Foothill Conservancy Seeking Staff

The Foothill Conservancy, a small 501(c)(3) community-based nonprofit conservation organization based in Pine Grove-Pioneer, is seeking an interim executive director. The position is FT limited-term with the potential to become permanent. See job announcement and application information at http://www.foothillconservancy.org/pages/events.cgi?calcatid=1&calid=410&_fn_=410.407.409 Foothill Conservancy also has an opening for a watershed conservation associate.... Read More

Report blasts housing agency

Written by Chris Caskey, The Union Democrat July 10, 2012 11:02 am Area cities and counties should have guarded themselves against liabilities created by the financial collapse of a local affordable-housing agency last year, the Tuolumne County Civil Grand Jury reported last week. In the Grand Jury’s annual report, the investigative body made up of local citizens, detailed the rise and fall of the Central Sierra Planning Council and recommended... Read More

Trinitas Golf Course Costly For Calaveras County?

July 13, 2012    02:34 pm Tracey Petersen, MML Reporter Calaveras County, CA – The former owners of the 280 acre Trinitas golf course have filed an appeal to overturn a decision by a lower court last year. That ruling determined golf is not a legal form of agritourism in Calaveras County. Former Trinitas owners Michael and Michelle Nemee had hoped a victory in the agritourism case would make the course legal. The course was built without... Read More

Unemployment Down in Lode

Written by Union Democrat staff June 20, 2012 02:36 pm Union Democrat Staff Jobless claims fell slightly for the second straight month in the Mother Lode, according to job market data released Friday. The unemployment rate in Tuolumne County was at 11.7 percent in May, according to the California Employment Development Department, a half-percent decrease compared to April when that figure was 12.2 percent. Unemployment has fluctuated slightly... Read More

Judge tosses out agritourism case

Posted: Tuesday, June 26, 2012 9:09 am | Updated: 9:29 am, Fri Jun 29, 2012. By Joel Metzger | 5 comments Posted on June 26, 2012 United States District Court Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill dismissed an appeal filed by the former owners of Trinitas Golf Course Friday on the grounds they no longer own the property and the appeal is no longer a “live controversy.” In their appeal, Mike and Michelle Nemee pleaded for a judicial declaration stating their... Read More

Calaveras County Approves Tenuous Budget

By Dana M. Nichols Record Staff Writer June 27, 2012 12:00 AM SAN ANDREAS – A bare-bones, $139 million Calaveras County budget for the coming fiscal year won the grudging approval Tuesday of the Board of Supervisors. After four straight years of cuts, county departments are for the most part a shadow of what they once were. Sheriff deputies no longer have time to respond to burglary reports. Health workers can’t keep up with sexually transmitted... Read More

Cal Fire Suspends Burning

Written by Union Democrat staff | June 14, 2012 01:31 pm Cal Fire has announced it will suspend all debris-burning permits in the Tuolumne-Calaveras county coverage area effective 8 a.m. Monday. Affected areas include all of Tuolumne and Calaveras counties as well as eastern Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties. “The extended weather forecast shows that our region is entering the typical hot, dry summer weather pattern,” said Tuolumne-Calaveras... Read More

Visitors Bureau Chief to Exit

Posted: Wednesday, June 6, 2012 10:44 am Lisa Mayo, executive director of the Calaveras County Visitors Bureau and Film Commission, has resigned. She has held the post 11 years. Darrell Slocum, a member of the Visitors Bureau board of directors, confirmed Mayo’s departure. “She’s given her notice through July,” Slocum said Tuesday. “It’s a standing resignation and she’ll be here until then.” Mayo could not be reached for comment. Slocum... Read More

Deal reached for tracking Sierra Nevada wildlife

The Stockton Record June 04, 2012 3:26 PM SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service and conservation groups have reached an agreement to strengthen monitoring of Sierra Nevada wildlife. Under the settlement reached Friday, an independent panel of scientists will evaluate which plant and animal species the Forest Service uses to track the health of Sierra Nevada forests. The agreement settles a federal lawsuit filed in response to the Bush... Read More

Bank sells part of Trinitas to Fresno family with Linden ties

By Dana M. Nichols Record Staff Writer June 05, 2012 12:00 AM SAN ANDREAS – Community Bank of San Joaquin has sold a 160-acre chunk of the former Trinitas Golf Course to a Fresno couple with ties to the Linden area. According to property records, Lance and Renee Dami of Fresno purchased the parcel, which includes a large house, for $1.2 million. The deal closed last week. Community Bank of San Joaquin President Jane Butterfield said the sale... Read More