Amador County – Plymouth renewed its 18-year relationship with the Amador Fire Protection District for 10 more years last week by signing a fire services contract, with one of the auspices being that the non-profit corporation will work to help Plymouth create its own fire department.

City Manager Dixon Flynn said Thursday that the city has spent three years working on the agreement, and in the process looked at volunteer services, but saw that “the city of Plymouth doesn’t have the money to make a volunteer fire department viable at this time.”

Flynn said they have made part of the agreement that AFPD will help the city work toward forming its own fire department. He said AFPD’s board of directors and Chief Jim McCart have been working patiently with the city.

The city has worked with AFPD for 18 years and he has not heard any complaints. Flynn said the controversy has been the attempt to get a volunteer fire department.

He said “people hear the word volunteer and think it’s free,” but there’s training costs, stipends are paid and other costs. Flynn said he met with supervisors, who make up the AFPD board, and talked about services.

The council voted 3-0 to authorize Flynn to sign the contract with AFPD. Mike O’Meara and Pat Shackleton were absent.

Councilman Greg Baldwin asked if wildland fire training can be done on private property. McCart said “it can be done and has been done.”

Mayor Pat Fordcye said the city “did its due diligence as a council” to see what it could do with a volunteer department, including inviting Ione Fire Department and its city manager to make a presentation of serving the city.

Also Thursday, consultant Richard Prima gave a presentation on Proposition 1B money, totaling roughly $400,000 due the city. The one-time money was tabbed for the city in 2006, and the city was going to use it on our Main Street,” said City Clerk Gloria Stoddard. Now it will go to whatever Prima “can come up with on a maintenance program.”

Prima discussed several streets, talking about what could be repaired and with what techniques, including slurry, or new material used for overlay.

The city council directed Prima to bring back a proposal for maintenance on the city street, with a plan and a priority list.

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

Calaveras County - Congressman John Garamendi (D-Walnut Creek), former Lieutenant Governor and member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, visited last week’s meeting of the California Transportation Commission to rally support for a bill designed to guarantee more transportation products are produced in America.

The meeting took place in Murphys last Thursday, and Garamendi said he was glad to return home to what is his native county.

Garamendi said the “Buses, Rail Cars, Ferryboats: Make it in America Act of 2010” will eliminate certain waivers and obligate federal funding for capital public transportation projects only if they use homegrown manufactured goods like steel and iron.

“Whether they realize it or not, every transportation agency represented in this room is on the frontlines of one of the most important battles of the 21st century,” said Garamendi. “With your procurement decisions, you decide whether America will thrive in the decades ahead or if we’ll witness a slow decline.”

Garamendi referred to the “Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge boondoggle” as an example “of American jobs thrown away with the help of public money.” He said the project has been marred in delays and cost overruns caused by shoddy steel manufacturing from China.

“Can countries with atrocious labor and environmental standards sometimes produce goods a little bit cheaper than American workers? Sure, but that’s a shallow way of looking at our economy,” said Garamendi. “As we saw with the Bay Bridge, sometimes you get what you pay for. Even more importantly, supply chains matter. American workers pay American taxes and spend money at local businesses. With increased demand, these businesses expand and hire new workers, creating even more local demand along with tax revenues that can then be used in additional infrastructure. This cycle of growth and prosperity must be our nation’s priority in the years ahead.”

Currently, well over 12 percent of California workers are struggling to find employment. Garamendi said approximately 12,000 to 20,000 American jobs are offshored every month.

“With the local, state, and federal tax dollars you receive, you need to Make it in America to save the America we love,” said Garamendi. “If we don’t Make it in America, we won’t make it in America. Manufacturing matters.”

The bill was introduced in July and will be discussed by Congress later this year.

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Sacramento - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this month signed into law legislation that will make it an infraction to posses an ounce or less of pot.

The law, Senate Bill 1449, which takes effect Jan. 1, means the minimal marijuana possession will no longer appear on a person’s criminal record, nor can they be booked into jail or finger-printed.

Schwarzenegger argues that lowered penalties will free up limited law enforcement services and allow them to focus attention on more serious criminal matters. “Because it is a misdemeanor [to possess up to an ounce], a criminal defendant is entitled to a jury trial and a defense attorney,” Schwarzenegger wrote in a signing statement. “In this time of drastic budget cuts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement, and the courts cannot afford to expend limited resources prosecuting a crime that carries the same punishment as a traffic ticket.”

The move was a big win for marijuana smokers, who hope to completely decriminalize the drug through the passage of Proposition 19 this November.

At this point, the momentum is clearly on the side of legislation. According to a survey conducted shortly before Schwarzenegger’s decision, 52 percent of voters say they are likely to back Prop. 19, while only 41 percent say they are likely to vote "no,” making it the only measure on the ballot to attract significant majority support. There is a clear distinction in support among different age groups. 70 percent of 18-34 year olds support the proposition while those above that age are more evenly split. Pollsters said Latinos are also now more likely than whites to back legalization, according to the survey, at 63 percent versus 50 percent at the time of the poll.

Current figures gathered from other pollsters indicate support remains strong. A Field Poll released last week shows the ballot measure with a 7-point lead, at 49 percent support.

All this flies in the face of staunch opposition from almost every top Republican and Democrat politician in the state.

Schwarzenegger seems to be listening to the people, but he also made clear that he still opposes Prop. 19. “I am opposed to decriminalizing the possession and recreational use of marijuana and oppose Proposition 19,” he said. “Unfortunately, Proposition 19 is a deeply flawed measure that, if passed, will adversely impact California’s businesses without bringing in the tax revenues to the state promised by its proponents.”

On Nov. 2, we’ll find out if voters agree.

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Amador County – The Motherlode Taxed Enough Already Party opened a storefront office on Main Street in Jackson last week with an open house and recently released its recommendations on the upcoming statewide propositions.

Public Relations coordinator Virginia Manner said the group has had large turnouts and many people interested in learning more about the group.

The group does not have a president, but has a “facilitator,” in Austin Ford Junior. Manner said Ford stepped down from the Republican Central Committee after taking over as head of the TEA Party.

She said the party locally does not have candidates, or endorse candidates, but it has conducted a candidate forum for the Amador Water Agency board race.

While not taking sides in political office seats in Amador County, Manner said the party has released a list of opinions on how to vote for the statewide voter propositions on the ballot in the November 2nd election.

The Motherlode TEA Party website recommends a “no” vote on Proposition 19, which would legalize and tax marijuana. They also recommend a “no” vote on Prop 21, which would “increase vehicle license fees by $18 a year to fund state parks.

It recommends voting against Prop 22, which prohibits the state government “from taking designated type of local funds.” They also recommend “no” on Prop 24, which “eliminates three business tax breaks,” and Prop 25, which would allow state budget and tax increases to “be passed with a simple majority vote” rather than the current two-thirds majority requirement.

The website recommends voting “no” on Prop 27, which would “return the task of redistricting to the California State Legislature,” and repeal Prop 11. In a similar recommendation, Motherlode TEA Patriots recommend a “yes” vote on Proposition 20, allowing “Congressional district lines to be redrawn by a committee.”

Motherlode TEA Party recommends a “yes” vote on Prop 23, which “suspends AB32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, until unemployment falls below 5.5 percent.” It also recommends a “yes” vote on Prop 26, saying “voters must give permission before any new taxes can be imposed.”

The storefront office at 118 North Main Street in Jackson was funded by passing around the hat at some of the TEA Party functions held locally, where Manner said attendance has been strong. The party office hands out pocket copies of the U.S. Constitution, and is gathering books for a lending library.

She said privately funded T-shirts are for sale. The party has a website, mlteaparty.org, and a Facebook page.

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

Amador County – The Sutter Creek Planning Commission heard briefly from members of a marijuana growing and distribution collective on Wednesday, and directed staff to work on a draft determination for zoning.

Commission Chair Cort Strandberg said it was not a public hearing, but the public did speak. The commission received a presentation by John Brown, and his wife, Kasha Brown, board members of Motherlode Wellness Center.

John Brown said the facility follows state medical marijuana law, including surveillance and other regulations, and the corporation removes cannabis from its dispensaries at night.

Commissioner Frank Cunha asked if the collective could give the city a list of its facilities, “so staff can check with local jurisdictions and get some opinions.”

Commissioner Robin Peters asked about the difference between a dispensary, a collective and a cooperative, all terms Brown used in his presentation.

Brown said a cooperative can be a grower or a consumer cooperative. Kasha Brown read from an attorney general’s opinion on interpreting state medical marijuana law, and said a collective is a more typical type of patient association, but is “does not imply a specific legal structure.”

Cunha asked if they had their own growers, and also if they would “solicit growers” locally to join. Brown said “we own quite a bit of property in Lassen County” and land in Oregon, they have a grower with 15 years’ experience, and “we have no shortage of medicine.” He said they would not solicit local growers.

Peters asked if they would sell the marijuana of their members. Brown said: “It’s not necessary, so the answer is no.”

Ed Swift asked: “When you take it off the premises every night, where do you take it?”

Brown said: “We package it up very nicely and we take it home,” safeguarding it under lock and key. He said the medicine would be transported back and forth to Sutter Creek on a daily basis. That’s how it works.”

Robert Allen urged the commission to allow the zoning, saying: “I’d like to see safe access to quality medicine in Sutter Creek.” He said the city’s own ordinance included safety, security, tracking and insurance.

The commission could consider a draft determination on the issue at its regular November meeting.

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

Amador County – A recent applicant for a medical marijuana dispensary in Sutter Creek spoke with the city planning commission Wednesday, asking for a determination for related zoning for a facility there.

The commission directed “staff to prepare and bring back a zoning consistency determination for the Motherlode Wellness Center” for the November Planning Commission meeting.

They also advised staff that “the commission does not feel a conditional use permit is a suitable way to go,” said Commissioner Frank Cunha, “but it’s their call” and staff may want to look at that method of zoning.

Cunha also moved that staff look into existing facilities to get opinions from local jurisdictions about them. He said he’d like to have staff “research numerous other existing facilities, and I’d like them to be in smaller communities similar to ours.” He asked staff to look at communities similar in size to Sutter Creek.

Planning Commission Chairman Cort Strandberg said it was not a public hearing but only a public input session about the issue. Commission clerk Mary Beth Van Voorhis introduced business partners, husband and wife, John Brown and Kasha Brown, owners and board members of Motherlode Wellness Center.

John Brown gave a presentation on the facility and answered questions about their corporation, which he said has five to seven dispensaries in Lassen County and the Bay Area. He said it was formed under the state “Compassionate Use Act” which legalized medical marijuana.

Van Voorhis said Motherlode Wellness had a completed application pending with the city for a conditional use permit for a marijuana dispensary, when the council repealed its code pertaining to the establishment of a dispensary. She said “due to the city council action, their application – per the city attorney – pretty much died on the table.”

Van Voorhis said the Browns “asked that the city keep their application deposit and give the corporation a zoning consistency determination for the facility.

City Manager Sean Rabe in a report to the commission said because the council took action September 20th repealing the ordinances, “the city can no longer process the conditional user permit application.”

Rabe said Motherlode Wellness “asked for a zoning consistency determination on whether or not a medical cannabis dispensary is an additional permitted use” under particular city zoning ordinance. They also sought a determination on whether a conditional use permit could allow it.

Rabe recommended the commission direct he and City Attorney Derek Cole “to prepare a draft determination for the commission to review and possibly act on” at its November regular meeting.

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