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mtdemocrat.com
Friday, January 12, 2024
Supreme Court considers EDC fee challenge
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Volume 173 • Issue 5 | $1.00
Cultivating compassion
Eric Jaramishian Staff writer U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared to be divided after hearing arguments Jan. 9 from legal counsel representing Placerville resident George Sheetz and El Dorado County regarding Sheetz’ permitting fees challenge. The nine judges who make up the U.S. Supreme Court are expected to decide by summertime if the nearly $24,000 in traffic impact fees Sheetz paid to El Dorado County while building a house in Placerville are legal. The justices appeared to be of the same opinion there was “radical agreement” there are no automatic exemptions for fees passed by a legislature and are generally applicable to all landowners. There also was agreement that n See sheetz, page A6
2024 election
Meet candidates for supervisor seats at forums Eric Jaramishian Staff writer El Dorado County voters will decide new county leadership in the March 5 primary election. Seats to represent Districts 1, 2 and 3 on the Board of Supervisors are open and each contest has
notice
PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
In observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday the Mountain Democrat will not publish Monday, Jan. 22.
multiple candidates hitting the campaign trail. If candidates receive less than 51% of votes cast, the top two votegetters advance to the Nov. 5 general election. In the meantime, residents will have the chance to get to know candidates at local forums, where they will answer questions on their views on how the county should be run. First, the Save Our County joint coalition is hosting a meet and greet at the Mother Lode Lions Hall Jan. 17, inviting all four District 3 candidates — commercial helicopter pilot Gary Martin, transportation specialist Brian DeBerry, current District 3 Planning Commissioner Lexi Boeger and former District 3 Supervisor Brain Veerkamp. All candidates will have the opportunity to share their campaign platforms followed by a Q&A segment. Members of the public and the coalition will have a chance to ask candidates about their vision for the Placerville, Camino and Diamond Springs area of the county, according to coalition leader Larry Rolla. The event will run from 6-8 p.m. Each candidate n See forums, page A7
Photo by Cecilia Clark
In Tuesday night’s opening ceremonies of the Gaden Shartse Healing Arts of Tibet Tour’s visit to Placerville, monks perform a consecration ritual to bless the people of El Dorado County. Geshe Lharampa Jampa Chodak, center, is the ritual master of the tour. The theme of the monks’ 2024 tour, which is being hosted at the Federated Church through Jan. 21, is Cultivating Compassion. The monks have begun work on their Buddha of Compassion mandala; progress on the mandala can be viewed daily at the church Jan. 12-14 and Jan. 16-20, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The mandala dissolution ceremony is planned for Jan. 20, 4-6 p.m. Tibetan Buddhist monks bless Marshall Hospital in a traditional healing ritual Monday. Sharing their arts, culture and Buddhist teachings, a schedule of activities with the monks is available at placervillefriendsoftibet. org.
Mountain Democrat photo by Eric Jaramishian
State of the City
Placerville achievements ‘add up to a better, safer place we call home’ Odin Rasco Staff writer Placerville City Council kicked off its first meeting of 2024 by taking a look back at some highlights of the year gone by. Michael Saragosa delivered the State of the City address Tuesday night before closing out his term as the city’s mayor and handing the reins over to Jackie Neau, who will serve as mayor for
Michael Saragosa the city for the next year. Saragosa kept
his remarks succinct, joking he did not want to bore the audience. “I will be brief; I know nobody wants to hear us drone on about what we already did,” Saragosa explained. Saragosa began by acknowledging the work city staff does daily, working to meet the goals set by the council and asked for by the community. “We’re small but mighty,” Saragosa said. “I think we do a lot
more than cities our size generally do.” The last year provided achievements big and small for Saragosa to highlight as he reflected on his second term as mayor. The clearing of the homeless encampment on upper Broadway made it to the top of the list, part of a statewide undertaking to clear camps on state-owned property near highways. n See state of the city,
page A8
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