Sierra College Board Trustee Aaron Klein, who is running for re-election this November, released a self-authored report Sept. 8 highlighting funding proposals the seven-member Board of Trustees were already working towards.
“I’m not saying there is anything new (in this report), but it integrates (past proposals) all together,” says Klein, who has been a controversial board member who successfully dodged a recall effort two years ago.
Klein says alternative funding proposals “would not raise taxes one dime” and estimates they will generate more than $85 million in new capital project funding by 2015, in addition to adding ongoing funding of more than $11 million a year. Critics believe such revenue projections are overly optimistic, especially in the current economic environment.
Two historic conventions, two state delegates from Auburn, one intense passion for their candidates
If you think your vote doesn’t count or that Washington D.C politicians aren’t listening, two Auburn women might just change your mind.
Meet Christa Darlington, a Democratic mother of two, who jumped into the Obama-Biden pool headfirst and with no previous political involvement; and Ann Whitley, a dyed-in-the-wool conservative and long-time employee of the California Republican Party who has been struck with McCain-Palin fever. Both women live in Auburn, both were honored to be delegates at their respective conventions for the first time, and both share an unshakeable fervor for their party candidates.
Sept. 3 At approximately 1:30 p.m., police arrested a 40-year-old Auburn woman on Foresthill Avenue. While what happened isn’t quite clear, she was arrested and booked into Placer County Jail on charges related to drugs and prostitution.
Sept. 3 A 25-year-old Sacramento man was arrested after allegedly exposing himself indecently on E. Placer Street. After putting his clothes back on he was booked into the county clink.
Sept. 5 Auburn Police Department responded to Alta Vista Elementary School at approximately 9 a.m. to find an 18-year-old Auburn man who was allegedly in possession of alcohol on school property. He was cited. The lesson here: even if school is not in session, you still can’t go there to get drunk.
Sept. 7 Just before 8 a.m., the cops were called to Save Mart on Elm St. The problem seemed to be a 75-year-old man from Rio Vista who allegedly didn’t want to pay for his groceries. He was cited for petty theft.
Between Sept. 2 and Sept. 8 Auburn Police Department arrested ten individuals for allegedly driving while under the influence of alcohol. If Smokey the Bear were a police officer, he’d say, “Only you can prevent DUI arrests.”
—compiled from Auburn Police Department arrest logs
While usage of the Auburn Library may be on the rise, the threat of a budget shortfall is forcing the local institution to make cuts.
The state budget is more than two months overdue and that’s causing a trickle-down effect at the county and city levels, but one area could be even more hard-hit – the library.
According to Michael Otten, with Friends of the Auburn Library, the 35-year-old library used to be open every day of the week for 10 hours each day. Through various cost-saving steps, the library is now open only 6 days per week and the hours of operation are about to get leaner.
Should “Project Auburn,” an all-day event held every year in which hundreds of student and adult volunteers gather at Old Town and Downtown to paint buildings and curbs, plant new trees, remove trash, and build benches for the public, be illegal? Should “Creek Week,” in which hundreds of volunteers in Lincoln, Rocklin and Roseville gather to clean up and maintain nearby creeks, also be illegal? It may be hard to believe but the California Legislature only grudgingly allows these wonderful community projects to continue.
Stu Nelson is a stand-up guy who’s found a strong niche selling quality low-cost clothing and footwear to “anyone who stands up for a living.” BareBones WorkWear – the company he founded 12 years ago – is a Sacramento based small business success story that’s landed in the Auburn area with a sensible business strategy that goes way beyond just having a fun name.
While the fledgling retail operation battles the forces of a down economy like every other business today, management decisions made as the business was formed help guide it through these rough times to provide silver-lining opportunities, says Nelson, who wears the title of chief executive officer.
Swallows are welcome at American River
Fret no more swallow lovers, and fear not that odious, acidic plop on your copper dome, dear Placer Courthouse lovers. The mighty cliff swallow lives on and is welcomed with open wings by its country cousins living the good life on the American River beneath the graceful arches of the Mountain Quarries Railroad Bridge, also a dignified structure of national stature. Exquisitely crafted mud nests hang with honor and dignity beneath the concrete arches of this powerful icon of human-engineered Placer County history. What a wonderful choice to take up residence where history and wild adventure come together.
Come to the river, Mighty Courthouse swallows. Your zippy flights that combine so many twists, turns and somersaults have mesmerized the throngs of nature lovers picnicking on the beaches by the bridge or floating beneath the arches on a sticky, hot summer afternoon river trip. In this time of Olympic obsession your winged aerial acrobatics, darlings of the avian species, have earned you solid 10’s to the delight of all, without performance enhancing drugs -just an occasional mosquito or mayfly. Poop, not a problem! Plop, plop, plop into the pine, willow and bay-scented waters of the American River, diluted for export to quench the thirsts of Sacramento and western Placer County (it’s best refrigerated though).
Come, Mighty Courthouse swallows. Join your country cousins. Gather on the wet, sandy banks of the river with your dipper friends for a fresh hellgrammite larvae appetizer and chat with your yellow-breasted cousins from south of the border. Plead not your case in the hallowed halls of the Placer County judicial system, for your gifts are not appreciated and may land you behind bars to boot. Your mortgage at the Courthouse has ballooned, reversed, foreclosed. Scram while you can. Don’t ruin your credit. Join us nut and berry eating canyon-cave dwellers who delight in your aerial antics. Simplify! Come into the light of the American River Canyons. Let nature be your guide!
Jan Decker, executive director of the state’s Welcome Center and chief executive officer of the Placer County Visitors Council, spoke at the Aug. 26 supervisor’s meeting, noting that “wineries and tasting rooms are synonymous with tourism.” Photo by John McCreadie.
Local vintners – the first to make wine in Placer County since the Prohibition Era when they began nearly 10 years ago – applaud the efforts of the Board of Supervisors with its passage of a winery ordinance Aug. 26 and see the new county guidelines as an important step to helping create a wine region that draws tourists to the area.
“We need to make this area a destination for travelers,” said Fawnridge Winery co-owner Stephanie Perry. “There are people who want to visit area wineries. They come for the experience. People in the city want to get away to the country.”
Since this is my last “Notes from the Trail” column, it is only fitting that we explore the American Canyon Trail.
Out the door early on a recent Saturday morning, I loaded the pack with water, an electrolyte drink and a few granola bars. I also filled two travel mugs with coffee to help pry my sleepy eyes open.
I hit the road before 7 a.m. and arrived at the trailhead about 25 minutes later. To get there, take Highway 49 south across the canyon and turn left on Highway 193 in Cool. Drive for 5.7 miles to Pilgrim Way and turn left. The trailhead is on the right near the gated entrance to the Auburn Lake Trails community.
“Pundit” in Hindu means “learned man.” Every talking head on the cable political shows and three-quarters of newspaper columnists believe the Hindus were spot on. Of course, these are the same guys who predicted last summer that it would be a Hillary Clinton versus Rudy Giuliani contest in the presidential race. And none of them predicted that Senator John McCain would select Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as his vice presidential running mate. Remind me never to take a pundit to bet on the horses.
