News Archive (6192)
Amador among 19 counties eligible for $16.5 million CHF energy fund
Written by Tom
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.
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 – 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.
Amador County – The Amador County Transportation Commission heard progress on a regional growth modeling project in Amador County on Tuesday. Staff and consultants reviewed a mapping work to create an “Amador County Regional Blueprint,” and took comments.
Consultants used a UPlan mapping tool created by the U.C. Davis Information Center for the Environment to prioritize limited funding for traffic, and understand development patterns and influences that can “factor into market trends and decisions.”
They said it can also “help ACTC verify, support, “understand land use decisions the cities and county have made from a high level perspective,” and “provide a more robust tool to link transportation and land use.”
The study used the existing General Plans of the county and cities to map data to 2030 and 2050, and listed attractors to and discouragers of development, and “masks” that create areas that can’t be developed.
Board Member John Plasse said he was concerned about a map of slopes over 45 degrees. He said “one appears to be on my family’s property at Silver Lake, and I’m a little concerned about that.” He said the local high school and grammar school are built on slopes greater than that.
Plasse said he would like to see the details of areas designated to be too sloped for development. The consultant said it contained areas in quadrants of 50 by 50 meters, in which all of the land must be sloped over 45 degrees.
ACTC Executive Director Charles Field said: “What you are seeing here is a work of art as much as it is a work of science,” and it “should only be used from 30,000 feet,” and once you try to focus any closer, you lose detail.
Field said: “I think the real value of this model is going to be known in the next five or 10 years.”
Board Member Richard Forster said listing “Camanche infill” as an attractor was a misnomer as there is “no ability to develop there now because of water and wastewater capabilities.” Field acknowledged that Ione City Planner Christopher Jordan made note of the moratoriums in Camanche due to water and wastewater problems.
Chairman Greg Baldwin found a problem with traffic maps calling Highways 49 and 88 main arteries, but not Ridge Road, even though it carries the same number of cars per day.
Baldwin said they “really need to weigh traffic volumes, because a lot of people are finding shortcuts and they are taking them.” The consultant said it was based on Caltrans designations of “arterials,” while Ridge Road is designated as a “collector.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amador County – The Ione City Council Monday approved a contract with its employees’ union, and an agreement with Amador County on the city’s sphere of influence.
The council in a special meeting Monday approved a five-year contract with Service Employees International Union. City Manager Kim Kerr said negotiations toward “long-term solutions” led to the agreement, which lasts through June 30th, 2015.
The building inspector/public works project manager agreed to a furlough through the end of the year, to work 16 hours a week for seven weeks. Salary changes include new hires paying their own retirement share, and existing employees eventually paying some of it, in 2 percent increases annually.
Kerr said the furlough will save $7,000, and starting in 2011, the PERS annual savings will be roughly $5,200, and grow to $20,800 in 2014-2015.
The council also approved a sphere of influence agreement with the county, which Kerr said the Board of Supervisors approved and signed Tuesday.
The council discussed the changes from the original document to the revised agreement, first presented at the first meeting of the council and supervisors. The memorandum of understanding was approved on a 4-1 vote, with Councilman Jim Ulm dissenting.
Kerr said the council directed staff at a second joint meeting to remove requirements for Amador County to designate certain land usage within the city’s sphere of influence.
The changes in the agreement stressed the importance of communication between the two agencies concerning development, Kerr said. They also had discussed land use, and authority over designations. The sphere of influence includes land outside a city limits, but considered part of its future growth area.
There was also attention given to the area to be annexed to city, so that it could be assured that a buffer area would be created between any rural and agricultural areas that would become adjacent to the development of any residential areas, Kerr said. The Amador County Local Agency Formation Commission adopted guidelines for the creation of those buffers, she said, and “we kind of built some of that same language into our city general plan.”
Ione City Council inducts its new council members at the beginning of the next meeting, starting at 6 pm Tuesday, Dec. 7th. Kerr said the council will accept a resolution from Amador County certifying the results of the election, and City Clerk Janice Traverso will certify the election for the city, and then administer the oath of office for the new council members.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
2nd Public hearing to be held on Prestion Youth Facility closure
Written by Tom
Amador County – A public hearing to discuss the closure of Preston Youth Correction Facility will take place next Wednesday evening.
The meeting is the second compelled by 10th District Assemblymember Alyson Huber following a decision by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDC) announcement in October that they will downsize the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), which includes Preston.
“At this point, there seems to be no clear vision or plan that CDCR is following to meet the needs of a dwindling youth offender population and a shrinking budget,” says Huber. “The process by which Preston was selected for closure remains unclear despite numerous public hearings and requests for information.”
Huber was the driving force behind a public meeting in Ione that came shortly after the closure announcement, and chaired a subsequent Joint Legislative Audit Committee in which she looked to compel the CDCR to answer questions about how the decision was made and how they will mitigate impacts of the closure.
“I will continue to ask questions of the Department and look for opportunities for the public to voice their concerns since they weren’t allowed that chance prior to the closure announcement,” Huber said.
The upcoming public hearing takes place on Wednesday, December 8th from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm in the Amador County Board of Supervisors Chambers in Jackson. Everyone is welcome to attend.
For more information, call Huber’s office at 916-319-2010.
Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amador Public Health alerts residents to deceptive phone calls
Written by Tom
Amador County – Amador County Public Health issued a statement today (December 3rd) notifying the public that someone is illegally making telephone calls and claiming to be with the Public Health Department.
Public Health Nursing Supervisor Lori Jagoda said Public Health wants to immediately inform the community that on Thursday, December 2nd, multiple incidents occurred where a male caller telephoned local residents, falsely identifying himself as “The Health Department.” The caller then proceeded to tell them that they have a communicable disease.
The number that appears on the caller ID is the Public Health main number. Based on the information received, it is thought the male perpetrator is using technology based software to display the incoming number as the Public Health Department main number.
When an actual employee of Public Health does telephone a patient, Jagoda said, the employee will identify themselves by name after confirming that they are speaking to the patient themselves. “For example,” she said, “I would identify myself” by saying “This is Lori, a nurse from the Health Department.”
If members of the community receive any suspicious telephone calls, they are asked to call Public Health during business hours to report the incident and the descriptive information.
Normal business hours for Public Health are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and the office is closed between noon and 1 p.m.
The Amador County Sheriff’s Department is aware of the criminal activity, and Public Health is cooperating fully with the Sheriff’s Department in the investigation.
Contact Public Health at (209) 223-6407, or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amador County – A fire at the Jackson Hills Apartments on Wednesday was quickly extinguished thanks to a speedy response by members of the Jackson Fire Department (JFD). According to the JFD, the fire stemmed from an unattended cook-top. If the JFD arrived any later, the fire could have spread to other areas of the complex. Firefighters initially responded to a report of smoke emanating from an apartment located within the complex on New York Ranch Road in Jackson. They arrived to find a stovetop unattended, and they pulled a charred pot off the flames. Smoke damage was extensive, the JFD said, but no structural damage was reported. The apartment resident’s whereabouts at the time of the incident was unknown, but authorities said they will follow up and report on the damage. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Amador Sheriff says Hwy 88 burglary case remains open
Written by Tom
Amador County – Authorities say a man who put up a sign warning of burglars in Amador County may be impatient with a case close to him, but authorities are doing their best in the case.
Bob VanDePol put up a sign Monday near the corner of Molfino Road and Highway 88 that said: “Warning! Burglars in this area!” after a relative of his was burglarized in April. He said he did it due to what he called a string of burglaries between Molfino Road and Ousby Road.
Sheriff Martin Ryan said he was not sure why VanDePol put up the sign now, but he had spoken with the victims of that crime in April, and they shared information with him on whom they believed was responsible. Ryan said: “The laws don’t allow us to do some of the things that they wanted us to do in this case.” He discussed the limitations in the case with the victims.
Ryan said the Sheriff’s department is “going to pursue it as we do all of our other cases, to the fullest extent,” and they “have to make sure that we’ve got the right people.”
VanDePol said he thought the sheriff’s department had “completely washed their hands of this” case, and he had a good idea who burglarized the house and he wanted the sheriff to search someone’s home.
The Sheriff defended the department’s work, and said: “We’re continuing to work and follow leads in that case. It’s still active, it’s still being worked.”
Sheriff’s personnel searched the premises and surrounding yard, finding footprints, fingerprints, and a broken barbed wire fence.
VanDePol said there had been four or five burglaries in the area since April, with no related arrests. But Sheriff’s department records showed three arrests in six burglary cases in the area since April, including two men arrested in June, and another arrest in November.
In another case, one of the victims reportedly did not know the crime had occurred until notified by authorities. Another case involved theft of money from a tip jar, and was dropped because the suspect was known to the victim. A third case ended when the victim requested that the deputy not dust for fingerprints.
The six cases between Ousby and Molfino Roads compares to 121 burglary cases reported in the sheriff’s jurisdiction since April. Those 121 include not just residential burglaries, but any instance where a person enters a building, vehicle or business with the intent to commit a felony, including attempting to smuggle drugs into jail.
Sheriff’s records showed such crimes are up from 68 such cases reported in the same time frame in 2009.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amador County - The California Highway Patrol is once again partnering with the Calaveras County Santa’s Express Program for the 12th Annual CHiPs for Kids Toy Drive.
This is a wonderful opportunity for schoolchildren and members of the community to collect and donate new, unwrapped toys for hospitalized and disadvantaged children. The collected toys will then be delivered to the Santa’s Express Program.
Collection barrels are at the California Highway Patrol Office in San Andreas, the CHP/Sheriff Sub-Station in Arnold, Albert Michelson Elementary in Murphys, Mark Twain Elementary in Angels Camp, Copperopolis Elementary in Copperopolis, San Andreas Elementary in San Andreas, and Jenny Lind Elementary and Toyon Middle School in Valley Springs.
Toys will be collected until Monday, December 20, 2010. They will then be delivered on Tuesday, December 21st to the San Andreas Town Hall for distribution.
With public help, they will be able to put smiles on countless young faces this holiday season. The CHP thanks you in advance for supporting the CHiPs for Kids Toy Drive.
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