Amador County – Facing a $200,000 budget deficit, Sutter Creek City Council avoided declaring an impasse Monday in negotiations with 2 unions. Instead, the finance committee will resume talks with the Sutter Creek Police Officers Association, and the Service Employees International Union. Mayor Gary Wooten said the city is “looking at a 10 percent cut for employee costs” and “eliminating some management positions.” SEIU Local 1021 Representative Mike Fouch said “we are prepared at this time to go back to the table.” Wooten agreed to meet with Fouch Tuesday, while the committee will meet with POA August 12th. Councilman Pat Crosby said: “I don’t see how Sutter Creek is going to move forward unless we drastically reduce our number of employees.” He said “indirect labor costs are running at 125 percent.” Crosby said: “We don’t know what we are doing here. As far as I’m concerned, it’s time to start over.” Crosby said they should give “termination notices” to all city employees, then “start from scratch.” He said: “We’ve got to cut our labor in half. I see no other way to balance our budget.” Wooten disagreed, saying if the budget balances this year, it will help next year. Wooten said they need to negotiate a fair agreement with unions. Crosby said “you’re talking about $600,000 in 2 years,” another $400,000 next year, “puts us at a million bucks.” Crosby made a motion to terminate all city employee contracts. A man in the audience then said: “I make a motion to kick his ass.” Wooten said the item was for discussion only and no action. The room was filled with city employees including maintenance, city hall and police. City Clerk Judy Allen, her voice breaking, said “Sutter Creek is the only city that doesn’t have a full time city clerk” and it needs one. She said Natalie Doyle “is kept busy doing my job,” and she couldn’t “believe you have Natalie’s job as one to be eliminated.” City Clerks from Jackson, Giselle Cangelosi, and Ione’s Janice Traverso, both urged the council to make it a full-time post. Wooten said Sutter Creek police were probably among the lowest paid in California, but like he did when a policeman, “they took an oath to lay down their lives rather than sway form the path of duty.” Councilwoman Sandy Anderson said city employees “are not over-benefitted.” She said “we need to make cuts and we will make the cuts to make the city solvent.” Wooten said: “I’m going to shut this down. It’s very stressful, very emotional, and it affects everyone in this room.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Buena Vista – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is issuing a proposed notice today that could permit the Buena Vista Rancheria casino near Ione to discharge treated effluent into an unnamed tributary of Jackson Creek. The EPA announcement marks the beginning of a public comment period between August 5 and September 4. The notice of action under the Clean Water Act would allow the issuance of a Proposed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit, or NPDES. With the construction of a new $150 million casino in Amador County growing more and more likely, the tribe is pursuing all permits necessary. The associated wastewater treatment plant would accommodate an annual average flow between 100,000 and 200,000 gallons per day, depending on the day of the week. Jackson Creek subsequently flows into Dry Creek and to the lower Mokelumne River. The permitting process stretches back to early 2006, when the EPA received comments on the matter from approximately 30 parties at a public hearing in Ione. Since the initial public notice, the tribe has completed all the necessary legal requirements, including the completion of a final Tribal Environmental Impact Report. Tribal Administrator Paul Tupaz, speaking on behalf of the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, issued no comment on the NPDES. The construction of the casino remains a contentious issue in Amador County. The Amador County Board of Supervisors has consistently opposed any Indian gaming expansion in Amador County - and specifically oppose the establishment of the Buena Vista Casino near Ione. To submit public comments on the NPDES, or to obtain information including a copy of proposed permit and administrative records, contact John Tinger of the EPA at (415) 420-2217 or email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sacramento – Three judges ordered Tuesday the release of nearly 43,000 prisoners in California over the next two years, citing a violation of inmates’ constitutional rights. The 185-page opinion handed down by a federal court panel followed up on a tentative ruling that found overcrowded prisons to be the primary cause of health care issues in California prisons. The ruling comes on the heels of multiple legislative proposals in order to help close the state’s 26.3 billion budget deficit. Governor Schwarzenegger has been a leading advocate for a reduction. In late July, California lawmakers passed $1.2 billion in cuts to the state prison system that envisioned some early releases of inmates. The judges also accused the state of fostering “criminogenic” conditions and feeding a cycle of recidivism. The panel gave state officials 45 days to submit a plan that would lower the population of the state’s 33 prisons from 150,000 to 110,000 within the next two years. The court said this could be achieved by increasing reductions for good behavior and ending the process of automatically returning parolees to prison for minor parole violations. California’s prisons are designed to hold up to 84,000 inmates, now house 158,000. Many prisons have been forced to construct makeshift facilities in gymnasiums and cafeterias in order to house the extra inmates. California Attorney General Jerry Brown has spoken out against the latest ruling as a federal intrusion into state affairs, and is expected to appeal Tuesday’s ruling. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Plymouth – Congressman Dan Lungren focused on health care and Capitol Hill battles over health care reform in a speech before the Plymouth Rotary Club Tuesday morning at the 49er RV Village in Plymouth. “A government system would ration health care,” said Lungren, standing before an audience of approximately 30 Rotarians. “We’re already $1 trillion in debt, and I don’t see how we can take on another trillion-dollar program,” he said. A number of Rotarians were in attendance, including individuals from the Amador Water Agency, the Ione Band of Miwok Indians, the Plymouth City Council and the Amador City Council. Audience members stood and applauded at the start and conclusion of Lungren’s nearly hour-long speech. He said “health care could mean more to the United States than any other single issue today.” He criticized President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Democrats for trying to push through a health package that will require more government oversight and spending. He called Joe Biden “an interesting guy you’d like to watch a football game with, but by half-time you’d be telling him to shut up.” Marilyn Hoopes, a resident of Sutter Creek, said her rates as a small employer have gone up 50 percent and asked if it isn’t better to have some sort of government competition. She also said she is happy with the Medicare system. Lungren said Medicare is going to go broke by 2040. “My fear is that if we go in the other direction, Medicare will break us,” he said. He said “I will never give up on this country, but I do give up on some of the people who say we can do things (the same old way.)” Lungren ended his speech by quoting French theorist and economist Frederic Bastiat, who said: “The state is the great fictitious entity by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else.” Lungren represents California’s 3rd District, which includes Amador County. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sutter Creek - Amador County Health Officer Robert Hartmann released a brief Tuesday afternoon cautioning residents to “expect a significant increase in the number of Novel H1N1 cases in the United States in the fall.” The most recent strain of H1N1, commonly known as swine flu, was first reported in Mexico earlier this year. The US now has 37,000 documented cases and 211 documented deaths from H1N1. One case of the virus was discovered in an Amador County man who returned from Mexico in mid-April, but Amador County Health Officer Dr. Robert Hartmann assured that that case was mild and the man recovered to full health without any spread of the illness. On June 11, the World Health Organization raised the worldwide Pandemic Influenza Alert Level to Phase Six, the highest such designation for a flu outbreak. Hartmann said “heavy case counts are present in the southern hemisphere of the world.” He said Amador County Public Health is collaborating with local partners to prepare for Fall 2009 flu season. The partners are the Amador County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services, Sutter Amador Hospital, Department of Corrections, and Amador County Unified School District. He also said seasonal flu vaccinations will occur earlier this year. Vaccinations will be available in doctor’s offices by early September. Upcoming flu vaccine clinics will be offered by the Public Health Department. Hartmann said previously at a Board of Supervisors meeting that the Health Department’s goal is to be “first, fast and accurate” in relaying health information to the public and gaining the public’s trust. Amador County Public Health Director Angel LaSage said the county is utilizing a recent $150,000 state grant to prepare for the future by purchasing pharmaceutical type refrigerators and staying abreast of new science and information. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.