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Podcasts Take Two
Northern California county hopes to become the State of Jefferson
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Sep 5, 2013
Northern California county hopes to become the State of Jefferson
Local officials in Siskiyou County in northern California are hoping to secede and create a whole new state: The State of Jefferson.
Supervisors in the far Northern California county where residents are fed up with what they see as a lack of representation at the state capitol and overregulation, have voted in favor of separating from the state. The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013 for a declaration of secession. The vote appears mostly symbolic since secession would require approval from the state Legislature and the U.S. Congress, but supporters say it would restore local control over decision making. They want other rural counties in Northern California and Southern Oregon to join them in the creation of a new state called the State of Jefferson.
Supervisors in the far Northern California county where residents are fed up with what they see as a lack of representation at the state capitol and overregulation, have voted in favor of separating from the state. The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013 for a declaration of secession. The vote appears mostly symbolic since secession would require approval from the state Legislature and the U.S. Congress, but supporters say it would restore local control over decision making. They want other rural counties in Northern California and Southern Oregon to join them in the creation of a new state called the State of Jefferson.
(
Jeff Chiu
)

Local officials in Siskiyou County in northern California are hoping to secede and create a whole new state: The State of Jefferson.

If you're driving up the 5 freeway in Northern California, eventually you'll hit the Oregon border, but before you cross the two states, you'll head into Siskiyou County.

A county that's having an unusual debate. Local officials are hoping to secede from California and create a whole new state: The State of Jefferson.

It's an idea with a long history, and there's been talk of a separate state since the 1850s. Now, some young people trying to make a life there incorporate that State of Jefferson heritage while looking forward. Reporter Lisa Morehouse has the story