Early truancy problems spiral statewide

  Calaveras County tops list for having most K-6 students missing school By Dana M. Nichols also by Roger Phillips Record Staff Writers SAN ANDREAS – Calaveras County has the highest truancy rate for elementary school students in California, contributing to a crisis that harms K-6 education statewide, according to a report issued Monday by the state Attorney General’s office. According to the report, California public schools lost... Read More

Calaveras High School Grad addresses U.S. House

Emily Dondero, Calaveras High School alumna, and project manager with the Sierra Business Council, was flown to Washington, D.C., to share about the impacts of the Rim Fire. She addressed the House of Representatives Tuesday, Sept. 17. Read Story Here  Read More

State parks officials and tribes work together to restore sacred site

Thanks to a historic agreement between the state and half a dozen local Indian tribes, California Indians are performing ceremonial dances again this weekend in one of the most sacred sites in Indian Country – the Chaw’se Roundhouse in Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park Story Here  Read More

Salvage logging bill sparks controversy

  By Record Staff Writer September 29, 2013 12:00 AM SAN ANDREAS – Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Granite Bay, this week introduced a bill to speed salvage logging within the 400-square-mile burned area of the Rim Fire. McClintock says the bill is needed because lawsuits by environmentalists or regulatory hurdles could otherwise delay such logging so long that the wood inside dead trees would no longer be usable. At least one environmentalist,... Read More

Crazy Horse stalled at the starting gate

By Alicia Castro | Posted: Tuesday, September 17, 2013 8:13 am Board denies controversial planning appeal Crazy Horse Estates, a proposed subdivision on Pool Station Road, has been in the works since 2008, but Thursday, the development was stopped in its tracks by a unanimous decision by the Board of Supervisors to deny the applicants’ appeal. “We were obviously disappointed by the decision the board came to,” said Sam Mosby, a builder from... Read More

Minimum wage hikes seen through county lens

Employers fear new law will cut business “Minimum wage does nothing but create unemployment. It pushes workers out of the workforce and into welfare oblivion.” Stephen Fairchild, president of Sierra Nevada Recreation Corp., echoed the thoughts of some business owners in Calaveras as he voiced his opposition to a pending bill that could raise the minimum wage from $8 to $10 over the next two years. Assembly Bill 10 was given the go-ahead from... Read More

Planning director should be secure

This following letter was submitted to the Calaveras Enterprise by Kerry Williams expressing the views of CAP and the Calaveras Planning Coalition: September 13, 2013 Rebecca Willis has resigned. For the sixth time in seven years, there will be a new Calaveras County planning director. Willis made significant improvements to the department that included building a capable staff, promptly processing over-the-counter projects, moving forward a backlog... Read More

Viewpoint: Rim Fire shows we need to rethink how we manage forests

The Nature Conservancy joins a rural county organization and the CA Forestry Association to call for more fuel reduction projects in Sierra forests. Sacramento Bee op-ed, September 15  Read More

Viewpoint: Fires can be restorative, unlike heavy logging.

Two fire ecologists talk about fire, salvage logging, and wildlife in the context of the Rim Fire. Sacramento Bee op-ed, September 15  Read More

Climate change prompts new concerns about Delta tunnels, Sacramento water supply.

The Sacramento City Council this week stepped up its critique of a plan to build two giant water diversion tunnels in the Delta, warning that it may harm the city’s ability to access drinking water in the decades ahead. Sacramento Bee, September 13  Read More