The first draft of the Amador County Recreation Agency’s budget was brought to the agency’s board at their last meeting, and the second draft will be brought for review at the next meeting. However, according to the Amador Recreation Agency’s staff the agency is suffering growing pains, as any new agency does in the first few years, but the outlook of finances leveling off is looking up.

Amador County residents now have more options for proper disposal and recycling of old batteries and fluorescent tubes & bulbs through the newly created “Take-It-Back Amador” Partnership.  These household items are referred to as Universal Waste – meaning items that are widely used and when thrown in landfills can pose harm to public health and the environment. California regulations no longer allow residents to throw these items in the trash.

The Jackson City Council this week considered a 22% water rate increase, proposed by the Amador Water Agency, at Monday night’s meeting and the echo of the discussion seemed to be the fact that “there are so many unanswered questions.” Because no representative of the AWA was available, City Manager Mike Daly introduced the item and explained that the agency apparently hired Reed Group, Inc. to assist the Agency in updating their financial plan. This includes proposed water rates for the periods Fiscal years of 2007-2008 through 2009-2010.

Jackson’s Legal Counsel, Tom Gibson, recently gave a presentation on Redevelopment Essentials to the City Council. During the formation of the City’s Economic Development Committee the topic of redevelopment was broached. City Manger Mike Daly says, “Redevelopment is a complex issue, but when used successfully in municipalities throughout California to enhance economic development within their communities. Gibson then took the center stage with his power point presentation explaining the “Essentials of Redevelopment.” First and foremost every community has a Redevelopment agency, but they remain dormant until the City Council or the BOS enacts an ordinance declaring a need for the agency which remains active until another ordinance is adopted declaring that a need no longer exists.

Just months after California voters approved the largest public works bond in American history the California Transportation Commission is just days away from decisions on how to spend the first portion of that $20 billion measure. The commission is scheduled to meet in Sacramento this Tuesday, tomorrow, Feb. 20 to hear state staff recommendations on just how to divide the first allotment of $4.5 billion of the bond dollars, which are designated for projects that could be built relatively quickly and reduce traffic congestion or connect distant towns.

The room was rocking all night long with lots of pretty in pink as over 300 Bunco Players dressed in pink to support the Amador STARS 3rd Annual Amador County Bunco For Breast Cancer event at St. Sava Mission last Friday. The event was sponsored by Pat Thurin and Pioneer Travel Service located in Pine Grove. Everyone came together for a good time and to support friends and family members who have been touched by cancer. Even the men in the room got into the act by showing that Real Men Wear Pink, including Dr. Bob Hartmann, who arrived "dressed by my office staff", he declared, "down to even my pink flip flops. This is a marvelous event and I am so happy to have been invited to participate in it," said Hartman. Over 100 silent and live auction items were donated by the community. Co Chairs of the event, Ginger Rolf and Pat Thurin were happy to see a sell out crowd for the third year in a row. The event last year raised over $13,000 and this year, Amador STARS is pleased to announce they have topped the $16,000 mark!

A state property tax reduction program near and dear to many Amador County residents is being threatened by Governor Schwarzenegger’s newly proposed budget revise. The Williamson Act currently provides some 94,249 acres in Amador County with tax breaks that total about 9 million dollars. The California Land Conservation Act of 1965--commonly referred to as the Williamson Act--enables local governments to enter into contracts with private landowners for the purpose of restricting specific parcels of land to agricultural or related open space uses. In return, landowners receive property tax assessments which are much lower than normal because they are based upon farming and open space uses, as opposed to full market value.

The coveted Recycler Ricky award was presented to the ARC of Amador and Calaveras Counties at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors Meeting. The Supervisor’s Chamber’s barely had an empty seat when the agenda item rolled around with Arc employees and clients present to receive the award. Arc was nominated by the Amador County Local Task Force on Integrated Waste Management and voted to receive this year’s Recycler Ricky Award for their excellence in recycling. They have been a pioneer in recycling in Amador County since 1991, and in 2006 they collected 796 pounds of aluminum, 701 pounds of plastic, and 19,665 pounds of glass that otherwise may have ended up in the waste stream. Jim McHargue, Program Manager of the County’s Waste Management and Recycling Department had a few words to say as well regarding the Arc’s exceptional recycling efforts.

Recently, on a 6-3 decision, the US Supreme Court struck down California's sentencing laws and affirmed, through that decision, that there are limits on a judges' discretion during sentencing. The result could be shorter sentences for thousands of California state prisoners. This ruling is just the latest in a series of High Court rulings that limit judges' discretion in sentencing defendants. The court has held repeatedly that a judge may not increase a defendant's sentence based on factors that were not determined by a jury. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg wrote for the court stating "This court has repeatedly held that, under the Sixth Amendment, any fact that exposes a defendant to a greater potential sentence must be found by the jury, not a judge, and established beyond a reasonable doubt, not merely by a preponderance of the evidence," Several states have changed their sentencing laws to require prosecutors to prove to a jury aggravating factors that could lead to longer sentences.