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College student holds sign at Day of Action event in Stockton. © ARBayne

At last week's Day of Action for education, Assemblymember Alyson Huber stood in solidarity with the parents, teachers and students rallying across the state to call for no additional cuts to education.

“Enough is enough. We must hold the line on any more cuts to education. Our students have sacrificed enough,” said Assemblymember Huber. “The fight against cuts will not be easy in these difficult times but if we stand together we can make a difference in this budget. As a state, education must be one of our top priorities.”

Assemblymember Huber recognizes the critical need for investing in education and keeping the doors of opportunity open to our state’s students. She credits her own education for being where she is today. After putting herself through college, education is what allowed her to change her station in life. Furthermore, as a mother of two young elementary school children and two step-children in college, Assemblymember Huber knows first hand what the recent years of drastic cuts to education has meant.

“Education is not what it used to be. When I was in school we had jars of paste in every class room, now, teachers have to hold bake sales to buy glue sticks,” added Huber.

For more information visit www.asm.ca.gov/huber.

Sacramento Assemblywoman Alyson Huber will celebrate National Read Across America day by reading to elementary school children. To make the event even more special, Molina Healthcare will donate books to the school so that each child will receive a book of their own to take home.

“Read Across America is a perfect day to encourage children to read,” said Assemblywoman Alyson Huber. “If we can make reading fun for children at a young age, they will continue reading as they get older.”

Kindergarteners from Joseph Sims Elementary School will not only hear the Assemblywoman read a book but Dr. Cleo, Molina Healthcare’s cat mascot, will act out the story as well.

“As a healthcare company, Molina Healthcare knows that access to books builds literacy and helps individuals not only break the cycle of poverty, but also improves their ability to fight barriers that lead to disparities in health status,” said Mattie McAlister, Molina Healthcare.

Read Across America is an event celebrated nationwide to honor the late Theodor Seuss Geisel, affectionately known as Dr. Seuss, and to encourage young readers to make reading an everyday activity.

"I was very troubled to hear about the rearrest of an inmate released early today. I voted against the early release proposal because of this very kind of risk and the challenges our local law enforcement will now be shouldered with. AB 1678 would give local law enforcement the tools necessary to ensure that situations like this are avoided and public safety is protected."

Assemblymember Alyson Huber chairing a recent meeting of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee.

Assemblymember Alyson Huber has introduced a bill that will help identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in government agencies. AB 1659 would take existing legislative resources and re-direct them to the Joint Sunset Review Committee which would conduct a comprehensive analysis of every state government agency to determine if the agency is still necessary and cost effective.

"A clear lesson of the past decade: government must change the way it does business," said Assemblymember Huber. "I share my constituents' frustration with government inefficiency and a lack of accountability. Legislators create new boards, commissions, agencies and departments to solve a problem and then no one looks back and asks whether the new bureaucracy actually solved the problem it was created to solve or whether the problem is worse. We can fix this systemic problem by conducting comprehensive, regular reviews of state government to ensure taxpayers that their money is being used wisely. Other states have been doing this for years and California should adopt this common sense approach to oversight."

The bill authored by Assemblymember Alyson Huber (D-El Dorado Hills) to revise the membership of the El Dorado County Transportation Commission (EDCTC) passed its first committee. Assemblymember Huber was joined by joint author Ted Gaines (R-Roseville), as well as County Supervisor John Knight, El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce Chairman and Citizen Advisory Committee member Megan Reeves and former County Supervisor Rusty Dupray to offer testimony for the bill in the Assembly Committee on Local Government.

Sheriff McGinness presenting the award to Assemblymember Huber. L to R: Al Cooper, Legislative Advocate, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, Huber, McGinness, Nick Warner, CSSA.

The California State Sheriffs’ Association has recognized Assemblymember Alyson Huber as an Outstanding Legislator of 2009. Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness met with Assemblymember Huber to deliver the award and express the Association’s appreciation for her strong support of law enforcement.

“The Sheriffs of California are very pleased to present this award to Assemblymember Huber," stated Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness. “Even as our economic times become more critical, she has been very clear that public safety is a top priority.”

Lodinews.com is reporting that Paul Hegyi has dropped his bid for the Assembly so that Jack Sieglock can save his money for the November general election.

"The single most important goal for me is to ensure that Republicans take back the 10th Assembly District and to prevent the Democrats from gaining a two-thirds majority in the State Assembly," Hegyi said in a news release.

Hegyi also said he thinks, "the 10th District is clearly the best opportunity (for Republicans) to pick up a seat."

Republicans are serious about taking back AD-10. To make sure they don't please contribute to the 10th AD Task Force. All funds raised by the task force will be used to keep AD-10 in the Democratic column.

Alyson delivers post cards to Gov. Schwarzenegger from constituents opposed to a peripheral canal. SacBee Photo

Assemblywoman Alyson Huber says she will reintroduce a bill that would require a legislative vote before a controversial peripheral canal can be built around the Delta. Her statement was made at the last AD-10 Task Force meeting, and more recently to the Stockton Record Editorial Board.

When the legislature recently passed a package of bills on water, Alyson's bill to require legislative approval on any proposal to create a peripheral canal didn't even get a hearing. Instead, the deal created a seven member council to decide for us how our water should be used.

A majority, four, of the council members are to be appointed by the Governor. The current Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger of Southern California, is a strong supporter of a peripheral canal. He even went so far as to proclaim victory for a canal at a press event called for an entirely different reason to the obvious surprise and dismay of local elected officials in attendance. Surprise!

Alyson, along with other Delta lawmakers including Joan Buchanan and Lois Wolk, opposed the package of bills pushed through by legislative leadership. One of the chief reasons being exclusion of Delta area lawmakers from the committee making decisions on what would be in the package of bills.

By Robert Longer
Vice-President, CWA Local 9421

On October 19-20, 2009, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 9421 partnered with the Sacramento Central Labor Council (a coalition of 160,000 Union members in the greater Sacramento area), Health Care for America Now (HCAN), and Organizing For America (OFA) in a big event for health care reform: an overnight vigil, fast and phone bank in front of the Federal building in downtown Sacramento. The purpose of the event was to urge the Senate to pass a real—not watered-down—health care reform bill. Our message: any final health care reform bill must have a public option, must require every employer to participate and must not tax our benefits!

The Sacramento Bee ran this op-ed from Alyson Huber on Wednesday.

In the face of stiff opposition from party leaders who rammed through this water legislation Alyson continues to stand by the people of the 10th AD who elected her to office.