Amador County – The Amador County Transportation Commission (ACTC) announced yesterday that another community workshop will be held to gather input on the proposed Pine Grove/Highway 88 Corridor Project.

According to a public notice, Caltrans in cooperation with ACTC, is proposing to modify the highway through downtown Pine Grove “in order to reduce congestion, improve operations and enhance safety between the intersections at Climax Road and Tabeau Road.

Speaking at a Town Hall in April, ACTC Program Manager Neil Peacock said the project proposal includes 12 different alternatives for route modifications at a price tag “not to exceed $40 million.” He said the “purpose of this project is three-fold: to improve operations, alleviate congestion and enhance safety.”

All of the proposed alternatives include extensive road widening or the construction of new roads all together through forested, mountainous areas, which would affect existing structures and land parcels.

Caltrans originally determined the need for the project a decade ago based on traffic and safety studies. In subsequent years, Caltrans completed a project study report and acquired federal funding from a variety of sources, including a $356,000 earmark from Congressman Dan Lungren to be used for project planning. In 2008, a cooperative agreement was developed making ACTC the “Implementing Agency” for project management while Caltrans still retains “Lead Agency” status and project oversight.

ACTC and Caltrans are seeking to guide the project along through the concept of “Context Sensitive Solutions,” which, according to Caltrans, are defined in part as a way “to provide for the needs of all highway users in balance with the needs of the local community and the context of the project.”

Representatives from both agencies will lead the workshop with a presentation and project update, including a discussion on alternatives and an opportunity for audience feedback. There will also be an open house which will include “maps, exhibits, graphics, and an opportunity for one-on-one discussions with project representatives.”

The workshop will take place Tuesday, November 16th at Pine Grove Elementary in Pine Grove. The open house begins at 5:30 pm. A formal presentation and public comment period will begin at 6 pm. ACTC will then facilitate a workshop with individuals to discuss the project alternatives and gather ideas and feedback on potential project solutions.

To submit comments to be included in the public record, contact Gail Miller, Senior Environmental Planner for Caltrans at 559-243-8724 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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

Amador County – Amador County voters go to the polls today to decide eight local seats and a variety of state and federal races.

Amador County Elections Office said there will be 21,354 people eligible to vote in Amador County, while a breakdown of districts and municipalities shows the number of votes needed by candidates to clinch their races.

Registrar of Voters Sheldon Johnson said 50 percent plus one of the total possible eligible votes will be needed in each race, including the six-candidate race for three seats on the Ione City Council.

Ione has 2,126 eligible voters for Tuesday’s election, which means one of the candidates can secure a seat with 1,064 votes.

In the Sutter Creek City Council race, four candidates vie for two positions. There are 1,740 registered voters who are eligible to vote. The candidates can assure a position with 871 votes, or one vote over 50 percent.

The Amador Water Agency board of directors has three seats being sought in three different supervisorial districts. Two candidates running in District 1 will be elected by its 4,051 registered voters, and the winning candidate can clinch the election with 2,026 votes.

In AWA District 4, the registered voters total 4,333, and one of the two candidates for the seat can secure a win with 2,167 votes.

Three candidates are running for the AWA District 5 seat, and there are 4,452 voters eligible to vote. The winning candidate can seal a victory by getting 2,227 votes.

Of the 21,354 registered voters in Amador County, 7,077 are Democrats; 9,750 are Republicans; 3,431 are “decline to state”; and 1,096 claim other parties.

A Field Research Corporation poll released Sunday said Proposition 19 to legalize marijuana had fallen behind by 7 percentage points. The poll said opponents of Proposition 19 now outnumber supporters 49 percent to 42 percent, with 9 percent undecided. It showed a “reversal from mid-September,” when supporters led a poll by the same 49-42 percent margin.

The Poll found “continuing opposition to Proposition 23, the initiative to suspend AB 32, the state’s greenhouse gas reduction law.” The poll showed 48 percent of likely voters were against the initiative, and 33 percent supported it.

Prop 25, which “would permit the state legislature to approve a budget with a simple majority vote, is getting the support of 48 percent of likely voters.” 31 percent opposed the proposition, with 21 percent undecided.

The poll talked to 1,501 registered voters between October 14th and 26th.

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

Amador County – Amador County voters go to the polls today to decide eight local seats and a variety of state and federal races.

Amador County Elections Office said there will be 21,354 people eligible to vote in Amador County, while a breakdown of districts and municipalities shows the number of votes needed by candidates to clinch their races.

Registrar of Voters Sheldon Johnson said 50 percent plus one of the total possible eligible votes will be needed in each race, including the six-candidate race for three seats on the Ione City Council.

Ione has 2,126 eligible voters for Tuesday’s election, which means one of the candidates can secure a seat with 1,064 votes.

In the Sutter Creek City Council race, four candidates vie for two positions. There are 1,740 registered voters who are eligible to vote. The candidates can assure a position with 871 votes, or one vote over 50 percent.

The Amador Water Agency board of directors has three seats being sought in three different supervisorial districts. Two candidates running in District 1 will be elected by its 4,051 registered voters, and the winning candidate can clinch the election with 2,026 votes.

In AWA District 4, the registered voters total 4,333, and one of the two candidates for the seat can secure a win with 2,167 votes.

Three candidates are running for the AWA District 5 seat, and there are 4,452 voters eligible to vote. The winning candidate can seal a victory by getting 2,227 votes.

Of the 21,354 registered voters in Amador County, 7,077 are Democrats; 9,750 are Republicans; 3,431 are “decline to state”; and 1,096 claim other parties.

A Field Research Corporation poll released Sunday said Proposition 19 to legalize marijuana had fallen behind by 7 percentage points. The poll said opponents of Proposition 19 now outnumber supporters 49 percent to 42 percent, with 9 percent undecided. It showed a “reversal from mid-September,” when supporters led a poll by the same 49-42 percent margin.

The Poll found “continuing opposition to Proposition 23, the initiative to suspend AB 32, the state’s greenhouse gas reduction law.” The poll showed 48 percent of likely voters were against the initiative, and 33 percent supported it.

Prop 25, which “would permit the state legislature to approve a budget with a simple majority vote, is getting the support of 48 percent of likely voters.” 31 percent opposed the proposition, with 21 percent undecided.

The poll talked to 1,501 registered voters between October 14th and 26th.

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

Amador County – The Amador County Transportation Commission (ACTC) announced yesterday that another community workshop will be held to gather input on the proposed Pine Grove/Highway 88 Corridor Project.

According to a public notice, Caltrans in cooperation with ACTC, is proposing to modify the highway through downtown Pine Grove “in order to reduce congestion, improve operations and enhance safety between the intersections at Climax Road and Tabeau Road.

Speaking at a Town Hall in April, ACTC Program Manager Neil Peacock said the project proposal includes 12 different alternatives for route modifications at a price tag “not to exceed $40 million.” He said the “purpose of this project is three-fold: to improve operations, alleviate congestion and enhance safety.”

All of the proposed alternatives include extensive road widening or the construction of new roads all together through forested, mountainous areas, which would affect existing structures and land parcels.

Caltrans originally determined the need for the project a decade ago based on traffic and safety studies. In subsequent years, Caltrans completed a project study report and acquired federal funding from a variety of sources, including a $356,000 earmark from Congressman Dan Lungren to be used for project planning. In 2008, a cooperative agreement was developed making ACTC the “Implementing Agency” for project management while Caltrans still retains “Lead Agency” status and project oversight.

ACTC and Caltrans are seeking to guide the project along through the concept of “Context Sensitive Solutions,” which, according to Caltrans, are defined in part as a way “to provide for the needs of all highway users in balance with the needs of the local community and the context of the project.”

Representatives from both agencies will lead the workshop with a presentation and project update, including a discussion on alternatives and an opportunity for audience feedback. There will also be an open house which will include “maps, exhibits, graphics, and an opportunity for one-on-one discussions with project representatives.”

The workshop will take place Tuesday, November 16th at Pine Grove Elementary in Pine Grove. The open house begins at 5:30 pm. A formal presentation and public comment period will begin at 6 pm. ACTC will then facilitate a workshop with individuals to discuss the project alternatives and gather ideas and feedback on potential project solutions.

To submit comments to be included in the public record, contact Gail Miller, Senior Environmental Planner for Caltrans at 559-243-8724 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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

Amador County – Plymouth Mayor Patricia Fordyce and Vice Mayor Greg Baldwin reported speaking recently with Congressman Dan Lungren about the possibility of a tribal casino coming to Plymouth.

The Ione Band of Miwok Indians filed its Final Environmental Impact Report for the casino with the federal government, and Fordyce said the city and Lungren both asked the Bureau of Indian Affairs for an extension on the comment period. Fordyce said “we were both denied.”

They also found that Washington, D.C. knows nothing of the issue, and she asked to whom the Department of the Interior answers. City Manager Dixon Flynn said the Interior secretary answers to the president.

Fordyce said Lungren told them that the city can do a nexus study for federal land. Lungren said Congress cannot create an earmark for funding unless they have a nexus study, and it must be federal land. The Ione Miwok tribe is seeking a fee-to-trust status for the land, to become home to a tribal gambling casino.

Fordyce and Baldwin reported on their meeting during council reports last week.

The council last week voted 4-0 to accept the completion of a wastewater collection system by Twain Harte Construction company. Flynn said the project came in $22,000 under budget, and there were five change orders during the process that were unanticipated. He said being short of the estimate means the city will not be reimbursed for the $22,000.

Baldwin said he thought the city would try to use the funds on other collection lines, and Finance Director Jeff Gardner said the funds came form the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act program, were held to strict use, and could not be applied to another project.

The council also voted 4-0 to approve waiving a first reading of a code enforcement law, which would give the city council final power of approval or denial of appeals of enforcement actions. Baldwin said he did not want to “politicize this” but the council was given power over the final decision of code enforcement.

Flynn said that was his “doing,” because he thought it was best to give the council the last word. He said the city manager has decision power, but if someone is not happy with a decision, they can appeal it to the city council for a final ruling.

Flynn said the appeal is not directly made to the council, as people “must go through the process” of enforcement first. After the decision process, the last resort is the appeal to the city council.

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

Amador County - Jackson Rancheria Casino is encouraging players and employees to shop locally with the new Shop Amador program.

Shop Amador began November 1st and is a follow-up to Shop Jackson, which was done in conjunction with the Jackson Revitalization Committee. The new program is managed entirely by Jackson Rancheria and is open to businesses throughout Amador County.

Local businesses simply agree to offer a discount to Dreamcatcher's Club members and Jackson Rancheria employees to participate in the program. In exchange, and at no cost to the business, they receive a listing in the monthly Arrow magazine and on the JacksonCasino.com website. Club members simply show their club card to take advantage of the discounts offered.

Shop Jackson discounts are also available to Jackson Rancheria employees and are included on their list of community discounts. Employees show their badge to receive the discounts.

“Encouraging our players and employees to visit local businesses has always been important to us,” said Jackson Rancheria CEO Rich Hoffman, “and in these economic times it’s even more critical that we all work together to support our business community and promote Amador County.”

Amador County businesses that would like to participate in Shop Amador can contact Amber Wooldridge at 223-8366, or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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