Caltrans sticking with present design for Highway 26 work

Dana Nichols Business owners say it will wipe out landscaping and part of La Contenta’s 10th fairway A California Department of Transportation spokesman last week held out little hope that a safety project on Highway 26 near St. Andrews Road could be redesigned to avoid slicing off a chunk of the 10th fairway of La Contenta Golf Course. In addition to the golf course, several other businesses would also lose strips of property that now buffer them... Read More

Deal would spare Lake Tulloch this summer

By Alex Breitler Record Staff Writer Posted Mar. 24, 2015 @ 12:01 am COPPEROPOLIS — Water districts announced a deal Monday that would prevent scenic Lake Tulloch from being drained — at least until after the end of the summer boating season. The deal involves temporarily relaxing fish flow standards farther downstream on the San Joaquin River at Vernalis, said Jeff Shields, general manager of the Manteca-based South San Joaquin Irrigation District. Loosening... Read More

OPEN ACCESS TO WELL WATER DATA

By the Editorial Board /Sac Bee/ March 25, 2015 In time of drought, when leaders tell us every drop of water counts, Californians ought to be able to count every drop. The concept seems so simple, but because the issue is water, it’s not. For the third year running, Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, is pushing legislation to provide public access to otherwise confidential reports about groundwater wells. Her Senate Bill 20, which cleared its first... Read More

CCWD board postpones this year’s rate hike

Water and sewer rates won’t go up as planned this year, but neither will the increases of the previous two years be rolled back, the Calaveras County Water District board of directors decided Wednesday. Read More  Read More

Copper residents watch Melones water release with concern

Bureau of Rec says it plans to have water through end of irrigation season These days, when dam operators release water from New Melones Reservoir, people in Copperopolis notice. Read More    Read More

Congressmen call for changes in Melones water operations

Letter blames excessive environmental releases for expected shortage Congressmen Tom McClintock, R-Granite Bay, and Jeff Denham, R-Atwater, last week sent a letter to federal water managers urging them to hold more water in New Melones Reservoir in hopes of averting a disastrous water shortage in late summer. Read More  Read More

Protect our county’s historic resources

By Julia G. Costello |  Friday, March 20, 2015 6:00 am Calaveras County’s charming Gold Rush towns, rolling ranch landscapes, picturesque historic homes, mining history, and nearly 10,000 years of American Indian presence are near the top of almost everyone’s list of county assets. Yet Calaveras County is woefully deficient in instituting programs that will help protect and enhance these vulnerable resources. We have no official inventory of... Read More

Calaveras Board supports AB 142

Austen Thibault, The Union Democrat March 19, 2015 03:04 pm The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors narrowly passed a resolution Wednesday in support of Assembly Bill 142 — a controversial bill to establish a study into the effects of designating the Mokelumne River as “Wild and Scenic.” About 30 speakers commented on the issue at the special meeting before the board weighed in. About two-thirds of those were in favor for various reasons. Public... Read More

Setting The Record Straight On River Flows

By Pete Bell I am writing in response to a recently published letter to the editor to set the record straight about some Mokelumne River issues, history and Foothill Conservancy. The East Bay Municipal Utility District and Foothill Conservancy did agree that amendments were needed to Assemblyman Bigelow’s Wild and Scenic Study Bill, AB 142. The assemblyman apparently did, too, because he accepted extensive Assembly Natural Resources Committee amendments... Read More

General Plan Action Alert! Comment Deadline Friday March 20.

The end of the 90-day public review and comment period for the 2014 draft General Plan is this Friday.  Your comments need to be submitted by then to be included in the Planning Department report to the Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission.  All plan documents and maps can be viewed on the County’s General Plan Update page.   All Community Plans have been removed but could be put back in if there is enough community and Supervisor... Read More