Greetings‚
The 74th Annual Sierra-Cascade Logging Conference is underway this week at the Shasta County Fairgrounds in Anderson. Senator Dahle and I had the opportunity to attend the kick-off event on Thursday morning‚ where we were welcomed by many friendly and familiar faces. This year’s theme is “Working Forests and Skilled Loggers Building Strong Communities”‚ which is an excellent overview of the trajectory of the logging industry in California.
Industry leaders in attendance at this year’s conference spoke to the importance of stewarding our forests while ensuring the safety of surrounding communities from wildfire and other disasters. Striking the balance between thinning our forests through logging and preserving the beauty of our forests has required forward thinking and creative vision‚ which was evident among this group.
The logging industry is not what it was fifty years ago‚ and if you are not familiar with their recent work‚ I recommend learning more about what they are doing. Click here to learn more and to view a schedule of this weekend’s events.
Assemblywoman Megan Dahle
 | Catalyst Mentoring The vision of Catalyst Mentoring in Redding is to provide youth in the community with mentors to provide support and guidance during critical developmental years. This week‚ my staff and I met with the team at Catalyst Mentoring to learn more about their work and took a tour of their facility. Catalyst relies on volunteers who are willing to invest one hour per week to the program‚ and they provide training to prepare their mentors for what to expect‚ such as navigating Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) and more. Mentoring sessions occur during lunchtime on school campuses and at their facility in the afternoons. Investing in today’s children is an investment in tomorrow’s leaders. Learn more about Catalyst Mentoring here. |
 | Virtual Career Fair for Teachers – February 21st The educator crisis is a major issue for schools across the state. To help address this‚ State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced a new partnership between the California Department of Education (CDE) and California Volunteers‚ Office of the Governor‚ to promote new pathways for California Volunteers service corps members to become teachers in California classrooms. Career fair events to help connect future teacher candidates with schools experiencing shortages and provide prospective applicants with information on how to access scholarships and grants such as the Golden State Teacher Grant‚ which provides up to $20‚000 grants to support teachers and counselors to serve at a priority school in California for four years within eight years of completing a preparation program. The first career fair event will be virtual and is scheduled on February 21. While the February 21 career fair effort is focused on those within the California Volunteer network‚ other recruitment fairs will be scheduled at later dates for people of any background who want to become a teacher. For more information‚ visit the California Department of Education Facebook page here. |
 | Co-Authoring SB-281 – Aggravated Arson Law As a North State resident who has seen far too many wildfires in and around my home‚ co-authoring SB-281 was an easy decision. California is facing unprecedented‚ destructive wildfires – 14 of the largest 20 wildfires in California history have occurred just in the last decade‚ and some of these horribly destructive wildfires have been set by arsonists. To combat this‚ Senate Majority Leader Mike McGuire introduced SB 281‚ to extend California’s law regarding individuals who are convicted of aggravated arson. There are three possible ways to be convicted of aggravated arson: Any prior arson convictions within the last 10 years; damage or destruction of five or more inhabited structures; or damage and other losses and fire suppression costs in excess of $8.3 million. The bipartisan legislation is Joint Authored by Senator Stern and co-authored by Senator Dahle‚ Roth‚ Dodd‚ and Assemblymembers Aguiar Curry‚ Wood‚ Connolly and myself. Follow the progression of this bill here. |
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Assemblywoman Dahle is Honored to Serve
Alpine County‚ Amador County‚ El Dorado County‚ Lassen County‚ Modoc County‚ Nevada County‚ Placer County‚ Plumas County‚ Shasta County‚ Sierra County‚ & Siskiyou County.
