognizes “the standard of excellence established by Walsh” and the Hazeltine Award goes to the most courageous and inspirational player as voted by defensive coaches.
“Anything you get awarded based on voting from your teammates and your peers is one of the biggest because they’re the ones that are with you every single day,” Kittle said Monday. “To be a real person and go through it every single day for an entire season, it means a lot to me to be awarded that from my teammates. If you have respect from your teammates you’re doing something right.”
Warner, like Kittle a Pro Bowl selection and the 49ers leading tackler, was similarly humbled by the recognition.
“It’s a huge honor,” Warner said. “Any time you get your name on that wall over there in the hallway it means the world. Not the season we wanted, but I’m very grateful.”
The following awards were also announced:
The Bobb McKittrick Award
Center Jake Brendel
Given annually to the 49ers offensive lineman who best represents the courage, intensity and sacrifice displayed by the late McKittrick, who coached with the 49ers for 21 years. It is voted on by the offensive line.
Thomas Herrion Memorial Award
Safety Malik Mustapha
Presented to the rookie or first-year player who represents the dream of Thomas Herrion, who passed away from heart disease after a preseason game in 2005. Voted on by coaches.
Ed Block Courage Award
Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall
Each team selects one winner presented to a player who exemplified a commitment to sportsmanship and courage. Pearsall recovered from a gunshot wound in a robbery attempt on Aug. 31. Proceeds from the event fund Courage Houses in all 32 NFL cities which provide support and quality care for abused children. Voted on the 49ers’ training staff.
Perry/Yonamine Unity Award
LB Curtis Robinson
Presented to the player who exhibits a commitment to promoting unity within the team and their community and named for former 49ers and “pioneers of diversity” Joe Perry and Wally Yonamine. It is voted on by the players. Robinson previously was named as the 49ers’ Walter Payton Man of the Year candidate for community involvement.
Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News GroupWide receiver Ricky Pearsall talks with reporters Monday as the 49ers packed up following the end of the season.NUMBERS THAT MATTER
552: The number of snaps from Week 14 through the end of the season that the 49ers did not register a takeaway on defense.
436: The number of points the 49ers allowed in the 2024 season, one more than the 435 they gave up in a 16-game regular season in 2018.
57: The percentage of touchdowns scored on red zone possessions, down from 68 percent last season.
24: The number of rushing touchdowns allowed, tied with Carolina for the second most in the NFL. The 49ers gave up 10 rushing touchdowns in 2023.
17: The number of players that finished the season on injured reserve, as well as the number of takeaways recorded by the defense — the lowest total in the Shanahan era since getting seven in 2018.
10: The number of field goal attempts missed by Jake Moody in 34 attempts, including eight misses after a three-game stint on injured reserve for a high ankle sprain.
8: Where the 49ers stood in terms of NFL ranking for yardage allowed at 317.4.
4: The total touchdowns scored by Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk — all by Samuel. The trio combined for 40 touchdowns in 2023.
Minus-10: The 49ers’ final turnover differential, which was a minus-16 over the last eight games.
SNAP JUDGEMENTS
76: Rookie right guard Dominick Puni played every offensive snap and missed only one snap all season in Week 4 against New England. Left guard Nick Zakelj and quarterback Josh Dobbs also played every snap against the Cardinals.
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52: Right tackle Colton McKivitz, who has battled knee issues for the past three weeks, was carted from the field with 7:11 remaining with a right ankle injury.
50: Rookie wide receiver Jacob Cowing had his most extensive playing time on offense. He was targeted twice, caught both passes for 30 yards and was called for holding.
24: Defensive end Nick Bosa played the fewest snaps he has played this season in a game in which he wasn’t on the injury report.
Pacific Grove hosts community meeting on district maps
PACIFIC GROVE >> A community meeting to teach Pacific Grove residents how to create a district map will take place Wednesday, detailing the software and deadlines.
The City Council has already hosted two public hearings to announce that Pacific Grove will move from an at-large to a by-district election system. The next step is to create a map that will separate the city into six equal districts, each represented by a council member. The maps will be submitted by Pacific Grove residents and will be considered by the council during their Feb. 5 meeting.
This will not be considered a council meeting, so residents will have the opportunity to ask questions and learn the tools used to create maps according to the city’s meeting agenda.
City Council voted in favor of creating a by-district election system in September in the wake of a formal request by the League of United Latin American Citizens, which the council found prudent not to challenge in court.
Residents interested in creating a map can get started with online tutorials at the District Election Transition webpage (https://www.cityofpacificgrove.org/our_city/city_clerk/city_council_districting.php). The tools on the site include Dave’s Maps website (https://www.ndcresearch.com/daves-redistricting-app-user-guide/), and a resource linked to the city clerk’s election transition page.
There is also an option to create maps using pen and paper. The process is a bit more manual and will require the drawer to add up the numbers themselves and try to hit the target of 2,521 people with no more than a 252-person difference between the districts.
The meeting is at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Pacific Grove City Hall, 300 Forest Ave. The meeting will be streamed online and can be watched via Zoom at https://www.cityofpacificgrove.org/Zoom_CC. Directions to dial into the meeting audio are posted on the agenda.
Can Washington handle two weeks of high-security pomp along with a heavy burst of snow?
By ASHRAF KHALIL
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s capital is often not a place that handles winter weather well. Cold-weather transplants complain about the inability of local drivers to navigate snowy roads and the tendency of the school systems to shut down at the first sign of falling flakes.
Now the ceremonial pomp of Washington is colliding with the circumstance of a major snow storm, forecast to dump up to a foot in some places by Monday night. The weather adds an unexpected layer of complexity to what was already a challenging two-week stretch for local officials.
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“This has never happened before,” said Matt McCool of the Secret Service’s Washington field office.
The special security event designation is reserved for events that draw large crowds and potential mass protests. It calls for an enhanced degree of high-level coordination among D.C. officials, the FBI, Secret Service, Capitol Police and Washington’s National Guard contingent.
The certification, which has historically been a low-profile ministerial proceeding, was elevated to National Special Security Event after the chaotic riot of Jan. 6, 2021. This time, that process progressed smoothly Monday afternoon, amid security restrictions that, according to McCool, mimicked those of a presidential State of the Union address.
“The Washington, D.C., area is well-versed in these high-profile events,” McCool told reporters last week. “Still back-to-back NSSEs are a unique situation.”
With the certification out of the way, officials now turn to this week’s elaborate multi-day state funeral proceedings for Carter. That rolls straight into preparations for the Jan. 20 inauguration with officials on alert for potential clashes between Trump’s supporters and opponents; there’s an anti-Trump People’s March scheduled for Saturday the 18th and a pro-Trump rally planned for Sunday the 19th.
“We are committed to upholding the right to peacefully assemble and protest in our city,” Metropolitan Police Department chief Pamela Smith said. “However … we will not tolerate any violence, rioting, destruction of property or any behavior that threatens the safety and security of our city.”
Smith said she has placed her department “on full activation” starting Sunday, Jan. 5, positioning “additional officers with specialized training that can be deployed anywhere in the District at a moment’s notice.”
McCool also warned D.C. residents to get used to the sight of numerous security and surveillance drones in the next two weeks. The entire District of Columbia is normally a no-fly zone for drones.
The most immediate question is whether the snowfall will prevent visitors from coming to town to pay their respects to Carter. According to tracking platform FlightAware.com, nearly 900 flights were canceled or delayed Monday in and out of Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. More than 300 flights were delayed or cancelled at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
After the completion of memorial services in his native Georgia, Carter’s casket will arrive in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Ceremonies, which continue through Thursday, will include a horse-drawn funeral procession Tuesday afternoon that may echo images from the chilly Nov. 22, 1963 procession for John F. Kennedy.
The snowfall already has prompted changes in standard White House operating procedure; instead of flying aboard the Marine One helicopter on Monday, President Joe Biden was forced to drive to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to board Air Force One. In a move reminiscent of secret presidential trips to war zones, Biden’s trip to New Orleans and Los Angeles began inside a hangar, rather than on the tarmac as is customary, due to the inclement weather. Air Force One was sheltered from the snow inside a secure hangar and Biden departed during an early afternoon lull in the snowfall.
Associated Press writers Colleen Long, Fatima Hussein and Darlene Superville in Washington, and John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed to this report.
Funding public education one lottery ticket at a time
The California Lottery is making a contribution of $2.2 billion to the state’s K-12 schools, the CSU and UC systems and community colleges this year, the result of sales in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
“From the very beginning, our mission has been to raise supplemental funding explicitly to support schools,” said California Lottery Director Harjinder K. Shergill-Chima in a press release from October. “Our dedicated workforce takes a tremendous amount of pride in the work we do every day – all in the name of public education.
“We are a mission-focused and cause-driven organization, and we want to thank our players and retail partners alike for supporting education right along with us; we couldn’t be successful without them,” said Shergill-Chima.
Voters passed the California State Lottery Act of 1984, allowing the Lottery to supplement funding for public education through the sale of lottery tickets. Since then, the organization has raised over $46 billion for public schools across the state.
The State Controller’s office looks at average daily attendance to determine how much funding is dispersed between districts. K-12 schools receive the bulk of the lottery funds (79.9%), followed by community colleges (14%), CSU (3.7%), UC (2.3%) and other educational entities (0.1%).
In 2023-24, the CSU received $43.6 million from the program. The 23-campus system is required to report to the governor and state legislature how much funding it receives and what it’s used for.
Funds are used to “support campus-based and systemwide programs for the benefit of CSU students,” according to a memo sent to the legislature.
In 2023-24, Cal State Monterey Bay received $722,000 from the program. Funds were used to support library subscriptions, IT equipment, student and faculty travel for research competitions, Student Disability and Accessibility services and more, according to university spokesman Walter Ryce. In the 2024-25 funding cycle, CSUMB is getting an additional $15,000 boost from the 2023-24 funds.
With 21 school sites to support, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District receives yearly funding from the California Lottery. The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School of the Arts in Seaside is one of the beneficiaries. (Molly Gibbs – Monterey Herald).In Monterey County, school districts received almost $7 million in 2023-24 to support their schools. Since the program began, the additional funding provided totals nearly $527 million.
Monterey Peninsula Unified School District received nearly $740,000 last year in supplemental funding to purchase instructional materials, technology and provide discretionary funds for school sites, according to Superintendent PK Diffenbaugh.
Funding also goes toward the Home and Hospital program, which takes credentialed instructors into a student’s home to teach when a student is temporarily unable to attend school due to a physical or emotional condition.
The funding is a needed and welcome financial boost for school districts, but as Diffenbaugh explained, there is always more to be done when it comes to financing local schools.
“While we’ll never turn down any funding and we’re very grateful for any additional funds,” he said, “the lottery funds make up a little less than 1% of our revenue, so it’s not as big an impact as some people in the community think.”
A big plus side to the lottery funding is that there is flexibility in how a district can spend their share. “In a time when resources are very scarce and federal funding is going away from COVID relief funds, it comes in really handy,” said Diffenbaugh.
In the 2024-25 funding cycle, Pacific Grove Unified School District will receive around $300,000 to be distributed for various instructional materials helpful for student achievement, according to Superintendent Linda Adamson.
In addition to miscellaneous materials such as textbooks or workbooks, the funding will help the district get ready to adopt a new English Language Arts curriculum for transitional kindergarten through 12th grade. The lottery funding will offset additional enrichment materials the district may typically not be able to afford. “It’s sort of like the Cadillac version of the program versus just the basic necessities,” said Adamson.
Since 1985, the two districts have received over $88 million in extra funding.
“It gives us the ability to use (funds) for anything further that we know our students are going to need,” said Adamson. “It’s nice to have it as an additional boost to what we’re doing… it’s nice to be able to know that we can rely on that when we’re in need of additional materials or support for our students.”
Biden, in 11th hour action, bans new offshore oil and gas drilling in most federal waters
By MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is moving to ban new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters, a last-minute effort to block possible action by the incoming Trump administration to expand offshore drilling.
Biden, whose term expires in two weeks, said he is using authority under the federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to protect offshore areas along the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and portions of Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea from future oil and natural gas leasing.
“My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs,” Biden said in a statement.
“As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country and we are transitioning to a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these coasts for our children and grandchildren,” he said.
Biden’s orders would not affect large swaths of the Gulf of Mexico, where most U.S. offshore drilling occurs, but it would protect coastlines along California, Florida and other states from future drilling.
Biden’s actions, which protect more than 625 million acres of federal waters, could be difficult for President-elect Donald Trump to unwind, since they would likely require an act of Congress to repeal. Trump himself has a complicated history on offshore drilling. He signed a memorandum in 2020 directing the Interior secretary to prohibit drilling in the waters off both Florida coasts, and off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina until 2032.
The action came after Trump initially moved to vastly expand offshore drilling, before retreating amid widespread opposition in Florida and other coastal states.
Trump has vowed to establish what he calls American “energy dominance” around the world as he seeks to boost U.S. oil and gas drilling and move away from Biden’s focus on climate change.
FILE — Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds, Oct. 14, 2024, in Oaks, Pa., as moderator South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem listens. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)Environmental advocates hailed Biden’s action, saying new oil and gas drilling must be sharply curtailed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. 2024 was the hottest in recorded history.
“This is an epic ocean victory!” said Joseph Gordon, campaign director for the environmental group Oceana.
Gordon thanked Biden “for listening to the voices from coastal communities” that oppose drilling and “contributing to the bipartisan tradition of protecting our coasts.”
Biden’s actions build on the legacy of Democratic and Republican presidents to protect coastal water from offshore drilling, Gordon said, adding that U.S. coastlines are home to tens of millions of Americans and support billions of dollars of economic activity that depend on a clean environment, abundant wildlife and thriving fisheries.
In balancing multiple uses of America’s oceans, Biden said it was clear that the areas he is withdrawing from fossil fuel use show “relatively minimal potential” that does not justify possible environmental, public health and economic risks that would come from new leasing and drilling.
A spokeswoman for Trump mocked Biden, saying, “Joe Biden clearly wants high gas prices to be his legacy.”
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Biden has proposed up to three oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, but none in Alaska, as he tries to navigate between energy companies seeking greater oil and gas production and environmental activists who want him to shut down new offshore drilling in the fight against climate change.
A five-year drilling plan approved in 2023 includes proposed offshore sales in 2025, 2027 and 2029. The three lease sales are the minimum number the Democratic administration could legally offer if it wants to continue expanding offshore wind development.
Under the terms of a 2022 climate law, the government must offer at least 60 million acres (24.2 million hectares) of offshore oil and gas leases in any one-year period before it can offer offshore wind leases.
Biden, whose decision to approve the huge Willow oil project in Alaska drew strong condemnation from environmental groups, has previously limited offshore drilling in other areas of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.
Congress ready to certify Trump’s election win, but Jan. 6 legacy hangs over the day
By LISA MASCARO, Associated Press Congressional Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) — As Congress convenes during a winter storm to certify President-elect Donald Trump’s election, the legacy of Jan. 6 hangs over the proceedings with an extraordinary fact: The candidate who tried to overturn the previous election won this time and is legitimately returning to power.
Lawmakers will gather noontime Monday under the tightest national security level possible. Layers of tall black fencing flank the U.S. Capitol complex in a stark reminder of what happened four years ago, when a defeated Trump sent his mob to “fight like hell” in what became the most gruesome attack on the seat of American democracy in 200 years.
No violence, protests or even procedural objections in Congress are expected this time. Republicans from the highest levels of power who challenged the 2020 election results when Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden have no qualms this year after he defeated Vice President Kamala Harris.
FILE – President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)And Democrats frustrated by Trump’s 312-226 Electoral College victory nevertheless accept the choice of the American voters. Even the snowstorm barreling down on the region wasn’t expected to interfere with Jan. 6, the day set by law to certify the vote.
“Whether we’re in a blizzard or not, we are going to be in that chamber making sure this is done,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican who helped lead Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, said Sunday on Fox News Channel.
The day’s return to a U.S. tradition that launches the peaceful transfer of presidential power comes with an asterisk as Trump prepares to take office in two weeks with a revived sense of authority. He denies that he lost four years ago, muses about staying beyond the Constitution’s two-term White House limit and promises to pardon some of the more than 1,250 people who have pleaded guilty or were convicted of crimes for the Capitol siege.
What’s unclear is if Jan. 6, 2021, was the anomaly, the year Americans violently attacked their own government, or if this year’s expected calm becomes the outlier. The U.S. is struggling to cope with its political and cultural differences at a time when democracy worldwide is threatened. Trump calls Jan. 6, 2021, a “day of love.”
FILE – Insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)“We should not be lulled into complacency,” said Ian Bassin, executive director of the cross-ideological nonprofit Protect Democracy.
He and others have warned that it is historically unprecedented for U.S. voters to do what they did in November, reelecting Trump after he publicly refused to step aside last time. Returning to power an emboldened leader who has demonstrated his unwillingness to give it up “is an unprecedentedly dangerous move for a free country to voluntarily take,” Bassin said.
Biden, speaking Sunday at events at the White House, called Jan. 6, 2021, “one of the toughest days in American history.”
“We’ve got to get back to the basic, normal transfer of power,” the president said. What Trump did last time, Biden said, “was a genuine threat to democracy. I’m hopeful we’re beyond that now.”
Still, American democracy has proven to be resilient, and Congress, the branch of government closest to the people, will come together to affirm the choice of Americans.
With pomp and tradition, the day is expected to unfold as it has countless times before, with the arrival of ceremonial mahogany boxes filled with the electoral certificates from the states — boxes that staff were frantically grabbing and protecting as Trump’s mob stormed the building last time.
Senators will walk across the Capitol — which four years ago had filled with roaming rioters, some defecating and menacingly calling out for leaders, others engaging in hand-to-hand combat with police — to the House to begin certifying the vote.
Harris will preside over the counting, as is the requirement for the vice president, and certify her own defeat — much the way Democrat Al Gore did in 2001 and Republican Richard Nixon in 1961.
FILE – Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, Nov. 6, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)She will stand at the dais where then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi was abruptly rushed to safety last time as the mob closed in and lawmakers fumbled to put on gas masks and flee, and shots rang out as police killed Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter trying to climb through a broken glass door toward the chamber.
There are new procedural rules in place in the aftermath of what happened four years ago, when Republicans parroting Trump’s lie that the election was fraudulent challenged the results their own states had certified.
Under changes to the Electoral Count Act, it now requires one-fifth of lawmakers, instead of just one in each chamber, to raise any objections to election results. With security as tight as it is for the Super Bowl or the Olympics, law enforcement is on high alert for intruders. No tourists will be allowed.
But none of that is expected to be necessary.
Republicans, who met with Trump behind closed doors at the White House before Jan. 6, 2021, to craft a complex plan to challenge his election defeat, have accepted his win this time.
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who led the House floor challenge in 2021, said people at the time were so astonished by the election’s outcome and there were “lots of claims and allegations.”
This time, he said, “I think the win was so decisive…. It stifled most of that.”
Democrats, who have raised symbolic objections in the past, including during the disputed 2000 election that Gore lost to George W. Bush and ultimately decided by the Supreme Court, have no intention of objecting. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said the Democratic Party is not “infested” with election denialism.
“There are no election deniers on our side of the aisle,” Jeffries said on the first day of the new Congress, to applause from Democrats in the chamber.
“You see, one should love America when you win and when you lose. That’s the patriotic thing to do,” Jeffries said.
Last time, far-right militias helped lead the mob to break into the Capitol in a war-zone-like scene. Officers have described being crushed and pepper-sprayed and beaten with Trump flag poles, “slipping in other people’s blood.”
Leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys have been convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Many others faced prison, probation, home confinement or other penalties.
Those Republicans who engineered the legal challenges to Trump’s defeat still stand by their actions, celebrated in Trump circles, despite the grave costs to their personal and professional livelihoods.
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Trump was impeached by the House on the charge of inciting an insurrection that day but was acquitted by the Senate. At the time, GOP leader Mitch McConnell blamed Trump for the siege but said his culpability was for the courts to decide.
Federal prosecutors subsequently issued a four-count indictment of Trump for working to overturn the election, including for conspiracy to defraud the United States, but special counsel Jack Smith was forced to pare back the case once the Supreme Court ruled that a president has broad immunity for actions taken in office.
Smith last month withdrew the case after Trump won reelection, adhering to Justice Department guidelines that sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.
Biden, in one of his outgoing acts, awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal to Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who had been the chair and vice chair of the congressional committee that conducted an investigation into Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump has said those who worked on the Jan. 6 committee should be locked up.
Associated Press writers Fatima Hussein and Ashraf Khalil contributed to this report.
49ers report card: Another defensive dud ends downer season
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Here is how the last-place 49ers (6-11) graded in Sunday’s 47-24, season-ending loss to the host Arizona Cardinals (8-9):
PASS OFFENSE: C-
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RUN OFFENSE: C
Isaac Guerendo’s first-series, left-knee injury thrust Patrick Taylor Jr. into action and he responded with a career-best 109 yards on 17 carries. Taylor had some big gains, and he turned a fourth-and-1 run into a 9-yard gain in the third quarter. Dobbs ran for a second-quarter, 1-yard touchdown run, but he fumbled twice, losing one on a fourth-quarter scramble. What a sadly appropriate way to end a season in which they lost so many running backs since training camp: Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Mason, Elijah Mitchell and finally Guerendo, a rookie who started three games and showed improvement. Even Deebo Samuel wasn’t around to moonlight as a rusher as he was inactive for the finale, as was Israel Abanikanda.
PASS DEFENSE: F
Not only did the 49ers go a seventh straight game without an interception, they did not sack Kyler Murray, who threw four touchdown passes and completed 71.4% of his passes (25-of-35, 242 yards). Defensive end Nick Bosa said afterward he came away embarrassed, not just in how the 49ers have played but how he couldn’t lead them out of their rut. Charvarius Ward nearly came away with his first interception of the season, but he allowed the 49ers’ final touchdown pass (to Marvin Harrison Jr.) in what could be Ward’s 49ers finale. With Deommodore Lenoir inactive because of a shoulder injury, the 49ers deployed Nick McCloud at nickel back and he appeared to allow two touchdown catches in coverage. This was the fourth game in a six-game span the 49ers did not record a sack, leaving Nick Bosa with a team-high nine ahead of Leonard Floyd, who idled at 8 ½ and missed out on another $500,000 incentive.
RUN DEFENSE: F
Two touchdown runs in the fourth quarter raised opponents’ total to 24 this season, one shy of the most allowed in a 49ers’ season. For the 10th time in 11 games, the 49ers failed to recover a fumble, to which Fred Warner said: “The takaeways, or lack thereof, is what killed us.” Even though the Cardinals were without 1,000-yard workhorse James Conner, they still amassed 151 yards at a 5.6 yards-per-carry average against a defense that still featured Warner and a trio of Week 1 starters on the defensive line in Bosa, Floyd and Maliek Collins. Warner’s eight tackles raised his team-leading total to 131 this season, the final three months of which he played through an ankle injury involving a fracture.
SPECIAL TEAMS: F
It’s only appropriate that the 49ers’ season-long issues on special teams showed up in this finale, from surrendering a fake-punt conversion to Jake Moody missing a 47-yard field-goal attempt. Moody was 11-of-20 since returning from a high-ankle sprain that afforded him only a three-game break. Rookie return specialist Jacob Cowing went all season without breaking anything longer than a 32-yard return. Replacement punter Pat O’Donnell finished with a better net average (40.0, 24 punts) than incumbent Mitch Wishnowsky (36.3, 22 punts).
COACHING: C
Kyle Shanahan opened his press conference saying he did not want to field questions about offseason fates of coaches or players. Indeed, a lot of personnel moves are coming, with heat particularly on coordinators Nick Sorensen (defense) and Brian Schneider (special teams). This season’s minus-10 turnover ratio, and the inability to create takeaways (one in the final 10 games) are stats that reflect the 49ers’ overall failure to make plays and put players in position to make them. This game, in essence, was so much like a exhibition that Shanahan had assistant Klay Kubiak call offensive plays like they tried in the preseason, NBC Sports Bay Area reported.
After allowing a season-high 47 points, Shanahan acknowledged the early impact of this game’s first quarter’s interception, fake punt and missed field goal, “but by the second half they wore us down, got it going, and couldn’t get them off the field.” So it went all season, amid injuries, miscommunication, failures.
At least there was no confetti in the air, unlike their losing exits in four of the past six seasons.
