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171
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Volume 171 • Issue 80 | $1.00
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Monday, July 11, 2022
Input sought on FAIR Plan Eric Jaramishian Staff writer California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is hosting an investigatory hearing July 13 regarding California’s FAIR Plan insurance program to gather information, facts and testimony from the public. The open hearing is meant to determine how to better meet property owners’ needs across the state, according to the commissioner’s office. “The impetus for this hearing are persistent concerns raised by consumers, businesses, insurance producers, elected officials and the commissioner about the FAIR Plan’s internal operations and external factors including, but not limited to, the need for greater liability coverage for homes and businesses, the need for increased personnel and resources, the handling of smoke claims, higher commercial coverage limits and interpretation of underwriting guidelines, among other factors,” states a June 10 news release from Lara’s office. “The FAIR Plan must be held to the highest standards of service and consumer protection and continue to evolve with the changing times in order to remain relevant, available and ready to meet continued consumer needs,” continues the release. The FAIR plan offers last-resort fire insurance coverage established in 1968 by the state Legislature for homeowners and businesses unable to find insurance in the traditional marketplace. According to a July 7 Facebook post, El Dorado County District 3 Supervisor Wendy Thomas was invited by Lara’s office to share her own testimony during the hearing, having recently lost coverage on a Placerville commercial property she is part owner of and scrambling to find insurance. Thomas said she had nine days before her coverage was about to expire to find insurance. Not receiving anything in the traditional market, she had no choice but to go with the FAIR Plan. Her insurance agent said it would take about three to five days to get the policy. That was not the case; the Broadway property had to go about 15 days without insurance. Thomas told the Mountain Democrat she had “trememdous challenges” with the FAIR Plan, calling the process of obtaining coverage difficult and “clunky.” “We have tenants and a mortgage and we couldn’t do anything about it,” Thomas said. n
See Fair plan, page A7
Mountain Democrat photo by Sel Richard
Barry Gordon pauses his cleanup work at the El Dorado Hills Post Office. The resident has been clearing litter, brush and weeds in areas around the community as a gesture of goodwill.
Homeless man cleaning up El Dorado Hills
Sel Richard Staff writer
“I
walk here every day,” said Barry Gordon as he raked leaves outside the El Dorado Hills Post Office on a sultry Saturday morning. An unassuming, quiet fellow, the 71 year old has taken it upon himself to clean up various areas around the El Dorado Hills community, including the post office grounds. “Anything in front of me when I walk, if it’s trash I pick it up.” Gordon lives out of his car and is saving up Social Security checks to fix the brakes, so every morning he walks to McDonald’s for breakfast. “When I do that, I watch everything here and how
filthy it is and how the wind blows in the trash. I see all this dead stuff when it should be green stuff,” he said. Tired of looking at garbage and lifeless foliage, Gordon ventured into the post office one day to find out if anyone was taking care of the outside area. Upon learning that cleanup efforts had been sporadic at best, he offered his services as a donation. “They both kind of shook their heads,” he said, grinning at postal workers’ disbelief. “I’m going to go ahead and clean this up like it should be.” Since then, Gordon has spent most weekends and some evenings tidying up the landscaping as well as the fields
he walks past on his way to breakfast, acreage behind US Bank and Pottery World where he says weeds have taken over a cement culvert. “I got four big piles,” he said proudly of the debris he will pack into trash bags he bought himself. “It will look nice for anyone to walk through there.” Originally from San Bernardino, Gordon moved to the Grand Oaks area of Citrus Heights at 11 years old and grew up in Carmichael. Although he was formerly living in an apartment and working at a McDonald’s in Rio Linda, he was forced out in the late 1990s when his rent was raised. See Gordon, page A8
n
Foothill farm advisor to retire after 22 years Mike Hsu University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Serving Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado and Tuolumne counties, PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
UC Cooperative Extension advisor Lynn Wunderlich was formally assigned to focus on viticulture and integrated pest management in the region. But her curiosity — as well as her dedication to meeting the wide-ranging needs of local communities — led her to develop expertise in an array of topics. “That was both the challenge and the opportunity of being a foothill farm advisor — lots of small farms, lots of diverse agriculture, so I got to do some cool things,” said Wunderlich, who is set to retire on July 1. “To serve the needs of the clientele up here was very gratifying and interesting.”
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Wunderlich earned her bachelor’s degree in bacteriology and plant pathology from University of WisconsinMadison and her master’s degree in plant protection and pest management from the University of California, Davis. After several years as a UCCE staff research associate in Ventura and Monterey counties, Wunderlich began as a UCCE farm advisor in 2000 for El Dorado and Amador counties. Although initially tasked with supporting tree fruit and specialty crop growers in topics such as researching alternative methods for managing codling moths, Wunderlich soon found herself studying organizational dynamics
Photo by Robin Cleveland
Lynn Wunderlich conducted trials with Nordmann fir, a pest-resistant Christmas tree species, just one example of the breadth of her work. and bylaws to help the Placerville Fruit Growers Association cooperative transition to become a limited liability company. “It was really different than anything I’d been
trained in before,” Wunderlich said. That early experience set the tone for the rest of her career, as she continued to seek out — and share — knowledge across the expansive
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breadth of her work. In 2007 Wunderlich took on the viticulture role in Amador and El Dorado counties, where grape growers sought counsel n
Lic. 559305
See Wunderlich, page A8
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