KRKC COUNTRY

  WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday, March 26 Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Ben Cline (R-VA) introduced the Bankruptcy Venue Reform Act, bipartisan legislation which requires that Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings take place where the principal place of business or principal assets of the corporation are located.   "Corporations currently have the ability to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and then potentially choose courts that have issued lenient rulings to hear their cases," said Rep. Lofgren (CA-18). "Bankruptcies should be adjudicated locally in a court familiar with all the affected stakeholders, not in some court all the way across the country. Our bipartisan Bankruptcy Venue Reform Act is commonsense legislation that will prevent corporations from venue shopping and tipping the scales of justice."   “Large corporations should not be able to manipulate the bankruptcy system to their advantage while workers, small businesses, and local communities are left behind. ...

  WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday, March 26 Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA-18) introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval against the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)'s recent rule  regarding Adverse Effect Wage Rates for H-2A workers. The DOL failed to provide a notice-and-comment period for the rule as required by the Administrative Procedure Act. Original co-sponsors of Lofgren's resolution include Reps. Mark Pocan (WI-02), Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), and Ilhan Omar (MN-05). "We have a well-crafted plan to reform America's H-2A program in the bipartisan Farm Workforce Modernization Act I introduced," Rep. Lofgren said. "Yet Trump's Labor Department decided to just act unilaterally and issue this rule without the proper comment period required by the Administrative Procedure Act. H-2A reform is necessary, but it needs to happen through a legislative proc...

  SALINAS, CA – Monterey County Sheriff’s Office participated in the Statewide Shoulder Tap Operation and arrested one suspect on Saturday March 14, 2026 after he furnished alcoholic beverages to minors at a local business. The operation was conducted in Monterey County. A total of 20 people were contacted across 4 locations. ABC agents and local law enforcement conducted a Statewide Shoulder Tap operation which targets adults who purchase alcohol for persons under the age of 21. A minor under the direct supervision of law enforcement stands outside of a liquor or convenience store and asks customers to buy them alcohol. The minor also indicates they are underage and cannot purchase the alcohol. Sheriff Tina Nieto stated, “Our partnership with ABC reinforces a clear and consistent message to our community: providing alcohol to minors is not acceptable and carries serious consequences. Through proactive enforcement and education, we are working together to prevent avoidable tragedie...

  (Washington, DC) – On Wednesday, March 25 the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Hearing on The Future of Low Earth Orbit: From the ISS to Commercial Platforms .     Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren's (D-CA) opening statement as prepared for the record is below:   Good morning, and thank you Mr. Chairman, for holding today’s hearing. I also want to thank our expert witnesses for being here.   The International Space Station (ISS) is an incredible feat of technical achievement and international cooperation. For over twenty-five years, humans have continuously occupied the Station, with NASA astronauts living and working in space alongside international partner astronauts. The ISS has served—and continues to serve—as a platform for experiments in nearly every scientific discipline: from astronomy, to atmospheric science, to particle physics, to microbiology, and so much more. Research on the ISS helps NASA ...

  Members of the Multi-Agency Detail Combating Auto Theft (MADCAT) arrested a Soledad man Tuesday morning, March 24 after observing him arrive at a Salinas Courthouse in a stolen vehicle. On March 24 at approximately 11:00 a.m., MADCAT task force members observed 41-year-old Ricardo Otero of Soledad pull into the Salinas Courthouse parking area driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen out of San Jose. Deputies contacted Otero outside the courtroom where he was scheduled to appear for a pending auto theft case. Otero was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Monterey County Jail. He was booked on the following charges: • California Vehicle Code 10851(a) (Unlawful Driving or Taking of a Vehicle) • Penal Code 12022 (Commission of a Felony While Released on Bail/Own Recognizance) • California Vehicle Code 14601.1(a) (Driving With a Suspended License)

  SALINAS, California- Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni announced on March 23 that on March 12, 2026, the Honorable Jennifer O’Keefe sentenced Noel Aguilera Ledesma to 25 years to life in prison for the 2010 murder of his ex-girlfriend, Yvette Martinez. A jury convicted Ledesma, formerly of Soledad and Yuma, Ariz., of first-degree murder in February 2026. In early 2010, Martinez and Ledesma dated, but they subsequently broke up. Despite the breakup, they remained connected to each other. For months, Ledesma attempted to persuade Martinez to get back together with him. However, in mid-September, Martinez began dating another person. On October 9, 2010, Martinez went out with friends and her then-boyfriend. She went out drinking in Salinas and then went to a corn maze with her boyfriend. She saw a different friend at a Salinas restaurant before heading home. Throughout the night, Ledesma was calling and texting Martinez’s cell phone, but she largely ignored his t...