News Archive (6192)
Amador County - The Calaveras County Fair & Jumping Frog Jubilee is coming soon in Angels Camp and Jackson Rancheria is getting in the spirit by hosting a special Frog Jump competition just for Dreamcatcher’s Club members. The Jackson Rancheria Frog Jump will be held on Sunday, May 2, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. outside the lobby entrance. There is no charge, but you must show your Dreamcatcher’s Club card to participate. No frog jumping experience necessary. You don’t even have to bring your own frog, everything will be supplied. Just show up ready to have fun. There will also be a Prize Wheel set up so you can spin for a variety of prizes. The winner will get a Frog Jumping trophy and qualify for the Grand Finals at the Calaveras County Fair on Sunday, May 16, at 2 p.m. with a chance to win up to $5,000 if your frog sets a new world record. This year’s Calaveras County Fair & Jumping Frog Jubilee is Thursday through Sunday, May 13-16, at the fairgrounds outside Angels Camp. Jackson Rancheria is proud to be a major sponsor. The Fair theme is “Celebrating the Wit & Wisdom of Mark Twain” so you can expect many events and exhibits about the author of “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” For more information on the Fair, visit frogtown.org or call 209-736-2561. Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel is located at 12222 New York Ranch Road, Jackson, CA 95642. For more information, call 800-822-WINN or visit JacksonCasino.com. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – The Ione City Council voted 3-1 last week to return a $500,000 state grant that would have helped build a new swimming pool, citing a lack of funding and a 2012 deadline. The city won the 2005 California Department of Recreation’s “Urban Open Space and Recreation Grant” to build a 6-lane, Olympic sized pool. City Manager Kim Kerr said the project cost was estimated at $1.7 million, and the city had no funding source for the remaining $1.2 million above the grant. She said a big issue was operation and maintenance, which would cost $30,000 annually. The city already runs the Ione Junior High pool, costing $27,000 a year, while the city recoups only $6,000, Kerr said, but the city keeps the pool open for the children. The existing pool is also Olympic-sized, and the city spent $70,000 to repair it in 2007. Kerr said the grant was not transferable. The only change they could make from the winning project description would be its location. It would have to be built by March 2012, including all environmental work. Construction alone would cost $631,000, Kerr said last week. If the project will not be built, state Parks & Recreation wants the competitive grant funds back, to award to another project. Kerr said: “They call us monthly and ask us what we are going to do with this.” The city has discussed the project with Superintendent Dick Glock. Kerr said the school district is at a “very crucial time” in its budget. Councilman Lee Ard said the city will not get any parks & rec impact fees from home sales at Castle Oaks until they sell 100 homes, which could take 2 years. Councilwoman Andrea Bonham said: “People in hell want ice water, but it doesn’t mean they’re going to get it.” She said the good deed of giving back the funds might come back to the city. Councilman Jim Ulm said the council “should not rush to give this money back, because times do change,” and “it seems like there’s no problem with keeping it for a while.” Vice Mayor David Plank suggested giving the school district 1 more attempt at an agreement, but Ard said he thought they should give back the funds. Ard, Bonham and Plank then voted to return the funds, with Ulm against. Kerr said she must notify the state by letter of the decision. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County - Another successful Sutter Creek Duck Race floated down the town’s namesake last Saturday. The 23rd annual event was the latest installment of a tradition that gathers money for 13 local charities through the sale of little rubber ducks which “race” in heats to the cheers of those in attendance. This year’s race was especially interesting because of the fast water flows brought on by recent late season storms. Volunteers at the event spent many hours in the ice cold water attempting to guide the rubber chicks downstream where the winners are determined once they pass through a unique pipe “finish tube.” Attendees from miles around gathered at Minnie Provis Park to visit many booths hosted by local merchants and featuring food, music and prizes. The winners were announced throughout the day on Saturday and the final results were issued Monday morning. The Final Race Grand Prize of $2,500 went to Suzon Hatley of Plymouth. 2nd Place and $1,500 went to Carla Cunningham of Corralitos. In Third Place with a prize of $1,000 was Graciela Lamora of Jackson. There were three heats leading up to the final race, as well as three specialty races. Other winners included County Supervisor Richard Forster of Ione, who won 3rd place in the Second Heat Race. Perko’s Café won 1st Place in the Merchant Sponsor Race, in which merchants are allowed to decorate the ducks they sponsor. 1st Place in the Duckling Race went to Samantha Frank of Pleasanton. Logan Harper and Ryan Garcia, both of Sutter Creek, tied for 1st Place in the Ugly Duckling Race. This year’s race was organized by the Amador County Recreation Agency. During the event, ACRA Executive Director Tracey Towner-Yep told TSPN that she was happy to see so many happy families out in the sunshine enjoying the festivities. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – Defaults and foreclosures in the Sacramento region continued to drop in the first quarter of this year, according to MDA Dataquick, a statistics research company. DataQuick counted 4,331 new foreclosures during the first quarter of 2010 in the Sacramento region, which includes Amador, El Dorado, Nevada, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties. According to a report in the Sacramento Bee, “that was down from 5,081 in the fourth quarter of 2009, and well below the peak of 7,769 foreclosures in the third quarter of 2008.” Dataquick says it is unclear how much of these declines are due to market conditions and how much is due to changing policies by loan servicers. "Several factors are at play here and it's hard to know how they play into each other right now. A year-and-a-half ago the subprime loan mess was the black hole. Now, playing catch-up, is the financial distress households are experiencing because of the recession. Add to the mix shifting policy decisions, both by lending institutions and in public policy," said John Walsh, DataQuick president. The company says California's mid- to high-end housing markets were more likely to have seen a rise in mortgage defaults last quarter, though the concentration of default activity - measured by defaults per 1,000 homes - remained relatively low in those areas. At the same time, capitol region home sales continue to rise. Only one regional county, Yuba, reported a decline in home sales in March of this year compared to one year before. 41 homes were sold in Amador County in March 2010, compared to 26 sales in March 2009 and 24 sales in February 2010. The median sales price in Amador County is now approximately $178,000, 3.8 percent lower than one year ago. Only one sale in March of this year was a new home. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Monday, 26 April 2010 06:14
Plymouth Extends AFPD Contract to October As Negotiation Continues
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Plymouth City Council last week OK’d extension of its fire protection services agreement to October as the city continues discussing a contract renewal with the Amador Fire Protection District. On April 8th, AFPD Chief Jim McCart said he was caught off guard when the city, after 7 months of contract discussion, presented its own contract, crafted by City Attorney Steven Rudolph. AFPD Battalion 20 Chief Antonio Moreno said the contract proposed by the AFPD was just a standard extension. But city came back with a contract likely designed for a city much bigger than Plymouth. The contract included 3 full-time firefighters and an officer. The city council on Thursday authorized a month-to-month extension of the contract for up to 4 months. The contract was signed July 13th, 2005, and expires June 1st. The city fire committee, made up of Mayor Patricia Fordyce, Vice Mayor Greg Baldwin and Flynn, will discuss a contract renewal with McCart. On Thursday, City Manager Dixon Flynn said McCart had told him that even if the city council did not extend the contract, the city would be assured fire service coverage by AFPD. The district seeks a 10-year commitment, which the council questioned. Fordyce said the city will get development, and it could get a casino, on tribal land held in trust. Flynn in a report to the council last week said the AFPD’s board of directors voted April 6th to hire paid fire personnel and contract with Sutter Creek Fire Protection District to provide paid fire personnel to Sutter Creek stations. Flynn said the AFPD “opted not to consolidate fire services in Amador County,” and since the vote, Jackson and Ione have “taken action to hire paid fire personnel directly.” Flynn said talks with AFPD on the contract were delayed until after the board vote. AFPD took Plymouth’s draft contract, and said “they could not prepare a budget for their services and that the cost of 3 firefighters would be $701,000.” Flynn said Plymouth’s listed services did not specify “paid firefighters,” and “it is more realistic to assume the firefighters would be volunteers or a combination of volunteers and paid firefighters,” whatever “the budget would allow.” Flynn said the services the city listed “are what any community should expect,” and “if they do not have the staff or monies, Plymouth can negotiate a reduced service.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors voted 5-0 Thursday to offer Gene Mancebo the agency’s general manager position, an upgrade from his interim status as head of the agency. The board spent 2 periods in closed session on discussion to evaluate Mancebo’s work performance, with one starting 9 a.m. Thursday, and being adjourned at 10:30 a.m., to be reconvened at 1 p.m. During the meeting, the item was pushed back even later as the board heard a presentation from a consultant, and discussed some of its 9 other items on the agenda. The meeting eventually ended at 7:30 p.m. The board reentered closed session from 6-7 p.m., and in open session discussed the G.M. post. Mancebo said Friday that there were no specifics as yet to release, and he and the board will work out the details of a contract and terms. He said at the board’s meeting this week he “will provide something to the board officially accepting” the position. Mancebo said he feels good about the offer, and has been in the position as interim manager for some time. He took over as interim G.M. upon Jim Abercrombie’s exit more than 7 months ago. Mancebo said: “We have a lot of challenging issues to deal with” and “it’s certainly no walk in park,” but he looks forward to challenges that lie ahead. The AWA board reportedly received 18 letters supporting Mancebo’s handling of the interim general manager job, and one letter from David Evitt opposing his appointment. Also Thursday, the board approved changes to its “Conservation Plan.” Finance Manager Mike Lee said the latest draft “represents our goals and objectives as well as our best estimates regarding the costs to implement and comply with Assembly Bill 1420, which includes a part-time water conservation coordinator position.” Leslie Dumas of RMC Water and Environment, presented the latest draft. The board made comments and Dumas said she would incorporate those into a cleaned up draft, which can be disseminated. Dumas said the plan would help meet requirements of the 20 By 2020 Plan put in place by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, including reducing water usage statewide by 20 percent. Dumas said there was a target deadline to publish AWA’s “urban water management plan” by July, in order to qualify for certain state funding. Dumas will try to have a clean version of the draft conservation plan for the Amador County Fair in July. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Monday, 26 April 2010 06:17
Investigation Launched Into Drug Weight dDiscrepancies At Ripon Crime Lab
Written by Tom
Amador County – The District Attorneys of five central California counties who rely on the services of the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Forensic Services Central Valley Crime Lab in Ripon announced Friday that an investigation has been launched by the State Department of Justice into unexplained weight discrepancies within the lab on drugs sent there for analysis by law enforcement agencies in the five counties. Earlier this month, management of the Central Valley Crime Lab became aware of a protocol breach concerning the handling and analysis of a methamphetamine evidence sample. Subsequent investigation and retesting revealed additional methamphetamine samples handled by the same analyst showed lower weights than originally reported. Birgit Fladager, District Attorney of Stanislaus County, James Willett, District Attorney of San Joaquin County, Donald Segerstrom, District Attorney of Tuolumne County, Larry D. Morse II, District Attorney of Merced County and Barbara Yook, Acting District Attorney of Calaveras County, the five counties served by the Ripon lab, were briefed last Wednesday in Modesto by management officials from the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Forensic Services. As a result of that briefing the five District Attorneys are beginning a thorough review of all cases handled by the analyst in question bating back to 2006. The District Attorneys have pledged to begin notifying defendants and defense attorneys in the affected cases. “As prosecutors we have an affirmative obligation under the law to provide any potentially exculpatory information to the defense and we all take the ethical obligation seriously,” said Fladager. “We appreciate officials from the Central Valley Crime Lab Bureau of Forensic Services bringing this matter to our attention. We have all worked with the Ripon crime lab for many years and retain faith in the integrity of the lab and its personnel,” she added. Questions concerning the investigation should be directed to Christine Gisparac, Public Information Officer for the Department of Justice at (510) 622-4500. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – The Ione City Council rejected a bid for $33,000 to care for the entrance of Castle Oaks Subdivision, from Castle Oaks Drive and Highway 104, to the entrance of Castle Oaks Golf Course. City Manager Kim Kerr said only one company submitted a bid for the work. The Bid was $33,000 for a year’s work, and the bidder also did not fully meet all of the requirements of the “request for proposals.” Kerr recommended the council reject the bid, tweak the request for proposals, and send it out again. Requests for proposals were sent to all landscaping companies with Ione business licenses. She said the council could also look at hiring an employee for probably less than 20 hours a week to handle the work. The city would also have to buy a push mower, and should look at prices for that purchase. Kerr said for $33,000, she “would never recommend signing that contract.” JTS Communities has been maintaining the area, and before 2006, the city contracted the work with Simmons Landscaping. JTS notified the city recently that it will no longer maintain the area at their expense, and offered to continue to do the work, if the city would pay costs. JTS estimated the work to be 8 hours a week to keep up the grass and plants, including fertilizing the area regularly at a cost of about $12,000. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors authorized staff to prepare paperwork for a “bridge loan” from Amador County to correct agency cash flow problems and shuffle funds to make a $1 million bond payment in May. The bond finances the Amador Transmission Pipeline, and the loan would help pay “sunk costs” of $1,050,000 spent on the Gravity Supply Line, freeing up other funds to make the bond payment. Finance Manager Mike Lee recommended the agency seek a 30-year loan for $1.25 million from the Amador County “Water Development Fund.” He said the loan would pay Central Amador Water Project’s “GSL sunk costs as well as costs to complete the Water Right application and plant expansion.” As of Thursday morning, the agency had $800,000 in cash reserve, Lee said, and “on May 15th, I have to send $1 million to the Bank of New York,” the bond payment. Lee said the money spent on the GSL “has been borrowed from other systems.” He said the agency spent it “with the intention of paying ourselves back” with a USDA grant. AWA President Bill Condrashoff said the board was “setting ourselves up for a big fall if we don’t get the USDA grant and don’t get the rate increase” in CAWP. He said they should tighten their belts instead of just putting “a Bandaid on it,” because it will “not get better.” Director Terence Moore said he could not believe anyone on the board would say they should take no action, “throw it to the wind and hope we have enough money to get by.” Moore said: “I am not considering letting this agency go under from lack of action. It’s malfeasance of the board.” Moore made a motion to seek a 30-year loan of $1.25 million, and “draw down money necessary.” He said community input supported the loan and rate increase. Vice President Debbie Dunn said “when do we recover?” Lee said recovery could begin in June, when operating expenses typically are less than operating revenues. Dunn motioned to direct staff to seek a “bridge loan” from the county, to be repaid by the end of this year, with the amount of the loan to be recommended by staff. The board approved the motion 4-1 with Moore against. Dunn said she was not worried about getting a loan extension from Amador County Supervisors, who have given a 1-and-a-half year extension on a loan to the Jackson Valley Irrigation District. Lee said they likely would need a loan of $400,000 to $700,000, and a May 13th quarterly meeting will give a clear indication of the amount needed. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – Ione City Council on Tuesday designated representation on Sphere of Influence and annexation ad hoc committees to meet with Amador County. City Planner Christopher Jordan said staff is working on an amendment to the city Sphere of Influence and an annexation, both to be decided by the Local Agency Formation Commission. Jordan said part of the amendment includes coordination with the county. After an initial meeting, supervisors created an ad hoc committee including the county planning director, 2 board members, and up to 3 city representatives, along with LAFCO executive director Roseanne Chamberlain. Jordan said the county intends the committee to discuss the Sphere of Influence Amendment application, and specifically “land owner consent” for inclusion; sphere area policies “that need to be included in both the county and city general plans”; “the merits of the SOI amendment”; and the city’s ability to provide services to the sphere area, should it be annexed. Jordan said state “law does not require that the city and county meet to discuss the merits of the SOI application. In fact, the only agency that can analyze the merits of a sphere of influence is LAFCO.” He recommended leaving that topic out of the meeting. Jordan said questioning a city’s ability to provide sewer service to a property “if it annexes tomorrow” was unfair, and annexation of Q Ranch would take a year just to get entitlements. He said “we have shown good faith to work toward serving wastewater customers” with work on opening a new treatment plant. Jordan recommended and the board approved sending 2 council members, the city planner and the city manager to the SOI ad hoc meeting. Councilman Lee Ard said he didn’t want Supervisor Richard Forster to “come in and control the meeting.” City Manager Kim Kerr said “they can say anything in that first meeting. We don’t have to agree to it.” Vice Mayor David Plank said he “took heat from 2 supervisors” and he thinks “they are more concerned about taxes.” Plank said: “I think this is going to be a learning process – for them, not us” – as they address state requirements. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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