Ione residents are being asked for their input into the city’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan. The city is included in the County’s overall Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan that identifies several possible bike lane and pedestrian improvements for Ione. A committee of city council members and citizens has received community input and proposed fine tuning and re-prioritizing the county list. On Wednesday, January 30 at 4:30 pm, the city council will hold a public hearing to discuss priorities suggested by the committee and submit a revised plan to Amador County Transportation Commission for their re-evaluation and adoption of the City’s plan.

Low-income tax filers and seniors can get expert help with filling out their tax returns – for free. The IRS and AARP sponsor the nationwide Tax Aide program where trained volunteers prepare and electronically file tax returns at no cost. According to Senior Center Director Laurie Webb, the local volunteers, many of who are retired business professionals, are trained by the IRS and the Franchise Tax Board.

Paper or plastic? The numbers are astounding: Californians use more than 19 billion plastic grocery bags each year, creating 147,038 tons of waste in landfills. With Californians throwing away over 600 bags per second, we are creating enough waste every year to circle the planet over 250 times. Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, has a proposal that would force more stores to reduce the number of plastic bags they give out -- a 35 percent reduction by 2011 and 70 percent by 2013. Levine says there will be consequences for retailers if those targets aren’t met. 

A nearly stationary storm off the California coast has brought snow as low as Pine Grove over the last couple of days. TSPN’s Bill Lavallie braved the slippery highways to take some photos up country. We can expect more wintry weather as far as the eye can see. Periodic showers will continue with snow levels remaining low around 2000 to 3000 feet. Additional snowfall amounts of up to 3 inches will be possible above 2500 feet. A snow advisory remains in effect until 4 PM this afternoon for the Motherlode region. More rain and snow are expected for later on tonight. Be prepared for slick roads and limited visibility, and use caution when driving.  

Tuesday night, Jackson Planning Commissioners approved a recommendation to the City Council that no new homes be built in Jackson in 2008. The commission heard public comment on the city’s Housing Equivalent Units Allocation for 2008 - the annual recommendation of the number of new houses allowed based on the capacity of the cities infrastructure, including sewer and water facilities. The commission is also recommending that project designs include traffic improvement for bicyclists and pedestrians, affordable housing to meet or exceed the cities’ policy, child care opportunities, green building practices and show an economic benefit to Jackson. Commissioners suggested if the City Council did not agree with the Housing Equivalent Units Allocation, they could implement stricter Design Criteria.

The start of last night’s Jackson Planning Commission meeting was a mix of farewell and job well done to Wayne Garibaldi, who was recently appointed to the Jackson City Council, and the selection of Letitia Sexton as the new chair. Dave Butow will take another term as Vice-Chair. Sexton thanked Garibaldi for listening to her ideas while he served on the commission, an important gesture towards a new member. Later in the meeting, Sean Rabe  gave an overview presentation of the revised Amador County Transportation Commission Traffic Impact Study Guidelines. ACTC is requesting that city and county governments adopt uniform standards for traffic impact analysis and mitigation for new development. It should also speed up the review process since a summary section is now required to be included in a Transportation Impact Study. The revised ACTC guidelines will now require the developer to evaluate of impacts on transit, bike and pedestrian facilities along with recommendations for fixing these problems. It also includes Fair Share and Cost estimates to better understand the financial impact.

 

An accident involving a school bus in Calaveras County injured 5 people on Tuesday. A 23-year old Arnold man in a Toyota Tacoma pick-up was driving on Murphy’s Grade Rd in the opposite direction of travel as the school bus.MarkTwain Hospital complaining of pain to their heads and were released.  The driver of the pick-up suffered a fractured wrist and was taken to Mark Twain Hospital. According to San Andreas CHP, the truck’s driver was unable to stay on his side of the road due to inattentive driving and excessive speed for the wet conditions. The bus driver took corrective action but was unable to avoid being struck by the pick-up. Two students from Michelson school and 2 adults riding on the bus at the time received minor injuries. They were taken to Mark Twain Hospital complaining of pain to their heads and were released.  The driver of the pick-up suffered a fractured wrist and was taken to Mark Twain Hospital.

 

Assemblyman Alan Nakanishi today announced that he is beginning a first-ever open search for the 2008 Assembly District 10 “Woman of the Year.” “There are thousands of people doing great work in the community, and those un-sung heroes deserve to be recognized,” Nakanishi said. “This is a great opportunity to thank all of the heroes serving in our community.” Anyone who wishes to nominate someone to be Woman of the Year should send a one-page explanation as to why your nominee deserves such a distinction by Friday, February 1st. All nominees must be residents of the 10th Assembly District. Submissions should be sent to the Lodi District Office, located at 218 West Pine St., Lodi, 95240.

 Secretary of State Debra Bowen has certified Proposition 90, the first initiative for the June 3 Primary Election ballot. Prop. 90 includes changes to the way state and local governments acquire property through eminent domain. The initiative calls for a constitutional amendment regulating the government’s ability to acquire private property.

Plymouth City Council interviewed candidates for the job of Interim City Administrator in closed session last Saturday. Council members agreed on a qualified prospect for the job, and the city is running the required background checks for city employment. When everything checks out and salary negotiations are finalized, the city council will approve their selection at a future City Council meeting. It’s not clear how long that will take but outgoing City Administrator Gene Albaugh says he hopes the City of Plymouth  will have a new administrator in place as soon as February 1st. Albaugh has been filling the interim position for 33 months – for the last two years, that’s been on a month-to-month basis. Albaugh says at first he had trouble getting anyone to apply for the job, but after working with the League of California Cities recruitment program was able to encourage qualified applicants to apply for the job. Albaugh, who lives in Auburn, will then give up his commute to Plymouth and spend his time as a Rotary District leader, writing books, and playing senior softball.