"Long live the revolution!" Chavez the newly reelected Hugo Chavez from the balcony of the presidential palace.

White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley said Sunday that President Bush realizes "we need to make some changes" in Iraq policy. Bush is willing to listen to proposals for a change, Hadley said on NBC's "Meet the Press," and will receive some proposals Wednesday when the Iraq Study Group presents its report.

Fires over the weekend in Southern California show how fire danger is still present.

The Ski Area Environmental Scorecard is an environmental organization that strives to differentiate between ski resorts and areas that are engaging in environmentally sound practices on the ground, versus those resorts that merely claim to do so.

According to an accident report issued by investigating Officer Lemasters the intersection of Hwy. 49 and Jackson Gate Road was the scene of an accident that sent two to the hospital. Mary Robertson, 54 and of Jackson, and Brad Berryman, 39 and of Copperopolis were both stopped at the stop sign on Hwy.

Amador County Treasurer-Tax Collector Michael E. Ryan is reminding all property owners that they have until Monday, December 11, 2006 at 5 p.m., to make the first installment payment of their annual secured property taxes for the 2006-07 fiscal year.

Information regarding Community Facilities Districts for Fire Department funding was presented to the Jackson City Council Monday night. City Manager Mike Daly presented the item and explained that, “(the Facilities district) is basically like a benefit assessment district that is applied to new subdivisions to allow the city to provide funding to enhance services in order to provide the service level needed to meet demands.” Daly also said that the county has adopted the district for the unincorporated areas of the county. He said that the Communities Facilities District (CFD) must be approved by a two-thirds margin of qualified voters within the CFD area.

The AWA held a special meeting on the first day of  December to address a number of issues.

A Certified Local Government Program, or CLG, is being considered here in Amador County and last Thursday night a CLG Seminar was held.

A high speed pursuit of a suspect that robbed a bank in Valley Springs yesterday ended in a movie like fashion at the intersection at the entrance of Jackson. According to the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Dept. at approximately 4pm they received a report of a bank robbery that had just occurred in the Umpqua Bank in Valley Springs. Undercover Deputies spotted the vehicle, which was a white Dodge Magnum and initiated a vehicle pursuit. The suspect, who has now been identified as 38 year old Joe Luis Resendez of Oakdale, was chased on Hwy. 49 at speeds reaching in excess of 95 miles per hour.