Amador County – Dave White, Chief of the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, announced yesterday the availability of $20.9 million in funding to help California counties improve ambient air quality standards. White made the announcement during his first visit to California to chair the national Agricultural Air Quality Task Force meeting in Fresno. Amador County is one of those 36 counties that regularly fail to meet standards set by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The funds are available to qualifying farmers and ranchers interested in “reducing air quality emissions from off-road mobile or stationary agricultural sources.” The funds will share the costs of practices that have been shown to reduce ozone precursors and particulate matter. “These funds should help California producers comply with local and state regulations,” said White, adding: “We believe agriculture can be on the leading edge of setting a cleaner, greener example for protecting the air we all breathe. We're doing what we can to help in that pursuit -- technically and financially.” Funded practices include the NRCS' combustions system air emissions management practice to improve high polluting, fully functional engines with newer, reduced-emission technologies that meet or exceed current emission standards. The first allocation of $10.9 million was announced last week, and an additional $5 million was allocated upon White’s visit. According to Ed Burton, California State Conservationist for USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, “producers in all California counties will continue to be encouraged to do air quality conservation, working through the Agency's technical assistance and regular (Environmental Quality Incentives Program) allocation.” NRCS and agricultural producers in California have spent over $73 million on air quality projects funded through EQIP since 1998. Interested farmers and ranchers are invited to apply between April 30 and June 26, 2009, for funds made available under a new air quality provision of the 2008 federal Farm Bill. Interested applicants in eligible counties should contact their local NRCS service center. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Governor announced the obligating of $1 billion dollars in highway funding, including 2 projects rehabilitating Highway 88 in Amador County. Camille Anderson of the governor’s office said Monday that the California Recovery Task Force released a list of 80 projects “2 months ahead of deadline.” Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s list included “transportation infrastructure projects statewide.” Anderson in the release said “under the Recovery Act, states were given 120 days to obligate the first half of their transportation infrastructure funding, and California has obligated this funding in less than 60 days.” The governor said planning helped place “funding into the economy as quickly and effectively as possible.” Last week, California’s first Recovery Act project broke ground, a $13.3 million Interstate 80 pavement rehabilitation project, that would create 200 jobs. Anderson said: “With today’s announcement, 80 transportation projects are now in the pipeline to begin construction.” California will receive a total of nearly $2.6 billion dollars from the Recovery Act for highways and local streets and $1 billion dollars for transit projects. Discretionary programs could add another $300 million dollars. California expects to be “very competitive in securing a major share” of $8 billion dollars set aside nationally for high-speed and intercity passenger rail. Amador County’s two projects include work on Highway 88. One will fund maintenance chip seal coating on 88 at Plasse, from 2 miles west of Tragedy Springs Road to 3/10ths miles east of Kit Carson Lodge, costing $407,169 dollars. Also on Highway 88, the Recovery Act package will fund $1.1 Million dollars for rubberized asphalt overlay maintenance on 88, near Barton, from 1/10th mile west of Wagon Wheel Drive to 1/10th mile west of Silver Lake. Local projects included Alpine County, which received $27.3 million dollars to “improve water quality” on Higway 89 near Meyers, from the Alpine County Line to Route 50. Tuolumne County got $1.5 million dollars for overlay maintenance near Sonora on Highway 49, from south of Pesce Way to the Calaveras County line. El Dorado County received $9.3 Million dollars to widen shoulders on Highway 49, near El Dorado, from Ore Court Road to China Hill Road. The largest projects included $192 Million dollars toward a 2-lane tunnel project on Highway 24 in Alameda County. And Los Angeles received $190 Million dollars toward adding a lane on Interstate 405. The city of Fairfield in Solano County received $27.7 Million dollars to rehabilitate a portion of Highway 80. For information, see www.recovery.ca.gov, or call (916) 322-4688. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

State - On May 19th, Amador County voters will 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 1C, also known as the Lottery Modernization Act. It would authorize borrowing against future lottery proceeds as a way to avoid state government spending cuts. There is no cap on the amount of future lottery revenue that could be used, and the 2009-10 budget plan includes $5 billion from this source. The measure would authorize similar borrowing in future years. The proposal would repeal current requirements that lottery revenues be used only for education, although the measure would require the legislature to appropriate general fund revenues to education in an amount equivalent to the lottery revenues that previously went to schools. Prop 1C was authored by Assemblywoman Noreen Evans and legislatively-referred to the ballot through Assembly Bill 12. Supporters of the measure include the California Democratic Party and Budget Reform Now, a coalition of groups assembled by the governor to support the overall budget agreement. “Modernizing the lottery…can generate $5 billion in revenues without a tax increase,” said Roger Salazar, a spokesman for the Yes on 1C campaign. Opponents include the California Nurses Association and the Peace and Freedom Party. They are most concerned with how the lottery profits - the percentage of revenues the state keeps - would be allocated. On May 19th, you’ll have the opportunity to vote on this and other contentious issues. Stay tuned for more information on the propositions in upcoming newscasts. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – A new workshop is designed to educate private landowners as to the best method to maintain and manage thousands of miles of forest roads. Titled “Designing, Improving, and Maintaining Forest & Ranch Roads,” the seminar will cover the thousands of miles of roadways that crisscross the forests and ranches of rural California. The event is organized by the University of California Cooperative Extension, the Natural Resource Conservation Service and the Resource Conservation District. “This one-day workshop emphasizes field evaluation of road system conditions. Rural landowners are in need of good practical information to help them manage their road systems,” said Scott Oneto, UC Cooperative extension farm advisor. The workshop is instructed by Richard Harris, a forestry specialist with the University of California; John Schlosser, Engineering Geologist with the California Geological Survey; and Peter Cafferata, hydrologist with CALFIRE. Topics include landowner rights in relation to property access, environmental impacts from rural roads, rural road design standards, road surfacing and drainage alternatives, and the costs and funding for road projects. The workshop is offered in two locations. The first is Friday, May 8th at 12200B Airport Road in Jackson. The second is May 22nd at the Poverty Hill Schoolhouse, on Stent cutoff Road in Jamestown. Both workshops run from 8am to 5pm. The $20 cost includes lunch, refreshments and a road handbook. For more information, call Robin Blood at the UC Cooperative Extension office at 209-533-5695. 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 Thursday voted unanimously to oppose the East Bay Municipal Utility District in its proposal to expand Pardee Lake dam. General Manager Abercrombie said that East Bay MUD preferred the Pardee Lake expansion, to its other water supply solutions in the 2040 plan. Abercrombie said Amador County is growing and the projected needs of for water total 20,000 acre feet, but Chairman Terence Moore said that need could be 30,000 acre feet, when studies are done. Moore pointed out that East Bay MUD’s plan includes 370,000 acre-feet of water, which they want to store, but do not have the rights to store. He cited the 1959 agreement between East Bay MUD and Amador and Calaveras counties, which prevents East Bay MUD from making any project on the Mokelumne River without approval from both counties. Pete Bell, president of the Foothill Conservancy, said his attorney was still reviewing the agreement but thinks AWA has “the authority to stop them from acquiring new water rights, but you don’t have the authority to stop them from raising the dam.” Bell said raising a dam in the Valley “was too politically unpopular, so they came to the Upcountry, and found out last week that they are facing opposition here too.” Bell said the engineering is sufficient, the project lack in legal rights, and “financial cost effectiveness.” Bell said raising Pardee dam raises fish passage issues and reopens the East Bay agency’s federal license and accompanying settlement agreement to downstream parties. AWA Vice Chairman Bill Condrashoff said he did “not think this is about water rights” or the Conjunctive Use Project. He thought it was “about flooding parts of the Mokelumne River.” He said if they don’t get in their comments about the plan now, it might be too late, when the comment period closes April 8. The East Bay MUD 2040 plan hosts another public meeting 6:30 p.m. today at the San Andreas Town Hall, 24 Church Hill Road. To comment, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County Business – Sierra Pacific Industries announced Monday that it will close 2 of its sawmills, making it the third such announcement for SPI this month. SPI on March 2nd announced that it would be closing a mill in Quincy in May. On Monday, the Sonora and Camino plant closures were announced. All three closures were based, in part, on reduced harvests in national forests. SPI spokesman Mark Pawlicki earlier this month said the Quincy closure came about because of the “reduced availability of national forest timber resulting from litigation,” which “forced SPI to transport logs over long distances at greater cost to keep the mill running.” Quincy manager Matt Taborski said the “environmental litigation has not only reduced the mill’s raw material supply, but also increased the risk of wildfires in the area.” On Monday, Pawlicki said SPI will also close a biomass-fueled electric power plant in Sonora, along with the mill there, affecting 146 employees in Sonora. The Camino closure will affect 164 workers, and the Quincy closure affected 150 workers. Pawlicki said approximately 160 people in Quincy “will remain employed at the large-log facility and biomass electric generation plant” in Quincy. SPI said the “difficult lumber market combined with reduced timber harvests on nearby national forest lands and state regulatory burdens were the primary drivers behind the decision to close the plants” in Sonora and Camino. The Camino plant will operate until about June 12th, Pawlicki said, and the Sonora sawmill and power plant will be open “until sometime in mid-July to deplete existing log decks.” Reasons for the two closures announced Monday included a “downturn in new home construction,” which has “reduced both the demand for lumber and the price,” Pawlicki said. And “there has been a fall-off in the amount of national forest and private timber for sale” in those areas, “causing uncertainty of supply.” He said the “Timber Harvest Plan” review process complexity and cost have “dramatically” slowed plan approvals. He said a “short timeframe” in current law limits harvests and “forces landowners to harvest timber, even in bad markets.” And he said “litigation of national forest timber sales by environmental organizations has put over 400 million board feet of potential sales on hold.” Workers at the Sonora and Camino millworkers are represented by the Carpenter’s Industrial Council union, and were notified of the mill closures on Monday. SPI said it will consider affected employees for other job opportunities within the company for those interested in relocating or transferring. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - East Bay MUD will hold public meetings in our area to take comments on the 2040 water plan, which includes the controversial proposal to raise the Pardee Reservoir. Under the proposal, East Bay MUD would flood the entire Middle Bar reach of the Mokelumne and nearly a mile of the Mokelumne above Highway 49 in order to meet its water needs in dry years. Local opponents are concerned about any EBMUD decision that would drastically alter a vital component of their own backyard. “We don’t feel we should have to give up more of our river so people in the east bay can take longer showers and water their lawn,” said Katherine Evatt, Board Director for the Foothill Conservancy. The EBMUD Board of Directors is currently discussing methods of effective water conservation for the future. Meetings will take place at 1:30 to 3:30pm Monday March 16 in the Lodi Police Department Community Room, 215 W. Elm Street in Lodi, and 6:30 to 8:30pm Monday in the Amador Water Agency meeting Room, 12800 Ridge Road, Sutter Creek. East Bay MUD is also accepting comments on the plan until April 6th. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - Sales and use taxes throughout California will increase in range from 8.25 percent to 10.25 percent, according to information from the California State Board of Equalization. The statewide 1 percent sales and use tax increase is effective April 1st and a provision of the newly signed budget agreement. In addition, there are also a number of local measures designed to provide revenue for local causes. In Amador County, Measure M, or the half percent sales tax increase to support Amador Fire Protection and emergency response, passed on the November Ballot 69.30 percent over 30.70 percent. Amador County sales tax will see an increase of .50 percent, up to 8.75 percent. It is estimated that the 1 percent statewide sales tax increase will generate $1.187 billion in new General Fund revenues for the remainder of the 2008-09 fiscal year, and approximately $4.632 billion in 2009-10. Information offered to retailers by the Board of Equalization specifies how the taxes should be collected and remitted. The state and local sales and use tax rate will break down to 8.25 percent for the state and 1 percent for local purposes. The largest increase in the State comes in Pico Rivera, a city with a population of 63,000 located in southeastern Los Angeles County. City officials there have raised fees for public services 1 percent to total 10.25 percent in hopes of collecting another $650,000 for Pico Rivera's coffers. The Board of Equalization is mailing a special Notice, Sales and Use Tax Rate Increases on April 1st to nearly 850,000 California retailers and out of state businesses with transactions in California. The five-member California State Board of Equalization is collects more than $53 billion annually in taxes and fees supporting state and local government services. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This week Governor Schwarzenegger’s special sessions on Healthcare and the California water situation will be held in Sacramento. After over a year of gridlock the special sessions will be a final effort to reach deals between the Governor and various other political entities on health care and water issues.

Have you ever received a gift card that you did not think you would use only to loose the value of the card? Legislation by Senator Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro) would change that by strengthening consumer rights for gift cards passed the Senate last week. In 2006, more than $8 billion in gift cards went unspent in the United States.  Senator Corbett’s bill, Senate Bill 250, allows consumers to redeem cash for the remaining value on gift cards, as long as the value is below $20.