A Jackson couple has run into some trouble while traveling around the county. According to the Patriot-News, a Harrisburg  Pennsylvania newspaper is reporting that Jackson man has been released from jail after his wife admitted lying when she claimed he shackled her inside a camper for a week.

Phil Hogen, Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), announced earlier this month that net revenues from Indian gaming grew more than 11% from fiscal year 2005 to fiscal year 2006, generating $25.1 billion in gaming revenues in 2006. "The continued growth is eye-opening considering the tribal gaming industry is still relatively young. The Indian gaming industry has doubled between 2001 and 2006, going from $12.8 billion to $25.1 billion respectively," Hogen said.  "In NIGC Region II, which includes California and Northern Nevada, the revenues have jumped from $1.7 billion in 2001 to $7.6 billion in 2006, which is an increase of four and a half times over a 5 year period" Hogen continued.

The Amador County Transportation Commission met last week and continued their Public Hearing concerning unmet transit needs for the fiscal year 2007 and 2008 here in the county. According to ACTC’s bylaws, “Local Transportation Funds (LTF) are 1/4 cent of the State sales tax returned to the County by the State.  These taxed dollars are put into a trust account by Amador County Auditor Joe Lowe.  The funds are to be allocated and apportioned by the ACTC in conformance with the Transportation Development Act (TDA).”  Each year ACTC is required to hold an unmet transit need hearing to determine unmet transportation needs in the County. If there are transportation needs according to the unmet needs resolution the local commission is to decide “how to ‘reasonably’ meet those needs.” ACTC Executive Director Charles Field reported that the Public Hearing began in November but was continued because “an active group of citizens involved in transit issues asked for more time.”

Now that the new courthouse is operational questions have arisen regarding those people that may have a probationary condition that prohibits them from being within 2000 feet of a school. Can they attend their court hearings at the courthouse just feet away from a State Preschool and the campus of Argonaut High School? According to District Attorney Todd Riebe; provided that a person's probation had a term prohibiting a sex offender/arsonist from being within 2,000 feet of a school, park, day care, church or any place where children congregate, it is possible that being at the courthouse violates that term. Riebe also reminds us that the old courthouse was also probably within 2,000 feet of Jackson Elementary, and was right across the street from a former day care and two churches.  Riebe does point out that several counties in a similar situation in the Third Appellate District have already been sued pursuant to the 2,000 foot requirement.  Amador County was dropped from the lawsuit because the law that applied the zone, Jessica's Law, did not create new criminal violations for county law enforcement agencies to enforce.  Rather, it applied to parolees, which are the responsibility of the State.

Sutter Creek City Council met this week to discuss its Draft Budget for the 07-08 Fiscal Year, to discuss and take action on the approval of the Main Street Visitor’s Center Lease and Authorization for the Mayor to sign and discuss mail boxes. The meeting began with a review of the Consent Agenda, which included 3 items all related to the Knights Foundry.

According to the Federal Bureau of Reclamation, fishermen and visitors to the New Melones Reservoir will be subject to “amenity fees”. The new fees will begin in two phases starting in April. While the Bureau does not currently charge fees in these locations, a current proposal intends to enforce fees on visitors in the future.

The City of Ione is hosting a welcome reception for Kimberly Kerr, their new City Manager on Wednesday, August 8 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. The event is open to the public and will be held at the Castle Oaks Golf Club in Ione. Light refreshments will be served. Kimberly joined the City of Ione as manager on July 16th. She was employed for 10 years by Humboldt County where she held positions as director of general services and most recently risk management director/deputy county administrative officer. When announcing her appointment, Ione Mayor Jerry Sherman stated, “Ione is fortunate to have hired someone with such strong overall experience in so many areas. Kim’s understanding of the all aspects of municipal government brings a comprehensive package to our City.”

The Ione City Council discussed the Amador County Transportation Commission’s proposed local traffic mitigation fee on residential, commercial and industrial development. The City has the authority to update these fees under Government code in order to mitigate the impact of new development on local roadways. The ACTC completed the study on behalf of each of the cities and the county. According to ACTC Executive Director Charles Field ACTC, although not required to do so, the agency is completing the study to honor a commitment. Field explained that the cities and county “adopted the regional fees in a cooperate effort for us 2 and 3 year ago, and at that time they asked ‘well what about our local roads?’ and instead of saying ‘that’s up to you’ ,we said ‘if you adopt the regional (fee) we’ll help you with your local (fee).” Field said that the Cities and County adopted the fee and that it has been working very well ever since. He said completing the Nexus study was honoring the commitment that ACTC had made to each of the cities and County, however he did say once they present the study to the entities that is where ACTC’s involvement ends and the rest is up to them.

Last Thursday the Amador Water Agency Board of Directors discussed the Golden Eagle Resources Annexation to the CAWP Retail District. Manger of Engineering and Planning Gene Mancebo reported to the Board the Golden Eagle Resources requested annexation of a property, located on Tiger Creek Road, to the CAWP retail Water Improvement District for one equivalent dwelling unit or EDU, which is used to describe the water necessary for a single family home.

At the Jackson meeting, there was heated discussion over the ongoing Buscaglia Restaurant project and it’s historical significance. In discussions with City Planner Susan Peters, several Jackson citizens were in attendance and voiced strong opinions on the issue. The owners of Buscaglia’s applied to build a new, larger structure behind the parking lot that would house the restaurant, as well as lodging and banquet facilities. Since all ordinances were met, they received a ministerial building permit, and constructed the new building in accordance with the C-2 zoning laws; however, some locals feel that the architecture does not fit in with the surrounding neighborhood and there are worries over increased traffic and parking shortages.

Another on-going controversy involves the original building’s historical value. The most recent plans outline the removal of the second story, as well as the roof and a portion of one wall, and the construction of a parking area.  Since this plan described a considerable amount of building loss, the Site Plan Review Committee determined it to be a discretionary project and referred the matter to the City Planning Commission for review. If approved as a discretionary project, the building would undergo a historic evaluation. After noting that considerable changes had already been made to the existing structure and listening to public comments that were generally in favor of remodeling the building, the commission determined that the owners could continue with their remodeling plans. As it stands now, the City Attorney and the City Planner are researching the matter to determine if there is a method by which the public can appeal the Planning Commission’s ruling.