CCWD says it will hold town hall meetings

Responding to heavy criticism about its plans to raise water and waste-water rates, the Calaveras County Water District will hold several town hall meetings in Arnold, Valley Springs and Copperopolis in coming weeks. The district is encouraging the public to attend these meetings and ask questions. The first town hall meeting is scheduled for 6:30 to 8 p.m. Monday, June 10, at the Independence Hall Community Center in Arnold, 1445 Blagen Road. Additional... Read More

Conservation Stewardship Program Applications Due by June 14

WASHINGTON, May 28, 2013 – The Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Conservation Stewardship Program will provide about $175 million in funding for up to 12.6 million additional acres enrollment this year. Although applications are accepted all year, farmers, ranchers and forestland owners interested in CSP should submit applications by June 14 to their local NRCS office to ensure they are considered for this year’s funding. The deadline... Read More

Sierra Nevada Conservancy Board to Vote on $2.5 Million Grant Program Guidelines

(Auburn) – The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) Governing Board will decide on guidelines for accepting applications for approximately $2.5 million in Proposition 84 bond grants to help restore ecological health to Sierra forests and remediate impacts from historic abandoned mines. The vote on the guidelines is among the items included in the board’s quarterly meeting at the West End Theatre in Quincy, June 6. The board will also take a field trip... Read More

Where greenhouse gases come from, in one graph

By David Roberts Here’s a tiny version of a large, information-dense graphic from research consultancy Ecofys: You should click and look at the big version, or better yet get the PDF from Ecofys and zoom in really close, where you can see the sectors further broken down.  Read More

No conservation plan in the works

To save Calaveras County’s financial credibility and avoid a lawsuit, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to return just over $10,000 in grant money to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy after failing to execute habitat conservation work initially approved in 2008. The total grant amount issued was $46,000 and was meant to fund “specific” ecological studies and fund a separate grant application that would cover the total cost of a... Read More

Planned water-rate increases draw ire

Calaveras County Water District’s decision to raise water and wastewater rates by nearly 70 percent over a five-year period has resulted in turbulence among the district’s ratepayers. Letters explaining the rate increases were received by the entire district’s estimated 13,000 water customers and 4,800 sewer users Tuesday, May 28. For Bertha Underhill, a former district board member and current customer, the proposed rate increases were “absolutely... Read More

Foothills populations continue to shrink

Written by Chris Caskey, The Union Democrat May 29, 2013 12:30 pm http://www.uniondemocrat.com/News/Local-News/Foothills-populations-continue-to-shrink U.S. Census Bureau statistics released last week show small, rural cities continue to lag growth-wise as big cities grew, a sign of Americans’ post-recession preference for urban living. The trend is evident in this region, where the cities of Angels Camp, Sonora and Jackson saw their populations... Read More

Focus of Galgiani transparency bill narrowed

By The Record May 30, 2013 12:00 AM SAN ANDREAS – A bill by State Sen. Cathleen Galgiani, D-Stockton, that would have required state agencies to notify the public of workshops and hearings on proposed new regulations was watered down this week. Galgiani’s SB176 would have required notices of hearings, workshops and other public-comment opportunities related to any new regulation be published in the California Regulatory Notice Register. Amendments... Read More

Smart growth can boost city finances, too

By Alex Breitler, Record Staff Writer May 26, 2013 Build smart, save money. A national coalition that advocates for “smart growth” says denser, more compact communities save money by building less infrastructure and spending less on future police and fire protection, while also earning more tax revenue across a smaller area. The concept of smart growth isn’t new, but the Washington, D.C.-based Smart Growth America says this is the... Read More

Calaveras supervisors to return grant money

Posted: Friday, May 24, 2013 8:35 am More changes are coming to Calaveras County’s general plan update. At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting the board will consider refunding the Sierra Nevada Conservancy $10,000 for the cancellation of a grant that would have assisted with integrating habitat and open space protection into the general plan update. Initially approved by supervisors in 2008, the grant-funded project was “an attempt to reconcile... Read More