Recommendations from a blue ribbon panel on how to ease the threat of another catastrophic wildfire at Lake Tahoe and in surrounding Sierra regions was presented Tuesday to the governors of California and Nevada and a U.S. senator. Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger were joined by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein to receive the final report from the California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission and to thank panel members for their efforts. The commission was created last summer after the Angora fire in June burned more than 3,000 acres and destroyed 254 homes near Tahoe's west shore. In March, the commission unanimously agreed on at least 70 recommendations, including asking the Bush administration to declare a state of emergency for the Lake Tahoe Basin. The emergency move would allow for federal funding to prevent future catastrophic wildfire. The cost of a five-year emergency plan has been estimated at $7.8 million.

Many of the recommendations 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, which together could cost more than $300 million over 20 years. The commission's report also warned that another catastrophic fire in the Tahoe basin is imminent unless measures are taken to streamline policies that often conflict with one another.

After traveling for almost 10 months, the Mars Phoenix Lander successfully landed on the Red Planet Sunday on a mission to explore signs of life, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. With a speed of 13,000 mph when it reached the Martian atmosphere, the Phoenix Lander achieved a three-legged touchdown near Mars' north pole with the help of a parachute and pulsing retro rockets to slow down the spacecraft. Day one appears to have been relatively successful for the Phoenix Mars Lander.

Scientists say new pictures sent back from the northern polar region of Mars indicate most of the lander's science instruments are in good health. The one hitch so far happened when the protective sheath around the trench-digging robotic arm failed to unwrap all the way after touchdown. It now covers the arm's elbow joint. Scientists plan to start the process of un-stowing the arm today, but it could take an extra day to fully stretch it out. They call that merely an inconvenience. The probe, built in Denver by Lockheed Martin Corporation, will dig into the soil using its 8-foot-long arm to reach ice believed to be buried at least a few inches -- perhaps up to a foot -- deep.

Sutter Creek residents will soon see a significant increase in sewer rates. The city is currently in the process of implementing a Sanitary Sewer Management Project, or SSMP, as a part of the statewide Waste Discharge Requirements adopted in 2006. The SSMP will also fulfill the City’s requirements under the Cleanup and Abatement Order issued in September of 2001 by the Regional Water Quality Control Board. The city council heard a presentation this week by Assistant City Manager Sean Rabe, who is in charge of managing the project. He explained the details and requirements of the SSMP, which is estimated to cost around 400,000 dollars a year when fully underway. The city is currently undergoing discussions with a consultant who created a program for the Jamestown Wastewater District on how to best implement the Operations and Maintenance Program element, one of the largest aspects of the SSMP in terms of cost and time. The final certification of the SSMP is scheduled for May 1, 2010, but residents can expect the rate increase by the end of this month, when the first phase is completed.

The City of Sutter Creek has granted a request from the Amador Water Agency for several water line easements through town in order to facilitate construction of the Plymouth Pipeline Project. The easements include the construction of a new footbridge/pipeline from the parking lot behind city hall over to the parking lot across from Susan’s Place on Eureka Street. At the City Council Meeting Monday evening, the council created an ad hoc committee to deal with concerns about the easements.

Councilman Pat Crosby expressed discontent about the format of the easement proposal, which he felt was difficult to understand and did adequately address the city’s water issues. “There is a million things that need to be addressed on this whole thing. I do not what to hold up Plymouth, but we need to address issues with Sutter Creek water before we make any design approvals,” he said City Attorney Dennis CrabbThe issues include an upgrade to the pipeline on Broad Street that the AWA deemed necessary 15 years ago, which is not mentioned in the easement, as well as the design of the new footbridge, which will be constructed in a visually sensitive area. explained that the easement approval was time sensitive, and that the AWA would be present at the next city council meeting to discuss the document. In the mean time, the ad hoc committee, which includes councilmen Crosby and Murphy, was set up to investigate issues brought forth by the council and public.

A retirement ceremony for many long-standing school officials proved to be a joyous yet solemn occasion for all in attendance last Wednesday. The simplicity of the setting only seemed to add to its solemnity, as school board members lined up in front of five rows of fold-out chairs at the end of the Argonaut High School multi-purpose room. The honors began with a simple speech from board member Mary Walser and the presentation of a plaque to retiring Superintendent Mike Carey. Carey made a speech saying he was honored by the opportunity the school system has given him. Other retiring teachers followed. Each retiree took turns walking down the line and shaking hands with School Board members. They were also presented with an engraved teacher’s bell, described as “a small audible reminder of the school district’s gratitude.” After the formal presentation, cake was served and many of the honorees discussed what they will look forward to in their retirement years.

The owner of Jackson Creek Apartments has just received approval to turn its 36 units into condominiums. Ted Mortarotti, spokesman for the company Equidyne Jackson Creek Associates, who owns the complex, answered questions for the Jackson Planning Commission at their meeting Monday night.  Mortarotti listed the benefits to the city, one of which will include potential “property tax revenue between 55,000 to 60,000 dollars.” Mortarotti also pointed out that this conversion will provide the public with much-needed affordable housing. Originally, the company’s attempt to convert the apartments to condos in 2004 was met by opposition from city residents, and the request was denied by the planning commission at that time.

Unlike the response in 2004, the current residents are “excited” about this conversion, says the apartment manager, Judy Stephens, who informed the council that “there is no negativity about this… and no one is worried.”  Stephens also indicated that several residents were already asking when the condos would be available and how much they would cost.  Mortarotti referenced the price the condos would have been in 2004, which was about $160,000, and indicated that, depending on when they finished the project, the prices might be less than that. Commission Chair Leticia Sexton, asked why the company would want to make this move now, with the depressed real estate market.  Mortarotti replied that the company had already invested four years and a considerable sum of money on this project, adding that “we just have to forge on.”  He also stated that the Jackson Creek Apartment complex was an appropriate setting for affordable housing, saying “they are beautiful little homes…it’s a pretty place.”  The commission approved the tentative parcel map for the condo project 3 to 0, with Commissioners Butow and Works stepping down due to owning property within 500 feet of the apartment complex.

A Senate agreement Tuesday pushed Congress significantly closer toward a bill that would expand the federal government's role in propping up the housing market. Housing legislation took another big step forward as the Senate Banking Committee, by a 19-2 vote, marked up the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2008. Mortgage Banker Association Chairman Kieran Quinn said the markup was a "very important development that has the potential to play a large part in helping the recovery of the housing and mortgage sectors." The bill contains several elements supported by the MBA, including a provision that would reform oversight of the government-sponsored enterprises-Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. It also includes provisions aimed at helping borrowers avoid foreclosure, including FHA modernization, voluntary housing "rescue" efforts and tax relief.

The next step is for the full Senate to vote on the bill, which is likely to happen in June. "The House and Senate have to knit these elements together and make it agreeable," he said. Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, said the goal is to have a bill on the President's desk by July 4. He and the committee's ranking Republican, Senator Richard Shelby, worked together over the weekend to craft a bill that overcomes most GOP opposition to the bill, although President Bush continues to threaten to veto the bill because of what he says are "bailout" provisions for lenders and borrowers.

Some local residents say traveling on holiday weekends has lost some of its allure, so they're staying close to home. This is in line with the latest AAA of Northern California report, which found that fewer Californians than last year will travel over the upcoming Memorial Day holiday. Record-high gas prices are partially to blame for what is expected to be an overall decrease of 0.1 percent over last year's travel numbers, a spokesman for AAA said. Experts suggest the weakened dollar may be among the reasons travel may be down this year, though millions of Americans will be heading out of town next weekend, anyway, AAA reports. More than 4.6 million Californians are expected to travel 50 miles or more this Memorial Day weekend in the first overall decline in Memorial Day travel since 2002.

Finally, we have a correction to a story that ran in Thursday’s news broadcast: the Jackson Planning Commission's action regarding the moratorium on historic structure demolitions was a recommendation to the City Council, NOT an enactment of the ordinance. The item will be reviewed by the City Council at their next regular meeting on Tuesday, May 27.

The operator of the carnival ride that injured 23 people when it collapsed at the Calaveras County Fair on Friday had two less serious accidents on different rides six years ago. The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration says one boy broke both wrists in 2002 and two other boys had minor injuries when a Brass Ring Amusements employee started a Skywheel ride prematurely at the Stanislaus County Fair. And later that year a boy broke his wrist and another bumped his head at the Tehama County Fair because the company's Zipper ride was out of balance and the brakes needed adjustment. Cal-OSHA spokeswoman Kate McGuire says neither accident was as bad as the malfunction of the company's Yo-Yo ride at the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee. Three people were hospitalized, but all have since been released.