UPDATE 9:20 PM: Three-term Assemblyman Jared Huffman and political newcomer Stacey Lawson emerged Wednesday as the leading fund-raisers in a highly competitive race for the North Coast seat in Congress. Huffman, D-San Rafael, reported $586,131 in donations last year, retaining his top spot in campaign cash. Lawson, a San Rafael businesswoman making her first run for public office, collected $455,959. A third Democrat, Marin activist Norman Solomon, picked up $311,817 last year

The state is seeking authority to attract bids from concessionaires to potentially operate 11 parks, including six on the North Coast, a move that critics fear is a step toward privatizing these public places. Sugarloaf Ridge State Park east of Kenwood would be bundled with five Central Valley parks to make them more financially attractive to bidders, under a proposal by state parks officials.

State Democratic Party regional delegates who met in Santa Rosa Saturday could not agree on which candidate to endorse to succeed outgoing Rep. Lynn Woolsey. That means no candidate in the 2nd Congressional District primary race will benefit from mailers and other advertising paid for by the state party.

Eleven people — two Republicans and nine Democrats — are vying for the chance to replace retiring Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, and represent the North Coast in Congress. Some of them are familiar names in North Coast political circles, while others will have to work hard to introduce themselves to voters.

California businesses and consumers will see a host of new laws in 2012, covering everything from tanning beds to online sales tax. Most of the new laws go into effect Sunday.

Three state Assembly members who represent the North Coast declined on Monday to release their office budgets, days after a Superior Court judge ruled that such information is a matter of public record. The lawmakers expressed support for releasing the information but said they will wait for further direction from legislative leaders or until they had more time to compile the data.

Rep. Lynn Woolsey of Petaluma, who is retiring in 2012 after 20 years in Congress, has no plans to endorse a candidate for the new 2nd Congressional District stretching from Marin County to the Oregon border. But Mike Thompson, a fellow Democrat from St. Helena who represents the neighboring congressional district, stepped into the fray last week and endorsed one of the six Democrats vying for her job.

State parks officials faced withering criticism Tuesday at a hearing over how they selected 70 parks for closure next year to save money. One North Coast lawmaker saying the process was so flawed the plans should be abandoned. “We need the administration to step away from this,” said Assemblyman Jared Huffman.

Two early campaign polls show Democratic Assemblyman Jared Huffman leading the race for Congress in the new North Coast district. But it’s less clear who’d get the second spot in a June open primary that sends the top two vote-getters to the November 2012 general election. “At this early stage, it’s a race for second place,” said SSU political science professor David McCuan.

More than $1 million in campaign donations and loans have gone to six of the seven candidates vying to represent the North Coast in Congress, with the primary election still eight months away. Assemblyman Jared Huffman holds the fund-raising lead with $416,424. But late-comer Stacy Lawson has jumped to second place in the money race, with $238,391.