Eagle Scout, Higher Ed Egghead, Rugger, Waterfowler, Whitewater Rafting Guide | @AssemblyFellows, @SSCCC_Official, @FLCFalcons, @UCDavis alum | views=own
Sacramento, CA
Joined May 2021
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Andrew Nickens retweeted
America’s newest national park is rock solid!
Chiricahua is officially our 64th national park. Welcome to the "Wonderland of Rocks."
ALT Lightning strikes beneath dark storm clouds over the rocky landscape of Chiricahua. Green vegetation surrounds clusters of towering rock formations, with a pink glow along the distant horizon.
Andrew Nickens retweeted
After more than decade of brutally destructive wildfires around the state, California has embraced aggressive goals to thin forest fuels and restore resilient landscapes.
But the authors of this piece (@MattDias2773 from @calforests and Tracy Hernandez of the New California Coalition) are exactly correct about a major problem:
"For too long, the state has treated the lack of markets for low-value wood as a side problem. It is not. It’s the hinge on which California’s wildfire strategy swings."
I am proud to co-author the bipartisan Assembly Bill 706, with @celia to help support and revive California's biomass power plants. They remain a critical outlet for forest thinnings and a way to turn a wildfire hazard into clean electricity.
Andrew Nickens retweeted
Please join CFAA for the first installment of our 2026 Speaker Series featuring Fair Political Practices Commission Chair Adam Silver (2012-13 Exec Fellow). The conversation will kick off on Tuesday, May 19 at noon in Swing Space 6010. We hope to see you there!
Andrew Nickens retweeted
Many of North America’s birds are in a state of accelerating decline, with over half of 122 species dying out faster, according to a new study. Their vanishing songs are a bellwether of a far deeper biodiversity crisis, researchers say. wapo.st/4kUFnTT
Andrew Nickens retweeted
"If Sacramento State had been FBS when I was coming out of high school, I would have seriously considered staying home. This move keeps elite football in our region gives local student-athletes the chance to compete at the highest level in front of their families, friends and local community. Our Family is proud to support the next generation of athletes and football players at Sacramento State."
- Arik Armstead, Jacksonville Jaguars & Sacramento area native
This is nuts
Here's proof that Claude Code can write an entire empirical polisci paper.
To validate my claim that AI agents are coming for polisci "like a freight train", today I had Claude Code fully replicate and extend an old paper of mine estimating the effect of universal vote-by-mail on turnout and election outcome...essentially in one shot.
After careful prompting, Claude Code:
(1) Downloaded the old paper's repo and replicated the past results, translating our old Stata Code into Python
(2) Crawled the web to get updated official election data and census data
(3) Ran new analyses extending the results through 2024
(4) Created new tables and figures
(5) Performed a lit review
(6) Wrote a wholly new paper
(7) Pushed the whole thing to a new github repo
The whole thing took about an hour.
This is an insane paradigm shift in how empirical work is done.
It also validates the point that several people including @BrendanNyhan made yesterday---it's going to be especially easy to scale observational research with AI.
Thanks to @alexolegimas, @arthur_spirling , and many others who gave me feedback. .
Andrew Nickens retweeted
It’s been one of the coldest late-November to early-December periods in Sacramento’s history.
Over the last 2 weeks, max temps were the coldest for this period in 50 years and the 3rd coldest since 1877.
The Tule Fog has been insane.
Andrew Nickens retweeted
Sadly, this is the first year at the commemoration ceremony at Pearl Harbor that no Pearl Harbor survivor has attended. We have lost so many over the past few years and as few as 12 remain living today. From one generation to the next. Remember Pearl Harbor. Remember those lost. Remember those who survived. #PearlHarbor84
To date, the most gut-wrenching experience I've ever had as a staffer was in Sen. Nielsen's office reading letter after letter from people who lost everything in the Camp Fire. 7 years later, they still haven't been made whole.
Seven years ago today, a wildfire sparked in Butte County and quickly grew into the Camp Fire—the deadliest wildfire in California’s history.
Eighty-five lives were lost. More than 18,800 homes, schools, and businesses were destroyed, and entire neighborhoods were forever changed in a matter of hours.
Today, we pause to remember those who lost their lives, the families who carry their memories forward, and the communities that continue to rebuild with strength and resilience.
As we look back, we also look ahead with a shared responsibility to learn from the past and continue working to prevent such devastation from happening again.
INTO THE FIRE looks back at the first hours of the Camp Fire, capturing the intensity of the response and the strength shown in the face of devastation.
Watch the full documentary here: youtu.be/l7OUG_6QCG0
#CampFire #CALFIRE #NeverForget
Andrew Nickens retweeted
Seven years ago today, a wildfire sparked in Butte County and quickly grew into the Camp Fire—the deadliest wildfire in California’s history.
Eighty-five lives were lost. More than 18,800 homes, schools, and businesses were destroyed, and entire neighborhoods were forever changed in a matter of hours.
Today, we pause to remember those who lost their lives, the families who carry their memories forward, and the communities that continue to rebuild with strength and resilience.
As we look back, we also look ahead with a shared responsibility to learn from the past and continue working to prevent such devastation from happening again.
INTO THE FIRE looks back at the first hours of the Camp Fire, capturing the intensity of the response and the strength shown in the face of devastation.
Watch the full documentary here: youtu.be/l7OUG_6QCG0
#CampFire #CALFIRE #NeverForget
Hey #CALeg! Come say hi to the new class of Fellows next Monday!
Andrew Nickens retweeted
Much of Chinese Camp, a historic Gold Rush town in California and one of the oldest in the state, has been burned to the ground tonight by the 6-5 Wildfire.
A sobering night across the Sierra Foothills, with many dangerous wildfires sparked by today's dry lightning outbreak.
Do you ever look at the time and get PTSD flashes of bills you've worked on with the same number? #CALeg
The @CA_WaterCom has the best zoom break music of any state agency/body in California. Where else can I get dualing banjos and then a somber song about the importance of water?
Andrew Nickens retweeted
SNC has launched a new Wildfire & Forest Resilience grant round to reduce fuels & protect communities! This grant program is expedited by the Governor’s emergency proclamation to advance wildfire resilience throughout the state! More info on our website: sierranevada.ca.gov/snc_laun…
Andrew Nickens retweeted
🌄 It’s #CAStateParksWeek! From Lassen, to Burney Falls, to Castle Crags, District 1 is full of wild beauty worth protecting. Get outside and explore! 🏕️ @CAStateParks #AD1 #CAStateParks
Click here to find a park near you: parks.ca.gov/Find-a-Park
