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As Californians brace for the possibility of yet another wet winter — thanks to a looming El Niño — anxiety is growing in the Central Coast towns of Pajaro and Watsonville, where epic storms caused extensive flood damage earlier this year.

On Tuesday, California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) introduced legislation designed to expedite construction and upgrades along the Pajaro River levee — a 74-year-old earthen flood control berm that breached just before spring, inundating the mostly migrant farmworker town of Pajaro.

California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas on Tuesday introduced legislation intended to speed up the $400 million rebuild of the Pajaro River Levee. 

Assembly Bill 876 would expedite the work by exempting certain aspects of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The bill would also weigh the potential impacts of the project against its environmental and socio-economic benefits.

WATSONVILLE, Calif. — On Wednesday, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas' office announced that two hospitals in his district will get financial help from the state.

WATSONVILLE — Watsonville Community Hospital was one of 17 health care centers throughout California to receive no-interest loans under the Distressed Hospital Loan Program, announced earlier this year by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Watsonville will receive $8.3 million in loans.

The announcement was made Thursday by the California Department of Health Care Access and Information.

The pride is palpable Wednesday evening, July 26, at the Salinas City Center. A round of applause cuts through the idle chatter in the room when Rivas walks in and he’s sporting a large smile, immediately going into handshakes with a crowd engulfing him for photos and a chance to say hello. It feels genuine—people really know him and want his career to succeed. 

Lookout’s Christopher Neely sat down with District 29 Assemblymember Robert Rivas for an interview shortly after Rivas was sworn-in to the powerful position of Speaker of the California Assembly.

Hollister Democrat Robert Rivas on Friday officially became the leader of the state’s biggest legislative body at a Capitol swearing-in ceremony that highlighted his Central Coast district and his desire to unify a fractured Democratic caucus.

Robert Rivas was sworn in as the 71st Speaker of the California State Assembly during a special session Friday at the Capitol.

“California is still the greatest state in the union,” Rivas, a Hollister Democrat who represents the 29th Assembly District, said. “But if we do not act with greater urgency, it will get more and more difficult to build a good life here. We are responsible for protecting the building blocks of Californians’ everyday lives.”

Assemblymember Robert Rivas was sworn in Friday as the next speaker of California's state Assembly, becoming the first lawmaker from a rural district to hold the powerful office in the state's modern history.

Rivas, a 43-year-old Democrat representing the agricultural Central Coast area, replaces former Speaker Anthony Rendon after a months long power struggle last year. Rendon, the second-longest serving speaker in state history, terms out at the end of 2024 after serving as the California lower house's leader the last seven years.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Assemblymember Robert Rivas was sworn in Friday as the next speaker of California’s state Assembly, becoming the first lawmaker from a rural district to hold the powerful office in the state’s modern history.