Amador County – What began 14 years ago as a custom lampshade business for Plymouth resident Pat Park is wrapping up July 31st on Main Street in Downtown Jackson. Park is retiring from her shop, Shady Lady Lamps, Gifts & Collectibles, after a 14-year run in Amador County, including 12 years on Main Street in Jackson. Park said last week that she “enjoyed being in business in Jackson. It’s just time to retire.” Park said she enjoyed coming in to work every day, and meeting people, but she said it is time for a change, time “to quit working and enjoy life.” She started in business making custom lampshades, hence the name, “Shady Lady.” She said her lampshades were unique, and specific to the person for whom she made them. In 1995, she opened Shady Lady Lamps, Gifts & Collectibles at the Amador Hotel in Amador City. It was a small operation with not that many customers, until local business journalist Marcia Oxford wrote a story about her shop. Park said the next day, after the story came out, there was a line of people waiting at her shop’s door – little old ladies with lampshades that had been in their closets for years and needed repair. In 1996, Park moved Shady Lady to 126 Main Street in Jackson, current home of Heaven & Earth Consignment boutique. But tragedy struck in 1997, when a fire started in a residence above the shop. Park lost everything, and rebuilt, next door, at 122 Main Street, her current location. The building was owned by Lester Garibaldi, who ran a photography business and a gift shop there. She occasionally makes a custom lampshade, but her specialty has switched to china, including fine imported tea sets from England and Russia. Her good friend, Marilynn Dodge of Volcano walked into the shop 8 years ago, the day they met, and now helps out occasionally. Park is a 33-year resident of Plymouth’s Main Street, and even served a 3-year appointment on the Plymouth City Council. She served with Gene Beck, Roger Kerner, Raymond Estey and Elaine Lasich. But she left the world of politics after the term ended. Park said Shady Lady would close, unless someone bought the business from her, at the end of July. The building is owned by Jackson City Councilman Wayne Garibaldi, the late Lester’s son. The building, with a photography darkroom upstairs, is neighbored by Heaven & Earth boutique, and Syd Bartlett’s Real Deal Antiques. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Fireworks have always been both a 4th of July tradition and a bane for fire departments everywhere. Sunday marked day one of a week long “Safe and Sane” fireworks campaign throughout the region. Only legal fireworks marked safe and sane and are approved by the state fire marshal. “Fireworks are very dangerous and a threat to property and lives in the dry county areas,” said Jim McCart, Chief of the Amador Fire Protection District. He said most fireworks are banned in all unincorporated areas of Amador County and most cities, including Ione and Jackson. While yearly efforts are made to ban fireworks altogether, non-profit charities that depend on fireworks sales have always voiced their protest. With the economy in such bad shape, charities are depending on these profits more than ever. Paul Molinelli, Jr., a member of the Jackson Lions Club, says his organization has been using money for many years to fund college scholarships for local youth. Amador County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Drew Stidger, who is in charge of fireworks funding for the Jackson Lions, said the initial funds go towards the free fireworks show every July 3 at Jackson Junior High School. The remaining funds will go to scholarships. Rural cities often have strict regulations that go along with the sale of fireworks. The City of Jackson requires that any charity selling fireworks is required to have a fireworks show. One Ione fire volunteer said he believes fireworks make jobs like his more difficult, but he can’t deny that the funds generated are vitally important for charities in a strapped economy. Fire departments throughout Amador County are now stepping up there efforts to prepare for the worst of California’s fire season. State fire officials said this year they see an added danger from fireworks, given the number of vacant, foreclosed homes with dry, overgrown yards throughout some communities in the state. “We have many houses that are vacant now. If a bottle rocket, for example, were to land in the dry weeds in the backyard of a home that no one lives in right now, a fire could start and get out of control before anyone would report it,” said Tonya Hoover, Assistant California State Fire Marshal. 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 directed staff Thursday to pull an inclusionary housing policy from its General Plan Housing Element. They also requested the plan include a glossary of terms. The council discussed the General Plan update and its Final Environmental Impact Report, including a public hearing, but took no formal action. The council gave planning staff directions on preparing the General Plan for the next council meeting, and also approved a contract extension for planner Paula Daneluk. Daneluk and planner Darcy Goulart spoke on the General Plan, answered questions and addressed issues brought up during public comment. Bob Reeder of Reeder Sutherland, developers of 2 housing projects in and around Plymouth said the General Plan required 20 percent of housing in any project to be inclusionary or subsidized housing. Reeder said “in a project like ours, that is completely unreasonable.” He asked that the inclusionary housing requirement be removed from the Housing Element. He said California Housing and Community Development in a letter said inclusionary housing is not required for a Housing Element, and is only voluntary. He said no change would mean his projects’ EIR and traffic studies would have to be redone. Reeder also asked that “buffers” required by the plan, between ag land and housing, be changed to “building setbacks”. He said “most people moving into an agricultural area probably want to view it.” He also urged the city to define loose terms in the plan, like ridgelines, viewsheds and buffers. He was worried that “ridgeline” policy might affect his project, which has homes on ridges, but his subdivision must be driven into in order to see the homes. Mayor Jon Colburn said he would not support the General Plan until the planning department sent letters to people who live in areas affected by the Land Use Element Map. Daneluk said they had been very open to area residents about that map, with public meetings, personal invitation letters and even telephone calls to get people to meetings. Vice Mayor Greg Baldwin, Councilman Michael O’Meara and Councilwoman Pat Shackleton disagreed. Baldwin pointed out that it was a consensus, and therefore a staff direction. Baldwin said “inclusionary needs to go away in the General Plan.” Shackleton said her brother-in-law was worried, but she thought the city General Plan might better protect land along city limits, and closely surrounding Plymouth. Colburn brought up the need for the glossary of terms, and all agreed it was a necessity. The council continued the public hearing to resume on July 9th at 6:30 p.m. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - A $183,000-combination of revenue decline from sales tax and state funding elimination for transit operations has prompted the Amador County Transportation Commission board of directors to cut service on three Amador Regional Transit Service routes and absorb another route’s service effective August 3. The board passed the service cuts at its regular meeting, June 17. ARTS Interim Transit Manager Joyce Jones said ARTS has discontinued four routes from the system’s 31 routes, making the move a 13 percent reduction in service. Amador County public transportation is not alone in facing service reduction due to tax revenue loss. Amador joins Calaveras County in transportation funding cuts. The Calaveras County board of supervisors voted June 3 to eliminate four routes, reduce service on several others and increase fares. Calaveras was faced with a 40 percent transportation budget cut. Because ARTS provides Motherlode service to Sacramento via transfers from public transit systems in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties, the Amador agency has agreed to continue a cooperative, on-demand service from Mokelumne Hill to Jackson. In fiscal year ending July 2008, Amador County revenue from the transportation portion of local sales taxes was nearly $980,000, and this fiscal year the number is expected to drop to $807,000, said Jones. “We lost revenue when the large car dealerships closed and there has been a general decrease in sales tax revenue because of the economy,” she said. “Additionally, State Transportation Assistance funding has been eliminated and that provided $30,000 in funding last year.” ACTC executive director Charles Field explained that .25 cents of sales taxes collected in Amador County goes to support public transportation, and the commission predicts a reduction this fiscal year of $250,000. Approximately $100,000 of that amount will be absorbed by ACTC, with the remainder falling on ARTS. He said a budget shortfall in fiscal year 2008-2009 was absorbed by state transportation funds that had been set aside for that purpose. “Now, for fiscal year 2009-2010 there is another reduction in sales tax revenue and there are no more contingency funds and no more coming, as far as we know,” he said. The cancelled ARTS routes are Mace Meadow Route M5, Plymouth Route P4 and Ione Route I5. One route, Ione Route I3, will be absorbed into Ione Route I2. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

El Dorado County - The El Dorado Sheriff’s Office reported Friday that narcotics detectives “located and eradicated” approximately 32,000 marijuana plants in El Dorado Hills on June 20. The large outdoor grow was located in an area off Salmon Falls Road and Dorado Ridge Trail, approximately 12 miles north of the Amador County border. The operation was first noticed when detectives discovered approximately 1 mile of irrigation lines used to supply the plants with water from remote watering sites, such as damned creeks. This eventually led them to the operation, which spanned over a mile across private, State, and Federal properties. The El Dorado Sheriff’s Office estimates that 32,000 plants would have had a street value upwards of $58 million. That’s approximately $1,800 for every pound of marijuana. “Marijuana grows of this type are of always of great concern not only for the safety of the community but the environment. Marijuana growers are very protective individuals and will protect their crops by dangerous means,” said Lieutenant Bryan Gomitz in Friday’s release. Gomitz said there are no suspects in custody at this time but the size and style of the marijuana grow suggests Mexican Nationals are responsible. Upon discovery, many of the plants were airlifted out and destroyed immediately. A number of agencies were involved in the operation, including El Dorado County Fire, California Fish and Game and several private property owners. The El Dorado Sheriff will continue to investigate who was behind the operation. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - As of 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, July 1, 2009, the Alpine-Amador-El Dorado-Sacramento Unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or CALFIRE, will suspend all burning permits within the State Responsibility Areas of the west slope of Amador County and El Dorado counties. Unit Chief Bill Holmes based his decision to suspend dooryard burning, on past fire history combined with dry vegetation, predicted fire weather, and other fuels-related factors. This suspension does not apply to the portion of El Dorado County that lies within the Lake Tahoe Basin. For burn information in the Lake Tahoe Basin, call (530) 543-2600. Anyone with questions about this suspension should contact their nearest CAL FIRE or U.S. Forest Service facility. Staff Report This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Sutter Creek Promotions Committee last week reported that it funded a new Farmer’s Market banner, and will discuss ways to mark the upcoming opening of its new foot bridge. The committee met June 16th at The Annex in Sutter Creek. Chairwoman Sandy Anderson asked members be prepared at their July meeting to discuss celebrations for the new bridge, which should be opening to foot traffic in August. Maureen Funk said Amador County hosts the County Assessor’s Conference in August 2010 and the Handweavers Conference in 2011. Anderson said the city needs to work closely with Amador Council of Tourism for these countywide events. Anderson and Councilman Pat Crosby will draw up a policy to clearly define wording and the type of event for the city’s banners. Funk will obtain the Jackson policy as a guideline. The policy will emphasize countywide events and will be resolved by July. The committee approved $163 for a new Farmer’s Market banners, to direct attention to the market’s Main Street parking lot, temporary location until the new bridge opens The Sutter Creek Visitor Center reported that it had 1,011 visitors in May. Volunteer Pam Weatherly is head of recruiting, training, and maintenance of volunteers. Weatherly created a list of restaurants with days and hours open that can be used by merchants. Barbara Braasch created a First-time Visitor Query Sheet to find out the length of visitor stays, how they discovered the town, and any comments they had. Marcia Oxford and Crosby are putting together a new walking tour. A financial report said in mid-June the committee had a cash balance of $10,465 for Promotions and $1,388 for the Visitors Center for a total of $11,853, which included $10,000 of previously committed funds. Anderson noted that the Sutter Creek Historic brochure needed to be reprinted, 10,000 copies at 16 cents each, $600 dollars of which has already been raised. The balance, another $1,000 dollars, comes from the Chairman’s Fund, donated funds for a rainy-day reserve that Crosby said now totals $3,201. Funk said that the cost for printing ACT’s Travel Planner was $900 dollars instead of the estimated $1,600. Anderson asked that all future requests for money be accompanied by the Funding Request Form, a draft of which she circulated. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Jackson Rancheria CEO Rich Hoffman announced Thursday that all concerts at Jackson Rancheria after July 9 have been cancelled due to building safety concerns. "Recently, after a careful evaluation of the deluxe portion of the hotel, our Building Official, CSG, communicated some concerns about the building's performance in the event of a fire. In a response to that report, the Tribe has elected to put the safety of our guests and staff ahead of any other concern, and discontinue the use of these areas until a correction is made,” said Hoffman. In other words, any of the top quality musical acts the Rancheria usually hosts will be cancelled between July 9 and the end of this year while upgrades are performed. The last two performers will be the Tommy Castro Band on June 26 at 7pm and Robin Trower on July 9 at 7pm. The specifics of the building official’s concerns are unclear but relate to the ability to properly evacuate the structure should a fire occur. “We will, under the guidance of our Building Official, continue to occupy the Tower building at the hotel, but the hotel rooms in the closed area, along with Lone Wolf's Steak & Seafood restaurant, the hotel kitchen and banquet facilities, meeting rooms and Grand Oak Ballroom will be unavailable until further notice,” said Hoffman. This also means cancelling the popular Karaoke and Dinner and a Movie events. Hoffman said all this falls during the transitional period from “a time when projects did not receive the appropriate scrutiny, to rebuilding in a way that will provide safety and function for years to come.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - The electricity of pump water from Tiger Creek to the Central Amador Water Project in Upcountry translates to 20 percent of the Amador Water Agency’s total operating costs. That includes debt service – the payment of loans. But the AWA board of directors Thursday heard in a report, as it has before, that major use of electricity does not translate into a high priority to qualify for Department of Health Services grant. Engineering and Planning Manager Gene Mancebo said the efficiency of the agency has kept CAWP customers for the most part form running out of water. A study of its operation of the CAWP line between 2004 and 2008 found 162 incidents when the water stopped flowing. Of those, 97 were electrical or mechanical problems. And of those, 52 were caused by power outages, with “18 of the power outages greater than 4 hours.” 4 times, they had water pumping stopped for longer than a day, with 2 resulting from fires and 2 resulting from winter storms. “These pump stations are not in very good condition,” Mancebo said. Much of it is original, including 30-year-old control panels, pumps and motors, which may have been repaired over the years. He said “they would not meet today’s standards for electrical codes.” Kennedy Jinx Engineering estimated that replacing the pumps would cost an estimated $3.3 million dollars. That would be only for construction and not for the total cost. Mancebo said they “pretty much would be rebuilding the whole system,” including motors, cams, pumps and the like. And the existing line would have to operate during construction. He said “the best approach would be to build the new pump station next to the old one.” He said “we’re beyond reliable capacity,” and “if we don’t go forward with the gravity supply line, this should be on the top of the list of our things to do.” The gravity supply line solution, estimated at $13.3 million dollars, was rejected by the California DHS, he said, because the agency did not see it as a priority, because they do not run out of water. Mancebo said the “public has no idea how close we are to not having this operate.” The DHS would need to see higher health risk issues for the project to become a priority. He said the agency could probably use the existing pump and 12-inch, tar-lined pipeline for 20 years, but it already has eroded pinholes in its ¼-inch steel pipes. And in 20 years, at age 50, “you are probably going to need to install new pipe.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – After discussing the cost of replacing a pump station on the 30-year-old Central Amador Water Project pipeline, the Amador Water Agency board of directors on Thursday heard an update and information about a Gravity Supply Pipeline. Engineering and Planning Manager Gene Mancebo compared the cost of rebuilding the pump station and then the cost of operating the line, versus the costs associated with a gravity-powered pipeline. General Manager Jim Abercrombie said there is a cost to be paid to PG&E for “power foregone,” that is, the power lost from water diverted before it goes through PG&E’s 2 dams. That amount in 2009 is $70,000 dollars. Annual costs to rebuild the pump station and operate it this year are $600,000 dollars, and it would rise by $200,000 dollars every 10 years, Mancebo said. In contrast, with a 4-year fixed loan, building a Gravity Supply Line with a 30 percent grant would cost $600,000 dollars annually, but increase in cost by $100,000 dollars a year. Building the gravity line with a 45 percent grant would cost $500,000 annually and increase by about $100,000 dollars every 10 years, or $10,000 a year. Mancebo said the line would use existing logging roads, and Upper Tiger Creek Road, with minimal environmental effect. He said the $13.3 million estimate to build it includes all environmental work, all construction, easements and acquisition. Director Bill Condrashoff suggested putting a generator at the site of the pump station, for outages. Abercrombie said it could be worked into the estimate costs for revamping the pumping pipeline, if they do the pump rebuild. Director Don Cooper said they would need a 2,500 kba generator at both locations. Each is about 5 times bigger than a used generator they looked at, at 60 kba, for $4,000 dollars. Mancebo said the Gravity Supply Line was originally studied by Kennedy Jinx Engineering in 1989, when its $4 million dollar estimated price tag was deemed too expensive by the AWA. But it was seen as needed to create a reliable water capacity that is unaffected by power outages and wildfires. It would also increase capacity to meet future demands and improve the quality. Mancebo said the pump stations are at the end of their useful life and operating beyond reliable capacity. The project would replace the pump stations with about 33,000 lineal feet of 20-inch pipe, connecting the Tiger Creek Regulating Reservoir to the Buckhorn Water Treatment Plant. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.