Amador County – Hand crews and aircraft helped subdue a wildland grass fire Thursday afternoon on the Saint Sava Mission property. Initial reports of the fire came before 2 p.m. and responders came from Jackson, Sutter Creek Fire departments, Amador Fire Protection District, the U.S. Forest Service, and the California Department of Fire Protection. A fire official said “you could see the flags of Saint Sava through the smoke.” The fire burned along the eastern edge of Saint Sava Mission’s entry road, off Broadway Street in Jackson, and hand crews by 2 p.m. had gotten a partial perimeter. One spot flared up again and a tender truck and crew from Jackson Fire Department came to the spot and sprayed the area. A sign along the roadway burned in the fire, which near the road seemed to have been destroyed only dry grass and weeds. On hand to combat the fast-moving blaze were CALFIRE tractors and various air support, including one helicopter and one water tanker. Jackson Fire reported they had three fire engines at the blaze. Approximately 45 personnel including 3 Pine Grove Youth Authority were on hand. The fire burned approximately 11.3 acres. No lives were threatened and no buildings were damaged. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation. Story by Jim Reece and 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 voted 3-1 Thursday to hold its portion of funding for the Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority’s 2010 budget year. The Upper Moke Joint Power Authority was to consider its 2010 budget today, and member agency representatives were to bring their vote to the board. AWA Chairman Terence Moore asked Directors Don Cooper, Debbie Dunn and Bill Condrashoff if that meant the agency was going to drop out of the JPA. They said it did not mean that. Dunn said she wanted the JPA Executive Officer Rob Alcott, “to look at his salary.” She said the Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority executive officer “gave himself a $4,000 dollar raise last year.” She also questioned the agency’s ability to get payment from Amador County. Dunn also suggested paying half of the budget, and seeking funds from the county. Moore said he thought she was “being short-sighted.” And he said “you won’t even look at your own salary.” Dunn said she did not make $125 dollars an hour, like Alcott. Engineering Manager Gene Mancebo said Alcott’s shift in salary was caused by adding an extra three months – the end of this year – to the 2010 fiscal year. Moore said “in the JPA, all members can vote how they want, as long as it doesn’t cost the parent agency any money,” and if it does cost, the member must get the OK of the parent agency. Dunn said one issue was that $12,000 dollars in conservation was changed to $25,000 dollars for a grant application, and not the same thing. She asked to get that changed back. Moore said the grant application would go toward conservation, and it had the support of the Foothill Conservancy. Moore, the agency’s representative on UMRWA, said “this has been negotiated with a lot of agencies. We can’t vote to change it.” Member agencies that pay into the JPA are AWA, East Bay Municipal Utility District, Calaveras County Water District, Calaveras Public Utility District and Jackson Valley Irrigation District. Non-paying members are Amador and Calaveras counties, but Moore said Amador does give in-kind attorney services, about $4,000 dollars a year. Moore suggested and the board directed staff to ask Amador County for its $36,000 dollar share of the budget, from the Amador Water Development Fund. Moore will ask Alcott come tell the new board members about UMRWA, and they may seek to move up by a month the next Upper Moke JPA meeting. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board discussed its $36,000 dollar share of the Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority 2010 budget Thursday, and declined to pay it, seeking information instead. Director Debbie Dunn asked why staff waited until the day before the JPA votes on its budget to put the decision before AWA. Engineering Manager Gene Mancebo said they only received the UMRWA agenda and draft budget last week. Director Don Cooper asked about a treasurer report of professional, consultant and engineering expenditures of $1.2 million dollars, spent since UMRWA’s “inception.” He said “What did we really get for $1.2 million dollars.” Funding to date included $1.4 million in total spending, with a total contribution by the AWA of $37,000 dollars. East Bay MUD paid $434,000, and the JPA has received $937,000 dollars in state grants. Mancebo said East Bay MUD did a “very comprehensive watershed study,” including looking at fisheries and gathering data. He said it’s something “we’re on the edge of,” and they can ask for presentation materials. Cooper asked for material, saying he didn’t “need it agendized, but (he) would like to get up to speed.” Dunn said she contacted Upper Moke Executive Officer Rob Alcott 6 months ago and has the “book” at home. She said “they continue to update it for free,” but the “problem is no one is using it.” She said AWA should be using the information, which it helped fund. AWA Chairman Terence Moore said “it is totally appropriate to ask Rob to come here. You need to know the benefits of having that board.” He said: “It’s the only public agency authority on that river” and was “born of a war” over water rights. Moore said “at one time, the counties did not have membership, even though Amador County was the lead agency” in its formation. Finance Manager Mike Lee said UMRWA is a “good umbrella” and increases chances for grants and funding with regional partnership. Mancebo said the JPA’s participation in an Integrated Regional Water Management Plan and grants was required to be eligible for some funding. He said “all the entities being on this list will help.” Mancebo said leak testing could help the AWA to find water losses of up to 7 to 9 percent of water the Tanner Plant. Dunn said: “I know nothing about something I’m being asked to approve.” Moore said “if we don’t think this benefits the entire county, we shouldn’t participate.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Jackson Cleaners in downtown Jackson is once again leading the way in green, environmentally friendly dry cleaning. Owners John and Tammy Trevaskis recently purchased a brand new, $55,000 Firbimatic dry cleaning machine made in Italy. The mammoth machine was installed Thursday next to the older, less efficient machine they had used for years. “It’s better for the environment, it’s economical, but the main reason we purchased the Firbimatic is because it’s user-friendly,” said John. The new machine includes a host of more efficient features including a new style of filtrator, faster running time, lower electricity use and a new chiller to help dry the garments. There is also a new feature where the Firbimatic can be used separately as two separate machines processing both whites and colors. John said it will provide up to 30 percent savings in energy costs per year. 60 to 70% of the laundry dropped off at Jackson Cleaners will get dry cleaned through the new and old machine. John said he is keeping the older machine to clean particular items like curtains. All this is the latest step in Jackson Cleaner’s tradition of thinking green. The company has always used environmentally friendly detergents, and the new machine was just the next step said John. Jackson Cleaners, home of the noon whistle, is located at 111 Main Street. Stop by or call 223-1002 for more information. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – A big part of the annual Amador County Fair is the high quality musical acts it attracts. This year the fair will host a number of bands paying tribute to some of the biggest names in rock n’ roll. On Thursday, July 30th, Travelin’ Band will take the stage on picnic hill at 9 pm to pay tribute to rock royalty: Creedence Clearwater Revival. You’ll hear tunes that will take you rollin’ on the river to the heart of the Louisiana Bayou. No other group in pop music history achieved the crossover success that "CCR" did. On Friday, July 31st, 60’s Experience takes the Picnic Hill stage at 8 pm to revisit the summer of love and all the great music from the Woodstock Generation. On Saturday, August 1st, Journey Unauthorized will take the main stage for a tribute to one of the biggest bands of the 1970’s and 80’s. Journey’s music still remains very popular today. Journey Unauthorized performs the full range of Journey onstage, including the most complex and challenging songs that Journey themselves recorded in the studios and performed for live audiences. Finally, on Sunday, August 2nd, Briefcase Full of Blues takes Picnic Hill to pay tribute to the seminal blues act of the 1980’s: The Blues Brothers. The legacy left by John Belushi and those great Blues Brothers films will continue in this uncanny reenactment. Visit the Amador County Fair July 30th through August 2nd. For more details, contact the Fair office at 245-6921 or visit the Fair online at www.amadorcountyfair.com. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Board of Supervisors took preliminary steps Tuesday towards defining and regulating wineries in the Amador County Ordinance Code. The discussion is likely the first in a long process of reviewing and restructuring the entire ordinance. The issue was brought before the Supervisors by confused and sometimes frustrated vintners who say Ordinance Number 1320 and other district regulations don’t go for enough to draw guidelines for Amador County wineries. Jane O’Riordan of Terra Rouge Winery said “I’ve been in the business 25 years. All these resolutions, even for people who have been in the business, can be confusing.” Included in the agenda packet were 39 pages of current ordinance and regulations. She said there is currently no distinction between a Master License and a Duplicate License. Under a Master License you can process grapes and have wine tastings, while a Duplicate License only allows the latter. “Other counties have requirements and feel they have the legal capabilities to enforce (requirements) through commerce laws,” said O’Riordan. Also under contention is whether any new regulations would apply to existing wineries that have in some cases functioned for centuries under vague guidelines. Supervisor John Plasse said “we’ve got to have ordinances that are conducive to new business start ups.” Supervisors also asked what vintners can call themselves “Amador County Wines” and whether winemakers should be concerned about outside competitors . Plasse said that if “it’s going to say ‘Amador Wine’, it has to use a certain percentage of grapes from Amador county.” Plasse quoted vintner Charles Spinetta as saying, “None of us care about competition, but we do care about unfair competition.” The Supervisors agreed to form an ad hoc committee to address the ordinance review. The committee will be comprised of 3 vintners, 3 wine grape growers and 2 members of the public associated with the wine business. Also included will be two supervisors. District 5 Supervisor Brian Oneto, whose district claims the Shenandoah Valley and the majority of Amador County’s wine business, volunteered to be a part of the committee along with District 3 Supervisor Ted Novelli. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – A federal lawsuit was filed last week to block Congressman Dan Lungren’s resolution to engrave “In God We Trust,” and the Pledge of Allegiance at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington D.C. Lungren, California's 3rd District representative, including Amador County, said in a release last week that he expected some unfounded opposition, despite a 410-8 vote by Representatives to pass his resolution. He said: “Despite the clear intent of the U.S. Congress, which overwhelmingly passed the resolution, we expected that there might be some frivolous objections.” Lungren said: “It is patently absurd to say that it is unconstitutional to place the National Motto in the (Capitol Visitor Center) when it currently adorns the rostrum of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.” The motto adorns numerous Washington buildings, but it is part of the basis of the suit alleging a violation of the U.S. Constitution. The suit, filed July 14th in the U.S. District Court of western Wisconsin, alleged the terms “In God We Trust,” and “under God,” in the Pledge of Allegiance, when engraved on the walls of the visitor center, will violate the First Amendment. The resolution passed Congress July 9th by a landslide 410-8 vote, and a similar resolution passed in the Senate, sponsored by Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina. The Freedom From Religion Foundation announced on its website that it had filed a federal lawsuit July 14th “to stop the prominent engraving of ‘In God We Trust’ and the religious Pledge of Allegiance at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C.” The suit’s plaintiffs, foundation co-Presidents Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, are suing Stephen Ayers, acting Architect of the Capitol, seeking to stop the engraving, on grounds of a violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution’s Establishment Clause. In the suit, Barker and Gaylor allege the visitor center is " an extension of the Capitol rather than a stand-alone facility” and is “intended to be … the sole point of entry to the seat of American government." The suit said “the history of the motto ‘In God We Trust’ evidences no secular purpose,” and “was first adopted during the Cold War (in 1956) as a reaction to the purported ‘Godlessness’ of Communism.” It said the motto “excludes and treats as outsiders the millions of adult Americans … who are not religious.” Gaylor and Barker’s suit said “the mandated language diminishes nonbelievers by making god-belief synonymous with citizenship.” Gaylor and Barker said the Freedom From Religion Foundation is an “organizational plaintiff” in the suit. Online, see www.visitthecapitol.gov. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Art Marinaccio of Amador Citizens For Responsible Government is a common fixture at some Amador County planning meetings. The Shingle Springs resident said Wednesday he wants to help Amador avoid problems he has seen over the years in El Dorado County. Marinaccio said: “We’re still arguing over the General Plan that we started in the Reagan Administration,” and General Plan work for El Dorado County “has been, for the most part, pointless.” Marinaccio is “primarily a real estate agent,” and regularly attends his home county political meetings. He said: “Land planning is a bloodsport in El Dorado County.” He regularly comments at General Plan meetings in Amador and Plymouth, and expects to be at today’s planned Housing Element Workshop, with stakeholders, hosted by the county planning department. Marinaccio said officials at both Amador County and the city of Plymouth have done a good job absorbing public comment, but they are “people who have never done this before.” He said they should “put people’s issues and objectives in context with what really needs to happen.” Marinaccio said if he “had to name 1 issue that creates more hard feelings,” it would be the separation of the policy advisory committee (or city planning commission) from the “decision makers.” He said those who work on advisory plans get bent out of shape when their work is omitted by Supervisors or City Councils. He thought it would be more beneficial for Plymouth’s Council to weigh in on its commission’s preliminary work on the General Plan. Marinaccio said: “The process should be to come up with the basic working principles and goals, then take it to the board or council,” get their direction and work on it more. He said the Foothill Conservancy has called him someone who pushes people around and gets his way. But he said those comments came after he spoke, but also when “supervisors had not even weighed in at all.” He thought his comments were just putting into words what most of the Amador General Plan Update panel members were already thinking. He said discussions in today’s Housing Element Workshop “might really help some jurisdictions find the direction they want to go.” The meeting is 2-4 p.m. today in the Supervisors’ Chambers. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County –Sutter Creek City Council on Monday directed staff to work with Sutter Hill East Annexation property owners, to agree on fee amounts that will fund infrastructure. City Planner Bruce Baracco said they have to inform the Local Agency Formation Commission how infrastructure improvements would be funded. City Manager Rob Duke said he thought city staff and property owners in Sutter Hill East could come to an agreement, but it must satisfy LAFCO, and it was “hard to go against staff recommendations.” Baracco said: “We think we are being held to a higher standard here,” by LAFCO. In defense of LAFCO, Duke said the city “painted itself into a corner” by saying in its application for annexation that all infrastructure would be funded. Property owner Aaron Brusatori said new development cannot be charged for existing deficiencies. He has done traffic studies for his property and solved its problems, and now he was “being asked to solve those problems again,” by paying traffic fees. He said: “If the impacts are not being caused by development, they are being caused by existing conditions.” Councilman Pat Crosby said they should just “go ahead and run a sewer line to 2 developments that want it,” stop the full annexation and just annex “those 2 properties that want in.” Mayor Gary Wooten said that would be too easy, and the Brusatori's do not want to pay, but “will benefit.” The city also has a grant to straighten Old Sutter Hill Road, where collisions are prevalent. City Manager Rob Duke also said failing septic tanks on the hill are threatening public health by leaking into the creek. Duke said they are “probably 9 months away from going to LAFCO,” and if they “open it up again,” they will have to go back to Square 1. Baracco said they hope to get back to LAFCO by September and complete the annexation by November. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Amador County’s foreclosure tally rose to 29 foreclosures and 85 defaults since the start of 2007, according to data released by research company MDA DataQuick. This helped to bring the foreclosure total in the eight county Sacramento region to 41,903. In April, May and June, another 4,448 were repossessed and filing notices of default were issued against 10,682 more households late on their payments. In total, that’s 10.2 percent of California's 410,744 foreclosures in the same time period. DataQuick credited rising unemployment and a ragged economy as the key elements preventing homeowners from affording their mortgages. Still, Amador County is fairing much better than other counties in the region. Sacramento County had 3,019 foreclosures and 6,862 defaults, and El Dorado County had 202 foreclosures and 632 defaults. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.