Transcript:
In local news today, we have an update on Monday’s report of a missing husband and coverage from Sunday’s town hall with Assemblymember Chris Rogers.
Missing Husband Located
Mike Kleppe, the Fort Bragg man reported missing last week, has contacted his family and confirmed he is safe. His wife, Shirley Kleppe, posted a brief message on Facebook asking for privacy and “no questions, please.”
Town Hall with Assemblymember Chris Rogers
On Sunday, the Grassroots Institute and the League of Women Voters of Mendocino County hosted a town hall with Assemblymember Chris Rogers at the Caspar Community Center. While town halls aren’t typically standing-room-only events, this one was. The center was packed as Rogers addressed a wide range of issues, including California’s “fantasy” budget, federal funding inequities, and the controversial “CalExit” movement.
Rogers also discussed several bills in the works, including an effort to cancel existing solar contracts, two proposals to support green hydrogen production and virtual power plants, and a possible cap-and-trade program for redwood forests.
KZYX will cover the town hall in two parts. Here’s Part 1:
A headline in Monday’s San Francisco Chronicle asked, “California’s Secessionists Are at It Again. Do They Have a Chance This Time?”
On Sunday, Pat Dunbar of the Mendocino County chapter of the League of Women Voters asked a similar question: What are the pros and cons of California becoming a separate country?
“I’m not supportive of it,” Rogers said. “I have this fundamental belief that just because we lost an election doesn’t mean we’re wrong — that there are people across the nation who are scared of what their future looks like. And just because we have the ability to abandon them doesn’t mean we should.”
Rogers acknowledged the frustration Californians feel when federal programs, including food aid and wildfire resilience efforts, are deliberately undercut.
“Since Trump took office, he has systematically tried to make sure California is harmed — that we don’t get the resources we’ve been promised or that we give back,” Rogers said.“California is the golden goose. We give $80 billion — with a B — more dollars in taxes to the federal government than we get back in a good year.
“California is the golden goose. We give $80 billion — with a B — more dollars in taxes to the federal government than we get back in a good year."
“A couple of weeks ago, more than 300 trucks of food aid intended for our most vulnerable — people relying on SNAP and other assistance — were canceled by the federal government at the last minute. That has a significant impact,” he added. “Just last night, our staff attended a fundraiser for the Sonoma County Food Bank, which is also struggling to maintain donations and food access.”
Even before these federal decisions, Rogers said, California faced a structural deficit.
“Back in January, the governor’s budget didn’t include funding for housing or homelessness programs. It proposed an 8% cut to the CSU system, but otherwise kept most of the social safety net intact,” he said.
“Then the fires came and wiped out a major source of property tax revenue. So, we already knew the budget was — for lack of a better word — fantasy.”
Rogers said the Legislature will have to make tough decisions.
“We’re the fourth-largest economy in the world,” he said. “We can change our tax structure. Right now, California gives out nearly $100 billion in tax breaks. There are programs — like those that provide food security — that must be backfilled. My colleagues and I will find a way.”
