Sutter Creek – Sutter Creek City Hall will be home to a grade school fundraiser come October when local business owners will be relocating their Haunted House, to the basement of City Hall. Daniel Bruen, a local business owner, approached the Sutter Creek City Council during a public comment period earlier this month and said he had been working with city staff on the possibility of using the basement. He said the past 2 years, he and volunteers had been using the American Exchange Hotel as the site of its fundraiser, a haunted house, with proceeds benefiting the Sutter Creek Elementary School. Bruen told the council that this year they cannot use the hotel, and City Manager Rob Duke suggested they try using City Hall. Duke told the council that they needed to know that Bruen and his crew wanted to use the city hall. Mayor Gary Wooten said “it is scary down there, actually.” He also said he supported the endeavor, and the city being self-insured would help the project. The council in a consensus supported the idea. 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 has extended the deadline for accepting applications for volunteers to serve on a Winery Ordinance Review Ad Hoc Committee. The Committee will be reviewing the County's current winery and tasting room zoning regulations and making recommendations to the Board of Supervisors regarding possible amendments to those regulations. The Board of Supervisors has also changed the composition of the Ad Hoc Committee to be comprised of three members of the Amador Vintners Association, three members of the Amador Wine Grape Growers Association, three members of the public at large with experience and knowledge of the wine/grape industry, and two members of the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors is, however, retaining the flexibility to change the composition of the Committee in the event adequate numbers of applications are not received. Applicants must be a resident of Amador County and either be members of one of the aforementioned groups, or have experience in and knowledge of the wine/grape industry. Individuals who meet these criteria are encouraged to apply. The dates and times of the Ad Hoc Committee meetings will be determined. If you desire to apply for this volunteer position, applications may be obtained from the Amador County Board of Supervisors Office located at 810 Court Street, Jackson, CA, or by calling (209) 223-6470. The deadline for submitting applications is 5 pm, Tuesday, October 6. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Plymouth – The Plymouth City Council at its last meeting voted 3-1 with one abstention to pass a resolution “supporting the right of city residents to purchase and own firearms for lawful purposes pursuant to the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.” The resolution was prepared for the council’s consideration on a request by Councilman Mike O’Meara, who joined Councilwoman Patricia Shackleton and Vice Mayor Greg Baldwin in voting yes to pass the resolution. Councilwoman Patricia Fordyce voted no, and Mayor Jon Colburn abstained. City attorney Steven Rudolph and City Manager Dixon Flynn prepared a report and the resolution for the council. The report said Second Amendment provides that a “well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” The report said “the Second Amendment has been interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the individual right of citizens to possess firearms for lawful purposes.” The report said the proposed resolution states the council’s support of the basic right of firearm ownership, “for lawful purposes, including competition, recreation and self-protection.” It notes that the “resolution is declaratory only and would not create any new rights” for Plymouth residents. The council also approve Colburn, Flynn and Baldwin and representatives for the League of California Cities annual meeting, and voted 5-0 to support 2 League resolutions. Flynn explained them, including one sponsored by Elk Grove, which he said “makes a lot of sense.” The resolution through the League’s Public Safety Committee would “support policies to hold social hosts responsible for underage drinking that occurs on property under their possession, control or authority.” Flynn said it looks to stop party houses from allowing minors to drink alcohol. He said it would assure some penalty for social hosts. Another resolution the council supported was through the League’s Revenue & Taxation Policy Committee. Flynn said the resolution, sponsored by the city of Los Angeles, would help homeowners retain their homes under foreclosure. It would support divesture of all deposits in banking and other financial institutions that fail to cooperate with foreclosure prevention efforts.” The Council next meets Thursday. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ione – The Ione City Council hosted a budget workshop with slight attendance Tuesday, approving staff work and setting a public hearing during the council’s first meeting in October. City Manager Kim Kerr said there was low attendance at the workshop but staff received some direction. She said the budget will be heard for possible adoption after a public hearing October 6th at City Hall. Kerr said the council directed staff that any revenues or savings that the city gets this year will not be spent this year. Instead, the council wants to save the funds for next year, and put it toward rebuilding areas where reserve funding likely will be used to cover a $698,000 deficit in the city’s budget. She said they are trying to make the deficit gap smaller. Kerr said staff is “trying to reopen negotiation with employees.” She has already spoken with the city police union, and gave them information about the city’s budget woes. She said “they have to talk amongst themselves,” because she “can’t force them to open negotiations.” She will meet October 6th with representatives of the city’s Service Employees International Union employees, and will also meet with non-represented city employees. Kerr said the city will “continue to work on savings.” She said at this point, the city has to look at personnel costs, and the council does not “want to be in a situation where we will be doing layoffs.” She said transferring money from city reserve funding “will be a lot harder next year,” because “If you continue to keep taking money out of your bank account, pretty soon you run out of money.” The city also faces “union agreements for salary increases” that are pending. “One of the revenue sources that should be there,” Kerr said, is the $122,000 that the state took this fiscal year from property taxes. She said it will be back next year, but it will be less that this year’s total, because that was based on last year’s assessments. Kerr said this year, Ione’s assessed property value dropped $55 million. The public hearing on budget is set for October 6th at City Hall. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sutter Creek – The Sutter Creek City Council closed its public hearing on the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort specific plan and related documents Tuesday night and continued their meeting to last night, with a “debate” to begin at 6 p.m. The council took public comment and anther brief presentation from project principal Bill Bunce, then more comments, and finally closed the public hearing, which began last Tuesday and was continued twice. Mayor Gary Wooten said the meeting today “will basically be the beginning of council deliberations and discussion.” He said “mainly you’ll be hearing the council members saying what they want in the project” – “a debate, if you want to call it that.” Wooten said there likely would be no action tonight, due to the amount information the council received. Planning Commission Chairman Robin Peters gave a presentation on a “decision points matrix” for the project, based on last-minute suggestions and recommendations submitted by Gold Rush developers before the planning commission approved its recommendation of the project. The suggestions handle key issues in the specific plan that the planning commission and developers could not come to agreements on, and therefore need to be settled by the city council. Peters made suggestions but said they were only from his point of view and not meant to represent the Planning Commission’s opinion, “and there may be dissenting opinions.” Peters for the most part kept with the recommendations made by the commission, and rejected most of Gold Rush’s recommendations, with the exception of a requirement for the number of homes to be finished before the building of the golf course. The commission recommended having it built by the time the 300th home is built. Gold Rush’s Bunce has said it was always intended to be finished in the first phase, and be built by the time the 500th home is built. Peters recommended the 500 figure as the mark for having the golf course built. Commissioner Cort Strandberg said he would go along with most of Peters’ suggestions, “with the exception” of the 300 to 500 switch, which if it went back to the planning commission “would probably be talked about for a long time.” Commissioner Mike Kirkley said he may agree with all of those recommendations, but he was concerned that the late suggestions by Gold Rush never underwent commission consideration. Kirkley said: “I think the 11th hour recommendations that they gave us were a pretty good example of their arrogance.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson - Rural-PRIME, an innovative UC Davis School of Medicine program designed to increase access to health care in rural areas of California, launched a medical-training partnership this month in Amador County. Two third-year medical students began clinical rotations in primary care and obstetrics and gynecology at Sutter Amador Hospital. Sutter Amador is the third official site beyond the UC Davis Sacramento campus where the School of Medicine will train its students as the next generation of rural physicians. “We are thrilled to have this new partnership with UC Davis,” said Anne Platt, CEO for Sutter Amador Hospital. “We think they’ll find their time here fulfilling, and we are especially hopeful that it will lead them to practice in a rural community some day, maybe even here in Jackson.” By 2015, experts predict the state will face a significant shortage of physicians, with rural communities struggling to provide health care with fewer doctors per resident than in urban areas. Rural residents often lack access to the full spectrum of medical services that urban populations enjoy. Rural-PRIME is part of the University of California's Programs in Medical Education, or PRIME, which is designed to produce physician leaders who are trained in and committed to helping California's medically underserved communities. By next year, UC Davis School of Medicine will have nearly 50 students enrolled in the program. As part of Rural-PRIME, UC Davis is partnering with other health systems in the state that are committed to improving rural health, passionate in their advocacy for change in the rural health-care delivery system and willing to become teaching sites for medical students. Jackson, along with the mountain town of Truckee and the central valley community of Reedley, are the first designated Rural-PRIME sites. Students will spend from four-to-eight weeks immersed in rural clinical settings, experiencing some of the unique challenges and benefits that only those types of communities can offer. The students are also given opportunities to integrate technology into their curriculum and training through distance learning and the use of telemedicine. High-speed telecommunications technologies such as telemedicine help bridge the rural gaps in access to quality health care and are a key element in Rural-PRIME training. Staff Report This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sutter Creek – The Sutter Creek City Council closed its public hearing on the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort specific plan and related documents Tuesday night and continued their meeting to last night, with a “debate” to begin at 6 p.m. The council took public comment and anther brief presentation from project principal Bill Bunce, then more comments, and finally closed the public hearing, which began last Tuesday and was continued twice. Mayor Gary Wooten said the meeting today “will basically be the beginning of council deliberations and discussion.” He said “mainly you’ll be hearing the council members saying what they want in the project” – “a debate, if you want to call it that.” Wooten said there likely would be no action tonight, due to the amount information the council received. Planning Commission Chairman Robin Peters gave a presentation on a “decision points matrix” for the project, based on last-minute suggestions and recommendations submitted by Gold Rush developers before the planning commission approved its recommendation of the project. The suggestions handle key issues in the specific plan that the planning commission and developers could not come to agreements on, and therefore need to be settled by the city council. Peters made suggestions but said they were only from his point of view and not meant to represent the Planning Commission’s opinion, “and there may be dissenting opinions.” Peters for the most part kept with the recommendations made by the commission, and rejected most of Gold Rush’s recommendations, with the exception of a requirement for the number of homes to be finished before the building of the golf course. The commission recommended having it built by the time the 300th home is built. Gold Rush’s Bunce has said it was always intended to be finished in the first phase, and be built by the time the 500th home is built. Peters recommended the 500 figure as the mark for having the golf course built. Commissioner Cort Strandberg said he would go along with most of Peters’ suggestions, “with the exception” of the 300 to 500 switch, which if it went back to the planning commission “would probably be talked about for a long time.” Commissioner Mike Kirkley said he may agree with all of those recommendations, but he was concerned that the late suggestions by Gold Rush never underwent commission consideration. Kirkley said: “I think the 11th hour recommendations that they gave us were a pretty good example of their arrogance.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ione – The Ione City Council hosted a budget workshop with slight attendance Tuesday, approving staff work and setting a public hearing during the council’s first meeting in October. City Manager Kim Kerr said there was low attendance at the workshop but staff received some direction. She said the budget will be heard for possible adoption after a public hearing October 6th at City Hall. Kerr said the council directed staff that any revenues or savings that the city gets this year will not be spent this year. Instead, the council wants to save the funds for next year, and put it toward rebuilding areas where reserve funding likely will be used to cover a $698,000 deficit in the city’s budget. She said they are trying to make the deficit gap smaller. Kerr said staff is “trying to reopen negotiation with employees.” She has already spoken with the city police union, and gave them information about the city’s budget woes. She said “they have to talk amongst themselves,” because she “can’t force them to open negotiations.” She will meet October 6th with representatives of the city’s Service Employees International Union employees, and will also meet with non-represented city employees. Kerr said the city will “continue to work on savings.” She said at this point, the city has to look at personnel costs, and the council does not “want to be in a situation where we will be doing layoffs.” She said transferring money from city reserve funding “will be a lot harder next year,” because “If you continue to keep taking money out of your bank account, pretty soon you run out of money.” The city also faces “union agreements for salary increases” that are pending. “One of the revenue sources that should be there,” Kerr said, is the $122,000 that the state took this fiscal year from property taxes. She said it will be back next year, but it will be less that this year’s total, because that was based on last year’s assessments. Kerr said this year, Ione’s assessed property value dropped $55 million. The public hearing on budget is set for October 6th at City Hall. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Plymouth – The Plymouth City Council at its last meeting voted 3-1 with one abstention to pass a resolution “supporting the right of city residents to purchase and own firearms for lawful purposes pursuant to the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.” The resolution was prepared for the council’s consideration on a request by Councilman Mike O’Meara, who joined Councilwoman Patricia Shackleton and Vice Mayor Greg Baldwin in voting yes to pass the resolution. Councilwoman Patricia Fordyce voted no, and Mayor Jon Colburn abstained. City attorney Steven Rudolph and City Manager Dixon Flynn prepared a report and the resolution for the council. The report said Second Amendment provides that a “well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” The report said “the Second Amendment has been interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the individual right of citizens to possess firearms for lawful purposes.” The report said the proposed resolution states the council’s support of the basic right of firearm ownership, “for lawful purposes, including competition, recreation and self-protection.” It notes that the “resolution is declaratory only and would not create any new rights” for Plymouth residents. The council also approve Colburn, Flynn and Baldwin and representatives for the League of California Cities annual meeting, and voted 5-0 to support 2 League resolutions. Flynn explained them, including one sponsored by Elk Grove, which he said “makes a lot of sense.” The resolution through the League’s Public Safety Committee would “support policies to hold social hosts responsible for underage drinking that occurs on property under their possession, control or authority.” Flynn said it looks to stop party houses from allowing minors to drink alcohol. He said it would assure some penalty for social hosts. Another resolution the council supported was through the League’s Revenue & Taxation Policy Committee. Flynn said the resolution, sponsored by the city of Los Angeles, would help homeowners retain their homes under foreclosure. It would support divesture of all deposits in banking and other financial institutions that fail to cooperate with foreclosure prevention efforts.” The Council next meets Thursday. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sutter Creek – Sutter Creek City Hall will be home to a grade school fundraiser come October when local business owners will be relocating their Haunted House, to the basement of City Hall. Daniel Bruen, a local business owner, approached the Sutter Creek City Council during a public comment period earlier this month and said he had been working with city staff on the possibility of using the basement. He said the past 2 years, he and volunteers had been using the American Exchange Hotel as the site of its fundraiser, a haunted house, with proceeds benefiting the Sutter Creek Elementary School. Bruen told the council that this year they cannot use the hotel, and City Manager Rob Duke suggested they try using City Hall. Duke told the council that they needed to know that Bruen and his crew wanted to use the city hall. Mayor Gary Wooten said “it is scary down there, actually.” He also said he supported the endeavor, and the city being self-insured would help the project. The council in a consensus supported the idea. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.