Quarry neighbors question asphalt plant proponents

Distrust and accusation gradually gave way to questions and answers Tuesday when proponents of an asphalt plant proposed near Valley Springs met with neighbors concerned the plant could pollute the air and increase traffic. Read Here  Read More

MyValleySprings plant appeal formally denied

The Calaveras County Planning Commission on Thursday voted unanimously to confirm a decision it reached two weeks earlier to deny the appeal of a determination by Calaveras County Planning Director Peter Maurer that cleared the way for operation of an asphalt plant near Valley Springs. Calaveras Enterprise July 10, 2015  Read More

CCWD board cuts own pay, talks revenue

Tori Thomas, The Union Democrat July 09, 2015 The Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors approved a pay cut Wednesday that will cut their meeting compensation, beginning next month. The board is compensated $135 per meeting for as many as seven meetings per month, but beginning Aug. 9, board members will be compensated $120 per meeting for up to six meetings per month. In a June 10 meeting, the board adopted an ordinance that amended a... Read More

The Mother Lode: A Geology

By Buzz Eggleston | Posted: Tuesday, July 7, 2015  / Calaveras Enterprise A few years ago, about to retire as a newspaper editor, I immersed myself in a subject I had long been interested in, but knew little about – geology, especially the geology of the Mother Lode. I started reading about geology, talking to geologists, Googling geology on the Internet, just trying to understand how this place came together. It was a challenge beyond anything... Read More

Take a Lode Off: Slouching toward a general plan

Muriel Zeller is a poet, writer and Valley Springs resident. Contact her at murielzeller52@gmail.com. During last week’s joint board of supervisors and planning commission study session on the updated county general plan, Supervisor Cliff Edson indicated that to discover the reason the general plan update has taken so long, we need only “take a look around.” I am unsure what the supervisor meant, but perhaps he is unaware that the general plan... Read More

Still a long road ahead for county general plan update

By Sarah Lunsford Enterprise Correspondent | Posted: Tuesday, July 14, 2015  http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/news/article_7fb21026-29b4-11e5-889f-af9cace25335.html It’s already been a long and winding road for the Calaveras County General Plan Update, and if the Thursday meeting of the county’s planning commission is any indicator, the document that will oversee all growth and planning decisions for Calaveras still has a ways to go. “We’re... Read More

Valley Springs Hogan Quarry Asphalt Plant Update

On June 25, 30+ speakers spoke to the Calaveras Planning Commission during public comments on two appeals regarding the construction and operation of the Hogan Quarry Asphalt Plant .  An overwhelming majority of speakers spoke passionately against the asphalt plant (Appeal A).  Despite public opinion, planning commissioners went through the points in Appeal A and voted to make findings to support the decision that an asphalt plant at Hogan Quarry... Read More

Study: Action on climate change could save thousands of lives, billions of dollars

A global agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions would prevent nearly 70,000 premature American deaths annually by the end of the century while sparing the country hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of economic losses, according to a major government study on the cost of climate change. Read more here: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/nation-world/national/article25196011.html#storylink=cpy  Read More

How A Historical Blunder Helped Create The Water Crisis In The West

In 1922, seven Western states — Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming and California — drew up an agreement on how to divide the waters of the Colorado River. But there was one big problem with the plan: They overestimated how much water the river could provide. As a result, each state was promised more water than actually exists. This miscalculation — and the subsequent mismanagement of water resources in those states — has... Read More

As the drought has worsened: Wealthy areas are using dramatically more water than lower-income areas.

California drought: Big difference in water use between wealthy communities and everyone else San Jose Mercury  Read More