Amador County – The deed of ownership for the National Hotel was transferred to a Los Gatos-based corporation last Tuesday, as confirmed by TSPN.

New World Properties, described on manta.com as “a private company categorized under Operators of Nonresidential Buildings,” reportedly paid between $457,500 and $458,000 for the historic building, which originally went up for sale for a reported $1.9 million in February 2009.

The state Alcoholic Beverage Control had issued an order to close the doors of the National Hotel and bar in May 2008 due to 7 violations, including selling alcohol to a minor.

Bill Smith, the National Hotel’s owner at the time, said he was seeking to sell the property for its intrinsic, historic value.

Jeff Taylor, listed agent for New World Properties, was not available for comment before this story aired.

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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency last week greeted its three new directors, who will start work this week.

Registrar Sheldon Johnson administered the oath of office Friday morning for Paul Molinelli Senior, Robert Manassero and Art Toy, who gave brief statements. Manassero said he “won’t go for a rate increase immediately,” as the crowd laughed, “but things change.” Toy said he was happy to be there, but often in the campaign wondered why he was running, and Molinelli said he “still has no clue.” Molinelli apologized in advance for “alienating you,” and said he will ask a lot of questions at first, but then he will be ready to move forward.

Three supervisors also spoke, with John Plasse of District 1 saying he had frequent lunches with Manassero and Molinelli in the campaign, and often had to remind them why they were running for public office. He said he did so with a quote from Plato, around 400 B.C., saying: “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”

Supervisor Chairman Brian Oneto said he met a lot with Toy in his campaign, and Supervisor Ted Novelli said as a former AWA director, he looked forward to seeing the board improve how it works together, expecting it to be better than it has in the last several years. Novelli said he also looked forward to seeing people again being pleased with the decisions and actions of the AWA directors.

The induction ceremony Friday was followed by a retirement reception for District 5 Director Terence Moore, who was retiring after three terms. Moore told directors that for 12 years, the AWA board members have received $119.80 for each meeting they attend. He said he tried for 12 years to get the board a 20-cent raise, and that fight now falls to the new board.

AWA General Manager Gene Mancebo, with 20 years at the agency, said Moore was an asset to attaining the Amador Transmission Pipeline, and he saw several incarnations of that project over his term.

Moore said the last two years on the board of directors has been tense and stressful. His wife said the “outgoing board member” is “already gone,” and she expected his “Scotch consumption will go down on Thursdays.”

Moore also jokingly said he looked forward to attending AWA board meetings as a member of the public, and “telling you what to do.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - Amador is among 19 counties eligible to receive a portion of millions of dollars in federal grant funding for energy efficiency retrofits on homes.

The CRHMFA Homebuyers Fund (CHF) was awarded a $16.5 million grant in late November from the California Energy Commission (CHF). It is designed to help homeowners improve energy efficiency.

The CHF is described on its website as “a government sponsored Joint Power Authority that issues tax-exempt and taxable bonds to create affordable single-family mortgage loan programs.” It has 30 member counties, mostly rural. The energy grant program intends to provide loans and grants to “single family residence owners,” in turn saving them money, according to the CHF.

“Replacing windows, sealing air spaces, super-insulating existing walls, floors, ceiling or roof, and upgrading heating and cooling equipment are just a few examples of home retrofit work that can significantly reduce your household energy consumption and slash your energy bills,” say the CHF on their website.

In addition to Amador, member counties include Alpine, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Imperial, Inyo, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Benito, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne and Yuba.

It is expected that the program will create as many as 490 jobs in the fields of construction, trade and energy efficiency installation throughout the 30 member counties.

It will also provide more than 1,100 loans and grants to current homeowners as well as 1,200 grants to people purchasing or refinancing a home while work is done as part of a rehabilitation loan or other energy efficiency mortgage.

The CHF says “homeowners can apply for a grant in addition to a 3 percent fixed interest rate 15-year loan from CHF to help with the cost of energy efficiency upgrades.”

The CHF puts homeowners in touch with approved contractors, who “will provide you with a personalized analysis of your home, a checklist of recommended energy efficiency improvements and help you with the application for financial assistance from us.”

The CHF also plans to launch a mortgage credit certification program to offer a tax credit to first-time homebuyers.

For more information or to apply, contact CHF at (855) 740-8422.

Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dan. Lungren (R-CA), who represents California’s 3rd District including Amador County, has been named Chairman of the Committee on House Administration for the 112th Congress.

After serving as Ranking Member in the 111th Congress, Lungren awaits the challenge to undertake the difficult task of reducing spending and protecting voting rights.

“It has been a privilege to serve as Ranking Member alongside Mr. Brady, and I am honored to serve all Americans as Chairman of the Committee on House Administration. With the largest incoming class of new members in 60 years, I am looking forward to continuing their transition into the 112th Congress. The Committee will also do its part in finding ways to reduce spending in Washington D.C. and bring a more efficient, responsible government back to the people,” said Lungren.

He continued: “I am also dedicated to preserving the integrity of elections and ensuring all service members overseas have an opportunity to have their vote counted. The Committee will work diligently and will be up to the task of defending this fundamental right for all Americans.”

Lungren serves as Ranking Member on the House Administration Committee in addition to serving on the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees.

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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency installed three new board members last week, and the new board of directors will get to work immediately, including selecting two new officers, and will consider putting the Gravity Supply Line project out for bids.

Friday, after the new board members took their oath of office, AWA General Manager Gene Mancebo said the agency’s new board of directors will have its first meeting Thursday (December 9th). Its first action will be to choose its new president and vice president, and then it will decide and the president will assign committees.

The new board members, Paul Molinelli Senior, Robert Manassero, and Art Toy were sworn in Friday morning at a special ceremony at the AWA office. The three replace two two-year members who were voted out of office, and 12-year veteran Terence Moore, who retired and chose not to run for re-election.

Molinelli takes over District 1, from immediate past President Bill Condrashoff, and Manassero takes over District 4, from immediate past Vice President Debbie Dunn, who was next in line for the board presidency. Toy succeeded Moore in District 5, having won the three-way election over John Asmus and Dale Turner.

The three new members join District 3 Director Don Cooper, and District 2 Director Gary Thomas, both of whom have two years’ experience on the board. Manassero, Molinelli and Toy each started four-year terms to serve through 2014. Cooper and Thomas both were elected in 2008 and their terms expire in 2012.

The board will also consider an agency operational reorganization study begun by the previous board, and also is scheduled to look at the next step in the Gravity Supply Line project, in getting it ready to put out for bids.

The board will discuss making direction to staff “to proceed with all steps necessary to bid the Gravity Supply Line Project as soon as possible, for an amount not to exceed $69,630.”

Mancebo said Friday that retailing members of the Central Amador Water Project in their recent quarterly meeting “overwhelmingly supported” continuing to analyze the GSL, and getting the project out to bid.

After seeing the bids and costs, Mancebo said he expected the board to take 90 to 120 days to determine whether it would go forward with the project. The agency has already applied for a $5 million USDA loan for the project.

Mancebo said the economic climate for construction was good, and he expected the GSL bid to be lower than engineering estimates. He noted as example that the bid to build the Mission Boulevard extension in Jackson recently came in 50 percent under estimates.

The AWA board meets 9 am on the second and fourth Thursday each month. The meetings are open to the public.

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Amador County – About 35 people attended a ceremony this morning (Friday, December 3rd) to watch the induction into office of the Amador Water Agency’s three new board members.

Amador County Registrar of Voters Sheldon Johnson led the new members in their oaths of office, as Paul Molinelli took over the directorship of District 1; Art Toy took the seat in District 5; and Robert Manassero took over in District 4.

AWA sitting board members, both with two years’ experience, Director Don Cooper of District 3, and Director Gary Thomas of District 2 also attended, as did supervisors Ted Novelli, John Plasse and Chairman Brian Oneto.

General Manager Gene Mancebo said the new board of directors will have its first meeting 9 am Thursday, December 9th, and should begin with electing its president and vice president, and assigning its members to various board committees.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.