State – Today, May 19th, Amador County voters have the opportunity to vote on six budget-related propositions in a statewide special election. In a special series here on TSPN, we’ll bring you information on each ballot measure, what it means for California, and more specifically, how it affects Amador County. Today we discuss Proposition 1F, which encourages a balanced state budget “by preventing elected members of the Legislature and statewide constitutional officers, including the Governor, from receiving pay raises in years when the state is running a deficit.” Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has warned voters that if all six propositions – 1A through 1F- don’t pass, he will recommend severe cuts in education and social services, as well as the release of nearly 20,000 incarcerated illegal immigrants to federal authorities for immediate deportation. The latest polls show 1F as the only proposition likely to pass. Supporters of 1F say that “by stopping Legislative pay raises during State budget deficits, we can save our state millions of dollars when they’re needed most and bring accountability to the Legislature.” Since 2005, legislators have had their pay increased three separate times. Currently, California legislators are paid $116,208 annually, which is the highest among state legislators in the U.S. Opponents are few, but include Pete Stahl, author of “Pete Rates the Propositions,” who submitted a ballot argument against Proposition 1F. Stahl says that compared to the salary earned by executives at large companies, state legislator salaries are a “terrific bargain.” He believes it’s false to believe that legislators are influenced by how much money they make rather than their underlying political beliefs. Be sure to vote today on this and other highly contentious propositions that will decide the immediate future of California’s fiscal situation. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors last week was accused of a Brown Act violation by a local resident, but the AWA said the subject of that claim was erroneous. Jim Edmonds of Jackson in a memo to the board accused AWA of violating the Brown Act for its Small Diameter Pipeline project to be placed within the Amador Canal, by changing it from a raw water delivery system to a treated water delivery system. Edmonds’ memo, received by AWA May 4th, asked: “What right does the management have to break this contract that was both written and published?” Edmonds, who lives on New York Ranch Road, said the agency’s “negative declaration” for the small-diameter pipeline is not true, “since many people are affected by the small diameter pipeline and were not aware of the placing of (a) treated water line and the plan to not install a raw water line in the canal east of New York Ranch Road.” Edmonds said “the people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.” AWA Board Chairman Terence Moore said that “putting a raw water line in the canal was part of the Amador Transmission Pipeline project.” He said the “treated water line is a different project,” with its own approval process, and “some raw-line customers might want to get on the treated line.” Moore said the people should “bare in mind, we don’t even have easements to either one of these projects.” Moore said the agency is just following its directive from the state “to seek to provide treated water to all customers.” Moore said the agency is still exploring construction options and applying for grants to fund installation of the small diameter pipeline, which was planned to deliver raw water to customers along the Amador Canal, now that the Pipeline has been completed to replace the canal as the agency’s primary water conveyor to the Tanner Water Treatment Plant. Moore said the board will hold a special meeting this summer to update the public on the progress of the small diameter pipeline. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County –Amador Country Transportation Agency correspondence this week shows Jackson will get $800,000 dollars to extend Mission Boulevard; while Caltrans recommends no safety improvement on Highway 88 in Pine Grove. Jackson qualified for a matching grant from the California Transportation Commission, and was selected as “one of the top 2 ranked applications in the statewide competitive program.” ACTC Executive Director Charles Field notified Jackson Mayor Mike Daly in a letter April 22nd, saying “the project received high scores because it is expected to be ready for construction by July 1st, and because of the project’s ‘reliability’.” Field said “it is imperative that the city have this project ready for construction bidding by July 1st, in order for” Jackson “to fulfill its obligation under the terms of this grant and to maintain reliability status.” Field asked progress updates from Jackson on completion of design and permits, and acquisition of easements. The ACTC board could discuss the issue at its meeting 7 p.m. Wednesday in supervisor chambers. Another item of possible discussion is notification from the Caltrans Traffic Safety Branch, commenting on an e-mail from ACTC Commissioner Greg Baldwin. The Plymouth Vice Mayor, Baldwin asked about roadway safety of Highway 88 in Pine Grove. Duper Tong, Chief of Caltrans Traffic Safety for District 10, wrote April 14th that the community of Pine Grove was subject of a detailed safety investigation by a team of engineers. Tong said they found that the accident rate in Pine Grove “was lower than the average for similar facilities.” At nighttime during rain, they observed “the visibility of signing and striping” and found that “there is no apparent roadway deficiency.” Tong said “a safety improvement is not recommended at this time,” but Caltrans will consider installing recessed pavement markers in future rehabilitation projects. Also on the agenda, the board will consider a request by Renee Chapman of ACTC Foothill Rideshare to collaborate with the College Rideshare Project of Heald College. Field in a memo to the board said “Chapman is requesting authority to use part of the 2009-2010 Foothill Rideshare budget” to work with the college “to carry out a cooperative rideshare registration effort.” The project would target Heald’s 3 campuses, in Rancho Cordova, Roseville and Stockton. Chapman is expected to attend Wednesday’s meeting. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Plymouth Lodge Hill restoration project threatened to climb out of the state financial deep freeze at the end of last month. Plymouth City Councilwoman Pat Fordyce reported to the council last Thursday that Proposition 40 projects are once again being funded by the state, meaning the Lodge Hill project may soon go forward. Fordyce said Plymouth Building Official “Jeff Kelley has plans and specs.” Those may need minor changes. Fordyce said as soon as changes are made, “we can go out to bid.” Fordyce heard the news at an Amador County Recreation Agency board meeting. ACRA Executive Director Tracey Towner-Yep reported the unfreezing, saying as of April 24th, “the grant funds seem to have thawed. However, State Parks is hedging their bets, and are requesting a further delay in the project.” Towner-Yep said “this is excellent news in that there should be some building activity in Amador County this summer.” Plymouth City Engineer Roark Weber sent a letter April 28th to State Senator Dave Cox asking about the stymied fund flow. He said the project was to be funded with $220,000 dollars from the “2002 Recreation Bond Act Per Capita Program,” and the “city could easily spend $300,000 to $400,000 dollars on the project.” Plymouth City Council has authorized staff to advertise for bids when the funds are there, and Weber said “the project stands ‘shelf-, shovel-, or hammer-ready’.” Melinda Steinert, of the state parks and recreation grants office, in an e-mail April 30th to Plymouth City Manager Dixon Flynn confirmed that the “state bond freeze … is over.” Steinert said the agency did “not know when the State Controller will be releasing funds, but the good news (was) that the state is now guaranteeing payment on all bond-funded projects.” Estimated release for Prop 40 funding is late May. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - The El Dorado Irrigation District board of directors approved an amendment to the Caples Lake fish restocking plan during the board’s May 11 meeting. The action cleared the way for the California Department of Fish and Game to deliver fish to the lake before Memorial Day. “This is an important part of our commitment to restore a trophy fishery in the lake,” said board president George Wheeldon. “We had to draw the lake down last year for emergency repairs to the Caples main dam outlet works, and Fish and Game was not sure any fish would survive in the small amount of water left. The good news is that some fish did make it through the winter…and the lake level has risen beyond expectations, to the point that the fish should have a good start.” Dan Corcoran, the District’s environmental division manager, told the board that “according to the plan, intensive restocking will continue through the 2009 fall season.” Then EID will continue to plant fish over the next nine years in coordination with partners in the area. Corcoran reported that the initial restocking plan approved last year had to be modified because, according to Fish and Game, one of two hatcheries contracted to restock the lake tested positive for the parasite that causes whirling disease. This unanticipated development will also have region-wide effects, since the hatchery holds stocking contracts throughout the state. “Fish and Game has been extremely helpful in assisting EID through this challenging situation,” Corcoran said. The goal is to restore the sport fishery at Caples Lake. The amendment the board adopted today does that with minor adjustments to the initial plan related to the proportions of species and sizes to be stocked. In addition, 9,000 pounds of trophy fish will be stocked by an out-of-state hatchery in June. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Highway officials earlier this month urged denial of the Gold Rush Ranch & Gold Resort revised traffic Environmental Impact Report, based on severity of impacts and lack of mitigation. Daniel H. Brewer, chief of Caltrans Rural Planning and Administration, sent a May 4th comment letter to the Sutter Creek Planning, which is taking comments on Gold Rush’s Revised EIR, on a new Traffic Impact Study. Brewer said based on an “inadequate and flawed DEIR” chapter on “Transportation and Circulation,” and “the lack of addressing even those significant impacts the DEIR has disclosed,” Caltrans recommended “Sutter Creek not certify this EIR or approve any additional entitlements for this project.” ACTC Executive Director Charles Field wrote a May 5th comment letter. He said the Gold Rush “project contributes to such a high number of traffic and circulation related impacts for which mitigation cannot be reasonably assured, that the RDEIR serves to provide evidence to support findings for project denial.” The letter said 18 intersections and 18 road segments would be impacted. ACTC’s Board of Directors will review the staff comment letter by Field at their meeting Wednesday night. Field said the Gold Rush revision relies too heavily on ACTC’s “Circulation Mapping Exercise” tool, which he said is nowhere near complete and may never be complete. The CMX tool would use jurisdictional data to calculate fair shares of road mitigation costs in the Martell area. Field said “CMX is stalled at the committee level because developers cannot agree on a funding mechanism and program that will provide funds needed to ensure long term mitigation.” It includes “low fair share percentages” that do not offset “the high cost” of road projects. Most projects mentioned are not consistent with CMX. One that is consistent with CMX, expansion of the Ridge Road and Highways 104 and 49 intersection, would cost about $3.5 million dollars. Field said if Gold Rush pays a fair share of 6 percent, it would be $210,000 dollars. Field said regional funding earmarked for that intersection was $300,000 dollars, leaving nearly $3 million unfunded. Fixing the highway 49 and Jackson Gate intersection would cost about $1.2 Million, with no money presently earmarked in the county/city Regional Traffic Mitigation Fee program. Gold Rush includes 945 acres, an 18-hole golf course, a combined golf and community clubhouse, 1,334 single-family residences, 300 timeshare vacation units, a 60-room hotel, up to 57,000 square feet of commercial uses and a police and fire station. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Region – While Amador County has experienced only one reported case of H1N1 virus, or swine flu, other counties in the region are continuing to report cases. According to San Joaquin County’s public health service agency, test results came back Thursday as positive for swine flu in a 5-year-old Stockton girl, adding to the four confirmed and five probables already existing in the county. Calaveras and El Dorado counties each have one confirmed case, according to state public health reports. As of Wednesday, 256 confirmed and 219 probables have been reported in California. So far, no deaths in California have been attributed the deadly respiratory disease that has caused a 10 percent death rate in its country of origin, Mexico. Nearly one hundred deaths have been confirmed there. At Wednesday’s School Board meeting, Health Officer Dr. Bob Hartmann recapped Amador County health officials’ efforts in recent weeks to monitor and prevent the further spread of the virus in our area. He reported that Amador’s only case – an Ione man who recently returned from Mexico – was mild and the patient is doing well. The biggest concern for health officials is in the future. He said agencies will be monitoring the flu as it moves south and returns north next winter. He said the virus could mutate and return more deadly. As of Thursday, there have been 4,298 confirmed cases reported nationwide in 47 states, including three deaths. Worldwide, there have been 6,497 confirmed cases reported in 33 countries. The state Department of Public Health said public health authorities in California have spent about $10 million so far monitoring the H1N1 flu as of May 13. Chief Deputy Public Health Director Bonnie Sorensen said county health departments have spent about $8 million and the state about $2 million. Most went for overtime, flu testing equipment and materials. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Plymouth City Council last week heard that water was flowing Thursday down the Arroyo Ditch, and the company wants to get together and negotiate a contract. The Shenandoah Water Company has spent $60,000 dollars over the last month to clear the Arroyo Ditch of debris and get water flowing, and City Manager Dixon Flynn said he wants to organize a closed session meeting of the city council to discuss negotiations on operation of the ditch. Mayor Jon Colburn said last Thursday that he had met earlier that day with Shenandoah Water Company representatives, who want to negotiate a contract. Colburn said he “recommended to them that they go ahead and negotiate with city staff.” He said he did not want it to appear that he was negotiating with the company, due to problems that occurred in negotiations on water contracting in the past with the Amador Water Agency. Flynn said: “That is what we want to talk about in closed session.” Councilwoman Pat Fordyce said she wants a city council member to be in on the discussions with Shenandoah Water Company. Colburn said the city may get an assist in the drying times from the AWA, who has offered the use of Segment 6, from Drytown to Plymouth, in the Plymouth Water Pipeline. They made the offer because one well in Plymouth has gone dry. Colburn and Vice Mayor Greg Baldwin spoke with Hunt Well Drilling Company about doing an “air test” on the well last Friday, but after that, AWA notified the city that it could activate Segment 6 in case of an emergency. Colburn said the city had two wells operating, Well “A” and the Hawksview Well. He said the “big scare is, if something happens to Well “A,” be could be in trouble.” Flynn said “the AWA has agreed to tap us into their line at Drytown, plus we have water in the (Arroyo) Ditch today, which allows the fairgrounds to tap into the ditch for irrigation.” He said that also eases up the demand on the flow in the city water system. The council adjourned without setting a date for the closed session discussion on the Arroyo Ditch. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – There is a buzz around Amador County around dusk this time of year, that is, a literal buzz from mosquitoes. And abating that problem might create the need for a trip to Calaveras County, as the Amador County Department of Agriculture is fresh out of mosquito fish. Patty Lesky, deputy agriculture commissioner for Amador County said Friday that the program has no funding this year, though last year many of the ponds around Amador were stocked with the fish. The program helps abate the mosquitoes because the fish eat mosquito larvae. The eggs are laid in stagnant water and also by tree mosquitoes in moisture deposits of all sorts. Lesky said anything that holds water or moisture, like a tree knot, a clogged gutter or a small flower pot, can be a deposit for millions of mosquito eggs. She said the Ag department has steered people to Copper Cray Fish in Copperopolis, a private residence and a fish farm. Lesky said the mosquito fish are for ponds and other large, nonmoving water deposits. She said they cannot be placed in a dog bowl. Instead, she said it is better to empty any stagnant standing water from yards. Dogs susceptible to mosquito bites can be given heartworm medication, for mosquito-bourn heartworms. The Amador Agriculture Department’s website notes the importance of eliminating mosquito breeding areas around the home, because “the species of mosquitoes most likely to carry West Nile virus can breed in your own backyard.” The site said “Ponds, reservoirs, or other large bodies of still water are potential breeding grounds,” and recommends stocking those with mosquito fish. The site gives notice that there are no mosquito fish available this season. It also tells about the fish, which can eat mosquito larvae as fast as they hatch. They also hatch live and require no special environment for reproducing. To contact Copper Cray Fish in Copperopolis to purchase mosquito fish, call 329-4311. For online information, see the Amador Ag Department link at www.co.amador.ca.us, or call the Ag office at 223-6487. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – A joint session of the Ione City Council and Planning Commission will host a public hearing Tuesday on the Ione draft General Plan and its “Land Use Element” and “Circulation Element.” The council and commission will call the meeting to order during the regular council meeting, at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall. Staff encourages public comment and participation. Planning staff, Pacific Municipal Consulting said “all elements of the General Plan are policies that guide future development.” PMC’s Christopher Jordan and Daniel Hamilton will present both elements. Land Use focuses on “important issues related to the location of parks and recreation, housing developments,” use of downtown Ione and other land use topics. The Circulation Element “provides policies for transportation issues within the city, including vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian modes.” PMC said “once initial public comments have been gathered and the city council and planning commission have provided direction on the draft General Plan, a Draft Environmental Impact Report analyzing the impacts of the General Plan will also be released and available for public comment.” PMC said the public’s participation and contribution “will be essential.” Additional public meetings will be held, covering an array of topics related to the General Plan. The draft General Plan and related materials are available for public review at www.ionegeneralplan.com, and City Hall. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.