PG&E makes a wise call to shutter Diablo Canyon

Seeking to seize control of its future, PG&E has made a clear-eyed decision to shutter the massive Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant and is wisely promising to replace it with green power. Environmentalists and labor applaud PG&E’s decision. Read entire article here    Read More

Documenting Bovine Degradation in Wilderness: A Call for Volunteers from the Project to Reform Public Land Grazing in Northern California

This summer and fall volunteers with the Project to Reform Public Land Grazing in Northern California will again be in the field monitoring conditions on public lands where cattle and other livestock are permitted to graze. Our task will be to document with photos, measurements and field notes how the cattle are managed and the resulting degradation of water quality, riparian and wetland habitats. Click here to learn how you can volunteer for grazing... Read More

Forest Rules a Self-defeating Glut

Timber industry officials and environmental activists warn that the state’s logging safeguards have become a bureaucratic snarl that can drag out rule-making for a decade and a half and more. Experts say that 43 years after the enactment of the Forest Practice Act, timescales are so out of joint that the pace of environmental damage far outruns preventive action on the ground. Critics say the regulatory framework has recoiled on itself, leaving... Read More

County will continue to drain savings

Supervisors OK new budget By Dana M. Nichols dana@calaverasenterprise.com / June 16, 2016 Top of Form Bottom of Form Calaveras County will continue draining its savings accounts in the coming year under a preliminary budget that won the informal approval this week from a majority of county supervisors. By tapping about $3 million in fund balances and another $1.8 million from the so-called Teeter Fund that accumulates property tax penalty payments,... Read More

County budget hearings set to begin Tuesday

Butte Fire, pot industry yield revenue By Dana M. Nichols dana@calaverasenterprise.com / June 14, 2016 Top of Form Bottom of Form Calaveras County will likely draw more than $17 million from savings to balance a preliminary budget that county elected leaders will consider this week. The $140.8 million budget proposed by County Administrative Officer Shirley Ryan reflects the dramatic events of the past year in that it includes roughly $10 million... Read More

Pot initiative still in play for November election

By Jason Cowan / The Union Democrat / @jcowan1031 Published Jun 10, 2016 at 11:09PM One marijuana initiative remains in play in Calaveras County, having collected enough signatures to be placed on the November ballot. Robin Glanville, a clerk-recorder-election coordinator with Calaveras County, said proponents for an initiative that would create a regulatory system for the commercial cannabis industry submitted 3,308 signatures on May 31. Glanville... Read More

Dollar General coming to VS

By Nick Baptista, The Valley Springs News, Friday June 10, 2016 Dollar General is building a new store in Valley Springs. Earthwork began several days ago at the site near the intersection of State Route 26 and Jean Street. “We expect the store to have a grand opening in early spring 2017,” said Nolan Miles, Dollar General’s internal/external communications coordinator. “Please note, however, construction progress may alter the final timeline.” Dollar... Read More

Measure A proposes a resource conservation district

Calaveras one of few counties in state without one Calaveras County voters on June 7 will decide whether they want the county to form its own resource conservation district, something that almost all other counties in the state already have. Advocates for the measure say the new district would be able to obtain state and federal funds to address problems such as restoring watersheds and thinning fire-prone forests. Read Article Here  Read More

Butte Fire area not high hazard according to public utilities map

Agency might revise utility line fire risk assessments Calaveras County Supervisor Cliff Edson and a state senator have joined forces to urge the California Public Utilities Commission to revise maps that do not show the Butte Fire area as one that faces a high risk of fires caused by utility lines. Read Article Here  Read More

Forestry deal could bring jobs to region

Mokelumne River watershed to be protected Tens of millions of dollars could flow to grant-funded forest restoration and watershed management in the tri-county area, funds that the authority can spend on local contractors, said Steve Wilensky, founding member of the Amador-Calaveras Consensus Group, a community-based organization that works to build fire-safe communities, healthy forests and watersheds, and strong local economies. The consensus group... Read More