Sacramento – Assemblywoman Alyson Huber introduced a bill Thursday that would prohibit construction of a “peripheral canal” around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta without a full fiscal analysis and a vote of the state legislature. District 10 representative Huber announced the bill in an e-mail Friday, saying: “It is important that we maintain legislative oversight of large-scale projects and not delegate that authority to unelected bureaucrats.” Huber said she was “very concerned that the current water policy bill provides a clear path to building a canal and this (bill) ensures we get answers to some very important questions, and give the Delta a voice in the process.” Huber, who represents Amador County, co-authored the bill with state Senator Lois Wolk, of District 5. Wolk in the release said: “The people of California deserve to know that due process will take place before tax payers and rate payers are asked to spend billions of dollars on a peripheral canal.” Wolk chairs the Senate Select Committee on Delta Stewardship and Sustainability. She said: “This bill ensures that the legislature is fully informed and that historic protections are maintained prior to moving forward with such a large-scale project.” Huber said the bill would also require the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s office to conduct an economic feasibility analysis “to ensure that Southern California ratepayers who are supposedly being asked to cover the cost of this massive project actually know how much this will cost.” It would “also ensure that the canal will not have a negative impact on water in the Delta and upstream communities – be it for our local cities or our farmers,” she said. A summary of the bill said it “would prohibit the construction of a peripheral canal … unless expressly authorized by the Legislature.” It defines the peripheral canal as one “that conveys water from a diversion point in the Sacramento River to a location south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.” The bill “would also require that the construction and operation of a peripheral canal not diminish or negatively affect the water supplies, water rights, or quality of water for water users within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed.” The bill was introduced by Huber, with Wolk as primary co-sponsor, and other co-authors, Assemblymen Bill Berryhill of District 26 and Wes Chesbro of District 1. Huber was in Amador County last week and told members of the Amador County Business Council about her opposition to the canal, and plans to put limits on it. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson - The Jackson Rancheria Band of Miwuk Indians announced Friday that Vice-Chairman Irvin “Bo” Marks was elected to the office of Tribal Chairperson, a position formerly held by the late Margaret Dalton. During a gathering of the Tribe’s General Council Thursday, a special election was held to fill the position, as set forth in the Tribe’s election ordinance. Marks is the brother of Amador County philanthropist and pioneering tribal leader Dalton, who passed away May 24, 2009. According to a TSPN report at that time, Dalton, 68, served 30 years uncontested as chairwoman of the Jackson Rancheria Band of Miwuk Indians. She spearheaded the formalization of its government, and was elected and served as its first and only chair, starting in 1979. Her legacy includes giving millions of dollars back to the community, after fulfilling a dream she and her late husband, Earl Dalton Senior, both held of making the tribe self-sufficient. She built self-sufficiency in the tribe through the Jackson Bingo Hall, founded in 1991, which eventually became the Jackson Rancheria Casino, Hotel & Conference Center. In 2010, the gaming center will celebrate its 25th anniversary. The Jackson Rancheria is also Amador County’s largest employer. Dalton, a 53-year resident of Amador, since marrying Earl Senior in 1956, sponsored numerous causes in the county. The Rancheria was the main sponsor of the California High School Challenge of Champions Rodeo and an Amador County Fair staple. It also has a health and dental complex, and built the Pine Acres apartments on Sutter Hill for its employees. The Amador County Chamber of Commerce named its “Margaret Dalton Humanitarian Award” after her. During its special election Thursday, the tribe also elected Adam Dalton to the office of Tribal Vice Chairman, and Dennis Dalton to a Tribal Council Member at Large seat. The tribe was first recognized by the Federal Government in 1898. Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel is located at 12222 New York Ranch Road, Jackson, CA 95642. For more information, call 800-822-WINN or visit JacksonCasino.com. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sacramento – Assemblywoman Alyson Huber introduced a bill Thursday that would prohibit construction of a “peripheral canal” around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta without a full fiscal analysis and a vote of the state legislature. District 10 representative Huber announced the bill in an e-mail Friday, saying: “It is important that we maintain legislative oversight of large-scale projects and not delegate that authority to unelected bureaucrats.” Huber said she was “very concerned that the current water policy bill provides a clear path to building a canal and this (bill) ensures we get answers to some very important questions, and give the Delta a voice in the process.” Huber, who represents Amador County, co-authored the bill with state Senator Lois Wolk, of District 5. Wolk in the release said: “The people of California deserve to know that due process will take place before tax payers and rate payers are asked to spend billions of dollars on a peripheral canal.” Wolk chairs the Senate Select Committee on Delta Stewardship and Sustainability. She said: “This bill ensures that the legislature is fully informed and that historic protections are maintained prior to moving forward with such a large-scale project.” Huber said the bill would also require the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s office to conduct an economic feasibility analysis “to ensure that Southern California ratepayers who are supposedly being asked to cover the cost of this massive project actually know how much this will cost.” It would “also ensure that the canal will not have a negative impact on water in the Delta and upstream communities – be it for our local cities or our farmers,” she said. A summary of the bill said it “would prohibit the construction of a peripheral canal … unless expressly authorized by the Legislature.” It defines the peripheral canal as one “that conveys water from a diversion point in the Sacramento River to a location south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.” The bill “would also require that the construction and operation of a peripheral canal not diminish or negatively affect the water supplies, water rights, or quality of water for water users within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed.” The bill was introduced by Huber, with Wolk as primary co-sponsor, and other co-authors, Assemblymen Bill Berryhill of District 26 and Wes Chesbro of District 1. Huber was in Amador County last week and told members of the Amador County Business Council about her opposition to the canal, and plans to put limits on it. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Fiddletown – Working to protect Amador County private land and Sierra Pacific Industries tree plantations from fire risk, work crews last week were fighting fire with fire, literally. Controlled burns off of Shake Ridge Road and Fiddletown Road should continue into this week as part of CALFIRE’s “Vegetation Management Program,” run by the Alpine-Amador-El Dorado-Sacramento Unit, based in Camino. Calfire Forester Patrick McDaniel said controlled burning started October 22nd and burning was done on 23rd, and also last Monday. The project was suspended Tuesday and Wednesday because of high winds, and it resumed again last Thursday and was likely to continue this week, “if the weather conditions are favorable,” McDaniel said. The project involves an “understory broadcast burn,” he said, which means continually “burning the understory vegetation, timber litter, grass, and bear clover, also known as mountain misery.” He said a white smoke may be visible as the vegetation burns. A notification of the project did not bring any phone calls from people sensitive to smoke, but McDaniel said he “did get a few calls from people who were curious and made sure that we were aware of the high winds forecasted” for last week. McDaniel said they “only receive authorization to burn when conditions allow.” The burns are ultimately authorized by the Calfire Northern Region. On burn project, they have crews from Pine Grove Camp, and 2 or 3 engines from Calfire. The “continuous burn” method was being used, which burns pine needles and twigs. He said “it significantly reduces the fuels,” and there was a lot of timber litter. They are burning on a young plantation area and “there was considerable fuel on the ground previously.” McDaniel said so far, they have worked on Sierra Pacific Property, but will also work on other private properties. In order to make a continuous project, they encouraged private landowners to participate. The project is “targeting the ridge line for fuel reduction,” particularly those on south side of it, because of wildland on the north side of the ridge, around the North Fork of the Cosumnes River. The ridge separates the wildland from more communities in Amador County, south of the ridge. If too much rain falls, vegetation “might not be dry enough to get a good burn.” They are working on Fiddletown Ridge, along the Fiddletown Road. He said they could work into next week, also dependent on weather. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Pine Grove – The Amador Water Agency board of directors ceremoniously broke ground last month on a $370,000 sewer system expansion project at the Gayla Manor subdivision near Pine Gove. The project will build a new community leach field, “expand Gayla Manor’s overtaxed wastewater system’s capacity, and satisfy the requirements of the Regional Water Quality Control Board,” said AWA Interim General Manager Gene Mancebo. He said the “Gayla Manor wastewater treatment system has been out of compliance since 2003, when state regulators tightened wastewater storage and disposal requirements.” The new leach field will be built on a 3-acre parcel, which was a former Gayla Manor common area. The Gayla Manor Homeowners Association provided the land to AWA at no cost in recognition of the system benefits along with construction of some road and storm drain improvements in the subdivision. AWA crews will start site work in November. Construction of the new leach field will take place next spring with a completion deadline of October 15, 2010. The groundbreaking ceremony was held October 22nd was possible because AWA was awarded $367,612 of federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to pay for design and construction of the new leach field. Representatives from the California Department of Water Resources, Erin Ragazzi and Ibyang Rivera, attended and helped with the golden shovels. In attendance were all 5 AWA directors, including President Terence Moore, Vice President Bill Condrashoff, and directors Don Cooper, Debbie Dunn and Gary Thomas. Also attending were Mancebo, Financial Services Manager Michael Lee and, Interim Engineering and Planning Manager Erik Christeson. Also October 22nd, at its regular meeting, Mancebo said the AWA board approved $20,000 in emergency reserve funds for grading to correct a storm water runoff problem near the Buckhorn Water Treatment Plant backwash pond. The action was taken “before the onset of winter rains.” Storm water diversion improvements were made at the backwash pond, at the Mace Meadow Golf Course, during the summer of 2007. Mancebo said: “Since that time someone unknown to the agency moved earth near the backwash pond, altering the grade near the pond and putting the agency in jeopardy of being fined by the Regional Water Quality Control Board. The board was to meet twice today, including a 10:30 a.m. dedication of the Plymouth water pipeline, in Plymouth. The AWA board also holds a special public hearing on Wastewater Improvement District Number 1 rate increases at 6 p.m. today at the AWA office. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ione – Ione Mayor Lee Ard said last week that the city of Ione was not going to pay its portion of membership dues to the Amador County Recreation Agency. Ard, who is chairman of the ACRA board of directors, said board members were shocked last week when he told them Ione would not be paying the $13,000 voluntary membership fee to ACRA. He said ACRA Executive Director Tracy Towner-Yep told him the money paid salaries at the agency. Ard said the funds instead would go toward paying lifeguard staff at the Ione Pool, which the city will maintain itself, rather than pay ACRA to tend. Ard said “the money just doesn’t get to Ione.” City Manager Kim Kerr said the pool’s teenage lifeguards live in Ione and Camanche. Kerr said she will be asking ACRA “for a list of lifeguards.” Council David Plank said the city should start with Kristi Root, an Ione insurance seller, who is head coach of the Ione pool-based youth swimming team. Ard said that the Jackson City Council had reduced its membership fees to ACRA, cutting them in half this year. ACRA board member and Plymouth City Councilwoman Patricia Fordyce, said Plymouth this year paid its $5,000 membership. She said Plymouth City Council “is always pretty pleased” with Towner-Yep. But she said ACRA is hurting for money. At its next meeting Nov. 12th, the board will discuss its Blue Moon New Year’s Eve fundraiser, for which Fordyce is decorations committee chairwoman. The party will have 5 bands for $35. Fordyce told her city council last week that “there has to be 1,500 people to break even” and “Tracy’s hoping for 5,000 people.” Fordyce said Towner-Yep “is one of the most optimistic people I know.” She said: “All of us really feel that Tracy makes an effort to do things around Plymouth.” The agency runs the swimming pool at the fairgrounds, and this summer it stayed open a little later, a couple of weeks after school opened, staying open on the weekends. Fordyce said. “They had adult lap swimming for the first time,” she said, which gave adult swimmers an hour to swim laps, while children had to vacate pool. She said she believed the city “had more kids at the pool this year than we’ve had in the past.” ACRA also kept the pool open during the Amador County Fair. It normally was closed during the fair, but this year it stayed open. Fordyce said “Tracy’s constantly working on things to bring here,” which is nice to have because the city has generally had nothing as far as recreation. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson – District 10 Assemblywoman Alyson Huber said Wednesday that she opposes a water bill that would build a canal from the San Joaquin Delta to serve Southern California. Huber talked about Water Committee testimony on a “peripheral canal” in water legislation that would take water from the Delta and export it. She also thought it was strange that the most experienced legislator in the issue, Sen. Lois Wolk of District 5, who was excluded from the Water Committee. Huber said California needs more storage, and the state has “8 times more water rights holders than we actually have water.” She said the water bill talks “about exporting water when we don’t have enough to meet needs here.” Huber said a committee in the legislation’s language seems to have “the power to create the peripheral canal.” Conklin asked if there was “any way it isn’t going to happen.” Huber said she is “working on it.” And 1,500 people answered a postcard drive saying they “don’t want to see (water) shipped out of the region.” Huber said the $9.4 billion funding in the bill is “a general bond – a credit card” – but the biggest issue is that it is not emphasizing Southern California’s regional water issues. She said if Southern California did desalination, reclamation and conservation, before it started shipping in water – to develop in the desert – it could have its own rates pay for its own infrastructure improvements, “rather than have the rest of the state pay for a peripheral canal.” Huber said Schwarzenegger is “worried about his legacy and wants to get things done before he is out of office.” Amador Business Council member Ed Swift of ATI Auto Parts asked Huber if the legislation included a “Wild & Scenic” designation for the Mokelumne River. Huber said it did not, and she asked if the council “as a group had taken a position on Wild & Scenic.” Anne Platt, council president and CEO of Sutter Amador Hospital, said the group had not. Ken Deaver, council member and co-owner of Deaver Vineyards, said “let’s be sure it’s really necessary.” Huber said: “Here’s the reality. The entire water bill gets one vote, up or down.” She said her vote is “no,” because of the peripheral canal, the “equivalent of putting a 100-lane freeway through the county with no local representation.” She said the bill was badly written and has contradictions and a lot of “unintended” impacts. And she said they “can undo it at the ballot box, if we need to,” and they could also change the bill to require a vote of approval. Paul Molinelli Jr., vice president of the council, of ACES Waste Service, said “when it’s time, you can count on our help.” Conklin said she could count on the help of “several business councils.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson –The Amador County Board of Supervisors debated the merits of a Constitutional Convention for the State of California during their meeting Tuesday. Supervisor Louis Boitano added the item to the agenda for discussion and possible approval of a resolution in support of Repair California, an east bay coalition of reform, advocacy and business groups that is pushing for a limited constitutional convention. Bay Area Council President Jim Wunderman, whose group is part of the coalition, urged Boitano to help “fix the system and restore the balance of power between the state and local governments.” Boitano agreed and said the cause is important because “California seems to be hijacked by special interests.” He reminded the Supervisors that “22 times the (State Legislature) has failed to deliver a budget on time in the last 30 years.” Vice-Chairman Brian Oneto, who was heading up the day’s proceedings because Chairman Ted Novelli was ill, was skeptical about whether a convention is necessary. Boitano said, “I know you have a problem with who they might put on this” because “they are from the East Bay.” The power to convene a Constitutional Convention is currently decided by a vote in the legislature- something Boitano sees as entirely unfair. According to its website, Repair California’s proposal is to “empower the people” to call for a “limited” Constitutional Convention that will focus on governance issues. The group recently turned in measures to the attorney general’s office that would select 465 people to conduct limited redrafting of basic state laws. Upon the attorney general’s approval, they will have until mid-April to gather 694,435 registered voter’s signatures to qualify for the November 2010 ballot. During an interview last Monday at TSPN, Supervisor Richard Forster said he has “not really been a proponent” of the cause in the past but likes that Repair California is “asking for a limited Constitutional Convention to only address specific items, basically governance and taxation and avoiding social issues.” County Administrative Officer said “there are currently several groups with several propositions” for a convention. Forster made a motion to draft a resolution until they learn more about Repair California. The motion was passed 4-0. Said Boitano: “I just want to make the Golden State golden again.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson –Amador County staff announced Wednesday the county’s intention to purchase the former Wicklow Way subdivision property for the potential construction of a new county jail facility. Tuesday afternoon, the Board of Supervisors gave direction to staff to pursue the purchase of 201.37 acres located south of Wal-Mart in Martell. County Administrative Officer Terri Daly said in a statement Wednesday that the negotiated purchase price for the property is $1,810,000. Daly said the “purchase will be funded entirely with Jail Capital Facilities Fees-funds that can only be spent on a new jail facility- and will not impact the General Fund.” Daly said “the Board intends to use this property for the purpose of constructing a new Detention Facility and other future county facilities subject to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance.” The original project, as proposed by Lemke Construction, involved the subdivision of an approximately 200 acre parcel into hundreds of residential units and commercial space. But in August, the Amador County Planning Commission denied findings in the Wicklow Way Environmental Impact Report, effectively prohibiting further action on the massive subdivision unless the developer reapplied or was granted an appeal. The appeal never came. In a subsequent public auction at the county courthouse, Umpqua Bank settled a debt of $4.8 million on the property by reverting to a purchase of the property at a price of $1,484,942 and 62 cents, the listed opening bid of the sale. General Services Association Director Jon Hopkins had been researching more than 50 properties for a jail site before the Wicklow property became available. The county originally considered property near the Health and Human Services building as its best option for a new facility. Daly said “the Wicklow Way property proves to be a more valuable and cost effective venture for future planning needs.” The Board plans to enter into an agreement to purchase the property at its upcoming meeting on December 1. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson –Amador County staff announced Wednesday the county’s intention to purchase the former Wicklow Way subdivision property for the potential construction of a new county jail facility. Tuesday afternoon, the Board of Supervisors gave direction to staff to pursue the purchase of 201.37 acres located south of Wal-Mart in Martell. County Administrative Officer Terri Daly said in a statement Wednesday that the negotiated purchase price for the property is $1,810,000. Daly said the “purchase will be funded entirely with Jail Capital Facilities Fees-funds that can only be spent on a new jail facility- and will not impact the General Fund.” Daly said “the Board intends to use this property for the purpose of constructing a new Detention Facility and other future county facilities subject to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance.” The original project, as proposed by Lemke Construction, involved the subdivision of an approximately 200 acre parcel into hundreds of residential units and commercial space. But in August, the Amador County Planning Commission denied findings in the Wicklow Way Environmental Impact Report, effectively prohibiting further action on the massive subdivision unless the developer reapplied or was granted an appeal. The appeal never came. In a subsequent public auction at the county courthouse, Umpqua Bank settled a debt of $4.8 million on the property by reverting to a purchase of the property at a price of $1,484,942 and 62 cents, the listed opening bid of the sale. General Services Association Director Jon Hopkins had been researching more than 50 properties for a jail site before the Wicklow property became available. The county originally considered property near the Health and Human Services building as its best option for a new facility. Daly said “the Wicklow Way property proves to be a more valuable and cost effective venture for future planning needs.” The Board plans to enter into an agreement to purchase the property at its upcoming meeting on December 1. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.