Salaries of California legislators and top elected officials will be frozen for the next year, the state's independent salary commission decided last week. The commission approved the freeze on a 4-1 vote, rejecting a proposal by Chairman Charles Murray to cut elected officials' salaries by 10 percent. "As far as I'm concerned, we didn't send a strong enough message," Murray said after the vote. The commission's action Tuesday came amid a state budget deficit projected at $15.2 billion and an order by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger that state agencies cut their spending by 10 percent. Decisions by the pay commission are final and take effect December 1st. The independent panel of seven gubernatorial appointees was created by voters through passage of Proposition 112 in 1990. Schwarzenegger is eligible for a salary of 212,179 dollars but accepts no state pay. California's attorney general and superintendent of public instruction currently receive 184,301; the controller, treasurer and insurance commissioner receives 169,743; and the lieutenant governor, secretary of state and Board of Equalization members each receive 159,134. The four leaders of the Assembly and Senate currently are paid 133,639 dollars. All lawmakers also receive nearly 35 thousand in per diem pay for living expenses.

A statewide drought was declared Wednesday as farmers and communities continue to face water shortages after two consecutive years of below-average rainfall. Court-imposed restrictions on water usage in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta have also caused havoc on water supplies. While farmers across California are preparing for the worst, local agriculture representatives say Amador County is above the fray. Sean Kriletich (KRIL-LA-TICH), owner and operator of Poloma Pollinators in Jackson, says that Amador County is riding on the back of last year’s rainfall. “We still have an abundant ground & surface water supply here in Amador County,” he said. JJ Gonsalves of Blue Sky Blueberries in Valley Springs said he’s not really dependent on rain and uses irrigated water for his crops. “What I am really worried about is that the water table will continue to drop and dry up some irrigation wells,” said Gonsalvez. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will sign an executive order that aims to accelerate water transfers to shortage areas, improve coordination between government agencies and pursue federal assistance. The order does not impose statewide water rationing but attempts to reduce water use by bolstering state and local conservation programs. The state Department of Water Resources last month determined snowpack water content was only 67 percent of normal and forecast runoff at only 55 percent of normal. Some California communities have begun to impose water rationing programs, and some farmers have stopped planting certain crops based on unpredictable water supplies.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is instructing state fire officials to begin fining rural homeowners who fail to clear their properties of brush, trees and dry grass. Schwarzenegger says clearing around homes is particularly important because of this year's dry conditions throughout the state. A 2005 law required that homeowners who live near forests or grasslands increase the so-called "defensible space" around their houses from 30 feet to 100 feet. State Fire Marshal Kate Dargan says inspectors have issued few citations to homeowners who ignore the law. Instead, firefighters have focused on educating them about the dangers of overgrown properties. During a Capitol news conference on Friday, Schwarzenegger said he is ordering inspectors to be stricter about citing homeowners who don't act. Fines can range from 100 to 500 dollars. If homeowners still refuse, public officials are authorized to clean up the property and send them the bill.

Amador County – Amador County is OK in light of the state highway funding freeze, Amador County Transportation Commission Executive Director Charles Field said Tuesday. ACTC is working this week with local municipalities to identify projects for expected federal funding. “Fortunately, the Highway 49 Bypass is done, fortunately the Defender Grade intersection is done,” Field said. On the periphery lies expected federal infrastructure spending. “We’re not greatly affected by the state crisis on streets and roads because we’re between projects.” ACTC has avoided economic impacts that have hurt Prospect Motors and other companies. Field said “somehow, we’re not hurt too bad and maybe we’ll be able to bring some more money into the county.” But flux in Washington, D.C., means what California and Amador County get from the federal stimulus package “is changing every day.” He said President Obama will be in office next week and plans to “hit the ground running,” so the county will see how he handles it. In a report to the ACTC board prepared for today’s meeting, Field said there is expected to be $30 billion in the federal stimulus packet, with $3 billion for California. Of that, half should be for “shovel ready” projects, which generally means a “project has got its federal environmental clearance, community acceptance, right of way and design work accomplished (and ready to bid).” For highway work at the state level, he said that means the project must also be in the Regional Transportation Plan. Field said federal projects are different than state projects and have “more federal strings attached, so 90 days is not a lot of time.” Last week, guidelines changed from 90 days to 120 days on “shovel ready” projects. He said ACTC is working with the cities in a staff meeting Thursday to gather a list of road and transit projects that can be prepared for the anticipated stimulus spending. ACTC has also invited 1 or 2 members each from the Upcountry Community Council and the Pine Grove Community Council to attend the staff meeting. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

State - Desegregation at both Mule Creek State Prison in Ione and the Sierra Conservation Center in Calaveras will continue after a temporary suspension by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on October 10th. All 30 male prisons in California are scheduled to comply by 2010 with a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court that said California's unwritten policy of segregating inmates by race in their cells needed to be reviewed by an appellate court. A settlement later created a policy mandating that prison staff fill open bunks regardless of race or ethnicity. The changeover was supposed to begin July 1, but has been delayed by discussions with employee unions and concerns over possible violence. The Department of Corrections has long used race as a factor in segregating men, based on a history of racial and gang-related violence. On October 1st, the Sierra Conservation Center, or SCC, officially started the desegregation, which had already started at Mule Creek. Officials at the SCC said prison inmates refused to eat or work for four days following the start of integration in minimum security. Officials at the prison are not sure what prompted the Corrections Department to drop the suspension. Although authorities at both prisons are remaining cautious, they don’t anticipate any major problems. Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Looking forward to a cooling trend from the record heat wave and having survived a challenging week of hundreds of wildfires sparked by lightning, state and local officials sent a strident message, loud and clear to those smuggling illegal fireworks into California and those would be celebrants who might plan to use these dangerous devices in the coming days. “We are here to tell the individuals who traffic illegal fireworks,” said Kate Dargan, California State Fire Marshal, “Consider this your first and only warning. We don’t care if you do it for fun or profit… We are determined to put a stop to it.” Reflecting back on what appears to be a growing trend in many communities throughout California, state and local fire and law enforcement agencies said the state continues to see a growing influx of illegal fireworks into California, by both organized, commercial operations as well as small, individual, criminal entrepreneurs. According to Dargan, Senate Bill 839, which became effective January 1, removed a number of legal, procedural and practical hurdles to enforcing illegal fireworks statutes in California. This legislation is only the latest in a series of coordinated efforts, between local and state fire agencies, CAL FIRE, the state-approved fireworks industry, and the 3,500 non-profit organizations who sell state approved fireworks every year, to battle the growing problem with illegal fireworks throughout the state. But the sale of legal fireworks is another issue all together. Governor Schwarzenegger last Friday urged all citizens not to buy or use fireworks for the upcoming July 4th weekend. "Don't go out and use fireworks this year…It's just too dry and too dangerous to do those things,” he said. This has caused an internal conflict amongst purveyors of fireworks, many of whom are non-profit organizations funded solely on money raised through those sales. Schwarzenegger said the fires statewide have now involved resources including 7,000 firefighters and 536 engines. He hopes Independence Day celebrations won’t exacerbate that problem.

State - Rural schools and road funding received a big boost earlier this week following the announcement by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer that the US Forest Service is distributing more than $477 million to 41 states and Puerto Rico for local improvements. The funding is part of the newly amended and reauthorized Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act. “Payments under the Act help fund schools and roads and create employment opportunities through projects that maintain current infrastructure and improve the health of watersheds and ecosystems on national forests,” announced the Forest Service. Since 1908, 25 percent of Forest Service revenues, such as those from timber sales, mineral resources and grazing fees, have been returned to states in which national forest lands are located. In recent decades those revenues have declined significantly. The original Secure Rural Schools Act aimed at stabilizing the funding and transitioning to lower payments by providing assistance to affected rural counties. That Act expired in September of 2007. The reauthorized Act extends the program four more years. The first of the reauthorized payments are shown in the Summary of 2008 Forest Service payments. Oregon will receive the highest payment of more than $133 million; California will receive more than $57 million; and Idaho and Washington will receive more than $37 million. The Act also provides for an additional $52 million this year to be used by local resource advisory committees to fund projects to maintain infrastructure, improve the health of watersheds and ecosystems, protect communities, and strengthen local economies. In past years , 55 committees in western states have been active in this program. The Forest Service anticipates the formation of nearly 60 more committees under the newly reauthorized Act, many of them in the Lake States, eastern states and southeastern states where national forests are located. Staff Report (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

State -- Desegregation at both Mule Creek State Prison in Ione and the Sierra Conservation Center in Calaveras will continue after a temporary suspension by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on October 10th. All 30 male prisons in California are scheduled to comply by 2010 with a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court that said California's unwritten policy of segregating inmates by race in their cells needed to be reviewed by an appellate court. A settlement later created a policy mandating that prison staff fill open bunks regardless of race or ethnicity. The changeover was supposed to begin July 1, but has been delayed by discussions with employee unions and concerns over possible violence. The Department of Corrections has long used race as a factor in segregating men, based on a history of racial and gang-related violence. On October 1st, the Sierra Conservation Center, or SCC, officially started the desegregation, which had already started at Mule Creek. Officials at the SCC said prison inmates refused to eat or work for four days following the start of integration in minimum security. Officials at the prison are not sure what prompted the Corrections Department to drop the suspension. Although authorities at both prisons are remaining cautious, they don’t anticipate any major problems. -- Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

By 2020 California is projected to see a population increase of approximately 10 million people, according to a study by the California Budget Project, and the number of residents that are 65 or older will jump by 75.4 percent. True to its national image, California is younger than the nation overall. In 2006, the state’s median age was 34.4, compared with 36.4 in the country as a whole. Californians age 65 or older comprised 10.8 percent of the 2006 population, compared with 12.7 percent in the rest of the country. However, older Californians are the state’s fastest growing age group. In 2020, California is projected to be home to 2.7 million more older residents than in 2000. More than half (56.1 percent) of these older Californians are expected to be white, although whites’ share of the total population is expected to fall to 37.4 percent. California’s prime working-age population -- those age 25 to 64 -- is projected to grow at a healthy rate between 2000 and 2020, only slightly more slowly than the overall population, 27.4 percent compared with 29.4 percent. California’s school-age population -- those age 5 to 19 -- is expected to increase much more slowly than in the recent past and at less than half the rate of the population overall, 13.5 percent for school-age children compared with 29.4 percent for the population overall. At the same time, the study said, while the number of white residents is expected to shrink to 37.4 percent, Hispanics’ share is projected to rise to 41.4 percent and Asians’ share is expected to increase to 12.5 percent. In 2006, California’s white population alone was larger than the population of Illinois, its Latino population was larger than the population of Pennsylvania, and its Asian population was larger than the population of Oregon, the Sacramento-based organization said. The study also showed that California’s population is far more ethnically diverse than that of the rest of the country. In 2000, California was already a “majority minority” state. In 2006, whites accounted for 42.8 percent of the population, compared to 69.4 percent in the rest of the country. Latinos constituted 35.9 percent of the population, compared to 11.9 percent in the rest of the country, and Asians constituted 12.1 percent of the population, compared to 3.2 percent in the rest of the country.

Amador County - Democrat Alyson Huber’s Assembly campaign declared victory over Republican Jack Sieglock late last week after final vote tallies from Sacramento County swung the overall count in her favor. Huber had a 12-point lead in the southeastern part of Sacramento County included in the 10th Assembly District. In other less populated areas of the District, Sieglock led by 9 or more points. "When I started my campaign for State Assembly, many people said that this seat was not winnable,” Huber said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. “But growing up I had overcome tougher obstacles. So I committed myself to this campaign and with the help of so many dedicated supporters we prevailed,” she added. The vote count in Amador and El Dorado counties was certified last week. According to certified results, Sieglock led in Amador County by 3,068 votes, or 54.66 percent over 37.28 percent. After the Sacramento County certification last Wednesday, the overall vote difference was 12,408 votes in Huber’s favor. According to the California Secretary of State's Web site, Sieglock led with less than 6,000 votes in San Joaquin County before the holiday. Voting officials said it was unlikely that he could overtake Huber's overall lead with the remaining outstanding ballots. As of 2pm last Wednesday, Huber led the overall race by 505 votes. Sieglock has told media outlets he does not expect to win. Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).