AN INNOVATIVE WORKSHOP SERIES IS BEING OFFERED, RIGHT HERE IN THE COUNTY, BY DECISION AND POLICY MAKERS TO HELP THE GENERAL PUBLIC BETTER UNDERSTANDS AMADOR COUNTY GOVERNMENT. AMADOR GOVERNMENT #101, A WORKSHOP FOR ALL RESIDENTS OF THE COUNTY IS AN EFFORT TO ALLOW LOCAL CITIZENS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR HOW OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT WORKS DIRECTLY FROM THE MOUTHS OF THE FOLKS WHO RUN IT.  THE  SUGGESTION FOR THE WORKSHOPS COMES FROM COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, TERRI DALY.

IF YOU’RE A TOFU-LOVER, WALK RIGHT OVER TO YOUR REFRIGERATOR AND CHECK YOUR TOFU PACKAGES FOR THE BRAND AND DATE CODE. SOY DELI-BRAND TOFU MANUFACTURED IN SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO IS RECALLING MULTIPLE LOTS OF TOFU AFTER A PACKAGE TESTED POSITIVE FOR LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES BACTERIA, A BACTERIA THAT CAN CAUSE SERIOUS INFECTIONS IN CHILDREN AND THE ELDERLY, CALIFORNIA HEALTH OFFICIALS SAID MONDAY.

EVER BEEN FRUSTRATED WITH THOSE MAIL AWAY REBATES OFFERED ON ELECTRONICS AND CELL PHONES? FINALLY, THE CALIFORNIA STATE LEGISLATURE MAY BE DOING SOMETHING TO MAKE SURE THAT MANUFACTURERS ARE NOT POCKETING MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS OF DOLLARS DUE TO CONSUMERS. CALIFORNIA LEGISLATORS HAVE NOW PASSED A BILL TO BAN SUCH ADS THAT PROMISE A LOWER PRICE, WHICH IS REALLY THE PRICE AFTER THE MAIL IN REBATE IS RECEIVED. ASSEMBLYMAN MIKE FEUER, D-LOS ANGELES, SAID HIS BILL STEMS FROM A SIMPLE PREMISE: "THE CONSUMER SHOULD PAY THE ADVERTISED PRICE." CUSTOMERS ARE LURED BY BARGAIN PROMISES ONLY TO FIND IN TINY TYPE, OFTEN OVERLOOKED, THAT THEY'LL HAVE TO PAY MORE NOW BUT CAN FILE A REBATE REQUEST LATER, FEUER SAID.

IF YOU LIVE IN THE UPCOUNTRY AND YOU’D LIKE TO DO SOMETHING TO KEEP SCENIC HWY 88 “SCENIC,” YOU CAN JOIN A GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS WHO DO AN ANNUAL HIGHWAY CLEAN UP EVERY YEAR ABOUT THIS TIME. THIS YEAR’S ADOPT-A-HIGHWAY CLEANUP FOR PINE GROVE IS SCHEDULED FOR THIS SATURDAY, SEPT 29. VOLUNTEERS MEET AT PINE GROVE PARK AT 8 AM AND TRY TO GET THE JOB DONE IN 2 HOURS!  CLEANUP ORGANIZER MEL WELSH SAYS IT’S A VERY INFORMAL GROUP AND EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO HELP – WITH ONE REQUIREMENT -- VOLUNTEERS HAVE TO BE 18 YEARS OR OLDER. MEL SAYS YOU SHOULD WEAR LONG PANTS AND LONG SLEEVE SHIRTS AND YOU CAN CALL MEL WELSH AT 296-4848 FOR MORE INFORMATION.

What to do with the county-owned Carbondale Industrial Park property was the question that the Board of Supervisors’ Carbondale Committee, Supervisors Boitano and Forster, wrestled with at their meeting Monday. Among several options considered was siting a new county jail on the Carbondale property.

The Bush administration has announced plans to stop reimbursing states for school-based Medicaid activities, including special education, a move that would cost California schools more than $100-million a year and the Amador County Office of Education about a quarter of the amount that they currently receive in reimbursements. The Amador County Office of Education, like other Districts statewide, is scrambling to figure out how to backfill transportation costs that are already encroaching on the Unified School District’s General Fund. The transportation programs must continue because federal law requires schools to provide special services for disabled students. "It’s bad, bad, bad” says Amador County Special Education Director Tammy Watson.

Rich and poor nations must get over their disagreements about how to fight climate change and forge a new pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday. As the opening speaker at a United Nations conference on global warming, Schwarzenegger urged countries to stop blaming each other for rising temperatures and work together to resolve the problem. According to a Reuters story, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon invited the Governor to speak at today’s special session when they toured a San Jose business that is developing the technology for countries to help reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Schwarzenegger, who has endorsed a series of measures to reduce emissions in California, acknowledged that rich and poor nations have different responsibilities in fighting climate change, but said it was time to stop the blame game.

A Plymouth couple and their pint-sized cows were featured in a recent Sacramento Bee story about a trend in miniature cattle breeds, sized just right for smaller ranches. Bev Boriolo, 72, and her husband, Don, have built a herd of 12 miniature Hereford cattle, all well under 4 feet tall. The couple live on 30 acres near Plymouth.