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Following the resignation of California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, who in the fall was elected to the United States Senate, Gov. Jerry Brown has officially submitted U.S. Congressman Xavier Becerra’s (D-CA) nomination for California attorney general to the state Legislature this week.

The nomination is subject to confirmation by the California State Assembly and Senate, which each have 90 days to act.

“Xavier has been an outstanding public servant – in the State Legislature, the U.S. Congress and as a deputy attorney general,” said Gov. Brown when he named Rep. Becerra as his nominee last month. “I'm confident he will be a champion for all Californians and help our state aggressively combat climate change.”

Rep. Becerra, 58, of Los Angeles, has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1992, most recently as the first Latino member of the Committee on Ways And Means, ranking member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security and chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.

The congressman is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which he chaired from 1997 to 1998, and the Executive Committee of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

In 2010, Rep. Becerra served on the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

Prior to his election to Congress, Rep. Becerra served in the California State Assembly as representative for the 59th Assembly District in Los Angeles County from 1990 to 1992.

He served as a deputy attorney general in the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 1987 to 1990.

The congressman began his legal career in 1984, advocating for and representing individuals with mental illness.

Rep. Becerra earned a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Stanford University.

Rep. Becerra is the son of working-class parents and was the first in his family to graduate from college with a four-year degree. His mother was born in Jalisco, Mexico and immigrated to the United States after marrying his father.

Rep. Becerra is married to Dr. Carolina Reyes. They are the proud parents of three daughters: Clarisa, Olivia and Natalia.

COBB, Calif. – A power outage that began on Tuesday night in the Cobb area was fully resolved on Wednesday afternoon, according to Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

The company said the outage, first reported at approximately 10:32 p.m. Tuesday, affected more than 300 people.

The outage, which was fully resolved as of 1:48 p.m. Wednesday, was caused by trees coming into contact with a power line, PG&E said.

For information on outages visit www.pge.com/outage .

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum reported that the January Fiddlers Jam, which was scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 8, has been canceled due to the forecast for a heavy winter storm.

The regular monthly first Sunday Fiddlers Jam sessions will begin again on Feb. 5. Hours are noon to 2 p.m.

The Ely Stage Stop is located at 9921 Soda Bay Road, Kelseyville.

Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-05) on Wednesday applauded the Federal Communications Commission's approval of Globalstar's modified plan to establish a new wireless network.

A previous Globalstar proposal may have interrupted Bluetooth and wireless devices using the same bandwidth, including hearing aids.

The amended plan will significantly lessen the potential for interference, ensuring individuals with hearing loss can use the wireless features of their hearing devices without interruption.

“I commend the FCC and Globalstar for recognizing that Americans with hearing loss should not have to face a disruption in their hearing devices,” said Thompson. “Innovation drives our economy, but it should not come at the expense of the health and well-being of the public. This modified plan is a strong compromise to allow the development of new technology without posing a risk to Americans with hearing impairments.”

Andrew Bopp, executive director of Hearing Industries Association, noted that rapid advances in wireless technology have enabled people with hearing loss to connect directly through their hearing aids to the telephone, music players, television and other devices. 

He added, “HIA deeply appreciates the efforts of Rep. Thompson to insure that new interference issues do not emerge to prevent people from accessing these features.”

As co-chair of the Congressional Hearing Caucus, Thompson sent a letter to Chairman Tom Wheeler of the FCC in April of 2016, expressing concerns about the impact Globalstar's previous proposal may have had on people with hearing loss.

In his letter, Thompson requested that the FCC verify that any proposals would not harm the availability of Bluetooth or similar features for hearing assistance devices.

Furthermore, Thompson called for testing of the proposed technology to determine its viability. 

MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. – Mendocino National Forest District officials have implemented several off-highway vehicle (OHV) trail closures on the Grindstone Ranger District until the trails can be repaired.

The trails are located south of the Summit Springs Trailhead and south of Letts Lake.

Trails included in the order are 85311, 85312, 85345, 85354 and 85356.

Officials deemed this closure necessary for resource protection until treads and drainage structures are repaired to withstand additional OHV traffic.

The closure may remain in effect until Jan. 2, 2018.

Forest Order No. 08-17-03 and the associated map are posted on the forest website at http://tinyurl.com/z2c6asr .

For more information about the Mendocino National Forest please check the forest Web site https://www.fs.usda.gov/mendocino , Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MendocinoNF/ or Twitter @MendocinoNF.

Hindus are urging all 1,025 public school districts of California to declare an official holiday on Diwali, the most popular of their festivals.
 
They are also urging California’s all 1,222 charter schools, all about 3,170 private schools and all independent schools also to adopt Diwali as an official holiday on their 2017-18 school year calendars.
 
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement this week, pointed out that it would be a step in the positive direction in view of presence of a substantial number of Hindu students at schools around the state, as it was important to meet the religious and spiritual needs of these pupils. Some school districts in New York, New Jersey and Maryland had reportedly already declared Diwali as a holiday.
 
Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, indicated that schools should make efforts to accommodate the religious requirements of Hindu students and show respect to their faith by not conducting regular business and scheduling classes on Diwali.

“We did not want our students to be put at an unnecessary disadvantage for missing tests/examinations/papers, assignments, class work, etc.; by taking a day-off to observe Diwali,” Zed said.
 
“If California schools stayed closed on other religious holidays, why not Diwali?” Zed asked. “Holidays of all major religions should be honored and no one should be penalized for practicing their religion.”
 
Zed suggested all California schools to seriously look into declaring Diwali as an official holiday, thus recognizing the intersection of spirituality and education.

Zed noted that awareness about other religions thus created by such holidays like Diwali would make California students well-nurtured, well-balanced and enlightened citizens of tomorrow.
 
He urged Gov. Jerry Brown, California State Board of Education President Dr. Michael Kirst, California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, California School Boards Association CEO Vernon M. Billy, California Charter Schools Association President Jed Wallace, California Association of Private School Organizations President Kevin Baxter and California Association of Independent Schools Executive Director James McManus to work toward adding Diwali as an official holiday in all the public, charter, private and independent schools of the state.
 
Zed said that Hinduism is rich in festivals and religious festivals are very dear and sacred to Hindus.

Diwali, the festival of lights, aims at dispelling the darkness and lighting up the lives and symbolizes the victory of good over evil.

Besides Hindus, Sikhs and Jains and some Buddhists also celebrate Diwali, which falls on Oct. 19 in 2017.
 
Hinduism is the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and moksh, or liberation, is its ultimate goal. There are about three million Hindus in the United States.