Amador County – The Amador Regional Planning Committee discussed its Memorandum of Understanding in an annual rehashing of the details, then agreed to keep rotating meeting locations, though possibly doing so not monthly but annually. Committee president and Sutter Creek Councilman Tim Murphy said they should keep the wording that has the meetings alternating between jurisdictions, but they should leave the time between rotations ambiguous, so they can change the location if they want, but also keep the same meeting place for the year, if wanted. The Regional Planning Committee was making its “annual” amendments to the MOU of the committee, though it was only entering its second year of existence. Murphy read through a list of amendment suggestions from Plymouth Vice Mayor Greg Baldwin. Among them, Baldwin “suggested deleting the At Large member” of the committee, the post recently taken by Rene Chapman. A majority of the board, including Murphy, rejected that suggestion. Baldwin also suggested omitting the section under duties, responsibilities and limitations, which said the committee “shall be charged with” the duty to “pursue grant funding opportunities for planning and infrastructure projects of regional interest.” Ione City Councilwoman Andrea Bonham said that was “one of the strongest parts of the MOU,” and most beneficial to the members, in helping each other find funding. Murphy said he did not support that omission and a consensus agreed. Baldwin also suggested the committee make Amador County responsible for logistical and staff support of meetings. Murphy said he would rather have that support rotate, along with the meeting place, though he thought monthly rotation was bothersome and it would be better to have a regular location, such as Sutter Creek, during his term as committee chairman. Jackson Mayor Connie Gonsalves said the rotating meeting place “gives us all opportunities to visit other parts of the county.” Bonham agreed, saying she likes to visit other city halls, such as Plymouth. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council finance and budget committees was looking Tuesday at ways to cut the budget by $150,000 to erase a city budget deficit. Mayor Gary Wooten told TSPN Tuesday that layoffs could happen before the New Year, but it was just one of several solutions the council considered to trim funding deficits. Wooten said the city was about a half a million dollars in the red, and with a $3 million budget, that was quite a big piece of that pie. The council adjusted the budget to absorb a $350,000 dollar shortfall earlier this year, but found that revenue trailed budgeted projections by another $150,000. Wooten said that the biggest expenses to the city were employee salaries, where the cuts could be made with furloughs or reduced wages. He said he attended a budget meeting Tuesday and had a finance committee meeting as well and they were looking at layoffs of part-time employees, but no full-time employees. Wooten said that was his preference, but he was only one vote on the council. Sutter Creek’s newest council member, Sandra Anderson, will take the oath of office on Monday, December 15th. Anderson is a past president of the Sutter Creek Business & Professional Association, has a background in banking in Santa Cruz co-owns the Eureka Street Inn Bed & Breakfast in Sutter Creek. Sandra Anderson takes the vacated council seat of Councilman Brent Parsons, who ran for the Amador Water Agency Board of Directors seat in District 4. Wooten and Councilman Tim Murphy will take the oath of office Monday. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County - Sunday evening, the annual Hospice of Amador & Calaveras Tree of Lights Ceremony was held at the Thrift Store in Jackson. The audience of 80 was warmly welcomed by Dan Riordan, Executive Director. The highlight was the official lighting of the tree. For a small donation a loved one is honored with a light and their name on a memorial board. Julia Shelby and Singers from the Mountain Melody Women’s Chorus provided musical selections, as well as a joyful sing-along. One Amador City resident who attended the event said it was the perfect occasion to honor her grandmother, who passed away on Christmas two years ago. Approval of the event was unanimous among attendees who arrived to honor the numerous friends and loved ones that the Hospice has cared for over the years. Hospice is a concept of care that treats the person, not the disease, and emphasizes quality of life, not the duration. Since 1982, they’ve been working to meet the needs of those nearing the end of their lives in Amador, Calaveras, eastern San Joaquin and Sacramento Counties. Staff Report (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, in cooperation with the California Department of Fish and Game, is preparing a major joint Environmental Impact Report and Habitat Conservation Plan for the PG & E multi-region area of the North Coast, Central Coast, Sacramento Valley and Sierra. The Plan covers approximately 550,000 acres and includes the right-of-way surrounding gas and electric transmission and distribution facilities. It covers the network of PG&E facilities in 36 counties, 18 of which are in the Sacramento Region, which includes Amador, Calaveras, Sacramento and Tuolumne Counties. The Habitat Conservation Plan, or HCP, is being prepared under the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973. PG&E intends to request a permit to cover 75 species federally listed as threatened or endangered and 34 unlisted species that may become listed during the term of the permit. PG & E needs the permit to authorize “incidental harm” to endangered species that could occur as a result of implementing activities covered under the HCP.

At least nine of the endangered species, ranging from the California Tiger Salamander to the American Peregrine Falcon and the Bald Eagle are included in the agencies' “Proposed Covered Species” list for the Sacramento region. Section 9 of the Act and Federal regulations prohibit the harm or harassment to any of the listed species. However, permits may be issued to authorize the “incidental take” of these species. “Incidental take” is defined by the Act as take that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful activity. The EIR will also identify potentially significant impacts on land use and planning, agricultural resources, water resources, transportation, noise, air quality, environmental justice, socioeconomics, and other environmental issues that could occur directly or indirectly with implementation of the proposed action and alternatives. PG & E said in a release that the EIR will identify mitigation measures, where feasible, to reduce these impacts to a level below significance. A public meeting will be held on Thursday, December 4, from 2 pm to 4 pm, at the Evelyn Moore Community Center, 1402 Dickson Street in Sacramento. PG & E is encouraging the public to attend and give suggestions on the scope of issues and alternatives to be included in the EIR. Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

The City of Jackson has just adopted two proclamations regarding the month of September. The first recognized that September of 2008 is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. Vice Mayor Connie Gonsalves read the proclamation, which stated that substance use disorders impact 22.6 million people aged 12 or older in the U.S. The proclamation called upon “the people of Jackson to observe this month with appropriate programs, activities, and ceremonies supporting this year’s theme, ‘Join the Voices for Recovery: Real People, Real Recovery’.” Also, September 2008 will now be Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in Jackson. Council member Andy Rodriguez read the proclamation and presented it to Karen Crabtree, whose husband successfully has beaten the disease. Crabtree provided the public with information on the cancer, including a group in San Francisco called the Second Opinion that offers free services on second opinions from a panel of five doctors. For anyone interested in that group, call 415-775-9956.

Residents are encouraged to attend the second in a series of public workshops on Ione’s General Plan Update. The meeting will focus on important issues related to the location of parks and recreation, housing developments, the utilization of downtown Ione and other land use topics. The workshop will be held Monday, September 8, 2008 at 7pm in Evelyn Bishop Hall. The meeting will feature extensive public input opportunities through interactive surveying, question and answer, and provide an open forum for comments. Participants will also learn to put their ideas on paper through several mapping exercises. This is an opportunity for participants to share their views and give insight on how to maintain Ione’s quality of life while planning for a thriving and enriching future.

The Amador County Treasurer and Tax Collector, Michael E. Ryan announced Friday that unsecured taxes for the 2008/09 fiscal tax year are now due and payable, and will become delinquent if not paid by 5 PM on Tuesday, September 2nd. Unsecured taxes are usually owed on items such as boats and airplanes, and also for business property, possessory interests, and mining claims. A 10 percent penalty will be added to any unpaid taxes after the September 2nd deadline. Payments mailed must be postmarked on or before the deadline, and can be sent to the Amador County Tax Collector at 810 Court Street in Jackson 95642. You can also make your payments in person at that address, or via credit card by calling 1-800-609-4599. In addition, you can make an e-check or credit card payment online via the web address shown on your County tax bill. If you have any questions about your bill, please call 209-223-6364.

The Board of Supervisors has approved much needed improvements to what many consider one of Amador County’s most dangerous intersections. At the meeting Tuesday morning, Public Works Director Larry Petersen announced the approval of two federally funded grants that will go towards traffic safety improvements at the intersection of Ridge Road and New York Ranch Road. Specifically, the improvements consist of installing a new traffic signal, lengthening the existing merge lane and improving the “road profile” west of the intersection. The total combined amount of the two grants is 2,234,000 dollars. The grants were applied for under the 2007/2008 Highway Safety Improvements Program and the High Risk Rural Roads Program. The County is providing matching grants of 100,000 dollars. Since the grants cover a wide range of projects, the County’s local share is identified as 434,000 dollars. By combining these projects into a single effort, it is expected that cost savings will reduce the local share to 300,000, said Peterson. Resident and former supervisorial candidate David Pincus said he lived right near the intersection, or at “ground zero.” He said the improvements were “long overdue.” Members of the Ridge Road Coalition, who have been the most vocal opponents of the current blinking yield light, were not present at the meeting. The Supervisors unanimously welcomed the improvements, but were skeptical about there permanency. “There are people out there who think this is just another band aid. Will we ever be able to do an ultimate fix?” said Supervisor Louis Boitano. Although hesitant to say, Peterson predicted that the new intersection would last 20 years and accommodate for predicted traffic growth.

Yet another accident at an intersection in Pine Grove is raising concerns amongst citizens opposed to what one resident referred to as, “the world’s most idiotic traffic signal.” The project, funded by Caltrans, has directly resulted in at least six accidents since the light was installed in mid-2005 at the intersection of Ridge Road and Highway 88. Most resident’s specific concerns center on an unsignaled left hand turn lane that seems to be the cause of every accident so far. TSPN’s contributing photographer Bill Lavallie has been following these accidents since their inception. Monday morning, a driver proceeding up the hill east bound failed to notice the small sign that states “yield to oncoming traffic.” The driver turned left at the light, and was broadsided by a pickup hauling a flatbed trailer loaded with scrap car parts. “This intersection has brought repeated accidents of this nature due to the fact that CALTRANS refuses to put a real turn signal on the left hand turn lane. It is only a matter of time before we have another fatality at this intersection,” said Lavallie. Moderate injuries were reported as a result of this latest accident. TSPN will have a more in-depth story later this week as we gather more information.

We have an update to an earlier story that Prospect Motors would be holding another rally on February 17th. Sources tell us that a national news station will be visiting Amador County by next Tuesday to cover the closure of Prospect Motors and its effect locally. There is not another rally scheduled, despite rumors to the contrary. The CBS news crew is expected to do one-on-one interviews.