Two for one deals and shorter hours…These are some of the strategies being used by restaurant owners to lure in more customers and cut back on expenses. California Restaurant Association President Jot Condie says he’s hearing from his members that business is slowing down. Even if that is the case, some local restaurant owners remain optimistic. According to Martha Perez, owner of Jose’s Restaurant, her business is up 20% after a being down almost 30% for 3 months. “I will have been running this business 25 years in July. If this weren’t an established business, the (current economy) would have killed me.” She credits the longevity of Jose’s Restaurant to good management and business ethics. “Prices have gone up. I’ve had to cut employee hours, but I don’t believe in firing someone unless it’s absolutely necessary. That’s not ethical.” Condie says sales are down for some restaurants anywhere from three to seven percent—which he says is significant as profit margins are already low.  “You know at the end of the day, just people aren’t feeling good about the economy and usually eating out at restaurants is one of the first things to go,” says Condie. Since the start of this year, and likely for some time to come, restaurant owners around the state will be feeling the pinch.

On July 1, California joins five other states and the District of Columbia in requiring adult drivers to go hands-free while talking on the phone. The bill’s sponsor, Senator Joe Simitian of Palo Alto, said he’s sure the new law will save lives. “You don’t have to stop talking on your cell phone, but use a headset or use a speaker system, and you will be fine,” Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said when he signed the bill into law in September 2006. “We have so many folks driving on curvy roads around Amador County, and at night. On Highway 88 and in the snow. If you’re distracted talking it just makes things worse,” says one concerned Amador resident.

 One survey found up to 73 percent of Americans at least occasionally use cell phones while driving. A 2003 study by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis estimated that there were nearly 2,600 deaths and 12,000 serious-to-critical injuries a year in crashes involving drivers using cell phones. Violators of the new law will be fined $20 for the first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses. But there is also a growing body of evidence suggesting that requiring adult drivers to use hands-free devices with their cell phones will do little to reduce crashes. Supporting research shows that being a distracted driver is not necessarily about having both hands on the wheel, it’s more about focusing attention on the road. “There’s a common misperception that hands-free phones are safer when the research clearly suggests that they they’re both equally risky,” said Arthur Goodwin, a researcher at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center.

Two more photographs of a wolverine lurking in the Tahoe National Forest were released Monday, extinguishing all doubt that the elusive predator exists in the wilds of California. The wolverine pictures, taken from remote digital cameras by U.S. Forest Service researchers, mean the muscular carnivore with the almond-colored stripe has either avoided detection for three-quarters of a century or returned to the state after an epic journey. An earlier image of what may be the same wolverine was captured inadvertently on February 28 by a graduate student doing research on the wolverine's weasel family relative, the marten, and set off a near frenzy among scientists and wildlife experts.

The latest pictures, taken March 13, show the front of a wolverine that researchers believe is the same animal. Researchers, biologists and volunteers have fanned out over 155 square miles from the spot where the photo was taken in the forest north of Truckee, hunting for genetic material. The wolverine, which had not been documented in the Sierra since 1922, was believed by many to have vanished from California. Researchers say the animal either migrated across an enormous distance or it's part of a small group of native wolverines that somehow evaded detection for the better part of a century.

The North American wolverine is the largest member of the weasel family, with adults weighing as much as 45 pounds. Remarkably strong, with powerful jaws, wolverines have been known to kill much larger prey, but in North America they are mostly scavengers. Wolverines were once fairly common throughout the northern regions of the United States, but they are now found mainly in the Northern Cascades in Washington, the Northern Rockies in Montana and Idaho, and in Alaska.

This week is National Library Week, a time meant to celebrate the contributions of libraries, librarians and library workers in schools, campuses and communities nationwide. The Amador County Library is celebrating National Library Week by encouraging visitors to discover the many electronic resources the library offers, learn about the library's online book clubs, and tour the main library and see the many changes that have been made. Any child signing up for a new library card this week will receive a special prize. First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. For more information, call 223-6402 or stop by the Amador County Library.

As part of the County’s General Plan Update process, three land use alternatives have been developed for review and discussion.  The next GPAC meeting on April 3rd will focus on reviewing the various components contained in these alternatives. To consolidate the public’s thoughts on the concepts proposed in these alternatives a survey was created and has been placed on the County’s website at www.co.amador.ca.us/depts./planning and is available at the Planning Department.  Members of the public are encouraged to complete the survey and submit their answers to the Planning Department. The Planning Department plans and oversees new development and redevelopment plans; creates policy for land use; and regulates, monitors and enforces County Zoning Ordinance, Subdivision, Surface Mining, Neighborhood Preservation, and other ordinances.

The Sierra snowpack has shrunk to normal levels after a series of big winter storms in January and early February were followed by a relative dry spell. While storms have tapered off in recent weeks, the state Department of Water Resources says the amount of snow remaining should be enough to fill the reservoirs that feed the state's water system. The snowpack was less than half its normal depth at the same time last year. That sparse winter snowfall left Northern California reservoirs depleted to between 40 percent and 60 percent of their capacity.

The additional snow this winter will not be enough to significantly increase water shipments to farmers and cities. The snowpack measurements taken Wednesday showed a decline from just a month ago. It's not likely to increase through the rest of spring, said Rudy Cruz, a National Weather Service specialist in Reno, Nevada. He said no significant storms are on the horizon. While the region may see light rain or snow in the next few weeks, most of the heavy weather is passing to the north. The state will provide about 35 percent of the water requested, the result of a federal court ruling last year. The judge in that case said more water must remain in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to save fish. Pumping through the delta, the heart of California's water-delivery system, has been cut by more than half to protect the tiny delta smelt fish.

A special panel created after last summer's Lake Tahoe wildfire warned that another catastrophic blaze is imminent and wants a disaster declaration to hasten fire-protection efforts. Asking for the emergency status from the presidentrecommendations. Many of them are intended to resolve the bureaucratic infighting among overlapping agencies that has hampered fire-prevention efforts for years. The report also recommended imposing higher taxes on property owners, requiring home owners to replace wood shingles and upgrading the Tahoe basin's water systems. Members of the commission emphasized their alarm at the fragile nature of the basin's environment by adding the word "emergency" to their report.

The Angora Fire exposed long-standing rivalries between the local, state, federal and regional agencies that are charged with protecting Tahoe's environment or promoting fire protection. Earlier this week, an Associated Press report exposed numerous examples of bureaucratic backbiting that delayed tree clearing throughout the basin, sometimes for years. The regional planning agency and the Lahontan water board have been on one side, with the U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and local fire districts on the other.

The commission's report says the various agencies must set aside their often conflicting goals and begin cooperating. and the governors of California and Nevada was among dozens of recommendations by the California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission. The commission wants the state and federal governments to free up money quickly, primarily to cut thick stands of trees. The commission gave unanimous approval to a report containing more than 70

Young people from the Amador County Youth Coalition are joining thousands of kids across the country who are taking part in Kick Butts Day (KBD), a nationwide initiative that makes kids leaders in the effort to stop youth tobacco use.  As part of the local Kick Butts Day event, Youth Coalition members are creating a dynamic display illustrating the 1200 deaths that occur every day in the United States to tobacco related diseases.  This means that here in Amador County at least 1 person loses their life each week.

Throughout the year, these young advocates take part in a variety of activities to promote healthy living in our community, including working to develop policies that reduce youth tobacco use, exposure to secondhand smoke and educating their peers about tobacco companies’ deceptive marketing practices.

New Jackson Ford Mercury has generously donated a portion of their fence line along Highway 49 in Martell for the 17 member Youth Coalition to construct a display.  Youth Coalition members from Ione Junior High, Jackson Junior High, Amador High School and Argonaut High School have worked with many local agencies and businesses to collect the 1200 pairs of shoes. After school, on the afternoon of April 2nd, Youth Coalition representatives will be along the fence line beside their display showcasing their message with youth-created banners and signs.  Each empty pair of shoes represents a life lost every day. For more information about the KBD display along Highway 49 in Martell, contact Diana Evensen at 223-6638 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Thanks to the Jackson Cemetery Committee and some industrious high school students, the city cemetery is receiving some much-needed repairs and a new monument. The committee chairman, Warren Carleton, introduced the committee members and provided an overview of the committee’s recent efforts. A wooden gazebo that was originally constructed by Jackson Boy Scout Troup 478 had fallen victim to vandals over time.  With the help of Parkey’s Welding, the committee used city funds and private donations to rebuild the gazebo out of steel to make it more durable and vandal-proof. 

Also, new signs have been mounted at cemetery entrances that bear the City of Jackson logo and ask visitors to “Please respect the cemetery.” Additionally, a new sign is in the works to honor and mark the graves of the miners killed in the 1922 Argonaut Mine Tragedy. The committee has also completed some gravesite repairs with the help of the County Probation Department’s community service program.  In addition, the committee has plans to revitalize the children’s cemetery, a project spearheaded by Cemetery Sexton, Charline Buckley. 

Those plans include installing a low-post boundary fence and better marking some of the gravesites.  Buckley says she wants to provide visitors and relatives with a nice area to visit. Most of the children in that area died in the 1950’s and 60’s.  And finally, ten students from Argonaut High School have volunteered to erect a Chinese monument in the cemetery as part of their leadership class.  Sydni Nicolici, the student chairperson on the project, says they are building the monument so “they can help everyone understand” about the Chinese aspect of the cemetery. The project will add an inscription to an existing pillar, and the finished monument will include a ceremonial stone, a dedication stone, bamboo, trees, and a small rock wall.  The students are working with a contractor and have thus far drawn up plans.  Their next step will be to seek out donated materials and labor to complete the project.

Yesterday’s Board of Supervisors meeting was an occasion to honor the civic duties of a couple of longstanding local officials. In what proved to be an emotional moment for many in attendance, the Board honored Fred Joyce for histhe Mollie Joyce Outdoor Education and Environmental Center to the Amador County Recreation Agency, or ACRA. Attending ACRA representatives included Tracey Towner-Yep, Rosalie Pryor-Escamilla, and Debbie Dunn, all of whom showered Joyce with praise for both his donation and his long-time commitment to the betterment of Amador County. Joyce graduated from Amador High School in 1939 and attended Stanford University before becoming a lieutenant in the Navy.

He returned home to eventually become the principal of the high school and work for Amador County schools until 1975. Joyce had cared for the donated property for 22 years before donating it to ACRA on February 5th. The property includes two baseball diamonds, an area for a future ropes course, a flat area where homes exist, and over 30 acres of forest. Joyce considerers ACRA an excellent organization to donate to. Currently, he spends much of his time working with seniors and follows the philosophy, “Always keep busy.” “generous” donation of nearly 80 acres currently known as.

Also, a long-delayed plaque presentation was held to honor outgoing 2007 Chairman of the Board, Louis Boitano. “You might all wonder why this took so long,” said Supervisor Richard Forster. “But we decided to consolidate all the plaques into one.” Indeed, Boitano has been Chairman of the Board four times, on top of his many other civic responsibilities and long years of civic service. The presentation was finalized with a hearty handshake between Forster and Boitano.