Mountain Democrat, Friday, September 20, 2024

Highway 50 murder suspect arraigned; details released

The El Dorado County District Attorney’s O ce has filed murder charges against Scott Michael Boyles, in connection with the Highway 50 shooting that left a woman dead on Sept. 7. Boyles pleaded not guilty to all charges when arraigned in El Dorado County Superior Court on Sept. 10. He is in custody at the El Dorado County Jail without bail, and is scheduled to next appear in court Oct. 14. More information related to the alleged Sept. 7 homicide discovered at the side of Highway 50 has come to light, revealed in a recent press release and court documents obtained by the Mountain Democrat.

A California Highway Patrol o cer patrolling along Highway 50 spotted a pickup truck parked at the side of the road east of Snows Road in Camino shortly after 6:30 a.m. Sept. 7,

according to a statement of facts submitted to court by the DA’s O ce. The o cer stopped alongside the vehicle and noted a bullet hole in the

driver side window; as he attempted to reposition his vehicle, a man later identified as 38-year-old Sacramento resident Boyles exited from the driver’s side of

the vehicle, covered in blood.

Boyles initially told the o cer that his girlfriend, who was in the vehicle, had been shot during a road rage incident, the DA O ce claims. The responding o cer attempted to detain Boyles, who resisted until backup arrived. O cers discovered a woman, identified as J. Doe in court documents, in the passenger seat, slumped over. When o cers removed her from the vehicle, they determined she was dead, with a bullet entry wound to the temple area of her

head. Boyles is said to have “spontaneously stated that the shooting was an accident.” After o cers read him his Miranda Rights, he claimed he had been attempting to commit suicide, but his girlfriend had tried to take the gun from him. During the struggle, the gun went o , missing him and then went o a second time, hitting her. The statement of facts submitted to the court indicates Boyles has stippling on his face consistent with his claim that the gun had

Housing El Dorado tackles mobile home park woes STOWAWAY

Eric

Jaramishian Senior sta writer

A recent study looking into mobile home parks in El Dorado County shows residents are facing hardships with rising rent and old infrastructure, giving concern that more seniors could become homeless.

Vice President of Housing El Dorado Frank Porter, who serves an organization that works to promote a ordable housing solutions, revealed to the county’s Commission on Aging that mobile home residents are scared to lose their housing due to inflation and rent increases.

“We really wanted to do a survey to really guide plans, findings and actions about mobile home residents

and to help them, because we all realize there’s a severe problem in our mobile home parks,” Porter said.

Porter showed the commission during an Aug. 15 meeting that of 185 responses from a mobile home survey conducted by HED, in collaboration with the El Dorado Community Foundation, many reported annual rent rate increases, some as high as 8%, which has become “a large risk factor that could lead to homelessness.”

Nearly 75% of the survey respondents were making less than $38,000 annually and are classified as “very low income,” Porter noted. The median income countywide was

■ See SURVEY, page A8

■ Wild animal surprises local woman

Mountain Democrat sta

An El Dorado County resident unintentionally brought back more than fond memories from her recent trip to Yosemite National Park when a marmot snuck a ride in her vehicle’s engine compartment. ■ See SUSPECT, page A8

■ See MARMOT, page A8

The marmot is safely contained in a carrier after his rescue. He was later released back into the wild in Yosemite.

Courtesy photos

Teamwork gets the job done — retrieving a marmot from the engine compartment of an El Dorado County resident’s vehicle.

Mountain Democrat photo by Eric Jaramishian

El Dorado County mobile home park residents claim they are seeing increases in annual rent and other costs, putting them at risk of becoming homeless, according to Housing El Dorado.

Courtesy photo Scott Michael Boyles stands facing a California Highway Patrol vehicle after having been taken into custody on suspicion of murder. Boyles has pleaded not guilty to all charges filed against him.

ESSENTIALS

Ashley “Joe” Keith Young Jr.

Jan. 12, 1949 – July 9, 2024

Ashley “Joe” Keith Young Jr. passed away on July 9, 2024, at the age of 75, in Roseville, CA. Joe was born on January 12, 1949, and is survived by his loving wife, Susan Young of 55 years; children Joe and Karen Young, James and Lisa Young, Jeremy and Rachel Young; five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ashley Keith Sr. and Mammie Young. Joe served with distinction in the United States Marine Corp, active duty in Vietnam from 1968 to 1970. His military service remained a proud and significant part of his life. He was an active member of the Veteran’s Hall Marine Corp League 697, VFW 10165, and Fleet Reserve 275, reflecting his deep commitment to his fellow veterans. Professionally, Joe dedicated many years to the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) from 1972 to 1980, Save Tow on Nights and Weekends from 1974 to 1980 and the El Dorado Irrigation District (EID) from 1980 until his retirement in 2012. Known for his surgeon-like precision as a backhoe operator and an elephant-like memory, Joe’s work ethic was nothing short of outstanding. Beyond his professional and military achievements, Joe was a man of deep faith and respect for God, though he did not attend any specific church. His unwavering love extended to all of his family, friends, and anyone in need. His ability to strike a conversation with anyone exemplified his inclusive and warm nature. Joe’s hobbies included coaching his sons and grandkids through Little League, a testament to his dedication to family and community. He cherished the time spent with his children and grandchildren above all. A memorial service followed by a Celebration of Life will be held at the Veteran’s Hall located at 130 Placerville Dr, Placerville, CA 95667, on September 28, 2024, at 2:30 pm. In remembrance of Joe, the family requests that you thank a Veteran, honoring his memory and lifelong values.

Danna Pimental

Jan. 31,1954 – Aug. 30, 2024

Danna Pimental, born on January 31, 1954, in Vacaville, California, passed away on August 30, 2024, in Cedar Grove, California, where she died peacefully in her sleep. Growing up in Vacaville, Danna was known for her vibrant spirit and kind heart. After high school, she moved to Cedar Grove to create a life with her husband, Rod Pimental, who she was married to for 50 wonderful years, and together they built a lifetime of memories filled with love and laughter. Danna was a dedicated employee at Raley’s in Placerville, California, where she worked for 20 years and made many lasting friendships along the way. Danna is survived by her husband, Rodney Pimental; her daughter, Lynda; her husband, Vernon, and their two children, Alexia and Cameron. She also leaves behind her mother, Norma Moss; her siblings: Cheryl Bear and her family, Pam Markley and her family, and brother James “Jimmy” Jackson and his family. Danna was preceded in death by her father Paul Jackson, her cherished son Marc Pimental and her brother Roger Jackson. Danna will be remembered for her unwavering love for her family, her hard work and dedication, and her ability to bring people together. Her infectious laughter and generous spirit touched the lives of many, and she will be deeply missed by all who knew her. A celebration of life will be held on September 21, 2024, from 12 PM to 4 PM at Pleasant Valley Community Hall, located at 4765 Pleasant Valley Grange Rd., Placerville, CA. All are welcome to join the family in honoring Danna’s memory. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Diabetes Foundation.

Carol Elaine Pearson April 7,1952 - April 22, 2024

Carol Elaine Lumley was born in Marshall Hospital on Monday, April 7, 1952. Daughter of Raymond C. Lumley and Evelyn (Sally) Lumley, both from El Dorado County. Carol is proceeded by her Mother and Father as well as her brother Rodney Lumley. She is survived by her son, Bryson Donavan Pearson and daughter Abbey Elaine Pearson and her four grandsons, River, Harrison, Brody and Wade. Carol lived a life of lifetimes. She was an adorable child. She was a beautiful young woman and in her age beauty never left her. Carol was a verbal history book. Taking after her grandmother, Alice Lyons; she became the keeper of family memories from generations past. In fact of anyone, in or close to the family had a question you could be sure Carol knew the answer. Carol was a proud El Dorado Couger Alumni class of 1970. After her highschool graduation Carol moved onto college in Sacramento and then to secretarial school. She excelled! Carol raised a house and turned it into a loving home with her husband. She retired to her family homestead at Phillips Station near Echo Summit in 2000. With 20 years of Mountain life under her belt she moved back to Diamond Springs for a short year. The move brought her closer to her best friends. Best friends are best medicine. Mrs. Carol Pearson was a giver, a mother, a sister, a partner, a friend and is missed by so many. Carol passed away just before noon on a lovely day in April. She was holding the hands of her two children in peace. A Memorial to celebrate Carol’s life will be held at Phillips Station on September 22 at 2:30pm. Because of the fire that destroyed Carol’s house, there is limited photos. If you have any and plan to attend, please bring photos to share.

Tyson Hadley

May 6, 1935 – Sept. 8, 2024

We mourn the passing of Tyson Hadley, a man of steely resolve and indomitable spirit. His natural warmth and innate sense of humor put people around him at ease. You could guarantee he would have those around him smiling and laughing, and feeling like they mattered. If something was broken, Ty could fix it—whether he was underneath a house, caked in mud mending a leaking pipe, covered head to toe in grease while tuning an engine, or in his shirt and tie, guiding a student through life’s decisions, or making sure graduation came o without a hitch during his long career as a counselor at Ponderosa High School. A tireless worker and lifelong athlete, Ty was always there to support, uplift, and advocate for those around him. Charmingly unrefined, he was never without a quote, poem, song or pun to suit every occasion. His deep love for his family was evident in all aspects of his life.

Tyson is survived by his beloved wife, Helen, the love of his life, and his two children, James and Holly, and three cherished grandchildren, Aram, Saeah, and Simon. His legacy of hard work, love, dedication, and humor will continue to live on in the hearts of all who knew him.

Celebration of Life

To all who knew and loved Ty, we know he is best described as down to earth, heartfelt, and joyous. Being minimalist and uncomplicated were strong values of his, and he made it very clear he did not want a traditional memorial. Honoring this wish, we are hosting an informal potluck at Wakamatsu Farm on October 13th at 3pm.

Come gather with us and bring something to share: a dish, a drink, an instrument to play, a song, a photo, or a story to tell, all with love in your heart for Ty. This occasion is intended to be simple, yet full of love, sharing, and friendship to celebrate a life well lived.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Snowline Hospice of El Dorado.

DEATH NOTICE

Jeanne Bland

July 22, 1926 – Aug. 13, 2024

Public input sought on wildfire plan

Carla Hass EDC Chief Administrative O ce

El Dorado County is soliciting public input on its update to the Western El Dorado Community Wildfire Protection Plan, a critical, communitydriven planning document designed to identify and evaluate local wildfire hazards and risks across the west slope of the county and outline actions to address them.

Upon completion, anticipated in spring 2025, this updated CWPP will guide priorities for wildfire mitigation and support funding requests for future projects aimed at reducing the threat of wildfires. A CWPP is collaboratively developed by the county’s O ce of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience, Fire Safe Councils, community members and partner agencies including local fire districts, Cal Fire, the Eldorado National Forest, El Dorado County Sheri ’s O ce of Emergency Services, Resource Conservation Districts and other stakeholders.

It identifies the specific wildland fire risks facing local communities and provides prioritized recommendations to reduce those risks. The plan highlights key mitigation strategies such as hazardous fuels reduction, infrastructure protection, enhancing public preparedness, public education, and reducing structure ignitability through defensible space and home hardening. Benefits of El Dorado County’s CWPP update include:

Enhancing life, safety and preparedness for both the public and first responders;

Reducing wildfire threats to critical infrastructure as well as values and assets at risk;

Promoting the creation of fire-adapted communities; Prioritizing mitigation actions for identified risks and hazards across the west slope of El Dorado County;

Strengthening the county’s resilience to future climate change impacts; and, Improving public trust, accountability and e ciency in implementing the action items of the CWPP.

Public participation throughout this process is crucial to the plan’s success, as community input will help ensure the CWPP addresses local concerns, priorities and goals for wildfire risk reduction.

“Engaging our community is essential to developing a well-informed and actionable plan, and we strongly encourage our community members to provide input by taking the survey and attending one of the five upcoming CWPP public workshops,” said Tom Meyer, OWPR project manager. “These workshops will not only provide an opportunity for members of our community to gain an understanding of what a CWPP is and why it’s important, but it’s a chance for them to voice their concerns, priorities, and goals for wildfire risk reduction and be a part of developing practical solutions for the future.”

Visit Western El Dorado County Community Wildfire Protection Plan website at storymaps. arcgis.com/stories/89033f5b1e2a422e95203f8544 2b5a59 for more information about the CWPP and to take the survey.

For other information contact the O ce of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience at wildfireready@edcgov.us or (530) 621-5569

Public workshops

Oct. 2: Pioneer Elementary School, 6860 Mt. Aukum Road, Somerset, 6-8 p.m.

Oct. 3: Golden Sierra High School, 5101 Garden Valley Road, Garden Valley, 6-8 p.m.

Oct. 5: Pinewood Elementary School, 6181 Pine St., Pollock Pines, 9-11 a.m.

Oct. 5: Diamond Springs Firefighters Memorial Hall, 3734 China Garden Road, Diamond Springs, 1-3 p.m.

Oct. 5: Cameron Park Community Services District, 2502 Country Club Drive, Cameron Park, 4-6 p.m.

EDSO CRIME LOG

The following information was taken from El Dorado County sheri ’s reports: Aug. 18

Midnight. Deputies booked into jail a 52-year-old man on suspicion of vandalism and cruelty to an adult on Highland Circle in Placerville. He was released on $85,000 bail.

12:44 a.m. California Highway Patrol

o cers booked into jail a 46-year-old woman on suspicion of DUI and child abuse on El Dorado Hills Boulevard in El Dorado Hills. She was released on $15,000 bail.

1:52 a.m. California Highway Patrol

o cers booked into jail a 35-year-old man on suspicion of DUI on Los Santos Drive in Cameron Park. He was later released on $75,000 bail.

3:38 a.m. Deputies booked into jail a 42-year-old man on suspicion of disorderly conduct on Yellowstone Lane in El Dorado Hills. He was later released.

4:09 a.m. Deputies booked into jail a 38-year-old man on suspicion of disorderly conduct and battery on Yellowstone Lane in El Dorado Hills. He was released on $63,000 bail.

8:29 a.m. Deputies

DECISION 2024

■ Two separate races on the ballot for three El Dorado Hills Fire

✯ Chuck King Noel Stack Editor

When snakes slithered into Chuck King’s yard at his Blackstone property shortly after he moved in, the former law enforcement professional took action.

Unfortunately, despite the slippery situation — he killed 44 snakes over two years — bureaucratic red tap dispensed by the homeowners’ association prevented him from installing a special fence to keep his unwanted guests out.

“When everything else fails, get involved,” King said.

He took a vacant seat on the HOA board and quickly became vice president and then president. His focus shifted from his backyard to his neighborhood. Now, as a candidate for the El Dorado Hills Community Services District Board of Directors, King has his sights set on the entire community.

“I never dreamed of doing anything like this,” shared the retired internal a airs investigator who moved to EDH in 2017.

The catalyst to broader involvement

✯ Steve Gutierrez Noel Stack Editor

Describing the state of the current El Dorado Hills Community Services District as “in crisis,” resident Steve Gutierrez said he’s running for a seat on the board of directors to restore transparency, honesty and accountability. A resident of El Dorado Hills since 2016 and the current president of the Promontory Homeowners Association, Gutierrez said he first got involved in district politics when his neighborhood had issues several years ago with noise and late-night parties at Kalithea Park. Dissatisfied with CSD leadership’s lack of response, he said he began looking into park assessment fees and discovered “miscalculations” that led to over-taxing and yet the district wasn’t taking care of its parks. From there his interest only grew and he soon found a seat on the EDHCSD LLAD Advisory Committee — but this only led to more frustration.

“I wasn’t getting enough cooperation from the sta ,” he told Village Life. “They were trying to control the committee.” Gutierrez resigned from that committee shortly after it was revealed that then-EDHCSD General Manager

✯ Noelle Mattock

Noel Stack Editor

For 16 years Noelle Mattock has served on the El Dorado Hills Community Services District Board of Directors. She’s asking voters for four more, not only to continue meeting and expanding EDH’s recreational opportunities, but also to strengthen the district’s reputation.

“There has been much turmoil over the actions of the former general manager. His actions have eroded the trust of the community and this board has made every e ort to be as open and transparent as we navigated this challenging situation,” Mattock told Village Life. “I remain optimistic that, through our continued collaboration with the community, we can restore any trust that may have been compromised.”

A step in that restoration of trust begins with Mattock and Director Ben Paulsen, who did not file paperwork to run for another term. Last month the board hired an independent firm to investigate the two directors at the request of Dean Getz, a frequent EDHCSD board meeting attendee and oftentimes critic.

Getz claims both Mattock and Paulsen were aware that former EDHCSD General Manager Kevin Loewen, who resigned in December 2023, was working for district consultant DTA while also employed with the CSD. A report released earlier this year confirmed Loewen’s employment and noted it was a clear conflict of interest and violation of CSD policy. Getz alleges this relationship led to the district’s arguments with and later a lawsuit against El Dorado County Auditor-Controller Joe Harn regarding Lighting and Landscaping District assessments. Mattock has publicly denied the allegations.

When asked if there are any

in El Dorado Hills matters started just down the road from King’s home.

Project Frontier rode into town, catching may residents o guard.

Hearing frustration after frustration from neighbors who couldn’t get answers from county o cials, King and other civic-minded residents mobilized and educated the public about the entirety and impacts of the project.

“And it worked,” King said. The project was axed before it got too far o the ground.

Kevin Loewen was working a side job with district consultant DTA, which prepared the LLAD assessments — a clear conflict of interest and violation of his employment contract with the CSD, as noted in a investigative report issued earlier this year. Loewen resigned last year.

“And then I wanted to know what else was wrong,” Gutierrez shared.

From spending millions of taxpayers’ dollars on unnecessary lawsuits to passing incomplete budgets, not to mention the failure to complete an audit and careless spending, Gutierrez called out the current and past boards for a lack of transparency

decisions/actions she wished she could go back and change, Mattock responded, “It’s easy to play Monday night quarterback and question decisions and if they could have or should have been di erent. So, yes, over the years as I have learned more there are decisions that I believe could have been improved. But, board members have to make decisions at a certain point in time with the best information available to them.”

Despite the hardships, Mattock maintains her love for the community and her commitment to serve.

“I was blessed to be raised here and have a sense of pride in where I come from and how we have grown as a community,” she shared.

Mattock’s parents moved to El Dorado Hills in 1970 when she about 2 1/2. She has called the community home for about 53 years, attending Jackson Elementary School and Rescue Jr. High. She was part of Oak Ridge High School’s third graduating class.

“And, growing up the CSD was an integral part of my life as I participated in the TAZ swim team and enjoyed the amazing parks, open space and other activities the CSD had to o er,” Mattock shared. “In 2005 I was blessed to be ■ See MATTOCK, page A8

Next he got involved with the EDHCSD’s negotiations with Parker Development regarding the golf course property, helping bring the parties together. That led him to EDHCSD board meetings, where more issues caught his attention and ultimately inspired him to run for a seat.

“Communicate, collaborate and compromise.” King said all three are needed to fix problems and restore the public’s trust in district leadership.

“The problem is you have to have people willing to communicate, collaborate and compromise (on the board) and we don’t have that,” he maintained, adding that poor leadership from Loewen compounded the problems.

“The board is horribly dysfunctional,” King added, noting he has seen Directors Heidi Hannaman and Steve Ferry often singled out or left out during discussions. “I’d like to try to bring that board together and get everyone to work together as a group.”

If elected, King said one priority is unraveling the CSD’s landscaping and lighting district assessments. He has repeatedly asked for but has yet to receive documents related to the calculation of these assessments; some

and understanding, which has led to community distrust.

Though a popular decision among residents, Gutierrez maintains the district’s purchase of the old golf course property and possible acquisition of the rest of the land, spending up to $20 million total, will further put the CSD in a compromised financial position. He said the district has to stop pitching multiple multi-million-dollar park projects while ignoring that a developer-promised park has yet to be built.

“The board doesn’t pay attention,” he asserted. “We’re bleeding taxpayers’ money … and all this debt will (negatively) impact the community if they continue to spend.”

Gutierrez points to his 35 years of proven leadership experience as a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army, a law enforcement supervisor and former president of the Mountain House

might not even exist, he shared. King said he would ask for a complete audit to get all the facts and information so the district can start fixing the system. He said also wants to focus on the Bass Lake and central EDH park projects. Both come with hefty price tags and King said he sees development of the old golf course property as a potential moneymaker for the district. He has joined Hannaman on some tours of other public golf courses and done his own research on public/private partnership opportunities. if done right, he stressed, this project could help fund many of the CSD’s other projects.

Focusing on those three Cs, King said he wants to see a CSD that does things “the right way,” both ethically and legally. Being a collaborator, he said he’d like to see a system in which the district, county leaders, developers and community members all work together.

“That’s a tall order; I know it,” King confessed.

But, he added, an attempt to restore the EDHCSD’s functionality and reputation as a trustworthy entity is vital.

“The voters deserve better,” King told Village Life, “and now they need to demand better — vote.”

Community Services District — all assets, he said, to ensure transparency and accountability. If elected, he said one of his top priorities will be to get EDHCSD sta , board of directors and community members synced so all can work together on a master plan that will actually be followed.

He would also insist on a complete audit of the district’s finances, assessments, etc. Better cooperation between the EDHCSD, El Dorado Hills Fire Department, Cameron Park Community Services District and El Dorado County government is also necessary, he shared.

The ultimate goal, Gutierrez explained, is for the district to competently serve the community and plan accordingly for the anticipated growth coming to the El Dorado Hills area, improving the quality of life for everyone and ensuring residents have the amenities they deserve.

Small fire burns Cool grassland

Odin Rasco Senior staff writer

Firefighters from the Cal Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit and El Dorado County Fire Protection District doused a grass fire in Cool which threatened two buildings Tuesday, Sept. 17.

Firefighters responded to a reported fire at the 3800 block on Catecroft Lane in Cool at 10:21 a.m. and immediately began work to stop the flames, which were approaching a home and outbuilding. Forward progress of the grass fire was stopped by 10:40 a.m. and fully extinguished by the afternoon, with an ECFPD

social media post stating the grass fire had been stopped at 1.4 acres in size. No injuries were reported and the fire was extinguished before it could damage any buildings.

Investigators determined the fire was caused by a lawnmower, according to Cal Fire representative Wendy Oaks. Although the weather is cooler, fire officials remind county residents the risk of fire is still high. Residents are encouraged to mow before 10 a.m. on non-windy days, ensure all equipment has spark arresters, avoid dragging chains while towing, avoid parking on dry grass and continue maintaining defensible spaces around their home.

Wildfire resilience strategy planning workshop scheduled

Courtney Jackson El Dorado Resource Conservation District

The El Dorado Resource Conservation District is seeking input from the community to develop the city of Placerville Community Wildfire Resilience Strategy.

The RCD will host its first public workshop, 5:30-7 p.m on Tuesday, Sept. 24, in the community room at the El Dorado Irrigation District office in Placerville.

This effort is funded through the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program, which furthers the ability of forest communities to work together with public land managers to increase community resilience to the threats of wildfire. The RFFCP is a California Natural Resources Agency program administered by the Department of Conservation and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. The RCD is the lead program manager developing the strategy.

This strategy is designed to address the risk of wildfire to Placerville and surrounding communities and is complementary to the ongoing efforts of the county, fire safe councils, the city of Placerville and other organizations. It will identify wildfire mitigation strategies designed around

community and environmental resources including approximately 13,865 habitable structures and historical assets. The ultimate goal is to learn from the past and plan for the future. Fire mitigation strategies are only effective if they are maintained. In addition, they require broad community awareness and support.

As such, the RCD team hopes to gather information from the community to help develop the strategy by identifying communityspecific priorities and determining how those can be incorporated into the strategy.

Use the interactive map (eldoradorcd.org/placerville-wildfireresilience-strategy) to identify where community wildfire mitigation opportunities would be beneficial. On the map the user can pinpoint the location of the concern, make comments and upload a photo.

Examples of concern might include heavy fuel loads, one way in/out roads and canopy vegetation over the road. This is an easy way to have opinions and priorities included in future plans.

The RCD is available for individual and group meetings. Email courtney. jackson2@usda.gov or call (530) 2957165.

Learn about developing a property burn plan

The El Dorado Amador Prescribed Burn association hosts a workshop to support landowners in understanding necessary considerations for burn planning and developing burn plans for their own properties.

The workshop will take place 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, at El Dorado Hills Fire Station 85, 1050 Wilson Blvd. Registration is $20 per person. Space is limited; register by Sept. 25 at ucanr.edu/ edaburnplanningworkshop.

burns on their lands. The El Dorado Amador PBA was formed in late 2021 and has hosted several workshops and training days and 12 burns thus far.

This hands-on workshop will focus on landowner-led efforts to reintroduce good fire into working ranchland and timber land. The workshop will include background on prescribed fire and why it can be a beneficial tool for landowners. Throughout the day landowners will work on development of burn plans for their property and consideration of all planning factors to have a safe, effective controlled burn.

The El Dorado Amador Prescribed Burn Association is a newly formed group made up of local residents helping private landowners to conduct prescribed burns on their own properties. The goal of the PBA is to provide the community with training, equipment and support to empower landowners to conduct intentional

The PBA also received grant funds from the Department of Conservation to hire a coordinator and continue expanding training efforts. Much of the Sierra Nevada is a fire adapted ecosystem which historically burned frequently at low intensity, but decades of fire suppression have not allowed fire to play its needed role in this ecosystem. Prescribed fire is a critical tool for managing working rangelands and forests in the Sierra Nevada. Other PBAs throughout the state have demonstrated over several years of burning that utilizing prescribed fire on private lands can be a cost-effective and accessible tool for landowners to reduce wildfire hazard and meet a variety of ecological objectives.

Workshop topics

• Benefits of prescribed fire

• Permitting

• Burn plan components

• Liability considerations

• Environmental prescriptions

• Maps and area description

• Site preparation

• Personal protective equipment

• Working with neighbors

Courtesy photo

A county firefighter extinguishes a hot spot lingering in the 1.4 acre patch of grass burned away Tuesday morning in Cool.

TRPA, partners remove illegal moorings from lake

Jeff Cowen Tahoe Regional Planning Agency

LAKE TAHOE — The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) partnered with the California State Lands Commission this summer to begin removing illegally placed concrete mooring blocks and attached buoys from the bottom of Lake Tahoe. The removal of three boat anchoring blocks on the lake’s West Shore in August was the first such removal under the 2018 Shoreline Plan that capped the number of piers and boat moorings, according to the agencies.

“This is an important step toward full implementation of a groundbreaking plan that was years in the making,” TRPA General Counsel John Marshall said. “We appreciate the work of our partners and our watercraft team to improve recreation and safety in Lake Tahoe’s iconic shoreline.”

The goals of the Shoreline Plan include protecting the lake from marine engine pollutants and aquatic invasive species, preservation of fish and wildlife habitat, placing limits on development of Lake Tahoe’s shoreline, and improving recreation and public safety. The initial phase of the plan created a mooring permitting and registration program to improve navigational safety and ensure buoy limits and regulations are maintained. Registration fees help support education, enforcement, public access and scenic improvements on the lake.

“This partnership helps preserve the natural beauty of Lake Tahoe and

ensure safe navigation and recreation,” said Jennifer Lucchesi, executive officer of the State Lands Commission. “We have a responsibility to the people of California to ensure that buoys on state waters are authorized. These recent removals follow action by the Commission last October and reflect the commitment to continued collaboration to protect and preserve Lake Tahoe’s scenic beauty and safe public access.”

In both California and Nevada, the lake bottom is public land and California State Lands Commission and Nevada Division of State Lands require leases or permits for mooring buoys as well.

TRPA contracted divers with Marine Taxonomic Services to remove the concrete blocks, chains, and buoys from Hurricane Bay on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore. The removal aligns with the agency’s ongoing work under the new Shoreline Plan to manage unpermitted activities, according to the agency. Recent legal actions by TRPA stopped illegal boat and buoy rentals and fined a boater for entering a sensitive marsh.

In 2023, the TRPA watercraft team tagged more than 80 illegal moorings and slowed hundreds of boats within the 600-foot no-wake zone. No-wake zones were established to protect the safety of paddlers and boaters, reduce shoreline erosion and enhance the recreation experience for all.

“We remain steadfast in upholding permit requirements and boating rules designed to protect a rare and vital public resource,” Marshall said.

Tahoe El Dorado Area Plan approaches end of Phase 1

Eli Ramos Tahoe Daily Tribune

MEYERS — In the second virtual workshop of the summer, El Dorado County’s team for the Tahoe El Dorado Area Plan presented the feedback and engagement received over the summer and discussed the next steps. The team projects that the final TED plan phase will be completed in June 2026, when a final area plan will be adopted.

The project came about as a result of the complicated and often confusing land use policies and zoning designations in the Basin. Because the region is under both the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s Regional Plan and the El Dorado County Zoning Ordinance, conflicting policies have stalled or outright prevented new projects from being developed in the unincorporated areas of El Dorado County.

Area plans, also known as community plans, help to control land use decisions and can set longterm policies for transportation, recreation, housing, environmental protection and safety, among other topics. The TED planning document is meant to develop a single area plan for areas like Meeks Bay, Fallen Leaf and Tahoma. While Meyers has its own area plan, the TED will be integrating it, along with other communities’ current planning documents. TED will be compliant with TRPA and is more specific to individual communities than a regional planning document.

Thea Graybill and Brendan Ferry, both representatives of El Dorado County on the planning team, emphasized that area plans are meant to maintain the character of a community. To that end, all phases of TED involve community feedback. Ascent, an environmental, design and planning firm with an office in Lake Tahoe, was involved in collecting and presenting the feedback in Phase 1.

Some of the most prominent themes that arose from the feedback was interest in increasing workforce housing, restricting short-term rentals and vacation home rentals, improving bike paths and trails, protecting the environment and ecology of the lake, addressing traffic through controlling parking and providing transit options, and infrastructure improvements like increasing internet/broadband access and snow removal.

In the workshops and meetings, attendees most often expressed a need for workforce housing, along with mixed-use housing, accessory dwelling units, and multi-family

apartments. Tahoma attendees wanted to regulate timeshares in residential neighborhoods, while Meeks Bay was concerned about restricting mega mansions, mini hotels and vacation rentals on the lakefront.

Those who attended the Meyers workshop expressed a desire for a vibrant, walkable downtown with a variety of housing options that were balanced with community aesthetics and designs. Fallen Leaf’s community was interested in environmental concerns and wanted to protect the unique ecosystem and the quality of the lake. In their first virtual workshop, the attendees’ feedback was around housing needs, traffic, and a desire for more local businesses like bike shops, breweries, bookstores and coffee shops.

In the online survey on the TED website, one of the most frequent responses for what they wanted the TED Area Plan to focus on was to “protect [the] area from development.” 95% of respondents own residential property in the area.

During the feedback portion of the Sept. 12 virtual workshop, attendees expressed a desire for more resources dedicated to enforcement of existing regulations in trail use, parking, camping and other recreational activities. Others wanted to ensure that developing more recreation wouldn’t conflict with environmental and conservation needs in the community. People also wanted to address alternate transit, such as water transportation.

Funding for this project was also addressed by Ferry. The team is seeking out discretionary funding collected primarily through visitors. For affordable housing funds, the team is also considering grants for phase 3 through the TRPA. Lastly, attendees wanted to ensure community engagement through the process. TED has included community engagement through all three phases of the planning, including for the Washoe tribe. Graybill confirmed at the meeting that the Washoe tribe was a key stakeholder, but because tribes are a special entity according to U.S. laws, there’s a formal legal process to get them involved.

As Phase 2 and 3 approach, the TED team plans to have an existing conditions report and land use consistency analysis prepared by the end of October. Once Phase 2 begins in November, the team plans to more directly address land use and affordable housing strategies, as well as environmental review and a preliminary draft of the plan.

OPINION

California Commentary

Hundreds of poorly justified tax hike and bond measures on Nov. ballots

In a few short weeks, California voters will receive their ballots for the November general election. In addition to the critical candidate races, there are countless ballot measures, most of which have a direct impact on citizens’ financial wellbeing.

Of the 10 statewide ballot measures, three expose taxpayers to excessive debt. Propositions 2 and 4 are $10 billion each for statewide bonds and, even worse, Proposition 5 lowers the vote threshold for local bonds, which are repaid by adding extra charges to property tax bills for decades.

At the local level, there are more than 470 tax increases and bond measures on the ballot according to the California Taxpayers Association.

Even if a few of these proposals could be justified, taxpayers should approach all these measures with a default position of rejection.

Here’s why.

Letters to the Editor

Unpredictable re

EDITOR:

This letter is in response to Bill Karr’s letter published Aug. 9. It’s easy to criticize when you do not have the facts.

1. The ignition point of the Park Fires was in the city of Chico. The 911 call was relayed to the Chico Fire Department at 2:52 p.m. It was too much fire so Cal Fire was notified and response was immediately dispatched.

2. Due to other major fires in California, resources were diminished because of those other commitments.

3. The incoming engines were assigned to residential properties to save lives and property.

Now let’s really bring this point home. China, our biggest geopolitical and potential military enemy, manufactures 95% of our pharmaceuticals. In a conflict, China could cut o our pharmaceuticals to such an extent that countless Americans would die or be gravely harmed. Protecting our industries is more than just dollars and cents, Mr. Herrman. It can be life and death.

GEORGE ALGER Placerville

The truth

EDITOR:

A

First, Californians are already overtaxed and they know it. Other states operate much more e ciently with much lower taxes and Californians are casting their votes with moving vans. California has the highest-inthe-nation income tax rate, the highest-inthe-nation state sales tax rate (even before all the local add-on taxes), the highest gas tax and, even with Prop. 13, we rank 19th out of 50 states in per capita property tax collections.

… throughout California, there is an abject lack of accountability as to where money is spent. Demands for audits of government spending are met with resistance or ignored altogether.

This punishing tax burden has resulted in another No. 1 rating for California: The state more people have left than any other state.

Second, California has a corruption problem that rivals, if not exceeds, that of Illinois and New Jersey. According to the New York Times, “Over the last 10 years, 576 public o cials in California have been convicted on federal corruption charges, according to Justice Department reports, exceeding the number of cases in states better known for public corruption, including New York, New Jersey and Illinois.”

Third, California has unprecedented levels of government waste. While media reports of wasteful government spending appear daily, the two largest examples are California’s high speed rail project,

■ See COUPAL, page A7

Guest Column

4. At 4:45 p.m. the fire was at 40 acres then at 6 p.m. it was at 1,000 acres. The explosive fuel conditions after weeks of very high temperatures, low humidities and low fuel moisture made control virtually impossible with existing resources.

5. To illustrate the rapid, explosive fuel/fire conditions, by Friday morning the fire had consumed 154,000 acres and by Saturday morning 307,000 acres. During the firefight, the fire advanced 21 miles in four hours.

The conditions dwarfed every computer model that ever existed.

I spent 42 years on fires throughout all of California and never experienced the rapid acreage consumption of this event. Believe me, I’ve seen some explosive events, even the Santa Ana wind events in Southern California.

GEORGE OSBORNE Retired Cal Fire chief

Importance of tari s

EDITOR:

John Herrman’s letter titled “Truth about tari s” should have been titled “Myopia about tari s.” He only looks at the raw economics of tari s and uses an inappropriate and almost century-old example, Smoot-Hawley, to support his argument.

Tari s are needed to protect against unfair competition as happens when governments like China subsidize their industries to give unfair advantage. Tari s are also used for national security. Our domestic manufacturing base was one of the main factors that led to our victory in World War II.

fter the recent presidential debate, our country found out how far and wide a racist/xenophobic lie spread by a candidate can travel as it tears down the reputation of an American community. A blatant falsehood, started by the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe and amplified by Trump and Vance, stated that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing and eating the pets of the town’s white citizens. Despite the claim being denied by local and state authorities and no evidence presented, Trump and right-wing propaganda outlets like Fox News and The Daily Signal continue to spread the disinformation that denigrates Black immigrants. Meanwhile, back in good old Placerville, the Mountain Democrat is doing its part to propagate lies and half-truths about immigrants through the Opinion section of the paper. Connie Rosen of Pollock Pines wrote that she was upset about “illegal immigrants” getting loan assistance over U.S. citizens and school buses bypassing American kids in favor of immigrant children because she saw it “on the news.” The MD published her opinion as if the premises it was based on were the gospel truth. Apparently, “I saw it on the news” is now the standard of fact to publish an opinion that only serves to inflame the xenophobic hate of a gullible public.

Had the MD done its minimal journalistic duty of a cursory fact check, as I did, it would have discovered that the bill proposing to give $150,000 down payment assistance to immigrants was vetoed by Gov. Newsom — so, nothing to get mad about there. Furthermore, the story about migrant children taking buses away from American kids was a deliberately inflammatory account of school budget cuts in Stoughton,

Uncovering the dirty truth behind class action scams

Have you gotten a letter that says, “You may be entitled to compensation”?

I get a bunch. One claimed my union (New York State forced me to join) probably cheated me on medical insurance. I didn’t think they did, but I filled out the forms.

I got a check for $557. Great!

JOHN STOSSEL

Except ... my lawyers pocketed $7 million.

How is that fair?

Likewise, lawyers accused the Boston Globe of illegally sharing my clicking habits with Facebook. I don’t really care. Facebook already knows my clicking habits. Anyway, I’d only briefly subscribed. I canceled as soon as I realized that much of the Globe is insipid leftist drivel rerun

from The New York Times.

Still, I got a check for $158.

In theory, class action lawsuits protect consumers, but many of these lawsuits resemble anti-consumer scams.

First, lawsuits make most everything cost a little more.

Second, they deprive us of good products. Bendectin, a morning sickness pill, was pulled from the market after hundreds of lawsuits claimed side e ects. But the FDA says the drug was safe.

Lawsuits helped kill three-wheeled ATVs, too.

Lawyers I confront say losing risky products is a good thing: “If they’re scared of someone like me,” one told me, “I’m happy about that.” We pay for his happiness. Of course, if companies do wrong,

they should be punished.

When Google was caught sleazily collecting location data from users who turned o location history, it wouldn’t have been worth any single user’s time, or money, to sue. A lawsuit would cost more than anyone might win. Hence class actions.

But the lawyers create their own scam. When Google paid $62 million to settle that lawsuit, the class action lawyers gave themselves $18 million and then gave $43 million to their favorite nonprofits. That included leftwing advocacy groups like the ACLU (after it promised to use the money to help “people of color,” “activists” and “people seeking ... transgender healthcare”). They gave victimized class members nothing.

Why would a judge approve such a deal? Because judges are just lawyers in robes, and most lean left politically. They love donating other people’s money to their favorite causes.

“It’s a huge conflict of interest,” says Anna St. John, whose law firm

challenges such settlements.

“You have this slush fund of tens of millions of dollars, and the parties and judge are allowed to decide who should get this money. When they have a choice between distributing that money to millions of class members who are not going to say thank you, versus directing millions of dollars to their alma maters, to organizations where they sit on the board, the choice is clear what they’re going to do. Six of the attorneys or Google employees involved in the case sit ... or sat on the boards of the recipients getting millions of dollars.”

“The guys who did bad get to reward their friends?” I ask.

“Yes. Google’s giving money to organizations it already donates to,” she notes. “It’s unclear how it can be a benefit to the class when the defendant’s just doing what it already does.”

“This is a left-wing money raiser,” I

JON COUPAL

which is costing taxpayers billions with virtually no chance of completion, and the debacle of the $30 billion lost to fraud by the Employment Development Department.

Fourth, California’s elected leadership lacks basic competence. As just one example, the last two days of the legislative session devolved into utter chaos as important bills were ignored and special-interest legislation advanced. Debate on many of the most important proposals was limited to 30 seconds per speaker. And California politicians claim to be the ones to “protect democracy.”

Fifth, speaking of competency, there is a callous disregard for prioritizing spending. Many tax and bond proposals on the ballot claim to be for essential government services, such as public safety. But this is usually just a ploy to garner sympathy without revealing where the money taxpayers already provide is going.

Sixth, throughout California, there is an abject lack of accountability as to where money is spent. Demands for audits of government spending are met with resistance or ignored altogether. By the time audits are conducted, millions, if not billions, of dollars are already out the door. This was the case with the two previous examples of waste, high speed rail and the fraud associated with the Employment Development Department.

In a column for CalMatters, veteran journalist Dan Walters pointed to two instances of how agencies responsible for tracking government

spending run into roadblocks in obtaining the necessary information to assess whether money is being spent properly. Both relate to homelessness.

Walters notes that state Auditor Grant Parks criticized the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, a creation of Gov. Gavin Newsom for coordinating homelessness programs. But Park concluded, “The state lacks current information on the ongoing costs and outcomes of its homelessness programs, because (the council) has not consistently tracked and evaluated the state’s efforts to prevent and end homelessness.”

In the same vein, federal judge David O. Carter recently ordered L.A. homelessness officials to immediately produce the data needed for auditors looking into where hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars were spent. But foot-dragging L.A. officials told the judge the information wouldn’t be available until October — even as millions continue to be spent.

California taxpayers should be outraged that, at both the state and local levels, they are being asked to approve tax and bond measures dealing with homelessness and affordable housing when those seeking our permission can’t even produce the data to justify the request. Sadly, that is usually the case with other ballot proposals as well.

And that is reason enough to reject most, if not all, tax and bond measures this November.

Jon Coupal is president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

Letters Continued from A6

Mass., that eliminated one bus in a district, and that resulted in some children having to seek other forms of transportation.

The right-wing U.K. news outlet, the Daily Mail, conflated that story with the fact that migrant children were also using school buses, but they neglected to mention that they were separately funded by another state program not the Stoughton School District. So, what actually upset Ms Rosen wasn’t discrimination against U.S. citizens in favor of immigrants; it was incomplete information and the normal bureaucratic chaos of democracy.

Is the Mountain Democrat really serving our community by allowing thinly-disguised racial taunts based on disinformation to foment more polarization and hatred where there is already too much? If fake stories and incomplete facts are already accepted as a basis to form an opinion, then we are all vulnerable to exploitation by the rich and powerful. Who is there to stand up for us if Trump decides it’s politically expedient to spread lies about marginalized citizens living in this area? The truth should be neither Red nor Blue. It should be transparent and shared by all sides.

JOHN O’SHEA Pollock Pines

Stossel Continued from A6

observe.

“It is. This is a settlement class of millions of Americans with diverse viewpoints, and yet the money goes to very extreme, left-wing causes favored by the attorneys and by the defendant.”

I asked the attorneys and judge who approved the deal to explain why it isn’t a scam. They didn’t answer.

America needs lawyers to protect our rights and our freedom, just like we need missiles and bombs. But lawsuits, like missiles and bombs, are tremendously destructive.

We try not to use our missiles.

We should do the same with lawyers.

Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.”

Announcements

AL-ANON is here for you if you are bothered by someone else’s drinking. Call for meeting times. (916) 3342970. https://sacal-anon.blogspot.com

AMERICAN ASSOC. OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN Foothills of EDC Branch. Our mission is to advance gender equity for women & girls. Science and Math Camp Scholarships, programs & interest groups. Leave voicemail for Laurel (530) 417-7737 or Sara (530) 4177138 eldorado-ca.aauw.net

AMERICAN LEGION POST 119 welcomes Veterans and guests to attend our monthly membership dinner and meeting the first Wednesday of the month at 6:00 PM. Legionpost119.org

El DORADO COUNTY AMATEUR

RADIO CLUB Dedicated to all aspects of ham radio. Meetings held on the third Tuesday of each month at the El Dorado Sheriff’s office, 200 Industrial Drive, Placerville, 6:30 pm. Visitors and non-hams welcome. Info at www.edcarc.net

PLAY CRIBBAGE

Join the Gold Country Cribbers 916-212-2465 or 916-768-4452. We Play - We Teach - We Have Fun. Wednesdays 4:00 PM. Gilmore Senior Center 990 Lassen Lane, El Dorado Hills, CA Struggling with life? CELEBRATE RECOVERY is for any Hurt, Habit or Hang-up. We are a faith-based recovery program for life’s issues and struggles. Join us Thursday nights at 6:30pm at Green Valley Church, 3500 Green Valley Rd, Placerville. Doors open at 6:15pm. Children’s programs are available for ages 3 months to 18 years old. Email: celebrate@greenvalley.church. Find us on Facebook: https://m.facebook. com/crgvcc/

DEMOCRATS – Come meet with the United Democrats of El Dorado County at Round Table Pizza–Missouri Flat Rd. in Placerville at noon on the 3rd Thursday of the month. Call (530)391-6414 or see edcdems.org for more information.

GOLD RUSH CHORUS now welcomes both men and women to share the joy of singing four-part

harmony in the barbershop style. To learn more or to book a performance, call Howard at (530) 647-6513 or Kent (530) 651-3575

HANGTOWN WOMEN’S TENNIS CLUB. Come play tennis for fun and friendship. Meet at El Dorado High School, Acacia Street, Placerville, Wed 9 AM – 11 AM. (June - Aug 8 AM –10 AM). Social activities, lessons. Minimal cost. Not a beginners group. Some tennis experience/ability required. Call Cindy 805-540-8654. MONDAY CLUB BRIDGE seeks more players. The club is a very informal, friendly group and invites interested men and women party bridge players to join. The club meets on the second and fourth Monday of each month at Denny’s Restaurant on Fair Lane in Placerville at 10:00 am. Addiction or Relationship problem? Call 530 231-7728 our free counseling can help you. Positive Realism, 3430 Robin Ln., Cameron Park. Meet first and third Wednesday of every month, 7pm. Come and have a paid lunch with the Retired Public Employees Association (RPEA) for CalPERS retirees and spouses. The meetings are held at 11:30AM on May 20, July 15, September 16, November 18,2024 at Denny’s (3446 Coach Lane) Cameron Park. Call 530 919 7515 for programs and information.

SENIOR PEER COUNSELING Seniors 55 and over who are grieving, depressed or having issues related to aging can meet one-on-one with a caring senior, professionally supervised and trained to listen and encourage. Call (530)621-6304 to leave a message and get started.

TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION OF EL DORADO COUNTY Our mission is to educate the public on tax issues that affect them. Our meetings are held every Monday morning from 7:30 to 8:30 at Denny’s Restaurant, Fair Lane Drive, Placerville. Meetings are open to the public. For more information call Louis (530) 622-6763. We are a non-partisan organization.

do not publish anonymous letters so don’t forget

and

COMICS

■ SHOE by Jeff MacNelly

determined to be at $113,000.

Another vulnerability the residents face is the homes themselves; many were built in the 1970s and ‘80s and have exceeded their lifespan and have repair/ maintenance issues. The residents are often responsible for having to pay out of pocket for the repairs, Porter noted. HED determined that 62% of mobile home structures were 42 years or older.

“Many of these people are often living one paycheck to the next and rent is going up. Then their water heater goes out, their ramp needs repairing, the roof needs a patch or there are plumbing issues,” Porter said. “For them, a $600 or $1,000 repair bill is devastating; they simply do not have it.”

The average number of years respondents have lived in their mobile home is 13. Nearly 75% of the respondents said they were 55 or older and on fixed incomes.

When many mobile home park residents moved in, the living style was considered quality and El Dorado County a great place to retire, Porter noted, but recently the issues mentioned above have become alarming.

“This is not all parks. We have some well run parks that have responsible owners, but we do have some that are not so well run,” he added. “We believe that a thriving mobile home community is vital to reducing homelessness.”

HED is on the move to help fix the situation. The organization launched a mobile home critical repair project fund Sept. 1 to help income qualified residents repair their mobile homes. Additionally, HED is looking to work with county sta to seek federal or state funding and grants to accelerate e orts to renovate mobile homes.

The nonprofit is also calling on the El Dorado County A ordable Housing Ordinance Task Force to develop specific recommendations to preserve, improve and protect a ordable mobile home communities.

HED President Maureen DionPerry gave her own insight, claiming LLCs and investor corporations buying mobile home parks are employing “predatory” practices — pricing out residents or conducting retaliatory actions against “unwanted” residents.

“(Some of the owners) have blocked residents access to heat from propane and are now refusing to turn in their California Care applications, so they are losing their 15% discount on electricity,” Dion-Perry alleged. “They

Suspect

to puzzles in Classi ed

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Sweat and emotional balance will go hand in hand. Exercise will invigorate your mind, calm your nerves and rejuvenate your mood. You’ll suddenly realize how to solve a problem, and you’ll communicate the solution well, too.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Sometimes smart people fall into stupid crowds and move right along with them because mobs tend to fall to the lowest denominator. Don’t go where everyone else is going today. You’ll avoid a group mentality that is beneath you.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Being open to other perspectives is one thing, but you’re also brave enough to go to a level of immersion that allows you to understand, if even for a moment, what it’s really like in another person’s shoes. The reward will be profound indeed.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Today’s challenge is like the experience of learning to drive. There’s a lot to focus on, and mistakes will happen, but with each mile, con dence grows. Keep your eyes on the road and every turn will teach you what you need to know.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Change might just as aptly be called “exchange” because there’s no getting around its cause-and-e ect nature. You’ll be keenly aware of the cost of things as you are in the process of growing one part of life while another shrinks.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Boredom is not a sign of a weak mind. Some of mightiest minds get bored quickly, because they need constant challenge to keep up with the

pace of their own thinking. A fabulous idea will emerge from your boredom.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Your social web is a mix of strength and fragility that you can build or shake apart according to the needs of all. Decisions you make today will shape the strength of your relationships tomorrow.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Someone else has already danced in the path and now all you have to do is put your foot in the prints. Follow the leader. When it’s time to break o and innovate, you’ll know.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You don’t have to tout your values because your behavior speaks what they are. When you are surprised by your own behavior, it’s because you value certain things di erently than you thought you did, which is useful information going forward.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Tight situations are hard to control. What can you do to loosen things up? Whether it’s your own muscles, the atmosphere, the rules or other, taking the pressure o will put you in a better position to steer.

cannot use any of the heat money toward the propane bills; they’re charging them $13 a gallon.”

“They’re private owners and they get to do what they want,” she added. “The more we do not protect the mobile home park residents, the more predators see this as a vulnerability and come in.”

Michelle Ward, an attorney who works with Senior Legal Services, said high rent increases have become a problem for seniors.

“I worked with someone who got a 19% increase in one year, which is a lot,” she shared.

By law, those rent increases are allowed if a resident signs a 12-month or longer lease, as long as the lease clearly states that it is exempt from rent ordinances and control, according to Ward.

HED Director Tamara Janies confirmed that many mobile home residents who signed long-term leases got hit with sudden rent spikes.

“There are path throughs in those leases that will enable them to keep raising the rent,” Janies said.

While AB 2782 is supposed to fix those problems, Ward said, there is little she and other law firms can legally do to prevent such rent hikes or retaliation e orts against the residents.

“We can assess their leases and give residents a sense as to whether or not if their landlord is doing anything unlawful and we can write letters to the landlords informing them of the unlawful actions, but I think the real fear here is residents are concerned about retaliation,” Ward said. “I feel like it is my job to tell clients about their options, but to consider the blowback of their choices.”

The Board of Supervisors alluded to being made aware of “predatory” practices done by new mobile home park owners; while discussing the a ordable housing aspect in county’s long range plan in late July, they noted mobile home park annual rent has doubled, and in certain places tripled, since 2018.

“We have a situation (in my district) and I am thinking we have a couple of situations of these predatory practices across the county that we have been told about that weren’t urgent, now are,” said District 4 Supervisor Lori Parlin during the July 30 meeting. “I have a bad feeling this is the start for our county and I think there is going to be more.”

There are about 50 mobile home parks in the county, according to Porter.

Continued from A1

gone o close to his head.

Cell phones belonging to Boyles and J. Doe were seized by investigators; texts and photos corroborated Boyles’ claim the two were dating, while other evidence appeared to indicate domestic violence had been committed. One message sent by Doe indicates Boyles had pointed a gun at her head, according to court documents. Boyles is said to have admitted to some incidents of domestic violence, but claims he had also been a victim of such violence in the relationship. Obtained texts

Marmot Continued from A1

The marmot, a mammal, is not native to El Dorado County but is found in Yosemite’s higher elevations. Firefighters with the El Dorado County Fire Protections District’s Pollock Pines fire station helped remove some vehicle components to access the animal when the resident bought her car to them on Sept. 17 after discovering her furry passenger, according to a social media post.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife sta also responded and assisted in safely removing the marmot from the vehicle and securing

Mattock Continued from A3

able to purchase my childhood home.”

Another purchase Mattock is exceptionally proud of — 55 acres of the old Executive Golf Course, which came with an additional 11-acre donation.

“The CSD fought the proposed housing development for 12 years and positioned ourselves to deliver on the community’s No. 1 priority — to save that property,” Mattock said.

also showed multiple messages where Boyle had previously threatened to commit suicide, and others where he talks about killing Doe or others he believed she was romantically involved with, the DA O ce claims. A message sent to a third party on Aug. 17, reads “... going to murder ... [J. Doe]. No regurts,” according to court documents.

The Mountain Democrat has reached out to the CHP and DA’s O ce for more information on the victim, but both agencies declined to comment at this time.

the critter.

CDFW spokesman Peter Tira told the Mountain Democrat the marmot spent the night at a facility in Rancho Cordova, where it received fluids and a check up. The pup was born sometime this season and at the time of his rescue weighed about 3 pounds. Yosemite sta spoke with the woman to determine as best they could where the marmot snuck into her vehicle and released him in that area Wednesday morning, Tira said.

“He scurried o ,” he added. “So it’s a happy ending.”

she added, “And, (I) was the co-lead in creating the Promise Foundation nonprofit to help serve the CSD and deliver a future Central EDH Park.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). A brief moment of re ection will unlock a realization. To move quickly to the next productive cycle, say what you need to say now, in the heat of

moment. Otherwise, it will be like missing a

and

Learning about others teaches you about yourself, and everything you learn about yourself teaches you about others.

“I am proud of the role that I played in keeping the board’s focus on this issue and how I helped to position the CSD to be able to pay cash for the 55 acres,”

With voters’ support, Mattock said she will use her time on the board “to determine the best path forward for purchasing the remaining acreage of the former golf course and then help to set the course to deliver what the community envisions for the future of the property, whether it be open space, a golf course or some combination thereof.”

■ TUNDRA by Chad Carpenter

■ RUBES by Leigh Rubin

■ SPEED BUMP by Dave Coverly

Dreadnoughtus would tower over an elephant and even a T-Rex!

77 million years ago, a large, LARGE dinosaur wandered parts of planet earth. It has been named Dreadnoughtus.

Scientists think Dreadnoughtus was the largest beast ever to walk on planet earth.

“With a body the size of a house, the weight of a herd of elephants, and a weaponized tail, Dreadnoughtus would have feared nothing,” Lacovara said. “That evokes to me a class of turn-of-the-last century battleships called the Dreadnoughts, which were huge, thickly clad and virtually impervious.”

Dreadnoughtus had a neck that was 37-feet long. They used their long neck to reach _____________ in tree tops.

They could __________ in one place and reach a wide area of trees. It wasn’t easy to _______ such a large body on land, so it would want to _______ as much as it could without moving. The long neck helped with that.

Their ________ did not weigh much, so they could lift their head!

Dreadnoughtus was discovered by Kenneth Lacovara, PhD, of Drexel University. Because of its huge size and evidence that the long tail was used as a weapon, it was named after the massive British dreadnought battleships.

Mark each statement about Dreadnoughtus TRUE or FALSE. Check your answers with the math problem below each statement. Sums that add up to even numbers are TRUE.

Dreadnoughtus was a herbivore.

Dreadnoughtus weighed as much as 12 squirrels.

Dreadnoughtus lived in what is now southern Argentina.

No one knows for sure what color the skin of a Dreadnoughtus might have been. Use your imagination and crayons to color these.

the hav a

The __________ of the Dreadnoughtus found in southern Argentina revealed that the _________________ weighed as much as 12 ______________.

SLIFSOS

ARIDSONU

PHETANSEL

This Dreadnoughtus was as long as two school _____________!

SESUB

Scientists believe that the discovered Dreadnoughtus was still ___________ when it _________. We don’t know how big it might have eventually become!

WOGRGIN

DDEI

DISCOVERED ELEPHANTS SQUIRRELS

DINOSAUR CENTURY

WEAPON FEARED BEAST CHECK HUGE CLAD WALK HIGH KNOW BODY

On one page of the newspaper, find and circle each of the letters that spell dreadnoughtus Connect each circled letter in order to spell the word. Color in the shape you make!

The top of the Dreadnoughtus’ shoulders was two stories high.

Dreadnoughtus had to eat nearly 24 hours a day to support such a large body.

The fossil remains were transported to Philadelphia and scanned with a laser scanner in order to study the bones and estimate size.

The original discovery revealed 115 bones.

The Dreadnoughtus’ skull size is about the size of a pig.

One of its neck muscles is over a yard across.

Dreadnoughtus lived at the same time as the early humans.

The Dreadnoughtus fossil that was found is believed to have drowned in quicksand.

This week’s word: IMPERVIOUS

The adjective impervious means unmoved and not affected by outside influences.

My raincoat was impervious to rain.

Try to use the word impervious in a sentence today when talking with your friends and family members.

© 2016 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Jeff Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 32, No. 4

Move to the largest senior apartments

e spacious Independent Living apartments at Ponté Palmero mean you can continue your independent lifestyle with room to entertain friends and access to all the life-enriching community services and amenities we o er.

Floor plans up to 1,482 square feet | Private, attached garage | Full kitchen | In-suite laundry

You can continue to cook and entertain in your own home, or enjoy our chef-prepared meals in the community dining room with friends. We take away the worry of housekeeping and home maintenance, and provide social opportunities all month long. You can relax and spend your days with friends and family, and doing the things you enjoy most.

INDEPENDENT LIVING HOMES FEATURES

• Kitchen with full-size appliances and granite counters

• Private patio

• Attached garage

• In-home washer and dryer

• High ceilings

• Housekeeping, laundry, and trash service

• Utilities and basic cable included

• Air conditioning

• Pets welcome!

COMMUNITY SERVICES & AMENITIES

• Restaurant-style dining

• Swimming pool, hot tub, and outdoor grills

• Clubhouse and tness center

• Library and full-service beauty salon

• Activities, clubs, outings, and celebrations

• Transportation services

• 24-hour emergency maintenance

• Gated electronic entrance

We also o er Assisted Living Villas & Memory Care apartments for a full continuum of care.

PROSPECTING

Section B ■ mtdemocrat.com

IN THE KNOW

Sept. 20

The Sierra Renaissance Society presents Yosemite Then and Now by Cheryl Purgett, 1-2:30 p.m. at the Mother Lode Lions Hall, 4701 Missouri Flat Road. For more information visit srsedc.org.

Neon Pickle will perform at 5 p.m. at HWY 50 Brewery in Camino. For more information visit hwy50brewery.com/ live-music.

All In for MORE, a funlled poker tournament, takes place at 5 p.m. at 399 Placerville Drive in Placerville. For tickets and more details visit morerehab.org.

The Bumgarner tasking room in Camino hosts Pizza Night, 5:30-8:30 p.m. with music performed by the Jessica Malone Trio. RSVP at bumgarnerwinery.com/Shop/ Events.

The Stage at Burke Junction will host an evening of HomeGrown Comedy with Chelsea Bearse headlining. The show starts at 8 p.m. For tickets and more information visit stageatburke.com.

Moonshine Crazy will perform at the Red Hawk Casino Stage Bar, 8 p.m. to midnight. For more information visit redhawkcasino.com.

Kate Knipp and Ginger Molasses will perform at The Green Room Social Club in downtown Placerville. Doors open at 5 p.m., show at 7 p.m. For tickets and more information visit clubgreenroom.com.

Boys of Summer — A tribute to the Eagles will perform for two nights at Sutter Creek Theatre in Sutter Creek. For tickets and more information call (916) 425-0077 or visit suttercreektheatre.com.

Christie Lenée and Adrian Bellue will perform at The So a in Sacramento. For tickets and more information call (916) 443-5300 or visit bstreettheatre.org.

Sept. 21

BSA Scout Troop 46 hosts the Rummage Sale Spectacular 8 a.m. to dark Saturday, Sept. 21, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, at the Mother Lode Lions Hall in Diamond Springs. For more information contact Sandra at (530) 295-3327.

UCCE Master Gardeners of El Dorado County hosts Gardening for Pollinators, 9 a.m. to noon at the Sherwood Demonstration Garden in Placerville. Learn how to choose plants to make your garden a haven for the pollinators. Register online at https:// surveys.ucanr.edu/survey. cfm?surveynumber=42844.

The El Dorado County Fair and Event Center Swap Meet takes place 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., weather permitting, at 100 Placerville Drive in Placerville. Visit eldoradocountyfair.org/ swap.html. The swap meet is open to the public with free admission.

Shadow Ranch Vineyards in the Fair Play area hosts Yoga in the Vines at 10 a.m. Join local yogi Lisa Marie for a gentle stretching class in the Shadow Ranch Grove. For more information email info@shadowranch.com.

Mira ores Winery, 2120 Four Springs Trail in the Pleasant Valley area, is serving its acclaimed Pairings Lunches on the Vineyard

Gold Country gallery’s featured artists offer

Art with whimsy & glow

Special to the Mountain Democrat

Gold Country Artists Gallery, an award-winning artists’ cooperative in Placerville, features the work of Deena Reyes, Lori Anderson and Carol Quinn in September. Meet the artists during the evening of Main Street’s Third Saturday Art Walk.

Positive outlet Reyes grew up in L.A. during the 1960s and ’70s. She visited local galleries and museums with her mother where she encountered art styles that influenced her own future work. An art show featuring original Norman Rockwell paintings, and paintings by other artists in the popular hyper-realistic style of the time, made a deep impression on her. M.C. Escher, H.R. Giger, the art of Walt Disney — with frequent trips to Disneyland along the way — nurtured her imagination and desire to be an artist. Reyes’ free spirit and love of art led her to unique interpretations of the world around her. She studied art in college along with anatomy in her nursing classes. It is no surprise that after a back injury she wove together her artistic skills with her knowledge of anatomy

to create a unique way of dealing with her ongoing pain. Finding it di cult to describe her back pain to her doctors, she drew a picture of what the inside of her back “felt” like. And so began a series of abstracts of her back she titled Picture of My Pain. She eventually coined the word “Backstracts” for these works “… because they are abstracts of my back!” She discovered that colored pencil, ink and gel were the best media for the organic nature of this work, as they are often more forgiving when ”mishaps” occur.

The third artwork in

“Backstract

her new series simulates a mechanism. “POP #3” shows a spine contorted with chains, pulleys and intrusions, conveying a state of imbalance and invoking a feeling of emotional disconnect from what can be felt but not seen.

“I discovered a healing state, a sort of therapy, occurring within my body whenever I created any style of art, but especially when I drew these images,” she

explained, laughing when she said she quite literally turned pain into an art form.

“I harnessed a positive outlet for expressing my feelings both physically and emotionally,” she added.

An example of her style is “Backstract Solerance,” in which the main structure of her image is a curving line down the center where the spine would be. The rest of the

loops and whorls and curls, she said, happen as “my hand tells the lines where to go, until they settle just right and any unforeseen and misplaced lines are incorporated into the whole.”

Her process often contains elements of surprise. “Backstract Aire Terjan,” for example, started out in one direction, but Reyes

Solarance” by Deena Reyes

“Frida” by Lori Anderson

“Evening at Folsom Point” by Carol Quinn

SPECTERS ON GLASS TALK

Historian, curator to explore early studio photography

Jordan Hyatt-Miller Arts and Culture El Dorado

Apublic presentation complementing Arts and Culture El Dorado’s new exhibition, Specters on Glass: Studio Portraiture in Early 20th Century Placerville, featuring El Dorado County archivist and historian Mary Cory and exhibition curator Marya Osucha will examine the role of portrait photography in the understanding of historical Placerville. This free event will take place 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, at Arts and Culture El Dorado’s Switchboard Gallery, 525 Main St. in Placerville.

A collaboration between Arts and Culture El Dorado, the El Dorado County Historical Museum and the Placerville News Company, Specters on Glass features portraits taken at a photography studio on Main Street Placerville over a century ago. The collection is a broad sampling of local citizenry captured on glass dry plate negatives, and sits firmly at the intersection of histories of place and histories of technology.

The portraits in this exhibition, which runs through Sunday, Oct. 6, are drawn from a trove of thousands of images captured by photographer George W. Potter of the City Photograph Gallery circa 1905. The glass plate negatives were discovered in the upper stories of the

Inch Building on Placerville’s Main Street by the late George Duffey, a member of the Meader family. The Meader family has owned Placerville News Company, located on the ground floor of the Inch Building, for four generations.

After discovering the photographs, Duffey donated them to the El Dorado Historical Museum, which has stewarded the collection for the last 30 years. Specters on Glass is the first public exhibition of these images.

“The El Dorado County Historical Museum’s historical photograph collection numbers over 27,000 and include images of people, places and events in El Dorado County’s history,” said El Dorado Historical Museum Administrator Cory. “By focusing on this particular collection, we are able to see the people who populated Placerville and the surrounding areas over 100 years ago, and maybe get a glimpse into what life might have been like.”

The portraits in Specters on Glass offer a rare perspective of Placerville’s early history. Many of the images depict loving relationships between friends, family members, and even pets. Some of the photographs display incredible tenderness, while others are stiff and inscrutable, but they all work together to allow the viewer to acquaint themselves with those who

ForestSong Art Project making two final stops

Jordan Hyatt-Miller

Arts and Culture El Dorado

ForestSong, a project from local artist Andie Thrams, will have two final community events in Somerset and Coloma-Lotus in September. Created as a response to recent devastating wildfires in the region, the collaborative art project has already visited communities in Georgetown, Placerville, South Lake Tahoe and Alpine County, and was featured in an exhibition in Arts and Culture El Dorado’s Switchboard Gallery in July and August. ForestSong will visit Somerset noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, at Pioneer Park, 6740 Fairplay Road, before visiting Coloma-Lotus 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, at Camp Lotus, 5461 Bassi Road in Lotus.

ForestSong investigates grief, beauty, and interconnection, shares images and science, invokes the sacred while bearing witness to the effects of natural disasters, and invites action to preserve, protect, and celebrate our natural wonders. The project is helmed by lead artist Thrams, whose work weaves together art and contemporary ecology to explore the natural world and our relation to it.

Thrams is joined at ForestSong events by visual artist Laurel Ferreira and poet Moira Magneson,

who will share the ForestSong process with participants. ForestSong events also feature interactive sound art generated from forest recordings and data related to California wildfires by Zack Dowell and Dustin Koupal of the Laika’s Last Wish performance collective. As part of the project, graphic artist Nate Reifke is developing informational materials for the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council to be displayed at ForestSong events.

“The ForestSong

project centers on two responses so many of us have experienced in Sierra forests,” explained Andie Thrams. “One is biophilia — that innate human delight in all that lives and grows. The other response is solastalgia — our sense of sadness or homesickness for a place no longer as it once was, like a forest or a home that has been consumed by wildfire. ForestSong guides our participants to express these contrasting emotions through creative activities, making

tangible works of art out of both sadness and joy. During each event we are all firsthand witnesses to the healing power of art making for all ages and abilities.”

Activities at ForestSong events will include a collaborative painting process to create giant forest prayer flags, poetry readings and writing, appreciation of forestinspired soundscapes and forest science information sharing, including actionable steps to prevent wildfires. In addition,

the capstone event will include an outdoor exhibition of works created during the project, suspended within the trees at Camp Lotus.

ForestSong is funded by the California Arts Council’s California Creative Corps grant program, with support from the city of Sacramento’s Office of Arts and Culture and Arts and Culture El Dorado. The California Creative Corps provides funding directly to arts organizations for work that creates awareness around one of several themes: public health; water and energy conservation and climate mitigation, emergency preparedness relief and recovery; civic engagement; and social justice.

“As one of the many Capital Region Creative Corps grantees, the ForestSong project demonstrates the effectiveness and power of the arts in bringing people together to share their stories and their hope for the future,” noted Sacramento Office of Arts and Culture Arts Program Coordinator Richard Falcon. “We at the City of Sacramento Office of Arts and Culture are pleased to provide needed funding for this amazing project and the community events that will follow.” More information about the art project can be found at AndieThrams.com/ forestsong-events-andmore.

Meader, Mrs. J. [Boy]

— Lead artist Andie Thrams

Courtesy photo

New musicians join Sacramento Philharmonic

News release

The Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera received a fresh injection of artistic talent with the appointment of three new musicians to the orchestra: Section Violin Annamarie Arai, Section Bass John DeMartino and Section Viola Mitso Floor. The new SP&O musicians will begin playing with the organization starting in the upcoming 2024-25 season.

“I continue to be impressed with the quality of musicianship in this orchestra, and I know that the addition of Annamarie, Mitso and John in their new positions will make the orchestra even stronger artistically and more consistent,” SP&O Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Ari Pelto reflected. “I congratulate each of them and look forward to working with them to bring the best in orchestral music and opera to this community.”

The new musicians join the orchestra at a time when the SP&O is on a trajectory of artistic growth and overall achievement. The 2023-24 season ended with multiple sold-out concerts, a subscription base that has fully returned to preCOVID levels and a record number of donors. The 2024-25 season will begin in October and continue through May 2025, with eight performances at the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center.

About the new musicians

Annamarie Arai, Violin — Currently based in San Francisco, Arai is a member of One Found Sound, a democratically-run, conductor-less chamber orchestra in San Francisco for the past 11 seasons. She is also a violinist with the Santa Cruz Symphony and often performs with the Reno Philharmonic, as well as other Northern California symphonic organizations.

In addition to her performances in traditional classical settings, she has shared the stage with Kygo, Michael Bublé, Geographer and Portugal the Man in their respective California tour stops. Annamarie is a passionate educator and, in addition to cultivating her private violin studio, is a teaching artist at Enriching Lives through Music, a nonprofit music program in San Rafael. She holds degrees from UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory.

John DeMartino, Bass — DeMartino is a native of South Windsor, Conn. He completed both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Boston University where he studied with Todd Seeber and Edwin Barker of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He also briefly studied at the Royal College of Music in London under Anthony Hougham, principal double bass of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.

In Massachusetts, DeMartino served as principal of the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra and played section bass in the Cape Symphony. He has performed with groups throughout the New England area such as the New Bedford Symphony, the Hartford Symphony, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and A Far Cry. John will also be a fellow of the San Francisco Academy Orchestra 24-25 season.

Mitso Floor, Viola — Floor is an avid chamber and orchestral musician from Seattle, Wash. Outside of his positions in Sacramento Philharmonic and several other regional orchestras, he is the violist of Friction Quartet, an ensemble that primarily champions the eclectic sounds of new music.

Equally at home with music new and old, he also plays with historical performance ensembles such as Voices of Music and Cantata Collective, and is a regular substitute with the San Francisco Symphony. When not playing the viola, Floor can be found riding bikes and trains to far-o locations, knitting, 3D printing or creating videos of himself simultaneously playing many di erent instruments (and non-instruments) for his YouTube channel “Beanzo.”

Opening night

The Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera begins its new season on Oct. 26 with a performance of the beloved opera “The Marriage of Figaro.” Known for its wit and charm, “The Marriage of Figaro “ has earned its place as one of the most frequently performed operas ever, o ering a warm welcome to newcomers to the opera scene and a cherished escape for long-time enthusiasts.

For tickets and more information visit sacphilopera.org.

Sign In To Win! Art Giveaway

Three

Three Days: Friday, Saturday & Sunday September 27, 28 & 29 10 am to 5 pm

Three Days: Friday, Saturday & Sunday September 27, 28 & 29 10 am to 5 pm

Sign In To Win! Art Giveawa

Visit any of the studios in this year’s Placerville Arts Association’s Open Studio Tour and enter your name and email on the studio’s sign in sheet to be entered into a FREE drawing for original art or prints donated by local artists.

Sign In To Win! Art Giveaway

Sign In To Win! Art Giveaway

Visit

Visit any of the studios in this year’s Placerville Arts Association’s Open Studio Tour and enter your name and email on the

Sign the Visitor Log one time at each studio you visit.

11 studios total.

View prizes: paastudiotour/artdrawing

View prizes: paastudiotour/artdrawing

Sign the Visitor Log one time at each studio you visit. 11 studios total.

Only one artwork awarded per individual. Chances of winning based on total number of visitors to sign-in.

Drawing on Tuesday, October 1.

Only

Only one artwork awarded per individual. Chances of winning based on total number of visitors to sign-in.

Drawing on Tuesday, October 1

BY KENNETH CORTES

Talk Continued from B2

came before, to feel as if they are personally interacting with a specter from Placerville’s past.

“I’m really enamored of all the images we see in this collection,” said curator Osucha. “These images feel very intimate. They feature people in an interior setting, many without the accoutrements they would wear on the street, together with their family members; it feels even more revealing that in we had a photo of them standing in front of their house or visiting a shop on Main Street.”

Know Continued from B1

Terrace on Saturdays and Sundays with seatings from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 2-4 p.m. On Sept. 21 & 22

chef Liz Freeland is preparing a Burmese and Asian Delight meal. Call (530) 647-8505 or email info@ mirafloreswinery.com to make a reservation.

Celebrate The Grapefather’s birthday and the harvest, noon to 4 p.m. at Nello Olivo Winery in Camino. Festivities will include a barbecue burger lunch, vendors, music and more. Reservations not required.

Late for Dinner will perform at 4 p.m. at HWY 50 Brewery in Camino. For more information visit hwy50brewery.com/live-music.

HomeGrown Comedy comes to the Smith Flat House, 2021 Smith Flat Road in Placerville, featuring Chelsea Bearce, Lourdes Ayon and Jilldo. For more information call (530) 621-1003.

The Harris Center for the Arts will present a doublefeature premiere for “Waterfall: A 70’s Rock Band” starting at 7 p.m. Watch a film about Sacramento teens who wanted the join the hippie scene, then meet the musicians afterward. For tickets and more information visit harriscenter.net or call (916) 608-6888.

High Fidelity will perform at the Red Hawk Casino Stage Bar, 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. For more information visit redhawkcasino.com.

Holo Holo Music Festival - Sacramento takes place Sept. 21 & 22 at Heart Health Park,1600 Exposition Blvd. in Sacramento, featuring J Boog, Maoli, FIJI, Katchafire, L.A.B, Rebel Souljahz and many more. Tickets can be purchased at holoholofestival.com.

Knight Foundry holds its annual Fall Gala Dinner from 6-9 p.m. to raise funds for preservation and restoration

of Sutter Creek’s historic foundry. Order tickets by visiting knightfoundry.com or call (209) 560-6160.

Sept. 22

El Dorado Western Railroad offers train rides on the hour, 10 a.m. through 1 p.m., weather permitting, at the Shingle Springs Station. For more information visit facebook.com/ElDoradoWesternRailroad.

A Community Resource and Health Fair hosted by Asociación Guadalupana takes place 1-4 p.m. at the St. Patrick Church hall, 3109 Sacramento St. in Placerville. O’Connell Street Band will perform at 3 p.m. at HWY 50 Brewery in Camino. For more information visit hwy50brewery.com/live-music.

See KNOW, page B6

saw something new along the way that transformed the image. “Somehow water and earth elements made their way into the piece.”

Reyes’ work is unique; her style of abstracts is described as lyrical or perceptual, or perhaps even as an invented category like “neuroemotive abstractionism.” However, her images encourage the mind’s eye to freely interpret patterns and create its own stories about the image.

“Art helped me to rise above my pain to a place where even that can be beneficial” Reyes shared. “Art only adds to the beauty of the world, not take it away, and I am grateful for this gift.”

Pint-size fun

Anderson’s drive to create basically never slows down. Seeking a way to make her time more bearable during the COVID shutdowns, she took advantage of the extra time to create artwork in a different media than her beloved oil paints. She began sculpting clay figures of dogs, which led to a series of human figurines she called Little Ladies. She soon discovered that creating these 6- to 8-inch-tall statues was a happy thing to do, so she kept on going — and going.

When she is sculpting them, she said she doesn’t think about how they will look. “Mostly they just show up,” she explained.

There is a whimsical nature to her Little Ladies and each one has its own personality and features, making them endearing in a comical way with their big eyes and lips. “I might think that one would like a cat, a flower or a heart,” she said, “or perhaps a fish. Holding a fish is funny!”

An example of her creative whimsy is “Felicity” in her purple bonnet and matching dress, as she peers at the viewer with an amused expression. Is it because she is cuddling a small, red fish? Then, of course, that makes “Agatha” with two fishes twice as amusing. “But holding a bird is nice, too,” Anderson said.

The artist’s Little Ladies have an old-fashioned quality about them, with their quaint dresses and embellishments. Some are glazed and kiln fired, but Anderson prefers priming them, then applying acrylic paint for brighter details with the jewelry, hair and clothing. She gives each of her whimsical Little Ladies a name to complement its personality and features. “The names just come to me,” she said. Like “Audrey,” with bright blue eyes and dress, holding a bowl, just the right size for a bit of bling, like a string of pearls.

She makes figures from real-life and gives them her own spin. “I have an idea of how they should look and I try to provide enough details so people will know who they are,” she explained. “Frida,” “The Donald” and “Vincent” each are imbued with her

whimsical spirit. She also taps into popular culture for some of her pieces. For example, she made the “Little Monk,” reminiscent of a literary character who-shall-not-be-named, appearing quite harmless in his dark, glossily glazed little monk cowl, his fingers lifted toward the viewer, as if to say, “Come a little closer …”

Anderson said she believes art is a magical gift that provides a way for her to share with others what she feels when creating her charming artwork. She advocates for other artists to be a part of the artist community though service in local arts associations. Anderson’s work can be seen in galleries, private collections and local businesses.

Inner light

Quinn has lived with paint, palette, brush and canvas since childhood. Now surrounded by the stunning, natural beauty of the Folsom area in Northern California, she still finds it exciting to begin another painting.

Her process of creating a painting begins long before she picks up a paintbrush. She observes the world around her, studying the landscape and what inhabits it for certain combinations of light and dark that set the stage for a composition.

One of her favorite places to paint is Mendocino. “I am always charmed by its historical qualities, the way the light plays on the old buildings and the display of flowers popping up along the fence lines,” she said.

She shared the story of “Morning Light Mendocino,” explaining the weather is quite changeable close to the ocean — sunny one moment and foggy the next. “There is freshness to the new day,” she said, and on this day, she reacted to the quiet of the morning as the light softly kissed the trees and buildings, creating an atmospheric scene she felt compelled to capture and share.

Quinn’s oil paintings are distinguished by the glow of a vibrant inner light, which appears to make them tangible and distinctive. Her style has been greatly influenced by the California impressionist movement of the early 1900s, also known as California plein air, or outdoor painting, which arose from the state’s favorable year-round weather. Her passion and mastery of plein air technique, of capturing the ephemeral qualities of light, is clearly seen throughout her work.

Early one morning, she and a friend visited Black Miners Bar near Lake Natoma. She found the conditions perfect to create her painting “Morning at Lake Natoma.”

“The air was cool, and the light was gorgeous,” she said, “and looking across the lake I saw spots of white. There were swans, peaceful, beautiful!”

She caught the scene within a couple of hours. “I

felt so happy,” she explained, sharing her joy of that moment with the viewer.

Quinn loves the strong, golden light of late afternoon and early evening which transforms everything it touches. She describes a moment like this with her painting “Evening Glow at Folsom Point.” She and her family went for a walk on a September evening to this spot, just a few minutes from her home. The light of the setting sun poured through the branches of the trees, illuminating them with red and golden light, while subtle shadows danced among the grasses on the slope below. Quinn’s use of skillful brushwork to create this scene provides balance and symmetry with shapes, textures and light.

Quinn’s desire is to “share a strong personal connection with the viewer by drawing them in with the comforting feeling of familiar scenery that provides a beautiful respite from a busy world.” She is involved in local art organizations, and her work can be found in many art shows, galleries and private collections.

Gold Country Artists Gallery, 379 Main St. in Placerville, features the work of many awardwinning regional artists working in fields as diverse as fine jewelry, photography, fused glass, wood turning, pastels, colored pencil, scratch board, and watercolor, acrylic and oil painting. The gallery is open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on the third Saturday of each month until 8 p.m. For more information call (530) 642-2944 or visit goldcountryartistsgallery.com.

New Orleans soul coming to The Center for the Arts

Leila Srouji

RASS VALLEY

— The Center for the Arts

presents Preservation Hall Jazz Band in the Marisa Funk Theater on Sept 26. “The past and promise of American music” (Rolling Stone), Preservation Hall Jazz Band is a true New Orleans institution. Founded in 1961 by tuba player Allan Jaffe, the PHJB was formed to preserve the city’s priceless musical heritage and give their veteran musicians a place to play, and it instantly attracted players linked to the glory days of the 1920s.

Now run by Jaffe’s son, tuba player Ben Jaffe, the group features a wealth of New Orleans talent, including versatile singer and instrumentalist Clint Maedgen, pianist Kyle

Roussel and trombonist Ronell Johnson, who joined the band in 2012. Under the

younger Jaffe’s direction, the band has remained timelessly relevant, recording and sharing

funerals and church.

know.”

PHJB taps into New Orleans’ rich musical past and vibrant present, from its AfroCuban roots to its common ancestry with the Afrobeat of Fela Kuti and the Fire Music of Pharoah Sanders and John Coltrane, and forward to cutting-edge artists with whom they have shared festival stages from Coachella to Newport, including legends like Stevie Wonder and modern giants like the Black Keys, Beck and the Foo Fighters.

the stage with the best in the music business.

“When we play music, the barometer for us as a band is whether the locals are reacting,” Jaffe explained. “In New Orleans we play music for dances and parades,

It’s important to us to make music people connect to, that people dance to, that people really feel, emotionally and physically. That’s the tradition we grew up with; that’s what we

Joyful, timeless, and guaranteed to bring the house down, Preservation Hall Jazz Band (PHJB) is on a mission to keep the art of New Orleans jazz alive, one foot-tapping performance at a time. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, at The Center for the Arts, 314 West Main St. in Grass Valley. For tickets and more information visit thecenterforthearts.org or call (530) 274-8384.

Mick Martin Blues Band returns

Submissionsmust be received by Sept. 20, 2024

Eric Marks News release

Mick Martin sits back and runs his fingers through the hair on his grey beard.

“It’s been a long journey to my having the Big Blues Band and all those great players,” he said. “The Blues Rockers, which lasted 25 years, toured England, Italy and Belgium in the ‘90s, but there was never enough money to augment the band with a horn section. And that was my dream.”

In the late ‘60s, Martin had traveled to San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium to see the Butterfield Blues Band, the Electric Flag, the Sons of Champlin, Cold Blood and Blood, Sweat & Tears — all bands with big horn sections. That’s when he was bitten by the bug big time, although he had been listening to B.B. King, Ray Charles, Albert King and other blues and R&B artists since he was old enough to pick his own music.

So tell me about your new album. What are some of the highlights for you?

I’m very happy with “Got to Play the Blues — Live” because it hits nearly all the sweet spots for me. Writing songs (often with Tim Barnes) for yearly releases on our Blues Rock Records gave us over 200 songs and we are picking the best of for MMBB as a group. And the solos taken by the players thrill me every time. I want the players to own the songs they’re featured on. Danny Sandoval, our sax player, comes from a background that includes Sista Monica, NiteCry and Delta Wires. In my book, he’s the best for what we do, as is bass player Aj Joyce, who honed his skills with Charlie Musselwhite, Ron Thompson, Ron Hacker and other major blues dudes. Because of them, we have the band as it is today.

Tell me how the band started. When the Blues Rockers started to fade away as our beloved collaborators — Steve Schofer, Joe Murazzo,

Know Continued from B4

The Rotary Club of Placerville hosts Rotary in the Vineyard, 4-9 p.m. at Saureel Vineyards, 1140 Cold Springs Road in Placerville. Enjoy live music by The Jamokes Band, delicious food from The Smith Flat House and an evening of raffles, auctions and dessert. To purchase tickets or for more information visit placervillerotary.org.

Sierra Symphony presents its Fall Pops Concert featuring Broadway hits at the Smith Flat House in Placerville. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. For tickets and more information, go to sierrasymphony.org.

Sept. 23

Vitalant will host an El Dorado Hills community blood drive noon to 2:30 p.m. The Bloodmobile bus will be parked near the baseball fields at the EDH Community Services District, 1021 Harvard Way. Make an appointment at donors.vitalant.org and use blood drive code SMFM019 or call (877) 258-

Steve Gundhi, Jerry Banks and others — died, I started looking for other opportunities. I sat in with jazz organ great Jimmy Smith (my mentor), Mick Taylor, Elvin Bishop, Cafe R&B, the Sons of Champlin, the Yardbirds, the Electric Flag and other favorite acts and started splitting my time between the Blues Rockers in Sacramento and Harvey Mandel’s Snakecrew in San Francisco as his singer and harp player. Obviously, I was able to learn from some really gifted musicians. Then the opportunity opened up to work with Danny and Aj. It was “horn time.” Little by little we added arranger/ trumpet player Dave Johnson (now also with Cold Blood), Hammond organ player Steve Utstein (Cafe R&B), drummer Jim Caselli (Charlie Peacock), great player “Killer” Andrew Little and Danny’s son Andres, also on sax. Because we now have frequent guest stars, singer-guitarist Laurie Moran, singer-songwriter Pinkie Rideau and the magnificent soul singer Marcel Smith joined us at the historical Crest Theatre for my 74th birthday concert. This is all captured on the CD.

Last year you packed the Sutter Creek Theatre. How do you keep your performances fresh?

We keep changing the show, adding different tunes and special guests. Marcel will return, but with songs from his internationally praised release, “From My Soul;” Tim Taylor from Joy & Madness will be joining us on tenor sax (as he did last time), and I’m waiting to hear from blues belter Chrissie O’Dell to see if she’ll be joining us. It’s going to be a hell of a party — with blues, rock, soul, R&B and a touch of jazz!

The details

The Mick Martin Big Blues Band will play the Sutter Creek Theater, 44 Main St. in Sutter Creek, 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28. For tickets and more information visit suttercreektheater.com or call (916) 425-0077.

4825 and mention the same code. Walk-ins will be accommodated if space allows.

Sept. 24

Mischief will perform at 6 p.m. at Smith Flat House, 2021 Smith Flat Road in Placerville. For more information call (530) 621-1003.

Sept. 25

Main Street Menagerie and DJ Yuma Tripp will perform at The Green Room Social Club in downtown Placerville. Show starts at 7 p.m. For tickets and more information visit clubgreenroom. com.

Valhalla Tahoe presents Living History – Lake Tahoe’s Enigmatic Elias “Lucky” Baldwin and his Daughter Anita. For tickets and more information visit valhallatahoe.com.

Courtesy photo

Preservation Hall Jazz Band makes music people connect to and people dance to. See the group Sept. 26 in Grass Valley.