Beginning May 18th, keep your eyes open for the Jackson Farmer’s Market, to be located at the western end of the Busi Municipal Parking Lot from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm on Sundays. Jackson City Council approved an agreement with the City and the Amador Farmers Market Association, which was unanimously commended by both audience members and council members alike. Sean Kritellich spoke on behalf of the Amador Farmers Market Association, stating that the market “is an opportunity to strengthen the community” and should provide a “more sustainable economy in regards to rising food and gasoline costs.”

The council also heard from Michael Phalan, President of the Main Street Theatre Works, requesting the deferral of building permit fees owed to the city. The fees total roughly 42-hundred dollars, for the construction of the new Customer Service Center at the Kennedy Mine Amphitheatre. In a letter to the Council, Phalan explained that “all of our funding efforts today have gone toward making the building operational. We are not currently in the best position to pay the funds still owed.” Mr. Phalan indicated that the best foreseeable option would be a payment of 5-hundred dollars per year for an eight year period. However, during council discussion another option was presented which was to pay the fees using Measure E funds.

Fiddletown is expecting a flood of visitors for its 4th Annual Heritage Day on April 5th , and wine will be a cornerstone of the event. Fiddletown’s vineyards have always played a special role in the County’s wine market. During the late 1800’s, Fiddletown was considered the prime region for winemaking within Amador County, but demand and popularity dwindled as major wine producers in Sonoma and Napa counties flooded the market. It wasn’t until the 1960’s when Fiddletown’s vino was rediscovered by Sacramento wine merchant Darrell Corti. Since then, Amador County has regained its fame as one of the most respectable wine-making communities in United States. The Best of Fiddletown Wine Competition is the cornerstone of the Heritage Day event. Two stages of competition will judge wines based on the UC Davis 20 point system and for the “People’s Choice”. Competition results will be announced at 3 p.m. at the Fiddletown Heritage Day celebration. For more information, visit www.fiddletown.info or the group's MySpace page at www.myspace.com/fiddletownpreservation.

The Sacramento region's busiest interchange will be getting much needed improvements. Last Thursday, Caltrans showed the public its plans to improve traffic for the Interstate-80/Interstate-5 interchange. The agency opened its doors and rolled out the maps, hoping for public comment on the improvement project. Diane Reid, an Amador County resident, is looking forward to the improvements. “I commute to work in Sacramento six days a week. The interchange is an area that is always, I mean always congested,” she said. Indeed, a significant amount of Amador County residents commute to work in the Sacramento metro area, and any improvements to the freeway are welcome.

The Supervisor’s race is heating up, and each candidate is hoping that their unique contributions to local government will make them a frontrunner. Incumbents Richard Forster and Louis Boitano are both looking to hold their seats on the Board. Supervisor Forster, whose seat is uncontested, says he is running for several reasons, one of which is to “work against the efforts of outside forces to locate Indian gaming illegally in Amador County.”

The Amador County Fair held a Swine Seminar to educate children and professionals on various swine raising and breeding techniques last Sunday. Dr. John Hensen of Fresno State University presented information on swine, including improving the quality of pork sold at the junior livestock auction. A new swine judge was announced and introduced. The event was held in the Spur Auditorium on the Amador County Fairgrounds. For more information about the presentation or the new swine judge, call 209-245-6921.

Jackson’s Main Street is undergoing a mini-face lift. Yesterday, PG & E crews could be seen working hard on repainting and repairing the light poles. The poles are owned and maintained by PG & E. The crew consisted of 6 men with an additional two floaters as needed. When TSPN caught up with them, the crew was applying a second coat of paint to poles and light fixtures. According to Foreman Jim Bowen, the service was proceeding as planned, and could have been done faster if he had a more experienced crew. When they finish up with Jackson they’ll be moving on to the next stop – Sutter Hill.

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.

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.

Mayor of Jackson Rosalie Pryor-Escamilla will run for the District 1 Supervisor’s seat -- something she’s said in the past that she would not do. Pryor-Escamilla told TSPN that she has changed her mind about running and has taken out a petition for signatures in lieu of a filing fee. County planning commissioner John Gonsalves and rancher John Plasse announced months ago that they will run in the June primary for the district 1 seat. Pryor-Escamilla said she hopes her candidacy will make things “more interesting.”

The final Amador Government 101 workshop topic will be held this Wednesday at the County Administration Center in Jackson. The focus of the workshop will be on related county agencies including water, recreation and transportation agencies, the school district, the air quality district and Amador Community Foundation. Speakers will include Superintendent Mike Carey for the Amador County Unified School District, Tracey Towner-Yep with the Amador County Recreation Agency, Charles Field with the Amador County Transportation Commission and Roseanne Chamberlain with Amador LAFCO. The speakers will begin at 6:30 p.m. and end at 8:30. An open public question and answer period will be held from 8:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The public is welcome to attend for absolutely FREE. Free childcare is also provided so that parents with young children can attend. TSPN is taping all of the workshops for broadcast at a future date. For more information, call Debbie Dunn at 296-5435.