News Archive (6192)
Sacramento – The state assembly committee on Public Safety this week was slated to discuss an assembly bill that would regulate the sale of handgun ammunition. AB 962 was written by Assemblyman Kevin De Leon (District 45, Los Angeles), who held a news conference Tuesday on the 10th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado. Later Tuesday, AB962, was to be discussed in the committee. AB962 requires that by July 1st, 2010, anyone that “sells or transfers more than 50 rounds of handgun ammunition in any month to register as a handgun ammunition vendor.” The seller must be “licensed by the Department of Justice.” At the time of the purchase, the bill would require the vendor to record the buyer’s driver’s license number; the brand, type and amount of ammo; the right thumbprint of the purchaser; the buyer’s full residential address and telephone number; and date of birth. Exemptions include manufacturers, wholesalers, law enforcement, state, federal and local agencies, and transfer “between immediate family members, spouses, or registered domestic partners.” Assembly Chief Counsel Gregory Pagan said fiscal effects of the bill were unknown. De Leon said AB 962 “seeks to safeguard California communities by combating the easy accessibility to handgun ammunition that fuels gun violence and criminal activity." He said a similar ordinance helped Sacramento Police make 156 prohibited purchase arrests, leading to 109 felony charges, with 36 convicted and dozens pending. Resulting investigations led to 48 search warrants, and seizure of 84 illegal firearms, along with illegal drugs, stolen property and cash. The National Rifle Association registered opposition to the bill, saying “proponents of AB962 claim that new legislation is needed to stop the transfer of handgun ammunition to criminals. In California, the transfer of ammunition to a prohibited person is a crime and the possession of ammunition by a prohibited person is a crime.” NRA argues that a “provision of AB962 would resurrect a federal program of ammunition sales registration … that was repealed due to the lack of effectiveness.” The NRA also argues that the “purchaser registration requirement would expose consumers to possible identity theft problems with sensitive personal information being required to be given to retail businesses.” NRA also said the bill “could expose citizens into committing crimes for simply sharing ammunition with their friends at competitions and students in training classes,” it “would ban the sale of ammunition at gun shows and expositions” and “would ban all Internet and mail order handgun ammunition sales." Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency on Thursday will discuss requesting input in the planning process for the Amador County General Plan Update, including a possible suggestion or recommendation on a Water Element. AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie said in the joint water committee meeting Monday that the board might feel the need for a separate element or a sub-element in the County General Plan. Supervisor Chairman Ted Novelli said supervisors have talked about it and a consensus agrees that “rather than a separate element, like Calaveras County has, ours would probably be a sub-element, and part of some other element.” AWA Chairman Terence Moore said he and Vice President Bill Condrashoff agreed that they would look at Calaveras County’s Water Element in its General Plan, and if its good, they would take it to their board, and then maybe take it on to the Amador General Plan update panel. Amador City farmer Susan Bragstad asked why the county needed 20,000 acre-feet more water. Abercrombie said it was bases on data gleaned from planning departments at the county and at each city based on estimates for pending and future development projects. Condrashoff said you “don’t do a general plan and say, ‘this is what we will have next year.’” He asked that if it happens in 10 years, would it be quick, and a 50-year growth to need 20,000 acre-feet of water, “would it be more reasonable?” He said he did not know and other members of the committee “may know better.” Abercrombie said no one added up the pending and proposed Equivalent Dwelling Units of all county development, but he asked if “doubling is what the county wants” for its population. The AWA board will also get a verbal report of federal stimulus grant applications, and talk about participation in the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority “Regional General Plan Growth build out.” The board will also discuss the Recycle Wastewater Master Plan and the Integrated Regional Conjunctive Use Project. The board meets at 9 a.m. today. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – The public comment last week at Alyson Huber’s Town Hall Meeting in Jackson had some good reviews and a few complaints. A man said he sent an e-mail 2 weeks before but had not heard back from Huber. The District 10 Assemblywoman said her office just became fully staffed the week before, and her policy is a 7-day minimum response to all constituents’ queries. Amador Supervisors Chairman Ted Novelli said he received phone calls from Huber, who gave him information about both the septic tank issue (AB885) and East Bay MUD’s proposed expansion of Pardee Lake. Steve Cannon said he also received a quick response from Huber, by phone, on AB885. Ken Deaver of Deaver Vineyards said she should educate her “comrades in the Senate” that “one size does not fit all in rural communities.” Deaver urged that the legislature “look at the unintended consequences of our rules and regulations.” Huber agreed, saying a court ruling in Los Angeles Unified means all state school districts must test for certain chemicals “because they did not do it.” She “gut-checks” her own proposals for state-wide problems, asking: “Where did this problem happen and where is the evidence that it is happening everywhere else?” One man asked about the “temporary tax” taking effect. Huber said: “Look, it’s got to stop. This is the worst possible time to be raising revenue.” She said she did not want to defend the state budget, but she did not know “which school to close,” whether to close prisons, or to close the state colleges and universities. Huber said: “I am listening to the people who are saying: Don’t cut education, don’t let prisoners out, keep funding those.” She said everyone says do not cut certain programs, but no one tells here “which programs to cut.” Supervisor Richard Forster asked about AB32 Air Resources regulations, which caused his brother-in-law to implement layoffs to fund $1 Million dollars in changes in his company. Huber said she supported “giving businesses time to reach the goals” that the government wants them to reach. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – A near capacity crowd filled the County Supervisors’ chambers Wednesday in Jackson as State Assemblywoman Alyson Huber hosted her first “Town Hall” meeting in Amador County, since taking office in December. The freshman Assembly member for the 10th District told of her selection to committees and also her disdain for the state budget, saying she voted for a negotiated budget that had enough votes to pass, “but it’s still a bad budget.” She called the state deficit horrible at $8 Billion Dollars, but if upcoming “ballot measures don’t pass,” it will be $14 Billion Dollars. She said “unless we undo the hand-tying we have done,” the state is in for trouble. She then said she wanted to “talk to you about building a Constitutional Convention.” As the crowd went completely quiet, she said: “Nothing quiets a room like that idea.” Huber said some states have Constitutional Conventions every 20 years, but she said California’s 165-page constitution has come to represent special interests, such as out-of-state companies that put initiatives on the ballot, such as a “green technology” that only their own company makes, and the initiative requires the use of that technology. She said she would rather have state legislators arrange the Constitutional Convention and call the shots, than have special interests dictate the forum. Huber said she knows “it’s radical” and “scares a lot of people,” but she was “not advocating for any particular changes.” She said she and Ted Gaines spoke with state water board on the individual septic system legislation, and the board is “pulling back and starting over.” She said she was still gathering information about the proposed Pardee Lake expansion, but she felt that East Bay MUD had “not taken into account local comment and feelings on the issue.” She urged more meetings on the 2040 Plan. She said the project seeks 92 million gallons a day, and they must pick between a dozen different proposed projects, “but they won’t even vote on whether that will happen until 2012 or 2015.” She said she thought underground water storage in the San Joaquin Valley would be a better solution that expanding Pardee. Huber said East Bay MUD “needs to get more vigilant and make sure they hear what we think locally.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – The Ione City Council will host a special meeting Thursday for a workshop on historic preservation, and to consider opposing the expansion of Pardee Reservoir. The resolution would urge East Bay Municipal Utility District to increase conservation instead of expanding Pardee Reservoir. The council will discuss a letter from the Jackson City Council, with a copy of a similar resolution the Jackson council passed March 9th. The draft resolution states, in part, that expansion of Pardee Reservoir “would inundate the Middle Bar Bridge, Middle Bar Run, and part of the Electra Run, reducing the (Mokelumne River’s) value as a recreational, historical and natural resource.” It says “loss of these priceless resources would directly impact the tourism-based economy in Ione and surrounding communities.” The special meeting starts at 6 p.m. Thursday at Evalynn Bishop Hall. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – Plymouth drew criticism for its ambitious draft Sphere Of Influence last week as the Amador County Supervisors and Planning Commission ended a 3-day General Plan Update meeting Thursday in Jackson. Talk turned to inclusion or exclusion from city spheres of any property that would get a proposed new land designation, that is, the “Urban Reserve” designation. The panel also talked about possible adverse affects on properties. The sphere of influence, the imaginary line around cities, indicates areas a city council intends to annex. County Planner Susan Grijalva said if a property is not annexed, the property owner can request to be removed from a city’s sphere of influence. She said “if a city has no general plan adopted for a sphere, then the county’s designation would remain.” Sutter Creek Assistant City Manager Sean Rabe said “city planners do really feel that this is a good thing.” Property splits can still happen, but in the sphere, the owner goes to the city, rather than the county. Grijalva said rejection of annexation of a property into a city limit does not create an “automatic ejection from a Sphere of Influence.” The property owner must ask the Local Agency Formation Commission for removal from a Sphere. Supervisor Brian Oneto asked what would happen if a request were rejected by LAFCO. Grijalva said the property would then be “stuck” in the Sphere. Rabe said annexations are rejected because projects on properties are not built to a city’s standards. Grijalva said “some cities’ spheres have been overbroad” and they cannot serve the land they seek to annex. She said “LAFCO must approve a city’s ability to serve its sphere.” In public comment, Art Marinaccio of Amador Citizens For Responsible Government said the issue “needs to be clearly understood” and “a lot of background information should come forward” for the panel to decide the Urban Reserve question. He said “it is unfair to criticize Plymouth” for looking farther than 10 years out in their plan. Supervisor Richard Forster criticized the ambition of Plymouth, which he said has a draft Sphere of Influence in which it would be “looking at 8-and-a-half square miles of total annexation.” Marinaccio said “let’s ask for actual information, rather than speculation.” Forster recommended supervisors workshop the issue with commissioners, and Grijalva said staff will get more information on Urban Reserve and bring it back to the panel, which resumes the meeting 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 8th in the Supervisors’ chambers. A second meeting, if needed, would convene noon to 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 9th. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County - The US Forest Service is seeking nominees for a 15-member Resource Advisory Committee, or RAC, that will evaluate and recommend projects and funding to improve Eldorado National Forest watersheds and facilities. The advisory committee will be appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture and will represent a wide variety of interests. “I am looking forward to working with a Resource Advisory Committee,” said Eldorado National Forest Supervisor Ramiro Villalvazo, who is delegated to approve projects for the Secretary of Agriculture. “Bringing together 15 people who represent wide ranging interests in the National Forest will be good for everyone involved and will improve management of the National Forest Lands,” he added. RAC committee members are officially appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture for a term of four years. “The committee will have approximately $47,000 available each year for the next four years to use on projects it recommends to the Forest Supervisor for approval,” said Ted Novelli, chairman of the Amador County Board of Supervisors, adding: “Project funds were authorized by the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act, and became available for use on Eldorado National Forest projects when the county elected to form a RAC under Title II of the Act.” The funds may be used for projects that improve maintenance of existing infrastructure, implement stewardship objectives to enhance forest ecosystems, and restore and improve land health and water quality. These projects are likely to create additional employment opportunities in the local economy. Applications for the RAC can be obtained on the Eldorado National Forest website and need to be submitted by April 20, 2009. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County - On a 4-0 vote Monday night, the Jackson City Council approved a resolution opposing East Bay MUD's proposed expansion of Pardee Reservoir and encouraging EBMUD to meet its water needs through conservation, instead. Expanding Pardee is proposed as part of EBMUD's 2040 Water Supply Management Plan. The Mokelumne's Middle Bar reach, the historic 1912 Middle Bar Bridge, and part of the Mokelumne Electra Run would be submerged if the Pardee expansion plans move forward. The expansion would turn Middle Bar and Gwin Mine Roads into dead ends at the river and require the construction of a new Highway 49 bridge. The Jackson resolution, introduced by Councilman Keith Sweet, recognizes the importance of the Mokelumne's Middle Bar and Electra runs to local residents and visitors. It also points out the river's importance to Jackson as a source of tourism and recreation income and tax revenue.This resolution follows a similar 2002 city council resolution in support of opening the Middle Bar reach of the Mokelumne to public access. Sweet will present Jackson's Pardee expansion resolution at a public hearing to be held locally on EBMUD's water plan EIR. That hearing is scheduled for Monday, March 16 at 6:30 pm at the Amador Water Agency Boardroom, 12800 Ridge Road, Sutter Creek. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County - Construction activity near Argonaut High School in Jackson signifies the first improvement project to be implemented as a result of the Safe Route to School Grant. Safe Routes to School is a concept aimed at increasing the number of children who walk or bicycle to school by funding projects that remove barriers that currently prevent them from doing so. The program has been adopted by the California Legislature and is available to qualifying cities and counties. A local match of 10 percent is required. Approximately one year ago, the City of Jackson qualified for a chunk of the $780,000 allocated for countywide improvements under the stimulus package. The first project on the list includes curb, gutter and sidewalk installation from Hoffman to Mariposa Street beginning Tuesday March 10 through March 20. Area residents and those travelling to and from the High School can expect delays from 5 to 10 minutes. Pacific Gas and Electric company will also be relocating some power poles. This may result in some interruptions of power service during this time. “It’s a great project in general and a great addition to the area near the high school,” said Jackson City Manager Mike Daly, adding: “The pavement there is in real bad shape.” He said the next project will be a reconfiguration of the intersection at Court Street and Highway 88, currently in the preliminary engineering phase. Many Jackson officials have stated their support for funding received through the grant and the cause it supports. According to CALTRANS, the legislation came partly as the result of a worrisome rise in obesity amongst children and teenagers. Thirty years ago, 60 percent of children living within a 2-mile radius of a school walked or bicycled to school. Today, that number has dropped to less than 15 percent. And back then, 5 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 11 were considered to be overweight or obese. Today, that number has climbed to 20 percent. Jackson is the first city to receive and implement funding through this grant in Amador County. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – Hundreds of rodeo riders will mosey into Plymouth next Friday for the 2009 Challenge of Champions Rodeo. The 3-day California High School Rodeo Association is the statewide high school championships and is set for March 20th to 22nd, next Friday through Sunday at the Amador County Fairgrounds. Committee Chairman and Plymouth local, Craig Williams said the Challenge of Champions marks its 12th year in Pokerville and 36th year overall. It spent its first quarter-century at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Williams said the championship caliber of the contestants shows in their “exceptional athleticism and talent” with a “unique sense of spirit and sportsmanship.” The Challenges features the “top 3 contestants in each event from the 9 high school districts of the association in California.” Williams said the “association’s commitments encourage character building and team involvement, but also place emphasis on education with a required scholastic standing to compete. The event encourages a healthy, competitive spirit while bringing families closer together.” The Jackson Rancheria Casino Hotel & Conference Center is also marking its 12th year as the Challenge of Champions major sponsor. Williams said much community support, including from the Amador County Fair Board, “has made the Challenge a success.” Performances will be announced by nationally know announcers Chad Nicholson and Steve Goddard, along with performances all tree days by famous rodeo clown, Clint Sylvester, also known as “Wolfie.” On Saturday the “trick riding and roping group, Riata Ranch Cowboy Girls, will perform. The Riata Girls’ mission is “Empowering young people by building positive life skills, provide a safe and effective environment in which to learn and change lives by making good kids great citizens.” On Sunday, the award winning California Cowgirls Drill Team will appear. Cargill Incorporated and its six division, including Nutrena, has become a statewide sponsor for the Special Rodeo program, which allows the Challenge to share the sport of rodeo with young people with special needs. Friday’s cutting competition starts at 7 a.m. with the “final go” to follow. The rodeo performance is 6 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, the Special Rodeo is at 11 a.m. and the rodeo begins at 1 p.m. Sunday starts with Cowboy Church at 10 a.m., followed by rodeo finals at noon, with award presentations to follow. Admission is $8, with kids under age 6 free. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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