This week the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) will conduct low-level electromagnetic helicopter survey flights over Central Valley levees beginning Sept. 6.

A recent decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or FERC to reconsider its refusal to grant energy crisis refunds—which could potentially return $1.3 billion to California ratepayers. Attorney General Jerry Brown had asked the court to reverse FERC’s refusal to grant refunds after ratepayers suffered massive price-gouging on short-term energy purchased in the Pacific Northwest during the energy crisis of 2001.

About 1,200 firefighters are on the scene now to battle a wildfire burning in Henry Coe State Park. A spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the fire has now consumed about 7,000 acres as it moves in southwesterly direction through Henry Coe State Park.

In May, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger introduced CalGRIP, or the California Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention Program, to confront the recent dramatic increase in gangs across the state, as well as their proliferation into suburban and rural areas. There are more than 420,000 gang members statewide says the Governor, and they are responsible for crimes including money laundering, extortion, narcotic production and sales, prostitution, human trafficking, assassinations for hire, theft and counterfeiting.

The Sierra Business Council will present the State of the Sierra Forests report, a comprehensive report identifying key trends, challenges, and opportunities in the forest ecosytems, communities, and economies in the Sierra Nevada. They'll also launch a new online tool, Thriving Forests Compendium, a "one-stop-shop" for people interested in initiating, partnering and investing in, or learning more about sustainable forest projects in the Sierra Nevada. The Compendium is a concise, yet comprehensive compilation, or collection, of a body of knowledge covering the rapid development, a shifting economy, management debates, and years of fire suppression policy have created serious challenges to the health and well being of Sierra forests, wilderness areas, and forest communities. The seminar is free, open to the public and right here in Amador County at the Sutter Creek Community Center on Sept 13th from 1:30 to 4:30 pm. Space is limited and registration is required. Register now by e-mailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or call SBC at 530-582-4800.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Mattel Inc., announced late yesterday that it is recalling about 700-thousand Chinese-made toys that have excessive amounts of lead paint. The recall covers 675-thousad units of various Barbie accessory toys that were manufactured between Sept. 30, 2006, and Aug. 20, 2007. The action also involves 89-hundred different toys involving Big World 6-in-I Bongo Band toys from the company's Fisher-Price brand. Those products were sold nationwide from July 2007 through Aug. 2007. The announcement marks Mattel's third major recall of Chinese-made toys because of lead paint in a matter of a month.

Adventurer Steve Fossett is missing somewhere in Nevada. Fossett’s small plane disappeared Monday as he was scouting dry lake beds in western Nevada, apparently searching for an optimum spot to set a world land speed record. The region of rugged peaks and wide, smooth valleys in western Nevada apparently was not his first choice, however. Fossett already had sought approval from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to use a 15-mile-long playa in remote east-central Nevada, said Chris Worthington, a bureau spokesman in Battle Mountain.

Fossett’s Marathon Racing Inc. had applied for a special recreation permit earlier this year in anticipation of making a run in Eureka County, about 225 miles east of Reno and 200 miles from where crews are searching for Fossett’s plane. Civil Air Patrol Maj. Cynthia S. Ryan said authorities were told Fossett took off on Monday to scout sites he could use for testing.

Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties have seen a record year for marijuana eradication efforts and now Amador County law enforcement is taking their fair share as well. On Thursday August 30, 2007 the Amador County Sheriff’s Office dismantled two large scale, outdoor commercial marijuana cultivation operations largely located on public land in the Pioneer area. 

Good detective work has also paid off for the Amador County Sheriff’s Department in another case and an arrest has been announced in an upcountry robbery case. On Saturday August 25, 2007 a clerk at the Sierra Trading Post at 26810 Silver Drive, Pioneer was robbed at knife point by a masked man. 

The API, or Academic Performance Index, and the AYP (Accountability Progress Report) are the cornerstones of California's Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999.  This index measures the academic performance and growth of schools on a variety of academic measures.  While it is but one number – it is an extremely important number in the K-12 world of the Federal No Child Left Behind compliance and the current realm of accountability!