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Earlier this week, a bill that would allow winery customers to fill their own containers with wine, or for wineries to deliver wine in personal containers to customers, was introduced in the Assembly.

Assembly Bill 239, authored by Assemblymen Carlos Villapudua (D-Stockton) and Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), would allow reusable containers to be refilled at wineries and tasting rooms. While Californian breweries are currently allowed this practice with containers such as “growlers,” it is currently not allowed at wineries.

Security at the California state Capitol in Sacramento remained heightened Tuesday. A heavy law enforcement presence has been disbursed around the Capitol building grounds and throughout the city’s surrounding downtown area since last week in anticipation of protests and violence after the Jan. 6 siege in the U.S. Capitol. 

All remained fairly placid near the Capitol well into the afternoon, where dozens of California Highway Patrol officers and National Guard soldiers were stationed and patrolled the grounds behind a chain-link fence surrounding the building.

By Bob Highfill

Carlos Villapudua took a moment to look up at the ceiling from the floor of the state Capitol in Sacramento.
There to undergo training as the newly elected State Assemblyman, District 13, the 52-year-old Stockton native could see the same balcony where he once stood and looked down as a 10-year-old during a tour. Villapudua called it a “wow moment,” when he realized his path from community center director, legislative aide, county supervisor and businessman had led him to the state legislature.