The Atrium Artists Gallery EDH at El Dorado Hills Town Center hosted an artists’ reception on Saturday, Jan. 4, for its inaugural art exhibition, Life is Our Canvas featuring ve local artists’ works. The artists: Michelle Dahl, Jennifer Peart, Melissa Uro , Shaun Burner and Franceska Gamez were chosen because their work t into the general theme of the exhibition and they also happened to be among curator Ti any Allen Bates’ favorites.
Bates, an event coordinator with nearly 20 years experience, shared her work as a coordinator has been more like curating — usually involving the art world in some way.
“I curate events,” she said, “predominantly art-centric events.”
Bates met Nina Watkins, vice president of marketing operations at the Town Center at a wine tasting event at Lucid Winery, a client of Bates, when they struck up a conversation that eventually settled on utilizing a previously unused space at the Town Center — an atrium between El Dorado Hills Motors and South Fork Grille.
“She mentioned that they had a space they were interested in activating,” Bates said. “She asked if I could take a look.” Watkins had been challenged by Kevin Nagle, EDH Town Center owner, to get art in the admittedly drab space.
“Originally, it was just kind of bare walls,” Watkins said.
■ See ATRIUM, page A7
EDHCSD, Austins settle fee case
The El Dorado Hills Community Services District and the Austin family have reached a $5.25 million settlement a er more than nine years of litigation, according to a news release from Dordick Law Corporation. Calling it “a major victory for homeowners,” DLC attorney Mark Leonardo, who represents the Austins,
■ See SETTLEMENT, page A6
Debbie Manning joins the EDH Fire Board
The El Dorado Hills Fire Board of Directors unanimously appointed Debbie Manning, president and CEO of the El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce, to ll the vacancy created by the passing of John Hidahl, who was re-elected to the re board last November a er an eight-year absence while he served on the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors. Manning’s appointment marks a step toward foster-
Nina Watkins, vice president of marketing at the El Dorado Hills Town Center, left, and Ti any Allen Bates, Life is Our Canvas curator, stand at the ready to greet guests at the artists’ reception
Artist Michelle Dahl captures the haunting interplay between shadow and light at the Atrium Artists Gallery. Andrew Vonderschmitt
Village Life photo by Noel Stack
EDH Fire Director of Finance Jessica Braddock, left, administers the oath of o ce to Debbie Manning after a 4-0 vote that appointed her to the EDH Fire Board’s open seat.
Noel Stack Editor
Noel Stack Editor
WHAT’S HAPPENING STUDENT OF THE YEAR
Jan. 25
Gold Discovery Day will commemorate the discovery of gold by James Marshall on Jan. 24, 1848, with living history demonstrations, speakers and more at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma. For more information visit parks. ca.gov/?page_id=484.
Vitalant will hold a Cameron Park community blood drive 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 3431 Hacienda Road. The blood drive is sponsored by Just Serve organization. Make an appointment at donors.vitalant.org and use blood drive code SMFT172.or call (877) 2584825 and mention the same code. Walk-ins are welcome and will be accommodated if space allows.
A free Keep Families Safe From Tra cking symposium with law enforcement and lawmakers takes place at 10 a.m. at Bayside Church, 890 Glenn Drive in Folsom. For tickets and more information visit drive4impact.org.
The Harris Center for the Arts in Folsom presents Folsom Lake Symphony’s presentation of Connections @ The Symphony, a family concert with an instrument petting zoo for kids after the performance. Show starts at 11 a.m. For tickets and more information visit harriscenter.net or call (916) 608-6888.
Jan. 26
The El Dorado Hills Community Services District hosts a guided nature walk, 10-11 a.m. Explore the wild world of winter along New York Creek Nature Trail during a walk with a naturalist. This one-way guided walk begins at the St. Andrews trail entrance and concludes after one hour. Participants may choose to explore further down the trail or head back to Community Park on their own time. To register visit eldoradohillscsd.org.
The Harris Center for the Arts in Folsom presents EMG Entertainments presentation of A Tribute To Linda Ronstadt with Ronstadt Revival featuring Shannon Rae. Show starts at 3 p.m. For tickets and more information visit harriscenter.net or call (916) 608-6888.
Jan. 28
The El Dorado Hills Genealogical Society hosts a presentation by Cindy Brennan titled “Should I Stay, or Should I Go” showing how to use Emigrant Guides in Research at 6 p.m. at the El Dorado Hills Library on Silva Valley Parkway. Interested genealogists are welcome to join the EDHGS. All are welcome. The group seeks to promote access to helpful and friendly resources for research, problem solving and discussion.
El Dorado Hills Community Services District hosts its annual Summer Job Fair at the Pavilion, located at 1021 Harvard Way in El Dorado Hills, 6-8 p.m. The event is open to individuals 15 and older who are interested in working for the district. For more information visit edhcsd.org/jobs.
Tony & Grammy-winning “Dear Evan Hansen” — the sensation and rst contemporary musical about connection in the digital age — runs Jan. 28 through Feb. 2 at Harris Center for the Arts in Folsom. For tickets and more information visit harriscenter.net or call (916) 608-6888.
Feb. 5
Join the El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce for its Business Connections Luncheon sponsored by El Dorado Hills Area Foundation, 11:30 a.m. at Hills Church, 800 White Rock Road. To register and get more information visit eldoradohillschamber.org.
Feb. 8
A free House of Worship Security symposium with law enforcement takes place 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Hills Church, 800 White Rock Road in El Dorado Hills. For more information email Sgt. Steve Scho eld at scho es@edso.org.
Face in a Book in El Dorado Hills Town Center hosts a stoytime hour with JaNay Brown-Wood, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Her new book, “On Our Way! What a Day!” is a joyful tribute to music, creativity and grandmothers. For more information call (916) 941-9401.
Rescue Community Center hosts its annual crab feed fundraiser. Enjoy all-you-can-eat crab with the community in Rescue. Individual tickets are $75 and a table of 10 for $675. For tickets and more information visit rescuecommunitycenter.com.
Now
Atrium Artists Gallery EDH is accepting submissions for its upcoming March exhibition — Highlighting El Dorado County Artists. This is an open call for professional level works — all works considered. Interested artists should submit their work by Jan 31. For more information or to submit visit edhtowncenter.com/contact-us/submit-your-artwork.
Registration for the The Travis Scott Memorial 5k Walk/Run for Shatterproof is open through Feb. 23. The run will take place at the El Dorado trailhead in Camino. The event starts at 9 a.m. and registration is available in person. For more information and to register early visit shatterproofcyof.donordrive.com.
The Murer House Foundation continues its Italian language classes at the Murer House Learning Center in old Folsom. For more information and to enroll visit murerhousefoundation. org/language-classes.
EDH Cars and Co ee invites car people to meet up and hang out Saturdays, 7-9:30 a.m., rain or shine, in the right-side parking lot of the Regal movie theater in El Dorado Hills Town Center. Everyone and every type of vehicle is welcome. The motto is “If it rolls, it goes.”
El Dorado Hills Town Center hosts a year-round farmers market Sundays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. behind Nibblers.
LAFCO seeks new alternate member
News release
The El Dorado Local Agency Formation Commission is considering the appointment for the alternate public member on LAFCO. The application deadline is March 10.
The appointed alternate public member will serve the remainder of the current four-year term, from May 2024 through May 2028.
The public member alternate represents the interests of the taxpayer-citizens of El Dorado County. The alternate fully participates in the discussion and deliberation at LAFCO meetings but votes only when the regular public member is absent or disquali ed.
Applicants must be a resident and registered voter in El Dorado County and cannot be a city, spe-
cial district or county o cial of any public agency within El Dorado County. Those seated on LAFCO are subject to the Fair Political Practices Commission and must le an annual con ict of interest statement.
Under state law, LAFCO is mandated to ensure the logical formation and determination of the local government agency boundaries, which a ect growth and development patterns, delivery of urban services and agricultural and open space lands within El Dorado County.
The commission meets on the fourth Wednesday of every other month ( rst Wednesday in December) in the Board of Supervisors meeting room at 330 Fair Lane, Placerville. LAFCO meetings are currently scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m., though this start time is subject to change. If you wish to be considered for the alternate public member position on LAFCO, the application form is posted on the LAFCO website at edlafco.us/alternate-public-member-vacancy. If you have any questions call the LAFCO o ce at (530) 295-2707.
To be considered, applicants must be available to attend and interview at LAFCO’s meeting on March 26. The agenda will be posted approximately one week prior to the meeting. Refer to the agenda for the speci c start time. Submit applications to: lafco@edlafco.us or El Dorado LAFCO 1190 Suncast Lane, Suite 11 El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
California’s 2025 tax filing season has begun
California Franchise Tax Board News release
SACRAMENTO — The California Franchise Tax Board has kicked o the 2025 tax ling season by providing taxpayers with vital information regarding cash-back tax credits, disaster loss relief and the advantages of ling and making payments electronically. Taxpayers must pay any taxes owed by April 15 to avoid penalties.
“I encourage all California taxpayers to le their taxes early to take advantage of valuable tax credits that can provide essential nancial resources to themselves and their families,” said State Controller and FTB Chair Malia M. Cohen. “I also invite Californians to make the most of FTB’s online services, including e- ling and selecting direct deposit to a bank account, which can signi cantly expedite their refunds.
Find answers online
Direct
Taxpayers are encouraged to use the 24/7 online self-service options to avoid potentially long delays when contacting FTB. Last year, millions of taxpayers visited the website. Self-service options include checking your refund status, making a payment, determining whether you should le, guring out which form to le and viewing processing and wait times.
Cash back credits
Village Life photo by Noel Stack
The Rotary Club of El Dorado Hills and local educators recently celebrated Will Adams as the William Brooks Elementary School Student of the Year. Principal Noel Stedeford told the crowd at the Jan. 8 breakfast meeting that she and the teachers have really enjoyed watching will grow academically and socially, “becoming this wonderful student we all love working with.” “We’re just incredibly proud of him and all his growth,” said Stedeford, who also noted Will’s exceptional wall ball skills. Will thanked everyone after he received his award, sharing “I’m very excited because I got it. It feels great being Student of the Year.” The Rotary Club gave Will a plaque, a Face in a Book gift certi cate and $50. He’s seen here holding his plaque, surrounded by family, educators and Rotarians.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Brianna Walker
SOUTH CHINA SEA — Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class Robbie Zepponi, of Rescue, right, receives training on taking readings on an air compressor from Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Mechanical) Fireman Manuel Gutierrez, of Henderson, Nev., in a main engineering space aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) on Jan. 11. The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group is under way conducting routine operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations.
Trojans enjoy outdoor classroom
Diane Dealey Neill
Forestry Educators Incorporated
Thirteen students from Oak Ridge High School participated in the 2024 El Dorado Forestry Challenge, one group of a total of 139 high school students from 17 schools from Sacramento and the Sierra Nevada foothills. The event was held Oct. 23-26, 2024, at Leoni Meadows Camp near Grizzly Flat.
“At Forestry Challenge, it’s fun to connect with students from around the state while creating solutions that could impact future generations,” shared Emi Madsen, an ORHS sophomore.
One of the highlights for the students this year was the opportunity to collect data at the American River Conservancy’s Wells Preserve near Somerset to assess its health and recommend actions to restore its ecological function to contribute to the health of the Cosumnes River watershed. During the chal-
lenge, teams of students also completed a eld test to assess their technical forestry knowledge and data collecting skills.
“The Forestry Challenge allows students to take the concepts from science
class and apply them to our most vital natural resources,” said ORHS teacher Ryan Madsen.
“The outdoor setting and hands-on learning are a refreshing break from the digital overload students o en experience.”
Courtesy photos
The ORHS Forestry Challenge team, front row, left to right: Joelle Nyquist, Siri Aloot, Rachel Bills, Emi Madsen. Middle row, left to right: Thomas Capelli, Bailey VanLeemput, Dax Whann, Nolan Maier, William Min, Rocco Danielson and Julie Madsen. Back row, left to right: Adam Kraft, Owen Kraft, Isaac Briggs, Ryan Madsen and Travis Thomas.
Oak Ridge High School student Rocco Danielson uses a clinometer to measure the height of a tree, one of the many skills learned at the 2024 El Dorado Forestry Challenge near Grizzly Flat.
photo by Shelly Thorene Greg Ferrero, left, is sworn in as the new El Dorado County District
supervisor by El Dorado Superior Court Judge Vicki Ashworth, right, at the Board of Supervisors chamber on
CRIB
NOTES
by Julie Samrick
Once a year adds up
or several years now my friend Nora and I walk to a local breakfast place and back together at Christmas time.
A er a morning of catching up, we leave with, “same time next year!”
Last year I thought it sad we’d been reduced to getting together for quality time only once a year and said, “Well let’s try to get together more.” A er all, what good is doing something only once a year? Would it help a person’s tness to li weights once a year? What about eating a healthy meal? Of course that sounds like nonsense, but it’s all in how we look at it.
memorate our mom. It’s become a precious weekend to us now, as we know we likely won’t have the same opportunity to relax and connect during the smattering of other times we may get together since there are 22 people among us now, including our dad, husbands and kids. Even our larger group of 22 has had a harder time getting together between college and jobs, not to mention living all over the state, so we recently started an annual camping trip every July. These annual traditions are good for our kids to see because they will likely keep them going.
During our time together this year my perspective changed. We all know how time speeds up the older we get, and I realized there are other people I have not made a recurring time with and, as a result, we’ve been reduced to Facebook posts with no real interaction with one another. As great as getting together more would be, I’ve realized how meaningful our once a year get together has become.
When it comes to relationships, having traditions we do with others, even if those traditions only happen once a year, could be the di erence between staying connected versus losing touch. My husband’s cousin hosts a gi exchange once a year. Even though we only see them for certain every December, it has fostered a closer relationship between our kids. I bowl once a year with my family on Christmas Eve, but our sons have now taken it up so that they can come out on top during our annual challenge, speci cally to nally beat their dad, which has yet to happen.
My three sisters and I get together for a weekend every February to com-
When my 18-year-old daughter was home for Christmas she started talking about her New Year’s resolutions and whether I had any. Her plans are very practical, like being more organized, working out more and getting up earlier. It reminded me of a statistic I read about young people ages 18-29 being more likely to make resolutions. I’m getting to the age where I just want everyone to stay healthy. The rest is icing on the cake.
I do like the word of the year idea, though. For 2025, my word is Gratitude. Instead of wishing for more — for more things or for more time — I will try my best to be present, to be grateful for what I have, to not be as concerned with the past or the future, but to be grateful for the time I do have with people, whether it’s old friends or new ones. It may seem insigni cant to see people once a year, but it adds up. Doing things once a year is a blessing. Julie Samrick is an El Dorado Hills mother, teacher and writer. She is the author of “Murphy’s Miracle: One Dog’s Wild Journey” and “How People Get Their Politics.”
CALIFORNIA MATTERS by Dan Walters
Surplus spending woes
Fashioning a budget for a state as large and diverse as California is a fraught process under the best of circumstances, involving not only strictly nancial aspects but demands from countless interest groups and the internal politics of the Capitol.
That said, what happened three years ago, as Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators were nalizing a 2022-23 budget, remains one of the most egregious errors of scal judgment in state history and looms over the budget process today.
This bit of recent budgetary history is o ered because a new state budget cycle recently began, when Newsom’s nance director, Joseph Stephenshaw, unveiled an initial $322.3 billion 202526 budget proposal, including a $228.9 billion general fund. Overall, it means that the $165.1 billion error still haunts the budget. Despite Newsom’s claims that the budget would be balanced, revenues still fall short of covering the additional spending Newsom and legislators adopted three years ago on a mistaken assumption.
As the state was emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, it experienced a sharp uptick in revenues, particularly in personal income taxes, thanks largely to massive injections of federal relief funds and a big gain in taxable investment pro ts among high-income taxpayers.
The proposed budget projects an increase in revenues from earlier estimates but essentially spends all the extra money. It continues the use of emergency reserves and other tactics that were employed last year.
Newsom and his budget advisors concluded the much-higher general fund revenues would continue inde nitely — far surpassing the state’s core expenditures. The projection generated a monumental paper surplus Newsom tabbed at $97.5 billion, although the number never appeared in any documents.
“No other state in American history has ever experienced a surplus as large as this,” Newsom boasted as he unveiled what became a much-revised $308 billion budget, which was $22 billion higher than his original proposal.
It turned out to be a mirage. Revenues never reached the elevated level he had assumed. Last year, buried in the ne print, the 2024-25 budget acknowledged the error and estimated it to be $165.1 billion over four years. Newsom blamed the volatility of California’s tax system for the immense gap between expectations and reality — instead of a miscalculation. Nevertheless, the damage was done. Much of the phantom surplus had already been baked into the spending side of the budget, leading to massive de cits.
Last year, to cover the yawning gap between income and outgo, Newsom and the Legislature resorted to tapping the state’s emergency reserves, bookkeeping gimmicks, direct loans from special funds and indirect borrowing from school funds and corporations.
It also means that despite the seemingly precise numbers of the proposed budget, there are many highly variable factors.
They include how President Donald Trump and a Republican Congress might a ect the billions of dollars that the federal government contributes to education, health care and welfare programs; uncertainty about taxable income from capital gains and, most recently, the e ects of the wild res devastating Southern California communities.
The wild re impact could be immense, particularly if Trump doesn’t honor outgoing President Joe Biden’s pledge of massive federal aid. Trump issued a fact-free blast faulting Newsom — one of his sharpest critics — for not giving Southern California enough water, but hasn’t said whether he intends to limit federal relief.
Even if Trump is generous with wild re assistance, local governments will experience declines in property and sales tax revenues and will look to Sacramento for help.
The bottom line is that the January budget may bear only a passing resemblance to the version that must be enacted by June 15, and even less to the budget revisions that will surely follow a er June 15.
Dan Walters is a journalist and author who writes for CALmatters.org, a nonpro t, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.
EDHCSD initiates a parks plan refresh
Noel Stack Editor
More parks? More fields? More recreational opportunities for El Dorado Hills residents and visitors?
The El Dorado Hills Community Services Board of Directors has directed staff to issue a request for proposals to update the EDHCSD Parks and Facilities Master Plan. This guiding document serves as a roadmap for the development of future parks and recreation services and those expected costs are used to calculate development fees that will be addressed in a nexus study once the master plan is complete.
According to staff documents, the master plan typically addresses:
• The need for new parks and recreational facilities (e.g., neighborhood parks, sports complexes, trails, community centers).
• Upgrades or expansion of existing parks and facilities.
• Long-term maintenance and operational requirements.
• Community needs assessments based on population growth projections, recreational trends and feedback from local residents.
The CSD’s master plan was last updated in 2020. Referring to that document, Director Chuck King noted the sheer
volume of the plan — some 700 pages — and suggested tightening things up and being more practical this time around.
“We’re looking at a five-year master plan to concentrate more on ... stuff that is reasonable that we can get done based on the resources we have available to us,” King said. “We can spend a lot of money and dream all kinds of stuff for the next 20 years. But, to me, we need to really concentrate on what’s realistic in the next five years, based on where we are right now, the economy, all of these things.”
The current master plan identifies more than $100 million in capital construction costs to meet community needs and desires.
One major factor that has yet to be resolved, speakers noted, is whether the district purchases the remaining golf course property. Escrow closed on the purchase of the initial 55 acres in January 2024. The remaining golf course property on the south side of Serrano Parkway closest to Highway 50 covers 41.5 acres, which comes with a $9.96 million price tag ($240,000 per acre). The approved agreement afforded the CSD and community 18 months to obtain funding/ financing for that second purchase once escrow had closed on the first.
Discussions about the second purchase have been ongoing but no decision has been made.
At the Jan. 16 board meeting directors
and staff stayed focused on the master plan itself.
EDHCSD Principal Planner Jeff Kernen told directors they could determine the scope of the plan and the successful company hired to complete it would refine its work based on those instructions. The district has budgeted $70,000 for the study.
Happy to see the board looking forward, EDH resident Ben Glickman called the master plan update “an absolutely critically important item for the future of this community.” He encourages the board to stick with a more focused plan that sets reasonable goals.
“Let’s come up with a list of things we’re gonna actually do,” Glickman said, “and let’s do them.”
EDH resident John Davey echoed those sentiments and urged directors to look at previous studies and determine which necessary projects have been in the planning stage the longest and prioritize those for completion.
Director Michael Martinelli said he too liked the idea of a plan that focuses heavily on the next five or six years. “It’s nice to actually see things being done as you’re on this particular board,” he noted.
Directors unanimously supported issuance of the RFP and asked staff to bring formation of an ad hoc committee for the master plan update to the next board meeting.
ALSO AT THE MEETING
Director Chuck King proposed removing board President Steve Ferry from his leadership role, asking for a special meeting on the issue. “President Ferry has consistently failed to comply with required confidentiality of his position,” King maintained.
“Obviously I disagree with Director King,” Ferry replied. “But I’m also all in. Go ahead and have a meeting. Let’s put it in front of the public. Let’s have a discussion about it and go forward. I’m not about to be held at bay because somebody wants to throw dirt at me because I’ve had dirt thrown at me before.”
The motion to have the special meeting failed, 2-2.
* * *
The directors voted 4-1 to receive and file the fiscal years 2022 and 2023 annual comprehensive financial reports and unanimously voted to have staff prepare a request for proposals for a fiscal year 2023 forensic audit.
* * *
The directors voted 4-1 to contract with NBS for the re-engineering of the district’s 33
Reminder: New area code coming soon to NorCal
The California Public Utilities Commission reminds Californians that the new 837 area code will be added as an overlay to the 530 area code region starting Jan. 31.
In June 2023, the CPUC approved the implementation of an area code overlay, which adds a second area code to the same geographic region served by the existing 530 area code. The 530 area code serves most of northeastern California, covering all or portions of Alpine, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba counties. It serves communities such as Chico, Davis, El Dorado Hills, Oroville, Paradise, Placerville, Red Bluff, Redding, South Lake Tahoe, Truckee, Woodland and Yuba City, as well as unincorporated areas.
Starting on Jan. 31 customers in the 530 area code region may be assigned a number in the new 837 area code when they request new service or an additional line. Customers receiving an 837 area code will be required to dial 1 + the area code and phone number for all local calls, just as customers with telephone numbers from the 530 area
code do today.
Facts about the 530/837 area code overlay
• Telephone numbers, including the current area code, will not change.
• The new overlay does not affect the price of a call, coverage area, or other rates and services.
• What is a local call now will remain a local call.
• Customers in the overlay region will continue to dial 1+10 digits for local calls within and between the overlay area codes, and 1+10 digits for longdistance calls.
• Customers still can dial just three digits to reach 911 and 988, as well as 211, 311, 411, 511, 611, 711 or 811 if those are currently available in their community.
How to prepare
• Customers should continue to identify their telephone number as a 10-digit number (3-digit area code + 7-digit telephone number) and include the area code when giving the number to friends, family, business associates and others.
• Customers should ensure their
websites, personal and business stationery, printed checks, advertising materials, contact information and personal or pet ID tags include the area code.
• Customers should ensure that all services, automatic dialing equipment, or other types of equipment recognize the new 837 area code as a valid area code and should continue to store or program telephone numbers as 10-digit numbers. Some examples include but
are not limited to: stored telephone numbers in contact lists in wireless or cordless phones, PBXs, fax machines, Internet dial-up numbers, speed dialers, call forwarding settings, voicemail services, medical alert devices, safety alarm security systems and gates, ankle monitors and/or other similar equipment. For more information contact your telephone service provider or visit the CPUC’s website at cpuc.ca.gov.
Camping, parking ordinance changes receive first nod by supervisors
Jo Carrerow
Village Life correspondent
Changes to both camping and parking ordinances to help law enforcement when dealing with El Dorado County’s homeless population were moved forward at the Board of Supervisors meeting Jan. 7.
During her presentation, Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Laura Schwartz shared that it had been a collaborative effort for the past several months between the Chief Administrative Office, the Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, the Health and Human Services Agency and county counsel.
“We’ve been working to try and really look at what changes we can make to this ordinance that essentially gives some additional tools to law enforcement to ensure county facilities are used for their intended purposes,” she said.
The proposed ordinance changes include both public and private properties. They are mostly clarifications and clean-up of the wording in past ordinances for camping and storage of personal property and regulating parking of vehicles within the county. They cover more facilities and clarify the meaning of camping and the difference between public and private property. They define storage of personal possessions as well as what hazardous items are.
Matthew Gallagher, deputy district attorney for El Dorado County, explained that up until now trespassing laws were all they could fall back on, and those fell short. Current trespass laws are not allowing law enforcement to arrest people camping out on private property without permission.
“So this provision we’ve added now addresses that,” Gallagher said. “It gives land owners more rights to ensure that people are not trespassing on their property.”
One of the amendments adds wording to regulate “camping, sleeping, sitting, lying and storage of personal property on private and public property.”
District 5 Supervisor Brooke Laine asked why there is an exception for children age 5 years and younger who are sleeping.
“The parent should not be sleeping. If the parent is in the car with a sleeping child, that’s OK,” Schwartz said.
Regarding parking, the ordinance will limit the days and hours of the day vehicles can be parked at county facilities.
The pair of ordinances — camping and parking — were grouped together because they “go hand in hand,” Schwartz said.
The ordinance changes were brought about in response to the county’s homelessness problem.
El Dorado County Sheriff Jeff Leikauf said the Homeless Outreach Team’s goal is to help unhoused people find sustainable housing. But the ordinance changes would be “a valuable tool to combat what we’ve had to deal with in this county far too often.”
Leikauf noted there have been “mega camps” and “super camps” within the county.
“This ordinance would allow our people to go out and keep these people moving along,” he said.
As an example, he referred to a camp that had been set up across from the county buildings for a couple of months. The HOT members spearheaded a campaign to recently clean it up. They removed 5,600 pounds of trash and 1,500 hypodermic needles.
“This is going to give us a tool to go out and combat that,” he said. “”To keep people from setting up these encampments … whether it’s county, city or private property. (The changes) will help us to get that done before it even becomes a problem.”
Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Josh Sprague, who supervised HOT, emphasized the importance of the outreach component. He maintained El Dorado County’s draft ordinances are a “balanced approach” compared to other counties.
“We operate on a two-prong approach, outreach and enforcement,” he said.
He acknowledged that although outreach is always number one, a significant number of people in the homeless population are resistant to utilizing services that are offered.
“Without the enforcement aspect, there’s no deterrence,” he added. “This ordinance before you today is truly a step in the right direction and ensures that public safety remains a priority in this county.”
Peg Vanderkar, treasurer of Housing
El Dorado, expressed concern over lack of housing and services.
“There are families who live in their cars,” Vanderkar said.
El Dorado County AuditorController Joe Horn said he is experiencing the homelessness problem first-hand. He said since the El Dorado Navigation Center opened next to the government center in February 2023 the problem has exacerbated. He has witnessed employees needing to be walked to their cars after dark, and people taking sponge baths in the bathrooms of county Building B, which does not have restrictions for entry.
“Your board needs to be a little more concerned about the county employees that work at this campus and also the elderly people who come in to pay their taxes,” Harn said.
As far as those who have been displaced by fires, Gallagher said the board
can make a special resolution on their behalf.
With respect to fires left by homeless people, Gallagher said, “Being unhoused in this county is very difficult. Nights are cold. Transportation is difficult. But fires are one of the largest problems, and we believe this ordinance is an opportunity to address it.”
Supervisors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 5221 to amend Title 9, Chapter 9.55, Camping and Storage of Personal Property on Private and Public Property, to regulate camping sleeping, sitting, lying and storage of personal property on private and public property; to approve the first reading of Ordinance 5222 to amend Title 10, County Parking Lots; and continue both matters to the Jan. 28 Board of Supervisors meeting for final reading and passage. They would become law after 30 days.
Photo by Brian A. Jackson / Getty Images
A new area code comes to Northern California. Those getting new phone numbers in El Dorado County and surrounding counties could be assigned a number that starts with 837.
DENTAL Insurance
with a child younger than 6 may receive up to $1,154 from the Young Child Tax Credit. For the tax year 2022 forward, no earned income is required to receive YCTC if all other CalEITC and YCTC requirements are met. In addition, those earning less than $66,819 may also qualify for the federal EITC. Between CalEITC, YCTC and the federal EITC, a family can receive up to $12,628.
The Foster Youth Tax Credit provides up to $1,154 per eligible individual or up to $2,308 if both the primary taxpayer and spouse/registered domestic partner qualify.
CalEITC, YCTC, and FYTC can be claimed by filing a state tax return, while the federal EITC is claimed on a federal return. For a calculator to estimate your credits visit ftb.ca.gov/caleitc.
Tax relief for disasters
You may deduct any loss you suffered that was caused by a president- or governor-declared disaster in California. Free copies of tax returns are available
said many El Dorado Hills homeowners will receive refunds for fees levied on building permits issued between 2013 and 2016 by the EDHCSD. A timeframe for those refunds has yet to be determined.
Since the settlement was made public earlier this month, EDHCSD directors have discussed the litigation in closed session but have not reported out any information to the public other than direction was given to counsel.
to disaster victims whose returns were lost or damaged. To receive these free copies, use Form FTB 3516 and write the name of the disaster in blue or black ink at the top of the request. For more information, including a complete list of all disasters declared in California, refer to FTB’s disaster loss webpage.
Making electronic payments
The FTB offers several payment options to taxpayers. You can make direct deposit payments from your bank account via the Web Pay service, pay with a credit card (note that fees apply) or set up payment plans if you qualify (also subject to fees). For more details on payment options visit ftb.ca.gov/pay.
Additional reminders
Taxpayers can use MyFTB to view their tax documents, check balances due, send secure messages to FTB staff and more. For additional free tax filing options visit ftb.ca.gov/efile.
Court of Appeals denied El Dorado County’s appeal, kicking the case back to local courts. Last April El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Gary Slossberg ruled, “Defendants have failed to substantially comply with the fiveyear findings requirement.” The ruling also states that not only were studies not completed within the MFA’s timeframe, “The most glaring omission from the record is any finding that ‘demonstrate(s) a reasonable relationship between the fee and the purpose for which it is charged,’ as required by government code …”
EDHCSD General Manager Mark Hornstra told Village Life in early January the district did not have a written settlement agreement. “Until that written settlement agreement is executed by all parties, the district will not be making any comments,” he shared.
A hearing on the matter was held Jan. 9 and a judge’s written ruling is expected within 90 days of that court date.
In 2015 El Dorado Hills residents Thomas and Helen Austin sued El Dorado County, the El Dorado Hills Community Services District and the El Dorado Hills Fire Department, arguing the agencies violated the California Mitigation Fee Act and shouldn’t have collected certain permit fees paid by home builders in those jurisdictions. The act requires agencies to prepare and approve updated nexus studies every five years that justify fees collected and outline how money will be spent to benefit the public and offset impacts resulting from new development; however, the agencies named in the lawsuit had failed to submit their nexus studies as required at the time the Austins and many others paid fees.
“As such … a refund is mandated, the amount to be determined in the next phase of trial,” the April 15, 2024, ruling’s disposition reads.
El Dorado County Auditor-
Controller Joe Harn informed the Board of Supervisors, which is responsible for approving all nexus studies, in writing in 2013, 2014 and 2015 of MFA violations in the levying of these permit fees but the county continued to collect on behalf of itself and the other agencies. All necessary studies were eventually updated and approved by the supervisors with procedures put into place to ensure a lapse wouldn’t happen again.
Leonardo notes in the news release, “The Austin family’s only motivation in filing the lawsuit was to force the CSD and the county to comply with state law and make the required refunds to homeowners. CSD denies liability … Property taxes are already high in EDH and local government should not enrich itself by levying fees without complying with the MFA.”
The courts ruled in the Austins’ favor and a series of legal maneuvers followed. In November 2019 a state
It’s estimated that if all agencies issue refunds, the amount will total about $30 million.
ing a closer collaboration between the local business community and the fire district, according to a news release from the chamber.
invaluable as we continue to expand our presence in the community but enhance our relationships with our valued businesses throughout El Dorado Hills.”
The appointment came Jan. 6 after Directors Greg Durante, Tim White, Dan Donelli and Kevin Gotro interviewed four candidates for the open seat. Manning will serve a two-year term, after which voters will get to select a candidate to serve the remaining two years.
“We are thrilled to welcome Debbie Manning to the Fire Board,” said interim Fire Chief Michael Lilienthal. “Her expertise and deep connections within the business community will be
During her interview, Manning told the board EDH Fire is the center of the community and she wants to ensure a trustworthy and collaborative relationship between the department and the public. “I just want the fire department to be all it can be,” she shared. As a long-time advocate for El Dorado Hills, Manning as lived in El Dorado Hills for 35 years and brings decades of experience in business leadership, community engagement and strategic
planning. Her dual roles as president and CEO of the chamber and now as a fire board director are expected to strengthen partnerships, enhance communication and drive innovative solutions to benefit residents and businesses alike, the chamber news release notes.
“I am honored to join the El Dorado Hills Fire Board and look forward to contributing to the safety and well-being of our community,” said Manning, who took her oath of office after the board’s unanimous vote. “This role provides an opportunity to bridge the gap between our local businesses and our fire department, ensuring we work together for a more resilient and thriving El Dorado Hills.”
“On behalf of the board of directors and our chamber, we are pleased that Debbie, our president and CEO, has been appointed as a director on the fire board. We are confident that she will bring a wealth of experience in leadership and collaboration, further enhancing the effectiveness of the fire board in ensuring the safety and well-being of our community,” said Jenna Hoyt, chairman of the chamber board.
Manning’s appointment highlights the importance of collaboration between businesses and public safety in addressing the diverse needs of a growing community that is both business friendly and resilient, the news release concludes. As a director, she said she will work toward innovative strategies for public safety, economic prosperity and a stronger future for El Dorado Hills.
With the challenge accepted, Watkins started brewing an idea for a gallery. Her chance meeting with Bates was kismet and the pair set out to make use of an otherwise unused space.
Bates loved the room and immediately went to her extensive rolodex of artists and started making calls. From start to finish, mounting the show took about three weeks.
“I got lucky and everyone was very supportive,” Bates added.
Five artists signed on and submitted their works. A wall hanging system was installed and the inaugural exhibition of Atrium Gallery EDH opened Dec. 7, 2024, just in time for town center’s tree lighting ceremony.
The five participants are each accomplished, prolific artists who are celebrated locally, according to Bates.
“They’re some of Sacramento’s favorites,” Bates boasted, “not just me personally.”
Bates said the gallery was designed to be an artists’ gallery, meaning the shows and the sales of the work are geared toward the artists, not the gallery. Management of the Town Center had been especially easy to work with, she added.
“They don’t gatekeep the clients from the artists,” Bates explained.
Each artist has a QR Code next to their work leading patrons directly to the artist’s website to purchase any piece displayed. Many artists also offer prints of their work through their websites. This system means the artists not only don’t have to wait for the gallery to issue payment, it allows them to interact with the purchaser directly.
“They sell the pieces themselves,” remarked Bates. “No one has to wait for a payment, and there is no secretive list of who our clients are.”
Shows planned for the future include, but are not limited to, one to coincide with the X Games at Cal Expo in August 2025, a hot-rod show to coincide with local car shows, perhaps a Halloween-themed show and a show curated by the El Dorado Hills Arts Association. Calls for artists will go out for each upcoming planned exhibition.
Life is our Canvas will run through February, with a closing reception, 4-8 p.m. on Feb. 9. Atrium Gallery EDH at El Dorado Hills Town Center is located at 4364 Town Center Boulevard, Building 102 atrium lobby. For more information visit edhtowncenter.com.
About the artists
Burner, a native of Sacramento, is a passionate artist known for his stunning murals. He co-owns 1810 Gallery and founded M5arts to create large scale art experiences through projects like the Art Hotel and Art Street. He
joined Trust Your Struggle in 2006, a collective of visual artists, educators and cultural workers dedicated to social justice and community activism through art. He has traveled across the country and overseas to create empowering murals and perform community outreach. Burner can be found at instagram.com/shaunburner.
Peart draws inspiration from nature, retrofuturistic architecture and design and the speculative worlds of science fiction to create visionary landscape paintings. Her work blends natural landscapes with graphic motifs and architectural elements, exploring themes of balance, coexistence and renewal. Based in Sacramento, Peart’s paintings invite viewers into portals of possibility, where past aspirations and future hopes converge. Through dynamic compositions, she offers glimpses of alternative realities and parallel worlds, encouraging us to envision restored relationships with the planet and contemplate a harmonious, innovative future. Peart can be found at jenniferpeart.com.
Uroff is a California-based artist and photographer who draws inspiration from her experience as a woman. Her work explores color and light through installations and photography, using alternative processes like cyanotypes,
gum printing and polaroid transfers. She also creates 3-D pieces with neon lights, sculptures and found objects, often incorporating feminist themes in a traditionally male-dominated medium. Uroff’s art is influenced by her personal stories and childhood memories, creating a dreamlike blend of reality and imagination. Uroff can be found at melissauroff.com.
Gamez was born in Manila, raised in the Bay Area and resides in Sacramento where she practices mixed media sculpture and mural painting. She holds a degree in fine art from California State University, Sacramento, and is dedicated to her trade full time. Her work includes installation, carpentry, writing, curation, art conservation and project management. Her murals can be found locally and globally. She co-founded 1810 Gallery and is a member of M5 Arts Collective, using both platforms to support artists. More about Gamez can be found at franceskagamez.com.
Dahl is a talented oil painter known for her lifelike portraits and figures. Her attention to detail, use of light and
shadow and passion for realism bring her subjects to vibrant life. Although Dahl has been painting her whole life, her road to full-time, professional artist status has an unusual and inspiring genesis, she shared with Village Life.
“The best thing happened,” she remarked. “I broke my spine in 2013.”
Dahl had been working in corporate America, doing her job and trying to pay the bills when one day she looked up and realized she had ended up somewhere she had not planned to be.
“You kind of lose your soul a little bit,” she admitted. “I think at least for me, there was just nothing left in the reserves.”
Suddenly she had time to truly think and take stock. It was the wake-up call she needed.
“It was really just that,” she said. “You’re 100 pounds overweight, you’re doing something that you hate and you haven’t painted in four years.”
The injury put an immediate stop to all of that.
“Then I’m stuck in this body,” she recalled. “This body that didn’t get me where I wanted to be so I started to reevaluate my trips in life.”
She was non-ambulatory for the better part of five years before she could walk again with the help of an “awesome surgeon at Stanford.”
She spent a lot of time sketching from bed.
“It gets kind of messy painting from bed,” she joked.
However, she did find a kind of therapeutic value to the work.
“One of the things that you find out when you’re literally trapped in your own body, is that you realize how much you have going on in your head.”
Art had always been a thing she would use as an escape or a way to work through stuff. However, she says the day to day of having to pay the bills and work that corporate job pulled her further away from her passion.
Becoming disabled took away that need to continue the corporate grind.
“I immediately fell back into doing more art,” she recalled, “doodling, sketching and dreaming.”
She admitted that during that process she realized she always, deep down, wanted to pursue art as a career. However, she had let the nine-to-five life slow down her artistic side.
Once out of the bed she returned to oils, took classes on technique and hasn’t looked back. Today Dahl is a full-time artist and tries to give back when she can by teaching accessible art classes and involving herself creating awareness of the arts in general. Dahl can be found at michelledahlart.com.
Village Life photos by Andrew Vonderschmitt
Shaun Burner’s masterful mix of color and form welcomes visitors to the Atrium Artists Gallery at El Dorado Hills Town Center.
Melissa Uroff invites patrons to explore her playful and surreal world during their visit to the gallery.
NEW ZEALAND – One night in April, Inky the octopus slipped silently out of his ________ at New Zealand’s National Aquarium.
Once out of the tank, Inky _______ across the floor to a six-inch-wide drain. He squeezed his football-sized body through the drain which took him into the Pacific Ocean. And nobody has _______ Inky since that night! !
An octopus has a ________ body and can squeeze its body into very small spaces. In the sea, they like to live ________ in small caves, spaces under rocks or even in pottery that falls from passing __________.
Inky was added to the aquarium in 2014. He had been injured when he was caught in a crayfish pot.
The aquarium staff followed his little suction cup ____________ to discover that Inky had escaped through a small gap at the top of his tank.
Octopuses are very ________________ to keep in aquariums. If they get bored, they start to take things ___________. In 2009, an octopus at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium in California took apart a valve and caused a flood. Another octopus took apart a little robot ___________________ that was in its tank.
in with
is
and Eight
Eight Arms or Legs?
An octopus has eight arms … or are they legs? Scientists think two of the limbs act as legs, and the rest more like arms.
These limbs are called tentacles. Each tentacle has two rows of suckers that sense taste. If an octopus loses a tentacle, it can grow a new one!
Can you follow the inky trail to help this octopus find her cave? e and little robot
Usually, an octopus is brown. But if it gets angry or scared, it changes color depending upon the
Look through the
Try to use the word valve in a sentence today when talking with your friends and family members.
Experience luxury living at its best in this breathtaking home on the prestigious Serrano Golf Course in El Dorado Hills.
This exquisite property lives like a single story, with the primary bedroom on the main level, and o ers captivating views from nearly every room of the house. With a thoughtfully designed oor plan, this home is perfect for both entertaining and everyday living.
Step through the double front door into the welcoming formal living room, complete with natural light via glass doors in front and back, plenty of room for seating and stunning oorto-ceiling, temperature-controlled wine storage, which ties this room to the home’s great room.
Chefs will love preparing appetizers and meals in the gorgeous kitchen with a large island that has a vegetable sink, cooktop and bar seating. Other amenities include a double-door refrigerator, an oven and warming drawer, dishwasher, second sink and ample cabinetry. Enjoy meals in the dining nook and then relax next to the cozy replace. Back patio access makes it easy to take the party outside when the weather warms up.
The home features four bedrooms plus a home o ce that could easily be converted into a h bedroom. This exible space with built-in shelving and a spacious desk can be tailored to suit the new homeowners’ needs. The primary suite is an accommodating oasis with a built-in entertainment center and storage, outdoor access and a beautiful bathroom with a step-up soaking tub and a separate walk-in shower plus dual sinks and a vanity.
Step outside to the beautifully landscaped backyard, where a private pool and spa create the ultimate oasis for relaxation. The serene setting seamlessly blends with the natural beauty of the golf course as the property’s backdrop.
Situated in one of El Dorado Hills’ most desirable neighborhoods, this home o ers easy access to top-rated schools as well as upscale amenities with the country club and guarded access. Serrano boasts immaculate landscaping and miles of hiking/walking trails. The gated community is close to shopping, restaurants and Highway 50.
Interested in a private tour of this lovely Greenview Drive property in El Dorado Hills? Contact Realtor Pat Seide at (916) 712-1617, patricia.seide@cbnorcal.com.
CREATIVE CURRENTS
Photographer shares beauty through his lens
Jordan Hyatt Miller Arts and Culture El Dorado
For Kenneth E. Mahar, an award-winning photographer and active member of several local arts associations, photography is as much a lifestyle as it is an artistic practice.
The backyard of his home in El Dorado Hills is a kind of open-air photography studio: sculptures, topiary and even a bench and handrail transplanted from Golden Gate Park form a series of photogenic scenes. The French doors opening to the backyard frame a vista of rolling hills; next to the framed prints hanging throughout his house, the picturesque view seems to hang on the wall like one more photograph. As we talk, he often interrupts himself to show me pictures, communicating through a thousand words’ worth of images.
“When I look at something, I’m always composing an image,” he explained. “How would I capture this if I had my camera? That’s always in the back of my mind.”
Although he sees the world as if through the lens of a camera, he didn’t pick up
photography until later in life. Born in San Francisco, Ken made his living for 40 years as a painter — the commercial kind, although there was plenty of artistry in his restora-
tions of architecturally beautiful buildings like churches, which he now loves to photo-
graph.
In 2008, while he was living in San Mateo, he joined a ski club in El Dorado County, where he met his wife, Jessica, in 2010. In 2014 they moved into their home in El Dorado Hills. Ken has fully embraced his new community: he has served as the president of the El Dorado Hills Arts Association, where he is now a board member, and is active in the chamber of commerce, the Folsom Arts Association, the Placerville Arts Association and several other charitable organizations in the area.
“Being involved in the community is really important to me,” Ken shared. Ken discovered both his love and his knack for photography during a trip to Kenya in 2009, where he received encouragement from an unlikely source: Barack Obama’s grandmother, “Mama” Sarah Onyango Obama. In the course of the day he spent in her village, Ken showed Mama Sarah some of the pictures he had taken. She told him he should show them to the world. Ken, returning home a dedicated photographer, had 26 of those
Courtesy photos
Ken Mahar always has photography on his mind, whether he’s traveling around the world or relaxing in his backyard in El Dorado Hills. His adventures have taken him to Antartica and the equator.
n See MAHAR, page B5
Ed Sengstack Harris Center for the Arts F
OLSOM — Harris Center for The Arts presents the Tony and Grammy-winning Best Musical “Dear Evan Hansen,” opening Jan. 28. Declared “one of the most remarkable shows in musical theater history” by The Washington Post, “Dear Evan Hansen” is the first musical to take a groundbreaking look — from the point of view of both the parents and young people — at complex, interconnected and social media-filled lives. Evan Hansen is a high school student who always feels like he’s on the outside looking in. Evan finally gets what so many of us are searching for — the chance to finally fit in. What follows is a poignant, funny and powerful musical about how even though it can be hard, we can find each other — and ourselves — along the way. Including some of n
Audience gets doses of mystery, mischief at Sutter Street Theatre
A whodunnit puzzles theatergoers
Ken Ludwig’s “The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays” brings its murderous fun to Sutter Street Theatre, now playing.
It is December 1936 and Broadway star William Gillette, admired the world over for his leading role in the play Sherlock Holmes, has invited his fellow cast members to his Connecticut castle for a weekend of revelry. But when one of the guests is stabbed to death, the festivities in this isolated house of tricks and mirrors quickly turn dangerous.
It is then up to Gillette himself, as he assumes the persona of his beloved Holmes, to track down the
killer before the next victim appears. The danger and hilarity are non-stop in this glittering whodunit set during the Christmas holidays.
This PG production is directed by Anthony DePage with Dena Jimena as assistant to the director. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and 4:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Feb. 16.
What’s in a name?
Enjoy the magical tale of “Rumpelstiltskin” from the Grimm Brothers German fairy tale. The kingdom is almost out of gold after the reckless King and Queen spend the kingdom’s money on frivolous things. The prince is trying to be the voice of reason, hoping to get their spending under control.
Rumpelstiltskin has been banished from the castle for years, after he tried to become more powerful than
the royal family. He begs his mother Circe, a witch, to give him magic. He sees a way to become more powerful by taking advantage of the situation. After Malcolm the Miller brags to his friend that his daughter Sabrina can spin straw into gold the King and Queen hear about it and think this will save the kingdom. Soon everyone learns the importance of a name. This production, rated G, is adapted by Laura Luke and directed by Christine Lovette. Showtimes for “Rumpelstiltskin” are 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Feb. 23.
Sutter Street Theatre is located at 717 Sutter St. in Folsom. Make reservations at SutterStreetTheatre.com or call (916) 353-1001.
Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade
Michael Fabisch and the company of the “Dear Evan Hansen” bring the show to Folsom beginning Jan. 28.
HANSEN, page B5
Photos by Allen Schmeltz
Arie Knyazev, Cattaryna Tevin, Tom Roy and Haley DePage, above,, star in “The Game’s Afoot or Holmes For the Holidays,” now playing. At right, actors Belle Ignacio and Scott Devine help spin the exciting tale of “Rumpelstiltskin,” opening Jan. 25
Allen Schmeltz Sutter Street Theatre
SILVER SCREEN TIME MACHINE
Local teen author looks back at cinema’s golden age
Odin Rasco Senior staff writer
When there’s a world full of social media apps, TikTok (unless that federal ban goes through), Twitch streaming, cell phones and a million other things to take time and attention from teens growing up in the digital age, the last thing you might expect a 15-year-old to do is spend hundreds of hours watching movies from nearly 100 years ago. However, local 15-yearold Simone Elias found an unexpected passion for classic films that she now shares with the world in her recently published book, “Old Films, Young Eyes: A Teenage Take on Hollywood’s Golden Age.”
One of the first questions Elias gets asked when she speaks about her books is how she found herself getting into movies so far removed from the modern day (though, she’d argue, much of the content in old films is more resonant than you’d expect). Elias explained to a crowd gathered at her book’s release party, held at the Bookery in Placerville on Dec. 7, 2024, that her friend had the idea in 2022 to start a podcast talking about old films — “the kind of project you do to put on college applications,” Elias joked.
When Elias first entered into helping with the project, she had little prior experience with black-and-white
era films. She started to watch more films as she helped work on scripts and quickly found herself drawn in by the stories and how some films felt incredibly modern or relatable despite their age.
“When people ask me why I watch old movies, I like to talk about how pieces of beautiful art in art museums never lose their timelessness and relevance,” Elias writes in her book, published by
McFarland & Company.
“If you walked into an art museum, would you say that Monet’s water lilies are outdated?”
Though she started by helping write scripts for the podcast, Elias’ interest in old films quickly grew past those confines. She also started to dive into Hollywood’s history, even coming to find that she had her own link to that era; her great-great grandfather’s brother had been a screenwriter.
Elias’ book considers a bevy of golden age films (though she opts to leave some classics, such as “Casablanca” off the list, as there’s already a fair amount of opinions written about that one) and subjects them to a perspective rarely seen in film criticism — the opinions of a modern teen. Elias also hones in on specific topics and themes she saw commonly popping up in the films, such as the sub-
genre of “working girl” movies and the strong shift in how women were portrayed in film before and after the Hayes Code was adopted by major studios.
Seeing a book she’s written become a published work and seeing the positive response from people who have read it has been the culmination of a lifelong dream for Elias. She recounted a moment in kindergarten when stu-
dents were asked what they wanted to be when they got older. Without hesitation, Elias said she wanted to be an author.
“Now, 10 years later, I’m actually doing it,” Elias said. “Honestly, I thought it was going to take a whole lot longer.”
The process of bringing a book to life was full of lessons for Elias, from staying focused and motivated to managing one’s time. She also had to deal with unusual stresses for a high schooler, such as having little free time to hang out with friends or go out because she had to stay in and work on a manuscript. Luckily, her mother, Jessica Carew Kraft, is also a published author, and helped Elias navigate through some of the process.
Although the book has only been out for a couple months, Elias’ creative mindset is already driving her toward new projects. She said she wants to take on new topics entirely and is working on both fiction and nonfiction projects she hopes to see published in the future.
“I don’t think I’m going to work in film criticism for another book because I feel like this was kind of my try that,” Elias explained. “I want to be creative in every field and I don’t want to limit myself to one thing. I do definitely want to do more involving media and arts, though, because those are my favorite things.”
Raley’s announces new Food for Families grants
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WEST SACRAMENTO — To assist with the ongoing challenge of safely storing, transporting and distributing food, Raley’s is introducing a new Food for Families grant program for its partner food banks and supporting networks. Starting at a minimum of $5,000 each, the grants will reflect a wide range of funding depending on the demonstrated need of the requesting food bank. The new Food for Families Grant program is made possible by Raley’s and donations from throughout the community. Donations are being gratefully accepted now at the Sacramento Region Community Foundation site to support this important initiative that represents an expansion of the long-time Food for Families effort.
provide food to communities. Grant applications are accepted now through Feb. 7, with application forms provided directly to and through Raley’s Food for Families food bank partners to their partner agencies.
“Our goal at Raley’s is to help get food in the hands of as many people in need as possible,” said Carbahal. “We know the food that we and our food bank partners provide is only helpful if there is a means to safely store and distribute it. This new Food for Families grant funding effort is all about growing the positive impact in our communities and helping provide the physical means to do so.”
“This new Food for Families grant funding effort is all about growing the positive impact in our communities ...”
— Chelsea Carbahal with Raley’s Food For Families
Raley’s Food for Families, their nonprofit converts customer and team members donations into food for more than 2.2 million people each month through 12 partner food banks in the communities where Raley’s serves.
“For years, Raley’s customers have provided unwavering support with their generous donations to our Food for Families program. Through experience with our ongoing programs, we recognized the need to further support the crucial food distribution needs within our existing food bank family,” said Chelsea Carbahal, executive director, Raley’s Food For Families. “This new Food for Families grant program will enable our current partners to more effectively and efficiently serve their communities by equipping them with resources that otherwise may have been out of reach financially.”
Grant funds will help support food bank necessities, such as refrigerators, freezers, warehouse racking, transportation crates, shipping vehicles and other infrastructure items required to safely
Raley’s anticipates awarding up to $500,000 in grant funding in the first year of the new program. Grant funding will be made available in two waves, including this current grant application phase and another scheduled for later in the year. The Food for Families grant program is available to Raley’s Food for Families food bank partners and their expansive network of more than 2,400 partner agencies, such as smaller food banks, food closets and church distribution sites.
Growing from a single store opening in 1935, The Raley’s Companies now includes brick and mortar locations under Raley’s and Bashas’ family of brands, including: Raley’s, Bel Air, Nob Hill, Raley’s ONE Market, Bashas’, Food City, AJ’s Fine Foods, and Bashas’ Diné Markets. In addition to the special hurricane relief efforts, The Raley’s Companies are deeply committed to giving back by addressing local hunger needs, advocating for good and focusing on child welfare, the environment and sustainability, food access, food system education and total wellness. Between 2022 and 2023, the organization donated more than $3 million to local and regional nonprofits. For more information visit raleys. com/giving/food-for-families.
Village Life photo by Odin Rasco
Simone Elias speaks to a small crowd gathered in the back yard of the Bookery on Main Street in Placerville during her book launch event in early December 2024.
SAFE seeks applicants for financial literacy grant
Caitlin Estes SAFE Credit Union
FOLSOM — SAFE Credit Union
will grant $20,000 to a Sacramentoregion nonprofit offering financial literacy programs to help people gain the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to build solid financial futures.
Applications are being accepted online through Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, on SAFE’s website.
“As a financial institution that serves thousands of families, we see firsthand how important it is for people to understand basics like how credit works, saving for emergencies, and budgeting to be sure you can cover all your expenses,” said SAFE Credit Union Vice President Community Relations and Financial Education Rebecca Delmundo. “Unfortunately, not everyone learns this from their families or in school. We’re happy to see more nonprofits offering programs
that help people learn how to successfully handle their finances, and SAFE is ready to help support their efforts.”
The grant will be awarded to support a program operated by a nonprofit that provides financial education programs to youth and/or underserved communities.
SAFE Credit Union has four grant cycles a year, awarding up to $20,000 each round to nonprofits with programs that support financial wellbeing, education opportunities, affordable housing and workforce development. More information on SAFE’s grant program and other philanthropic efforts is available at safecu.org/community/community-impact.
Grants are just one way SAFE supports financial education in the community. The credit union offers nocost financial education programs to high school students and young adults through its interactive budgeting simulation, Budget Cents, and hosts events.
STEM students encouraged to apply for PG&E scholarships
Paul Moreno PG&E
OAKLAND — The PG&E Corporation Foundation is inviting applicants for its annual Better Together STEM Scholarship Program for students pursuing science, technology, engineering and math disciplines.
The PG&E Foundation will provide $350,000 in total funding for 60 scholarships in the amounts of $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 awards for eligible students.
Better Together STEM Scholarships are designed to give the next generation of Californians an opportunity to learn and succeed in higher education and support students who have made an impact in their community or who have overcome personal challenges.
“For more than a decade, the PG&E Corporation Foundation has had the honor of helping students pursue careers as scientists, engineers and innovators powering California’s clean energy progress and future. It is our privilege to play a part in helping these young people grow and succeed in their academic and professional endeavors,” said Carla Peterman, PG&E Corporation executive vice president, Corporate Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer and chair of the foundation board.
Evan Hansen
the most iconic musical theatre songs from the last decade, including “You Will Be Found,” “Waving Through A Window” and “For Forever,” “Dear Evan Hansen” features an uplifting score by the Emmy, Tony, Grammy and Oscar-winning team behind “The
pictures enlarged, framed and exhibited.
The Better Together STEM Scholarship program has evolved to help lessen the financial burden of attending college for more students and their families.
In 2023, the PG&E Foundation added a new $5,000 scholarship that expanded the program to 20 additional students — up from 40 to 60 student recipients. In 2022, responding to a trend in applications from students admitted to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, eligibility expanded to students planning to attend HBCUs anywhere in the United States, in addition to California colleges and universities.
Since 2012, the Better Together STEM Scholarship Program has awarded $7.45 million to accomplished students based on a combined demonstration of community leadership, personal triumph, financial need and academic achievement.
Deadline and criteria
Interested applicants can learn more and apply on pge.com; search of scholarships. Deadline to apply is March 14. Scholarships will be awarded by August. Scholarships will be awarded based on academic achievement, demonstrated participation and leadership in school and community activities and financial need. Students must pursue qualifying degrees in STEM disciplines include engineering, computer sci-
Greatest Showman,” “La La Land” and “Only Murders in the Building,” Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Tony Award-winner Steven Levenson. “Dear Evan Hansen” is recommended for ages 12 and older and contains adult themes, including discus-
As a photographer, Ken’s favored subjects are nature, wildlife, architecture and geology.
“I just love formations,” he said. “All the different variables in nature, the structures and sequences — you always see something a little different.”
His frequent trips to far-flung locales like Africa, Europe, New Zealand and even Antarctica make for
Assistant I $25.35-$30.82 www.eid.org/jobs
ence/information systems, cybersecurity, environmental sciences, math and physics.
Applications are open to:
• High school seniors or graduates
• Students who have received a GED certification
• Current undergraduate students
• Non-traditional students or military veterans returning to school or pursuing their first undergraduate degree
• Applicants must live or be a dependent of a resident in PG&E’s service area in Northern and Central California; plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study for the entire 2025-26 academic year; and be seeking their first undergraduate degree at an accredited four-year institution in California or HBCU.
PG&E Employee Resource Group scholarships
In addition to the Better Together STEM Scholarship Program, PG&E’s 11 employee resource groups and two engineering networking groups award scholarships to help offset the cost of higher education. The funds are raised entirely through coworker donations, coworker fundraising events and the company’s coworker giving program. Since 1989, more than $6 million in ERG/ENG scholarships have been received by thousands of recipients.
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sions of suicide. The musical is performing eight times Jan. 28 through Feb. 2 with Tuesday through Saturday evening performances at 7:30 p.m. and Friday through Sunday matinées at 2 p.m. at Harris Center for the Arts, 10 College Parkway in Folsom. Tickets for “Dear Evan Hansen” are on sale now at the Harris Center box office at (916) 608-6888 or online at HarrisCenter.net. Box office hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and one hour before each showtime.
spectacular pictures, but he doesn’t need to travel the world to find and photograph whole worlds of complexity.
“I do macrophotography right here in my backyard,” he said.
Ken can find inspiration everywhere — even in unnerving encounters with the animals he loves to photograph. In Grand Teton National Park, a moose came so close to him that his telephoto lens could no longer focus on it. Backed up against a body of water, looking it square in its eyes, Ken could do nothing but wait for it to leave.
“What was I to do? I can’t jump in the water; he’s better in the water than I am,” he said with a laugh. “I love animals too much to fear them, although I
probably should.”
Photography enhances Ken’s experience of everything he loves, from travel and the outdoors to his daily life in El Dorado Hills. “Photography teaches you to be patient and observant,” Ken explained. “It slows me down and lets me appreciate things.
“Even driving with my wife, I’m always saying, ‘Stop! I need to take a picture of that,’” he continued. Through his work in the community, whether he’s hosting artists at his home for EDHAA studio tours or serving as a volunteer judge in a competition for aspiring photographers, Ken loves giving others the chance to have their own lives enhanced by art, declaring, “I think having art in the community is so important. It brings our community together.”
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Courtesy photo
SAFE financial educators and volunteers help with a Budget Cents budgeting simulation at a high school.
Face in a Book’s love of mystery writers rewarded
W
hat do Angela Lansbury, Alfred Hitchcock and bookstore owner Tina Ferguson have in common? They are all recipients of the Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America.
The Mystery Writers of America is the premier organization for mystery and crime writers and professionals allied to the crime-writing field. In addition to providing support and resources for its members, it is the granting organization for the prestigious Edgar and Raven Awards.
“I am utterly shocked, humbled, and delighted to hear the news that Face in a Book is receiving the Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America,” said owner Tina Ferguson. “We work hard to create an atmosphere of partnership with the mystery writers in our community but never expected to be honored in this way.”
The Raven Award recognizes outstanding achievement by non-writers and institutions deemed to have made a significant contribution to the mystery genre. Awarded since 1953, it is not bestowed every year. Previous recipients include artists like Tom Lehrer and Alfred Hitchcock and organizations including Left Coast Crime, the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress and Sisters in Crime. A handful of bookstores have received the recognition too.
“All of us at Face in a Book are thrilled to be
included in the ranks with outstanding bookstores like The Mystery Galaxy Bookstore in San Diego, Once Upon a Crime in Minneapolis and The Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, Ariz.,” Ferguson shared. “Since opening our doors in 2012, our goal has been to create a vibrant, welcoming space for both mystery writers and readers.” Face in a Book in El Dorado Hills Town Center
is a hub for fans of the genre, playing host to wellestablished writers’ meetings and successful author events. Ferguson’s love for the genre is apparent in the carefully curated selection of books represented in her mystery section. “I grew up wanting to be Nancy Drew,” Ferguson said. “But I’m forever grateful that I grew up to be a bookstore owner in a community abounding with writers and readers who love a good whodunit.”
“Independent bookstores are the backbone of the mystery community,” said Mystery Writers of America board member James L’Etoile. “On behalf of the entire board of directors, we were thrilled to select Face in a Book as this year’s Raven Award recipient. Tina Ferguson, Janis Herbert and the staff go above and beyond to support the writing community. Face in a Book is so much more than a bookstore; it has become a place of learning, engaging and celebrating all things mystery. We couldn’t be happier with this year’s recognition of Face in a Book.”
The awards ceremony will be on May 1st at the Marriott Marquis Times Square New York, where Ferguson will receive the Raven Award alongside the 2025 Grand Masters, Laura Lippman and John Sandford.
Face in a Book is located at 4359 Town Center Blvd, Suite 113, El Dorado Hills. For more information call (916) 941-9401 or visit getyourfaceinabook. com.
Courtesy photo
Face in a Book owner Tina Ferguson has welcomed many mystery writers and readers into her El Dorado Hills shop.
